Muḥammad Zakariyyā

Maulana Muhammad Zakariya Kandhalvi was born on February 3, 1898 in Kandhla, India was a prominent Muslim scholar of South Asia. He was a nephew of Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalvi, the founder of Tablighi Jamaat.

He is remembered for his contribution to the studies of hadith and as the author of the eighteen-volume Awjazu'l-Masalik ila Muwatta' Malik, a commentary on the Muwatta of Imam Malik. He was also the author of Fazail-e-Aamal, which is part of a series of books used by Tablighi Jamaat for Da'wah. He learned hadith from his father, Muhammad Yahya Kandhalvi, and from Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri, who gave him the honorary title of "Shaykh al-Hadith" for his extensive knowledge in hadith studies. He was a khalifa (spiritual successor) of Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri and a prominent Sufi master of the Sabri-Imdadi branch of the Chishti order.

He also worked as a teacher in Mazahir Uloom Saharanpuri. In 1338 he accompanied his shaykh, Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri, for Hajj. In Shawwaal 1344 AH, he again accompanied Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri for Hajj. In 1345 AH, he traveled to Medina, where he taught Sunan Abu Dawud at Madaris al-Ulum ash-Shariyah for a year. While in Medina, he commenced the writing of Awjaz ul Masalik ila Muwatta Imam Malik. He was twenty-nine at the time.

Muhammad Zakariya authored works both in Arabic and Urdu. A number of them treat specialized subjects intended for scholars and the rest have been written for the general public.

His first written work was a three-volume commentary of Alfiyah Ibn Malik, which he wrote as a student when he was only thirteen.

His work, Fadha'il-e-Qur'an has been translated into eleven languages, Fadha'il-e-Ramadan into twelve languages, and Fadha'il-e-Salaah into fifteen languages.

According to Wali ad-Din Nadwi, Muhammad Zakariya wrote 4 books on tafsir and tajwid, 44 books on hadith and its related sciences, 6 books on fiqh and its related sciences, 24 historical and biographical books, 4 books on aqidah, 12 books on zuhd (abstinence) and riqaq (heart-softening accounts), 3 books on Arabic grammar and logic, and 6 books on modern-day groups and movements.

According to Muhammad Shahid Saharanpuri (Muhammad Zakariya's maternal grandson), his written works amount to 103, of which 42 have been published and 61 remain unpublished. He wrote 2 books on tafsir, 60 books on hadith, 4 books on fiqh and usul al-fiqh, 22 books on tarikh and sirah, 2 books on tajwid and qira'ah, 3 books on Arabic grammar, classical logic, and geometry, 3 books on suluk and ihsan, 4 books in defense of Islam, and 3 books on miscellaneous subjects.

He died on May 24, 1982.