Books and Documents
If they say: In the early period it was necessary to formulate the laws of Shariat through Ijtehad, but after that there was no need of it. In reply I say: The laws of Islam were complete in the life of the holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) as evident from the verse,
“This day I have perfected your religion.” (Surah Maidah: 3)
Then how is it that Ijtehad was required to frame the Islamic laws? Now let us understand that Ijtehad was not needed to frame the Islamic laws. It was required for another purpose. Consider this statement: Laws that are derived on the basis of conjecture and Ijtehad are mutable with the passage of time....
There is no controversy regarding the matter that Hazrat Ali ibne Abi Talib is the caliph – the difference is on the point whether Ali (a.s.) is the absolute legatee and immediate successor of the Prophet (s.a.) or is he the fourth one? It is clear that Ahle Sunnat believe him to be the fourth Caliph, whereas the Shias consider him to be the immediate Caliph after the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a). But in the beginning, we will quote the writings of some great scholars. And with a little study, accompanied by the rules of research, arrive at some conclusions so that the falsity of those claims is exposed….
Visited by angels and demons, they composed hymns, drove away the demons, healed, blessed, as if having made up their mind to compensate for earthly delight, rudeness and carnality of many bygone and many future epochs with the powerful upsurge of enthusiasm and with the ecstatic action of renunciation of the world. (Hesse 1945, 1: 387-8) These words of Hermann Hesse about Christian saints are equally applicable to the South Asian Auliya. One of the most intriguing questions, arising in the course of study of the cult of saints, happens to be: who became a Wali in the mass consciousness of the faithful and why?...
Mu’awiyah used to severely punish all those who mentioned any virtue of Ali (a.s.). Whenever anyone related anything against Ali (a.s.), no matter how great an allegation, he was rewarded amply by Mu’awiyah. Thus, in that period, it was impossible to differentiate truth from falsehood. Only the ignoramuses would differ on this score. Ziyad and Hajjaj were the worst characters in this regard. These two usurpers could never stand anyone having love and regard for Ali (a.s.). Such a person was invariably arrested and severely punished by them....
“The purpose of our calling you all here was not this; we have invited you to prove an important matter by discussion.” And he said, “I am Mamoon the Caliph, the follower of Islam and I consider Hazrat Ali to be the most superior among all creatures and most deserving of caliphate. I invite all of you to accept this belief and to express your opinion here.” Ishaq bin Ibrahim says, “I said: Caliph! Please tell us why you consider Ali (a.s.) most superior so that others may also know about it.” Acceding to the request, Mamoon said, “O Ishaq! What factors prove superiority? ...
The cult of saints was from the very beginning under suspicion by the representatives of ‘official’ Islam, seeing in it shirk, or assigning of ‘partners’ to Allah, i.e. polytheism. In the strict monotheism of Islam, worship of objects and people, even though saints, was looked upon as a terrible sin and infidelity (Kufr). Particularly intolerant to the cult of saints was the attitude of the Hanbali madhab, and in modern times that of the Wahhabis, advocates of the purification of Islam from external influences and of return to its sources. ...
It is true that in our times a Sajjadanasheen may be in service in a temporal establishment, has a family and may not necessarily live in the Dargah. He is supposed to spend a few nights in a year at the Mazar of his ancestor saint, and participate in Maulud, ‘Urs and other festive ceremonies. A great deal has been written about the cult of saints by Western travellers, the South Asian men of letters and publicists and, of course, by scholars: this phenomenon seemed to be too broad-based and picturesque to be ignored....
The Messenger of Allah (s a w) said, “Of whomsoever I am the Master, this Ali is his Master too. O Allah! Love those who love him and be an enemy to those who are inimical to him.” There is unanimity of the whole community of the Shia and Sunni scholars over the authenticity and correctness of this tradition. When the Messenger of Allah (s a w) reached a place called Ghadeer Khum on his return from the farewell Hajj...
The excessiveness of the cult of saints threatened to eradicate the distance between the temporal and the spiritual. The sacred was constantly lost in the profane because of an inevitable mixing-up of ritual with everyday life. Profanation increased in the practice of pilgrimage: thus, memorial services for saints during their ‘Urs were marked by tumultuous fairs and were accompanied by unrestrained public revelry, performances by vagrant buffoons and songstresses of easy virtue, wrestling bouts and cockfights. It was understandable that the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate, Firoz Shah Tughlaque or Sikandar Lodi, zealous for a purity of faith, endeavoured to bring Ziyarat under control and, in particular, prohibit female Muslims from attending ‘Urs....
Abu Hurayrah was a companion of the holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.), who embraced Islam in the year of the battle of Khaibar. Being unemployed all the time, he always accompanied the holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.). Also, as he was aware of the real attitude of Abu Hurayrah the Prophet (s.a.w.a.) said, “O Abu Hurayrah! Visit me only occasionally, so that your love for me increases.” This shows that Abu Hurayrah did not love the Prophet (s.a.w.a.). However, this matter is beyond the domain of our discussion here. Yes! Abu Hurayrah is the greatest narrator of Ahle Sunnat traditions and in their view his reports are reliable. In spite of the fact that this humble writer himself was from the Ahle Sunnat, he considers the errors of Abu Hurayrah opposed to justice....
Like the majority of the Shaikhs of the Chishtiyya order, Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar lived in voluntary penury and could not provide for his large family. Stale bread, only God knows where from, appeared under the saint’s prayer rug every day, and constituted all the sustenance of his house-hold. When the saint’s talkative wife spread this news among the neighbours, the ‘miracle’ immediately ceased. It is paradoxical, but a living saint, performing kar mat, was as a rule supposed to be inferior in significance to a dead saint...
In the popular Islam of the lower strata of society saints were venerated in the first instance not as Gnostics but as miracle workers, bearers of divine bliss (baraka), intercessors and patrons of various social groups and castes of artisans. By virtue of their closeness to the people, voluntary penury and their ascetic mode of life, Auliya often carried greater authority than the ‘official’ experts of religion, and therefore the authorities tried in every way possible to enlist their support….
From the above narration, it becomes clear that Mughirah cursed Amirul Momineen Ali (a.s.) even though the holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) had said, “One who curses Ali, curses me and one who 35 curses me, curses Allah.” Hence, hahabuddin Alusi writes in his Tafseer, “Anyone, who curses Ali bin Abi Talib, whether in his life or after he passed away, would be an infidel.” Thus in the book Hayatul Haiwan, Allamah Damiri and in Yanabiul Mawaddah of Khwaja Kalaan Qunduzi have also established this fact. Thus, it is confirmed that by committing this deed, Mughirah had become an infidel. Therefore any tradition related by him will not be reliable….
In the majority of cases this syncretism was a by-product of superficial Islamisation, the illegitimate offspring of popular Islam, uncon-sciously retaining in it a conglomerate of pre-Islamic religious beliefs. Only in rare instances did syncretism become the policy of the upper social strata and intellectual elite, and it is precisely this syncretism that evokes particularly tender emotion on the part of modern historians. ….
One of the errors and negligence of the historians was that they followed the idiom “to find fault in the great ones is a fault” to the hilt. They almost seemed bewitched and enchanted. They not only refused to condemn one of the many Muslim oppressors who passed in the history of Islam nor did they ever criticize them, rather, they listed their names among the truthful ones. They regarded the deadly poison that had permeated into the body of the ummah, as a useful and effective tonic….