By ‘Allamah ‘Abd al-Hayy ibn Fakhr al-Din Hasani[1]
Translated by Mawlana Abu ‘Asim Badrul Islam
The great shaykh, the imam, the ‘allamah, the muhaddith Thana’ullah ‘Uthmani Panipati [2] (d. 1225 AH/1810 CE) was one of the most erudite scholars [of undivided India]. He was from the progeny of Shaykh Jalal al-Din ‘Uthmani, through whom his family tree reaches [the Blessed Companion] ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan (may Allah be pleased with him). He was born, and grew up, in the town of Panipat where he memorised the Holy Qur’an and studied Arabic for a while with the teachers of the town. He then travelled to the city of Delhi and studied under the [legendary master and imam] Shaykh Wali Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahim ‘Umari Dehlawi, [better known as ‘Shah Waliullah’,] from whom he acquired the science of hadith. He studied Fatihah al-Faragh with the Imam at the young age of eighteen years.