الرحلةThe Journey

السيد حسن بن نور حسن الخراساني

Tok Khurasan (RH)

Sayyid Hasan ibn Nur Hasan (Tok Khurasan)

Also known as: al-'Allamah Tok Khurasan, Maulana Tok Khurasan, Sayyid Hasan al-Khurasani, Syed Hassan bin Nor Hassan

c. 1292–1363 AH · c. 1875–1944 CE

Hadith Hanafi

Deoband-trained scholar who brought the systematic study of hadith to Kelantan, teaching at Kampung Sireh in Kota Bharu.

Sayyid Hasan ibn Nur Hasan, known in Kelantan as Tok Khurasan, was born around 1875, by most accounts at Baffa in the Hazara region of today's Pakistan; others trace his family to Khurasan or Kabul, from which his name comes. From about 1885 he studied in the centres of learning of northern India, among them Lucknow, Saharanpur and Kanpur, and finished at Dar al-'Ulum Deoband, where his teachers included Mahmud Hasan. He was learned in hadith, tafsir, Hanafi fiqh, logic, rhetoric and astronomy, and spoke many languages.

Around 1911 he landed at Tumpat in Kelantan as a cloth merchant, aged about 37. He settled in Kota Bharu, married there, and at Kampung Sireh built a small surau with a bamboo floor, Dar al-Hadith al-Khurasani. There he taught the six books of hadith with their chains of transmission, starting newcomers on Mishkat al-Masabih. He is remembered as the first to bring the systematic study of hadith to Kelantan, and many of the state's later scholars studied with him. His commentary on the chapter headings of Sahih al-Bukhari survives in manuscript.

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Life journey

  1. c. 1875 CE Baffa (Hazara) بفه
    Born at Baffa in Hazara, by most accounts; others trace his family to Khurasan or Kabul, hence his name.
  2. 1885 CE Deoband ديوبند
    Studied from about 1885 in Lucknow, Saharanpur and Kanpur, finishing at Dar al-'Ulum Deoband; the years are approximate.
  3. 1911 CE Kota Bharu كوتا بهارو
    Died 1944 CE · 1363 AH
    Landed at Tumpat as a cloth merchant around 1911 or 1912, and later taught hadith at Kampung Sireh in Kota Bharu until his death.

Teachers

  • Shaykh al-Hind (RH) 1851–1920 CE
    Tok Khurasan finished his studies at Deoband, where Mahmud Hasan was among his teachers.

Key works

  • Sharh Tarajim al-Abwab شرح تراجم الأبواب
    Commentary on the Chapter Headings
    A commentary on the chapter headings of Sahih al-Bukhari, surviving in manuscript.

Sources

  • Fauzi Deraman & Mohd Asmawi Muhammad, 'Maulana Tok Khurasan dan Sumbangan dalam Pengajian Hadith', Prosiding Seminar Serantau Ilmuan Hadith dalam Peradaban di Alam Melayu (UKM, 2010)
  • Abdul Hayei Abdul Sukur, Sumbangan Shah Wali Allah al-Dihlawi kepada Ilmu Hadith dan Pengaruhnya di Kelantan (PhD thesis, Universiti Malaya, 1988)
  • Ismail Che Daud, Tokoh-Tokoh Ulama' Semenanjung Melayu, vol. 1
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
His origin is disputed: Baffa in Pakistan in most studies, Iran or Kabul in others. Birth year approximate; he arrived in 1911 or 1912. The month of his death in 1944 is not confirmed.