One of the greatest authorities on tasawwuf of his times, Mawlana Muhammad Masihullah Khan was among the senior representatives (khalifas) of Hakim al-Umma Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi. He hailed from the renowned and distinguished Sherwani family of Pathans, who are descendents of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace). Mawlana Masihullah …
Imam Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sakhawi, born in 831/1427 in Cairo, was one of the foremost students of Shaykh al-Islam Ahmad ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (d. 852/1449). Sakhawi was a great jurist, historian, and a hadith master. Among his numerous works are Al-Maqasid al-Hasana and Al-Qawl al-Badi’ fi ’l-Salat ‘ala ’l-Habib al-Shafi’; the latter …
Dr. Mashhad Al-Allaf holds a doctoral degree in Modern Philosophy: Science & Metaphysics (1995). His bachelor’s and master’s degrees concentrated on the Philosophy of Science. He has taught at Washington University, St. Louis University, and Webster University and is the author of several works, including The Basic Ideas and Institutions of Islam (2008), Locke’s Philosophy …
Born in a village in Upper Egypt in 994/1586, his father took him to Cairo at the tender age of six. He memorized the Qur’an and subsequently studied the Islamic sciences under numerous scholars, specifically Qur’anic recitation under Shaykh Muhammad al-Hamawi and Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Masiri, and jurisprudence under Imam ‘Abdullah al-Nahriri, ‘Allama Muhammad al-Mahabbi, …
A prolific writer and eminent scholar of the Indian Subcontinent, Shaykh ‘Ashiq Ilahi al-Bulandshehri (or al-Barni) was born in 1343 ah in Bulandshehr of Uttar Pradesh. After attaining his primary education at Madrasa Imdadiyya Moradabad and Jami‘ Masjid Aligarh, he traveled to Mazahir ‘Ulum Saharanpur in pursuit of higher knowledge. After completing his studies, he …
In the last century, India has undoubtedly become an important center for the study of hadith, and the scholars of India have become well-known for their passion for religious knowledge. Upon them ended the era of leadership in teaching hadiths, codification of the special fields (funun) of hadith, and commentary upon its texts (mutun). Such …
The Narrator, Hasan al-Basri, born in 21 AH and brought up in the house of Umm Salama (ra), had the opportunity to live with many of the Companions (ra). With his knowledge of the Qur’an and Hadith he excelled all the learned men of his time. Thabit ibn Qurra says, “In his learning and piety, …
Shaykh Abu ’l-Hasan ‘Ali al-Hasani Nadwi (1332/1914–1420/1999), affectionately known as ‘Ali Miyan, was a leading intellectual and religious scholar of contemporary India. He wrote numerous books on history, biography, and contemporary affairs concerning both the Muslim community in India and Muslims abroad. He served as rector of the Nadwat al-‘Ulama’ seminary in Lucknow for a …
Concise Bio Dr. Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera is a British Muslim scholar educated in both the Islamic and Western traditions. He memorised the Qur’an by heart and graduated from the Darul Uloom seminary Bury, UK, and later earned a specialised licence to issue fatwa (legal responses) at Mazahir ‘Ulum Saharanpur, India. He earned his BA from …
Nu’man ibn Thabit, better known as Abu Hanifa, was born in 80 AH in the Iraqi city of Kufa, which, through the legacy of ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud and ‘Ali (May Allah be pleased with them), had by this time become one of the major centers of learning in the world. Imam Abu Hanifa was a …
