The shaykh, the imam, the hadith-scholar, the transmitter, Abu Sulayman Ishaq ibn Muhammad Afdal ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isma‘il ibn Mansur ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Qiwam al-Din al-‘Umari al-Dihlawi, the migrant to the blessed Makkah, buried therein. He was the grandson of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Wali Allah al-‘Umari al-Dihlawi.
He was born on the 8th of Dhu l-Hijjah in the year 1196 H – and it was said 1197 H – in Delhi, and he grew up in the cradle...
more »
The shaykh, the imam, the great scholar, Muhammad Qasim ibn Asad ‘Ali ibn Ghulam Shah ibn Muhammad Bakhsh al-Siddiqi al-Nanotwi, one of the learned scholars.
He was born in Nanotah in the year 1248 H (1832 CE). He came to Saharanpur at a young age. He read the short texts under Shaykh Muhammad Nawaz al-Saharanpuri. Then he travelled to Delhi, and he came under the tutelage of Shaykh Mamluk al-‘Ali al-Nanotwi. He read under him all the books of study. Then he took hadith from...
more »
The sayyid, the valiant Imam, the proof of Allah amongst creation, the elucidator of the straight path of religion and Islam, the suppressor of disbelievers and heretics, a model of the righteous caliphs and the guided Imams, our master, the Imam, the warrior (mujahid), the martyr, the fortunate, Ahmad ibn ‘Irfan ibn Nur al-Sharif al-Hasani al-Barelwi. He was from the offspring of the great emir, the full moon of religion, Shaykh al-Islam Qutb al-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Madani.
He was born on Safar of 1201...
more »
Know that the majority of hadith-scholars that a man becomes a Tabi‘i by merely meeting a Sahabi and seeing him, and it is not a condition that he accompanies him for a period of time and narrates from him. said in Tadrib al-Rawi on the definition of a Tabi‘i:
It was said: he is one who met him although he did not accompany him, as was said on a Sahabi, and al-Hakim with...
more »
Hafiz al-Sam‘ani said in al-Ansab in the biography of Imam Abu Hanifah:
He occupied himself in seeking knowledge, and he excelled therein until he accomplished what others had not accomplished. One day he entered upon al-Mansur, while ‘Isa ibn Musa was with him, and he said to al-Mansur: “This is the scholar of the world today.” (p. 247)
‘Allamah Hafiz al-Mizzi said in Tahdhib al-Kamal:
Makki ibn Ibrahim mentioned Abu Hanifah and said: “He was the most learned of the people of his time.”
This is in the...
more »
Al-Shafi‘i said: “Allah (Glorified is He) singled out the Messenger of Allah by obligating on him things which He alleviated from other than him, in order to increase his (Allah bless him and grant him peace) sanctity, and He permitted for him things which He made unlawful for other than him, in order to increase his honour and his exaltation.”
From this category is having more than four . This was permitted so that he ascends in the hearts of...
more »
Tasawwuf was the special focus of the seniors of Deoband who, on completion of their exoteric studies, would not rest until they had achieved proficiency in the esoteric sciences to become ‘ulama who embodied the two wings of Shari‘ah and Tariqah. The letters of the seniors of Deoband are replete with discussions on Tasawwuf and highlight the importance that they gave to spiritual reformation. The following is a collection of three letters between Imam Rabbani Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi and Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri....
more »
Our master, the scholar of great learning, Shaykh Mufti Muhammad Shafi‘ (Allah Almighty have mercy on him), is counted amongst the leading ‘ulama of India and Pakistan who carried the banner of the pure religion in these lands and spent their lives and their strength in elevating its word, and lit in Deoband, India, the lamps of renewal with splendid flames and bright lights, so that the caravan of Islam continues to proceed, while eliminating the darknesses of disbelief and heresy and bringing life,...
more »
The Islamic Ummah is united that Imam A‘zam Abu Hanifah Nu‘man ibn Thabit (may Allah mercy him) is one of the four followed imams -- Malik, al-Shafi‘i, Ahmad and Abu Hanifah (may Allah mercy them all and be pleased with them).
Among those issues upon which all of the people of knowledge from both the early and latter times are agreed is that these four jurists, and their likes from among the mujtahid imams whose followers have gradually died out, only derived fiqh issues (masa’il)...
more »
Do you say that the knowledge of the Prophet (upon him be peace) is limited only to the laws of the Shari‘ah or was he given knowledge pertaining to the Essence, Attributes and Acts of the Maker (Exalted is His Name), the hidden secrets (al-asrar al-khafiyyah), the divine judgement (al-hukm al-ilahiyyah) and other than of that of which none from creation, whoever he may be, reached the pavilions of his knowledge?
Answer: We say with the tongue and we believe in the heart that our...
more »
