the biography of Ala Hazrat has been uploaded on the website of Dawat-e-Islami. Ala Hazrat was a Muslim scholar, Sufi and reformer of British India. So, if you want to know the complete biography of Ala Hazrat then you can visit the webpage of DawateIslami.net book library.
asak I actually did mean it like the way you say it. It was not meant for defaming Imam Naqi, it was just to show the greatness of his son rahimahullah.
to take that statement literally would be an injustice to both father and son; it is a statement of joy and pride of a father at his son's accomplishment. to mean that imam riDa was his father's teacher would be unjust. moreover, we still don't know how far imam riDa's criticism was correct (remember he was just a child). imam naqi `ali khan was a towering scholar himself, as is evident from his books - surur al-qulub; tafsir alam nashrah; aHsan al-wi`a. this statement though, meant to show the greatness of imam riDa rather serves to belittle his illustrious father. one has to be very careful of the biographies of imam riDa and be judicious to keep away from exaggeration. wallahu a`alam.
Assalamu 'Alaikum Imam Naqi Ali Khan Barelwi rahimahullah once wrote a footnote in a book which was not in favour of the writers position. Imam Rida was a young child and he read his father's footnote. Imam Rida then explained alongside his father's footnote why the writer of the book had written what he had written and that his father's criticism was incorrect. After reading his son's explanation, Imam Naqi Ali Khan replied: "Ahmad Raza, tum hum se parhte nahin ho, hamein parhate ho". Remember, Imam Naqi himself was one of the great scholars of the time. Wassalam
Note : This content is free for distribution or republishing and is not under any copyright Imām Aĥmed RiĎā Khān al-Barelwī was born in 1272 AH / 1856 CE in Bareilly, a flourishing city in northern India and in a family of scholars; his father Mawlānā Naqī Áli Khān was a prominent Ahl as-Sunnah scholar of his time. He studied Islamic sciences mainly in the tutelage of his father, though a few other scholars have also been mentioned. He was a master of many sciences and particularly in Hanafī fiqh, he was head and shoulders above all his contemporaries. Even his adversaries have acknowledged that he was peerless in this discipline. He has many ijāzahs or degrees of authorization in Hanafī fiqh, and by his own affirmation, the most important one is from the Muftī of Makkah, Shaykh Ábd ar-Raĥmān as-Sirāj ibn Ábdullāh as-Sirāj. This chain of transmission reaches Imām Abū ĥanifah in twenty seven links and in further four to the Master of all creation, Muĥammad RasūlAllāh šallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam. He has an authorization of ĥadīth transmission from the great Meccan scholar, Malik al-úlamā, Sayyid Aĥmed Zaynī Daĥlān ash-Shāfiýī. He is widely known for his refutation of Wahābīs, other innovators and libertarian religion-reformers like Abu’l Kalam āzād etc) of the early 20th century. He took the Qādirī path and was initiated in that Sūfī order by Sayyid Aal e Rasul Ahmadi of Mārahra (a town in northern India) in 1294. He was a great lover of the Prophet šallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam as is evident in his writings and endeavors. He was also a great poet who has to his credit abundant and sublime verse in Arabic, Persian and Urdu. The anthology of his Urdu and Persian verse is presented in a slim volume with two parts and named: ‘Ĥadāyiq e Bakh’shish’ meaning ‘Gardens of Salvation’. He passed away in the year, 1340 AH / 1921 CE. Raĥimahullāh wa RaĎiya ánhu. *update: it is amazing that a silly mistake went unnoticed for such a long time until chishti-raza pointed out today on 20-09-2010. alahazrat's ba'yah and khilafah in the Sufi path - all the salasil - was with Sayyidi Aal e Rasul Marahrawi and not Sayyidi Abu'l Husayn Nuri. Alahazrat himself points this out in his biographical note of his father, Mawlana Naqi Ali Khan (in the preface of the latter's book 'commentary of Alam Nashrah') that he received bay'ah and khilafah on the 5th of Jumada al-Ula 1294 AH along with his father. Allah ta'ala knows best.
