Maulana Sayed Ghulam Hasnain Rizvi Karaarvi (r.a.) was born in a devout family of Karaari, Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) and went to a religious school in Lucknow for his elementary education.
Thereafter, he went to the University of Allahabad for his graduation and post-graduation. He had a thorough command over Urdu, Arabic, Persian and Hindi, particularly his sway over Urdu language and literature in which he acquired quite a reputation.
Yet, the most amazing part of his life was that despite taking a formal degree in religious sciences, he never took it as a profession. Instead, he opted to become a school teacher at Habib High School, Mumbai, where he taught Arabic and Hindi.
He was a symbol of contentment, who never craved for worldly provisions, concentrating only and solely on building his hereafter. Humility and self-respect were the hallmarks of his personality. Like, Maulana Hujjatul Islam Shaikh Rajabi (r.a.), he too felt the pain of the community in his heart and always thought of ways and means to guide the people and their spiritual, social and material development. He always kept himself occupied in whatever excess time he had in reading, writing and translating books and treatises.
The Urdu translation of Al-Kaafi was one such effort that was highly applauded and appreciated in the religious as well as literary world. He richly contributed to several religious magazines that were published.
He also edited a magazine ‘Khuddam al-Zaaereen’ – a journal dedicated to the spread of the teachings of Aale Muhammad (a.s.) – for a number of years. Under the banner of Idaarah-e-Nashr-e-Uloom-e-Aale Muhammad (a.s.), he translated the works of resepected Hujjatul Islam Shaikh Ismail Rajabi Saahab (r.a.). He was also a patron of numerous Maatami Anjumans in Mumbai.
Incidentally, he was also responsible for starting the Bombay operations of Tanzeemul Makaatib under the supervision of Khateeb-e-A’zam Maulana Sayed Ghulam Askari Sahab (r.a.). It was due to his untiring efforts that Tanzeemul Makaatib took deep roots in a large city like Bombay.
It seemed that right from the beginning of his career, he had defined his goal and that was to introduce the twelfth Imam, Imam-e-Zamaan (a.t.f.s.) to the people, a mission which he carried out with unparalleled zeal and unmatched enthusiasm.
The memory of his smiling face and witty remarks is indelible in our minds and will continue to remain so till the end of our lives. He expired in Lucknow, while being on one of his missionary trips of 15th Shabaan for Exhibition of Books and Functions concerning Imam-e-Zamaan (a.t.f.s.), when he suffered a massive heart-attack.
His body was taken to his native place, Karaari, where he is resting in the graveyard of Waadis Salaam. May Allah the Almighty grant his soul an elevated status in the neighbourhood of the Ahle Bait (a.s.)! Aameen!
