Translation of Fayslah Kun Munazarah on the Barelwi Fitnah by Zameelur Rahman

[Rahmaniyyah]

Note from the Translator

Fayslah Kun Munazarah, first printed in 1933 CE, is a thorough rebuttal of the verdicts of disbelief against four senior scholars of the Deobandi School as presented in Husam al-Haramayn of Mawlawi Ahmad Rida Khan Barelwi. Sufficient details about the book are given in the author’s introduction below. Due to the paucity of material on the subject in the English language, many Muslims in the English-speaking world were easily swayed towards the view propounded in Husam al-Haramayn due to the vigour with which the fatwa is propagated by its English-speaking proponents and the gravity of the allegations made. The book translated here provides a balanced, level-headed, point-by-point critique of the fatwa in simple and easy-to-understand language, demonstrating with complete clarity the deception of the original accusations against the Deobandi elders and their innocence from the heresies ascribed to them. Sincere readers who have been exposed to the allegations will now have the opportunity to assess the validity of such claims. Allah, Most Exalted, commands in the Glorious Qur’an: “O you who believe, if a sinful person brings you a report, verify its correctness, lest you should harm a people out of ignorance, and then become remorseful on what you did.” (49:6)

Born in 1323 H/1905 CE, the author of the book, Mawlana Muhammad Manzur Ahmad Nu‘mani (Allah have mercy on him), graduated from India’s leading Islamic seminary, Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband, in the year 1346 H/1927 CE. At the madrasah, he studied under such luminaries as Imam al-‘Asr ‘Allamah Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri and other major scholars of hadith and fiqh from the Indian subcontinent. Upon graduating, he returned to his hometown of Sunbhul and began serving the Muslim community there. In the period following his studies, he was also actively engaged in debates against various groups, particularly the Barelwi group which had instigated a tragic fitnah of takfir that had spread throughout India. With meticulous research and lucid speech, he composed many comprehensive works related to these groups, the work translated here being one of them. Within a few years of graduating from Deoband, he also established a monthly journal, al-Furqan, which gained wide popularity. His pledge in the spiritual path was to Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir Raipuri (1295 – 1382 H). He passed away in the year 1417 H/ 1997 CE. He authored a number of works on hadith, tasawwuf, politics and other topics, and he left behind a lasting legacy in the field of da‘wah and tabligh.

Zameelur Rahman Rabi‘ al-Thani 1433 H/March 2012

Read the translation NOW here:

Deoband aur Bareli ke Ikhtilaf wa Niza‘ pur:

Fayslah Kun Munazarah

The Decisive Debate:
On the Deobandi and Barelwi Conflict

[abdlashay]

JazakAllah.

May Allah SWT fill the grave of Mawlana Manzur Naumani rehmatullah aleh with noor & raise his status manifold in here-after. Amin!

A must read for those put in doubt and 'fooled' by mainstream sunni propaganda.

was salam

[Ahmad_shakeel]

JazakAllah.

May Allah SWT fill the grave of Mawlana Manzur Naumani rehmatullah aleh with noor & raise his status manifold in here-after. Amin!


was salam

Ameen

[London786]

may ALLAH reward brother zameeul rahman ameen.

[At Tayyib]

JazakAllah.

May Allah SWT fill the grave of Mawlana Manzur Naumani rehmatullah aleh with noor & raise his status manifold in here-after. Amin!

A must read for those put in doubt and 'fooled' by mainstream sunni propaganda.

was salam

I would recommend reading every work of Maulana Manzur Naumani . One of the most wholesome Deobandis of the last century. He is the confluence of Darul Uloom Deoband and Nadwatul ulema.

[Aamir]

Mashallah - may Allah Azawajal reward the brother for the translation. A great book...

[The Fake Shaykh]

[SunniSeeker]

I have read over the issue regarding the Seal of Prophethood - wouldn't it be better to actually translate the passages of Tazhir an-Nas that Ml. Ahmad Rida Khan found problematic and attach it as an appendix, instead of providing a summary/explanation of what was written?

Even from the summary (p.81) I find the following sentence problematic:

However, coming before or after in this chronological sense, does not in and of itself confer excellence [as, for example, the Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is superior to many prophets who came after him].

I don't want to rely on Ml. Rida Khan's interpretation, nor on a summay by Ml. Numani.

So if the relevant unedited passages could be added (translation) then that would be better, because otherwise this work can also be brushed off as propaganda.

[SeekerOfGuidance]

I have read over the issue regarding the Seal of Prophethood - wouldn't it be better to actually translate the passages of Tazhir an-Nas that Ml. Ahmad Rida Khan found problematic and attach it as an appendix, instead of providing a summary/explanation of what was written?

Even from the summary (p.81) I find the following sentence problematic:

However, coming before or after in this chronological sense, does not in and of itself confer excellence [as, for example, the Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is superior to many prophets who came after him].

I don't want to rely on Ml. Rida Khan's interpretation, nor on a summay by Ml. Numani.

So if the relevant unedited passages could be added (translation) then that would be better, because otherwise this work can also be brushed off as propaganda.

Regarding the intrinsic virtue in chronological placement, Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi (from the 3rd Century AH) stated with unequivocal clarity in Kitab Khatm al-Awliya’:

"Indeed the one who is blind to this information, he thinks that the interpretation of “the Seal of the Prophets” is [only] that he is the last of them in being sent. But what virtue is there in this? And what [perfection in] knowledge is there in this? This is the interpretation of ignorant people."

And although there was no shortage of people who would seek excuses to criticise his noble personality, it seems that this particular opinion of his has been spared for over a millennium now.

What is far from ambiguous though, is the occurrence of a malisciously evil injustice. Under the target of one who remanufactures whole paragraphs, distorts, and forges, there is absolutely no personality in our history who is immune from takfir and tabdi'. That some people incline towards focussing on relative non-issues which have reasonable explanations, as a pose to this enormity, betrays a clear prejudice and bias.

The recognition and rectification of any injustice, however small, can only lead to good.

[Muzzammil Husayn]

I have read over the issue regarding the Seal of Prophethood - wouldn't it be better to actually translate the passages of Tazhir an-Nas that Ml. Ahmad Rida Khan found problematic and attach it as an appendix

No because they were all addressed by Mawlana Manzur Nu'mani in the text of the book itself. There's a whole section with the title "An Explanation of the Correct Meaning of the Passages from Tahzir al-Nas" (pages 24 -29) which I think you missed, in which all three of the sentences from Tahzir al-Nas which Ahmad Rida Khan distorted are addressed with their proper contexts.

Even from the summary (p.81) I find the following sentence problematic:

However, coming before or after in this chronological sense, does not in and of itself confer excellence [as, for example, the Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is superior to many prophets who came after him].

The same was stated by al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi in the third century Hijri as you'll find in Appendix B of the book. And in the edition of Tahzir al-Nas with Mawlana Hafiz 'Aziz al-Rahman's footnotes, this is proven conclusively (see page 41 here), where he shows that time itself plays no factor in the virtue of a thing, but external factors make that chronological placement virtuous or otherwise. For example, Abu Bakr's acceptance of Islam early on is a virtue for the obvious (external) reason that this shows his quickness to accept truth, so here coming later is not a virtue. With the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam) coming later is a virtue for external reasons, not because of the chronological placement itself - as in many cases coming last is a fault rather than a virtue.

So if the relevant unedited passages could be added (translation) then that would be better

There is no need to add them as they are all already there in the reference provided above (pages 24 to 29).

Incidentally, I would also like to know as to why in the Muhannad,
Ml. Khalil Ahmed agrees with Ibn Abidin's assertion of the ibn Abdul Wahhab and his followers as the khawaarij of the time, yet Ml. Numani brushes this of as 'Arab propaganda' in whole book of his?

There are very good reasons why Mawlana Nu'mani says Mawlana Khalil Ahmad's position in Muhannad and his quote from 'Allamah Ibn 'Abidin were based on hearsay and propaganda, and not on an actual investigation into the views of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab and his group. In his Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab aur Hindustan ke 'Ulama Haqq, he proves the climate in Makkah and Madinah before Ibn Sa'ud captured the Hijaz in 1924 was extremely anti-Wahhabi/Najdi, and much of what was said about Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab was based on hearsay. He uses Shaykh Ahmad Zayni Dahlan as an example, and uses Nawwab Siddiq Hasan Khan and Shawkani - who despite being ideologically similar to Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab strongly opposed him - as proof that the propaganda was very effective. Shaykh Ahmad Zayni Dahlan in his book Khulasat al-Kalam fi Bayan Umara’ Balad al-Haram and al-Durar al-Saniyyahfi al-Radd ‘ala al-Wahhabiyyah says about Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab that he ordered his female followers to shave their heads and he would order his converts during the testimony of faith to declare their parents disbelievers and inhabitants of Hell and Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab greatly admired the false prophets of earlier times like Musaylama Kadhdhab and concealed claims of prophethood; Mawlana Nu'mani shows these are all historically unproven and against reason, yet these claims were current in that time due to the deep animosity against Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab; he absolves Shaykh Dahlan of blame, saying he only related the popular falsehoods that were already current in the Hijaz at the time without having investigated Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab's books or biography. He quotes Mawlana Husayn Ahmad Madani who lived in Madinah for around 18 years between 1316 and 1333 (1898 - 1915) [i.e. before Ibn Saud came to power] from his al-Shihab al-Thaqib (written before 1910 CE): "The Arabs have special hatred in their heart for him (Muhmammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab) and his followers, such hatred that they do not have for the Jews or the Christians or the Majus or the Hindus."

He also shows Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri changed his views regarding the "Najdis" later in his life when - after the advent of Ibn Saud - he lived in Madinah side by side with them. Mawlana Nu'mani quotes two letters from Mawlana Khalil Ahmad, the first of which [written in 1344 H) stated:

Qadi al-Qudat [of the Najdi government] Shaykh ‘Abd Allah ibn Bulayhid, whose residence is close to my residence [in Madinah], I have met with him frequently and I discussed religious issues with him. He is a great scholar. His school is the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘ah. Just as is the method of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, he acts on the outward of hadith. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn al-Qayyim are very dear to him and he always keeps them in view. According to our scholars also, these two personalities were scholars of a great rank. He completely loathes innovations and newly-invented matters. He takes Tawhid and Messengership as the core of his faith. In sum, from my experience, he has not moved away from the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah in the slightest. Most of the Najdis read the Qur’an, many are huffaz, and they are extremely observant of praying in congregation. These days it is very cold in Madinah Munawwarah, yet the Najdis very observantly attend the Fajr congregation. Anyhow, the religious condition of these people gives contentment. (Akabir ke Khutut pp. 11-12)

(quoted in pages 42 - 43 of Mawlana Nu'mani's book)

Before you jump the gun and claim this to be a "contradiction," Mawlana Nu'mani also eloquently explains that this is very common in our history where scholars differed over personalities based on the information that reached them. He gives several example, including one from the Qur'an: When Musa ('alayhi al-salam) thought Harun ('alayhi al-salam) committed a misdeed, he was extremely angry and even grabbed hold of his hair and beard, but when he realised there was no shortcoming, he said: “My lord forgive me and my brother and admit us in Your mercy.” Many narrators of hadith were declared "trustworthy" by some and "liars" by others - based on the information that reached the critics.

He also explains that Ibn 'Abidin's comment was written after Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab's followers were expelled from the Hijaz by the Ottoman governer of Egypt and there was a negative attitude adopted by the common people and the rulers alike against him. Ibn 'Abidin did not base his comments on any investigation of Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab's own works or those of his students. But the fact that he relied on hearsay is clear from his referring to him as "'Abd al-Wahhab" instead of "Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab" which is a mistake only somebody who has not investigated and verified the matter would make.

Mawlana Nu'mani also lists and details the differences between Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab's movement and the Deobandi scholars of India, including: they disallow travelling from far with the inention of visiting the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam) although they allow it once a person has reached Madinah and Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab in fact called this "one of the best deeds," whereas Deobandis allow long journeys with the intention of visiting him; they declare tawassul forbidden (but do not say it is shirk) while Deobandis - including their predecessor Shah Isma'il in Taqwiyat al-Iman - allow it; they declare istighathah of the dead in all its forms forbidden and shirk, whereas Deobandis - from Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi himself - differentiate between that done with the correct intention and that done with incorrect beliefs; etc. So, no, Mawlana Nu'mani had no ulterior motives in trying to pacify these "Wahhabis." In the book, he explains that he undertook extensive research into the movement of Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab before drawing his conclusions, by reading works by Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab himself, the works of his followers and students, the works of supporters and opponents, and the biographies written by contemporaries. His only motive was to arrive at an accurate historical portrayal of Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab and his movement. His book was endorsed by Mawlana Zakariyya Kandehlawi and Qari Muhammad Tayyib.