Hafiz Muhammad Lakhvi's influence on Maulana Nabi Bakhsh Halwai

Abstract

The first ever (Tafsir) written in the Punjabi language and literature is Tafsir Muhammadi, authored by Hafiz Muhammad Lakhvi. It consists of seven volumes and is considered the first complete Tafsir in Punjabi. In response to this work, Hanafi scholar Maulana Nabi Bakhsh Halwai wrote Tafsir Nabawi, which spans fifteen volumes and contains approximately 88,000 verses of poetry. The combined total number of poetic verses in both Tafsirs exceeds 150,000.

Hafiz Muhammad Lakhvi belonged to the Ahl-e-Hadith school of thought and had his own distinct style. Since there was no complete Tafsir available in Punjabi before him, he developed a unique methodology of his own. In response to his Tafsir, Maulana Nabi Bakhsh's Tafsir Nabawi emerged. Despite theological differences, one can observe clear influences of Hafiz Muhammad Lakhvi in Maulana Nabi Bakhsh’s work.