Shaykh Thanaullah Amritsari, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote about Allamah Pir Syed Ihsanullah Shah Rashdi, the fifth Pir of Jhanda (Pir Jhanda the Fifth), (Sahib-ul al-alam Al-Khamis), (Najeeb ut-Tarfain), may Allah have mercy on him, as follows:
“Pir Sain Syed Ihsanullah Shah Rashdi Al-Hussaini passed away in 1938. In his condolence note, Maulana Thanaullah Amritsari wrote:
In Sindh, where the practice of venerating Pirs is widespread, there exists a shrine in the village of Pir Jhanda, Hyderabad district, where the Sajjada Nashins have historically been steadfast adherents of Tawhid (monotheism). It was a great blessing that the call to Tawhid resonated from this place. The late Pir Sain Syed Ihsanullah Shah, the Sajjada Nashin of this shrine, was a devoted monotheist, a profound scholar, and a patron of righteous youth and scholars. It was with great sorrow that we received the news of his passing on the 9th of Sha‘ban, 1357 AH (corresponding to October 4, 1938). Indeed, to Allah we belong, and to Him we shall return.”(Weekly Ahl-e-Hadith, Amritsar: October 14, 1938)
Allamah Pir Sain Syed Ihsanullah Shah Rashdi (Sahib ul al-alam Al-Khamis) was a distinguished scholar of Asma-ul-Rijal (the study of hadith narrators). Maulana Sanaullah Amritsari once remarked about him:
If there is any leading authority in Asma-ul-Rijal today, it is Pir Syed Ihsanullah Shah Rashdi.
Allamah Syed Sulaiman Nadvi wrote in Ma‘arif (Azamgarh):
The scholarly community will receive with deep sorrow the news of the passing of the eminent scholar of Pir Jhanda Goth Fazalullah, Hyderabad district, Sindh, Pir Sain Syed Ihsanullah Shah, who departed this world at the age of 44 on October 13, 1938. The late scholar was an ardent lover of handwritten manuscripts and a towering expert in Hadith and its narrators (Rijal). His passion for knowledge was so profound that libraries in the East and West, from Egypt and Syria to Arabia and Constantinople, were engaged in copying rare manuscripts for him. As the Sajjada Nashin of his shrine, he was a devoted follower of the Salaf (pious predecessors), distinguished in both scholarship and practice. May Allah envelop him in His boundless mercy.”(Yad-e-Raftagan: 186)
He was the sole grandson and successor (Ja-nashin) of Pir Sain Pak Shaheed Pir of Jhanda 2, also known as Pir Sain Fadalullah Shah Rashdi Shaheed Awwal.
His sons, Muhaddith al-Asr Pir Sain Syed Muhibullah Shah al-Rashdi al-Husayni and Shaykh al-Arab wa al-Ajam Pir Syed Badiuddin al-Rashdi Al Husayni, rose to great prominence, carrying forward and establishing their father’s illustrious legacy through their own scholarly contributions and spiritual leadership.
