Jadd al-Mumtār álā Radd al-Muĥtār
Sustenance for the Forager ¹
Alahazrat’s marginalia on Radd al-Muĥtār² in Arabic in five volumes.

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1. It is a characterstic of Alahazrat’s naming scheme that he chooses homonyms often. This title can have two pronunciations and each can have a number of meanings:
a) Jadd al-Mumtār: The Sustenance of the Seeker; where jadd means Fortune, Sustenance [ĥužwah, rizq, ghinā – Tāj al-Árūs] mumtār means, a person who goes out in search of food, sustenance; a forager. [mayr: to go out in search of sustenance – Tāj al-Árūs.]
b) Jidd al-Mumtār: Hastening the Seeker; where jidd means ‘to hasten,’ ‘effort’ and also ‘research’. Thus, Jidd al-Mumtār can have two meanings: ‘Hastening the Forager’ or a self-deprecating: ‘Findings of a Forager,’ or ‘Effort of a Seeker.’ [jidd: ájalah; al-ijtihādu fi’l amr; al-taĥqīq – Tāj al-Árūs ]

2. Imām Ibn Áābidīn’s magnum opus which is universally acknowledged as an authoritative reference of the Ĥanafī madh’hab.

Al-Átāyā an-Nabawiyyah fi’l Fatāwā ar-Riđawiyyah
Bestowal of Prophetic Blessings in Raza’s Rulings

A major fatāwā collection of rulings in Urdu, Arabic and Persian; known as Fatāwā e Razawiyyah in the Indo-Pak subcontinent. This collection comprises of fatāwā of only fifteen years, as many previous fatāwā were lost as they were not copied before dispatch. Alahazrat himself organised it and even compiled extensive indexes, a practice uncommon in that age 110. Indeed, his pioneering efforts in indexing have remained largely unnoticed; the three separate indexes he made for his Fatāwā speak volumes about his creativity and initiative.¹

Discussing indexes, Alahazrat says in the preface of the first volume:

This volume ends with the topic of tayammum. Initially, I thought of dividing the fatāwā in 12 volumes, and each volume containing approximately 800 pages; and the first volume to contain the complete chapter on matters of purity. But, even after 850 pages, only the topics until tayammum could be covered. Hence, it was decided to close this volume here. At the outset, this volume contains only 114 fatāwā and 28 monographs. Yet, praise be to Allāh táālā, there are numerous issues on various subjects and sub-topics discussed in the course of these rulings; and hundreds of key points that may not be found elsewhere. We shall have two main indexes: the first, a topic-wise table of contents; and the second, a list of monographs contained within the volume. This volume contains rulings that mainly pertain to matters of purification/cleanliness, until the topic of tayammum; but in the course of discussing the main topic, and explaining the issue, many sub-topics and related issues are mentioned; from ritual purity to prayer, and then subsequent fiqh topics until [the topic of] inheritance; thereafter, issues other than fiqh, like topics on áqīdah, ĥadīth, usūl, geometry, mathematics etc. Therefore, I think it is appropriate to split the first index into two parts:
a) Index of main topics, and according to the order of [fiqh] chapters
b) Index of related and secondary issues mentioned alongside the main topic of the fatwā.

Originally published in twelve volumes of approximately 800 large size pages each, this has been recently republished in thirty volumes 114 of approximately 800 A4 size pages each, totalling 22,000 pages containing 6847 fatāwā, which also contain 206 monographs.115  Another major highlight about the fatāwā is the number of scholars and muftis seeking answers and explanations; Alahazrat was the mufti’s mufti – an authority towards whom leading scholars of the day resorted for answers. According to one statistic, it was found that 1061 questions out of 4494 were asked by 541 scholars and notables.116  Fatāwā collections are usually one or two volumes, and by sheer volume only the Fatāwā al-Hindiyyah comes close to Fatāwā ar-Riđawiyyah; and even that was compiled by more than 50 scholars. As for quality and content, most answers are a few lines or at most one or two pages; but Alahazrat’s fatāwā are voluminous tomes, sometimes running into hundreds of pages with hundreds of references, apart from the aqūl 117  – the insights of the Imām, his own analyses and derivations, which cannot be found anywhere else. In the first volume which has fatāwā only until tayammum, there are 3536 such instances. 118

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Indexing as a science is in itself, a fairly modern phenomenon. The Society of Indexers was established by Norman Knight and inaugurated in 1957 and the first issue of its journal The Indexer was published in 1958. The American Society for Indexing, inspired by the SI, was formed about ten years later in 1968-69.
See http://www.asindexing.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3313.

1. Norman Knight, in his oft-cited article ‘Book Indexing in Great Britain: A Brief History’, from The Indexer, Vol. 6, p17, 1968, mentioning the pioneering efforts of indexers says:
Other excellent examples published during that century include The analytical index to the works of Jeremy Bentham (1843), compiled by J. H. Burton, George Birkbeck Hill’s index to his own edition of Boswell’s Life of Johnson (1887)—the Life (1791) had originally been indexed in characteristic fashion by the biographer himself—and the index to Wheatley’s edition of the Diary of Samuel Pepys (1893-9).

In two of the mentioned works above, indexes for multi-volume books are compiled as a separate volume, Vol.9 in the case of Diary of Samuel Pepys and Vol.6 for Boswell’s Life of Johnson. Alahazrat’s approach to indexing is strikingly similar; even though he was contemporary, one can safely assume that he did not have access to aforementioned works or had any knowledge of such developments. As far as I know, such a detailed topic-wise indexing was practically non-existent in Urdu or Arabic literature at that time, and particularly in books of Fatāwā. Another issue is that an alphabetic index of words in English is much different than a topic index; Alahazrat’s index is therefore, comparable with the second volume of Index to Legal Periodical Literature by Leonard A. Jones, published in 1899, who writes in its preface:
“The general plan of this volume is the same as that of my Index published in 1888, a portion of the Preface to which is now reprinted. In one respect, however, this volume differs, not in plan, but in result, from the former; and that is, it contains many more references to articles relating to Legal Science in general, and many more references to articles relating to Political Science, to Economics, and to Sociology; for in the years since the former Index was compiled, the Bar Associations organized in many States have published a great number of addresses, papers, and reports upon general, rather than technical, subjects connected with the law; and since that time also there have appeared numerous periodical publications devoted to subjects which have an important, if not direct, bearing upon Law and Legislation”.

It should be noted that such pioneers were specialist indexers; and Alahazrat was an author who also made his own indexes. The legal index mentioned above was certainly not the work of one man.

112.the dry ablution. That is, method of ablution when water is not available or cannot be used (for example, for people who are ill, etc.)

113 Kitāb al-Ţahārah

114 Alahazrat’s own passages in Arabic and Persian, as well as citations, have been translated in Urdu and referenced throughout. Immense effort has been put in the making of this edition, though, there is still plenty of room for development. Handwritten Nastaliq by a skilled calligrapher is still preferable to a computer-composed page; vertical movement of ligatures calligraphy is more elegant than wordprocessors until now. With due respect to the copyist, writing is of average quality and regresses in lengthy monographs in this edition. Arabic passages are handwritten though computer composing in Arabic is superior to calligraphy (for running text.) Another issue, is of inline translations written together with the original text which can be mistaken for the author’s own words; whereas, they should appear as footnotes without getting mixed up with the original text.

 115 A topic index and a word index are published in two separate volumes.

116 Mawlānā Khādim Ĥusayn Riđawī in his paper, Alahazrat ba Haysiyat e Marjaá al-Úlamā [Alahazrat, An Authoritative Reference for Scholars] who compiled the list from only nine of the original 12 volumes.

117“I say” which flags the opinion of the Imām.

118 Žafaruddīn Bihārī, Hayat e Alahazrat, 1/326

Kanzu’l Īmān fī Tarjamah al-Qur’ān
The Treasure of Faith: An Explanatory Translation¹ of the Qur’ān

Arguably, the finest explanatory translation of the Holy Qur’ān in Urdu. The major highlight of which, is the meticulous use of appropriate language, when referring to Allāh táālā and His messengers; and utmost care in the translation of abstruse verses. This is also unique because explanations are weaved in the translation itself and as far as possible remain close to the literal word. Arabic idioms are dexterously translated with similar or equivalent Urdu idioms. Another highlight of the translation is sahl mumtaniý – impossibly simple – which Ghalib has extolled as “the apex of beauty in poetry and the apogee of eloquence.”²  Shaykh Amjad Álī al-Aážamī,³ who initiated the project says that Alahazrat would dictate the entire translation extempore and he would write it down. Critics of his non-verbatim translations accuse him of creating fancy interpretations; whereas, these non-standard translations can be easily and satisfactorily explained by classical commentaries and other books on Qur’ānic sciences.

Researchers have written books explaining the exquisiteness of the work in comparison to other Urdu translations. Taskīn al-Janān fī Maĥāsini Kanz al-Īmān by Shaykh Ábdu’r Razzāq Bathrālwī is noteworthy, in which he analyses and compares translations of about 170 verses and demonstrates the superiority of Kanz. Two other important monographs on this topic are that of Shaykh Madanī Miyāñ al-Kichauchawī⁴  and Shaykh Akhtar Razā Khān al-Baraylawi.⁵

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Footnotes

1. Someone criticised the usage and said that the Qur’ān cannot be translated and therefore, tarjamah is an inappropriate word to use; and according to him, it should rather be tarjamah máānī al-qur’ān..  But, both Tāj al-Árūs [t-r-j-m] and Şiĥāĥ [r-j-m] say, by definition, tarjamah means, an ‘explanation of its meaning in another language.’

2. Urdu e Muállā, Letter to Ghulam Ghaus.

3. Author of Bahār e Sharīát, a comprehensive reference manual of Ĥanafī Fiqh in Urdu.

4.  Imām Aĥmed Razā Aur Urdu Tarājim e Qur’ān Kā Taqābuli Mutālaáh [A comparative reading of Urdu translations of the Qur’ān by Imām Aĥmed Riđā and by others] Mawlānā Sayyid Muĥammad Madanī al-Ashrafī al-Kichauchawi, Al-Mīzān:Alahazrat Number, 1976.

5. Imām Aĥmed Razā Kā Tarjamah e Qur’ān Ĥaqāyiq ki Raushnī Meiñ [The translation of the Qur’ān by Imām Aĥmed Riđā in the light of facts] by Mawlānā Muftī Akhtar Riđā Khān al-Baraylawī, Al-Mīzān:Alahazrat Number, 1976.  The shaykh is a great-grandson of Alahazrat.

Question:¹

What is the ruling concerning a person who has read some ordinary books of Urdu and Persian used in preliminary classes and who has not attended any Islamic school nor obtained certificates from scholars: yet he claims that he is a mufti and translates verses of the Qur’ān and ĥadīth and makes it known to the public that he is a scholar (maulvi).

a) Is it allowed to accept the ruling or fatwa or saying of such a person?

b) Should one act upon his instruction/fatwa or not?

c) What is the ruling about another person who does not accept the aforementioned person’s ruling and instructions.

Answer:

Certificate [or authorization] is inconsequential. Many a certificate holder is simply clueless and they are not even eligible to be the students of some [knowledgeable] folk who do not have any certificates.  The most important thing is to have knowledge.  The skill in issuing rulings is not perfected by mere book-learning.  Unless one spends a lengthy time as an intern under an experienced doctor, one does not become a proficient doctor.²

It has been observed of companions of expert muftis who have not attended formal classes nor have completed any course, but yet by virtue of being in the service of scholars and having spent time researching  topics,³ are far superior to many certificate holders who have completed [formal] courses; rather, such people are even superior to many teachers and nominal muftis.

[However,]regarding the aforementioned person: If he is himself indeed knowledgeable, either by self-study or is knowledgeable on account of being in the company of excellent scholars and has plenty of knowledge; and whatever he says is mostly correct [upon corroboration] and is right, more often than he is wrong, then, there is no problem in this [speaking on matters of knowledge or accepting his opinion].

However, if he does not have knowledge by either self-study or company of scholars, but still merely looks up books of Urdu and Persian and narrates legal rulings; and translates Qur’ān and ĥadīth by himself,⁴ then such an act is an enormity,⁵ and a big sin.  It is not permissible to act upon such a person’s legal edicts [fatwa] nor is it permissible to listen to his sermons explaining Qur’ān and ĥadīth.

It is mentioned in the ĥadīth that RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam has said: One who is audacious or reckless in issuing legal edicts is fearless about hellfire.

And he has also said şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam: One who explains the Qur’ān according to his own understanding, is in the wrong even if he has uttered the correct opinion [by coincidence or chance].

We seek Allāh’s refuge; and Allāh táālā knows best.

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Footnotes:

1. Query from Qazi Tola, Kohna City, 17-Dhu’l Qa’adah-1322

2. Doctor in the translation is used to mean both : a physician (contemporary) and a scholar (archaic).  That is, similar to an internship, one has to spend time in the supervision of an expert mufti to become a mufti.

3.masāyil

4. ‘by himself’ means to translate with a dictionary and explain as the meaning occurs to him; as opposed to someone who uses the tafsīr and sharĥ of senior and widely-accepted authorities and reliable opinions in his translation/explanation.

5. ĥarām

Fatawa Ridawiyyah #316, Volume 23, Pgs 683-684

Question:¹
Please describe, where in the books of fiqh is it written, that it is farđ áyn²  to recite the Qur’ān with (minimum) tajwīd such that every letter is pronounced distinctly.  If it is indeed true, then in which book is it present and in which place in that book.  If you can recall a hadith at the moment in this regard, please include it in your answer.

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Answer:
It is clearly written in all [relevant] books that if a letter is replaced with another in recitation, it invalidates prayer, if:

– it is due to inability, according to the correct and relied upon opinion (madh'hab)

– it is by mistake and the meaning is distorted, according to our imams

– it is by mistake and if such a word is not found in the Qur'an, according to Imam Abu Yusuf

It is impossible to avoid mistakes unless one learns it (from a qualified reciter.)  It is farđ áyn to protect oneself from such things that cause one’s prayer to be invalid.  Allāh táālā has said: ‘do not cause your deeds to be invalidated.’³

In Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah it is written:

idh wājibun álayhimu muĥattamu
qabla al-shurūýi awwalan an yálamu
makhārij al-ĥurūfi wa’s şifāti
li yanţiqū bi afşaĥi’l lughāti ⁴

It is obligatory and essential
Before starting to recite the Qur’ān to know
The articulation of letters and their attributes
So that one can properly pronounce the most eloquent of all languages

Allāh táālā knows best.

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Footnotes:

1. Query by Muhammad Miyan of Bareilly

2. Obligatory for everybody

3. Sūrah Muĥammad, v.33

4. In other version li-yalfižū instead of li-yanţiqū

Fatāwā ar-Riđawiyyah No.506 / Vol.6, Pg.339