Life of Ala Hazrat

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BASIC FACTS:

Birth Name: Ahmed Raza Khan

Born in: Barelvi Sharif, India

Date of Birth: 10th Shawwal 1272 AH(or 14th June 1856)

IN DEPTH:Ala Hazrat's Blessed BirthImam Ahmed Raza Khan was born ona Monday, the 10th of Shawal 1272 A.H(14th June 1856), at the time of ZuhrNamaz in a place called Jasoli, which isin the city of Barelvi Sharif, India.

A few days before the birth of ImamAhmed Raza Khan, his father, AllamahMawlana Naqi Ali Khan, had awonderful dream. He immediatelydisclosed this dream to his father,Allamah Mawlana Raza Ali Khan, whointerpreted this dream by saying, "Thisis a sign that you are going to be thefather of a child, a boy, who will growup to be pious and knowledgeable. Hisname will gain prominence from Eastto West."This was the good news that was given

to Allamah Mawlana Naqi Ali Khanconcerning the birth of none otherthan the Emerald from amongst theTreasures of Almighty Allah, theSweet-scented Rose from the fragrantGarden of the Holy Prophet, peace andblessings of Allah be upon him,, thegreat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan.His Blessed NameThe name that was given to him atbirth was the beautiful name ofMohammed. The name correspondingto that was Al Mukhtar. His grandfather,

a great Scholar of the Ahle Sunnat walJamaat, Allamah Mawlana Raza AliKhan, also gave the young child thebeautiful name of Ahmed Raza. It wasby this name that he was & still isfamously known.Much later in his life, Ala Hazrat addedthe title of Abdul Mustafa to his name,signifying his great love and respect forSayyiduna Rasulallah , peace and


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blessings of Allah be upon him.Illustrious Family HistoryImam Ahmed Raza Khan Al-Qadri, wasthe son of Allamah Mawlana Naqi AliKhan, who was the son of AllamahMawlana Raza Ali Khan, who was sonof Allamah Mawlana MohammedKaazim Ali Khan, who was the son ofAllamah Mawlana Shah MohammedAzam Khan, who was the son ofAllamah Mawlana Sa'adat Yaar Khan,who was the son of Allamah MawlanaSa'eedullah Khan (, may Allah bepleased with him).The great forefathers of Ala Hazratmigrated from Qandhar (Kabul) duringthe Mogul rule and settled in Lahore.Allamah Mawlana Sa'eedullah Khan,the first forefather of Ala Hazrat (, mayAllah be pleased with him), held a highgovernment post when he arrived inthe Indo-Pak sub-continent. His son,Allamah Mawlana Sa'adat Yaar Khan ,after gaining victory in the city of

Ruhailah, was elected as the Governorof that city.Allamah Mawlana Hafiz Kaazim AliKhan, the son of Mawlana MohammedAzam Khan (, may Allah be pleasedwith him), was a tax-collector in the cityof Badayun. His son, Allamah MawlanaRaza Ali Khan , the illustriousgrandfather of Ala Hazrat, did notserve in the Government. It was fromthis generation that the heads of thefamily began to adopt Tasawwuf astheir way of life.

Here is a very brief history of AlaHazrats father and grandfather:His Father:Ala Hazrats father, Hazrat MawlanaNaqi Ali Khan (, may Allah be pleasedwith him), received his education at thehands of his own father, AllamahMawlana Raza Ali Khan (, may Allah bepleased with him). He wrote more than50 books, amongst them was"Suroorul Quloob fi Zikri MawloodulMahboob", which received a very highdistinctive position amongst Islamic

literature. The treatise is characteristicin its condemnation of the enemies ofIslam, both internally and externally.He passed away in 1297 A.H. (1880)when Imam Ala Hazrat was 24 yearsold.His Grandfather:One of the greatest Sufis of his time,Allamah Mawlana Raza Ali Khan wasborn in the year 1224 A.H. He was also


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a great warrior and fought alongsideGeneral Bakht Khan against Englishinvaders in the year 1834. He receivedhis early education at the hands ofMaulvi Khaleerur Rahman. At the ageof 23, he had already completed hisIslamic education, earning certificatesof distinction in various fields ofknowledge.He passed away in the month ofJamadiul Awwal in the year 1282 A.H(1866). Ala Hazrat was only 10 yearsold at this time.Imam Ahmed Raza's Piety As A ChildAla Hazrat was a child of 4 years whenthe following incident took place.On this particular day, he was dressedin a long Kurta (shirt). As he steppedout of his house, a few femaleprostitutes walked past him. In order tocover his eyes, Ala Hazrat quickly heldthe bottom of his Kurta with both hishands and lifted the Kurta over hisface. When one of the prostitutes saw

what he did, she said, "Well! Youngman, you covered your eyes, butallowed your Satr to be shown."With his face and eyes still covered, theyoung Ala Hazrat replied, "When theeyes are tempted, then the heartbecomes tempted. When the heart istempted, then the concealed partsbecome tempted." So shocked andaffected was this woman on hearingsuch a reply from a child that she lostconsciousness.Another incident, which happened in

the Month of Ramadan, also shows AlaHazrats piety and fear of Allah.It should be known that for a little childto keep fast in India during thesummer season is very difficult. Theaverage temperature on a summer'sday rises to approximately 50 degreesCelsius. Fasting was not Farz(obligatory) upon him because he wasstill a child, but on this day heintended to keep fast. The heat of thesun that day was intense. HazratAllamah Naqi Ali Khan took his young

son, Ala Hazrat (, may Allah be pleasedwith him), into a room where sweetswere kept. He closed the door andsaid, "There, eat the sweets." AlaHazrat replied that he was fasting. Hisfather then said, "The fasting ofchildren is always like this. The door isclosed and no one is looking. Now youmay eat." On hearing this, the youngAla Hazrat respectfully said, "Through


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Whose command I am fasting, He isseeing me." On hearing this answerfrom a small child, tears began to flowfrom the eyes of Hazrat Allamah NaqiAli Khan (, may Allah be pleased withhim). He then left the room with AlaHazrat (, may Allah be pleased withhim).Imam Ahmed Raza's First LectureSayyiduna Ala Hazrat delivered his firstlecture at the age of 6 years. It wasduring the glorious month of RabiulAwwal. Ala Hazrat stood on theMimbar (Pulpit) and delivered thelecture before a very large gathering,which also consisted of various Ulema.His lecture lasted for approximately 2hours. Ala Hazrat spoke on theWilaadat (birth) of SayyidunaRasulallah , peace and blessings ofAllah be upon him.He brightened the hearts of thelisteners with the love of SayyidunaRasulallah , peace and blessings of

Allah be upon him. The peoplelistening were thoroughly impressedby the maturity and eloquence of thislecture, which was being delivered by a6 year old child!His Intelligence As A ChildAla Hazrat was so gifted and intelligentthat there was no need for him tostudy beyond the fourth Kitaab of hiscourse under the tutorship of any ofhis teachers. He studied the remainingKitaabs by himself and used to laterask his teachers to test him.

Once, his teacher asked him, "Mia! Areyou a Jinn or a human being? It takesme much time to teach a lesson, but itdoes not take you much time to learnthe same lesson."Ala Hazrat answered, "Praise be toAllah that I am a human."When he was 8 years old, Ala Hazratwrote a Masla concerning Fara'idh(Farz). When his father looked at theanswer, he happily remarked, "If onlysome adult could answer in thismanner."

At the age of 10, when he was studyingthe Kitaab, "I'lm-us-Thuboot," underthe guidance of his father, he noticed afew objections and answers of hisfather on the side of the page. AlaHazrat studied this book carefully andwrote such a well- explained footnotethat even the need for an objectionwas ruled out.His father came across his research on


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that objection. He was so delighted thathe stood up, held the young Ala Hazratto his heart and said, "Ahmad Raza!You do not learn from me, but youteach me."Professor Dr Ghulam Mustafa Khan,Head of Department: Urdu, SindhUniversity, Sindh (Pakistan) said:"Allamah Hazrat Ahmed Raza Khan isamong the outstanding scholars. Hisdeep learning, intelligence, vision andacumen, surpassed that of greatcontemporary thinkers, professors,renowned scholars and orientalist.Indeed, there is hardly any branch oflearning that is foreign to him."Astonishing Events Of ChildhoodAt the age of 3, Ala Hazrat was oncestanding outside the Raza Masjid inBarelvi Sharif. An unknown person,attired in an Arabian garb, approachedhim and spoke to him in the Arabiclanguage. Those who were presentand witnessed this incident heard the

young Ala Hazrat converse with theperson in pure Arabic. They weresurprised. The person who spoke toAla Hazrat was never seen again inBarelvi Sharif!A Majzoob (one who is drowned in hislove for Almighty Allah), by the name ofHazrat Basheeruddin Sahib, used tolive at the Akhoon Zada Masjid inBarelvi Sharif. He spoke harshly toanyone who visited him.Ala Hazrat wished to meet thisMajzoob. One night, at about 11

o'clock, he set off alone to meet him.He sat respectfully for about 15minutes outside the Majzoob's house.After some time, the Majzoob becameaware of him and asked, "Who are youto Mawlana Raza Ali Khan (, may Allahbe pleased with him)." Ala Hazratreplied that he was the grandson ofHazrat Raza Ali Khan (, may Allah bepleased with him). The Majzoobimmediately embraced him and tookhim into his little room. He asked AlaHazrat if he had come for any specific

matter, but Ala Hazrat said that he hadcome to ask him to make Dua for him.On hearing this, the Majzoob, forapproximately half an hour, made thefollowing Dua: "May Allah have mercyon you. May Allah bless you."PRIMARY AND TERTIARY EDUCATION:Commencement Of Islamic EducationDuring Ala Hazrats "Bismillah Kwaani"or "Commencement of Islamic


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Education", a very strange incidentoccurred:His respected teacher asked him toread the Tasmiyah, and then told himto read "Alif, Baa, Taa . . ." Ala Hazratbegan reading the "Alif, Baa, Taa ..."until he came to the word "Laam Alif"at which point Ala Hazrat becamesilent. When his teacher asked himonce more to read "Laam Alif", heremained silent. The teacher instructedhim, "Say, 'Laam Alif'". Sayyiduna AlaHazrat (, may Allah be pleased withhim) then replied, "I have already readthem earlier on. What need is there forme to repeat it?"Hazrat Allamah Raza Ali Khan (, mayAllah be pleased with him), who waswitnessing this incident, said, "Son!Listen to what your Ustaad is saying."Upon further reflection, Hazrat AllamahRaza Ali Khan (, may Allah be pleasedwith him) realised the reason for theobjection of the young Ala Hazrat (,

may Allah be pleased with him). It wasbecause the teacher was teaching AlaHazrat the lesson on single alphabets.Ala Hazrat felt that how was it possiblethat a complete word like "Laam Alif"should be found in such a lesson thatonly dealt with single alphabets!Hazrat Allamah Mawlana Raza Ali Khanknew that it was a very delicate matterthat could not be understood by achild. Nevertheless, he explained, "Son!It is true that which you are thinking of.But the 'Alif' which you had earlier

read, in reality, is 'Hamza' and thiswhich you are reciting now is 'Alif'. 'Alif'is always 'Sakin' and one cannotcommence with a letter which is'Sakin'. Therefore, it is for this reasonthat the letter 'Laam' is brought beforethe 'Alif'."When Ala Hazrat heard this answer, hereplied, "If that be the case, then anyother letter could be joined to the 'Alif'.Why the 'Laam'?"Mawlana Raza Ali Khan (, may Allah bepleased with him), out of sheer

happiness and excitement, embracedAla Hazrat and made Dua for him. Hethen explained the answer to AlaHazrat in the following brilliantmanner: "In looking at them they bothappear to be very much alike, sincethey are both empty. Even whenwriting them together they look verymuch alike. When it comes to theirqualities then 'Laam' is the heart of


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'Alif' and 'Alif' is the heart of 'Laam'."Hazrat Allamah Mawlana Raza Ali Khanwas in reality opening the doors andthe treasures of knowledge andspiritual insight to Ala Hazrat (, mayAllah be pleased with him).Ala Hazrat was only 4 years old whenhe completed the recitation of the holyQuran. Due to the extraordinaryintelligence bestowed upon him byAlmighty Allah, Ala Hazrat completedhis Islamic education at the very youngage of 13 years, 10 months and 5 days.Ala Hazrat states that, "I completed myreligious education during the middleof the month of Shabaan in the year1286 A.H. I was 13 years, 10 monthsand 5 days old at that time. It was alsoat this time that Salah became Farzupon me and I began to have greatinterest in the Laws of Shariah". (AlIjaazatur Radawiyya)Ala Hazrat gained his basic knowledgeat home. He later continued his studies

under the guidance of certain notedteachers. He studied under his father,Hazrat Allamah Mawlana Naqi Ali Khan(, may Allah be pleased with him). Hecompleted his primary education byJanab Mirza Ghulam Qadir Baig, bywhom he studied the book, "MizaaneMunsha'ab."Ala Hazrat also studied under theguidance of the following luminouspersonalities :1. Hazrat Mawlana Abdul Ali Rampuri (,may Allah be pleased with him),

2. Sheikh-e-Kabeer, Hazrat AllamahSyed Shah Abul Hassan Ahmed Noori(, may Allah be pleased with him),3. Sheikh-e-Tariqah, Hazrat AllamahShah Ale Rasul Mahrahrewi (, mayAllah be pleased with him),4. Sheikh Ahmed bin Zain-e-DahlaanMakki (, may Allah be pleased withhim), 5. Sheikh Abdur Rahman Makki (,may Allah be pleased with him)6. Sheikh Hussain bin Salih Makki (,may Allah be pleased with him)Ala Hazrats First Fatwa

In a letter sent to his illustrious Khalifa,Hazrat Mawlana Zafaruddin Bihaari,Ala Hazrat writes:"With the Grace of Almighty Allah, thisservant wrote his first Fatwa at the ageof 13. It is also at this age that Icompleted my religious education andgained a certificate of proficiency in thisfield.On this day, a question was put


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forward to me as to whether milk, ifreaching the belly of a child, wouldprove fosterage or not? I replied that ifmilk reached the child's belly, eitherthrough the nose or mouth, fosteragewould be proven, therefore, making itHaram upon the child to marry thiswoman". (Al Malfooz, Part I, page 12)His father was so amazed anddelighted by this in-depth reply that heassigned the young Ala Hazrat the taskof issuing Fatwas (Islamic verdicts). Formany years, thereafter, Ala Hazratcarried this very important duty withabsolute dignity and responsibility.Ala Hazrat began answering hundredsof Fatwas daily. He received them in alllanguages - Arabic, Urdu, Persian,English and many other languages.Professor Dr J.M.S. Baljon, Departmentof Islamology, University of Leiden(Holland), when commenting about AlaHazrats answers to religious enquiries,said: "Indeed, a great scholar I must

confess. When reading his Fatwas, I amdeeply impressed by the immenselywide reading he demonstrates in hisargumentations. Above it, his viewsappear much more balanced than Iexpected. You are completely right; hedeserves to be better known and moreappreciated in the West than is thecase at present."His Marriage And Blessed ChildrenIn the year 1291 A.H. (1874), Ala Hazratmarried Sayyidah Irshad Begum (, mayAllah be pleased with him) who was

the beloved daughter of Sheikh FazlHussain Sahib. He was 18 years old atthe time of his Nikah (marriage).Almighty Allah blessed Ala Hazrat with7 beautiful children - 2 sons and 5daughters. Both his sons becameeminent Islamic Scholars and greatAwliyah Allah. Ala Hazrats eldest son,Hazrat Allamah Mawlana MuhammadHamid Raza Khan Noori Barakaati wasvery much efficient in Arabic andvarious other religious sciences. Hisfeatures resembled his illustrious

father.Hujjatul Islam left this mundane worldon the 17th of Jamadiul Awwal 1362A.H., while in the state of Salah. HisMazar Sharif (Blessed Tomb) is inBarelvi Sharif, India.Huzoor Mufti-e-Azam-e-Hind, ImamMustafa Raza Khan Noori Barakati (,may Allah be pleased with him), theyounger son of Ala Hazrat studied


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primarily under the guidance of hiselder brother. He also receivededucation at the blessed feet of hisfather and earned himself a certificateof proficiency in religious sciences.Huzoor Mufti-e-Azam-e-Hind hasapproximately ten million Mureeds(disciples) around the world. He is alsoregarded as a Mujaddid (Reviver) ofIslam of the 15th Century.He left this mundane world on the eveof the 14th of Muharram 1402 A.H.(1981). His Mazar Sharif is also inBarelvi Sharif.Incidents Pointing To His ImmenseKnowledgeSpeaking about Ala Hazrats immenseknowledge, Dr Sayyid MuhammadAbdullah, Chairman: Department ofEncyclopaedia of Islam, University ofPunjab, Lahore (Pakistan) said: "Thescholar is said to be the mind andspokesman of the nation, especiallythat scholar who derives inspiration,

thought and vision from the HolyQuran and the Holy Prophet's, peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him,straditions, a narration of divineknowledge, and exponent of divinescheme. He is the Voice of the Creator,a benefactor of mankind. It is not anoverstatement or exaggeration, butacceptance of truth to say that AhmadRaza is such a scholar."He, indeed, is a renowned scholar,great philosopher, eminent jurist, manof vision, interpreter of the

Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet's,peace and blessings of Allah be uponhim,s traditions, and a spell- bindingorator."A few days after the Nikah of Ala Hazrat(, may Allah be pleased with him), acertain person came to Barelvi Sharif.He presented a Fatwa of MawlanaIrshad Hussain Mujaddidi to HazratAllamah Mawlana Naqi Ali Khan for ananswer. The Fatwa bore the signaturesof many Ulema.Hazrat Allamah Naqi Ali Khan (, may

Allah be pleased with him), instructedthe messenger with the followingwords: "Go into the room. Maulvi Sahibis there. He will answer your question."The messenger entered the room andonly saw Ala Hazrat sitting there. Hereturned to Hazrat Allamah Naqi AliKhan and said, "There is no MaulviSahib there. All I see in the room is ayoung lad." Hazrat Allamah Naqi Ali


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Khan told the messenger: "Give theMasla to him and he will answer it."The messenger went to Ala Hazrat andhanded him the Fatwa. He studied itand realised that the answer on theFatwa of Mawlana Irshad Hussain wasincorrect. Ala Hazrat wrote the correctanswer to the Fatwa and respectfullypresented it to his father. His fatherverified his answer as being correct.The very same Fatwa was then taken tothe Governor of Rampur. Afterstudying the Fatwa of Ala Hazrat (, mayAllah be pleased with him), theGovernor requested the presence ofMawlana Irshad Hussain Sahib (, mayAllah be pleased with him). When thesaid Mawlana appeared before theGovernor, the Fatwa was shown tohim. Mufti Irshad Hussain Sahibhumbly acknowledged that his Fatwawas incorrect and that the Fatwa fromBarelvi Sharif was the correct answer.The Governor of Rampur then said, "If

the Fatwa of Barelvi is correct, thenhow is it that all the other Ulemaverified and endorsed your Fatwa?"Mawlana Irshad Hussain replied, "Theyendorsed my Fatwa because I amprominent, but the true Fatwa is theone written by the Mufti of Barelvi."When the Governor learnt that ImamAhmed Raza Khan was only 20 yearsold, he immediately had the greatyearning to meet him. It so happenedthat Ala Hazrat once visited Rampur.The Governor went and met Ala Hazrat

(, may Allah be pleased with him). TheGovernor was overwhelmed and as amark of respect offered him a silverchair to sit on. Ala Hazrat refused to siton the silver chair saying that the useof silver furniture is Haram. Feelingashamed, the Governor requested AlaHazrat to sit on the bed.While conversing with Ala Hazrat (, mayAllah be pleased with him), theGovernor commented that since hewas so brilliant at such a young age,that Ala Hazrat should study a few

books in Logistics under thesupervision of Maulvi Abdul HaqKheyrabaadi.Coincidently, Maulvi Abdul HaqKheyrabaadi arrived. They were bothintroduced to one another. Aftergetting acquainted, he questionedSayyiduna Ala Hazrat concerning thebooks that he had studied in the fieldof Logistics. Ala Hazrat told the Maulvi


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that he had studied the Kitaab, "KaziMubarak." Maulvi Abdul HaqKheyrabaadi did not believe Ala Hazratbecause he felt that he was too youngto study "Kazi Mubarak". He then, verysarcastically, asked, "Have you studied'Tahzeeb'?" Ala Hazrat also answeredin a sarcastic manner by saying, "Is'Tahzeeb' taught after 'Kazi Mubarak' atyour institution?"After listening to the answers of AlaHazrat (, may Allah be pleased withhim), he began questioning him abouthis qualifications. Ala Hazrat said thathe preferred teaching, engaging inFatwa work and writing books. Hefurther asked Ala Hazrat concerning hisfield of expertise. Ala Hazrat replied bysaying that he specialised in any fieldthat was necessary at any given time,and this included debating theWahabis.When Maulvi Abdul Haq heard thisreply from Ala Hazrat (, may Allah be

pleased with him), he remarked, "Thatcrazy person from Badayoun is also inthis fanaticism." (He was referring toMawlana Abdul Qadir , may Allah bepleased with him). On hearing this,Sayyiduna Ala Hazrat became offendedand said, "Your father, Mawlana Fazl-e-Haq Kheyrabaadi (, may Allah bepleased with him), was the first personto debate the Wahabis, and he was theone responsible for writing a bookagainst Isma'il Dehlwi. He called thisbook 'Al Fatwa Fi Butali Taghwa'."

Mawlana Abdul Haq Kheyrabbadi thensaid, "If, in my presence, you answerme in this way, then it will beimpossible for me to teach you."Ala Hazrat replied by saying, "I havealready decided not to study underyou, since for me to study under youwill be an insult to the Ulema-e-AhleSunnat".Mawlana Mufti Mazharullah said:"Once, I enquired from Ala Hazratabout the holy sacrifice offered byMuslims. He, in his reply, described

innumerable kinds of sheep, whichwas a matter of surprise for me. I kepthis letter with me. It so happened thatMawlana Kifayatullah came to see meand by chance he saw the letter. Hewas astounded and said, 'No doubt hislearning and knowledge knows noboundaries'."Branches of knowledge studied at hisfather's feet


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Ala Hazrat became proficient in thefollowing branches of knowledge at thefeet of his father:1. Tafseer of the holy Quran2. Tafseer of Ahadith3. Principles of Ahadith (Usool-e-Hadith)4. Islamic jurisprudence (all fourschools of thought)5. Principles of jurisprudence (Usool-e-Fiqh)6. Dialectics7. Quranic commentary8. Principles of belief9. Principles of debate10. Arabic syntax11. Principles of rhetoric12. Language usage of metaphors13. Science dealing with rhetoric14. Logic15. Debates16. Philosophy and politics17. Rhetoric devices18. Physics

19. Mathematics20. Physical engineeringIn the book, "Al Ijaazatul Mutay'yanah"on page 22, Ala Hazrat has said thefollowing in connection with the abovementioned 20 branches of knowledge.He says, "I learnt these 20 branches ofknowledge, personally at the feet of myfather".Other branches of knowledge wereattained from various Ulema.He learnt Quranic recitation, correctrecitation with Tajweed, mysticism,

mystical initiation, Islamic ethics,names of narrators of Ahadith,biography of the Holy Prophet, peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him,,Islamic history, in-depth study ofArabic and literature.Ala Hazrat states: "these ten branchesof knowledge, I achieved at the feet ofthe following teachers: Shah Ale RasulMahrahrewi, Mawlana Naqi Ali Khan,Sheikh Ahmed Bin Zain Dahlaan Makki,Sheikh Abdur Rahman Makki, SheikhHussain Bin Saleh Makki, Shah Abul

Hassan Ahmed Noori (AlaihimurRahmah)."Branches of knowledge attainedwithout the assistance of any teacher:Ala Hazrat learnt arithmetic, algebra,the twelve branches of mathematics,modern astronomy, science ofinheritance, science of prosody,astrology, science of history, prose inHindi, prose in Persian, in-depth study


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of Arabic and in-depth study of plainPersian writing.When Ala Hazrat was questioned abouthis amazing capabilities in solvingintricate and confusing mathematicaltheories, and as to who his mentorwas, he replied, "I did not have ateacher in this field. Whatever you see, Iachieved within the four walls of myroom. This is indeed through the graceof Sayyiduna Rasulallah , peace andblessings of Allah be upon him." (AlMizaan, page 342)The above are merely a few branchesof knowledge, in which Ala Hazratreached such great heights ofproficiency that he was considered tobe the inventor of that branch ofknowledge! An example of this is tofound in his book, "Ar Raudal Baheej fiAdaabut Takhreej", dealing with thePrinciples of Chronomatic Recording ofAhadith.Commenting on this, the famous

Historian, Mawlana Rahman Ali, (M.P.Madya Pradesh) states, "If there are nobooks to be found on the subject ofChronomatic Recording of Ahadith,then Ala Hazrat can be considered tobe the very inventor of this branch ofknowledge". (Tazkerah Ulema-e-Hind,page 17)ACADEMIC SERVICES:Proficiency in over fifty branches ofknowledgeIf we study the life of Ala Hazrat (, mayAllah be pleased with him), we will

discover that his proficiency in varioussubjects total over fifty-four branchesof knowledge. Is it possible today, tofind an Islamic scholar or even a non-Muslim professor, scientist,educationist or a Nobel Prize ownerwho possesses such qualifications?Arab Scholars like Sheikh Ismail binKhalil and Sheikh Musa Ali Shami (,may Allah be pleased with him)commended Ala Hazrat as theRevivalist of the 14th Century A.H.: "ifhe is called the revivalist of this century

(Mujaddid), it will be right and true."Commenting on Ala Hazratsreputation and his knowledge, Dr JamilJalibi, Vice Chancellor, KarachiUniversity (Pakistan) said: "MawlanaAhmed Raza Khan Barelvi was aneminent jurist, leading scholar,scientist, Naa'tia poet, a keen observerof Shariah and a Saint. His crowningscholarship can be imagined by the


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fact that he had commandingknowledge of about 54 branches ofvarious sciences and humanities. Hehas contributed valuable works inalmost all of them. He left behindmore than a thousand treatises."Professor Dr Wahid Ashraf, BarodaUniversity, in Baroda said: "There is noshortage of renowned personalities inthe history of Islam who made richcontributions to various fields ofknowledge through their divine-giftedqualities of learning, wisdom andinsight. Ibn Sina, Umar Khayyam,Imam Razi, Imam Ghazzali, Al Beruni,Farabi and Ibn Rushd are a few richnames that shall always beremembered with pride. Among them,some are renowned for Philosophyand Medicine, some other famous forMathematics, another in Astrology,another is known for MoralPhilosophy, and another is an expert inGreek beliefs etc., but the most

outstanding personality was born inIndia and passed away in the presentcentury. He was Ahmed Raza Barelviwho enjoyed such a command invarious branches of knowledge thatonly experts of the special faculty candiscuss fully and successfully."Translation and commentary of theHoly QuranMany people have translated the HolyQuran into the Urdu language, but thetranslation of the Holy Quranpresented by Ala Hazrat - called

"Kanzul Imaan" - is proven to be themost unique translation in the Urdulanguage. In his translation one seesthat Ala Hazrat used only those wordsin his translation that are worthy forthe Attributes and Qualities of AlmightyAllah and of His Beloved Rasul , peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him.It is said that the translation of the HolyQuran by Ala Hazrat, Kanzul Imaan, isnot merely a literal translation, but isalso the commentary of the HolyQuran. In the words of Hazrat

Sayyiduna Muhaddith-e-Azam Hind (,may Allah be pleased with him), "it isnot only the translation of the Quran,it is the Quran."We have taken just one example of aVerse from the Holy Quran that hasbeen translated by various personsand compared it with the beautifultranslation of Ala Hazrat (, may Allah bepleased with him). We have taken


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Surah 93, Verse 7 as an example:(1) "And He found you lost on the wayand He guided thee."Translation by Mohammad Asad(2) "And found thee groping so Heshowed the way."Translation by Mohammed Ali LahoriQadiani(3) "And He found you uninformed ofIslamic laws so He told you the way ofIslamic laws."Translation by Ashraf Ali Thanwi(4) "Did He not find thee erring andguide thee."Translation by Arberry(5) "And saw you unaware of the wayso showed you the straight way."Translation by Fatheh MuhammadJalledhri(6) "And He found thee wandering andHe gave thee guidance."Translation by Yusuf AliNow that we have examined sixdifferent translations of Surah 93, Verse

7, let us examine the difference andthe uniqueness of the translation ofSayyiduna Ala Hazrat (, may Allah bepleased with him):"and He found you drowned in his lovetherefore gave way unto Him."Look at the uniqueness and thecautiousness that is present in thistranslation of Imam Ahmed Raza Khan(, may Allah be pleased with him)! Heabstained from using those words thatmay cause any disrespect to the dignityand personality of the Holy Prophet ,

peace and blessings of Allah be uponhim.Due to the vast amount of time AlaHazrat spent in compiling books onFiqh and various other topics, it wasnot possible for him to compile acomplete commentary of the HolyQuran. However, a few learnedscholars have stated that if all thebooks of Ala Hazrat have to be broughttogether then there is a greatpossibility that a complete commentaryof the Holy Quran may be compiled.

Like his translation of the Holy Quran,they have said that his Tafseer wouldalso be exceptional.Commenting only on the "BismillahirRahman nir Rahim", Ala Hazratpresented such a lengthy lecture onthis simple phrase that it was compiledinto a complete book and publishedunder the title, "Al Miladun Nabawiya."Once, during the Urs Sharif of Hazrat


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Mawlana Shah Abdul Qadir Sahib (,may Allah be pleased with him), AlaHazrat delivered a lecture on SurahWad-Duha from 9 am in the morningright till 3 pm in the afternoon!This lecture on Surah Wad-Duha alonelasted for 6 hours. After completing hislecture, Ala Hazrat said, "I only wrote80 percent of the commentary on thisSurah and had to leave it aside. Whereis there enough time to write theTafseer of the entire Quran-e-Azeem!"Allamah Ata Muhammad Bandayalwi (,may Allah be pleased with him),Sarghoda (Pakistan) said, "HazratBarelvi has written about a thousandtreatises. He exhaustively dealt withevery topic he touched, but his mostglorious work is his Urdu translationand explanation of the Holy Quranentitled, 'Kanzul Imaan'. Indeed, thereis no parallel.Real worth of this monumental workcan be evaluated by only those

scholars who possess vast and deepknowledge of various othertranslations and explanations of highstandard in Urdu. Ala Hazrat kept thesame pattern as adopted by therenown writers, but he excelled in theexplanation and expansion of themost difficult and complicated subjectmatter in relatively few simple words."Authority in the field of AhadithImam Ahmed Raza Khan was also agreat authority of his time when itcame to the subjects of Ahadith and

Usool-e-Ahadith. He knew the namesof almost every Hadith narrator. Whenhe was questioned concerning detailsof a certain narrator, he was able togive a complete biography of thenarrator. When he studied any Hadith,he was able to explain the type ofHadith, it's benefits and the reasonsbehind that Hadith. He wrote manybooklets on the topic of Ahadith. Oneof his books is entitled, "Hajizul JarainAn Jamma Bainas Salaatain," whichcovered the Ahadith pertaining to

"Jamma Bainas Salaatain" or the"Combination of Two Salahs in onetime."Dr Professor Mohiuddin, AzharUniversity, Cairo (Egypt) said,"Renowned scholar, Imam AhmedRaza Khan, visited Arabia twice toperform Hajj at Makkah and paidhomage to the Holy Prophet, peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him, at


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Madinah. During his stay, he visitedvarious centres of learning and hadextensive exchange of views with thescholars covering various branches oflearning and religious issues. Hesecured permission from someauthentics to quote them in referenceto particular Ahadith, and in return, heallowed them to mention his authorityin respect of some other Ahadith."It is an old saying that scholarly talentand poetic exuberance rarely combinein one person, but Imam Ahmad RazaKhan was an exception. Hisachievements contradict this diction.He was not only an acknowledgedresearch scholar, but also a greatpoet."A great jurist of his timeFiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) is thatbranch of knowledge that is derivedfrom the Holy Quran and the Ahadithof Sayyiduna Rasulallah , peace andblessings of Allah be upon him. Only

that person can be a proper Jurist whois well versed in both the Holy Quranand the Ahadith of Rasulallah , peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him. Hemust also be well versed in all theother important branches ofknowledge, such as Tafseer, Logic,Philosophy, Translating and manyother branches.Sayyiduna Ala Hazrat was regarded asthe greatest Jurist of his era. He wastotally proficient in the field of Fiqh andreceived acceptance by the great

Ulema of the East and the West.The greatest proof of his position andstatus in the world of Fiqh can beunderstood from his answersconcerning the Shariat-e-Mustafa,peace and blessings of Allah be uponhim,, which was compiled into 12 largevolumes, comprising of approximately12 000 pages to form the famousbook, "Fatwa Radawiyyah," which isused in every Darul Ifta (FatwahDepartments) around the world today.A renowned theologian and a great

Saint of Delhi, Hazrat Mawlana ZaydAbul Hassan Faruqi (, may Allah bepleased with him), who completed hiseducation at the Al Azhar University,Cairo, acknowledged the unrivalledmastery of Imam Ahmed Raza Khanover Islamic Jurisprudence and otherbranches of learning in the followingwords, "None can deny the knowledgeof Mawlana Ahmed Raza Khan in the


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field of Fiqh. He was, no doubt, thegreatest Faqih (Jurist) of his time."When Sheikh Ismail Khalil, the Curatorof the Library at Makkatul Mukarramah,read the Fatwas of Sayyiduna AlaHazrat he was puffed up with joy andwrote to Ala Hazrat (, may Allah bepleased with him), "By Allah, if ImamAbu Hanifa Nu'man would have gonethrough these Fatwa, undoubtedly, itcould have been his heart's delightand granted its writer among hispupils."Imam Ahmed Razas I'lm-e-Jafar"I'lm-e-Jafar" refers to "The Knowledgeand the Art of Prediction."Not all persons are blessed with suchknowledge by Almighty Allah. It is aspeciality for the Awliyah Allah, and AlaHazrat too was blessed with the gift ofI'lm-e-Jafar.Once, a certain person asked AlaHazrat concerning the approach ofQiyamah and the arrival of Imam

Mahdi in the future. Ala Hazrat saidthat Almighty Allah knows of this andHis beloved Rasul, peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him, is also aware ofthis fact. After saying this, Ala Hazratsubstantiated these facts by quotingmany verses of the Holy Quran andAhadith of the Holy Prophet , peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him.Ala Hazrat then said, "Through acertain type of knowledge, I feel thatthere is a possibility that in 1837 Hijrathere will be no Islamic government

left, and in 1900 Hijra Imam Mahdi willappear."After hearing this answer, someoneasked Ala Hazrat if he had gained thisanswer through I'lm-e-Jafar. He repliedthat he did. Ala Hazrat then said verysarcastically, "Eat the mangoes. Do notcount the trees."There was a King of Rampur whosewife was very sick. He loved her verymuch and was very attached to her.This King, who was a BaddMazhabi (one who does not follow the

religion properly), sent a messenger toBarelvi Sharif with a special request. Herequested Ala Hazrat to predict thetime and place of the death of his wife.The King's wife was, at that moment,not at her house in Rampur, but shewas in a place called Nainital. AlaHazrat told the messenger to tell theKing that his wife would die in Rampurin the month of Muharram. When the


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messenger returned to the King, hegave him the message of Ala Hazrat (,may Allah be pleased with him).With this message of Ala Hazrat at theback of his mind, the King tried veryhard to keep his wife away fromRampur. He did not want her to be inany way near Rampur.It so happened that rioting broke outin Rampur. It concerned the affairs ofthe Kanpur Shaheed Ganj Masjid. TheGovernor summoned the King to meetwith him urgently in Rampur. The Kingdecided to go on his own, but his wifeinsisted on joining him. As soon asthey reached Rampur, the King's wifesuddenly died. It was also the monthof Muharram. The prediction of AlaHazrat proved to be true!His knowledge of Philosophy andScienceImam Ahmed Raza Khan was a greatScientist and Philosopher. Heunderstood Science and Philosophy

better than anyone in his time. He wasa master of Ancient and ModernSciences.He proved through research thatvarious concepts of the modern dayscience are illogical and against thetheories of the Holy Quran and theAhadith.Ala Hazrat wrote many books onScience and Physics. One of his famousbooks, "Fauze Mubeen Dar HarkateZameen," using the Holy Quran as itsguidelines, proves that the earth is not

rotating but is stationary. He alsoproves that the entire Universe isrevolving around the earth. Moderntheories believe that the earth isrotating on its axis and that all theplanets, including the earth, arerevolving around the sun. Ala Hazratalso disproved the theories of Scientistsuch as Galileo Galilei and Sir IsaacNewton.Even today, many people in theWestern world regard Sayyiduna AlaHazrat as the "neglected genius of the

east."Knowledge of Astronomy andAstrologyAla Hazrat gained great expertise in thefield of Astronomy and Astrology.There was a person by the name ofMawlana Ghulam Hussain Sahib, whoused to regard himself as an authorityin Astrology.Once, Mawlana Ghulam Hussain Sahib


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visited Ala Hazrat (, may Allah bepleased with him). Ala Hazrat askedhim, "So! What is the situation of therain?" After working out the position ofthe stars, Mawlana Ghulam Sahibdrew-up an astronomical table andsaid, In this month there will be norain. It will only rain in the followingmonth." Mawlana Sahib then handedover the astronomical table to AlaHazrat (, may Allah be pleased withhim).Ala Hazrat examined it and said, "Allthe Power is by Allah. If He pleases,then it may rain now." MawlanaGhulam Hussain then said, "Are younot observing the astronomical table?"Ala Hazrat said, "I am observingeverything."Ala Hazrat then looked towards theclock and asked, "What time is it?"Mawlana Ghulam Hussain said,"Quarter past eleven." Sayyiduna AlaHazrat said, "That means that there is

three quarters of an hour left fortwelve o' clock." Saying this, Ala Hazratwalked up to the grandfather clock thatwas in the room. With his finger, hemoved the big needle of the clock untilit was on the twelve, thus showingtwelve o'clock. The clock began tochime. Ala Hazrat then said, "You saidthat it would take three quarters of anhour for the needle to come to twelveo' clock." The Mawlana Sahib replied,"But you were responsible for alteringthe position of the needle."

On hearing this, Ala Hazrat said,"Almighty Allah is All Powerful and Hemay alter the position of the starswhenever he wishes."Ala Hazrat had not yet completed hissentence when it began to rainuncontrollably.A Mathematical GeniusAla Hazrat was also a greatMathematician. He used to solve themost difficult mathematical problemsin a short space of time. His authorityin the field of Mathematics will leave

modern-day Mathematicians incomplete awe. Algebra, Geometry,Calculus, Logarithms, and otherbranches of Mathematics which arenormally handled with great difficultyeven by mathematic students today,was like ordinary addition andsubtraction to Imam Ala Hazrat (, mayAllah be pleased with him)!Once, Sir Zia uddin, a famous


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Mathematician, was in a predicamentwith regards to part of his research inthe mathematical field. He had to go toBerlin in Germany to seek a solution tothis intricate problem. It so happened,that a certain Mawlana from thefamous Aligarh University advised SirZia uddin to visit Ala Hazrat to seek asolution for his mathematical problem.But, Sir Zia uddin, sounding veryunconvinced, said, "What will anordinary Mawlana like MawlanaAhmed Raza be able to solve? Hehasn't even gone out of his city to gainknowledge, so it is obvious that hisknowledge is very limited."Nevertheless, after some convincing,he agreed to visit Ala Hazrat (, mayAllah be pleased with him).When he arrived in Barelvi Sharif, heimmediately went to Ala Hazrat (, mayAllah be pleased with him). Presentingthe intricate mathematical problem toAla Hazrat he said, "I am now going to

Germany. I will come back for theanswer, that is, if you do manage tosolve it." As he was speaking, AlaHazrat was busy writing and listeningto him at the same time. As Sir Ziauddin was about to leave, Ala Hazrathanded him a sheet of paper. When SirZia uddin read what was written onthis paper, he realised that it containedthe solution to the mathematicalproblem that had him so confused. SirZia uddin then said, "today I believethat there is something known as I'lm-

e-Laduni (inspired knowledge)."Sir Zia uddin, was later recorded tohave said about Ala Hazrat (, may Allahbe pleased with him), "He was an un-assuming man of pleasant mannersand morals, had deep insight inMathematics, although he was notformerly educated by a teacher. It wasan inner divine-gifted inherentknowledge. My query pertained to atheory of knotting problems ofMathematics, but his manner andexplanation was spontaneous as if he

had already carried out a research in it.Now there is nobody so well versed inall of India. Such a great scholar, Ithink, there is none. Allah hasbestowed upon him such a knowledgethat is amazing. His insight in the fieldsof Mathematics, Euclid, Algebra andTimings is astonishing. A mathematicalproblem that I could not solve despitemy best efforts, this learned genius


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explained in a few moments."Contribution to the field of PoetryImam Ahmed Raza Khan spent muchof his valuable time writing Poetry. HisPoetry mostly consisted of Naat Sharifin praise of the Holy ProphetMuhammad, peace and blessings ofAllah be upon him, and Manqabats. Inall the Naat Sharif written by Ala Hazrat(, may Allah be pleased with him), it isevident that his heart and soul wasdrowned in the love of the HolyProphet Muhammad , peace andblessings of Allah be upon him.His Naats were written within theboundaries of the Shariah, and everystanza was filled with pearls of Ilhaam.(Ilhaam is that, which is inspired byAlmighty Allah into the hearts of theAwliyah Allah. Just as the Ambiyareceive Wahi or Revelation, so do theAwliyah receive Ilhaam.)Each verse and stanza of his Poetry isthe Tafseer (commentary) of the Holy

Quran and the Hadith of SayyidunaRasulallah , peace and blessings ofAllah be upon him. His Poetry wasmainly in the Arabic, Urdu, and Persianlanguages.Ala Hazrats Poetry was compiled toform the famous, "Hadaiq eBakshish," (Gardens of Forgiveness).This famous and most beautiful NaatKitaab is used throughout the world.Ala Hazrats humble compilations areread by all who wish to express theirlove for Sayyiduna Rasulallah , peace

and blessings of Allah be upon him.Mawlana Qari Noorul Hassan, quotesthe following stanzas from Ala HazratsPoetry:"Mulke Sukhan Ki Shahi Tum Ko RazaMusallamJis Simt Aagaye ho sikhe Bithaa diyehai"and says that there are many illiterateand ignorant people, who look at theabove stanzas and accuse Ala Hazrat ofpraising himself in his Poetry. This, hesays, is not true and is merely a

baseless objection. He further explains:Hazrat Hassan Raza Khan (, may Allahbe pleased with him), the youngerbrother of Sayyiduna Ala Hazrat (, mayAllah be pleased with him), wouldoften send his own Poetry to becorrected to Janaab Daagh Delhwi,who was a famous and distinguishedPoet of his time.One day, as he was about to leave for


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Delhi, Ala Hazrat presented one of hisNaats to Hazrat Hassan Raza Khan andsaid, "Ask Daagh Delhwi to rectify thisQalaam." The Naat, which Ala Hazratsent, begins with the following stanza:" Unki mehek ne dil ke ghunche kiladiye HeJis raah chal diye he, kooche basa diyehe."When Hazrat Hassan Raza Khanreached Delhi and presented the Naatto Daagh Delwhi, he looked at it andsaid, "This does not seem like thepoetry of Mawlana Hassan Raza Khan.Whose is it?" Hazrat Hassan Raza Khanreplied that it was written by Ala Hazrat(, may Allah be pleased with him).On hearing this, Daagh Delhwi said,"you have brought the Qalaam of AlaHazrat to me for correction! This is theQalaam of such a poet who holds noplace for any corrections. But, since itis incomplete, I would like to write thefinal verse from my side. Please ask Ala

Hazrat not to change it as I am awarethat he does not like anything writtenin his praise."After saying this, he wrote the verse:"Mulke Sukhan Ki Shahi Tum Ko RazaMusallamJis Simt Aagaye ho sikhe Bithaa diyehai"So, to those who accuse Ala Hazrat ofpraising himself in his Poetry, they willfind sufficient evidence to prove that itwas Daagh Delhwi who inserted thatstanza and not Ala Hazrat (, may Allah

be pleased with him) himself!Commenting on one of Ala Hazratspoems, Allamah Sayyid MuhammadMuhaddith Kichauchawi said, "Once Ihad the opportunity of reciting theQasida-e-Me'rajia (a poem of AlaHazrat regarding the Holy Prophet,peace and blessings of Allah be uponhim,'s Me'raj) in my own style, in aselect gathering of men of letters(highly educated men) at Lucknow. Ithen asked them about the literaryworth of the poem. Everybody was

overwhelmed and they all exclaimedthat the language is superb, pure anddivine."SPIRITUAL LIFE OF ALA HAZRAT:Bayt and KhilafatIn the year 1294 A.H., at the age of 22years, Sayyiduna Ala Hazrat becamethe Mureed (disciple) of Imamul Asfiya,Sayyiduna Shah Aale Rasul Mahrerwi (,may Allah be pleased with him).


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The incident surrounding the Bayt(spiritual allegiance) and Khilafat(spiritual successorship) of Ala Hazratis as follows:Once Hazrat Mawlana Abdul QadirBadayouni came to Barelvi Sharif. Heinvited Ala Hazrat to go to MahreraSharif with him. Sayyiduna Ala Hazrataccepted his invitation and they bothset off to Mahrera Sharif. When theyarrived at the station in Mahrera Sharif,Ala Hazrat said, "I am receiving thescent of my Murshid."When they reached the Khanqah-e-Barakaati and entered, Sayyiduna ShahAale Rasul saw Ala Hazrat and said,"come in. I have been awaiting yourpresence for a long time."Sayyiduna Shah Aale Rasulimmediately made Ala Hazrat aMureed, and then blessed him withKhilafat and Ijazat in all the Sufi Silsilas.Thus, Ala Hazrats Peer-o-Murshid(spiritual guide) was Hazrat Sayyiduna

Shah Aale Rasul (, may Allah bepleased with him).Hazrat Sayyiduna Abul Hussain NooriBarakaati (, may Allah be pleased withhim), who was also the Peer-o-Murshidof Mawlana Mustafa Raza Khan (, mayAllah be pleased with him), was alsopresent in this spiritual gathering. Hewas also a great Awliyah Allah andneeded no introduction to SayyidunaAla Hazrat (, may Allah be pleased withhim).For the benefit of the others who were

present, and to make them aware ofthe exalted calibre and status of AlaHazrat (, may Allah be pleased withhim), he asked Hazrat Sayyiduna ShahAale Rasul a question.He asked, "Huzoor! The ritual here atMahrera Sharif is that if any personcomes here, and after becomingMureed desires to gain Khilafat andIjazat, then we ask him to performMujahida (struggle in the path of Allah).We also give him dried bread to eat aspart of his spiritual training. After this, if

we find him worthy enough, then wegrant him Khilafat and Ijazat in one ortwo Silsilas, but you have blessed thisyoung man with Khilafat and Ijazat ofall the Silsilas, and even commandedhim to look at and verify all the Kitaabswhich you have written. Why is thisso?"Sayyiduna Shah Aale Rasul answeredwith the following words: "O people!


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You do not know Ahmed Raza. Otherswho come here need to be preparedbefore gaining Ijazat and Khilafat. ButAhmed Raza Khan has come preparedfrom Almighty Allah. All he needed wasa link and this is why I made him myMureed.I always feared, due to the fear ofAlmighty Allah, that if on the day ofQiyamah He questioned meconcerning what I had brought for himfrom the world, I would have noanswer. But today, that fear no longerexists. If on the day of Qiyamah theAlmighty asks, 'O Aale Rasul! Whathave you brought for me?' then, I willimmediately present Imam AhmedRaza Khan to my Creator."This highly spiritual incident aloneexplains the status of Ala Hazrat,Azeemul Barkat, Imam Ahmed RazaKhan (, may Allah be pleased withhim).Ala Hazrat possessed immense love for

his Pir-o-Murshid and for their familymembers. He also displayed his lovefor all those who had contact withthem and respected them. WheneverAla Hazrat went to Mahrera Sharif togain blessings from his Pir-o-Murshid,he would remove his shoes at thestation and walk bare feet in MahreraSharif!Whenever any person orrepresentative from Mahrera Sharifarrived in Barelvi Sharif to deliver aletter or parcel to Ala Hazrat (, may

Allah be pleased with him), he wouldtreat that person with great respectand dignity. He addressed the personwith words of respect, such as, "MostRespected Representative" and wouldnot allow that person to leave withoutgiving him something to eat. Ala Hazratwould personally go into the house tobring out food for that person. Heeven used to carry the dish or plate offood on his head!If this is the respect that Ala Hazratshowed towards the representatives of

his Pir-o-Murshid and his family, onecannot imagine or fathom the respect,which he showed towards thempersonally!Imam Ahmed Raza's Mureeds andKhulafaThere were many Mureeds (disciples)and Khulafa (spiritual successors) ofAla Hazrat (, may Allah be pleased withhim). They have spread far and wide


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over Indo-Pak and also in all parts ofthe world. Nearly 35 are in the otherparts of the world and 30 in Indo-Paksub-continent.These are the leading ones:1. Hujjatul Islam, Hazrat AllamahMawlana Muhammad Hamid RazaKhan Noori Barakaati (, may Allah bepleased with him)2. Mufti-e-Azam-e-Hind, HazratMawlana Mustafa Raza Khan NooriBarakaati (, may Allah be pleased withhim)3. Hazrat Allamah Mawlana AbdusSalaam Jabalpuri (, may Allah bepleased with him)4. Sadrul-Afaadil, Hazrat AllamahMawlana Na'eemuddeen Muraadabadi(, may Allah be pleased with him)5. Malikul Ulema, Hazrat AllamahMawlana Sayyid Zafar'uddeen Bihaari (,may Allah be pleased with him)6. Mubbalig-e-Azam, Hazrat AllamahMawlana Abdul Aleem Siddique (, may

Allah be pleased with him)7. Sadrus Shariah, Hazrat AllamahMawlana Mufti Amjad Ali (, may Allahbe pleased with him)8. Qutbul Madinatul Munawwara,Hazrat Allamah Sheikh Zia'uddeenAhmed Al Madani (, may Allah bepleased with him)9. Burhaan-e-Millat, Hazrat AllamahBurhaanul Haq (, may Allah be pleasedwith him)10. Hazrat Allamah Mawlana MukhtarAhmad Siddiqi Meerati (, may Allah be

pleased with him)11. Sheikh Muhammad Abd al-Hayy (,may Allah be pleased with him)12. Sheikh Ahmad Khalil (, may Allahbe pleased with him)13. Sheikh Ahmad Khudravi (, mayAllah be pleased with him)14. Sheikh Muhammad bin Abi Bakr (,may Allah be pleased with him)15. Sheikh Muhammad Sa'id (, mayAllah be pleased with him)16. Hazrat Mawlana Sayyid AhmadAshraf (, may Allah be pleased with

him)17. Hazrat Mawlana Shah SulaymanAshrafImam Ahmed Raza's First HajjImagine the condition of that Lover ofthe Prophet (or Aashiq-e-Rasul, peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him,)who is blessed with the opportunity ofvisiting the Rawza-e-Aqdas of the HolyProphet, peace and blessings of Allah


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be upon him,, and placing his eyes onthe doorstep of the Holy Prophet ,peace and blessings of Allah be uponhim.This opportunity of performing his firstHajj and Ziyarat was granted to AlaHazrat on the 26th of Shawwal 1295A.H (1876). He was 20 years of age.One day, after completing his Hajj, hewent to perform his Maghrib Salahbefore the Maqaam-e-Ibrahim. Havingcompleted his Salah, the Imam of theShafi order of Makkatul Mukarramah,Allamah Hussain bin Saleh Kamaal (,may Allah be pleased with him),approached him. He clutched AlaHazrat by his hand and led him to hishouse. The Imam then placed his handon the blessed forehead of Ala Hazratand said, "Verily, I am observing theNoor of Almighty Allah on thisforehead."Without hesitation, he blessed AlaHazrat with the Sanad (certificate) of

Sahih Sitta (six Compilers of Hadith:Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah, AbuDawood, Tirmizi and Nisa'i).He also began addressing Ala Hazratby the title of "Ziauddin" or "the Light& Splendour of Religion."Ala Hazrat was also blessed with theSanads of Ahadith from the Muftis ofthe Hanafi order in MakkatulMukarramah, Sayyiduna AllamahAbdur Rahmaan Siraaj and MuftiSheikh Sayed Ahmad Dahlaan Shafi (,may Allah be pleased with him).

It was also during this historical visitthat Sayyiduna Ala Hazrat informed theUlema-e-Haramain Sharifainconcerning the blasphemous andcorrupt beliefs of the Ulema-e-Deoband.Having studied Ala Hazratsbooks,"Aljaamu Sunnah Li Ahli Fitna" and "AlMu'tamadul Mustanad", which hepresented to them, they also gave theirverdicts on those who committedblasphemy and those who had writtenwords of disrespect against Almighty

Allah and His Beloved Rasul , peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him.The verdicts of the Ulema of MakkatulMukarramah and MadinatulMunawwarah were compiled to formthe famous, "Husaamul Haramain."Imam Ahmed Raza's Second HajjImam Ahmed Raza Khan performedhis second Hajj in 1323 A.H. (1905). Hewas 49 years old.


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On the 25th of Zil-Hajj, Sayyiduna AlaHazrat once again had the opportunityof meeting the great Imam, SheikhSaleh Kamaal (, may Allah be pleasedwith him). He also met Allamah SayedIsmail and many other Noble Ulema,who showed great respect towardshim.It was on this occasion that AllamahSheikh Saleh Kamaal presented AlaHazrat with five questions pertaining toI'lm-e-Ghaib (Knowledge of theUnseen). These questions were posedon behalf of the Wahabi Ulema ofMakkatul Mukarramah.Ala Hazrat had to answer these fivequestions in two days.In so happened that on the followingday, Ala Hazrat contracted a heavyfever. In spite of his illness, hemanaged to answer all the questionsrelating to Ilm-e-Ghaib.In fact, Ala Hazrat presented such adetailed answer to the question of Ilm-

e-Ghaib that it turned out to be acomplete book on its own. He namedthis book, "Al Dawlatul Makkiyah BilMaadatil Ghaibiya."The learned Ulema of HaramainSharifain were totally astounded whenAla Hazrat presented this book to themon time. He completed this book ofapproximately 400 pages in only 8hours.It was also in the pure Arabic language.If one totals the numerical values ofthe Arabic letters in the context of this

Kitaab, "Al Daulatul Makkiyah BilMaadatil Ghaibiya," one would discoverthat they amount to 1323.It had the same numbers as the year1323 A.H, in which Ala Hazratperformed his second Hajj!In the Presence of the Holy Prophet,peace and blessings of Allah be uponhim,It was during Ala Hazrats second visitto the Haramain Sharifain that hisaspiration to see the Holy Prophet,peace and blessings of Allah be upon

him, became extremely great.Continuously reciting the DuroodSharif with great veneration andhumbleness in front of the Rawza-e-Sharif of the Holy Prophet, peace andblessings of Allah be upon him,, he feltconfidence within himself of seeing theHoly Prophet Muhammad , peace andblessings of Allah be upon him.It was during the second night of his


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visit to the doorstep of SayyidunaRasulallah, peace and blessings ofAllah be upon him, that he was giventhe opportunity of actually seeing theBlessed Personality of our BelovedProphet Muhammad , peace andblessings of Allah be upon him.On that night, Ala Hazrat (, may Allahbe pleased with him), in a state of totalsubmission, lifted his pen and beganwriting a Naat in praise of SayyidunaRasulallah , peace and blessings ofAllah be upon him. The first line of thatNaat is: "Wo Soo'e La'la Zaar Phirtehai...The beautiful Naat continues praisingthe Beloved of Allah, peace andblessings of Allah be upon him, andends with the following verse:"Koyi Kyu Pooch teri baat Raza, Tujh sekutte hazaar phirte hai"Here, Ala Hazrat lowers himself inextreme devotion and humility, andaddresses himself as the "dog" of the

Holy Prophet , peace and blessings ofAllah be upon him.At this point, he was given theopportunity of seeing with his owneyes, the beloved personality of theHoly Prophet, peace and blessings ofAllah be upon him, standing besidethe Rawza Mubarak!"Ar're Ai Raza tere dil ka pata chala bamushkilDarre Rawza Ke Muqaabil wo humeNazar to AayaYe na pooch kaisa paaya, Ye Na pooch

kaisa paayaTuje humd he khuda ya, Tuje humd hekhuda ya"His Love for the Holy ProphetMuhammad, peace and blessings ofAllah be upon him,Ala Hazrat spent every moment of hislife praising the Holy Prophet , peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him.Everything he did was for the Pleasureof Almighty Allah and His Rasul , peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him.Professor Dr Abdul Wahid Halepota,

Chairman, Council of Islamic Ideology,Government of Pakistan, said: "AlaHazrat Mawlana Shah Ahmed RazaKhan is that ingenious personality ofthe Indo-Pak Sub-Continent whoseacademic position and legal insight hasgeneral recognition. His multifariousachievements deserve that they shouldbe spread on an international level. Hisgreatest deed is that he beautified the


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hearts of the Muslims with the love ofthe Holy Prophet, peace and blessingsof Allah be upon him, through hisacademic wonders, sweet speechesand most valuable Naatya Qalaam(Poetry in praise of the Holy Prophets.a.w)."Once, Ala Hazrat went into the RazaMasjid in Barelvi Sharif. A Majzoobconfronted him, by the name of HazratDhoka Shah (, may Allah be pleasedwith him).The Majzoob said, "O Ahmed Raza! Isee the Power of the Holy Prophet,peace and blessings of Allah be uponhim, only on the earth and not in theskies."Ala Hazrat (, may Allah be pleased withhim), in turn, replied: "The Power ofHuzoor, peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him, is on the earth and inthe skies." The Majzoob said that hecould not see this.Ala Hazrat said, "Whether you see it or

not, it is still present."The Majzoob, in a highly spiritual state,said, "Go! I have dropped him."At that moment, Mawlana MustafaRaza Khan (Ala Hazrats son), who wasstill a child, was playing on the roof ofthe house. When Sayyiduna Ala Hazratreached the house, the childs mothercame up to him and said, "You shouldknow better than to argue withMajzoobs. Look! Mustafa Raza hasfallen off the roof."Ala Hazrat enquired as to whether his

son had been hurt or not. When hewas told that he was not injured, hesaid, "I am prepared to sacrifice athousand Mustafa Razas on the Raza(pleasure) of the Holy Prophet, peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him,,but I will not allow one word to beuttered against the dignity of Rasul-e-Akram , peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him."After some time, the Majzoob returnedand met Sayyiduna Ala Hazrat and said,"o Ahmed Raza! You are victorious.

Our case was brought up beforeSultaanul-Hind, Hazrat Khwaja GharibNawaz (, may Allah be pleased withhim). He had passed the verdict onyour behalf, and alhamdulillah,through your blessings, I am now ableto see the karam (mercy) of the HolyProphet, peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him, even in the skies."It has been recorded that Hazrat


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Prophet Muhammad , peace andblessings of Allah be upon him. Hisentire life is filled such with incidents.Many are aware of this famousincident. Once, Imam Ahmed RazaKhan was invited to the home of acertain person. In those days, theUlema were carried in chariots as ameans of transport. Ala Hazrat wassitting in one of these chariots that wascarried by the chariot-bearers. As theyproceeded along the way, SayyidunaAla Hazrat suddenly commanded thechariot-bearers to stop. Heimmediately alighted from the chariotand asked, "Who is a Sayyed fromamongst you? I am receiving the scentof a Sayyed." One of the chariot-bearer's, who was a Sayyed, was tooscared to speak. Nevertheless, whenAla Hazrat further prompted thatperson to reveal himself, he cameforward and admitted that he wasSayyed.

With tears in his eyes, Ala Hazrat fell athis feet and began asking for pardon.The Sayyed continuously asked AlaHazrat to refrain from doing so but, AlaHazrat continued asking for pardon, bysaying, "Please forgive me. What wouldI do on the Day of Qiyamah if the HolyProphet, peace and blessings of Allahbe upon him, asks me concerning thisincident, and says to me that I showeddisrespect to his family?"The Sayyed readily forgave Ala Hazrat (,may Allah be pleased with him). But

this Aashiq-e-Rasul, peace andblessings of Allah be upon him, wasyet not satisfied. He commanded theSayyed to sit on the chariot, andplacing the chariot on his blessedshoulders, carried the Sayyed for thesame distance for which he had beencarried!

Documents

Life of Ala Hazrat