Alamghir was not following Hanafi madhab

Discussion in 'Aqidah/Kalam' started by Umar99, Mar 16, 2021.

Draft saved Draft deleted
  1. Umar99

    Umar99 Veteran

    did the sultan oppose the celebration of mawlid? in what is reported to be his last will, it seems that he says to avoid the innovation of mawlud, however this is mentioned in context of his funeral, thus it seems a bit out of place.

    ahkam-i-alamgiri by hamiduddin khan, urdu translation, pg. 43:

    Screen Shot 2021-03-16 at 12.26.22 am.png
     
  2. sherkhan

    sherkhan Veteran

    I mis-stated few facts above. Please find the details on page 54-55 of "The Chain of Light (Vol 2)" (see here). The Kora-Jahanabad saints referred in the above anecdote were forefathers of Hazrat Shaykh Jamaaludeen Jamaalul Awliyah (Rahmatullah Alayhi).

    ------

    When the King Shah Jahaan became Mureed in the same family, he called his place, which was next to Kora Shareef, Shah Jahanabaad, which today is known as Jahanabaad. It is for this reason that Kora is called Kora Jahanabaad. Through the glad tidings of the Prophet , the jungle had now become Kora Jahanabaad Shareef. When Hazrat Aurangzeb was going on a battle, he passed through Kora Jahanabaad. He dismounted his horse in respect and walked across the town by foot.

    Six hundred Ulama from the city went to welcome the pious King. When Hazrat Alamgir Aurangzeb heard that all six hundred Ulama were from one family, and from the descendants of Hazrat Salaar Budh, he was amazed. He stayed there for five days with Mullah Luftullah, the teacher of Mullah Jiwan. He took his blessings and then continued towards the Battle to which he was going. He fought this battle 10 miles away from Kora Jahanabaad at a place called Kajhwa against his brother Shujaa’. During the night, many of his soldiers changed sides, and joined Shujaa’. Hazrat Alamgir was only left with two thousand soldiers, but through the Dua of the Saints of Kora Jahanabaad, he won the battle. On his return, he stayed at Jahanabaad for two weeks. During this time, Jahanabaad was famously known as Daarul Fudhla. Hazrat Aurangzeb changed its name to Daarul Awliyah.
     
    Ibn.ali and Ghulam Ali like this.
  3. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    the english translation of jadunath is weak because he doesn't understand the technical terms: 'mufta biha' and 'ikhtilaf al-fuqaha' and 'weak narrations/opinions'.
     
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2016
  4. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    something on the fatawa alamgiri:

    maasir, english p316:
    maasir eng p316.jpg

    maasir, farsi p529:
    maasir fars p529.jpg

    maasir, farsi p530:
    maasir fars p530.jpg
     
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2016
  5. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    i hope imbeciles do not misread wahbiyyah to wahabiyyah and claim that hazrat alamgir was a wahabi!

    maasir, english p317:

    maasir eng p317.jpg

    the same in original persian, maasir, farsi, p532:

    maasir fars p532.jpg

    =====

    he was reading sayyidi yaHya maneri and imam Hujjatu'l islam - and still not a sufi?
     
    Ibn.ali and Tustari like this.
  6. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    ma'asir e aalamgiri is a famous biography of aurangazib alamgir raHimahullah by one saqi musta'd khan, who was a protege of an officer in the emperor's employ.

    ---
    in the persian edition of p.525:
    maasir p525.jpg


    its translation by jadunath (1947):
    maasir eng p312.jpg


    from the preface of jadunath's translation:

    maasir eng prfc.jpg
     
  7. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

  8. Aqib alQadri

    Aqib alQadri Veteran

    Hazrat Aurangzeb Alamgir got compiled the encyclopedia on Hanafi Fiqh (Fatawa Alamgiri or Fatawa Hiniyyah), but was a ahle-hadeeth (ghayr muqallid).

    this guy ought to be in a madhouse.
     
    Ghulam Ali likes this.
  9. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    exactly. this is the conclusion anyone will arrive at when they read shaykh abu manSur's description of who is ahl al-sunnah.
     
  10. izz al-Din

    izz al-Din Well-Known Member

    There was something about the Americas by Abd alHakim quick. .
    Does anybody remember...
    Ive also heard such things as the natives in America where resembling Malikis, when the Europeans first came across them.
     
  11. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    yes, and we all know which madh'hab khateeb followed and passionately defended.

    where? what is the reference? and for someone who claims to be ahl al-hadith, can you please give us whatever sanad you have for this claim?

    that aurangazib alamgir was a strict sunni muslim is a given. alahazrat also vehemently opposed music and false sufis. that doesn't make him "against sufism".

    but i would like to see a rigorously authenticated reference to the above claim.

    spoken like an idiot with a lobotomy. the fool has no clue of the timelines. besides, he is misquoting and distorting al-baghdadi's views to suit his stupid and fanciful retelling.

    ---
    the argument about the supposed event is a different story altogether, but this quote is a patent lie.

    from ibn khallikan's wafyat al-a'yan, #241, vol.5/p181:

    wafyat 5-181.jpg

    this is quoted by imam al-Haramayn in his mughith al-khalq, from qaffal who apparently showed the sultan the 'prayer of abu hanifah'. we are hanafis and we have no hesitation in rejecting that claim as kawthari said in his radd of al-juwayni's anecdote: "ihqaq al-Haqq"

    "it is the prayer of qaffal, not the prayer of abu Hanifah". [kawthari, iHqaq al-Haqq, p.59]

    ihqaqkawthari, p59.jpg


    and he answered this false objection on hanafis. but that is a different story.


    what is important here is that sultan mahmud became a shafiyi, not a albani-wahabi-salafi as claimed by the author.
     
    sunni_92, Noori and Unbeknown like this.
  12. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    the article is uninformed, inaccurate and takes liberties with the truth.

    this clearly shows that the author is probably an unsuccessful tabloid reporter. he has no clue about fatawa alamgiri. no wonder he thinks salafism as a madh'hab (against the four established madh'habs) WAS the norm a thousand years ago. truly revisionist.

    ---
    rome was not europe in shaykh abd al-qahir's time; but that is nothing compared to the phenomenal ignorance of the idiot who wrote that piece of junk.

    this particular snippet appears in shaykh abu manSur abd al-qahir baghdadi's usul al-din and is misquoted with impunity and mistranslated.

    rome is probably today's turkey and not europe as translated. 'countries beyond the western sea' or baHr al-maghrib is not 'americas'. because shaykh abu manSur passed away in 429 AH, 1037 CE. where was america and where was bilal philips?

    but what is really shameful is that he omits the next line which mentions china, turkish lands, persia and india as "followers of shafiyi or abu hanifah"

    usuldin abdulqahir p317.jpg


    moreover this is said in the context of refuting the qadaris and other heretics. not in the context of albani-style heresy of rejecting the four madh'habs and adopting a fancy customised madh'hab proposed by the author.

    ---
    it is ironic that the clueless fool brings proof for his heresy from an ashari work! notice that shaykh abd al-qahir baghdadi is an ash'ari through and through. this book usul al-din is according to the plan of the author, spans 15 principles, and each principle is explained in 15 articles/sections.

    the aforementioned quote appears in the 15th article of the 14th principle. however, this 14th principle has some other articles prior to it.

    article #10 (mas'alah #10): the order of imams of religion in theology (ilm al-kalam)

    article #11: the order of imams in fiqh from the ahl al-sunnah

    article #12: the order of imams among the scholars of hadith

    article #13: the order of imams of tasawwuf and ascetics (zuhd)

    article #14: the order of imams among scholars of arabic language and grammar

    -----
    now, interestingly in the 10th article, where he explains the ilm al-kalam, he reaches the point where he mentions imam abu'l hasan al-ash'ari. not just that but he includes imams of hadith (who came after him) among the ashayirah!

    see p.309-310 of the work. (if you have DKI edition it is p335).

    usuldin abdulqahir p309.jpg


    if you still do not believe me, read the next section on fuqaha and what he really means by ahl al-hadith (i.e., who accept hadith and are not hadith-rejecters). on p311-12 of the work

    usuldin abdulqahir p311.jpg



    usuldin abdulqahir p312.jpg

    ---
    then comes the section on sufi imams. in other words, shaykh abd al-qahir is explaining the madh'hab of ahl al-sunnah as we sunnis defend in our time.

    Allah ta'ala knows best.
     
    Aqdas, sunni_92, Noori and 1 other person like this.
  13. Unbeknown

    Unbeknown Senior Moderator

    salafi escapist fantasy : )
     
  14. sherkhan

    sherkhan Veteran

    If Aurangzeb wasn't a sunni, why would he visit the dargah of Khwaja Mueenuddin Chisti Ajmeri (radiAllahu anhu)? I recently read that when Aurangzeb visited Kora Jahanabad (then known as Kora in Uttar Pradesh), he dismounted from his horse and crossed the town/village on foot in respect for the saint buried there (who belongs to the golden chain of silsila Qadriyya Ridwiyyah). The town of Jahanabad was then built on his orders adjunct to Kora (which gives the place its erstwhile name Kora-Jahanabad).

    One of Aurangzeb's teachers was Mawlana Ahmad bin Abu Sa'id famously known as Mulla Jiwan, who was a sufi and hanafi jurist of high rank.

    Not a modern salafi if you go by the above anecdotes. Yes, he was not given to excesses and disliked music etc.; but that's probably being stricter sunni than being a salafi.


    -----

    your cited description of Ahlul Hadeeth fits the muqallids (adherents) of four schools rather than modern day ahl-e-hadith (who are ghayr-muqallid)
     
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2016
  15. izz al-Din

    izz al-Din Well-Known Member

    Also, interesting was possible mention of America as early as 4th century Hijri, by
    Imam of ahl alSunna, Imam Abd alQahir alBaghdadi, RahmatAllahi alayh:


    "....Also the inhabitants of Africa, Andalus (Spain) and all the countries beyond the western sea (Americas) were from the Ahlul Hadeeth. Also the people of the lands of Al-Yaman (Yemen) upon the Zanaj coastline were all from the Ahlul Hadeeth”
    (Usool-ud-deen)
     
  16. izz al-Din

    izz al-Din Well-Known Member

    800px-Isle_of_Graia3.jpg

    Salam
    I thought Alamghir RahmatAllahi Ta'ala alayh, was hanafi naqshbandi, by default Maturidi?

    But he quotes Imam of ahl alSunna, Imam Abd alQahir alBaghdadi, RahmatAllahi alayh, saying:

    Abu Mansoor ibn Tahir al-Baghdadi (born 369AH) sheds light on this:

    “It is clear that the people of the lands of Ar-Rum (Rome meaning Europe), Al-Jazeerah (Arab lands), Ash-Shaam (Jordan and Syria), Azerbaijan, Baab-ul-Abwaab and others which were conquered were all upon the madhhab of Ahlul Hadeeth. Also the inhabitants of Africa, Andalus (Spain) and all the countries beyond the western sea (Americas) were from the Ahlul Hadeeth. Also the people of the lands of Al-Yaman (Yemen) upon the Zanaj coastline were all from the Ahlul Hadeeth”
    (Usool-ud-deen)

    Then also the traveller: “I found pagans and I found Muslims, most of the Muslims are Ahlul Hadeeth”
    – Ahmad ibn Bashar al-Maqdisi upon seeing the Muslims in Mansura, Sindh in 365AH.

    My question what in intended by ahl alHadith, definitely not as the salafi claims.

    ***

    http://www.muslimworldjournal.com/2016/05/aurangzeb-the-salafi-mughal-emperor/

    In the early winter of 1658, India was undergoing political turmoil. The Emperor Shah Jahan had become ill and abdicated the throne in favour of his eldest son Dara Shikoh. Shah Jahan spent his reign engulfed in the midst of his riches where he would entertain himself with music, dance and narcotics. Too often we remember his achievement of creating the Taj Mahal but history forgets the oppression of the poor builders and labourers who paid the real price for the build.

    The Mughal Kingdom had no concept of primogeniture (the passing of the crown to the eldest son), in fact it had become customary to overthrow your father and brothers to become King, even if it meant everyone’s death. Shah Jahan’s abdication meant this process began.

    Of the four brothers, Aurangzeb had the most military experience and competence in governance. Dara and Aurangzeb stood as a stark contrast to each other. Dara, like his father, enjoyed parties, dance, lavish spending and had little consideration of the poor. Aurangzeb on the other hand was a devout worshipper who took his governance seriously, often spending time with his soldiers or listening to the complaints of the poor. It is no wonder that in a matter of months he had completely assumed power over greater India.

    His Reign

    It became well known that Aurangzeb prayed regularly and even woke to pray voluntary prayers at night (Tahajjud). He not only read the Quran daily but also wrote copies of the Quran which were sold at market along with caps he had sewn, all so that he did not take personal money from the treasury. He redirected all the wealth, which had been spent for personal use and frivolity by his predecessors, on military expeditions, crushing all rebellions and making the Mughal Empire the largest it had ever been.

    He banned music and singing, despite being accomplished in both. He banned alcohol, gambling, dancing, castration, drugs, unjust taxes, and bowing to the King. All which were the legacy of the Mughal Empire under his predecessors.

    Noticeably Aurangzeb had taken to heart lessons he had learnt from his teacher Muhammad Salafi. He had learnt Hanafi Fiqh (Law) so actively took part in court compared to his predecessors but relied on the scholars to issue final verdicts. By the end of his reign he compiled his Shariah rulings into one book “Al Fatawa Al Alamgiriyah” which became popular across the entire Muslim world under the name “Al Fatawa Al Hindiyah”

    Aurangzeb actively fought against invented practices in Islam (bidah)and myths. He fought against Sufism, sometimes to extremes for example killing Sarmad Kashani, a naked “majzoob” (holy man). He prevented Sufism to such an extent that prominent Sufi Bulleh Shah one day danced and played music in the streets of Lahore in protest of their practices being shut down.

    His legacy was a military one as well as a religious one. Sufi Islam rarely recognises a military aspect to Islam whereas it was said that once Aurangzeb left his throne for the battlefield, he never returned to his throne except to die.

    Tombs and processions were the hallmark of a Sufi funeral so he drew a will forbidding that his grave be simple without a tomb built around it and that no lavish procession take place with his body. His desire to return Islam to its original pure state was undeniable. Perhaps this is why some referred to him as a “remnant of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs.” (Shaykh Tantawi).

    Was he really a Salafi?
    A Salafi is someone who believes in strict monotheism, that nothing can be added to Islam after the Prophet ﷺ and that the first three generations of Muslims (the Salaf) ought to be emulated. Ahlul Hadeeth, meaning follower of the Prophet’s ﷺ Hadeeth (words or actions), is another word for Salafi.

    The word Salafi pops up early in Aurangzeb’s life, his closest teacher throughout childhood was Muhammad Saleh Kamboh Salafi. His attempt to rule in the guidance of the early generations along with his attempts to eradicate polytheism and bidah shows adherence to the grain of Salafiyyah. Furthermore his reign of banning music, dance and Sufi practices indicates a clear Salafi rulership compared to the Sufi rulership of his forefathers, especially Akbar.

    There are 4 Schools of Fiqh known as Madhhabs: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi and Hanbali. Salafis do not blindly follow any instead reconcile all of them by following whichever of the four is closest to the Hadeeth of the Prophet ﷺ. Salafiyyah isn’t incompatible with the schools of thought, rather it attempts to follow them the way they were followed originally not the blind and rigid way they were followed later.

    Aurangzeb ruled by Hanafi Fiqh, something often sited as proof he couldn’t have been Salafi. But by looking at the past through a modern lens we fail to grasp context. Take Shaykh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab, for example, there is no doubt he is Salafi for he fought against polytheism (shirk) and bidah. However he was Hanbali when it came to Fiqh. Clearly when it comes to ruling by a school of thought, it does not necessarily mean complete blind following of it.

    A consideration to make is that the Hanafi school of thought was the only one widely available throughout India. Maliki, Hanbali, Shafi’ Fiqh were all scarcely taught. It was only after Shah WaliUllah travelled to Hajj (1737) that any alternative began becoming more widely available in the Indian subcontinent.

    It is also historically documented that the Hanafi judges, the state, leadership and scholars kept a great deal of pressure on the ruler they served to maintain the Hanafi status quo (Imaam al-Fullanee in al-Eqaadh p.171)

    For example when the Hanafi scholar Abu Yusuf Al-Qadee was appointed Chief Judge he was given the sole right to appoint the judges of modern day Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, Egypt etc. He chose people solely from his own Hanafi madhhab (school of thought) to be the judges throughout the main parts of the Muslim lands. This suppressed all the other madhhahib and became a theme for every new Chief Judge appointing people under themselves. This is mentioned by Shah WaliUllah in HujjahAllah al-Baligah and Al-Maqreezee in Al-Khutat as well as many other books.

    Aurangzeb is often referred to as a “Sufi” in many of his biographies, something which again may indicate he wasn’t of Salafi belief. The word Sufi is often used in India to mean any pious person. Often times even today in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh people will say “so and so is such a Sufi” meaning “so and so is pious”. One thing we can say for sure looking at his legacy is he was definitely not a Sufi.

    Was this the first time Salafis were in India?
    “Salafi” is interchangeable with the word “Ahlul Hadeeth”. The word Ahlul Hadeeth dates back to the companions of the Prophet ﷺ as well as their students and their students after them.

    When the youth came to study with the companion of the Prophet ﷺ Abu Saeed Al-Khudri (ra) he said:

    “Come oh youth, you have come to seek knowledge. The Prophet ﷺ instructed us to open the gatherings for you. For indeed you, after us, are the Ahlul Hadeeth”
    – Sharaf Ashabul Hadeeth by Khateeb Baghdadi. Classed Sahih by Albaani in Silsila Sahiha

    Historians of the early era of Islam describe how the Ahlul Hadeeth were very widespread. Islam had conquered Azerbaijan in 22AH, Africa in 27AH, Spain in 92AH and India in 90AH. This all before the great Imams had even began working on their madhahib and the majority of the Muslims were Ahlul Hadeeth.

    “I found pagans and I found Muslims, most of the Muslims are Ahlul Hadeeth”
    – Ahmad ibn Bashar al-Maqdisi upon seeing the Muslims in Mansura, Sindh in 365AH

    The second Caliph of Islam Umar (ra) officially sent preachers to India in 15AH. There are even earlier reports that some Indian tradesmen had heard of the Prophet ﷺ in Makkah and taken news of it to India. A group of new Muslims were travelling from India to meet the Prophet ﷺ but on their journey they learnt of the Prophet’s ﷺ death. This shows Islam was all years before Muhammad bin Qasim (the conqueror of India) was even born!

    The earliest of the four great Imams was Imam Abu Hanifa (rh) who was born in 80AH and then Imam Maalik (rh) born in 93AH. Islam had already reached the parameters it is at today. Add on to this the time it took for the Imam’s to learn, then form their schools of thought, then teach their students, then their students to fully grasp the schools of thought and then were able to take this understanding to the world. In the mean time the Muslim world had been ruled by something other than their schools of thought for a long time; The madhhab of Ahlul Hadeeth.

    Abu Mansoor ibn Tahir al-Baghdadi (born 369AH) sheds light on this:

    “It is clear that the people of the lands of Ar-Rum (Rome meaning Europe), Al-Jazeerah (Arab lands), Ash-Shaam (Jordan and Syria), Azerbaijan, Baab-ul-Abwaab and others which were conquered were all upon the madhhab of Ahlul Hadeeth. Also the inhabitants of Africa, Andalus (Spain) and all the countries beyond the western sea (Americas) were from the Ahlul Hadeeth. Also the people of the lands of Al-Yaman (Yemen) upon the Zanaj coastline were all from the Ahlul Hadeeth”
    (Usool-ud-deen)

    Centuries before Aurangzeb, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi (born 361AH) was one of the greatest Muslim leaders of his era. He ruled over modern day Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. Whilst he spent the first part of his life Hanafi he later said “As-Sultan (referring to himself) has left the Hanafi madhhab to the madhhab of Ahlul Hadeeth” (Tareekh of Ibn Khalliqaan)
    Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq, over 300 years before Aurangzeb, also showed clear Salafi beliefs. Although not asserting his beliefs at the beginning of his reign, towards the end he followed orthodox Islam. The traveller, Ibn Batutta, describes Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq as meticulous in his prayers and who stuck strictly to the commands of the Quran and Hadith, punishing those who innovated anything new (bidah).

    Alam al Din (grandson of the well known Sufi Baha al-Din Zakariyya of Multan) again centuries before Aurangzeb ascribed to Salafi beliefs and after Aurangzeb, Shah WaliUllah did the most work to tackle bidah and misguidance and to promote the way of the Salaf.

    Ahlus Sunnah only have one name, they are Ahlul Hadeeth
    – Abdul Qadir Jilani in Gunya Tu Talibeen

    Abdul Qadir Jilani is venerated by Sufis today referred to as “Gaus Pak” and for whom the practice of Giyyarvee has become innovated. Ironically he himself was Ahlul Hadeeth and opposed to Sufism.

    These examples show that Salafi beliefs were nothing new to India showing that Aurangzeb too was a Salafi. All of Aurangzeb’s opinions and beliefs will never be known. His track record clearly shows someone who promoted the way and the following of the Salaf. He stood against shirk and bidah in every way including on the battlefield. What could be closer to being Salafi than these characteristics?

    This in no way is to say if he was not Salafi then he was not righteous. Nor is it to say anyone else who is not Salafi has not served Islam and Muslims. Its just that the contribution of the Ahlul Hadeeth/Salafis is the history which is less spoken of making it a lot more interesting to discuss.
     

Share This Page