Muhammad Tahir al-Fatani al-Kujrati
- Died
- 986 AH
- Born in
- -
Muhammad Tahir al-Fatani al-Kujrati (913–986 AH / 1507–1578 CE) was an Indian hadith scholar and lexicographer from Gujarat, best known for his encyclopedic dictionary of Quranic and hadith vocabulary, Majma Bihar al-Anwar, and his reference work on hadith narrators, al-Mughni fi Dabt al-Asma li Ruwat al-Anba .
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Muhammad Tahir ibn Ali al-Siddiqi al-Fatani al-Kujrati, bearing the honorific title Malik al-Muhaddithin ("King of Hadith Scholars") . He was born in the town of Patan (also known as Nahrwala) in northern Gujarat in 913 AH (910 AH and 914 AH are also reported) . He hailed from the Bohra trading community whose ancestors had embraced Islam in Gujarat, and his family claimed lineage tracing back to the first caliph, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq .
Al-Fatani memorized the Quran in 924 AH at the age of thirteen . He pursued religious sciences locally for about fifteen years under Gujarati scholars including Mulla Mehtah, al-Shaykh al-Nakuri, Burhan al-Din al-Samhudi, and Yad Allah al-Suhi .
Travels and Studies in the Hijaz
In 944 AH, al-Fatani traveled to the Hejaz to perform the pilgrimage and seek advanced training in hadith sciences . In Mecca and Medina, he studied under prominent authorities such as Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Ali al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Abu al-Hasan al-Bakri, Abd Allah al-Aydarus, and Jar Allah al-Makki . He formed a particularly close attachment to his compatriot Ali al-Muttaqi, at whose direction he later authored al-Mughni fi Dabt al-Asma to resolve ambiguous narrator names for students of hadith .
Scholarly Career and Public Life
Upon returning to Gujarat, al-Fatani dedicated himself to teaching, writing, and supporting students of sacred knowledge . Having inherited substantial wealth from his father, he spent it on poor students, guaranteeing their living expenses so they could study without distraction . He also personally manufactured ink and distributed it to copyists and students of hadith, often continuing to prepare ink even during his lecture circles .
His scholarly output focused primarily on the linguistic clarification and critical verification of hadith literature, including his critique of spurious reports in Tadhkirat al-Mawduat .
Controversy and Death
Al-Fatani was a staunch opponent of sectarian factions and heterodox movements in Gujarat, most notably the Mahdawi movement . He took a public vow not to wear a turban until their influence was eliminated from the region . When the Mughal emperor Akbar conquered Gujarat in 980 AH, he met al-Fatani, personally tied a turban on his head, and committed royal assistance against the sect, appointing his foster brother Mirza Aziz Koka as governor to support al-Fatani's efforts .
When Mirza Aziz was later replaced as governor by Abd al-Rahim Khan-i Khanan, Mahdawi activity resumed . Al-Fatani removed his turban once again and set out toward Agra (Akbarabad) to petition Emperor Akbar . Opponents infiltrated his entourage and ambushed him near Ujjain in Malwa, where he was killed in 986 AH (984 AH is also mentioned) . His body was transported back to Patan and buried in his ancestral graveyard .
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List of Works
Majma‘ Bihar al-Anwar fi Ghara'ib al-Tanzil wa-Lata'if al-Akhbar (The Confluence of the Seas of Lights on the Rarities of Revelation and Subtle Reports) is an encyclopedic dictionary of rare and obscure vocabulary (gharib) found in the Quran and Hadith. Organized alphabetically according to word roots, it elucidates linguistic rarities, provides substantive explanations of hadith meanings, and clarifies difficult passages.
al-Mughni fi Dabt al-Asma li Ruwat al-Anba (The Sufficient Guide to the Precise Orthography of Names of the Narrators of Reports) is a biographical reference manual on the vocalization and disambiguation of hadith narrators' names. It focuses on the accurate recording and differentiation of easily misread or homonymous names, patronymics, cognomens, and genealogical or geographical attributions among hadith transmitters.
Tadhkirat al-Mawduat (Memorandum on Fabricated Hadiths) is a compendium on fabricated traditions and narrators. The work focuses on identifying fabricated and ungrounded narrations in hadith literature, summarizing and drawing upon the critical works of Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti and other earlier authorities on spurious traditions.