The Salah Of Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (May Allah Shower His Mercy Upon Him)

It is written in Tadhkirat al-Rashid that Molwi Mumtaz ‘Ali Anbethwi relates:

 

‘‘Mawlana Abu ’l-Khayr[1] was coincidentally here in Baluchistan when the news of Hadhrat [Mawlana Rashid Ahmad] Gangohi’s death reached us. Twice, I received a message from him, requesting that I visit him. Finally, when I went to him I saw that the mawlana was weeping uncontrollably. Upon seeing me, his weeping increased to the extent that he began shrieking. The effect of this on the gathering was such that people were close to losing consciousness through excessive weeping. In this state, Mawlana Abu ‘l-Khayr remarked, ‘O Molwi Mumtaz, a great person has been taken from India. What great sorrow! The people did not appreciate who the mawlana was.’ I have heard from a reliable source that Hadhrat Mawlana (may Allah sanctify his secret) once spent the whole night [in Salah] weeping over one verse [of the Qur’an].

 

This verse was: ‘The day when secrets will be examined. There shall then neither be any power nor assistant for man. [Surah 86 (Al-Tariq), Verses 9 & 10]’’’

 

Akabir-e-Deoband Awr ‘Ishq-e-Rasul (salallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) (Karachi: Maktabah Arsalan, p143-144) (Quoted from Tadhkirat al-Rashid, p. 191-192)

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[1] Mawlana Abu ‘l-Khayr Mujaddidi of Delhi was from amongst the prominent shaykhs of India in his era and a student of Mawlana Rahmat-Allah Kiranwi (may Allah shower His mercy upon them both).

 

 

 

Mawlana Yusuf Binnori And Mufti Mahdi Hasan (May Allah Shower His Mercy Upon Them Both)

Faqih al-Ummat Hadhrat Mufti Mahmud al-Hasan Gangohi (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) relates:

 

“Mawlana Yusuf Binnori (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) had moved to Dabhel[1] and was teaching there. [Once], Mufti Mahdi Hasan[2] (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) arrived suddenly. Mawlana Binnori stood up from his place, seated the respected Mufti in it, then sat among the students and began reading the text of the lesson. The respected mufti explained the lesson in Urdu while Mawlana Binnori immediately recorded it in Arabic and then presented it to him, [informing him], ‘This is the explanation of the lesson that you gave’. Thereafter, he related that whenever Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) would teach, Mawlana Yahya  [Kandhlawi] (may Allah shower His mercy upon him) would, at the same time, record his lectures in Arabic. The whole of Al-Kawkab al-Durri[3] and Lami’ al-Darari[4] was written in this manner.”

 

Malfuzat Faqih al-Ummat, Volume 3, (Karachi: Dar al-Huda, 2005, p.253-254) 

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[1] Jame’ah Islamiah Dabhel, the renowned Islamic seminary in Gujarat (India) where luminaries such as Imam al-’Asr Anwar Shah Kashmiri, ‘Allamah Yusuf Binnori, Mufti Muhammad Shafi’, ‘Allamah Shabbir Ahmad ‘Uthmani, Mawlana Sa’id Ahmad Akbarabadi, Mawlana Sayyad Asghar Husayn Deobandi et al. taught. Among the ‘ulama who were involved with this seminary and who persuaded these above-mentioned elders to teach there was a Mawlana Ahmad Buzurg Simlaki, a graduate of Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband and a disciple (murid) of Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. He later benefited from Hakim al-Ummat Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi and was, thereafter, granted ijazah in tasawwuf by Shaykh al-Islam Mawlana Husayn Ahmad Madani (translator).

[2] Mufti Mahdi Hasan Shahjahanpuri (b. 1301 AH / 1884 CE) was a distinguished student of the former Grand-Mufti of India, Mufti Kifayat-Allah Dehlawi, having studied at Madrasah Aminia in Delhi. He graduated from there in 1326 AH. He later studied hadith again at Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband, graduating in 1328 AH. There, he greatly benefited from Shaykh al-Hind Mawlana Mahmud Hasan Deobandi. He was appointed a lecturer at Dar al-‘Ulum Ashrafiah in Rander (Gujarat, India), where he spent thirty years in teaching and issuing religious edicts. He gained great prominence in the Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, where he was considered Grand Mufti. Thereafter, he was appointed Chief Mufti at Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband where he spent twenty years in the service of din.

Mufti Mahdi Hasan was an exceptional Hanafi Jurist, and an accomplished scholar of Hadith and Asma al-Rijal. He was a person of great abstinence and piety, but fearless in speaking the truth. Despite his antagonists among the ghair-muqallideen using harsh words against him, he never responded with the same.

His written works include extremely beneficial annotations to Imam Muhammad ibn Hasan Al-Shaybani’s Kitab al-Hujjah and Kitab al-Athar (his introduction to this book was rendered into English and published by Turath Publishing in its English rendering of Kitab al-Athar). He authored a six-volume commentary of Imam Tahawi’s Sharh Ma’ani al-Athar, as well as a commentary of Imam Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani’s Nukhbat al-Fikar. The above mentioned works were authored in Arabic. Apart from these he authored a number of treatises in Urdu.

In Tasawwuf, he initially gave bay’ah to Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi and after his passing, was granted ijazah by Mawlana Gangohi’s khalifah, Mawlana Shafi’ al-Din Makki.

He passed away in his home town of Shahjahanpur on the 28^th of Rabi’ al-Thani 1396 AH (1976 AH) (translator).

[3] Based on Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi’s lectures on the Jami’ of Imam Tirmidhi. It was penned in Arabic by his special student, Shaykh Yahya Kandhlawi (Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Zakariyya Kandhlawi’s father). Shaykh Zakariyya later edited, arranged, and published this compilation (translator).

[4] Written in Arabic, a collection of the unique remarks and observations on Sahih al-Bukhari presented by Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. These life-long acquired wisdoms were recorded by his student Shaykh Yahya Kandhlawi (Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Zakariyya’s father) during their lessons. Shaykh Zakariyya edited, arranged, and commented on his father’s compilation, clarifying the text and adding a comprehensive introduction at the beginning. (http://www.whitethreadpress.com/authors/shaykh_zakariyya.htm)

 

 

 

 

Can Allah (Hallowed Be His Name) Tell A Lie?

CAN ALLAH (HALLOWED BE HIS NAME) TELL A LIE?

Fatwa answered by Allama Rashid Ahmad Gangohi[1]

Translation and Notes by (Abu Aisha) Mansur[2]

 

Question: What is your opinion (may your merit always remain) about Allah, can he be attributed with the characteristic of lying or not, and what is the ruling regarding the person who believes that he lies [can lie][3] (please give us a legal verdict, you will be reciprocated)?

Answer: Surely Allah is far above from being attributed with the characteristic of lying and neither is there ever any suspicion of lying in his words just as Allah has said “Whose speech could be truer than Allah’s?”[4] And whoever believes and expresses that Allah lies is definitely a rejected disbeliever, an opposer of the Qur’an and Sunna and the Ijma of the umma, Allah is transcendent and above all that the transgressors say.

Nevertheless, it is the belief of the people of Iman that whatever Allah has said in the Qur’an regarding Pharaoh, Haman and Abu Lahab that they are from the denizens of Hell is a definite decision of which he will never do the contrary. However, Allah is capable of entering them in to heaven and is not powerless to do so; nonetheless, he will not do this out of his willingness. Allah Says “Had We so willed We could have given guidance to everyone, but now My Words are shown to be true: that I shall fill up Hell entirely with jinn and human beings.”[5]  It is clear from this verse that had Allah wanted he could have made all of them believers, but he does not contradict what he has [already] said. All of this is out of willingness and not out of compulsion, for he is the doer out of his own accord and he does whatever he intends to do. This is the opinion of all the scholars of this umma as al-Baydawi has mentioned under the commentary of the verse “If you punish them…”[6] [al-Baydawi says] ‘Not forgiving Shirk is due to Allah’s warning [that He will never forgive it], not due to it being intrinsically impossible.’ 

 

Written by the most humble Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (may Allah forgive him)

 

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Abu Aisha: This fatwa is based on an understanding of highly abstract philosophical concepts. Some sincere people who could not understand the depth of the sheikh’s arguments lost no time in condescending him and attacking his erudition and probity. This resulted in people entertaining very bitter and sour thoughts regarding the sheikh. This translation hopes to serve as a rectification of people’s perception as well as to fill the lacuna towards a more integrated and harmonious umma. Ameen Yaa Rabb.  

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[1] Gangohi, Rashid Ahmad, Ta’leefaat Rashidiya, Fataawa Rashidiyan 2^nd edition, (Lahore: Idara Islamiyaat, 1992), p. 97.

[2] Special thanks to Mufti Hussain Kadodia (South Africa) for clarifying few subtle points.

[3] Words in square parenthesis are mine and not the author’s. Calligraphy by Sudanese artist Hassan Musa

[4] Sura al-Nisa 4:122. The translation and references of Qur’anic verses given in the translation of this fatwa is from Abdalhaqq and Aisha Bewley, The Noble Qur’an: A New Rendering of its Meaning in English, (Norwich: Bookwork, 2005).

[5] Sura al-Sajda 32:13

[6] Sura al-Ma’ida 5:118. The full verse reads “If You punish them, they are Your slaves, If You forgive them, You are the Almighty, All-Wise.

 

Those Were Our Forefathers

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful 

As-salamu ‘alaykum,   

Below is a link to a wonderful talk given by Mawlana Nabeel Khan (of www.annoor.wordpress.com) regarding the ‘Ulama and Masha’ikh of Deoband, entitled, ‘Those were our Forefathers’.  The Shaykh gives us a glimpse into the lives of various Masha’ikh affiliated to Dar al-’Ulum Deoband. 

 

Recommended listening for anyone who has a nisbat to this noble group of ‘Ulama and for those who wish to know more about them.   Click here to listen to the talk.

 

 

 

Who Is A Deobandi?

Shaykh Habib-Allah Ibn ‘Ata al-Sijistani writes:

 

“Deobandi is a term used for anyone who is connected to Deoband, either due its being his home, by his having studied there, or by it being his maslak (school of thought). It has come to my knowledge that Mufti Muhammad Shafi’, the author of Ma’arif al-Qur’an, may Allah shower His mercy upon him, would say, ‘I am Deobandi in three ways. I was born in Deoband, I graduated from Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband, and my maslak is that of the scholars of Deoband.’

 

“So according to this, it is possible that someone may not be a resident of Deoband, and may not have studied at Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband, but is still called a Deobandi. This is because his maslak is that of the Ahl al-Sunnah Wa ‘l-Jama’ah Hanafi scholars of Deoband, who uprooted the forts of shirk and innovation from the Indian Sub-Continent and other places.’’

 

Al-Deobandiyyah: Ta’rifuha Wa Khidmatuha, 1^st Edition (Faysal Printers, p. 31)

 

Hakim al-Ummat Mawlana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi As An Author

Fakhr al-Muhaddithin ‘Allamah Zafar Ahmad ‘Uthmani, may Allah shower him with mercy, writes:

 

“Mawlana [Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi] began writing at the early age of eighteen and continued doing so until his final years. Since Imam Suyuti, aside from the mawlana, there has been no writer who has been able to write on almost all [Islamic] sciences and author such a large amount of books. He was unparalleled in giving advice and in delivering sermons. If he ever stood to speak at a particular gathering, listeners would, thereafter, not enjoy others’ speeches. Mawlana never gained any worldly benefit from his books, nor did he ever take publishing rights for them. All of his books were written for the sake of Allah and for the reformation of Muslims, and everyone was granted permission to print them.”

 

Maqalat-e-‘Uthmani, Volume 1, (Karachi: Bait al-‘Ulum, p. 320)

 

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah’s Love For Mawlana Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali Nadwi

Hadhrat Mawlana Qamr al-Zaman Ilahabadhi, the khalifah of Hadhrat Mawlana Shah Wasi-Allah Ilahabadi, may Allah shower him with mercy,  writes:

 

The four personalities for whom Shaykh ‘Abd al-Fattah [Abu Ghuddah], may Allah shower him with mercy, would habitually supplicate daily, included his teacher and Hadhrat Mawlana [Abu ‘l-Hasan 'Ali al-Nadwi], may Allah shower him with mercy.

 

Nuqush wa Athar-e-Mufakkir-e-Islam, page 331, (Maktabah Dar al-Ma’arif, Ilahabad, 2004)

 

Inspirational Talk By Shaykh Muhammad Saleem Dhorat

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

As-salamu ‘alaykum,

Below is a link to an inspirational talk given by one of our prominent and influential Masha’ikh of the UK, Hadhrat Mawlana Muhammad Saleem Dhorat sahib (may Allah protect him).

Although the lecture is about following the din in its entirety, a large part of it is dedicated to one of the great Hadith scholars and Sufis of the last century, Hadhrat Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya (may Allah shower him with mercy). Towards the end of the talk, the honourable Shaykh beautifully recounts the spiritually-charged majalis (gatherings) which took place at Dar al-’Ulum Bury (UK), during one of Hadhrat Shaykh al-Hadith’s (may Allah shower him with mercy) two visits to the UK. 

The Shaykh also explains the amazing wisdom of spending time in the path of Allah, in the effort of tabligh.

A highly beneficial and inspirational talk!

http://www.idauk.org/audio/Shaykhs_Bayans/english%20lectures/e205.mp3

 

Hadhrat Mawlana Abd al-Hafeez al-Makki – A Sufi Scholar of the 21st Century

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

 

Hadhrat Mawlana Abd al-Hafeez al-Makki – A Sufi Scholar of the 21st Century

By Mawlana As’ad Mahmud Makki

Translated by [Mawlana] Ismaeel Nakhuda

 

Jami Shariat wa Tariqat Hadhrat Mawlana Abd al-Hafeez al-Makki is one of the foremost khalifahs (deputies) and leading students of the great Mujaddid of Islam, Qutub al-Aqtab Hadhrat Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandhalawi al-Muhajir al-Madani. Hadhrat was born in pre-partition India in 1946CE, in the city of Amritsar, Punjab. His family, originally from Kashmir, had settled in the region approximately fifty years earlier.

 

Hadhrat’s lineage reaches a certain Raja Abd al-Salam Malik, who had accepted Islam at the hands of Amir Kabir Sayyid Ali al-Hamdani — a famous fourteenth century Sufi scholar, who had arrived in Kashmir to propagate Islam. Raja Abd al-Salam was the ruler of the sub-district of Kuligam, an area surrounding the town of Islamabad in Kashmir.

 

At partition, Hadhrat’s family joined the mass exodus of Muslims migrating to Pakistan and came to live in Faisalabad (Lailpur). It was there that Hadhrat began his education and learned to recite the Qur’an under the tutelage of his paternal grandmother, who would teach local children. Troubled by the turmoil of partition and the consequent pitiful situation of those affected, Hadhrat’s father left Pakistan in 1373AH/1953CE and migrated (hijrah) to the holy city of Makkah al-Mukarramah, where he became a permanent resident obtaining Saudi nationality in 1380AH/1960CE.

 

In Makkah al-Mukarramah, under the tutelage of Qari Abd al-Rauf, who was a teacher at Makkah’s famous Islamic seat of learning Al-Madrasah al-Sawlatiyyah, Hadhrat studied the Qur’an once more, this time with tajwid. In 1374AH/1954CE, Hadhrat enrolled at Makkah’s Al-Madrasah al-Sadiyyah, where he gained both a religious and secular education. He also subsequently studied at other educational institutes in the holy city.

 

Having completed his secondary education in 1384AH/1964CE, Hadhrat was instructed by his father Haji Malik Abd al-Haq — a famous Makkan factory owner and one of the responsible individuals of Tablighi Jama’at in the Hijaz, who was also subsequently appointed a khalifah of Hadhrat Shaykh al-Hadith — to spend a year in Jama’at in the special company of the then Amir of Tabligh Hadhrat Ji Mawlana Yusuf al-Kandhalawi, author of Hayat al-Sahabah, a biographical record of the lives of the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). During this one year in Tabligh, Hadhrat was also blessed with the close company of Hadhrat Ji Mawlana Inam al-Hasan, who remained Amir of Tabligh for thirty-years after the demise of Hadhrat Ji Mawlana Yusuf al-Kandhalawi.

 

In 1385AH/1965CE, with the permission of his respected father and at the direction of Hadhrat Ji Mawlana Inam al-Hasan, Hadhrat became a murid of Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandhalawi. On returning to Makkah al-Mukarramah, Hadhrat remained involved in the work of Tabligh within Saudi Arabia and studied various books of the Dars-e-Nizami — a study curriculum used in madrasahs across the world.

 

A couple of years later in 1387AH/1967CE, Hadhrat travelled to the famous north Indian seat of learning Mazahir al-Ulum, Saharanpur, and under the tutelage of famous erudite ulama there studied the Mawquf Alayh — those parts of the Dars-e-Nizami that students need to cover in order to gain admission into the final year of hadith known as the Dawrah Hadith, which consists of an intense study of the major works of hadith.

After studying there some time, Hadhrat returned to Makkah al-Mukarramah where he continued his studies in Islam. The following year in 1388AH/1968CE, Hadhrat returned to Saharanpur once more and completed the Dawrah Hadith. This was also the final year that Hadhrat Shaykh al- Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya lectured on Imam Bukhari’s Sahih. Hadhrat was also blessed with the opportunity of coming first in the highly competitive final year exams at Mazahir al-Ulum.

 

At the tender age of twenty on 27 Ramadan 1386AH/1966CE, Hadhrat was granted khilafat by Hadhrat Shaykh during eitikaf at Mazahir al-Ulum’s Dar-e-Jadid Mosque. On the occasion, Hadhrat Shaykh took off his turban and placed it on Hadhrat’s head granting him permission in the four Chishti, Naqshbandi, Suharwardi and Qadri tariqahs.

 

Right until the death of Hadhrat Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandhalawi in 1402AH/1982CE, Hadhrat remained devoted to his shaykh’s service (khidmah) and would not allow any sort of family, business and educational preoccupations prevent him from remaining in his company (suhbat). This was especially the case during the blessed months of Ramadan.

 

While Hadhrat Shaykh was alive, all of Hadhrat’s activities — from lecturing hadith at al-Madrasah al-Sawlatiyyah to travelling on Tabligh to the US, Japan, India, Pakistan, Africa and various Middle Eastern countries — were done with the blessings and instruction of Hadhrat Shaykh.

 

Under the guidance and wish of his shaykh and with the aim of widely circulating his academic works, Hadhrat established Al-Maktabah al-Imdadiyyah in Makkah al-Mukarramah and Al-Rashid Printing Press in Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah.

 

On numerous occasions Hadhrat spent a considerable amount of time in Egypt, supervising the publication of Hadhrat Shaykh’s Awjaz al-Masalik, a brilliant multi-voluminous commentary on Imam Malik’s Muwatta, considered one of the best; and Hadhrat Mawlana Khalil Ahmad al-Saharanpuri’s Badhl al-Majhud, also a multi-voluminous commentary on Sunan Abu Dawud considered an authority on the subject.

 

Hadhrat’s meticulous efforts in the publication of these works won Hadhrat Shaykh’s admiration, love and heartfelt supplications. This is something that Hadhrat Shaykh has mentioned time and again on numerous occasions in his autobiography, Aap Biti, and something that has also been mentioned by Mufakkir-e-Islam Shaykh Abu al-Hasan Ali al-Nadwi in his biography of Hadhrat Shaykh.

 

Since Hadhrat Shaykh’s demise, Hadhrat has continued to keep alive his shaykh’s academic and spiritual legacy by publishing various Arabic and Urdu books, including a twenty-four volume commentary of Imam al-Bukhari’s Sahih (currently under publication) entitled Al-Kanz al-Mutawari, which contains the commentary of Imam Rabbani Mawlana Rashid Ahmad al-Gangohi and other Akabir Deobandi Ulama.

 

Living in the Hijaz, Hadhrat has constantly been involved in enlightening the Arab world about the academic efforts of the Akabir of Deoband and their mode of tasawwuf, which has the distinguishing feature of being in complete agreement to the Qur’an and hadith. Beyond the Hijaz, Hadhrat travels the world regularly — especially to the Indian Sub-Continent, Africa, Europe, North America and the Far East — calling people to tasawwuf.

 

Hadhrat has also passionately been involved in raising the banner of Islam (e’lah kalimat Allah) by tirelessly establishing organisations and providing them with spiritual and moral support. Apart from preparing individuals to serve at madrasahs, mosques and khanqahs, Hadhrat has also prepared countless individuals to serve Islam in various other fields including in dawah and Tabligh.

 

Hadhrat’s murids and those that have obtained permission to narrate hadith (ijazah) from him — from the Middle East and beyond — number in thousands. Hadhrat’s khalifahs reside in Pakistan, South Africa, UK, India, Hijaz, Bangladesh, Nepal and the West Indies. Hadhrat regularly visits Pakistan, Africa and other parts of the world to show people the path of tasawwuf with thousands of people flocking to benefit from his landmark visits, spiritual gatherings and lectures.

 

Published by Maktabah al-Nur, Markaz al-Shaykh International, assadmakki@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mauritanian Shuyukh On The Deobandi ‘Ulama

Mauritanian Shuyukh on the Deobandi ‘Ulama

 

Introduction

 

Several months ago, Pearls of the Elders received an email from a Mauritanian student of the Sacred Sciences who expressed admiration and love for the ‘ulama of Deoband. In a subsequent email, he sent a fascinating account of how the erudite ‘ulama of Mauritania had come to know of the ‘ulama of Deoband and how they had benefited from them, especially their books.

 

The student, who asked his name not be published, became acquainted with the writings of the blessed scholars of India and Pakistan through the effort of tabligh. With his permission, Pearls would like to share this email with our readers and hope it will be a means of kindling the love of, and respect for, the ‘ulama of Deoband.

 

The email has been edited to make it suitable for a wider readership. Translations of Arabic words, relevant footnotes and subheadings have also been added.

 

He wrote:

 

Brother Abu Unaysah, wa ‘alaykum salaam wa rahmatullah,

 

I wanted to take some time out to write this because it is an important subject.

I was first introduced to the Deobandi ‘ulama through the effort of tabligh when I was in the USA. I lived there from 1996 to 2004. Obviously, I benefited greatly from the elders of tabligh. From an academic perspective though, it was from Hadhrat Shaykh Zakariyya Kandhlawi’s writings that I benefited the most. These include the books of fadha’il,[1] the English translation of his commentary of Shama’il al-Tirmidhi and his autobiography, Aap Beti, which I have read several times and greatly benefited from.

 

I often tell my close friends that people who have children — as well as people who wish to understand how important it is to be associated with the mashayikh of tasawwuf — must read Aap Beti.

 

Sometimes our brothers fail to realise how much Mawlana Ilyas Kandhlawi (rahimahullah) and Mawlana Yusuf Kandhlawi (rahimahullah) relied on Hadhrat Shaykh Zakariyya (rahimahullah) to advance the effort of tabligh.  Understanding this would help the brothers associate themselves more assiduously to the ‘ulama; our elders still insist on this in their lectures. We ask Allah for tawfeeq.

 

Studying in Mauritania

 

Mauritania is a very poor country and the ‘ulama here, for the most part, have remained in the country. A few have had the opportunity to travel and bring books back from countries such as Egypt and Morocco.

 

Of course, a couple of hundred years ago, printing did not exist so certain books were copied on manuscripts etc. The teaching style in Mauritania is very different from other parts of the world. Generally it is based on memorising a matn (text) on a subject in the form of a nadhm (rhyming verses). The explanations and details of the texts are taken from the shaykh and his competent students.

 

For example, in nahw (Arabic grammar), the Alfiyyah of Ibn Malik (rahimahullah) is taught. In usul (principles of fiqh) it is the Kawkab of Imam Al-Suyuti (rahimahullah), or the Maraqi al-Sud of the Mauritanian scholar, Al-’Alawi (rahimahullah). Classical books and their commentaries on different subjects were brought to the country by those ‘ulama who travelled abroad.

 

Deobandi Books in Mauritania

 

Books written by Deobandi ‘ulama were introduced to our native Mauritanian ‘ulama very recently; I would say, in the past 20 to 30 years. The ‘ulama who have travelled abroad during the period when the works of some prominent Deobandi ‘ulama had been published did get access to them and benefited from them, as is evident by some of them quoting from their works.

 

One example is Shaykh Muhammad Habibullah al-Mayyaba (rahimahullah) who passed away in 1944. He was a great ‘alim and hafidh of hadith. It is said that he had memorised the six mutun (texts) of hadith with their sanad (chains of narration). He also wrote a nadhm on the importance of the Mu’atta [of Imam Malik] and a short commentary on it in which he repeatedly quotes from Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (rahimahullah).

 

Another interesting point is that Mawlana Yusuf Binnori (rahimahullah) has taken from him and was greatly impressed by him. In his introduction to Awjaz al-Masaalik,[2] Mawlana Yusuf Binnori (rahimahullah), when quoting Shaykh Muhammad Habibullah (rahimahullah), writes:  قال شيخنا بالإجازة (“Our shaykh in ijazah said…”)

 

I intend to further question some of our ‘ulama on how our elders have benefited from Indo-Pak ‘ulama and vice versa.

 

As you know, Al-Haramayan al-Sharifayn used to be a place where ‘ulama would meet and take from each other. For instance, Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri (rahimahullah) had an ijazah in hadith from Ibn Dahlan (rahimahullah), who resided in Makkah al-Mukarramah.

 

Awjaz al-Masalik in Mauritania

 

As far as contemporary Mauritanian ‘ulama are concerned, the ones I know here have benefited from Awjaz al-Masalik in ways that cannot be described. Hadhrat Shaykh’s (rahimahullah) work can be most greatly appreciated by one who has studied fiqh, usul and Arabic in-depth; and alhamdulillah, these subjects are studied and mastered by the Mauritanian ‘ulama, hence their appreciation of the book to its fullest.

 

I have, alhamdulillah, gifted the book to five different ‘ulama — two of whom are considered among the most qualified fuqaha (jurists) here — and the comments I have received have been the same each time: “The person who wrote this is a real ‘alim,” or, “The book is greatly beneficial.”

 

This book is more so beneficial given that writings on hadith from our ‘ulama are very rare. Shaykh Muhammad Habibullah (rahimahullah) has written a commentary of Bukhari and Muslim (Zad al-Muslim fi ma Ittafaqa ‘alayhi al-Bukhari wa Muslim). His brother has also written a commentary of Bukhari, and al-’Alawi (rahimahullah) has compiled a nadhm on the terminology of hadith (mustalah al-hadith), which is a summary of the Alfiyya al-’Iraqi.

 

Hadith is studied in Mauritania on an individual basis. After a student has studied fiqh, nahw, mustalah of hadith, and balaghah and bayan (rhetoric), they have enough knowledge to study hadith through their own reading of the commentaries.

 

An Interesting Note on Hadhrat Shaykh Zakariyya’s Awjaz al-Masalik

 

One interesting thing to note is that Hadhrat Shaykh (rahimahullah) has quoted from the mu’tamad (relied upon) books of the different madhhabs in Awjaz al-Masalik and relied on them for giving the mashhur (well-known) opinion on a given madhhab.

This means that when a Maliki ‘alim reads Awjaz al-Masalik, he sees the evidences for the Maliki madhhab as he knows it from his long years of study as well as being able to benefit from Hadhrat Shaykh’s (rahimahullah) commentary on other aspects of the hadith.

 

Hadhrat Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri’s (rahimahullah) Badhl al-Majhud.

 

Another more recent and more obvious example of the benefit derived from the mashayikh of Deoband is Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri (rahimahullah)’s Badhl al-Majhud.[3]

 

I gifted the book to Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Ibn Ahmad al-Khadim[4] a year ago. He is an ‘allamah who has written on almost all subjects. The Shaykh is in his early 70s. He is without doubt among the five most knowledgeable ‘ulama in the country. Anyone who reads his writings can appreciate the depth of his knowledge. When I asked him a couple of months later if he had time to look into Badhl al-Majhud (he is busy teaching and writing all day; he teaches from 11am to Maghrib time with a break at Dhuhr time), he told me: “I have not had much time yet to look into it but I have benefited from it. There was a mas’alah (juristic problem) that had been unclear to me for a long while and I found the answer to it in there.”

 

For us who know Shaykh Muhammad Hassan, this means a thousand words. At the time when I gifted him the book and told him about Mawlana Khalil Ahmad, he said: “The ‘ulama of India are ‘ajeeb (wonderful), they are very strong Sunnis in their ‘aqidah (creed)”.

 

Sorry, I’m making this email long, but the subject deserves it. Insha-Allah I hope we can exchange correspondence in the future.

 

We have several books written by our ‘ulama here that may be of interest to your ‘ulama, and we’ll be happy to send copies. I can give you a list of the books and the subjects they deal with, or if there is a specific subject some are interested in you can send me that and I will tell you what we have available.

 

May Allah Almighty accept your efforts and please remember us in your du’a. Also, we’ll be happy to receive you as a guest for a short visit. There are three to four places here that are really worth visiting to meet the ‘ulama.

 

 

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[1] Hadhrat Shaykh Zakariyya’s brilliant books of fadha’il — originally written in Urdu, and translated into several languages, including English, French, Persian, Gujarati and Bengali — consist of selected verses of the Qur’an, hadiths, their commentary and other material. The books are read globally and consist of: Stories of the Sahabah, Virtues of Salah, Virtues of the Qur’an, Virtues of Remembering Allah, Virtues of the Holy Month of Ramadan, Virtues of Invitation and Preaching, Virtues of Sending Salutations, Virtues of Charity and Virtues of Haj.

[2] Awjaz al-Masaalik is a multi-voluminous commentary of Imam Malik’s Mu’atta, authored by Hadhrat Shaykh. It has recently been researched under the supervision of Shaykh Taqiuddin Nadwi, a student of Hadhrat Shaykh, and republished in 18 large volumes by Dar al-Qalam in Damascus.

[3] Badhl al-Majhud is also a multi-voluminous commentary of Imam Abu Dawud’s Sunan; it was also recently researched and republished in 14 large volumes by Shaykh Taqiuddin and published by Dar al-Basha’ir al-Islamiyyah in Beirut.

[4]Shaykh Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Khadim is one of the most senior ‘ulama of Mauritania. Extremely pious and humble, the shaykh is a master in every field of the Islamic sciences, without exception. He is also the only Mauritanian scholar who has so many published works to his name (over 30), having written books on fiqh, usul al-fiqh, usul al-hadith and tasawwuf. Among his published works is a commentary on the Alfiyyah of Imam Suyuti (rahimahullah) in usul al-hadith, a commentary on the Nadhm of Jam’ al-Jawami’ of Imam Suyuti (rahimahullah) in usul al-fiqh, a commentary on the Nadhm of Imam al-Kafaf (rahimahullah) in Maliki fiqh and numerous books on tasawwuf.

He is also a senior Sufi shaykh of the Tijani tariqah and very strict in following the Sunnah and wary of bid’ah (innovation). The Shaykh also has great love for the ‘ulama of India and has great admiration for their service to hadith as can be noted from the above.