Sheikh Azir Shams Rahimahullah’s Humility: A Life of Piety New

Sheikh Azir Shams Rahimahullah’s Humility and Its Motivating Factors and Causes

After the passing of Sheikh Azir Shams Rahimahullah, his life has been highlighted through written accounts and statements, emphasizing all the scholarly and research-based aspects of his life. These writings have also shed light on his family and personal qualities, which, when read, would compel even an unfamiliar person to recognize that his personality was a true embodiment of humility. This humility was not of a common nature but was grounded in noble values. Friends, acquaintances, every visitor, and all those in contact with him could clearly perceive the deep humility that defined him.

The scholarly aspects of his life have been thoroughly discussed, and the focus of my writing here is to emphasize the aspect of his humility, which I believe deserves the most attention. With so much already written, my aim is not to merely add to the knowledge but to highlight the significance of his humble personality for both myself and the readers.

How to Create Depth, Silence, and Vastness Like the Ocean:
Sheikh Rahimahullah, like a quiet ocean, was deeply immersed in the pursuit of knowledge and research, possessing vastness and depth. He had no attachment to worldly appearance, outward decorum, superficialities, materialism, or self-worship. Consequently, he was known for his moral excellence, piety, seriousness, sincerity, sacrifice, humility, kindness, and a gentle nature. These noble qualities elevated him to a high status of dignity and respect.

Indeed, the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever humbles himself for Allah, Allah will raise him up.” (Sahih al-Jami: 6162). In my view, Sheikh Rahimahullah’s humility is one aspect of his life that needs to be highlighted as much as possible, for there is a great lesson and advice for all of us in it. He constantly advised scholars, students, and listeners about ethics and humility.

In 2019, Sheikh delivered a lecture titled “Fiqh of Ahl al-Hadith: References and Sources” at Al-Ghat Dawah Center in Saudi Arabia, where he concluded with words that epitomize his life’s treasure. He said: “In every aspect of the Salafi methodology, whether in creed, ethics, or any other chapter, we are neglectful. We speak of knowledge but not of practice, we talk about ethics but don’t implement them. The real thing is to see a scholar and witness in them piety, disdain for worldly matters, and such characteristics—this is what should be evident, not arrogance, pride, or forcing others to accept our views. We have seen great scholars in Pakistan and India, who were so humble, polite, and kind in their interactions. When I think of Maulana Ataullah Hanif Bhujiani Rahimahullah, I cannot help but be moved.” (At this point, the Sheikh became emotional and wept.)

Students would come to him, meet him with kindness, and seek guidance. He would share his books with them, never worrying about whether they would return them. He was like this with everyone. When he spoke about these scholars, Sheikh Rahimahullah expressed profound admiration. The most important thing he emphasized was that without ethics and practical application, we cannot spread our message, and everywhere we go, people will only criticize us.”

These words are a powerful reflection of the truth. Day and night, we speak about the Salafi methodology, but we pay little attention to how our predecessors (the Salaf) exemplified humility and how they applied it. The barriers to our invitation (Dawah) are our moral failings, pride, arrogance, selfishness, jealousy, scholarly arrogance (whether from degrees, publications, fame, positions, or organizational power), and belittling others. Sheikh’s words are a reminder that without ethics and action, we cannot succeed in our Dawah.

A video recently came to my attention, by a Hindu girl named Nidhi Sharma, who reacts to Islamic videos. One such video was about her reaction to the Tahajjud (night prayer). A girl with no understanding of Tawhid is reacting to a video about Tahajjud. This shows that today, many of us are similar—we have abundant knowledge and potential but lack the practice and ethics. May Allah grant us the ability to act upon our knowledge.

Ethics in the Deobandi Scholars:
In the context of ethics, Deobandi scholars are often noted for their prominent moral conduct. I remember an incident from around 10-15 years ago when I started teaching after my graduation at a Deobandi school in Delhi. I was assigned to teach Quran reading (Nazira) to children. Every day, a teacher would wake me up for Fajr prayer. This shows that among the scholars of the Hanafi school, ethics and respect are significant.

Today, I recall an interaction with Mufti Tariq Masood, a Pakistani scholar. Someone asked him, “Why don’t you meet film actors like Maulana Tariq Jamil does?” Mufti Tariq Masood replied, “It’s not that Maulana Tariq Jamil meets them; they come to meet him. And he is much greater than I am; I am nowhere near him.” Although Mufti Tariq Masood is a great scholar, he respectfully acknowledged Maulana Tariq Jamil’s stature. This shows how respect and humility are exemplified even when one is more knowledgeable.

Sheikh Azir Shams Rahimahullah’s Humility:
Sheikh Azir Shams Rahimahullah was filled with humility that was visible in every aspect of his life. At home, he treated his family with kindness, and when outside, he extended the same affection to everyone. There was no difficulty in meeting him, no fear in speaking with him, and no barriers in seeking his scholarly guidance.

Reflecting on the sources behind his humility, I concluded that Allah granted him immense intelligence and knowledge, and knowledge became his sustenance. His love for knowledge was matched by his love for scholars, which deeply influenced his life. He not only gained knowledge from the works of scholars but also imbibed their humility and piety. He frequently shared examples of the humility of scholars, as I have mentioned earlier.

Two personalities whose lives he dedicated himself to were Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah Rahimahullah and his student, Imam Ibn al-Qayyim Rahimahullah. The influence of their lives was profound on him. Ibn Taymiyyah Rahimahullah, in particular, was an excellent model of humility. To illustrate, one day Ibn al-Qayyim Rahimahullah visited Ibn Taymiyyah Rahimahullah, who had just finished Fajr prayer and was engrossed in the remembrance of Allah. Around midday, Ibn al-Qayyim turned to him and said, “This is my breakfast. If I don’t eat it, my energy will deplete.” (Al-Wabil al-Sayyib). Similarly, Ibn al-Qayyim Rahimahullah’s work Madarij al-Salikin provides an exceptional example of piety, asceticism, and closeness to Allah.

Sheikh Azir Shams Rahimahullah’s humility was deeply influenced by these great scholars, as well as other factors, which I will briefly outline below. It is essential to clarify that while knowledge alone can lead to humility, it also cultivates the fear of Allah, encourages practical action, and refines one’s ethics. Yet, we find many learned individuals who lack humility.

What causes the absence of humility despite knowledge? Factors such as materialism, fame, positions, sectarianism, envy, showmanship, sinfulness, and self-centeredness all diminish humility and give rise to negative traits.

• Sheikh (رحمہ اللہ) had always been surrounded by an environment of excellence, especially during his time in the Arab world where he pursued education and later engaged in research. While staying there, he maintained deep relationships with scholars, learning from them and adopting their positive qualities, without concerning himself with their flaws.
  
• In today’s materialistic world, knowledge is often consumed by fame and materialism, but our Sheikh was safeguarded from this. He had no interest in selfish desires, excessive wealth, or the pursuit of fame, which is common among many nowadays. In stark contrast, he led a simple life with simple clothes and simple food. His outward appearance clearly reflected that he had no attachment to external appearances or showiness. There is no doubt that renouncing materialism and adopting contentment is a cause of humility.
  
• His humility was evident in that he never felt envious of anyone, whether scholars or the general public. Envy is a disease that makes humility difficult to cultivate, bringing with it other negative traits such as pride, arrogance, enmity, self-promotion, belittling others, denying the truth, and supporting falsehood. Sheikh (رحمہ اللہ) was free from the wicked diseases of the heart such as hatred, envy, backbiting, arrogance, and enmity.
  
• The fear of Allah is a great motivator and ally in cultivating humility. The more a person fears Allah, the closer they become to Him, and this fosters piety, which becomes apparent in every aspect of their life. Their speech, behavior, interactions, cooperation, dressing, and daily activities all reflect humility. You may have heard about the statement of the Sheikh’s Arabic neighbor, who always saw him praying Fajr and greeting others with kindness, but never suspected he was a great scholar. It was only after his passing, when a large crowd gathered, that people realized his stature. His consistent Fajr prayers and humility were a result of his fear of Allah, which is why he strongly disliked harshness and compulsion in giving dawah, urging others to invite with kindness and good conduct.
  

Today, we desperately need to cultivate the fear of Allah within ourselves, awaken the passion for action and implementation, avoid actions that breed pride and arrogance, and focus on the causes of humility. Especially, we need to reflect on human creation, the hereafter, and ask Allah for humility through supplication. Through the blessing of humility, numerous good qualities emerge, elevating a person’s dignity in this world and rewarding them in the hereafter.

I will end this discussion with an important hadith related to humility, the practical interpretation of which was embodied by our Sheikh (رحمہ اللہ). I pray that Allah grants us the ability to become humble like the Sheikh and live by the teachings of this hadith:

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “The believer is humble and noble, while the disbeliever is wicked and vile.” (Sahih Abu Dawood: 4790).