Syed Ahmed Rizvi Kashmiri

Agha Seyed Ahmad Razavi
Personal life
Born	1901 Srinagar, Kashmir
Died	(1964-07-09)July 9, 1964 Srinagar, Kashmir
Alma mater	Hawza 'Ilmiyya Najaf, Iraq
Other names	آقا صآب
Religious life
Religion	Islam, Shia
Senior posting
Based in	Srinagar
Post	Cleric Ayatollah
Period in office	1931–1964

Ayatallah Agha Seyed Ahmad Rizvi, (Urdu: آیت اللہ آقا سید احمد رضوی. کشمیری ur; c. 1901 – c. 1965) was a Shiite Islam jurist and scholar known for his religious teachings in Srinagar, Kashmir, of the Indian subcontinent.

Early life & genealogy

His father, Haaj Aqa Syed Hussain Rizvi (d. 1942), and his uncle, Haaj Aqa Syed Hassan (d. 1928), were preachers involved in establishing religious gatherings in the region. Extensive genealogical records, as documented in a secondary resources, traced his ancestry through many generations back to Imam al‑Ridha.

Education

Ayatollah Syed Ahmed Rizvi received his early education from his family, particularly his father. After completing his basic education at home, he travelled to Lucknow, India, for further studies, where he studied under religious scholars for three years. From Lucknow, he went to Najaf in Iraq, a centre of Shiite Islamic learning. In Najaf, he studied in Islamic seminaries under prominent scholars and jurists for more than two decades, attending the lectures of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussain Na'ini, Grand Ayatollah Aqa Abul Hassan Isfahani, Grand Ayatollah Syed Hussain Qommi, Grand Ayatollah Aqa Zia-ud-Din Iraqi, and other Grand Ayatollahs of that period, and attained the degree of Ijtihad.

He studied under jurists and scholars in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Palestine, and also pursued the spiritual aspects of Islam. Among his contemporaries were Grand Ayatollah Aqa Syed Abul Qasim Khoie, Grand Ayatollah Asadullah Madani, Grand Ayatollah Murtazha al-Khalkhali, Grand Ayatollah Syed Ali Naqai Naqvi (Molvi Naqqan), Allamah Tabataba'I, and Ayatollah Syed Abdul Karim Rizvi Kashmiri. His spiritual education was provided by Ali Tabatabaei, a figure of Shiite Gnosticism. He also studied under the guidance of Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Kampani for several years.

Ayatollah Syed Ahmed Rizvi returned to Kashmir, where he engaged in disseminating Islamic teachings and practical Islamic education. He established a seminary, Madarsa Mohammadia, in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. He delivered lectures on jurisprudential matters to gatherings every Thursday night and Friday morning at his residence. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. The then Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, was allegedly influenced by Ayatollah Syed Ahmed Rizvi's teachings.

Alleged supernatural powers

Several accounts of alleged supernatural experiences are associated with Ayatollah Syed Ahmed Rizvi, primarily circulated among his followers and in local religious communities. These rumours have contributed to his spiritual reputation in parts of Kashmir.

One such account involves a government official named Ghulam Hussein Makhmoor, who is said to have written to Ayatollah Rizvi seeking religious guidance. Due to the transportation and postal delays of the time, Makhmoor reportedly expected a response to take at least a week. According to this narrative, however, a reply from the cleric was found at his bedside that same evening, with no signs of physical delivery or intrusion.

In another account, when Ayatollah Syed Ahmed Rizvi underwent surgery at a hospital in Srinagar, the operating doctors were reportedly surprised. They allegedly claimed his vital organs were severely damaged—to the extent that he should have died years earlier—yet he remained alive. Following this discovery, teams of doctors reportedly visited Ayatollah Rizvi.

These anecdotes are common within the hagiographic traditions surrounding Islamic scholars but are not supported by independent historical or medical documentation.

Death

Ayatollah Aqa Syed Ahmed Rizvi died on Thursday the 28th of Safar 1384 Hijri (9 July 1964) at his residence in Srinagar after concluding the congregational gathering commemorating the departure of Muhammad and martyrdom of Shiite second Imam, Imam Hassan, the son of Imam Ali.