By Mawlana Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandhlawi
Translated by Asim Ahmad
Edited by IlmGate
After hamd and salāt, this useless person (i.e. the author [1]) was born on the 11th of Ramadan, 1315 AH (February 3rd, 1898) at 11pm in the house of my mother’s step-grandmother in the town of Kāndhla (Uttar Pradesh, India). My mother’s step-grandmother was known by the name of Maryam. She was a worshipping, austere, and extremely free-hearted woman. The elders of Kāndhla came to her home immediately after tarāweeh, congratulated her, and asked for sweets. She ordered many sweets and gave them out benevolently to her guests. The house was full of hustle-bustle and joy on that day.
The town of Kāndhla is situated in Muzaffarnagar district. Du Abba, the popular name for this area in the past and which is widely used to this day, was once the headquarters of Sharī’ah and Tarīqah. It is a name often found in the writings and speeches of our elders. This area includes Delhi, Meerat, Muzaffarnagar, and Sahāranpūr districts. Du Abba geographically refers to the confluence of the famous Yamuna River, which flows from the west, and the Ganges River that merges in from the east.
This area was the fountainhead of Sharī’ah and Tarīqah which began with the noted Walīullahi family [2] whose faiz (blessings) spread through the spiritual family of Hāji Imdādullah. One of the smallest effects of the blessing of this area was that the most unlettered of Shaykh [Rashīd Ahmad] Gangohi‘s murīdīn [3] became strict followers of the Sunnahs. I saw some of the most illiterate people so devoted to Tahajjud prayers that one rarely sees this type of devotion amongst the elders. This was in matters of Sharī’ah. As for Tarīqah, fifty-six washer-men would gather by the famous Gadda Lake next to Shaykh Gangohi’s khānqah. Instead of singing or humming, they would chant the name of Allah (SWT) loudly. I myself have never met anyone from the Walīullahi family though I did meet many of the elders and younger members of the Imdādi family [4].
I was not able to visit Sayyid al-Tā’ifa Hāji Imdādullah because he had passed away only two years after my birth on the 12th or 13th of Jumāda al-Thāni in 1317 AH (September 18th, 1899) in Makkah. Likewise, I did not meet Hujjat al-Islam Shaykh [Muhammad Qāsim] Nānotwi since he passed away 18 years before my birth on the 4th of Jumāda al-Awwal in 1296 AH (April 27th, 1879). Similarly, I did not meet Shaykh Muhammad Ismail Janjhānwi, Kāndhlawi, then Dehlawi, because he passed away in Delhi in Nawab Wali Masjid on the 4th of Shawwal in 1315 AH (March 27th, 1898), approximately 20 days after my birth. I heard from our elders that when my paternal grandfather heard the news of my birth he said, “My replacement has come and now it is time for my departure.” I have heard numerous stories about the elders of the Imdādi family.
I was able to meet Shaykh al-Mashāyikh, Fakhr al-Muhaddithīn, Hadrat Gangohi many times because he passed away when I was 8 years old, on the 8th of Jumāda al-Thāni in 1323 AH (August 10th, 1905) in Gangoh. I clearly recall his countenance and how he would sit cross-legged on the grounds of the khānqah. Once he wrapped his hands around me and embraced me. I remember eating with him on various occasions and sitting with him in a carriage carried by the greatest Shuyūkh of the time to the Eid musallah. This was the enlightened era of Sharī’ah and Tarīqah.
After that I was able to remain with my Shaykh, Hadrat Khalīl Ahmad Sahāranpūri, from Rajab 1328 AH (July 1910) to Dhu al-Qa’dah 1345 AH (December 1926), excluding the year in which Shaykh al-Hind [Mawlana Mahmūd al-Hasan] and my Shaykh, Khalīl Ahmad Sahāranpūri, stayed in the Hijaz. I left Madinah on the 16th of Dhu al-Qa’dah 1345 (May 18th, 1927) whereas my Shaykh passed away in Madinah on the 16th of Rabi’ al-Thani 1346 AH (October 12th, 1927). Although I was present during the lifetime of Shaykh al-Hind Mahmūd al-Hasan (he passed away on the 18th of Rabi’ al-Awwal 1339 AH, corresponding to November 29th, 1920), I saw little of him since he was imprisoned for many years in Malta. The only time I was able to see him was when he visited Deoband before and after his imprisonment. However, I met his students, disciples, and the elders of Deoband numerous times.
I also saw much of Ra’s al-Atqiya wa al-Asfiyah Hadrat Shāh Abd al-Rahīm because he passed away on the 24th of Rabi’ al-Thāni 1338 AH (January 16th, 1920). I also spent a lot of time with Mulhaq al-Asāghir bi al-Akābir (the one who linked the younger Shuyūkh to the older Shuyūkh) Hadrat Ashraf Ali Thānawi because he passed away on the 12th of Rajab in 1362 AH (July 15th, 1943). I attach the title of “Mulhaq al-Asāghir bi al-Akābir” to his name because Hadrat Thānawi gained his khilāfat from Sayyid al-Tā’ifa Hāji Imdādullah, which means that he was the prime link between the younger (i.e. his disciples and deputies) and older generation (i.e. Hāji Imdādullah) of Shuyūkh.
In Sharī’ah, Hadrat Thānawi obtained permission to transmit Hadith from Mawlana Fadl al-Rahmān Ganj Murādabādi, who obtained permission from Shāh Abd al-Azīz al-Dehlawi. Therefore, it is narrated in the book Arwāh-e-Thalātha that Hakīm Ni’matullah asked Mawlana Ganj Murādabādi, “Did Hadrat read anything of the Hadiths from Shāh Abd al-Azīz?”
He replied, “Yes.”
Hakīm Ni’matullah said, “If you give me permission, I can also gain the blessings of this sanad.”
After narrating a few Hadiths from Mishkāt al-Masābih, [Mawlana Ganj Murādabādi] said, “I give you permission.”
After that, he gave advice on the importance of practicing upon one’s knowledge.
I always desired to get permission from Hadrat Thānawi to claim his strong sanad [in Hadith]. I even journeyed many times to Thāna Bhawan for this purpose, but was too ashamed to ask. How was I going to ask for permission when I didn’t know anything [5]? Though I never obtained a sanad from Hadrat Thānawi, many of my own students did, thus claiming a higher sanad than myself.
Additionally, I also saw much of the life of Ra’s al-Mujāhidīn Shaykh al-Islam Hadrat Husain Ahmad Madani, because Hadrat passed away on the 12th of Jumāda al-Awwal 1377 AH (December 4th, 1957) in Deoband. I also observed the life of my guardian, the Imam of humility, Shaykh Abd al-Qādir Raipūri because he passed away on the 14th of Rabi’ al-Awwal 1382 AH (August 15th, 1962). I was fortunate to sit in his company on numerous occasions. I also spent a great deal of time with my respected uncle, the Imam of Tablīgh, Mawlana Ilyās Kāndhlawi because he passed away on the 21st of Rajab in 1363 AH (July 12th, 1944).
I needed to mention the era of these Shuyūkh to show that every inch of Du Abba was the headquarters of Sharī’ah and Tarīqah through the blessings of these guiding lights. It was through their blessing that people understood Sharī’ah and Tarīqah to be inseparable and that they could never be independent of each other.
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Footnotes:
[1] The expression “this useless person” is out of humility often used by scholars and saints when referring to themselves.
[2] Spiritual descendants and disciples of Shāh Walīullah al-Dehlawi.
[3] Murīdīn (plural of murīd) – a person who makes bay’ah to a Shaykh.
[4] The disciples of Hāji Imdādullah.
[5] This statement emanates from the humility of Mawlana Zakariyya al-Kāndhlawi, who is commonly referred to as “Shaykh al-Hadith.” A recognized expert in various Islamic sciences, Mawlana Zakariyya’s humility is evident in the manner by which he refers to himself.
Extracted from the Preface of Shari’ah and Tariqah – Inseparable and Indivisible
Note: This article was edited for spelling, grammar, and style, with additions made to the footnotes.
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