A question regarding Pir Mehr Ali Shah

[Baibars]

Assalaamalaikum

My question regarding this well known scholar is - was he Deobandi or Barelwi in his aqida? I know the Barelwis celebrate his Urs so that indicates they probably had no problems with him but I noticed Deobandis speaking highly of him as well. I am rather puzzled.

[Saad]

Assalam o alaykum,

1. I was going through his book Iyla Kalimatillah and in there he disagrees with Barelwi 'aqida that Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was given complete knowledge of the unseen. Barelwis believe that Holy Prophet was given the exact knowledge of the Hour but he disagrees with them on this as well.

2. His fatwa regarding the issue of imkan wa-imtina nazir from Fatawa Mahriya:

"At this point my intention is to make clear what is in my mind regarding the possibility or impossibility of a Nadhir of the Prophet (sallallahu `alyhi wa sallam), not the approval or disapproval of any of the two rival camps, the Isma'iliyah or the Khayrabadiyah, may Allah appreciate their efforts. This writer considers both to be worthy of ajr and thawab (reward)."

[Fatawa Mahriya, p.15]

ا س مقام پر امكان يا امتناع نظير آنحضرت صلى اللّه عليه وسلم كے متعلق مافى الضمير ظاهر كرنا مقصود هےنه تصويب يا تظليظ كسى كى فرقتين اسماعيليه وخيرآباديه سےـ شكراللّه تعالى سعيهم ـ راقم سطور دونوں كوماجور ومثاب جانتا هے ـ

فتاوى مهريه ص١٥

3. He didn't agree with takfir of Ahmad Rada Khan of Ulama of Deoband.

Pir Sayyid Mahr Ali Shah Golri (d: 1937C / may Allah have mercy on him) on Qasim al-Ulum wal-Khayrat Mawlana Nanautwi (d: 1901C / may Allah have mercy on him).

Pir Mahr Ali Shah belonged to Chishti silsila of tasawwuf and was khalifa of Qutb Khawaja Shams al-Din Sialwi (d: 1883C / may Allah have mercy on him) of Sial Sharif, Sargodha in Punjab. Author of Uswat-i-Akabir writes,

"Mawlana Muhammad Said Sahib of Koh Marri mentioned that once while I was in the company of Pir Sahib, an individual came and inquired: "what is your opinion of Molvi Qasim Sahib?" Pir Sahib replied, "are you asking about Mawlana Qasim Nanautwi? Questioner replied in the affirmative. Pir Sahib said,

"He is a perfect manifestation of the knowledge of the Truth."

[Uswat-i-Akabir, Mawlana Muhammad Bahaul Haq Qasmi. Printed by Aftab Alim Press, Lahore 1962]

4. Mawlana Ghulam Mohammad Gothwi (may Allah have mercy on him), shaykh of Jamia Abbasia Bahawalpur and senior khalifa of Pir Mahr Ali Shah Golri wrote in a reply to a question put forward regarding Qasim al-Ulum wal-Khayrat Mawlana Nanautwi (may Allah have mercy on him), Imam Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (may Allah have mercy on him), Shaykh Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri (may Allah have mercy on him), Shaykh al-Hind Mahmud ul-Hassan Deobandi(may Allah have mercy on him) and Hakim al-Ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (may Allah have mercy on him),

"My belief is that these scholars are Divinely-scholars [Ulama-i-Rabbani] and awliya of Ummat-i-Muhammadi (sallallaho alahiy wasalaam)... Especially concerning the services of Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi in tariqat, I assume that he may be the mujaddid of this century."

[Chirag-i-Sunnat, p.320-322]

5. Mawlana Kamil al-Din Rattu Kalwi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that when fitna urupted after takfir of Ulama of Ahli Sunnah in Sargodha, elders of the city sent me to khanqah Golra Sharif for ifta regarding this matter. After I reached Golra Sharif, I met Pir Ghulaam Muhyiddin, son and successor of Pir Mahr Ali Shah Golri, and narrated to him the whole incident. He in return put this whole situation infront of Mawlana Ghulam Mohammad Gothwi (may Allah have mercy on him), [who was present there coincidently] and asked him to reply on his behalf.

So he wrote,

"My madhab is that Ulama of Deoband are Muslim and doing the work of Din. Anyone who says anything adverse about them, his iman (faith) is in danger. This was also the madhab of my qibla Pir Marh Ali Shah Golri."

[Dhol ki Awaz, p.99]

6. It is narrated in Dharb-i-Shamshir that once in Salar Gah, Rawalpindi, an argument started between Molwi Bahadarudin [imam of local masjid] and Muhammad Ashraf Khan regarding the takfir of Ulama of Deoband. This argument led to a debate and both sides gathered on the fixed date for the debate. Right before the debate, elders of the town suggested that instead of debating both sides should accept Pir Mahr Ali Shah as the judge. Both sides agreed to this and went to Pir Mahr Ali Shah and presented the situation as follow,

Ashraf Khan says that if any imam of masjid doesn't consider these five individuals:

1. Mawlana Shah Ismail Shahid
2. Mawlana Qasim Nanautwi
3. Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi
4. Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri
5. Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi

to be kafir, salah is not valid behind him.

Pir Mahr Ali Shah was angered by this statement and said:

"If these five mashaykh are not Muslim then there is no Muslim in the World and whoever does their takfir, Salat is not valid behind him."

This was also written by Mufti Qari Ghulam Muhammad of Golra Sharif."

[Ulama-i-Ahl al-Sunnah, p.29]

[Baibars]

Assalam o alaykum,

1. I was going through his book Iyla Kalimatillah and in there he disagrees with Barelwi 'aqida that Holy Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was given complete knowledge of the unseen. Barelwis believe that Holy Prophet was given the exact knowledge of the Hour but he disagrees with them on this as well.

2. His fatwa regarding the issue of imkan wa-imtina nazir from Fatawa Mahriya:

"At this point my intention is to make clear what is in my mind regarding the possibility or impossibility of a Nadhir of the Prophet (sallallahu `alyhi wa sallam), not the approval or disapproval of any of the two rival camps, the Isma'iliyah or the Khayrabadiyah, may Allah appreciate their efforts. This writer considers both to be worthy of ajr and thawab (reward)."

[Fatawa Mahriya, p.15]

ا س مقام پر امكان يا امتناع نظير آنحضرت صلى اللّه عليه وسلم كے متعلق مافى الضمير ظاهر كرنا مقصود هےنه تصويب يا تظليظ كسى كى فرقتين اسماعيليه وخيرآباديه سےـ شكراللّه تعالى سعيهم ـ راقم سطور دونوں كوماجور ومثاب جانتا هے ـ

فتاوى مهريه ص١٥

3. He didn't agree with takfir of Ahmad Rada Khan of Ulama of Deoband.

Pir Sayyid Mahr Ali Shah Golri (d: 1937C / may Allah have mercy on him) on Qasim al-Ulum wal-Khayrat Mawlana Nanautwi (d: 1901C / may Allah have mercy on him).

Pir Mahr Ali Shah belonged to Chishti silsila of tasawwuf and was khalifa of Qutb Khawaja Shams al-Din Sialwi (d: 1883C / may Allah have mercy on him) of Sial Sharif, Sargodha in Punjab. Author of Uswat-i-Akabir writes,

"Mawlana Muhammad Said Sahib of Koh Marri mentioned that once while I was in the company of Pir Sahib, an individual came and inquired: "what is your opinion of Molvi Qasim Sahib?" Pir Sahib replied, "are you asking about Mawlana Qasim Nanautwi? Questioner replied in the affirmative. Pir Sahib said,

"He is a perfect manifestation of the knowledge of the Truth."

[Uswat-i-Akabir, Mawlana Muhammad Bahaul Haq Qasmi. Printed by Aftab Alim Press, Lahore 1962]

4. Mawlana Ghulam Mohammad Gothwi (may Allah have mercy on him), shaykh of Jamia Abbasia Bahawalpur and senior khalifa of Pir Mahr Ali Shah Golri wrote in a reply to a question put forward regarding Qasim al-Ulum wal-Khayrat Mawlana Nanautwi (may Allah have mercy on him), Imam Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (may Allah have mercy on him), Shaykh Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri (may Allah have mercy on him), Shaykh al-Hind Mahmud ul-Hassan Deobandi(may Allah have mercy on him) and Hakim al-Ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (may Allah have mercy on him),

"My belief is that these scholars are Divinely-scholars [Ulama-i-Rabbani] and awliya of Ummat-i-Muhammadi (sallallaho alahiy wasalaam)... Especially concerning the services of Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi in tariqat, I assume that he may be the mujaddid of this century."

[Chirag-i-Sunnat, p.320-322]

5. Mawlana Kamil al-Din Rattu Kalwi (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that when fitna urupted after takfir of Ulama of Ahli Sunnah in Sargodha, elders of the city sent me to khanqah Golra Sharif for ifta regarding this matter. After I reached Golra Sharif, I met Pir Ghulaam Muhyiddin, son and successor of Pir Mahr Ali Shah Golri, and narrated to him the whole incident. He in return put this whole situation infront of Mawlana Ghulam Mohammad Gothwi (may Allah have mercy on him), [who was present there coincidently] and asked him to reply on his behalf.

So he wrote,

"My madhab is that Ulama of Deoband are Muslim and doing the work of Din. Anyone who says anything adverse about them, his iman (faith) is in danger. This was also the madhab of my qibla Pir Marh Ali Shah Golri."

[Dhol ki Awaz, p.99]

6. It is narrated in Dharb-i-Shamshir that once in Salar Gah, Rawalpindi, an argument started between Molwi Bahadarudin [imam of local masjid] and Muhammad Ashraf Khan regarding the takfir of Ulama of Deoband. This argument led to a debate and both sides gathered on the fixed date for the debate. Right before the debate, elders of the town suggested that instead of debating both sides should accept Pir Mahr Ali Shah as the judge. Both sides agreed to this and went to Pir Mahr Ali Shah and presented the situation as follow,

Ashraf Khan says that if any imam of masjid doesn't consider these five individuals:

1. Mawlana Shah Ismail Shahid
2. Mawlana Qasim Nanautwi
3. Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi
4. Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri
5. Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi

to be kafir, salah is not valid behind him.

Pir Mahr Ali Shah was angered by this statement and said:

"If these five mashaykh are not Muslim then there is no Muslim in the World and whoever does their takfir, Salat is not valid behind him."

This was also written by Mufti Qari Ghulam Muhammad of Golra Sharif."

[Ulama-i-Ahl al-Sunnah, p.29]

Jazakallah. I think that clarifies the matter. I was startled to read that Barelwis believe the Prophet S.A.S has knowledge of the Hour. I never heard that before but seeing the kind of ghuluw these people do it wouldn't surprise me.

[faisaljf17]

Assalaamalaikum

My question regarding this well known scholar is - was he Deobandi or Barelwi in his aqida? I know the Barelwis celebrate his Urs so that indicates they probably had no problems with him but I noticed Deobandis speaking highly of him as well. I am rather puzzled.[/QUOTE]

[AlGhuraba]

I was just looking for pir mehr's work against Qadiyanis and saw this on wikipedia which seems to be not true according to bro saad's post. maybe someone can fix it.
"Shah also wrote against the Deobandis. He debated two Deobandis, Ahmad Ali Vabacharan and Ghulamullah Khan, and endorsed Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi's fatwa against the Deobandi school's four leaders: Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Rashid Ahmad al-Gangohi, Khalil al-Ambethawi al-Saharanpuri, and Qasim al-Nanautawi."