Geographical Background
Lajpor: Lajpor is a town in the district of Surat, located approximately 12 miles south of the city of Surat. The town has a large Muslim population and had always been the home of many pious servants of Allaah.
Rander: This is a town close to Surat, which hosts two large Daarul Ulooms. The first is Daarul Uloom Ashrafiyyah, which was established in the year 1286 A.H. (1870) and the second is Daarul Uloom Husayniyyah, which was established in 1335 A.H. (1919). Many pious people are buried in the Rander graveyard, including a Taabi’ee.
Birth
Hadhrat Mufti Sayyid Abdur Raheem Lajpori Sahib was born in the Motwar suburb of Nosari in the month of Shawwaal 1321 A.H. (3 December 1902).
Lineage
Together with his profound knowledge and piety, Hadhrat Mufti Sahib was also blessed with the honour of belonging to the family of Rasulullaah r. His lineage is traced back to Hadhrat Ali t.
His Father
His father was Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Kareem Lajpori , who was born in Lajpor in the year 1301 A.H. (1884). He studied up to Mishkaat in Lajpor, but, due to domestic problems, he was unable to travel to a Daarul Uloom to complete the Dore Hadith year. He therefore did jot have a formal degree. Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Kareem taught initially in Lajpor, but then proceeded to teach in Madrasah Muhammadiyya in the Motwar suburb of Nosari. Here he taught for many years and also served as the Imaam of the Jaami Masjid for twelve years.
Realising that one of the great responsibilities of scholars is to guide the Ummah through lectures, Hadhrat Moulana played a role in this field of religious instruction. In fact, during the month of Rabee-ul-Awwal, he would deliver three lectures a day. He would travel to Sacheen in the mornings, where he would deliver his first lecture. After lunch, he would travel back to Nowsari, where he would deliver a lecture after the Zuhr salaah. His third lecture for the day would then take place after Isha in the town of Jalaalpur. Hadhrat Moulana was an eloquent speaker and because he had committed much of the Mathnawi to memory, he was able to sing many parts of it during his lectures as and when appropriate.
Ḥayāt al-‘Ulamā’ 