THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY

BY MUJLISUL ULAMA OF S.A. P.O.BOX 3393 PORT ELIZABETH 6056 THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 2 DUKTOOR IBN MUHAMMAD AWWAAMAH’S ‘THE AWARD OF IMAM MUHAMMAD QASIM NANOTWI CEREMONY” AND OUR RESPONSE The honourable Duktoor Awwaamah who is, Alhamdulillah, an ardent supporter of the Ulama of Deoband has organized a three-day function to be held in Azaadville during January 2014. The function is organized to promote awareness of the Ulama of Deoband supposedly among segments of the Ummah who are unaware of the great Ulama of Deoband and of their sterling works of the Deen, especially in the sphere of Knowledge. The three-day function to be graced by more than 200 foreign luminaries who will be jetting into South Africa from a number of countries, and attended by crowds of locals is being organized at the civic hall in lavish nuptial style. From the formidable list of “projected requirements for hosting” the galaxy of V.I.P. guests, who we are told will be top-ranking Ulama and Shaikhs, it is quite palpable that at the ceremonious function all stops will be pulled out to cater for maximum flamboyance and partying. It is set to be a glitzy reception party. Some of the requisites which the hosts plan to make available with Lillaah funds, in addition to the existing facilities, for the three-day merrymaking event, are the installation of 50 High Toilets to cater for the obese guests who understandably lack the physique and inclination to adopt the simple Sunnah methods imparted in the science of Istinjaology practically implemented by the Ulama of Deoband whose greatness and glory the three-day function has been organized to celebrate and promote. This is indeed a lamentable anomaly and in total variance with the ethos of the culture of the Sunnah and simplicity for which the lives of the Ulama of Deoband had been made Waqf. Despite a rigorous application of our cognitive THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 3 faculty, we fail to discern any affinity between the western kuffaar High Toilets and the Ulama of Deoband. A glance at even a brief inventory of some of the other requisites to be ordered to cater for the westernized tastes and needs of the galaxy of honourable V.I.Ps will undoubtedly create concern and even consternation in the minds and hearts of those who know who the Ulama of Deoband are -- what they stand for and to what they had devoted their lives. The brief inventory is: 150 fans, 50 toilet hoses, 200 beds, 150 pedestal tables, 200 bed sheets, 200 fitted sheets, 300 pillows, 200 duvets, 200 bath towels, 300 hand towels, 100 sandals, 200 chairs, 150 cupboards, 50 mirrors, 50 extension cords, 300 soap, 100 shampoo, 200 tissue boxes, 400 Toilet Rolls, 100 toilet sprays, 100 toothpastes, etc. – and the 50 High Toilets. No mention of standing urinals is fortunately made. The catering department will make available sumptuous lunches, dinners, suppers, juices, cold drinks, biscuits, cakes, sweets, etc, etc. Then to place the cherry on the cake, a final requisite is ‘Hadyahs/Gifts’ for the honourable guests. The lifestyle of Hadhrat Maulana Qaasim Nantowi (rahmatullah alayh) whose august name is being used to promote the merrymaking function, lived a simple lifestyle infused with the spirit of the Cave of Hira whose ethos governed the lifestyle of all our Akaabir of Deoband. But the three-day function of extravagance in western flamboyant style is the very antithesis of everything that Hadhrat Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh) stood for and promoted in his lifetime. There is no semblance of affinity between the proposed flamboyant ceremony and the Ulama of Deoband. We cannot help but draw attention to an act which superficially will appear to be hilarious, but which, in reality, reveals the attitude and thinking of all those related to this abominable three-day event. And that act is the installation of 50 High Toilets and the provision of 400 Toilet Rolls to cater for the Istinja requirements specifically for the 200 foreign luminaries for a three-day period. This equates to two toilet rolls per honourable guest for utilization in just three days. THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 4 How the alimentary canal and the digestive capabilities of these honourable luminaries will cope with the deluge of cuisine with which they will be inundated, and for which not so honourable method of disposal is required, defies the credulity of us simple folk who have been taught that while a kaafir devours food with seven intestines, a Muslim consumes with on intestine. The conundrum of high toilets and 400 toilet rolls is solved when we learn that these honourable Ulama and Shaikhs consider that in the present age of technology and scientific advancement, gluttonous ingestion with ‘seven intestines’ has become a quite respectable and acceptable norm. The need for 400 toilet rolls, so imperative for the expurgation of the deluges of waste matter is thus logically confirmed. Citing the raison d’etre for the Wujoob of using water for effecting the process of depuration in the ‘Room of Necessity’, Hadhrat Hasan basri (rahmatullah alayh) drove home the point when h said to an enquirer: (“You excrete like buffaloes.” This is not the age for Ghaar-e-Hira ethos and aura. Let us now consider some of the statements of the Honourable Duktoor Ibn Awwaaamah. In his promotional article – to promote the three-day extravaganza – the venerable Duktoor states: “The conditions that our Muslim Ummah faces today are not hidden from your esteemed knowledge. The Ummah has been overtaken by such turmoil and differences that have distanced and divided hearts, torn apart its members and shaken them.” Flamboyant and wasteful functions in western kuffaar style in no way whatsoever can assist in the provision of a solution for the ills of the Ummah. Why should the hearts not be torn apart when those – the Ulama - who are supposed to cudgel and console the distressed and suffering millions of Muslims languishing in torrid conditions of squalor, poverty, hunger and jahaalat, are recklessly indulging in obscene opulence, extravagance, pomp, show and downright khuraafaat? When the Ummah is up in flames, and suffering in the THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 5 turmoil mentioned by the honourable Duktoor, is it then not immoral and obscene to indulge in superfluous luxuries, and to squander huge sums of the Lillaah funds of Muslims – Funds which can be applied to bring some relief to some of the uprooted members of the Ummah? This whole affair is totally out of the character which Ilm of the Deen cultivates. The venerable Duktoor Ibn Awwaamah says: “I wish to however highlight the academic legislative division (what is the meaning of this riddle? –The Majlis), the harm of which has become vivid upon our Ummah….It has been a cause to distort the image of the Muslim scholarship, and destroy the pristine outlook. This has all opened the doors for the enemies to disunite the Ummah completely, and turn it into parties and nations.” We respectfully say that these are meaningless words lumped together, but signifying nothing. No one can really understand what the honourable Duktoor is trying to imply by these words. Furthermore, the enemy, i.e. the kuffaar, cannot disunite the Ummah on the basis of academic differences, for Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “The differences of my Ummah are a Rahmat (Mercy).” The disunity of the Ummah is integral to it. It is here to stay and cannot be wished away nor can any conference, function or merrymaking party provide a solution for eliminating disunity. Allah Ta’ala did not accept Rasulullah’s dua for the unity of the Ummah. Disunity is a form of punishment for transgression. However, despite disunity, Muslims will not become the underdogs and slaves of the Kuffaar as is the current position, as long as obedience to Allah Ta’ala is the objective of their life. The Qur’aan Majeed states: “If you have Taqwa and Sabr, then never ever will their plot harm you in the least.” That the disunity of the Ummah had commenced with the demise of Hadhrat Umar (radhiyallahu anhu), is not a hidden secret. That the Sahaabah were locked in internecine war soon after the Khilaafate of Ameerul mu’mineen, Sayyiduna Umar Ibn Khattaab (radhiyallahu anhu), cannot be swept under the carpet or wished into oblivion. THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 6 Despite the severest trials posed by disunity in the very first, greatest and most glorious wrung of Islamic society – the Sahaabah- e-Kiraam – the Ummah marched from strength to strength and planted the Standard of Islam on the hilltops of the world from the shores of the Atlantic in the West to the walls of China in the East in the very initial decades of Islam. Despite their disunity in the wake of which ensued the gravest consequence of Muslim shedding the blood of Muslim, the springboard of the Sahaabah – both antagonistic groups – was the Haqq. They were qualified in the Taqwa and Sabr about which the Qur’aan mentions, hence the plots of the kuffaar far from harming them, were thoroughly neutralized. Thus, the talk of disunity is now bunkum monotonously piped by men who have miserably failed to understand and diagnose the disease which has debilitated and destroyed the Ummah. They are in a quandary, lost in confusion, hence they misdiagnose and prescribe nonsensical remedies which have no relevance to the maladies gnawing at the heart and brain of the Ummah. The cause of the Ummah’s decline and fall into disgrace and degeneration is not disunity. It is disobedience and abandonment of the Sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). It is indeed surprising that the galaxy of Ulama for whom the three-day partying event is planned, despite being scholars, miserably fail to understand the woes of the Ummah. The honourable Duktoor avers: “This made it imperative for men of ardour among intellectual Muslim scholarship to make an earnest attempt to patch up cracks, mend the fragments, and put the matter once more in order before it is too late. Consequently, this blessed conference brings together a large number of senior scholars of the Ummah from around the world with a very tedious attempt to assemble great personalities and souls, under the slogan of ‘Unity of the Ummah’. The proposed conference is anything but ‘blessed’. It is an odious merrymaking function which has no truck with the Islam delivered to THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 7 mankind by Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), and the Islam which had adorned the lives of the likes of Hadhrat Maulana Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh) and the Akaabir Ulama and Auliya of Deoband. There is absolutely not the slightest semblance of affinity, whether physical or spiritual, between the participants of the conference of waste and the Akaabir Ulama of Deoband who were paragons of the Sunnah, whose lives were dedicated to the resurrection of the Sunnah. They were not men of extravagance walking in the shadow of western culture which is the hallmark of the participants of the wasteful and obscene function of extravagance which most lamentably is being organized by Ulama who are supposed to be the Heirs of the Amibya, and who are supposed to conduct their lives in the ethos of Ghaar-e-Hira. Which cracks will the scholars of this wasteful function patch up? How will they patch up the cracks and mend the fragments when they will be revelling in gluttonous indulgences for three days with the Aakhirah furthest from their minds? Cracks cannot be patched up and fragments cannot be mended by obese scholars camping in luxury and waste for three days amidst the suffering of the Ummah. To patch up cracks, the need is to be on the ground – there in the vortex of the conflagration which is consuming the Ummah physically, morally and spiritually – there where jahaalat is exacting the heaviest toll on the Ummah – there where whole villages have taken to the road of Irtidaad. They fool none but themselves with their laudatory and complimentary idle talk which will not benefit the Ummah at large. They will be speaking to their own kind and bandying out talks and slogans full of sound and fury signifying nothing. The conference will be only a function of eating, drinking and partying. After three days of indulgence in extravagance, they will depart leaving a mess for cleaning up. Just imagine 50 High Toilets temporary installed for just three days, and 400 Toilet Rolls for executing Istinja deficiently, for many of the august luminaries heralding from the Middle East do not believe in the utilization of water when depurating themselves. The message is indeed odious. THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 8 “Slogans of Unity” are the most monotonous trumpeting which men of futility blare and bellow. Undoubtedly, unity is a desirable objective. But a wasteful function, far away from the issues which the Ummah faces on the ground, cannot be a medium for the achievement of even a semblance of unity of the multitude of warring factions into which the Ummah has split. The only method for unity is the Tareeqah of the Mashaaikh of Deoband – that is, the pursuit of moral reformation and purification – Islaah of the Nafs. Making grandiose statements at a wedding-like function of waste and haraam, is not the way for achieving unity. The honourable Duktoor further avers: “It (i.e. the extravaganza function) wishes to create within them the deep impressions of our past Ulama, making clear their ways of thinking, and explaining their methods of discipline, in as far as thinking, beliefs, Hadeeth, Fiqh, Tarbiyah and Sulook, so that our seniors may be able to tread along their steps, and walk upon their path, bringing back glory, and reassuring trust once again, Insha Allah Ta’ala.” Is there any relationship between the methods of discipline, thinking, Tarbiyah and Sulook of our Akaabir Ulama and the ludicrously extravagant function of futility which will be marked by israaf and fisq? It is quite clear that those who will be trumpeting about Hadhrat Maulana Qasim Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh) do not have the haziest idea of the discipline, tarbiyat and sulook of the Ulama of Deoband. Our Akaabir of Deoband in general, and Hadhrat Nanotwi in particular, were all mendicants. They were Fuqara who lived lives of austerity, frugality and abstinence. Waste and ostentation were abhorrent to them. They conducted their lives in obedience to the Sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), which is a culture standing poles apart from the high-toilet western culture of waste and nafsaani indulgence to which the scholars of the day have become addicted. The honourable Duktoor should engage in an in depth study of the simple way of life of the Akaabir Ulama of Deoband. Only then will THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 9 he be able to comprehend the monstrous disservice he is rendering our Ulama with the extravagant function of flamboyance and futility where even haraam picture-making, videoing, and beardless dolts will be on the program. Tarbiyat and Sulook are not mere theories to be spun to suit one’s own narratives and grandiose ideas. Sulook – at least the Sulook of the Ulama of Deoband – is the Path leading away from the dunya unto the Aakhirah. Its theme is ensconced is the Hadith: “Verily, the world has been created for you, while you have been created for the Aakhirah.” The Sulook of Hadhrat Maulana Qaasim Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh) emphasized the flight from the dunya towards the Aakhirah, as the Hadith says: “If you knew what I know (of Maut, the Qabr, Barzakh and the Aakhirah), you will laugh little, cry much and derive no pleasure from your wives. You would flee into the wilderness……..” This attitude created by the Sulook and Tarbiyat of our Akaabir Ulama and Auliya of Deoband precludes all types of waste, ostentation and such opulence which diverts the heart from Thikrullaah and the Aakhirah. Instructing the adoption of abstinence, Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said to Hadhrat Aishah (radhiyallahu anha): “If you desire to link up with me in Qiyaamah, then take from this dunya (only )provisions such as the provision of a horse-rider (which he takes along the journey), and beware of sitting in the company of the wealthy, and never regard a garment to be old (and unfit for use) as long as you can patch it.” This is the Sulook of Hadhrat Maulna Qaasim Nanotwi and the Akaabir Ulama of Deoband. It proscribes every kind of waste and futility of the kind which will prevail at the three-day merrymaking party. The Sulook of Hadhrat Nanotwi is the very antithesis of the khuraafaat which will dominate the three-day party. The honourable Duktoor, speaking about the first such function held in 2011 in Istanbul, fantasizes: “…so that it could be a more sincere connotation and better evidence of the unity of the Ulama of the Ummah, from the East, West, North and South.” What is the THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 10 evidence of that supposedly newly-forged ‘unity of the Ulama of the East, West, North and South’? What are the tangible effects of that imagined unity? In which way has it benefited the Ummah? In which way has it confronted and neutralized, bid’ah, shirk, fisq and fujoor which are the dominating characteristics of the current Ummah? In which way has that hallucinated ‘unity’ brought the lost Muslim masses closer to the Deen? The much-vaunted unity is an empty pipe dream. It is an unattainable mirage. Sincerity minus the Sunnah’s methodology spawns waste and deviation such as the three-day lavish ceremony of nafsaani indulgence. Paying verbal service to the wonderful method of life of Hadhrat Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh), the honourable Duktoor in his laudatory bestowal of praise on Hadhrat Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh), says: “The illustrious name of this great imam (Hazrat Nanotwi) being brought to the fore, is to express the delight of the senior-most scholars of this age at the personality of the one of the greatest personalities of the Muslim World, for whom Allah had written acceptance and benefit, so that the method that he adopted may become common, and the way that he worked may spread far and wide.” It appears that the venerable Duktoor is blissfully unaware of the way and method of Hadhrat Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh). It is inconceivable that a person who is aware of Hadhrat Nanotwi’s way and method, and who believes in the rectitude of his method, would organize an extravagant three-day function of waste and futility which is in total conflict with the method and character of the illustrious Founder and Establisher of Darul Uloom Deoband. What resemblance does the three-day party offer with the Tareeqah of Hadhrat Maulana Qaasim Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh)? Perhaps the honourable Duktoor is unaware that the method of life of Hadhrat Nanotwi consists of four fundamentals, all derived from the Sunnah. These are: (1) Qillat-e-Ta’aam (To eat less) THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 11 (2) Qillat-e-Manaam (To sleep less) (3) Qillat-e-Kalaam (To speak less) (4) Qillat-e-Ikhtilaat ma-al Anaam (To associate less with people). His entire life was patterned on austerity and abstinence as advocated by the Sunnah for the close servants of Allah Ta’ala. The opulence, waste, futility and western ethos which characterize the type of function being planned belie the contention that the objective of the function is to promote the way, method, thinking and life- style of Hadhrat Maulana Nanotwi and the Akaabir Ulama of Deoband. Fifty western-style High Toilets and 400 Toilet Rolls installed for just a three-day orgy of merrymaking are a far – very far cry from the Zuhd and Tawakkul of Hadhrat Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh). Is the entire conglomerate of scholars invalids or so obese to prevent them from answering the summons of nature in Masnoon style to necessitate this wholesale adoption of the western kuffaar style? It boggles the mind to contemplate how the scholarly members of the august galaxy will effect the rudiments of Istinja sitting flat on these western contraptions of disease. Since they are scholars of liberalism, it is not far-fetched to understand that their methodology of istinja discards the use of water despite its use being Waajib in the culture which was the lifestyle of Hadhrat Maulana Qaasim Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh). It is the culture of water for Istinja which the Qur’aan praises: “And, Allah loves those who purify themselves.” The specific circumstance which occasioned the revelation of this aayat was the use of water for Istinja by the people of Quba. When someone queried the obligatory use of water, Hadhrat Hasan Basri (rahmatullah alayh), depicting the manner of the excretion of the people of opulence, said: “You excrete like buffaloes.” Since the V.I.P. dignitaries most certainly come within the purview of Hadhrat Basri’s stricture, the question of them achieving Tahaarat remains an unfathomable mystery. Tahaarat, says the Hadith, is ‘half of Imaan’. What solutions for the ills of the Ummah can be proffered THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 12 by scholars whose conception of the fundamental practice of Tahaarat is convoluted? They should firstly, shed some of their obesity, acquire correct knowledge of the Masnoon method of acquittal and accomplishment in the toilet and the correct method of Istinja. Shedding obesity is essential for using squat pans as required by the culture of Muslims. For the edification of the world- renowned scholars there is a need to publish Kitaabul Istinja. In the attempt to present justification for organizing the three-day function in South Africa, the honourable Duktoor, addressing the South Africans who will be hosting the event, says: “….these great scholars (referring to non-Deobandi Ulama of other countries) may be able to learn about the branches of Deoband from close-by, and witness your methods of learning and teaching. They may observe how closely you follow the Sunnah in all your internal and external affairs.” “Closely following the Sunnah…” is a dim idea only in the imagination. The Sunnah is not confined to dress and beard – to external appearance. The ethos and spirit of the Sunnah no longer survive in the Muslim community of South Africa. While in most countries both the esoteric and exoteric dimensions of the Sunnah have been extinguished, in South Africa a semblance of the external appearance still remains. Here too, the Sunnah has been eviscerated of its soul and ethos. Thus, Darul Ulooms supposedly aligned to Deoband are incrementally become westernized. In fact, the so- called Darul Uloom of the NNB Jamiat of Fordsburg has made a kuffaar matric certificate a mandatory requisite for learning the knowledge of the Qur’aan and Hadith. There are other western features which the Madaaris have incorporated and which indicate the commencement of the funeral procession of the Ilm-e-Deen which was imparted by Hadhrat Maulana Qaasim Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh). The contention of ‘closely following the Sunnah’ is a torrid canard which the true followers of Hadhrat Nanotwi understand. THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 13 Regarding the honourable Duktoor’s advice “to tread upon the footsteps of our earliest predecessors and leading imams”, this objective is attainable only by practical introduction of the Sunnah in our daily life. Conferences and merrymaking functions will never achieve this goal. All merrymaking functions in the name of the Deen are akin to the Hubb-e-Rasool functions of the Barelwi Qabar Pujaari sect. They raise the slogan of Hubb-e-Rasool while they are bereft of the Sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Similarly, the liberal scholars who will be participating in the three- day function of extravagance have nothing in common with Hadhrat Maulana Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh). The function will be conducted in a style which is at total variance with the Sunnah. The slogan of the Sunnah is thus hollow and hypocritical. The Sunnah is a culture which brings every facet of life, including the toilet and Istinja, within its scope. But the Sunnah for the liberal scholars is confined to the lips. It has no practical existence, hence the 50 High Toilets, 400 Toilet rolls, shampoos and other western paraphernalia. Commenting on the highlight of the merrymaking party, which will be in emulation of the nobel prize award and other similar kuffaar-style award ceremonies, the honourable Duktoor says: “The Award-giving Ceremony is also only with objective of exposing the example of the Pious Imaam (Moulana Qasim Nanotwi RA), who treaded the path of knowledge and discipline……….Making him known is for the sake of following him and holding onto his way.” It has been mentioned that a book of Hadhrat Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh) will be awarded as the prize to Maulana Saalim Sahib, the current Principal of one of the Wings of Darul Uloom Deoband. This is truly an act which must be described as la-ya’ni (futile and devoid of benefit). What purpose is achieved by ‘awarding’ such a kitaab to the honourable Muhtamim Sahib? Maulana Saalim is the grandson of Hadhrat Maulana Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh). He has spent his life at Darul Uloom Deoband where he has been teaching the Uloom of Hadhrat Nanotwi. There is no dearth of Hadhrat THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 14 Nanotwi’s kitaabs in Deoband, and Maulana Saalim Sahib is fully cognizant with the works of his Grandfather. So what purpose other than ostentation (riya) and emulation (tashabbuh) with the kuffaar la-ya’ni practice of doling out of awards does the kitaab-award serve? If the objective of awarding the kitaab is to educate non-Deobandi Ulama about the Deobandi Ulama, a simple way devoid of wasteful expenditure and revelry would have been to publish a few hundred copies and post a copy to each of the scholars who will be participating in the function. A portion of the huge waste of money would have been adequate to print a sufficient number of a variety of Hadhrat Nanotwi’s kutub and have them distributed to the Ulama of other countries. Literature of the other Akaabir of Deoband should be printed and distributed to the Ulama who are said to be unaware of Darul Uloom Deoband. There is absolutely no need for this kuffaar-style extravaganza accompanied by un-Islamic activities and attitudes to advertise our Akaabir Ulama of Deoband who were all unanimously in denial and rejection of the type of wasteful merrymaking function which is being organized to cater for khuraafaat. Furthermore, the methodology of the Ulama of Deoband has traversed the world. While it has settled in many countries of the world, the very products of these Madaaris who profess an affinity with Darul Uloom Deoband have initiated the process of smothering the life and spirit which our Akaabir Ulama had cultivated and promoted. The present need is for the Ulama who are supposed to be Deobandis to study the lives of our Akaabir so that they may better understand what is expected of them. There is an imperative need to infuse the spirit and the letter of the Sunnah as taught by our Akaabir into the Darul Ulooms who proclaim their association with Darul Uloom Deoband. THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 15 NASEEHAT OF THE SALAF-E-SAALIHEEN Some naseehat of the Salaf-e-Saaliheen will, Insha-Allah, exercise a salutary effect on the Ulama who squander the resources and bounties of time and wealth on functions which have no affinity with the Deen. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “Soon will there dawn a time when all the Aabideen (worshippers) will be jaahil (ignorant), and all the Ulama will be fussaaq.” Hadhrat Nabi Isaa (alayhis salaam) said: “Knowledge is abundant, but not all knowledge is beneficial. There are innumerable Ulama, but not all Ulama are guided.” Hadhrat Sha’bi (rahmatullah alayhi) said: “The characteristic of the Ulama is to practically implement what they have learnt of knowledge. When an Aalim begins to practice according to his knowledge, he will desist from meeting people. When he desists from association, he will become lost to the people. When he is found missing, he will be searched for. When he is being hunted, he will flee for fear of fitnah overtaking his Deen.” Hadhrat Hasan Basri (rahmatullah alayh) said: “Do not be like those who acquire the knowledge of the Ulama, but acquit themselves as juhala (morons).” Hadhrat Umar Ibn Khattaab (radhiyallahu anhu) said: “For this Ummah I fear most a man who is an Aalim with his tongue, but a jaahil in his heart.” Hadhrat Hasan Basri (rahmatullah alayh) said: “The punishment of the Aalim (in this world) is the death of his heart, and the death of the heart is the consequence of seeking the dunya with the amal of THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 16 the Aakhirah. By means of the deeds of the Aakhirah, he seeks the proximity of the people of the world.” Hadhrat Saeed Bin Meelab (rahmatullah alayh) said: “When you see an Aalim frequenting the wealthy, then know that he is a thief.” Hadhrat Fudhail Bin Iyaadh (rahmatullah alayh), addressing Hadhrat Sufyaan Thauri (rahmatullah alayh) said: “O Assembly of Ulama! What advice should I offer you? You were lanterns which brightened the cities. But now you have become total darkness. Before, you were stars. In the darkness people would see the road by the light emitting from you. But now you, yourselves have lost the path. You frequent the doors of the rulers. You sit on their carpets. You consume their food, and you accept their gifts. Then you go to the Musjid and narrate Ahaadith saying that so and so had narrated from Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). By Allah! Ilm is not acquired for these antics.” While listening to this naseehat, Hadhrat Sufyaan Thauri (rahmatullah) sobbed profusely. Hadhrat Ka’b Ahbaar (radhiyalah anhu) said: “Soon will there dawn an age when morons will acquire knowledge (i.e. higher knowledge of the Deen) and use it as a means for gaining the proximity of the rulers.” Hadhrat Saalih Al-Marree (rahmatullah alayh) said: “Beware of associating with an Aalim of the world. He will deceive you with alluring statements, without practicing on the knowledge and by praising knowledge.” Hadhrat Zunnun Misri (rahmatullah alayh) said: “We have observed such Ulama whose disinclination with the world increases with their knowledge and they reduce their worldly provisions. But, nowadays we are seeing such people whose love for the world increases with THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 17 the increase of their knowledge and their desire for worldly luxuries increases.” Hadhrat Sufyaan Bin Uyainah (rahmatullah alayh) said: “How is it possible for an Aalim who recites the Qur’aan to make amal on it when he sleeps away the night, abstains from fasting during the day, and devours haraam and mushtabah food” Hadhrat Umar Bin Abdul Azeez (rahmatullah alayh) said: “If the Reciters of the Qur’aan (i.e. the Ulama) were alive (i.e. if their hearts were alive), they would feel fire burning in their stomachs should they ingest haraam food. But, they are in fact dead (i.e. their hearts are spiritually dead), hence they wander around (like dogs) devouring carrion and fire.” Hadhrat Hasan Basri (rahmatullah alayh) said: “It is evil for an Aalim to fill his stomach with even halaal food. What should I say about an Aalim who devours haraam? The piety of an Aalim is shunning lust. I have heard that in Aakhiruz Zamaan (the time in close proximity to Qiyaamah) there will be such people who will pursue knowledge of the Deen for objectives other than Allah. On the Day of Qiyaamah their knowledge will be a great calamity for them.” Hadhrat Abdullah Bin Mubaarak (rahmatullah alayh) said: “Nowadays consuming haraam and mushtabah has overwhelmed the Ulama. They are enslaved to their stomachs and carnal lusts. They utilize their knowledge as a net to entrap the world (i.e. to gain name, fame, and wealth).” Hadhrat Fudhail Bin Iyaadh (rahmatullah alayh) said: “The Ulama of the Qur’aan and Hadith have made their knowledge a profession for earning wealth. They have therefore become contemptible on earth and in the heavens.” THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 18 Hadhrat Sufyaan Thauri (rahmatullah alayh) said: “Do not impart knowledge to a person who desires advancement in knowledge without amal (i.e. without practically implementing the knowledge). Such a scholar is like the colocynth tree. Its bitterness increases with its nourishment.” (The villainy of such an Aalim increases with the increase of his textual knowledge.) Hadhrat Abdullah Ibn Mubaarak (rahmatullah alayh) said: “If a man despite being the Bearer of the Qur’aan (i.e. and Aalim) inclines towards the world, then know that he makes a mockery of the Aayaat of Allah Ta’ala.” The Ulama should take stock of themselves in the mirror of these warnings and admonition of the Salaf-e-Saaliheen. If they place themselves and their deeds and activities under scrutiny, they will not fail to discern the deviation and deception they perpetrate whilst labouring under the massive misconception of serving the Deen. These functions and conferences of ostentation and extravagance are acts which come within the purview of Talbeesul Iblees (Deception of Iblees). Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “There will dawn an age over the people when nothing of Islam will remain except its name, and nothing of the Qur’aan will remain except its text. The Musaajid will be beautifully adorned structures, but devoid of guidance. The Ulama will be the worst of the people under the canopy of the sky. From them will emerge fitnah, and the fitnah will rebound on them (hemming then in their own evil).” All Ulama are required to examine themselves and do some earnest soul searching. There is no need to be offended by this Naseehat. It is the Naseehat of the Qur’aan and Ahaadith. It is the Naseehat of the THE IMAAM NANOTWI PRIZE CEREMONY 19 illustrious Salaf-e-Saaliheen of the Khairul Quroon era. It is the Naseehat of our Akaabir Ulama and Auliya of Deoband., and it is the Naseehat of Hadhrat Maulana Qaasim Nanotwi (rahmatullah alayh) in whose name the Ulama are today making merry and indulging in such loathsome luxuries which necessitate the installation of 50 kuffaar-style high toilets and the utilization of 400 toilet rolls for 200 scholars for use in an ill-conceived three-day event of utter waste and ostentation at a time when the Ummah is haemorrhaging and convulsing in moral and spiritual death throes. O Assembly of Ulama? The dunya has despoiled your hearts. Among the signs of Qiyaamah according to the Hadith is that men will pursue the dunya with the amal of the Aakhirah. Your conferences and functions advertised in the name of the Deen are a mere simulacrum. You labour in deviation and with your deviation you deviate the masses. Your verbal poutings about the Deen are meaningless twaddle which benefit no one. You peddle deception to secure rank and fame. You devour haraam and mushtabah, hence your brains have become fossilized, and your hearts have solidified. You have made the wonderful Dars-e-Nizaami syllabus a dysfunctional educational system by expunging its fundamental dimension of amal. In Rasulullah’s words, you are “garlanding khanaazeer with pearls, diamonds and silver”. The dunya has contaminated and corrupted your hearts which according to the Qur’aan have become harder than stone: “Then your hearts became hard like stone or even harder than stone, for verily from some stones emerge water, and verily, from some stones gush forth springs, and verily some stones roll (from heights) in fear for Allah.” Was-salaam