Qur’an: The Special Interest of Mawlana Thanawi

During his teaching career at Kanpur, Mawlana Thanawi is reported to have seen ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas—the cousin of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and the leading commentator on the Qur’an among the Companions—in a dream that indicated to him that Qur’anic exegesis should become his primary task (Alwi 297). Sayyid Sulayman Nadwi said, “He not only memorized the words of the Qur’an but also memorized the deeper significance of these words” (Alwi 297). He further said, “He was an exceptional reciter (qari) of the Qur’an who had mastered the art of recitation.… The uniqueness of Mawlana Thanawi’s recitation of the Qur’an was such that each letter was uttered from its proper place of pronunciation ( makhraj). There was no imitation or overly exertive effort to make his voice melodious. He would rather recite in his normal voice, which was full of inspiration and absorbed in reflection” (Alwi 297).

Mawlana Thanawi was also an expert in the various recitations of the Qur’an. In fact, he compiled the famous narrations of the different recitations in his book Wujuh al-Mathani and the rare narrations in his book Ziyadat ‘ Ala kutub al-riwayat. Mawlana Thanawi’s books on recitation of the Qur’an also included Jamal al-Qur’an, Tajwid al-Qur’an, Raf‘ al-khilaf fi hukm al-awqaf, Tanshit al-tab‘ fi ijra’ al-sab‘, Yadgar-e haqq-e Qur’an, Mutasha­bi­hat al-Qur’an li ’l-Tarawih , and Adab al-Qur’an. Mawlana Thanawi’s profound knowledge and insight in the Qur’an is reflected in his Urdu translation of the meanings of the Qur’an. His twelve volume exegesis, Bayan al-Qur’an, can only be appreciated by a scholar who studies it after having read more than twenty commentaries on the Qur’an (Alwi 323). Sayyid Sulayman Nadwi said, “His commentary relies heavily on Ruh al-Ma‘ani of ‘Allama Alusi al-Baghdadi, and because it was written in the mid-thirteenth century ah, it encompasses all previous explanations of the Qur’an” (Alwi 299).

Like Jassas and other scholars, Mawlana Thanawi also wished to collect legal rulings from the Qur’an in support of the Hanafi school. However, his increasingly frail health in the last years of his life did not allow for him to directly author this work, which he wished to name Dala’il al-Qur’an ‘ala madhhab al-Nu‘man. Instead, this academic desire of Mawlana Thanawi was fulfilled by three of his outstanding students and disciples who noted down his explanations of legal rulings and their extractions from the Qur’an. This Arabic work of Qur’anic jurisprudence, entitled Ahkam al-Qur’an li ’l-Thanawi, is available in five volumes and is co-authored by Mufti Muhammad Shafi‘, Mawlana Muhammad Idris Kandhlawi, and Mawlana Zafar Ahmad ‘Uthmani. Mawlana ‘Abd al-Bari Nadwi said,

When Mawlana Thanawi extracted Hanafi legal matters from the Qur’an, we would be astonished that this point was always in this verse but our knowledge could not grasp it. His explanations would remove the clouds [of confusion], allowing us to fully benefit from the brilliant rays [of knowledge]” (Alwi 303).