Abdul Rasheed Nomani | |
|---|---|
عبد الرشيد نعماني | |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | Muhammad Abdul Rasheed (1915-09-28)28 September 1915 |
| Died | 12 August 1999(1999-08-12) (aged 83) Karachi, Pakistan |
| Nationality | Pakistani (1947 – 1999) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | |
| Profession | Professor,Writer |
| Main interest(s) | Hadith studies,Abu Hanifa |
| Notable work(s) | Lughat al-Quran |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Movement | Deobandi |
| Senior posting | |
| Teacher | Haydar Hasan Khan Tonki Ijazah in hadith from: |
Abdul Rasheed Nomani (28 September 1915 – 12 August 1999) was a 20th-century Pakistani Islamic scholar known for his expertise in the classicalsciences of hadith andIslamic jurisprudence. The surname 'Nomani' was adopted to reflect his affection for theHanafi school, rooted in the lineage ofAbu Hanifa. His scholarship primarily focused on the history of Hadith compilation and its terminology, as well as the defense of Abu Hanifa's positions, an approach that drew criticism from some who labeled him a Hanafi fanatic. He began his career as a member ofNadwatul Musannifeen, and following thepartition of India, he migrated to Pakistan, where he taught at institutions such asJamia Uloom-ul-Islamia andIslamia University of Bahawalpur. At the same time, he served as the founding editor-in-chief of periodicals published by these institutions, includingBayyināt. Nomani published his research in both Urdu and Arabic, advancing the view that Abu Hanifa was the first to organize Hadith within a juristic framework. Two of his works, focusing on Abu Hanifa andSunan ibn Majah, were edited byAbd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda and published in theArab world. Some scholars have described him asKhātam al-Muḥaddithīn, or the last of the hadith scholars of theIndian subcontinent.
Muhammad Abdul Rasheed was born on 28 September 1915 inJaipur,Rajasthan, British India, to Munshi Abdur Rahim.[1] At the age of four, he began learning theQuran from his uncle, Abdul Karim, and studied elementary Persian texts with his father. After completing basic lessons at Madrasa Anwar-e-Muhammadi, he enrolled at Madrasa Talimul Islam near Ajmeri Gate, where he studied advanced Persian works under Munshi Irshad Ali Khan, Munshi Sattar Ali Khan, Munshi Abdul Qayyum Nateq, and Munshi Saeed Husain. Under Qadir Bakhsh Badauni, he completed the curriculum fromMizan al-Sarf toMishkat al-Masabih in less than five years (1928–1932) and studied portions ofSahih al-Bukhari, while also engaging with the writings ofAbd al-Hayy al-Lucknawi andal-Dhahabi'sMizan al-Itidal.[2] In 1934, he enteredDarul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama,[1] where he studied for two years under Haydar Hasan Khan Tonki, then theSheikh al-Hadith of the institution, from whom he learnedSahih al-Bukhari,Sunan al-Tirmidhi, and the Muqaddima ofSahih Muslim.[2] He also received degrees in Islamic studies, Persian, and Arabic fromUniversity of the Punjab.[3]
Haydar Hasan Khan Tonki, a disciple ofImdadullah Muhajir Makki, also became his Sufi guide, and Nomani pledged allegiance (bay'a) to him shortly after their meeting.[2] Alongside him, Nomani received spiritual authorizations fromZakariyya Kandhlawi,Abdul Qadir Raipuri, andAbul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi.[4] He attended gatherings of leading scholars and Sufis, includingAshraf Ali Thanwi,Hussain Ahmad Madani, andAsghar Hussain Deobandi, and completed Sufi training during a year and a half spent withIlyas Kandhlawi and his son,Yusuf Kandhlawi.[5] At the direction of Haydar Hasan, Nomani moved to southernHyderabad, where he collaborated with Mahmud Hasan Tonki for four years in compiling and editing the bibliographical workMu'jam al-Musannifin.[2] He also received ijazat (authorizations) in hadith from a number of scholars, includingAbul Wafa al-Afghani, Zakariyya Kandhlawi,Yusuf Banuri,Habibur Rahman Azami,Abd al-Aziz al-Ghumari, andAbd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda.[4] While his intellectual orientation carried traces ofNadwatul Ulama, Nomani developed an independent scholarly identity, choosing not to identify himself with Nadwi but rather as 'Nomani.' Nevertheless, among the major intellectual currents of the Indian subcontinent, his closest associations were with figures linked to theDeobandi tradition.[5]
From 1942 to 1947, Nomani was a member of theNadwatul Musannifeen inDelhi.[2] In 1948, under the supervision ofAbul Wafa al-Afghani and with the support of his associates, a committee was established for the revival of Nomani sciences, early texts of theHanafi school, called Lajnat-u-Ihya al-Ma'ārif an-No'maniyyah. The committee's objectives were to preserve the heritage of Hanafi jurist scholars and to publish the works of early jurists andmujtahid scholars. Nomani was a founding member of this committee.[6]
After thePartition of India, he migrated to Pakistan and taught for two years at Darul Uloom al-Islamiyya inTando Allahyar, covering advanced texts in fiqh, usul, and hadith sciences. In 1955, upon his resignation,Yusuf Banuri invited him toJamia Uloom-ul-Islamia in Karachi, where he taught hadith, fiqh, and usul until 1963. During this period, he initiated the publication of the monthly magazineBayyināt and served as its editor-in-chief for nearly a year.[2]
In 1963, with the establishment of theIslamia University of Bahawalpur, Nomani joined the institution, serving first as deputy head of the Hadith Department and later as head of the Tafsir Department until 1976.[2] He also served as editor-in-chief of the university'sJamia al-Islamia Magazine.[7] Returning to Karachi in 1976, he assumed responsibilities as a member of the Majlis al-Da'wah wa al-Tahqiq al-Islami and as overseer of higher research and educational departments. He continued in these roles until 1992, when he retired due to age-related infirmity. During his tenure at Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia, he supervised and reviewed the theses of all students completing studies in the Hadith and Fiqh departments.[2]
In 1409A.H., following the death of Ziya al-Hasan, Sheikh al-Hadith of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Nomani was invited to teach temporarily and assumed responsibility forSahih al-Bukhari. His teaching closely followed the methods of his teacher, Haydar Hasan.[8] From 1412 A.H. until his death, Nomani resided in the staff quarters of University of Karachi at his son Abdul Shahid Nomani's residence, while continuing to teachSahih al-Bukhari andSharh Ma'ani al-Athar at Ayesha Siddiqah Madrasa.[2] He also conducted weekly study circles every Thursday afterAsr at his mosque in Karachi University, coveringhadith terminology, the history of hadith compilation, and related topics.[7]
Nomani served as a member of the Board of Honor Trustees of the Higher Scientific Assembly for Islamic and Arabic Sciences inDamascus and the Islamic Dawah and Research Council in Karachi.[9] Over more than fifty years of teaching, he trained thousands of students. Among his students were his brotherAbdul Haleem Chishti,Habibullah Mukhtar,Abdur Razzaq Iskander,Hifzur Rahman, andMuhammad Abdul Malek.[10]
Nomani's writings demonstrate an independent scholarly approach. Rather than merely compiling or transmitting the views of others, he incorporated his own juristic reasoning, critical assessments, and original research.[11] His works, which include critical editions, introductions, and essays, cover a wide range of fields, particularly the history of hadith compilation and its terminology, Quranic vocabulary, the defense ofAbu Hanifa and his companions, refutations ofNasibi positions, and the defense of theAhl al-Bayt.[12] Ahmad Reza Bijnori, a student ofAnwar Shah Kashmiri, compared his method of verification and critique to that ofal‑Kawthari.[5] Among his most debated arguments was his rejection of the view that Abu Hanifa did not compile a hadith collection. He maintained that Abu Hanifa produced an independent work, but because it was transmitted under the names of his students—particularlyMuhammad al-Shaybani, who introduced additions—the book later became associated with them rather than its original author. The absence of manuscripts explicitly attributed to Abu Hanifa reinforced this shift, yet Nomani concluded, on the basis of research, that Abu Hanifa was the first to compile hadith in a juristic framework.[11]Malek later noted that Nomani was the first to advance this claim through systematic investigation.[2]
A distinctive aspect of Nomani's scholarship was his engagement with hadith in the Hanafi tradition. He studied the musnads and works attributed to Abu Hanifa and highlighted the role of Hanafi scholars in hadith sciences. He argued that criticisms of Hanafi narrators inrijal literature should be approached with caution and that the methodological principles of the Hanafi school in hadith should be considered. He further maintained that certain views ofIbn al-Salah andIbn Hajar al-Asqalani warranted closer examination.[13] His strong defense of Hanafi scholarship led some contemporaries to label him afanatic in favor of Hanafism, most notablyAl-Albani.[1] However, his students responded that Nomani's positions were not based on blind sectarian loyalty but on research, verification, and evidence.[13]
Nomani also engaged with methodological debates about continuity in hadith transmission. He explainedMuslim ibn al-Hajjaj's position that if two narrators were contemporaries and the possibility of meeting existed, their narrations could be regarded as connected without requiring proof of an actual encounter. In contrast,Muhammad al-Bukhari held that such narrations required evidence of at least one meeting.[14] Nomani interpreted Muslim's view as treating contemporaneity as sufficient, and on this basis, he classified Abu Hanifa as aTabi', since he lived during the time of severalCompanions.[14] He also criticizedAl-Khatib al-Baghdadi,Ibn al-Jawzi, andIbn Abi Shaybah for their unfavorable assessments of Abu Hanifa, questioning the grounds of their judgments.[15]
In his biographical studies, Nomani consideredMasud ibn Shaybah al-Hanafi a respected scholar and cited Hanafi historians who referred to him as animam.[16] He defended Masud's reliability and rejected the criticism of Ibn Hajar, who had classified him as 'unknown' on the basis that his teachers and students were unidentified, that his transmission chain was unclear, and that his bookal-Ta'lim allegedly contained disparaging remarks aboutMalik,Al-Shafi'i, and even the Prophets. Nomani argued that Ibn Hajar's judgment was shaped by bias, pointing out that other historians, includingIbn Daqiq,Al-Maqrizi,al-Ayni, andIbn Tulun, all recognized Masud ibn Shaybah as a known and respected figure.[17]
Nomani authored sixteen books in Urdu and Arabic and wrote more than seventy articles, many of which appeared inBayyināt andBurhan.[18][2] His writings often engaged with contemporary debates, including responses to figures such asGhulam Ahmed Perwez.[1] Two of his works were later edited and published byAbd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda in theArab world.[18]
Among his books,Ma Tamassu ilayhi al-Hajah li-man yutali Sunan Ibn Majah is identified as a key work. Written in Arabic, it examines the development of hadith scholarship and the compilation ofSunan ibn Majah.[19] First published in 1953, it was reissued in 1999 inBeirut under the titleal-Imam Ibn Majah wa kitabuhus-Sunan.[20] An Urdu version,Imam Ibn-i Majah aur Ilm-i Hadis (Karachi, 1956), was prepared separately for Urdu readers.[21] In correspondence, Abul Wafa al-Afghani noted that the book includes numerous discussions not found even in the works of earlier scholars such as al-Dhahabi and Ibn Hajar.[2]
Another study,Makanat al-Imam Abi Hanifa fi al-Hadith, discusses Abu Hanifa's role and status in hadith scholarship. Portions of the work were first printed withal-Suyuti'sTabyid al-sahifa (Karachi, 1990) before the complete edition appeared in Beirut in 1996, later translated into Turkish.[1] Earlier versions of the study had been published in journals includingAl−Dirasat Al−Islamiyyah (International Islamic University, 1409 AH),Al-Baas El-Islami (Lucknow, 1411 AH), and by Idarat al-Quran wal-Ulum al-Islamiyya (1412 AH).[22] With revisions and additions, it was reissued in Beirut in 1416 AH. The text surveys assessments of Abu Hanifa's position by a range of later scholars, includingAbu Dawud al-Sijistani,Ibn Taymiyya,Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya,Ibn al-Nadim, and al-Dhahabi.[22]
Nomani also prepared several specialized works on hadith criticism and commentary. These includeTabsira bar al-Madkhal fi usul al-hadith lil-Hakim al-Nisaburi, a critical analysis first published inBurhan (Delhi);al-Taqibat ala al-Dirasat, a critique of Muhammad Muin al-Tattawi'sDirasat al-Labib; andal-Taliqat ala Dhabb dhubabat al-Dirasat, a set of notes on Abd al-Latif al-Tattawi's response to Muin al-Tattawi. He also publishedal-Taliq al-qawim ala Muqaddimat Kitab al-Talim, an edition of Masud ibn Shaybah al-Hanafi's treatise on Abu Hanifa with introduction and annotations, andFath al-Aazz al-Akram li-takhrij al-Hizb al-azam (Karachi, 1980), which traces the hadith sources ofAli al-Qari's devotional compilational-Hizb al-azam wal-wird al-afkham.[1]
In the field of Quranic studies, he wroteLughat al-Quran, a dictionary in Urdu that evaluates the derivations and explanations of Quranic words in relation to disciplines such astafsir,fiqh, history, andkalam.[23] Nomani prepared the first four volumes, while the remaining two were completed by Abdul Daim al-Jalali.[24] He also authored several treatises in Urdu addressingNasibi perspectives in Pakistan, includingYazid ki Shakhsiyyat Ahl-i Sunnat ki Nazar me (Karachi, 1982),Shuhada-i Karbala par Iftira (Karachi, 1988),Akabir-i Sahaba par Buhtan (Karachi, 1988),Nasibiyyat Tahqiq ke Bahis me (Karachi, 1962),Nasibi Sazish (Karachi, 1984), andHazrat-i Ali or Qisas-i Uthman (Karachi, 1998).[1] His unfinished or unpublished works includeMa Khalafa fihi Abu Hanifa Ibrahim al-Nakha'i,Tartib Kitab al-Athar bi-riwayat Muhammad ala'l-masanid,Rijal Kitab al-Athar riwayat Muhammad, Rijal Jami' al-masanid, andTarjama Kitab al-Athar.[1]
Nomani died on 12 August 1999 inKarachi, Pakistan.[25] His funeral prayer was led by his brother,Abdul Haleem Chishti, and he was interred at the Karachi University cemetery.[25] Nomani married in 1940 and had four children, including two daughters. His elder son died during childhood, while his younger son, Abdul Shahid Nomani, later served as the head of the Arabic Department atUniversity of Karachi.[5] Some scholars have described Nomani as theKhātam al-Muḥaddithīn, meaning 'the last of the hadith scholars' of theIndian subcontinent.[26]
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