deobandi – My Little Breathing Space – I write for the few, not the many. The few that are left out!

Ignorance Creates Fear and Prejudice

Alhumdu Lillah, a great way to end the weekend and start Dhul Hijjah, yesterday I met one of the UK’s most prominent and outspoken scholars. After a full weekend of watching our screens filled with videos of hate and Islamophobia from the far right, what better way than to end the weekend with a discussion on unity and peace within the Muslims community.

I have always admired Shaykh Asrar for his courage and strength in addressing the ills of the community and deep-rooted problems within the Muslims.

Hatred Begets Hatred

Unity within the Muslim community is paramount now, more than ever, particularly within the UK. I am and have always been a man of unity. Whether that’s between Indians and Pakistanis or Brelwis and Deobandis and the proof of this is I have friends and associates from both backgrounds. I treat people based on character and not their school of thought. We have haters within both schools of thought and we have weaknesses within both schools of thoughts, neither are perfect and neither are free from criticism.

Always Praise a Man for His Good

I live by that, I will always praise people for their good. Some of you may dislike me for sharing and writing this, but I understand that Shaykh Asrar in the past may have said or done things to upset people acting on impulse. I have done the same in public and private, but with age and maturity we all change our views and stance, that is a sign of humility. Never accepting you are wrong is a sign of arrogance and ego. Shaykh recently called out Tommy Robinson and asked for a debate, he confronted Peer Chuff Chuff and even addressed the drugs issue in Birmingham and put his own life at risk.

Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness, Only Love Can Do That

I don’t expect a revolution from a messages, but I do expect people to read and understand the importance of building bridges and breaking barriers within the Muslim community first and foremost and then with non-Muslims. I find it ironic how certain scholars praise the Christians and Jews when they do good (like attending a Palestine march), but they will not praise a Muslim scholar for his good work as he is from a different school of thought. Such scholars shouldn’t talk about unity nor talk to me about the rising of Reform. According to me, these scholars are worse than Reform, at least Reform are open enemies.

In Unity There is Strength

No doubt a lot of the hatred stems from scholars/Imams, this all boils down to personality. You get good Imams and bad ones (maybe a few ugly ones, lol). My advice for Imams is to leave polemics in the books and don’t air it on the minbar and brainwash the general public. Shaykh Asrar also mentioned this to me, he doesn’t like bringing debates and differences of opinions in public, he only attends as he is challenged. Finally, for scholars, don’t hate another scholar based on his view where there is flexibility, because that’s ego and the egos of men, particularly ulama will divide and destroy us.

Some of the things we disccused:

Peer culture and fake peers

Incorrect taweez with grids and Shaytan’s face

Praying behind the Haram Imams
Commonalities between Deobandi theology and Barelwi theology
Praying in all masajid, despite fiqh differences

Unseen Realities | Shaykh Asrar Rashid | Oldham

Some dreams of Shaykh Yunus saheb RH

Some dreams of Shaykh Yunus saheb damat barakatuhum. (Now he’s Rahmatullahi alayhi. I wrote this during his life so left it as it was)

Shaykh is a very talkative person. He narrated some of his dreams and their interpretations. I noted down a few of them.

He narrated that he used to see Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam a lot in his dreams. However, it stopped for some reason. Then he said “I recently dreamt that I was teaching Hadith. I tried to explain something which the students would not understand. I said to them “If you don’t understand, ask the one who said it” I pointed towards Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam who was standing tall near the cave of Hira. He was in the form of Sayyiduna Ibrahim AlayhisSalam.”

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He once said:

“When Nazim Saheb (Mawlana Asadullah Saheb) gave me ijazat (khilafat), I dreamt that I am in Ajmer sharif and that I am drawing water from a well over there. I took the meaning that my shaykh has taken me to saahibus-silsilah, (the leader of our chain of mashaaikhe chisht, khwaja Muinuddin Chishti Ajmeri rahmatullahi alayhi). It is now up to me to draw as much fayz as I can.”

———–

He said:

“I once dreamt that I was in the masjid of Nazim saheb. I took the lota of water to do wudhu, but I saw that it was filled with sharbate Rooh Afza. I took the meaning that holding firmly to the A’maal of masjid will bring afzaaiyyat to the rooh (ie. it will enlighten the soul.)”

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He said “One alim was sahibe Kashf. He once said “Mawlana Siddiq (Bandwi) Saheb has surpassed Nazim Saheb.” Then he said “No he hasn’t” He said this again some time later. Then again on a third occasion. So I said “What is this? You are undermining our shaykh!! Mawlana Siddiq Saheb has become more famous, and this is due to him being a sayyed. Otherwise spiritually, Nazim was way ahead”

(NB: Ml Siddiq Saheb was also Khalifa of Nazim Saheb. Shaykh Yunus Saheb has khilafat from two of his teachers; Hazrat shaykh Zakaria and Nazim Saheb rahmatullahi alayhima)

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He said: “In my childhood two of my teachers were totally different. One would have a tasbeeh in his hand and he would be reading it during free time. He would keep busy in Dhikr. The other would just pray what is necessary. He would nickname the other ustad ‘Tasbaa’

I once saw them both in a dream. “The one who used to have tasbeeh said he was not taken to account and seemed very happy. The other one was asking for a lunghi, (lower garment to cover the body). It seems that he was in need.”

Then he said, “This tasbeeh is very precious. Hold on to it and read as much tasbeeh as you can.”

He would say I read kalima tayyeba 200 times in morning, durood sharif 500 times along with the morning adhkar.

Few malfoozaat of Shaykh Yunus Saheb Damat Barakatuhum.

“Stay well away from:

1. Bud aqeedagi (corrupted beliefs)

2. Tarke faraidh (abandoning obligatory duties)

3. Irtikaabe maharim (committing forbidden acts)

4. Tarke ittibaae Sunnat (abandoning sunnat)

5. Tarke mustahbbat (leaving mustahabbat)

6. Tarke khilafe awla (leaving what is more desirable)

Assistance for the above is with controlling gaze

Most important of all is Dhikrullah

Hadhrat Thanwi would say, “Keep so busy that you don’t have free time for haram actions.”

Bayhaqi narrates a Hadith: راس الحكمة خشية الله “Root of wisdom is fear of Allah”. The heart in which khashyat sets in, can have all his affairs sorted out (Jis dil men yeh samaa jaata he, Sab theek ho jaata he)

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“Recite Qur’an in Salah as much as you can, at least one juz a day. Start with praying a few pages in the sunnats before & after faraaidh. It will be a struggle in the beginning however, once ytou get used to it you will begin to love reading in Salah.”

Shaykh Yunus Saheb said:

In our neighbourhood, a man was named Umardaraaz. His mother used to make dua for him that ya Allah make him such that he is always reciting the Quran.

He used to cut wood. While he would be working, he would be reciting the Quran. When he would strike something with force, he would utter “ya ayyhullazeena aamanu….” That would make people realise that he is reciting the Quran.

When he got old and was unable to continue with cutting wood, one local madressa employed him to teach Quran to kids. He died while teaching the Quran.

This is the Barkat of motherly dua. Never underestimate the dua of a mother.

Plus his mother was both, pious and wise. She didn’t say “Ya Allah give him a house or wealth” she said give him the ability to recite Quran all the time.

Mawlana Abdul Raheem Saheb (hafidhahullah), Ustadh of Darul Uloom Bury, UK

20 Shawwal 1438