{"id":465,"date":"2013-11-02T19:01:09","date_gmt":"2013-11-02T23:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/?p=465"},"modified":"2013-11-02T19:01:09","modified_gmt":"2013-11-02T23:01:09","slug":"mawlana-muhammad-mazhar-nanautwi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiqhulislam.com\/?p=465","title":{"rendered":"Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi[1]<\/b>
\n(1238-1302 \/1823-1885)<\/b>
\n 
\nMawlana Muhammad Mazhar ibn Lutf \u2018Ali ibn Muhammad Hasan al-Siddiqi al-Hanafi Nanautwi\u2014the righteous\u00a0imam<\/i>,\u00a0\u2018arif\u00a0<\/i>(knower of Allah) and\u00a0mujahid<\/i>\u2014was amongst the leading scholars of\u00a0fiqh<\/i>, hadith, and\u00a0tasawwuf<\/i>\u00a0in his time.
\nA descendant of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), he was born in Nanautah, a village in the district of Saharanpur (UP, India). He initially studied under his father with whom he completed the memorization of the Qur\u2019an(hifz)<\/i>.\u00a0 He then travelled to Delhi, where he studied under Mufti Sadr al-Din Dehlawi, Mawlana Rashid al-Din Khan, the teacher of many\u00a0shaykhs<\/i>\u00a0Mawlana Mamluk al-\u2018Ali Nanautwi, Mawlana Ahmad \u2018Ali Saharanpuri and Shah \u2018Abd al-Ghani Dehlawi. He studied some books of hadith from the renowned scholar of hadith Shah Muhammad Ishaq Dehlawi, the great grandson of Shah Wali Allah Dehlawi and successor of Shah \u2018Abd al-\u2018Aziz Dehlawi.
\nAfter studying in Delhi, Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi occupied himself in correcting manuscripts\u00a0(tas\u2019hih)\u00a0<\/i>at the publishing house of Nawlkashur. Later he taught Islamic sciences at Ajmer College, and then at Agra College.
\nThe Battle of Shamli<\/b>
\nIn 1273\/1857, Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar fought against the British in the Battle of Shamli under the leadership of Haji Imdad Allah Muhajir Makki, alongside senior scholars such as Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, Mawlana Qasim Nanautwi, Hafiz Zamin Shahid, Mawlana Rahmat Allah Kiranwi and his own younger brother Mawlana Muhammad Munir Nanautwi. It was in this battle that he sustained serious wounds.
\nMufti Mahmud Hasan Gangohi relates:
\n\u2018\u2018It was the habit of Mawlana Mazhar Nanautwi that he would often lick his upper lip. Someone once asked him the reason for this, but the respected Mawlana did not\u00a0inform him. When this person\u00a0insisted, Mawlana remarked, \u2018When the battle against the British took place at Shamli, and the Muslims were being attacked, some of my comrades were dying and my leg was also hit by a bullet (due to which it became paralysed). In this state, I saw\u00a0Hurs\u00a0<\/i>(damsels of Paradise) with glasses in their hands. The glasses were filled with a special type of drink that they were giving to those of my fallen comrades who were dying and had no chance of surviving. As this was happening, one of the damsels came towards me. She had just placed a glass against my mouth when another damsel took hold\u00a0of her hands, pulled\u00a0them away [from me] and said, \u2018He is not\u00a0among those who are to pass away.\u2019 A very small amount of this drink fell on my upper lip, the [sweet] taste of which remains till today. This is why I have this habit [of licking my upper lip.]\u201d\u00a0[2]
\nAfter the battle was over, Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar went into hiding at Bareilly. Once a general amnesty was declared, he emerged from hiding and thereafter began teaching at his home.\u00a0<\/b>
\nTeaching the Islamic Sciences<\/b>
\nMany students studied\u00a0fiqh, usul al-fiqh<\/i>\u00a0(principles of Islamic law),\u00a0kalam\u00a0<\/i>(scholastic theology),\u00a0mantiq\u00a0<\/i>(classical logic), Arabic grammar and other related sciences from him.
\nIn Shawwal 1283\/February 1867, he was appointed headteacher at a\u00a0madrasah<\/i>founded in Saharanpur by Mawlana Sa\u2018adat \u2018Ali Saharanpuri, the well-known jurist (faqih)<\/i>, who was a participant of the 1273\/1857\u00a0jihad\u00a0<\/i>and a devoted follower of Shah Ahmad ibn \u2018Irfan Barelwi\u2014the martyr of Balakot.[3]\u00a0When this\u00a0madrasah<\/i>\u00a0progressed and an exclusive building was established for it, it was named Mazahir-e-\u2018Ulum in Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar\u2019s honour. He exerted his efforts in teaching the Qur\u2019an and Sunnah (hadith), and in disseminating knowledge and the Islamic sciences. He was also involved with the administration of Mazahir-e-\u2018Ulum at every level and taught there until the end of his life. During his nineteen years at Mazahir-e-\u2018Ulum he taught all the six canonical collections of hadith as well\u00a0Mu\u2019atta Imam Malik, Shama\u2019il al-Tirmidhi<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Sunan al-Darimi.<\/i>\u00a0He taught [from the] various renowned commentaries of the Qur\u2019an as well as\u00a0Durr al-Mukhtar<\/i>\u00a0and other famous works of Hanafi\u00a0fiqh and usul al-Fiqh.\u00a0<\/i>He toiled hard to ensure that the\u00a0madrasah<\/i>\u00a0maintained a high academic standard and he succeeded in doing so. This was acknowledged and appreciated by scholars associated with the\u00a0madrasah,<\/i>\u00a0including Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. It is testimony to the efforts and sincerity of Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi that after his death the consultative committee of Mazahir-e-\u2018Ulum were unable to find anyone of his calibre to replace him in his all-encompassing role at the\u00a0madrasah<\/i>.
\nHe had many outstanding students; most prominent amongst them was the eminent hadith scholar Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri.[4]\u00a0Hujjat al-Islam<\/i>\u00a0Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanautwi, founder of the renowned Islamic seminary, Dar al-\u2018Ulum Deoband, also studied some primary books[5]\u00a0under his tutelage.
\nHe also assisted in completing\u00a0Ghayat al-Awtar,<\/i>\u00a0the Urdu translation of Imam \u2018Ala\u2019 al-Din al-Haskafi\u2019s\u00a0al-Durr al-Mukhtar,\u00a0<\/i>as stated in its introduction by Mawlana Muhammad Ahsan Nanautwi.[6]
\nFrom the legacy of Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar Nanautwi\u2019 is the continuous chain of exceptional hadith scholars that have graduated from Mazahir-e-\u2018Ulum, which include and is not limited to the likes of:<\/p>\n