al-Mazhari, Muhammad Thana Allah
- Died
- 1225 AH
- Born in
- -
Muhammad Thana Allah al-Mazhari (d. 1225 AH / 1810 CE) was an Indian Hanafi jurist, Quranic exegete, and Naqshbandi scholar, best known for his Quranic commentary al-Tafsir al-Mazhari .
Lineage and early life
He was Muhammad Thana Allah al-Uthmani al-Panipati, tracing his lineage through twelve links back to Shaykh Jalal al-Din al-Uthmani and ultimately to the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan . He was born and raised in the town of Panipat, where he memorized the Quran and studied the Arabic language under local instructors .
Education and Sufi training
He traveled to Delhi, where he studied jurisprudence (fiqh) and received hadith from Shah Wali Allah al-Dihlawi, completing his formal course of study at the age of eighteen . He initially undertook spiritual discipleship under Shaykh Muhammad Abid al-Sunami, attaining the spiritual stage of annihilation of the heart (fana al-qalb) under his guidance . He then attached himself to Shaykh Mirza Mazhar Jan-i Janan in Delhi, traversing the spiritual ranks of the Mujaddidi branch of the Naqshbandiyya .
Mirza Mazhar held him in high esteem, gave him the title Alam al-Huda ("The Banner of Guidance"), and praised him as a revivalist of the Sharia and an illuminator of the spiritual path, remarking that if God were to ask him for a gift to present to His Presence, he would present Thana Allah .
Career and standing
He served as a judge (qadi) in Panipat, deciding legal disputes alongside teaching, writing, and engaging in personal worship . Ghulam Ali al-Dihlawi recorded that he was singular among his peers in scrupulous piety, praying one hundred cycles of prayer daily and reading a seventh part (hizb) of the Quran each day amidst his judicial and instructional duties . He was noted to have attained the capacity for independent legal derivation (ijtihad) in jurisprudence and legal theory, and Muhsin ibn Yahya al-Turhati described him as an ascetic jurist who exercised distinct legal choices within the school . Shah Abd al-Aziz al-Dihlawi titled him "the Bayhaqi of his time" on account of his vast erudition in hadith and jurisprudence .
He composed the multi-volume Quranic commentary al-Tafsir al-Mazhari, which he named after his spiritual guide, as well as the concise Hanafi legal manual Ma La Budda Minhu ("What Is Indispensable") .
Death
He died in the town of Panipat on 1 Rajab 1225 AH (1810 CE) .
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Tafsir al-Mazhari is an Arabic commentary on the entire Quran. Named as a tribute and memorial to Mirza Mazhar Jan-i Janan, the comprehensive work integrates multiple disciplines, combining Hadith analysis and Hanafi legal rulings with doctrinal theological discussions and Sufi spiritual inquiries.