Kashmir Affairs - Security & Conflict Analysis of Kashmir

Remembering Ayatollah Yousuf Kashmiri
Syed Ali Safvi
24 September 2008

Hazaroon saal nargis apni benuri pe roti he;
Badhi mushkil se hota he chaman me deedavar paida

The life of Ayatollah Aga Syed Yousuf Kashmiri perfectly attested the truth in Allama Iqbal's one of the most inspirational Urdu couplets. Aga sahab, as he was popularly known, was a charismatic leader, a social reformer, revolutionist, a visionary, an eminent educationist, a great scholar - all the great qualities unified in one person. Ayatollah Yousuf was ranked one of the greatest scholars of Shia community after the Late Ayatollah Aga Syed Mehdi.
Ayatollah Yousuf was born in Budgam in 1322 hijri and completed his education in jurisprudence and Islamic law from Hauza Ilmia, Iraq, and after the death of his elder brother, Aga Syed Ahmed Al-mosavi, shouldered the responsibility of taking .

Jamia Babul Ilem:
However, Aga sahab went beyond the conventional duty of his family viz-a-viz spreading the message of Islam, he brought a revolution in the field of education and a social renaissance for the community. He established an educational institution for Islamic learning, namely 'Jamia Babul Ilem' in Budgam. The doors of the institute were thrown open for all those who wanted to acquire knowledge irrespective of the school of thought they belonged to. Aga sahab, however, was well aware that it won't be convenient enough for the people living in far flung areas of Kashmir to come to Budgam therefore he started a number of branches of Babul Ilm in the remotest of villages in Kashmir and Ladakh. Jamia Babul Ilem is the alma-mater of many big names who dominate the literary field of Kashmir today.
Some of the students of the first batch of Jamia Babul Ilem were:
- Hujjatul Islam Al-haj Aga Syed Muhammad Baqir Al-mosavi
- Aga Syed Mohammad Mehvari
- Aga Syed Ibrahim Mehvari
- Molvi Abdul Subhan
- Aga Abdulah Zampuri
- Aga Mohammad Husain Tibbati.
- Zakir Syed Abbas (Chandipora), et al.

Muslim unity:
The entire life of Aga sahab covers the most significant and crucial period of the history of Shias of Kashmir. The venerable Aga opened new doors of prosperity for the entire Muslim community in general and for Shias in particular, and for this very reason he is hailed in great esteem by Sunnis and Shias alike.
There was a time in history when shias were referred to as "Adam Khor" (man eaters) and were not considered Muslims. Aga sahab voiced his resentment against this indiscriminate behavior meted out to shias, the then Mufti Azam of Kashmir, Maulana Molvi Mohammad Qayumuddin issued a fatwa saying, "Killing men according to the Holy Quran and the Prophet's saying (Ahadith) is a forbidden act. It is a baseless allegation against shias and is a conspiracy of anti-Muslim elements."
On September 28, 1962 a meeting of religious scholars and theologians belonging to different schools of thought was held at the residence of Sofi Ghulam Muhammad of Gunz Khud. The speakers emphasized the need for mutual unity and cooperation among Muslims. On October 14, 1962 an important session of Ulemas and scholars was held at Darul Fatwa Wazipora.Some of the prominent personalities present on the occasion were:
- Ayatollah Aga Syed Yousuf al-Mosavi (President, Anjumani Sharie Shian Jammu and Kashmir)
- Moulana Abbas Hussain Ansari (President, Ittihadul Muslimeen)
- Moulana Iftikhar Hussain Ansari (President, All J&K Shia Association)
- Moulana Mufti Bashiruddin Farooqi (Mufti A'zam)
- Moulana Moulvi Noorud Din sahab (President, Jamiati Ahl-e Hadith)
- Moulana Mufti Rashiduddin sahab
- Moulana Sofi Nazir Ahmad sahab
- Moulana Molvi Sa'dud Din sahab (Amir Jamati Islami J&K)
- Moulana Hakim Jalaluddin Ghazi (Sr. Lecturer, Jamia Babul Ilem, Budgam)
- Moulana Muhammad Talib Begh (Manager, Al-Irshad magazine), beside others.
The session was presided over by Ayatollah Aga Syed Yousuf. It was for the first time in the history of Kashmir that leading scholars and Ulemas of Shia, Ahl-Sunnat, Ahl-e Hadith, and others had assembled at one place. The sky of Kashmir has never witnessed such a galaxy of eminent scholars and jurisconsults after that.

Imam Bara Budgam
On persistent public demand, Aga sahab undertook the large scale construction of Imam Bara Budgam, which till date is one of the best models of the Anglo-Iranian art in the entire subcontinent. People across the globe still flock to see the mesmerizing beauty and the architecture of the 20th century monument. He also widened Imam Bara Hassanabad, which is a replica of the one in Budgam, albeit smaller in area.

Sharie Adalat (Religious Court):
Aga sahab was also famous for his sense of justice. Looking at the loss of time and problems one has to face in the courts, Aga sahab promised to formulate a court where justice would be delived in shorter time and according to the Islamic doctrine. The venerable Aga kept his promise and within months, sharie adalat (The court of Sharia), as the court was called, and the landmark verdict of Aga sahab became so popular that Sunnis, Shias and even Kashmiri Pandits would come with their cases to Aga sahab.
There have been number of occasions when the District Court too followed the suit and sent some extremely complex cases to the court of Aga sahab. These instances speak volumes about the intellectual competence of the man whom every one trusted and revered, who was a people's leader in a true sense of the word.
However, the intellegentia of the community believe that after the death of Aga sahab, Sharie Adalat lost its sheen.

Anjumane Sharie Shiayan:
One of the biggest achievements of Aga sahab was establishing an organization, namely Anjumane Sharie Shian. The organization gave new identity to the community and became a platform for them to address their grievances.
Although Aga sahab was not a politician by profession, but his political acumen cannot be underestimated. There are many scholars who are of the opinion that Aga sahab besides being an eminent theologian was equally a great politician. It would sound strange but it is true in the sense that the very concept of establishing Anjumane Sharie Shian, apart from carrying out the religious work, was political. The organization during the period of Aga sahab was not less than a govt. for shias in the state. As the govt. receives the taxes from the general public similar was the case with the Anjuman, which used to collect Khums and Fitr (alms) from members of the community and spend on the social, educational and economic upliftment of the unprivileged and the downtrodden section of the community. Aga sahab at times even rose against the government when something against the teachings of Islam was done. When the Sheikh Abdullah's government passed the Land Reform Act, Aga sahab voiced his displeasure and said that the bill was against the doctrine of his faith, and such was the impact of his call that the government decided to exempt Shias from the Land Reform Bill. In another occasion he opposed the Liquor Bill and forced the government to abandon it.

Aga sahab and Imam Khomeini:
Aga was very close Iranian ulema including Ayatullah Ruhullah Khomeini, the father of Islamic Revolution of Iran. Aga donated Rs. 24 lakh to Iran as financial assistance during the revolutionary struggle. He constantly remained in touch with Ayatollah Khomeini during the hey days of revolution. It is pertinent to mention here that when Ayatollah Khomeini was asked to leave Iraq by Saddam's regime in mid-1970s, Aga sahab invited him to Kashmir. Ayatollah Khomeini replied, "I would love to visit my ancestral home, Kashmir, but due to certain political reason I am afraid I can't." (All the letters of Ayatollah Khomeini to Aga sahab are preserved in the personal library of Aga sahab).
It's a historical fact that when after the death of Ayatollah Hakeem (r.a.), Aga sahab announced the "Marjiayat" of Ayatollah Khomeini, a chunk of Kashmiri Shia ulemas refused to accept Khomeini as Hakeem's successor. Unlike other Kashmiri ulemas who started to hail Khomeini's vision and charismatic leadership after the success of Islamic revolution of Iran, Aga sahab always held Khomeini in high esteem and had full faith in his leadership.
Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini, Syed Abul Hasan Isfahani, Aqa Husain Tabatabai Qummi, Aqa Ziyauddin Iraqi, Aqai Sheikh Mohammad Isfahani, Aqa Mirza Abul Hasan Mishkeeni, Aqa Husain Tabatabai al-Burujardi, Aqa Syed Mohsin Hakeem, Ayatollah Aqai Sheerazi, Aqai Gulpaigani, et al, who were the leading scholars of their time held Ayatullah Aga Syed Yousuf in high esteem. The letters of these eminent scholars and jurisconsults have been published in Ayatollah Yousuf's book, "Iqazul Ibad".
Number of eminent personalities visited Kashmir to meet Aga sahab, prominent among them were the Supreme leader of I.R.Iran, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Mahdevi Qani, Ayatollah Gulzadeh Gafoori, Ayatollah Gulsukhri, Imam Burhanuddin, et al.

Death:
He had dedicated himself for the upliftment and prosperity of the Muslim community and was a stanch supporter of the Islamic unity. Wherever he went people would gather to get a glimpse of that noble soul and to listen to his thought provoking and awe inspiring sermons and lectures. In accordance with the Quranic saying that "all that lives must taste of death" Aga sahab passed to the everlasting world on August 29, 1982 and left tens and thousands of well wishers sobbing and lamenting. People from all parts of the state and guests and representatives of different nations offered their last respect to the leader who was instrumental enough to bring a cultural and educational renaissance among Shias in Kashmir. The then Prime Minister of India Ms. Indira Gandhi also visited the bereaved family and offered her condolence.
As long as he lived, the major chunk of the Shia population fanatically followed him, but soon after his demise, the community too died a death of division. That was one of the most fateful and extremely catastrophic incidents in the history of the community. The series of events that developed after the death of the great leader led to the division of the community perhaps for never to reunite.