Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi biography Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi biography

 Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi biography Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi biography Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi biography



Ahmed Raza Khan Fazil-e-Barelvi (Urdu: احمد رضاخان‎, Hindi: अहमद रज़ा खान) (1856–1921 CE), popularly known as Aala Hazrat, was a Sunni Hanafi scholar who founded the Barelvi movement of South Asia.Raza Khan wrote on numerous topics, including law, religion, philosophy and the sciences. He was a prolific writer, producing nearly 1,000 works in his lifetime.

Early life

His father was Naqi Ali Khan, and his great-grandfather Shah Kazim Ali Khan was a noted Sunni scholar.
Ahmed's mother named him Amman Miyān. Raza Khan used the appellation "Abdul Mustafa" (slave [or servant] of Mustafa) prior to signing his name in correspondence. He studied Islamic sciences and completed a traditional Dars-i-Nizami course under the supervision of his father Naqī Áli Khān, who was a legal scholar. He went on the Hajj with his father in 1878.

Religious studies

Ahmed Raza Khan translated the Quran into Urdu, which was first published in 1912 under the title of Kanzul ImanKanz ul-Iman fi Tarjuma al-Qur’an. The original manuscript is preserved in the library of Idara Tahqiqat-i-Imam Ahmed Raza, Karachi, and an English translation of Kanzul Iman has also been published. Ahmed Raza Khan also wrote several books on the collection and compilation of hadiths.

Beliefs

Ahmed Raza Khan's beliefs regarding Muhammad include:

  • Muhammad, although human, possessed a Noor (Light) that predates creation. This contrasts with the Deobandi view that Muhammad was insan-e-kamil ("the complete man"), a respected but physically typical human
  • He is haazir naazir (can be present in many places at the same time, as opposed to God, who is everywhere by definition).
  • God has granted him ilm-e-ghaib (the knowledge of the unseen). This belief and theory directly negates the Islaamic concept of "shirk" which attributes some qualities only to Almighty Allah, including the 'i'lm-e-ghaib' or knowledge of the unknown and unseen. Raza Khan writes:

We do not hold that anyone can equal the knowledge of Allah Most High, or possess it independently, nor do we assert that Allah’s giving of knowledge to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) is anything but a part. But what a patent and tremendous difference between one part [the Prophet’s] and another [anyone else’s]: like the difference between the sky and the earth, or rather even greater and more immense.
—Ahmed Raza Khan, al-Dawla al-Makkiyya (c00), 291.

  • Proclaiming the words 'Ya RASOOLALLH'
  • To say and write Prophet Mohammad and Abdul-Qadir Gilani Ghous Pak as benefactor and helper.

Views on economics

Raza through his book,Economic Guidelines for Muslims published in 1912, presented the following points for the economic development of Muslims

Opposition to other sects

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian claimed to be the Mahdi (messiah) awaited by the Muslims as well as a new prophet. These claims proved to be extremely controversial among many in the Muslim community, and he was branded a heretic and apostate by many religious scholars of the time, including Ahmed Raza Khan. Ghulam Ahmad's claims are controversial to this day, but his Mahdi status and prophethood is believed in by the Ahmadiyya sect. Though, Pakistan in 1974, have officially declared the Ahmadiyya sect non-Muslims.
When Ahmed Raza visited Mecca and Medina for pilgrimage in 1905, he prepared a draft document entitled Al Motamad Al Mustanad ("The Reliable Proofs") for presentation to the scholars of Mecca and Medina. Ahmed Raza Khan collected opinions of the ulama of the Hejaz and compiled them in an Arabic language compendium with the title, Husam al Harmain ("The Sword of Two Sanctuaries"), a work containing 34 verdicts from 33 ulama (20 Meccan and 13 Medinese). The work concluded that Founders of Darul Uloom Deoband Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, Qasim Nanotwi and founder of Qadiyani faith Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's beliefs were blasphemous and tantamount to apostasy.
Khan issued fatwas against other religious groups such as Deobandis and Ahl al-Hadith, accusing them of being disrespectful towards Muhammad. Khan went as far as to declare not only all Deobandis and Ahl al-Hadith infidels and apostates,but also any non-Deobandis who doubted the apostasy of Deobandis.

Opposition to heterodox practices

Raza Khan condemned many practices he saw as bid'at (forbidden innovations), such as:

  • Qawali (religious music) and Sufi whirling.
  • Tawaf (ceremonially walking in circles around a holy site) of tombs.
  • Sajda(prostration) on Shrines and Tombs to those other than God
  • Ta'zieh, plays re-enacting religious scenes
  • Women going to visit mazaar (tombs)
  • Sajda(prostration) on Shrines and Tombs to those other than God
  • Ta'zieh, plays re-enacting religious scenes

Political quietism

During the period of the Indian Khilafat Movement, Gandhi was advised that he should meet with Raza Khan. When he was told that Gandhi wished to meet and speak to him, Raza Khan said, "What would he speak about? Religion or worldly affairs? If it is worldly affairs, what can I partake in, for I have abstained from the world and have no interest in it."
Unlike most other Muslim leaders in the region at the time, Khan and his movement opposed the Indian independence movement due to its leadership under Gandhi, who was not a Muslim.

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