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Ashraf Ali Thanawi

Ashraf Ali Thanvi
اشرف علی تھانوی
Ashraf Ali Thanwi.jpg
Born (1863-08-19)19 August 1863
Died 20 July 1943(1943-07-20) (aged 79)
Resting place Thana Bhawan
Nationality Indian
Ethnicity Indian
Era Modern era
Occupation Islamic scholar
Religion Islam
Jurisprudence Sunni islam
Movement Deobandi
Main interest(s) fiqh, sunni islam, sufism
Notable idea(s) islamic fiqah
Notable work(s) Bahishti Zewar
Alma mater Darul Uloom Deoband
Disciple of Haji Imdadullah
Website www.ashrafalithanvi.org

Ashraf 'Ali Thanwi (August 19, 1863 – July 4, 1943) (Urdu: اشرف علی تھانوی‎) was an Islamic Indian scholar of the Sunni Deobandi school.

Ashraf Ali Thanwi lost his mother at a young age and wa raised by his father. His father took great pains in teaching Maulana and his younger brother discipline and good character.

Thanwi went to Darul Uloom Deoband, India for his religious education. He became a student of Haji Imdadullah and considered him his mentor and teacher.

After his graduation, Thanwi taught religious sciences in Kanpur. Over a short period of time, he acquired a reputable position as a religious scholar of Sufism among other subjects. His teaching attracted numerous students, his research and publications became well known in Islamic institutions. During these years, he traveled to various cities and villages, delivering lectures in the hope of reforming people. Printed versions of his lectures and discourses would usually become available shortly after these tours. Until then, few Islamic scholars had had their lectures printed and widely circulated in their own lifetimes. The desire to reform the masses intensified in him during his stay at Kanpur.

Eventually, Thanwi retired from teaching and devoted himself to reestablishing the spiritual centre (khānqāh) of his shaikh in Thāna Bhāwan.

In 1906, Ahmad Raza Khan, issued a fatwa against Thanwi and other Deobandi leaders entitled Husam ul-Haramain (Urdu: Sword of Mecca and Medina‎), decrying them as unbelievers and Satanists. The fatwa was also signed by other scholars including from Hijaz.

The respected scholars of Deoband used to change their name while travelling on train because there was threat to their lives.

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi was a strong supporter of the Muslim League. He and his pupils gave their entire support to the demand for the creation of Pakistan. During the 1940s, most Deobandi ulama supported the Congress although Ashraf Ali Thanvi and some other leading Deobandi scholars including Mufti Muhammad Shafi and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani were in favour of the Muslim League. Thanvi resigned from Deoband's management committee due to its pro-Congress stance.


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