The Perils of Separatism among Barelvis in India
By Mohammad
Ali, New Age Islam
January 6,
2022
Sunni
Muslims In The Indian Subcontinent Are Divided Into Barelvi, Deobandi, And
Ahl-E-Hadith Schools Of Thought
Main
Points:
1. This essay
discusses the causes of Barelvi separatism in India
2. It briefly
elaborates on the repercussions that have resulted from this separatism
3. And how
Barelvis have maintained to sustain this separatism among their community
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Sunni
Muslims in the Indian subcontinent are divided into Barelvi, Deobandi, and
Ahl-e-Hadith schools of thought. Fissures between them started appearing during
the nineteenth century when some Ulama believed that the decline of
Muslim political power and society in the subcontinent was due to the
corruption of faith which they found in Muslims’ indulgences in rituals like
seeking intercession from the Prophet and dead saints and associating with them
supernatural powers that, the reformist Ulama believed, could only be
associated with God. This corruption of faith had seeped into their behaviour
and made it immoral and unresponsive.
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Also
Read: Beyond the Moderate and Radical in Indian Islam
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Therefore,
they strove to restore the purity of faith by reinstating God as the most
supreme being, and that his qualities like the knowledge of the unseen,
forgiver of sins, etc. could not be shared with any creation, whether it be a
prophet or a saint. Among the Ulama who resisted the reformation of
Islam into a puritanical one, Ahmad Raza Khan of Bareilly emerged as the most
prominent one. He wrote extensively against the reformists and criticized their
arguments as un-Islamic.
Ahmad Raza
believed that God has endowed the Prophet Muhammad, and through him, saints
with some miraculous powers and has allowed them to intercede with Him on
behalf of sinners. This should be clear that seeking intercession from the
Prophet Muhammad and visitation of shrines were age-old practices among
Muslims, which Ahmad Raza defended against the reformers. Furthermore, he
charged the founders of Darul Uloom Deoband, Qasim Nanotavi, Rashid Ahmad
Gangohi, Khalil Ahmad, and Ashraf Ali Thanvi, who also advocated for religious
reforms, with blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad and declared them as Murtad,
meaning by committing blasphemy against the Prophet they ceased to be Muslims.
He published his verdict in one of his fatwas, Husamul Harmain, published in
1906. Some of these Ulama were dead already, but who were alive, they
along with their followers resisted the fatwa of Ahmad Raza. And they succeeded
in doing so, but only in the circles of their followers. The followers of Ahmad
Raza continued believing in his fatwa.
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Also
Read: Making Barelvis Count: The Sufi Conference in Delhi
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To make the
matter worse, Ahmad Raza inserted a ruling into the fatwa declaring that
whoever does not believe in the apostasy of these Ulama would be
considered among them, i.e., Murtad, thereby, extending the fatwa not only to
those Ulama but the generations after them who did not and do not
believe in Ahmad Raza’s fatwa and considered/considers those Ulama as
Muslims. Declaring the entire community of Muslims as Murtad was unprecedented
in Muslim history. The followers of Ahmad Raza, the Barelvis, took the fatwa
literally and anathematized everyone who dared to refuse to believe in Ahmad
Raza’s fatwa. Since Ahmad Raza regarded these Deobandi Ulama and their
followers as Murtads, he decreed that they are worse than non-Muslims and any
social transaction with them is haram/forbidden.
I will not
engage with the theological underpinnings of the fatwa and arguments of Ahmad
Raza here. I only like to discuss the repercussions of Ahmad Raza’s fatwa that
have created a separatist and an uneasy extremist life for his followers.
Early
repercussions of Ahmad Raza’s fatwas started appearing in the form of
separatism during the colonial period. Since Ahmad Raza believed that social
intercourse was haram with these Murtads, he opposed the movements such as
Nadwatul Ulama, Khilafat, and Jamiat ul Ulama-e-Hind. These
movements were all-Ulama movements. The presence of Deobandi Ulama
and the Ulama who considered Qasim Nanotvi, etc. as Muslims did not
allow Ahmad Raza and his followers to participate in these movements. So, he opposed
them and their policies. Unfortunately, this separatism resulted in the
marginalization of Barelvis in colonial India and in Independent India as well.
This fatwa
of Ahmad Raza not only stopped them from participating in those mass movements
along with the Deobandis and other non-Barelvi Muslims but also did not allow
them to engage with them on other levels, i.e., teaching, daily business,
community building, etc. This could be illustrated by an incident that I heard
in a Taqrīr (religious speech) of a Barelvi ‘Alim, who to demonstrate how
compassionate Mustafa Raza Khan, the younger son of Ahmad Raza, was said that
once he went to meet one of his disciples whom other disciples had boycotted
only because he had been dealing with Deobandis. When Mustafa Raza met him, he
convinced him to come back to his circle and reproached his disciples for
abandoning him. However, he did not approve of his dealings with Deobandîs.
However,
the biggest problem of this fatwa resulted in the emergence of a hypocritic behaviour
in Barelvis. Because it is really difficult for a common Barelvi to live his
life without ever engaging with Deobandîs and non-Barelvis on social levels.
Sometimes these engagements demand respect and lead to relationships. Being a
Barelvi and respecting a Deobandi is contradictory. For example, there are
hundreds of graduates from Barelvi madrasas who are studying in universities.
Because of their separatism, Barelvis have a very low representation in
universities. As a result, these Barelvi Ulama are left with no choice
except to study with the non-Barelvi teachers in universities, which means they
need to deal with them, respect them, greet them, and so on. But this
contradicts with their Barelvi creed: dealing with non-Barelvi Murtads is
forbidden. However, they compromise here with their belief out of compulsion.
But when they are in their own circle, they show that they are still true to
the teachings of Ahmad Raza and curse those who have violated those teachings,
sometimes publicly.
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I know some
Barelvi scholars who are teaching at Jamia Hamdard along with their Deobandi
and Ahl-e-Hadith colleagues, with whom they deal, eat, have developed cordial
relationships. But when, as Ulama, they address religious gatherings,
they tell people that social interactions and dealings with non-Barelvis are
forbidden. This is so hypocritical.
Barelvis
are Muqallids of Ahmad Raza in his fatwa against the Deobandi Ulama,
meaning they do not allow any fresh thinking in these matters. This is also
unprecedented. Because in the entire Islamic history, no scholar forced others
to believe in his fatwa of apostasy against a certain person. For example, Ulama
differed on the issue of declaring Yazid, the Umayyad Emperor, as Kāfir.
Those who declared him Kāfir did not condemn other Ulama for not
declaring Yazid as Kāfir. Because, to them, declaring someone Kāfir
is a delicate matter and requires thorough research. However, Ahmad Raza
reduced this matter to Taqlid only, meaning that after his declaration, no
fresh research and difference of opinions are allowed in this matter. This Taqlid
of Ahmad Raza by Barelvis has elevated him to an extraordinary scholar and imam
to an extent that no one can disagree with him in any jurisprudential or
theological matters. Whatever he said is considered the final ruling. This behaviour
is reflected in extreme levels, like declaring dissidents as Kāfir.
Recently, Barelvi Ulama have anathematized an entire Khanqah,
Khanqah-e-Arifia at Sayyid Sarawan, Allahabad, and its associates for disagreeing
with the fatwa of Ahmad Raza. Even though their disagreement is a result of
fresh research and noble intent, that is, they want to reduce the differences
among the Sunni Muslims in India.
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Also
Read: Who and What is a Deobandi?
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Barelvis
have maintained the status quo for almost a century. But voices of dissents
have started emerging within the group. However, to break the status quo, there
is a need for a robust interpretation of the issues which have been a bone of
contention among the Barelvi and non-Barelvi groups and that should function as
a bridge for overcoming differences. This should also curb the potential of
extremism which is embedded in the Barelvi separatist ideology.
-----
Mohammad Ali has been a madrasa student.
He has also participated in a three years program of the "Madrasa
Discourses,” a program for madrasa graduates initiated by the University of
Notre Dame, USA. Currently, he is a PhD Scholar at the Department of Islamic
Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. His areas of interest include Muslim
intellectual history, Muslim philosophy, Ilm-al-Kalam, Muslim sectarian
conflicts, madrasa discourses.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-sectarianism/perils-separatism-barelvis-india/d/126104
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