The Preface of Fatāwā: The paronomastic preface of Fatāwā al-Riđawiyyah, being the praise of Allāh táālā and prayers for blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ is composed using names of fiqh imams and books. A few lines from the two page preface is given below:[1] al-ĥamdulillāh * huwa’l fiqh al-akbar * wa’l jāmiý al-kabīr * li ziyādāti fayđih al-mabsūţ * al-durar al-ghurar * bihi al-hidāyah * wa minhu al-bidāyah * wa ilayhi ...
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Once, he borrowed Úqūd al-Durriyyah fī Tanqīĥ al-Fatāwā al-Ĥamidiyyah of Ibn Áābidīn from the muĥaddith, Mawlānā Waşīy Aĥmad Sūratī.[1] He read both volumes all through the night, until noon the next day and returned it. When Mawlānā Sūratī asked him in amazement: “Is one reading enough?” Alahazrat replied: “At least for the next two or three months, I will be able to cite the text [from anywhere in the book] ...
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On another occasion, Shaykh Muĥammad Kichauchawī[1] who usually handled fatāwā related to inheritance, had to calculate the shares of fifteen branches (and their descendants) in the family tree. He took a whole day to compile his answer and came to Alahazrat for verification. The question was read out to Alahazrat that fifteen members of a line had all died leaving behind a number of descendants, whose names were read out. ...
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Abjad is a numeral system in which each letter of the alphabet is assigned a value. It is an ancient practice to compose chronograms for events using the abjad system – like dates of birth, or death-dates, names given at birth; authors would name their books such that, the letters when added using the abjad system, tallied with the year in which it was written. In other words, a chronogram ...
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Alahazrat was a skilled calligrapher who also wrote a neat hand, in spite of his swift writing. He was proficient in the Nastáliq and Naskh writing styles, as he has mentioned himself, and his expertise can be gauged from the samples below: A calligraphed autobiographical quatrain penned by himself Şalawāt he composed extempore with the names of shaykhs in a chain of transmission in taşawwuf. Qaşidatān Rāyiýatān: two odes in ...
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