On the First Death‑Anniversary of a Courageous Saintly Figure
By: Jameel Ahmed Milansar – Bangalore - 98454 98354
It was the year 1992, the month of December. The martyrdom of the Babri Masjid lay only a few days behind us—a tragedy that shook the secular character of India and altered the delicate balance of religious coexistence. For the first time after this event, the Prime Minister convened an official meeting with a delegation of Muslim representatives, seeking to assess its impact and to deliberate on its possible implications for the country’s future.
The delegation consisted of fifteen eminent personalities summoned from different parts of the country. At the outset of the discussion, two distinguished scholars of religion—Hazrat Qazi Mujahid‑ul‑Islam (rahmatullahi alayh) and the intellectual of Islam Hazrat Maulana Abu Hassan Ali Nadwi (rahmatullahi alayh)—were invited to present their views. They were mid‑speech when the Prime Minister interrupted them in a seemingly casual tone, as if to re‑direct the direction of the conversation.
At that moment, a young man seated at the far end of the table rose suddenly. His voice carried both simplicity and an extraordinary courage. Pointing towards the Prime Minister, he said: “First listen to what these elders have to say, then reply.” For an instant, the room fell silent. Security personnel stepped forward and asked him to sit down. Yet, in that very atmosphere, the young man’s remark left an indelible mark.
That young man was Shah Qadiri Syed Mustafa Rifai Jilani—a bold voice that came to symbolise the new moral self‑confidence of Muslim scholars in that era.
Birth and Early Signs of a Noble Life
Shah Qadiri Syed Mustafa Rifai Jilani was born on 12 August 1947 in Dodballapur, a small town in Karnataka located some forty kilometres from Bangalore. That morning, the sky wore a light mantle of clouds; a gentle drizzle moistened the soil, and the air carried the soft fragrance of jasmine. From a corner of the town, the call of the adhan rang out from the mosque, blending with the falling rain to create a rare sense of tranquillity. It seemed as though nature itself was welcoming the arrival of a child upon whom faith, learning, and service had already been inscribed.
I first saw Hazrat on 7 December 1992, the very next day after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The atmosphere was heavy with grief and anxiety. But that afternoon, when he arrived at Shivajinagar Chowk in Bangalore alongside Amir‑ush‑Shari‘at Awwal of Karnataka, Maulana Shah Abu Saud (rahmatullahi alayh), the scene seemed to shift. On people’s faces there appeared not only sorrow but also a surge of resolve. His arrival brought both calm and confidence to the crowd. That moment remains fresh in my memory, as if at a turning point in history hope and patience had clasped hands.
From childhood, he manifested courage, seriousness of purpose, and a deep‑rooted desire to serve others. As time passed, he became widely recognised as a lamp of knowledge and sincerity. His life grew alongside the new dawns of India, and he earned trust and respect across every stratum of society. When he departed on 27 February 2025, he left behind a simple yet luminous legacy—a legacy that continues to remind those who knew him that faith and integrity are the greatest of inheritances.
The Solitary Path of Patience and Struggle
Shah Qadiri Syed Mustafa Rifai Jilani spent his entire life in the city of Bangalore, where each chapter of his experience seemed to narrate a tale of relentless struggle and unwavering integrity. After completing his studies at Dar‑ul‑‘Ulum Nadwat‑ul‑‘Ulama, Lucknow, in 1972, he returned to Bangalore with a firm resolve to harmonise religious service with economic self‑reliance. While he discharged his spiritual duties with great delicacy, he also took upon himself various commercial occupations to support his family— a journey that, in the midst of economic hardship, was strewn with thorns.
He tried several small trades, even running alone a bicycle‑repair shop. From charging three paise to pump air into tyres to twenty‑five paise for patching punctures, he carried out every task with quiet diligence. Those were his years of courageous labour, performed through long days and nights.
One might recall the unforgettable moment during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, when his family discovered that he had refused an offer of two crore rupees. The sum had been presented to induce him to support a particular candidate and party. He rejected it immediately. Such acts of defiance were not episodic outbursts for him; they were rooted in his very blood and spirit—an unyielding pillar of ethics in the storm of temptations and worldly allurements.
Moral Authority and the Deflection of Crisis
In the 1990s, another open‑ended test of his principled steadfastness appeared in Bangalore. A controversy erupted over the sighting of the Eid‑ul‑Fitr crescent moon. The Central Ruyat‑ul‑Hilal Committee of Karnataka, then under the patronage of Amir‑ush‑Shari‘at‑e‑Thani, Mufti Muhammad Ashraf Ali Sahib (rahmatullahi alayh), declared that the moon had been sighted and announced the following day as Eid. A group of meat‑sellers, whose intentions were known only to Allah, lodged objections to this announcement.
A large crowd gathered and laid siege to Dar‑ul‑‘Uloom Sebil‑ur‑Rashad, demanding explanations and issuing threats of violence. The situation had reached the brink of chaos. Perceiving the will of Hazrat Amir‑ush‑Shari‘at, Hazrat Rifai Sahib stepped forward. His local Dakkhini Urdu and his distinctive conversational style did not merely silence the unruly crowd; he single‑handedly calmed the mob. Where tension had been on the verge of erupting into a riot, order and composure were restored.
Beyond the Local: A Vision of Wider Horizons
His courage reached beyond local disputes and national turmoil. One particularly dangerous episode involved his firm stance against the Qadiani heresy on an international plane. Because of this, he and his family received credible threats of lethal attacks. This incident, in itself, deserves a detailed scholarly examination. However, the word‑limit of this article does not permit a fuller exposition. When circumstances permit, an in‑depth account will be presented, insha’Allah.
Final Reflections
The life of Hazrat Shah Qadiri Syed Mustafa Rifai Jilani (rahmatullahi alayh) was a luminous beacon composed of the fusion of courage, integrity, and service. His struggle and principled conduct became a guiding light not only for his contemporaries but also for future generations, testifying in every crisis to the strength of faith and the triumph of ethics. Even today, his memory remains vivid in the hearts of Muslims across different parts of the world, teaching us that simplicity and sincerity are the truest forms of inheritance.
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