Muhammad Zahid ibn Hasan al-Kawthari (1879-1951 or 1296 AH-1371 AH) was the adjunct to the last Sheikh al-Islam of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 and a well known Hanafi

Hanafi

The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...

 jurist.

Education

He studied under his father as well as the scholars of Qur'an

Qur'an

The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

 and hadith

Hadith

The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....

: Ibrahim Haqqi, Shaykh Zayn al-`Abidin al-Alsuni, Shaykh Muhammad Khalis al-Shirwani, al-Hasan al-Aztuwa'i, and others.

Later career

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire Kawthari moved to Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, then Sham

Sham

Sham, a word found in Arabic, English and Chinese, may refer to:-Arabic use:* Sham, or Alsahm, the Arabic name for the star Alpha Sagittae* Sham, , al-Sham, or Bilad al-Sham, endonym of the region bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea, usually known as the Levant or Greater Syria, comprising...

, then returned to Cairo where he edited and brought back into circulation countless classical books of fiqh

Fiqh

Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....

, hadith, and usul

Usul

In Ottoman classical music, usul is an underlying rhythmic cycle that complements the melodic rhythm and sometimes helps shape the overall structure of a composition. An usul can be as short as two beats or as long as 128 beats. Usul is often translated as "meter", but usul and meter are not...

.

A staunch Ashari, he held a critical view of Ibn Taymiyya.

Scholarly works

1. Bulugh al-Amani fi Sira al-Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani - a biography of the foremost Hanafi authority after Imam Abu Hanifa.
2. Al-Fara'id al-Wafiya fi `Ilmay al-`Arud wa al-Qafya - (The Abundant Peerless Matters in the Two Sciences of Prosody and Rhyme)
3. Fiqh Ahl al-`Iraq - (The Jurisprudence of the Iraq
   Iraq
   Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
   
   i Scholars),Download part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5
4. Hanin al-Mutafajji` wa Anin al-Mutawajji`- a poem on the horrors of World War I
   World War I
   World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
   
   .
5. Al-Hawi fi Sira al-Imam Abi Ja`far al-Tahawi - a biography of Imam Al-Tahawi
6. Husn al-Taqadi fi Sira al-Imam Abi Yusuf al-Qadi - a biography of Imam Abi Yusuf al-Qadi.
7. Al-Istibsar fi al-Tahadduth `an al-Jabr wa al-Ikhtiyar - (The Obtainment of Insight Concerning Determinism and Freedom of Choice).
8. Maqalaat ul Kawthari - a collection of his articles.