Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi


Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi was an Indian Sunni Islamic scholar and an activist of the Indian independence movement. He fought against British rule for 25 years and spent eight years in jail. As a politician, he opposed the partition of India, and served as a member of the Indian Parliament for the Indian National Congress from Amroha from 1952 to 1962.

Birth and education

Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi was born in 1900 in a Zamindar family in Seohara, a city and municipal board in the Bijnor district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. His father Haaji Shamsuddin was an assistant engineer in Bhopal state and then in Bikaner state. Seoharwi was initially home-schooled and later enrolled in Madrasa Shahi, Moradabad. He completed his Dars-e-Nizami curriculum at the Madrasa Faiz-e-Aam, Seohara. He studied there under Abdul Ghafoor Seoharwi, Ahmad Chishti and Sayyid Aftab Ali. Later in 1922, he moved to Darul Uloom Deoband and specialized in ahadith under Anwar Shah Kashmiri and graduated in 1923.

Literary works

Seoharwi‘s books include:
Seoharwi died of cancer on 2 August 1962. His funeral prayer was led by Qari Muhammad Tayyib, the Principal of Darul Uloom Deoband. Tributes came from Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, ministers, and dozens of other members of the Indian Parliament. His funeral prayer was witnessed by a crowd of two hundred thousand people. His resting place is located in Munhadiyan, New Delhi where Shah Waliullah Dehlawi is also buried. Hifzur Rahman Academy in Jeddah was established in his memory.