Shaykh Sayyid Ghulām Jīlānī al-Mīruthī V was one of the foremost scholars of the ahl al-sunnah in the Indian subcontinent in the previous century. Born on 11th Ramadan in the Gregorian year of 1893 in a small village called Dadon, he eventually became known as “Ṣadr al-ʿulamāʾ” – the commander of the scholars, and “Imām al-Naḥw” – the leader of the scholars of Arabic grammar.

He studied the sacred sciences at the hands of such luminaries as Shaykh Amjad ʿAlī al-Aʿẓamī V and Shaykh Naʿīm al-Dīn al-Murādābādī. He later pledged spiritual allegiance [bayʿah] to the scion of the Messenger and renowned sage of the Ashrafī order, Shaykh ʿAlī Ḥusayn al-Jīlānī V, who later entrusted him with  authorisation [ijāzah] to transmit the Ashrafī order by apointing him his legate [khalīfah].

He subsequently taught the sacred sciences for half a century, with future leaders of the ahl al-sunnah such as Shaykh Shāh Aḥmad Nūrānī V, Shaykh Rayḥān Riḍā Khān V and the author of a seminal commentary of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Shaykh Sharīf al-Ḥaqq al-Amjadī V prominent amongst his many students.

He journeyed from this temporal realm on 17 May 1978, leaving behind a legacy of immense spiritual bestowals and written works in the sacred sciences, some of which are detailed below.

HIS MAJOR WORKS

• Bashīr al-Qārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī – a unique commentary of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī  which analyses the ḥadīth in light of the various sacred sciences. Only eight narrations have been commentated on, yet the commentary spans over 500 pages.
• Bashīr al-Nājiyah Sharḥ al-Kāfiyah – a detailed commentary of al-Kāfiyah by Imām Ibn Ḥājib which includes a gramatical analysis [tarkīb] of the Arabic text.
• Al-Bashīr al-Kāmil bi ḥal Sharḥ Mi’at ʿĀmil –  a comprehensive commentary of Sharḥ Mi’at ʿĀmil by Imām ʿAbduraḥmān al-Jāmī which includes refutations of the misguided sect.
• Al-Bashīr Sharḥ Naḥw Mīr – a thorough commentary of Naḥw Mīr by Imām Sharīf al-Jurjānī which includes an Urdu translation of the Persian text.