Abu Turab al-Zahiri

His extensive travels in pursuit of Islamic manuscripts and his scholarly works have cemented his legacy as a distinguished scholar and author.

• Religion — Islam • Name — Abū Turāb al-Ẓāhirī • Native Name — أبو تراب الظاهري • Born — 1 January 1923 • Birthplace — Ahmedpur East, Punjab Province, British India (present-day Punjab, Pakistan) • Died — 4 May 2002 • Place of death — Mecca, Saudi Arabia • Resting Place — Jannatul Mualla • Citizenship — * British Indian (1923–1947) • Saudi Arabian (1948–2002) • Occupation — Author, journalist • Denomination — Sunni • Jurisprudence — Zahiri • Creed — Athari • Movement — Salafism • Main Interests — Jurisprudence, poetry, Biographical evaluation • Influences — Ahmad Muhammad Shakir • Influenced — Abu Abd al-Rahman Ibn Aqil al-Zahiri • Father — Abdul Haqq Al-Hashemi • Relatives — Sheikhs of Kotla Shaikhan Bahawalpur

Abu Turab was born on 1 January 1923 in what was the erstwhile British Raj in Ahmedpur, Punjab Province. His father was Abdul Haqq Al-Hashemi, a prominent Muhaddith and Islamic scholar in the Indian Subcontinent who had settled in Mecca in Saudi Arabia upon invitation of King Abdul Aziz bin Abdurrahman Al-Saud. Through their family tree, Abu Turab's parents could trace their roots back to Umar, the second caliph of Islam and of the Rashidun Caliphate, and thus the Banu Adi clan of the Quraysh tribe. The family's arrival in the Indian Subcontinent coincided with Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's conquest of Sindh. He is a 43rd descendant of Umar ibn al-Khattab his lineage back to him is; Abdul Jamil bin Abdul Haqq bin Abdul Wahid bin Muhammad bin Hashem bin Ramadan bin Bilal bin Hibatullah bin Ali bin Ismail bin Jalal bin al-Shams bin al-Amir bin Ja’far bin Abdur Rahman bin Jalal bin Muhammad Kabir bin al-Amir bin Wasil bin Abul Abbas bin Hashem bin Muhammad al-Kabir bin Abdur Rahman bin Jalal bin Mahmud bin Umar bin Jalal bin al-Amir bin Muhammad bin al-Amir bin Najib bin Umar bin Nasir bin Muhammad bin Abid bin Abi Bakr bin Najib bin Zayd bin Abid bin Abi Muslim bin Abdullah bin Abbas bin Muhammad bin Zayd bin Abdullah bin Umar bin al-Khattab.

Abu Turab died on Saturday morning, the 21st of Safar in 1423 Hijri, corresponding to 4 May 2002 Gregorian. While in his private library, Abu Turab complained of paralysis in his feet to an aide. Prevented from pronouncing the Muslim testimony of faith due to aphasia, Abu Turab died on his bed pointing toward the sky instead. The next morning, he was buried in Mecca's historic Jannatul Mualla cemetery.

Abu Turab authored roughly fifty published works. Although he was fluent in Persian and Urdu and conversational in multiple Languages of India, most of his written work was in Arabic.

• ʻAbd al-Karīm ibn ʻAbd Allāh ʻAbd al-Karīm, Abū Turāb al-Ẓāhirī, 1343–1423 H/1923-2002 M: ṣafaḥāt min ḥayātih-- wa-taʼammulāt fī adabih. Riyadh: Maktabat al-Malik Fahd al-Waṭanīyah, 2008. 603 pgs.; 24 cm. • ʻAlawī Ṭāhā Ṣāfī, Abū Turāb al-Ẓāhirī-- al-ʻālim al-mawsūʻah-- aw Sībawayh al-aṣr. Riyadh: al-Majallah al-ʻArabīyah, 2003. 32 pgs.; 20 cm. OCLC No. 424454353

• Detik-detik kepergian Rasulullah. Jakarta: Pustaka Azzam, 2001. 328 p.; 23 cm. Translated by Wawan Djunaedi Soffandi. • Lijam al-aqlam. Maktabat al-Tihama, 1982. 276 pgs.