Abdur Rasheed Nomani

Abdul Rasheed Nomani was a 20th-century Pakistani Islamic scholar known for his expertise in the classical sciences of hadith and Islamic jurisprudence. The surname 'Nomani' was adopted to reflect his affection for the Hanafi school, rooted in the lineage of Abu Hanifa. His scholarship primarily focused on the history of Hadith compilation and its terminology, as well as the defense of Abu Hanifa's positions, an approach that drew criticism from some who labeled him a Hanafi fanatic. He began his career as a member of Nadwatul Musannifeen, and following the partition of India, he migrated to Pakistan, where he taught at institutions such as Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia and Islamia University of Bahawalpur. At the same time, he served as the founding editor-in-chief of periodicals published by these institutions, including Bayyināt. Nomani published his research in both Urdu and Arabic, advancing the view that Abu Hanifa was the first to organize Hadith within a juristic framework. Two of his works, focusing on Abu Hanifa and Sunan ibn Majah, were edited by Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda and published in the Arab world. Some scholars have described him as Khātam al-Muḥaddithīn, or the last of the hadith scholars of the Indian subcontinent.