Grand Mufti of Sunnis in India
# Grand Mufti of Sunnis in India

The Grand Mufti of Sunnis in India is the most senior and influential religious authority of the Sunni Muslim Community of India. The incumbent is Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, general secretary of All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama, who was conferred the title in February 2019 at the Gareeb Nawaz Peace Conference held at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi, organised by the All India Tanzeem Ulama-e-Islam.

## Role

The Grand Mufti is the most senior religious authority in the country. His main role is to give opinions (fatawa) on Islamic legal matters and social affairs. The Grand Mufti is traditionally chosen from the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam.

## History

### Mughal period

The first Grand Mufti of India, Shah Fazle Rasool Badayuni was appointed by the final Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. Badayuni was a Hanafi scholar who had deep knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence. His Urdu statements on Islamic subjects were published as Tariqi Fatwa, which later became famous. His grandson `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni followed him as the Grand Mufti.

### British period

In the British ruling period, Islamic scholars noted Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi who was the spiritual leader of Indian Muslims, scholar and revivalist. Thousands of students and scholars were attracted to his works and requested him to become Grand Mufti, but he declined. He wanted to be engaged with educational revival and writing. Instead, his student Amjad Ali Aazmi was elected. His book on Hanafi fiqh, Bahar-e-Shariat became a reference on this subject. Along with him, Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri s/o. Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi was the Grand Mufti during Indira Gandhi's administration. He protested the Family Planning Program enacted by the government.

### Grand Muftiship of Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad

Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar was sworn in as the Grand Mufti of India on 24 February 2019 at the Ramlila Maidan. He became the first Grand Mufti from south India.

## List of Grand Muftis of India

| No. | Name (birth–death) | Madhhab | Place | Other works & activities | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 16th century - 17th century ||||||
| 1 | ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni (21 August 1540 - 5 November 1615) ملا عبد القادر بدایونی (Arabic & Urdu) | Hanafi | Badaun | Author of Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh (Arabic) | The Mughal emperor, Akbar, appointed him to the Muftiate in 1574 where he spent much of his career. |
| 17th century ||||||
| 18th century ||||||
| 19th century ||||||
| 5 | Shah Fazle Rasool Badayuni (1 July 1798 - 8 August 1872) شاہ فضلِ رسول قادری بدایونی (Urdu, his native language), شاه فضل رسول قدري بدایونی (Arabic) | Hanafi | Badaun | Author of Tarikhi-Fatwa (Urdu) | Badayuni was appointed by the final Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. |
| 20th century ||||||
| 6 | Kifayatullah Dehlawi (November 1882 - 31 December 1952) مفتی اعظم محمد کفایت اللہ دہلوی (Urdu, his native language), مفتی کفایت اللہ الدہلوی(Arabic) | Hanafi | Shahjahanpur | Author of Kifayatul Mufti | |
| 7 | Amjad Ali Aazmi (November 1882 - 6 September 1948) صدر الشريعہ مفتى محمد امجد على اعظمى (Urdu, his native language), مفتى أمجد على أعظمى (Arabic) | Hanafi | Bareilly | Author of Bahar-e-Shariat (Urdu) | |
| 8 | Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri (18 July 1892, 1892 - 11 November 1981, 1981) مصطفٰی رضا خان قادری نوری (Urdu, his native language), مصطفى رضا خان القادري النوري (Arabic) | Hanafi | Bareilly | Author of Fatawa Mustawafiyah (Arabic) | |
| 20th century - 21st century ||||||
| 9 | Akhtar Raza Khan (23 November 1943 - 20 July 2018) تاج الشریعہ اختر رضا خان (Urdu, his native language), مفتي اختر رضا خان (Arabic) | Hanafi | Bareilly | Founder of Jamiatur Raza and Author of Azhar Ul Fatawa (Arabic) | |
| 21st century ||||||
| 10 | Asjad Raza Khan (1970) عسجد رضا خان (Urdu, his native language), أسجد رضا خان(Arabic) | Hanafi | Dargah Tajushshariya Bareilly | Son of Former Grand Mufti of India Akhtar Raza Khan and President Jamat Raza-e Mustafa | |
