Edited by IlmGate
“All of the manāzir of Manāzir Ahsan are ahsan.”
– Mawlānā Thānawi
Mawlana Manāzir Ahsan Gīlāni رحمه الله is often referred to as Muhaqqiq al-Islam (the researcher of Islam), Sultān al-Qalam (King of the Pen), and Mutakallim al-Millah (The Philosopher of the Nation).
He was born on the 9th of Rabi’ al-Awwal 1310 AH (September 1892) in a village called Gīlān in Bihar (present-day India). His father’s name was Abul Khair. Their Arab [ancestors] reached the Indian subcontinent about three centuries ago via Iran and finally settled in a village which came to be known as Gīlān. His elementary education was at home and then he stayed in Tonk for six years studying under the revered Mawlana Syed Hakīm Barakāt Ahmad رحمه الله. Thereafter, he was admitted in Darul Uloom Deoband (1331-1332 AH) and studied Bukhari and Tirmidhi from Shaykh al-Hind Mawlana Mahmud al-Hasan رحمه الله and also accepted Shaykh al-Hind as his spiritual mentor. He also studied Muslim from ‘Allāmah Mawlana Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri رحمه الله. His other teachers at Darul Uloom Deoband include: Mawlana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani رحمه الله, Mufti Aziz al-Rahman Usmani رحمه الله, Mawlana Habib al-Rahman Usmani رحمه الله, and Mawlana Syed Asghar Hussain al-Deobandi رحمه الله. While at Darul Uloom Deoband, he was noticed by his teachers to have special qualities which [made him standout] from the rest of the students.
After graduating from Darul Uloom Deoband in 1332 AH, he stayed in Deoband until 1338 AH working for the monthly organ Al-Qasim of the Darul Uloom. During this time his literary works such as Sawānih-e-Abu Zar Ghifari and Kynāt-e-Rūhāni made him famous amongst the academic and literary circles of the Ulama of the Indian subcontinent. The next twenty-five years of Mawlana Gīlāni’s life were spent in Hyderabad (India), where he was the head of the religious department in Osmania University. During this time, thousands of people benefited from his precious personality and matchless knowledge. In 1368 AH, he retired from Osmania University and returned to his homeland of Gīlān, where he devoted most of his time to writing.
Mawlana Gīlāni was a master of the Urdu language and a talented and prolific writer. He enlightened the hearts and minds of thousands with his unique style of writing and speech. After reading his first book Sawānih-e-Abu Zar Ghifari, Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi رحمه الله said: “The writer of this book will prove to be a great researcher of Islam.”
His most famous works are :
- Al-Nabi al-Khātim
- Musalmāno ka Nizāme Taleem-o-Tarbiyat
- Islami Muashiyaat
- Imam Abu Hanifa ki Siyasi Zindagi
- Tadween-e-Hadith
- Al-Dīn Al-Qayyim
- Tadween-e-Quran
- Tadween-e-Fiqh
- Muqalāt-e-Ahsani
- Tafsīr-e-Surah Kahf
- Tazkara-e-Shah Waliullah
- Musalmāno ki Firqabandio ka Afsāna
- Rahmatulil Alamīn
His last book was the biography of the founder of Darul Uloom Deoband, Mawlana Muhammad Qasim Nanotwi رحمه الله, called Sawanih-e-Qasmi.
Mawlana Qari Muhammad Tayyib رحمه الله says:
“When I requested him (Mawlana Gīlāni) to write the biography of Mawlana Qasim Nanotwi, he accepted it very happily and he replied to me: ‘My academic career began with Al-Qasim (the monthly organ of Darul Uloom Deoband) and looks like my academic career will end on Al-Qasim (meaning Mawlana Qasim Nanotwi).’ Indeed this is what happened, [as] he had only written five pages of the fourth volume of this book when his temporary life ended on Al-Qasim.”
Shaykh Abu ‘l-Hasan ‘Ali al-Nadwi رحمه الله says:
“Mawlana Gīlāni was an organization in himself. He was the scholar of scholars, writer of writers, historian of historians, jurist of jurists, Muhaddith of Muhaddithīn, Mufassir of Mufassirīn, and researcher of researchers.”
Indeed Allah (SWT) had blessed him with all these qualities. He belonged to that group of Muslim elites who revolutionized the Muslim thought and upheld the truths of Islam in the Indian subcontinent at such a time when both the British and the Hindus were against Islam and Muslims. His writings are a proof of his unrivaled scholarship and knowledge. The Ulama of Islam gave the masses knowledge of the revelation and the Sunnah through their writings and speeches and this knowledge would strengthen their faith and conviction and would serve as their most powerful weapon against the internal (nafs [ego] and shaytan) and external enemies of Islam.
Shaykh Abu ‘l-Hasan ‘Ali al-Nadwi رحمه الله further says:
“It can be said without exaggeration that finding a like of him (Mawlana Gīlāni) in the present-day Muslim World in respect to his broadmindedness, enormity of study, depth and vastness of knowledge, and piety is very hard.”
Ulama of Islam meet the challenges posed by the demurrers of Islam by their heavenly knowledge. They are the inheritors of the Prophets of Allah, who used to respond to the challenges of people by means of miracles. Likewise the Ulama defend Islam by means of their knowledge which they inherited from the Prophets. Knowledge is the Karāmah, or miracle, of the Ulama. Ulama have always fortified Islam and did Jihad against all innovations and misconceptions with their pens and moving speeches, which illuminated the hearts of the Muslim masses and safeguarded them from falling in the traps set by the enemies of Islam.
One of the misconceptions that the strayed tried to create in the minds of the Muslims was to create doubt in the authenticity of the Hadiths of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. They are called “Munkarīn al-Hadith” (those who deny the Hadiths or their authenticity). This chaos not only confused the common Muslims but also posed a threat to the devoted Muslims. The Ulama of Deoband combated this fitna with full force and opposition. Mawlana Gīlāni’s book Tadween-e-Hadith (The Compilation of Hadith) has defended the Hadiths of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم to such an extent that after a Muslim studies this book, not only his misconceptions will be erased but he will have plenty proofs to establish the legitimacy of the sanctified sayings of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Imam Syed ‘Atāullah Shah Bukhari رحمه الله says about this book:
“When I studied Tadween-e-Hadith of Mawlana Manāzir Ahsan Gīlāni, condition of wajd and jazb came over me. When Hazrat Gīlāni was writing this book, I thought as if all curtains between him and Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم were lifted and as if he was writing the words of Rasulullahصلى الله عليه وسلم himself. Tadween-e-Hadith is the last complete and successful thing against the fitna of Hadith denial.”
Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanawi رحمه الله says about Mawlana Gīlāni رحمه الله,
“All of the manāzir (academic discussions) of Manāzir Ahsan are ahsan (excellent).”
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