Taqwiyat-ul-Iman Strengthening of the Faith Shah Ismail Shaheed DARUSSALAM Sereeo oe Taqwiyat-ul-Iman (Strengthening of the Faith) ds bel oh 8 Shah Ismail Shaheed oP pT SLL is Dar-us-Salam Publications Saudi Arabia # UKe USA® PakistanCONTENTS 1. Publisher*s Note 9 2. Preface. 12 3. Preiude . 37 Chapter One Description of Tawhid 4. People’s unawareness... cate ceseen sees 42 5. The acts keading tu polytheism 6. Those who profess to have Faith in Allah while their actions recking of polytheism .... a3 7. The verdict of Qur'an & None but Allah is the Capable. 9. None is the supporter other than Allah 10. None is the sustainer other than Allah li. The reality of Shirk .... Chapter Two Categories and aspects of Shirk 12. Shirk in knowledge . 50 13. Shirk in disposing .. 51 14. Shirk in worship ....... 52 15. Shirk in one’s daily routine chores 53 Chapter Three ‘The Vices of Polytheism The Virtues of Monotheism 16. The polytheism cannot be forgiven .. . 56 17. Explaining Shirk wu... a7 1d, Shirk, the grealest of all vices 38 19. Tawhid is the only way out 59 20. Alléh is disgusted with Shirk, 5921, Affirming the Oneness of Allah Prior to the dawn of Lime itself ... cone - 60 22. Shirk cannot be presented as an authority. 62 23. The excuse of forgetiulness shall not be accepted . 63 24. The basic teachings of the Prophets and the S: Tiptures §3 25. Tawhid and forgiveness ...... . Chapter Four The negation of Shirk in knowledge 26. Only Allah possess the knowledge of Ghai wu... 69 27. The one why claims to have the knowledge of Ghaih, isaliar., 70 28, The matters of Ghaib . . 7 29. Do not calf upon anyone but Alléh - 73 30. Ailéh Alone, possesses thy power ol benefit and inflicting harm ... 74 31. The origina! assignment of the Prophets 75 32. The Prophets do not have the knowledge of unseen , 76 33. The saying of the Prophet rly Gi wil Teparding the knowledge of the unseen ... . 76 34. The saying of Aisha Yow we a7 Chapter Five The Negation of SArk in Authority 35. Alléh is the One Who causes benefit and inflicts harm 80 36. None is the sustainer except Allah 81 37. Invoke none but Allah. a1 38. No intercession without His Permission 83 39. Types of intercession ...... 84 40, An intercession due to one’s high-ranking status is hot possible ..... RA 41. Acceptance of one’s intercession out of love is nat possible .... 86Interccding with permission The Straight Path ANah is the Nearest to all Trust im Alli Alone ... Relationship does nat benefit , Chapler Six Prohibition of Shirk in Worship The definition of worship .... Worship is meant for Allah Alone . Prostration is for ANGh only [Lis an act of Shirk to call upon other than Al - ‘The holy sanctuaries must be respected ...... . 100 32. Anything dedicated to an cntity other than AN&h is forbidden ,., i01 53. Authority and command is only for Allah 193 34. Giving someone fulse names is an act or sairk . 104 55. So-called customs are acts of Shirk wc... 104 56. Keeping people stand up in one’s honour is prohibited 105 $7. Worshipping idols and the so-called “sanctums uf saints” is an act of Shirk... 106 58. Slaughtering an animal in a uame other ti that of Allah is a curse ..., 107 39. Indications heralding the advent of. Doomsday 168 60. Worshipping the places of saints is an act of the worst PEOPIG wees GL. Performing Tawaf of th Chapter Seven Prohibition of Shirk in Social Customs 62, The whispering of Satan .... sates - 114 63. Polytheistic rituals in regard to the soliciting of children ... a 64. Polytheistic rituals in agriculture ..Polytheistic rituals in regard to the cattle .... Slandering Allah in the matters of lawful and forbidden things .... a Giving credit to the influence of planets is an act of Shirk... 122 The astrologers. ar are magicians and the magicians a are disbelievers 124 The sin of believing in astrology Deducing ah omen is an act of disbelict Do nol make Ailah an Intercessor The dearest names to Allah .... Kunya with the Name of Allah mus! be avoided Only say Masha Atif 135 Taking an oath in the name of anyone other that Allah is an act of Shirk .. . cen 136 The verdict of the Prophet pp ale a be 1. about observing vows .. . 137 Prostration io “ATER ‘and Paying due respect to a Messenger ... 138 It is not permissible to call someone one’s slave 14} An exgellent example to pay respect ic the Prophet ep Ae gl 142 The word Saipid carivs two meanings. + 145 Sayings of the Prophet wyusuiy in 9 regard to the pietures .. woe 146 The five major $ins The statement of the Prophet 5 ye wi 2. about himself 148Publisher’s Note At a tims when the general milieu in the subcontinent of India was overwhelmed by the powers of darkness, and the soundness of Faith was reeling under the potentially threatening squalls and the blinding forages af superstitions and paganism, Allah the Almighty. hy dint of [lis special blessing, sent a personality, who, by the strength of his Faith, knowledge and rhetoric, dissipated the redoubtable tocces of depravity and smashed the self-made idols of Shirk (polytheism) and Bid ‘ak fismovations in religion} and established the basc of pure Tawhid (Islamic Monotheism). This great personality was Shah Ismail Muhaddith Dehlawi uice,, who was the grandson of Shah Waliuilah Tehlawi, a man of profound knowledge and great name Wo be teckoned with in terms of his authentic scholarship aincng the most qualified and famous celebrities of his time, The services which he has rendered for the refurmation of Umma and bis undertaking the task ol Da ‘wah (the mission of propagating Islam); especially after the previous works of Shaikhul-Islam Imam Iba Taimiyah and Muhaminad bin Abdul- Wahhab, are absolutely ynforgellable and shall always be cherished in our minds. His status is specially far more Prominent and elevated dug to the fact that he nut only carried on with his struggle on the strength of his pen and tongue, but he practically joined Tahreek-ul-thyéhidin (the fist Islamic Mujahid movement) under the inspiring leadership of Saiyid Ahmad Shaheed and achicved martyrdom in his armed struggle against the Sikhs at Balakot and hence set an ideal example for the weak, incapacitated and oppressed Muslims of India, The age of Shah Ismaj] Shaheed was infosivd and contaminated with the poisonous atmosphere of SAirk and innovations. TheIndian Muslims, under zhe influence of the Hindu mythological faith, had entered such rituals and beliefs in Islam thal they even surpassed the ones observed during the pre-Islanvic period (in terms of their polytheistic rituals), Taking the above facts ing consideration, Shah Ismail Shaheed’s religious sense of honour und the integrity of his Faith could not tolerate the spectacle thal Islam which has been choiced for the slaves of Allah to confirm His Oneness (which is also the purpose of affirming one’s faith in the Prephethood), shonld be infiltrated with and gnawed by the conevpt of associating partners to Allah, In order to achieve this augual and noble purpose, he = compiled = Tagwived-ad-Imdn (the strengthening of faith), wherein he, along with consttuing and elaborating on Qur’én and AAadith, alse capatiated at leupth about the pure Islamic beliefs, and declaring ail the innovations and rituals the souree of ignorance in the light of Qur’an and Swmah, be cinphatically enjoined Upon the Muslims to avoid being involved with them, Apart from bearing such cxalted and elevated aims, this book, on account of its elegant, breezy, simple and elaborate style of Prose (according te the tequirement of its age), proved to be so much Popular among the peoples that it has so far been published in millions and has enlightened trillions of delinquent and strayed people and has guided them to the Right Path. it must be brought to the attention of our readers thal a preface written by Maulana Ghulam Rasool Mehr {the late), encompassing an ¢loquent description and a mighty rhetoric on the comprehensive benefits and Profitability of Tagwivarud- imdn is also included in this hook and hence wo presume that writing anything further in this regard shail be amounting to proverbially carrying coals ta Newcastle. However, the only thing we would like to add here is, that this wbook is being published with all its former qualitative characteristics along with the corrections and castigations effected by Moulana (the late). However, some minor changes in words and style have been made keeping in line with the call of time. We are optimistic that the readers of this book shall be kind enough to tolerate these changes, as the same shall make it a lot easier for them to undersland the facts which this book comprises. However, we have spared no effort in making Tug wiyartulJmdin more presentable and appealing to our readers. May Allah bless us with a guidance to be led on the Right Path. Amis. The Servant of Qur'an and Sunnah Abdul-Malik Mujahid General Manager liPREFACE Shah Muhammad Tsmail 1 ., the author of Taqwivat-ul-imda was the solitary son of Shah Abdul-Ghani o ..,, the grmdson of Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehlawi wi..,, and the nephew of Shah Abdul Aziz Mouhaddith oo., , Shah Rafiuddin Muhaddith 0 Wand Shah Abdul-Qadir Muhaddith wu, . In the vast Indian subcontinent, no one else other than Shah Ismail perhaps enjoys such a high and respectable pedigree in terms of knowledge and grace, teaching and instructing, writing and compiling, lecturing and prompting guidance, reinvigorating and renewing the teachings of religion, reviving Islam and reforming the Ummah. Very fow people may have had a privilege of getting such a rich and spectacular herilage. Shah Ismail Shaheed wiw., not only lived up to the great reputation and enormity ol’his legacy, but he practically furthered its splendour tanifold times and added lustre to it, According to an authentic source, Shah Ismail wu, was born on 12th Rabi‘ul-Awwal 1193 H {corresponding te 26th April 1779 G). It means that he was almost seven years older than his religious preceptor and mentor, the Amir-ul-Muminin (the head of the believers) Saiyid Ahmad Barailawi a u,. The name of his mother was Bibi Fatimah ws j.s.,!!! "0 Mir Shahamat Ali, in the prefuce of hix English translation of "Tagwivat- uLindn, has mentioned his dale of birth as 28th of Shawwal 1195 H. And has stated his mother's name as Fadeelat-un-Nisa (daughter of Moulvi Alauddia Phulti). His matemal ancestory undoubtedly belonged to Phulat and his sister Bibi Ruqaiya’s first marriage to bis maternal cousin Moulvi Kamaluddin did take place in Phulat itself, but the authentic statement regarding his dac of birth and the name of his mother is the one which is recorded in the text, We do not kuow bout the source of his reference, He has mentioned several other things in his biography which are ineortcet. bdEducation & training: Shah Sahib attained his preliminary education from his esteemed father. Ay the tender age of eight, he had memorized the Noble Qur'an. On I6th ef Rajab 1203 H (12th April 1789 G), Shah Abdul Ghani ui o., passed away while Shah Shaheed was only (0 years old, Each of his three paternal uncies (Shah Abdul-Aziz see, Shah Ratiuddin wus, and Shah Abdul-Qadir a u,) were equally keen to affectionately take charge of upbringing their bereaved nephew. but this responsibility was furmally shouldered by Shati Abdul-Qadir Wu .., who himself had only one daughter. He is the one who taught the text books to Shah Tsmail i. He attained a degree of proficiency in ull the prescribed subjects which were then in vogue and which were considered to be the highest standard of education one could possibly secure those days. He secured 4 degree of completion in the sindies of daadith from Shah Abdul-Aziz. wi.., and thus he completed his education while he was about 15 or 16 years old. Ascording to Sir Saiyid Ahmad Khan, he was so much over- confident in the very beginning stage of his studicg that he would never remember as to where the lesson would teally start. Sometimes he would start reading the text which immediately followed his present lesson. Whenever Shah Abdul-Qadir interrupted him such as to remind him of his actual lesson, he would answer that he avoided it since it was loo easy for him, abd whenever Shah Abdul-Qadir would ask him any question concoming the portion which he had skipped, he would start delivering such an eloquent lecture aboul it that the people around him would be taken aback by surprise. Sometimes he would start his lesson preceeding the one which he is supposed to tead and when Shah Abdul-Qadir brought his attention to it, he would express such doubts that even an accomplished instructor like him would have to pay a special attention in BwTesponding to his querries. Tis extraordinary intelligence became renowned far and wide. Affer he had completed his formal studies, people would put direct querries to him even while he was walking on the road Simply to examine him, keeping in mind the fact that so long as he did not have a book in bis hand, he would not be able to give satisfactory answers to their querries. Rut Shah Ismail would unhesitalingly start lecturing hem and provide such a detailed answer to (heir queries that they would be ultimately pul to shame on their boldness. Maulana Muhammad Khan Alam Madrasi has wrilten on the authority of Maulana Saiyid Muhammad Ali Rampuri’s statement that Shah Shaheed was a scholar of a very dcep, profound, and authemic knowledge and had inemorized the Noble Qur’in by heart, He had thirty thousand Ahadith on the tip of his tongue. Satyid Sahib’s (4 ai.) Bai‘a (pledge): Fventhaugh Shuh Shaheed’s fame in terms of his learning and wisdom had travelled lar and wide, but he was a man of a rather carviree disposition, which means tal he had not adopted an Occupation on a permanent basis, the reason of which could possibly be that the activities which were practised by his fantily members, might have becn inadequately suited for the reforming, purpose wccording to his viewpoint, while he had no other new activity im his frame of mind. Or it could be that he would have had set his heart on a certain course of action and was only waiting in search of companions and fellows. In 1234 H (1819 G) Amirel-Muminin (he head of the believers) Saiyid Ahmad Barailawy wou., abandoned the company of Nawab Amir Khan, the ruler of Tounk, proceeded to Delhi from Rajputana and took residonce in Akbar Abadi Mosque. The first iato take a pledge of allegiance on his hand was Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Phult, who was presumably a grandson of Shah Ahlullah, a brother of Shah Waliullah io. The second person lu take such a pledge on his blessed hand was Maulana Abdul-Hai aia, (the son-in-law of Shah Abdul-Aziz wi u.,) and finally it was Shah Shaheed who tovk a pledge on his hand. Unoe he did it, his life underwent a total ransformation. He became obsessed with the task of reformation and guidance day and night. On every Tuesday and Friday, he regularly delivered a religious lecture in Shahi Masjid (Royal Mosque). Sir Saiyid says in one of his writings that the people came to the Friday prayers in such a huge number, as if they throng the mosques for the ‘Eid praycrs in the [orm of a massive and thundering crowd, Their number was phenomenol and innumerable. The method of his scrmonising was so pleasing that whatcver he suid, got ingratiated in thc hearts of the people and they imbibed it to the core. Even if it involved a stag or a controversial paint the same was cleared away during the course of his sermon. Revival of Suemuh und deterring Shirk (polythcism) and Bid ‘ah (innovations) were the special subjects of his religious lectures. This was the time when (he mission of the revival of religion commenced in full swing with all its might. This was the cra about which Maulana Abul-Kalam Azad (. ws) notes the following remarks in his book Tadhkirah: “The secrets of (the mission of) Da ‘wan (i.e. call to Islam} and reformation of Usewuch that were buried in the ruins of Old Delhi and the hovels and shanties of Kotla, were now being revived thanks lo the involvement of the reigning sovereign, which caused a wave of consternation in the markets of Shahjahanabad and an uproar on the stairs of Jami’ Masjid by this great and distinguished person. Not only that, the news transcended the boundaries of the Indian subcontinent but had it's repercussions far and wide, The things which the great andTenowned personalities of their time would not dare to express sven inside the closed rooms, were now being suid, heard and practised in the open without reserve and the blood of martyrdom was indenting its indelible imprints and inscribing ita redoubtable saga in the annals of the world history.” The pilgrimage Journey: In Shawwal 1236 (July 1821 G), Suiyid Ahmad 4... intended lo perform Hajj. Taking into account the possibility of death during a sea-jourmey, many scholars had pronounced their judgements io the effect that the performance of Haj is no longer to be considered of an obligatury nature. Some people even went to the extent of saying that avvording to the commandment of the Qur’nic verse: “And not throw yourselves into destruction” The purpose of fiajf is nothing but (he disubedience of Allah (may Allah forbid}. One of the methods which could be employed to checkmate this evil trend was through one’s writings, verbal preachings, and therefore Saiyid Sahib, Shah Ismai] w.-,, Maulana Abdul-Hai a, Shah Abdul-Aziz ww, and the righicous scholars did not leave any stone unturned in regard to this obligation of theirs. Another method was to subject the atmosphere ef this vast country to the barrage of a positive publicity in regard to the performance of Hajj by taking a practical course of action in order to awaken and revive the public fervour interest and enthusiasm in it. Saiyid Ahmad wos, was a man of determination and courage, who undoubtedly acted upon the second method also, the most surprising part of it being that he direvied an open invitation for Haji ta all the Muslims of the coutitry. He made a common declaration to the effect that everybody should be prepared to perform the 16pilgrimage whether or not he has sufficient funds available with him for the journey. [ie took it upon himself to shoulder 4 comprehensive responsibility for everybody's Hajj. He not only preserved the obligatory nature of Haj in its original form in the minds of people but also practically demonstrated 40 them that this obligation may be performed at ease, provided one should be determincd to perform it as a Divine commandment with the intention of a true and sincere Muslim. Therefore, it followed that Saiyid Ahmad proceeded to perform Haj with w caravan consisting of seven hundred and filly Muslims. He was also accompanied by Shah Shaheed, his gsteemed mother, and his sister. They rented ten ships, assigned an Amir ty cach ship to look afler_ the affairs of the pilgrims travelling aboard them and commenced (heir joumey from Calcutta. After the completion of their Hajj and having visited all the sacred places, they came back in Sha‘ban 1239 H (April 1824 G). During this journey, Shah Ismail aw vas appointed as an Amir over a group of people iravelling aboard one of the ships. Invitation to Jihad: Upon his return from the pilgrimage, Shah Shaheed ou us, dedicuted himself wholeheartedly for the sole purpose of inviting people to Jitad as per the instructions of his religious Precepter. Sir Saiyid in one of his writings says: “According to the instructions of his chicf, leader of the virtuous ones and preceptor of the path of guidance, he adopted such a style of speech and sermonising that it mainly elaborated on the details and cxplanalions concerning Jiad in Allah's course to such an extent that the bumishing effect of his speeches made the inner conscience of Muslims clean and immaculate like a mizror, He became so much involved and dedicated to this cause of righteousness that everybady was involuntarily intrigued with 7a longing that his lite be sacrificed for this esteemed cause of vituogity and his wholc self be exerted [or the upliftment of religion of Prophet Muhammad jy qe a go". Migratian: Ale spent more or less one year and nine months in thy task of his invitations to Jihed. When difftrent groups of Mujafidin were formed at different places, it was decided after due exchange of theughis and deliberations that Jihad should be commenced starting from the frontier region where the Sikh government of tie Punjab had started committing aggressions. On 7th Jumada-al-Ukhra 124] 4 (17th January 1826 G), Shah Shaheud oJ colmmenced his Migration on his way to Jihad. Then he way accompanied by only 500 or 600 people. It was decided that onee thoy reached the presuribed centre, they would first run an appraisal on the prevalent circumstances and then the remaining groups would be called in. During this journey, Shah Shaheed was bearing a special responsibility of the administrative matiers in general ag well as being a flag-bearer of the targets concerning the mission of propagating Islam. this group commenced its journey from Rai Buraili and went all the way ty Peshawar via Bundhail Khand, Gwallior, Tonk, Ajmer, the desert of Manwar, Umar Kot, Hyderabad (Sind), Shikarpur, Quetia, Qandhar, Ghazni and Kabul. It was shout three thousand miles joumcy comprising seating deserts where there was no trace of water for miles and miles, bi ig aud mighiy rivers, intractable mountains as well as frosty landseape. It took ten months to cover all this distance. Jihad: Jihad with sword (i.e. the armed struggle) commenced on the 20th of Jumada-al-Gla 1242 H (20th December 1826 G). The following is a brief account of his most specific and salient accomplishments: Bi.)It is only due to his efforts that the peuple of the frontier region gave the pledge of allegiance on the hands of Saiyid Sahib concerning Jihad. Most of the deliberations which were conducted with the religious scholars and the elderly in the frontier region, were initiated by Shah Shaheed. He is the one who organised the matters conceming Jihad in the district of Hazara. Even though he had ouly ten or eleven Afujdhidin in the batlle of Shankiyari at his command, yet he convincingly vanquished over a fairly huge legion olf Sikh army by displaying a feat of extraordinary perseverance and steadfastness. During the course of this battle, Shah Shaheed's robe got perforated with bullets and one of his fingers got bruised by a gun- shot. Later he would point to his finger in a good humour and jocularly remark (by playing a pun on words) “This is my finger of martyrdom.” (This very expression, witha twist of the linguistic pun, would also mean, “This is my finger of witnessing that there is no one worthy of being worshipped except Allah and Muhammad jy wae eh te ."") Lt is enly due to his efforts that the people were prepared to take an oath of allegiance im regard to the observance of Shari'ah in their day-to-day lives and the people of the irontier region enjoyed the blessings and buunties of a government based on the principles of Islamic law. It was under his leadership that the prominent victories wery achieved in the batrlés of Amb, Ashrah, Mardan and Mayar. After the conquest of Peshawar, Saiyid Sabib nominated none other than him to conduct negotiations with Sultan Muhammad Khan Barak Zai. Due to the recalcitrance of the opportunistic ¢lements in {the frontier region, the circumstances therein got extremely deteriorated and threateningly adverse and when Saiyid Sahib took a 19decision to abandon this centre and preceeded to Kashmir through the intractable and difficult route traversing and - winding through the mountainous landscape, he was also accompanied by Shah Shaheed in this journey. 5. During their journey to Kashmir, a battle at Balakot on 24th Dbil-Qa‘dah 1246 H {6th May 1831 G) took place wherein Saiytd Sahib, Shah Shaheed and the majority of Mujdhidin attained their martyrdom, A glimpse of his biography: As faras we could understand by looking at his biography, Shab Shahced never liked formalities in the matters of his day-to-day living. Upon being accompanied with Saiyid Ahmad, he became so much gleeful and carefree within his lowest standard of living as if he was seated on the throne of an empcror. When he reached Calcutta while being cnroute to his Pilgrimage, the agent of Fast india Company, Munshi Aminuddin Ahmad came to visit him. During his time, he was considered to be one of the vich and famous personalities of Calcutta, After ineeting Saiyid Aimad, he enquired of bi concerning the whereabouts of Shah Esmail 4.) Al (hat very moment, he was walking towards Saiyid Ahmad after beiving alighted from the ship. Mis clothes were all besmeared with dirt. When the people beaconcd in his direction, Munshi Aminuddin was under the impression that he would have been some other Ismail. In order to clarify himself further, he reiterated his question saying, “The person I am enquiting about is Shah Ismail (0 u.,) who is the nephew of Shah Abdul-Aziz (11.).” When he was wld that this yery person is the one he was looking for, he was 30 much moved to obscrve his simplicity in disposition and informality in manners that he involuntarily turned emotional and burst into tears. Saiyid Ahmad gave a horse to Shah Ismail so that he may use it ay a means of transport, but whenever he went out to run an 20errand for himself, he made one of his colleagues meunt on it while he himself preferred to walk on foot on the plea that so long as we are outon areligious mission, the more we bear the hardships, the more virtues we shall acerue to our credit. His faithful attachment to Saiyid Ahmad is a renowned fact. People have spun many a yarn in regard to his attachment with him. Regardless whether these slories are true or Jalse, there is no denying the fact that Shah Ismail had a very deep and extraordinary attachment with Saiyid Ahmad. In spite of all this, his faith in him never had any bearing on his truthfulness as he never hesitated to say the right thing. On one occasion, the Amb Fort, which sheltered Saiyid Ahmad’s family and the other ladies, was threatened with an imminent danger. Suiyid Ahmad wrote a ictter to Shah ismail instructing him to convey the ladies out to a safe place so that the Mujdhidin do not have to come across any possible difficulty during the course of their battle. Shah Ismail had a notion that the ouster of ladics from there would have an adverse effect on the morals of the people around them as the same shall be interpreted by them lw be a prescntiment of a lurking disastcr. Therefore, it was conveyed te Saiyid Ahmad that this action at this juncture would be untimely and hence inadvisable. When Saiyid Ahmad reiterated his instructions, Shah Ismail wrote to him in no uncertain terms that the complianee with his instructions shall only harm Muslims And therefore he alone shall be answerable about it on the Day of Judgement. Upon hearing this Saiyid Ahmad took his orders back. Even though he was nol that old, but a study of the events covering his last days reveals that his physique had grown extremely weak and emaciated as a result of his being constantly subjected to the rigourous and laboutious work which he kept rendering for the sake of religion. On one occasion, he insistantly made a smail cannon mounted on his shoulders in 2order to awaken the spirit of determination among the people, but his fest started shaking and slaggering about due to the burden. While climbing a mountain, he would start panting profusely just after clamberiag his way up a few stops, but despite having becn in this enfeebled condition, it never happened ill the last moment that he would ever Jag behind Anyone in taking an active part in a battle or in the matter of ondortaking a journey. He would never even slacken to cover up two days joumey in one day whenever the same was required of him, keeping in view the realization of the desired objectives of the war. On several occasions, in the fronlier region, he had to come to grips with (he religious, martial and political problems of a cruvial nature and Shah Ismail kept resolving them with an effortless casc. A famous chronicle had it that while ho was once busy in curry-combing a horse, some peuple enquired of him conecming some religious matters. He kept curry-combing his horse while responding to the queries of his interlocutors to the fullest. Satyid Jafar Ali Nagwi writes (hat once he had an opportunity to be fed by him in one of his prayers, In a Prayer consisting of two Rake, he recited the complete ‘Surah Bani Israel’ in such a mystifying and spiritually enlightening manner that he never cyer derived such a blissful and heart-felt pleasure behind any mam ill the moment of writing. He writes that he wifi never ever forget that particular prayer in his lifetime. Ts there any who will remember {or receive admonition): Tt was Shah Ismail os, who exerted every moment of his life in upholding the word of truth and the revival of Islam. He is the one who sacrificed ali his worldly pleasures in the service of religion without the least hesitation and demonstratcd the sincerity of his mission by the blood of his martyrdom. In case: We are courageous cnough to gauge the ratings of our Faith in 22Allah and run an unbiased appraisal on the quality of our religious integrity, where shall we all stand? How unfortunate it is that hundreds of the so-called and self-proclaimed ‘saints’ occupying their seats and sanctum sanctorums inside the shrines of the erstwhile saints in the name of religion, have been heaping curses. on this great scholar and Mujahid, constantly for a poried of hundrod and twenty-five years, They did not only eye his love ef Islam with suspicion, but doubted his islam itself. We are listened to these curses and abnses with such a great interest and enthusiasm, as if it was a unique heroic deed and requisite to preserve and safeguard one’s religion and piety. Children; Shah Abdul-Qadir conducted Shah Shahcod's matrimony with his grand-daughter Bibi Kulthum. He sired only one child whose name was Shah Muhammad Umar, who spent all his life in an absorbed stale (as uf lost in meditation). His works: Shah Ismail Shaheed has several works to his credit. Here are sume of them to name a few: 1. A treatise on the principles of Figh (lslamic¢ jurisprudence) which has been published. 2. A treatise on logic which has been referred to, by Sir Saiyid Ahmad Khan, 3. A book titled “Clarifying the evident truth about the rulings eonceming the dead and the shrines.” Experts observe that ne book, the like of, has ever been written in any language which brings into limelight the reality of #i‘ah (inventing new things in religion). Regrettably, this work could not have been completed. This has beet published twice or thrice along with its Urdu translation, 334. “The Status and Dignity of an /mdm.” This too is an excellent book. The Persian manuscripts are very rare now, however Urdu versions are available. 5. “Tlluminating the two eyes in regard 10 the raising of hands.” This is the collevtion of thase 4 hadith which prove thal he raising of hands (as prescribed during a prayer) is an act of Sunnah (supererogatory). This book has been published many times with its Urdu version. fis Arabic edition has recently been published along with the explanatory notes by Jamiat-e-dhle-Hadith, Pakistan (The Departmcnt for the Propagation of Seancé) in an extremely elegant style!) 6 “The Straight Path.” This book has four chapters. Only the first chapter has been written by Shah Shaheed. The contents of it all have originally been written by Saiyid Sahib, whereas the expressions and the style of writing belong to Shah Sahib. Tis Urdu version has also been published. Its Persian version was only published once and is now very rarely availablo.!#] 7. “Faqwiyat-ut-imdn” (the stronglhening of Faith), the details of which follow further ahead. & Yak-Rozi (One dayer), is a short treatise in which Moulvi Fad] Tlaq Khairabadi’s objections on his book Fagwivat-ul- imdn have been answered. While Shah Sahib was on his way to tho tosque to perform his prayer, he received the letter of Moulvi Fad! Haq. lmmediately afier offering hig prayer, he sat down to write an answer tu it and finished it in one stroke. This is why it has been named Yok Rozi. "I “4t-Maktabak As-Salaftyah "has also published its translated version, *) This has now Athamduliflzh boon published by Al-Maktubah As-Salafivah. a“9. Makatceb (The writtcn notes), is one of his very big collections. Some of them became quite well-known in bis name, He wrote most of them on the instigation of Saiyid Sahib. 10. His verified works which are as follows a) A Persian Quseedah (panopyric) in praise of the Prophet pores b) «A Persian ‘Qaseedah’ (panegyric) praising Saiyid Sahib. e) A Persian Mathnawi (long narrative poem) known as Silk- e-Noor (a thread of light) on the subject of fawhid (The ‘Oneness of Allah}. d) An Urdu Mathnawi (long narrative poem) also on the subject of Tauhid. ¢) A Persian Mathnawi (long narrative poem) in explanation of a Badith The history of Taqwipat-ul-Lndn: Tagqwiyet-ul-imdn was first published in 1242 (1826-27 G) at the time when Shah Saheed, Suiyid Ahmad Barailawi au, (eu yl) had migrated along with a group of Mufdhidin from their beloved native land and an armed struggle (had) was about to take place for the liberation and purification of India. Within a period of last 170 years, we can not say with any degrec of certainty as to how many times it bas so far been published. However, we presume by employing a rough guess that the same must have been published at least four or five million copies! Trillions of people have been enlighlened by reading it. This is such a dignity which perhaps no other haok ef Urdu language other than Tagwiyat-ul-—Jmdn bas the honour of achieving so far. A blizzard of misgivings and a siring of diatribe which was unleashed against this book has been seldom i]wimessed by any other book. If we look at the history of fagwivai-ul-imdn today, a strange spectacle materialiscs in our imagination, as if it is an ocean being rocked by the fury of a hurricane, it’s surface being consiantly Jashed by the tumuit, anguish, friction and tempestuousness of its broken waves, thereby giving it a great resemblance with the Day ol’ Judgement. Dejection is writ large on the faces of the captains of all the colossal and herculean ships and they are all anchored firmly sticking on to the sea-shore. However, there is only one courageous navigator who, despite the fragility of his ship, is still keeping his ship continuously asail. He is a person of such an unflinching Faith and solidity that all the ravages und depredations fail to produce a single favouring grimace of fidgeting on his eyebrow. All those atrocities and redouble furies of the hurricane who had forced all the sca stalwarts and the old salts to dock their ships by the sea-shore the cqually jorbidding and threatening in intimidating this very daunting navigator, but he, for the sake of his sense of duty and compliance, braves and defies them, This navigator kept advancing further ahcad thwarting and frustrating all the forees whe are at work in his opposition and thus becomes entitled to such a posilion of honour which only fall to the lol of the ones exhibiting forbearance and patience. The sallent features of this book: The subject matter of Tagwivet-ui-lmedn iy Tauhid (the Oneness of Allah), which is the foundation and the basis of religion. Innumeruble buoks and treatises have so far been written on thiy topic, but the style of Shah Shaheed and his technique of the subject treatment is the most culstanding and unique one and is purcly reformatory. [Je made only Qur’fin and Sunnah the erbit of his discussion just like (he righteous scholars. He proffers and Tefers to the Qur’ani¢ verses and Ahadith and interprets them in a very simple and comprehensible style and brings to light the 6true status of ofall the unlawful custems and rituals, which are commonly practised in the socicty and are detrimental to the faith of fauhkid (Islamic Monotheism) in a very pleasant and Unpressive style. He gathered under different topics all the horribly blunders of Faith and practice which are contrary to teaching of Islamic Monotheism, for instance, committing an act of Shirk (associating partners to Allah) in terms of knowledge, regulating the affairs of the universe, habits and practices and Shirk in worshipping. Henge Tagwivat-ut-fmdn has become an authentic and unique book on the subject of Tawhid. In addition to the abeve, it also attempts to highlight the following: 1, ‘This book is an extremely surprising specimen, giving us an insight into the educational, practical and cultural patterns which were in vogue during the times of Shah Shaheed. If someone intends to have a background information as to what were the dogmatic, practiced and moral ailments which the Muslims were suffering, from in this vast: ecouniry belbre one hundred and thirty years, this book shall prove to be an cacellent source of information for him. 2. Shah Shaheed did not make himself contented with the task of merely clucidating the intricacies of the theoretical precepts of Tauhid but he rather assumed sucha style of writing which makes reader mentally conjure up a picture of that society and its surrounding milieu in which that book had been written, This potentially enhances the efficacy and effectiveness of De ‘wah (Call to Islam). 3. Even though this book covers an extremely important subject, but Shah Shaheed adopted such a method of reasoning and deducing facts that both a slightly educated a8 well as an extremely educated person, accurding to their own intellectual standards of perception, may and have been Wabenetiting from the said bonk. 4. Even though this book was written during a period when the Urdu prose-writing was developing through its preliminary stages, but Shah Sahib's prose is so simple, breezy, fresh and pleasing that, except a few words and idioms, it is not simple even today te write such a fascinating book. This is an undemiable fact that even though the Urdu language has progressed through the additional phases of ily development, it will always consider Tuywiyar-ul-imdn te be an invaluable treasure im terms of stylistics, The opposite attitudes of respect and neglect: Tt is an extremely amazing phenomenon thet cven though Taqwiyat-ul-fmdn, is replete with a host of advantages, it hay been subjected to an ambivalent attitude on the part of its devotces, as this book, on one hand was well taken care of, while on the other hand, it was thrown into neglect too at the same time. People paid such a tetendous attention to its publication and distribution that no other book in Urdu language could rival it. It has been the practice of many people and orgenisations that they used to publish thousands of its copies annually and distributed it either gratis or against a very neminal charge, while on the other hand, it was neglected to such an extent that no castigation or correction was ever effected in it, No one even cared about getting it serialised under different chapters or producing it in a nore polished and presentable shape keeping in view the cver changing tastes and procliviligs of the readers. ft seems as if the devotees of this hook have merely given ita sanctified status, limiting their association and atlachment with this book io the extent of preserving it and handing it over in its original and unabridged form to the oncoming generations. According to my knowledge, there have been only two attempts so far in regard to the correction of the text and entering footnotes to it on two different occasions, but 28they two were not accomplished in a full-fledged manner. Essential tasks: There have been many essential tasks which may not be hidden from the cyes of the people who have a refined taste in compiling and publishing. A study of Tuqwwivet-wi-Iman at once reveals that Shah Shaheed, just similar to his other works, alsu wrote it at once and in a single effort. Since he had devoted his life to the great cause of the Islamic revival whole-heartedly to the extent that he had hardly any time left for other activitics, he did not bavc an opportunity to review his manuscript of Taqwiyat-ui-imen either. ‘The casential task concerning this book which Shah Shaheed could not undertake to accomplish by himoseli, his devotees were supposed to do the needful by themsclves. For instance, they could have effected the following changes: 1. They could have got the book properly synchronised and serialised under different titles and sub-iitles to render it easier for the readers as well a3 to make it more fruitful and informative for them. 2. Shab Sahib, according to his requirement, had only mentioned the texts of AAadith, Now it was necessary to give an account of the sources of those Ahadith (in terms of heir Talings) in the footnotes below, and the references to the printed books should have been staled therein. 3. Whatever unlawful activitics and customs Shah Suhib observed around him, he btiefly mentioned about them in his book. Those customs and activities had gradually phased out with the passage of time. It was necessary that their characteristic features also be stated bricfly so that a reader may get a clear-cut idea that practising those things arc unlawlil indeed. This would help them avoid the other similar activities Pdwhich assume different forms and Shapes during dilferent petiuds. 4. During the times of Shah Shaheed, the mode of punctuation in writing was different especially the full stops and comas ete, were fot al all observed, Later, the writing system gradually kept developing and advancing. It wag necessary that the old style of writing be replaced by the new one by introducing foll Stops and coras ete. in the text so that the same becemes easily understandable to the readers, as this step would have enhanced the utilily of this book considerably. 5. As i has earlier been mentioned, that even today Tagw ui-iméan is a rare book in terms of it's simplicity, comprehensibility, impeccubility of text and fascination. Despite all the above facis, some of ity words and phrases were not very clearly comprehensible to the readers and therefore Tequired an explanation. ft is not very heartening to nole that none of the above could have been accomplished, Some people did pay attention to it, but could not accomplish these tasks according to what was actually required of them. Therefore, a systematic and organised version of Tagwiyat-wl-fman is published for the realization and fulfillment of the said purposes. The present age: Today, the scope of this book’s potential !rnitfullness has widened immensely, lostead of being branded as a flag-bearer of Wahabism in the common parlance, he is today recognised as a proponent of the great Islamic revival, who raised a banner of Jihad (an armed struggle for holy Purpose) on the vast land of the Indian subcontinent to lay the foundation of a just and right{u] Islamic government. It was a time when all the traces of a thousand years ef Muslim domination of the subcontinent wwwere on the wane. He took up the cudgels for purification and independence in wn atmosphere which was charged wilh desolation and dejcclion. He demonstrated to the Muslims the path of determination, courage and perseverance while the glory of their conquest and dominance was almosi breathing its last. ‘Today, a description of the saga, highlighting his galant and heroic deeds in his capacity as a Mujahid (the ene who struggles in the path of Allah} is considered (9 be as an extremely oflective means of imparting a correct religious education, and therefore, it is a tremendous service to render Tagwipat-il-lmdn more attractive and worth reading lor a jue-public. This is also an undeniable reality that whatever pronouncements Shah Shaheed had made a hundred and thirty years ago, could nol be thoroughly understood and appreciated in terms of its imperlance and qualitative superiority in all the previous ages a5 much as it could be realised and appreciated ding the prescnt time of ours, The orderly arrangement of Tugwiyat-ui-Iman: Prior to arranging Taqwiyat-wi-fmén in an orderly shape, Shah Shahecd had compiled Ahadith in the confirmation of Tauhid (Oneness of Allah) and the rejection of Shirk (associatiny partners te Allah} and 8 ‘df (inventing new things in religion), a collection which he named Ract-wi-dshrdk (in rejection of polytheism). The late Nawab Siddique Hasan Khan then worked en the references and sources of these déadi#h and got this collection published under the title of AlJdrdk titekhree; Ahadith Radd-ul-Ashrdk” (Perception to infer Ahadith in the negation of polythcism). Shah Shaheed only rendered the first portion of this collection into Urdu and this very portion is known as Taqwiyat-udImdn. The remainder of the portion was published by the Late Moulvi Sultan Muhammad in Urdu under the title of fadhkir-ui-dkiwan (Reminding to the brothers). EaWe can not say with any degree of certitude as to in which period Tugwiyat-ul-lmdn has aclually been written. Al one place, this book comprises a description of the sanctified Ka‘bah’s courtyard in such an effective manner that it gives an impression that Shah Shaheed was himself an eye-witness to this spectacie and hence we can deduce that this book must have been written after his retum from Aaj. Spurred on by the instigation of some of his friends, Mulla Sahib Baghdadi voiced some of his objections on Tagwiyat-ui-fman. Shah Shaheed wrote a letter from Kanpur in response to his objections and the year which is inseribed on this [etter is 1240H, whieh further subscribes lo the nation that the said book musi have been written in the beginning of 1240H after his return from Hajj. During that period, Shah Shaheed had dedicated himself to the task of propagating Islam and organising for Jihad with all his heart and seul and he departed for the cause of Jihad on the 7th of Jumada-al-Ukhra 1241. Upon having read the letter of Shah Shakeed, Mulla Sahib Baghdadi confessed his mistake. Among the scholars of Delhi, the one who was renowned to be the most Prominently active in his opposition, was Maulana Fadl Haq Khairabadi, about whom it has been generally acknowledged now that despite having becn a dignified scholar and possessing an immense amount of knowledge, his dogmatic precepty and beliefs were no differnt than that of a joe-public, He triggered the controversy of the possibility of existence and non-existence of the Prophet's (a4, jut.) counterpart and did not take into account the difference hetween Allah’s Will and His Capability to bring sumething into existence, Shah Shaheed, through his treatise known as Yuk-Rozi (Qne-dayer), had proved the basclessness of all these abjections. We cannot elaberale on these dimensions here due to the lack of Space. 32Different versions of Tagqwiyet-ul-lmén: The first and foremost task in regard to getting the book re- arranged and making it more Polished was to collect such versions which ary more authentic and have more room for dependability, The versions whieh were readily available for reference are as lollows: LA hand-written. version dated 7th of Dhil-Qa‘dah 1252 (3th February 1837G) comprising a total of 114 pages, each page consisting of 14 lines, and each ling containing 16 words. This is the oldest manuscript available in the humbie view of the writer, Some of ils pages are rather moth-caten. ‘The first eight pages are not available. 2. A hand-written version comprising 237 Pages, each page consisting of & lines, each line comprising 14 words, excellent handwriting anda fine Paper. Date of writing has not been mentioned yn it. 3. A. printed version of Tagwiyat-uleindn Published by Darul- Uloom Printing press, Delhi ia the year 1847 G, containing altogether 92 Pages. Ti has not been confirmed as te what cdition it exactly was, as no other copy of us former printed version is available to ng. 4. A copy of its lype-written version (cursive style). This version was vorrecicd by Moulana Muhammad Hasan under the auspices of Moulyi Abdul-Latif and Moulvi Kamil under the supervision of Munshi Ghulam Maula and Munshi Wajid Sahib and was priated in Muhsini Printing Press, Caleutta, The Printing, was completed in 1854 G. A. special attention was paid to the correction of the text inthe said version, A Comparison of the texts teveals that the tevisor has effected a few changes in it. 1n addition to this one, we also had an opportunity to refer to several other editions as weil. An editign which was published by aJamiyai-ud-De‘wath Wat-Tabligh (Association tur the Propagation of Islam} and compiled by Maulana Muhiuddin Abmad Qusuri is specially worth-mentioning, ‘The principles of getring it organised: We have bad some detailed discussions with some dignified and accomplished scholars in regard to detcrmining the regulations and limits of getting this book re-organised and tender it more refined and polished, All those scholars were hona fide ones and were really worth giving their views ubout it. Some observed that all the archaic words and obsolete idiomatic phrases should be changed accordingly and some complexities in the syntax should be allered necessarily at least 10 such an extent that it should be casily comprehensible to the ones whe ate only accustomed to studying lhe books written in the present-day- prose style. These kinds of partial changes had been effected earlier also, but pursuant to giving this matter a profound thought, it secmed suitable that no part of it b¢ modified and the text shouid be printed in its original form as it was, afler purging it from imperfections through a laborious research. However, the style of punciualion which was prevalent during the times of Shah Shaheed was avoided and the present style of punctuation was adopted. For instance: 1. During Skah Shaheed’s times, some of the words were written in a spliced form, Butin the reccnl version, these words have been printed scparately aecording to the present day practice. 2. Some verbal forms denoting tenses, which had different grammatical shapes during the times of Shah Shaheed, have beca changed accotding to the present day usage in the new versicit, 3. The whole book has been covered with the puncmation marks so that the sentences and phrases become clearly wadistinguishable. The words like ‘and? etc. which were then being used as a comma or a dash, have also been deleted in the new edition, According to our yicw, none of the above may be considered a change in the main text as this is only a difference in the mode of punctuation. 4. The words and phrases that required an interpretation, have been explained either in the footnotes below, or 2 word or two have been added in the main text within parenthesis. (brackets). 5. Those Adadith which ware partially referred to in the main text, have been compteted in the footnotes. €. Shah Shaheed, while referring lu the translation of some of the Quranic verses, only focussed on its implied meanings and the message he intended to conycy through it, In regard lo the literal translation of such verses, the translation of Shah Abdul-Qadit Muhaddith on ae,has been presented in the bouk. The last word: Within the fimits of one resources and. capabilities, we have tried cur utmost to make the reading of this book more and more easy, attractive and enjoyable. What ever amount of success we have achieved in his regard su far, we only think of itasa miracle of (he ever present mercy and blossing of Allah the Exalted. In case this Meagre endcavour of ours does happen to contain some flaws, we consider it to be a shortcoming of our mind and perception and hence, owe cur apologies to our dear readers. We, however, should hasten to add that the only purpose we had in our minds was to broaden the scope of the profitability of this important religious accomplishment of Shah Shaheed to its 38maximum length sa that the Muslims may become Muslims in the (rue sense of the word. And last but not feast, our ultimate supplication is thar the praise is to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds, and our salutions and greetings to the Lord of all the Messengers. Ghulam Rasool MchrPRELUDE Eulogies and Glorifications: Oh our Lord! It is incumbent upon us te express our thanks and gratitude « You that You have bestowed onus Your endless bounties and favours und blessed us with Your guidance to the only true religion (untainted and authentic faith enjoying the privilege of Your concurrence). Yuu have led us to the right path of Islamic Monotheism, made vs one of the fullowers of the Prophet of Islam poe dle wt te, blessed us with an ardent favour to learn religion and have kindled a feeling of affection within our hearts for the people who obscrve religious norms in their day- to-day lives, Oh our Lord! We besecch You to shower Your blessings and mercy on Your beloved Messenger jy ste an yo , his family and progeny, his Companions and his successors. We éntreat you (0 include us ten among them and give us strength to lead an Islamic way of life. Please make our ending on Islam and include our names within the list of Your obedicnt slaves. Amin, {Q Allah accept it) Servant and servitude: All the human beings are the slaves of Allah. The duty of a slave is to curry out instructions given te him and the one who shirks his responsibility is act a slave. The slavery or servitude is based on the correctness of Faith, The one whose Faith has deficiency, his service is regardcd as unacceptable and whosoever is blessed with the correctness of Faith, cven a small fraction of his service thus rendered is deemed creditable. Hence, it is an obligation on every Muslim to strive to maintain his Faith (according to the exacting standards of Islamic Monotheism)}. Furthermore, one should accord the foremost preference te matters concerning the rectification of his Faith over the rest of the matters in his day-to-day life. 37The prevalent conditions: The present day situation is that the people have adopted different ways. Some of them pursuc the waditions cherished by their forefathers, some swear by the methodologies devised by the saints, some proffer the self-proclaimed observations of the scholars as an cvidence whereas some merely run their own conjectures and poke thew nose into the matters of religion on the pretext of using their intellect. The best choice: The best possible option is that we should regard Qur’an and Sunnah as a yardstick of excellence, refrain from interfering into ihe matlers concerning the Islamic law by applying our intellect mto it and must slake the thirst of our soul by resorting to these two affluents (ie. Qur'an and Sunnah). We must recognise the sayings of the saints, observations of the suholars and the customs observed within one’s community in case the said things confirm to the standards set forth by Qur’an and Sunnah and likewise we shoukd rejectfully shun them in case they do nol. It is not an uphill task to understand religion: Aomyth which has gaincd much currency among the masses is that to have an understanding of Qur'an and Hadith is a difficult task for it requires a lot of knowledge and as long as we are ignoranis, we can neither understand it ner we could act upon it. Only the saints and pious people possess the capability to act accordingly, This notion which is nursed by them is absolutely baseless because Allah the Exalted has stated that the verses of the Noble Qur'an are explicit and conspicuously clear as mentioned in the following verse: TG AR 5 Se aE CN > F EJ“And indeed We have sent dawn to you manifest dyad (verses) and none disbelieve in them bul the Pasiqun (those who rebel ugainst Allah's Command)” (V.2:99) The above statement means that il is not difficult to understand them at all but it fs difficult to act upon them as their compliance seems (to be fairly hard on one’s self and therefore the disobedient ones do not recognise them. Why were the Messengers sent? It does not require a lot of knowledge to have an understanding of Qur’an and Sunnah as the Messengers were sent to provide guidance and directions to the ignorants and the illiterates and to impart knowledge to the unlearned people as stated in one of the verses of the Noble Qur'an: 4a He AB Wy SSL; “He il is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger from among themsclyes, Teciting lo them His verses, purifying them and teaching them the Book and Af. Hikmah (legal ways). And verily, they had been beforc in mainfost error. (V.62:2) This is one of the great bounties of Allah that He deputed such a Prophet whe taught the untearned, urificd (he impure, imparted knowledge to the ignorants, wisdom to the unwise and guidance to the delinquent, Even after grasping the import of this verse, if some one still insists that it is the job of the leamed w comprehend Qur'an, and the great saints to act upon it’s teachings, it only tanlamounts (¢ Tejecting the above noted Qur’finic verse and depreciating this grand bounty of Allah. The fact is that by acquiring an understanding of the above, the ignorant persons become the learned ones and the delinquent cdones tum into scholars by acting upon the teachings transcrihed therein. An instance of a physician and a sick person: To elahorate it hypothetically, let us assume that on one hand we have an expert and wise physician, while on another hand, we have another person who is suffering from some kind of a horrendous ailment. By way of sympathy, a third person advises him to consult such and such physician for his treatment, but this sick person observes that to approach thiy physician, atid get trealed by him is the task of those who are hale and hearty and as long as | am mortally sick, how coukl I possibly go to him for treatment? Won't you think of this person to be mentally decrepit as he does not recognise the efficacy of a doctor's tecatinemt, A physician is mount to provide treatment to the invalids, Does a person deserve ta be called a doctor who claimy to provide treaunent only to the hale and hearty? Thus we may teasonably conclude thal an ignorant and delinquent person oqually needs to understand Qur’an and Hadith and act upon it fervently as does a saint and a scholarly person, It is an obligation on all and sundry to continue their pursuit ef the knowledge concerning the teachings of Qur’fu and Sunnah, put their heart and soul into understanding it, act upon it accordingly and mould their Faith within it’s framework. Monotheism and prophethood: We must remember that Jmdn (Faith) has two constituents: a} To consider Allah os the only One, worthy of being worshipped. b) To recognise the prophethood of Messengers of Allah. Te consider Allah as the only One, worthy of being worshipped, Means that we should not associate partners with Him and to tecognisc the prophethood of the Messenger implics (hat we 0must fallow him and act according to his instructions. The first constituent uf Faith is to eonform to the Islamic Monotheism and the second one isto comply with Sunnah (leachings of the Prophet jLy qe a. }. The apposite of Monotheism is polytheism and the antonym of Sunnah is Bid‘ah (innovation). It is obligstory on every Muslim to strictly adhere to the concept of Islamic Monotheism and to comply with the teachings of the Prophet ., 42 wu. , One must abide by them and avoid slipping into the acts of Shirk (polytheism: icc. associating partners with Allah} or Bid'ah (innovating new things in religion). Shirk and Bid‘ah may be considered as a termite that eats into the sinews of Faith and destroys it. As far as other vices arc concerned, their commission only impedes the process of pursuing pious deeds. Therefore, a person whe is characterised by the qualities of being a monothcist, follower of Sunnah, averse to Shirk and Sid‘a and whose accompaniment inspires an inclination towards compliance of Suanak, is indeed a person who should he taken as a religious ins(ructer and mentor, On this treatise Togwipariut-Jmde: In this book entitled Tugwivat-td dndn, we have compiled a few Qur’anic verses and Ahddith which claburate the Oncness of Allah, compliance with Summah, and the vices of Shirk and 3id‘ak. This has been translated into simple English along with shor footnotes for the purpose of giving explanations so that everybody can benefit from it and whomsocver Allah wilis, may be led to the Right Path. May Allah accept it as a means of our deliverance in the Hereafter. Amin. It has been named Taqwiyat- uwi-Imdn which comprises two chapters. The first chapter consists of description conceming the concept of Tslamie Monothcism and the wickedness of polytheism and the second chapter consists of compliance with Suzinah and the vices of Bid ‘ah. 41Chapter One Description of Taukid People’s unawareness and ignorance: Polytheism is generally widespread among the people and the concept of Monotheism is in sacrcity. Many people who claim to be the bearers of Faith do not understand the meanings of Tauhid and Shirk (Monotheism and polytheism). Apparently they are Muslims, but they are unconsciously involved in the acts of Shirk. Therefore, first we should try to understand the meanings of Twwhid (Monotheism) and Shirk (polytheism) so that we may know aboul their advantages and disadvantages as directed by Qur'an and Suanah The acts leading to polytheism: In difficult times and situations people call upon saints, Prophets, rim, martyrs, angels and fairies for assistance; make their vows to them, invoke them fer the fulfilment of their wishes and even make gy-called offerings to them so that their wishes may come true. To avoid ailments, (hey have no seruples. about altributing their sons to those falec deities by giving them such names as Abdun-Nabi, Ali Bakhsh, Hussain Bakhsh, Peer Bakhsh, Madar Bakhsh, Salar Bakhsh, Ghulam Muhiuddin and Ghulam Moinuddin etc. Someone raises a plait of hair in the name of 4 deity, someone slaughters an animal in (heir names, someone invokes them in a distressed situation and somcone swears an oath in their names, This means that the wey non- Musiims treat their gods and goddesses, these so-called Muslims alse give exactly 4 similar treatment to the Prophets, saints, Jniam, martyrs, angels and fairies. Despite committing all the above sinful acts, they still claim to be Muslims. As Aliah has rightfully said: a24EE BAL AEN, “And most of thom believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him.” (V,12:106} Those who profess to have Faith in Allah while their actions reeking of polytheism: Jt means thal the majority of people who outwardly profess to have faith in Allah are in facl entangled in the quagmire of polytheism. If someone questions them ay te why are they involved in Sairk while cvincing faith in Allah, they answer by saying that we arc nol committing an act of pelythcism, neigh we cherish a tremendous amount of love for the prophets and saints and we are none but their truc devotees. Had we considered them on an cqual status with Allah, it would have been ‘an act of Shirk’, but we merely consider them the slaves and creatures of Allah, Who had vested in them an authority and given them the capability to the effect that they manipulate the matters concerning this world by the Will of Allah. ‘Vherefure calling upon them for help is calling upon Allah for His Help. These people are dear oncs to Allah and therefore are free to do whatever they like. These are our advocates who wilt intercede with Allah on our behalf. Meeting them makes one mect his Cherisher and calling ypon them makes us neat (o Allah. The more we tccugnise their greatness and pay our respect to (hem, the more we shall be drawn towards Allah. In addition to all this, they make a lot of other absurd and baseless statements. The verdict of Qurt8n: ‘Lhe sole reason for all the above- incengruitics is that peaple have forsiken Qur’én and Hadith and exercise (heir own judgements in the matters concerning Shari‘af by applying their own intellect, pursuc myths and superstitions, and try to justify their erreneous customs and traditions by presenting 43insubstantial evidence, If they had the knowledge of Qur’dn and Hadith, they would have known that even the pagans among the Arabs used to employ similar kind of arguments before the Prophet cuter . Allah's wrath befell them as He declared them liars in one of the (jur’Anic yorses: 58 ts ake Ih A oat hn Ai fe ee sig gates eof veg tle eon re Mat ais oh 4s jeg “And they worship besides Allah things that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say: ‘These are our intercessors with Allah,’ Say: Do you inform Allah of that which Hc knows not im the heavens and on the carth? Glorified and Exalted is He above all that which they associate as partners with Him!" (V.10;18) None but Allah is the Capable: The objecls which the polytheists offer their worship to, are absolutely powerless, They possess no capability of either benefiting anybody or inflicting any harm on someone. As to (heir notion that they will intercede with Allab on their behalf, is nothing bul a mere fallacy for the simple reason that Allah did not inform them about any such thing. Do they profess to be imere knowledgeable than Allah in regard to the mailers of this world and the heavens in what they believe to be their mediators with Allah on their bchall? Thus, it becomes known to us that there is ne such mediator in this universe who, on the basis of peoply’s belief or disbelief in them, can either benefit or harm someone. Even the intercession of the Prophets and sainis itself is governed by Allah. Nothing happens if someone calls upon them in distress. Furthermore, we are wamed that whoever worships someone es his intercessor, is also a ‘Mrzhrik’ as a4stated by Allah in this verse: A) ail dt es pas fey shoe Ney asks > EsSBS oh a a oh “And those who take Auéiva (protectors and helpers) besides Him (say): ‘We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah." Verily, Allah will judge between then concerning that wherein they differ. Truly, Allah guides not him who is a liar, and a disbeliever.” (V.39:3) None is the supporter other than Allah: The tact is that Allah is very close to 4 human being but the human beings themselves got distracted from this basie truth and coined a fullacions concept believing that an idol shall draw us near Allah and thus took such idols to be their mediators. These are the people who shamelessly turned dewn the bounty of Allah that it is He who listens to everyone directly and fulfills everyone’s desires. Instead of tuming tu Allah, they started directing their prayers and invocations towards the so-called deities other than Allah for the fulfillment of their wishes. To make the mutters worse, these people also wished to be near to Allah by employing crroncous and wrong methods. How could these ingrates and untruthful peopie be guided on the Right Path? The more they tread on this crooked path, the more shall they be driven away Irom the Right Path. None és the sustainer other than Allah: This clarifies that whosoever worships the so called deitics in the hope that worshipping them shall make him nearer te Allah, is none but a polytheist, an accomplished Liat and the one who Tejects the bounty of Allah. Ailah states in one of the Qur'anic verses: aDES ey AG SA IEE EE LES SoG oa Offs “Say: In Whose Hand is the sovereignty of everything (i.e. treasures of each and everything)? And He protects (all), while against Whom there is no protector, (i.c, if Allah saves anyone flone can punish or harm him, and if Allah punishes or harms anyone nenc can save him}, if you know. ‘They will say: ‘(All that belongs) to Allah.’ Say: ‘Tow then are you deccived and tum away from the truth?” ” (V.23:88-89) Even if the polytheists are asked about an entity who exercises an absolute control over the whole universe and against whom ny ong can stand, they will definitely say it is Allah. When Allah is All-Powertul, is not it an act of hmacy to associale patiners with Allah? Thus it becomes known to us that Alleh has not given anyone authority to dispose olT universal matters and no one is cither capable of supporting someone else. Furthermore, even the polytheists of the prophetic cra did not consider the idols to be un a par with Allah in terms of status, but considered them as slaves and creatures of Allah. They also knew that these idols did net possess any ofthe Divine powers, but their Shirk was represented by calling upem them, making vows to them, presenting offerings itv them and considering them as their intercessors. with Allah, This means that whosoever accords someone a similar treatment, even though by reckoning him to be a slave and a creature, such a person is hound to be regarded as 4 counterpart of Abp Jahl in terms of polytheism. The reality of Stirk (Polytheisns); Shirk does net oanly imply that an ontily be equated with Allah or be reckoned as His counterpart, but it gees much further to inelude the things and manners which Allah has peculiarised to 46His Qualities and that represonl the signs of worshipping and obeisance which Ee has specified for his slaves to observe for Tim Alone, Ln casc, someone observes those signs and exhibits them in front of any other entity whatsoever other than Allab, such a practice also lies within the definition of Shiré: this practice includes making prostrations, sacrificing an animal in the Name of Allah, making yows, calling upon Him in distress, considuring Allah to be Himsclf present everywhere, and taintaining that the others do have a role to play in the matters of one’s fate and destiny, All the above are differen! shapes and varielies of Shirk. Prostration is particularised to be performed for the sake of Allah only, animal! sacrifice is done for Him Alone, vows are made to Him Alone, He is the One, Who, in Nimes of distress (situations), is called upon. He is the Omnipotent and Ail-Powerful and He is the Supreme Authority over everything. If any of these qualities are ascribed to any other entity other than Allah, it is known as Shirk, even if such an entity is regarded as inferior tv Allah or is reckoned ta be a creature or slave of Allah. All such beings and entities like a Prophel, saint, jinn, Satan, ghost, apparition and fairy shall all be treated equally in this matter and whoever considers them as having Divine powers commits an act of Shirt and the doer of such a thing will become a Muskrik (the one who associates partners with Allah). Hence Allah has brought down His wrath on the Jews and Christians too eventhough they did not practise idolatory, but treated their Prophets and saints in a similar manner (i.e. they atttibuted to them the qualitics which are purely Divine in nature) as Allah has stated in the following Qur'anic verse: Bevel fof oa Vi Lys 23 PA IST SILT S uA Taig dt Gaia tii je lies die, "IG a7“They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monkg tw he their iords besides Allah, (by obeying them in things which they made lawful or unlawful according to their own desires without being ordered by Allah) and (they also took as their lord) Messiah, son of Mary, while they (Jews and Christians) were commanded (in the Torah and the Guspel) to worship none but One (God —Ailsh) La ildha ia Huwa {none has the tight to be worshipped but He). Praisc and glory is w Him, (far above is He) from having the partners they associate (with Him).” (V.9:31) it means thal eventhough they considered Allah as the Most Supreme Lord, but besides that, they algy gave thcir recognition fo other mini-lords, which are their pricsts and monks, These people were never instructed to commit such acts of Shirk. Allah is all Alone worthy of being worshipped. He has no partacrs. Everyone, whether big or smali, are none but His helpless slaves, Allah states in one of the verses of the Noble Qur'an: Bi Se ae Wh ae eye ne t OSs got oe ANG ogg oJ} ai peat 28s Oke ma; “There is none in the heavens and. the earth but comes unto the Most Beneticient (Allah) as a slave, Verily, He knows each one of them, and has counted them a full counting, And everyone of them will come to Him alone on the Day of Resurrection (without any helper, or protector or defender,).” ¢V.19-93. 95) Tt means that regardiess whether a creature happens te be an angel or 4 human being, it carries a status of no more than being a slave bolore Allah. A slave lies under au absolute hegemony of Allah and therefore, is compictely helpless and powerless. Everything lies under Allah's control. He gives nobody under Beat 4anyone's vontol. Everyone shall have to appear in Llis Presence to account for his deeds, No onc will advocate for anyone there nor one could lend his support to anyone else. ‘There are hundreds of verses mentioned in this regard in the Noble Qur’an whereas only we, asa specimen, have made a mention ofa low of them, Whosoever understands them clearly, shall have a clear understanding of the concept of Shirk and Tauhid, In shd' Aliah.Chapter Two Categories and aspects of Shirk (Polytheism) it is necessary to gain knowledge abaut the characteristics which Allah has peculiarised Lor Himself so that none of them be attributed to any other elsc. Such things are countless. We, on our part, shall be mentioning some of those things and prove them in the background of Quran and Jfadith so that the people may understatd the ether pertinent things alse wilh their help. 1. Shirk in knowledge: The first thing is that Allah is present everywhere by His Knowledge which means that His Knowledge encompasses everyihimg. This is why Ee has a complete cognizance of everything, everytime, whether a thing happens to be far or near, hidden or apparent, up in the heavens or inside the earth, on the tops of the mountains or at the bettom ef an ocean. This magnificcace belongs to none but Allah. Ifa person calls upon someone (by invoking bis name} other than Allah, while doing his everyday routine chores, so that the one called upon may help him obviate his distress, or attacks an enemy by invoking his name, or keeps pronovicing his name on the beads ofa rosary, or makes 4 vow in his name or conjures up his picture in his imagination by nursing a faith that whenever he invokes his fame, of think of him vividly in his mind or contemplate on his grave, he gains cognizance of him: none of his affairs is hidden from him, and whatever circumstances he goes through, namcly, sickness and goud health, abundance and distress, life and death, sadness and happiness ctc., are all known w him; any word which his mouth utters is heard by him and he knows abant his thoughts and imaginations. All the above things and acts prove the presence of the elements of Shirk. This is called a Shirk in BU)knowledge which means one is trying to prove that someone other than Allah possesses a similar kind of knowledge which is only the prerogative of Allah. By nursing this kind of faith, aman undoubtedly tums into a Mushrik (polytheist) whether he nurses such a faith in regard to an honourable human being ot any of the exalted angels, or whether such a knowledge which is attributed to him, happens to be apersonal onc or granted by Allah. Whatever the situation inay be, this is an absolutely pelytheistic faith. 2, Shirk in disposing: Disposing the matters of the universe with intention, exercising authority, killing at will and resuscitating, awarding abundance and giving distress, giving healthiness and sickness, giving victory and defeat, suceccding and preceding, fulfillment of one’s desires, obviating calamitios, providing helf in distress situations and whenever one stands im need of it, are all attributed ta Allah and none but Him Alone. Nong but Allah can have this magnificence. A human being or an angel, despite acquiring great ranks, may never have these characteristics. A person who secks to prove that an cntily other than Allah may have an authority of this nature, makes vows to this entity or makes an animal sacrifice for the purpose of fulfillment of his wishes, and invokes it’s name in distress so that it can obviate his troubles, such a person is called ‘Mushrif’ and this kind of act is called ‘Shirk in authority’ or disposing. [tf means that cherishing a belief that any cntity other than Allah may have this autherity, whether as the one granted by Allah or as one of it’s personal traits, is a polytheistic faith anyway. 3. Shirk in worship: Allah has particularised all acts of worship for Him Alone whieh are defincd as Jbada? like prostrating, bowing, standing with folded hands, giving charity in the Name of Allah, fasting in His 41Name and undgriaking long joumeys to visit His Sacred Houge by putting on such a clothing that the people may distinguish them as the tors of Ilis Sanctified House, invoking Allah’s Name on the way, avoiding indecent talk and hunting, circumambulating His House with an utmost caution, making prostrations in its direction, carrying the animals of sacrifice towards it, making vows there, putting a covering on Ka‘bah, making supplications while standing on (he threshuld of Ka‘bah, asking for the virtuosities in the religious as well as worldly matters, kissing of the Black-Stone, touching the walls of Kabah by one’s mouth and chest, making supplicalions by getting hold of ths fringes of its covering, illuminating its surroundings, taking up residence there as one of its servants, sweeping and cleaning it, offer drinking water to the pilgrims, providing water for Wuedy (ablution) and bathing, partaking of Zamzam water by considering it as a sanctified act, getting oneself drenched with it, drinking it to one’s heart content, distributing it among themselves, carrying it to be presented to one’s relatives, venerating the forest surrounding it, to refrain from hunting there, not to cut trees there, not to pull out grass from there, not tu graze animals (here: these are acis which Allah has prescribed for Muslims to be abserved as His worship. Now, ifa person makes a bow or prostration before the grave of a Prophet, saint, ghost, apparition, jinn, fairy or any of the real or fuke graves or a specilicd place inside a tomb, or a certain sign or house, or a Eucharist and coffin; observes fast in their names; stands in front of them with folded hands, makes offerings to them or hoisting 2 flag in their name or walking backwards (wilh a reverse motion of feet), kisses a grave or undertakes a long joumey to visit graves and other places; lights earthen Jamps there or makes arrangements for illuminating them: or puts coverings on their walls or offers a shest asa covering on the grave, manually fanning the air by hand (by 2