Biography of Shaykh Abd al-Hayy al-Laknawi

Shaykh Abd al-Hayy al-Laknawi was born in Banda, India, on Tuesday, 26th of Dhul Qa'dah 1264 AH. He was a descendant of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. He began to memorise the Qur'an at the age of five, completing it when he was ten years old, at which age he led tarawih prayer. He learnt both the intellectual and transmitted sciences from his father and completed his studies when he was seventeen, learning mathematics from his father's uncle and teacher Mawlana Muhammad Ni'matullah ibn Mawlana Nurullah. The Shaykh had a great love for study and writing, and wrote more than 115 works on numerous sciences, amongst the most famous of which is 'at-Ta'liq al-mumajjad'. He passed away in Rabi' al-Awwal 1304 AH, at the age of 39.