Badre Alam Merathi (Urdu: بدر عالم میرٹھی; 1898 – 29 October 1965) was a mid-twentieth-century hadith scholar and poet originally from Meerut, initially migrated to Pakistan and eventually settled in Medina. Best known as the interpreter of Anwar Shah Kashmiri's teachings, he was a disciple of both Kashmiri and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani.^[1] Educated at Mazahir Uloom and Darul Uloom Deoband, he taught at both institutions and Jamia Islamia Talimuddin. During his tenure at Jamia Islamia Talimuddin, he compiled Fayd al-Bari, a four-volume Arabic commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, published in Cairo with financial support from Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal, considered a masterpiece in hadith commentary.^[1] He was also associated with Nadwatul Musannifeen and authored Tarjuman al-Sunnah, a 4-volume hadith explanation designed for contemporary needs, widely acknowledged in academic circles.^[2] In his final years, he focused on teaching hadith in Prophet's Mosque, where many South Africans pledged allegiance to him, expanding his spiritual influence in South Africa.^[3]

Badre Alam was born in 1898 in a Sayyid family in the Budaun district of Uttar Pradesh.^[4] His father, Tahur Ali, served as a police officer.^[2] He received his initial education at an English school in Aligarh, and influenced by a sermon of Ashraf Ali Thanwi at the age of eleven, he developed an inclination towards Islamic studies.^[5] Despite initial resistance from his father, he pursued religious education at Mazahir Uloom.^[2]

Under the mentorship of Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri for eight years, followed by further studies at Darul Uloom Deoband with Anwar Shah Kashmiri, he continued his educational journey.^[2] His notable teachers at Mazahir Uloom included Zafar Ahmad Usmani, and at Deoband, Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani and Asghar Hussain Deobandi.^[6] After completing his studies at Darul Uloom Deoband, he began teaching there in 1925.^[7][8][9]

In 1927, he, along with Anwar Shah Kashmiri and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, migrated to Jamia Islamia Talimuddin.^[4] For seventeen years, he engaged in teaching hadith at Jamia Islamia Talimuddin, covering texts such as Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Shama'il al-Muhammadiyya, and Mishkat al-Masabih.^[10] He also continued participating in Anwar Shah Kashmiri's classes on Sahih al-Bukhari and Sunan al-Tirmidhi for five years.^[11]

After Dabhel, he moved to Bahawalnagar, Punjab, established Jam'ul Uloom, and stayed for a year there. He then came to Delhi and became associated with Nadwatul Musannifeen in 1943.^[12] After the partition of India in 1947, he migrated to Karachi, Pakistan, and, under the patronage of Shabbir Ahmad Usmani founded Jamia Islamia at Tando Allahyar.^[13] Following Pakistan's formation, he actively participated in the formulation of an Islamic constitution.^[14]

After residing for four years in Pakistan, he migrated to Medina.^[15] Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda met him in Medina, benefited from him,^[16] and later narrated hadiths from him.^[17]

Known as Qutb al-Aarifeen,^[18] he received Sufi teachings from Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri, associated with Aziz-ul-Rahman Usmani, and ultimately received spiritual succession from Muhammad Ishaq Merathi.^[19] He died on 29 October 1965, in Prophet's Mosque, and was laid to rest in Al-Baqi Cemetery.^[20] His influence extended to Pakistan, India, South Africa, and the Middle East.^[21]

He scrutinized the intricacies of the Quran and hadith, expressing an understanding of Arabic literature and poetry.^[22] His literary works touched various religious subjects. Apart from Fayd al-Bari and Tarjuman al-Sunnah, he authored the three-volume Jawahir al-Hikam, addressing contemporary social issues and the implementation of Islamic law in 1965, translated into French and Gujarati.^[23][6] His annotations for Fayd al-Bari, published as Al-Badr Al-Sari.^[24][9][25] He wrote an abstract of Rashid Ahmad Gangohi's book Zubdat-ul-Manāsik under the title Khulasa Zubdat-ul-Manāsik, a guide on Hajj issues.^[26][6][27] One of his books on the descent of Jesus is called Nuzool-e-ʿĪsā, and he has written a booklet in the same series called Awaz-e-Haq.^[28][27] During his time in Pakistan, he translated Ali al-Qari's Al-Hizb al-Azam and wrote some poetry.^[6][29]

• List of Deobandis

• Works of Badre Alam Merathi at Internet Archive