Taqi al-Din al-Nadwi
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Taqi al-Din al-Nadwi (b. 1353 AH / 1934 CE) is an Indian hadith scholar and academic who served as a professor of hadith at the United Arab Emirates University and founded the Jamia Islamia in Azamgarh.
Lineage and education
He is Taqi al-Din ibn Badr al-Din ibn Muhammad Hasan al-Nadwi, born on 24 December 1934 CE in Azamgarh, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India. He studied at the Dar al-Ulum of Nadwat al-Ulama in Lucknow, where he learned hadith under Halim Ata al-Saloni (d. 1374 AH), the head of its hadith department. He maintained a close relationship with Abu al-Hasan Ali al-Nadwi from his student days, seeking his counsel in academic and practical affairs. On Abu al-Hasan's recommendation, he attached himself to Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandhlawi, the senior hadith scholar at the Mazahir al-Ulum seminary in Saharanpur, collaborating with him closely for decades on the study, revision, and publication of hadith commentaries. In 1976 CE, al-Nadwi earned his doctorate in hadith from al-Azhar University in Cairo.
Career and teaching
Before completing his doctorate, al-Nadwi taught hadith at Nadwat al-Ulama and served as shaykh al-hadith at Jami'at Falah-i Darayn in Gujarat, where he instructed students in major canonical compilations including Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and Sunan al-Tirmidhi. Following his doctoral studies, he served from 1975 to 1981 CE as a legal advisor and Sharia judge in the Sharia Judicial Department of Abu Dhabi. In 1979 CE, he joined the faculty of the United Arab Emirates University in al-Ain as a visiting lecturer, advancing to assistant professor in 1985 CE and full professor in 1994 CE. He also participated in numerous international Islamic conferences, including the Message of the Mosque Conference in Mecca (1975 CE), the Sirah and Sunnah Conference in Qatar (1980 CE), and the Imam Malik Conference in Abu Dhabi (1984 CE).
In his home district of Azamgarh, al-Nadwi established the Jamia Islamia and its associated research facility, the Markaz al-Shaykh Abi al-Hasan al-Nadwi for Islamic Research and Studies, which trains students in Islamic research and scholarly editing in close affiliation with Nadwat al-Ulama.
Scholarly contribution and reception
Al-Nadwi focused on the critical editing and annotation of classical hadith literature and Indian hadith commentaries. Among his major editorial contributions are his critical editions of Khalil Ahmad al-Saharanfuri's Badhl al-Majhud fi Hall Sunan Abi Dawud and Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandhlawi's Awjaz al-Masalik ila Muwatta' Malik. His scholarly transmission networks and isnads were documented by Muhammad Hassan Akhtar al-Nadwi in a compiled collection titled al-Durr al-Thamin bi-Asanid al-Shaykh Taqi al-Din al-Nadwi. His editorial scholarship has been commended by contemporary scholars, including Muhammad al-Rabi' al-Hasani al-Nadwi, the head of Nadwat al-Ulama, who praised his dedication and precision in editing hadith commentaries.
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List of Works
This Arabic analytical research monograph provides a systematic introduction, methodological analysis, and critical evaluation of Sirat al-Nabi, the seven-volume Urdu encyclopedic biography of the Prophet Muhammad begun by Shibli al-Nu'mani and completed by Sulayman al-Nadwi.