Rashid Ahmad Gangohi

Rashid Ahmad al-Gangohi al-Hanafi (1244–1323 AH / 1829–1905 CE) was one of the founding figures of the Deoband movement and the leading Hanafi scholar of 19th-century India. A student of the great hadith master Muhammad Ishaq al-Dehlawi and spiritual disciple of Hajji Imdadullah Makki, he cofounded Darul Uloom Deoband in 1867 alongside Muhammad Qasim Nanawtawi. He was revered as a jurist, hadith scholar, and spiritual guide. His fatawa collection (Fatawa Rashidiyya) is a major reference in Hanafi fiqh for the subcontinent. He is considered the foundational authority of the Deobandi school.