[BOOK] 'Ulama of Deoband by Maulana Diyaur-Rahmaan Faruqi Shahid

I found this version in case you're not on Scribd:

http://allofislam.com/wp-content/upl...aOfDeoband.pdf

It's the one by Maulânâ Moosa Kajee, not the one by Moulana Muhammad Kadwa.

Jihâd against Râjah Ranjît Singh

When Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd of Ray Bareli heard of the aggression of Râjah Ranjît Singh against the Muslims, he made an appeal to the Muslims to submit their names for Jihâd. He informed all his disciples that Jihâd against Râjah Ranjît Singh has become obligatory upon us. Finally in 1826, together with 750 Mujâhidîn and 10 000 disciples, he sets out from Rây Bareli. Before Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd set out from Rây Bareli, he had already despatched his student Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd to Punjab in order to investigate the conditions of the Muslims. Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd verified the reports of the tyranny being carried out against the Muslims and the transformation of Musjids into stables.

Immediately in verifying this report, Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd issued a statement of Jihâd. A big group of volunteers - which increased at times and decreased at times - joined the forces of the Mujâhidîn.

This force left Bareli and treading its way through the mountain passes of Khaybar and Jûlân finally landed in Peshawar in 1827. You will be surprised to learn that they conquered Peshawar in the very first attack.

After their conquest, the next morning, Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd stood at the market place in Peshawar and announced: “From today onwards, the government of Amîrul-Muminîn Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd will be in control of Peshawar. With immediate effect, the government imposes a ban on liquor, gambling, illicit entertainments, theft, opium and marijuana.”

This announcement was made by the student of Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd, Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd. It was on Sunday the first of May when he imposed a ban on liquor in Peshawar. According to my research on history, a hundred and fifty years after Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd, when his spiritual son Mufti Mahmûd comes to power in Peshawar, he again imposes a ban on alcohol. The day he swore an oath and banned alcohol was also on Sunday the 1st of May 1972. On the 1st of May 1827 Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd imposes a ban on alcohol in Peshawar and again on the 1st of May 1972 in the very same Peshawar, Mufti Mahmûd imposes a ban on alcohol. This is a historical coincidence? This is a non-ending stimulating story of our pious predecessors.

Friends! In 1827 when Peshawar fell into the hands of the Mujâhidîn, they advanced further into enemy territory and captured Shankkyari, Itmanzi, Akorah and continued further. During the course of their conquests, a representative of Rajâh Ranjît Singh comes to Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd and conveys the Râjah’s message: “Shâh Sâhib!” he pleaded, “You will be in total control of all the areas you have conquered. Please do not go any further. Put a stop to all further conquests.” Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd replies: “O Ranjît Singh! I did not come out with a lust for territorial aggrandizement nor am I spurred by a lust for power. I came to deliver the Muslim people from your barbaric tyranny and oppression. As long as your tyranny persists, Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd may be torn to pieces, but he will not move an inch backwards.” This was Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd (Rahmatullâhi alaih)’s slogan.

Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd

Friends! Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd was not an ordinary person. You may study the entire history of this subcontinent. I can safely claim, as far as my research is concerned, apart from Shâh Waliyullâh, this subcontinent hasn’t produced a greater
Wali and Pîr than Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd (Rahmatullâhi alaih). He had 400 000 disciples. 2,6 million Sikhs converted to Islâm on his hands. Such a great personality that 350 000 Kuffâr accepted Islâm after reading his student’s book, Taqwiyatul-Imân. You probably never set eyes on such a great man. It has been narrated about him that if he had to stand before a crowd of people, just by beholding him, they would all repent from their sins even if the crowd numbered a few hundred thousand people. Just by looking at his face, a disbeliever would accept Islâm. A boozer and adulterer would immediately repent from his sins. He was a very pious Wali of Allâh , and a Qutub of his times. During the course of his student days under the tutelage of Shâh
Abdul-
Azîz, when he opened his book one day, he couldn’t see any letters in it. When he complained of this to his Ustâd, Shâh
Abdul-
Azîz Sâhib, he consoled him: “Allâh , will make you independent of the
Ilm of the books and award you with
Ilm from His side.” This was a reference to
Ilme-Ladunni (Allâh-inspired knowledge) which was bestowed upon him.

The battle of Balakot

Friends! He was no ordinary man. Nonetheless, he rejected
this offer put forward by the Râjah and continued advancing.
At some places they stayed for a month whilst at certain
places they camped for up to six months. Finally, on the first
of May 1831, this group reached the mountains of Balakot.
Balakot is in Pakistan not in India. You may go and visit the
place. I have also seen this place with my sinful eyes. Just
recently on the fifth of May, with the grace of Allâh ,, I
delivered a lecture on the very same mountainous area of
Balakot. I also told the inhabitants of Balakot that these
were the very same mountains where over a hundred years
ago, the memories of the battles of Badr and Uhud were
refreshened. These were the very same mountains where the
martyrs had shed their blood. Today in Pakistan there are some ill-fated people whose perceptions leave me
dumbfounded. Look at the lamentable state of this country.
There are some people here who issue Fatwâs of Kufr upon
Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd and Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd (Rahmatullâhi
alaihma). They refer to these personalities as contemptuous
and also as agents of the Sikhs. I would like to comment that
when a person speaks, he at least thinks and then speaks.
However, here it seems as though the very substance of
thinking is depleted. How can he be an agent of the Sikhs?
He stood up against them and fought right up to the very
end. He did not retreat by allocating some land to himself as
others had done before him. In fact he fought them right
until he was decapitated. His tomb is still in the bazaar area
of Balakot up to this day. And the tomb of Sayyid Ahmad
Shahîd’s student, Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd, is about a mile from
this bazaar on a mountain. At the foot of this mountain,
there is a river flowing as well. His head lies buried in one
place, his limbs are buried separately whilst the other parts
of his body are buried in graves scattered all about the
mountain. A traitor will never sacrifice his body to bits and
pieces like this. An agent would have been well protected
and escaped unscathed. An agent would not have scattered
his body parts all around the mountain.

Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd was no ordinary man. On the first of
May 1831 they landed on the mountains of Balakot and they
set up camp that night on the mountain. One of the local
villages betrayed the Mujâhdîn to the forces of Râjah Ranjît
Singh. They launched an attack at night from the back of the mountain. On the fifth of May, whilst Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd
was in Sajdah in Tahajjud Salâh, he was beheaded by the
enemy. On the same day, Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd takes
command of the battlefield and he went on fighting for the
next four days.

O you who belittle such a great man! O you foolish ones!
Did you ever hear of a man who had such intense love for
Rasûlullâh ^? When a Sikh verbally abused Rasûlullâh ^,
Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd retorted: “By Allâh! I will not die till I
have beheaded you.” Allâhu Akbar! He swore an oath. It
appears in the Hadîth that Rasûlullâh ^ said: “There are
such pious and devoted servants of Allâh , in this Ummah
that if they swear an oath upon Allâh ,, He will ensure that
their oaths are realized.” If they swear an oath that it will
rain tomorrow, then Allâh , makes it rain just so that their
oaths are realized.

Friends! Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd was a very pious soul who was
intoxicated with divine love as can be ascertained from his
statement, ‘I will not die till I have beheaded you’. When
Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd was attacked with a sword by an enemy
of Rasûlullâh ^, his head got severed and fell to the ground.
In spite of him being decapitated, he miraculously still holds
onto his sword and runs after the enemy of Rasûlullâh ^.
From a distance of about a furlong (± 200 metres), he hurls
the sword upon the enemy. The sword finds its way right
through the enemy’s body and he falls to the ground.

Thereafter, Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd also falls to the ground.

Friends! Only after he kills the enemy of Rasûlullâh ^, he
falls to the ground. Who can be a greater lover of Rasûlullâh
^ than him?

Study the books of Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd (Rahmatullâhi alaih).
Read his book ‘Mansabe-Imâmat’. Study his book
‘Taqwiyatul-Imân’. Your Imân will be reinvigorated. An
aversion towards Bid
ah (innovations) will be created in your
heart. You will be distanced from Shirk (polytheism). O you
who claim that he was disrespectful to Rasûlullâh ^! Study
the poems he has compiled on the admiration of Rasûlullâh
^. By Allâh! Every stanza is such that it will leave the
reader cold. The love he expressed for Rasûlullâh ^ will
render a man enraptured by divine ecstasy. This was the
rank of these personalities.

Nevertheless, Sayyid Ahmad Shahîd was martyred on the
fifth of May and Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd on the ninth on the
mountains of Balakot. 450 Mujâhidîn under the leadership
of Shâh Ismâ
îl Shahîd were also martyred on these
mountains. Only about 100 Mujâhidîn survived this battle.
Amongst the survivors were Maulânâ Muhammad Ja
far
Thânesri, Maulânâ Wilâyat
Ali, Maulânâ Mamlûk
Ali, and
Maulânâ Yahyâ
Ali (Rahmatullâhi alaihm).

This incident took place on the mountains of Balakot from the first of May up to the tenth of May 1831. Even today, if
you look at these mountains with concentration and deep
reflection, you will be able to see the blood of the martyrs
flowing on these mountains.

Friends! This battle is referred to as the ‘Battle of Balakot’.
And these Mujâhidîn are referred to as the ‘martyrs of
Balakot’.

subhan Allah.. keep posting bro..

!Ulamâ meet for freedom of India

Friends! This battle in which these Mujâhidîn were martyred
lasted from the first up to the tenth of May 1831. And a few
of the Mujâhdîn returned safely after this date. After 1831,
when the
Ulamâ realized that the British government was
getting more and more fortified in the country, they called
up a number of meetings first. Many warriors gathered from
all parts of the country and many decisive battles were
fought against the British. This continued for some time. In
1856, a meeting of all the senior
Ulamâ of India was called
up in Delhi. This meeting was attended, amongst others, by
Maulânâ Ja
far Thânesri, Maulânâ Wilâyat
Ali, Maulânâ Hâji
Imdâdullâh Muhâjire-Makki, Maulânâ Muhammad Qâsim
Nânotwi, Maulânâ Rashîd Ahmad Gangohi and Hâfiz
Dâmin Shahîd (Rahmatullâhi alaih)m. In this meeting Maulânâ
Qâsim Nânotwi is reported to have said: “Aren’t you aware
that the British are sitting right on our heads. They have laid
a snare of their rule throughout the country. Be prepared for
some rather decisive battles against them. We will either be
cut to pieces or fight against them right up to the end. We
will not allow the British to live in this country.”

As Maulânâ Nânotwi mentioned this, one person stood up
and remarked: “Hadrat! We are very few in number and our
resources are very limited.” Hadrat Nânotwi gave him a very
momentous answer: “Is our number less than the number of
the Mujâhidîn of Badr?” The moment he uttered these
words, a spirit of Jihâd was rekindled in their hearts.

Friends! On the words of Hadrat Nânotwi (Rahmatullâhi alaih),
a firm decision was made to free India from the clutches of
the British. In the history of India, two major wars played an
important role in her freedom from the British; the first was
the War of Independence which took place in 1857 and the
second was the war of ‘the red shawls’. The foundation for
the second war was laid by Maulânâ Nânotwi’s student,
Maulânâ Mahmûdul-Hasan (Rahmatullâhi alaih). And the
foundation of the War of Independence (the first one), was
laid by the student of Hâji Imdâdullâh, Maulânâ Qâsim
Nânotwi (Rahmatullâhi alaihma).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr76

subhan Allah.. keep posting bro..

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Will edit & format etc. tomorrow :insh:

If you have any additional commentary from other sources do post here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by afriki_haqq

Will edit & format etc. tomorrow :insh:

If you have any additional commentary from other sources do post here.

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infact i did try to look for Seerat Hazrat Sayyid Ahmed Shaheed :rahma: back home.. somehow couldn't trace..i do have Waqa e Ahmadi gifted to me by someone very dear.. but thats a mammoth task.. recently i got Muslims in India by Mufakkir e Islam Hazrat Maulana Syed Abul Hasan Ali sahab Nadwi :rahma:.. a good book.. giving brief insight on muslim scholars and their achievements.. sufi saints and their impact on society..setting up of various madaris.. muslim role in freedom struggle..and on current difficulties and problems..

incase u need.. select a topic and i shall post some scans :insh:

duas..

wa assalam..

my name is zaid shabbir ahmed and i m from saudia born in madinah manuwarrah i hav sooo knowledge about islam qurann and history if any 1 wanna know about any topic just said me