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“The great madrasah of Deoband is [like] a radiant sun that has illuminated various parts of India. It revived the Prophetic way (sunnah) academically, practically and in terms of suluk, and it removed the darkness of innovation (bid’ah), which had amassed in those lands for a lengthy time. It stripped the pools of knowledge and shari’ah from all that was alien to them in the same way that it stripped the suluk of the Sufis from new customs — such as sama’ and stringed instruments and their like from the gatherings of bid’ ah that were prevalent in India in those days. It replaced those innovations with clear and radiant sunnah — in terms of teaching and studying, suluk and propagation — until it (the madrasah) became a powerful, great and authentic source of light from which came droves of god-fearing (rabbaniyyin) ulama, who combined the excellence of knowledge and action (’amal), while adhering to the sunnah and eliminating bid’ah.” -

(The Renowned Hadith Scholar of the Last Century,
‘Allamah Shaykh ‘Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah on Dar al-’Ulum Deoband)



Evidence of the great scholarship of Deoband

I wanted to start a thread that contains proof of the widespread acceptance of the scholarship of Deoband. There has already some research done on this and I would like to gather them here. If brothers/sisters are privy to any information please could you mention them here with accurate references. Perhaps later, all the information contained here could be summarised into one coherent article.

I have made the following categories so far:

1)Scholarly works from Deoband that have had acceptance throughout the world

2)Quotes from non-deobandi sunni scholars regarding Deoband.

3)Ijazahs, teacher-student relationships between great scholars around the world and Deobandi scholars.


To start off:

Badhlul Majhud by Shaykh Khalil As-saharanpuri appears to be accepted as the standard commentary on Sunan Abu Daud around the world.

I’la as-Sunan of Maulana Zafar Ahmad Uthmani is regarded as a masterpiece by Hanafi scholars around the world

Awjazul Masalik commentary on Imam Malik (ra) Muwatta by Shaykh Zakariyya which has astounded Maliki scholars around the world

Fath al-Mulhim, commentary of Sahih Muslim, by Shaykh Shabbir Ahmad Uthmani - also used widely in the Arab world.

From http://zakariyya.wordpress.com/2008/...e2%80%98ulama/


Mauritanian Shuyukh on the Deobandi ‘Ulama

Introduction

Several months ago, Pearls of the Elders received an email from a Mauritanian student of the Sacred Sciences who expressed admiration and love for the ‘ulama of Deoband. In a subsequent email, he sent a fascinating account of how the erudite ‘ulama of Mauritania had come to know of the ‘ulama of Deoband and how they had benefited from them, especially their books.

The student, who asked his name not be published, became acquainted with the writings of the blessed scholars of India and Pakistan through the effort of tabligh. With his permission, Pearls would like to share this email with our readers and hope it will be a means of kindling the love of, and respect for, the ‘ulama of Deoband.

The email has been edited to make it suitable for a wider readership. Translations of Arabic words, relevant footnotes and subheadings have also been added.

He wrote:

Brother Abu Unaysah, wa ‘alaykum salaam wa rahmatullah,

I wanted to take some time out to write this because it is an important subject.
I was first introduced to the Deobandi ‘ulama through the effort of tabligh when I was in the USA. I lived there from 1996 to 2004. Obviously, I benefited greatly from the elders of tabligh. From an academic perspective though, it was from Hadhrat Shaykh Zakariyya Kandhlawi’s writings that I benefited the most. These include the books of fadha’il,[1] the English translation of his commentary of Shama’il al-Tirmidhi and his autobiography, Aap Beti, which I have read several times and greatly benefited from.

I often tell my close friends that people who have children — as well as people who wish to understand how important it is to be associated with the mashayikh of tasawwuf — must read Aap Beti.

Sometimes our brothers fail to realise how much Mawlana Ilyas Kandhlawi (rahimahullah) and Mawlana Yusuf Kandhlawi (rahimahullah) relied on Hadhrat Shaykh Zakariyya (rahimahullah) to advance the effort of tabligh. Understanding this would help the brothers associate themselves more assiduously to the ‘ulama; our elders still insist on this in their lectures. We ask Allah for tawfeeq.

Studying in Mauritania

Mauritania is a very poor country and the ‘ulama here, for the most part, have remained in the country. A few have had the opportunity to travel and bring books back from countries such as Egypt and Morocco.

Of course, a couple of hundred years ago, printing did not exist so certain books were copied on manuscripts etc. The teaching style in Mauritania is very different from other parts of the world. Generally it is based on memorising a matn (text) on a subject in the form of a nadhm (rhyming verses). The explanations and details of the texts are taken from the shaykh and his competent students.

For example, in nahw (Arabic grammar), the Alfiyyah of Ibn Malik (rahimahullah) is taught. In usul (principles of fiqh) it is the Kawkab of Imam Al-Suyuti (rahimahullah), or the Maraqi al-Sud of the Mauritanian scholar, Al-’Alawi (rahimahullah). Classical books and their commentaries on different subjects were brought to the country by those ‘ulama who travelled abroad.

Deobandi Books in Mauritania

Books written by Deobandi ‘ulama were introduced to our native Mauritanian ‘ulama very recently; I would say, in the past 20 to 30 years. The ‘ulama who have travelled abroad during the period when the works of some prominent Deobandi ‘ulama had been published did get access to them and benefited from them, as is evident by some of them quoting from their works.

One example is Shaykh Muhammad Habibullah al-Mayyaba (rahimahullah) who passed away in 1944. He was a great ‘alim and hafidh of hadith. It is said that he had memorised the six mutun (texts) of hadith with their sanad (chains of narration). He also wrote a nadhm on the importance of the Mu’atta [of Imam Malik] and a short commentary on it in which he repeatedly quotes from Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (rahimahullah).

Another interesting point is that Mawlana Yusuf Binnori (rahimahullah) has taken from him and was greatly impressed by him. In his introduction to Awjaz al-Masaalik,[2] Mawlana Yusuf Binnori (rahimahullah), when quoting Shaykh Muhammad Habibullah (rahimahullah), writes: قال شيخنا بالإجازة (“Our shaykh in ijazah said…”)

I intend to further question some of our ‘ulama on how our elders have benefited from Indo-Pak ‘ulama and vice versa.

As you know, Al-Haramayan al-Sharifayn used to be a place where ‘ulama would meet and take from each other. For instance, Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri (rahimahullah) had an ijazah in hadith from Ibn Dahlan (rahimahullah), who resided in Makkah al-Mukarramah.

Awjaz al-Masalik in Mauritania

As far as contemporary Mauritanian ‘ulama are concerned, the ones I know here have benefited from Awjaz al-Masalik in ways that cannot be described. Hadhrat Shaykh’s (rahimahullah) work can be most greatly appreciated by one who has studied fiqh, usul and Arabic in-depth; and alhamdulillah, these subjects are studied and mastered by the Mauritanian ‘ulama, hence their appreciation of the book to its fullest.

I have, alhamdulillah, gifted the book to five different ‘ulama — two of whom are considered among the most qualified fuqaha (jurists) here — and the comments I have received have been the same each time: “The person who wrote this is a real ‘alim,” or, “The book is greatly beneficial.”

This book is more so beneficial given that writings on hadith from our ‘ulama are very rare. Shaykh Muhammad Habibullah (rahimahullah) has written a commentary of Bukhari and Muslim (Zad al-Muslim fi ma Ittafaqa ‘alayhi al-Bukhari wa Muslim). His brother has also written a commentary of Bukhari, and al-’Alawi (rahimahullah) has compiled a nadhm on the terminology of hadith (mustalah al-hadith), which is a summary of the Alfiyya al-’Iraqi.

Hadith is studied in Mauritania on an individual basis. After a student has studied fiqh, nahw, mustalah of hadith, and balaghah and bayan (rhetoric), they have enough knowledge to study hadith through their own reading of the commentaries.

An Interesting Note on Hadhrat Shaykh Zakariyya’s Awjaz al-Masalik

One interesting thing to note is that Hadhrat Shaykh (rahimahullah) has quoted from the mu’tamad (relied upon) books of the different madhhabs in Awjaz al-Masalik and relied on them for giving the mashhur (well-known) opinion on a given madhhab.
This means that when a Maliki ‘alim reads Awjaz al-Masalik, he sees the evidences for the Maliki madhhab as he knows it from his long years of study as well as being able to benefit from Hadhrat Shaykh’s (rahimahullah) commentary on other aspects of the hadith.

Hadhrat Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri’s (rahimahullah) Badhl al-Majhud.

Another more recent and more obvious example of the benefit derived from the mashayikh of Deoband is Mawlana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri (rahimahullah)’s Badhl al-Majhud.[3]

I gifted the book to Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Ibn Ahmad al-Khadim[4] a year ago. He is an ‘allamah who has written on almost all subjects. The Shaykh is in his early 70s. He is without doubt among the five most knowledgeable ‘ulama in the country. Anyone who reads his writings can appreciate the depth of his knowledge. When I asked him a couple of months later if he had time to look into Badhl al-Majhud (he is busy teaching and writing all day; he teaches from 11am to Maghrib time with a break at Dhuhr time), he told me: “I have not had much time yet to look into it but I have benefited from it. There was a mas’alah (juristic problem) that had been unclear to me for a long while and I found the answer to it in there.”

For us who know Shaykh Muhammad Hassan, this means a thousand words. At the time when I gifted him the book and told him about Mawlana Khalil Ahmad, he said: “The ‘ulama of India are ‘ajeeb (wonderful), they are very strong Sunnis in their ‘aqidah (creed)”.

Sorry, I’m making this email long, but the subject deserves it. Insha-Allah I hope we can exchange correspondence in the future.

We have several books written by our ‘ulama here that may be of interest to your ‘ulama, and we’ll be happy to send copies. I can give you a list of the books and the subjects they deal with, or if there is a specific subject some are interested in you can send me that and I will tell you what we have available.

May Allah Almighty accept your efforts and please remember us in your du’a. Also, we’ll be happy to receive you as a guest for a short visit. There are three to four places here that are really worth visiting to meet the ‘ulama.


[1] Hadhrat Shaykh Zakariyya’s brilliant books of fadha’il — originally written in Urdu, and translated into several languages, including English, French, Persian, Gujarati and Bengali — consist of selected verses of the Qur’an, hadiths, their commentary and other material. The books are read globally and consist of: Stories of the Sahabah, Virtues of Salah, Virtues of the Qur’an, Virtues of Remembering Allah, Virtues of the Holy Month of Ramadan, Virtues of Invitation and Preaching, Virtues of Sending Salutations, Virtues of Charity and Virtues of Haj.
[2] Awjaz al-Masaalik is a multi-voluminous commentary of Imam Malik’s Mu’atta, authored by Hadhrat Shaykh. It has recently been researched under the supervision of Shaykh Taqiuddin Nadwi, a student of Hadhrat Shaykh, and republished in 18 large volumes by Dar al-Qalam in Damascus.
[3] Badhl al-Majhud is also a multi-voluminous commentary of Imam Abu Dawud’s Sunan; it was also recently researched and republished in 14 large volumes by Shaykh Taqiuddin and published by Dar al-Basha’ir al-Islamiyyah in Beirut.
[4]Shaykh Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Khadim is one of the most senior ‘ulama of Mauritania. Extremely pious and humble, the shaykh is a master in every field of the Islamic sciences, without exception. He is also the only Mauritanian scholar who has so many published works to his name (over 30), having written books on fiqh, usul al-fiqh, usul al-hadith and tasawwuf. Among his published works is a commentary on the Alfiyyah of Imam Suyuti (rahimahullah) in usul al-hadith, a commentary on the Nadhm of Jam’ al-Jawami’ of Imam Suyuti (rahimahullah) in usul al-fiqh, a commentary on the Nadhm of Imam al-Kafaf (rahimahullah) in Maliki fiqh and numerous books on tasawwuf.
He is also a senior Sufi shaykh of the Tijani tariqah and very strict in following the Sunnah and wary of bid’ah (innovation). The Shaykh also has great love for the ‘ulama of India and has great admiration for their service to hadith as can be noted from the above.
From an internet article (I’ve edited the article slightly and deleted anti-Barelwi statements which are not relevant to this thread):


SHAYKH ABDAL FATTAH ABU GHUDDAH'S ACCLAIMED DEOBANDI TEACHERS
In this article proof will be provided from the Shaykh's own words to list his Deobandi teachers. It will be seen shortly that his Deobandi teachers include:

1) Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf al-Banuri (d. 1977 CE)
2) Shaykh Zafar Ahmad al-Uthmani (d. 1974 CE)
3) Shaykh Muhammad Badr al-A'lam (d. 1965 CE)
4) Shaykh Muhammad Idris al-Kandhalawi (d. 1974)
5) Mufti Muhammad Ameem al-Ihsan al-Mujaddidi al-Barkati (d. 1970 CE)
6) Mufti al-A'zam of Pakistan, Shaykh Muhammad Shafi (d. 1976 CE, the father of Shaykh Taqi al-Uthmani)
7) Shaykh Abul Wafa al-Afghani (d. 1975 CE)
8) Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandhalawi (d. 1982 CE)
9) Shaykh Habibur Rahman al-A'zami (d. 1992 CE)
10) Shaykh Khayr Muhammad
11) Shaykh Arshad Kabeer

Looking now at the book by Shaykh Abdal Fattah's late teacher, the Shaykh and Imam who is also highly venerated on this forum, and he is Shaykh Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari, we can notice the strong Deobandi affiliation that these two scholars had. The book in question is: Fiqh Ahl ul-Iraq wa Hadithahum, written in the year 1357 AH, and brought out into print with the footnotes of Shaykh Abdal Fattah in the year 1390 AH. The edition we will be giving reference to has been printed by Muassasa al-Rayan, Beirut, Lebanon, 1997/1418 AH. This edition has a preface by Shaykh Abdal Fattah's student, Shaykh Muhammad Awwamah (from Syria originally), based currently in Madinah al-Munawwara. Shaykh Awwamah also showed his love for the Ulama of Deoband in the prefaces.

SHAYKH ABDAL FATTAH PRAISES AL-MUHADDITH, SHAYKH HABIBUR RAHMAN AL-A'ZAMI
In the introduction to Imam al-Kawthari's book, page 22, footnote 1, Shaykh Abdal Fattah praises the great Muhaddith of the Deobandi's, Shaykh Habib al-Rahman al-Azami, rahimahullah (d. 1992 CE), with titles like: Al-Allamah, al-Muhaddith, al-Muhaqqiq al-jaleel. More later on this Shaykh below.

HIS PRAISE FOR AL-MUHADDITH, SHAYKH YUSUF AL-BANURI
On page 23 he mentions the name of one of his greatest Deobandi teachers by saying: "And our teacher, the greatly learned Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf al-Banuri, may Allah have mercy upon him has...." In the footnote he mentions that Shaykh al-Banuri died in the year 1397 AH (1977 CE). This is the same Shaykh al-Banuri, that Shaykh Muhammad Alawi al-Makki al-Maliki took Hadiths from as well.

On page 96, footnote 2 he also declares al-Banuri to be his Shaykh (Shaykhuna), and on page 109, footnote 1, he called him: "Our Shaykh, The Greatly learned, Muhammad Yusuf al-Banuri, may Allah have mercy upon him...."
Other places where he declares Shaykh Yusuf al-Banuri to be his teacher will be shown below.

HIS PRAISE FOR AL-MUHADDITH, SHAYKH ABUL WAFA AL-AFGHANI
On page 74, footnote 3 he mentioned another great Deobandi Muhaddith who wrote extensive notes to Imam Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Shaybani's (student of Imam Abu Hanifah) Kitab al-Athar; and he is Shaykh Abul Wafa al-Afghani. Shaykh Abdal Fattah said that he was his teacher (ustadhuna), al-Allamah (the greatly learned), al-Muhaqqiq al-Kabeer (the great verifying research scholar) al-Jaleel (the Sublime) al-Shaykh Abul Wafa al-Afghani, who later headed the institution known as Lajna Ihya al-Ma'arif al-Nu'maniyyah, in, Hyderabad Deccan, India.

HE DECLARED AL-MUHADDITH, AL-SHAYKH MUHAMMAD ANWAR SHAH AL-KASHMIRI TO BE THE IMAM OF THE TIME!
On page 85, footnote 2, he declared Imam al-Kashmiri to be the Imam al-Asr (The Imam of the Time). For him to say that he must have had great respect for that Imam, and hence a very strong link to Deoband. Shaykh Anwar Shah was a Muhaddith at Darul Ulum Deoband, and he authored commentaries to Sahih al-Bukhari and Jami al-Tirmidhi. Shaykh Abdal Fattah Abu Ghuddah's dislike for the Barelvi's is clearly shown when he mentioned explicitly that Shaykh Anwar Shah had written a book in Persian (Farsi) to refute the Barelvi excess's on the Ilm al-Ghayb (Knowledge of the unseen) possessed by the Holy Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. Shaykh Abdal Fattah gave the title of this book by Shaykh Anwar as being: "Sahm al-Ghayb fi Kabd Ahl-ul-Rayb" (see p. 30 of Shaykh Anwar's: al-Tasreeh bima Tawatur fi nuzul al-Masih). This has already been mentioned above.

HIS PRAISE FOR ANOTHER DEOBANDI ON THIS SAME PAGE:
On the same page and footnote he praised a Deobandi Shaykh by saying: "Fadeelatul-Shaykh (The virtuous Shaykh) Ateeq Ahmad al-Bastawi al-Hindi al-Deobandi..."

HIS PRAISE FOR THE MUHADDITH OF THE SUBCONTINENT, AL-SHAYKH ZAFAR AHMAD AL-UTHMANI
He not only praised Shaykh Zafar but also declared him to be his teacher (Shaykhuna). This is the same Shaykh Zafar who authored the greatest Hadith collection available in print which specifically documents the proofs and arguments of the Hanafi Madhhab in 20 volumes (containing over 6000 Hadiths related to Ahkam al-Shari'ah: Hadiths used in the rulings of the Shari'ah). Most of the Hadiths have been graded for their authenticity and extensive replies have been provided to the opposing arguments used by other Madhhabs. This work is known as I'la al-Sunan. Shaykh Abdal Fattah also edited Shaykh Zafar's work: Qawaid fi Ulum al-Hadith.

He said on page 106, fn. 1: "Shaykhuna al-Allamah Zafar Ahmad al-Thanawi, rahimahullah fi kitabihi Injaa al-Watan...."

SHAYKH ABDAL FATTAH'S LIST OF THE GREATEST ULAMA OF HADITH IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT
On pages 98-100, Shaykh Abdal Fattah Abu Ghuddah, rahimahullah, listed what he considered to be the greatest Ulama of Hadith (Muhaddithin) in the Subcontinent in the past 100 years. This list was a continuation of what Shaykh Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari and Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf al-Banuri had compiled. Shaykh al-Kawthari listed 124 of the foremost of all Hanafi hadith scholars - in his estimation. Shaykh al-Banuri continued to list a further 34 Ulama from the Indian Subcontinent, and Shaykh Abdal Fattah added another 11 more names. Note that Shaykh Abdal Fattah did not criticise or malign anyone of the Ulama listed by his teacher, Shaykh Yusuf al-Banuri.

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO NOTE AND CONSIDER IS THAT ALL OF SHAYKH ABDAL FATTAH'S LIST OF ULAMA CONTAIN THE NAMES OF PURE DEOBANDI ULAMA ONLY. The honorific titles before the names of the scholars have been included as found in the original list in Arabic, by Shaykh al-Banuri and his student, Shaykh Abdal Fattah.
Shaykh al-Banuri's list of the foremost Muhaddithin of the Indian Subcontinent:
1) al-Muhaddith al-Shaykh Muhammad Hayat al-Sindi (d. 1163 AH in Madinah)
2) al-Muhaddith al-Muhaqqiq al-Shaykh Hashim al-Sindi
3) al-Shaykh al-Muhaddith Abu'l Tayyib al-Sindi (d. 1140 AH)
4) al-Shaykh Muhammad Mu'een al-Sindi (d. 1180 AH)
5) al-Muhaddith al-Imam Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (d. 1176 AH)
6) al-Muhaddith al-Shaykh Muhammad Afdal al-Siyaalkoti al-Dehlawi
7) al-Muhaddith al-Hujjah al-Shah Abdal Aziz ibn Shah Waliullah al-Dehlawi
8) al-Muhaddith al-Kabeer al-Shaykh al-Qadi Thanaullah al-Mazhari al-Panipati (d. 1810 CE)
9) al-Shah Abdal Qadir ibn Shah Waliullah al-Dehlawi (d. 1230 AH)
10) al-Shah Rafi al-Deen ibn Shah Waliullah al-Dehlawi (d. 1233 AH)
11) al-Muhaddith al-Shaykh Abdal Hayy al-Dehlawi
12) al-Muhaddith, Musnid al-Hind, al-Shaykh Muhammad Ishaq (d. 1262 AH)
13) al-Shaykh Muhammad Yaqub al-Dehlawi (d. 1282 AH)
14) al-Shaykh Abdal Qayyum (d. 1299 AH)
15) al-Shaykh al-Muhaddith Muhammad Ismail al-Dehlawi (d. 1246 AH)
16) al-Muhaddith al-Shaykh Ahmad Ali al-Sahranpuri (d. 1297 AH)
17) al-Shaykh al-Arif al-Muhaddith Muhammad Qasim al-Nanautwi al-Deobandi (founder of Darul Ulum Deoband, d. 1297 AH)
18) al-Shaykh al-Muhaddith Rasheed Ahmad al-Gangohi al-Deobandi (d. 1323 AH)
19) al-Shaykh al-Muhaddith Muhammad Yaqub al-Nanautwi (d. 1300 AH)
20) al-Shaykh Fakhrul Hasan al-Gangohi al-Deobandi
21) al-Shaykh Ahmad Hasan al-Amruhawi al-Deobandi
22) al-Muhaddith Ustadh al-Alim, al-Shaykh Mahmud Hasan al-Deobandi (d. 1339 AH, he was known as Shaykh al-Hind)
23) al-Muhaddith Zaheer Ahsan al-Nimawi (d. 1322 AH)
24) al-Imam al-Muhaddith al-Faqeeh al-Arif billah Khalil Ahmad al-Sahranpuri (author of the 20 volume commentary on Sunan Abu Dawud, Badhlul majhud, d. 1346 AH and buried close to Hadrat Uthman, radiallahu anhu, in Jannatul Baqi, Madinah al-Munawwara)
25) al-Muhaddith al-Kabeer, Imam al-Asr, Muhammad Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri al-Deobandi (d. 1352 AH)
26) al-Shaykh al-Muhaddith Muhammad Ashraf Ali Thanawi al-Deobandi, known as Hakim al-Ummah (d. 1362 AH)
27) al-Muhaddith al-Shaykh Husayn Ali al-Miyanwali
28) al-Muhaddith, Muhaqqiq al-Asr, al-Shaykh Shabir Ahmad al-Uthmani al-Deobandi (d. 1369 AH)
29) al-Muhaddith, Shaykh al-Asr, Husayn Ahmad al-Madani (d. 1377 AH)
30) al-Muhaddith al-Muhaqqiq al-Shaykh Muhammad Kifayatullah al-Dehlawi, Mufti of Hind (d. 1372 AH)
31) al-Muhaddith al-Shaykh Abdal Aziz al-Panjabi (d. 1359 AH)
32) al-Muhaddith al-Shaykh Mahdi Hasan al-Shahjanpuri (d. 1391 AH)
33) al-Muhaddith al-Shaykh Muhammad Idris al-Kandhalawi (d. 1394 AH)
34) al-Muhaddith al-Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandhalawi ( d. 1402 AH in Madinah)

SHAYKH ABDAL FATTAH AND HIS LIST OF DEOBANDI MUHADDITHIN:
35) Al-Allamah al-Shaykh Abul Mahasin Abdullah al-Hayderabadi (d. 1383 AH)
36) al-Allamah, al-Daa'eea al-Mawahab, al-Rabbani, al-Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf al-Kandhalawi, Ameer of the Tableeghi Jama'at in India and Pakistan (d. 1384 AH) - as mentioned by Shaykh Abdal Fattah himself.
37) al-Allamah al-Muhaddith al-Baari al-Shaykh Muhammad Badr A'lam al-Meeruthi (d. 1385 AH in Madinah)
38) Our Shaykh (Shaykhuna) al-Allamah al-Muhaddith al-Mufassir (expert in Qur'anic exegesis) al-Faqeeh (the jurisprudent) al-Usuli (an expert in the Fundamentals of jurisprudence), al-Mutafannin (the versatile expert), al-Mufti, Muhammad Ameem al-Ihsan al-Mujaddidi al-Barkati (d. 1390 AH)
39) al-Allamah al-Muhaddith al-Faqeeh al-Shaykh Zafar Ahmad al-Uthmani al-Thanawi (d. 1394 AH)
40) al-Allamah al-Muhaqqiq al-Muhaddith al-Faqeeh al-Usuli al-Muqri, Abul Wafa al-Afghani al-Qandahari, then al-Hindi al-Hayderabadi (d. 1395 AH) - Our teacher (Ustadhuna) and our Shaykh (Shaykhuna) - [as described by Shaykh Abdal Fattah in his own words]
41) al-Allamah al-Kabeer, wa'l Muhaddith al-Faqeeh al-Mufassir al-Nahreer, al-Ustadh al-Shaykh Muhammad Shafi Uthmani (d. 1396 AH), Shaykh Abdal Fattah also pointed out that he was Our Teacher (Ustadhuna) and our Shaykh (Shaykhuna). He was the father of Shaykh Taqi and Rafi al-Uthmani (both still alive in Karachi, Pakistan)
42) al-Allamah al-Muhaddith al-Faqeeh, Abul Mahasin Muhammad Yusuf al-Banuri, tilmidh Imam al-Asr (student of the Imam of the Time) Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri, author of Ma'arif al-Sunan in 10 volumes (an incomplete commentary on Jami al-Tirmidhi).
43) Al-Allamah al-Muhaddith al-Baari al-Faqeeh al-Shaykh Habibur Rahman al-A'zami (d. 1413 AH) [He has refuted al-Albani in his book: Al-Albani Akhthauhu wa Shudhudhahu: Al-Albani: His Mistakes and Irregularities)
44) al-Allamah al-Naaqid (the greatly knowledgeable critic), al-Dalee' (the knowledgeable), al-Shaykh Muhammad Abd al-Rasheed al-Nu'mani (He has also refuted al-Albani while defending Imam Abu Hanifah in his book: Makanah al-Imam Abi Hanifah fi'l Hadith, with the introduction by Shaykh Abdal Fattah himself)
45) al-Allamah al-Muhaddith al-Faqeeh al-Shaykh Ahmad Rida al-Bijnawari, the author of Anwar al-Bari ala Sahih al-Bukhari in 32 volumes. Shaykh Abdal Fattah's student, Muhammad Awwamah said in the preface (p. 5), that this Shaykh was also his Shaykh, in the following words: "Shaykhuna al-Allamah al-Muhaddith al-Faqeeh al-Shaykh Ahmad Rida al-Bijnawari, May Allah preserve him..."
Shaykh Abdal Fattah wanted to list more but he did not do so for brevity's sake. Indeed, there is a host of Ulama of the Deobandi's still alive and teaching Islam throughout the Indian Subcontinent. There are over 8,000 Deobandi Madrasah's in these lands alone, by Allah's grace. Just imagine if each of these institutions was to produce just 10 Ulama per year, then this would equate to 80,000 learned Deobandi/Tableeghi Ulama per year. Not to mention the Huffaz of the Qur'an, where in the Indian state of Gujarat we find the highest concentration of Huffaz in probably the whole subcontinent - and most of them are from Deobandi backgrounds. I feel there is no other territory besides the Indian subcontinent that produces so many Ulama in such a short period of time every year. Alhamdulillah

OTHER WORKS WHERE SHAYKH ABDAL FATTAH PRAISES AND CLARIFIES HIS DEOBANDI TEACHERS:
In the book: al-Tasreeh bima Tawatur fi-Nuzul al-Masih, by al-Shaykh al-Imam Muhammad Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri al-Deobandi, with the editing of Shaykh Abdal Fattah Abu Ghuddah (printed by Darus-Salam, 1982, Halab, Syria, in 373 pages), we find further evidence of the Shaykh's Deobandi affiliation. Shaykh Abdal Fattah's introduction to this book and the life and works of Shaykh Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri is in some 38 pages alone! On the cover of the book, Shaykh Abdal Fattah honoured Shaykh Anwar Shah with the titles: "Imam al-Asr, al-Muhaddith al-Kabeer: The Imam of the Age and the Great Muhaddith." He also called him the Imam al-Asr many times via out this work. Shaykh Abdal Fattah took knowledge from Shaykh Kashmiri's disciples like: Shaykh al-Banuri and Shaykh Badr A'lam and others.

SHAYKH MUHAMMAD SHAFI, MUFTI AL-A'ZAM OF PAKISTAN
On page 3: Shaykh Abdal Fattah declared him as "Ustadhuna al-Allamah al-Muhaqqiq al-Baari al-Jaleel al-Shaykh Muhammad Shafi, founder of Darul-Ulum al-Islamiyya in Karachi and its Mufti al-A'zam, may Allahu ta'ala preserve him.."
He also declared praise and acknowledged him as his teacher on page 24

SHAYKH YUSUF AL-BANURI:
On pages 4, 12 and 23 he again declared Shaykh Yusuf al-Banuri to be his teacher (Ustadhuna).

TWO MORE DEOBANDI ULAMA: Shaykh Lutfullah & Shaykh Nur Ahmad
On page 4, Shaykh Abdal Fattah honoured two more Deobandi Ulama by using titles like: al-Ustadh (The Teacher) and al-Allamah (The greatly learned); and they were: Shaykh Lutfullah Kabeer and Shaykh Nur Ahmad al-Ameen.

SHAYKH ARSHAD AL-KABEER:
On page 12 he also acknowledged that his Shaykh was also a pupil of Shaykh Anwar Shah, and he is Shaykh Arshad Kabeer. Shaykh Abdal Fattah honoured him with titles like: Ustadhuna, al-Allamah, al-Muhaqqiq.

SHAYKH KHAYR MUHAMMAD
On page 17 he acknowledged Shaykh Khayr Muhammad as his teacher (Shaykhuna) and asked Allah to preserve him.

SHAYKH IDRIS AL-KANDHALAWI
On page 23 he called Shaykh Muhammad Idris al-Kandhalawi his teacher and a greatly learned Muhaddith (Ustadhuna, al-Allamah, al-Muhaddith), who was the author of al-Ta'leeq al-Sabeeh Sharh Mishkatul-Masabih. He also asked Allah to preserve him. On page 29 and 212 he also declared him to be his Ustadh and his Shaykh (Shaykhuna) respectively.

SHAYKH BADR A'LAM
On page 25 he declared another pupil of Shaykh Anwar Shah to be his teacher, and he is Shaykh Badr A'lam. Shaykh Abdal Fattah honoured him by saying: "Shaykhuna, al-Allamah al-Kabeer..." He did the same on page 14 and page 52.

PRAISE FOR SHAYKH ASHRAF ALI THANAWI
On the same page (25), Shaykh Abdal Fattah called Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanawi (who was declared a kafir by Ahmad Rida Khan and his followers, but later cleared by 34 Ulama from Makkah, Madinah, al-Azhar and Syria, not to mention a lot of Indian Ulama) as being: Hakeem al-Ummah. The same was declared on page 52 and 212. He also said the same in his book: Qeematul-Zaman Indal-Ulama (p. 82) about Shaykh Thanawi, but also added the title: Shaykh al-Hind to his name. Shaykh Zahid al-Kawthari also honoured Maulana Thanawi in his Maqalat.

PRAISE FOR SHAYKH MANAZIR AHSAN
On page 29 he praised another Deobandi with titles like: al-Allamah al-Faadil, al-Shaykh... and he is: Shaykh Manazir Ahsan al-Jilani.

SHAYKH ZAKARIYYA AL-KANDHALAWI
On page 185 he declared Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandhalawi (famous for his book: Tableeghi Nisab and his commentary to Muwatta Imam Malik in about 15 volumes), to be his teacher (Usdtadhuna). He said that Shaykh Zakariyya was:
"Ustadhuna, al-Allamah, al-Muhaddith al-Kabeer, al-Faqeeh, al-Sufi al-Baseer, al-Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya, Shaykhul-Hadith in the Madrasah Mazahir al-Ulum, in Sahranpur..."
Note how Shaykh Abdal Fattah declared his teacher to be a Sufi also. This disproves the Barelvi lie on this forum that Deobandi's are anti-Sufi! The Deobandi's are Sufi's who avoid innovations in their maslak.

HIS PRAISE FOR SHAYKH ZAKARIYYA'S FATHER: SHAYKH YAHYA
Shaykh Abdal Fattah praised Shaykh Zakariyya's father, Shaykh Muhammad Yahya al-Kandhalawi, by declaring him to be the: "Allamah Zamanihi wa Muhaddithu Awaanuhu: The greatly learned one of his Age and the Muhaddith of his time.."

PRAISE FOR SHAYKH SHABBIR AHMAD, FIRST APPOINTED MUFTI NAD SHAYKH AL-ISLAM OF PAKISTAN
Shaykh Abdal Fattah praised the first officially appointed Mufti al-A'zam of the state of Pakistan, Shaykh Shabir Ahmad Uthmani, the author of a commentary to Sahih Muslim (Fath al-Mulhim), by declaring him to be the: Muhaqqiq al-Asr: The Research Scholar of His Time, on page 25. Shaykh al-Kawthari also praised him in his Maqalat.

EPILOGUE
Besides quoting from and praising his Deobandi associates and teachers, Shaykh Abdal Fattah often lets the reader know of his other teachers. Often he quotes from Shaykh Zahid al-Kawthari and Shaykh Abdullah al-Ghumari.. For example he said about Shaykh al-Kawthari on p. 56: "Ustadhuna al-Imam Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari, rahimahullahu ta'ala.. and on the same page about Shaykh al-Ghumari: "Shaykhuna al-Allamah al-Muhaddith Abdullah ibn Siddiq al-Ghumari...." Shaykh al-Kawthari died in the year 1371 AH, while Shaykh al-Ghumari died in 1993 CE.
Alhamdulillah, this short article is enough for the sincere and open-minded reader to establish the claims I have made that Shaykh Abdal Fattah Abu Ghuddah was in essence a Deobandi and he had a number of Deobandi teachers, most of whom were specialists in Hadith like himself. I leave the reader to decide for himself and ask the doubters to check all the references.

THE SHAYKH QUOTES A LONG FATWA FROM THE GREATEST DEOBANDI ULAMA TO SUPPORT THE CLAIMS IN HIS BOOK, AND GIVES THE NAMES OF ALL THE SCHOLARS OF DEOBAND WHO AFFIRMED THE FATWA. HE GAVE THEM ALL HIGHLY HONORIFIC TITLES!
In his book: SHIFA AL-FUWAAD BI ZIYARA KHAYR AL-IBAAD, 1st edition, 1991/1411 AH, pp. 83-88, Shaykh Muhammad Alawi al-Makki quoted a lengthy Fatwa on the official Deobandi view on setting out on a journey to visit the Holy Prophet's (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) blessed grave in Madina. The chapter heading was titled: FATWA KIBAR ULAMA AL-HADITH FIL HIND FI SHADD AL-RIHAL: FATWA OF THE DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS OF HADITH IN INDIA ON THE SETTING OUT ON A JOURNEY (to the blessed grave in Madina al-Munawwara). In the opening lines he called them the "Jamaah kibaar Ulama al-Hadith min Ahl-us-Sunnah wal jamaah fil hind" - which means that he considers the Ulama of Deoband to be: THE GREATLY DISTINGUISHED ULAMA OF HADITH FROM THE AHL AL-SUNNAH WAL JAMAAH IN INDIA! This proves that Shaykh Muhammad al-Alawi loves the Ulama of Deoband and considers them to be the true and great experts in hadith in India, and more importantly he indirectly disgraced the Barelvi's by specifically including the Deobandi's to be from the Ahl al-Sunnah!

After quoting the Fatwa he lists the Deobandi Ulama who signed the Fatwa and they have been listed with great honour as follows:
1) AL-ALLAMA, AL MUHADDITH, RASHID AHMAD AL-KANKAWHI (Gangohi)
2) AL-ALLAMA, AL-SHAYKH, AL-MUHADDITH, KHALIL AHMAD AL-SAHARANFURI
3) AL-ALLAMA, AL-MUHADDITH, AL-SHAYKH, MAHMUD AL-HASAN AL-DEOBANDI
4) AL-ALLAMA, AL-SHAYKH, MIR AHMAD HASAN AL-HUSAYNI
5) AL-ALLAMA, AL-MUHADDITH, AL-SHAYKH, AZIZUR RAHMAN AL-DEOBANDI
6) AL-ALLAMA, AL-MURSHID, AL-SHAYKH, ASHRAF AL-THANAWI
7) AL-ALLAMA, AL-SHAYKH, AL-SHAH ABDAR RAHEEM AL-RAANFURI
8) AL-SHAYKH, AL-HAAJ, AL-HAKEEM MUHAMMAD HASAN AL-DEOBANDI
9) AL-MAWLAWI QUDRATULLAH
10) AL-MAWLAWI AL-MUFTI KIFAYATULLAH
11) AL-ALLAMA, AL-SHAYKH, MUHAMMAD YAHYA SAHARANFURI
Sayyid Muhammad Alawi al-Makki then listed the Ulama of Makkah al-Mukarrama, Madinah al-Munawwara, of al-Azhar University and the Syrian scholars who all corroborated (ta'yeed) this Fatwa and those Ulama of Deoband who countersigned this Fatwa. We have noticed that all these great scholars who signed this Fatwa added their name to the original Indian Fatwa, knowing full well that they were countersigning the views of the great Deobandi Ulama.
I would like to request brothers/sisters to keep this thread as clean as possible, with nothing controversial being posted, and keeping it confined only to the topic of the thread.