Birth and Upbringing

Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi, named ‘Abd al-Ghani by his paternal family, was born in the village of Thana Bhawan (in the Muzaffarnagar district of the Uttar Pradesh province of India) on the fifth of Rabi‘ al-Awwal, 1280 ah (August 19, 1863 CE). He was named Ashraf ‘Ali by the renowned saint of the times Hafiz Ghulam Murtada Panipati, who was a maternal relative of Mawlana Thanawi.

His family was well-respected and held an eminent position in Thana Bhawan. His father, ‘Abd al-Haq, was a wealthy landowner, a devout Muslim, and a respected citizen of Thana Bhawan. ‘Abd al-Haq was well versed in the Persian language, and although he had not memorized the Qur’an, he knew the Holy Book so well that he would sometimes correct the recitation of the im a m during prayer. Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi’s lineage can be traced back to the second Caliph of Islam, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, a glimpse of whose intelligence, wisdom, foresightedness, piety, and sincerity was certainly visible in Mawlana Thanawi.

As a young boy, he was zealous in offering the prayer (salat), and by age twelve, he was constant in offering the night vigil prayer ( Tahajjud). He attained his early Arabic and Persian education under his maternal uncle Wajid ‘Ali and Mawlana Fath Muhammad in Thana Bhawan and also memorized the Holy Qur’an at a very young age from Hafiz Husayn ‘Ali of Meerut.