Aqida [Creed] of the Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat

Imam Ahle Sunat Shah Ahmad Razas (may Allah be pleased

with him) writings convey a sense of pessimism about the
condition of Islam during his time, while urgently calling upon
Muslims to reform their ways. Like most of the 19th century
reformers in British India, he blamed his fellow Muslims, rather
than others, for their current situation. He denounced the views
of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan and his 'modernist' Aligarh school,
and ulema such as the Ahle Hadis, the Deobandis, the Nadwat
al-Ulema, and the Ahmadis. In addition the Shis came under
attack and the Hindu reform movement of the Arya Samaj was
also a concern.

[Sir Sayyid and his school are referred to as nechari (nature
lovers); the Ahle Hadis are ghair-muqallid (followers of none of
the 4 Sunni Mazhabs, or schools of law) or Wahhabi, a term also
used to describe Deobandis; all Ahmadis, without distinction,
are Qadianis (after the town Qadian, where the movement first
began); Shiis are referred to as Rafizis, the name of a Shii
group in early Muslim history.]

It is vital to examine the Ahle Sunnats opposition to the Muslim
movements mentioned above in order to understand what they
meant by Sunna and the way in which they wanted to apply it
in their lives. In a broad sense, their opposition stemmed from
the argument that there is a constellation of beliefs, the
zaruriyat-e din (essentials of the faith), which includes the main
creed of Islam but is wider than it in scope, and which must be
embraced if one is to be a Muslim. Failure to believe in even a
single one of these zaruriyat made one a kafir. Thus, whoever
denies any of the zururiyat-e din is a kafir, and whoever doubts
his kufr and punishment is a kafir. Does a man become a
Muslim merely by saying the kalima and bowing before the
Qibla? Until he believes in the zururiyat-e din, he is not entitled
to call himself a Muslim, nor will he be saved from the eternity
of the fire.

The Zururiyat-e Din and Categories of False Belief

In 1896 (Shawwal 1313), Imam Ahle Sunnat Shah Ahmad Raza
Khan Qadiri (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote a series of
fatawa in response to several (self-generated) questions about
contemporary Muslim groups such as Sir Sayyid Ahmad of
Aligarh and his followers, the Shiis, the Ahle Haddis or
Wahhabis, the Deobandis, and the Nadwat al-Ulema. Four years
later, in 1900 these fatawa received the approval of the leading
ulema of the Haramain, and were published in a risala entitled
Fatawa al-Haramain bi-Rajf Nadwat al-Main (fatawa from the
Haramain [causing] the Falsehood of the Nadwa to Shudder).

20 of the 28 questions in the risala dealt with the Nadwat al-
Ulema, one of the most recent Sunni movements to have arisen.
Taking the groups in turn, the Imam concluded that each, in one
way or other, was guilty of false belief, thereby becoming bad-
mazhabs (people with wrong or bad beliefs) and gumrah
(those who lost their way), or kafirs and murtadds (apostates).
The term occurs in pairs, a group was described either as bad-
mazhabs and gumrah, or as kafir and murtadd. Sir Sayyid
Ahmad Khan and his group were said, in the first question, to
deny the corporeal existence of the angel Gabriel, the other
angels, the jinn, Satan, heaven and hell, as well as the
resurrection of the dead on the Last Day, and the occurrence of
miracles. In their view, all those stood for moral states such as
good and evil, and did not actually exist.

Moreover, the question said, they believed that all " books of
Hadis and Tafsir are false; they have been created by ulema
from their own headsonly the Holy Quran is true"

[Fatawa al-Haramain bi-Rajf Nadwat al-Main, pages 27-8]

In view of such beliefs, were they to be considered Muslims, as
they claimed to be? In response, Imam Ahle Sunnat Ahmad
Raza Khan (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote:

. The nechariyya [Sir Sayyid Ahmad and his group] have no
relation to Islam. They are kafirs and murtadds, as they deny the
zaruriyat-e din. Although they read the kalima, and accept the
Qibla of the Muslims, this is not sufficient to make them ahle-e
qibla and Muslims. There is no room for alternate interpretation
(tawil) of the zaruriyat-e din. This has been the judgment of the
ulema in their books of aqaid (faith, creed) and fiqh, as stated in
clear expositions (tasrih). [fiqh Islamic Jurisprudence, based
on the Holy Quran and prophetic traditions (sunna), as well as
qiyas and ijma (consensus of scholars). Different elaborations on
matters of detail distinguish the 4 main Sunni law schools.]

In that case, the next question asked, what was the Imam's
judgment on those who, being acquainted with their views,
nevertheless called themselves Muslims and considered them to
be celebrated leaders of Muslim opinion (namwar ahl-e rae)?
To this, Imam Ahmad Raza (may Allah be pleased with him)
replied, "Approval of kufr is kufr...if one advances and promotes
that kufr [by publishing the views of persons holding beliefs that
qualify as such, for instance], then the kufr is even greater."

About the Ahle Hadis Imam Ahmad Raza further said that they
were bidati (that is, they had introduced reprehensible
innovations), and jahannami (deserving hell) on account of their
rejection of taqlid (literally, imitation) and their exclusive
reliance on the Holy Quran and hadis:

Sayyid Allama Tahtawi (may Allah be pleased with
him)writes, "Those who separate themselves from the
collectively of people of fiqh and ilm (knowledge), and from the
great majority, separate themselves in that which will take them
to Hell. O, you Muslims! It is imperative (lazim) on you, the
group that will receive salvation, that you follow the Ahle
Sunnat wa Jamaat, because Almighty Allahs help, guidance,
and favor are with those that agree with the ahl-e sunnat, while
those who oppose the ahl-e sunnat, leave Almighty Allah and
make Him angry. This salvation-at-training group is today
divided into 4 mazhabs: Hanafi, Shafi, Maliki and Hanbali.
Whoever is outside these 4, is bidati, jahannami.

[Al-Tahtawi was (apparently) a 19th century Egyptian who
wrote one of the earliest biographies of the beloved Prophet
(Allah bless him and give him peace) in Egypt. See Schimmel,
"And Muhammad is His Messenger, page 234]

Being bidati they could not be among the Ahle Sunnat, the
terms bida and sunna being mutually contradictory and
opposed. In another fatawa, the Imam said clearly that, "It is farz
qati (a definitive obligation) to recognize all groups other the
Ahle Sunnat as bidati. [Fatawa al-Qudwa li Kash Dafin al-
Nadwa (exemplary fatawa to reveal the Nadwas Secret,
1313/1895-96, page 6]

It did not follow, however, that all bidatis had denied the
zururiyat-e din (and were therefore kafirs). The Ahle Hadis
group was among those who "are not kafirs, but have been
declared gumrah on account of their opposition to the Ahle
Sunnat." They were bad-mazhab and gumrah, and it was
necessary by the mazhab of the Ahle Sunnat to "show contempt
for them and to oppose themit is forbidden to show love for
them or to unite with them."

In the Fatawa al-Haramain he wrote: "How can it be permitted
(jaiz) to honor bad-mazhabs? The beloved Prophet said,
"Whoever attempts to honor a bad-mazhabs, is helping in the
destruction of Islam."

The company of the Ahle Hadis followers, and of bad-mazhabs
generally, was to be shunned lest they mislead ignorant
Muslims, and cause wrong belief to spread further.

Continually, hadis and the words of the Imams [here, the
founders of the 4 Sunni law schools] have indicated, saying that
it is forbidden to mingle with bad-mazhabs and that it is
imperative to stay away from themThe beloved Prophet said,
"Stay away from them, lest they lead you astray, and cause
turmoil (fitna) [among you]"[The beloved Prophet also said,]
"If they fall ill, dont ask about them, if they die, dont join their
funerals." [And,] "When you meet them, dont marry them."
"Dont read the namaaz (prayers) with them."

More positively, they were to be openly denounced and
rebutted, and their wrongdoing and false belief made known,
particularly by the ulema.

When bad-mazhab things are being published, by the ijma
(consensus of the Scholars which, with Quran, sunna, and qiyas
constitutes one of the 4 basis of the Law) of the ummat-e din
(the religious community), it is one of the important duties [of
the ulema] to rebut them, and to make their bareness apparent.

If the ulema did not do so, people would begin to respect them,
they would listen to what they had to say, and soon they would
be misled. "Then the work of din would fall into the hands of
those who have broken their faith into many piecesand
become a separate group."

In Imam Ahle Sunnat Ahmad Raza Khans (may Allah be
pleased with him) interpretation bad-mazhab and gumrahi
differed from kufr and irtidad (apostate) in terms of degree, the
latter being the worst category of Muslims. For instance, he said
if the Shiis (Rafizis) elevate Hazrat Imam Ali (may Allah
ennoble his face), the Prophets son-in-law and fourth Caliph in
the Sunni view, above Hazrat Abu Baqr (Radhiya Allah ta'ala
anhu) and Hazrat Uthman (Radhiya Allah ta'ala anhu), the first
and second Caliphs respectively, this is merely bad-mazhab
according to the jurists. Categorical denial of the Caliphate of
either or both of the latter however is kufr, at least in the eyes of
the jurists. Theologians (mutakallimin) are more cautious,
preferring to call this too bad-mazhab rather than kufr. Imam
Ahle Sunnat who saw himself as a jurist, based his contention
that a Muslim became a kafir murtadd if he denied any of the
essentials of faith, the zaruriyat-e din, on an array of Sunni
juridical sources.

In practical terms, a Muslim may offer the prayers (namaaz)
behind a bad-mazhab, even though this is undesirable, but is if
he does so behind a kafir, his prayer will be rendered invalid.

Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Qadiri (Radhiya Allah ta'ala anhu)
defined these essentials, by devoting a brief chapter written in
1880-81 to the zaruriyat-e din, describing them as beliefs which
are based on clear the verses (nusus) of the Holy Quran, on
accept and unbroken (mashhur wa mutawatir) hadis, and the
consensus (ijma) of the community. He then listed a number of
beliefs founded on these sources, which the Ahle Sunnat wa
Jamaat therefore uphold.

Starting with the Unity of Almighty Allah and the Prophethood
of the beloved Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him
peace), the list included belief in heaven and hell, the delights
and punishments of the grave, the questioning of the dead, the
reckoning of on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavenly river
(Kausar) and bridge. The other chapters in the book describe in
some detail the qualities of Almighty Allah, the Prophet, the
angels, the Prophets Companions, his family, and the relative
ranking of the first 4 Caliphs. This organization suggests that the
topics treated in the rest of the book fall outside the class or
category of the zururiyat-e din, which in this case seem to relate
more to Ahle Sunnat cosmology than its belief system as a
whole. [Authors own opinion: Usha Sanyal]

In later writings, however, the Imam clearly indicated that the
term zururiyat-e din had the widest application, based on the 3
sources of clear Quranic verses, unbroken and accepted Hadis,
and the consensus of the community, they included everything
that falls under the term Aqaid (articles of faith), which were
central to the identity of a Muslim. The Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat
were identified as those Muslims who faithfully followed and
believed in the zururiyat-e din, and as long as one did not deny
these, one was a true Muslim.

Not all Muslims, however, belonged to the Ahle Sunnat wa
Jamaat group, some groups perceived to be the opponents of the
Ahle Sunnat wa Jamaat, were described at bidati, gumrah,
and bad-mazhab, though not kafir.

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