TOPThe Reformer of the Muslim World
Ahmad Raza Khan
by
Prof. Dr. Masud Ahmed, M.A. PhD
Imam Ahmad Raza had a deep grasp for the miniature of Jurisprudence was matchless in his understanding of the Hanafi School. His collection of fatawa is an evidence of this claim and 11 volumes have been published in India and Pakistan. The 12th volume will be published in the near future. Abu Hasan Ali Nadwi has testified to Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Qadiri’s (may Allah be pleased with him) understanding in Jurisprudence: "The grasp he had in Hanafi jurisprudence and the minute details were matchless."
Justice D.F. Mulla, Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Prof. J.M.S. Baljon of Leiden University (Holland) also appreciated the command of Imam Ahmad Riza in Hanafi jurisprudence. For instance the water permissible for ablution [wuzu], he explained, has 160 kinds, and the water not permissible for ablution is of 146 kinds. Likewise the inability to use water for ablution, he classified, could be due to 175 reasons. On this subject he wrote a treatise Samh al-Nida fima Yurith al-Ijz an al-ma. He wrote another treatise defining ‘running water’ and ‘stagnant water’ under the name: AI-Nawr wa al-Nawriq U Asfar Mai Mutlaq. The things on which tayamum is permissible, he described, are of 181 kinds. Then he enumerated 103 things on which tayamum is not permissible.
People used to turn to him for fatwa not only from India and Pakistan but also from China, Africa, America and Arabian countries. Sometimes there would to be a pile of 500 fatawa. Perhaps there was no Dar al-Ifta anywhere, which was so much sought after. Once a person had asked about the fee for fatwa [legal opinion given by a Mufti].
He replied:
Almighty Allah be praised, no fee on fatwa is charged here. By the grace of Allah, people’s requests for fatwa come here from countries like China, Africa, America, Arabia and Iraq. At one time there is a pile of 400 letters for fatawa. From the days of my grandfather till now, 1337/1918, fatawa has been issued for about 92 years and I myself have been issuing fatawa for the last 51 years. There are 12 volumes of fatawa of my own. Neither I have taken any fee for them nor I will take anything in future. I don’t know who would be so mean minded as to adopt it as a livelihood. Because of such people, people from distant places have inquired about fees. Brethren! I don’t ask any returns on my fatawa, my returns are with my Almighty Allah.
At another place he writes: Here, apart from other religious activities, the work of fatawa is so much that even 10 muftis could not cope with it. From different states like Bengal, Punjab, Malabar, Burma, Arakan, and from countries like China, Ghazni, America, Africa and even Arabia, Istiftaat [letters for fatawa] come. At a time about 500 such letters piled up.
His eldest son Hamid Raza Khan writes:
Almighty Allah be praised, at the age of 13 years, 10 months, and 4 days, after completing his studies, with the permission of his father, he occupied the seat of mufti. After the demise of his father, all letters of fatawa, from Hindustan, Bengal and even from China, Africa and Eden were addressed to him [Ahmad Raza]. One distinctive feature of Ahmad Raza’s fatawa was that every query used to be answered in the language in which it was asked. Even queries written as verse were replied in verse form, like those in Fatwa-i-Rizawiyya, where the fatawa was written in both prose and verse [poetry, rhyme, free verse] form.
I have seen many of his fatawa, some are works of excellent research, and in some about 150 source books have been referred to. In spite of all these, he did not accept any monetary benefit, and did everything for the pleasure of Almighty Allah. With great courage, thousands of complex problems were critically assessed with their applications and preferences. All problems were categorized into according the taste of Mohaddith [experts in Traditions], Mufassir [Commentators of Quran], Faqih [Experts in Islamic Jurisprudence] and Sufism [Tasawwuf].
About every ‘problem’ hadith had been quoted profusely and detailed discussion about problems relating to Astronomy, Mathematics, Geometry and fixation of time. Plenty of evidences were gathered in favor of the Truth of the ways of the Ahl-e Sunnah [people of the sunnah]. Problems of the modern day age and their solutions were diagnosed and solved.
From this advertisement it is learnt that the printing and publication of Fatawa-i-Rizawiyya had begun in 1327/1909. By the grace of Almighty Allah, every month two chapters were published from the month of Rajab and were printed on 20-26 imported paper. The price was Rs 2.00 inclusive of postal charges and for the residents of the town the price was only Rs 1.5.
By reading through Fatawa-i-Rizawiyya we understand that Imam Ahmad Raza’s extensive study, his amazing power of memory, the competence to infer and the felicity of expression. Even the Ulema, then, in support of his first views, he had given 22 evidences from 13 books of Fiqh. After that, under Aqulu [I say] he preferred one view and passed his judgment. From the word Aqulu, Imam Ahmad Raza’s stature in jurisprudence and creative interpretation is obvious. He writes:
I know pretty well when it is not permissible for conformist [muqalidin] to say, ‘I say’. In the first volume of Fatawa-i-Rizawiyya, there are 114 fatawa and 28 treatises. The research of Imam Ahmad Raza under Aqulu is about 3536 in number. In some of these he has disagreed with many experts in Islamic Jurisprudence. For example:
a) S
haykh Abd al-Haqq Mohaddith Dehlawi [d.1052/1642] says that to utter ‘Bismillah’ and toremember Allah while doing Wuzu (ablution) is Wajib. Ahmad Raza disagreed with him and
wrote: Aqulu Lam Yati al-Mustadal bi Shayin Hatta Samia ma Samia.
b) ln wuzu, dropping one or two drops of water on concerned parts is enough but It is not
enough if water is
applied like oil. Here he has disagreed with Ibn- i-Najim [d.970/1562].c) After wuzu, the concerned wet parts have to dry with clothes or not? Imam Nuwi
[d.676/1277]
considers it Makruh (detestable) and he bases his inference on a traditionquoted by Umm al-Mominin Hazrat Maimna had.
d) Allama Tahawi [d.1231 /1815] says that water running from nose renders wuzu defective.
Ahmad Riza opposed in al- Traz al- Mualim fima huwa Hadatha min Ahwal al-Dam.
e) Ahmad Riza has disagreed with Sahib-i-Bahar, Tahtawi, Shami [d.1251 /1835], Shamublani
[d.1069/1658] and Sahib-i-Maraqi.
In his fatawa, treatises and speeches, Imam Ahmad Raza struggled against bidat [unlawful practice in Islam] and strove for the resurgence of Islam.
His father Muhammad Naqi Ali Khan had founded a Dar al-Ulum Misbah al-Tah-zib in Bareilly in 1289/1872. This later became famous as Misbah al-Ulum in 1312/1894 another Dar al-Ulum by the name Manzar-i-lslam was established by Ahmad Raza. Students from Bengal, Bihar, Punjab and the Frontier areas used to come to Dar al-Ulum Manzar-i-lslam. After the completion of his studies, Ahmad Raza was teaching in this Dar al-Ulum for a brief period as well as writing and issuing Fatawa.
He himself writes about it:Praise be to Allah, at the age of 13 years, 10 months and 4 days, my education was completed. After that I taught the boys for a few years.
Ahmad Raza’s son Hamid Raza Khan [elder son] writes:
Alahazrat taught the boys even during his student days. In any case after the completion of his education he did teach for a brief period and then took to writing and issuing fatawa and Hamid Raza Khan looked after the maintenance of Dar al-Ulum Manzar-i-lslam. On 14 Shaban 1286/1869, when he was 13 years, 10 months and 4 days he started giving fatwa under the guidance of his father. After about seven years, in 1293/1876, he got permanent permission to issue fatawa. After the death of his father in 1297/1880 Ahmad Raza took the duty of giving fatawa on a full time basis.
The first fatwa Ahmad Riza issued was about rizaat (fosterage). Years later when a fatwa of the same type came before him, he wrote:
This is the same fatwa I issued on 14 Shaban 1286/1869, and it was on the same day I was permitted to pronounce fatwa, and, It was on that day namaz (prayer) became obligatory on me. I was 13 at that time. I have been serving till now in this capacity. May Almighty Allah be praised. In one letter [7 Shaban 1336/1918] he writes: May Allah be praised. On 14 Shaban 1286 at the age of 13, I issued my first fatwa. If life grants me another seven days, I would be completing 50 years of issuing fatawa, on this day of Shaban 1336. How can I express my thanks to Almighty Allah for this?
Ahmad Raza issued fatawa for more than 50 years. He used to be very cautious in issuing fatwa. He was mindful that the extent of leniency Sharia has given should be adhered to. In 1303/1885, he was asked to give fatwa on the use of sugar. Some ulema and Sufis have said that the use of sugar was prohibited and its consumers had committed a sin. But he defended the use of sugar and wrote:
I have not seen sugar nor do I intend to buy it in future. In spite of this, I don’t prohibit its use, nor consider its users as sinners.
If anybody asked any question orally, Ahmad Raza used to answer it spontaneously and never said that he would refer to the book and reply later. His prodigious [exceptional] memory was very astonishing. His biographers have given many instances. He could recall months later, what he had once read. Some times he could quote the entire passage verbally. Once, during an illness, he had gone to a hilltop resort and he had no books with him. But while on vacation, he still continued to write fatawa with appropriate references.
Referring to this he writes:During summer, from 29 Shaban onwards, I have been on this hilltop resort to spend the month of Ramzan. Separated from home, sequestered [impounded] from my books, deprived of access to commentaries, but by the grace of Allah every question about religious problems has been answered with clarity. During his illness, away from the books, the fatawa he had given contain 31 references to books of Fiqh and Hadith. From this it is clear that books were always within his mind.
Writing about his daily activities Maulana Zafar al-Din Rizawi writes that the key of the letterbox was always with Imam Ahmad Raza. After asr prayers, the letter-box would be opened and the letters would be read to him one after the other.
Symbol 168 \f "Symbol" \s 14 \hlf: letters were about Tasawwuf (Islamic mysticism) and he would keep them with himself.
Symbol 168 \f "Symbol" \s 14 \hlf: the letters were about amulets they would be given to Maulana Zafar al-Din Rizawi or
Maulana Hamid Riza Khan.Symbol 168 \f "Symbol" \s 14 \hlf: they were about fatawa he would submit the letters in accordance with the status to
Maulana Nawab Mirza Sahib, Maulana Sayyid Shah Ghulam Sahib Bihari, Maulana Zafaral-Din Rizawi, Maulana Amjad Ali Azami, and Hakim Sayyid Ghawth
, etc.Symbol 168 \f "Symbol" \5 14 \hlf: The letters were too complicated or about an important fatwa he would retain them for
himself.Symbol 168 \f "Symbol" \5 14 \h: letters regarding faraiz would be given to Maulana Hamid Raza Khan.
Symbol 168 \f "Symbol" \5 14 \h: letters about madrasa would be also given to Maulana Hamid Raza Khan.
Symbol 168 \f "Symbol" \5 14 \h: letters about the Printing Press would be given to Maulana Zafar al-Din Rizawi.
Muhammad Hussain Meeruti, proprietor of Tilismi Press, has recorded his personal observations of how these letters were replied to:
After evening (maghrib) prayer, four men, Maulana Mustafa Raza Khan, Maulana Amjad Ali Sahib, Maulana Hashmath Ali Khan Sahib and another Sahib came and placed their chairs around a cot. Alahazrat, out of the 30 letters of the days post, distributed the 29 letters among the four persons. They used to read the letters, one after the other, in turn, and Alahazrat used to dictate the answers. During this dictating session, people used to visit him with their questions. But continually while dictating the replies to the letters would not be disturbed. Thus all the replies would be completed.
Some times Muftis used to write the fatawa and he would make corrections in them, and these fatawa would be dispatched under the name of the mufti who has given it. About one such mufti, Ahmad Raza has written that the particular mufti was asked to come in person to effect the necessary corrections, instead of doing this through somebody. That mufti felt mortified [ashamed/embarrassed] to be so corrected in the presence of others. It is because all the fatawa that go from Dar al-Ifta bore the name of the mufti who had issued it and all the corrections and improvements made by Ahmad Raza were kept a secret. In those days Hafiz al-Kutub al-Haram Sayyid Ismail came from Makka to meet Ahmad Raza. When he heard about this he commented:
Such a person would be deprived of the grace of knowledge. It so happened that the man, who felt mortified, left the service.
Among the muftis who were in the Dar al-Ifta of Ahmad Raza, Maulana Amjad Ali Azami [1367/1948] was of a distinguished personality. Ahmad Raza in his letter to Sayyid Ahmad Ashraf Kachochwi writes about Amjad Ali Azami:
Of those present here Maulana Amjad Ali Sahib has intuitive understanding of jurisprudence. It is for this reason; he reads fatawa to me and writes down whatever I say.
In the beginning for about 12 years [1282 to 1297] the copies of fatawa were not retained. After this, they were collected, and it was found that for one question asked, 10 to 12 fatawa’s were given. Only one was retained. Like this, seven volumes were compiled. Each volume comprised of 70 parts. Later the number of volumes increased to twelve. He writes: My fatawa alone makes twelve volumes [It is written in the sanad of Abd al-Wahid of Garhi-Kpura, Frontier Province, 20 Dhi al-Hijja 1338]
Iftikhar Ahmad Qadiri, Professor, Al-Jamia al-Ashrafiyya, Mubarakpur, India, in his letter dated 25 April 1979, writes:
Five volumes of Fatwa-i-Rizawiyya have been published from here. Composition of the sixth volume is proceeding, but with slow speed. The seventh and eight volumes are with us and the other four volumes are in Bareilly.
The early volumes of fatwa-i-Rizawiyya have been published from Lyallpur (Faisalabad) and Lahore in Pakistan. In one treatise Aina-i-Qayamat [published at Bareilly, 1327] I saw one advertisement about Fatwa-i-Rizawiyya.
Some features of the Fatawa-i-Rizawiyya listed there would be useful to reproduce here, for example:
1. Lakhs of minute details ancient and modern critically assessed with clear instructions.
2.
Although Ulema of Arabia have acknowledged these characteristics, on certain subjectshis writing appears to be a product of extensive research. For example, on the subject of
the size of a hawz (water-tank for ablution) al-Nahl al-Namir fi al-Mail al-Mustadir, looks
like a mathematical treatise.
3. Likewise fatwa Rajab al-Sabaha fi Miyahi La Yustawi Wajhu ha wa Jawfuha fi al-Masaha,
is another illustration
of a mathematics treatise.4. About running water and stagnant water the following fatwa is an excellent research on
Physics; Al-Diqqa wa al- Tibyan li Ilm al-Riqqa wa al-Saylan:
The construction of the tanks, the color of the water and the reflection and convergence
of sun rays deal with the subject of Physics.
5. The following fatwa deals with Geography the formation of the earth, it’s kind and age;
Al-Matr al-Said Alabinti jins al-Said. The following discussion also deals with Geography
and Geology:
5.1 How stones are formed?
5.2 Loosely formed bodies could not be turned into alloys by fire.
5.3 Why mercury does not stay on fire?
5.4 What effect fire produces on the body?
5.5 The cause for the melting of gold and silver.
5.6 All minerals are formed by the mixture of mercury and sulphur.
5.7 Sulphur is masculine and mercury is feminine.
In short, the fatawa is distinguished with many features and deserve the attention of people of learning.
In 1325/1907, Ahmad Riza sent some Arabic fatawa from Fatawa-i-Rizawiyya to Hafiz al-Kutub al-Haram Sayyid Ismail Khalil who after reading these fatawa wrote:
I swear and say the truth that if Abu Hanifa Numan were to see these fatawa he would have felt happy and would have the writer as his disciple.
Discussing the competence of a Mufti, Ahmad Riza has written:
It is not enough if a Mufti quotes different views but it is also necessary for him to distinguish between those views with a preference of one over the other, and give his final judgment. Even in the fatawa of his earlier period we find these characteristics. In his earlier fatawa there is a fatwa on the yardstick. In it he has presented the views of three different Ulema of Arabia said that he was the Mujaddid of this century. Hafiz al-Kutub al-Haram Shaykh Ismail Khalil Makki writes:
But I say if it were said about him that he was the Mujaddid (revivalist) of this century, it would be true and correct right. For Allah, it is not difficult to accumulate the entire universe into one person.
For Ahmad Raza the meaning of Islam is very simple and straightforward. But he chases that man who creates unlawful things in the name of religion and mixes facts with fiction. He criticizes that man who scuttles the unity of the community and creates a ‘new’ Way, leaving the way of the majority.
He was once asked if the English knowing non-Muslims would become Muslims or not, if they recite the Kalima. He said:
Undoubtedly they would become Muslims even if they did not know the translation of the Kalima. Even if they had not recited the Kalima and uttered this much, "I have left that religion and accept the religion of Muhammad", it is sufficient for their conversion.