You mentioned that the TOP ulema of the
Indo-Pak subcontinent as good as those found in Arab lands if not
better. But my question is, are there as many TOP ulema in the Indo-Pak
subcontinent as there are in, for example, Syria, or are there fewer, or
more?
The reason for asking is because my parents want me to study Islam in
the Indo-Pak subcontinent but I, for some reason (perhaps because of the
years I spent in my teens as a devout Salafi) cannot seem to shake off
the belief that somehow my religious education would be lacking if I
were to go to the Indo-Pak subcontinent (especially with regard to
learning Arabic since when listening to some of their recited Qaris it
still seems as though they cannot properly pronounce anywhere from 4-7
letters found in Arabic) and that in order to " advance" in my studies I
would have to go to Arab lands, meaning that I could start out my
education in the Indo-Pak subcontinent, but not "complete" it. Sorry for
so many questions, may Allah reward you and everyone else on the forum
who put up with people like me?
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
One of the many reasons and factors that contribute in a youngster
becoming a Salafi in the west is the idea of rebelling and going against
one’s parents and elders. Many youngsters have the notion that their
parents and forefathers who have come from “back home” have no idea of
what true Islam is.
They think that the Qur’an was revealed in Arabic and the books of
Sunnah are also in Arabic, thus our parents and elders don’t even have a
clue what they mean. They are merely following the ways, traditions and
customs of their forefathers which is not the correct Islam that is
practiced in the Arab countries.
When these youngsters are honoured with the visit to the sacred places
in Makkah al- Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara, they say to themselves
that these are Arabs who offer their Salat, etc differently from what
our parents and elders have taught us. Surely, they understand Islam
better than our “traditional” parents.
They see that the Muslims in Saudi Arabia are fluent Arabic speakers
whilst our elders and also Imams can’t even speak the language. Our
Parents and elders don’t know what they are talking about, for they
can’t even pronounce the words of the Arabic language correctly.
The above is the kind of understanding that unfortunately our youngsters
have. This is the reason why they try and learn some Arabic words, such
as how are you (kayfa haluka) or ( hayyak Allah), etc…and by doing so,
some of them think that they are now much more knowledgeable than their
parents, elders and Imams who are from “back home”.
There is no denying the fact that parents and elders must also take
their share of the blame for this unfortunate occurrence. Our youngsters
have been left ignorant of sacred and Islamic knowledge. They are not
taught the basics of Aqidah, Hadith, Fiqh, etc. And when they pose a
question with regards to a proof (dalil) of some matter, they are
rebuked and told not to indulge too deep in these matters. In the local
Madrasas (maktabs) where a child spends around 10 years of his life, he
comes out without really even learning the basics of his religion. He is
told to concentrate more on the Urdu language (not that I condone the
learning of Urdu), rather than Arabic. He probably does not have an
in-depth understanding of what the four Fqih Madhhabs are, who was Imam
Abu Hanifa, Imam Shafi’i, etc… and why we follow a Madhhab, and the list
goes on.
For many of the parents and societies, attending the evening Madrasas
has just become a routine thing, where a child can spend his time rather
than trouble the parents at home. The curriculum taught in some of these
Madrasas are also non-productive, thus the child graduates from the
Madrasa without really learning much about his Deen. This is dirty
laundry but the reality and we all need to really wake up and smell the
coffee!
The consequence of the above is that these youngsters rebel against
their parents, elders and against society at large. They are sadly
recruited by others who promise them to give them proofs (dalils) from
the Qur’an and Sunnah, and are not prevented from asking anything they
desire. They are bombarded with Hadiths from Sahih al-Bukhari, Shahih
Muslim and other places that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him &
give him peace) performed his Salat in
such a way and raised his hands in such a way, etc. They are also taught
some Arabic words which they longed to learn but were not able to do so
in their own communities and societies. Thus, given the vulnerability of
these youngsters, they become prey to this appealing and attractive
invitation.
Therefore, Muslim communities in the West really need to reflect and
ponder over the situation, thus try to rectify the deficiencies found
therein. Youngsters must be taught the various sciences of Islamic
knowledge, including basic Arabic, Aqidah, Fiqh, etc. Lessons and
intensive courses need to be provided by which they can quench their
thirst of learning Islamic knowledge, and by the grace of Allah, the
recent upsurge in such events have had an immense effect on our
youngsters. Hundreds (if not thousands) of youngsters have come back
from the brink of becoming a Salafi through the endeavours of people
like Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Shaykh Nuh Keller and others.
At the same time, our youngsters need to understand that there are great
scholars and masters of Islamic knowledge in the Indian subcontinent
also whom the great major Arab Ulama also respect. The great Hadith
Scholar, Shaykh Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda (Allah have mercy on him) had
great admiration, respect and regard for the scholars of Indo/Pak. He
repeatedly travelled to these lands in order to learn and take from the
great Hadith Masters there. He had Ijazahs from many great Shuyukh of
the Indian Subcontinent, such as Shaykh Dhafar Ahmad Usmani (author of
the great Hanafi encyclopaedia, I’la al-Sunan), Mufti Muhammad Shafi’,
Shaykh Habib al-Rahman al-A’zami, Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandahlawi
and many others. He himself stated that mastery in the science of Hadith
is the domain of the Shuyukh from the Indian Subcontinent.
Shaykh Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda’s teacher, the great Hadith and Hanafi
expert, and master of disciplines, Imam Muhammad Zahid ibn al-Hassan al-Kawthari
(Allah have mercy on him) was also very amazed by the scholarship and
mastery of the Indian scholars. He made a special visit to India in
order to meet and take from its scholars. Upon meeting and listening to
the discourses of the great Hadith master, Imam Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri
(Allah have mercyon him), he said: “The world has not witnessed anyone
like him since Ibn al-Humam (the great Hanafi Mujtahid) in deriving the
rules from the great Hadith collections. He also has great words of
praise for Imam Ashraf Ali al-Tahanawi and Shaykh Shabbir Ahmad al-Usmani
(Allah have mercy on them). (See: Maqalat al-Kawthari)
The Indian subcontinent has witnessed great masters in the science of
Hadith and Fiqh to which the whole world, including the Arab scholars,
is indebted. No major Islamic library is empty from the works of these
great scholars. They compiled some major works (in Arabic) that are
unparalleled in recent times, such as:
1) I’la al-Sunan: A great 18 volume encyclopaedia in Hanafi Fiqh which
amazed the world over. Arab Scholars were also amazed by the brilliance
of the author, Shaykh Dhafar Ahmad al-Usmani who compiled this work
under the supervision and instruction of his uncle and teacher, Imam
Ashraf Ali al-Tahanawi (Allah have mercy on them both)
2) Bazl al-Majhud fi hal Sunan Abi Dawud: One of the most detailed
commentary in Arabic on the Sunan of Imam Abu Dawud in approximately 20
volumes, authored by Shaykh Khalil Ahmad al -Saharanfuri (Allah have
mercy on him).
3) Fath al-Mulhim Sharh Sahih Muslim by Shaykh Shabbir Ahmad al-Usmani
(Allah have mercy on him): A commentary on the Sahih of Imam Muslim
which remained incomplete until the great contemporary Hadith and Fiqh
master, my respected teacher, Shaykh Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (Allah
have mercy on him) completed it.
Regarding the original work by Shaykh Shabbir Ahmad al-Usmani, the great
Imam Zahid al- Kawthari wrote a whole article in his “al-Maqalat”
stating that it filled the gaps left by the early commentators of Sahih
Muslim including Imam Nawawi (Allah have mercy on him)
4) Awjaz al-Masalik ila Mu’atta Imam Malik: The Arabic commentary in
around 20 volumes on the Mu’atta of Imam Malik by the great Indian
Hadith master, Shaykh al-Hadith, Imam Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandahlawi
(Allah have mercy on him).
There are many more works, such as Faydh al Bari (commentary on Sahih
al-Bukhari in 4 volumes) by Imam Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri, Ma’arif al-Sunan
(commentary on Sunan Tirmidhi) by Shaykh Yusuf Binnori, works of Shaykh
Habib al-Rahman al-A’zami, Hayat al-Sahabah by Shaykh Yusyuf al-Kandahlawi,
and of course the works of the great Hadith and Fiqh master, Imam Abd
al-Hay al-Lakhnawi (Allah have mercy on them).
The scholars of the Indian subcontinent were also masters in the Arabic
language. The late Shaykh Abu al-Hasan Nadwi (Allah have mercy on him)
is a great example of this who took the world by storm. Scholars from
around the globe admired and respected him and his works. Even the
Salafis did not condemn him, and when he passed away recently, his
Janaza prayer was offered in both the Harams of Makkah and Madinah.
The idea some Asian people have regarding the scholars of the Indian
subcontinent that they don’t know the Arabic language properly etc is
totally baseless and incorrect. Rather, they have been the masters in
the various Islamic sciences and acknowledged by the Scholars of the
whole world.
There are also great cotemporary scholars in the Indian subcontinent. A
great example of this is Shaykh Mufti Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him),
who’s brilliance in Hadith, Fiqh and understanding of contemporary
matters is recognized by the whole world. He- despite being a non-Arab-
was appointed as a deputy chairman of the International Islamic Fiqh
Academy, a body that comprises of over 400 top major scholars of the
world.
Another Scholar from the Indian subcontinent, Shaykh Salman Nadwi (Allah
preserve him) whose eloquence and fluency in the Arabic language make
people wonder whether he is an Arab. In one of his recent visits to
Syria, the Shaykh had discourses in different institutions and for the
Shuyukh of Syria. Many scholars of Damascus gathered in order to listen
to the Shaykh in a programme that was exclusively designed for the Ulama
of Sham.
There is also the great Hadith master, Shaykh Yunus al-Junfuri of
Saharanpur in India. He has dedicated his life for the teaching of
Hadith where he teaches over 6/7 hours a day the science of Hadith and
its principles. He is an expert in the field of al-Asma wa al-Rijal (a
critical analysis of the reporters of Hadith).
Therefore, you must remove the idea that the scholars of the Indian
subcontinent are not that great. In recent rimes, in the science of
Hadith and Hanafi Fiqh, they have probably surpassed the Arab scholars.
They also have a very good grasp of the Arabic language.
However, as with all languages, if one was not to practically engage in
speaking a language, one will not be that fluent and comfortable with
it. Some Scholars of the Indo/Pak, despite understanding and reading the
Arabic language fully, are not able to speak it that fluently, for the
simple reason that there is no constant practice. They hardly speak
Arabic among themselves, thus they loose touch of the language. The
medium of teaching in most of the religious institutions (Dar al-Uloom)
is also not Arabic (although the books taught are all in Arabic), thus
students don’t have the exposure to the language.
This is something that is most definitely unfortunate and which I
strongly feel about. The medium in these institutions must be changed
from Urdu to Arabic (or at least English, in the West). I myself in a
Dar al-Uloom here in Leicester, teach all the books (including the
famous Hanafi treatise al-Hidaya) in English. One lesson is also taught
fully in Arabic.
Thus, more concentration is definitely needed on the Arabic language. In
my recent visit to Madina al-Munawwara, I was fortunate to meet and
spend some time in the company of the great Syrian Hadith and Hanafi
scholar, Shaykh Muhammad al-Awwama (Allah preserve him). He also raised
his concern regarding this issue and stated that something should be
done in order to make the medium in all these institutions into Arabic,
and I fully agree with him. This is a weak point with regards to these
institutions and something that really needs to be looked into by the
major scholars.
Having said that, it does not mean that all the scholars of the Indian
subcontinent are poor in the Arabic language, rather, as stated
previously, many of the scholars are well versed in the language. The
Nadwat al-Ulama in Lakhnaw (India) is known for its high standards in
the Arabic language. They concentrate extensively on teaching students
the Arabic language, both reading/writing and also speaking.
The Arabs however, without doubt are more eloquent in Arabic, for
firstly, it is their mother tongue and obviously that makes a
difference. Secondly, the medium of instruction in their institutions is
Arabic, thus the students and teachers all constantly speak one
language. Therefore, they are generally better versed in the Arabic
language.
In conclusion, there is good in both the Arab world and the Indian
Subcontinent. There are great scholars in both places, thus it would be
wise (if reasonably possible) to study in both places.
My personal advice would be that you first go to somewhere like Syria or
Yemen and master the Arabic language by concentrating on Nahw (grammar)
Sarf (morphology) Balaghah (Rhetoric) and Adab (literature). It would
also be wise to study the science of Tajwid, Aqidah (creed), principles
of Hadith (Usul/Mustalah al-Hadith), principles of Fiqh (Usul al-Fiqh)
and Fiqh.
Syria and Egypt are known for their brilliance in the science of
Qur’anic recitation ( tajwid) where students may master the various
different recitations (qira’ats). By studying the above subjects in the
Arab world, you will become quite fluent in the Arabic language,
something that will help in you studying the other sciences.
Thereafter, you may go and complete your studies in the Indian
subcontinent where you may study Tafsir, Hadith and Hanfi Fiqh in depth.
This will give you the opportunity to study the major books of Hadith
completely with chains of transmissions (isnad) going back to their
authors and subsequently to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him &
give him peace) himself. Also, you will become well-versed in Hanafi
Fiqh.
By studying in both places, you will have the chance to gather the
treasures found in the Arab world and in the Ajam. May Allah choose
whatever is better for you and for all the brothers and sisters who wish
to seek sacred knowledge. May Allah Most High make it easy for all of
us, Insha Allah.
And Allah knows best
Muhammad ibn Adam
Darul Iftaa
Leicester , UK.
Article taken (with Thanks) from Daruliftaa
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