Praised by Scholars

Alahazrat went to Ganj-Murādābād in 1292 to meet Shaykh Fađl al-Raĥmān Ganj-Murādābādī; in that meeting, the shaykh asked Alahazrat about his opinion on Mawlid. Alahazrat said that he considered it mustaĥabb. The shaykh replied:

“You people say that it is a praiseworthy bidáh, but I consider it a sunnah. Look at the companions – when they went on jihād and travelled far and wide, what did they say in places they visited? Wouldn’t they say – a Prophet is born amongst us; Allāh táālā has revealed the Qur’ān to him; he has such-and-such attributes; he has such superior qualities; he shows us such-and-such miracles. What else do we do in Mawlid?” Alahazrat stayed with the shaykh for three days and at the time of parting Alahazrat respectfully asked him for advice. The shaykh said: “Do not be hasty in takfīr.”

Alahazrat said to himself in his heart: “I only rule the blasphemers as kāfirs” and the shaykh said immediately: “Of course, anyone who utters a word of blasphemy is a kāfir.” Thereafter, he gave Alahazrat his own cap and took Alahazrat’s cap for himself.

Shaykh Muĥammad al-Marzūqī Abū Ĥusayn [1284-1365] the Mufti of Ĥanafīs and the Qāđī of Makkah has said:[1]

Verily, Allah ta’ala has granted me an immense favour – I praise and thank Him for His Grace, by which I met the great scholar, the peerless savant, the researcher, the ocean of understanding, one endowed with insight; acclaimed for his intellect and applauded for numerous writings in creedal matters – the fundamentals and secondary issues, specific issues and for his overall knowledge; not to mention his refutations of heretics and apostates. I used to hear beautiful things about him and about his grand stature; I was also blessed with reading some of his works, radiant and illuminated with the light from the niche [of his knowledge] – his love had found place in my heart and had pervaded my soul and my mind.

sometimes, the ears fall in love before the eyes do

And when Allāh táālā favoured me with this meeting – I saw with my own eyes, his incredible talents and attributes; I found him the standard of knowledge, a colossal lighthouse, an ocean of gnosis [márifah] from which learning flows as a gushing stream, the genius, the bearer of knowledge as a bastion to mischief and its means; he who extends his tongue to safeguard the sharīáh; and has a magisterial command of kalām, fiqh, inheritance. Praised be Allāh, he is observant of Islamic etiquette and sunnah, wājib and farđ; proficient in Arabic and mathematics – a sea of logic from wherein a seeker finds invaluable pearls.

He who has made easy the way to knowledge of principles, even as he reigns supreme in those sciences. The noble master, the great and meritorious scholar, Shaykh Aĥmad Riđā Khān al-Baraylawī – may Allāh táālā give him a long life and vouchsafe him in both worlds and safeguard his pen – the unsheathed sword upon the necks of renegades – may it never lose its sheen. Aāmīn! O Allāh, Aāmīn. When I met him and my eyes fell upon him – may Allāh táālā protect him – the following verses came to my mind:

The harbingers had informed me much upon inquiry

Of Aĥmad ibn Saýīd,[2] and his goodness

But then, when I met him – No, by Allah!

My ears had not beheld more beautiful than what my eyes now did.

[1] Attestation of the shaykh in Ĥusāmu’l Ĥaramayn.

[2] Also, Aĥmad=The most praised one; Saýīd=the fortunate, blissful, blessed, auspicious.