[Abu_Hind]

Assalamu alaikum,

I've decided to create this thread in dedication to one of the greatest intellectuals, scholars and proponents of Islam, the late Hadhrat Maulana Sayyid Abul Hassan Ali al-Hassani Nadwi (rahimahu Allah) Islamica Community - Home. He is one man who truely combined the "tradition" of Islam with "changing time" and tried to reform Muslim Ummah through his works in such a way that it maintained its integrity and at the same time did not lag behind in modern times.

I've noticed that he is one personality that is generally ignored by many, and his works ignored in the favor of more populist, political, sloganeering movements and figures.

This man, his works, his life provides, in my humble opinion, an excellent model that we all need to follow.

I had heard of him, and about him, but not until I read his "Faith Vs. Materialism: The Message of Surat al-Kahf", did I really fall in love with him and his thought. It's like a spiritual connection, I can't entirely explain it.

So, this thread is dedicated to him. Share anything written by him, on him, quoting him, anything that has anything to do with him. Jzakum Allahu khair.

[Abu_Hind]

I'll start...

Mankind’s Debt To The Prophet

In certain parts of the world, people enjoy freedom of conscience and choice, are free to lead their lives in peace and amity, to devote their energies to teaching and preaching, researching and making new discoveries. Yet even these parts of the world have not always been so tolerant, nor free from strife, nor disposed towards the co-existence of different peoples, sects and groups, still less sufficiently broad-minded, to accommodate differences of opinion.

Mankind has seemed, many times, to be bent upon self-destruction, and passed through stages when, by its own misdeeds, it has forfeited any right to survival. Men have sometimes behaved like crazed and ferocious beasts, flinging all culture and civilization, arts, literature, decency, the canons of moral and civil law, to the winds.

All of us know that the writing of history is of a relatively recent origin. The ‘pre-historic’ era was very much longer. The decline of mankind when it relapsed into savagery was by no means an agreeable task for historians and writers to record. Nevertheless, we do find narratives of the downfall of empires and the decay of human society, told at long intervals in the pages of history. The first of these date from the fifty century A.D. some are briefly touched and upon here.

H.G. Wells, the well-known historian, writes about the decay of the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires as follows:

Science and political philosophy seemed dead now in both these warring and decaying empires. The last philosophers of Athens, until their suppression, preserved the texta of the great literature of the past with an infinite reverence and want of understanding. But there remained no class of men in the world, no free gentleman with bold and independent habits of thought to carry on the tradition of frank statement and inquiry embodied in these writings. The social and political chaos accounts largely for the disappearance of the class, but there was also another reason why the human intelligence was sterile and feverish during this age of intolerance. Both empires were religious empires in a new way, in a way that greatly hampered the free activities of the human mind.1

The same writer, after describing the onslaught of the Sassanids on Byzantium and their eventual victory, comments on the social and moral degradation to which both these great nations had fallen:

A prophetic amateur of history surveying the world in the opening of the seventh century might have concluded very reasonably that it was only a question of a few centuries before the whole of Europe and Asia fell under Mongolian domination. There were no signs of order or union in Western Europe, and the Byzantine and Persian empires were manifestly bent upon mutual destruction. India also was divided and wasted.
*
Another writer, Robert Briffault strikes a similar note:

From the fifth to the tenth century Europe lay sunk in a night of barbarism which grew darker and darker. It was a barbarism far more awful and horrible than that of the primitive savage, for it was the decomposing body of what had once been a great civilization. The features and impress of that civilization were all but completely effaced. Where its development had been fullest, e.g., in Italy and Gaul, all was ruin, squalor and dissolution.

The Civilizations nurtured by ancient religions were disintegrating; this according to J.H. Denison. In Emotion as the Civilization, he writes:

In the fifth and sixth centuries the civilized world stood on the verge of chaos. The old emotional cultures that had made civilization possible, since they had given to men a sense of unity and of reverence for their rulers, had broken down, and nothing had been found adequate to take their place ...
It seemed then that the great civilization which it had taken four thousand years to construct was on the verge of disintegration, and that mankind was likely to return to that condition of barbarism when every tribe and sect was against the next, and law and order was unknown ... The old tribal sanctions had lost their power ... The new sanctions created by Christianity were working division and destruction instead of unity and order. It was a time fraught with tragedy. Civilization, like a gigantic tree whose foliage had overarched the world and whose branches had borne the golden fruits of art and science and literature, stood tottering ... rotten to the core.


At a time when mankind and human civilization were on the edge of destruction, the Lord and Creator of the word caused a man to be born in Arabia who was entrusted with the most difficult task: not only to rescue mankind from imminent destruction but also to raise it to sublime height, heights hitherto beyond the knowledge of historians and the imagination of poets. If there were not incontrovertible historical evidence to demonstrate his achievements, it would be difficult to believe such greatness.

This man was Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was born in the sixth century. He saved mankind from imminent danger, gave it new life, new ambition, fresh energy, a revitalised sense of human dignity and intellect, as also a new found idealism. It was because of him that a new era came about, an era of spirituality in art and literature, of personal sincerity and selfless service of others, all of which produced an ordered, graceful and kindly culture. His most precious gifts to man were his devotion to righteousness and aversion to evil, his hatred of false gods and a passion for establishing justice and morality, and a readiness to lay down one’s life for these righteous goals. Such goals ultimately are the fountainhead and incentive for all reforms and improvements. Whatever great and sublime heights man has attained have been the result of such noble sentiments — indeed, all material resources, means and methods owe their existence to human will and determination. That great benefactor of humanity replaced barbarism and brutality with the milk of human kindness, magnanimity and courtesy. He struggled unceasingly for the propagation of his noble teachings with complete disregard for his own self, his life or prestige.


Precisely because of this struggle, there arose from among an uncivilized and ill-mannered people noble-hearted men who led a graceful and kindly life, men who started a new era of courtesy and warmth in human history, who engendered gentleness and goodness in those around them. The world obtained a fresh lease of life; justice and fairness became its hallmark; the weak were emboldened to claim their rights from the haughty and strong; mercy and kindness became the norms. It was a time when humanitarianism became a driving force, faith and conviction captured human hearts, mankind began to take pride in selflessness, and virtuous behaviour became habitual with people.

We list below, in brief, the precious gifts of Islam which have played a key role in the advancement of human values and culture. A new and bright world, quite different from the decaying and disintegrating humanity at the time of its advent, came into being as a result of these Islamic contributions:

1. The clear and unambiguous creed of the Oneness of God.
2. The concept of human equality and brotherhood.
3. The concept of human dignity and man being the masterpiece of God’s creation.
4. Acknowledgement of the proper status of women and the restoration of their legitimate rights.
5. The rejection of despair and the infusion of hope and confidence in human beings.
6. The fusion of the secular and the sacred, the refusal to accept any cleavage between them.
7. The integration of religion and knowledge, making one dependent on the other and raising respect for knowledge by declaring it a means of attaining nearness to God.
8. Emphasis on the use of intellectual faculties in religious and spiritual matters and encouraging the study and contemplation of natural phenomena.
9. Charging the followers of Islam with the responsibility of spreading virtue and goodness in the world, and making it a duty incumbent on them to restore truth and justice.
10. The establishment of a universal creed and culture.

[Abu_Hind]

I will not elaborate upon these points here. Instead, I would rather cite a few eminent western thinkers and writers who have acknowledged these virtues of Islam. one of the bases of culture and civilization — something that enhances gentility, and refinement, civility in conduct as well as in literature — is the acknowledgement of a truth, appreciation of the great achievements of others and returning thanks to those who have done us any favour. The day this noble sentiment is expelled from our lives, literature, ethical standards, intellectual labours, even the right of expressing our thoughts freely, will become meaningless. It will not be a world to live in and die for. It will be a world of beasts and brutes where the ruling passion is to fend for oneself alone. No sentiment will remain except the fulfilment of carnal desires. All rightly ordered relationships between teacher and taught, benefactor and beneficiary, physician and patient, even between parents and children, will peter out and lose their significance.

Gratitude, as defined by William H. Davidson, a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, is a spontaneous and natural sentiment generated by the kindness and benefit conferred by someone. It is a human virtue, at once abiding and universal. Davidson in this respect says:

Gratitude has been defined as that delightful emotion of love to him who has conferred a kindness on us, the very feeling of which is itself no small part of the benefit conferred. Gratitude is an unselfish joyous response to kindness — a response that is immediate and spontaneous; the ultimate meaning of which is that human nature is so constituted that affection and unity between persons is the foundation of it, ill-will and enmity (all indications to the contrary notwithstanding) being abnormal and depraved.5


Ingratitude is, thus, a moral depravity and a perversion of human nature, a sign of benumbed human conscience. The lowest depth to which this immorality can fall is the ingratitude shown to founders of religion, the teachers of morals and the greatest benefactors of humanity. Grotesque parody in deliberately offensive language is not appropriate from anyone, let alone of those noble souls who have founded religions, for it hurts the feelings of millions who not only follow them but who are also willing to lay down their lives for them. Efforts at such offensiveness also entail a denial of truth. No cultured people, country or society should tolerate or defend anyone so depraved and unmannerly, who possesses no conscience.

Now let us refer to the compliments paid to the greatest benefactor of humanity by a few eminent men of letters from this part of the world where I am speaking. One of these candid men, Lamartine of France, says in his tribute to the prophethood of Muhammad (peace the upon him):

If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammed?
The most famous men created arms, laws and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and souls. On the basis of a Book, every letter of which has become law, he created a spiritual nationality which blended together peoples of every tongue and of every race. He has left us as the indelible characteristic of his Muslim nationality, the hatred of false gods and the passion for the One and immaterial God. This avenging patriotism of Heaven formed the virtue of the followers of Mohammad; the conquest of one-third of the earth to this dogma was his miracle; or rather it was not the miracle of man but that of reason. The idea of the unity of God, proclaimed amidst the exhaustion of fabulous the genies, was in itself such a miracle that upon its utterance from his lips it destroyed all the ancient temples of idols and set on fire one-third of the world.

John William Draper, the reputed author of A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, writes:

Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Mecca, in Arabia, the man who, of all men, has exercised the greatest influence upon the human race.

He says further:

Muhammad possessed that combination of qualities which more than once has decided the fate of empires ... Asserting that everlasting truth, he did not engage in vain metaphysics, but applied himself to improving the social condition of the people by regulations respecting personal cleanliness, sobriety, fasting and prayer.
The great historian-philosopher of this century, A.J. Toynbee, is on record as saying that:
The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue.9

It is a strange coincidence that over a hundred years ago Thomas Carlyle chose Muhammad (peace the upon him) as the supreme hero, and now, in the closing decades of the twentieth century, Michael H. Hart of the United States of America has prepared a list of 100 most influential persons in history, placing the Prophet at the top.


The Prophet of Islam and his followers conferred favours on humanity which have played an unforgettable role in the promotion and development of culture and civilization. We will mention here only two of these, amply supported by historical evidence.


Students of history are aware that in the thirteenth century the civilized world, divided by the two great religions,Christianity and Islam, was suddenly confronted with a situation which threatened the imminent destruction of both the then vast empires, their arts and sciences, their cultures and morals. In short, all that the human race had laboriously achieved during the past hundreds of years once again faced its reduction to barbarism. This was brought about by the sudden rise of Genghis Khan (Tamuchin), a chieftain of the nomadic Mongol tribes, who possessed remarkable qualities of leadership and was able to subdue all that sat in his way. In 619/1219, Genghis Khan turned towards the western and northern civilized countries, ravaging them with fire and sword. How severe a blow the Mongol invasion dealt to all social and cultural progress can be gauged by a few graphic descriptions of Mongol rapine and slaughter, as given by Harold Lamb, Genghis Khan’s biographer:

"cities in his path were often obliterated, and rivers diverted from their courses; deserts were peopled with the fleeing and dying, and when he had passed, wolves and ravens often were the sole living things in once populated lands.
And consternation filled all Christendom, a generation after the death of Genghis Khan, when the terrible Mongol horsemen were riding over western Europe, when Boleslas of Poland and Bela of Hungary fled from stricken fields, and Henry, Duke of Silesia, died under the arrows with his Teutonic Knights at Liegnitz12 — sharing the fate of the Grand-Duke George of Russia.13

Such details are too horrible to dwell upon today. It was a war carried to its utmost extent — an extent that was very nearly approached in the last European War. It was the slaughter of human beings without hatred — simply to make an end of them.
Unchecked by human valour, they were able to overcome the terrors of vast deserts, the barriers of mountains and seas, the severities of climate, and the ravages of famine and pestilence. No danger could appeal them, no stronghold could resist them, no prayer for mercy could move them.

His achievement is recorded for the most part by his enemies. So devastating was his impact upon civilization that virtually a new beginning had to be made in half the world. The empires of Chathay, of Prester John, of Black Cathay, of Kharesem, and — after his death — the Caliphate of Baghdad, of Russia and for a while the principalities of Poland, ceased to be. When this indomitable barbarian conquered a nation all other warfare come to an end. The whole scheme of things, whether sorry or otherwise, was altered, and among the survivors of a Mongol conquest peace endured for a long time.

[Abu_Hind]

Harold Lamb correctly says that the impact of the Mongols, brought about by Genghis Khan, has been well summed up by the authors of the Cambridge Medieval History in these words:

This ‘new power in history’ — the ability of one man to alter human civilization — began with Genghis Khan and ended with his grandson Kublai, when the Mangol empire tended to break up. It has not reappeared since.


The terror of the Mongol invasion was not confined to Turkistan, Iran and Iraq alone.Mongol atrocities provoked trembling even in far-off corners of the world where they could hardly have been expected to carry their arms. Edward Gibbon writes in his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire:

The Latin world was darkened by this cloud of savage hostility; a Russian fugitive carried the alarm to Sweden; and the remote nations of the Baltic and the ocean trembled at the approach of the Tartars, whom their fear and ignorance were inclined to separate from the human species.


The Mongols first attacked Bukhara and razed it to dust. Not a single soul was spared by them. Thereafter, they laid Samarkand to ruin and massacred its entire population. The same was the fate of other urban centres in the then Islamic world. The Tartars would indeed have most probably devastated the whole of Christendom (then divided politically and suffering from numerous social evils), as stated by H.G. Wells:

A prophetic amateur of history surveying the world in the opening of the seventh century might have concluded very reasonably that it was only a question of a few centuries before the whole of Europe and Asia fell under Mongolian domination.

Harold Lamb also writes:

We only know that the German and Polish forces broke before the onset of the Mongol standard, and were almost exterminated; Henry and his barons died to a man, as did the Hospitallers .. In less than two months they had overrun Europe from the headwaiters of the Elbe to the sea, had defeated three great armies and a dozen smaller ones and had taken by assault all the towns excepting Olmutz.

Then a miraculous event changed the course of history. It not only allowed the civilized world to heave a sigh of relief but also permitted culture and civilization to be built afresh. The hearts of the indomitable Mongols were captured by the faith of their subjects who had lost all power and prestige. Arnold writes in The Preaching of Islam:

In spite of all difficulties, however, the Mongols and savage tribes that followed in their wake were at length brought to submit to the faith of those Muslim peoples whom they had crushed beneath their feet.

The names of only a few dedicated servants of Islam who won the savage Tartars to their faith are known to the world, but their venture was no less daring nor the achievement less significant than a great and successful reform movement. Their memory shall always be cherished as much by the Muslims, as by Christendom, or rather by all mankind, since they rescued the world from the barbarism of a savage race, the insecurity of widespread upheaval, and allowed it to once again devote its energies to the establishment of social and political stability. Normalcy thus restored, the world was allowed to resume its journey of cultural development and the promotion of arts and crafts, learning and teaching, preaching and writing.

After the death of Genghis Khan, his vast conquests were divided into four dominions headed by his sons’ children. The message of Islam then began to spread among all these four sections of the Mongol empire and before long all were converted to Islam.

The Tartars not only accepted Islam but a number of great scholars, writers, poets, mystics and fighters in the way of God, rose from amongst them. Their conversion to Islam completely changed their outlook and disposition as also their attitude towards humanity and civilization. This, in turn, benefited not only the Islamic East but also Christendom and even India. The Tartars made nine or ten attempts to capture India during the thirteenth century but the Sultans of Turkish descent, among whom Alauddin Khilji (d. 716/1316) and his commander Ghiyathuddin Tughluq (d. 716/1316) and his commander Ghiyathuddin Tughluq (d. 725/1324) were the more prominent, repelled them on each occasion. It was on account of them that the cultural and intellectual heritage of this ancient and prosperous country was saved from destruction and the two great religions, Islam and Hinduism, continued to flourish there.


This achievement of Islam, the transformation of the Tartars into a civilized people, was a service of a defensive nature rendered to humanity in general, and to the West in particular.
Another accomplishment of Islam, in contrast to the one just described, was its introduction of a new way of thinking and learning. It was like a flash of light in the Dark Ages of Europe one which paved the way for its Renaissance. It transformed not only Europe but helped the entire human race to benefitted from new researches and discoveries. A new era of empirical sciences was inaugurated which has changed the face of the earth. The intellectual patrimony of the ancients (consisting of philosophy, mathematics and medicine) found it way to Europe through Muslim Spain. This intellectual gift consisted of observation and experiment a replacement of inductive logic with deductive logic where by Europe’s whole way of thinking was changed. Science and technology were the main fruits. All the discoveries made by European scientific explorations — in short, whatever success has so far been achieved in harnessing the forces of nature — are directly related to inductive reasoning, not known to Europe until it was bequeathed to it by Muslim Spain. The noted French historian, Gustave Ie Bon, writes of the Arab contribution to Modern Europe:

Observation, experimentation and inductive logic which form the fundamentals of modern knowledge are attributed to Roger Bacon but it needs to be acknowledged that this process of reasoning was entirely an Arab discovery.

Robert Briffault has also reached the same conclusion, for he says:

There is not a single aspect of European growth in which the decisive influence of Islamic civilization is not traceable.

He further says:

It is not science only which brought Europe back to life. Other and manifold influences from the civilization of Islam communicated its first glow to European life.

[Abu_Hind]

Those who have studied the history of the Catholic Church and the Reformation are aware of the profound effect Islamic teachings had on the minds of those who initiated reform in Christendom. We can, for example, see the influence of Islam reflected in the thought of Martin Luther’s (1483-1546) Reformation movement. The revolt against autocratic leadership in the Catholic Church in medieval Europe also reveals the influence of Islam, which had no organised church.

It is, thus, our moral duty to acknowledge both these great favours conferred by Islam which have had a revolutionary impact on the world. When we speak of those who conferred these gifts or reassess their achievements we must at least keep in mind the rules of courtesy which have been accepted by all nations and cultured peoples and schools of thought. We should not abandon the norms of politeness, moderation, dignity and truthfulness, for these have been commended by the scriptures of all religions, moral treatises, as also by great writers and critics. It is on such civilized behaviour that good relations between different religions, communities and peoples depend, such behaviour alone makes possible a purposeful dialogue between people holding different views. In its absence, all serious writings, critiques and reviews must degenerate into obscene and sensational novels, vulgar and outrageous parodies. Such writings can unleash negative and disruptive forces, not only contemptible in themselves and harmful to serious intellectual endeavour, but also likely to embitter relations between different nations and countries.

The argument that any restraint placed on freedom of expression amounts to coercion, restriction of personal freedom, or interference in the rights of individuals under the constitution of an independent country, is simply untenable. The obscene and offensive description of the benefactors of mankind, prophets and reformers, particularly if such narration is against the established facts of history, hurts the feelings of millions who respect and revere them and is also likely to cause disharmony between different groups within a country or even between countries. It is an intolerable infringement of moral values, an offense against humanity, that should not be overlooked by any peace-loving nation upholding the value of harmonious co-existence between its different ethnic and religious communities. Western political thinkers, too, do not subscribe to such an unlimited right of freedom of expression. They have argued that such unlimited liberty would be even more harmful than the limits placed on freedom of expression. The subject might be treated at great length, but I will cite here only two authorities who have explained why limitations on freedom of expression are essential for the maintenance of public order.
Isaiah Berlin explains the two concepts of liberty in these words:


To protest against the laws governing censorship or personal morals as intolerable infringements of personal liberty presupposes a belief that the activities which such laws forbid are fundamental needs of men as men, in a good (or, indeed, any) society. To defend such laws is to hold that these needs are not essential, or that they cannot be satisfied without sacrificing other values which come higher — satisfy deeper needs — than individual freedom, determined by some standard that is not merely subjective, a standard for which some objective status — in principle or a priori — is claimed.
The extent of man’s or a people’s liberty to choose to live as they desire must be weighed against the claims of many other values, of which equality, or justice, or happiness, or security, or public order are perhaps the most obvious examples. For this reason, it cannot be unlimited.26


A speech delivered in the American Senate by Blackstone in 1897 and which forms the basis of American law on the subject, says about freedom of expression:

Every free man has an undoubted right in law to air what sentiment he pleases before the public; to forbid this is to destroy the freedom of the press : but if he publishes what is improper, mischievous, or illegal, he must take the consequences of his own temerity. To subject the press to the restrictive power of a licenser .. is to subject all freedom of sentiment to the prejudices of one man, and make him the arbitrary and infallible judge of all controversial points in learning, religion and Government. But to punish .. any dangerous or offensive writings which when published, shall on fair and impartial trial be adjudged of pernicious tendency, is necessary for the preservation of peace and good order, of Government and religion, the only solid foundations of civil liberty. Thus, the will of individuals is still left free; the abuse only of that free will is the object of legal punishment.27

I would like to conclude my talk with an exhilarating poem by Iqbal, the poet of the East, as he is known in the Muslim world, in which he enchantingly depicts the great favours conferred on humanity by the prophethood of Muhammad (on whom be the peace and blessings of God) favours which are unique and unparallaled:

Touched by the breath of the unlettered one,

The sands of Arabia began to sprout tulips.

Freedom under his care was reared

The ‘today’ of nations comes from his ‘yesterday’.

He put heart in the body of man,

And from his face the veil he lifted.

Every god of old he destroyed.

Every withered branch by his moisture bloomed.

The heat of the battle of Badr and Hunain,

Haider and Siddiq, Farooq and Hussain.

In the thick of battle the majesty of Azan,

The recitation of As-Saffat28 at the point of sword.

The scimitar of Ayub, the glance of Bayazid,

Key to the treasures of this world and the next.

Ecstasy of heart and mind from the same goblet,

Fusion of Rumi’s rapture and Razi’s thought.

Knowledge and wisdom, faith and law, polity and rule.

Yearnings hidden within the restless hearts.

Al-Hamara and Taj of beauty breath-taking.

To which even angels pay tribute.

These, too, a fragment of his priceless bequest,

Of his glimpses just one glimpse.

His exterior these enthralling sights,

Of his interior even the knowledge unaware.

Boundless praise be to the Apostle blessed,

Who imparted faith to elevate a handful of dust.

[Abu_Hind]

The Fifth Pillar of Islam

A book by 'Allamah Abul Hassan Ali Nadwi [ra] on Hajj

"...A man should, at times, liberate himself by breaking the fictitious bonds of habit and custom, of pedantic law, artificial taboos and stereo*typed conventions, and handing over the control of his affairs to the heart. He should, at least once in a lifetime, go into wilderness in the manner of a dejected lover and give a proof of the sweet madness of love as the want is of the people of faith and sensitiveness for only then can he have a taste of real freedom. Who will call him free who is permanently a slave to convention and society? How can a person be a true 'Monotheist when he is a prisoner of his own habits, desires and inclinations? How can he be considered loyal and faithful if he is always obeying the dictates of the mind and unless he weighs everything in the scales of his created intellect and its material advantages become apparent to him he cannot arouse himself to a deed of devotion and fidelity?
The Hajj, in its particular form, is entirely opposed to the self*imposed laws and the mechanical routine of life the worshippers of matter and intellect and the prisoners of discipline and orderly conduct are addicted to. What it aims at is that faith in the Unseen and the urge and ability to carry out an order, blindly and unhesitatingly - simply because it is an order - may take root in one's inner self and the cold and calculating intellect may be dispossessed, for a time, of its authority which weighs and balances everything and lays stress only on its logical and perceptible aspect.

Imam Ghazali has delved deep into the spirit and purpose of the Hajj and drawn an excellent portrait of it with his inimitable pen. He says:

"In its nature and design the House of Allah is like a regal court to which adorers and admirers, and those stricken with the torment of separation, come from far and near, way-worn, haggard and dishevelled, with their heads bowed in submission and the conviction of their wretchedness embedded in their hearts, forgetting themselves before His Glory and Magnificence and knowing fully well and affirming wholeheartedly that He is too Sublime, too Exalted to be encompassed by a boundary-wall or contained in a city or town, so that their devotion and servitude and crying and lamentation may reach their limit and nothing is left waiting by way of obeisance and self-surrender...""

[Abu_Hind]

Hadhrat Maulana Sayyid Abul Hassan Ali Nadwi [ra] on Tassawuf:

Mufakkir al-Islam Maulana Abul Hasan 'Ali an-Nadwi (rahmatullahi 'alaihi) writes:

“There are two very difficult unavoidable stages encountered in all doctrines, be they ethics, education and training, reformation or the sciences. The one stage where the means become the object, and the other where technical terms obscure realities. Both the means and the technical terms are imperative and absolutely inborn and natural, without which the propagation and expansion, teaching and explanation of these high objects is practically impossible. However, be they the means or technical terms, for the purpose of achieving the aims and realities, their function is that of attendants and assistants. They are adopted temporarily for the completion of a necessity.

At times they are overemphasized and deemed to be the objects and realities themselves. When an expert in any skill deems it necessary, he gives instruction to do without, or completely drop both the means and technical terms. Here the expert governs the means and technical terms instead of being controlled by them. He simultaneously considers that it does not exceed the limits and so becomes detrimental instead of beneficial, and instead of conveying him to his goal, it becomes an obstacle.

An historical fact which has to be acknowledged is that time and again this misfortune befalls lofty ideals, where means become the object and technical terms obscure realities with a thick veil. Not only were they obscured, but moreover the bitter experiments and grave errors of the flag bearers of these technical terms gave rise to such grievous misunderstandings that a great number of true and upright people have learnt to dread and dislike these aims and realities. It has now become a very difficult task to make them recognize and value these realities and make an effort to attain these goals.

If a discourse to denote the importance of acquiring these aims is delivered, or an effort to satisfy them is made, then they are confronted with the enormous mountain of ‘means’, about which the immature and unauthorized reformers exaggerated and also unnecessarily compelled them to do. These reformers themselves became so confused that the actual aim was totally forgotten and disregarded.

Similarly, when the call for these self evident and undisputed realities was made, it was obscured by technical terms. These technical words could also be interpreted differently. Generally, because of the span of time, technical terms had to be formed to explain such realities and to draw people towards understanding them. This was done for particular reasons, because of the demand of the social structure and special situations that prevailed.

The forerunners of these realities, whose lives were a true reflection of these facts, were unacquainted with these technical terms.

They used different words, expressions and ways to explain these realities. If a study is made of the history of any science from etymology, syntax, rules, dialect, rhetorics (balaghat) to realities, recognition, spiritual reformation, it will be found, when a comparison is made, that the earlier ones were in full control of the means, whereas the latter ones were, in contrast, controlled by the means.

The authorized experts were propagators and inviters while the novices were captives of their mentors and technical terms. This became an agonizing factor in the path of the exalted aims of religion, ethics, skills and sciences. Students throughout the ages were always confronted by this difficult test.

The matter of tasawwuf is very similar. As far as the aims and objects are concerned, they are self evident and unanimously accepted. Tasawwuf has been adversely affected by the following two factors. The means were exaggerated and the technical terms were over emphasized and insisted on.

If a person is questioned, “Are loyalty and ethics important or not?". “Is it necessary to develop a firm belief or not?". “Is it commendable to be adorned with virtues and be free from vice, such as jealousy, kibr ( to degrade another arrogantly ), to show off, bear malice and hatred, have love for wealth and honor or not?". “Is it desirable to liberate the low nafs from these evil tendencies?". “Humility and humbleness in salaat, the state of modesty and entreatment whilst weeping in duaa, the habit of taking stock of one's soul, and above all, the love for Allah and His Rasul (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam), achievement of a feeling of satisfaction and sweetness or at least to be eager and punctual to attain it, clean dealings, truth and trust, having regard for the rights of humanity, control over ones self, especially in times of anger, are all these desirable or not?". Every sane person, especially the Muslim who is not blindfolded by prejudice, will definitely give this answer: “That these are not only virtuous but also necessary according to the shari'ah, and these are the exhortations of the entire Qur’aan and volumes of hadith literature.

[Abu_Hind]

If it is said, “The method of acquiring these qualities is what the latter generations named tasawwuf”. They react with a frown because they dread this term. Others would disapprove because of their bitter experiences with the forerunners and false claimants. They would recall unpleasant incidents and observations that they encountered with them.

This is not the case with tasawwuf alone. It is the problem with all other skills and reformations, where there will be found amongst their propagators, administrators, missionaries and claimants those who are genuine and the false, the authorized and unauthorized, the mature and immature, and even the faithful and the faithless. Inspite both of these opposing types, any just person will not deny the necessity of the profession nor object to it.

In worldly professions too, whether it is business, agriculture, industry or craftsmanship, both types are present, the expert and the novice, the guide and the deceiver. Yet, the affairs of the world and religion go on as such. One must attend to one's own affairs and neither deprive himself of this treasure because of inexperienced claimants, nor cast aside the actual reality because of disagreement with any technical term. A poet has appropriately said,

“Wise men do not get involved with words,
Is the diver's interest in the shells or the pearls ?"

There are two groups who are opposed to tasawwuf. One comprises those who accept its constituents separately, but deny it if it is referred to as a whole. The majority of the people applaud the aforementioned aim and qualities separately, but if it be said to them that, “Some people have for some reasons given all these qualities a common name then their colors change instantly and they say, ‘We don’t believe in tasawwuf, it has caused great harm’."

The other group are those to whom it is acceptable if it is proposed under a different name. For example if it is said, “The Noble Qur’aan has termed it ‘tazkiyah’ (purger). The hadith names it ‘ihsaan’. The latter jurists termed it ‘fiqh al-baatin’ (spiritual jurisprudence)”, they would then reply that there is no contradiction and that all of these are declarations of Allah and His Rasul (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam).

Verily, neither can alterations be made to all the books written, nor can the tongues of men be withheld. Otherwise, if we were given the option, we should have referred to it by the words ‘tazkiyah’ and ‘ihsaan’ and not use the word ‘tasawwuf’. Now this is the popular name. This designation is not exclusive to this science alone.

The history of the arts and sciences is full of such common technical terms. Authorities on sciences have all along laid stress on the aims and kept the means within their limits. With great courage and strong wills have they not only refuted that which was foreign to its soul, essence and real goal but they have also refuted that which proved harmful and irrelevant.

There is no such period in the history of Islam in which the experts, tutors and propagators of this subject did not differentiate between its body and soul, reality and form, aims and customs. All of them, from the peer of all peers, Shaikh Abdul Qaadir Jilaani (rahmatullahi 'alaihi) and Shaikh Shahaabuddin Suharwardi (rahmatullahi 'alaihi) upto Mujaddid al-Alf ath-Thaani (rahmatullahi 'alaihi), Hadhrat Shah Waliullah Dihlawi (rahmatullahi 'alaihi), Hadhrat Sayyid Ahmad Shaheed (rahmatullahi 'alaihi), Hadhrat Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (rahmatullahi 'alaihi). and Hakim al-Ummat Hadhrat Maulana Ashraf 'Ali Thanwi (rahmatullahi 'alaihi), all have emphatically made a clear distinction between the kernel and shell, the correct object and incorrect interpretation. They have vehemently rejected all those customs and ways which were introduced into and regarded as part of tasawwuf and tariqat by association with non-Muslims and immature sufis who were unaware.

This subject is found in many places in the following kitaabs: ‘Futuhul Ghaib’ and ‘Ghuniyatut Taalibeen’ by Hadhrat Shaikh Abdul Qaadir Jilaani (rahmatullahi 'alaihi), ‘Awaariful Ma’aarif’ by Hadhrat Shaikh Shahaabuddin Suharwardi (rahmatullahi 'alaihi), ‘Maktubaat Imaam Rabbaani’ by Hadhrat Mujaddid Saheb (rahmatullahi 'alaihi), the works of Hadhrat Shah Waliullah (rahmatullahi 'alaihi), ‘Siraat Mustaqeem’ by Hadhrat Sayyid Ahmad Shaheed (rahmatullahi 'alaihi), the letters written by Hadhrat Gangohi (rahmatullahi 'alaihi), and ‘Tarbiyatus Saalik’ and ‘Qasd as-Sabeel’ by Hadhrat Maulana Thanvi (rahmatullahi 'alaihi). They have separated the true from the false showing absolute impartiality.

Hadhrat Shah Waliullah Saheb (rahmatullahi 'alaihi) has written thus,

“The spiritual connection of the sufis is a great blessing and an alchemy, but their customs (those for which there is no proof in the shari'ah) are worthless. Likewise all these men, without exception, have earnestly stressed the importance of proper ethics, transactions and civil rights and stipulated this as a condition of reformation and approach (to Allah). Their writings elaborate extensively on this topic and their congregations always consisted of advice and propagation in this respect."
We were blessed to stay in the company of the saints of our times. Just upon seeing them were we convinced and believed in tasawwuf. We not only found ‘tasawwuf’ and ‘tariqah’ in them, but also the essence of ‘deen’ and the ‘shari'ah’. Their characters were a reflection of the character of Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam). Their lives, actions and dealings were weighed and molded according to the shari'ah. We noticed that they always separated the aims from the means and laid stress on realities by staying away from and disregarding technical terms.

They did not attach any importance to customs and were staunch opposers and denouncers of innovations. Their obedience to the sunnah was not only confined to devotions but it also enveloped their habits and dealings as well. They were not followers of this science, but were in fact true reformers. With their divine insight and lengthy experience, they accomplished their task, sometimes with brevity and selection and at other times with omissions and amendments.

Treatment and advice were dispensed to suit each one's individual nature. In the remedy and diet, full consideration was given to conditions, occupations and temperaments.

Their status in this field is similar to that of a discoverer of medicine or an inventor of a skill. They were masters and not slaves of their profession. Their actual concern was the health and benefit of the (spiritually) sick and not to tread the beaten track (i.e. to be a slave of old customs and rites).

Their concept of the actual purpose of tasawwuf is the sincerity of desiring Allah’s pleasure, be it reformation of character, honest dealings, development of a moderate nature, self control, giving preference to others, submission, recitations, strivings, staying in the company of a shaikh and even bai’ah. If these are not achieved then all this effort is synonymous to a person who works all day long trying to move a mountain with a piece of straw.

Poem:

Khawaja Saheb thinks he has attained spiritual heights,
This conclusion of Khawaja is mere wishful thinking.

Link: at-Talib: Shaikh Abul Hasan 'Ali an-Nadwi On Tasawwuf

[Abu_Hind]

Shaykh Allaamah Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi (RA)


(This speech was delivered at the Islamic Centre of New Jersey on June 4, 1977.)

Friends and Brothers, It is my good fortune to meet you at this great Islamic Centre, This is my first visit to North America. Before it, I used to read and hear about this land and the progress Islam was making in it. I had, also, some knowledge of the religious inclination and solicitude of the Muslims who had taken up residence here. But I did not imagine that I would be meeting so many of my religious brethren in this far-off country or witnessing such a keen interest and enthusiasm for Islam.

On coming here I realized that Islam was trying to obtain a foothold in the United States which enjoyed the position of leadership in the contemporary world owing, largely, to its phenomenal advances in the fields of science and industry. By the grace of God, Islam has made its debut in. this part of the world and is making a steady headway, and, God willing, the day is not far when an Islamic society will be established here.

It is, of course, a good augury for Islam and a matter of joy for the Muslims, but I, also, have some misgivings by reason of what little knowledge I possess of history. The establishment of an Islamic society so far away from the centers of Islamic faith and civilization is open to grave risks and can lead to catastrophic consequences. Dr. Sulaiman Duniya, from whose writings 1, too, have profited, has very aptly remarked that Islam is not exclusive to any country. I wholly agree that Islam is not a territorial faith, yet, it also needs a distinctive environment, a congenial climate, and a predisposition that may transcend personal, cultural and intellectual standards and give forth, as one would say, the aroma of Islam. It requires an Islamic homeland for it is neither a mystical doctrine nor a philosophy nor a collection of soulless beliefs and rituals, but a real, living and all-embracing faith.

Islam, at once, is comprehensive of Idea and Action, Morality and Monetary Dealings, and Emotion and Intellect. In the same way, it, also, is a special kind of natural inclination and a peculiar state of mind. It embraces all the manifold aspects of human personality-spiritual and material, moral and physical, emotional and intellectual, and personal and social. It casts a man into a new mold. Whoever embraces Islam with an open heart believing it to be the chosen faith of the Lord and the Last of the Divine Messages will get cast into the mold of Islam. He will be transformed so radically as if be had been born anew because Islam is a complete and eternal plan of life which comprehends all the aspects of change and revolution and perfection and beauty. Islam is not a wooden dogma or a traditional religion, but a faith that permeates through the inmost recesses of the heart and soul.

If the true image of Islam is present before the mind's eye, it would be evident that it is not something that can, simply, be transmitted through the written or spoken word or seen in the books, but a typical way of thought and a distinctive state of feeling. Hence it passes judgment about the goodness and badness desirability and undesirability of things. as is related about the holy Prophet that he liked or disliked many things. He, for example, liked to begin every good act with the right hand so much so that be started combing his hair from the right side or when he wore the shoes, he began with the right foot. Similarly, there were many things that gave him pleasure or made him annoyed and uncomfortable. Islam, in fact, is an Apostolic of empyreal way of life that has come down from the heaven of heavens and the Divine Messengers have been its bearers and custodians, and they have left it behind as their legacy.

This is why, God had described Islam as Sibghatullah (color of Allah). Were it only a body of doctrines or a code of conduct it would not have been called Sibghat which denotes a mark', 'a colouring', and a distinguishing feature'. This can be possible only when Islam draws a clear line of demarcation between one man and another, between one life, character and temperament, and another life, character and temperament, and brings out clearly the difference among the standards of things and values of life. The criterion of Islam is quite different from the criterion of Infidelity. Hence, you will find warnings in the compilations of the Traditions and Sunnah of the Prophet against the Age of Ignorance and its practices. For instance, sometimes, it is said about a thing that it is a practice of the Age of Ignorance, and, sometimes, that is very much like the zealotry and arrogance of those days. It is set forth in the Quran;

"(O ye women); Bedizen not yourselves with the bedizenment of the Time of Ignorance." (XXXIII : 33)

But why ? The Age of Ignorance having ended long ago, for what purpose did the Quran call upon men to shun it? It was because Ignorance was a definite way of life and had its own values and standards for judging the goodness and badness, lawfulness and unlawfulness of things, and it was a way of life which the Lord viewed with disfavor. It is mentioned in the Traditions that God looked at the earth and was displeased with the Arabs and non-Arabs who dwelt on it except for a few People of the Scripture".

The Almighty disliked Ignorance; He cursed it, and declared it undesirable for the bondmen. Hence, it was said:

"Bedizen not yourselves with the bedizenment of the Time of Ignorance." And, also: "When the unbelievers got up in their hearts heat and cant : the heat and cant of Ignorance." (-XLVIII : 26)

Whenever the sacred Prophet noticed a trait of Ignorance in a Muslim, he took exception to it, saying: 'You are still under the influence of Ignorance'. For instance, when he saw an illustrious Companion like Abu Zarr Ghifari ill-treating his slave and beating him up, the Prophet observed: "The inclination towards Ignorance has not yet gone out of you". The worthy Companion, on his part, was so deeply affected by the rebuke that he, at once, started treating his slave like an equal, and gave him to eat and wear what he ate and wore himself.

Had Islam not been possessing a distinctive character and temperament, the Lord would not have used the word, color, in respect of it.

"The Color of Allah : and who is better than Allah at coloring." (II: 138)

Exhorting, further, the bondmen to follow the Apostles, the Lord proclaimed, giving out a long and lustrous list of Divine Messengers:

"And We bestowed upon him Issac and Jacob; each of them We guided; and Noah did We guide aforetime; and of his seed (We guided) David and Solomon and Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron. Thus do We reward the good. And Zachariah and John and Jesus and Elias. Each one (of them) was of the righteous. And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot. Each one of them did We prefer above (Our) creatures, with some of their forefathers and their offspring and their brethren; and We chose them and guided them unto a Straight Path. Such is the guidance of Allah wherewith He guideth whom He will of His bondmen. But if they set up (for worship) aught beside Him, all that they did would have been in vain." (-VI : 85-89)

[Abu_Hind]

continuation of the speech

And again : "Those are they whom Allah guideth, so follow their guidance." (-VI : 91)

Afterwards, the Lord determined that the command was exclusively with regard to the Prophet Mohammad whose life was a perfect model for mankind and an ideal example. The following words were thus. addressed to the Believers through the holy Prophet :

"Say, (O Mohammad, to mankind); If you love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins." (-III: 31)

Islam is more sensitive than any other faith. It is enough for a