Abu Turab al-Zahiri

Abu Muhammad Abd al-Jamil bin Abd al-Haqq bin Abd al-Wahid bin Muhammad bin al-Hashim bin Bilal al-Hashimi al-Umari al-Adawi, better known as Abu Turab al-Zahiri, was a renowned Islamic scholar and journalist. Although his roots were Arabic, he was often referred to as the Sibawayh of his era due to his knowledge of the Arabic language despite his upbringing in a non-Arab country.

Zahiri was born in 1923 in what was then the British Raj, to a family of Arab descent. Through their family tree, Zahiri's parents could trace their original roots back to Umar, the second caliph of Islam and of the Rashidun Caliphate, and thus the Banu Adi clan of the Quraysh tribe.

Zahiri traveled extensively in pursuit of Islamic manuscripts, which he often copied by hand due to lack of resources. During his younger years, he visited Western Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. He eventually ended up in Egypt, where he earned his master's and doctoral degrees at Al-Azhar University, and was also a student of fellow Hadith specialist Ahmad Muhammad Shakir. Later, Zahiri settled down in Saudi Arabia at the behest of first King of Saudi Arabia Ibn Saud, who requested that Zahiri teach Muslim theology in Mecca's Masjid al-Haram, the holiest site in Islam. Zahiri's best known student was Abu Abd al-Rahman Ibn Aqil al-Zahiri, who shared Zahiri's pen name due to their adherence to the Zahirite school of Islamic law. Zahiri also had a friendship with fellow foreigner in Saudi Arabia, Abdallah Bin Bayyah.

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

Zahiri 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.

Biographical

• 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. ISBN 9789960003023
• 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

Original

• 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.

• WorldCat, Abū Turāb al-Ẓāhirī, 1343-1423 H/1923-2002 M : ṣafaḥāt min ḥayātih-- wa-taʼammulāt fī adabih.
• Arabic Bookshop
• MOBIUS, Ab¯u Tur¯ab al-Z¯ahir¯i-- al-‘¯alim al-maws¯u‘ah-- aw S¯ibawayh al-asr / ‘Alaw¯i T¯ah¯a al-S¯af¯i..
• WorldCat, Abū Turāb al-Ẓāhirī-- al-ʻālim al-mawsūʻah-- aw Sībawayh al-aṣr.
• Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Library Catalog, [1] Detik-detik kepergian Rasulullah / Abu Turab Azh-Zhahiri; " Penerjemah Wawan Djunaedi Soffandi].
• VTLS, [2] Detik-detik kepergian Rasulullah / Abu Turab Azh-Zhahiri; ].
• لجام الاقلام