{{lowercase title}}{{short description|Islamic scholar and theologian (1879–1952)}} {{Infobox religious biography | image = Al‑Kawthari.jpg | caption = | name = Al-Kawthari | native_name = {{lang|ar|الكوثري}} | title = | birth_name = Muhammad Zahid Hasan | birth_date = {{circa|1879}} | birth_place = [[Düzce]], [[Kastamonu Vilayet]], [[Ottoman Empire]] | death_date = {{death year and age|1952|1879}} | death_place = [[Cairo, Egypt]] | religion = [[Islam]] | denomination = [[Sunni]] | jurisprudence = [[Hanafi]] | creed = [[Maturidi]] | main_interests = [[Aqidah]], [[Kalam]] ([[Islamic theology]]), [[Fiqh]] ([[Islamic jurisprudence]]), [[Hadith studies]], [[Shari'a]] (Islamic law), [[Tasawwuf]], [[Literature]] | notable_works = ''Maqalat al-Kawthari'', ''Mahq al-Taqawwul fi Mas'alat al-Tawassul'', ''Al-Lamadhhabiyya Qantarat al-Ladiniyya'' | influences = [[Abu Hanifa]]<br/>[[Muhammad al-Shaybani]]<br/>[[Abu Yusuf]]<br/>[[Zufar ibn al-Hudhayl]]<br/>[[Abu Mansur al-Maturidi]]<br/>[[Al-Tahawi]]<br/>[[Al-Bayhaqi]]<br/>[[Al-Baqillani]]<br/>[[Al-Juwayni]]<br/>[[Ibn Asakir]]<br/>[[Taqi al-Din al-Subki]]<br/>[[Taqi al-Din al-Hisni]]<br/>[[Badr al-Din al-'Ayni]]<br/>[[Sibt ibn al-Jawzi]]<br/>[[Ibn al-Jawzi]]<br/>[[Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi]] | influenced = [[Muhammad Abu Zahra]]<br/>[[Abdullah al-Ghumari]]<br/>[['Abdullah al-Harari]]<br/>[[Wahbi Sulayman Ghawji]]<br/>[[Gibril Fouad Haddad]]<br/>[[Sa'id Foudah]]<br/>'[[Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda]]h }} '''Muhammad Zahid ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī''' ({{Langx|ar| محمد زاهد ابن الحسن ابن علي|translit=}}; {{Circa|1879}}&ndash;1952)<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=خير الدين الزركلي |url=http://archive.org/details/alam6 |title=الأعلام |date=2002}}</ref>, commonly known by the {{Transliteration|ar|[[Nisba (onomastics)|nisba]]}} '''al-Kawthari''' ({{Langx|ar|الكوثري|translit=}}), was an Islamic scholar and theologian. A prolific author of over 40 works, al-Kawthari followed the [[Hanafi school]] of [[Islamic jurisprudence|jurisprudence]] and championed the [[Maturidi school]] of [[Kalam|theology]].

A [[Circassians|Circassian]], al-Kawthari was born in [[Düzce]], [[Ottoman Empire]] and studied at the [[Fatih Mosque, Istanbul|Fatih Mosque]], [[Istanbul]]. After the [[Abolition of the Ottoman sultanate|fall of the Ottoman Empire]], al-Kawthari fled to the [[Kingdom of Egypt]] in 1922 to avoid crackdown by the Kemalists. He then resided in [[Cairo]] and became a well-known scholar there.<ref name=":0" />

Al-Kawthari authored numerous works defending traditional [[Hanafism]] and was a staunch critic of [[Salafism]] and [[Kemalism]]. He was known for authoring numerous works on the different [[Islamic sciences|Islamic Sciences]] and editing different manuscripts. He is widely honored by modern Hanafis, and is considered a leading {{Transliteration|ar|[[Shaykh al-Islam]]}} of the Ottoman era.

==Biography== Muhammad Zahid Hasan was born in 1879 in [[Düzce]], then part of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. His family was of [[Circassians|Circassian]] descent. After the [[Abolition of the Ottoman sultanate|fall of the Ottoman Empire]], the [[Kemalism|Atatürkists]] began a violent crackdown on the religious scholarly class.

Fearing that his life may be in danger, al-Kawthari fled to [[Cairo]], then to Syria and finally returning to Cairo. There, he edited classical works of [[Fiqh]], [[Hadith]] and [[Usul al-Fiqh]], bringing them back into circulation. In particular, he wrote short biographies of prominent personalities of the [[Hanafi]] school of thought. A staunch [[Maturidi]],<ref>{{cite book |last=al-Kawthari |first=Muhammad Zahid |title=Al-Istibsar fi al-Tahadduth 'an al-Jabr wa al-Ikhtiyar |publisher=al-Maktabah al-Azharīyah lil-Turāth}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=al-Kawthari |first=Muhammad Zahid |title=Tahqiq Tabyin Kizb al-Muftari |publisher=al-Maktabah al-Azharīyah lil-Turāth |pages=27}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=al-Kawthari |first=Muhammad Zahid |title=Tahqiq al-'Alim wal-Muta'allim, Risāla ilā ʿUthmān al-Battī, Al-Fiqh al-Absat |publisher=al-Maktabah al-Azharīyah lil-Turāth |pages=3,42}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=İslâm Ansiklopedisi |date=2013 |publisher=Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı |volume=44 |pages=77–80}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bruckmayr |first1=Philipp |year=2020 |title=Salafī Challenge and Māturīdī Response: Contemporary Disputes over the Legitimacy of Māturīdī ''kalām'' |journal=Die Welt des Islams |publisher=Brill |volume=60 |issue=2–3 |pages=293–324 |doi=10.1163/15700607-06023P06 |doi-access=free}}</ref> he held a critical view of the medieval scholar [[Ibn Taymiyya]] and his student [[Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya|Ibn al-Qayyim]].<ref>{{cite book |last=al-Kawthari |first=Muhammad Zahid |title=Tabdid al-Zalam al-Mukhim |publisher=al-Maktabah al-Azharīyah lil-Turāth}}</ref>

==Scholarly works== al-Kawtharī had left numerous works including nearly 51 original works, 30 critical editions, and prefaces for 30 works. Most of the works that he wrote in Astāna are in manuscript form while the majority of the rest are published. The commonly known works are as follows.<ref>{{Cite book |last=al-Kawthari |first=Muhammad Zāhid |author-link=al-Kawthari |title=مقالات الكوثري |publisher=دار المعروف |year=2024 |edition=1st |pages=38-50 |language=Arabic |trans-title=The Collection of al-Kawtharī's Articles}}</ref>

=== Critical Editions === * ''[[Tabyin Kadhib al-Muftari fima Nusiba ila al-Imam Abi al-Hasan al-Ash'ari|Tabyīn kadhib al-muftarī fī-mā nusiba ila al-Imām Abī al-Hasan al-Ash'ari]]'' - A defence of [[Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari|Abu al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī]] by [[Ibn Asakir|Ibn ʿAsākir]] * [[Al-Sayf al-Saqil fi al-Radd ala Ibn Zafil|''Tabdīd al-ẓalam al-mūkhīm min nūniyyat Ibn al-Qayyim'']] &ndash; Refutation of [[Ibn al-Qayyim]]'s [[Nuniyya|Nūniyyah]] by [[Taqi al-Din al-Subki|Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī]] * ''[[Al-Insaf fima Yajib I'tiqaduh|al-Inṣāf fī-mā yajib iʿtiqāduhu wa-lā yajūz al-jahl bihi]] -'' A book on theology by [[al-Baqillani]] * ''Marātib al-ijmāʿ'' - a book on ''[[Ijma|Ijmāʿ]]'' by [[Ibn Hazm]] and its refutation by [[Ibn Taymiyya|Ibn Taymiyyah]] * ''al-Asmāʾ wa-al-ṣifāt -'' a book on theology by al-Bayhaqī * ''Munyah al-Almaʿī fī-mā fāta min takhrīj aḥādīth al-Hidāyah lil-Zaylaʿī'' - A supplemental book to ''Naṣb al-Rayah'' of al-Zaylaʿī that illustrates Hadith supporting the legal positions stated in the classical [[Hanafi school|Hanafī]] manual [[al-Hidayah]]

=== Prefaces ===

* ''Fiqh Ahl al-`Iraq wa Hadithuhum'' &ndash; Originally an introduction to ''Nasb al-Raya'', it was published separately with Shaykh [[Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda|Abdul Fattah Abu Ghudda]]'s footnotes. * ''[[Fath al-Mulhim|Fatḥ al-mulhim fī sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim]] -'' A commentary on [[Sahih Muslim]] by [[Shabbir Ahmad Usmani]] * ''Ishārāt al-marām'' - A book on [[Maturidism|Maturidi theology]] by Kamāl al-Dīn al Bayāḍī * ''Manāqib al-Imam al-Shāfiʿī'' - A laudatory biography of [[Al-Shafi'i|Imam al-Shāfiʿī]] by Ibn Abī Ḥātim al-Rāzī * ''Qānūn al-taʾwīl -'' A book on theology by [[Al-Ghazali|al-Ghazālī]]

=== Original Works ===

* ''Maqālāt al-Kawthari'' &ndash; Collection of his articles * ''Muqaddimāt al-Kawtharī'' - Collection of his prefaces to different books * ''Taʾnīb al-Khaṭib ʿalā mā sāqahu fī tarjamah Abī Ḥanīfah min al-akādhīb -'' A refutation of [[al-Khatib al-Baghdadi]]'s allegations about Imam [[Abu Hanifa]] in his work, [[Tarikh Baghdad]] * ''al-Nukat al-ṭarīfah fī al-taḥadduth ʿan rudūd Ibn Abī Shaybah ʿalā Abī Ḥanifah -'' A response to [[Ibn Abi Shaybah]]'s refutations of Imam [[Abu Hanifa]], mainly the claim that Abu Hanifa went against 125 [[authentic hadith]] which this books replies to case-by-case * ''Iḥqāq al-ḥaqq bi-ibṭāl al-bāṭil fī mughīth al-khalq'' - A response to the accusations of Imam [[al-Juwayni]] against the [[hanafis]] in his work ''Mughīth al-khalq'' * ''Al-Istibṣār fī al-taḥadduth ʿan al-jabr wa al-ikhtiyār'' &ndash; (The Obtainment of Insight Concerning Determinism and Freedom of Choice). * ''Ḥusn al-taqāḍī fī sīrah al-Imām Abī Yūsuf al-Qāḍī'' &ndash; A biography of Imam [[Abu Yusuf]] * ''Bulugh al-amānī fī sīrah al-Imām Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī'' &ndash; A biography of Imam [[Muhammad al-Shaybani|Muhammad al-Shaybāni]] * ''al-Ḥāwī fī sīrah al-Imām Abī Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī'' &ndash; A biography of Imam [[Al-Tahawi]] * ''al-Imtāʿ bi-sīrah al-Imāmayn al-Ḥasan ibn Ziyād wa ṣāḥibuhu Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ -'' A biography of Imam [[Hasan ibn Ziyād]] and Imam [[Muḥammad ibn Shujāʿ]] * ''Hanin al-Mutafajji` wa Anin al-Mutawajji''`&ndash; A poem on the horrors of [[World War I]]. * ''Al-Fara'id al-Wafiya fi `Ilmay al-`Arud wa al-Qafya'' &ndash; (The Abundant Peerless Matters in the Two Sciences of Prosody and Rhyme)

== Assessment and legacy == Mufti Muhammad Anwar Khan Qasmi, a Deobandi scholar, has recently translated many of al-Kawthari's works into Urdu and published them in Indian academic journals and magazines. For example, ''al-La Madhhabiyya Qintarat al-La Diniyya'', an article al-Kawthari wrote equating non-adherence to the schools of jurisprudence to irreligiousness, was translated by Qasmi with extensive footnotes and introduction by him and published by Deoband Islamic Research and Education Trust in 2013 under the title of ''Ghayr Muqallidiyyat: Ilhad Ka Darwaza''. Also, Qasmi translated al-Kawthari's extensive introduction to Imam [[Ibn 'Asakir|Ibn `Asakir]]'s ''Tabyin Kadhib al-Muftari,'' published by the same center in Deoband in 2013, under the title of ''Islami Firqe: Eik Jaiza''. Qasmi also translated and edited in Urdu one of his great books called ''Fiqh Ahl al-`Iraq wa Hadīthuhum'', initially an introduction to ''Naṣb al-Rāyah'', which was published separately with ʿAbdul Fattāḥ's footnotes. On the same pattern, other books of al-Kawthari like ''Min ʿIbar al-Tārīkh fi al-Kayd lil-Islam'', and his introduction to the book ''al-Asmā wa al-Sifāt'' of [[al-Bayhaqi]], and al-Kawthari's footnotes on al-Dhahabi's ''Bayan Zaghal al-Ilam'' were also edited and translated by Qasmi and published by the same center in Deoband.

==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading == *[https://hadithnotes.org/the-life-and-thought-of-imam-zahid-al-kawthari/ The Life and Thought of Imām Zāhid al-Kawtharī] *[https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/TezGoster?key=fl0Kw4p1rmMDotyKRdYv1LIObBvMTAMDyHr_-c-pxDz5ViW5KqdkfxnFRDPMKjPf The life and works of Muhammad Zâhid al-Kevserî and his approach to the scholars of hadith] *[https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/TezGoster?key=5T1_CZ5-UGb9QCmoURec4EQ9PGuUQIsZBS6fIEZn7tV3uGLceSOAGLIY1FGo4Xgk Muhammed Zahid El-Kevseri hayatı eserleri fikirleri ve hadisçiliği] *[https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/TezGoster?key=-Z0vbSUgrhM9fXoGkRe6Q4hehIoCxSIxrtzQ0BpFRboPOKsc2lcmRjb9CaP4H4Lc Zahid al-Kawthari and his perspective of Islamic jurisprudence]

{{Portal bar|Biography|Islam|Literature|Turkey}} {{Hanafi scholars}} {{Maturidi}} {{Islamic Theology}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawthari, al-}} [[Category:Hanafi fiqh scholars]] [[Category:Maturidis]] [[Category:Mujaddid]] [[Category:20th-century Muslim theologians]] [[Category:Critics of Ibn Taymiyya]] [[Category:Critics of Ibn al-Qayyim]] [[Category:Critics of Wahhabism]] [[Category:Hadith scholars]] [[Category:Sunni Sufis]] [[Category:Sunni imams]] [[Category:Sunni fiqh scholars]] [[Category:Muslims from the Ottoman Empire]] [[Category:Turkish Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]] [[Category:Turkish legal scholars]] [[Category:Turkish jurists]] [[Category:Turkish Muslims]] [[Category:Turkish translators]] [[Category:Turkish Sufis]] [[Category:Sufis from the Ottoman Empire]] [[Category:20th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire]] [[Category:People from the Ottoman Empire of Circassian descent]] [[Category:20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam]] [[Category:1879 births]] [[Category:1952 deaths]] [[Category:Supporters of Ibn Arabi]] [[Category:Muslim scholars]] [[Category:Circassian scholars of Islam]]