Zubair Ali Zai ( ur, ; 25 June 195710 November 2013) was a preacher, theologian,

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of reli ...

of ahadith and former merchant marine from Pakistan.

Life

Zubair Alizai was from the

Pashtun tribe The Pashtun tribes ( ps, پښتانه قبايل), historically also known as Afghan tribes, are the tribes of the Pashtun people, a large Eastern Iranian ethnic group who use the Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali code of conduct. They ar ...

of Alizai, itself a branch of the larger

Durrani The Durrānī ( ps, دراني, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but ...

confederation tracing their descent back to

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

, founder of the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...

. He was born in 1957 in the village of Pirdad, near Hazro in the

Attock District Attock District (Urdu and pnb, ) is a district in Pothohar Plateau of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. Its capital is Attock city. The district was created in April 1904 by the merging of tehsils of nearby districts. Its former name was C ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. He married in 1982 and had three sons (Tahir, Abdullah Saqib and Muaz) and four daughters. In addition to his native language of

Hindko Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pun ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, he was also fluent in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, and could read and understand

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Career

Education

Hafiz Zubair Alizai completed a bachelor's degree and later on two master's degrees, one in

Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

in 1983 and another in the

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

in 1994 from the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. Additionally, he graduated for a fourth time from the Salafi University in

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur ( Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...

Editing and publishing

Hafiz Zubair Alizai was, like his former teacher Rashidi, a

bibliophile Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. A bibliophile or bookworm is an individual who loves and frequently reads and/or collects books. Profile The classic bibliophile is one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often ama ...

, having amassed a

private library A private library is a library that is privately owned. Private libraries are usually intended for the use of a small number of people, or even a single person. As with public libraries, some people use bookplates – stamps, stickers or ...

of some renown in Hazro, where he spent most of his time.

Works

Much of Hafiz Zubair Alizai's work consists of editing and referencing ancient texts of prophetic tradition and evaluating them according to the Categories of Hadith. Working with Dar us Salam, he has reviewed the

Al-Kutub al-Sittah The ''Kutub al-Sittah'' ( ar-at, ٱلْكُتُب ٱلسِّتَّة, al-Kutub as-Sittah, lit=the six books) are six (originally five) books containing collections of ''hadith'' (sayings or acts of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) compiled by six S ...

, considered canonical in Sunni Islam. He also authored many books written in Urdu and Arabic. A book named "''Noor ul Enain fi Masalate Rafa-ul-Yadain''" has a list of all his works. Sunan Arbaha Takhreej by Zubair Ali Zai

List of his books (published): * ''Anwar al Sunan Fi Tahqiq Aasar il Sunan'' * ''Anwaar ul Saheefah Fi Ahadees Zaheefa Min Sunnan e Arba'a'' * ''Tohfatul Aqwiya Fi Tahqeeq Kitabul Zuhafa'' * ''Tahqeeq Tafseer Ibn Kathir'' * ''Tahqeeq Masael Muhammad Ibn Usman Ibn Abi Shaybah'' * ''Tahqeeq wa Takhreej Juzz Ali Bin Muhammad Al-Himyari'' * ''Tahqeeq wa Takhreej Kitabul Arbaʿīn Le Ibn Taymiyyah'' * ''Al-Etihaaf Al-Basim Fi Tahqeeq wa Takhreej Muwatta Imam Malik Riwayatu Ibn ul-Qasim'' * ''Tahqeeq wa Takhreej Hisnul Muslim'' * ''Alfathul Mubeen Fi Tahqeeq Tabqaat Al-Mudaliseen'' * ''Musafaha wa Mohaniqa Ke Ahkaam wa Masael'' * ''Nabi Kareem ﷺ kay Lail wa Nahaar'' * ''Taufeeq Al-Bari Fi Tatbeeq Al-Quran wa Saheeh Al-Bukhari'' * ''Masla Fatiha Khalful Imam'' * ''Juzz Rafahul Yadain'' * ''Fazael Sahaba'' * ''Noorul Enain Fi Masalate Asbaate Rafa-ul-Yadain''

Hadith referencing

Sahih Muslim Sahih Muslim ( ar, صحيح مسلم, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim), group=note is a 9th-century ''hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj (815–875). It is one of the most valued bo ...

Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Abū al-Ḥusayn ‘Asākir ad-Dīn Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj ibn Muslim ibn Ward ibn Kawshādh al-Qushayrī an-Naysābūrī ( ar, أبو الحسين عساكر الدين مسلم بن الحجاج بن مسلم بن وَرْد بن كوشاذ ...

. Riyadh: Dar us Salam Publications, 2007. 1st Ed. 7 volumes. *

Jami' at-Tirmidhi Jami at-Tirmidhi ( ar, جامع الترمذي), also known as Sunan at-Tirmidhi, is one of " the six books" (''Kutub al-Sittah'' - the six major hadith collections). It was collected by Al-Tirmidhi. He began compiling it after the year 250 A.H. ...

of Muhammad ibn 'Isa at-Tirmidhi. Riyadh: Dar us Salam Publications, 2007. 6 volumes. *

Al-Sunan al-Sughra ''Al-Sunan al-Sughra'' ( ar, السنن الصغرى), also known as ''Sunan al-Nasa'i'' ( ar, سنن النسائي), is one of the Kutub al-Sittah (six major hadiths), and was collected by al-Nasa'i (214 – 303 AH; c. 829 – 915 CE). Descri ...

Al-Nasa'i Al-Nasāʾī (214 – 303 AH; 829 – 915 CE), full name Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Aḥmad ibn Shuʿayb ibn ʿAlī ibn Sīnān al-Nasāʾī, (variant: Abu Abdel-rahman Ahmed ibn Shua'ib ibn Ali ibn Sinan ibn Bahr ibn Dinar Al-Khurasani ...

. Riyadh: Dar us Salam Publications, 2008. 6 volumes. *

Sunan Abu Dawood ''Sunan Abu Dawood'' ( ar-at, سنن أبي داود, Sunan Abī Dāwūd) is one of the ''Kutub al-Sittah'' (six major hadith collections), collected by Abu Dawud al-Sijistani (d.889). Introduction Abu Dawood compiled twenty-one books related to ...

Abu Dawood Abū Dāwūd (Dā’ūd) Sulaymān ibn al-Ash‘ath ibn Isḥāq al-Azdī al-Sijistānī ( ar, أبو داود سليمان بن الأشعث الأزدي السجستاني), commonly known simply as Abū Dāwūd al-Sijistānī, was a scholar o ...

. Riyadh: Dar us Salam Publications, 2008. 1st Ed. 5 volumes. Translated by

Yasir Qadhi Yasir Qadhi (born January 30, 1975), is an American preacher, theologian, and imam. Since 2001, he has served as Dean of Academic Affairs at the Al-Maghrib Institute, an international Islamic educational institution with a center in Houston, Tex ...

. * Sunan ibn Majah of

Ibn Majah Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Yazīd Ibn Mājah al-Rabʿī al-Qazwīnī ( ar, ابو عبد الله محمد بن يزيد بن ماجه الربعي القزويني; (b. 209/824, d. 273/887) commonly known as Ibn Mājah, was a medieval sch ...

. Riyadh: Dar us Salam Publications, 2007. 1st Ed. 5 volumes.

Death

Hafiz Zubair Alizai died on 10 November 2013 in

Benazir Bhutto Hospital Benazir Bhutto Hospital, also known as the Rawalpindi General Hospital, is a teaching hospital located on the Murree Road, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. It is a major teaching hospital offering basic specialties as well as psychiatry, orthopaedics, urol ...

in Rawalpindi, Pakistan of lung failure.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zai, Zubair Ali 1957 births 2013 deaths 20th-century imams 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam 21st-century Muslim scholars of Islam Arabic-language writers from Pakistan Biographical evaluation scholars Hadith scholars Pakistan Merchant Navy Pakistani imams Pakistani Islamic religious leaders Pakistani Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Pashtun people People from Attock District Sunni imams Salafi Islamists University of the Punjab alumni Ahl-i Hadith people