Abul Wafa al-Afghani (1893–1975) was a Hanafi scholar associated with the editing and publication of classical works of Hanafi jurisprudence. He is remembered primarily for his contributions to the recovery and printing of early juristic texts of the Hanafi school.
| Name | Abul Wafa al-Afghani |
|---|---|
| Born | 1893 |
| Died | 1975 |
| School | Hanafi (Sunni jurisprudence) |
| Field | Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), editing of classical Arabic texts |
Al-Afghani belonged to the tradition of twentieth-century Hanafi scholarship that placed emphasis on returning to the foundational works of the school's early jurists, particularly those attributed to Abu Hanifa and his immediate students such as Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani. His scholarly orientation lay in textual editing (tahqiq) and the preparation of manuscripts for print.
Al-Afghani is associated with the editorial preparation of several early Hanafi legal compilations that had previously circulated only in manuscript form. His introductions and editorial apparatus contributed to the wider availability of these texts among scholars and madrasa students in the twentieth century.
Through his editorial efforts, al-Afghani played a part in the broader twentieth-century movement to print and disseminate classical Islamic legal literature. His work is consulted in academic and traditional study of Hanafi fiqh and its formative period.