muhammad zahid ibn hasan al-kawthri علامة زاهد الكوثري و جهوده في علم...
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اطروحة لنيل درجة الدكتوراة هذه خلاصته في الانجليزيةو اصل الرسالة ستكون في اللغة الأرديةTRANSCRIPT
A CRITICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE WORKS OF
THE GREAT POLEMIC MUHAMMAD ZAHID AL-KAWTHARI
(1872-1953)
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Muhammad Zahid b. Hasan al-Kawthari, a notable Hanafi jurist was the naib of the last
Shaykh al-Islam of the Ottoman Caliphate. He has been eulogized by a number of
Muslim scholars including Imam Muhammad Abu Zahra who titled him as a mujaddid
“Reviver” of the fourteenth Islamic century. His father Hasan, the celebrated scholar of
Qur’an and hadith, Ibrahim Haqqi (d. 1345), Shaykh Zayn al-‘Abidin al-Alsuni (d. 1336),
Shaykh Muhammad Khalis al-Shirwani and al-Hasan al-Aztuwa’i were among his
teachers. After the fall of Caliphate he first moved to Cairo, then to Syria, and then again
to Cairo where he stayed till his death. Here the famous scholars ‘Abd al-Fattah Abu
Ghudda and ‘Abd Allah al-Ghumari became his students.
As a scholar, al-Kauthari contributed a lot to the diverse fields of the Islamic sciences.
However he is well known in the academic circles as a scholar of Islamic polemics (‘ilm
al-Kalam). He edited and brought back into circulation many classical books of fiqh,
hadith, and usul. The distinguished Pakistani scholar Muhammad Yusuf al-Binnawri has
described al-Kawthari as "a keen-eyed verifying scholar, the experienced and an erudite."
Al-Kawthari has however earned some opposition as well. Those belonging to salafi
school of thought, especially al-Mu’allimi (a reputed scholar of Makkah) are very critical
of his views.
The present study will focus on explaining the controversial status of some of the
opinions of al-Kawthari on the subjects of ‘ilm al-Kalam (the science of Muslim
philosophy). It will be a notable input on the subject to the Islamic library in Urdu
language, as none exists so far.
Aims & Objectives:
1. A comprehensive introduction of ‘Allama Zahid al-Kawthri with special
reference to his contributions, thoughts and opinions in the field of Islamic
polemics in Urdu language.
2. Determining the position of al-Kawthari in various schools of Islamic thought
of ahl al-sunnah wa l-jama’ah, i.e., whether he is a maturidi, al-ash’ari or al-
salfi.
3. Discovering views of the contemporary distinguished Islamic scholars about
his life and contributions through their works.
4. To know the methodology adopted by al-Kawthari in defense of the Islamic
Faith.
5. Recommendation of the right opinions on the issues pertaining to Islamic
Faith as per the views of ahl al-sunnah wa l-jama’ah after deep academic
deliberations.
Junaid AkbarPh.D Research Scholar
Institute of Islamic & Arabic StudiesUniversity of Peshawar