Ahmad Raza Khan Baraylawi (14 June 1856–28 October 1921), known reverentially as A'la Hazrat, (Grand Master), was an Islamic scholar, mufti, polymath, gnostic, poet from (undivided) India, he is considered as the founder of the Barelvi movement by his rivals. Born in

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, Ahmad Raza Khan wrote on law,

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and the

sciences Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

, and because he mastered many subjects in both rational and religious sciences he has been called a

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

by Francis Robinson, a leading Western

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and academic who specializes in the history of

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. As well as D. B. Hann. He himself states he mastered over 55 branches of knowledge which he also lists out. He was an Islamic scholar who wrote extensively in defense of the status of Muhammad in Islam and popular Sufi practices. He himself says in a religious authorisation letter which he wrote to another scholar that the most beloved thing to him was the "''defence of my Master, the Chief of Messengers ﷺ''". He influenced millions of people, and today the Baraylawi movement has the largest following amongst any other movement within the Subcontinent. Ahmad Raza Khan is viewed as a

Mujaddid A ''mujaddid'' () is an Islamic term for one who brings "renewal" () to the religion. According to the popular Muslim tradition, it refers to a person who appears at the turn of every century of the Islamic calendar to revitalize Islam, clean ...

, or reviver of Islam by his followers and by some of the leading scholars of Mecca and Medina.

Biography

Family background

Khan was born on 10 Shawwal 1272 Hijri corresponds to 14 June 1856 to an

Indian Muslim Islam is India's Religion in India, second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, or approximately 172.2 million people, identifying as adherents of Islam in a 2011 census. India also has the Islam by country, third-larg ...

family in the Mohallah of Jasoli in

Bareilly district The Bareilly district () belongs to the state Uttar Pradesh in States and territories of India, northern India. Its capital is Bareilly city and it is divided in six administrative division or tehsils: Aonla, Uttar Pradesh, Aonla, Baheri, Bareil ...

North-Western Provinces The North-Western Provinces was an Presidencies and provinces of British India, administrative region in British Raj, British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Cede ...

. The family belonged to the Barech tribe of

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...

, his ancestor Muhammad Saeedullah Khan, a warrior who accompanied

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

, having migrated from

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

(current-day

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

) to

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

(current-day

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

) while the family later settled down in Bareilly. His father,

Naqi Ali Khan Naqi Ali Khan (; 1830–1880) was an Indian Islamic scholar and father of Ahmed Raza Khan, Ahmad Raza Khan. Naqi Ali wrote 26 books on Prophetic biography, Seerah and Sunni Hanafi Aqidah and he issued many Fatwas. Family tree Publications * ...

, was an Islamic scholar. Who was an accomplished jurist and theologian as attested to by Ahmad Raza himself. The name corresponding to the year of his birth was al-Mukhtar. His birth name was Muhammad. Khan used the appellation ''"Abd-ul-Mustafa"'' ("servant of the chosen one") prior to signing his name in correspondence.

Teachers

According to ''Hayat-e-Aala Hazrat'' written by Malik Zafaruddin Bihari, some of his famous teachers included: *Syed Shah Aale Rasul Marehrawi (d.1879) *

(d. 1880) * Ahmad Zayni Dahlan Makki (d. 1881) *Abdul Rahman Siraj Makki (d. 1883) *Hussain bin Saleh (d. 1884) *Abul Hussain Ahmad Al-Nuri (d. 1906) *Abdul Ali Rampuri (d. 1885)

Spiritual order

In the year 1294 A.H. (1877), at the age of 22 years, Ahmad Raza became the Mureed (disciple) of Shah Aale Rasool Marehrawi. His Murshid bestowed him with Khilafat in several Sufi Silsilas. Some

Islamic scholars In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

received permission from him to work under his guidance.Imam, Muhammad Hassan. (2005)
The Role of the Khulafa-e-Imam Ahmed Raza Khan in the

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation the ...

1920–1947. Diss. Karachi: University of Karachi.

Baraylawi movement

Imam Ahmad Raza wrote extensively in defense of his views, countered

Wahhabism Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to oth ...

and the

Deobandi movement The Deobandi movement or Deobandism is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam that adheres to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. It was formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name ...

, and by his writing and activity became the founder of the Baraylawi movement. The movement has spread across the globe with followers in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. The movement now has over 200 million followers globally. However, the more accurate number would be close to 500-600 million followers if the numbers from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are added. The movement was largely a rural phenomenon when began but is currently popular among urban, educated Pakistanis and Indians as well as the South Asian diaspora throughout the world. The efforts of Ahmad Raza Khan and his associate scholars to establish a movement to counter the Deobandi and

Ahl-i Hadith Ahl-i-Hadith or Ahl-e-Hadith (, ''people of hadith'') is a Salafi reform movement that emerged in North India in the mid-nineteenth century from the teachings of Syed Ahmad Barelvi, Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, Syed Nazeer Husain and Nawab Siddiq Has ...

movements resulted to in the institutionalization of diverse Sufi movements and their allies in various parts of the world.

Jamat Raza E Mustafa

Ahmad Raza Khan founded an organization Jamat Raza E Mustafa, on 17 December 1920 with the aim of progress, unity and religious education of the Ahl-E-Sunnat wal Jamat.

Death

Ahmad Raza Khan died on 28 October 1921 (25 Safar 1340 AH) at the age of 65. He is buried in Bareilly Sharif Dargah. Urs-e-Razavi is a 3 day long annual event commemorating his death anniversary.

Books

Imam Ahmad Raza Khan wrote several hundred books in Arabic, Persian, and Urdu, including the thirty-volume

fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

compilation '' Fatawa Razawiyya'', and '' Kanz ul-Iman'' (Translation & Explanation of the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

). Several of his books have been translated into European and South Asian languages.''Maarif Raza'', Karachi, Pakistan. Vol.29, Issue 1–3, 2009, pages 108–09 His students and researchers suggest he wrote 1000+ books, ranging from large volumes to small booklets. He also wrote many books on science and physics. In one of his famous books, Fauze Mubeen Dar Radde Harkate Zameen, using the Holy Qur'an as its guideline, he provided more than 100 arguments that the earth is not rotating but is stationary. In his arguments he has also discussed at length why he believed some of the Newton's arguments were false.

Kanz ul-Iman (translation of the Qur'an)

'' Kanz ul-Iman'' (Urdu and Arabic: کنزالایمان) is a 1910 Urdu paraphrase translation of the Qur'an by Khan. It is associated with the

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

jurisprudence within Sunni Islam, and is a widely read version of the translation in the Indian Subcontinent. It has been translated into English, Hindi, Bengali, Dutch, Turkish, Sindhi, Gujarati, and Pashto, and also recently translated into Gojri language by Mufti Nazir Ahmed Qadri.

Husam ul-Haramain

'' Husam ul-Haramain'' or Husam al-Harmain Ala Munhir Kufr wal-Mayn (The Sword of the

Haram ''Haram'' (; ) is an Arabic term meaning 'taboo'. This may refer to either something sacred to which access is not allowed to the people who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the sacred knowledge; or, in direct cont ...

ayn at the throat of disbelief and falsehood) 1906, is a treatise which declared infidels the founders of the

Deobandi The Deobandi movement or Deobandism is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam that adheres to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. It was formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the nam ...

and

Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

movements on the basis that they did not have the proper veneration of Muhammad and finality of prophethood in their writings. In defense of his verdict he obtained confirmatory signatures from 268 scholars in

, and some from scholars in

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

and

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

. The treatise is published in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, English, Turkish and

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

Fatawa Razawiyya

'' Fatawa Razawiyya'' or the full name Al''-Ataya Al Nabawiyyah Fil'' ''Fatawa'' ''Al'' ''Razawiyya'' (translates to, Verdicts of Imam Ahmed Raza by the blessings of the Prophet) is the main fatwa (Islamic verdicts on various issues) book of his movement. It has been published in 30 volumes and in approx. 22,000 pages. It contains solutions to daily problems from religion to business and from war to marriage. He reached judgments with regard to certain practices and faith in his book '' Fatawa-i Razawiyya'', including: *Islamic Law is the ultimate law and following it is obligatory for all Muslims; *To refrain from misguidance is essential; *It is impermissible to imitate the Kuffar, to associate with the deviants, and to participate in their festivals.

Hadaiq-e-Bakhshish

He wrote '' na'at'' (devotional poetry in praise of Muhammad) and always discussed him in the present tense. His main book of poetry is '' Hadaiq-e-Bakhshish''. His poems, which deal for the most part with the qualities of Muhammad, often have a simplicity and directness. His Urdu couplets, entitled ''Mustafa Jaane Rahmat pe Lakhon Salaam'' (Hundreds of Thousands of Salutations upon Mustafa, the Paragon of Mercy), are recited in mosques globally. They contain praise of Muhammad, his physical appearance (verses 33 to 80), his life and times, praise of his family and companions, praise of the

Awliya The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

and Salihin (the saints and the pious).

Al Dawlatul Makkiya Bil Madatul Ghaibiya

In 1323 Hijri (1905), Ahmad Raza went for his second Haj. Allamah Shaikh Saleh Kamal a Alim of Makkatul Mukarrama, he presented five questions to Ahmad Raza on behalf of the Ulema of Makkatul Mukarrama, this question was asked by Makkatul Mukarrama

Wahhabi Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other ...

Ulema regarding Knowledge of the knowledge of Unseen (Ilm-e-Ghaib). At that time Ahmed Raza was suffering from a high fever, despite the illness he tried to answer all the questions, he answered in such detail that the answer took the form of a book, and this book was named Al Dawlatul Makkiya Bil Madatul Ghaibiya.

Religious views

Ahmad Raza Khan saw an intellectual and moral decline of Muslims in British India. His movement was a mass movement, defending popular

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

, which grew in response to the influence of the

in South Asia and the

Wahhabi movement Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other p ...

elsewhere. Imam Ahmed Raza Khan supported

Tawassul Tawassul, is an Arabic word originated from 'wasilat'. The ''wasilah'' is a means by which a person, goal or objective is approached, attained or achieved. In another version of the meaning of tawassul in another text: Tawassul is an Arabic word t ...

Mawlid The Mawlid () is an annual festival commemorating the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad on the traditional date of 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar. A day central to the traditions of some Sunnis, Mawlid is al ...

, Prophet Muhammad's awareness of complete knowledge of the unseen, and other practices which were opposed by

Wahhabis Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other ...

Salafi The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a fundamentalist revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "''Salafiyya''" is a self-designation, claiming a retu ...

s and

Deobandis The Deobandi movement or Deobandism is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam that adheres to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. It was formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name ...

Prophet Muhammad

In this contrast to the beliefs of the Wahhabis and Deobandis, Ahmad Raza Khan supported the following beliefs: * Muhammad is a human being made of '' nur'' (light), he found support for this in the Hadith of Jaabir which was relied upon by others such as

Ahmad Sirhindi Ahmad Sirhindi (1564 – 1624/1625) was an Indian Islamic scholar, Hanafi jurist, and member of the Naqshbandī Sufi order who lived during the era of Mughal Empire. Ahmad Sirhindi opposed heterodox movements within the Mughal court such as D ...

. This contrasts with the

view that Muhammad was

Al-Insān al-Kāmil In Islamic theology, ''al-Insān al-Kāmil'' (), also rendered as ''Insān-i Kāmil'' ( Persian/Urdu: ) and ' ( Turkish), is an honorific title to describe Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. The phrase means "the person who has reached perfection ...

(perfect person), but still a regular human. * Muhammad is ''Haazir aur Naazir'' (present and witnessing) which means that Muhammad views and witnesses the actions of his people whilst being present and alive in his grave. This concept was interpreted by

Shah Abdul Aziz Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith Dehlavi (11 October 1746 – 5 June 1824) was an Indian Sunni Muslim Scholar and Sufi Saint. He is known as the Muhaddith and Mujaddid from India. He was a member of the Naqshbandi Sufi order. Their tradition inspired ...

in Tafsir-e-Azizi in these words: The prophet is observing everybody, knows their good and bad deeds, and knows the strength of faith (Iman) of every individual Muslim and what has hindered his spiritual progress.

Infidels

Raza Khan was emphatic in opposing the Hindu influences on Muslim identity. To differentiate between a Muslim and a Infidel he emphatically said:

Permissibility of currency notes

In 1905, Khan, on the request of contemporaries from Hijaz, wrote a verdict on the permissibility of using paper as a form of currency, entitled ''Kifl-ul-Faqeehil fehim Fe Ahkam-e-Kirtas Drahim''.

Sectarian views

Ahmadis

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and '' Mahdī'', in fulfillment of th ...

Qadian Qadian (; ) is a town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district, north-east of Amritsar, situated north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India. Qadian is the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movem ...

claimed to be the

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

, Prophet, and

Mahdi The Mahdi () is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesu ...

awaited by some Muslims as well as a Nabi Ummati, a subordinate prophet to Muhammad who came to restore

to the pristine form as practiced by

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

and early

Sahaba The Companions of the Prophet () were the Muslim disciples and followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who saw or met him during his lifetime. The companions played a major role in Muslim battles, society, hadith narration, and governance ...

. Khan declared Mirza Ghulam Ahmad a

heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

and

apostate Apostasy (; ) is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. One who ...

and called him and his followers disbelievers ( ''kuffar'').

Deobandis

The theological difference with the Deobandi school began when Shah Isma'il Dehlawi, a major figure head in the Deobandi movement, wrote a book entitled "''Taqwiyatul Imaan''", the scholars at point in time refuted this book, likening it to the "''Kitab At-Tawheed''" of Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab Najdi. Isma'il and his followers wrote counter refutations but in doing so they wrote works which would later also be labelled as containing blasphemies by the opposition. The theological difference hence is a back and forth between the two parties based on the books of deobandi founders and Ahmad Raza Khan played an important role in this later on as he gathered fatwas against these founders. Ahmad Raza Khan Baraylawi objected in writing to some of the following beliefs of Deobandi scholars. *He opposed the belief of a founder of the Deobandi movement, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, who stated that God has the ability to lie. This doctrine is called ''Imkan-i Kizb''. Gangohi also supported the doctrine that God has the ability to make additional prophets after Muhammad (''Imkan-i Nazir'') and other prophets equal to Muhammad, a doctrine which was opposed by Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi. *He opposed the doctrine that Muhammad has not got extensive knowledge of the unseen (''Ilm e Ghaib''). When Ahmad Raza Khan visited Mecca and Medina for pilgrimage in 1905, he prepared a draft document entitled ''Al Motamad Al Mustanad'' ("The Reliable Proofs"). In this work, Ahmad Raza branded Deobandi leaders such as

Ashraf Ali Thanwi Ashraf Ali Thanwi (often referred as Hakimul Ummat and Mujaddidul Millat; 19 August 1863 – 20 July 1943) was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar, jurist, thinker, reformist and a revivor of classical Sufi in the Indian subcontinent during the Briti ...

Rashid Ahmad Gangohi Rashīd Aḥmad ibn Hidāyat Aḥmad Ayyūbī Anṣārī Gangohī (12 June 182611 August 1905) was a Deobandi Islamic scholar from Indian subcontinent, a leading figure of the Deobandi jurist and scholar of hadith, author of '' Fatawa-e-Rash ...

, and Qasim Nanotwi and those who followed them as '' kuffar''. Khan collected scholarly opinions in the

Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...

and compiled them in an Arabic language compendium with the title, ''Hussam al Haramayn'' ("The Sword of Two Sanctuaries"), a work containing 34 verdicts from 33 major scholars (20 Meccan and 13 Medinese).*Siraj Khan, Blasphemy against the Prophet, in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture (Editors: Coeli Fitzpatrick and Adam Hani Walker), , pp. 59–67 *R Ibrahim (2013), Crucified Again, , pp. 100–101 However, Deobandis claim the evidence provided to the scholars in Arabia were fabricated and that Ahmed Raza Khans takfir of them was unjust, and this initiated a reciprocal series of fatwas between Baraylawis and Deobandis which has lasted to the present.

Shia

Ahmad Raza Khan wrote various books against the beliefs and faith of

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

Muslims and declared various practices of Shia as kufr. He considered most Shiites of his day apostates because, he believed, they repudiated necessities of religion.

Wahhabi Movement

Ahmad Raza Khan declared

as disbelievers (''kuffar'') and collected many fatwas of various scholars against the Wahhabi movement founded by

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Sulaymān al-Tamīmī (1703–1792) was a Sunni Muslim scholar, theologian, preacher, activist, religious leader, jurist, and reformer, who was from Najd in Arabian Peninsula and is considered as the eponymo ...

, who was predominant in the

Arabian peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, just as he had done with the Ahmadis and Deobandis. Until this day, Ahmad Raza Khan's followers remain opposed to the Wahhabi movement and their beliefs.

Political views

Unlike other Muslim leaders in the region at the time, Ahmad Raza Khan and his movement opposed the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

due to its leadership under

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

, who was not a Muslim.R. Upadhyay
Barelvis and Deobandis: "Birds of the Same Feather"
. Eurasia Review, courtesy of the South Asia Analysis Group. 28 January 2011. Imam Ahmad Raza Khan declared that India was Dar al-Islam and that Muslims enjoyed religious freedom there. According to him, those arguing the contrary merely wanted to take advantage of the provisions allowing Muslims living under the non-Muslim rule to collect interest from commercial transactions and had no desire to fight

Jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

or perform Hijra. Therefore, he opposed labeling British India to be

Dar al-Harb In classical Islamic law, there are three major divisions of the world which are ''dar al-Islam'' (), denoting regions where Islamic law prevails,

("abode of war"), which meant that waging holy war against and migrating from India were inadmissible as they would cause disaster to the community. This view of Khan's was similar to other reformers

Syed Ahmed Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898), also spelled Sayyid Ahmad Khan, was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu–Muslim unity, he ...

and

Ubaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy Ubaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy (, ; 1832 – 9 February 1885) was a Bengali Islamic scholar, educationist and writer from Midnapore. He is regarded as the Father of modern Islamic education in Bengal and was awarded with the title of ''Bahr ul ...

. The Muslim League mobilized the Muslim masses to campaign for Pakistan, and many of Khan's followers played a significant and active role in the

at educational and political fronts.

Legacy

Many religious schools, organizations, and research institutions teach Ahmad Raza Khan's ideas, which emphasize the primacy of Islamic law along with the adherence to Sufi practices and personal devotion to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.Usha Sanyal
Generational Changes in the Leadership of the Ahl-e Sunnat Movement in North India during the Twentieth Century
. Modern Asian Studies (1998), Cambridge University Press

Recognition

* On 21 June 2010,

Muhammad al-Yaqoubi Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi (; born 7 May 1963) is a Syrian Islamic scholar. He has opposed former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Early life and background Al-Yaqoubi was born in Damascus, S ...

, a cleric and

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, declared on Takbeer TV's program ''Sunni Talk'' that the

of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

was Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi, and said that a follower of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah can be identified by his love of Imam Ahmad Raza Khan and that those outside the Ahlus Sunnah are identified by their attacks on him. * Allama

Muhammad Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

(1877–1938), a poet, Sufi, and philosopher, said: "I have carefully studied the decrees of Ahmed Raza and thereby formed this opinion; and his Fatawa bear testimony to his acumen, intellectual caliber, the quality of his creative thinking, his excellent jurisdiction and his ocean-like Islamic knowledge. Once Imam Ahmad Raza forms an opinion he stays firm on it; he expresses his opinion after a sober reflection. Therefore, the need never arises to withdraw any of his religious decrees and judgments. In another place he says, "Such a genius and intelligent jurist did not emerge." * Prof. Sir Ziauddin Ahmad, who was the head of the department of Mathematics at

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

, was once unable to find solutions to some mathematic algorithms, even after he took help from the mathematicians abroad. He decided to visit Germany for the solution but at the request of his friend Sayyed Suleman Ashraf who was a professor of Islamic Studies at Aligarh Muslim University and also the mureed (disciple) of Ahmad Raza, Ziauddin visited Ahmad Raza on a special visit to get answers to his difficult questions, and under the guidance of Ahmad Raza he finally succeeded in getting solutions. * Justice Naeemud'deen, Supreme Court of Pakistan: "Maulana Ahmad Raza's grand personality, a representation of our most esteemed ancestors, is history-making, and a history uni-central in his self. ... You may estimate his high status from the fact that he spent all his life in expressing the praise of the great and auspicious Holy Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم), in defending his veneration, in delivering speeches regarding his unique conduct, and in promoting and spreading the Law of Shariah which was revealed upon him for the entire humanity of all times. His renowned name is 'Muhammad' (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم), the Prophet of Almighty Allah. ... The valuable books written by an encyclopedic scholar like Ahmad Raza, in my view, are the lamps of light that will keep enlightened and radiant the hearts and minds of the men of knowledge and insight for a long time."

Societal influence

* Ala Hazrat Express is an express train belonging to Indian Railways that runs between

and

Bhuj Bhuj () is a city and the headquarters of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Etymology According to legend, Kutch (Kachchh) was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to King B ...

in India. * The Indian government issued a commemorative postal stamp in honor of Ahmad Raza Khan on 31 December 1995. * Aala Hazrat Haj House

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in Western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziaba ...

* Aala Hazrat Hospital

* Ala Hazrat Terminal, Bareilly Airport,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

* Raza Academy

Spiritual successors

Imam Ahmad Raza Khan had two sons and five daughters. His sons Hamid Raza Khan and Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri are celebrated scholars of Islam. Hamid Raza Khan was his appointed successor. After him Mustafa Raza Khan succeeded his father, who then appointed Akhtar Raza Khan as his successor. His son, Mufti Asjad Raza Khan now succeeds him as the spiritual leader. He had many disciples and successors, including 30 in the Indian subcontinent and 35 elsewhere. The following scholars are his notable successors: * Hamid Raza Khan (d. 1875/1943) * Mustafa Raza Khan (d. 1892/1981) *

Amjad Ali Aazmi Amjad Ali Aazmi (Urdu: أمجد على أعظمى), reverentially known as ''Sadr al-Sharia'' (Urdu: صدر الشريعه, Chief of the Sharia, Islamic Law) and ''Badr al-Tariqa'' (Urdu: بدر الطريقه, Shining Moon of the Tariqa, Sufi o ...

(d. 1882/1948) * Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddiqi * Naeem-ud-Deen Muradabadi *Zafaruddin Bihari (d. 1886/1962) *Abul Muhamid al-Ashrafi al-Jilani (d. 1894/1961) *Hashmat Ali Khan (d. 1901/1960) * Maulana Ziauddin Madani (d. 1877/1981)

Educational influence

There are thousands of madrassas and Islamic seminaries dedicated to his school of thought across the Indian Subcontinent. * Al Jamiatul Ashrafia is the main educational institute and learning center that provides

education. * Raza Academy publishing house in Mumbai *Imam Ahmed Raza Academy Durban, South Africa

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Baraka, A. (2003). A Saviour in a Dark World (Article). ''The Islamic Times'', March 2003. Stockport, UK: Raza Academy. * * Haroon, Muhammad. (1994)
''The World Importance of Imam Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi''
Stockport, UK: Raza Academy. * Imam, Muhammad Hassan. (2005)

* Azimbadi, Badr. (2005).''Great Personalities in Islam''. Adam Publishers. {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan Barelvi, Ahmed Rida Islam in India 1856 births 1921 deaths

Ahmed Ahmad () is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a surname. Etymology The word derives from the root ( ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from ...

Barelvi Barelvis Mujaddid Indian Sufis Sunni imams Critics of Shia Islam Hanafi fiqh scholars Hanafis Maturidis Indian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Translators of the Quran into Urdu Writers from British India Barech Indian male poets Poets from British India Poets from Uttar Pradesh Muslim reformers Scholars from Uttar Pradesh People from Bareilly People from Bareilly district Founders of Indian schools and colleges 19th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Indian Sunni Muslims Critics of Ahmadiyya Indian people of Pashtun descent Indian people of Afghan descent