Muhammad Ismail Katki

Muhammad Ismail Katki was born on 6 January 1914, in Rasoolpur, Sungra, Bihar and Orissa Province (now Odisha).[3][4] It is stated that the maternal village of both he and Ataullah Shah Bukhari is the same.[5]

Katki received his primary education from his paternal aunt, Seyyeda Khatoon.[4][6] He began studying the dars-e-nizami curricula at Madrasa Islamia, Sungra, where he received instructions on courses up to the subject of Hidayat an-Nahw (Arabic: هداية النحو) under Muhammad Umar Katki.[7] He pursued his further studies at Madrasa Shahi in Moradabad, where his teachers included Muhammad Miyan Deobandi, Ismail Sambhali, Abdul Haq Madani, and Qudratullah Qudrat.[6][7] He was admitted to Darul Uloom Deoband, where he completed his studies in 1934.[6][8][9][10] His teachers in Deoband included Asghar Hussain Deobandi, Hussain Ahmad Madani, Izaz Ali Amrohi, Muhammad Shafi Deobandi, and Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi.[6][8]

During his studies, he took an interest in religious debates and learned their principles from Murtaza Hasan Chandpuri.[6][8][11]

At the age of fifteen, he debated Qadianis for the first time in Pindi Bahauddin, Punjab, under the supervision of Sanaullah Amritsari.[12]

He was also a reciter in the Hafs 'an Asim tradition. He learned Tajwid and Qira'at from Abdul Wahid Deobandi at Darul Uloom Deoband and Muhammad Abdullah at Madrasa Shahi Moradabad.[13]

Following graduate studies, Katki was first appointed as a second maulvi and a Persian and Urdu teacher at Ravenshaw Collegiate School in Cuttack.[14][15] After that, he worked as a teacher at Govt.Boys High School, Jeypore, in the Koraput district of Odisha,[14][3] until 1947.[11][4][3]

On the order of Hussain Ahmad Madani, he became a preacher in 1946 by joining the "Anjuman Tabligh e Islam," which was founded in 1945 in Sungra, Odisha.[14][11] In 1946, Madrasa Arabiya Islamia (now Jamia Islamia Makarzaul Uloom) was established in Qazihat, Sungra, under the umbrella of Anjuman Tabligh e Islam, and he was appointed the rector.[11][16][14]

His contributions to the Khatme Nabuwat movement are unforgettable.[17] From the time of his graduation until the 1990s, he participated in over ninety debates,[8] among which the debates on the rejection of Qadianism include the Bhadrak debate of 1958, the Yadgir debate of 1963,[18] and the Kothagudem debate of 1988. Also, the 1979 Barabati Stadium debate on the rejection of Barelvism is worth mentioning.[11]

He helped around 8,000 people revert from Qadianism to Sunni Islam[8][12][10] and contributed to the movement through his lectures and sermons.[19][20][21]

Katki served as Odisha's first Ameer-e-Shari'at for 41 years, from 1964 until his death in 2005.[11][6] Prior to his passing, he was the third president of Jamiat Ulama Odisha[22][1] and held that position for more than 40 years.[11] In 1986, he was chosen to serve as the All India Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nubuwwat's Vice President.[19][23]

In 1992, he was chosen as a member of Darul Uloom Deoband's Majlis-e Shura (advisory committee) and held this position for 14 years until his death in 2005.[24][17] He also served as the President of the Odisha branch of the Rabta-e-Madaris-e-Islamia Arabia, Darul Uloom Deoband.[25]

He was a supporter of the Indian National Congress and remained associated with it until his late life.[4] He was also active in the Indian independence movement.[4][26] He was also a member of the working committee of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind.[7]

Katki's works include:[18][2][27]

• Yadgar e Yadgir (1965)
• Islam e Qadiani
• Quran e Qadiani (First Edition: 24 February 1946; Second Edition: February 2020; which was again published by Shah Alam Gorakhpuri as a magazine with the book "Muhasaba e Qadianiyyat," published under the supervision of Allah Wasaya from the Aalmi Majlis Tahaffuz Khatm-e-Nubuwwat, Pakistan.[28])
• Zara Ghaur Kerein (Katki's writings are collected in this book by Shah Alam Gorakhpuri.)
• Munazara e Bhadrak[12]
• Qadiani Kahin Ki Musalman Nohanti? (In Odia language; transl. Why aren't Qadianis Muslims?)[11]

He died on 20 February 2005 (11 Muharram 1426 AH) at the age of 91 or 92 in Sungra, Cuttack district, Orissa (now Odisha).[11][6][29]

• List of Deobandis
• List of Darul Uloom Deoband alumni