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Ws

Salam

I was recently came across some works of relating to the Naqshabandi Mujaddidi order, more specifically Shaykh Mazhar Jan-e-Janan and Shaykh Abdullah al-Dihlawi (the guide of Shaykh Khalid al-Baghdadi) who is better known Shaykh Ghulam Ali Dihlawi in the subcontinent.  I hope to post more in the future about the Khanqah Mazhariyyah in Delhi which is still in existence till today.  The following caught my attention from the Malfuzat of Shaykh Abdullah al-Dihlawi:

38
19 Jamadi al-Ula 1231 Hijri. Thursday
This needy one attended the gathering of great spiritual emanations. My spiritual guide said:

“A person is not able to become a Shaykh and not deserving to sit to guide except when he possesses knowledge of essential legal issues.

And that he possess knowledge of the ten stations (maqamat-e-ashara) of the Sufis, which are reliance, conviction, asceticism, patience etc.

And that he regard it necessary to abstain from the company of worldly people and that he benefit from the company of the noble scholars.

And that he be a person of spiritual unveiling (kashf) or that he be able to refrain from thoughts of other than Allah.

His outward should be in conformity of the pure shariah and his inward with the spiritual path”.

After this he said:

“Which spiritual state of mine can I manifest which is as this statement of Urfi:

When I prostrated on the ground, from the ground there came a cry
By your prostration due to showing off you have soiled me
When I went to make tawaf of the Kaba the road of the Haram called out
What have you been doing outside the House, such that now you (dare) commit inside the House”

I hope this information will be of interest to discerning readers out there, not least because of the central importance of Shah Waliullah in Indian scholarship and the recent relative popularity of the Shadhili tariqah amongst Muslims in the West who are linked to the Indian Subcontinent.  Shah Waliullah al-Dehlawi said in his ‘Al-Intibah fi Salasil al-Awliyah’ mentions a number of his chains for the Shadhili order.  Here we present one of them.  He said (p.135) onwards:

As for the Shadhili order this needy one wore the cloak (khirqah) from the hands of Shaykh Abu Tahir

And he from his father Shaykh Ibrahim Kurdi

From Shaykh Ahmad Qashashi

From Shaykh Ahmad Shinawi

And he took from a group amongst them:  Sayyidi Ahmad bin Qasim, the most learned scholar and great Wali Sayyidi Hasan al-Anjayhi, Shaykh Ibrahim al-Alqama and Sayyidi Muhammad bin Zain al-Din.  All of them accompanied Shaykh al-Islam Kamal al-Din al-Tawil and learnt manners from his manners and wore (a cloak) from him.

And he accompanied the most learned scholar Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Jazari

And he accompanied and took (the cloak) from Taj al-Subki

And he accompanied and took from Sayyidi Ahmad bin Ataillah al-Sikandari, the author of ‘al-Hikam’

And he accompanied and took and wore (the cloak) from the Qutb: Abu Hasan al-Shadhili.

Salam

The works of Imam Abd al-Wahab al-Sharani were pointed out me to by Shaykh Naeem Abd al-Wali during his first lecturing visit to the UK during Ramadan back in the early 2000′s.  He made mention of a work entitled Tanbih al-Mughtarrin which I was lucky enough to get hold of during my first trip to Turkey a few months later.

I came across these quotes from Imam al-Sharani taken from another work of his, and are definitely worth reflecting over, especially in an age where scholars seem to have become inaccessible to the average Muslim due to the cliques surrounding them.

Imam al-Sharani said in Lataif al-Minan Wal-Akhlaq p.416:

And that which Allah تبارك و تعالى has blessed me with is my natural dislike for those who kiss my hand, not least in gatherings, or walks with me to the door when I exit from the Jami al-Azhar for example…Likewise I love those who do not kiss my hand, do not stand for me, do not walk with me and do not hold me in esteem.  All of this is out of fear of the faith of envious one that they be destroyed because of me.  For if they do not speak about me with their tongues they will talk about me with their hearts, and fall in to bad opinion and be sinful because of me.  For if no one kissed my hand, and did not walk with me, they would perhaps not fall in to any of this.   Also the ego loves the one who glorifies it in gatherings, and perhaps may be inclined towards it and [in turn] destroy itself.

He also said in Lataif al-Minan wal-Akhlaq p.658:

And that which Allah تبارك و تعالى  has blessed me with is my not being offended by the one who calls out to me with just my name without mentioning my kunyah, or laqab, or Shaykh or Sayyid and its like.  This is due to my knowing that calling out to a person with just his name without mention of of the above is the truth.  As opposed to the titles and kunya’s for they may enter in to them lying…What good is it for the one who is happy with the people calling him: O Shams al-Din (Sun of the religion) or O Nur al-Din (Light of the religion) or O Siraj al-Din when it has preceded in the knowledge of Allah تبارك و تعالى that he is coal from the coals of hell?

Salam

I was delighted to come across the commentary on the Hikam of Imam Ibn Ataillah by none other than Shaykh Muhammad Hayat al-Sindi, a scholar respected in Salafi circles, and whose works have received editions from Salafi publishers.  The image above is of the handwriting of the Shaykh himself (Allah have mercy on him).  I thought this extract (p.28-29) below may be of benefit  Note: Text of the Hikam is in bold.

Your seeking from Him with your your thinking that if you do not seek from Him He will not give Is an accusation against Him In that which He has guaranteed and promised.  And this (accusation) is a great sin.  Seek from Him manifesting your poverty and need of Him along with your conviction that which is promised for the slave will no doubt reach him.  Supplication (dua) is the essence of worship due to its consisting of manifesting need and poverty which are necessary for complete humility in slavehood.

And your seeking Him due to your absence from Him Despite his being closer to you than the jugular vein, He is with you where ever you are.  Open the eye of your inner sight and you will see him with you.  When was he absent from you such that he needed to sought?  When did He leave you such that He had to be searched for?  You are a veil for yourself, so remove it and you will find Him with you.

And your seeking other than Him Who is not pleased with being asked is Due to the your lack of modesty with Him As He is turned towards you, present with you and watchful over you.  Thus your seeking other than Him indicates to a lack of modesty with Him, for if you had modesty with Him you would turn with full attention towards Him, and ignored all other than Him focusing on Him.  If attention given to dust with presence of the Lord of the Worlds?…

And your seeking from other than Him Without His permission for this is  due to your distance from Him For if you were to witness His closeness to you and His cognisanze of your state and His power to fulfill your hopes why would you seek from other than Him.  Rather you would place your trust in Him, and resign your matter totally to Him.  But due to your distance from Him you seek it from other than Him, despite his not being able to help with your need except with His will.  So reflect on the ugliness of your state and the bad action, and request from your Lord in all of your states.

Salam

I came across a discussion on the Muslim Matters site today regarding the Friday khutba being delivered in the Arabic language.  The author unfortunately only cited a general comparative work on fiqh for the Hanafi position, as opposed to researching in the specialized and detailed works of the school.  Perhaps he might be unaware that Mufti Taqi Uthmani has a translated work in English which covers this issue thoroughly and has been available for some time.

Shaykh Abd al-Hayy al-Laknawi in his Arabic notes to the famous Hanafi legal text Sharh al-Wiqayah briefly discusses the nuances of the Hanafi position on this issue.  I thought it might be useful to share with readers, this is what he said [Umda al-Riayah 2/324]:

It is not a condition that it [the khutba] be delivered in Arabic.  If he was to deliver the sermon in Persian or other than it then it is permissible- this is what they have said.  What is meant by permissibility is its being permissible in relation to the prayer, in terms of it being sufficient in order to fulfill the condition, and the prayer being valid.  General/absolute permissibility is not meant, for there is no doubt that the khutba delivered in other than Arabic is in contravention of the sunnah passed on by the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and companions (Allah be pleased with them all), thus it is prohibitively disliked (makruh tahrimi) as is the reciting of Persian and Hindi poetry within it.  And we have detailed this in our essay Akam al-Nafais fi Ada al-Adhkar bi Lisan al-Faris.

As mentioned previously here is a follow up to the post regarding the adherence to a particular school of law (madhab).  Some people mistakenly think that there are no statements from scholars of the madhahib in support of adherence to one madhab.  The quotes provided below are from the works of scholars where this view is cited. Readers should note that difference of opinion exists on this point, the intention however is to point out the statements of scholars in support of this view.

Hanafi Madhab

Imam Ibn Abidin said in notes to Bahr al-Raiq (6/289):

“Imam Abul Hasan al-Khatib said in Kitab al-Fatwa: A Mufti [who issues a legal verdict according to a madhab] if he gives a legal verdict regarding a matter according to the madhab of an Imam, then he cannot make taqlid of other than him and give legal verdict in opposition to him.”

Maliki Madhab

Al-Zarkashi said in Bahr al-Muhit (8/374):

“Ibn al-Munir took the balanced view and said:  The evidence necessitates the adherence to a particular school after the period of the four Imams and not before them.  The difference is that people before the four Imams did not record their madhabs…”

Al-Nafrawi said in Fawakih al-Dawani (2/357):

“Consensus of the Muslims today has formed regarding the necessity of following one of the four Imams: Abu Hanifah, Malik, al-Shafi and Ahmad bin Hanbal (Allah be pleased with them all)…And we have mentioned previously the necessity of following one of the Imams, and that it is for the one incapable of performing ijtihad.”

Shaykh Illish said in Fath al-Aliyy al-Malik (1/90):

“It is reported from the jurist Abu Abdullah al-Sanusi that he said:  As for the scholar who has not reached the rank of ijtihad, and the absolute common person, it necessary for both of them to make taqlid of a mujtahid…and the correct view is that it is necessary from them both to adhere to a specific madhab from the madhabs of the mujtahid scholars.”

Shafi Scholars

Jalal al-Mahalli said in his commentary on the Jam al-Jawami (2/440):

“The more correct view is that it is necessary for the common person and other than him who has not reached the level of ijtihad to adhere to a specific madhab from the madhabs of the mujtahid scholars.”

Ibn Hajar al-Haytami was questioned in his Fatawa (4/305):

“He was asked (Allah most High have mercy on him) Is it necessary after the codifying of the madhabs to adhere to one of them, and may he switch from the one he adheres to?
He answered with his words:  That which is cited in Ziyadat al-Rawda from the scholars of the school (ashab) is the necessity of this, and that he not do this [switch madhab] due to desire nor due to that which he found his forefathers upon.”

Hanbali Madhab

Al-Mardawi said in Al-Insaf (11/194):

“He said in Al-Riayah al-Kubra:  It is necessary for every muqallid to adhere to a specific madhab according to the well known view, and that he not make taqlid of other than its scholars.”

Ibn Najjar al-Futuhi said in Sharh Kawkab al-Munir (p.627):

“It is said:  Rather it is necessary to adhere to a madhab.  In al-Riayah he said:  This is the well known view, and that he not make taqlid of other than its scholars.”

Salam

I recently met the proprietor of a well known publishing house from Riyadh who has published a large number of translated works in English.  When I told him I was working on a translation he eagerly handed me his business card.  When I mentioned it was a Hanafi work from al-Ahsa he expressed his amazement with the words “Are you sure?, Hanafi’s in al-Ahsa?”   Unfortunately I was unable to convince him in our brief conversation of the existence of these Hanafis.

By good fortune the Saudi based Islamic Channel ‘Iqra’ recently hosted Shaykh Yahya al-Mulla from al-Ahsa on one of its programme.  Please find a link to an audio recording of Shaykh Yahya al-Mulla’s appearance on the Iqra Channel.  The programme is regarding the Hanafi Madhab.  Above is a picture of the Shaykh, May Allah (Most High) allow us to continue to benefit from him.  I also hope the proprietor of the publishing house from Riyadh is also gets the opportunity to watch the programme.

Link

Wassalam

I came across this thought provoking discussion in a hadith commentary which might be of interest to many of us.  Not least when there are times when we  despair at our lapses, and our wondering if we are in fact going backwards as opposed to forward.  We ask Allah (Most High) to make us from those who continually repent for our shortcomings, and protect us from being those who lose all of their spiritual stations due to their sins.

Finally we ask Him to make us from those who (as mentioned below) are from those who after their slipping up and repenting are in a better state than they were before.  Amin.

In Mishkat al-Masabih the following hadith is mentioned:

Abdullah bin Masud said The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: ‘The one who repents from a sin is like the one who has no sin’.

Shaykh Muhammad Idris al-Kandehlawi commented in his Taliq al-Sabih (3/118) onwards:

Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim said that: A servant if he repents from a sin does he return back to the level (daraja) that he was before the sin which removed him from it,  or does he not return to it.  There is a difference over it, a group said: He returns to his [previous] level because repentance wipes out the sin in its entirety, and it as if it never was…so he returns back to it by repentance.  They said:  And because repentance is an immense good action and righteous deed, if his sin had removed him from his level, then his good action by means of his repentance will raise him back to it.  This is like the one who falls in a well and he has a compassionate friend who lowers down for him a rope which he can grasp until he rises by it back to his place.  Repentance is like this, and righteous action is like this pious friend and compassionate brother.

A group said:  He does not return back to his [previous] level and state (haal) because he was not stationary but rather was in ascension, but by sinning he is in descent and freefall…The said:  The similitude of this is like the example of two men travelling along a path on one journey, then there occurs for one of them that which makes him turn back or come to a stop, all the while his companion continues travelling.  If he finishes his backtracking and stopping and follows the steps of his companion he will never ctach up with him because whenever he reaches a point the other will always be ahead…

I heard Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah mention this difference and then say that the correct opinion is that from those who repent is one who does not return to his [previous] level, there are from them he who returns back to his level, and them he who returns back to a higher level than he previously was, and becomes better than he was before the sin…

Salam

I recently received a rare unpublished brief article on the Hanafi school authored by one the recent giants of Ahsai scholarship:  Shaykh Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Bakr al-Mulla who passed away aged 98 in 2001.  I hope to append it to a forthcoming publication (May Allah facilitate its completion).  Extracts from it have been posted elsewhere on this blog along with some details of the author.  Presented below is an extract from the introduction to the article:

The Recognition of The Correctness of the Hanafi Madhab

All praise is due to Allah, the One who answers those who ask, and rewards those who perform righteous acts.  Salutations and blessings upon the one who was sent by Allah as a mercy to the worlds.  Our Master Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions.  To proceed:

I was asked by one of the students of knowledge in the Makkan sanctuary (Haram al-Makki), and he was Hanafi in madhab, saying:  O Shaykh Abu Bakr, some students speak regarding the madhab of Abu Hanifah, and say such and such, and that his madhab is based upon personal opinion.  Do you have a beneficial [answer] to reply to that which has been said?

I answered him with that which was convincing, and he said to me: If you were to be kind enough to write this along with anything in addition to what you have mentioned which occurs to you, then I would benefit from it more.

I said to him: Allah willing, and the next day I began the writing of that which Allah made easy for me in terms of an answer, hoping that the student and others who are ignorant of the knowledge and excellence of this Imam of great stature would benefit from it.