Identity: Great Hadith scholar, Shaykh al-Hadith, Sufi master, and author of Fazail-e-Amaal.

Maulana Muhammad Zakariya Kandhlawi was born on 11 Ramadan 1315 AH, corresponding to 2 February 1898, in Kandhla, Uttar Pradesh, India. His father, Maulana Muhammad Yahya Kandhlawi, was among the distinguished disciples and spiritual successors of Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi.

Several nisbahs became associated with his name: “Kandhlawi” due to his ancestral town Kandhla, “Gangohi” because of his upbringing in Gangoh, “Saharanpuri” for his long association with Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur, and “Muhajir Madani” after his migration and residence in Madinah.

At the age of two, he moved with his father to Gangoh, where his early education began. He studied Qa'idah Baghdadi, memorized the Qur’an, and learned the basics of Persian and Arabic from his father and his uncle, Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhlawi.

At the age of twelve, he joined Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur, where he pursued advanced studies in Arabic grammar, logic, jurisprudence, and Hadith. In 1333 AH (1915), he completed the Dawrah-e-Hadith program and, in the same year, pledged spiritual allegiance (bay‘ah) to Maulana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri.

In 1916, at only eighteen years of age, he was appointed as a teacher at Mazahir Uloom Saharanpur. Initially, he taught Arabic literature, grammar, and jurisprudence, and later became devoted to the teaching of Hadith. For decades, he taught Mishkat al-Masabih, Sunan al-Nasa’i, Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abi Dawud, and Sahih al-Bukhari. After permanently taking charge of teaching Sahih al-Bukhari, he became widely renowned throughout the Muslim world as “Shaykh al-Hadith.”

His celebrated work Fazail-e-Amaal holds special significance in the Tablighi Jamaat and has been translated into numerous languages worldwide.

Maulana Zakariya rendered remarkable scholarly services in the fields of Hadith and Seerah. His Arabic masterpiece Awjaz al-Masalik ila Muwatta Malik is regarded as one of the most authoritative commentaries on Imam Malik’s Muwatta. His other notable works include Khasa’il-e-Nabawi, Lami‘ al-Darari, Al-I‘tidal, Aap Beeti, and many more. He also played an important role in the preparation of Bazl al-Majhud, the famous commentary on Sunan Abi Dawud authored by his teacher Maulana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri.

He also held a distinguished position in Sufism and spiritual training. He was granted khilafah in the Chishti, Qadiri, Naqshbandi, and Suhrawardi spiritual orders. In the later years of his life, he resided for a long period in Madinah, where he continued teaching and spiritual guidance.

Death: Maulana Muhammad Zakariya Kandhlawi passed away on 24 May 1982 in Madinah.