Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi [Hakim al-ummat]

Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi, referred to by many South Asian Muslims as ‘Physician of the Muslims’ [Hakim al-ummat] and ‘Reformer of the Nation’ [Mujaddid}

Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi, named Abdul Ghani by his paternal family, was born in the village of Thana Bhawan (in the Muzaffarnagar district of the Uttar Pardesh province of India) on 5 Rabi al-Thani 1280 AH (September 19, 1863 CE). He was named Ashraf Ali by the renowned and famous saint of the times Hafiz Ghulam Murtadha Panipati, who was also a relative of the maternal family of Mawlana Thanawi. His family was well-respected and held an eminent position in Thana Bhawan. His father, Abdul Haq, was a wealthy landowner, a devout Muslim, and a respected citizen of Thana Bhawan. Abdul Haq was well-versed in Farsi, and although he was not a hafiz of the Qur’an but knew the Holy Book so well by heart that sometimes he would correct the recitation of the Imam in the prayer. Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi’s lineage can be traced back to the second Caliph of Islam, Umar ibn al-Khattab, a glimpse of whose intelligence, wisdom, foresightedness, piety, and sincerity was certainly visible in Mawlana Thanawi. As a young boy, he had a zeal for offering the prayer [salah] and by age twelve, he was constant in night vigil [tahajjud]. He attained his early Arabic and Persian education under his maternal uncle Wajid Ali and Maulana Fat‘h Muhammad in Thana Bhawan and also memorized the holy Qur’an at a tender age from Hafiz Hussain Ali of Meerut.

From 1295 to 1301 Hijri, Mawlana Thanawi studied at the prestigious Deoband Seminary (Darul Uloom Deoband), from where he graduated in 1301 A.H. after studying under some of the most erudite Islamic theologians of his time. Among his teachers were Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanotawi, Mawlana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi, Mawlana Muhammad Yaqub Nanotawi, and Shaykh al-Hind Mawlana Mehmoodul Hasan. Mawlana Thanawi’s six years at Deoband were spent under the tutorship and guidance of God-fearing saints and Gnostics, many of whom were the spiritual students of Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki. The spiritually filled atmosphere of Darul Uloom Deoband coupled with brilliant teachers, and Mawlana Thanawi’s own intelligence and piety are all factors that contributed to the excellence of theory and practice that was manifested in his personality. His literary life started at the Deoband Seminary when he was only eighteen years of age and wrote Mathnawi Zer-o-Bam in Farsi. He possessed unmatched linguistic skills and had mastered the languages of Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu by age eighteen.

Mawlana Thanawi graduated in 1301 A.H. (1884 C.E.) from the Deoband Seminary. When Mawlana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi arrived for the graduation ceremony, Shaykhul Hind [Shaykh of India] Mawlana Mehmoodul Hasan informed him that today a very bright and intelligent student will be graduating. Mawlana Gangohi wanted to test this bright student. Hence, before the actual ceremony, Mawlana Gangohi posed the hardest questions he could think of before Mawlana Thanawi. His answers amazed and pleased Mawlana Gangohi (Quraishi 14). At the graduation, ceremonial procession of tying a turban [dastaarbandi] was carried out by Mawlana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi. The graduation ceremony of that year stood out from the past and was celebrated with great enthusiasm and joy by the teachers of the Deoband Seminary. At this occasion, Mawlana Thanawi, with some classmates, said to his teacher Mawlana Yaqub, “We are not deserving of such a celebration and our graduation might bring derision for Darul Uloom Deoband.” Upon hearing this concern from Mawlana Thanawi, Mawlana Yaqub became thrilled and said, “This thinking of yours is completely wrong! At Darul Uloom Deoband, you perceive of your personality as very meek and insignificant because of your teachers, and in fact, this is how you should feel. But, once you graduate and step out of this institution, then you will realize your worth and importance. I swear by Allah, you will prevail and become dominant wherever you go, the field is open and empty (for you)” (Alwi 53). After graduating from Deoband, Mawlana Thanawi accompanied his father to the Holy cities of Makka and Medina. After performing his first pilgrimage [hajj], Mawlana Thanawi mastered the art of Qur’anic recitation under Qari Muhammad Abdullah Muhajir Makki. In Makka he also had the opportunity to stay in the companionship of Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki, whose spiritual attention, luminous personality, radiant teachings, and excellent methodology of training prepared Mawlana Thanawi for the great reform movement that had been predestined for him.

Mawlana Thanawi was not a politician, Mufti Muhammad Taqi Uthmani explains, “and neither were politics his subject of interest” (Islam aur Siyasat 22). However, Islam is a lifestyle encompassing all human activities and providing clear and full guidelines for all walks of life, hence, at appropriate places in his speeches and writings Mawlana Thanawi does comment on politics and provides his useful explanation in that field. While battling secularism, many contemporary Muslims, perceived Islam as a branch of government and politics. Mawlana Thanawi proved, mainly using Qur’anic verses, that political rule is only a means of instituting Islam in our lives and not the purpose of life itself. All modern political notions in contradiction with the Qur’an and Hadith would have to be forsaken and the pure, untainted political thought reflected in the Qur’an and Hadith should guide the Muslims in organizing and structuring their governments.