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 …
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 …
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 …
‘Allama Makhdum Muhammad Hashim Sindhi, born in 1104/1692, was a contemporary of Shah Wali Allah, the great Hadith scholar of Delhi, and was considered the Shah Wali Allah of the Sindh province. He was a leading imam of the Islamic sciences of tafsir, hadith, fiqh, usul, theology, tasawwuf, history, Arabic, and poetry. He was also exemplary in his piety, asceticism, and taqwa. …
(Shaykh Mufti) Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari is a traditionally trained scholar who studied in different parts of the world. Born in Leicester, UK in 1976 and raised under the guidance of his illustrious father, Shaykh Mawlana Adam, he started learning about Islam from a very young age. He memorized the Holy Qur’an at a very …
Shaykh Yusuf ibn Sulayman Motala, considered today by many as one of the greatest visionaries and preservers of the faith in the UK, was born 1366/1946 in Gujarat, India. He began his studies at Jamea Husainia in Rander, Gujarat and graduated from the renowned Mazahir Uloom in Saharanpur. He became one of the senior disciples …
