Muhammad Hayyat al-Sindhi () (died 3 February 1750) was an

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

who lived during the period of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He belonged to the

Naqshbandi Naqshbandi (Persian: نقشبندیه) is a major Sufi order within Sunni Islam, named after its 14th-century founder, Baha' al-Din Naqshband. Practitioners, known as Naqshbandis, trace their spiritual lineage (silsila) directly to the Prophet ...

order of

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

Education and scholarship

Al-Sindhi was born in the

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

region of modern day

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. He traveled locally to get his basic education. Then he migrated to

Madinah Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

and studied closely with

Ibrahim al-Kurani Ibrāhīm al-Kūrānī (Arabic: إبراهيم الكوراني), full name Burhān al-Dīn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥasan al-Kūrānī was a 17th-century Sunni Muslim scholar and Athari theologian of Kurdish descent who was an expert in Sufism. He is a c ...

and his son Muhammaad Tahir al-Kurani. Here, he was initiated into the

tariqa A ''tariqa'' () is a religious order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking , which translates as "ultimate truth". A tariqa has a (guide) who plays the ...

Notable students

One of his students was

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Sulaymān al-Tamīmī (1703–1792) was a Sunni Muslim scholar, theologian, preacher, activist, religious leader, jurist, and reformer, who was from Najd in Arabian Peninsula and is considered as the eponymo ...

, whom he met in 1136 Hijri. It was Abdullah ibn Ibrahim ibn Sayf who introduced him to Hayyat al-Sindhi. Sindhi would make an immense influence on the theological formation of Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab and his

reformist Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...

views. Early

Wahhabi Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other ...

chroniclers acclaimed Al-Sindhi as “the spark that lighted ibn ʿAbdul Wahhab’s path".

Views

Although trained in

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

law, he was also a scholar of the

Hanbali The Hanbali school or Hanbalism is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It is named after and based on the teachings of the 9th-century scholar, jurist and tradit ...

school. Al-Sindhi was a major reviver of

hadith sciences Hadith sciences ( ''ʻilm al-ḥadīth'' "science of hadith") consists of several religious scholarly disciplines used by Muslim scholars in the study and evaluation of the hadith. ("Science" is used in the sense of a field of study, not to be ...

during the 18th century. Throughout his treatises Sindhi stressed the obligation of upholding the practice of ''

Ijtihad ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' ( ...

'', condemned ''

Taqlid ''Taqlid'' (, " imitation") is an Islamic term denoting the conformity of one person to the teaching of another. The person who performs ''taqlid'' is termed ''muqallid''. The definite meaning of the term varies depending on context and age. Cla ...

'', called for a revival of the doctrines of the '' Salaf al-Salih'' and championed the superiority of ''

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

s'' over past juristic opinions. Al-Sindhi was also known for his strong critique of folk practices associated with cult of saints and veneration of shrines.

References

Sindhi people 18th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Mujaddid Muslim reformers Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Naqshbandi order Hadith scholars Atharis 18th-century scholars 1750 deaths Sindhi scholars {{Islamic-scholar-stub