Muḥammad Yūnus Jaunpūrī (1937–2017) was an Islamic scholar, muhaddith and leading cleric of the Deobandi movement. He was a student and close disciple of Zakariyya Kandhlawi, a fellow Deobandi cleric and a prominent leader of the Tablighi Jamaat. He was a senior professor of hadith at the Mazahir Uloom in Saharanpur, authoring works on the subject of hadith such as Nibrās al-Sārī.[1]
Muḥammad Yūnus Jaunpūrī | |
|---|---|
 Yunus Jaunpuri (center) during a ceremony in Saharanpur. | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Muhammad Yunus bin Shabbir Ahmad al-Jaunpuri 2 October 1937 |
| Died | 11 July 2017 (aged 79) |
| Main interest(s) | Study of hadith, Tazkiyat al-Nafs, Sufism |
| Notable work | Nibrās al-Sārī ilā Riyāḍ al-Bukhārī |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Ḥanafī |
| Creed | Atharī |
| Movement | Deobandi |
| Muslim leader | |
| Disciple of | Zakariyya Kandhlawi |
Influenced | |
Biography
editMuhammad Yunus bin Shabbir Ahmad al-Jaunpuri was born in the city of Jaunpur on 2 October 1937.[2][3][4] Graduating from the Deobandi institution of Mazahir Uloom in 1961, he later became a student of leading Deobandi cleric and Tablighi Jamaat preacher, Zakariyya Kandhlawi.[2][4] After he had received an ijazah to teach his own classes and be authorized as a scholar, Jaunpuri taught the classical six hadith compilations, including Sahih al-Bukhari, at the Mazahir Uloom.[2][4][5] Due to his knowledge in the field of hadith sciences, Jaunpuri became a muhaddith and was appointed as the chief professor of hadith studies at the Mazahir Uloom and given the status of a leading cleric within the Deobandi movement.[2][4][5] He also delved into Sufism and asceticism, delivering lectures and classes about the concepts of Tazkiyat al-Nafs and self-purification.[5][6] Like majority of the Deobandis, Jaunpuri adhered to the Hanafi school and was a supporter of Sufism, but unlike most Deobandis, he adhered to the Athari school of theology, instead of Maturidism.[6][7]
Yunus Jaunpuri died on 11 July 2017 in Saharanpur. Over a million people, including his students, attended the funeral procession.[8][9][10] It was led by Talha Kandhlawi, a son of Zakariyya Kandhlawi.[7][10] International Islamic scholar, Mufti Menk, expressed grief over the demise of Jaunpuri.[8][11] Likewise, Fuzail Ahmad Nasiri, a Deobandi scholar and poet, expressed his grief and eulogized Jaunpuri, saying that he was an exemplary scholar in the field of hadith.[11]
Works
edit- Nibrās al-Sārī ilā Riyāḍ al-Bukhārī (The Lantern of the Night-Traveler to the Gardens of al-Bukhārī), a multi-volume commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari with explanations on how the narrations are adopted by Hanafi jurisprudence.[12] While writing the commentary, Jaunpuri includes footnotes from prominent Islamic khalaf such as Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn Taymiyyah, Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi, and 'Abd al-Hayy al-Laknawi, with the aim of quoting prominent scholars that are not restricted to the Hanafi school, as Jaunpuri intended for his work to reach an audience outside of Hanafi adherents.[12]
- Al-Yawāqīt al-Ghāliyah al-Aḥādīth al-‘Āliyah (The Precious Rubies of the Lofty Prophetic Traditions) a work in four volumes which is a compilation of lectures, essays and treatises written by Jaunpuri regarding the study of hadith and narrations from the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ Shabbir, Mahmud (2022). Shaykh Muhammad Yunus Jaunpuri: Nuqoosh-o-Ta'assurat, Tarikhi Dastawez [Shaykh Muhammad Yunus Jaunpuri: Impressions and Reflections, A Historical Document] (PDF) (in Urdu). Supaul: Jamia al-Qasim Darul Uloom Islamia.
- 1 2 3 4 al-Nadwī, Maḥmūd (2020). al-Nadwī, ʿAbdurrashīd (ed.). Al-Shaykh al-Muḥaddith Muḥammad Yūnus al-Jawnpūrī, raḥimahullāhu taʿālā: Ḥayātuhu, wa-khidmātuhu, nubūghuhu wa-rusūkhuhu fī al-ʿulūm [Al-Shaykh al-Muḥaddith Muḥammad Yūnus al-Jawnpūrī: His Life, Services, Genius and Firmness in the Sciences] (in Arabic) (1st ed.). Lucknow, India: Muʾassasat al-Ḥaram li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-Islāmī ʿinda al-ʿArab wa-al-ʿAjam – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ Luhārwʾī, Muḥammad. Udhkurū Maḥāsin Mawtākum Muḥaddith-e-ʿAṣr Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Muḥammad Yūnus Jawnfūrī [Mentioning the Good Virtues of Your Deceased: The Multifaceted Personality of the Hadith Scholar of the Era, Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Yunus Jaunpuri] (in Urdu) (1st ed.). Bharuch: Maktabah Abū Hurairah.
- 1 2 3 4 Shabbir, Yusuf (13 July 2017). "A Life Dedicated to Hadith – Muhaddith al-Asr Muhammad Yūnus Jawnpūri". Ilm Gate. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 al-Nadwī, Muḥammad (2018). Dictums of al-Muḥaddith Shaykh Yūnus Jaunpūrī. Maktaba Qurtuba. pp. 11–13. ISBN 1916023215 – via Noor Book Archive.
- 1 2 Jaunpūrī, Yūnus. Sūrtī, Muḥammad; Bastawī, Abd al-Ghaffār (eds.). Al-Yawāqīt al-Ghāliyah al-Aḥādīth al-'Āliyah [The Precious Rubies of the Lofty Prophetic Traditions] (in Arabic). Vol. 1 (1st ed.). England: Majlis Da‘wat al-Ḥaq. pp. 128–130 – via Internet Archive.
- 1 2 3 al-Qāsimī, Ashraf (2017). "Faḍīlat al-Shaykh al-Muḥaddith Muḥammad Yūnus al-Jawnpūrī raḥimahu Allāh ta'ālā" [Fadilat of al-Shaykh al-Muḥaddith Muḥammad Yūnus Jaunpūrī]. Majallat al-Dā‘ī al-Shahriyyah al-Ṣādirah ‘an Dār al-‘Ulūm Diyūband (in Arabic). 42 (3) – via Darul Uloom Deobandi Website.
- 1 2 "Shaykh Yunus Jaunpuri Passed Away, And His Funeral Was So Huge!". The Islamic Information. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
- ↑ Nasheman (12 July 2017). "Islamic Scholar Shaykh Yunus Jaunpuri passes away in Saharanpur". Nasheman. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
- 1 2 Raheem, Abdul (14 July 2017). Moid, Faraz (ed.). "An Account of the Final Moments and Passing of Shaykh al-Hadīth Mawlānā Yūnus Jawnpūri". Ilm Gate. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
- 1 2 Khatoon, Aaisha (2017). "Aazadi ke Baad Hindustan ki Khidmaat e Hadith" [Post-Independence Services and Contributions to Hadith in India]. Department of Sunni Theology (in Urdu): 190–192 – via Shodhganga.
- 1 2 Shabbir, Yusuf (3 May 2017). "Ten salient features of the Arabic commentary of Sahih Bukhari by Shaykh Muhammad Yunus Jownpuri". Islamic Portal. Retrieved 17 June 2026.