The Aqidah of the Ahl us Sunnah on Hayat al Anbiya & the Aqidah of the Opposition - Wahhabiya
The Aqidah of the Ahl us Sunnah wal Jamah
All Praise belongs to Allah Almighty Who bestowed His Prophets with Lives in their Graves with sound Bodies! And Blessings and Salutations on the Beloved of Allah Almighty – Muhammad Rasul Allah !
It is the ‘Aqidah’ of ‘Ahl us Sunnah wal Jamah’ that the Prophets do Die as,
Allah Almighty says:
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ ۗ
“Everyone will taste Death.”
{Al Imran; 3:185}
And regarding the Beloved Rasul Allah , Allah Almighty says:
إِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ وَإِنَّهُم مَّيِّتُونَ
“Verily you will Die and they too will Die.”
{Az Zumar; 39:30}
A great Scholar of the ‘Ahl us Sunnah wal Jamah’, Sayyid Ahmad Sa’eed Kazmi writes: “The one who totally denies the Death and the extraction of the ‘Ruh’ (Soul) of the Prophets, is a denier of the Quranic evidences and the ‘Mutawatir’ {Mass Transmitted} Hadiths; is out of the fold of Islam!” {Hayat un Nabi; 78}
But, one may also notice that in the above mentioned Ayah, Allah Almighty has mentioned the Death of the Beloved Rasul Allah separately from the Deaths of other people. He could have mentioned it collectively, but did not. Thus, indicating that the nature of the Prophet’s Death is different from other people!
In Islamic perspective, the extraction of ‘Ruh’ {Soul} or Death and the nature of Life after Death of each human being differs from the other based upon their religious status in this world. Therefore, the extractions of the ‘Ruh’ {Soul} of Prophets and their Lives after Death are according to their proximity and superior status which they enjoy in the court of Allah Almighty . In this way, the extraction of the ‘Ruh’ {Soul} of Prophets, their Lives after Death and their spiritual states are far more superior, extraordinarily powerfull, full of knowledge, comprehension, senses than that of ‘Siddiqin’, ‘Shuhada’ and ‘Salihin’. All these differences between the Death and Life after Death of the Prophets and other Human beings will be discussed in detail in this book.
The major difference is that the Death of Prophets spans a short period only as Allah Almighty again grants them Life after their Deaths by returning their ‘Ruh’ (Soul) to them. This Life of the Prophets after Death and particularly that of the Beloved Rasul Allah is with their Bodies, Knowledge, Senses and numerous other special pecularities! Infact, it is far more superior, complete and extraordinarily powerful than any human being.
Therefore, it is the ‘Aqidah’ of the ‘Ahl us Sunnah wal Jamah’ that the Beloved Rasul Allah did Die but Allah Almighty has again given him Life by returning his ‘Ruh’ to him. This will become crystal clear from the numerous Textual evidences of the Holy Quran and the Authentic Hadith which we have presented in this book regarding his Life in Grave after his Death!
Some Astray sects today unsuccessfully try to malign the image of ‘Ahl us Sunnah’ by saying to the common people that the ‘Ahl us Sunnah wal Jamah’ believe that the Prophet Muhammad has not Died or Passed away! This is sheer propaganda, pure Slander and False Accusation on the ‘Ahl us Sunnah’ and no one among the ‘Ahl us Sunnah’ holds this strange Belief nor there is any textual proof in the Books of ‘Ahl us Sunnah’ Scholars to support this feeble and flimsy accusation of the Opposition!
The Aqidah of the Opposition
The Aqidah of the opposition is totally disrespectful, insulting, and abusive to the Prophets and particularly to the Chief of all Prophets- Muhammad Rasul Allah . They oppose the Holy Quran, Authentic Hadith, numerous proven incidents of the Salf wa Salihun, the sayings of great Scholars of the past 1400 years and the Consensus {‘Ijma’} of the Muslims. Apart from holding a creed and doctrine contrary to Islam, they also use derogatory words while discussing this matter in their books.
One of the chief scholars of this astray sect - Maulvi Ismail Dehlavi {d. 1246 H} wrote, attributing to the Prophet that: "Ya'ni mein bhi ek din Mar kar Mitti mein milne wala hun!" {Taqwiyat ul Iman - Urdu; 100 Published by Dar us Salafiya, Mumbai} and it has been translated into English by Badar Azimabadi as follows: "That is, one day he {the Apostle} was also to die and mingle with dust!" {Taqwiyat ul Iman; 79 Published by Adam Publishers, New Delhi}
And in one of their recent books published from Saudi Arabia and other Wahhabi/Salafi instituitions, they have written that: "Iss se malum hua ke aap Murdah hain....." {Al Hajj wal Umrah wal Ziarah; 161 by Shaykh Abdul Aziz bin Baaz, Riyadh}
It is very important to note that this Aqidah of the Wahhabiya/Salafiya is an Evil Innovation {‘Biddah’} in the Creed and Doctrine of Muslims. Because, none amongst the Muslims of past ever denied the Life of Prophets in their Graves. Even the Ideologues and early scholars of present day Wahhabiya/Salafiya/Ahle Hadith like Shaykh Ibn Taymiyya Harrani, Shaykh Ibn Qayyim Jawzi, Shaykh Qazi Shawkani, etc accepted and held the Doctrine that the Prophets are Alive in their Graves with their Bodies, Senses, Knowledge, Comprehension and spiritual states intact. It is strange that their present day followers deny the very same Aqidah which their predecessors held. From this we come to know that the Denial of the Life of Prophets in their Graves after their respective Deaths is an Innovation in Islam formulated, promoted and propagated by these modern day heretics.
A Brief History of this Heresy
The earliest derogatory word or sentence used by the Wahhabiya on this subject was by the Indian Wahhabi, Maulvi Ismail Dehlavi as mentioned above. Even after Ismail Dehlavi’s era, the Wahhabiya never openly denied the Life of Prophets after their Deaths until a group of Scholars belonging to their sub-sect Deobandiya openly and vehemently denied it {the Life of Prophets after their Deaths} imitating the ancient astray sect- the Mu’taziliya {Rationalists} in the late 1970’s. They came to be known as ‘Mamatiya’. Their imitation and adoption of this Mu’tazili belief or creed was at once refuted by their own Deobandi brethren through numerous books and debates. It was looked upon as an internal matter between the Deobandiya because one of the founding figures of Deobandi School, Maulvi Qasim Nanotvi had strangely denied the very Death of the Prophet Muhammad in one of his books, stating that Death never came to the Prophet even for a second! In this matter, Maulvi Qasim Nanotvi committed a grave error denying the Holy Quran, Authentic Hadiths and the Consensus {‘Ijma’} of Muslims. This position of Maulvi Qasim Nanotvi was confined to himself and the other contemporary Deobandi scholars never mentioned it or refuted or debated it. Moreover, it was not known to many except a few scholars. The New Deobandiya- Mamatiya who denied the Life of Prophets after Deaths used this incorrect position of Qasim Nanotvi and tried to prove an equally incorrect position of theirs. It led to utter confusion in the Deobandi scholarly circles, the majority of whom rejected both views and adopted the moderate and correct doctrine. The Deobandiya for the first time in their Doctrinal history were divided into two camps!
It was during this same period that the heresy adaopted, formulated and propmoted by the Deobandiya was adopted by the more extremist Salafiya/Ahle Hadith and since then this false doctrine has gained more momentum in the subcontinent. It is also interesting to note that the Deobandiya had always adopted what ever their Elder Brothers in Creed-the Wahhabi/Salafiya/Ahle Hadith had adopted and formulated. But in this case, it was the elderly Salafiya/Ahle Hadith who adopted this doctrine of denial of the Life of Prophets after Deaths from their second fiddles and subsect-the Deobandiya! This Mu’tizili and Wahhabi Heresy was not a surprise for the Ahl us Sunnah wal Jamah because it had been dealing with numerous such heresies since the advent of Wahhabiya in the subcontinent.
The Importance of Debating the Wahhabiya on this Topic
As the Wahhabiya-Salafiya/Ahle Hadith adopted this new found heretical doctrine as their own, they started promoting it vehemently and with extremity amongst the Muslims. The major reason why the Wahhabiya/Salafiya stress on the Death of Prophets and particularly that of the Beloved Rasul Allah is because numerous ‘Aqayid’ of ‘Ahl us Sunnah wal Jamah’ are closely related or are dependent on the Prophet being Alive! For example;
i. Intercession {‘Shafa’at’} of the Prophet in this World after his Death.
ii. Intermediation {‘Wasilah’} of the Prophet in this World after his Death.
iii. Beseeching/Calling the Prophet for Help {‘Istighasah bin Nabi ’}. {Including using the word ‘O’ or ‘Ya’ with the Prophet’s name or titles}
iv. The bestowed Knowledge of Unseen {‘Atayi Ilm ul Ghayb’} of the Prophet , and the present state of his divine and unmatchable Knowledge.
v. The Hearing of the Prophet {‘Samat un Nabi ’} with his own ears from near and far away even after his Death. {Including Sending ‘Salat wa Salam’ of Muslims}
vi. The Prophet being Present & Witnessing {‘Shaahid’ / ‘Hazir wa Nazir’} even after his noble Death.
vii. The Visitation of the Grave of the Prophet {‘Ziyarat Qabr un Nabi ’}.
viii. The Ocurrance of the Miracles of the Prophet {‘Mu’jizat un Nabi ’} even after his Death.
ix. The deriving of Blessings from different Prophetic Relics {‘Tabarrukat’} after his Death.
x. The Seeing of the Prophet after his Death by ones real eyes in the state of wakefulness in this world, etcetra.
All these ‘Aqayid’ of ‘Ahl us Sunnah wal Jamah’ are strongly related to the ‘Aqidah’ of ‘Hayat un Nabi ’ {Live of the Prophet after Death} in one way or the other. Thus, we can judge the importance of this topic in the present era and its manipulative usage by the Wahhabiya/Salafiya to deceive and lead the Muslims masses away from the Path of Truth.
In denying the Lifes of Prophets after Deaths, the Wahhabiya/Salafiya also revived the derogatory, abusive, insulting words and traits of their Indian God-father, Maulvi Ismail Dehlavi by using the words ‘Murdah’, ‘Margaye’, ‘Guzargaye’, ‘Khatam Hogaye’, etc. Astaghfirullah il Azeem! Similarly, one may have also heard their chief orator Dr Zakir Naik using the same derogatory words regarding the Beloved Rasul Allah in his speeches openly. These words are not even used by the Urdu speaking masses for their own family members as it is regarded as derogatory and disrespectful in usage and application. The Muslims normally use ‘Inteqal Hogaya’, ‘Pardah Farmagaye’, ‘Allah ko Pyare Hogaye’, etc.
‘Murdah’ means ‘Dead’ and this is the most common derogatory and disrespectful word which is used by the Wahhabiya/Salafiya/Ahle Hadith as regards to the Beloved Rasul Allah . When Allah Almighty has prohibited the Muslims from calling the Martyrs {‘Shuhada’} as Dead {‘Murdah’}, then how in the world will it be permissible for us to call the Prophets of Allah Almighty with such words when there are explicit evidences that the Prophets are Alive in their Graves and that the Prophets are Higher in Status and Merits than the Martyrs! It seems that only the Wahhabiya/Ahle Hadith don’t understand this simple logic, leave alone the numerous textual proofs!
Books Recommended on this Topic
Imam Bayhaqi Shafai’ (d. 457 A.H) was the first to Author a book dedicated to this particular topic titled ‘Hayat ul Anbiya fi Quburihim’ in which he presented 22 Hadiths and which formed the basis of subsequent research and proved to be one of the primary source of evidence for the later day scholars of Islam apart from the Holy Quran and other various textual proofs. Others scholars like Imam Qazi Ayaz Maliki (d. 544 A.H) in ‘Kitab ush Shifa’, Imam Qurtubi Maliki (d. 668 A.H) in ‘At Tazkirah’, Imam Taqiuddin Subki Shafai’ (d. 756 A.H) in ‘Shifa us Siqam’, Shaykh Ibn Qayyim Hanbali Jawzi (d. 781 A.H) in ‘Kitab ur Ruh’ and ‘Jala ul Afham’, Imam Hafiz Ibn Rajab Hanbali (d. 795 A.H) in ‘Ahwal ul Qubur’, Imam Ibn Hajr Asqalani Shafai’ (d. 852 A.H) in ‘Fath ul Bari’, Imam Shamsuddin Sakhawi Shafai’ (d. 905 A.H) in ‘Qawl ul Badi’y’, Imam Ahmad Qastalani Shafai’ (d. 911 A.H) in ‘Mawahib Ladunya’, Imam Ibn Hajr Makki Shafai’ (d. 974 A.H) in ‘Jawahir ul Munazzam’, Imam Mulla Ali Qari Hanafi (d. 1014 A.H) in ‘Sharh ush Shifa’, Imam Zarqani Maliki (d. 1122 A.H) in ‘Sharh Mawahib Ladunya’ and Shaykh Qazi Shawkani (d.1250 A.H) in ‘Nayl ul Awtar’ presented numerous explicit proofs that the Prophets are Alive in their Graves with their Bodies intact.
The giant Hafiz of Hadith, Imam Jalaluddin Suyuti Shafai’ (d. 911 A.H) also authored a book especially dedicated to this topic titled ‘Inba ul Azkiya fi Hayat ul Anbiya,’ and stated that: “The Life of the Prophet in his Grave and that of other Prophets is Known to us as Definitive Knowledge (‘Ilman Qat’iyyan’
. On this explicit proofs have been established near us and the Narrations have reached Mass-Transmission (‘Mutawatir’……….”
Insha Allah ! In the near future the Foundation will also Translate classical books on this Topic like ‘Hayat ul Anbiya fi Quburihim’ by Imam Bayhaqi Shafai’ (d. 458 A.H) and ‘Inba ul Azkiya fi Hayat ul Anbiya’ by Imam Hafiz Jalaluddin Suyuti (d. 911 A.H). May Allah Guide us to the Straight Path through the 'Wasilah' of the Beloved Rasul Allah ! Amin!
Basharath Ali Siddiqui
Quadri Ashrafi
Ahl us Sunnah Foundation
Hyderabad