The legacy of the Ulama of Deoband Ml. Moosa Kajee & Ml. Imraan Kajee Title The legacy of the Ulama of Deoband Author Maulana Imraan Kajee First edition 2018/1439AH For suggestions, enquiries or copies, etc. kindly e-mail: [email protected]. Trustworthy people of every succeeding generation will bear this knowledge. They will eradicate from it the alteration of those who exceed the bounds, the lies of the people of falsehood, and the false interpre- tations of the ignorant. [Bayhaqi, Tahawi, Bazzaar] Hadith Contents Preface by Ml. Fazlur Rahman Azmi i Preface by Mufti Saeed Motara ii Preface by Ml. Shabier Ahmed Saloojee v Foreword by Ml. Abdul Hamid Ishaq vii Introduction 1 History 3 Maslak (Ideology) 13 Tafsir 24 Tajwid and Qira'ah 29 Hadith 32 Some great Muhadditheen from amongst the Ulama of Deoband 49 Fiqh 62 Some great Fuqaha from amongst the Ulama of Deoband 64 Tasawwuf 70 What is Tasawwuf according to the Ulama of Deoband 73 Kitaabs written on Tasawwuf by the Ulama of Deoband 77 Da'wah and Tabligh 83 Aqaaid and Ilmul Kalaam (Islamic Theology) 90 Opposition to Falsehood 99 Miscellaneous aspects regarding their temperament, insight and vision 120 The actual mark of distinction of the Ulama of Deoband 131 Five Unique Qualities of the Ulama of Deoband 158 Observations of senior Ulama worldwide 159 The testimony of an Iraqi Scholar 165 Effects understood by the enemies 168 Acceptance 169 Conclusion 169 Shajaratun Tayyibah - A golden chain 170 Primary sources 182 PREFACE By Maulana Fazlur-Rahman Azmi (daamat barakaatuhu) Shaykhul-Hadith at Darul-Uloom Azaadville Special student of Allamah Habeebur-Rahman Azmi Khalifah of Maulana Shah Hakim Muhammad Akhtar i PREFACE By Mufti Muhammed Saeed Motara (daamat barakaatuhu) Head Mufti and Ustaadh of Hadith at Darul-Uloom Azaadville Khalifah of Mufti Mahmudul Hasan Gangohi Bismillah hirRahmaan nirRaheem Alhamdulillah, I had the privilege of casting a cursory glance through the manuscript of the book ‘Ulama of Deoband’ which has been penned and compiled by one of our young and budding Ulama of South Africa, Moulana Imraan Kajee Saheb (may Allah keep him under His Divine protection and safeguard him against all trials and tribulations). Many of our youth (and in fact, adults too) are unacquainted with the hardships that the Ulama of Deoband had to en- dure and the mind-boggling sacrifices that they made in order to keep aloft the flag of Islam and to keep alight the Nur of Imaan on the Indian Subcontinent, especially in the face of the challenges that they faced during the oppressive British regime that was hell-bent on extinguishing the light of Islam in the region. Undaunted by the fact that many of their colleagues in the Ulama fraternity were brutally and ruthlessly butchered by the tyrannical British government, these Ulama of Deoband – in order to keep the lamp of Islam burning – not only established ii a Darul-Uloom in the then little-known town of Deoband, but also continued their untiring efforts in freeing the coun- try from the shackles of the oppressive government that boasted that their sun of colonial expansion would never set. Great Ulama such as Shaikhul-Hind (Hadhrat Mou- lana Mahmood Hasan Deobandi ) and Shaikhul-Islam (Hadhrat Moulana Husain Ahmad Madani ) were incar- cerated, imprisoned and subjected to torture and solitary confinement on the island of Malta. Nonetheless, Moulana Imraan Kajee Saheb (Sallamahu) has done a sterling job in giving the reader an insight into the lives and struggles of these great bastions of Islam that were produced from Darul-Uloom Deoband, the seed of which was planted in 1283 A.H./1866 C.E. With the humble be- ginnings of one teacher and one student (both having the name Mahmood), this seed has blossomed and spread its tentacles of Islamic knowledge and practice to all corners of the globe, East to West and North to South. The reader of this book will come to learn that, in order to get the message of Islam to the entire world, the Ulama of Deoband rendered their Deeni services in every sphere and dimension of Islam. Whether it is the field of Aqaaid and Ilmul-Kalaam, or that of revival of Sunnah and repulsion of Bid’ah, whether it is the field of Tafseer and Hadeeth, or that of Tableegh and Tasawwuf; whether it is the field of Fiqh and Fatwa or that of Linguistics and Lexiconolgy; whether it is the field of Literary excellence and oratory skills or that iii of Logic and Philosophy, they have strived in every field and it is well nigh impossible to find any similar parallel in recent history. Their humility, sincerity, piety and adherence to Deen and Sunnah had reached such exemplary heights that a great lu- minary once commented that it is as if the caravan of the Sa- haabah proceeded ahead and this group got left behind; intimating that the Ulama of Deoband were a group of people who had embraced the lifestyle and the example of the Sahaa- bah . It is my fervent Du’aa that Allah makes this book a beacon of guidance and inspiration for its reader, grants it acceptance in His August Court on the Day of Qiyaamah and makes it a means of salvation for its compiler and every other person who may have contributed in any way towards its publication. May Allah also make this book a means of creating love in our hearts for the Ulama of Deoband and also a means of reignit- ing and rejuvenating the love for the Sunnah of Rasulullah as was espoused by these great luminaries. Aameen (Mufti) Muhammed Saeed (Khaadim at Madrasah Arabia Islamia, Azaadville) 8 Zul-Qa’dah 1440 (11 July 2019 . iv PREFACE By Maulana Shabier Ahmed Saloojee (daamat barakaatuhu) Principal of Darul-Uloom Zakariyya Khalifah of Mufti Mahmudul Hasan Gangohi Bismillah hirRahmaan nirRaheem عن معاوية رضي هللا عنه قال : مسعت رسول هللا يقول ﻻ يزال من أميت أمة قائمة أبمر هللا ﻻ يضرهم من خذهلم وﻻ من خالفهم حىت أيتيهم أمر هللا وهم على ذلك )متفق عليه(ه Rasulullah said: A group from my Ummat will always re- main steadfast on Allah ’s commands. Those who forsake their help and oppose them will not deter them. They will continue in this manner until Allah ’s decision (Qiyaamat or Death). (Bukhari/ Muslim) Allah has taken the responsibility of protecting His Deen until the day of Qiyaamat. There will always be a group in the Ummat whom He will use for this purpose. There is no doubt that the Ulama of Deoband are amongst those whom Allah has conferred this great honor. In the words of Hazrat Mahmood Gangohi Saheb , Deobandiyyat does not imply the four walls of the Madrasah. Rather it means incorporating the following qualities irrespective of where a person is. v 1. To instil in the heart the special burning love of Allah . 2. To believe in pure Tawhid and to refrain from all practices of shirk, innovations and customs. 3. To possess such love for Rasulullah which surpasses the love of all creation. 4. To bring every facet of one’s life in accordance to the sunnah of Rasulullah . 5. To devote oneself to the propagation and spread of deen. -has chosen those affiliated to Deo ﷻ In recent times Allah band to serve in almost every branch of deen, whether it be in Jihaad, against oppression, Ta’leem, Tazkiyah, Tableegh or Khidmate-Khalq (serving mankind). The foundation of Darul Uloom Deoband was established to preserve deen after the ef- fort of 1857 against the oppressive British Imperialist in which many Ulama were martyred or imprisoned. (For a glimpse of their sterling efforts against oppression, read the books ‘The Prisoners of Malta’ and ‘The Silken Movement’) They have made valuable contributions in the fields of Tafseer, Hadith, Fiqh, Tableegh of Deen and Tazkiyah. The Ulama of Deoband have written excellent commentaries of the Quraan Kareem and many of the major books of Hadith. They have also contributed to the protection of the Aqaid of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah and academically combating the deviant ideologies and deviant sects. May Allah reward Muhtaram Moulana Imraan Kajee abun- dantly for his sterling efforts on enlightening the Ummat on some of the efforts, sacrifices and contributions of our pious vi predecessors. Allah accept this noble effort and reward Moulana in both the worlds. (Maulana) Shabier Ahmed Saloojee 1 Safar 1440 / 10 Oct 2018 vii FOREWORD By Maulana Abdul-Hamid Ishaq (daamat barakaatuhu) Principal of Darul-Uloom Azaadville Student of Maulana Fakhrud-Deen Muraadabadi Special Khalifah of Maulana Shah Hakim Muhammad Akhtar The Ulama of Deoband and the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah ابمسه تعاىل حنمده و نصلى على رسوله الكرمي Allah has blessed the Ummah of Nabi-e-Karim with the absolute correct Aqaa’id (beliefs), A’maal, Akhlaaq, Mu’aama- laat and Mu’aasharaat and Allah completed His Deen and perfected it for this honourable Ummah. ِ ِ ِ ِ الْيـَْوَم أَ ْكَمْل ُت لَ ُك ْم دينَ ُك ْم َوأَْتَْم ُت َعلَْي ُك ْم نْعَمِيت َوَرض ُيت لَ ُك ُم ِاﻹ ْسﻻََم دينًا Today I have perfected for you your religion, and completed upon you My favour, and I have chosen for you Islam as your religion. So the Deen that Allah gave from Adam through all the Ambiya came to completion and perfection with our beloved and honourable Nabi . Then Allah favoured this Ummah with another great blessing when Allah promised: ِ ِ ِ ِ إَّن َْحن ُن نـََّزلْنَا ّالذْكَر َوإَّن لَهُ َلَافظُ َون It is We who revealed this admonition, and We are its protec- tors (i.e.