Allama Sayyid Yousuf Jan Banoori

Syed Yousuf Banoori, also known as Syed Yousaf Jan Banuri, was a Sheikh al Hadith from Pakistan, belonging to a Sayyid Pashtun family, who played a memorable role in the Khatim an-Nabuwwah movement of the 1970s in Pakistan.

Early life

Maulana Muhammad Yousuf Banori (R.A) (1908–1977) was born in Basti Mahabatabad near Peshawar on Thursday, 6th Rabi-uth-Thaani, 1326 Hijjri. He was the son of Maulana Syed Muhammad Zakariya who was in turn the son of a khalifa of Mujaddid Alf Sani Ahmad Sirhindi. He was educated in Peshawar and Kabul before being sent to Deoband where he was the pupil of Shabbir Ahmad Usmani. He founded the Jamia Arabiya Islamiya (now Jamia Uloom ul Islamia, Banori Town, Karachi) in Karachi in 1953.

His lineage links with a famous Sheikh of the "Naqshbandiyyah" order, Sayyid Adam Banuri (Rahimahullahu Ta’ala), which is as follows: Sayyid Muhammad Yousuf s/o Sayyid Muhammad Zakaria s/o Mir Muzzammil Shah s/o Mir Ahmed Shah s/o Mir Musa s/o Ghulam Habib s/o Rehmatullah s/o Abdul Ahad s/o Hadhrat Muhammad Awliya s/o Muhammad Adam Banori.

This lineage then reaches upward to Hadhrat Sayyidna Hussain bin Ali (Radhiyal-laahu anhuma) and because of this august progeny of the "Saadat", he is also known as a "Hussaini"..

Permission of Hadith

Muhammad Yousuf Banori (R.A) gained permission of Hadith from: -Imam ul Asar Maulana Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri(R.A) -Maulana Abdur Rahman Amrohi(R.A) -Maulana Sayyad Husain Ahmad Madni Maulana(R.A) -Shabbir Ahmad Usmani(R.A) -Maulana Aziz ur Rahman(R.A) -Shaikh Hussain bin Muhammad Trablusi(R.A) -Shaikh Allama Muhammad Zahid Kausari(R.A) -Shaikh Umar Hamdan Muaddasi Malki(R.A) -Shaikh Muhammad bin Habib ullah bin Mayabi Shanqiti(R.A) -Shaikh Khalil Khalid Muqaddasi(R.A) -Shaikh Ummatullah nt Shaikh Shah Abdul Ghani(R.A)

Establishment of the Jamiah

Placing his trust in Allah, Hadhrat Banori (Rahimahullah) laid the foundation stone of the Jamiah in the Jami′ Mosque, Allaamah Banori Town, (formerly New Town) Karachi, in Muharram 1374 Hijri, corresponding to the year 1954. At that time, Jamiah did not have any structural form nor were there any funds at hand. The site where the Jamiah is located today was an unkempt ground of holes, rocks and thorny bushes. The students used to study in the Masjid and live there as well. There was neither an accommodation for them nor were there classrooms for educational purposes.

Allama Banoori (Rahimahullah) started work with ten Arabic Madrassah graduate scholars. He drafted a curriculum of Takmeel in Islamic Studies. He borrowed money from one of his friends and distributed salaries among the teachers and stipends to students. Initially, he had to face untold hardships, but he encountered them with patience and steadfastness as is the way of devout Ulama. Because of the blessings of his patience and sincerity, Allah, by His Grace, started removing obstacles one by one and opened up the doors of success for him. The building began to expand, a room or two at a time until three units were complete for the Jamiah and the hostel during his period. After sometime, other courses were then offered too, besides Takmeel. These are described later on in this brochure.

Hadhrat Banori (Rahimahullah) was an internationally known scholarly personality. Allaah Ta’ala had gifted him with extraordinary capabilities and sincerity of the highest level. Within no time, this institution achieved the status of an international University in his presence. Students, driven by thirst of religious knowledge, from all over the places within and outside Pakistan started pouring in to study in the Jamiah. By the Grace of Allaah, the Jamiah had already become a model institution in terms of education and system during his life-time..

Works

He had to his credit a large number of books and articles. The most popular ones are as follows:.

• Ma’aarifus-Sunan (‘Acquirements In Understanding the Prophetic Traditions, Commentary on Jami′-ut-Tirmizi’)
• Bughyatul Areeb fi masaailil Qiblati wal Mahaareeb (‘The Intelligent One’s Quest In Problems Relating To The Qiblah And Mihraab’)
• Nafhatul Ambar fi Hayat-ish- Sheikh Muhammad Anwar (‘A Whiff Of Anbar, The Life Of Sheikh Muhammad Anwar’)
• Yateematul bayaan Fi Shay’in min Uloomil Quraan(‘A Gemstone In Eloquence In Explaining A Little bit On The Quranic Sciences’)

Death

On the 13th of October, 1977, although he was too old and weak to travel, he decided to attend an important meeting of the Islami Mushawarati Council at Islamabad. His health deteriorated there and so he was immediately rushed to C.M.H. Hospital. After two days of being hospitalized, he recited the Kalimah Tayyibah on Monday afternoon and bade farewell to those who were attending him at that moment with ‘Assalam-o-Alaikum’ and turned himself towards Qibla and breathed his last.

His body was brought back to Karachi. Aarif Billaah Hadhrat Dr. Abdul Hai Aarifi (Rahimahullah) led the funeral prayer in the compound of Jamiah amid thousands of Ulama, admirers, disciples, students and the general public. He was laid to rest in the precincts of Jamiah..