Ahmed Raza Khan | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | 14 June 1856 |
| Died | 28 October 1921(1921-10-28) (aged 65) |
| Resting place | Bareilly Dargah,Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Spouse | Irshad Begum |
| Children |
|
| Parents |
|
| Citizenship | British Indian |
| Era | Modern era |
| Region | South Asia |
| Main interest(s) | Islamic theology,Hadith,Tafsir,Hanafijurisprudence,Urdu poetry,Tasawwuf,Science,Philosophy,Psychology,Astronomy |
| Relations | Hassan Raza Khan (Brother) Ibrahim Raza Khan (Grandson) (Son of Hamid Raza Khan) Akhtar Raza Khan (Great-Grandson) Asjad Raza Khan (Great-Great-Grandson) Subhan Raza Khan (Great-Great-Grandson) Kaif Raza Khan (Great-Great-Grandson) Tawqir Raza Khan (Great-Great-Grandson) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi[1] |
| Tariqa | Qadiri |
| Creed | Maturidi |
| Movement | Barelvi |
| Muslim leader | |
| Successor | Hamid Raza Khan |
Influenced by | |
Influenced
| |
Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi[a] (14 June 1856–28 October 1921) was an Indian Islamic scholar who is considered as one of the founders of theBarelvi movement. His students includeAmjad Ali Aazmi,Abdul Aleem Siddiqi,Ziauddin Madani and several others.
Born inBareilly,British India into theQadiri order, Khan studied under his fatherNaqi Ali Khan. He was authorized inSufism byShah Al-i Rasul and founded theManzar-i Islam in Bareilly in 1904. He was a staunch critic of theAhmadiyya,Deobandi andWahhabi movements, denouncing their beliefs in his bookHusam ul-Haramayn (1906). His poetic work,Hada'iq-i Bakhshish (1907), andtranslation of theQuran intoUrdu,Kanz ul-Iman (1911), are among his well-known works. Khan's magnum opusFatawa-i Razawiyya is a compendium offatawa (legal edicts) of theHanafi school ofSunni Islam.
In 1920, Khan initiated theJama'at Raza-i Mustafa aiming to propagateIslam viadawah. After his death, his eldest sonHamid succeeded him as organization's president. while his other sonMustafa published his father's questions and answers during his lifetime asMalfuzat-i A'la Hazrat. Khan is often viewed as themujadid (reformer) of his time by Barelvis. His shrine lies at theBareilly Dargah and frequently visited by Barelvis during his annualurs (death anniversary) in the Islamic month ofSafar. He influenced millions of people, and today the Barelvi movement has more than 200 million followers.
Khan was born on 10 Shawwal 1272Hijri corresponds to 14 June 1856[3] to anIndian Muslim family in the Mohallah of Jasoli inBareilly district,North-Western Provinces,British India.
The family belonged to theBarech tribe ofPashtuns, his ancestor Muhammad Saeedullah Khan, a warrior who accompaniedNader Shah, having migrated fromKandahar (current-dayAfghanistan) toLahore (current-dayPakistan) while the family later settled down in Bareilly.[4]
His father,Naqi Ali Khan, was an Islamic scholar.[5][6][7]
The name corresponding to the year of his birth was al-Mukhtar. His birth name was Muhammad.[8] Khan used the appellation"Abd-ul-Mustafa" ("servant of the chosen one") prior to signing his name in correspondence.[9]
According toHayat-e-Aala Hazrat written by Malik Zafaruddin Bihari, some of his famous teachers included:[10][11]
In the year 1294 A.H. (1877), at the age of 22 years, Ahmed Raza became the Mureed (disciple) of Shah Aale Rasool Marehrawi. His Murshid bestowed him with Khilafat in several SufiSilsilas. SomeIslamic scholars received permission from him to work under his guidance.[12][13]
Imam Ahmed Raza wrote extensively in defense of his views, counteredWahhabism and theDeobandi movement, and by his writing and activity became the founder of the Barelvi movement.[14] The movement has spread across the globe with followers inPakistan,India,South Africa[15] andBangladesh.[16] The movement now has over 200 million followers globally.[15] The movement was largely a rural phenomenon when began but is currently popular among urban, educated Pakistanis and Indians as well as the South Asian diaspora throughout the world.[17]
The efforts of Khan and his associate scholars to establish a movement to counter the Deobandi andAhl-i Hadith movements resulted to in the institutionalisation of diverse Sufi movements and their allies in various parts of the world.[18]
Khan founded an organisationJamat Raza-e-Mustafa, on 17 December 1920 with the aim of progress, unity and religious education of theAhl-e-Sunnat wal Jamat.[19]
Ahmed Raza Khan died on 28 October 1921 (25 Safar 1340AH) at the age of 65.[20] He is buried inBareilly Sharif Dargah.Urs-e-Razavi is a 3 day long annual event commemorating his death anniversary.
Imam Ahmed Raza Khan wrote several hundred books in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu, including the thirty-volumefatwa compilationFatawa Razawiyya, andKanz ul-Iman (Translation and Explanation of theQur'an). Several of his books have been translated into European and South Asian languages.[21][22]
Kanz ul-Iman (Urdu and Arabic:کنزالایمان) is a 1910 Urdu paraphrase translation of the Qur'an by Khan. It is associated with theHanafi jurisprudence within Sunni Islam,[21] and is a widely read version of the translation in the Indian Subcontinent. It has been translated into English, Hindi, Bengali, Dutch, Turkish, Sindhi, Gujarati, and Pashto, and also recently translated into Gojri language by Mufti Nazir Ahmed Qadri.[22]
Husam ul-Haramain or Husam al-Harmain Ala Munhir Kufr wal-Mayn (The Sword of theHaramayn at the Throat of Disbelief and Falsehood) 1906, is a treatise which declared infidels the founders of theDeobandi,Ahl-i Hadith andAhmadiyya movements on the basis that they did not have the proper veneration of Muhammad and finality of prophethood in their writings.[23][24][25] In defense of his verdict he obtained confirmatory signatures from 268 scholars inSouth Asia, and some from scholars inMecca andMedina.[citation needed] The treatise is published inArabic,Urdu, English,Turkish andHindi.[26]
Fatawa Razawiyya or the full nameal-Ataya fi-NabaviahFatawa-i Razawiyya (Verdicts of Imam Ahmed Raza by the Blessings of the Prophet) is the main fatwa (Islamic verdicts on various issues) book of his movement.[27][28] It has been published in 30 volumes and in approx. 22,000 pages. It contains solutions to daily problems from religion to business and from war to marriage.[29][30]
He reached judgments with regard to certain practices and faith in his bookFatawa-i Razawiyya, including:[31][32]
He wrotena'at (devotional poetry in praise of Muhammad) and always discussed him in the present tense.[33] His main book of poetry isHadaiq-e-Bakhshish.[34]
His poems, which deal for the most part with the qualities of Muhammad, often have a simplicity and directness.[35]
His Urdu couplets, entitledMustafa Jaane Rahmat pe Lakhon Salaam (Hundreds of Thousands of Salutations upon Mustafa, the Paragon of Mercy), are recited in mosques globally. They contain praise of Muhammad, his physical appearance (verses 33 to 80), his life and times, praise of his family and companions, praise of theAwliya and Salihin (the saints and the pious).[36][37]
In 1323 Hijri (1905), Ahmad Raza went for his second Haj. Allamah Shaikh Saleh Kamal a Alim of Makkatul Mukarrama, he presented five questions to Ahmad Raza on behalf of the Ulema of Makkatul Mukarrama, this question was asked by Makkatul MukarramaWahhabi Ulema regarding Knowledge of the knowledge of Unseen (Ilm-e-Ghaib). At that time Ahmed Raza was suffering from a high fever, despite the illness he tried to answer all the questions, he answered in such detail that the answer took the form of a book, and this book was named Al Daulatul Makkiya Bil Madatul Ghaibiya.[38]
Khan saw a decline of Sufism amongst Muslims in British India.[39] His movement was a mass movement, defending popularSufism, which grew in response to the influence of theDeobandi movement in South Asia and theWahhabi movement elsewhere.[40]
Imam Ahmed Raza Khan supportedTawassul,Mawlid,[15][41][42] Prophet Muhammad's awareness of complete knowledge of the unseen, and other practices which were opposed byWahhabis/Salafis andDeobandis.[33][43][44]
In this contrast to the beliefs of the Deobandis and Wahhabis, Ahmed Raza Khan supported the following beliefs:
This concept was interpreted byShah Abdul Aziz in Tafsir-e-Azizi in these words: The prophet is observing everybody, knows their good and bad deeds, and knows the strength of faith (Iman) of every individual Muslim and what has hindered his spiritual progress.[48]
We do not hold that anyone can equal the knowledge of Allah Most High, or possess it independently, nor do we assert that Allah's giving of knowledge to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is anything but a part. But what a patent and tremendous difference between one part [the Prophet's] and another [anyone else's]: like the difference between the sky and the earth, or rather even greater and more immense.
— Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi,al-Dawla al-Makkiyya (c00), 291.
Raza Khan was emphatic in opposing the Hindu influences on Muslim identity. To differentiate between a Muslim and aInfidel he emphatically said:[49]
Presented with a choice of giving water to a thirsty infidel or to a dog, a believer should make the offering to dog.
— Ayesha Jalal, Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia p.147
In 1905, Khan, on the request of contemporaries from Hijaz, wrote a verdict on the permissibility of using paper as a form of currency, entitledKifl-ul-Faqeehil fehim Fe Ahkam-e-Kirtas Drahim.[50]
Khan authored a book,Fawz-i Mubin Dar Radd-i Harkat-i Zamin ("The Clear Victory in Rejection of Movement of the Earth", in which he provided than 100 arguments trying to prove the earth is not rotating but is stationary and rejected some of Newton's arguments.[51][non-primary source needed]
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad ofQadian claimed to be theMessiah, Prophet, andMahdi awaited by some Muslims as well as aNabi Ummati, a subordinate prophet to Muhammad who came to restoreIslam to the pristine form as practiced byMuhammad and earlySahaba.[52][53] Khan declared Mirza Ghulam Ahmad aheretic andapostate and called him and his followers disbelievers (kuffar).[54]
The theological difference with the Deobandi school began when Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi objected in writing to some of the following beliefs of Deobandi scholars.
When Ahmed Raza Khan visited Mecca and Medina for pilgrimage in 1905, he prepared a draft document entitledAl Motamad Al Mustanad ("The Reliable Proofs"). In this work, Ahmad Raza branded Deobandi leaders such asAshraf Ali Thanwi,Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, andQasim Nanotwi and those who followed them askuffar. Khan collected scholarly opinions in theHejaz and compiled them in an Arabic language compendium with the title,Hussam al Harmain ("The Sword of Two Sanctuaries"), a work containing 34 verdicts from 33 ulama (20 Meccan and 13 Medinese).[57] However, Deobandis claim the evidence provided to the scholars in Arabia were fabricated and that Ahmed Raza Khans takfir of them was unjust,[56] and this initiated a reciprocal series of fatwas between Barelvis and Deobandis which has lasted to the present.[57]
Ahmed Raza Khan wrote various books against the beliefs and faith ofShia Muslims and declared various practices of Shia as kufr.[58] He considered most Shiites of his day apostates because, he believed, they repudiated necessities of religion.[59][60]
Ahmed Raza Khan declaredWahhabis as disbelievers (kuffar) and collected many fatwas of various scholars against the Wahhabi movement founded byMuhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who was predominant in theArabian peninsula, just as he had done with the Ahmadis and Deobandis. Until this day, Khan's followers remain opposed to the Wahhabi movement and their beliefs.[61]
Unlike other Muslim leaders in the region at the time, Khan and his movement opposed theIndian independence movement due to its leadership underMahatma Gandhi, who was not a Muslim.[62]
Imam Ahmed Raza Khan declared that India wasDar al-Islam and that Muslims enjoyed religious freedom there. According to him, those arguing the contrary merely wanted to take advantage of the provisions allowing Muslims living under the non-Muslim rule to collect interest from commercial transactions and had no desire to fightJihad or performHijra.[63] Therefore, he opposed labeling British India to beDar al-Harb ("abode of war"), which meant that waging holy war against and migrating from India were inadmissible as they would cause disaster to the community. This view of Khan's was similar to other reformersSyed Ahmed Khan andUbaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy.[64]
TheMuslim League mobilised the Muslim masses to campaign for Pakistan,[65] and many of Khan's followers played a significant and active role in thePakistan Movement at educational and political fronts.[12]
Many religious schools, organisations, and research institutions teach Khan's ideas, which emphasise the primacy of Islamic law along with the adherence to Sufi practices and personal devotion to Muhammad.[66] AcademicFrancis Robinson described Khan as apolymath.[67]
On 21 June 2010,Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, a cleric andSufi fromSyria, declared onTakbeer TV's programSunni Talk that theMujaddid of theIndian subcontinent was Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, and said that a follower ofAhlus Sunnah wal Jamaah can be identified by his love of Khan and that those outside of that those outside the Ahlus Sunnah are identified by their attacks on him.[68]
AllamaMuhammad Iqbal (1877–1938), a poet, Sufi, and philosopher, said: "I have carefully studied the decrees of Ahmed Raza and thereby formed this opinion; and his Fatawa bear testimony to his acumen, intellectual caliber, the quality of his creative thinking, his excellent jurisdiction and his ocean-like Islamic knowledge. Once Imam Ahmed Raza forms an opinion he stays firm on it; he expresses his opinion after a sober reflection. Therefore, the need never arises to withdraw any of his religious decrees and judgments.[69] In another place he says, "Such a genius and intelligent jurist did not emerge."[70]
Prof. SirZiauddin Ahmad, who was the head of the department of Mathematics atAligarh Muslim University, was once unable to find solutions to some mathematic algorithms, even after he took help from the mathematicians abroad. He decided to visit Germany for the solution but at the request of his friend Sayyed Suleman Ashraf who was a professor of Islamic Studies at Aligarh Muslim University and also the mureed (disciple) of Ahmed Raza, Ziauddin visited Ahmed Raza on a special visit to get answers to his difficult questions, and under the guidance of Ahmed Raza he finally succeeded in getting solutions.[71][72]
Justice Naeemud'deen, Supreme Court of Pakistan: "Maulana Ahmad Raza's grand personality, a representation of our most esteemed ancestors, is history-making, and a history uni-central in his self. ... You may estimate his high status from the fact that he spent all his life in expressing the praise of the great and auspicious Holy Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم), in defending his veneration, in delivering speeches regarding his unique conduct, and in promoting and spreading the Law of Shariah which was revealed upon him for the entire humanity of all times. His renowned name is 'Muhammad' (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم), the Prophet of Almighty Allah. ... The valuable books written by an encyclopedic scholar like Ahmed Raza, in my view, are the lamps of light that will keep enlightened and radiant the hearts and minds of the men of knowledge and insight for a long time."[73]
Several places are named after Ahmad Raza Khan, such as:
Imam Ahmed Raza Khan had two sons and five daughters. His sonsHamid Raza Khan and Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri are celebrated scholars of Islam. Hamid Raza Khan was his appointed successor. After himMustafa Raza Khan succeeded his father, who then appointedAkhtar Raza Khan as his successor. His son, MuftiAsjad Raza Khan now succeeds him as the spiritual leader.[76]He had many disciples and successors, including 30 in the Indian subcontinent and 35 elsewhere.[77]The following scholars are his notable successors:[78]
There are thousands of madrassas and Islamic seminaries dedicated to his school of thought across the Indian Subcontinent.
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