Zafar Ahmad al-Uthmani

Zafar Ahmad Al-Uthmani (Arabic: زفر احمد العثماني‎) (4 October 1892 [13th of Rabi’ al-Awwal, 1310 AH] - 1974), was a 20th Century Sunni Muslim Jurist who became an influential figure of the Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence's Deobandi Movement.

He is most famous for having written I'la Al-Sunan, written as a refutation against the objections against the Hanafi school raised by the growing Ahl-i-hadith movement, as per the request of his Uncle Ashraf Ali Thanwi.

Al-Uthmani was born in 1892. After the death of his mother when he was 3, he was raised by his grandmother, considered as a pious woman. He started studying and memorizing the Quran and the age of 5. At 7 he studied Mathematics, Urdu, and Persian under Mawlana Muhammad Yasin. His Uncle, Ashraf Ali Thanwi guided him as he studied under more scholars.

Al-Uthmani's most famous work is I’la’ al-Sunan, which is a Hadith Commentary that connects the opinions of the Hanafi s hook with direct evidence from the Hadiths. The reason for this was that the Ahl-i-hadith movement was growing and bringing their objections, and Ashraf Ali Thanwi asked his nephew to respond. The book was first printed in 1923. It consists of 21 volumes.