Muḥammad Usmān Mansoorpuri (12 August 1944 – 21 May 2021) was an Indian Muslim scholar who served as the first National President of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind's Mahmood faction. He taught hadith at the Darul Uloom Deoband and served the seminary as a working rector.

Mawlāna, Qāri
Muḥammad Usman Mansoorpuri
Mansoorpuri in January 2013
1st President of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind's Mahmood Faction
In office
5 April 2008 – 21 May 2021
Preceded by"office established"
Succeeded byMahmood Madani[1]
Vice-Rector of Darul Uloom Deoband
In office
1997–2008
Preceded byHabibur Rahman Khairabadi
Succeeded byAbdul Khaliq Sambhali
Personal
Born12 August 1944
Mansurpur, Muzaffarnagar, British India
Died21 May 2021(2021-05-21) (aged 76)
ReligionIslam
RegionIndia
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceHanafi
MovementDeobandi
Alma materDarul Uloom Deoband
RelativesHussain Ahmad Madani (father-in-law),
Asad Madni (brother-in-law),
Arshad Madani (brother-in-law)

Biography

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Usmān Mansoorpuri was born on 12 August 1944 in Mansurpur, Muzaffarnagar.[2] He graduated from the Darul Uloom Deoband in the traditional dars-e-nizami in 1965.[2] He specialized in Qirat, Tajweed and Arabic literature in 1966 from the Deoband seminary.[2]

Usmān taught at the Madrasa Qāsmia in Gaya, Bihar for five years, and at the Madarsa Islamiya Arabia, Amroha for eleven years.[2] In 1982, he was appointed a teacher at the Darul Uloom Deoband.[2] He taught hadīth including the books Muwatta Imam Malik and Mishkat al-Masabih.[2][3] On 5 April 2008, he was appointed the National President of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind's Mahmood faction.[4][5] He served as the vice-rector of Darul Uloom Deoband for eleven years from 1997 to 2008.[6][7] In October 2020, he was appointed the working rector of the seminary.[3][8][2] His books include Radd-i Qādyāniyat.[9]

 
Mansoorpuri (middle) with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mahmood Madani.

In November 2016, protesting against the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Reuven Rivlin to India, Usmān addressed a gathering in New Delhi, saying that "It has been against our culture and tradition to welcome an oppressor".[10] He also expressed that "The Indian Government should revisit its relationship with the tyrant and expansionist Israel following into the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and should not violate the traditional friendship of India with the weaker and oppressed people around the world."[10] The Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (JUH) defended the Assam Accord under his leadership in the Supreme Court of India during May 2017.[11] In November 2019, a JUH meeting presided by him, described the Ayodhya verdict as "the darkest spot in the history of free India".[12] He also supported the National Register of Citizens as he believed that "who is Indian and who is not should be known".[13] JUH, under his leadership has also held Kashmir as an integral part of India.[13] In December 2017, Usmān led an anti-Israel protest in Varanasi; demanding that the occupation of Jerusalem and killings of innocents be ended.[14]

Usmān Mansoorpuri died on 21 May 2021 of COVID-19.[15] Farooq Abdullah condoled his death saying that Usmān was a promoter of national unity and communal harmony and his death is a loss to both India and the Muslim community. Abdullah remarked that, "Usmān shall be remembered for his scholarly disposition, and ease of elucidation in familiarizing his students with teachings of the Quran and Sunnah".[16] Omar Abdullah, Ali Mohammad Sagar, Nasir Aslam Wani and Syed Sadatullah Husaini, Ali al-Sallabi, Nurul Islam Jihadi also condoled his death.[17][16][18]

Family life

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Usmān was the son-in-law of Hussain Ahmad Madani.[3] His sons Salmān Mansoorpuri and Affān Mansoorpuri are Islamic scholars and jurists.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Maulana Mahmood Madani elected interim chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind". Outlook, India. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Muḥammadullah Qāsmi. Darul Uloom Deoband ki Jami' wa Mukhtasar Tārīkh (in Urdu) (2020 ed.). Deoband: Shaykhul Hind Academy. p. 686.
  3. ^ a b c Nayab Hasan Qasmi. Darul Uloom Deoband ka Sahāfati manzarnāma (in Urdu) (2013 ed.). Deoband: Idāra Tehqeeq-e-Islāmi. p. 290.
  4. ^ "Jamiat-Ulama-E-Hind splits". Hindustan Times. 5 March 2008. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  5. ^ Farooqi, Niyaz Ahmad (21 May 2021). "صدر جمعیت علماء ہند و معاون مہتمم دار العلوم دیوبند حضرت امیر الھند مولانا قاری سید محمد عثمان منصورپوری کا سانحہ ارتحال" [The demise of Mawlāna Qāri Sayyid Muḥammad Usmān Mansoorpuri] (Press release) (in Urdu). New Delhi: Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind.
  6. ^ Muhammadullah Khalīli Qasmi (October 2020). "Vice-Rectors". Darul Uloom Deoband ki Jami' wa Mukhtasar Tārīkh (in Urdu). Deoband: Shaykhul Hind Academy. pp. 750–751.
  7. ^ Salmān Mansoorpuri (April 2022). "Hayat e Usmani - Ek Nazar me". Zikr-e-Usman (Zikr-e-Raftagān) (in Urdu). Vol. 5. Lalbagh, Moradabad: Al Markaz al-Ilmi Lin Nashri Wat Tahqīq. p. 13.
  8. ^ "دارالعلوم دیوبند کی مجلس شوریٰ کے سہ روزہ اجلاس کا آغاز". Qindeel Online. 15 October 2020. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Books by Muḥammad Usmān Mansoorpuri". WorldCat. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  10. ^ a b Ghazanfar Abbas (19 November 2016). "Muslims protest in Delhi against Israeli President's visit". India Tomorrow. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind defends Assam Accord-1985 in SC". 3 May 2017. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Ayodhya verdict: Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind says filing review petition not beneficial". Financial Express. 22 November 2019. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  13. ^ a b Pragya Kaushika (12 September 2019). "Kashmir as integral part of India: Jamiat passes resolution, supports NRC". Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  14. ^ "In Towns Across India, Islamic Clerics Lead Anti-America, Anti-Israel Protests After Trump's Decision Recognizing Jerusalem As Israeli Capital". Memri. 9 January 2018. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  15. ^ a b "دارالعلوم دیوبند کے کارگزار مہتمم مولانا قاری عثمان منصورپوری کا انتقال" [Mawlāna Usmān Mansoorpuri passes away]. Roznama Sahara (in Urdu). Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Farooq, Omar condole demises". Greater Kashmir. 23 May 2021. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  17. ^ Desk, Online (22 May 2021). "Death of Assistant Director of Darul Uloom Deoband". Kaler Kantho. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  18. ^ "مولانا عثمان منصورپوری کی رحلت ملت اسلامیہ کے لئے ایک بڑا حادثہ: جماعت اسلامی" [Usmān Mansoorpuri's death is huge loss of Indian Muslims: Jamat-e-Islami]. Awaz The Voice (in Urdu). 22 May 2021. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.