He was born on 23 November 1943 in Bareilly, British India. a descendant of Ahmed Raza Khan who was considered to be a Mujaddid by his followers and founder of the Barelvi movement. He went to school at the Manzar-e-Islam madrassa of the Dargah Aala Hazrat, and then at Islamia Inter College, Bareilly. He studied at Al-Azhar University in Egypt from 1963-66, where he won the "Fakhre Azhar" award. In 1967 he became a teacher at the Manzar-e-Islam madrassa in Bareilly, where he had been a student as a child. On 3 November 1968, he married Hasnain Raza Barelvi's daughter in Bareilly. They had one son, Asjad, and five daughters.
After retirement
He formally retired from teaching in 1980, but continued to issue fatwa, and holding seminars for students at Dar al-Ifta. In 2000 he founded the Centre of Islamic StudiesJamiatur Raza based in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India. He was considered by his followers as the Grand Mufti of India. He had been ranked 22nd on the list of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the world, compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. He had tens of millions of followers globally. He died following a long illness on 20 July 2018, aged 74. His funeral was attended by millions of people. His funeral occurred on 22 July 2018 at Islamia Inter College, Bareilly. The prayer was led by his son and successor Asjad Raza Khan. After his death Mohammad Salim Noori, spokesperson of the Dargah Aala Hazrat, said Azhari was "the lone cleric in India to get a title of 'Tajushari'" and "one of the few prominent persons across the world to be allowed to visit the inside Kaaba in Mecca".
Publications
Rulings (Fatwas)
His Urdu-language fatwa collection was known as Majmu'ah Fatawa. His English collection is named Azharul Fatawa. One of his fatwas was his edict on the interest given to a Muslim by a non-Muslim:
When there is a dealing between a Muslim and a Muslim or a Muslim and a Zimmi Kaffir, the taking more money than loaned is considered as interest and such a dealing will be unlawful. However, if this condition does not exist, this excess money will not be considered as interest and will be legitimate for a Muslim as it is unanimous that there is no interest applicable when there is dealing between a Muslim and a Harbi Kaafir.
Poetry
His composition of Na`at was entitled Safina e Bakhshish, written in three languages.
Books
He was the author of "more than 50 books on Islamic theology and thought in Urdu and Arabic", including:
