Ashraf Ali Thanwi أشرف علي التهانوي

Ashraf Ali Thanwi (1280–1362 AH / 1863–1943 CE) was one of the most influential scholars and Sufi masters of the Indian subcontinent, honored by later generations as Hakim al-Umma, the spiritual physician of the community, and as a reformer of his age. Born at Thana Bhawan, he graduated from Dar al-Ulum Deoband in 1301 AH / 1884 CE, then taught the religious sciences for some fourteen years at Kanpur before returning to Thana Bhawan, where he spent the rest of his life teaching and guiding disciples. He was Hanafi in law and Maturidi in creed.

A spiritual disciple of Hajji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki, Thanwi directed the Khanqah-i Imdadiyya and trained roughly a thousand authorized successors, reviving a sober, Shariʿa-rooted Sufism that joined inward purification to careful adherence to the Sunna. He was a prolific author, credited with well over a thousand works. Among the most enduring are his Qurʾan commentary Bayan al-Qurʾan, the fatwa collection Imdad al-Fatawa, and Bihishti Zewar (Heavenly Ornaments), a comprehensive guide to belief and practice long cherished as a manual of Islamic learning, especially for women. His Munajat-e-Maqbool, a treasury of supplications drawn from Qurʾan and Sunna, is still read daily by many. His writings continue to shape religious and spiritual life across South Asia and beyond.