REMEMBERING HAZRAT-E-AQDAS, MUFTI-I-‘AZAM HAZRAT MUFTI RASHEED AHMED LUDHIYANVI ( Rehmahullahi Ta’ala )

(Last Episode)

Sheikh-ul-Masha'ikh,Mufti-i-'Azam, Hazrat Mufti Rasheed Ahmad sahib (rahimahullahu ta'ala) left this world on 6th Zul Hijjah 1422 AH, i.e 19 February 2002. A brief sketch of his life was given in the last issues, which due to lack of space was incompleted. We now continue:

 

Hazrat-i-wala possessed a deep insight into the problems or masa-il which existed in the present times. He wrote about them comprehensively and argumentatively with a power of deduction, in brief words but with solid proof of the truth of his arguments. Putting down all the mischiefs which raised their head in Islam; destroying them with the sword of decisive, conclusive proofs; coming to grips promptly with every new evil which appeared in society; carrying out research in the light of personnel experience and observation into matters dealing with everyday life such as amount of Sadaqatul-Fitr, women's salat in Haramayn Sharifayn, research about Subh Sadiq etc. are feats of which no parallel can ever be found.

An over-riding desire to save the ummah from the consequences of its evil doings; to save the Muslims from sins which have become an integral part of society, which are being committed openly, without any shame and which have taken by storm even the ulama and religious people; through sermons and speeches striving to extricate, specially the young generation from this flood of sins and evil; his striking success in doing so; an astonishing transformation in the lives of those who attended his majalis and sermons; exceptional, unparalleled attention to saving time and to clarity in dealings—due to all these all these gifts of Allah Ta'ala, great and prominent ulama-i-deen and towering religious personalities acknowledged Hazrat's eminence and distinction.

Hazrat-i-wala's last will and testament

An excerpt from Hazrat-i-wala's last will and testament (wasiyyat):

"Let me make this very clear. Islam or worshipping Allah Ta~ala

does not only mean that a person can recite the Kalimah-i-tayyaba or offer salat or fast and perform other forms of worship but it means that a person's should live his entire life in accordance to Sharfah, that he should lose all his desires and wishes in the Approval of Allah Ta'ala. Thus I enjoin upon you, my wasiyyat to you is to pay great attention to the following in order to protect your deen:

1) Protect and guard your children from college and school education as you would save them from a lion or wolf. Exposing them to such an environment as if found in these institutions is like throwing them into the fire of Jahannum. If anyone's deen remains intact then it would only be out of force of habit, which is but a blessing of Allah Ta'ala. If in His mercy, Allah Ta^ala saves someone from the jaws of a lion or from the flames of a fire, it does not mean that that is reason enough to wilfully go into the mouth of a lion, or jump into the flames of a fire. Contemporary, worldly knowledge is not harmful, it is the environment which is fatal.

2) Dedicate your lives to serving Deen. Whatever work of Deen Allah Ta'ala has chosen for you, think of it as a great reward, a divine blessing, even if in the eyes of people it is dishonourable and contemptible. Only that honour or dishonour is reliable which is so in the eyes of Allah Ta'ala.

Agar ik tu nahin mera to koi shay nahin men Jo tu mera to sab mera falak mera zamin men

.If you are not mine,

' 'nothing is mine

If you are mine, the earth,

the sky is mine

Having the ability to serve Deen and then not putting it to use is being thankless and ungrateful for the gift of Allah Ta'ala. Therefore do not make worldly employment a habit, you shall be deprived of serving deen besides becoming involved in many sins. Remaining busy in works of Deen is a strong fortress for protection against sins.

3) Diligently recite the Quran every day. Make a habit of it.

4) I stress upon you again, to try your best to avoid the following sins:

a) To sit or to be present somewhere where there are pictures/ photographs of living things or where photographs are being taken.

b) To usurp someone's right.

c) To use something belonging to someone else without his permission.

d) Causing or giving pain to someone.

e) To level a false accusation against someone.

f) To indulge in back-biting.

g) To listen to back-biting.

h) Not to take special pains in observing purdah as ordered by Sharp ah.

5) I also enjoin upon you this is my wasiyyat to you to make a

similar will for your children before you die. Sitting in a masjid, making Allah my witness I charge upon you what has been mentioned above and give you in Allah's protection.

Wasiyyat to his children and their life partners

"My dearest sons and daughters! Your love for each other and relationship, in your childhood has been a source of joy and contentment for me to a great extent and in the eyes of others it has been a thing to envy, praise-worthy, worth congratulating upon and widely-known.

Now by the grace of Allah Taxala you are all grown up. Some of you are married and some are going to be married. Your relationship and love is about to undergo a great test and trial now. Caught in the wrong love of wife and children even the greatest of wise men, the most skilful of horsemen have taken a fall and have had their neck broken. Furthermore living and eating together and the related duties, sometimes become a source of dissension too. I therefore forcefully stress upon you, this is my 'wasiyyat' to you, never to let the fragile bond of your love break, not at any cost whatsoever. To protect this most fragile relationship, this invaluable treasure, even if you have to sacrifice all your desires, your wealth and position, don't baulk at it. Due to mutual accord and love, not

only Allah Ta'ala's approval and blessings and rewards of Aakhirah, but one acquire happiness, contentment, comfort, abundance, and increase in honour and wealth. On the other hand, dissension and disagreement earn one not only the displeasure of the Creator and destruction of Aakhirah but misery, dishonour, want and privation and ruin too. I am now going to mention briefly the causes of dissension and the causes of love so that the former can be avoided and the latter sought.

Causes of dissension

(1) Not avoiding sins and when a sin is committed not offering sincere repentance at once. This invites Allah Ta'ala's anger and He then imposes the punishment of dissension and discord upon such people.

(2) Love of wealth.

(3) Love of self. Both, love of wealth and love of self create disagreement and dissension among people, give rise to quarrels, murder, destruction, and ruin, a fact of which we are a witness every day.

(4) Back-biting, finding each other's faults, making fun of each other.

(5) Rudeness, ill-temper, insolence.

(6) Shirking own share of combined duties.

(7) Giving preference to one's own self where food, clothes or rest and comfort are concerned.

Causes of love

(1) Taqwa, i.e. making all possible efforts to avoid sins and if a sin is committed offering immediate and sincere repentance. This earns Allah Ta~ala's pleasure for one and His favours appear in the form of love for one another and a joyous, contented life.

(2) Curing the disease of love of wealth.

(3) Curing the disease of love of self.

Both these dangerous diseases which destroy a person's world and Aakhirah too should be cured by adopting the company of ahlullah or the pious ones and if that is not possible then by reading their books, sermons etc. and by the contemplation of death.

(4) Praising the other person's words, deeds and possessions in his absence.

(5) Expressing love for one another albeit reluctantly and saying, I love you. This is a very effective method of making love grow deeper and stronger.

(6) Where everyday living-eating, drinking, clothes, rest and comfort are concerned, adopting an attitude of self-sacrifice i.e. giving preference to the other person over one's own self, is a means of gaining the other person's love.

(7) If you have a grievance against another person, don't keep silent about it. With love and kindness tell him about it.

(8) Prayers, dif a must be offered for one another.

(9) Offer du'a to Allah Ta'ala, ask Him to grant you love for each other and beseech Him to save you from the torment, the punishment of disagreement and dissension.

In a different will or 'wasiyyat nama', Hazrat-i-wala has written :

"No Muslim has the right, that it is necessary upon him to make a wasiyyat about something and he passes even two nights without the written wasiyyat being with him at his side."

"A person who dies having written his will or wasiyyat, dies on the Siraat-i-Mustaqeem, on the manner of Sunnah; and he dies on taqwa and shahadah and in a state of 'maghfirat' or absolution.

In these two ahadith it has been established that if a right of someone is wajib upon a person, i.e. if a person owes someone anything, it is necessary upon him to write a wasiyyat about it. Even if no one's right is due upon him, even then writing a will or wasiyyat is a means of maghfirah (absolution) and a great reward. Thus my wasiyyat to you is:

(1) I charge upon you and my nafs too, to go in fear of Allah Ta'ala. This wealth cannot be acquired without frequenting the company of a pious man.

Therefore make it compulsory upon yourself to keep company with a person associating with whom would develop in your heart a lack of desire for this world and an anxiousness for Aakhirah. If such a company cannot be had then make reading the books of 'ahlullah', the godly ones, a daily, an everyday habit.

(2) Reflect upon the blessings, the favours Allah Ta~ala has bestowed upon you and then offer thanks to Him for them. Make this a daily habit. This helpless self (Hazrat-e-wala himself) whatever he has, he has been blessed with it as a result of 'shukr-e-na'imat' i.e. being grateful for the blessings given.

(3) It is a great favour of Allah Ta'ala upon this unworthy self that no monetary right of anyone is due upon this humble one. It is prayed to Allah Ta'ala that may He protect me from owing money to anyone in the future too. Yet there might have been instances when there was a violation of physical rights. It has sometimes happened that students and my own children, for the sake of their islah (reformation), and outsiders, out of a sense of religious honour have had to be threatened and sometimes physically punished. As in such cases there is a possibility that the punishment might have been more severe than desired or that one's

nafs might have had a hand in it, therefore I most humbly and earnestly request all such people, for the sake of Allah forgive me. May Allah Ta'ala forgive them their sins and mistakes too. This act of theirs (of forgiving me) shall Insha Allah be a means of a great 'thawab' and reward for them also.

In Deen many are the rewards of a person who overlooks and forgives and for him who does not forgive the person begging forgiveness, are dire threats of punishment. Mohsin-i-'Azam Sallallahu " Alaihe Wasallam has said: "The person of whom his brother asks forgiveness and he does not forgive shall not be able to come near me at the Hauz-i-Kauther". (Targheeb wa-Tarheeb). Another Hadith says: "If a person asks forgiveness of his brother and he does not forgive him then there will be a sin upon him (he shall be punished) as a person is punished who collects tax cruelly." (Ibne Majah). And about the person who collects taxes cruelly, by use of force, it has been said, "Allah Ta'ala (on the Day of Qiyamah) shall be near His people (with regard to His Rahmat and Maghfirat) and shall therefore forgive whomsoever He wants except a prostitute and a person who collects tax by extortion." (Tibrani). Yet another riwayat says: and "A person who collects tax by extortion shall not enter Jannah." (Abu Dawood, Ibn-e-Khuzaima, Hakim). It has been my practice for the last many years that every single day, without fail I offer 'duva-i-maghfirat'for

all such people who might I have suffered in any way at' my hands. I convey to them the 'thawab' of all my

good deeds and furthermore I also recite Sura-i-Ikhlas three times and convey its 'thawab' to them too. The same is my practice for all those at whose hands I have suffered.

(4) It is my wasiyyat to all my 'muta'alliqeen' (associates) and specially to my children, never to take or give a loan. Neither for their own selves nor for any religious work. Present all your needs only before your Creator. Huzoor-i-Akram sallallahu "alaihe wasallam has sought Allah Ta'ala's protection from 'qarz' or loan; and in seeking His protection (isti'aazah) mentioned the words 'loan' (maghram) and 'sin' (ma'sim) together. Asking for a loan is detrimental to both, a person's self-esteem honour and his Deen. And though it is an excellent thing, a great 'thawab' to give someone a loan, but due to wrong dealings of the people with one another these days, the loan becomes a cause of enimity and hatred between them. Thus it is compulsory to avoid giving a loan too. Bi-hamdillahi Ta^ala, I have never ever, in my whole life asked anyone for a loan, not for my own self nor for any work of Deen. I have complete faith in Allah Ta'ala that He, in His Divine Mercy shall protect me in the future too. When there is someone with me on a journey, I calculate the expenses and then adding a generous amount to the total, give it to him to spend as the need arises. On returning home, he makes the calculations and gives me back the remainder. I never concern myself with how much has been spent and how. But I did lend money to quite a number of people. None of them ever returned it willingly. In most cases I had to write off the entire loan and it always did create unpleasantness between us.

(5) If you entrust a person with something, commit a thing or property to his care i.e. give him as 'amanat', then write down on a paper the complete details of the property or in case of money, the exact amount, and sign it. Relying upon memory only sometimes leads to misunderstanding and mistrust.

(6) If money has been given to you for a specific purpose, then attach it a note of details as soon as possible. Similarly if someone give you something or some money as a trust i.e. 'amanat', even if it is for a very limited time only, write upon it too the name of the depositor and the amount of money as soon as possible. You never know when you will die.

It is necessary to be ready for death always and thus keep your affairs in order.

(7) Never, on any account, admit me in a hospital. And this much I would advise everyone "• else too that when a patient's condition becomes hopeless and. he is about to die, never take him to a hospital.

(8) After my death bury me in the common graveyard of the city or village in which I die. Do not transfer my body to some other place, or choose some other site for my grave other than the public grave-yard.

(9) When the corpse is being washed (ghusl), the cloth extending from the navel to the thighs sticks to the body when it becomes wet and the colour and form of the body is revealed. So when my dead body is being washed a string-bed with a bed-sheet over it must be placed so as to cover the navel-to-thigh area, or instead of a string bed, two people must hold the tightly-stretched bed-sheet from both sides, keeping it a few inches above the body.

(10) My burial must be carried out without any delay, without waiting for the arrival of even my closest relative, buzurg of the highest rank or for a great number of people to gather to attend my 'janazah'. At the time of death, as many people as are present should offer my namaz-i-janazah and make efforts to bury me as soon as possible. .Allah Ta'ala's blessings descend upon a namaz-I-janazah offered in accordance to Sunnah even by a few people, blessings, which do not attend upon a non-Sunnah one though offered by thousands of people.

(11) The custom of taking a last look at the dead person's face is very wrong. There are many evils in it and so I strictly forbid the showing of my face to the mourners after my death.

(12) In the grave, in accordance to Sunnah, I must be placed on my right side, with my face towards the Qibla. The custom of placing the corpse on its back and turning only its face towards the Qibla is wrong.

(13) People must not gather together in one place for isaal-i-sawab (i.e. conveying the reward of their good deeds). Everyone should do isal-i-sawab wherever he is, as much as he can. If anyone wants to assign the sawab of his monetary `ibadat then he can either donate money for some charitable work or help some miskeen, some indigent person. In the eyes of Allah Tavala a small deed carried out in accordance to Sunnah is far, far better than a great one performed in violence of Sunnah.

(14) From to-day onwards, make it a daily routine to offer du'a to Allah Ta^ala for my 'maghfirat' (absolution); ask Him for His approval and convey the reward of your good deeds to me

(isaal-i-sawab). At least recite Surah-i-Ikhlas three times. This act of yours shall Insha-Allah be of great benefit to you too. Our life and death, 'tajheez wa takfeen' namaz-i-janazah (funeral prayer), burial, condolences, isaal-i-sawab and all other matters, may Allah Ta'ala destine them for us in accordance to His wishes, in accordance to the Sunnah of His Habeeb, Sallallahu "Alaihe Wasallam. Aameen!"

In accordance to Hazrat-i-wala's wasiyat, after his death, within three hours only, all the last rites, i.e. 'ghusl', 'tajheez wa takfeen' (washing and covering the body with shroud) and 'namaz-i-janazah' had been completed. After the 'namaz-i-janazah', his body was taken to the graveyard with all possible haste and the act of burial finalized. From his death to his burial everything was carried out swiftly and smoothly, without waiting for anyone's arrival. The custom of showing the dead man's face to the mourners was also shunned. Had the increase in number of mourners, attending the namaz-i-janazah and burial, been taken its consideration, the number of people would definitely have increased but the act would have been against the orders of SharTah. Similarly had the mourners been allowed to take a last look, thousands of people would have crowded in and it would have become impossible to control them. Most of all as this practice is not even praiseworthy, it was avoided at all costs. May Allah Ta'ala increase the 'darajaat' of Hazrat-I-wala, Aameen!