History

A salient feature of the innovators of this age is to hurl charges of Wahhabism against the great scholar, muhaddith, sufi, reformer and mujahid, ‘Allamah Shah Muhammad Isma’il Shahid Dahlawi. It is interesting to note that when in 1821 Shah Isma’il Shahid and Sayyid Ahmad Shahid left for Hajj along with 757 of their followers, the Holy Lands were under Ottoman rule and the followers of Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab had already been driven out. They had managed to control the Holy Lands...
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‘Allamah Sarfaraz Khan Safdar (may Allah have mercy on him) used to love his akabir deeply and used to trust their research fully. He would advise this to his people, and the same advice was printed at the card given at the time of ba’yah, which read: “Dear ones! I do not have an opinion in any matter, rather I trust the unanimous (ijma’i) research of the akabir ‘ulama of Deoband in all matters of the Qur’an, Sunnah, Fiqh, History, etc, and I believe their...
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A questioner asked me about the statement of the Imam of the Path, the Pole of Reality, Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jaylani (Allah Most High be pleased with him and give him satisfaction) in Ghuniyyat al-Talibin when mentioning the sects that will not attain salvation where he divided the Murji'ah into twelve sects, and one of them were the Hanafis. Then after a detailed explanation, he said: "As far as the Hanafis are concerned, they are the companions of Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man. He believed that...
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This tragic news reached Jami'ah Islamiyyah Dabhel by telegram on Saturday 7th Shawwal 1404 AH (1984 CE). Many hearts were saddened and many became unsettled. This news spread throughout the surrounding areas of Dabhel. Recitation of the Noble Qur'an took place in many masjids for the isal al-thawab of the shaykh. The Jami'ah was still closed at this time. It reopened on 14th Shawwal. After admission formalities, lessons commenced and on the 19th of Shawwal the students also recited the Noble Qur'an for isal al-thawab....
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Shaykh A'zimi was born in the month of Shawwal 1319 AH (1902 CE) at Mau Nat Bhanjan in the district of Azamgarh, U.P., India. His lineage is as follows: Muhammad Ayyub bin Muhammad Sabir bin Ahmad bin Jiwan bin Rawshan 'Ali. This family previously resided in a place called Bakhtiyar Ganj, which was approximately one and a half miles from Mau. His father moved to Ilah Dad Pura, Mau, to live close to his in-laws and remained there. This is where the shaykh was...
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Mawlana Muhammad Mazhar ibn Lutf 'Ali ibn Muhammad Hasan al-Siddiqi al-Hanafi Nanautwi (1238 1302 AH /1823-1885) - the righteous imam, 'arif (knower of Allah) and mujahid-was amongst the leading scholars of fiqh, hadith, and tasawwuf in his time. A descendant of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), he was born in Nanautah, a village in the district of Saharanpur (UP, India). He initially studied under his father with whom he completed the memorization of the Qur'an (hifz). He then...
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Shaykh al-Islam Abu Mas'ud Rashid Ahmad Gangohi is the son of Hidayat Allah Ansari. He was born in 1244 AH, and learnt from Mawlana Mamluk 'Ali , Mawlana 'Abd al-Ghani , Mawlana Ahmad Sa'id , and Mawlana Imdad Allah etc. I personally studied a large portion of Sunan Abi Dawud from him. Allah granted me immense benefit through it. It is the effect of Mawlana Rashid Ahmad's company that I followed his maslak in such a way that I never even contemplated...
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Shaykh al-Hind Mawlana Mahmud Hasan was my teacher. During my stay at Dar al-'Ulum Deoband my sole reliance was upon him. His father's name was Dhu 'l-Fiqar 'Ali. His genealogy stretches back to the Umayyad branch of the Quraysh. Mawlana Mahmud Hasan was born in 1268 AH/1851 CE. He gained primary education from his father and paternal uncle. He gained admission into the Madrasah of Deoband when it was founded in 1283 AH /1866 CE, and studied under Mawlana Muhammad Ya'qub ibn Mamluk 'Ali...
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By Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki ''From the lowly Imdad Allah (may Allah forgive him) to the blessed service of my dear Molwi Khalil al-Rahman (may his love for the sake of Allah remain forever.) After the sunnah greeting and a prayer for goodness, I acknowledge receipt of your dear letter. It gave the heartbreaking news of the demise of Mawlana Ahmad Ali and my most beloved, the portion of my heart, Molwi Muhammad Qasim (may Allah shower His mercy upon them). I had also received...
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On the 5th of May 2009, the great researcher (muhaqqiq) and hadith scholar of our age Shaykh Sarfaraz Khan Safdar (may Allah shower His infinite mercy upon him) passed away at the age of 98. Mawlana Sarfraz Khan ibn Nur Ahmad Khan ibn Gul Ahmad Khan was born in 1914 in the city of Mansehra, in the North West Frontier Province of what is now Pakistan. He was a renowned researcher and scholar, a prolific writer, a lecturer in hadith and tafsir, and a...
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