| Intro | Indian Muslim scholar |
| Was |
Religious scholar Interpreter Mufassir Theologian |
| From | India |
| Type | Religion |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 19 August 1863, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Death |
4 July 1943 (aged 79 years) |
Ashraf ‘Ali Thanwi (August 19, 1863 – July 4, 1943) (Urdu: اشرف علی تھانوی) was an Indian scholar of the Deobandi(Wahabi/Najdi) school.
Early life and career
Ashraf Ali Thanwi lost his mother at a young age and was raised by his father. His father took great pains in teaching Maulana and his younger brother discipline and good character.
Thanwi went to Darul Uloom Deoband, India for his religious education. He became a student of Haji Imdadullah and considered him his mentor and teacher.
After his graduation, Thanwi taught religious sciences in Kanpur. Over a short period of time, he acquired a reputable position as a religious scholar of Sufism among other subjects. His teaching attracted numerous students, his research and publications became well known in Islamic institutions. During these years, he traveled to various cities and villages, delivering lectures in the hope of reforming people. Printed versions of his lectures and discourses would usually become available shortly after these tours. Until then, few Islamic scholars had had their lectures printed and widely circulated in their own lifetimes. The desire to reform the masses intensified in him during his stay at Kanpur.
Eventually, Thanwi retired from teaching and devoted himself to reestablishing the spiritual centre (khānqāh) of his shaikh in Thāna Bhāwan.
Fatwa and its refutation
In 1906, Ahmad Raza Khan issued a fatwa against Thanwi and other Deobandi leaders entitled Husam ul-Haramain (Urdu: Sword of Mecca and Medina), decrying them as unbelievers and Satanists. The fatwa was also signed by other scholars including from Hijaz.
The scholars of Deoband used to change their name while travelling on train because their false beliefs were now manifest and there was threat to their lives.
Political Ideology
Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi was a not a supporter of the Muslim League in reality. In the 1946 elections most Deobandi ulama supported the Congress although some members of Deoband such as Ashraf Ali Thanvi and Shabbir Ahmad Usmani tried to win people’s heart by supporting ML (Muslim League) but they never supported the cause.