Wisaal of Shaikh Abdul Haq Muhaddis Dehlvi

Hazrat Shaikh Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlvi R.H (958–1052 AH / 1551–1642 CE) was the greatest Hadith scholar the Indian subcontinent had ever produced — the man who single-handedly established the formal study of Hadith sciences as a major discipline in India, earning him the title "Muhaddith-e-Dehlvi" (The Hadith Master of Delhi). He was born in Delhi into a family of scholars during the Mughal era. Driven by an insatiable thirst for authentic Hadith knowledge, he undertook the arduous journey to Makkah and Madinah where he spent several years studying under the leading Hadith scholars of the Hijaz, receiving ijazah (authorization) in all six major Hadith collections and numerous other works.

His most important work is "Ashi'at al-Lam'at" — a comprehensive Persian commentary on Mishkat al-Masabih that made the Hadith sciences accessible to scholars of the subcontinent for the first time. He also authored "Lam'at al-Tanqih" (an Arabic commentary on Mishkat) and over 100 other works in Arabic and Persian. His book "Akhbar al-Akhyar" is the most important biographical dictionary of the saints of India, preserving the histories of hundreds of Sufi masters who would otherwise have been forgotten — making it an invaluable historical source.

He was also a Sufi of the Qadiri order, having received spiritual training and khilafat from Hazrat Musa Pak Shaheed R.H. He demonstrated that scholarly rigor and spiritual depth are not contradictory but complementary — a principle he embodied throughout his 91 years of life. He lived through the reigns of Emperors Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan, and his scholarship helped counter the religious confusion of Akbar's era by grounding Indian Muslims firmly in authentic Hadith-based practice.

He established a madrasa in Delhi that became the model for Hadith instruction in India — his methodology of teaching influenced all subsequent Hadith scholarship in the subcontinent for centuries. He passed away in Delhi at the age of 91 and is buried near the shrine of Hazrat Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki R.H in Mehrauli — fittingly resting near another great luminary of Delhi's Islamic heritage. His Wisaal on the 22nd of Rabi al-Awwal is honored with scholarly gatherings and Hadith recitation sessions.