Zakariyya Kandhlawi

Muḥammad Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad Yaḥyá Ṣiddīqī Kāndhlawī Sahāranpūrī Muhājir Madanī (Muḥammad Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad Yaḥyá aṣ-Ṣiddīqī al-Kāndahlawī as-Sahāranfūrī al-Madanī; 2 February 189824 May 1982) was a Sunni Hanafi Hadith scholar of the Deobandi school of Islamic thought in India, popularly known as a "Hazrat Shaykh al-Hadith" and an influential ideologue of Tablighi Jamaat, the missionary and reform movement founded by his uncle Maulana Muhammad Ilyas. His notable works are Awjaz al-Masalik, an Arabic commentary in six volumes on Imam Malik's Muwatta, and Khasa'il-i Nabawi, an Urdu translation and commentary on Imam at-Tirmidhi's Shama'il.

Name His ism (given name) was Muhammad Zakariya. His nasab (patronymic) is as follows: Muḥammad Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad Yaḥyá ibn Muḥammad Ismā‘īl ibn G͟hulām Ḥusain ibn Ḥakīm Karīm Bak͟hsh ibn Ḥakīm G͟hulām Muḥīyuddīn ibn Maulawī Muḥammad Sājid ibn ibn Maulawī Muḥammad Faiz̤ ibn Maulawī Muḥammad Sharīf ibn Maulawī Muḥammad Ashraf ibn Shaik͟h Jamāl Muḥammad Shāh ibn Shaik͟h Bāban Shāh ibn Shaik͟h Bahā’uddīn Shāh ibn Maulawī Shaik͟h Muḥammad ibn Shaik͟h Muḥammad Fāz̤il ibn Shaik͟h Quṭb Shāh.

His name is usually mentioned with one or more nisbahs (attributive adjectives). He was Kandhlawi (of Kandhla) by origin, then Gangohi (of Gangoh), then Saharanpuri (of Saharanpur), then Madani (of Medina). Muhajir Madani indicates his hijrah (immigration) to the Islamic holy city of Medina. By lineage he was Siddiqi, denoting descent from Abu Bakr.

Early life and education Muhammad Zakariya was born at 11 pm on Thursday, 11 Ramadan 1315 AH (Wednesday, 2 February 1898) in the house of his mother's step-grandmother, Maryam, in the town of Kandhla in the present-day state of Uttar Pradesh, India. He was born to a family of Islamic scholars that traced their ancestry to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, a companion of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.

Zakariya's father, Muhammad Yahya Kandhlawi was a student and disciple of Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. His teachers in the rational sciences were Maulana `Abd al-Wahid Sanbhali and Maulana `Abd al-Latif, the nazim (director) of the madrasah.

On 10 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1334 (September 1916), when Zakariya was 18, his father died. At the end of term in Shaban 1338 AH (1920), Zakariya traveled with Khalil Ahmad to the Hejaz and performed his first Hajj. He returned to Saharanpur in Safar 1339 AH (1920).

Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandhlawi also supported the Tablighi Jamaat movement in India and Pakistan. His written essays, based on hadith, are required reading for people of Tablighi Jamaat.

Death Muhammad Zakariya fell ill on Sunday 16 May 1982 in the city of Medina, Saudi Arabia. His condition deteriorated a week later resulting in serious breathing problems on Monday 24 May 1982. The shaykh's body was prepared for burial through washing before the Sunset prayers and burial took place after the night prayer (Isha) on the same day.

The funeral prayers were led by the Imam of the Prophet's Mosque, Shaykh Abdullah al-Zahim, and the body was taken for burial in the nearby Jannatul Baqi graveyard. Muhammad Zakariya's wish was to be buried close to the Prophet's family members (ahl al-bayt) and as per his wish, his grave was dug just outside their enclosure.

Sufism In 1333 AH (1914 or 1915 CE), Muhammad Zakariya gave bay'ah at the hands of Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri, taking him as his spiritual guide.

During his second journey to Hijaz with Khalil Ahmad, his sheikh conferred upon him khilafah in four silsilas (Chistiyya, Suhrawardiyya, Qadiriyya and Naqshbandiyya).

Written works Muhammad Zakariya authored works both in Arabic and Urdu. A number of them treat specialized subjects intended for scholars and the rest have been written for the general public.

His first written work was a three-volume commentary of Alfiyah Ibn Malik, which he wrote as a student when he was only thirteen.

His work, Fadha'il-e-Qur'an has been translated into eleven languages, Fadha'il-e-Ramadan into twelve languages, and Fadha'il-e-Salaah into fifteen languages.

According to Wali ad-Din Nadwi, Muhammad Zakariya wrote 4 books on tafsir and tajwid, 44 books on hadith and its related sciences, 6 books on fiqh and its related sciences, 24 historical and biographical books, 4 books on aqidah, 12 books on zuhd (abstinence) and riqaq (heart-softening accounts), 3 books on Arabic grammar and logic, and 6 books on modern-day groups and movements.

According to Muhammad Shahid Saharanpuri (Muhammad Zakariya's maternal grandson), his written works amount to 103, of which 42 have been published and 61 remain unpublished. He wrote 2 books on tafsir, 60 books on hadith, 4 books on fiqh and usul al-fiqh, 22 books on tarikh and sirah, 2 books on tajwid and qira'ah, 3 books on Arabic grammar, classical logic, and geometry, 3 books on suluk and ihsan, 4 books in defense of Islam, and 3 books on miscellaneous subjects.

Arabic works Awjaz al-Masalik ila Muwatta' Malik (, Awjaz al-Masālik ilá Muwaṭṭa’ Mālik) Lami` ad-Darari `ala Jami` al-Bukhari Al-Kawkab ad-Durri `ala Jami` at-Tirmidhi (, al-Kawkab ad-Durrī ‘alá Jāmi‘ at-Tirmidhi) Al-Abwab wa at-Tarajim li Sahih al-Bukhari (, al-Abwāb wa at-Tarājim li-Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī) Juz' Hajjat al-Wida` wa `Umrat an-Nabi (, Juz' Ḥajjat al-Widā‘ wa ‘Umrāt an-Nabī)

Urdu works Shama'il Tirmidhi ma` Urdu Sharh Khasa'il Nabawi Faza'il-e-A'maal Faza'il-e-Quran Faza'il-e-Ramadan Faza'il-e-Tabligh Faza'il-e-Namaaz Faza'il-e-Hajj Faza'il-e-Sadaqat Faza'il-e-Zikr Faza'il-e-Durood-Sharif Faza'il-e-Tijarat Hikayat-e-Sahabah Al-I`tidal fi Maratib ar-Rijal , also known as Islami Siyasat Dari ka Wujub Aap Beti"Part 1"part2 Shari`at wa Tariqat ka Talazum Um al-Amrad Fitna-e-Maududiat Maut ki Yad Tarikh Masha'ikh-e-Chisht Ikhtilaf al-A'immah Jama`at-e-Tabligh par I`tarazat ki Jawabat Miswak Nisbat-o-Ijazat Sila' Rahmi Akabir ka Suluk o Ihsan Namaz ki Ahmiat Ulama e Akhirat ki Pehchan Akabir ka Ramadan