Mullā Muḥammad Mubīn Farangī Maḥallī
(d. 1225 AH / 1810 CE)
Introduction
The Indian subcontinent has produced some of the greatest experts in the Islamic sciences over the centuries. A significant contributor to this chain of prestige scholarship, especially from the 17th century onward, has been the scholars of Farangī Maḥall and their esteemed Dars-i Niẓāmī curriculum.
Mullā Muḥammad Mubīn (d. 1225 AH), the illustrious student of Mullā Ḥasan Farangī Maḥallī (d. 1199 AH) was one of the pioneering scholars of the Farangī Maḥall and is revered for some of the greatest commentaries written on the sciences, especially his commentary on Sullam al-ʿUlūm by Mullā Muḥibbullāh Bihārī. What follows is a brief synopsis of his life.
Lineage, Student Years & Formidable Intellectual Capabilities
Mullā Muḥammad Mubīn was the son of Mullā Muḥibbullāh ((not to be confused with Mullā Muḥibbullāh Bihārī), the son of Mullā Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq, the son of Mullā Muḥammad Saʿīd al-Siḥālawī, who was the brother of Mullā Niẓām al-Dīn and the son of Mullā Quṭb al-Dīn al-Shahīd. He was born four years before the passing of Mullā Niẓām al-Dīn al-Siḥālawī, the namesake of the Dars-i Niẓāmī curriculum.
He studied the entire curriculum from beginning to end under Mullā Ḥasan - the intellectual heir of Mullā Niẓām al-Dīn al-Siḥālawī - until he eventually performed his Fātiḥah al-Farāgh with him as well (Read more about Mullā Ḥasan here). From an early age, signs of his intellectual brilliance were clearly evident, bringing great satisfaction to Mullā Ḥasan, who would delight in the exceptional capabilities he observed in his student.
Mullā Muḥammad Mubīn wasted no time in beginning his teaching and writing after completing his formal education. His circle of learning gained widespread recognition and began to expand even during Mullā Ḥasan’s time in Lucknow.
Teaching Years and The Successor of Mullā Ḥasan
When Mullā Ḥasan migrated and left the Farangī Maḥall in Lucknow, Mullā Mūbīn came and informed Ḥaḍrat Shāh Shākirullāh of this devastating news. Ḥaḍrat Shāh Shākirullāh was a pious elder, a student of Mullā Niẓām al-Dīn, and a spiritual disciple of Sayyid Ismāʿīl Bilgrāmī. Mullā Mūbīn would frequently attend his spiritual gatherings.
In response, Ḥaḍrat Shāh Shākirullāh said: “Miyā Muḥammad Mūbīn, Muḥammad Ḥasan was a name, and that name has now been conferred upon you. Go home and teach. In this land, the iʿtibār (credibility, trust, and reliance) placed in you will exceed that which was given to Mullā Ḥasan.”.
Mullā ʿInāyat-Allāh Farangī Maḥallī, commenting on this narration, writes that indeed it came to pass.
The students of Mullā Ḥasan, along with many others from the surrounding areas, joined Mullā Mūbīn’s circles of learning, and his scholarly reputation soon spread far and wide. It reached a point where, despite the presence of distinguished scholars from the Farangī Maḥall family residing in Lucknow, Mullā Mūbīn’s gatherings surpassed all others in the number of students they attracted.
Allah Almighty turned people’s hearts toward him, and he became beloved, honoured, and respected by both the common people and the elite. Allah Almighty placed in the hearts of many of the notable figures of that time the conviction that, “Now, in all of India, there is no scholar equal to Mullā Mūbīn.”
Mullā Walī-Allāh Farangī Maḥallī, the real nephew and student of Mullā Mūbīn writes in Aghsān-i Arbaʿah, “Once, in the court of the Grand Vizier Shujāʿ al-Dawlah Jalāl al-Dīn Ḥaydar (d. 1775 CE), Sayyid Shāh Sharaf al-Dīn al-Qādrī al-Jīlānī, student of Mullā Kamāl al-Dīn al-Sihālawī, spoke about Mullā Ḥasan and described the lofty scholarly rank he held, this being after Mullā Ḥasan had migrated from Lucknow.
While Sayyid Shāh Sharaf al-Dīn was still speaking, a nobleman interrupted and began praising Mullā Mūbīn, even going so far as to claim that Mullā Mūbīn held a higher rank than Mullā Ḥasan.
Sayyid Shāh Sharaf al-Dīn calmly replied, “Mullā Mūbīn is indeed dear, and he is also a student of Mullā Ḥasan.
But the nobleman objected: “Absolutely not! Mullā Mūbīn is no one’s student!””
Though it is well established that Mullā Mūbīn was in fact a student of Mullā Ḥasan and that the rank of his teacher was so great that it was once said of him - “If Mullā Ḥasan had debated Avicenna (Shaykh Ibn Sīnā) in the rational sciences (maʿqūlāt), he would have outdone him”- the point here is to illustrate the growing recognition of Mullā Mūbīn. His scholarly stature had reached such a level that, in the eyes of many, he had become peerless in India.
Exceptional Ḥadith Scholar and Orator
Mawlānā ʿInāyat-Allāh Farangī Maḥallī, writing about Mullā Mūbīn, states that he was unmatched in uncovering the deeper objectives behind subtle points of knowledge.
He was a master of both the transmitted and rational sciences, and was thoroughly grounded in both the fundamentals and branches (uṣūl and furūʿ).
What is also noteworthy is that he discovered Mullā Mūbīn to be a distinguished ḥadīth scholar (muḥaddith) and an accomplished orator (wāʿiẓ) as well.Every Friday, Mullā Mūbīn would deliver the sermon at the Farangī Maḥall Mosque in Lucknow, attended by hundreds of people.
As soon as he began speaking, the audience would often burst into uncontrollable weeping. Mawlānā ʿInāyat-Allāh mentions he heard from a reliable source that Mullā Mūbīn’s sermons were so moving that the moment he would say, “Allāh, jalla shaʾnuhu, says...,” the entire gathering would begin to tremble with emotion.
He would narrate thousands of sacred ḥadīths in his sermons, which reveals his extraordinary breadth of knowledge in the science of ḥadīth
Spirituality & Excellent Character
Mullā Mūbīn was, by nature, very soft-hearted. During his sermons, he would often weep profusely, and the attendees, too, would become so overwhelmed that they wept to the point of physical exhaustion.
People would scatter wealth and valuables at his feet, yet he paid them no attention.There was not a trace of arrogance or pride in his nature, and he held the scholars of his time in deep respect and esteem.
Despite being a distinguished maʿqūlī (scholar of the rational sciences), he held deep reverence for the saints and mashāyikh.
He showed particular devotion to Mawlānā Shāh Ḥaqqānī (may Allah have mercy on him). On one occasion, Shāh Ḥaqqānī gifted him a green turban, which he later instructed his sons, through his will, to place with him in his grave, and so it was done.
He would also frequently visit Ḥaḍrat Mullā Shākirullāh, a student of Mullā Niẓām al-Dīn Muḥammad al-Sihālawī Farangī Maḥallī and a spiritual disciple of Ḥaḍrat Sayyid Ismāʿīl Bilgrāmī. He likewise held deep reverence for Mullā Anwār al-Ḥaqq (may Allah have mercy on him) who is another great scholar and saint from the family of the Farangī Maḥall.
His Books, Writings and Commentary on Sullam al-ʿUlūm
Mullā Muḥammad Mūbīn had the most writings (up to that point) after Baḥr al-ʿUlūm Mullā ʿAbd al-ʿAlī Farangī Maḥallī. In all of his works, he clearly articulated the intended objectives, benefiting both students and teachers alike. One notable example is his renowned commentary on Sullam al-ʿUlūm, famously known as Mullā Mūbīn.
During the latter half of the 17th century (before 1698 CE), the Sullam al-ʿUlūm by Mullā Muḥibbullāh Bihārī witnessed a surge in commentaries within the Indian subcontinent, surpassing any other logic book in popularity. Over the next two centuries, this trend continued, resulting in over 100 commentaries and super-commentaries on the work. The Sullam established itself as the most advanced textbook on logic within the Niẓāmī curriculum, often studied alongside its most celebrated commentaries.
One unique aspect of these commentaries is their seamless integration with other disciplines, including legal theory, rhetoric, logic and Kalām. Mullā Mūbīn's commentary on Mullā Muḥibbullāh Bihārī's Sullam al-ʿUlūm falls within the second wave of primary and foundational commentaries.
Notably, Mullā Mūbīn's commentary is renowned for its exceptional clarity. In fact, teachers would sometimes advise students to wait before reading this text early in their studies, as they wanted students to engage with more challenging commentaries first in order to develop their scholarly training. They would remark, ‘Mūbīn is Mūbīn’ (Mūbīn is clear), highlighting the remarkable lucidity of his commentary.
Some of the other works authored by Mullā Mūbīn include:
Sharḥ Sullam al-ʿUlūm (complete)
Sharḥ Musallam al-Thubūt (until the Mabādiʾ Kalāmiyyah)
Ḥawāshī al-Zawāʾid al-Thalāth:
On Umūr ʿĀmmah (Mir Zāhid ʿalā Sharḥ al-Mawāqif)
Mir Zāhid alā Mullā Jalāl ʿalā al-Tahdhīb
Mir Zāhid ʿalā al-Risālah al-Qutbiyyah
Ḥāshiyah ʿalā Maqām: al-Muthannāh bi’l-Takrīr li’l-Ṣadr (a topic in Ṣadrā - Falsafah)
Sharḥ Asmāʾ Allāh al-Ḥusnā
Kanz al-Ḥasanāt fī Masāʾil al-Zakāh
Jawāhir al-Fawāʾid (on the rulings of fasting)
Risālah fī Faḍāʾil Ahl al-Bayt
Translation of Ḥikāyāt al-Ṣāliḥīn
Sharḥ al-Tabsirah (in taṣawwuf)
Mullā Mūbīn to Imām Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī
Mullā Mūbīn’s scholarly lineage traces back to Imām Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī through 24 teachers. Below is one of his chains of transmission to Imām al-Ashʿarī. It is worth noting that multiple such chains exist, as several scholars within the transmission studied under more than one teacher, each path ultimately leading back to Imām al-Ashʿarī himself:
Mullā Muhammad Mūbīn
Mullā Muhammad Ḥasan Farangī Maḥallī
Mullā Niẓām al-Dīn Muhammad al-Sihālawī, Ustādh al-Kull (the teacher of all)
Mullā Quṭb al-Dīn al-Shahīd
Mawlānā Dāniyāl
Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Salām al-Dīwī
Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Salām al-Lāhorī
ʿAllāmah Fathullāh al-Shīrāzī
Mawlānā Jamāl al-Dīn Maḥmūd al-Shīrāzī
Imām Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad al-Ṣiddīqī al-Dawwānī
Mawlānā Saʿd al-Dīn Asʿad al-Dawwānī
Al-Sayyid al-Sharīf Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Jurjānī
ʿAllāmah Mubārak Shāh al-Miṣrī
ʿAllāmah Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Abū ʿAbd Allāh Quṭb al-Dīn al-Rāzī
Qāḍī ʿAḍud al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Aḥmad al-Ījī
Shaykh Zayn al-Dīn al-Hankī
Qāḍī al-Bayḍāwī Nāṣir al-Dīn Abū Saʿīd ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar al-Shīrāzī
ʿAllāmah Tāj al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Urmawī
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn Ḥusayn, Imām Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī
ʿAllāmah Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn ʿUmar
ʿAllāmah Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā
Imām Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad, Ḥujjat al-Islām Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī
Imām al-Ḥaramayn, ʿAbd Malik al-Juwaynī
Al-Ustād Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Istfarāʾīnī
Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan al-Bāhilī
Imam Ahl-Sunnah, Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Ismāʿīl al-Ashʿarī (d. 324 AH)
May Allah have mercy on them all, including those scholars whose names have been omitted due to variations in the chain of transmission.
His Noble Departure
Mullā Mūbīn passed away in the year 1225 AH (1810 CE) at the Farangī Maḥall in Lucknow, the same year that Baḥr al-ʿUlūm passed away in Madras, India.
He left behind behind three sons, among whom were Mullā Ḥaydar and Mullā Ṣafdar, whose biographies, inshāʾAllāh, will also be documented.
May Allah ﷻ have mercy upon Mullā Mūbīn and elevate his ranks.
Al-Fātiḥah.
Bibliography
Āthār al-Awwal min ʿUlamāʾ Farangī Maḥall
al-Asānīd al-ʿĀliyah li-ʿUlamāʾ al-Jāmiʿah al-Qādiriyyah
Mumtaz ʿUlamāʾ Farangi Mahall
Risālah Qutbiyyah
Aghṣān-i Arbaʿah
Mashāhīr ʿUlamāʾ-i Farangī Maḥall
Tadhkirah ʿUlamāʾ-i Farangī Maḥall
Bānī Dars-i Niẓāmī
https://www.khairabadiinstitute.com/articles/mulla-mubins-commentary-on-the-sullam-al-ulum