May Allah bless Imam Hussnain Yaqoob for who he is. Allah has blessed him with courage to refute salafis and deviants. Aameen
Regardless of whether you like it or not, the true reality for those of us from the Indian subcontinent is:If it wasn’t for Sayyidi Ala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Rida Khan رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ God knows what we would’ve been today — Imam Husnain Yaqoob pic.twitter.com/0V8izc6Z0h— Bilal (@Jattaa_21) May 2, 2023
You must be new to Sunniport and must have ignored all the other threads on this forum. In truth, this forum addresses almost every issue that's brought to its attention, including this one. Seriously brother grow a thicker skin. We get it you don't agree and you don't like being wrong.
'Allamah Ghulām Rasūl Sa'īdī writes in his Tibyān al-Qur'ān: 'It can said: in terms of religion, we are Muslim. We are Muhammadi in terms of sharīáh, Māturīdī and Hanafī in madh'hab (school of jurisprudence), Qādirī in maslak (path) and mashrab (spirituality) and we are Baraylawi in terms of maktab e fikr (school of thought).' [Tibyān al-Qur'ān, Surah Fatihah, v.4]
Throughout the history of Islam, Muslims have adopted various labels in order to differentiate true Muslims from those misguided. The title Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah itself is one such example. Thereafter, Islam produced superlative minds that distinguished truth from falsehood and their impact was so great that Muslims started to be known by them, e.g. Imam Abu al-Hasan Ash'ari and Imam Abu Mansur Maturidi. The two imams of Islamic theology outlined true Sunni creed so comprehensively that they became the hallmark between correct and incorrect creed. Thereafter, Muslims upon the true path adopted the labels Ash'ari and Maturidi. Notably, Asha'ir is the name of a tribe and Maturid is a place in Samarkand. So being known by a town/city (demonym) has a precedent. Remember, becoming known by a certain scholar is not intended by the said scholar nor anything pre-planned. This is simply a case of destiny taking its course and the influence of certain scholars becoming so widespread that they become the de facto identifiers of Sunni creed. Closer to our time, there was a master logician by the name of Fadl al-Haqq Khayrabadi. His influence in the Indian subcontinent was so vast that Sunni Muslims began to be known as Khayrabadis, as opposed to followers of Ismayil Dihlawi, the wahabi. Moving on, when dozens of tribulations arose simultaneously, around the mid 19th and early 20th centuries, a Sunni polymath by the name of Ahmad Rida Khan, who hailed from the north Indian city or Bareilly, was born in 1856. He quickly became the leader of Sunni scholars in his time and to whom the Sunni world turned for the most perplexing matters. He was a prolific author, whose works numbered around one thousand. His influence was immense and his work formidable. He quickly became the hallmark of Sunni Islam and the standard of correct creed as opposed to the tribulations of Qadiyan, non-madh'habism, Deoband, rafidis of all shades, sulh kullism and many others. Just as had happened earlier with Imams Ash'ari, Maturidi and Khayrabadi, soon, Sunni Muslims started to get identified by the demonym of Imam Ahmad Rida Khan, i.e. Baraylawi. So just as Sunni Muslims had previously been known as Ash'aris, Maturidis, Khayrabadis; they now started to be known as Baraylawis. Note, none of these are separate sects from Ahl al-Sunnah. They are simply named after the scholars who had the greatest influence in their eras against heresy. So, as a differentiator, their tribes or towns became the identities of Sunni Muslims. They are simply synonyms of Sunni in order to tell apart the guided from the misguided. Today, the influence of Imam Ahmad Rida Khan, known as #Alahazrat, spreads the depth and breadth of the entire subcontinent, which comprises a third of the Muslim world. Sunni Muslims are known and recognised through him. That is why, they are known as Baraylawis.
Maybe this is why… “I am not from Bareilly. There is no such sect as Barelawi. Some people say to differentiate themselves from Deobandis they refer to themselves as Barelawi. Where I come from in Kashmir the Sunnis are referred to as Sunnis, while Wahabis are named Wahabis, and Deobandis are referred to as Wahabis or Deobandi, while Shia are referred to as Shia. So when lay people hear 'Sunni' they only think of us, the Sunnis, people who do mawlid, urs, have sufi orders, and follow Sunni Ulama. I will never replace Sunni with 'Barelawi', and that is why I corrected Abdul Rahman Hasan on this point. After I did this some mushaghibun slandered me on whatsapp groups... If, however, in a certain context people or myself refer to ourselves as 'Barelawi' then it would mean a nisba to Ala Hazrat, like we may have nisba to any of the Ulama of Ahl alSunna.” -Shaykh Asrar
Ho Kar Ke Sunni, Kyuñ Nahiñ Kehte Ho Bareilvi Ab Hosh Me Aa, Keh De Abhi, Maiñ Huñ Bareilvi When you are sunni, why are you not saying, I am a Bareilvi Now come to your senses, and say immediately, I am a Bareilvi - Mufti Afthab Cassim Al Qaadri حفظ الله
Doing the rounds on FB: Are we "Sunni" or "Barelwi"? We are Ahl us-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah, in short, "Sunni", this term is derived from the Hadith of the 73 sects; when the Messenger of Allah said, "the saved sect is the one who is upon my Sunnah and the Sunnah of my companions (Jama'ah)". "Sunni" is a universal term used by Muslims around the globe to align themselves with the true creed of Islam. The purpose of this term is to differentiate and distinguish ourselves from any unorthodox beliefs and practices. As trials within the Muslim world increased and more unorthodox ideologies formed, the "Sunnis" aligned themselves to those scholars who advocated and preached the correct beliefs, i.e. Imam Abul Hasan al-Ash'ari and Imam Abu Mansoor al-Maturidi. Those who aligned themselves to their teachings became known as Asharis or Maturidis. These became two schools of theology within the Ahl us-Sunnah. So when a person says, "I am Maturidi", he does not intend to say I was born in Maturid; instead, he affirms the teachings and beliefs conveyed by the great Imam in light of the Quran and Sunnah. Some appellations have become a hallmark of "Sunnis" throughout the centuries, such as those mentioned above. However, other appellations such as "Barelwi" were given by deviants to Sunnis in an attempt to demonstrate a new "creed" being formed by a group of individuals who follow Imam Ahmad Rida Khan. This is why many scholars from the subcontinent refused and warned people from 'actively' calling themselves "Barelwi" instead of "Sunni", as it would lead to more harm than good. People would assume that "Barelwism" is another sect, and they have their own beliefs contradicting those of the Sunnis. This fear of confusion is currently manifest when people call themselves "Barelwi" then clarify that there is no difference between Sunni and Barelwi; they are synonymous. For this exact reason, the scholars advised us only to use the appellation of Sunni. Contrastingly, in some parts of the world, the appellation of "Barelwi" is used to differentiate from other deviant sects and their beliefs such as "Deobandis, Qadiyanis". Nevertheless, this is limited to a specific demographic and usage; it is NOT a universal appellation. If one chooses to call themselves "Sunni" only, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Those who consider this incorrect are ignorant and people of a cultish mentality. FAQs Q. Why do you call yourself Ashari/Maturidi? A. Ashari/Muturidi are schools of theology. Q. Why do you call yourself Qadiri/Chishti? A. These are schools of tasawwuf and spiritual wayfaring.
Unfortunately the pejorative use is wide spread. The common folks who never heard of the term will most likely turn to Google or YouTube and search "What is Barelwi[or whatever spelling variant]?" and find non Sunni links/videos falsely claiming deviation. With the aforementioned method of acquiring answers, they'll stay away from scholars who proudly adds it to their name and will be wary of any scholars who are accused of being one. On a side note it would be more beneficial if this thread was named as "What is Barelwi?" rather than simply "Barelwi” for SEO/web-crawling purposes. In the end, we are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to search engines of the world wide web.
People who run from the eponym Barelwi say things like: Bareilly is in India and I'm born in Bradford. So I'm not a Barelwi. Fine. Don't be one. But your logic stinks. --- I was born in Birmingham. My imam was born in Maturid. I'm a Maturidi.
we have just had a brand new purpose built masjid in our locality and the masjid known as Ghousia Masjid has a massive logo Sunni Hanafi Barelwi. we just need to continue raising awareness
yes but nowadays we got dodgys posing as sufis but you will be no way will any foreigner call themselves Barelwi. Observation. Understand what you are saying though just some people too thick to even work out basics