Sheikh Zaynullah Sharif Rasulev – eminent muslim scholar and spiritual guide
Zainullah bin Habibullah bin Rasul, also known as Zainulla-ishan, was a Russian religious figure and spiritual guide. He was born on 25 March 1833 in the village of Sharipovo in Orenburg province (now the Uchalinsky district of Bashkortostan) to the family of a religious personnage.
Zainulla Sharif Rasulev studied in madrasas in his native village, then in other villages, his final spiritual education being received in the madrasa of the city of Troitsk (now in the Chelyabinsk region). After 1858, Zaynulla-ishan worked as imam-khatib in the village of Akkuzha in the Upper Urals county of Orenburg province (now also in the Uchalinsky district of Bashkortostan).
As a shakird - student of a madrasah, he became interested in Sufism. He perfected his knowledge of truth (tarikat) in Istanbul in the years 1869-1870, where he studied with Sheikh Ahmad Ziyauddin Gumushkhanevi who gave him permission (ijazah) for spiritual guidance and teaching of the Sufi Naqshbandiyya tarikat.
After 1884, Zainulla Sharif Rasulev worked as imam of the mosque in the city of Troitsk (now the Chelyabinsk region), where he founded the Rasulia madrasa, one of the first Muslim educational institutions of the Southern Urals. Zainullah-ishan had many disciples and followers and soon became one of the most influential Muslim figures in Russia. In particular, the revered theologian, Mufti and sheikh of the Naqshbandi, Shazaliy and Qadiri tarikats, Saifulla-kadi Bashlarov was trained by him in Troitsk, Chelyabinsk region. In May 1908, in the presence of invited guests and numerous murids, the honourable sheikh Zainullah Sharif Rasulev announced Saifulla-kadi as sheikh and elevated him to the rank of murshid (spiritual mentor).
Zaynulla-ishan left this world on 2 February 1917. He is buried in an ancient Muslim cemetery in Troitsk, Chelyabinsk region.
In 2016, one of the Juma mosques was bestowed with the name of Zainulla Sharif Rasulev in the city of Makhachkala, Dagestan.
