The seminar will open new avenues for knowledge and research, and the services of the scholars of Bihar will come to light: Muhammad Nafee Arifi
Under the aegis of All India Milli Council Bihar and Abul Kalam Research Foundation, a one-day seminar on the services of Bihar scholars in Hadith will be held on February 8, 2026, at the Urdu Academy in Patna. The General Secretary of Milli Council Bihar, Maulana Mufti Muhammad Nafee Arifi, said in his press statement that the preparations for the seminar have been completed. Writers from within and outside the state will present their valuable papers. Most of the papers have been received. It is hoped that like the previous seminars, this seminar will also be successful and will yield far-reaching results. He informed that Milli Council Bihar and Abul Kalam Research Foundation had earlier successfully organized seminars on the theme of Indian translations and interpretations of the Holy Quran and the biography of the Holy Prophet.

Explaining the topic of the seminar, he said that the history of Hadith in Bihar is very ancient, brilliant, and full of scientific traditions. With the spread of Islamic sciences in the subcontinent, Bihar emerged as a strong center of Hadith. Sheikh Sharfuddin Ahmed Yahya Maneri's great-grandfather, Sheikh Muhammad Taj Fiqh bin Abu Bakr bin Abu Muhammad, came to the Maner region of Bihar around 575 Hijri and started the work of spreading Islam along with the promotion and dissemination of Islamic sciences, including Quran, Hadith, and Islamic jurisprudence. After him, his family's elders, especially Sheikh Sharfuddin Ahmed Yahya Maneri and his offspring, continued this tradition. After the establishment of the Islamic empire in India, along with other Islamic sciences, the teaching and dissemination of Hadith also flourished, especially during the Mughal Empire and subsequent periods. Khanqahs and madrasas played an important role in the protection and preservation of Hadith. Scholars expanded it through writing and research, and explanatory and research works on Hadith in Urdu, Persian, and Arabic emerged, which not only played an important role in the spread of Hadith in Bihar but also in the entire subcontinent. Thus, the land of Bihar has always been a shining center for the service, teaching, and scientific preservation of Hadith.

Mian Nazir Hussain Dehlavi, Maulana Shamsul Haq Azimabadi, Allama Zahir Hasan Shauq Neemvi, Abdul Aziz Rahim Abadi, Ibrahim Arvi, Fazlullah Mungeri Jilani, and Zafiruddin Bahari are among the prominent scholars whose services are worthy of being written in gold, and their writings have played a significant role in the promotion and dissemination of Hadith. The scholars of Bihar were also among the students of Hazrat Shah Waliullah Dehlavi, the reference point for Hadith in the subcontinent, and they played an effective role in popularizing the tradition of Shah Waliullah in teaching Hadith.

There are countless great names among the Hadith scholars of Bihar who have not yet received the attention they truly deserve, despite their great academic services, teaching achievements, and literary contributions. These gentlemen performed the duty of preserving, protecting, and disseminating Hadith in silence, but their mention has been limited in the pages of history. Today, there is a need to bring these unknown but great scholars to the public eye, to take a scientific and research-based review of their services, and to tell the new generation that the land of Bihar has given the community a valuable treasure in the spread of Hadith.

Under this sense of responsibility, the Abul Kalam Research Foundation and the All India Milli Council Bihar are jointly organizing a national seminar on February 8, 2026, at the Urdu Academy, Patna, on the topic "Services of Bihar Scholars in Hadith".

Forty-three subtopics have been selected under the central theme of "Services of Bihar Scholars in Hadith", and renowned authors, essayists, scholars, and teachers of Hadith from within and outside the state have been invited to write papers on these topics, most of which have been received. Special topics include Hazrat Makhdoom Sharfuddin Ahmed Yahya Maneri and Hadith, services of Ahl-e-Hadith scholars in the art of Hadith, Urdu, Arabic, and Persian explanations of Sahih Sittah and the services of Bihar scholars, Urdu translations of Sahih Sittah by Bihar scholars, Hadith of the Prophet in the context of the present era; a study, Hadith, principles of Hadith, and Asma' al-Rijal in the services of Ahl-e-Bihar, a review of methods for conveying Hadith to the general public and the elite, Maulana Ibrahim Arvi's service to Hadith, Allama Usmani Ghani's services in Hadith, Allama Qadir Bakhsh and service to Hadith, writings of Bihar authors in Hadith, Allama Shauq Neemvi and his services in the art of Hadith, services of Bahari scholars in the country's prominent universities, Maulana Fazlullah Mungeri's "Fazlullah al-Samad fi Sharh al-Adab al-Mufrad", Allama Zafiruddin Bahari and his "Sahih al-Bahari", scholars of Sadiquepur and service to Hadith, Maulana Shamsul Haq Azimabadi and his writings in the art of Hadith, Allama Muhammad Mohsin Terhati and service to Hadith, Maulana Manazir Ahsan Gilani and Hadith, services of Matba Khilili Aara in publishing Hadith books, Allama Abdul Aziz Mohaddith Rahim Abadi and his services in Hadith, Amir-e-Shariat Maulana Syed Muntaqillah Rahmani and service to Hadith, Khanqah Mujeebia and service to Hadith, books of Bihar authors on principles of Hadith; introduction and analysis, explanations of Hadith in Bihar, Dr. Liqman Salafi and Hadith, Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani and Hadith, Maulana Qasim Muzaffar Puri and Hadith, Maulana Yahya Nadvi and Hadith, central institutions for teaching Hadith in Bihar, the need for new research work on Hadith, Mufti Ghulam Murataza Razvi and service to Hadith, students of Hazrat Shah Waliullah Dehlavi among the Hadith scholars of Bihar, a review of the service to Hadith in Bihar's madrasas.

The seminar will be chaired by the country's prominent scholar, jurist, prolific writer, and compiler of Fatawa Alamgiri, and the working president of the All India Milli Council, Maulana Anisur Rahman Qasmi.

This seminar will not only be a scientific gathering but also a serious effort to collect the scattered pages of history, to highlight the neglected academic services, and to make the Hadith tradition of Bihar a strong academic reference. It is hoped that this seminar will prove to be a milestone in the promotion of Hadith, the awakening of research passion, and the recognition of the academic status of Bihar scholars.

The General Secretary has specially appealed to the respected scholars, teachers of madrasas, and lovers of knowledge and research in Patna and its surrounding areas, as well as the scholars, teachers, and students of the entire state of Bihar to participate in this important and historic national seminar and make it a success. Their participation will not only be a recognition of the academic services of Bihar scholars and a means of bringing their achievements to the public eye but also an effective means of promoting Hadith, awakening research passion, and connecting the new generation with their academic heritage.