Sheikh Abdus Samad Sharafuddin Narvel ​

  Indeed, all praise is due to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala, the Creator of the Universe, the One and Only One, the Most Merciful, the Most Gracious, 

Peace and blessings be upon Muhammad ﷺ. 

Allah the Almighty sent countless prophets and finally sent His Messenger and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to whom He revealed the great book, the Qur’an.

  Alhamdulillah, then came the era of the rightly caliphs, their companions, then the followers and the followers of the followers, then the religious scholars. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said that there will be a group that will remain on the truth until the Day of Judgment, that will continue to preach the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Alhamdulillah, one of them is known as Sheikh Abdus Samad Sharafuddin, a servant of Allah. Fortunately, he was my grandfather. Today I am briefly presenting his life circumstances and publishing his works.

  Sheikh Abdus Samad Sharafuddin was born in 1901 in the city of Bhiwandi and died in 1996 in the city of Pune in his daughter’s house, i.e., at my paternal aunt’s house.

Brief circumstances: His ancestors came from Oman, the first name of those who came from Oman was Ghulam Ali, then Sharafuddin, then Ali in this sequence, grandfather’s father’s name was Sharafuddin and grandfather was the seventh generation. And I am the ninth generation and my sons are the tenth generation. Grandfather had ten children, of which three of his sons passed away in infancy, and among the remaining sons, three sons, Abdul Wahab, Abdul Wahid (my father) and Abdul Majid, and four daughters. None of remained except my paternal aunt. May Allah grant her health and prosperity and a life of faith. 

Those who came from Oman first settled in Wasain (in Wasai) and Papri, then spread to neighbouring villages, one of which was Bhimri. Since ancient times, there have been trade relations between Bhimri and Arab countries, when Arab tourists and Arab traders started settling in Kokan, especially in Nala Sopara, Kalyan, Thana and Bhiwandi. Due to mutual contact and trade relations, a mixed community was formed. The people of this generation came to be called Nawaiti. These Nawaites are considered to be the most powerful of the Kokanee Muslims. These Kokanee community are the original residents of Bhiwandi (which was earlier called Bhimri). That is, my grandfather and my grandmother were also from Bhiwandi, whose name was Aisha and she was from the Hani family. But my grandfather used to trade clothes from Bhiwandi to Saudi, and on the way back, he brought Arabic books, olive oil and used to bring honey from Taif, thus increasing the relations of the Kokanees with the Arabs. Thereafter my grandfather and his family lived in Mumbai, where they stayed in many places like Bhindi Bazaar, Marol, etc., finally settled on Muhammad Ali Road, where they had a shop and an office on the ground floor, the residence was on the second floor and above it was the residence of Sulaiman Mithaiwala. In 1939, he founded a printing press alongside the shop. It became famous as the press. Now the shop and the press are being run by his nephew (Muhammad Sharafuddin) who deals in printing books and trade of honey. 

Education: My Grandfather i.e. Abdul Samad Sharafuddin did S.S.C from Marathi Medium School which was earlier known as Matric which was study up to 11th std.,  then he passed it with first position in which he got first prize. He got a bicycle and after that he obtained a degree in Fine Arts from JJ School of Arts. He wanted to be a religious scholar. Therefore, he learnt the Arabic language from the religious scholar Muhammad Surti Sahib, and thus he obtained worldly education as well as religious education. This brought about a major change in his life. Later on, in search of peace in 1954, leaving the crowded and noisy area of Mumbai, he settled in an uninhabited area of his native place Bhiwandi. There he laid the foundation of Ad-Darul Qayyimah Masjid on the land which was gifted to him by his mother-in-law, Zubaidah Khatun, in order to build the mosque. And Allah Ta’ala made this mosque a source of continuous charity and reward for Zubaydah Khatun and my grandfather and his descendants who have been in charge of the mosque. Like Abdul Wahid Narvel, the son of Sheikh Abdul Samad Sharafuddin, who rebuilt this mosque. and Abd al-Majid, my uncle, also did the work of preaching and also the generations who will do the work of the mosque.

He always said, “Do something that will benefit you both in this world and in the hereafter. So he founded Ad-Darul-Qayyimah Press where Arabic, English and religious books were published. The most famous publications are “Tuhfatu Al-Ashrāf”, “Sunanu Al-Kubrā and “Al-Mu’jam Al-Mufahris”. It is still taught in Madinah University and further works will be mentioned.

Sheikh Abdul Samad Sharafuddin struggled hard against the greatest sin of polytheism (Shirk) in Bhiwandi and Alhamdulillah there was a lot of improvement among the people there and then in 1987 he founded Aqsa Girls’ High School. The school made considerable progress and several branches were established. Al Noor School and Aqsa Women’s College and Maryam School etc. Just as Sheikh Abdul Samad Sharafuddin unified Tawheed, we pray to Allah the Almighty to keep the management, staff and students steadfast on Tawheed and that school becomes a continuous charity for them all, Ameen.

Every year, Grandfather  would come to Bhiwandi from Saudi Arabia during the month of Ramadan, to perform I’tikaf in his mosque and then return to Jeddah after staying for a couple of months. This was his routine for several years.

Last year of his life when he came to India, he could not go back. His health was ailing, so he stayed for one year with his daughter at the residence of Mansoor Faqih in Poona, and there he passed away (Innā lillahi wa innā ilayhi raji’oon). He was then brought to his house in Bhiwandi. The day he died, was Friday,  the 27th night of the month of Ramadan. Alhamdulillah, his funeral prayer was led by his close friend, Mukhtar Ahmad Nadvi Sahib in the mosque established by him. And then he was buried in Takiya Amani Shah Eidgah Road graveyard. May Allah forgive him, have mercy upon him and give him a high place in Jannatu al firdaos.

ءآمين ثم ءآمين يا ذا الجلال و الإكرام يا رب العالمين ، اللهم صل و سلم و بارك علي نبينا محمد ﷺ 

و آخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِين

Well wisher of all

Faisal Abdulwahid Narvel

Grandson of Shaikh Abdus Samad Sharafuddin Narvel