Zafar Ishaq Ansari

Zafar Ishaq Ansari ( ur, ﻇﻔﺮ اسحاق انصاﺭﻯ; 27 December 1932 – 24 April 2016) was a scholar of Islamic Studies. He was the Director General of the Islamic Research Institute of the International Islamic University. Previously, he was the President of the International Islamic University Islamabad.

Education and early life

Ansari obtained his M.A. and PhD from the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Canada in 1966. His main thesis for his PhD program was titled "The Early Development of Fiqh in Kufah with special reference to the works of Abu Yusuf and Shaybani".

Academic career

He was the editor of the quarterly journal ''Islamic Studies''.

Publications

His books and articles include:
*"'Islamic Perspectives: Studies in Honour of Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi '', edited by K. Ahmad and Z.I. Ansari, Leicester, UK, 1979.See for review citation of the book
*Living Religions of the World: A Socio-Political Study, A. Al-Masdousi, translated into English (Karachi, 1962).
* Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vols. 1–10 and the last part (Juz' 'Amma – surahs 78-114), English rendering of Sayyid Abu A`la Mawdudi, Tafhim al-Qur'an (Leicester, 1988–2010). (Ten volumes have been published so far).
* Towards Understanding the Qur'an Abridged Version (Leicester: 2006).
*"Muslims and the West: Encounter" (Islamabad and Washington DC; 2001), Edited, in collaboration with John L. Esposito,.
*"Taftazani's Views on Taklif, Jabr and Qadar": A Note on the Development of Islamic Theology Arabica, Tome XVI, fasc. 1 (Leiden, 1969), pp. 65–78; and Tome XVII, fasc. 3 (1970), pp. 309–311.
*"Early Islamic Juristic Terminology", Arabica, Tome XIX (Leiden, 1972), pp. 255–300.
*"Some Reflections on the Qur'anic Legal Verses", Hamdard Islamicus, vol. IV, no. 2 (Summer 1981), pp. 13–29.
*"The Authenticity of Traditions: A Critique of Joseph Schacht's Argument e Silentio", Hamdard Islamicus, vol.VII, no. 2 (Summer 1984), pp. 51–56.
*"An Early Discussion on Islamic Jurisprudence: Some Notes on al-Radd 'al-Siyar al-Awza'i ", a chapter in Islamic Perspectives: Studies in Honour of Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi (Leicester, U.K. 1979), pp. 147–167.
*"Contemporary Islam and Nationalism: A Case Study of Egypt", Die Welt des Islams, N.S. vol. VII, nr. 1-4 (Leiden, 1961), pp. 3–38.
*"Islam and Nationalism in Egypt—The Earlier Developments", Pakistan Horizon, vol. XII (1959), pp. 230–247.
*"Egyptian Nationalism vis-á-vis Islam", Pakistan Horizon, vol. XIII (1960), pp. 21–47.
*"The Sanusi Movement", Proceedings of the First International Conference of the Historians of Asia (The Philippines, Historical Association, 1962), pp. 129–152.
*"Some Reflections on Islamic Bases for Dialogue with Jews and Christians", Journal of Ecumenical Studies, vol. 14 (1977), pp. 433–447.
*"Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi: An Introduction to his Vision of Islam and Islamic Revival", in collaboration with K. Ahmad, a chapter in Islamic Perspectives, op. cit., pp. 359