Muhammad Taqi al-Uthmani
- Died
- -
- Born in
- Deoband
Muhammad Taqi al-Uthmani (b. 1362 AH / 1943 CE) is a Pakistani Hanafi jurist, scholar of hadith, and former judge known for his contributions to Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic finance, including works such as Takmilat Fath al-Mulhim bi-Sharh Sahih Muslim and Buhuth fi Qadaya Fiqhiyya Muasira .
Lineage and Early Life
Muhammad Taqi al-Uthmani is the son of the Pakistani Grand Mufti Muhammad Shafi' ibn Muhammad Yasin ibn Khalifah Tahsin Ali ibn Mianji Imam Ali . His family traces its ancestry to the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan . He was born in 1362 AH in the town of Deoband in the Saharanpur district of India, where his father taught and issued fatwas at Dar al-Ulum Deoband . In 1367 AH (c. 1948 CE), at the age of five, he migrated with his father to Pakistan and settled in Karachi .
Education and Teachers
His earliest education began at home under his mother, who taught him Bahishti Zewar and Sirat Khatim al-Anbiya in Urdu . Following his father's founding of Dar al-Ulum Karachi, he enrolled there to study Urdu and Persian before beginning the traditional Dars-i Nizami curriculum at the age of eight . He studied the primary disciplines of Islamic learning, including theology (kalam), Quranic exegesis (tafsir), hadith, jurisprudence (fiqh), legal theory (usul al-fiqh), inheritance law (fara'id), and Arabic literature, graduating with the alamiyyah degree with distinction in 1379 AH .
Recognizing the need to address modern legal and economic developments alongside classical training, he subsequently pursued university degrees, earning a bachelor's degree in economics and political science from the University of Karachi in 1384 AH (1964 CE), an LLB from the same university in 1387 AH (1967 CE), and a master's degree in Arabic with first-class honors from the University of the Punjab in 1390 AH (1970 CE) .
Among his principal teachers was his father, Mufti Muhammad Shafi' . He also studied legal theory and Tafsir al-Jalalayn under Akbar Ali, al-Hidayah under Mufti Wali Hasan, primary texts under Nur Ahmad, and Sahih al-Bukhari under Mufti Rashid Ahmad . His other prominent instructors at Dar al-Ulum Karachi included Muhammad Ri'ayat Allah, Sahban Mahmud, and Salimullah Khan .
Judicial Career and Institutional Roles
Al-Uthmani served as a judge and chief judge on the Shariah Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan . In the realm of academic administration and teaching, he served as vice president and Shaykh al-Hadith at Dar al-Ulum Karachi .
Internationally, he was appointed a member and vice president of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia . He also chaired and participated in numerous Shariah supervisory boards for Islamic banks and financial institutions, contributing regularly to international legal conferences and symposia .
Scholarly Method and Standing
Al-Uthmani is widely recognized for bridging classical Islamic legal methodology with modern legal, economic, and institutional systems . His writings, produced in Arabic, Urdu, and English, address contemporary dilemmas in commercial transactions, modern contracts, and public policy through the framework of classical fiqh . His multi-volume commentary Takmilat Fath al-Mulhim bi-Sharh Sahih Muslim completed the earlier work of Shabbir Ahmad al-Uthmani and gained broad recognition across Islamic scholarship . Alongside his scholarly output, he has composed poetry in Urdu and delivered lectures and sermons across various Muslim countries, Europe, America, and Africa .
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List of Works
Buhuth fi Qadaya Fiqhiyya Muasira (Studies in Contemporary Juridical Issues) is an Arabic collection of legal treatises examining modern economic, medical, and social transactions. It addresses contemporary dilemmas through the methodology of classical jurisprudence, evaluating novel questions of modern life alongside traditional legal sources.