How I became a Hanafi? by Shaykh Ameen Safdar Okarvi

http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showthread.php?82201-Book-How-I-became-a-Hanafi-by-Shaykh-Ameen-Safdar-Okarvi-(Main-Hanafi-Kaisay-Bana)

Translation taken from above link, thanks to sister bint_azam of sunniforum.

Urdu pdf. http://www.archive.org/download/MainHanafiKaisayBanaByShaykhAmeenSafdarOkarvir.a/MainHanafiKaisayBanaByShaykhAmeenSafdarOkarvir.a.pdf

How I became a Hanafi?

We praise Him and we send salutations on His noble Messenger…As for the rest:
We were living in the village when I was young. The question arose about where I should be sent to learn the Quran. There was one Masjid in the village where almost every Friday, there was a fight. The Barelwis wanted their Imam to be appointed in the masjid, and the Ghair Muqallid wanted their Imam to be appointed. And there was only one family from the Deobandi maslak, which didn’t have any say in any matter. Whenever the fights would prolong, then there wouldn’t be any Imam in the Masjid for upto six months, and sometimes, two congregations would take place for prayers. My father would always remain worried about this. Finally, he decided that Ghair Muqallid are better in Tawheed (monotheism) than the Ahle Bidat (innovators), so we will have our son study with them. So, I was sent to a ghair muqallid Hafiz Saheb for learning the Quran.

The method of Learning:
In school, I was studying in fifth grade, so I already knew the Arabic alphabet. So the first lesson with Hafiz Saheb was started from the first juz. Our teacher would make us repeat a few verses, and we would memorize them. After this, our teacher would tell us that I defeated so-and-so Hanafi Mufti, and I made so-and-so Hanafi scholar speechless. There is no Hanafi in the world, neither Deobandi nor Barelwi, who can compete with us. Then he would take an advertisement and tell us that, “Look! This advertisement is twenty years old. A challenge was published in it for all of the Hanafis of the world to show us only one Hadith in which the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said that today I have abrogated ‘Rafa Yadain’. Show us one Hadith in which the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said that after a century, my Deen will be abrogated and that Taqleed of Abu Hanifa will be made obligatory on my Ummat. This advertisement was sent to Deoband, but no one was able to show us any Hadith. We even offered rewards of thousands of rupees, but noone was able to answer us. Our teacher’s lies were enough to impress us simple students. But whenever he would also tell us that once on the way to Delhi, I stopped at Deoband and it was the time for prayers. All of the teachers and students were gathered in the masjid, so I stood up and showed them the advertisement telling them that this has been sent to your madrasa every year, so why don’t you send us the Hadith? Then our teacher would tell us that the teachers there, with great shame and embarrassment told me that we have never seen nor studied such a hadith. Why do you embarrass us by asking us for the Hadith every time? After listening to our teacher’s claims, we would become completely hopeless, because we had heard from home that Deoband is a very big madrasa in the world. If our teacher has made even the teachers of Deoband speechless, then where will we get Ahadith from?

What is Ikhtilaf?
It’s obvious that we used to ask out teacher what the difference was between him and Ahlus Sunnah. So our teacher would say, “My son, we both believe in the Kalima of Nabi (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam). Both groups agree on this. But we also say, to follow the one whose Kalima you recite. But, no! They say that we will recite the kalima of Nabi (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) but we will follow Imam Abu Hanifa (Rahmatullahi Alaih).” Then we would ask, “Ustadji, since Imam Abu Hanifa (Rahmatullahi Alaih) was a Muslim scholar, then most definitely, he must have been helping other Muslims understand the sayings of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) because there’s no way that a scholar would oppose the sayings of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) on purpose.” So our teacher would reply, “Imam Abu Hanifa (Rahmatullahi Alaih) was a very pious person however, during his time, all of the hadiths were not gathered. And that is why Imam Abu Hanifa (Rahmatullahi Alaih) established many rulings using Qiyas (analogy), but he also emphasized others to leave any of his rulings which are against the hadith. But these Hanafis are very stubborn.” At this time, we did not have enough awareness to ask our teacher about what was the reason that the Ummah needed to collect Fiqh first, and collect Hadith later? The authors of Sahih Sitta definitely came after the four Imams, however none of them established any chapters in their books in refutation of Hanafi, nor Shafi Fiqh.

Knowledge of Hadeeth: The teacher then tells us that "the way fabrics are found at fabrics stores and the same way that sugar is found in shops that sell sugar, Hadeeth can only and only be found with the people of Hadeeth (Ahl-e-Hadeeth) and no Madrasah teaches Hadeeth. If you leave from our Madrasah then you will drag your heels around all your life and die but your ears will thirst for each and every Hadeeth of Nabee (s.a.w). The Ahadeeth of Nabi (s.a.w) are only and only taught with us and that's it." At the time, we were naive and lacked the knowledge that there's also the brothers of these Ahl-e-Hadeeth called Ahl-e-Qur'aan and they also make the same type of claims. But, was this not a duty of our dear teacher that he told us accordingly, "Son, the Qur'aan should only be learnt from Ahl-e-Quraan because what connection do we have with the Qur'aan? " In any case, we were convinced that only a handful of us were true believers in the Ahadeeth of Nabi (saw) and the rest were those that rejected it.

The Rewards of 100 Martyrs
We remember very clearly that we were far from praying Nafl salat, rather we used to make fun of it. And Sunnahs were not that important either, because Hanafis used to place great importance on Sunnahs and Nafls. Yes! There was however great emphasis placed on reviving those Sunnahs which had died. For example, joining ankles with those who were on your sides during congregation prayers –this was a Sunnah which had died so there was reward of 100 martyrs in doing this. Similarly, saying “Ameen” loudly is a Sunnah. The Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) used to say that those people who are annoyed by “Ameen” will be the Jews of my Ummah; so say “Ameen” in such a loud voice, because the more Hanafis hear you, the more rewards of 100 martyrs you will receive, and you will receive separate reward for annoying these Jews. The reality of Fiqh: Along with this, our teacher also had books like Maulvi Muhammad Yusuf Jaipuri’s book Haqeeqatul Fiqh, and Maulvi Muhammad Rafiq Pasruri’s booklet Shamsher Muhammaddiya Bar Aqaid Hanafiya and Maulvi Muhammad Jonagrhi’s Shamae Muhammadi. We would sit with our teacher and he would read to us some rulings, and then for five minutes the teacher and us students would grab our ears and do “Tauba, Tauba,” that "such dirty rulings are not even found in the books of Hindus and Sikhs. Oh Allah! If the Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians find out about these rulings, then they will think that Muslims are so degraded". In summary, the thought was deeply instilled into our minds that in the entire world, the HanafiMadhab (NauzuBillah) is such a dirty Madhab that even the Hindus, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Jews and all other disbelievers seek refuge from it

Methodology:
Now that our mindset had completely changed, our teacher would tell us to provoke one or two simple Hanafis to take us to their Maulvi Saheb, and that if he can show us the hadith, then we will become Hanafi. The simple ones would take us and we would ask the Maulana to show us the Hadith where the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) told us to leave him and follow Imam Abu Hanifa (Rahmatullahi Alaih). After asking the question, we would never listen to the answer attentively. But, yes, after every two minutes we would make those Hanafis, who brought us there, our witnesses, and then say “See, Maulvi Saheb didn’t mention even one hadith.” Obviously, the Maulvi Saheb would then get angry so we would get up and leave. Our teacher would become very pleased with us and he would show us off in many villages and say “Look, this boy defeated so-and-so Hanafi Maulvi who couldn’t answer even one of his questions! He couldn’t present even one hadith.” And everyone would chant loudly: Truth has come, and falsehood has departed. Indeed falsehood is ever bound to depart (v17:81)

6 Points: Our teacher was an expert in this field. He would tell us that you don’t need Quran, Hadith, or Fiqh to defeat them. Any illiterate person can obtain the reward of 100 martyrs by annoying them. 1) Whenever you meet a Hanafi, then ask him right away that the wristwatch that you are wearing, where is the proof for it in the hadith? You don’t need any knowledge to ask these sorts of questions. You can send a six year old child to a pharmacy and he can place his hand on a medication and ask ‘where is the name of this medication in the hadith?’ After asking these questions, you must come to your Masjid and announce that ‘I asked so-and-so Maulvi Saheb for a Hadith and he wasn’t able to answer. So, it is the duty of every Ghair Muqallid, young and old, to spread the propaganda that so-and-so Maulvi sahib doesn’t know even one hadith. 2) The second point is that if you get stuck, and someone asks you that "The pen which is in your pocket, show me its name in the hadith?" Then, don’t panic, and right away say to them, ‘Which Hadith has prohibited us from it?" And then make lots of noise saying "You couldn’t show a Hadith prohibiting it, nor could you show Hadith proving your points, nor could you show Hadith prohibiting other points." So now, all of the Ghair Muqallids will spread the propaganda that “Yes! Where will these poor fellows bring Hadith from. They spent their entire life learning and teaching Fiqh!” 3) And if you get stuck and someone brings a Hadith book and says to you that “You are Ahlul Hadith! Look at all the hadiths that you don’t follow!” Then there’s no need to panic. Just laugh and say, “Oh great! Who knows what Hadith book you’ve brought. We only use Bukhari and Muslim, and if we’re really compelled, then we use the Sihah Sittah.” Don’t just reject the other Hadith books, but also mock them, and ridicule it to such an extent that the one who presented it becomes so embarrassed that he hides it and you get off the hook. 4) And if someone shows you a Hadith from these six books which is against you, then immediately put a condition for him that if he shows you this particular word, then you will give him 100,000 Rs in reward. Just like the Mirzais demand a Hadith with the exact words which say that Eesa (Alaihis Salam) was raised to the sky alive and in his physical body. And this Hadith must be Saheeh, Sareeh, Marfu, Ghair Majruh; the ghair muqallids demand for a Hadith with the word mansukh (abrogated) with the words rafa yadayn. And make so much noise when demanding the word, that the opponent is automatically becomes completely silenced. 5) And if that specific word is found and your opponent tells you that “Look! The word that you wanted is right here!” then yell out loudly and say that “This Hadith is weak, weak, weak” three times. Now, you won’t have to accept the hadith, and you’ll have the upper hand because you’ll show to others that this Maulvi Saheb doesn’t even know anything about this hadith. That illiterate will now know that this Hadith is weak. 6) The sixth point that our teacher would emphasize to us was that if you see someone who doesn’t pray, then you won’t tell him to start praying. But yes, whoever does pray, you must tell them that your prayers are not valid. These six points were our foundations. My father was very devout on fasting and prayers, including Tahajjud. I would argue with him daily, that your prayers are not valid, your Deen is not valid, your tahajjud is not accepted, and none of your worship is accepted. My father would say, “There’s no need to argue. Your prayers and our prayers, both of them are valid.” So I would reply, “What a deception. Did One God send down two prayers to us – one in Madina and the other in Kufa? Our prayer is the prayer of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) which will take us to paradise." My father would say, “Don’t talk nonsense!” We used to consider this a great victory for us. And I also used to try to impress on him that I have great respect for you, otherwise, if I open the dirt of Fiqh, then your head would explode from its stink.

A few years passed in this manner.

The Move We moved from that place to a new location, where I didn’t have anyone instigating me or praising me. But, I did used to attend a madrasa in the city to study. My lessons were on Arabic Grammar, Bulugh ul Maram, and Nasai. The goal of studying was not to study the books completely – rather, it was only about reciting Fatiha behind the imam, Rafa yadayn, Ameen, placing the hands on the chest, widening the legs etc. If you knew these things, then it was absolutely certain that you would pass with the best marks. But things were not as fierce as it was in the village. Tehreek Khatm Nubuwwat: During this time, the movement of Khatm Nubuwwat took place. The Lakhvis (???) were against
this movement because they used to consider the Qadiyanis as Muslims. Two elders Hadhrat Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Abdul Hanan and Hadhrat Maulana Abdul Qadeer were jailed in connection to this movement. They were both transferred to the Sahiwal prison. Hadhrat Maulana Diyauddin Seoharwi, a graduate from Deoband, was also present in this prison. The previous two elders were also graduates of Deoband and special students of the Great Imam Hadhrat Allama Sayyid Muhammad Anwar Shah Kashmiri (May Allah illuminate his resting place). Hadhrat Maulana Seoharwy convinced both of them to teach in Okara after their release from prison. And thus, both of these elders came to Okara. The Hanafis distributed many advertisements with titles like “Rainfall of knowledge and wisdom in Okara”; and they arranged a grand welcome for these elders.
Love for debate: At that time, my Ghair Muqallid teacher was Maulana Abdul Jabbar Muhaddith Khandelwi. He called for me and said that “I have heard that students of Allama Anwar Shah have arrived. We have to debate with them.” I said, “Hadhrat! What can they do? Even if Imam Abu Hanifa (Rahmatullahi Alaih) comes out of his grave, even he won’t be able to compete with us (God forbid). We have hadeeth, they have qiyas (analogy). My teacher became very pleased with this, he supplicated for me, and then he gave me an advertisement. Its title was “An open challenge to all of the Hanafis of the world for a reward of 100,000 Rs.” He told me to take this paper, and that victory will be yours. In the Eid Gaah: These two elders were staying at the madrasa of Eid Gaah. I saw that Hadhrat Maulana Abdul Hanan Sahib was surrounded by many people, while Hadhrat Maulana Abdul Qadeer Saheb was surrounded by fewer people. I deduced that Maulana Abdul Hanan Saheb was the bigger scholar of the two. I came and sat behind him, and I began to touch Hadhrat’s shoulder, then his head. Hadhrat looked towards me a few times and remained quiet. The fourth time, he asked me, “What do you do?” I was also looking for an opportunity. Immediately I took out the advertisement and spread it in front of him, and I said, “Hadhrat, the Ahl Hadeeth people are really troubling us. They also offer 1000 Rs per hadith, but our scholars don’t have any hadith. Please help us and write the hadiths which have the answer for these eleven questions.” Hadhrat said, “I have not been teaching in Punjab for too long. My Urdu is not very correct. Maulana Abdul Qadeer Saheb has been teaching in Punjab mostly, and his Urdu is very good, and he has an interest in these issues. Go and ask him.” I stood up and started walking towards Maulana Abdul Qadeer Saheb, while Hadhrat called out to Mawlana, “The boy is very intelligent. Please make him understand the issues. I am very hopeful from Allah Ta’la that In’sha Allah the dirt will come out in the first attempt.” Upon Hadhrat’s call, Maulana took the advertisement from my hand and began to read it. Maulana was reading the paper, and I was reading Maulana’s face. Sometimes he would smile a little bit, other times his forehead would show signs of anger. In any case, Maulana read the entire paper. Intention: First of all, Hadhrat said, “My son, correct your intention. When a person asks a question with the intention of understanding the ruling of the religion so that he can act upon it, then he receives a reward for asking, and a separate reward for acting upon it. And if a person asks a question with the intention of causing mischief and fitna, then he will receive a sin for asking, and a separate sin for the mischief.” Then he said, “I will explain the rulings to you with the sole intention of seeking Allah’s pleasure, and nothing more. I replied, “I also want to understand for the sake of the pleasure of Allah.”

Who is responsible for proofs? Hadhrat replied, “This advertisement has many deceitful things, but only a Maulvi can understand the deceit of a Maulvi. Not everyone can see through it. Even though the author has called himself Ahl Hadeeth, in reality, he is a rejector of Hadeeth because in a famous Hadith, the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has said, “Proof is the responsibility of the claimant” (Tirmidhi, vol.1, pg.249) and the worldly (law) courts also demand proof from the claimant. In all of these eleven rulings, the claimant is a ghair muqallid; the proof is their responsibility. But, in order to cover their own weaknesses, they have done the opposite by asking us the questions. An example will make it clear. The Rafidis have added some extra words in the Adhan (prayer call), for example, “I testify that Ali is a saint of Allah” etc. We have the right to ask them to prove to us from a verse or Hadith that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) or at least that Hadhrat Ali (Radi Allahu anhu) has established these words. However, they cannot prove it even till the Day of Judgment. In order to deceive their ignorant followers, if they ask questions like the ones that this ghair muqallid has asked, that – If all of the ghair muqallids of the entire world, gather and show us a Saheeh, Sareeh, Marfu, Ghair majruh Hadith where the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) or Hadhrat Ali (Radi Allahu Anhu) have prohibited us from saying these words, then we will give the person who brings us this Hadith a reward of 100,000 Rs. cash. Now you should get your teacher to show such a Hadith or accept that the Shia Madhab is true and the ghair muqallid Madhab is false, because all of the ghair muqallids of the entire world can’t bring even one hadith. I said, “Why should we show a hadith? Whoever claims these extra words are correct has to bring the proof. Why do we have to bring a Hadith which prohibits it? This question is full of deceit.” He said, “You do rafa yadayn, and you ask us for a Hadith prohibiting it. This is also deceit.” Then he said, “Look, the first Surah of the Quran is Fatiha. Its name is “Ummul Quran” and there are many arguments on this surah. Some argue about reciting Fatiha for eating, others argue about reciting Fatiha behind the Imam. All of this is happening even though Fatiha contains two main foundational rules – Tawheed and Taqleed. Those who recite Fatiha on food don’t like Tawheed, and those who recite Fatiha behind Imam don’t like Taqleed. What I mean is that neither of them want to fully accept the Fatiha.”

Then he asked me, “If you debate with those who recite Fatiha on food, then you will ask them to bring to you a Hadith that proves that you can recite Fatiha on food with the intention of sending rewards for the dead (Isale Sawab). You will also give them the right to ask all of the ghair muqallids of the world to bring just one Saheeh, Sareeh, Marfu, ghair majruh Hadith where the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has specifically prohibited us from reciting Fatiha on food with the intention of sending rewards to the dead. And they will give you a reward of 100,000 Rs for showing the specific word of prohibition.” Then he said, “Go, and bring such a hadith.” I said, “When they are the one who recite Fatiha on food, then they should be the ones to give proof of it. Why do they ask us for a Hadith of prohibition?”

He asked, “Do you recite Fatiha behind the Imam or do we? I said, “We do.” Then he said, “Then why do You ask us for a Hadith of prohibition? Is your weighing scale different when buying and different when selling just like the scales of the nation of Shoaib (Alaihis Salam). Do you not remember the saying of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) that you should prefer for your brother what you prefer for yourself (Bukhari, pg.6)

Asking for a specific proof:
He said, “You can also ask the claimant for proof, however, asking for a specific proof is not permissible. This was the method of the disbelievers that they did not believe the miracles which the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) presented, rather they used to ask for miracles that were based on their own terms and conditions. And when they were not shown miracles that were according to their terms, they had the right to say they were not shown the miracles that they demanded. But, they used to spread the propaganda that they weren’t shown any miracles at all. For example, a man comes and says that “I am very sinful, I am sixty years old and I have never prayed salat. I want to repent today. Please teach me how to pray but I have a condition that you have to prove to me the rakats, thana, tashahhud, and the words of durood only from the Quran, because I want to worship God only according to the Book of God. I don’t accept anything else.” So will you show him all of these things only from the Quran? If you can’t show him and he says that if you can show it to me from the Quran, then it is fine, but if he says that you couldn’t give proof for any of these rulings, then this is obviously wrong. This is called specifying the proof. If this happens in a law court, then the court will ask the claimant to bring proof. And whatever proof the claimant brings, you will be given the right to cross-examine it. But the court will not allow you to demand for a specific proof. For example, the claimant made Zayd a witness, then the court will tell you to cross-examine the witness, but you say that I don’t accept Zayd as a witness. I will only accept the president of the country or the prime minister as witness. So, will any court use this wrong methodology? Belief in the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) or on the condition of the teacher? Hadhrat said, “Just like the disbelievers did not believe in the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) rather they believed only on the miracles that they used to ask for, similarly, you should also remove this misconception from your heart that you believe in the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam). You definitely don’t believe in him! Rather, your belief is only on the conditions of your teacher. Just like the disbelievers used to demand from the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) that they will only believe if he can make Allah say or do what they demand, otherwise they will not believe. Similarly, your teacher writes a statement and demands that if the Prophet of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) says the exact same words, only then we will accept, otherwise whatever the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) has said on his own accord, we will not accept it at all. At this moment, I was thinking to myself that what Maulana is saying is absolutely correct. Even when someone used to present to us 100 hadiths, we did not pay any attention to it, and would leave it, thinkingitto beuseless, because why did the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) not say the exact words that our teacher has demanded. It is like giving advice to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) that if you do not say the phrase exactly as we have written it, then we will not accept it.

A question:
I said, “Hadhrat! Canyoualso make a question which demands only a hadith, and promises a reward, and my teacher will not be able to present such a hadith. And he would be forced to call this question a fraud just like you are calling these questions fraud.” Maulana replied with a smile, “Is fraud a commendable thing that we should also start doing it?” I said, “Please write a question so that I may understand.” So Hadhratwroteon the backside of the same advertisement - “Just like your own conditions, please present only one Hadith for us which proves that proof of Shariah is only restricted to Saheeh, Sareeh, Marfu, ghair majruh hadiths. If you can prove this, then I will give you 50,000 cash as reward.” And then Maulana signed this paper. Whenhe signed it, I thought to myself that our teacher emphasized to us not to make any challenge for less than 50,000, but he wouldn’t give his signature even for 5 cents. But Maulana signed for the amount of 50,000 without the slightest hesitation.

Return:
I returned with the paper and saw my teacher eagerly waiting for me at the gate. As soon as I got there, he asked me – does anyone dare to touch our advertisement? I said: “Teacher! Today was a very bad day. Someone did take it and he has demanded a Hadith as well. If you can write the hadith, then he will give 50,000 Rs in reward. He has signed it as well. Teacher, write the Hadith and I will bring the prize.” It was the cold month of December. After reading only one line of the question, my teacher wiped sweat off his face three times. After watching my teacher drown in sweat, I also started feeling the weight of the question. Now the time of guidance from Allah Ta’ala had come. As soon as my teacher finished reading the question, the first thing he said was, “My son! These conditions are placed in the question to deceive us.” When I heard this, the floor slipped from under my feet. I said, “Teacher! Today Maulana explained to me that my Iman is not on the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam), rather it is on the fake conditions of my teacher. And today, you called these terms and conditions as fraud and deceit. Now what do I do?”

Another question:
I was in charge of placing books, notebooks and other things on the table for the teacher in the classroom. There were two thick notebookswithin these. One of them was titled “Lectures on Saheeh Bukhari by Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri Saheb (Rahmatullahi Alaih), teacher of Darul Uloom Deoband” and the other one was titled, “Lectures on Tirmidhi by Shaykh of Arabs and non-Arabs Sayyed Husain Ahmad Madani (Rahmatullahi Alaih), teacher of Darul Uloom Deoband” One day, I asked my teacher, “Teacher! Why do you keep the notes of these polytheists?” During this time, calling the Hanafi scholars as polytheists was considered a very good deed by us, and it was a great way to please the teacher. Our respected teacher would become really pleased at this and would praise us a lot for it. My teacher replied, “My son! We have differences with them on many rulings, however Allah Ta’ala has given them much knowledge. Without their notes, we cannot teach Bukhari or Tirmidhi.” Today the thought came to my mind, and I asked, “Teacher! You deceive those people without whose notes you are incapable of teaching Bukhari and Tirmidhi?” After hearing this, my teacher said, “Get out! Don’t ever go there again.” I said, “Teacher! Write the hadith, so that I can bring the prize.” My teacher slapped my face and told me to go sit down.

My return:
After Asr, I went to HadhratMaulanaAbdul Qadeer Sahib once again and I said, “Hadhrat! I am convinced that these questions are nothing but fraud, but… please tell me why do you guys give preference to the sayings of Imam Abu Hanifa (rahmatullahi alaih) instead of the hadith?” Hadhrat replied, “You are right.” And he gave me the book “I’lal Sunan” to study which had Urdu translation in it. Now when I would read hadiths, I would realize what a big lie everything which we have been saying every day was. Now I asked my teacher that, “Teacher! Why don’t you accept the hadiths that are in the “I’lal Sunan” and why do you call those who follow these hadiths as Ahl Rayy (those who follow personal opinion???). And if any ghair muqallid scholar has written a reply to it, then please give it to me so that I can study it as well.” But even after doing a full investigation, I found out that all of the ghair muqallids of the world have been incapable of writing a reply against it. Whenever I used to sit at the madrasa and study I’lal Sunan, my teacher would become very angry with me, and once he even beat me up. I couldn’t understand why the people of Ahl Hadith were such enemies of hadith? I used to say, “Why don’t you let me study hadith?” He would only say one thing every time, “Why did you bring this Hadith book in our madrasa?” One day, I wrote this Hadith in beautiful handwriting on the wall “Ma asfartum bil fajri fa innahu a’zamu bil ajri” (There is greater reward in praying the Fajr Salat when the sky has some brightness). Everyone in the Masjid started yelling - who wrote this hadith? Why did they write it? Get him! Kick him out! Next day, I wrote this Hadith on the wall, “Abridu bi zuhri fa inna shiddatalharri min fayhi jahannam” (Pray the Zuhr Salat when it is cooler, because the intensity of heat is from the breaths of jahannam). At this, I was asked, “Why are you causing such mischief?” Before the nextsalat, I wrotethis Hadith on the wall, “Faqeehun wahidun ashaddu ala shaytani min alfi aabid” (One jurisprudent is more severe on Shaytan than 1000 worshippers). I realized that these people hate Hadith more than anything else in the world.

The third time:
Then I went back to Maulana and he asked me, “What is Taqleed Shakhsi called?” I said, “Polytheism (shirk).” He said, “So all of the muhaddiths which are mentioned in Tabaqat Hanafiya, Tabaqat Malikiya, Tabaqat Shafi’iya, and Tabaqat Hanabila, are they all polytheists?” I said, “Without a doubt.” He replied, “Then Sihah Sitta must also be polytheists. You study Bulugh Al-maram, so IbnHajar Shafi must be a polytheist. You study Nasai, he was also a follower of Imam Shafi; so he must have been a polytheist.” Now I came to my teacher and I said, “If any Muhaddith or Muslim historian has written any book on the Tabaqat of ghair muqallid muhaddiths, then can you please show me?” My teacher became angry saying that, “You only cause mischief, and you read hadiths from I’lal Sunan to the other students, and you write hadiths on the wall of the masjid. We will not tolerate this. Stop all of this, otherwise… get out of this madrasa! We don’t have any book named Tabaqat ghair muqallids.” When I came back to Hadhrat, he said, “If there was any ghair muqallid masjid, madrasa, grave, translation of Quran, translation of Hadith before the time of the British, then show me. If there’s any complete book of salat, then bring it to me!” So when I asked my teacher the same thing, I realized the true meaning of the idiom “Even when
you cut it, there is no blood in the body.” He replied angrily, “All you do is cause mischief.”

Joke:
One day we were having a lesson on Nasai, and the issue being discussed was about reciting behind the Imam. I was also sitting in the lesson but I did not take the book. My teacher asked, “Where is the book?” I said, “In the room.” He said, “Why didn’t you bring it?” I said, “That book is written by a polytheist. Why should I touch it?” My teacher was affected by my statement, but he remained quiet. Imam Nasai has written a chapter on “Taweeli qawlihi azza wa jall wa iza qurial quranu fastamiu lahu wan situ la’allakum turhamun” and then he has brought a Hadith “iza qara’a fansitu.” So it is as if it is the command of both Allah and His Messenger that when the Imam is reciting, then the muqtadi must remain quiet. This verse and Hadith were against the teacher. My teacher became adamant in completely discrediting this hadith. He said, “Abu Khaid Ahmar is mutafarrid (alone???), so for this reason, this Hadith is fake. And there is no mutabi of Abu Khalid in any of the Hadith books of the world. I spoke to Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri, and he was also unable to show any mutabi. I have also been involved in many debates, and there hasn’t been anyone who could give me a reply to this.” I had come to class with preparation. My teacher looked at me and said, “Hey you Hanafi! Does Khalid have any mutabi’?” Even though I had not become Hanafi yet, I still said, “You are sitting with your head upwards. How can you see the mutabi in this condition? Just look down, and you will see his mutabi Muhammad ibn Saad Ansari in the same book.” And I got up and placed my finger on it. He said, “What is this?” I replied, “You can swear at me all you want, but at least tell me why you weren’t able to see the mutabi in the book which is right in front of you?” That’s it! That’s when he started hitting me with a rod and he kicked me out of the madrasa. Now I started studying I’lal Sunan, and HadhratMaulanaMuhammad Hasan Saheb Muhaddith Faizpuri’sbook Sitta Dharuriya, Al-daleel al-mubeen, etc. But I could not get rid of the mentality of ghair muqallidiyat which was within me. Whenever I would see a Fiqh issue, I would rush to search for a Hadith for it. After many months, my mindset changed. Now, whenever I would read a verse or hadith, I would think to myself that the meaning that has come to my mind, is it something new like how Mirza Qadiyani interpreted, or did the elders and the Salaf also understand them in this way? So now the disease of personal opinion was finally out of my mind, and the ailment of Ghair muqalladiyat left my heart. And I became firm on the maslak of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’a, Hanafi, Deobandi. Supplicate that Allah Ta’ala grants all of us the ability to remain firm on this true maslak.

Ameen!!




TAGS: hanafi, muslim, salafi