Muhammad Zakariya al-Kandahlawi
- Died
- 1402 AH
- Born in
- -
Muhammad Zakariya al-Kandahlawi (1315–1402 AH / 1898–1982 CE) was an Indian Hanafi Hadith scholar, educator at the Mazahir Ulum seminary in Saharanpur, and author of the Hadith commentary Awjaz al-Masalik ila Muwatta Malik .
Lineage and Early Life
Muhammad Zakariya ibn Muhammad Yahya ibn Ismail al-Kandahlawi was born on 11 Ramadan 1315 AH (corresponding to 2 February 1898 CE) in Kandhla, in the district of Muzaffarnagar near Delhi, into a scholarly family . Shortly after being weaned, he was taken to Gangoh, where he grew up among scholars and ascetics . He memorized the Quran and studied early Arabic, Persian, and Urdu texts under his uncle, Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandahlawi . In 1328 AH, he moved with his father to Saharanpur, where he continued his education .
Education and Teachers
In Saharanpur, al-Kandahlawi studied rational sciences (al-ma'qulat) under Abd al-Latif al-Barqadawi . He studied the primary Hadith compilations—with the exception of Sunan Ibn Majah—under his father, Muhammad Yahya al-Kandahlawi, in 1333 AH . In 1334 AH, he read Sahih al-Bukhari and Sunan al-Tirmidhi with Khalil Ahmad al-Saharanfuri . He also obtained Hadith transmission licenses (ijazat) from Inayat Ilahi .
When al-Saharanfuri began composing his multi-volume commentary on Sunan Abi Dawud, entitled Badhl al-Majhud fi Hall Sunan Abi Dawud, he selected al-Kandahlawi to gather research material from classical sources and transcribe his dictations, which provided al-Kandahlawi with extensive training in Hadith analysis and authorship . In 1344 AH, he accompanied al-Saharanfuri on pilgrimage to the Hijaz, where he was granted general transmission authorization and spiritual succession (khilafah) .
Teaching Career and Students
Al-Kandahlawi joined the teaching faculty at the Mazahir Ulum seminary in Saharanpur, eventually becoming its senior professor of Hadith (shaykh al-hadith) and head of the Hadith department . He conducted his teaching on a voluntary basis without receiving a salary . He taught Sahih al-Bukhari and other major Hadith compilations for several decades, drawing students from across the Indian subcontinent . Among his notable students were Taqi al-Din al-Nadwi, Harun al-Induri, Azizullah al-A'zami, Wiqar Ali al-Bijnori, Nasim Ahmad al-Bijnori, and Abu al-Khayr al-Jatjami .
Scholarly Contributions
Al-Kandahlawi's scholarly focus centered on Hadith commentary, hermeneutics, and comparative legal deduction. Drawing on decades of teaching Sahih al-Bukhari, he composed al-Abwab wa al-Tarajim li Sahih al-Bukhari, a specialized treatise detailing the methodology, purpose, and legal implications of al-Bukhari's chapter headings based on approximately seventy hermeneutical principles . His primary commentary, Awjaz al-Masalik ila Muwatta Malik, examined the narrations of Imam Malik's al-Muwatta, tracing legal rulings across the Sunni schools of law and surveying earlier commentaries . He also edited and published his father's transcripts of lectures on Sahih al-Bukhari with his own extensive annotations under the title Lami' al-Darari .
Later Life and Death
In his later years, al-Kandahlawi relocated to Medina in the Hijaz, where he became known by the epithet al-Muhajir al-Madani . He died in Medina in 1402 AH (1982 CE) .
Answer updated
List of Works
Al-Abwab wa al-Tarajim li Sahih al-Bukhari (The Chapters and Headings of Sahih al-Bukhari) is a specialized hadith study dedicated to analyzing the purpose, structure, and hermeneutical principles behind the chapter headings (tarajim) in al-Bukhari's Sahih.