An
excellent book and gives the English speaking world an insight
into the life of this great
genius, scholar and Sufi. The book is well written and refutes
many of the slanders attached to this great Saint.
Usha Sanyal provides a non-polemical and non-judgmental account of the emergence of the Ahl-e Sunnat movement in British India, and the instrumental role of Imam Ahmed Raza Khan (may his soul be sanctified). The author conducted her research while affiliated with Columbia University. Muslim scholars in India offered her unfettered access to unpublished documents such as Maulana Ahmed Raza's letters. In Bareilli, the heartland of the Ahl-e Sunnat, she was able to refer to a private collection of Ahmed Reza's fatawa that was "the richest source of its kind in the subcontinent". Valuable source material was also provided by staff at the Manzar al-Islam, Bareilli and the librarian of the Raza Library, Rampur.
The author places on record the help received from Barbara Metcalfe, the Orientalist doyenne on the history of the Deoband. It is a reflection of Muslim openness and encouragement of scholarship that two non-Muslim women - Sanyal and Metcalfe - have been able to carry out such studies and field work.
Usha Sanyal offered her deepest gratitude to those who offered her hospitality and access to source materials, and imagined how difficult it must have been for them to take in an unknown Indian 'Hindu' woman doing research for her doctoral dissertation on South Asia into their homes. Prof. Dr. Masud Ahmed, currently retired in Karachi, was her host for several weeks in Thatta (Sind) in 1986, where he was then Principal of the Government Degree College. His wife accompanied Usha to Karachi more than once, staying with Usha and looking after her at their apartment. Furthermore, it was through Prof. Masud Ahmed that Usha made contact with others whose assistance proved crucial.
Her special thanks goes to Maulana Yasin Akhtar Misbahi of Delhi, Vice-President of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Conference and Director, Almajmaul Islami, to whom she was introduced by Prof. Masud. For 4 months Maulana Yasin was her ustad (teacher), reading Alahazrat's fatawa with her and helping her understand the difficult and often technical vocabulary and style of argument. Prof. Masud allowed Usha Sanyal to copy unpublished documents such as Alahazrat letters. Mustafa Ali Razwi, advocate in Bareilly, whose personal collection of Alahazrat's (may his soul be sanctified) fatawa was the richest source of it kind in the subcontinent (surpassing by far the national libraries), permitted Usha to make photocopies of whatever she wished. Syed Jamaluddin, lecturer of history at Jamiyya Milliya Islamia shared with Usha a precious family history of the Barkatiyya Sayyids of Marahra and copies of the journal Ahle-e Sunnat ki Awaz published by 'ulema' of this noble Sufi family.
As examined in this study, the true followers of the Ahl-e-Sunnat also had a strong Sufi dimension.