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, 1st Edition (Faysal Printers, p. 31)
May 17, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Jazak Allahu khayra
May 18, 2008 at 12:13 am
Assalam O Alaykum,
Who is Shaykh Habib-Allah Ibn ‘Ata al-Sijistani?
Jkz.
May 18, 2008 at 6:41 am
JazakAllah!
Please, can you provide a brief introduction of Shaykh Habib-Allah Ibn ‘Ata al-Sijistani.
May 18, 2008 at 12:09 pm
As-salamu ‘alaykum,
As far as I can see, the book has no information on the Shaykh. I’ve asked a number of people, including ‘ulama but no one knew who he was.
The respected author refers to Shaykh al-Hadith Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya (rahimahullah) as ‘Shaykhuna’.
He quotes extensively from Mufti Ashiq Ilahi’s (rahimahullah) Al-’Anaqid al-Ghaliyah min al-Masanid al-’Aliyah.
He mentions that he visted the great Hadith scholar ‘Allamah ‘Abd al-Rashid Nu’mani (rahimahullah), sat in his dars, and also received ijazah from him.
He also recounts that he greatly benefited from Hadhrat Mufti Rashid Ahmad Ludhianwi (rahimahullah) in al-Masjid al-Nabawi (sallalahu ‘alayhi wasallam).
I have a suspicion as to who he is but some details don’t add up.
May 18, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Al-Deobandiyyah: Ta’reefuha Wa Khidmatuha, is this book in Arabic? Has it been translated into any other language?
May 18, 2008 at 8:35 pm
As-salamu ‘alaykum,
It is in Arabic. I do not know if it has been translated. I came across it by chance. It was the last copy available in the bookstore that I got it from.
May 19, 2008 at 10:49 pm
what about those who studied at deoband but dont follow the deobandi maslak? shouldnt they be considered NOT deobandi?