Zainullah bin Habibullah bin Rasul, also known as Zainulla-ishan - is Russian religious figure, spiritual guide. He was born March 25, 1833 in the village of Sharipovo Orenburg province (now Uchalinsky district of Bashkortostan) in the family of a religious figure.

 

Zainulla Sharif Rasulev studied in madrassas in his native village, then in other villages; the final spiritual education was received in the madrasah of the city of Troitsk (now in the Chelyabinsk region). Since 1858 Zaynulla-ishan worked as Imam-Khatib in the village of Akkuzha of the Upper Urals County of the Orenburg Province (now also in the Uchalinsky District of Bashkortostan).

 

Being a shakird - student of a madrasah, Zainulla Rasulev became interested in Sufism. He perfected his knowledge of truth (tariqah) 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 tariqah.

 

Since 1884, Zainulla Sharif Rasulev worked as Imam of the mosque in the city of Troitsk (now Chelyabinsk region), where he founded the madrasah "Rasulia", one of the first 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, sheikh of the Naqshbandi, Shazaliy and Qadiri tariqas, Saifullah-qadi Bashlarov was trained by Sheikh Zainulla Sharif Rasulev in Troitsk, Chelyabinsk province. In May 1908, in the presence of invited guests and numerous murids, the honorable sheikh Zainullah Sharif Rasulev announced Saifullah-qadi as Sheikh and elevated him to the rank of Murshid (spiritual mentor).

 

Zaynulla-ishan left this world on February 2, 1917. He is buried in an ancient Muslim cemetery in Troitsk, Chelyabinsk region.

 

In 2016, one of the Jumah mosques was awarded the name of Zainulla Sharif Rasulev in the city of Makhachkala, Dagestan.