Muhammad Mustafa Al-A'zami (1930 – 20 December 2017) was an Indian-born Saudi Arabian contemporary

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

scholar best known for his critical investigation of the theories of fellow Islamic scholars

Ignác Goldziher Ignác (Yitzhaq Yehuda) Goldziher (22 June 1850 – 13 November 1921), often credited as Ignaz Goldziher, was a Hungarian scholar of Islam. Along with the German Theodor Nöldeke and the Dutch Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, he is considered th ...

David Margoliouth David Samuel Margoliouth, FBA (; 17 October 1858, in London – 22 March 1940, in London) was an English orientalist. He was briefly active as a priest in the Church of England. He was Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford ...

, and

Joseph Schacht Joseph Franz Schacht (, 15 March 1902 – 1 August 1969) was a British-German professor of Arabic and Islam at Columbia University in New York. He was the leading Western scholar on Islamic law, whose ''Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence'' (195 ...

Life and education

He was born in

Mau Mau may refer to: Places Kenya * Mau Escarpment * Mau Forest India * Mau, Bhind, a town in Madhya Pradesh * Mau, Mawal, Pune district, Marahrashtra * Mau, Punjab, a village in Punjab * Mau, Uttar Pradesh, India * Mau district, Uttar P ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

then in the

Azamgarh district Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh division in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Etymology The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, a son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit ...

(hence his

nisba The Arabic word nisba (; also transcribed as ''nisbah'' or ''nisbat'') may refer to: * Nisba, a suffix used to form adjectives in Arabic grammar, or the adjective resulting from this formation **comparatively, in Afro-Asiatic: see Afroasiatic_lan ...

) in the early part of the year 1930. Al-A'zami received his education successively at

Darul Uloom Deoband The Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary ( darul uloom) in India at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. It is located in Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The seminary was established by Muhammad Qa ...

(1952),

Al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...

(M.A., 1955), and the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(Ph.D., 1966).

Career

Azmi was a Professor Emeritus at

King Saud University King Saud University (KSU, ar, جامعة الملك سعود) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by Saud of Saudi Arabia, King Saud bin Abdulaziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the firs ...

where he also chaired the department of Islamic Studies. He served as curator of the National Public Library of Qatar, Associate Professor at

Umm al-Qura University Umm Al-Qura University (UQU; ar, جامعة أم القرى ) is a public university in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The university was established as the College of Sharia (Islamic Law) in 1949 before being joined by new colleges and renamed as Umm Al ...

, visiting scholar at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(Ann Arbor), Visiting Fellow at

St Cross College, Oxford St Cross College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1965, St Cross is an all-graduate college with gothic and traditional-style buildings on a central site in St Giles', just south of Pusey Street. I ...

, King Faisal Visiting Professor for Islamic Studies at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

, and visiting scholar at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado s ...

. He was also an Honorary Fellow in Islamic Studies at the

University of Wales, Trinity Saint David , image = Crest of TSD.png , image_size = 200px , caption = Coat of armsUniversity of Wales Trinity Saint David , established = 2010 (Saint David's College, Lampeter founded 1822 and opened 1827; royal charter 1828) , ...

Awards and recognition

In 1980, he was the recipient of the King Faisal International Award for Islamic Studies. Much of A'zami's work focused on challenging Western scholarship on hadith literature, especially on highlighting the fact that there was already intense literary activity on hadiths during the lifetime of the Muslim prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...

, at his encouragement.

Literary works

*''Studies in Early Hadith Literature'', His doctoral thesis at the University of Cambridge *''Hadith Methodology and Literature'', a general introduction to the subject *''The History of the Qur'anic Text from Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments'' *''On Schacht's Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence'' *''Dirasat fi al-Hadith an-Nabawi'' *''Kuttab an-Nabi'' *''Manhaj an-Naqd 'ind al-Muhaddithin'' *''al-Muhaddithun min al-Yamamah'' His forthcoming works include ''The Qurʾānic Challenge: A Promise Fulfilled'' and ''The ʾIsnād System: Its Origins and Authenticity''.

Edited works

*''al-ʿIlal'' of Ibn al-Madini *''Kitāb at-Tamyiz'' of

Imam Muslim Abū al-Ḥusayn ‘Asākir ad-Dīn Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj ibn Muslim ibn Ward ibn Kawshādh al-Qushayrī an-Naysābūrī ( ar, أبو الحسين عساكر الدين مسلم بن الحجاج بن مسلم بن وَرْد بن كوشاذ ...

*''Maghāzi Rasulullah'' of

Urwah ibn Zubayr ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām al-Asadī ( ar , عروة بن الزبير بن العوام الأسدي, ) was among the seven '' fuqaha'' (jurists) who formulated the fiqh of Medina in the time of the Tabi‘in and one of the Muslim ...

*''

Muwatta Imam Malik The ''Muwaṭṭaʾ'' ( ar, الموطأ, "well-trodden path") or ''Muwatta Imam Malik'' ( ar, موطأ الإمام مالك) of Imam Malik (711–795) written in the 8th-century, is one of the earliest collections of hadith texts comprising th ...

'' *'' Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah'' *'' Sunan ibn Majah''

Death

Muhammad Mustafa Azmi died on 20 December 2017, aged 87.

References

Bibliography

الشيخ محمد مصطفى الأعظمي ومساهمته العلمية في الحديث النبويالشيخ محمد مصطفى الأعظمي ومساهماته العلمية في مجال الحديث النبوي: دراسة استقرائية

External links

Interview with al-A'zami (In the Arabic language)

King Faisal International Award for Islamic Studies, 1980, winner: Al-A'zami
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azami, Muhammad Mustafa Saudi Arabian curators 1930 births 2017 deaths People from Mau Hadith scholars Fellows of St Cross College, Oxford Princeton University faculty University of Michigan faculty University of Colorado Boulder faculty People associated with University of Wales Trinity Saint David King Saud University faculty 20th-century Indian Muslims Biographical evaluation scholars Deobandis People from Azamgarh