*Imam Tahawi - may Allah have mercy on him -'s Broad-mindedness*


By: Muaz Haider

7/ Ramadan 1447 AH


Every fair-minded researcher of the path of Hadith acknowledges the status and position of *Imam Tahawi* - may Allah have mercy on him -, pays tribute to his scholarly services, and recognizes his research. He was superior to the scholars of his time, and whoever's stature rises, their generosity is also great.

Hazrat al-Ustad *Mufti Saeed Ahmad Sahab Palanpuri* - may Allah illuminate his grave - expressed this reality in a very heartwarming manner:

"The first level of virtue is that a person is "envious of peers," and the last level is to be "envious of elders."

*(Hayat-e-Imam Tahawi, p: 18-19)*

The praised Imam also had to go through this stage. His writings were prevented from coming to light. Some individuals in places where sectarian tastes differed participated greatly in this, and attempts were made to create an opposing atmosphere. However, the divine power had something else in mind. The clouds of obstacles cleared, the sun of agreement rose, and his knowledge gained universality. We also had the good fortune to drink from this fountain of Kauthar.

*Imam Tahawi* - may Allah have mercy on him -'s most prominent characteristic is his *broad-mindedness*. Along with mentioning the proofs of the Hanafi school of thought, he also presents a large amount of evidence from other Imams. He narrates different opinions with complete satisfaction and mentions their arguments with generosity, then turns to preference.

But the perfection is that he does not resort to harsh language in this preference, does not disgrace the proponents of the rejected opinion, does not explicitly name them, nor does he consider it necessary to name the holders of the preferred position.

Due to the blessing of this approach, his book was prepared with immense qualities. Its practice creates a taste for considering the contradictory hadiths from an evidentiary perspective, and the ability to assess the intellectual standard develops.

*Allama Zahid al-Kawthari - may Allah have mercy on him -* pointed to this reality, saying:

"There is no parallel in the world to this book in creating a jurisprudential faculty within a scholar and teaching different styles of understanding jurisprudence with internal criticism and scrutiny, in addition to evidentiary aspects in the texts."

*(Hadith aur Fahm-e-Hadith, p: 263)*

Undoubtedly, this characteristic of Imam Tahawi - may Allah have mercy on him - is a bright example for today's scholarly environment.