Sacrifices of a True Talib

In this excerpt, there lies a lesson for all those who are seeking knowledge today. The actions of our elders were not mere formalities; rather, their actions were a reflection of the purity of their hearts.

During his student days, my father was deeply engrossed in his studies. Once the doctors warned him about becoming afflicted by blindness through an eye disease (nuzool-e-ab); and that he should read less, especially at night. He says: "Thereafter for quite a few months I read books profusely, with this in mind that my eyes were going away. And whatever there was to look up should be looked up then while i still had them."

My father used to stay in Nizamuddin and used to study in Madressa Hussain Baksh. He says that he used to come to the Madressa in the mornings after Fajr, and in the afternoons, after classes, he went back to Nizamuddin. Thereafter he used to come back after Zuhr and returned after Asr – a total of fourteen miles daily, because each journey was about three and a half miles long...

...In Nizamuddin he stayed in Maulana Yusuf's room on the western side of the masjid. Now the room has been very fine. In those days it was very dilapidated with a very low roof. The door is still where it was in those days, but where today the window of the ladies section is, there used to be a door. Today, where the ladies section is situated, there used to be so many trees that it was difficult to walk there. I have seen it in this condition that there used to be a little canal of dirty water flowing through it with an endless stream of mosquitoes.

This was where my father stayed. My grandfather had two students, who had to fill two lotas with water and bring it to this door leading to the bush at every Azaan time. They would also receive their meals from there. My father says that on finishing his sunnat salaahs, he used to remain in the closed room studying until the time for takbeer. Then he opened and joined the Jamaat. On finishing his salah he again entered the room and performed his sunnats there. He says, "During that time a telegram arrived which told of my proposal of marriage. The people of Nizamuddin sent it back, saying that for quite a few months, I was not there. Perhaps I would be at the home of my father." But this telegram was in fact sent by his father (my grandfather).

My father further said, "Within a period of six months I studied Bukhari, Seerat Ibn Hisham, Tahawy, Hidaya and Fathul Qadeer, so thoroughly that the examiners were surprised. Maulana Khaleel Ahmed examined me in Bukhari, Sheikhul Hind examined me in Tirmizi and Maulana Ahmed Hasan and others did the other kitabs. At the time of eating these Elders were all together. Hazrat Maulana Khaleel Ahmed told my father, "Your son wrote such replies which even some experienced teachers are incapable of giving."

A Request for Duas

I request all readers of this blog to make sincere du'a for Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar's [db] brother-in-law who was involved in a serious motor cycle accident last week. He is in critical condition with punctured lungs and fractured limbs, and very much in need of your dua's. May Allah grant him a quick and full recovery. Aameen.

I intend to recommence the posting of the blog very soon insha allah.

A Teacher’s Love...

The intimate teacher-student relationship that Sheikhul Hadeeth (rahmatullahi 'alayh) describes here is surely something to be envied. Teachers are rare gems that are waiting to be discovered, but he who seeks will surely find.

What shall I write concerning the spiritual stature of the Elders of the second era and how shall I write that. My first meeting with my Murshid, my Master and Guide, Hazrat Maulana Khaleel Ahmed Saheb was in Rajab 1328 Hijri. But up to the time of my father's death or up to 1333 Hijri I had very little chance of being in his esteemed company. In spite of that, Hazrat's kindness to me was innumerable. His looking at me with love was something I experienced from the beginning. The result was that which I had described under the section dealing with my studies. It was this which prompted him to advise against my being sent to Maulana Abdul Majid for studying logic. He did not accept, that for a whole year, I should be separated from him.

My direct contact with Hazrat started after the death of my father, when Hazrat showed himself to be a father to me in the true sense of the word. In my description of my first marriage, I had related how I had declined the bringing of my wife from Kandhla, as Kandhla was my hometown. The taking away and the bringing back of a wife with you was a delicate question. Hazrat understood this and said: "Who is there that will refuse. I have come as a father to perform this marriage."

Once on seeing Hazrat's kindness to me and my continuous presence with him, a person asked: "Is this your son?" Hazrat replied: "He is more than a son to me."

...In spite of his very high rank and his magnificent stature, his favours towards me increased all the time, firstly because of the fact I was an orphan and secondly as a result of the work on 'Bazlul Majhood'. Hazrat was very devoted to his research on Bazl and as a result thereof his love for me increased tremendously. Another very important fact is that the work done on Bazl was a great favour to me because as a result of it, Hazrat never took notice of my iniquities and shortcomings.

See Sacredlearning.com à General Talks à Finding a Hidden Gem for Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar's [db] own account about how he found his teacher.

The Spiritual Heights of the Beloved of Allah صلى الله عليه و سلم

When Jibrail alayhis salam embraced Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم and pressed his breast against his the aim was to create 'Nisbat itihaadi' with Jibrail Alyhis salam. Now consider that Rasulullah

صلى الله عليه و سلم's beginning was equal to and identical to Jibrail alyhis salam and for twenty three years after that Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم continued to progress, only Allah will know the extent of his total progress, and those who reached such rank. That will only be he, himself.

Everyone knows that Jibrail alayhis salam initially embraced him to create Nisbat ittihadi between them. Thirteen years later when Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم went on Miraj it is significant that he went further than any creation had gone before in qurb nearness and proximity to Allah. This same Jibrail alayhis salam was left behind to say: "My journey is thus far, and if ever I should proceed further ahead the breadth of one hair the Glory of Allah's light will devour me."

Thereafter Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم leaving Jibrail alayhis salam proceeded to the Quabal Qowsayn. One can only imagine what spiritual progress he made in the next ten years. Only those ones will know it to whom the reality of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه و سلم's true position has been revealed.

page 643 in Aap Beti Part V

Strange Love

Here Sheikhul Hadeeth (رحمة الله عليه) discusses one of his 'bad habits', that is, to ask his guests the duration for which they intended to stay with him and to enforce that upon them. This was the case even with his elders, as we shall see. In fact, in this case, his guest was not allowed to even stay for the time that he had requested. The following extract is with regard to Hazrat Raipuri (رحمة الله عليه):

He arrived with the mail train and as soon as I had shaken hands, I asked him: "Hazrat, what is the programme?"

He replied: "I have decided to stay in Saharanpur tomorrow and the day after tomorrow - two days. The third day will be according to what your instruction is."

I replied: "There will not be permission even to stay tomorrow. As soon as the fajr azaan is heard perform your own jamaat and leave. You will find some tea ready to drink. Please leave before the madrassa jamaat commences fajr."

Hazrat replied: "I am very tired. At least give me permission for one day."

I said: "There is no permission to stay longer than half an hour after the azaan for fajr."

You can just imagine the anger which the Tableeghi brothers must have felt. I will always remember the anger on the face of Bhai Altaf. The whole world Hazrat to stay with them. Here Hazrat himself offers and in fact asks to stay and I refuse permission. In spite of everything I saw him off early in the morning. At that time I told him: "Hazrat this is June, the heat is extreme. If you stay here you will not experience any comfort. Furthermore, these Tableeghi brothers will come to me to ask of you to attend the jalsa - even for a while. The day after tomorrow the jalsa will end in the morning. At the time of Dhuhr, Maulana Yusuf and myself will come to Raipur for two days."

After Hazrat had sat down in the car, Shah Masood Saheb begged him to come and stay at Bahut, but he replied, "When Sheikh has not given permission to stay in Saharanpur, I will not stay anywhere else."

He arrived at Raipur at the time of sunrise. After his arrival there, I heard from everyone coming from there that Hazrat had made a lot of dua for me. I also heard from many townspeople as well as villagers that he had said:

"I had asked to stay for two days. Sheikh did not even allow me to stay for a day. That is what is called love. Love should be learnt from such people. Can anyone possibly accept that Sheikh did not want me to stay? But he considered my comfort above his desire. May Allah grant him high rank. May Allah also grant him comfort and ease... ."

For two days he continued to make dua for me and even now when I think of how I practically forced him away, I feel great joy for the duas I received. Anyway, two days later Maulana Yusuf and myself arrived in Raipur on Monday afternoon after the jalsa.

Khilafa of Hazrat Gangohi (رحمه الله)

Hazrat Haji Imdadullah (rah) gave khilafat to Hazrat Gangohi after eight days and told him: 'Moulvy Rasheed Ahmed sahib whatever favour Allah has bestowed upon me, He has also bestowed upon you. It will be your duty to go develop that nimat and work on it.'

Hazrat Gangohi used to say: 'I was very surprised. I could not understand what nimat he was referring to, which had been granted to him and also to me. I only managed to understand and realise what it was fifteen years later.' [Tazkira e Khaleel vol 1]

It is written in 'Tazkira e Rasheed' that Hazrat Gangohi told Haji Imdadullah Saheb: 'I cannot become involved in zikr and shugl.' Hazrat Haji Saheb smiled and replied: 'That does not matter.' A mureed asked: 'Hazrat what happened after that?' Hazrat Gangohi replied: 'I became annihilated (in the efforts).'

Appendix Aap Beti Part V

Duas for Hazrat's Daughter

Please make dua for the daughter of Hazrat Shaykhul Hadith (rah). She passed away on the 3rd of May 2009. May Allah swt enlighten her resting place. Ameen

Steadfastness in the Face of Adversity

In this excerpt, Hazrat Shaykh ul Hadith (rah) portrays the distressful days of the partition of India and the formation of Pakistan. Amidst all the turmoil, The elders of Deoband (Hazrat Madani, Hazrat Rajpuri and Hazrat Shaykh ul Hadith rahimahumulla) gather to decide whether they will migrate to Pakistan or remain in the service of the Muslims of India. It is admirable how steadfast our elders were and how clear their focus in life was. Following is Hazrat Madani's reply as the other elders await his decision after making out their cases in front of him:

Maulana Madani listened to all this very carefully, took a long breath and said with tears streaming down: "Our scheme has failed, otherwise all this killing and destruction and this movement of whole populations would not have taken place....Now I do not stop anyone from wanting to leave. My home is in Madina...But I cannot leave my India brothers at this stage of destruction and bloodshed without guidance."

..Even more amazing than that was the courage shown by Hazrat Madani. In those dangerous times he undertook numerous tours all over India telling Muslims of the reward of remaining steadfast in the face of calamities.

Respect for Sacred Knowledge

There is an irrefutable link between Sheikhul Hadeeth's رحمة الله عليه utmost respect for the words of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم and his renowned achievements in the science of Hadeeth. Our teachers will often tell us that the more respect one has for knowledge, the more Allah will open up its noor on the seeker of knowledge. Below is an oft-quoted example of such respect.

The two of us had two golden rules during our Daura year, namely that not a single hadeeth with its chain of narrators should be left out without being read. Secondly, never to recite any hadeeth without wudoo. Whenever any one of us had to leave the class to perform wudoo, as we had to attend lessons for five to six hours on end, he would touch the other to inform him of the need for wudoo and quickly leave the class. The seated one of us would then quickly raise some problem for father [who was teaching] to answer. This happened very seldom, perhaps once or twice in a month or two. At that time, our health was quite good. In those days I had the habit of performing Esha with wudoo performed for Zuhr. This carried on for many years. But now and then the need did arise for wudoo in between.

My father understood from the very first time it happened when he saw one of the two friends suddenly getting up, leaving the room to return in haste rolling down his sleeves. From this he understood and was quite pleased.

Once Hasan Ahmad touched me to inform me of his need for wudoo and quickly got up. I immediately asked: "Hazrat, in Fat'hul Qadeer is written....". I said this without having thought and did not even know what Fat'hul Qadeer wrote. But on hearing my mention of Fat'hul Qadeer, my father burst out laughing. Placing a marker in the kitab, he closed it and said: "Let me tell you a story until Hasan Ahmad comes back. Why should I start a fight with you over what Fat'hul Qadeer says?"

Announcement

Alhumdulillah, Aap Beti has a new contributor to help with the posting. Insha allah this will mean the blog is updated on a more regular basis than before [may Allah reward the new contributor well].

Readers are requested to make du'aa for us both.

Ya Allah, raise us on Yawmul Qiyamah amongst Your Friends! Aameen

Anger of the Awliya

In this section of Part IV of Aap Beti Shaykh ul Hadith (rah) describes the zeal with which his father Hazrat Maulana Yahya Kandhlawi (rah) studied sacred knowledge. Hazrat Yahya (rah) had the great fortune of studying Hadith under Hazrat Rashid Ahmed Gangohi (rah), one of the founders of Darul Uloom Deoband. In this excerpt, we learn of the great love his teacher had of him and the incident of the result of his teacher's anger on a certain student of Hazrat Yahya (rah)'s time:

My father had this strong urge not to miss any lesson in class. Once he had to go to Kandhla at the request of Hazrat Gangohi and Hazrat promised not to teach anything during his absence. When he returned from there, the reader started the lesson leaving out a chapter. My father and some others objected that he was reading from the wrong place but he continued reading. Later it so happened that my grandmother in Kandhla asked Hazrat to send him home for some reason or the other. My father did not want to go because as he said: "Last time I went one whole chapter was missed." Hazrat replied "Tomorrow we will go over that chapter."

Sitting in class Hazrat Gangohi asked "Moulvi Yahya, which chapter did you miss?" Thereupon Hazrat taught that chapter. It was a mere coincidence that the reader on that day was the same student. At the completion of the chapter he asked sarcastically: "Is there any other chapter that has been left out? Then it will also be taught." Hazrat became angry and said " Go on, you are mad." A few days later that student lost his mind.

That was the time when the mas'ala concerning crows was quite in the public eye. This same student used to tie crows to a long bamboo and carry it around through the streets of Gangoh saying: "This is halaal."

اللهم انا نعوذبك من عذابك و غضب رسولك و غضب اوليائك
'O Allah we seek refuge in You from your anger and from the anger of your Rasul and your saintly servants.'

This is something concerning which I have written many times. Be very careful of the saintly ones. May Allah protect us from their anger and displeasure.

The Crying of Hazrat Madani (رحمه الله)

During my life I have heard no one else weeping so much in dua before Allah in the latter part of the night as I have heard Maulana Madani and my father. Very often in spite of my deep sleep I used to be woken up by this crying. Hazrat Madani would recite Hindi lamentations with so much pain and sorrow. I was unacquainted with Hindi and could not understand, but the wailing and crying still echoes in my ears. It was almost like a child who was recieving a hiding and is crying. As much courage as Hazrat had, as brave as he was and as much as he encountered ordeals, I have not seen this type of crying in any of my Elders.

(Part IV pg 376)

The way of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم), the way of perfection...

Here Sheikhul Hadeeth (رحمة الله عليه) expresses his astonishment at those who leave the Sunnah. Of course, to those of us who are unconnected, we cannot understand what the problem is. But those who enjoy a qalbi connection with Allah's Beloved (صلى الله عليه وسلم) can only grieve when they see other ways being preferred over the Sunnah.

According to another hadeeth quoted by Hazrat Umar Radiallahu anhu, he once asked Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم), "We hear some words from the Jews, which to us appear very nice. If you permit us we shall write them down."

Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) replied, "Are you in doubt regarding your deen as the Jews and Christians were? Verily I have brought to you a clear shariat. Even if Moosa should be alive today, he would have had no way out than to follow me." (Mishkat).

Many other hadeeth on this topic have been mentioned in hadeeth and we people, while not only discarding to follow the example of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم), do not even find time to read about the life and character of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). No, we want to see what the newspapers say. We want to see what France and America say...

...When it is said, "Listen to what Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said" or "Listen to the translation of what Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said or did", we cannot find the time. But when it comes to reading newspapers and magazines, then let alone attending classes, even if the salaah passes by, no attention is paid to it. We are not speaking about the general public. We refer to those who are supposed to be religious minded. When I even see how the taskbeer oolaa is being recited in the masjid and students of deen are still sitting in shops or restaurants reading newspapers, then I know what heaviness passes over my heart.

"In the Will of Allah no one has a say..."

There is another letter from Ala Hazrat on the occasion of my father's death:

"From Abdul Raheem to brother Moulvy Zakariyya Saheb."
Assalamu Alaykum Warahmatullah.

A telegram was brought to me from Bahut addressed to Shah Saheb and reached me at 20 minutes after eleven, at the hands of Haji Ghulam Muhammad Saheb. From it I came to know of the sudden demise of Maulana Yahya Saheb. It is such a shock and brought me much sorrow, which I am unable to describe in words.

In the Will of Allah no one has a say. He is the Master who does as He pleases in what is His. Kindly inform us quickly about his illness. We are all struck with grief and I would have come there immediately but because of my condition I am unable to do so. What else is there that one can write at this moment?


Abdul Raheem from Raipur.
Saturday 11.20am"

"My nose has not been cut off"

Sheikhul Hadeeth رحمة الله عليه describes the reaction of his community to the simple, hassle-free nikah of his two daughters.

The nikah was performed but thereafter I had to bear the brunt of all the attacks. People did not know the boys and an announcement had been made that it was my daughters getting married. The two bridegrooms were both handsome young men, still without beards with the Madani turbans around their heads, which I myself had put on for them, while going to the mosque. Here are some of the taunts I received:

a. "What kind of people are those Molvies. They see two handsome young boys and give their daighters away to them."

b. "Two young men from among the rich ones of Bombay arrived at the jalsa. Seeing two rich ones, they gave their daughters away."

c. "They must have known them from before because they would not just see two boys walking along and then give their daughters away to them. These Molvies are no good."

d. One of the pious wealthy men from our mohalla went home and very happily told his wife about the marriage of my daughters. The wife became quite angry (may Allah pardon them both). She said, "The poor mice are jumping all over their house because they cannot find anything to eat. Everyday they send people to our door to beg and borrow. If they did not marry them off, then what else would they have done? You tell me: Allah had given you great riches and lots of wealth. Allah forbid that I have to let my daughters get married like paupers."

Thereafter because this nikah was against the custom of our people and because in the history of Kandhla it had never been performed like this ever, there was a lot of talk this way and that. One person's reaction reached me as having said, "Zakariya has cut his own nose and thereby he has brought dishonour to all of us. Is this the way to have a nikah performed?"

I replied, "I have not been dishonoured. My nose has not been cut off."

I told the messenger, "Even you can feel with your hand that my nose is still in place, so you may go and tell them what you have seen. No, my nose has not been cut off and no one else has been dishonoured."