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i. Sheikh Ibn Arabi
Sheikh Abu Bakr Mohiuddin Muhammad bin Ali known as Sheikh Akbar and Ibn Arabi was born on the 17th of Ramadan, 560 Hijri (28 July 1168) in Murcia (Andalus). He belonged to the tribe Tayy of Hatim al-Tai. In 580 Hijri, he moved to Ashbelia, which was the center of knowledge and learning, where he studied for thirty years. From his meeting with his Sheikh in Ashbelia, he learned Sufism. At the age of thirty-eight, he moved towards the eastern countries. He stayed for some time in Egypt and then travelled to Bait-ul- Muqaddas, Makkah, Baghdad and Halb. Finally he reached Damascus where he settled permanently. His books "Fatuhat Makkiyah" and "Fusoos al-Hikam" became very popular. He continued to teach and preach and advise in Damascus. He died in 638 Hijri (1240 AD) and was buried in Jabal Qasyun.
The number of books of Sheikh Ibn Arabi is said to be more than 500. Sheikh Akbar's writings cover the prevailing Islamic sciences of his time and are mostly on the subject of Sufism, and he also wrote books on the subject of Hadith, seerah, biography and literature. His literary works also include Sufi poetry.
ii. Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehalvi
Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehlavi was born on 25th Ramadan 1159 Hijri according to 7th Shawwal 1239 Hijri / 20th September 1746 in Delhi. His historical name is Ghulam Haleem. His lineage reaches Hazrat Umar Farooq through 34 lines. He is known by the title of 'Sirajul Hind'. He was the eldest son of Shah Wali Ullah Muhaddith Dehlavi. Along with the breadth of knowledge, he was quite a witty and alert minded person.
When Shah Abdul Aziz turned seventeen years old, his father Hazrat Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlavi died. Despite different illnesses at an early age, he continued teaching and was appointed as his father's successor.
After the death of his father, he remained engaged in teaching Hadith and tafseer for 12 years. He was perfect in philosophy and logic as well as Hadith and tafseer. The great personality of Shah Abdul Aziz was one of those great scholars of his time whose students were spread far and wide across the country. He will always be remembered for the great services he rendered in the era that was full of persecutions.
Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehalvi died at the age of eighty years on 9th of Shawwal/1239 Hijri according to 1823 AD.
iii. Ibn Rushd
The name of Ibn Rushd needs no introduction in the field of Islamic philosophy. Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Rushd() was born in a respectable family of Cordoba (Andalus). He attained perfection in the sciences of his time in jurisprudence, medicine and philosophy. In 548 Hijri, Ibn Tufail arranged his meeting with Abu Yaqub Yusuf bin Abdur-Rahman. He was fond of philosophy. Ibn Rushd summarized the books of Aristotle for him. The mayor of Morocco invited him to Morocco to become his physician. Soon he returned after becoming a judge of Cordova.
He died in Morocco. He was a great fan of Aristotle. He was of the view that Aristotle was an encyclopedia of knowledge. He had devoted himself to summarize and explain the books of Aristotle. Whatever Ibn Rushd wrote, the people of Europe translated it and started to learn from it and soon it became the base of their wisdom and a standard of their philosophical activities.
He has written a number of books out of which 'Badayat-ul-Mujtahid' is particularly noteworthy, in which Ibn Rushd has mentioned his consistent opinions in addition to the jurisprudential schools and compared the opinions and arguments of the imams of jurisprudence which shows his ability of ijtihad.
