[Abraham]

I came across this interesting article posted by Shaykh Abul Hasan (former sunniforum resident) on another forum:


Assalamu alaikum



The following is an exquisite biography on the late Muhaddith, Shaykh Habibur Rahman al-A'zami (d. 1992). This Shaykh was probably the first Indian Shaykh to write a series of rudud on Nasir al-Albani.



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Mawlana Habib Al-Rahman Al-Azami: A Colossus of Hadith Literature By Professor A.R. Momin
Contribution of Indian Scholars to Hadith Literature
Mawlana Habib al-Rahman al-A'zami
Publications
Kitab al-Zuhd wa'l-Raqa'iq
Sunan of Sa'id ibn Mansur
Musnad of Imam Humaydi
Musannaf of 'Abd al-Razzaq
Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah
Al-Matalib al-'Aliyah of Ibn Hajar
It is no exaggeration to say that, unlike other prophets and religious leaders, Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him) lived in the full light of history. The quantity and quality of information about his life and teachings at our disposal has no parallel in the annals of human civilisation. A single work on the life of the Prophet, Subul al-Huda war-Rashad fi Sirah Khair al-Ibad by a 10th-century Syrian scholar Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Salihi runs into more than ten volumes and comprises over 5000 pages. Since Prophet Muhammad was the last of the prophets and Islam was destined to be a universal religion, it was necessary, for one thing, to preserve the text of the Qur'an and, for another, to leave an authentic and detailed record of the life and teachings of the Prophet. Although the Qur'an is a comprehensive book, it is essentially concerned with enunciating general principles and broad guidelines. The details of precepts and ritual practices were to be provided by the Prophet through his own example as well as his oral instructions. The Companions of the Prophet took great pains to narrate, preserve and disseminate what they saw and heard from the Prophet. This tradition continued uninterrupted during the successive periods of Islamic history. Out of the cumulative and sustained efforts of several generations of narrators and scholars emerged the corpus of Hadith.

Though himself unlettered, the Prophet was fully aware of the value of writing and put it to effective use on several occasions. After their migration to Madina, the Muslims of Makka laid the foundation of a city-state. The Prophet framed and promulgated a constitution, which has the distinction of being the first written constitution of any state in the history of the world. Scores of official documents, agreements and letters-patent were written at the instance of the Prophet.

Several Companions of the Prophet carefully recorded and preserved his sayings and conversations. These included 'Abd-Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As, Anas ibn Malik, 'Amr ibn Hazm, 'Aisha, Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Ali, Samurah ibn Jundub, Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah, 'Abd-Allah ibn 'Abbas, 'Abd-Allah ibn Mas'ud, Abu Hurayrah and Jabir ibn 'Abd-Allah, among others. Thus the writing and compilation of Hadith began in the first century of the Islamic era. Unfortunately, most of the early manuscripts of Hadith, which were compiled during the early period, were lost due to the ravages of time. The greatest devastation in this respect was wrought by the Mongol invasion of Baghdad. However, some manuscripts of the early works of Hadith are still traceable in libraries and museums in various parts of the Islamic world. One such manuscript is the Sahifah of Abu Hurayrah, which was transmitted by his pupil Hammam ibn Munabbih (d. 120 A.H.). Copies of the original manuscript are found in Damascus, Cairo and Berlin. A critical edition of this priceless manuscript with an English translation and a comprehensive introduction was published by Professor Muhammad Hamidullah in 1380 A.H. Another early collection of Hadith is Kitab al-Sard wa'l-Fard by Abu'l-Khayr Al-Qazwini. The text of the manuscript, together with a fascimile reproduction and an English translation, has also been published by Professor Hamidullah.

In the period of the Tabi'un (those who followed the Companions of the Prophet), the compilation of Hadith gathered additional momentum. Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (d.124 A.H.) is credited with having compiled the first systematic work of Hadith. The other pioneers include Ibn Jurayj (d.149 A.H.), Imam Malik (d.179 A.H.), al-Awza'i (d.157 A.H.), Sufyan Thawri (d.161 A.H.), Ma'mar ibn Rashid (d. 153 A.H.), 'Abd-Allah ibn Mubarak (d.181 A.H.), and Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah (d.198 A.H.).



http://Contribution of Indian Schola...century.
Mawlana Habib al-Rahman al-A'zami

Mawlana Habib al-Rahman al-A'zami was born in 1319 A.H. in the small town of Maunath Bhanjan in the Azamgarh district of what now constitutes the state of Uttar Pradesh in the Indian Union. His father Mawlana Muhammad Sabir (d.1365 A.H.) was a man of learning and piety. Mawlana Habib al-Rahman acquired his early education in his hometown. He showed signs of precosity from an early age. Mawlana Sabir took special interest in the education of his gifted child and put him under the care of a renowned local scholar, Mawlana 'Abd al-Ghaffar (d.1341 A.H.), who was a pupil of the celebrated scholar Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (d.1323 A.H.). Young Habib al-Rahman spent a few years under his tutelage and accompanied him to Banaras and Gorakhpur in the course of his teaching itinerary. In 1919 he took admission in the famed Dar al'Ulum at Deoband. However, he had to discontinue his education due to ill-health. After recovery he did a brief teaching stint at Madrasah Mazhar al'Ulum in Banaras. His insatiable thirst for knowledge took him again to Deoband, where he had the good fortune of sitting at the feet of stalwarts like Anwar Shah Kashmiri (d. 1352 A.H.), Shabbir Ahmad 'Uthmani (d. 1396 A.H.), and Mawlana Asghar Husain (d.1364A.H.). In the meantime, the Dar al -Ulum got caught up in the flurry of the nationalist movement and Mawlana Habib al-Rahman had to leave without formally completing his education. He completed the formal course in Mau in 1922 and took up a teaching assignment there. In 1343 A.H. he was invited to head Madrasah Mazhar al'Ulum at Banaras. In 1347 A.H.he returned to Mau as Shaykh al-Hadith and head of Madrasah Miftah al'Ulum. After two decades of distinguished and dedicated service he resigned of his own accord in 1369 A.H. and devoted himself full time to research.

In spite of his indifference to active politics he was persuaded by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to contest the assembly election. He won the election, without any canvassing, in 1952 and shifted his resident to Lucknow.

Taking advantage of his stay at Lucknow, the Rector of Dar al'Ulum Nadwat al'Ulama, Mawlana Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali Nadavi, requested Mawlana Habib al-Rahman to lecture on Hadith at Nadawah. He acceded to the request and taught the Sahih of Bukhari for one year without any remuneration.

Though Mawlana Habib al-Rahman was well-versed in all branches of Islamic learning, he evinced a keen and special interest in Hadith literature. His interest in Hadith was initially kindled by his teacher Mawlana 'Abd al Ghaffar. He learnt and narrated Hadith from him, whose narration is tracable, through two successive generations, to Shah Muhammad Ishaq Dihlavi. Mawlana Habib al-Rahman's inclination towards Hadith literature received a further fillip under the affectionate guidance of Mawlana Anwar Shah Kashmiri. His remarkable proficiency in Arabic language and literature, his phenomenal memory and his single-minded devotion to scholarly pursuits stood him in good stead in mastering Hadith and related disciplines and in making an enduring contribution in this field.

Mawlana Habib al-Rahman had a deep interest in rare manuscripts, especially those relating to collections of Hadith. During his extensive travels he would make it a point to visit libraries, institutes and museums in search of manuscripts. His scholarly career can be roughly divided into two phases. The first phase began during his twenties and lasted till he was about 60 years of age. During this formative phase he concentrated on assimilating and mastering the extensive and formidable literature on Hadith and the related disciplines. A keen and intense preoccupation with Hadith literature during this period led to the sharpening of his discerning faculties and helped in the development of insight as well as critical acumen. This phase played a catalytic role in ushering in the most productive and creative phase in Mawlana Habib al-Rahman's scholarly career which began after the age of sixty. Perhaps his most important contribution during the formative phase, which could be described as a forerunner of his mature scholarly output during the successive period, is in the form of critical comments and rejoinders on the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. The Musnad saw the light of day for the first time in 1313 A.H.. However, this edition was replete with printing and other errors. A renowned Egyptian scholar Shaykh Ahmad Muhammad Shakir took up a project on the publication of a corrected and critical edition of the Musnad. He compared and collated the available manuscripts, identified and corrected the errors, numbered the AHadith, prepared a glossary of difficult words as well as biographical notices on the narrators, and provided a classified index. The first volume of this edition was published in 1365 A.H. and the remaining 14 volumes were brought out subsequently. This critical edition of the Musnad received universal acclaim and admiration from Muslim scholars from across the world.

Being a sincere devotee of learning and scholarship, Shaykh Ahmad invited suggestions and comments from professional colleagues. However, he did not receive any rejoinders or suggestions from academic circles for almost a decade. Mawlana Habib al-Rahman chanced to see the published volumes after a lapse of several years. He avidly went through the volumes, identified the errors of omission and commission and sent his detailed comments to the editor. Shaykh Ahmad was amazed at the erudition and critical discernment reflected in the rejoinders of Mawlana Habib al-Rahman. He made an open and grateful acknowledgement of his submissions and published them in the 15th volume of the Musnad. He wrote:

All your rejoinders and critical comments are excellent and of high quality. I am sincerely grateful to you for this kindness. I hope you will continue to favour me with your suggestions, motivated as they are by a sense of service to Hadith. The impression that I have gathered from your present writing is that you are one of the greatest scholars of Hadith in this period.

The most productive and fruitful phase of Mawlana Habib al-Rahman's scholarly career commenced after the age of 60 when he was afflicted with failing health and multiple ailments. During this phase, which spanned three decades, he brought out critical editions of over half a dozen rare manuscripts of Hadith. What is remarkable is that this formidable output, comprising 30 volumes and over 10,000 printed pages, was accomplished almost single-handedly and with extremely meagre resources.

It will be no exaggeration to say that Mawlana Habib al-Rahman individually accomplished what an institute or academy could have done with abundant resources. This remarkable feat bears testimony to his scholarship as well as to his devotion to the cherished memory of the Prophet.



http://Publications

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Kitab al-Zuhd wa'l-Raqa'iq

'Abd-Allah ibn Mubarak was among the front-ranking traditionists of the second century. The manuscripts of his book Kitab al-Zuhd wa'l-Raqa'iq are found in Cairo and Istanbul. Mawlana Habib al-Rahman published the text of the manuscripts with critical notes and annotations in 1966. The printed text reflects the editor's painstaking efforts. He has prepared an exhaustive list of the narrators, identified the AHadith in the well-known sources, and provided a glossary of difficult words. In addition, he has pointed out the variants in the existing manuscripts.



<a href="http://Sunan of Sa'id ibn Mansurbr / br / The term Sunan refers to a collection of Hadith which relates to legal maters and leave out historical and biographical details. The well-known collections of Sunan include the works of Abu Dawud, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Daraqutni and Bayhaqi. One of the earliest works of Sunan was compiled by Abu 'Uthman Sa'id ibn Mansur (d. 227 A.H.). He was a pupil of Imam Malik, Hammad and Abu 'Awanah. His students include such well-known traditionists as Muslim, Abu Dawud and Ahmad ibn Hanbal. An old manuscript of the Sunan of Sa'id ibn Mansur was discovered by Professor Muhamamd Hamidullah in the famous Koprelo library in Turkey. The text of the manuscript, with critical notes and annotations, was published by Mawlana Habib al-Rahman in 1967.br / br / br / br /" target="_blank">http://Sunan of Sa'id ibn Mansur