Imam Ahmad Rida at a glance

On mobile devices, this page is best viewed in landscape mode. 1276 AH (1860 CE) Aged four, Imām Aḥmad Riḍā completed the reading of the Qur’ān. 1278 AH (1862 CE) Aged six, he conversed with an Arab in eloquent Arabic. 1280 AH (1864 CE) Aged eight, while studying the renowned book of Arabic grammar, Hidāyah al-Naḥw, he wrote a commentary on it in the Arabic language. 1282 AH (1866 CE) Aged ten, he wrote an astonishing commentary of the complex and intricate book on the principles of jurisprudence [Usūl al-Fiqh], Musallam al-Thubūt. 14 Ramadān 1286 AH (1869 CE) Aged 13, 10 months and five days, he completed his study of all the conventional sciences and graduated as a Muftī. He studied the remaining sciences by himself and mastered both Islamic and secular sciences. At that very age, he began teaching and also took up the responsibility of issuing edicts [fatāwa]. 1286 AH (1869 CE) Aged 13, he wrote a monograph on the definition of praise [ḥamd] and guidance [hidāyah] in the Arabic language entitled, Dū’ al-Nihāyah fī I’lām al-Ḥamd wa al-Hidāyah. 1294 AH (1877 CE) Aged 22, he was blessed with successorship [khilāfat] and his spiritual guide, Shāh Āle Rasūl Marehrawī, proudly said, “If on the day of reckoning, Allāh asks me, ‘O offspring of the Prophet! What have you brought from the world?’ I will present Imām Aḥmad Riḍā.” 1295 AH (1878 CE) Aged 23, he performed his first Ḥajj and received Ijāzah in Ḥadīth and Fiqh from various Arab scholars. 1318 AH (1900 CE) Aged 46, during the event held under the supervision of Shāh Amīn Firdausī, Sajjādah of Khānqah e Mu’azzam, Bihar Sharīf, in the presence of countless scholars and respectable spiritual guides of the Indian subcontinent, Imām Aḥmad Riḍā was hailed as the ‘reviver of the present century’ [Mujaddid e Miat e Hādirah] (i.e. fourteenth century). Also, the first edition of approximately 100 books of Imām Aḥmad Riḍā were printed by Toḥfa e Ḥanafīyyah. 1320 AH (1902 CE) Aged 48, he issued a ruling of kufr upon four elders of Deoband in al-Mustanad al-Mu’tamad alā al-Mu’taqad al-Muntaqad. 1323 AH (1905 CE) Aged 51, during his visit to the holy sanctuaries, he presented his ruling of kufr extracted from al-Mustanad al-Mu’tamad to the scholars of Makkah Mu’azzamah and Madīnah Munawwarah to endorse. The scholars attested the ruling of kufr and their attestations along with the ruling of kufr were compiled in Ḥussām al-Ḥaramayn, which was later published in India. 1324 AH (1906 CE) Aged 52, the scholars of Makkah Mu’azzamah, Madīnah Munawwarah and other countries also gave Imām Aḥmad Riḍā the title of ‘reviver’ and praised him as the ‘leader of the leaders’ [Imām al-A’immah]. 1326 AH (1908 CE) Aged 54, Imām Aḥmad Riḍā compiled a detailed Arabic commentary, Jadd al-Mumtār, on the renowned Hanafī text, Radd al-Muḥtār of Allāmah Ibn Abidīn al-Shāmī in five volumes. 1330 AH (1911 CE) Aged 58, Imām Aḥmad Riḍā blessed the world with an accurate translation of the Qur’ān, Kanz al-Imān [the Treasure of Faith]. Thereafter, he also blessed the world with a 12 volume jurisprudential encyclopaedia entitled, al-Atāyā al-Nabawiyyah fī al-Fatāwa al-Riḍawiyyah [The Prophetic Gifts in the Riḍāwi Edicts]. This encyclopaedia is now available in 30 volumes after the translation and addition of monographs written by the Imām. 25 Safar 1340 AH (28 October 1921) Imām Aḥmad Riḍā left this mundane world on 25 Safar 1340 AH (28 October 1921) at the age of approximately 67, according to the lunar calendar.

The number of known works written by Imām Aḥmad Riḍā amount to 679, of which 206 monographs are included in the 30-volume edition of Fatāwa Riḍawiyyah.

Compiled by Muhammad Kalim (Preston, UK)