A CRITICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE WORKS OF

THE GREAT POLEMIC

MUHAMMAD ZAHID AL-KAWTHARI
(1872-1953)

ABSTRACT
Introduction:

Muhammad Zahid b. Hasan al-Kawthari, a notable Hanafi jurist was the naib of the last

Shaykh al-Islam of the Ottoman Caliphate. He has been eulogized by a number of

Muslim scholars including Imam Muhammad Abu Zahra who titled him as a mujaddid

“Reviver” of the fourteenth Islamic century. His father Hasan, the celebrated scholar of

Qur’an and hadith, Ibrahim Haqqi (d. 1345), Shaykh Zayn al-‘Abidin al-Alsuni (d. 1336),

Shaykh Muhammad Khalis al-Shirwani and al-Hasan al-Aztuwa’i were among his

teachers. After the fall of Caliphate he first moved to Cairo, then to Syria, and then again

to Cairo where he stayed till his death. Here the famous scholars ‘Abd al-Fattah Abu

Ghudda and ‘Abd Allah al-Ghumari became his students.

As a scholar, al-Kauthari contributed a lot to the diverse fields of the Islamic sciences.

However he is well known in the academic circles as a scholar of Islamic polemics (‘ilm

al-Kalam). He edited and brought back into circulation many classical books of fiqh,

hadith, and usul. The distinguished Pakistani scholar Muhammad Yusuf al-Binnawri has

described al-Kawthari as "a keen-eyed verifying scholar, the experienced and an erudite."

Al-Kawthari has however earned some opposition as well. Those belonging to salafi

school of thought, especially al-Mu’allimi (a reputed scholar of Makkah) are very critical

of his views.
The present study will focus on explaining the controversial status of some of the

opinions of al-Kawthari on the subjects of ‘ilm al-Kalam (the science of Muslim

philosophy). It will be a notable input on the subject to the Islamic library in Urdu

language, as none exists so far.

Aims & Objectives:

1. A comprehensive introduction of ‘Allama Zahid al-Kawthri with special

reference to his contributions, thoughts and opinions in the field of Islamic

polemics in Urdu language.

2. Determining the position of al-Kawthari in various schools of Islamic thought

of ahl al-sunnah wa l-jama’ah, i.e., whether he is a maturidi, al-ash’ari or al-

salfi.

3. Discovering views of the contemporary distinguished Islamic scholars about

his life and contributions through their works.

4. To know the methodology adopted by al-Kawthari in defense of the Islamic

Faith.

5. Recommendation of the right opinions on the issues pertaining to Islamic

Faith as per the views of ahl al-sunnah wa l-jama’ah after deep academic

deliberations.

Junaid Akbar
Ph.D Research Scholar
Institute of Islamic & Arabic Studies
University of Peshawar