Two meanings of intercession (tawassut)

Do all kinds of spiritual graces (fuyuzat) and blessings reach creation by means and through the mediation of the Master of the Universe ﷺ, or is he not the medium? The shaykhs of the spiritual path (tariqa) have differed on this.

One group holds that the Prophet ﷺ is the medium (tawassut), and another says he is not. Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) has a unique investigation on this subject which no shaykh of the path before him was able to make. The courtesy (adab) he has observed at every step, and the speech he has employed befitting the sacred court of the Master of the Messengers, are beyond the reach of even great scholars of outward knowledge. The gist of his noble statement is this: "The mediation of the Master of the Two Worlds ﷺ — that is, his being a medium — can be in two senses. One, that he ﷺ stands as a barrier and veil between the wayfarer (salik) and the One Sought. Two, that the wayfarer reaches the One Sought for his sake and by means of following and obeying him.

Someone of little understanding might say that this would imply a shortcoming and deficiency in the court of the Messenger ﷺ — saying that in this case the mediation is only in the second sense, and therefore perfection lies precisely in his being the medium in both senses. In the lofty view of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified), this is not perfection but deficiency. Perfection is precisely that, after reaching the Reality of Realities (haqiqat al-haqa'iq), the mediation be only in the second sense. He says:

In this station, (the absence of) mediation in the first sense entails the perfection of the Prophet (upon him be blessings and peace), not a shortcoming; rather, the shortcoming lies in accepting mediation (in that sense), because the perfection of the one followed is that the follower, through following him and for his sake, reaches all the degrees of perfection and no fine point is left out.

And as long as there is mediation and intervention, witnessing (shuhud) will not be unveiled, because this intervention is a veil. Unveiled witnessing will only come about when there is no mediation and intervention in the first sense; (otherwise) the utmost of the degrees of perfection is not reached. From this it is known that the perfection of the one followed lies in non-mediation, not in mediation; rather, in mediation lies the

shortcoming of the one followed, because the greatness and majesty of a master is shown by his servant not lagging behind him in any station, and by his servants, through following him, coming to share in the rank of his peers. This is why the Master of the Two Worlds ﷺ said: 'The scholars of my Ummah are like the prophets of the Children of Israel' (upon him and upon them be blessings and salutations). Besides this there are other things that indicate non-mediation. Consider that in the Hereafter the vision (of Allah) will take place without the intervention and mediation of anything; and it has also come in a hadith that when the servant enters the prayer, the veil that lies between Allah and the servant is lifted — which is why prayer is called the ascension (mi'raj) of the believer."

This is a summary of what is set out in detail in Letter 121, Volume Three. This investigation does not rest on proofs alone; rather, he was himself also enriched with this supreme blessing. Only when his far-seeing eyes had witnessed it did he speak. Whoever reflects on this blessed statement of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) will see a beautiful garden of the perfections of the Prophet ﷺ. From it one can readily discover what the sacred person of the Master of the Two Worlds ﷺ is in the eyes of Hazrat Mujaddid, and how perfect a courtesy he observes at every step. May the Generous Lord, for the sake of Hazrat Mujaddid, grant the gift of courtesy also to those who keep wounding the hearts of the believers by uttering insolent remarks at every turn.

The Bodily Ascension

Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) says:

"Hazrat Musa (upon our Prophet and upon him be blessings and peace), after asking for the vision (of Allah), received the wound of 'You will not see Me' (lan tarani), fell unconscious, and repented of that request; whereas Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who is the Beloved of the Lord of the Worlds and the best of all beings, first and last — despite being honoured with the blessing of the bodily ascension (mi'raj), passed beyond the Throne ('Arsh) and the Footstool (Kursi), and rose above place and time." (Letter 272)

Hazrat Musa (upon him be blessings and peace), after asking for the vision, received the wound of 'You will not see Me,' fell unconscious and repented of that request; and Hazrat Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who is the Beloved of the Lord of the Worlds and the best of all beings, first and last — despite being honoured with the blessing of the bodily ascension, indeed passed beyond the Throne and the Footstool and went beyond time and place as well.

Visualising the Shaykh (Tasawwur-e-Shaykh)

The storm of polytheism (shirk) and innovation (bid'a) raised by the misguided of the age has, with its fierce and violent gusts, left even important issues of Islam unprotected, and this issue too has fallen victim to it. When a person loses the sight of the heart, whatever he says is too little; and clearly, a seeing heart is needed to understand such issues. You have already read Hazrat Mujaddid's (may his secret be sanctified) explicit statement that every shaykh is a barrier and veil in the wayfarer's witnessing. In the beginning one does not have the capacity to receive grace directly from the sacred court of the Lord of the Worlds; so, in order to bring people to that pure court and to create affinity with it, the shaykhs established this blessed method, through which not thousands but hundreds of thousands have reached the goal. Fairness demanded that if one oneself lacks insight, one should turn to the people of insight. What a great injustice it is that in all one's worldly needs one turns to worldly people, yet if we turn to the people of gnosis (ma'rifa) to acquire gnosis, that becomes polytheism! In reality, shirk and bid'a are a machine of these people's own making, into which they mould whomever they please. The words of a person of lofty vision and insight such as Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) on this subject too are presented to the readers. If in their eyes even these lofty figures of the Ummah fall within the range of shirk, then what are we? He says:

"If, at the time of performing dhikr, the image of the pir appears without effort, that too should be taken to the heart, and one should perform dhikr while holding it in the heart. For who is the pir? The pir is the one from whom you find the way to reach the Holy Presence. The mere cap, hem and lineage chart (shajra) that have become customary are in reality outside the essence of piri-muridi and belong to rites and customs — unless a person obtains a garment as a blessing (tabarruk) from an accomplished and perfecting shaykh (kamil o mukammil) and lives in it with faith and sincerity; in that case too, the prospect of fruits and results is strong." (Letter 16, Volume One)

If, at the time of dhikr, the image of the shaykh appears without effort, that too should be taken towards the heart, and one should perform dhikr while keeping watch over the heart. Who is the pir? The pir is that person from whom you obtain the way to reach the sacred court of Allah, Glorified be He, and from whom you obtain help and assistance on that path. Paying attention to the cap, the hem and the lineage chart, as is common nowadays, is outside the reality of piri-muridi; rather, it belongs to rite and custom. However, if one receives some garment as a blessing from an accomplished shaykh, one should wear it with faith and sincerity and live one's life in it; in such a case there is strong hope of obtaining countless benefits and fruits.

Visualisation in the State of Prayer

Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) says: "Khwaja Muhammad Ashraf had written about the practice of the bond of affiliation (rabita) that it has become so dominant that in the prayer he regards it as the object of his prostration and sees it so, and that if, supposing, he tries to negate it, it does not go away. O beloved, this is a blessing that seekers long for; it is granted to perhaps one in thousands. The person in this state has the readiness of complete affinity; it is possible that with a little companionship of an exemplary shaykh he would draw in all his perfections. Why should they negate the rabita? It is that towards which prostration is made (masjud ilayhi), not that to which prostration is made (masjud lahu). Why do they not negate the prayer-niches and mosques? The manifestation of this kind of blessing is granted to the fortunate

so that in all states they regard the person of the rabita as their medium, and at all times remain turned towards him — not like the unfortunate group who consider themselves independent, turn the qibla of their attention away from their own shaykh, and wreck their own affair." (Letter 30, Volume Two)

That is: Khwaja Muhammad Ashraf had written that the practice of affiliation and rabita had become so dominant that in prayer he regards it as the object of prostration and sees it so, and that if, supposing, he wishes to remove it, it does not go away. O beloved! The seekers of truth long for this very blessing; it is granted to perhaps one in thousands. A person in such a state has the readiness for complete affinity, and it may be that a little companionship of an exemplary shaykh would draw in all his perfections. Why do you negate the rabita (visualising the shaykh)? The rabita is that towards which prostration is made, not that to which prostration is made. Why do you not negate the prayer-niches and the mosques? This kind of blessing is granted to the fortunate so that in all states they regard the person of the rabita as their means (wasila) and turn towards him at all times — not like those wretched people who consider themselves independent, turn the centre of their attention away from their shaykh, and throw their affair into disarray.

For the people of truth this much explicitness is enough. You have already read that, in the view of the shaykhs, rabita is an independent method of reaching Allah. To perceive a whiff of shirk in something through which hundreds of thousands have reached the goal is the lot of those people alone.

The Third-Day, Tenth-Day, Twentieth-Day and Fortieth-Day Observances, etc.

Hazrat Maulana Raza Ali Faruqi (may his secret be sanctified), bearer of hidden and manifest secrets, who is well known in this region by the title Qutb-e-Banaras (the Pole of Banaras), was a master of the transmitted and rational sciences of his time. I have also written a separate piece giving a brief

account of his life. He has spoken at considerable length concerning these various forms of conveying reward to the dead (isal-e-sawab) and the fixing of particular times for them. The book Tahqiq al-Haqq al-Mubin by his great spiritual guide (murshid), Hazrat Shah Ahmad Sa'id (may his secret be sanctified) — written in refutation of Maulvi Ishaq Sahib's book Masa'il al-Arba'in — establishes with excellent proofs these very practices of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a over which the Wahhabis and Deobandis differ, and scatters every thread of the opponent's argument.

Hazrat Qutb-e-Banaras (may his secret be sanctified) quoted a long extract from this book, and after that he also quoted the noble statements of Hazrat Shah Waliullah and of his illustrious sons, Shah Abdul Aziz Sahib and Shah Rafi'uddin Sahib (may Allah have mercy on them all). He has dealt thoroughly with those who keep repeating the cry of "bid'a". After quoting the statements and sayings of these elders, he writes, drawing conclusions:

"Several things are derived from the answers of these elders. First, the permissibility of gathering at the graves of the elders yearly, in that particular form, in order to visit them; second, the permissibility of completing a recitation of the Qur'an (khatm-e-Qur'an); third, the permissibility of reciting the Fatiha over sweets and food and distributing them." (A few lines later he says:) "It is also known that feeding people and offering the Fatiha over sweets and the like on the 'urs of the elders and on the day of their passing is a cause of the pleasure of the elders' souls. Setting aside the proofs of the Shari'ah, the unveilings of the elders also testify to this, that the souls of the elders gather in the intermediate realm (barzakh) on such days."

Then, after explaining the intended meaning of bid'a and some principles relating to it, he says that it is related in Sharh Tuhfa-e-Muhammadiyya that the seventh day was

fixed by the people of the Two Sanctuaries (Haramayn) for the Fatiha of the deceased, for feeding people, and for conveying bodily and financial reward, because that is the day on which the deceased takes leave of coming and going from his house; and its basis is from a hadith. (He then cited that hadith, and goes on to say:)

"And the people of India have fixed the fortieth day (chehlum) for the Fatiha, because according to some narrations that day too is a day of farewell." Then Qutb-e-Banaras (may his secret be sanctified) has spoken very usefully about the third day, the tenth day and all the rest.

Qibla-e-Alam Hazrat Khwaja Ahmad Sa'id (may his secret be sanctified)

Shaykh al-Islam wa al-Muslimin, heir to the sciences of the Master of the Messengers ﷺ, Qibla-e-Alam Hazrat Khwaja Ahmad Sa'id, the emigrant to Madina (may his secret be sanctified): his lineage reaches Hazrat Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani (may his secret be sanctified) through six links, so he is a Mujaddidi both by descent and by spiritual way (mashrab). His blessed birth took place on the 1st of Rabi' al-Thani 1217 AH in the city of Rampur, and he passed away in Madina Tayyiba on Saturday, between Zuhr and Asr, on the 20th of Rabi' al-Awwal 1277 AH.

Every educated person is aware of his complete mastery of the transmitted sciences and rational disciplines. Along with this, he had reached the height of perfection in the inner sciences and the perfections of Ahmad. The world is agreed upon his sainthood and eminence. Great figures have drunk their fill from his spring of outward and inner knowledge and quenched the thirst of the people of the world. Great scholars and the eminent learned men of the time are gleaners at his table of bounty. If you wish to see his great virtues and merits, look at Manaqib-e-Ahmadiyya and Maqamat-e-Sa'idiyya, written by his youngest son, Hazrat Maulana Shah Muhammad Mazhar Sahib. The era of Hazrat Qibla-e-Alam (may his secret be sanctified) was the time when Wahhabism had begun to flourish well in India. Hazrat Qibla-e-

Alam (may his secret be sanctified) had clearly sensed its harmful effects; he knew well how dangerous this movement was for faith. How insightful are the conclusions he drew about this Wahhabism! His son, Hazrat Shah Muhammad Mazhar, writes:

"He (may his secret be sanctified) used to say: The least harm of keeping their company is that love of the Prophet (may Allah Most High bless him and grant him peace), which is among the greatest pillars of faith, diminishes hour by hour until nothing of it remains but the name and the outward form. Then what must the greatest harm be! So beware, beware of their company; and again, beware, beware of even looking at them."

That is, my revered father (may his secret be sanctified) used to say that the least harm of mixing with the Wahhabis is that love of the Chosen Prophet ﷺ, which is the greatest pillar of faith, gradually diminishes (from the Muslim's heart), until love of the Prophet comes to an end and only an Islam of name and show remains. (When such is the state of the least harm,) then what will be the state of the greatest harm? Therefore (O Sunni Muslims), keep away from mixing with the Wahhabis, flee far from them; indeed, avoid even looking at their faces — stay away. (Sawanih A'la Hazrat)

It can only be called the supreme insight of Hazrat Khwaja Ahmad Sa'id (may his secret be sanctified) that when Wahhabism was just beginning in India, and, clothed in the garb of extreme cunning, was spreading its net, his far-seeing eyes made a correct analysis of it. Today every fair-minded person acquainted with Wahhabism knows that the least effect of their company is exactly what he mentioned. He spoke the truth: when such is the state of the least, what will the greatest be? Further, the tone of the final sentences is known to every person who has even a slight familiarity with Arabic.

How strongly he is warning, cautioning again and again: do not get caught in the snare of their robes and turbans, their rosaries and prayer-mats. However much they may wear the cloak of piety and purity, there is nothing in their bag except the plundering of faith. So, let alone keeping their company — do not even spit in their direction.

Hazrat Qibla-e-Alam (may his secret be sanctified) did not merely refute it now and then; rather, to protect the faith of the believers from the scorching wind of the disbelieving innovation of Wahhabism, he joined with the freedom fighter Allama Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, Mufti Sadruddin Sahib Dehlavi, Allama Fazl-e-Rasul Sahib Badayuni and others, and through writing, speeches and the like set out all the evils and abominations of it that could be set out, and made every possible effort to save people from this great tribulation (fitna).

Allama Fazl-e-Rasul Badayuni (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote Al-Mu'taqad al-Muntaqad in Arabic, in the style of scholastic theology ('ilm al-kalam), in which he thoroughly refuted the Wahhabi Najdi beliefs. The endorsements (taqrizat) of several authoritative and renowned scholars of that time are printed at the beginning of this book. The third endorsement is his (Khwaja Ahmad Sa'id's); a few sentences of the endorsement are these:

"I found it comprising the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a in the clearest exposition, within chapters which are rules and principles of the religion for repelling the people of innovation and falsehood, crushing the head of the people of caprice, the horn of Satan."

That is: "I found it comprising the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a in the clearest exposition, within chapters that are the rules of the religion and principles for repelling the people of innovation and the people of falsehood, breaking the head of the people of caprice, the party of Satan."….. These sentences of his clearly declare that the Wahhabis are innovators, people of falsehood,

chiefs of the people of caprice, and the party of Satan. In fact, the last word is an allusion to the hadith in which it is said that from Najd the horn of the devils (qarn al-shayatin, the horn of Satan) will emerge.

One purpose of writing Al-Mu'taqad was also this: in earlier times there were false sects such as the Mu'tazila, so our theologians (mutakallimin) refuted them in books of creed, and included some of these in the syllabus so that students might properly understand, through their teachers, the evils of those false sects. The emergence of Najdism called for the composition of a new scholastic theology, so that our scholars, and through them our common people, might become well acquainted with this new fitna. May flowers of hundreds of thousands of mercies rain upon the pure grave of Allama Fazl-e-Rasul, who fulfilled the need of the time. Upon it, these elders demonstrated in practice through their endorsements that "we are with the Allama; by refuting Wahhabism, the Allama has relieved us of this duty."

Hazrat Qibla-e-Alam Khwaja Ahmad Sa'id (may his secret be sanctified) did not stop at this; he also set his seal of confirmation on Tahqiq al-Fatwa by Hazrat Allama Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, which was written in refutation of the statements of disbelief of Maulvi Isma'il Dehlavi. How great the fitna of Wahhabism was, and how deadly its effects were in his view, can be seen from this: although he was a man of few words, his state with regard to Wahhabism was such that his son writes:

"He never mentioned anyone with ill, except the misguided Wahhabi sect, in order to warn people of the ugliness of their deeds and words." That is, he did not mention anyone with ill, except that he would describe the evil of this misguided Wahhabi sect, so as to save the Muslims from the evil words and deeds of the Wahhabis. (Sawanih A'la Hazrat)

He wrote several books specifically in refutation of the Wahhabis, the names of some of which are these:

Tahqiq al-Haqq al-Mubin (Persian), a refutation of Maulvi Ishaq's Masa'il-e-Arba'in; Ithbat al-Mawlid wa al-Qiyam, establishing the Mawlid Sharif and standing out of reverence (qiyam); Sa'id al-Bayan fi Mawlid Sayyid al-Ins wa al-Jann; Al-Dhikr al-Sharif fi Ithbat al-Mawlid al-Munif; and Al-Fawa'id al-Sa'iqa fi Ithbat al-Rabita.

After Hazrat Khwaja Ahmad Sa'id (may his secret be sanctified), his deputies (khulafa) also took part, as far as possible, in the refutation of Wahhabism. Thus his foremost deputy, Qutb al-Aqtab Hazrat Allama Mufti Raza Ali Sahib Faruqi Mujaddidi Banarasi (may his secret be sanctified), and his students rendered outstanding services in this matter. The collection of the legal rulings (fatawa) of Hazrat Qutb-e-Banaras (may his secret be sanctified), entitled Fuyuz al-Raza, is in the possession of the present writer; in it, at many places, the true beliefs of Ahl al-Sunna are established and the doctrine of the Wahhabis and non-conformists (ghayr muqallids) is refuted.

Were it not for the fear of lengthening this article, I would quote in detail the sayings of these elders in refutation of Wahhabism and show the readers how great a hand the Naqshbandis and Mujaddidis have had in refuting Wahhabism — and that even today those who are true Naqshbandi Mujaddidis are as safe from Wahhabism as a staunch Barelvi can be.

My sincere request to all my brothers of the path is this: if in the sayings and deeds of Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani, or of his deputies and his deputies' deputies who were people of perfection, there had been even the slightest room for the beliefs and practices that belong to the Wahhabis, then an elder like Hazrat Khwaja Ahmad Sa'id — who is a Mujaddidi both by descent and by spiritual way, who

is the meeting of the two seas of outward and inner knowledge, and a bearer of lofty insight — would never have taken so tremendous a part in the refutation of Wahhabism as he did. Hazrat Khwaja Ahmad Sa'id (may his secret be sanctified) was thoroughly acquainted with the Mujaddidi teachings. He knew well that there is absolutely no room for this impure dust on the pure hem of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified).

There are many (so-called) Naqshbandi Mujaddidis, occupying the seats of great khanqahs, whose bread and institutions run on Wahhabi merchants (seths). To save that bread of theirs, they search the sayings of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) for proofs in support of Wahhabism, so that the legitimacy of their relations with the Wahhabis may be maintained, the merchants may keep entering their circle of disciples, and the wealth of hundreds of thousands of rupees for their descendants may remain deposited in the bank. Alas, a hundred times alas! To sell one's faith for a few coins of this world, and then to present it as the very essence of faith from the sayings of so universally accepted a leader as Hazrat Mujaddid, and on this pretext to plunder the faith of his lovers and devotees — what injustice upon injustice this is! My request to all my brothers is that they take the sayings of Hazrat Qibla-e-Alam Khwaja Ahmad Sa'id (may his secret be sanctified) as their guide and follow him alone in this matter, and pay absolutely no heed to what worldly Mujaddidis say.

Praise be to Allah, the hem of our Naqshbandi elders is completely pure and clean of these false sects. O Allah, for the sake of the Naqshbandi Mujaddidi shaykhs, protect all of us, and the garden of our faith, from the fierce and violent gusts of the scorching wind of Wahhabism. Amin, by the honour of the Master of the Messengers (may Allah Most High bless him and his family and all his Companions).