Ashraf Ali Thanwi
Ashraf Ali Thanwi was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar, jurist, thinker, reformist and a revivor of classical Sufi in the Indian subcontinent during the British Raj. He was a central figure of Islamic spiritual, intellectual and religious life in South Asia and continues to be highly influential today. He wrote over a thousand works including Bayan Ul Quran and Bahishti Zewar. He was also one of the chief proponents of the Pakistan Movement.
He graduated from Darul Uloom Deoband in 1883 and moved to Kanpur, then Thana Bhawan to direct the Khanqah-i-Imdadiyah, where he resided until his death. His training in Quran, hadith, fiqh studies and Sufism qualified him to become a leading Sunni authority among the scholars of Deoband. His teaching mixes Sunni orthodoxy, Islamic elements of belief and the patriarchal structure of the society. He offered a sketch of a Muslim community that is collective, patriarchal, hierarchical and compassion-based.
Views and ideology
Thanwi was a strong supporter of the Muslim League. He maintained correspondence with the leadership of [All-India Muslims|Muslim League|All India Muslim League], including Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He also sent groups of Muslim scholars to give religious advice and reminders to Jinnah. His disciples Zafar Ahmad Usmani and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani were key players in religious support for the creation of Pakistan. During the 1940s, many Deobandi Ulama supported the Congress but Thanwi and some other leading Deobandi scholars including Muhammad Shafi and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani were in favour of the Muslim League. Thanwi resigned from Darul Uloom Deoband's management committee due to its pro-Congress stance. His support and the support of his disciples for Pakistan Movement were greatly appreciated by AIML.Teaching and Education
After completing his education, with the permission of his father and teachers, he went to Kanpur and began teaching at Madrasa Faiz-e-Aam. For fourteen years, he continued to spread knowledge there. In 1315 AH, he left Kanpur and returned to his ancestral home in Thana Bhawan. There, he revived the Khanqah of Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki and established an educational institution named Madrasa Ashrafiya, where he devoted himself until the end of his life to teaching, spiritual purification, and social reform.Upon his return, Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki sent him a letter, which stated: "It is better that you have moved to Thana Bhawan. I hope that many people will benefit from you, both outwardly and inwardly. You will restore our madrasa and mosque anew. I pray for you at all times."
Influence and legacy
He produced around 1000 trainees, to whom he permitted for Bay'ah and those spread their influences of Thanwi. Among them are: Sulaiman Nadvi, Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, Zafar Ahmad Usmani, Abdul Hai Arifi, Athar Ali Bengali, Shah Abdul Wahhab, Abdul Majid Daryabadi, Aziz al-Hasan Ghouri, Abrarul Haq Haqqi, Muhammadullah Hafezzi, Khair Muhammad Jalandhari, Masihullah Khan, Muhammad Shafi, Murtaza Hasan Chandpuri, Habibullah Qurayshi, Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi.Muhammad Iqbal once wrote to a friend of his that on the matter of Rumi's teachings, he held Thanwi as the greatest living authority.