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An important landmark in Imam Ahmad Raza Khan’s (may Allah be pleased with him) early life was his assumption of writing responsibility from his father for writing fatawa [legal opinion] in 1869, when he was about 14 years old. Fatawa writing was to be his primary occupation for the rest of his life, the main medium through which he personally expressed his vision of din, engaged in controversy with other ulema, and defended his views with ‘an arsenal of erudition’ based on quotation from Quran, hadis, and Hanafi authorities on fiqh.
Writing in the scholarly solitude of his home in Bareilly, surrounded by books and a few devoted followers, was characteristic of Imam Ahmad Raza’s (may Allah be pleased with him) personal style and temperament. Modeling his life on the Prophetic sunna as he interpreted it, he was attentive to the details of behavior, dress, and etiquette in daily life, and corrected those about him if they were not likewise attentive. Thus, when reading or writing he sat with his knees drawn up together, never stretching his legs out in the direction of the qibla in Mecca. He always entered the Mosque with his right foot first and departed with his left foot first. Both teacher and patron to his followers, he was also personally generous, indeed plentiful, in his periodic gifts to his students and disciples. As Barbara D. Metcalf [Islamic Revival in British India] says, his style was ‘aristocratic’. This characteristic was also evident in his relations with fellow ulema. He seldom participated in large-scale organizational endeavors other than those associated with ritual observances or the annual graduation ceremonies at the Madrasa Manzar al-Islam founded by him in 1904.
Our Master, Shaikh Sayyiduna Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him) said that it is most important that every believer [mu’min] should observe these good practices [adab] under all circumstances, and that he should never cease to observe them.
The Commander of the Believers, Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), is reported to have said: "Cultivate good behavior, then cultivate knowledge."
Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (may Allah bestow his Mercy upon him) once said: "When a man is described to me as possessing all the knowledge of the ancients and the moderns, I feel no disappointment at having missed the chance to meet him. But when I hear of a man possessing personal refinement [adab an-nafs], I really look forward to meeting him, and I feel disappointed if I miss the opportunity to do so."
The point may also be well stated by means of the following analogy:
Faith [iman] is compared to a town defended by five citadels, the first of which is built of gold, the second of silver, the third of iron, the fourth of baked bricks [ajurr], and the fifth of unburnt sun-dried bricks [libn]. As long as the people responsible for guarding these citadels pay meticulous attention to the one last mentioned, meaning the one constructed of unburnt sun-dried bricks material, the forces of the enemy cannot hope to seize control of any of the others. But if they neglect this particular citadel, the enemy forces will soon gain control of another, and then of a third, until all citadels are in ruins.
Faith is defended in like manner by five citadels, the first of which is certitude [yaqin], then sincerity [ikhlas], then correct performance of compulsory religious duties [ada al-fara’id], then fulfillment of all customary obligations [iman as sunan], and then the careful observance of good practices [hifz al-adab].
As long as the servant [of Almighty Allah] continues to observe the practices that constitute refined behavior, and to cultivate them with meticulous care and attention, the devil [shaitan] cannot hope to find a weak spot in him. But is he neglects the refinement of behavior, the devil will soon make inroads into his other defenses, undermining his fulfillment of customary obligations, then his performance of compulsory religious duties, then his sincerity, an then his certitude.
It is therefore most important for a person to observe the practices that constitute refinement in every aspect of his behavior, from the way he performs ritual ablution [wudu] and his ritual prayer [salat], to the way he conducts business of buying and selling, and in other matters besides these. [Necklaces of Gems – A Biography of the Crown of the Saints, Shaikh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, page 567]