الضربة المهند علي رأس المفند

[CriticalThought]

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم​

Recent years have witnessed the meteoric rise of the personality 'Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza'. This man invites people towards being 'Ilmi and Kitabi, i.e., knowledgeable and academic. Under this banner, he has systematically waged a war on established schools of thought within Islam.

Now, when we talk about defending Pakistan, we must include its ideological boundaries because enemies can exploit ideology to weaken us from within. Pakistanis, who in their mind question their very religion, and live in a state of doubt, become a weakness and not a strength.

With these thoughts in mind, I intend to answer the doubts created in people's minds regarding the jurisprudence and theology of Deoband and venerated scholars of the Deobandi school. Now, I do not have a list of all questions that have been raised. So, I am starting this thread with an initial analysis of the basis of Deobandi thought and its justification through the Holy Quran. I will rely on readers to point out unresolved questions so they can be answered here.

Since we are having a religious discussion here, let us make doubly sure to remain civilized.

In order to understand the Deobandi school of thought, we should go to its original source, and analyze the core beliefs. And so we quote:

Maslak of Ulama-e-Deoband – Darul Uloom Deoband – India

“Academically this Waliyullahian party is, by track, Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jama’ah, which is based on the Book, the Sunnah, consensus (Ijm’a) and analogy (Qiyas). According to it, the foremost position in all propositions (Masa’il) is held by tradition (Naql), narration (RiwayaT) and the predecessors historical traditions (A’sar), on which the entire building of religion rests. With it, the purports of the Book and the Sunnah can be determined not merely by the power of study but by being confined within the limits of the predecessors’ saying and their bequeathed taste, and, to boot, through the company of and attendance on the Shaikhs and their teachings and training. At the same time, intellect and knowledge (Derayat) and discernment of religion (Tafaqqoh Fiddin), too are according to it, a very important factor in the under standing of the Book and the Sunnah.

NOTE: Emphasis added by the author of this article

Let us contrast this with the slogan 'Neither Follower (of venerated figures) nor Wahabi, I am scholarly and academic' (Na main babi na main wahabi, main hoon 'ilmi kitabi). The very battle cry of Engineer goes against the fundamental principle of Deoband which maintains that the righteous path lies in following in the footsteps of predecessors and receiving training from them. The Deobandi school puts this a level above the application of intellect and knowledge.

I intend to provide the Quranic basis of the Deobandi stance based on my own limited knowledge, gained by listening to Islamic scholars. Since I am myself not a religious scholar, I openly accept that I might make mistakes, and shall remain open to criticism and critique by valid religious scholars.

In the Holy Quran, Allah the Almighty Says

75:17-19

( 17 ) Indeed, upon Us is its collection [in your heart] and [to make possible] its recitation.
( 18 ) So when We have recited it [through Gabriel], then follow its recitation.
( 19 ) Then upon Us is its clarification [to you].

In these verses Allah the Almighty Has Guaranteed a few things: collection, recitation, and exposition of the Holy Quran. The Mufassirin have interpreted this as the collection of Holy Quran upon the heart of Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam, his subsquent recitation, and explanation.

But I invite readers to open their eyes and look at these verses in a historical perspective. According to the Introduction in "Ma'arif ul Quran' by Maulana Shafi' Usmani Rahimahullah:

Ma'arif Ul Quran (English) - Mufti Muhammad Shafi' Rh.A : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Ma'arif Ul Quran (English) - Mufti Muhammad Shafi' Rh.A

archive.org

Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique Razi Allahu Ta'ala 'Anhu gave the decree to bring together the entire material of Holy Quran written in the life of Holy Prophet Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam. Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit and Hazrat Umar Razi Allahu Ta'ala 'Anhum were appointed for this task. This was collection of Holy Quran and guaranteed by Allah the Almighty in 75:17 above. And the means of this collection is to bring together the writings of the Holy Quran.

Then, Hazrat Usman Razi Allahu Ta'ala 'Anhu brought the Ummah together on the seven recitations of the Holy Quran, and this was also done by producing written manuscripts. This falls under the guarantee of Allah the Almighty in 17:18.

So we see Allah's guarantee given in the Holy Quran is fundamentally tied together with the written word. Now, what about the elucidation, explanation, and clarification of the Holy Quran?

• We know that Ibn-e-'Abbas Razi Allahu Ta'ala 'Anhu is considered an authority amongst Sahaba on the topic of tafseer, but his narrations were brought into the written word by Mujahid and Sa'eed bin Jubair Rahimahumullah, amongst others. https://archive.org/details/UloomUlQuran_201310/page/n453/mode/2up
• We also know that Hazrat Ali Razi Allahu Ta'ala 'Anhu was the first person to create rules of Arabic Sarf (study of words and their forms) and Nahw (study of words used in sentence structures). https://www.ilmgate.org/the-beginnings-of-arabic-grammar/
• We know that a progeny of Hazrat Ali Razi Allahu Ta'ala 'Anhu, Hazrat Jaffar Sadiq Rahimahullah, along with Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Abu Hanifa Rahimahumullah laid the foundations of Jurisprudence in Medina https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiqh
• Finally, we know that the earliest written and reliable book of Hadith is Muwatta Imam Malik.

These four branches of knowledge form the absolute minimum basis for the elucidation, explanation, and clarification of Holy Quran and they are all protected under 75:19. Thus, following these leaders is the only way to ensure we receive Allah's guarantee that He has Given in Holy Quran. And the only means we have to reach these leaders is through the chain of ulema that extends all the way back to them. With this in mind, one can listen to the entire chain of tutors of Bukhari Sharif for students of Darululoom Korangi here:

So, now we ask the following questions of those who seek to apply their own intellect for understanding the Holy Quran and Hadith:

1. The Holy Quran was not revealed upon you. How do you know that the Holy Quran that you are reading is the one that was revealed upon Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wa Aalihi Wasallam?
2. You are not a companion of Imam Bukhari Rahimahullah. How do you know that the Bukhari Sharif you study is actually the Bukhari written by him? Similarly for other other books of Hadith.
3. You don't understand Arabic. How do you know that the translation of Quran and Hadith that you study are actually authentic?
4. What is your evidence that you are on the Guided Path under the guarantee of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'aala?