Ashraf 'Ali Thanawi

Ashraf 'Ali ibn Abd al-Haqq al-Thanawi al-Hanafi was the most influential Deobandi scholar of the 20th century and is known as 'Hakim al-Ummat' (The Sage of the Ummah) and 'Mujaddid al-Milla' (Renewer of the Community). Born in Thana Bhawan, India, he wrote over 1,000 works in Arabic, Urdu, and Persian. His most famous work Bahishti Zewar (Heavenly Ornaments) is a comprehensive guide to Islamic practice for Muslim women — one of the most widely read Islamic books in South Asia. He also wrote an Urdu Quran translation and tafsir (Bayan al-Quran) and numerous works on Sufi spiritual methodology (with emphasis on remaining within Shari'ah). He died in 1362 AH.