Ahmad Rida Khan

Ahmad Rida Khan ibn Naqi Ali Khan (1856-1921 CE / 1272-1340 AH) was an Indian Hanafi scholar and Sufi leader born in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, who founded the Barelvi movement. He was a child prodigy who reportedly completed his formal Islamic education at the age of thirteen and began issuing legal opinions (fatawa) at a young age. He was a devotee of the Qadiri Sufi order.

Ahmad Rida Khan was remarkably prolific, authoring an estimated 1,000 works in Arabic, Urdu, and Persian. His most famous work is al-Ataya an-Nabawiyyah fir-Fatawa ar-Ridawiyyah (commonly known as Fatawa Ridawiyyah), a massive collection of legal responsa spanning thirty volumes that addresses thousands of questions in Hanafi jurisprudence. He also produced Kanz al-Iman, an Urdu translation of the Quran with extensive commentary that became the most widely used Quran translation among Barelvi Muslims. His al-Dawlat al-Makkiyyah bil-Maddah al-Ghaybiyyah discusses topics of creedal importance.

Ahmad Rida Khan strongly defended traditional Sufi practices including tawassul (seeking intercession), celebrating the Prophet's birthday (Mawlid), and visiting shrines. He issued strong refutations against the Deobandi and Ahl al-Hadith movements, as well as against Ahmadiyya. His followers form one of the largest Islamic movements in South Asia, and his institutions and scholarly legacy continue through the Barelvi tradition. He passed away in Bareilly.