Tilmiz Hasnain Rizvi

Maulana Syed Tilmiz Hasnain Rizvi (1 January 1941 – 26 September 2021) was a distinguished Pakistani-American Twelver Shia Islamic scholar, author, Quranic commentator, and religious educator. Widely respected in South Asian Shia communities across Pakistan, North America, and internationally for his decades of scholarship and prolific writings.

Early Life and Education

Born on 1 January 1941 in Bihar, India, he migrated to Pakistan with his family. He began his preliminary Islamic studies at Sultan al-Madaris in Khairpur, Sindh, completing the Alim-Arabi course with distinction at age 15. He studied under his father Maulana Syed Izhar ul Hasnain Rizvi, Maulana Mazahir Husain Gopalpuri, and Maulana Muhammad Qasim. He then studied for two years at Madrasa Jami'ah Imamiyah in Lahore alongside Maulana Agha Jafar ibn Maulana Ali Haider (editor of Islah).

His formal education continued with an Aʿlim Arabi/Munshi Fazil/Fazil Arabi at Jami Imamiah, Lahore (1958-1961), followed by three Gold Medalist Master's degrees from Sindh University: Arabic (1969), Persian (1974), and Urdu (1979).

Career

From 1972 to 1982, he worked as an expert editor at the Wifaq level representing the Sindh Book Board and the Textbook Board for Primary, Elementary, and Secondary schools, contributing to 15 syllabus books — including Arabic and Islamiyat texts — that were taught as a mandatory subject across public schools in Sindh. Alongside this, he taught Persian at Khana Farhang (the Persian Cultural Center) in Hyderabad and Arabic at the National Center, Hyderabad, as well as at Madrasa Mashari al-Ulum.

In 1984, in collaboration with the Muslim Foundation, the Al-Khoei Benevolent Foundation in New York invited him to address Majalis during Muharram, beginning a period of frequent travel to the United States through 1987. In 1985-86 he taught at the Medina Islamic Seminary in Medina, New York, and in 1987 was invited to teach at the Hawzah Ilmiyyah there, joining the Muslim Foundation on a permanent basis in 1989. From 1984 until his passing in 2021, he served as Imam, Resident Alim, Lecturer, Visiting Scholar, and Family Counselor, and from 2005 he served as Chairman of the Nashr-e-Danish Research Academy and Resident Alim of Astaana Zehra.

Scholarly Work

Over decades of scholarship, he authored a prolific body of work in Urdu covering Quranic tafsir, jurisprudence, theology, history, ethics, and the lives of the Ahlul Bayt, including a multi-volume Tafsir of the Quran, 40 Hadith, Fazail-e-Ali, Imam Mehdi, Karbala, Jawahir, Makarim, Hoqooq ul Momineen, Manabe Hadith, Fath-e-Mubeen, and Hasil-e-Murad, among others. In collaboration with Dr. Manzoor Rizvi, he co-authored books including "A Guide to Quran" and "Diniyat" in Urdu for use in North American madaris.

He translated more than 30 books, including Tafsir al-Safi by Mulla Fayd Kashani (seven volumes), Muntakhab Mafatih al-Jinan, Imam Mahdi (a), Features and Benefits of Quran, Muniyatul Mureed (Hasil Murad), Fadail Masjid, 40 Hadith, Fadail of Ali (a), Jawahir Paray, Allama Iqbal and Ahl al-Bayt (a), Fathul Mubeen, Diwan Abu Talib (a), Jannatul Ma'wa, Makarim al-Akhlaq, Rashahat-e-Qalam, and a translation of the Quran itself.

He performed 20 Hajj pilgrimages throughout his life, and his devotion to the Ahl al-Bayt (a) took him to the Ziyarat of the Ma'sumin countless times.

Passing

In January 2021, he contracted Covid-19, which severely affected his existing pulmonary fibrosis. He developed pneumonia in September of that year, which further deteriorated his lungs, leading to his passing on 26 September 2021 — just two days before the Chehlum of Sayyid us-Shuhadah (18th of Safar). He resided in Hillsborough, New Jersey, at the time of his passing. His website, tilmiz.com, remains a comprehensive archive of his writings, speeches, books, and audio assemblies.