How do I distinguish between Ahlul Haq and Ahlul Batil? Contributions of the Madh’habi Scholars

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

The great scholar and well-known Tabi’ee, Muhammed ibn Sireen (Rahimahullah) mentioned:  

إِنَّ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ دِينٌ، فَانْظُرُوا عَمَّنْ تَأْخُذُونَ دِينَكُمْ[1]

Verily this knowledge (the knowledge of Islam) is (your) religion; so look from whom you are taking your religion.

1. 1.   A persons actions are directed by his knowledge and understanding. If one has the correct understanding of Deen, his actions will follow in the correct direction. If his understanding is incorrect, his actions too will be incorrect.

It is therefore important to search for reliable and authentic Ulama and seek knowledge from them. The sign of a true Alim is mentioned in the Quran: Allah the Almighty states:

إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ

“Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge.” (Surah Fatir – Verse: 28)

This means that for a person to be a true, reliable scholar of Deen, it is necessary that he have the fear and awareness of Allah the Almighty embedded in his heart. The knowledge and religious information one possesses is of no value without the consciousness and awareness of Allah Ta’ala. Amongst the various reasons for this, one is that a person who has the fear and awareness of Allah Ta’ala embedded in his heart, he will be honest and truthful when it comes to imparting his knowledge; he will not blur the lines between Haqq and Batil (truth and falsehood) for his gain or another person’s gain. A person who fears Allah will not say anything about Shari’ah he does not know. He exercises extreme caution in issues of Shari’ah. Also, one should be vetted by Ulama of Haqq to fall in the category of Ulama.

In order to understand the ‘Aqaa’id (Beliefs) of Ahlus-Sunnah wal- Jama’ah to be able to distinguish between Ahlul Haqq and Ahlul Batil,[2] we advise one to read the book al-‘Aqidah at-Tahawiyyah, This book is a short treatise outlining the  beliefs of the Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah and was compiled by Imam Abu Ja`far al-Tahawi (Rahimahullah). The book is a very accurate representation of the creed of the Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama’ah and has gained widespread popularity and acceptance. Kindly refer to the following link to read the book: 

https://attahawi.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/sharh-al-tahawiyya-fahim-hoosen.pdf

Furthermore, one may look for the following characteristics and signs of Ahlul Haq Ulama:[3]

• He has sufficient knowledge of Deen.
• He is conscious of Allah Ta’ala.
• His beliefs, practices, and habits conform to the Sunnah and teachings of Shari’ah.
• He does not have greed for worldly things.
• The Ulama and the pious have confidence in him.
• People with good foresight and good understanding of Deen follow him.
• The majority of his followers are pious and renounce worldly gains.
• He corrects his followers and stops them when they do wrong.

2.  You query in regards to the services rendered by the Ulama of the four Madhaahib. The very existence of the Ummah today is the “service” rendered by the Ulama of the four Madhaahib. The Qur’an and the Hadith survived throughout the centuries only through the efforts of the Fuqaha (Jurists) and the Muhadditheen (Hadith Scholars) who spent their entire lives in the preservation and accurate dissemination of the Qur’an and the Hadith. In addition to their contribution in literature, they were Muqallideen (Followers of one of the four Madhaahib).  You may refer to the following links to get a glimpse of the literary contributions of the Scholars of the four Madhaahib (Especially the Hanafi Scholars):

1. https://ahadithnotes.com/2014/11/23/chronological-list-of-prominent-hadith-scholars-english/

1. https://ahadithnotes.com/2014/06/02/english-chronological-order-of-major-hanafi-jurists/

1. https://ahadithnotes.com/2015/05/19/the-contribution-of-the-scholars-of-deoband-in-the-field-of-hadith-reviving-a-forgotten-legacy/

You also query if there are any Hanafi Scholars that reside in Makkah and Madinah. A great number of Hanafi Scholars have resided and continue to reside in Makkah and Madinah. A five volume book in the Arabic language titled Tarikh Ummah fi Siyar A’immah (History of the Ummah regarding the Biographies of the Imams) was prepared by Dr. Salih bin Abdullah Al-Humaid and published by The Center of Makkah History. [4] The book provides the biographies of all the Imams of the Haramain (Makkah and Madinah) since the era of the Sahabah and Tabi’een (Rahimahumullah) and is replete with Hanafi Scholars and Scholars of the three other Madhaahib.

Furthermore, a great number of the prominent Hanafi Scholars are buried in Jannat al-Baqi’ (Madinah) and Jannat al-Mu’alla (Makkah) which denotes the fact that there were many Hanafi Scholars that lived in Makkah and Madinah.[5] 

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Abdullah ibn Mohammed Aijaz

Student Darul Iftaa
Baltimore, USA

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

Hanafi Deobandi ‘Ulama (& Auliya) (رحمهم الله) Buried in Jannat al-Baqi’ (Madinah)

(By Moulana Muhammad Tayyab Zafar)

(1) Hadhrat Moulana Shah Rafiuddin Deobandi
(2) Hadhrat Moulana Muzaffar Hussain Kandhalwi
(3) Hadhrat Moulana Shah Abdul Ghani Muhaddith-e-Dehlawi
(4) Hadhrat Moulana Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri
(5) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Siddeeq Madani (Brother of Hadhrat Shaikhul Islam Madani)
(6) Hadhrat Moulana Sayyid Ahmad Madani (Brother of Hadhrat Shaikhul Islam Madani)
(7) Hadhrat Moulana Sayyid Mahmud Ahmad Madani (Brother of Hadhrat Shaikhul Islam Madani)
(8) Hadhrat Moulana Sayyid Jamil Ahmad Madani (Brother of Hadhrat Shaikhul Islam Madani)
(9) Hadhrat Moulana Sayyid In’amul Karim Muhajir Madani (Grandson of Hadhrat Shaikhul Hind)
(10) Hadhrat Moulana Sayyid Badr-e-‘Alam Miruthi
(11) Hadrat Moulana Abdush Shakur Deobandi
(12) Hadhrat Moulana Wali Ahmad Hazaarwi
(13) Hadhrat Moulana Sher Muhammad Gangohi (Khalifa of Hadhrat Hakimul Ummah Thanwi)
(14) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad ‘Azam Khairabadi
(15) Shaikhul Hadith Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhalwi
(16) Hadhrat Shaikh Muhammad Mazhar Dehlwi
(17) Hadhrat Moulana Mufti Ashiq Ilahi Bulandshehri
(18) Hadhrat Moulana Shaikh Abdul Haq Naqshbandi
(19) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Musa Muhajir Madani
(20) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Ghafur Madani
(21) Hadhrat Moulana Qari Fath Muhammad Panipati
(22) Hadhrat Qari Sayyid Hasan Shah Bukhari
(23) Hadhrat Moulana Qari Muhammad Tahir Rahimi
(24) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Hanan Khimalpuri (??)
(25) Hadhrat Qari Sayyid Abdul Aziz
(26) Hadhrat Moulana Hafidh Ghulam Muhammad
(27) Hadhrat Moulana Sa’id Ahmad Khan
(28) Hadhrat Moulana Sayyid Rashiduddin Hamid
(29) Hadhrat Dr. Hafidhullah Sukkharwi
(30) Hadhrat Sufi Muhammad Iqbal Hoshiarpuri
(31) Hadhrat Sayyid Habib Mahmud Madani
(32) Hadhrat Moulana Manzur Amad Al Husaini
(33) Hadhrat Moulana Mu’inuddin Hazaarwi
(34) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Quddoos Deobandi
(35) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Haq Abbasi
(36) Hadhrat Moulana Abdur Rahman Abbasi
(37) Hadhrat Moulana Hakim Bunyad Ali ibn Hadhrat Moulana Murtadha Hasan Chandpuri
(38) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Haq Binnori
(39) Hadhrat Moulana Hamid Mirza
(40) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Karim Dehlwi (Grandson of Hadhrat Shah Abdul Ghani)
(41) Hadhrat Moulana Hashim Bukhari
(42) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Quddoos Bangali’
(43) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Isma’il Barmawi (Student of Hadhrat Saharanpuri)
(44) Hadhrat Sufi Muhammad Aslam
(45) Hadhrat Moulana Qadhi Nur Muhammad Arkani
(46) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Amad
(47) Hadhrat Moulana La’l Muhammad
(48) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Hamid Mazahiri
(49) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Qasim Barmawi
(50) Hadhrat Moulana Shaikh Mahmud Ahmad
(51) Hadhrat Shaikh Kamil Sindhi
(52) Hadhrat Qari Abdur Rashid Luddhianwi
(53) Hadhrat Qari Abdur Rauf (Teacher at the Madani Haram)
(54) Hadhrat Qari Abdur Rahman Tonswi (Teacher at the Madani Haram)
(55) Hadhrat Qari Muhammad Ramadhaan (Teacher at the Madani Haram)
(56) Hadhrat Qari Ghulam Rasul (Teacher at the Madani Haram)
(57) Hadhrat Qari Abdul Ghafur (Teacher at the Madani Haram)
(58) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Malik Muradabadi (Teacher at te Madani Haram)
(59) Hadhrat Shaikh Muhammad Khayaat (Lecturer at the Haram-e-Nabawi)
(60) Hadhrat Moulan Abdul Aziz Mashrati (Student of Hadhrat Gangohi)
(61) Hadhrat Moulana Haji Ghulam Husain
(62) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Mughith Hindi
(63) Hadhrat Moulana Haji Muhammad Anis
(64) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Wahid
(65) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Karim
(66) Hadhrat Mawlana Islamul Haqq Sahib, former shaykhul hadith of Darul Uloom Al-Arabiyya Al-Islamiyya, Bury
(67) Hadhrat Mawlana Manzur al-Husayni, Aalami Majlis Tahaffuze Khatme Nubuwwat, UK.
(68) Hadhrat Mawlana Lutfullah Naqshbandi, khalifa of Hadhrat Mawlana Abdul Ghafur Abbasi Naqshbandi.

(69) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Hafeez Makki Sahib

Hanafi Deobandi ‘Ulama (& Auliya) (رحمهم الله) Buried in Jannat al-Mu’alla (Makkah)

(1) Hadhrat Moulana Shah Muhammad Ishaq Muhaddith-e-Dehlawi Muhajir Makki (Grandson of Hadhrat Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi
(2) Hadrat Moulana Sakhaawat Ali Jaunpuri
(3) Hadrat Moulana Nawab Qutbuddin
(4) Hadhrat Moulana Rahmatullah Kairanwi
(5) A’la Hadhrat Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki
(6) Hadhrat ‘Allama Sayyid Abdur Rahman Kandhalwi
(7) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Ibrahim Balyawi
(8) Hadhrat Moulana Ilahi Baksh Faidhabadi
(9) Hadhrat Moulana Ikramuddin Bangali (Graduate of Darul Uloom Deoband, Teacher in Makkah Mukarramah)
(10) Hadhrat Moulana Qari Ahmad Makki
(11) Hadhrat Qadhi Murtadha Husain Hyderabadi
(12) Hadhrat Moulana Sadiqul Yaqin Kurswi
(13) Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Haq Allahabadi
(14) Shaikhul Qurra Hadhrat Qari Abdullah Makki
(15) Hadhrat Moulana Haji Abdullah Malihabadi
(16) Hadhrat Moulana Shafiuddin Nagaanwi
(17) Hadhrat Moulana Kausar ‘Ali Nagaanwi
(18) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Hasan Sawaani (Student of Hadhrat Gangohi)
(19) Hadhrat Moulana Mansur ‘Ali Muradabadi
(20) Hadhrat Mulla Nawab Khan Peshawari
(21) Hadhrat Moulana Khalilur Rahman Makki (Convert to Islam)
(22) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Sa’id (Deputy Administrator at Madrasa Saulatiyya, Makkah Mukarramah)
(23) Hadhrat Moulana Riyadhul Hasan Baghpati (Majaz of Hadhrat Thanwi)
(24) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Shafi’ Jaunpuri (Student of Hadhrat Thanwi)
(25) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Salim Kairanwi (Madrasa Saulatiyya)
(26) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Yamin Kandhalwi (Student of Hadhrat Shaikhul Hadith)
(27) Hadhrat Moulana Habibullah (ibn Hadhrat Moulana Ahmad Ali Lahori)
(28) Hadhrat Moulana Khair Muhammad Muzaffargarhi (Student of Hadhrat Saharanpuri)
(29) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Sharif Jalandhari (ibn hadhrat Moulana Khair Muhammad Jalandhari)
(30) Hadhrat Moulana Mufti Muhammad Khalil (Student of Hadhrat Madani)
(31) Hadrat Moulana Muhammad Fadhil Uthmani
(32) Hadhrat Moulana Mas’ud Shamim Kairanwi
(33) Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Sa’id Abbasi (ibn Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Ghafur Madani)
(34) Hadhrat Moulana Muzaffar Ahmad Barmi (Khalifa Hadhrat Madani)
(35) Hadhrat Moulana Abdur Rahman Rahmani