حضرت علامہ مولانا سید علاؤالدین بخاری رحمۃ اللہ علیہ

Hazrat Allama Maulana Syed Ala-ud-Din Bukhari (RA)
(1918 – 1995)
Soubug, Budgam
Written by: Syed Mashkoor Ahmad Bukhari
All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the leader of the Messengers, our master Muhammad ﷺ, and upon his family and all his companions.

The Valley of Kashmir has always been a distinguished land of the Indian subcontinent in terms of its scholarly, religious and spiritual history. In every era this sacred region has been blessed with eminent scholars, Muhadditheen, Mufassireen, Fuqaha, Sufis and callers to truth who dedicated their lives to the service of Islam, propagation of the Qur’an and Sunnah, reformation of the Ummah and guidance of humanity.

Among these luminous personalities, one prominent name is that of Hazrat Allama Maulana Syed Ala-ud-Din Bukhari (RA), who for nearly half a century kept the lamp of Islamic knowledge burning in the Valley of Kashmir. Through his scholarly, practical and spiritual services he left a profound impact on the lives of thousands of people.

Birth and Noble Lineage
Hazrat Allama Maulana Syed Ala-ud-Din Bukhari (RA) was born in 1918 in the historic village of Soubug, District Budgam, into a respected scholarly and spiritual family of Sadāt-e-Bukhariya. This family has been renowned for centuries for its service to Islam, Da‘wah and Tabligh, teaching, Imamah and social reform.

His great ancestor is Hazrat Syed Ali Ala-ud-Din Bukhari Al-Razvi (RA), whose noble shrine in Chewdara, Beerwah is a center of reverence for people.
According to family traditions, his forefathers migrated from Darmanah and first settled in Hataram, and later permanently in Soubug, where they established a strong center of knowledge, piety, spirituality and Dawah.

Education and Training
Hazrat Maulana (RA) received his early education from his noble father, Hazrat Maulana Syed Muhammad Shah Bukhari (RA). After mastering the Qur’an, Tajweed, Persian, Sarf and Nahw and foundational Islamic sciences, he went to Madrasah Nusratul Haq, Amritsar for higher studies, where he benefited from the renowned Kashmiri scholar *Hazrat Maulana Abdul Kabeer Raina (RA).

Later he joined Madrasah Siddiqiya, Delhi, where he completed Hadith, Tafsir, Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Arabic Literature, Logic and other Islamic sciences. To further quench his thirst for knowledge, he studied at the great Islamic center of the subcontinent, Darul Uloom Deoband, and obtained the degree of Fazilah. During this period he also obtained the degrees of Maulvi Fazil and Munshi Fazil from Punjab University.

After about ten years of continuous scholarly effort, he returned to his homeland as a distinguished Islamic scholar.

Teaching and Da‘wah Services
Upon returning, he served as an Arabic teacher at Government Middle School, Sumbal, Sonawari. Along with his government duties, he continued Da‘wah, social reform and religious education with full vigor.
He was affiliated with Anjuman-e-Tabligh-ul-Islam, Jammu and Kashmir, and served as the President of Tehsil Budgam*, playing a remarkable role in the religious and moral training of the people.

In *1957* he laid the foundation of Jamia Masjid Soubug, which remains today an important religious, scholarly and spiritual center of the area. For several decades he performed the duties of Imamah, Khitabah, teaching, preaching and reformation in this mosque with utmost sincerity. People from distant areas would attend his Friday sermons and Qur’an lessons, which were adorned with strong proofs from the Qur’an and Hadith.

He was extremely humble, practical, pious, soft-spoken, of excellent character and simple in lifestyle. He always emphasized unity of the Ummah, good manners, beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds*. People from all walks of life sought his guidance in religious and Shariah matters and trusted his decisions and scholarly opinions.

Scholarly Relationship
He had a very close scholarly relationship with the great scholar of his time, Hazrat Allama Maulana Qasim Shah (RA), founder of Hanafi Arabic College, Noorbagh, Srinagar. There was deep mutual love, respect and scholarly consultation between the two.
It is narrated that whenever a complex Fiqhi issue arose, Hazrat Maulana Qasim Shah (RA) would consult Hazrat Maulana Syed Ala-ud-Din Bukhari (RA) and benefit from his scholarly insight. This reflects the high scholarly and Fiqhi status of Hazrat Maulana.

Hajj and Later Life
In 1964 he was blessed with the opportunity to perform Hajj. After Hajj, his Da‘wah and reform activities expanded further.
In 1975, after retiring from government service, he did not choose rest but continued teaching Hadith, Fiqh, Tafsir, Arabic Literature and other Islamic sciences as Head Teacher at Hanafi Arabic College.
Many of his students later became Imams, Khatibs, teachers, Muftis and callers to Islam, serving the religion across different areas of Kashmir.

Demise
On *25th Sha‘ban al-Muazzam 1415 AH, Friday, corresponding to 27th January 1995*, this man of truth returned to his Creator.
With his passing, the Valley of Kashmir was deprived of a great scholar, compassionate teacher, sincere preacher and spiritual guide. However, his scholarly legacy continues to this day.

Alhamdulillah! His son, Hazrat Maulana Syed Bashir Ahmad Bukhari*, is currently serving as Imam and Khatib at Jamia Masjid Soubug, carrying forward the scholarly and spiritual tradition of his forefathers.

The Family of Sadāt-e-Bukhariya*
The family of Sadāt-e-Bukhariya has played a prominent role not only in establishing Masajid but also Madrasas, Maktabs and religious institutions. Many great scholars, Huffaz-e-Qur’an, Imams, teachers, Khatibs and Du‘at of Islam have emerged from this family, who made service to Islam their motto across various regions of Kashmir.
Even today, members of this family are actively engaged in teaching the Qur’an, Hadith, Imamah, Da‘wah, social reform and religious education — a continuation of this great scholarly and spiritual heritage.

Conclusion
The entire life of *Hazrat Allama Maulana Syed Ala-ud-Din Bukhari (RA)* was a living example of sincerity, knowledge, piety, Dawah, service to humanity, reformation of the Ummah and practical following of the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
Through his character, knowledge and actions he proved that a true scholar remains alive forever through his ethics, sincerity and service. His name will always be remembered with respect in the scholarly and spiritual history of Kashmir, and future generations will continue to take guidance from his services, In sha Allah.

Note
This article has been compiled in light of various historical narrations, family information and available sources.
For more information regarding the history of Kashmiri Sadāt, scholarly personalities, shrines and genealogical trees, please refer to www.kashmirisadaat.com

Dua
May Allah Almighty shower His countless mercies upon *Hazrat Allama Maulana Syed Ala-ud-Din Bukhari (RA)*, illuminate his grave with Noor, elevate his ranks, accept his religious, scholarly, Da‘wah and reformative services, and grant us the ability to walk on the same blessed path of knowledge, action, sincerity and service to Deen.

Ameen Ya Rabbal Alameen.