Click here to download this article as a pdf
A’la Hazrat Imām Ahle Sunnat Imām Ahmad Raza Khan Fāzil-e-Bareilwi (Alaihir Rahmah) had trained and prepared his worthy son Hujjatul Islam Hazrat Allamah Mufti Shah Hāmid Raza Khan (Alaihir Rahmah) for defending the honour and dignity of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), refuting the deviant sects and issuing religious verdicts. The style of the writings and attestations of Huzoor Hujjatul Islam was based on research, just like his venerable father.
If he wrote an attestation, whether it was for a religious verdict or a book, he would increase the honour of the book as well as the author with his preamble and introduction. The preamble and introduction would be in fluent Arabic and flowing prose and poetry; and it would be such that when the eloquent ones would read it, they would place it on their eyes and would regard it as an Arabic masterpiece. The writings of A’la Hazrat (Alaihir Rahmah) and other venerable scholars, upon which Huzoor Hujjatul Islam (Alaihir Rahmah) wrote attestations, are witness to this.
One of the historic and powerful religious verdicts of Huzoor Hujjatul Islam (Alaihir Rahmah) was published in the monthly magazine Tohfa-e-Hanafiya, Azīmabād, Patna in 1319AH with the title of ‘Fatwa ‘Ālim-e-Rabbāni Bardam ze Khurāfāt-e-Qādiyāni’. And then it was printed and published by Razvi Press, Bareilly, with the chronogrammatic title of ‘As-Sārim-ur-Rabbāni ‘Ala Isrāf-il-Qādiyāni’ (1315AH). Here it must be noted that at the time of writing this, Huzoor Hujjatul Islam (Alaihir Rahmah), was a young scholar of only 23 years old. And Mirza Ghulām Ahmad Qādiyāni, in whose refutation this was the first scholarly attempt, was still alive.
At that time, not only was Huzoor Hujjatul Islam (Alaihir Rahmah) youthful in terms of his age but rather his writing, compilation and academic brilliance was at its peak. The significance of his historic treatise can be understood clearly from the fact that when questions with regard to the claim of the Qādiyāni Dajjāl came from Amritsar to A’la Hazrat (Alaihir Rahmah), he wrote his momentous answer in a treatise with the chronogrammatic title of ‘As-Sooū Wal ‘Iqāb ‘Alal Masīh-il-Kazzāb’ (1320AH) and attested to the historic treatise of Huzoor Hujjatul Islam (Alaihir Rahmah) in the following manner:
“First there was a question, with regard to that lying claimer, which came from Sahāranpūr and whose detailed answer the most honourable son, young scholar, Maulvi Muhammad Hāmid Raza Khan (Hafizahullah Ta’ala) wrote. And he named it with the chronogrammatic title, ‘As-Sārim-ur-Rabbāni ‘Ala Isrāf-il-Qādiyāni’ (1315AH). Hāmi-e-Sunan Māhi-e-Fitan, our honourable Qāzi Abdul Wahīd Sāhib Hanafi Firdausi printed this treatise in his blessed magazine ‘Tohfa-e-Hanafiya’.”
Huzoor Hujjatul Islam (Alaihir Rahmah) wrote a profound preamble to the above-mentioned treatise of A’la Hazrat (Alaihir Rahmah), which is an excellent standard for the recognition between truth and falsehood, in every era. He wrote in his preamble:
“O Muslims! I am showing you an easy identification of the deviants, which itself has been mentioned in the Glorious Qurān and the sacred Hadīth. Allah Ta’ala revealed the Holy Qurān in which there is a clear disclosure of everything.
وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِّكُلِّ شَيْءٍ ط
And We have sent down this Qurān upon you which is a clear explanation of all things. {Surah 16:89}
So, there is no such thing that is not included in the Holy Qurān, yet with that Allah Ta’ala stated,
وَمَا يَعْقِلُهَآ اِلَّا الْعَالِمُوْنَ ط
And none except the knowledgeable understand it. {Surah 29:43}
Therefore, Allah Ta’ala states,
فَاسْاَلُوْا اَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ ط
So, O people! Ask the people of knowledge if you do not know. {Surah 16:43}
And then, it is not that the people of knowledge have the ability by themselves to understand the Book of Allah Ta’ala. No! Rather, adjoining to that, Allah Ta’ala states,
وَاَنْزَلْنَا اِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ اِلَيْهِمْ ط
And (O Beloved Prophet) We have sent down this Qurān towards you so that you may explain to mankind what has been revealed towards them. {Surah 16:44}
Allah, Allah! The insights and points of the Holy Qurān will not end. From the connection of these two verses the Lord of the worlds has administered a systematic chain for the understanding of the Holy Qurān that, “O Ignorant ones! Turn towards the words of the scholars and O scholars! You refer to the words of Our Beloved Rasool (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), then you will obtain some understanding of Our Words.” In short, Allah Ta’ala made it compulsory upon us to make Taqleed of the Imāms, and upon the Imāms to make Taqleed of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and upon Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) to make Taqleed of the Holy Qurān.
وَلِلّٰهِ الْحُجَّةُ الْبَالِغَةُ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِيْنَ ط
And only the argument of Allah is the complete one and all Praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the creation.
Imām ‘Ārif-e-Billah Abdul Wahāb Sha’rāni (Alaihir Rahmah) explained this meaning in complete detail in his magnificent book Al-Mīzān-ul-Kubra. He states in these words,
لولا ان رسول الله صلی الله علیہ وسلم فصل بشریعتہ مااجمل فی القراٰن بقى القراٰن على اجمالہٖ كما ان الائمۃ المجتهدين لولم يفصلوا ما اجمل فی السنت لبقت السنت على اجمالها وهكذا الی عصرنا هذا
Therefore, if Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) did not provide explanations of the abstracts of the Holy Qurān with his Shariah, then the Holy Qurān would have remained abstract. And if the Mujtahid Imāms did not provide explanations of the abstract Hadith, then the Hadith would have remained abstract. And in the same manner, if the scholars of the statements of the Imāms, till our era, did not provide explanations thereafter, then we would not have had the ability to understand it.
So this chain of guidance has been established by Allah Ta’ala. The one who wishes to break it does not desire guidance, rather he is walking a clearly deviant path. It is for this reason that Allah Ta’ala has stated in connection with the Holy Qurān,
یُضِلُّ بِهٖ کَثِیْرًا وَّيَهْدِیْ بِهٖ كَثِيْرًا ط
Allah Ta’ala through this Qurān misleads many and He guides many on the straight path. {Surah 2:26}
Whoever treads according to the chain, they attain the Grace of Allah Ta’ala and whoever breaks the chain and wants to take out a meaning of the Holy Qurān by themselves through reliance on their insignificant and distorted understanding, fall into the pit of deviance. It is for this reason that Amīr-ul-Mu’minīn Hazrat ‘Umar Fārūq-e-Āzam (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) states,
سیاتی ناس يجادلونكم بشبهات القراٰن فخذوهم بالسنن فان اصحاب السنن اعلم بكتاب الله
It is near that some people will come, who will dispute with you about the ambiguous verses of the Holy Qurān; you must seize them with the Ahādith because the men of Hadīth understand the Holy Qurān well. {Ad-Dārimi}
It is for this reason that Hazrat Sufyān bin ‘Uyaynah (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) states,
الحديث مضلۃ الا الفقهاء
The Hadith is misleading except to the Mujtahid Imāms.
So the reason is the same, that the Holy Qurān requires explanation, whose explanation was provided by the Ahādīth, and the Ahādīth require explanation, whose elucidation was provided by the Mujtahid Imāms. Therefore the one who leaves the Imāms and wants to interpret the Qurān and Hadīth by himself will go astray. And the one who leaves the Hadīth and wants to take directly from the Holy Qurān, will die thirsty in the valley of deviance. So open your ears widely and listen carefully, and inscribe it on the tablet of your heart that whoever you hear saying, “We do not know the opinions of the Imāms, we want (to understand) the Qurān and Hadīth ourselves,” then know that they are astray; and whoever you hear saying, “We do not know the Hadīth, we only require the Qurān,” then know that they are irreligious and are malicious to the religion of Allah Ta’ala. The first sect oppose this verse of the Holy Qurān,
فَاسْاَلُوْا اَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ ط
So O people, ask the people of knowledge. {Surah 16:43}
And the other group are deniers of the next verse of the Holy Qurān,
لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ اِلَيْهِمْ ط
So that you may explain to mankind what has been revealed towards them. {Surah 16:44}
Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) refuted the first vile sect in the following Hadīth,
الاسأ لوا اذ لم يعلموافا نماشفا العى السوال
Why did you not ask when you know that you need to ask about the medicine for the sick? {Abu Dāwūd}
And he refuted the other cursed group in the following Hadīth, wherein he states,
الاانی اوتیت القراٰن ومثلہ معہ الا يوشك رجل شعبان على ريكته يقول عليكم بهذ القراٰن فما وجدتم فيه من حلال فاملوه وجدتم فيه من حرام فحرموه وان ما حرم رسول الله كما حرم الله
Listen! I was bestowed with the Qurān and with the Qurān its likeness. Beware! It is near that an egoist on his throne will say, “Accept only this Qurān, whatever you find Halāl in it accept it as Halāl and whatever you find Harām accept it as Harām.” Although the thing that Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has made Harām is similar to that which Allah Ta’ala has made Harām. {Imāms Ahmad, Ad-Dārimī, Abu Dāwūd, At-Tirmizī and Ibn Mājah}
According to the prophecy of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), in this era of mischief, firstly there were the arrogant and inconsiderate Nīchrī people, who completely rejected the Ahādīth and with the force of language only placed reliance on the Holy Qurān. Although by Allah, they are the enemies of the Qurān and the Qurān is their enemy. They wish to change the Qurān and fabricate its meaning, in opposition to the Will of Allah Ta’ala and in accordance with their carnal desires.
Now this other group, the Christians of a new trend, cunning people with arrogance, were born, saying, “We want proof only from the Holy Qurān, whose continuation has no equal in terms of continuation.” So the reality is that both these deviant groups know well in their hearts that in the court of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) they have no refuge. The enlightening Ahādīth of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) is scattering the open fragmented cloth of their wretched ideas. For this reason, to evade their pitfall, from the onset they close the door saying, “We want proof only from the Holy Qurān,” in which there is the potential for the helpless common people to become attached to them. O Muslims! Do not listen to anything of those deviants. And when they create uncertainty in you with regard to the Holy Qurān, then seek refuge in the Ahādīth; if they take out this and that in the Ahādīth, then hold on to the garment of the Imāms. Upon reaching this third stage, truth and falsehood will become clearly manifest and the entire cloud of dust of those deviants will be washed away by the raining clouds of truth. At that time these misleading deviant groups will be seen running away.
کَاَنَّهُمْ حُمُرٌ مُّسْتَنْفِرَةٌ فَرَّتْ مِنْ قَسْوَرَةٍ ط
As if they were startled donkeys, fleeing away from a lion. {Surah 74:50-51}
In the first place, they will be unable to do anything before the Ahādīth. They will become clear rejectors and with regard to any dispute therein, the guidance of the Imāms will enlighten the meaning of the Hadīth to such an extent that you will then find them saying, “We do not know the Hadīth,” or “We do not accept the Imāms.” At that point it will become known that their Imām is the cursed Iblīs, who has taken them wandering and does not let them hold firm onto the guidance of the Holy Qurān, Ahādīth and the Imāms.
وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ اِلَّا بِاللهِ الْعَلِىِّ الْعَظِيْمِ ط
And there is no power nor strength except with Allah, Who is Dignified and Glorified.
Always keep this precious and powerful benefit protected as it will be beneficial at every juncture and with the permission of Allah Ta’ala it will save you from thousands of deviants.”
SubhanAllah! How beautifully Huzoor Hujjatul Islam (Alaihir Rahmah) explained the concept of guidance from the Holy Qurān in his profound preamble to the treatise of Sayyidi A’la Hazrat (Alaihir Rahmah), with such simplicity yet such detail and clarity.
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the Taufeeq to understand the profound advice of Huzoor Hujjatul Islam, to practice upon it and to teach it to our progeny, Allahumma Ameen.
{Compiled from Tazkira-e-Jameel by Qutb-e-Mauritius Hazrat Allamah Maulana Muhammad Ibrahim Khushtar Siddiqui Qadri Razvi (Alaihir Rahmah)}
