Hakeemul Ummah Hadhrat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi RAH. writes

"REPLY: A Hadith states, 'Do not revile my Sahabah RADI. because if any one of you spends the equivalent of Mount Uhud in gold (in Sadaqah) it will nor equal a Mudd or even half a Mudd that any of them has spent?(Bukhaari and Muslim). Another Hadith states, 'Revere my Sahabah RADI. because they are the best of you' (Nasa'ee). Another Hadith states 'Jahannam will not touch a Muslim who saw me or saw anyone who me' (Tirmidhi). Rasulullaah SAW. also said, 'Whoever loves them, loves them for the love he has for me and whoever has enmity for them, has enmity because of the enmity he has for me' (Tirmidhi).

Without a doubt, Hadhrat Abu Sufyaan RADI. and Hadhrat Mu'aawiyah RADI. were both Sahahah RADI. and are thus both included in the implication of the above Ahadeeth. It is therefore Waajib (compulsory) have love for them and Haraam to harbour any enmity for them. When it reported that they have carried out any deed and the authenticity of the report is verified, such deeds will have the overpowering effect of their other good deeds. and that of their companionship with Rasulullaah SAW. This is what the Hadith 'even if any one of you spends...'denotes. It is for this reason that Rasulullaah SAW. said, 'Jahannam will not touch....

If an involuntary (ill) thought (about the Sahabah RADI.) passes the mind or heart, it will be forgiven. Those related to beliefs and which are voluntary will need to be corrected. As for the person who purposely harbours ill thoughts, who speaks ill of the Sahabah RADI. and has hatred for them" such a person certainly defies the Ahadeeth and is outside the fold of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa'ah. According to the books of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa'ah, it is Makrooh (detestable) for such a person to lead a congregation in salaah and even associating with him unnecessarily is prohiblted.

This is what the true Ulema have to say about Hadhrat Mu'aawiya RADI. Maududi however has made an unsuccessful attempt to defile Hadhrat Mu?aawiya RADI. by levelling unsubstantiated allegations at him. He writes:

1. Another extremely detestable Bid'ah that started during the time of Hadhrat Mu'aawiya RADI. was that both him and the governors under his command used do revile Hadhrat Ali from the pulpit. in fact, Rasulullaah SAW. beloved (Hadhrat Ali RADI.) was even sworn at inside the Masjidun Nabawi, from Rasulullaah SAW. pulpit, in front of the blessed tomb. The children of Hadhrat Ali RDI. and his relatives were made to listen to all of this. Let alone being unacceptable in the Shari'ah, swearing someone after his death also opposes good character. Even worse according to both the Shari'ah and good character is to use the Jumu'ah sermon as a platform for smearing the name of a person."

2. "Hadhrat Mu'aawiya RDI. even contravened the explicit injunctions of the Qur'aan and Ahadeeth in his distribution of booty. According to the Qur'aan and Sunnah, a fifth of the booty ought to be deposited into the state treasury and the remaining portion was to be distributed amongst the soldiers who participated in the battle. However, Hadhrat Mu'aawiya RDI. gave the command that all the gold and silver be first separated for him, and then the rest was to be distributed according to the Shari'ah."

3. "Avowing to the paternity of Ziyaad bin Sumayya was another act that Hadhrat Mu'aawiya '?RDI. for political motives in defiance to an accepted principle of the Shari'ah."

4. "Hadhrat Mu'aawiya RDI. placed his governors above the law and flatly refused to deal with their injustices according to the laws of the Shari'ah."

5. "This behaviour practically made the declaration that the governors and military had a free reign to commit injustices and that they were not restricted by the Shari'ah as far as political affairs were concerned."

6. "During his rule, Hadhrat Mu'aawiya RDI.declared that Muslims could inherit from Kuffaar and Kuffaar from Muslims. It was Hadhrat Umar bin Abdui Azeez RAH. who put an end to this Bid,ah.?

7. "The initiative to appoint Yazeed as successor (to the Khilaafah) was not based on any acceptable reasoning, but the proposal was accepted to serve the personal interests of someone (Hadhrat Mughiera bin Shu?ba RADI.).

8. "In reply to this, Hadhrat Mu'aawiya RADI. said, 'Upto now. I have been overlooking what you people have been saying, but now I swear by Allaah that if any of you says even a word in response to what I say he will not get a chance to say another word because the sword shall have already reached his head."

Besides the above, Maududi has used many other common words ill Hadhrat Mu'aawiya RADI. that are nowadays used for today's politician who are infatuated with this world. In the light of what he has written in his book Khilaafat wa Mulukiyyat, it is evident that Maududi regards Hadhrat Mu'aawiya RADI. to be a self-centred and cunning politician of the breed we have nowadays. Allaah forbid! Allaah forbid!

The Ulema have written replies to all the allegations that Maududi has levelled against Hadhrat Mu'aawiya RADI. and they have made the truth clear. For detailed answers, refer to the books:

1. Izhaare Haqeeqat ba Jawaab Khilaafat u)a Mulukiyyat, written Hadhrat Moulana Muharnmad Is'haaq Siddeeqi RADI.

2. Hadhrat Mu'aawiya RADI. Taareekhi Haqeeqat, written by Hadrhrat Moulana Muhammad Taqi Uthmaani DAMAT BARKATUHU.

Because Maududi is no longer alive, some people believe that it is just a waste of ink to write against him. They say that one should not speak ill of the dead and speak only good of them. This belief is itself an indictment of Maududi because he has spoken ill of people whom Allaah is pleased with. Why can such people not tolerate anything said against Maududi and then expect others to tolerate the ill he speaks against the Sahaba RADI. and the pious predecessors? Where is people's sense of honour for Islaam? Where have they buried their love for the Sahabah RADI. feel that this request of theirs is inappropriate because we have never in the past and still are not criticising Maududi's personal self, but it is rather his thoughts, wrong beliefs and misleading literature that we are criticising. These have taken a course that contradicts that of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa'ah and have assumed the form of a separate school of thought. Despite his death, his followers are actively propagating his ideologies and distributing his toxic literature. Therefore, as long as they are carrying his corpse about, it is vital that balanced and fair criticism be levelled against him.

Another from of deception many people are involved in is to believe that they are merely supporters of the Maududi movement without subscribing to his ideologies. If they were true in their claim. why do they take offence and stand up in defence of Maududi when someone levels criticism at his misleading belief's and literature? The fact of the matter is that members of a movement cannot ignore the ideologies of the founder. In fact, his ideologies are the very soul of the movement. In the words of Maududi himself the ideologies of a founder and leader of a movement cannot be ignored in any way In reality, this is the soul of any movement.

It is also said that Maududi was extremely intelligent and brilliant. While we do not refute his brilliance, it must be borne in mind that being intelligent does not prove that he is on the truth. A Hadith states that people sometimes speak so eloquently that others are taken aback and gape, ?How intelligent is he How brilliant is he?!" However, the person has not even an atom?s weight of Imaan in his heart.

It is also said that Maududi had studied extensively and that his knowledge was perofound. While we accept that he had studied extensively, we say that had his knowledge been proper knowledge, he would never have opposed the pious predecessors as he did, he would never have supported Shi' ism as he did, he would never have ridiculed the books of Fiqh and of Shari?ah as he did, he would never have reviled the sahabah RADI. as he did, he would never have condemned the services of the earlier scholars as he did and would never have become a personification of the Hadith that states, the latter members of the Ummah shall speak ill of and curse the earlier members . In reality, his knowledge was not really knowledge, but rather ignorance. A Hadith states: "Indeed, there are some forms of knowledge that are really ignorance."

Sheihkh Sa'di RAH. once said, "Knowledge that does not guide to the truth Is not knowledge but ignorance."It is also claimed that Maududi's lectures positively inspired the religious element of many people's lives, especially the younger generation who had acuired modern knowledge. This, they say, is a great service to Deen. While we do not deny that he did do some service to Deen, we also say that the criticism and denunciation of the Ambiyaa Alayhissalaam. and sahabah RADI. that He did destroyed all his services, rendering them worthless. One must also keep in mind the Hadith in which Rasulullaah SAW. said, verily, Allaah assists this Deen through sinful people as well.

While Maududi's lectures did inspire the hearts of the young generation, theyn also removed from their hearts the honour they ought to have for the Ambiyaa Alayhissalaam. the Sahabah RADI. and the pious predecessors. Those who praise Maududi's literature must take out times and earnestly ponder over the following questions:

1. Before joining the Jamaa'te Islaami, did I have the ill thoughts I now have about the Sahabah RADI. especially about Hadhrat Uthmaan RADI. and Hadhrat Mu'aawiya ?RADI.?

2. Did I think as badly of the Ulema of the Ummah before joining the Jamaa'te Islaami as I do now? If your replies to the above questions are negative, and they will most certainly be, then ponder whether you have received any benefit at all from Maududi's literature.

Man's salvation and good fortune lies in cleansing his heart of every type of evil and dirt and instilling within it the love and respect for the Ambiyaa Alayhissalaam. and the pious predecessors.

O my Allaah! Keep me, all my beloved and close ones and all Muslims steadfast on the straight path. Grant us perfect love for Rasulullaah SAW. his Sahabah RADI. and his family members And resurrect us with them Aameen. Allaah knows best what is most correct.

1 Rabee ul Awwal 1400 A.H.

Fatawa Rahimiyyah Vol.1

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