Sharf al-Haqq al-Azimabadi
- Died
- 1329 AH
- Born in
- Hind
Abu Abd al-Rahman Sharf al-Haqq al-Azimabadi (1275–1326 AH / 1858–1908 CE), commonly known as Muhammad Ashraf al-Azimabadi, was an Indian hadith scholar from Azimabad associated with the Ahl al-Hadith movement, known for his contribution to Awn al-Mabud, an explanatory commentary on Sunan Abi Dawud .
Lineage and Education
His full name was Abu Abd al-Rahman Sharf al-Haqq, known as Muhammad Ashraf ibn Amir ibn Ali ibn Haydar al-Siddiqi al-Azimabadi . He was the full brother and principal collaborator of the hadith scholar Abu al-Tayyib Muhammad Shams al-Haqq al-Azimabadi .
He studied hadith in India and was among the closest disciples of Sayyid Nadhir Husayn al-Dihlawi, transmitting the discipline on his authority . He also received transmission authorization (isnad) from the Yemeni scholar Husayn ibn Muhsin al-Ansari .
Scholarly Contributions
Al-Azimabadi assisted his brother Shams al-Haqq extensively in the preparation of Awn al-Mabud ala Sunan Abi Dawud (The Help of the Worshipped concerning the Sunan of Abu Dawud), working alongside a dedicated circle of assisting scholars . In the opening preface to the work, Sharf al-Haqq explained that his role centered on resolving obscure vocabulary, clarifying linguistic subtleties, and untangling complex phrasing in a concise manner without prolixity, leaving extensive hadith criticism, narrator evaluation, and jurisprudential reasoning to his brother . The first volume—and in some printings the second volume—of the commentary was initially published under Sharf al-Haqq's name .
In addition to his collaborative work on the commentary, he authored Khulasat al-maram fi tahqiq al-qira'ah khalf al-imam (The Core Objective on Verifying Recitation Behind the Imam), examining the legal and hadith evidence regarding recitation in congregational prayer .
Death
He died in 1326 AH (1908 CE), though other sources record his death in 1329 AH (1911 CE) .
Answer updated
List of Works
This multi-volume Hadith commentary on Sunan Abi Dawud pairs the explanatory work Awn al-Mabud with the critical commentary Tahdhib al-Sunan. Composed in a concise style following the methodology of the Ahl al-Hadith, it analyzes narrations, clarifies narrator names, and records hadith evaluations while incorporating Ibn al-Qayyim's marginal gloss to resolve hidden defects and textual problems.