Elders of
the Deobandi school of thought, from
among who is Moulana Zakariyah; the
author of Fazaail-e-Aamaal, have
testified to the fact that their Manhaj
(way) is that of the Sufis and take
pride in it. Mufti Abdur-Rahim Lajpuri
quoted in his book of Fatawa, the words
of Qaree Mohammed Tayyib (the rector of
the Darul-Uloom, Deoband) as,
“Religiously, the Ulema of Deoband are
Muslims, as a sect they belong to the
Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaah, by Madhhab
they are Hanafee, in conduct they are
Sufis, scholastically they are Maturidi
and in Sulook they are Chisti[1]-
rather they combine all Sufi orders...
And in nisbat they are Deobandi.”[2]
“In essentials and beliefs, they (the
Deobandis) follow Imam Abul Hasan
Ash’aree and Imam Abu Mansoor Maturidi;
and in sub-principles Imam Abu Haneefah.
They are initiates of the Chistiyyah,
Naqshbandiya, Qadriyah and Soharwardiyah
Sufi orders.”[3]
Moulana
Mohammad Zakariyah, whose book
‘Fazaail-e-Aamaal’ is revered and used
as a training guide by the workers of
the ‘Jamaat Tableegh’ highly praises
this Fatawa collection (Fatawa
Rahimiyyah) of Mufti Lajpuri and
approves of the views mentioned in it.[4]
[4]
Moulana Zakariyah says, “The humble
writer prays most sincerely for
(success of) the Fatawa Rahimiyyah.
May Allah make it the lot of the
people to avail themselves more and
more of and derive benefit from it
and make it a Sadaqah-e-Jariah
(continuous charity) for you (the
author), for the printer and
publisher and for everyone who may
have in any way endeavored for the
publication of this work and bestow
upon you (all) its best rewards in
both the worlds.” [Quoted from the
first page of ‘Fatawa Rahimiyyah’
vol.1, published by the Islamic Book
Printers, edition: Feb. 1997]
