A CALL FOR JUSTICE
BY

ALLAMA MOHAMMED ARSHAD-UL-QADRI (RAHAMATULLAH ALAIH)

(May Allah have mercy on him)

Original work entitled “Daawate Insaaf” (Urdu).

Translated into English by Mohammed Aqib Qadri.

 

This book is written for all those:

·         Who sincerely want to know about the differences between the scholars of the Ahle Sunnah School and the scholars of the Deobandi School and who wish to remove the real obstacles towards unification.

·         Who in their private meetings address these serious and principled differences as: (1) a deceit of the Maulvis, (2) a means of making money, (3) a way of making a living etc., - and who receive applause from the people, for expressing such thoughts.

·         Who, despite being highly educated, consider making attempts at understanding and removing such differences as a waste of time.

·         Who consider the differences between the Ahle Sunnah scholars and the Deobandi scholars, as merely trivial or secondary.

·         Who spend their scholarly and research capabilities in clarifying and interpreting the insolent writings of the Deobandis. (Perhaps religion will remain incomplete without such explanations !!)

·         Who consider researching the differences between the Ahle Sunnah and Deobandi scholars just a waste of time, whereas at the same time they are the most zealous advocators of unification !!

·         Who consider that Teejah (meals for the poor on the third day of passing away of a Muslim), Daswaan (meals for the poor on the tenth day of passing away of a Muslim), Chaleeswan (meals for the poor on the fortieth day of passing away of a Muslim), and visits to mausoleums are the actual differences between the Ahle Sunnah scholars and Deobandi scholars.

·         Who consider the publication and sale of literature based on blasphemous and insolent writings, as the most important service to Islam!!

·         Who feel uneasy at the mention of religious differences, but who spend all their physical and monetary resources in tolerating and solving with elegance all their official problems and business affairs.

·         Who advise that as per the circumstances, disputed writings & problems should not be discussed - but do not render this advice to the institutions that are ceaselessly publishing such literature.

·         Who term the issues of: (a) Respecting our Holy Prophet (), (b) The status of the Holy Prophet (), (c) The attributes of the Holy Prophet (), (d) Veneration of the Companions and of the members of the family (may Allah be well pleased with them) of the Holy Prophet (), (e) Sainthood and (f) other Islamic issues, as “Sectarianism” perpetrated by the Ahle Sunnah school of thought - and in this way such persons intentionally or unintentionally support infidelity and heresy.

·         Who understand the real causes of the differences and have the true spirit of presenting a program on the national (or international) level, through which the wide gulf of differences can be bridged and an initiative can be taken towards unification.

 

If you have a soft corner in your heart for the scholars of Deobandi school, the obvious effect of reading this booklet will be that you will close it and put it aside with frustration. However, if you are a great thinker and have the spirit for searching facts by going deep into events, you will definitely attempt to find out why the foundations of these disputes were laid - and what are the causes owing to which the disputes still continues all over the world, after so many years.


If the dispute was limited to a few people, it could be ignored by considering that personal or family interests may be involved - but the range of this dispute is so wide that not only the whole country (Indian Sub Continent) but a very large region abroad has been dragged into it. From mosques to religious schools (madressahs), all aspects of our religious life have been so deeply affected by it that from villages to cities, the entire country has been divided by it. Therefore the real reasons that actually started the dispute cannot be overlooked by just terming it just as an individual strife between Bareilly and Deoband.


Regretfully until now historians have not attempted make an impartial research into the real basis of our dispute with the scholars of the Deobandi school – a dispute which is going on among millions of Muslims at home and abroad since the last several decades. Due to it, the entire Muslim society has fallen prey to spiritual agony and confusion. Can there be a greater mockery of our innocence that our protest is termed as "Spread of Dissension", whereas it the right of every innocent individual to disclose his anger and sorrow ??


After these introductory words, we now present the details of this religious dispute before our readers trusting that they will ascertain the real causes in light of what is written here below. Even if reading this booklet is a burden on you, I would still request you to read the details, because a seeker of the truth does not have a bias towards any group.

PART ONE

THE THREE FOUNDATIONS OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AHLE SUNNAH SCHOLARS & THE DEOBANDI SCHOLARS:

The religious enmity between Deoband and Bareilly, and its negative effects that are prominent from the press to the stage, and which started in the previous century is not a baseless one. If your mind is open to the truth read below the real foundations of the differences of this religious dispute that has divided the Muslim nation into two groups.

 

A) THE FIRST FOUNDATION OF DIFFERENCES (Insolent writings of Deobandis against
     The Holy Prophet
).


Everyone is aware that a Muslim has a very strong and devoted relation with his Holy Prophet (). The belief regarding the Holy Prophet () is so reverential and sensitive that a Muslim cannot bear any insult towards the Holy Prophet . In order to protect his honour, the Muslims of the sub-continent have offered sacrifices in every era and with such an exemplary spirit that it is now a part of history. This aspect of a Muslim’s love for the Holy Prophet () should be remembered - that while expressing anger and regret against the insolent, a Muslim has never bothered to see who will be targeted. Whoever commits any disrespect or blasphemy against our Holy Prophet () - whether the individual is an outsider or from among us – the swords of the Muslims have become unsheathed against such people.


The contemporary example of the outcast Salman Rushdie is before you. He made the entire Muslim world his enemy by attacking the honour of our Holy Prophet (). Indeed all those who gave numerous sacrifices to defend the honour of the Holy Prophet (), deserve immense praise.


This itself is the main foundation of our anger against the scholars of the Deobandi school – because their elders have written insolent words and phrases against our Holy Prophet (). A few examples of such insolent writings are as follows:


1.      The religious leader of the scholars of Deoband, Maulvi Ashraf Ali Thanvi in his book entitled “Hifz-ul-Iman” (The Protection of Faith) has compared the knowledge of the Holy Prophet (), with the knowledge of lowly creatures such as animals and beasts - and he himself has confessed to this heinous crime !! (May Allah protect us !!)


Learned people know that if anything is compared with a respectable thing, it implies respect - whereas on the contrary, if anything is compared with a disgraceful and shameful thing, it implies defamation and disrespect. This principle is so well known and widely accepted in the Urdu language, that no learned person can deny the authenticity of this interpretation.


On this basis we claim that, beyond doubt, Mr. Thanvi is guilty of insolence towards the Holy Prophet (). By comparing the knowledge of the Holy Prophet () with that of animals and lowly creatures, he has definitely committed the heinous crime of insulting the Holy Prophet ().


2.      The second and third leaders of the Deobandi school i.e. Maulvi Khalil Ahmed Ambethvi and Maulvi Rasheed Ahmed Gangohi have written in their book "Baraheene Qatia" (The Definite Proofs), that on the issue of encompassing the knowledge of the earth, the knowledge of Satan exceeds the knowledge of our Holy Prophet (). Furthermore, they claimed that if one believes that the knowledge of our Holy Prophet () exceeds that of Satan, such a person will become a “polytheist” (Mushrik), because the vastness of Satan's knowledge is proven from Quran and Hadith, whereas no such proof exists in respect of the knowledge of the Holy Prophet (). (May Allah protect us !!).

In the above-mentioned case, there are no two opinions that assessing the knowledge of the Holy Prophet () to be inferior to that of Satan, is a blatant blasphemy and insolence towards the Holy Prophet ().


Similarly, it is a blatant insolence and a blasphemy to say that in contrast to Satan, anyone who believes in the vast extent of the knowledge of the Holy Prophet () is a “polytheist” (Mushrik), but having the same belief about Satan is not polytheism !!


Likewise it is also a clear disrespect towards our Holy Prophet () to say that there is no clear proof in the Quran on the vast extent of his knowledge, but there is proof in Quran as well as Hadith regarding the vast knowledge of Satan !!


3.      The most important leader of the Deobandi school, and also the founder of the Deoband Madressah i.e. Maulvi Qasim Nanotvi, in his book "Tahzeer-ul-Naas" has refused to accept our Holy Prophet () as the Last Prophet - whereas to believe in Prophet Mohammed (), as the Last Prophet of Allah is proven both from the Quran and the Hadith.


He has gone to the extent of writing that “even if it were assumed that a New Prophet can come during the era of the Holy Prophet (), or after the Holy Prophet (), it would not have an effect on the “Finality” (Khatemiat) of our Holy Prophet ()”. Whereas every sane person can easily understand the simple principle that the belief regarding the Finality of the Holy Prophet () gets negated upon the arrival of a new Prophet. It is this very book of Maulvi Qasim Nanotvi – i.e. "Tahzeer-ul-Naas" which the Qadianis term a precursor to validate the Prophet hood of Mirza Gulam Ahmed Qadiani (May Allah protect us).

It should be clear that our dispute with Deobandi scholars on the issue of Khatm-e Nubuwat (The Finality of Prophet hood) is not a secondary one, but is regarding Islamic principles and is fundamental. It is not concerned just with the permissibility (hillat) or prohibition (hurmat), but with infidelity and Islam.