The Bareilawis and Ahmad Ridha a-Bareilawi
 

FROM":BARAILWIS,HISTORY AND BELIEFS BY EHSAN ELAHI ZAHEER,TRANSLATED BY DR.ABDULLAH(PH.D.)

 

THE BAREILAWIS AND THEIR HISTORY

The leader and founder of this sect was born (*4) in a learned family on 14 June 1865/10 shawwal,1272 A.h.His father Naqi'Ali and grandfather Rida 'Ali were considered the Hanafi scholars(*5)He was named Muhammad.His mother named Amman Miyan, his father Ahmad Miyan and his grandfather Ahmad Rida.(*6)

He was absent minded,weak in memory and utterly forgetful.One of his disciples reports:"It was the habit of the Barelwi that he wore the glasses when he wrote or read spmething,for his eyesight was weak,and he could not read or write without glasses.During his leisure hours he lifted it from his eyes and placed it on his forehead.Once some persons came to him when he was writing.He lifted his glasses and as usual placed it on his forehead;then he became busy with talking to them.When he finished,he intended to write and searched for the glasses.He forgot that it was on his forehead.For a while he was perplexed and remained inactive.When he suddenly wiped his face with his hand,the glasses came down to his nose.Thereupon he remembered that he had kept it on his forehead"(*16) Al-Bihari al-Ridwi says:"The barelwi had a locked hand bag and opened it at the time of need.Whenever he opened it,he did not open completely,except to the extent to which he entered his hand.He would bring out wealth,jewellry,and clothes,as he liked.(*63) This unseen hand which helped him was neither the hand bag nor any any other thing.It was the hand of the British Imperiliasm.They helped him in order to exploit him for their selfish ends,especially for creating schism among the Muslims,and for excommunicating those warriors who were shedding their blood in the way of Allah,and sacrificing their lives to promote the cause of Allah,and to purify their land from the existence of the Imperiliasts .He (baraelwi)said that the devil was his companion when he smoked hookah and that he and the devil smoked it by turns!!!!!(*72) One of his habits was that he used to kiss the feet of the people.One of the Barelwis has written that he(Barelwi) used to kiss the feet of Ashrafi Miyan.(*73)

OPPOSITION OF JIHAD AND MUJAHIDIN BY HIM,AND HIS SUPPORT TO IMPERIALISM AND THE IMPERIALISTS:

The period in which the Barelwi lived was one of trial and catastrophe of the Muslims in the subcontinent for the tyrannical British coloniasm uprrooted the Muslim rule in the subcontitent.The imperialists believed that the Muslims were left completely devoid of resisting power,which could check their interests,usurpation and pillage;there was only a sparkle in the ashes.They thought that its source lay in the Muslims in general and in the Wahabis in particular(*103)

(*103)The Imperialists used the word "Wahabis for the first time in the subcontinent.They applied this word to the monotheists and adherents to the Quran and Sunna and to those who criticised them.Thus ,they created hatred towards them among the people.

The Wahabis among the Muslims were the most revolting people.It is they who confronted them and battled them in various fields.They fought against them,raised ther standard of Jihad(holy war) and straitened their life and affronted them to the last letter.

A number of localities were demolished in toto,and many populations,consisting of the young,the old and the women were savagely destroyed on the charge that they were the Wahabis,and that they designed a revolt against the Imperialist,the usurper.(*104)More than one lac of scholars who were the montheists and adherents of the early piosu Muslims,were hanged on the charge of Wahabism and rebellion in Bengal alone.(*105)

Hunter has written in his work"The Indian Musalmans" That there is no danger to the British in India to their power except from the Wahabis, for they are causing disturbances against them,and agitating the people under the name of Jihad to throw away the yoke of obedience to the British and their authority.(*106)

After the explosion,known as explosion of 1857,and which is named Mutiny by the Imperialists,the Wahabis their Ulema and leaders were hanged on the gallows,to uproot them by the imperialists from 1863 to 1865.Those who were imprisoned during this peiod were eminent ulema from the monotheists in general and from the Ahl-e-Hadith in particular,as Shaikh Jafar Thanesary,Shaikh'Abd al-Rahim,Shaikh 'Abdal Ghaffar,ShaikhYayha AliSadiqpuri,and Shaikh Ahmad Allah,and many others.And at the end comes the leader of the Ahle-Hadith,the guide of the followers of the early pious Muslims,the eminent scholar,Shaikh Nadhir Husain al-Muhaddith al-Dihlawi.

The imperialists were not content to this alone,but issued another edict to confiscate the properties of these mujahidin (warriors)(*109)Moreover,their bulidings were demolished and the graves of their families were exhumed.(*110)

The British were not at rest to infuriate the Muslims in general,and the Wahabis in particular.So they decided to inculate perversion and dissension among the Muslims themselves,so that they might neglect them and remain engaged in fighting against each other amomg themselves.Therefore,they exploited a number of persons to achieve their ends and to sow the seed of schism among the Muslims

.For launching this movement they selected two persons from the Muslims.One of them was Ghulam Ahmad Qadiyani(*112),and the other was the Barelwi(*113)

(*112)See the work of Allama Ihsan Elahi zaheer"Qadiyaniat". (*113)See" BarelwiFatwa","Takfiri Afsani",Muqaddima al-Shihab al-Thaqib","Muqaddima Rasail Rasai Chandpuri"",Fadil Bareilwi" by Masud Ahmad Bareilwi.

They assigned the job of dissension and excommunication to Ahmad Rida al-Barelwi.He took this standard and raised it over the whole subcontinent.He abused every person and declared him impious and unbeliever ,especially those who encountered the Imperialists and fought against them.The reader will be surpriesed to know that there was no movement launshed in the subcontinent to defy and overthrow the coloniasm but the Barelwi opposed it,and he and his followers helld its leaders as unbelievers(*114)

The party of the monotheists,the Mujahidin,called by their opponents the Wahabis or the Wahabi movement,Jamiat Ulama i Hind,Majlis Ahrar Islam.Khialafat party,the Muslim League and Nilli Posh Party.These parties belonged to the Muslims.The Barelwi and his followers were set aside from all these movements and avoided them.He and his followers declared all these parties as unbelievers,particularlly the Muslim League and more particularly the party of the Mujahidin along with their leaders.He prohibited his followers from entering them and participating in fighting for the freedom of the country.In 1920,when the Muslims of India saw that the British had no design to surrender to their demands.They announced that the Indians should boycott all sorts of transactions with the British Imperialists and avoid them,and should completely sever all their connections with the British government.The Hindus who sought freedom of India also cooperated with them.The eminent Indian poiltician Gandhi was at their head.This resulted an unparalleled revolt not witnessed after the revolt of 1857 a.d.All the Muslim parties,their leaders participated in this movement except the Barelwis.As Usual they did not take part in this national movement too.But on the contrary,they hurried in issuing their fatwas against the persons responsible for these movements in order to stand by the Imperialism and to help the Imperialists.They cried out that the Non-cooperation Movement against the cruel"British Imperilaism,the Movement against the cruel "British Imperialism,the unbeliever was forbidden(Haram)(*119)

KISSING THE SANDAL

"Kissing the figure of sandal is like the kissing of the original respected sandal.One is healed by kissing it,and one seeks healing up from its name.

So kiss it,and rub the face by placing it thereon,with a sincere intention,you will get what you conceal in your heart"(*128)

These people have seen and felt that holding fairs at the tombs,celebrating death anniversaries of the saints,their sports and dance at the beat of drums,and their gatherings for recitation of odes and songs with music and trumpet which they have given a religous colour are gone.They also believe that their shops which they have opened in the name of hospices and providing aid to the oppressd and fate stricken healing and patients,granting children,distributing the amulets have been suspended.They think that the ways to earning have been closed and their position as sages and saints has flagged,and the gifts received by them as soothsayers are gone.Therefore,they excommunicated them,and declared their personages,scholars,preachers,the inviters to the Quran and the Sunna,and to the truth and guidance.At their head was their leader and warrior,the champion and eminent scholar and the martyr,Shah Ismail,the grandson of ShahWali Allah al-Dihlawi,who raised the standard of Jihad against the British coloniasm and the Sikhs who captured the Muslim territory,raised the standard of Islam to establsih the Islamic state in a part of the Indian soil to implement the Islamic Sharia is toto.He was the renovator of the true Islamic call and the reviver of the straight way followed by the early generatrion of the Muslims.Its voice was suppressssed since centuries and was lost under the heaps of innovations and myriads of absurdities and was totally changed by the later evil ways.Consequently ,graves were worshipped,and people prosrtated themselves towards them and on them,and the mosques were ruined from the right guidance and thew guides,and vacated from the worshippers and the explorers.The hospices were inhabited and flourished,while the people abandoned worshipping Allah alone.The commandments of Allah were suspnended and the divine Sharia was thrown back.The sunna of the Messenger(saw) was dominated by the sayings of the men of religion and acts of the ignorant mystics.The people bought misguidance and atraying for guidance to the straight way,and adopted darkness instead of light.There fore he stood up and battled with his pen,tongue,hand and sword.He took out Allahs book and began to teach and explain it.He invited the people to guidance and to adhere to its teachings after it had been hidden in the silky covers and was designed for getting blessing and taking oaths.He produced his famous book"Taqwiyyat al-Iman" in the light of Quran.In this book he has invited the people to worship Allah alone,and to the divine unity,to abstain from polytheism and seeking help from saints and the inmates of the graves,besides Allah.

The Barelwi says:"The works of Ismail Dihlawi,like"Taqwiyyat al-Iman,"Tanwir al-Ainain Idah al-Haqqaq,and "alsirat al_Mustaqim" are all blasphemous books.They are more impure than urine.If anyone does not believe in that then what?He is an heretic.(*28)

He was not content to all that,and did not consider sufficient according to his temparent.So he said:"The study of "Taqwiyyat al -Imaan" is more unlawful than adultery and drinking"(*29)

It is well known that this fury and rage were on account of the impact of "Taqwiyyat al-Iman" on the souls of the people and exhortation to the belief in the unity of Allah,and unity of the lordship,and prohibition from polytheism is a great wrong,and from receiving blessing from the graves,and seeking the agency of the dead,and asking those who had no power over benefit and harm,indeed no power over anything.The Barelwi knew more than his followers that if any muslim reads this small book,which is full of the verses of Quran and the traditions of the Prophet(saw),he will be impressed necessarily,for the believers are impressed by Quraan:

"Believers are those who,when Allah is mentioned ,feel a tremor in their hearts,and when they hear His signs rehearsed,find their faith strengthened"(*30)

The reason is that Ismail Shahid Dihlawi collected in hiw work"Taqwiyyat al-Iman" a selection from the book of Allah and form the traditions of the Messenger(saw) and translated them in the language of these people for their understanding easily.He thought that if the people understood the Quran and the sunna ,there would remain no business and trade---a profitable trade without any capital.Therefore,it was inevitable for him and for his followers to excommunicate that hero and champion who designed to eliminate the darkness of polytheism by the light of monotheism and the unssen things of ignorance by the radiance of the Sunna,and to revile his work that was full of the word of Allah and the word of His Messenger(saw).They considered its study more unlawful than wine and fornication,for it closed th them the doors of fresh earning without making any effort.

The renovator of the call to salaf(the early pious Muslim scholars),the Imam of the unity of Allah,the revivor of the Sunna,and the annihilator of polytheism and the innovation,Shaikh,al-Islaam Muhammad Abdal-Wahhab and his follwers were the greatest target of the barewli and the Baraelwis,like their brothers,the innovators,and the tomb worshippers in the Arab countries.The reason is that Shaikh Ibn Abd al-Wahhab thinks every innovator and tomb worshipper the greatest obstacle in his way.

The Barelwi and his henchmen apply all sorts of abuses to this oppressed Imam.They left no fatwa which they did not issue against him.

While writing a hadeeth the Barelwi said:"Allah the exalted,will say on the day of resurrection to those bearing the names Ahmad and Muhammad :Enter paradise,for I have made obligatory on me that i will not admit those who bear the names Ahmad and Muhammad to the hellfire".He then remembered that this tradition includes Shaikh Ibn Abd al-Wahhab whose name was Muhammad.Hence he said:This hadith "If a child is born to some person and he names him Muhammad ,he as well a shis child will enter paradise" and similar other ahadith apply only to those Ahl-e-Sunna who have sound belief (that is the Barelwi alone),for those who are not corrupt in their thoughts are the dogs of hellfire.No good deed will be accepted from them.If he is killed unjutly betwwen the black stone of the Kaaba and Maqam Ibrahim of the Kaaba and Maqam Ibrahim while he has patience for his murder hoping for forgiveness and seeking reward from Allah,the Exalted,will not look at him and throw him in the hellfire.I have exposed this point in my fatwas.Therefore,these traditions do not contain any good news for Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab Najdi and other straying people like him.(*69)

He said:The most wicked of the apostates are the Wahabis(*70)

He furthersaid:"The Wahabis are more wicked,harmful,and impure and impure than the jews and the Christians(*71)

One of Barilwi's henchmen has written that the Messenger(saw) predicted about this trial(fitna)of Najdi by saying:"There (in Najd)the earthquakes,commotions will take place,and the horn of Satan will rise there.All the Ahl-sunna and the Hanafis are agreed unanimously that Muhammad b,Abd al-Wahhab was a Khariji and rebel.He who beileves in his doctrines,is the enemy of the religion,going astray himself and leading others astray"(*75)

This is all,beside the prediction of the Barelwi that the Najdis will never occupy Mecca and Medina,the inviolable and sacred territories,and that Allah will break their glory into pieces and desert them.

Mazhar,the Baralwi,has used all nonsense and wicked words for them:"The najdis are heretics,atheists,and devils of Najd,they are unbeilevers and apostates on account of their surely wicked and assured beliefs".(*79)

This treatment,and abusing and declaring Shaikh al-Islam,his adherents,and Saudi Government,are all trifles in the eyes of the Barelwis and the Barelwis.

We do not find that anyone infuriated these people more than those who are monotheists,believers in the divine scripture and adherents to the Sunna of the Messenger(saw),for there remained no grievous word and wicked abuse which they have not used against them.

A researcher and a reader will notice a curious thing when he investigates the literature of these people that their books are full of slanderous and shameful remarks,and worst of the abuses for the reformers and guides of the Muslim community.He will not find find even a single word against the enemies of Allah and His Messenger(saw).

This is the habit of these people,and this is their behaviour with the Ahl-al-Hadith and the followers of Shaikh al-Islam Muhammad Abd al-Wahab.

As to the poet of message of the Prophet Muhammad(saw),the poet of the Muslims in the Indo Pakistan sub-continent,who inculcated the spirit of Jihad among the Muslims,exhorted them to throw away the unislamic rites and practices,the customs of the unbelievers,and to abandon the monastteries and hospices,and warned them against the stagnant attitude towards the legal schools and allegiance to the individual masters of various schools of thought,Dr.Muhammad Iqbal,they said about him:

"Iblis (the devil)speaks through the tongue of the heretic philospher,Dr.Muhammad Iqbal".(*167)

They further added:"The religion followed by Iqbal has no relation with the genuine Islamic religion."(*168)

Quad-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah,who liberated Pakistan from the double chains of the Hindus and the British imperialists,and those who founded the Islamic state in the world is also an unbeliever!!!!.His political party,the Muslim league and his members are also unbelievers.The author of "Tajanub Ahl al-Sunna" says:Muhammad Ali Jinnah is an unbeliever and apostate.He has blasphemous beliefs.Therefore,according to the Sharia,he is certainly an apostate,and excluded from the fold of Islam.If anyone is doubtful about his unbelief,or hesitates in declaring him to be an unbeliever he is also an unbeliever.(*173)He further adds:"The Muslim League is not league of Muslims,but a league of the dark people".(*174).

They also declared Muhammad ZiaulHaq,the former President of Pakistan,Sawar Khan,the ex-governor of the Punjab and the ministers of the Government of Pakistan to be unbelievers.They reason is that they had offered prayer behind the Imaam of Masjid Nabawi and the Imam of Masjid Haram of Mecca when they visited Pakistan.This fatwa was issued in reply to a query of a person who asked:What is the fatwa(verdict) about those persons who prayed behind the Imaams of Haramain(the two sacred territories)?They said:The learned Barelwi scholar Nurani has pronounced the fatwa:Whooever believes that the Wahabis of Najd are Muslims,or prays behind them,is an unbeliever and apostate(*179)...This can be quoted endlessly.

This is their TRUE picture....

Allah (st) says:

"That is as far as their knowledge will reach them.Verily the Lord knowest best those who stray from His Path,and He knoweth best those who receive guidance"(*36)

Allah the exalted says:

"Seest thou such a one as taken for his god his own passion(or impulse)? Couldest thou be a disposer of affairs for him?or thinkest thou that most of themlisten or understand?They are only like cattle-nay they are worse astray in path"(*37)




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Notes

(*4)Hayat A'la Hadrat,vol.1,p.1 (*5)Tadhkira 'Ulama'iHind,p.64. (*16)Anwar Rida,p.360. (*63)Al-Bastawi:Al-bareilwi,p.75. (*72)Malfuzat al-Barelwi. (*73)Adhkar Habib Rida.Lahore:Majlis Rida,p.24.
(*105)Wahabi Trials. (*106)Urdu translation,p.32 (*119)Ahmad rida:Al-Mahajjat al-Mtamana,p.155. (*110)'Abd al-Rahim:Tadhkira 'Ulama-i Sadiqpur. (*128)Ibid,p.56. (*28)Daman Bagh,p.134 (*29)Al-Ataya al-Nabawiyya fil-Fatawaa al-Ridwiyya,vol.VI.p.183. (*30)Quran VIII:2 (*69)Al-barelwi,Ahkam al-Sharia,vol.I,p.80 (*167)Ibid,p.340. (*168)Ibid,p.341 (*173)Ibid,pp.119-122 (*174)Ibid,p.112. (*36)Quran LIII:30 (*70)Ibid,p.123. (*79)Tajanub Ahlal Sunna,pp.267-68. (*75)Resume of the wrotings of Ahmad Sais Kazimi in his work al-Haqq al-Mubin,Sahiwal,pp.10-12. (*71)Ibid,p.124.