Imam
Zahid al-Kawthari
by
Dr. Gibril Fouad Haddad
Muhammad
Zahid ibn Hasan al-Kawthari al-Hanafi al-Ash‘ari (1296-1371), the
adjunct to the last Shaykh al-Islam of the Ottoman Caliphate and a major
(mujaddid)
of the fourteenth Islamic century. He studied under his father as well
as the scholar of Qur’an and hadith Ibrahim Haqqi (d. 1345), Shaykh Zayn
al-‘Abidin al-Alsuni (d. 1336), Shaykh Muhammad Khalis al-Shirwani, al-Hasan
al-Aztuwa’i, and others. When the Caliphate fell he moved to Cairo, then
Sham, then Cairo again until his death, where the late Shaykhs ‘Abd al-Fattah
Abu Ghudda and ‘Abd Allah al-Ghumari became his students. Following is
his prestigious chain of transmission in fiqh:
Imam
al-Kawthari (d. 1371) took fiqh from his father, and also from
the hadith master Ibrahim Haqqi (d. 1345) and from Shaykh Zayn al-’Abidin
al-Alsuni (d. 1336).
Al-Kawthari’s
father took fiqh from the hadith master Ahmad Dya’ al-Din al-Kamushkhanawi
al-Naqshbandi (d. 1311) the author of the hadith index Ramuz al-Ahadith.
who
took fiqh from Sayyid Ahmad al-Arwadi (d. 1275)
who
took fiqh from the hadith master Muhammad Amin, Ibn ‘Abidin (d.
1252), whose chain is given elsewhere.
Both
Haqqi and Alsuni took fiqh from the hadith master Ahmad Shakir
(d. 1315)
who took
fiqh from the hadith master Muhammad Ghalib (d. 1286)
who took
fiqh from Sulayman ibn al-Hasan al-Kraydi (d. 1268)
who took
fiqh from Ibrahim al-Akhiskhawi (d. 1232)
who took
fiqh from Muhammad Munib al-’Aynatabi (d. 1238)
who took
fiqh from Isma’il ibn Muhammad al-Qunawi (d. 1195)
who took
fiqh from ‘Abd al-Karim al-Qunawi al-Amidi (d.1150)
who took
fiqh from Muhammad al-Yamani al-Azhari (d. 1135)
who took
fiqh from ‘Abd al-Hayy al-Shurunbulali
who took
fiqh from Abu al-Ikhlas al-Hasan al-Shurunbulali (d. 1069)
who took
fiqh from ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Nuhrayri
and from
Shams al-Din Muhammad al-Muhibbi al-Qahiri (d. 1041)
who both
took fiqh from ‘Ali al-Maqdisi (d. 1004)
who took
fiqh from Ahmad ibn Yunus al-Shalabi (d. 948)
who took
fiqh from ‘Abd al-Barr ibn al-Shahna (d. 921)
who took
fiqh from Imam al-Kamal ibn al-Humam (d. 861)
who took
fiqh from Siraj al-Din ‘Umar ibn ‘Ali Qari’ al-Hidaya (d. 829)
who took
fiqh:
1) from
‘Ala’s al-Din al-Sirami (d. 790)
who took
fiqh from Jalal al-Din al-Karlani
who took
fiqh from ‘Abd al-’Aziz al-Bukhari (d. 730) [the author of
Kashf al-Asrar, a manual of Usul al-Fiqh]
who took
fiqh from Hafiz al-Din Imam ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Nasafi
(d. 701)
who took
fiqh from the Sun of Imams Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Sattar al-Kardari
2) from
Akmal al-Din Muhammad al-Babarti (d. 796)
who took
fiqh from Qawwam al-Din Muhammad al-Kaki (d. 749)
who took
fiqh from al-Husayn al-Saghnaqi (d. 711)
who took
fiqh from Hafiz al-Din al-Kabir Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Nasr
al-Bukhari (d. 693)
who also
took fiqh from Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Sattar al-Kardari (d. 642)
Al-Kardari
took fiqh from the author of the Hidaya, Imam ‘Ali ibn Abi
Bakr al-Marghinani (d. 593)
who took
fiqh from al-Najm Abu Hafs ‘Umar al-Nasafi (d. 537)
who took
fiqh from the two Pazdawi brothers, Fakhr al-Islam (d. 482) and
Sadr al-Islam (d. 493),
the first
of whom took fiqh from the Sun of Imams al-Sarkhasi (d. 483)
the author of the Mabsut,
who took
fiqh from the Sun of Imams al-Halwa’i (d. 448)
who took
fiqh from al-Husayn ibn Khidr al-Nasafi (d. 423)
who took
fiqh from Muhammad ibn al-Fadl al-Bukhari (d. 381)
who took
fiqh from ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Harithi (d. 340)
who took
fiqh from Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hafs (d. 264)
who took
fiqh from his father Abu Hafs al-Kabir (d. 217)
who took
fiqh from the Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani (d. 189)
the companion of Imam Abu Hanifa,
while
Sadr al-Islam took fiqh from Isma’il ibn ‘Abd al-Sadiq
who took
fiqh from ‘Abd al-Karim al-Pazdawi (d. 390)
who took
fiqh from the Imam of Guidance Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 333)
who took
fiqh from Abu Bakr al-Jawjazani
who took
fiqh from Abu Sulayman Musa ibn Sulayman al-Jawjazani
who also
took fiqh from the Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani.
Al-Shaybani
took fiqh from the founder of the madhhab Imam Abu Hanifa
al-Nu‘man (d. 150)
who took
fiqh from Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman (d. 120)
who took
fiqh from Ibrahim ibn Yazid al-Nakha‘i (d. 95)
who took
fiqh from [1] ‘Alqama ibn Qays (d. 62), [2] al-Aswad ibn Yazid
(d. 75), and [3] Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman ‘Abd Allah ibn Hubayyib al-Sulami
(d. 74 or 73)
‘Alqama
and al-Aswad took fiqh from ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ud (d. 32),
while
al-Sulami took fiqh from Sayyiduna ‘Ali who was martyred
in Kufa in the month of Ramadan of the year 40.
Both
Ibn Mas‘ud and Sayyiduna ‘Ali took from the Seal of Prophets and
Leader of the Radiant-faced ones, the Master of the First and the Last
among angels, jinn, and human beings including Prophets and Messengers:
who was taken to the Highest Company in the late morning of the Second
Day of the week, the 13th of the month of Rabi‘ al-Awwal in the year 11,
the blessings and greeting of Allah upon him, honor, generosity, and mercy,
and upon his excellent and chaste Family as well as his pure and Godfearing
Companions.
A
tireless scholar, there is apparently no field of the Islamic sciences
in which al-Kawthari did not have a well-founded claim to authority. He
edited and brought back into circulation countless classical books of
fiqh, hadith, and usûl after he moved to Cairo. A
staunch Ash‘ari, he held an extremely critical view of anti-Ash‘aris,
considering Ibn Taymiyya an unmitigated anthropomorphist. Among the books
he authored as listed by his student Ahmad Khayri:
Bulugh
al-Amani fi Sira al-Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, a biography
of the foremost Hanafi authority after Imam Abu Hanifa.
Al-Fara’id
al-Wafiya [or: al-Fawa’id al-Kafiya] fi ‘Ilmay al-‘Arud
wa al-Qafya ("The Abundant Peerless Matters in the Two Sciences
of Prosody and Rhyme"), published without the name of the author.
Fiqh Ahl
al-‘Iraq ("The Jurisprudence of the Iraqi Scholars"), less
than a hundred pages in length, it is one of the great works on the remarkable
character of Hanafi fiqh and its school and contains useful definitions
of key concepts such as analogy (qiyâs), scholarly exertion
(ijtihâd), and discretion (istihsân) as well
as biographical notices on the most eminent figures of the Hanafi school.
It was meticulously commented upon by Shaykh ‘Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda.
Excerpts:
(In praise
of al-Zayla‘i) "If the students of fiqh find one among the
hadith masters who is profoundly learned and truly insightful without
being taken over by vain lusts – let them hold onto him tooth and nail,
for such a type is, among them, as rare as red sulphur."
The ‘Aqida
Tahawiyya received several commentaries, among them that of Najm al-Din
Abu Shuja‘ Bakbars al-Nasiri al-Baghdadi – one of Sharaf al-Din al-Dimyati’s
shaykhs –, that of Siraj al-Din ‘Umar ibn Ishaq al-Ghaznawi al-Misri, that
of Mahmud ibn Ahmad ibn Mas‘ud al-Qunawi, that of Sharh al-Sadr ‘Ali ibn
Muhammad al-Adhra‘i, and others. A commentary was published, authored by
an unknown ["Ibn Abi al-‘Izz"] spuriously affiliated with the
Hanafi school, but whose handiwork proclaims his ignorance of this discipline
and the fact that he is an anthropomorphist who has lost his compass.
- Husn
al-Taqadi fi Sira al-Imam Abi Yusuf al-Qadi, a biography of the
second foremost Hanafi authority after Imam Abu Hanifa.
- Ibda’
Wujuh al-Ta‘addi fi Kamil Ibn ‘Adi ("Exposing the Different
Sides of Enmity Found in Ibn ‘Adi’s al-Kamil fi Du‘afa’ al-Rijal")
in which al-Kawthari demonstrated the many flaws of the reports adduced
by Ibn ‘Adi whereby Abu Hanifa was supposedly criticized by Sufyan al-Thawri,
Malik, and Ibn Ma‘in. Shaykh ‘Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda said in his annotations
of al-Lacknawi’s al-Raf‘ wa al-Takmil that al-Kawthari refuted
Ibn ‘Adi’s excesses against Abu Hanifa in three works: Ta’nib al-Khatib,
al-Imta‘ bi Sirat al-Imamayn, and the unpublished Ibda‘.
Ibn ‘Adi shows enmity to Abu Hanifa as he reports nothing but criticism,
relying entirely on weak and inauthentic reports. Al-Kawthari said in
his introduction to Nasb al-Raya and in Fiqh Ahl al-‘Iraq,
"Among the defects of Ibn ‘Adi’s Kamil is his relentless
criticism of Abu Hanifa with reports that are all from the narration
of Abba’ ibn Ja‘far al-Najirami, one of Ibn ‘Adi’s shaykhs, and the
latter tries to stick what al-Najirami has directly to Abu Hanifa, and
this is injustice and enmity, as is the rest of his criticism. The way
to expose such cases is through the chain of transmission."
- Al-Ifsah
‘an Hukm al-Ikrah fi al-Talaq wa al-Nikah ("The Eloquent Proclamation
of the Ruling Concerning Forced Divorce or Marriage").
- Ihqaq
al-Haqq bi Ibtal al-Batil fi Mughith al-Khalq, a refutation of Imam
al-Haramayn’s pamphlet entitled Mughith al-Khalq fi Tarjih al-Qawl
al-Haqq proclaiming the superiority of the Shafi‘i school to the
Hanafi and Maliki schools. He followed it up with a tract titled Aqwam
al-Masalik fi Bahth Riwayati Malik ‘an Abi Hanifa wa Riwayati Abi Hanifa
‘an Malik in which he cited narrations showing that Imam Malik had
narrated from Imam Abu Hanifa and vice-versa – may Allah have mercy
on both of them.
- Al-Imta‘
bi Sirat al-Imamayn al-Hasan ibn Ziyad (al-Lu’lu’i d. 204) wa
Sahibihi Muhammad ibn Shuja‘ (al-Thalji d. 266), a biography of
two great figures of the Hanafi school.
- Is‘ad
al-Raqi ‘ala al-Maraqi on Hanafi fiqh, in which he documented
the hadiths of al-Shurunbulali’s Maraqi al-Falah.
- Al-Ishfaq
‘ala Ahkam al-Talaq fi al-Radd ‘ala Man Yaqul Inna al-Thalatha Wahida,
a refutation of Ibn Taymiyya’s position on divorce in which the latter
dissented from the Consensus of the scholars.
- Al-Istibsar
fi al-Tahadduth ‘an al-Jabr wa al-Ikhtiyar ("The Obtainment
of Insight Concerning Determinism and Freedom of Choice").
- Izaha
Shubha al-Mu‘ammam ‘an ‘Ibara al-Muharram, resolving the ambiguity
of a certain expression used by a shaykh named al-Muharram in his supercommentary
on al-Jami’s commentary on Ibn al-Hajib’s al-Kafiya in Arabic
grammar.
- Al-Jawab
al-Wafi fi al-Radd ‘ala al-Wa‘iz al-Awfi. An extemporaneous 20-page
reply to a preacher from the town of Awf (on the shore of the Black
Sea) who had attacked Sufis.
- Lamahat
al-Nazar fi Sira al-Imam Zufar, a biography of the third foremost
Hanafi authority after Imam Abu Hanifa.
- Mahq
al-Taqawwul fi Mas’ala al-Tawassul, a refutation of those who deny
the validity of using the Prophet e and the righteous as means
in supplicating Allah.
- Maqalat
al-Kawthari, a collection of important articles written in Egypt
in the thirties and fourties on a variety of contemporary issues and
ranging from two to twenty pages. Among them:
•
Bid‘a al-Sawtiyya Hawl al-Qur’an ("The Innovation of Asserting
Pre-Existence for Qur’an-Recitation") in which he states: "It
is a fact that the Qur’an as found on the Tablet, on Gibril’s tongue and
that of the Prophet e , as well as the tongue of all those who recite
it, their hearts, and their tablets, is created, originated, and necessarily
brought to be. Whoever denies this is a sophist who is unworthy of being
heard. The pre-existent is only the concept that subsists in Allah I
in the sense of Allah’s own self-discourse (al-kalâm al-nafsî)
within His Knowledge, as expressed by Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ibn Hazm."
•
Hadith Man Tashabbaha bi Qawmin fa Huwa Minhum ("The Hadith:
‘Whoever Outwardly Imitates A People, He is One of Them’") in which
he says: "This hadith is one of the pithy statements of the Prophet
e . Al-Najm al-Ghazzi – one of the great Shafi‘i scholars of the
eleventh century – authored a large volume titled Husn al-Tanabbuh
li Ahkam al-Tashabbuh ("The Excellent Awakening to the Rulings
That Pertain to Outward Imitation") in which he examines at length
the rulings inferred from this hadith. This volume is in Damascus’ Zahiriyya
library and deserves to be published." In the corollary article entitled
Mansha’ Ilzam Ahl al-Dhimma bi Shi‘arin Khassin wa Hukmu Talabbus al-Muslimi
bihi ‘Inda al-Fuqaha’ ("The Origin of the Imposition of a Distinctive
Vestimentary Sign on Non-Muslim Citizens and the Juridical Status of Its
Donning by a Muslim") – written in response to Muhammad ‘Abduh’s
fatwa permitting the donning of fedoras and top hats by Muslims – he cites
the hadith of the Prophet e : "Dye your white hair and do not
imitate the Jews" and mentions that Ibn Taymiyya adduced it as evidence
that tashabbuh may take place passively on our part and without
specific intention. This is a proof against beardless Muslims that wear
a suit and tie "without intending to imitate non-Muslims" let
alone those who endorse their fashions.
•
Hijab al-Mar’a ("Woman’s Veil") in which he adduced the
report of Ibn ‘Abbas and ‘Ali’s companion ‘Abida al-Salmani – narrated
by al-Tabari in his Tafsir – whereby the meaning of the verse [
they [women]
should cast their outer garments (jalâbîb)
over their persons] (33:59) included the face but for one eye.
Ibn Rushd said that this verse has been adduced as proof that all of woman’s
body constitutes nakedness while al-Qurtubi in his commentary on the verse
said that the jilbâb is the cloak that conceals all of the
body including the head. Another verse states [ And
tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display
of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their headcovers
(khumûrihinna) over their bosoms] (24:31),
"only that which is apparent" meaning their face and hands according
to most jurists, provided they pose no risk of enticement. The Hanbalis
include the hands and face among the limbs that must be covered, as they
read the above verses in the light of the Prophet’s e statement:
"Woman is nakedness (al-mar’atu ‘awra), so when she goes out
the devil is facing her, and the nearest she is to her Lord’s countenance
is in the privacy of her house." ‘A’isha defined the headcover as
follows: "When a woman reaches puberty she must cover whatever her
mother and grandmother must cover," their khimâr being
"nothing short of what covers both the hair and skin," "without
transparency." She also said: "By Allah, I never saw any better
women than the women of the Ansar nor stronger in their confirmation
of the book of Allah! When Sura al-Nur was revealed [ and
to draw their khumûr over their bosoms] (24:31)
– their men went back to them reciting to them what Allah had revealed
to them in that [sura or verse], each man reciting it to his wife, daughter,
sister, and relative. Not one woman among them remained except she got
up on the spot, tore up her waist-wrap and covered herself from head to
toe (i‘jtajarat) with it. They prayed the very next dawn prayer
covered from head to toe (mu‘tajirât)." The two interpretations
of the order to [draw
their headcovers over their bosoms] among the women of the Companions
and the generation that immediately succeeded them – on which are based
the two views of the Four Schools, to cover everything or leave out the
face and hands – stem from the fact that some women drew from the top
down, some from the sides and over. The result for the first category
was to cover the face, while the second category left the face uncovered.
•
Khutura al-Qawl bi al-Jiha ("The Gravity of the Doctrine That
Attributes Direction [to Allah I ]") in which he reports al-Bayadi’s
explanation of Imam Abu Hanifa’s statement: "Whoever says, ‘I do
not know whether my Lord is in the heaven or on earth’ is a disbeliever
and, similarly, whoever says, ‘He is on the Throne and I do not know whether
the Throne is in the heaven or on earth’ is a disbeliever." Al-Bayadi
said in Isharat al-Maram: "This is because he implies that
the Creator has a direction and a boundary, and anything that possesses
direction and boundary is necessarily created. So this statement explicitly
attributes imperfection to Allah I . The believer in [divine] corporeality
and direction is someone who denies the existence of anything other than
objects that can be pointed to with the senses. They deny the Essence
of the Deity that is transcendent beyond that. This makes them positively
guilty of disbelief."
•
Al-Lamadhhabiyya Qantaratu al-Ladiniyya ("Anti-Madhhabism
is the Archway of Atheism").
•
Layla al-Nisf Min Sha‘ban ("The Night of Mid-Sha‘ban")
in which he cites the hadith whereby the Prophet e said: "The
night of mid-Sha‘ban let all of you spend in prayer and its day in fasting,
for Allah descends to the nearest heaven during that night beginning with
sunset and says: ‘Is there no-one asking forgiveness that I may forgive
them? Is there no-one asking sustenance that I may grant them sustenance?
Is there no one under duress that I may relieve them? Is there not such-and-such,
is there not such-and-such, and so forth until until dawn rises.’"
Al-Kawthari commented: "The meaning of descent is His opening the
gate of response to His servants, and this is true Arabic usage. As for
explaining it as His displacement from top to bottom, it is ignorance
of what is permissible and impermissible to apply to Allah I . Therefore,
one has to explain it metaphorically as Allah’s sending down a herald
sounding out this call, as indicated by al-Nasa’i’s narration; or, also
metaphorically, as His ‘turning toward’ (yuqbilu ‘alâ) those
who ask forgiveness etc. as related from Hammad ibn Zayd and others. Also,
sunset and the last third of the night differ for each region, so both
go on continuously according to each different region of the world. It
cannot be imagined that a sensory descending is meant in all the formulations
of the hadith of descent, and the hadith of mid-Sha‘ban is in the same
category."
•
Ma Hiya al-Ahruf al-Sab‘a? ("What Are the Seven Wordings?")
in which he expressed the positions that the ahruf al-sab‘a were
not dialects but synonyms, most of which were either abrogated or retained
in their known current form.
•
Mahq al-Taqawwul fi Mas’ala al-Tawassul ("The Eradication
of Gossip Concerning the Use of Intermediaries"), a seminal article
on the question.
•
Tahdhir al-Umma Min Du‘at al-Wathaniyya ("Warning the Community
About Those Who Call to Idol-Worship"), written in 1942, in which
he lambasts al-Azhar for allowing the publication of ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id
al-Darimi’s al-Radd ‘ala al-Jahmiyya which contains phrases like
"[Allah I ] moves if He wishes, descends and ascends if He wishes…
stands and sits if He wishes"; "Allah I has a limit… and
His place also has a limit, as He is on His Throne above His heavens,
and these are two limits"; "if He wished, He would have settled
on the back of a gnat" and other enormities. This is identical to
Ibn Karram’s doctrine whereby "Allah has a body unlike bodies, and
a limit." Yet Ibn Taymiyya ardently defends al-Darimi’s views, citing
them time and again in his attack on Fakhr al-Din al-Razi’s Asas al-Taqdis
– a refutation of anthropomorphism – entitled al-Ta’sis Radd Asas al-Taqdis,
even claiming that Imam Ahmad upheld the doctrine of that Allah I
possesses a limit. At the same time he admits that Ahl al-Sunna
did hold the opposite view: "The position that He is above the Throne
but has no limit (hadd) nor dimension nor body is that of many
of the upholders of the Divine Attributes (al-sifâtiyya)
among the followers of Ibn Kullab and the Ash‘ari Imams including their
early authorities and whoever agrees with them among the jurists … and
the hadith scholars and the Sufis... among them Abu Hatim, Ibn Hibban,
and Abu Sulayman al-Khattabi." Then he states: "Al-Qadi [Abu
Ya‘la] said that Ahmad asserts in absolute terms that Allah I had
a limit but he negates it in Hanbal’s narration, saying: ‘We believe that
Allah is on the Throne in the manner He wishes and however He wishes,
without limit nor description anyone could give or define Him by.’ So
he negated the limit that pertains to the description he mentioned, meaning
the limit known by creatures… And that is the meaning of Ahmad’s statement:
‘Allah I has a limit that only He knows.’" The latter is in blatant
contradiction of what is authentically reported from Imam Ahmad by his
the major authorities of his school.
- Naqd
Kitab al-Du‘afa’ li al-‘Uqayli ("Critique of al-‘Uqayli’s Du‘afa"),
in which al-Kawthari denounced the Hanbali al-‘Uqayli’s excessive anti-Hanafi
bias in his book of discredited narrators titled Kitab al-Du‘afa’.
Possibly the most fanatic and least reliable of narrator-criticism authorities,
his notice on Imam Abu Hanifa is a collection of weak and fabricated
reports but he also attacked the likes of Thabit al-Bunani, Ibn al-Madini,
al-Bukhari, ‘Abd al-Razzaq, Ibn Abi Shayba, ‘Affan ibn Muslim, and others,
for which he earned al-Dhahabi’s strong reprimand. Al-Kawthari said:
"We find in al-‘Uqayli’s Du‘afa’ and Ibn ‘Adi’s Kamil
much idle talk against our masters, the Imams of jurisprudence, because
of the former’s anthropomorphist creed and the latter’s partisanship
for his [Shafi‘i] school, together with his questionable creed.
- Al-Naqd
al-Tammi ‘ala al-‘Iqd al-Nami ‘ala Sharh al-Jami, a supercommentary
on the Turkish Shaykh Muhammad Rahmi al-Akini’s commentary titled al-‘Iqd
al-Nami on ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Jami’s al-Fawa’id al-Diya’iyya Sharh
al-Kafiya in grammar.
- Al-Nazm
al-‘Atid fi Tawassul al-Murid ("Poem on the Means Sought by
the Student"), after which came its commentary entitled Irgham
al-Murid fi Sharh al-Nazm al-‘Atid.
- Nazm
‘Awamil al-I‘rab ("Poem on Declensions"), in Persian,
his first work.
- Nazra
‘Abira fi Maza‘im Man Yankur Nuzul ‘Isa ‘Alyhi al-Salam Qabla al-Akhira
("A Cursory Look at the Claims of Those Who Deny ‘Isa’s Descent
Before the Next Life"), a 67-page epistle similar to Shaykh ‘Abd
Allah al-Ghumari’s subsequent ‘Aqida Ahl al-Islam fi Nuzul ‘Isa ‘Alayhi
al-Salam ("The Doctrine of the Muslims Concerning the Descent
of ‘Isa u ")
which lists all the authentic evidence to that effect and which al-Kawthari
prefaced. Both works were written in refutation of a strange fatwa by
Shaykh Mahmud Shaltut of al-Azhar.
- Al-Nukat
al-Tarifa fi al-Tahadduth ‘an Rudud Ibn Abi Shayba ‘ala Abi Hanifa,
a commentary on Ibn Abi Shayba’s attack on Abu Hanifa in his Musannaf
- Qawa‘id
‘Aqa’id al-Batiniyya ("The Foundations of the Doctrines of
the Esoterics").
- Qurra
al-Nawazir fi Adab al-Munazir, a treatise on debate translated from
the original Turkish of Jawdat Basha.
- Raf‘
al-Ishtibah ‘an Hukm Kashf al-Ra’s wa Labs al-Ni‘al fi al-Salat
("The Removal of Doubt Concerning the Status of Praying Bare-Headed
and Wearing Shoes"), a fatwa – also included in the Maqalat
– which denounces the then new "Salafi" fashion of praying
"in the appearance of the lowborn.
- Al-Suhuf
al-Munshara fi Sharh al-Usul al-‘Ashara li Najm al-Din Kubra, an
explanation of the "Ten Principles" by the Sufi master Najm
al-Din Kubra.
- Tadrib
al-Tullab ‘ala Qawa‘id al-I‘rab, a manual for training in grammatical
analysis.
- Tadrib
al-Wasif ‘ala Qawa‘id al-Taswif.
- Tafrih
al-Bal bi Hall Tarikh Ibn al-Kamal, on the way to solve the riddles
contained in the history of the Ottomans entitled Tarikh Al ‘Uthman
by Shams al-Din Ahmad ibn Sulayman ibn Kamal Basha (d. 940).
- Ta’nib
al-Khatib ‘ala Ma Saqahu fi Tarjimati Abi Hanifata Min al-Akadhib
("Rebuking al-Khatib for Citing Lies in His Biography of Abu Hanifa")
to which the "Salafi" scholar ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Yahya al-Mu‘allimi
al-Yamani (1313-1386) responded with his two-volume al-Tankil Lima
Warada fi Ta’nib al-Kawthari min al-Abatil ("Repelling the
Falsehoods Cited in al-Kawthari’s Ta’nib"). The Tankil
contains a wicked attack on the early Hanafi school engulfing Ash‘aris
and giving free vent to the author’s anti-madhhabi and anthropomorphist
views, to the point that he states: "To negate [from Allah] the
corporeality that is necessarily forbidden some said: ‘Allah has a body
unlike bodies.’" Al-Kawthari countered with al-Tarhib bi Naqd
al-Ta’nib in which he revealed that the publication of al-Mu‘allimi’s
critique was financed by Muhammad Nasif, the same wealthy Jeddah patron
who had financed the printing of al-Qari’s hapless fatwa that the parents
of the Prophet e were in hellfire, the dissemination in India of
the derogatory part of al-Khatib’s biography of Imam Abu Hanifa with
an Urdu translation, and the publication of the anthropomorphist Kitab
al-Sunna attributed to ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, concerning
which book Shaykh Shu‘ayb al-Arna’ut said that "at least 50 percent
of the hadiths in it are weak or outright forgeries." Al-Kawthari
also revealed that al-Mu‘allimi’s editor, Muhammad ‘Abd al-Razzaq Hamza,
collaborated on the publication of ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id al-Darimi’s Naqd
al-Jahmiyya, which contains similar Israelite reports, anthropomorphist
forgeries and other enormities.
- Tarwid
al-Qariha bi Mawazin al-Fikr al-Sahiha, a treatise on logic translated
from the original Turkish of Jawdat Basha.
Among the
books al-Kawthari edited or forwarded:
- Al-Bayadi’s
Isharat al-Maram min ‘Ibarat al-Imam, on Imam Abu Hanifa’s positions
in kalâm and the terminologies he used.
- Al-Bayhaqi’s
al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat
- Al-Ghaznawi’s
(d. 773) al-Ghurra al-Munifa fi Tahqiq Ba‘d Masa’il al-Imam Abi Hanifa,
a work of comparative fiqh between the Hanafi and Shafi‘i schools
similar to al-Bayhaqi’s al-Khilafiyyat, written by request of
the scholarly emir Sirghatmish al-Misri in refutation of al-Razi’s al-Tariqa
al-Baha’iyya fi al-Khilaf, a treatise on the differences of the
jurists advocating the supremacy of the Shafi‘i position. Al-Ghaznawi
translated al-Razi’s work into Arabic from the original Persian in the
process.
- Ibn ‘Asakir’s
Tabyin Kadhib al-Muftari ‘ala Abi al-Hasan al-Ash‘ari, a biography
of the Imam of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama‘a containing a statement
of his doctrine and a refutation of positions falsely attributed to
him.
- Ibn Qutayba’s
Al-Ikhtilaf fi al Lafz wa al-Radd ‘ala al-Jahmiyya wa al-Mushabbiha
("The Difference of Opinion Concerning the Pronunciation [of the
Qur’an] and the Refutation of the Jahmis and the Anthropomorphists").
- Ibn Qatlubagha’s
(d. 879) Munyat al-Alma‘i fima Fata min Takhrij Ahadith al-Hidaya
li al-Zayla‘i, a continuation of al-Zayla‘i’s Nasb al-Raya
in the documentation of Al-Nabulusi’s (d. 1143) Kashf al-Satr ‘an
Fardiyya al-Watr ("The Disclosure of the Obligatory Nature
of the Witr Prayer"), in which the author adduces the proofs of
the Hanafi school on this topic. Al-Kawthari mentioned in his introduction
the sayings of the great Imams on this prayer, notably the rejection
of the legal testimony of one who did not pray witr by Imam Malik
and Imam Ahmad, and the saying of Imam al-Shafi‘i in al-Umm:
"Whoever leaves the Sunna of fajr or Salat al-Witr,
is in a worse state than if he had left all the supererogatory prayers."
- Al-Qaysarani’s,
Shurut al-A’imma al-Sitta ("The Criteria [of Hadith Authentication]
According to the Six Imams: al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi,
al-Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah") together with al-Hazimi’s Shurut
al-A’imma al-Khamsa ("The Criteria [of Hadith Authentication]
According to the Five Imams: al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi,
and al-Nasa’i").
- Al-Shafi‘i’s
Musnad and his Ahkam al-Qur’an.
- Sibt Ibn
al-Jawzi’s al-Intisar wa al-Tarjih li al-Madhhab al-Sahih ("The
Defense and Advocacy of the True School of Law") in praise of Abu
Hanifa and his school.
- Al-Tahawi’s
‘Aqida.
- Ibn al-Jawzi’s
Daf‘ Shubah al-Tashbih ("The Repelling of the Insinuations
of Anthropomorphism at the Hands of Divine Transcendence") in which
al-Kawthari collected many of the most insightful explanations of the
Sunni scholars on the verses and hadiths misquoted by the anthropomorphists
to support their ideas.
- Tabdid
al-Zalam, al-Kawthari’s commentary on al-Subki’s refutation of Ibn
Qayyim entitled al-Sayf al-Saqil fi al-Radd ‘ala Ibn Zafil.
is criticized for what is perceived by some as excessive partisanship for
the Hanafi school and a contentious style in refuting or attacking opponents.
Shaykh ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Siddiq al-Ghumari (1328-1413) wrote
in Bida‘ al-Tafasir (p. 180-181):
We admired
al-Kawthari for his knowledge, wide reading, and modesty, just as we
hated his bias for the Hanafis. This bias of his exceeded al-Zamakshari’s
bias for the Mu‘tazili school to the point that my brother, the hadith
master Abu al-Fayd [Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Siddiq al-Ghumari] used
to call him "Abu Hanifa’s madman!" (majnûn Abi Hanifa).
When he
offered me his espitle entitled Ihqaq al-Haqq [bi Ibtal al-Batil
fi Mughith al-Khalq] ("Making Truth Prevail in Exposing the
Falsehoods of Mughith al-Khalq"), a refutation of Imam al-Haramayn’s
[Abu al-Ma‘ali ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Juwayni] epistle
on the preferability of the Shafi‘i school [entitled Mughith al-Khalq
fi Tarjih al-Qawl al-Haqq in which the Imam attacked the Hanafi
and Maliki schools], I found him casting aspersions [cf. Ihqaq
p. 19-20] on the [Qurayshi] lineage of Imam al-Shafi‘i, citing [the
trustworthy hadith master Zakariyya ibn Yahya ibn Dawud] al-Saji’s statement
[in his book Manaqib al-Shafi‘i]. I criticized him for this aspersion
and said to him: "Questioning lineages does not constitute a scholarly
refutation." He replied: "A sectarian refuting a sectarian."
He said this verbatim, so he acknowledges his sectarianism.
I visited
him in his house once, together with the noble Sharîf,
al-Sayyid Muhammad al-Baqir al-Kattani, and as we discussed certain
scholarly issues the name of the hadith master Ibn Hajar came up. Al-Sayyid
al-Baqir showed his admiration of Ibn Hajar’s memorization and his commentary
on al-Bukhari, and I echoed his opinion. Whereupon he deprecated that
commentary and said: "Ibn Hajar used to depend upon hadith indexes
(al-atrâf) when collating the different routes of the hadith,"
which is untrue. Then he said that he – Ibn Hajar – used to follow women
in the streets and make passes at them, at one time following a woman
thinking that she was beautiful, until she arrived at her house with
him in her tracks; when she removed her face-veil (burqu‘), she
turned out to be an ugly black woman, so he turned back, frustrated.
Now,
the reason behind this attack, is that al-Hafiz used to assail some of
the Hanafis in his books of biography, such as al-Durar al-Kamina
and Raf‘ al-Isr [‘an Qudat Misr]. He said of the Hanafi
al-‘Ayni that he used to take the manuscript pages of Fath al-Bari
from one of his students and use them in his commentary [on Sahih al-Bukhari,
entitled ‘Umdat al-Qari]. When al-Hafiz found out, he prevented
the distribution of these pages to students.
Worse
than this, al-Kawthari imputed senility to Anas bin Malik for relating
a hadith that contradicts the school of Abu Hanifa. Worse yet is his attempt
to pass a fabricated hadith as authentic because it might imply the tidings
of Abu Hanifa, namely, the hadith: "Were knowledge (al-‘ilm)
to be found at the Pleiades, certain men from among the Persians would
go there to obtain it." The hadith is in the two Sahihs with
the word "belief" ["Were belief (al-îmân)
to be found at the Pleiades, a man from those people would go there to
obtain it"], and when the Prophet e said it he put his hand
on the shoulder of Salman al-Farisi t . Some forger then changed
the word "belief" to "knowledge" as pointed out by
my brother, the hadith master Abu al-Fayd, in al-Mathnuni wa al-Battar,
who said: "Even if it were authentic there would not be in it any
reference to Abu Hanifa but to the hadith masters who came out of Persia,
such as Abu al-Shaykh and Abu Nu‘aym, for ‘ilm in the terminology
of Islamic law means the Book and the Sunna, not juridical opinion (ra’î)
and analogy (qiyâs)." Al-Kawthari took him to task in
Ta’nib al-Khatib for saying this and replied to him with some harsh
words, whereupon my brother wrote a reply to him in which he collected
his scholarly blunders and the self-contradictions caused by his odious
fanaticism, with some harshness, at the same time acknowledging his knowledge
and learning. That reply was not submitted for publication out of deference
for their friendship.The difference of opinion between two scholars does
not break up their friendship and, like two lawyers differing in a court
of justice, they meet as friends outside of it…. May Allah have mercy
on my brother and on al-Kawthari, the two major scholars of their time
without contest, and may Allah gather us with them in the Abode of His
Mercy.
Following
is Imam Abu Zahra’s eulogy of al-Kawthari after the latter’s death:
Islam
has lost one of the Imams of the Muslims, who worked alone far from
the trivialities of this life, devoting themselves to knowledge with
the devotion of a believer in the worship of his Lord. That is because
he knew that knowledge is part of the acts of worship whereby the scholar
seeks the pleasure of Allah and none besides Him. He does not seek thereby
a lofty station on the earth, nor corruption, nor influence on account
of distinction and reputation. Nor does he seek any of the fleeting
things of this world. He seeks only to bring victory to the truth, in
order to please the True One Y . That is Imam al-Kawthari. May Allah
make his resting place pleasant, be pleased with him and make him pleased.
I
do not know of any scholar who has departed and left his position vacant
these past years such as the position Imam al-Kawthari has left vacant.
He was the Remnant of the Pious Predecessors, who did not take knowledge
as a source of income, nor as a stepping-stone to a worldly goal.
He
was – Allah be well-pleased with him! – a scholar of learning who personified
the transmitted report, "The ulamas are the inheritors of the Prophets."
He did not consider this inheritance a mere title of honor by which
to pride himself and dominate others. Rather, he considered it a jihad
for the purpose of announcing Islam, showing its truths, and banishing
the illusions that conceal its essence. He would show it to people pristine
and radiant so that they rose to its light and were well-directed by
its guidance. He considered such an inheritance demand of the scholar
that he strive just as the Prophets strove, standing firm against hardships
and tribulations just as they did, remaining patient like them when
faced by the stubbornness of those he called to the truth and guidance.
Such inheritance is not an honor except to those who practice the means
that lead to it, give it its due rights, and know the duties that come
with it. Imam al-Kawthari did all of the above.
That
distinguished Imam was not an adherent of a new school of thought, nor
was he an inviter to a novel matter with no precedent, nor was he one
of those whom people label nowadays as reformers. Nay, he used to shy
from that, for he was a follower (muttabi‘) and not an innovator.
Yet, in spite of that, I say that he was one of the Renewers (al-mujaddidîn)
in the true sense of Renewal. For Renewal is not what people today commonly
think, namely, casting off the noose and a return to the beginnings
of Prophecy; rather, it consists in returning to the religion its splendor
and dispelling the confusions that were cast over it, so that it will
be shown to people in the purity of its essence and in its original
pristine state. Renewal consists in giving life to the Sunna, causing
innovation to die, and for the column of Religion to stand among mankind.
That
is real and true Renewal and, indeed, Imam al-Kawthari undertook the
revival of the Prophetic Sunna. He uncovered what had lain hidden in
the alcoves of history out of the books of the Sunna; clarified the
methods of its narrators; and made known to the people the Sunna of
the Prophet e in its sayings, its deeds, and its tacit rulings
through his epistles and his books. Then he devoted himself entirely
to the efforts of the past ulamas who upheld the Sunna and gave it its
due right. He published the books in which they compiled their works
for the purpose of reviving the Sunna at a time when souls were imbued
with love of the Religion, hearts had not yet been corrupted, and the
scholars were not swayed by the world away from the hereafter nor spent
time at the beck and call of rulers.
Imam
al-Kawthari was a true scholar; the scholars knew his knowledge. I knew
him years before meeting him. I knew him through his writings in which
the light of truth shone forth. I knew him through his commentary of
manuscripts which he undertook to publish. By Allah! My amazement at
the manuscript did not match my amazement at the commentary of the editor.
Even when the original manuscript was a brief epistle, yet the Imam’s
commentary on it would turn it into a major work that should be read.
Truly one’s insight and wide erudition show plainly in such commentaries.
All this he did with an elegant style, subtle allusions, forceful analysis,
accomplished accuracy, and total mastery over his own thought and writing
technique. It could not occur to the mind of the reader that he was
a non-Arab writer and not patently Arab. … Yet it is not really astonishing,
for he was Turkish in ancestry, education, and everyday life at the
time he lived in Istanbul (al-Astana) but his scholarly life
was purely Arabic, for he read nothing but Arabic, and nothing filled
his head but the shining light of Muhammadan Arabic. …
He
came from a family in the Caucasus, as reflected in his vigor, strength,
handsome body and spirit, and the quality and depth of his thought.
His father moved to Istanbul where he was born in surroundings of guidance
and truth. He studied the Islamic sciences until he attained the highest
rank in them at around twenty-eight years of age. Then he ascended the
ladder of teaching positions until he reached their highest level quite
early. He reached the point when he was confronted by those who wanted
to separate the world from religion in order to rule the world by other
than what Allah has revealed, but he stood in ambush for them despite
the fact that he was yet without experience, with everything that a
young man at the beginning of his career could hope for. But he chose
his Religion over their world. He chose to defend what is still left
of Islam rather than have a pleasant life. He preferred to face continuous
enmity while obtaining the good pleasure of Allah I rather than
pleasure and comfort amidst people’s approval and the good pleasure
of those who held the keys of the lower world. Obtaining the good pleasure
of Allah is truly the goal of faith.
He
fought the promoters of atheism (al-ilhâdiyyîn) in
power when they tried to shorten the period of study for the religious
curriculum when he saw that to shorten it would jeopardize its preliminary
and final parts, so he left no stone unturned until he did away with
their wish and even lengthened the period that they were trying to cut
short, so that students would be able to absorb and digest all the disciplines
they needed, especially for non-natives learning in a patent Arabic
tongue. …
He
strove with all his might and effort – may Allah be well-pleased with
him – on the loftiest paths until he became Deputy of the Office of
Shaykh al-Islam in [Ottoman] Turkey. He was among those known
to give such a post its due. He never exceeded bounds so as to please
someone high-placed, no matter how great their power over him, eventually
preferring to be expelled from his position for the sake of upholding
the public good. It is better to be expelled for the sake of truth than
to implement falsehood. …
Then
the lofty-minded, abnegating, Godwary scholar was put to the severest
test when he saw his dear country – the Great Land of Islam, the pivot
of his strength, the locus of hopes for Muslims – overshadowed by atheism
and taken over by those who do not wish any honor for this Religion.
The one who clings to his Religion in such a place soon becomes like
one clasping a burning coal. Then he finds himself targeted by persecution
so that unless he escaped, he would be thrown into some forlorn prisons
and blocked from all that is knowledge and teaching. At that point,
the Imam faced three choices. Either to remain a prisoner in chains,
his knowledge put out in the deep gaol; a harsh fate for a scholar of
learning accustomed to teach and guide others, extracting the treasures
of the Religion and bringing them to light for the benefit of humankind.
Or grovel and flatter and kowtow, short of which he would remain in
fetters or even risk losing his life. Or emigrate – and vast are the
lands of Allah. He remembered the saying of Allah, [Was
not the earth of Allah spacious that you could have migrated therein?]
(4:97).
So
he emigrated to Egypt then moved to Syria. He then returned to Cairo,
then went back to Damascus again, until he finally settled in Cairo.
During
his trips to Sham and his residence in Cairo he was a beacon of light.
His residence expanded into a school to which flocked the students of
true knowledge – not the students of schoolish knowledge. Those students
were guided to the sources of knowledge through the books that were
written when the marketplace of the Islamic sciences was vibrant and
the souls of the ulamas thriving with Islam. He coached the minds of
those searching students with those sources and directed them to them.
At the same time he would explain whatever they found obscure and pour
out the abundance of his learning and share the fruits of his thought.
…
I
bear witness that I have heard the praise of eminent personalities and
scholars, but I never prided myself with any of it as much as I prided
myself with the praise of this magnificent shaykh – for such is a scholarly
badge from someone who is truly able to give it. …
That noble
man who suffered many trials and overcame them, was also afflicted with
the loss of loved ones, for he lost his children during his own lifetime,
death taking them one after the other. By virtue of his knowledge, he
was able to be patient, uttering the statement of the Prophet Ya‘qub,
Patience is beautiful, and the help of Allah must be entreated
(12:18). … He passed on to his Lord, patient, thankful and praiseful,
as the sincere and righteous pass on. May Allah be pleased with him
and make him pleased!