Truly, there is very little
of what I can say about the sciences that this extraordinary personality had
acquired. It is sufficient to know that his knowledge, taqwa and level of
mastery were acknowledged by the masters themselves; the renowned Jurists,
masters of Hadith, and scholars of traditional Islamic sciences from the two
Holy sanctuaries and the subcontinent.
His Juridical opinions ‘fatawa’ and legal stances share a great deal of
information with us about his mastery in Legal Methodology, Jurisprudence and
inference from the Primary sources as well as other ancillary sciences.
‘al-Ataya al-Nabawiyyah fi al-Fatawa al-Rifdwiyyah’, is an outstanding
contribution made by Imam Ahmad to the traditional sciences and their
development, hence acclaimed as one of the greatest encyclopedias on the Hanafi
Law and its branches. Not only that it is rooted in the essence of Islamic
Jurisprudence, his Fatawa also consists of a variety of subjects from
mathematics, theology, history, Euclidean geometry, philosophy, linguistics, and
astronomy to exegesis of the Qur’an and Hadith sciences. As recent studies show,
it is this work that acclaims him mastery in third from the rank of absolute
ijtihad, namely, the rank of the mujtahid fi al-masa'il.
As for His works in the Hadith area, Imam Ahmad has written a huge amount on
Inference of rulings from Hadith proof texts ‘Fiqh al-Hadith’, Legal Hanafi
Methodology and authentic hadith, Principles of hadith ‘Usul al-Hadith’ and the
biographies of men ‘Asma al-Rijal’.
To name a few of his works, I shall first and foremost mention his excellent
epistle on the science of takhreej entitled, ‘al-Rawdh al-Baheej fi Adaab al-Takhreej’
(1219h). No work of any hadith scholar before him covers this area of hadith to
such an extent. The remarks of Mawlana Rahman Ali, a renowned researcher from
Madhiyah Pardesh, India, whence reading the details of scrupulous takhreej and
its etiquettes were, ‘if there were no other book of its subject the author i.e.
Imam Ahmad Rida would be acknowledged as the founder to this branch of hadith’.
From his works on Fiqh al-Hadith is the far-famed ‘Haajiz al-Bahrayn al-Waqi an
jama’ al-Salatain’ (1313h) which he wrote in defense of the Hanafi stance on the
impermissibility of combining between prayers. When I studied this work (which
is present in his Fatawa) I found it amongst the most amazing works in
reconciling the ostensibly contradicting hadith proof texts on this issue which
is the most sensitive and complex area of all Muslim Legal concepts.
‘al-Fadhl al-Mawhab fi ma’na izha sahha al-Hadithu fahuwa madhabi’ (1313h), his
concise guide on Hanafi Legal methodology and authentic hadith, is another
masterpiece which stands unique in its detailed research, strategic presentation
and in-depth study. This book is a ‘must read’ for all Hanafi students in
specific, and other Madhab students in general, regardless of their religious
backgrounds. It provides authoritative guidance for scholars and a great deal of
information on fundamental maxims for students, summarized in just a few pages.
The book encapsulates issues such as why many authentic hadith are unaccepted in
the Hanafi School and its criterion of acceptance. It’s a first-rate manual.
From his other works in hadith sciences are,
In February 1992, Dr S M
Khalid al-Hamidi published an article on the Imam’s books in Hadith studies in
which he gathered forty names of the imam’s epistles and works in hadith, its
fundamentals and branches. (Malyah University, India. Maktub no: 20)
Five common elements of hadith found in his
works
His breadth of memorization of Hadith textual
corpus and transmissions
The famous caliph of Haji Imdadullah Muhajir Makki, Mawlana Karamatullah wrote a
letter to Imam Ahmad Rida questioning about ‘Durud al-Taj’ (a special salawat
known as Taj), in which the Prophet Muhammad (May Allah be shower peace and
blessings upon him) was referred to as ‘Dafi al-Bala’ or the ‘a guard from
befalling calamities’. Whereupon receiving this letter, Imam Ahmad wrote an
epistle on the Prophet as the protection and guard of the Ummah entitled, ‘Ikmal
al-Tamah ala shirki sawa bi al-Umur al-Aamah’ also known as ‘al-Amnu wa al-Ula’
in which he collected three hundred hadith on the permissibility of calling him
by this name !
When asked by his teacher Mawlana Ghulam Qadir Beygh to write on the ‘excellence
of the Prophet over all Prophets’, Imam Ahmad wrote an epistle containing one
hundred hadith on the issue entitled, ‘Tajjaliy al-Yaqeen’.
Imam Ahmad Rida wrote many works against the heresy of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad,
founder of the Qadyani movement which is today known as the Ahmadiiyah movement
(See more on this, in this blogpage). His work entitled ‘Jazallahu uduwwahu’ is
a notable one in hadith since he narrates one hundred and twenty one hadith in
refutation of Mirza Qadiyani!
The student of the renowned Mawlana Ahmad Kanpuri, Mawlana Hassan wrote a
question to Imam Ahmad inquiring about the legal Islamic opinion on meals which
were cooked for the ulema and local community members for rain at time of
famine. The imam supported his fatwa with sixty hadiths on the permissibility of
such a practice.
In 1305H, he was asked about the ‘hearing of the dead’ whereupon he wrote the
far-famed ‘Sama’al-Mawta’ in which he collects seventy seven hadith on this
issue.
On the necessity of the beard, Imam Ahmad narrates fifty six hadith in his work
entitled ‘Lum’at al-Duha fi I’fa al-Luha’.
On the rights of parents, his works consists of ninety one hadith.
On the impermissibility of performing sajdah of reverence, he collected seventy
hadith in his work entitled ‘al-Zubdah al-Zakiyyah fi Tahreemi Sujudi al-Tahiyyah’
His mastery can be identified by the fact that when he wrote a hadith, it would
seem that all of its channels of transmission, narrators and sources were in
front of his eyes. On narrating the hadith, ‘seek goodness and accomplishment of
needs by the handsome faced ones’ (utlubuw al-khayra wa al-hawa’ija min hisan
al-wujuh) he says,
-‘Tabarani narrated it in al-Kabeer, and Uqaiyli, Khateeb, and Tamam al-Razi in his Fawa’id, Baiyhaqi in Sha’b al-Iman all from Ibn Abbas,
-Ibn Abi Dunya in Qadha al-Hawa’ij, Uqaiyli, Dar Qutni in al-Afrad, Tabarani in al-Awsat, Tamam, and Khateeb in Ruwatu Malik from Abu Hurayrah,
-Ibn Asakir and Khateeb in their chronicles from Anas Ibn Malik,
-Tabarani in al-Awsat, Uqaiyli and Khara’iti in I’tila al-Qulub, Tamam, Abu Sahl, Abd al-Samad bin Abdurahman al-Bazzar in his juz’, and the author of Mahraniyat from Jabir bin Abdullah,
-Abd bin Hameed in his Musnad, Ibn Hiban in al-Du’afa, Ibn Addi in al-Kamil, al-Salfi in al-Tuyuriyat from Ibn Umar
-Ibn al-najjar in his chronicle from the commander of Believers Ali,
-Tabarani in al-Kebeer from Abu Khusayfah,
-Tamam from Abu Bakrah,
-Bukhari in his chronicle, Ibn Abi Dunya in Qadh al-Hawa’ij, Abu Y’ala in his Musnad, Tabarani in al-Kabeer, al-Uqayli, Bayhaqi in Sh’ab al-Iman, and Ibn Asakir from the mother of believers Aisha Siddiqah May Allah be pleased with all of them’. [Nine different transmissions of sahabah from thirty four sources, Al-Amnu wa al-Ula Page 70]
This an example from many other examples found in his books explicitly marking
his mastery in hadith textual corpus and transmission studies.
Here is another similar example. In his massive refutation on Mirza Ghulam
Qadyani’s claim of prophecy entitled ‘Jazallahu uduwwahu’ p46, Imam Ahmad Rida
narrates the following hadith ‘Oh Ali! Are you not pleased that your rank with
me is as Haruns to Musa except that there is no prophet after me’ (ama tardha an
takuwna minni manzilata Haruna min Muwsa Ghayra annahu la nabiyya ba’di) as
such,
-‘Ahmad narrated, and Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, NIsa’I, Ibn Majah, Ibn Abi Shaybah and Ibn Jareer in His Sunan from Sa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas,
-Hakim, Tabarani, Abu Bakr, Ibn Mardaweyh, Bazzar, and Ibn Asakir from Ali,
-Ahmad, Bazzar, Tabarani and Mutayri from Abu S’eed al-Khudri
-Tirmidhi from Jabir bin Abdullah and Abu Hurayrah
-Tabarani and Khateeb from Abdullah bin Umar
-Abu Nu’aym from Sa’eed bin Zayd
-Tabarani from Barra bin Azib, Zaid bin Arqam, Hubaysh bin Janadah, Jabir bin Samrah, Malik bin Huwayrath, Mother of the believers Umm Salmah and from Asma bint Amees, May Allah be pleased with all of them.
On the hadith ‘I am Muhammad and Ahmad, the last in succession and the gatherer;
I am the Prophet of repentance and the prophet of mercy’ (ana Muhammad wa Ahmad
wa al-Muqaffa wa al-Hashir wa Nabiyy al-tawbah wa Nabiyy al-rahmah), Imam Ahmad
Rida states in his epistle ‘al-Amnu wa al-Ula Page129:
-‘Ahmad narrated it, and Muslim, and Tabarani in [Mu’jam] al-Kabeer from Abu Musa Ash’ari
-the abovementioned and Ibn Sa’d, Ibn Abi Shaybah and Bukhari in his chronicle, Tirmidhi in his Shama’il from Huzayfah
-Ibn Mardawayh in His tafseer, Abu Nu’aym in al-Dala’il, Ibn Addi al-Kamil, Ibn Asakir in Tareekh Dimashq, and Daylami in Musnad Firdauws from Abu Tufayl
-and Ibn Addi from Abu Hurayrah. May Allah be pleased with all of them.
In His al-Amnu wa al-Ula Page 73, he collects ten different transmissions to the
sahabah from twenty three sources on the hadith in a similar fashion to the
aforementioned, ‘Oh Allah! Cherish Islam with the most beloved to you from
either of these two men; Umar bin al-Khattab or Abu Jahl bin Hashim’. Similarily,
he collects ten different channels of transmissions back to the Sahbah and one
successor from twenty three sources on the hadith ‘the great practices that
bring one near to Allah are; spreading salam, giving food, and praying salah at
night when people are asleep’ (Raad al-Qaht wa al-Waba p12). There are several
other examples like this, providing sufficient evidence of his breadth of study
and memorization of hadith. If one wants to see this mastery, acquire his book
al-Amnu wa al-Ula, and al-Zahr al-Basim on the impermissibility of zakah on Banu
Hashim. When he wrote, it was as if the pen never stopped and the chains and
sources flowed continuously from his blessed pen. May Allah shower abundant
mercy on him, and place him in the greater gardens. Ameen.
Elucidation and rectification of Hadith
terminology
His explanations to the fundamentals of hadith in his prominent work on kissing
the thumbs entitled, ‘Muneer al-Ayn’ spreads over two hundred pages of scholarly
rectification and correction of mistakes made by those who objected to the
narrations on this issue. His explanations to the principles such as, ‘Negation
of authenticity does not entail negation of soundness’, ‘fifteen signs of
forgery’ (after which he says, ‘and memorize this for you shall not find this
detail elsewhere’), ‘empowerment of weak hadith’, ‘difference between acting and
accepting a hadith’, ‘ranks of hadith and their reliability’, ‘weak hadith in
issues of merit and excellence’, ‘experience without reliance on the channel of
transmission’, ‘authentication of hadith by means of spiritual opening or kashf’,
‘difference between non-authentic and forged narrations’, ‘authenticity and
weakness are based on the apparent, thus the weak may be authentic in reality’,
‘the types of ambiguity of narrators and their rulings’ are some of the very
detailed issues in this work. In numerous sections of this work, he wrote
statements such as ‘take this for you shall not find it elsewhere’ and ‘this was
what was spiritually opened upon me, and Allah knows best’.
Commendation and criticism of the narrators
His accuracy and depth of understanding in this branch of Hadith principles was
extraordinary.
Some scholars of Imam Ahmad’s era objected to the narration of Muhammad bin
Is’haq on the second adhan of Juma based on the fact that he was a rafidhi
Shiite to which he replied in book-form, entitling it as ‘Shama’im al-Anbar fi
Adaab al-Nida amama al-Minbar’. His commendation ‘ta’deel’ of Muhammad bin
Is’haq is based on the commendation of twenty one masters of this domain and a
must-read for those who want to acquire knowledge about his knowledge in the
branch of al-Jarh wa al-Ta’deel and breadth of study of the biographies of men.
In his work ‘al-Hujjat al-Muwtammah’ Imam Ahmad Rida commends and makes tawtheeq
of Ash’ath bin Siwar, who was marked as ‘weak’ in Taqreeb al-Tahdheeb, based on
specialist commendations and said that the criticism was not explained ‘jarh
ghayr mufassar’ hence his narration on the permissibility of a dhimmi on
entering the mosque was sound ‘hasan’.
The hadith on the excellence of wearing a turban in salah was marked a ‘forgery’
by Ibn Hajar since it passed through a chain of four unknown persons; Abbas bin
Kathir, Abu Bashr bin Yasar, Muhammad bin Mahdi Marwazi and Mahdi bin Maymun. On
his comments to this ranking, Imam Ahmad Rida, with all respect and esteem for
Ibn Hajar, remarks,
‘May Allah have mercy on Ibn Hajar! It is a questionable fact why he marked this
hadith forged when none amongst its narrators is a forger ‘wadda’ nor accused of
forgery ‘muttaham bi al-Wad’, and neither a liar ‘kadhab’ nor accused of lying
‘muttaham bi al-kadhib’, neither does its context contravene the law or prove
logically impossible! Such a narration should not be rejected as a forgery
‘mawdu’ so as to exclude it from the chapter of excellence’.
Nevertheless, Imam Ibn Hajar himself values two hadith of such a nature in
‘al-Qawl al-Musaddad’ which consist of unknown ‘majhul’, ‘Mudhtarib al-Hadith’,
those who make excessive mistakes ‘katheer al-Khata’ and ‘fahish al-wahm’
narrators and accepts them in the issue of excellence!
Whilst commenting on the second of the two, Ibn Hajar states that it neither
contravenes the Islamic law nor does it conflict with human logic hence
accepted. To this Imam Ahmad Rida states, ‘why not say the same for the hadith
on the turban!? It is also from the issues of excellence and neither contradicts
the law nor logic. Its narrators are of a lesser degree in weakness than those
narrators whose chains are accepted by Ibn Hajar himself!’
Conciliation between mutually contradictory
hadith narrations
Imam Ahmad had strong knowledge if fiqh al-Hadith. His works such as Hajiz
al-Bahrayn and al-Fadhl al-Mawhabi shed light on his manhaj in conciliating
contradictory texts and lifting the conflict of narrations, as if there was no
contradiction in the first place.
Hadith scholars agree that this area of study is the most complex of all since
it requires a thorough mastery of the principles of riwayah and dirayah. Dirayah
here would include a solid understanding of abrogation, limits of
interpretation, detailed consideration of the illah, depth of knowledge in
hadith flaws ‘illal’ and so forth.
His conciliation between hadith texts on the following issues is a categorical
proof on the depth of his knowledge
These are only a few
examples; his fatawa is the best source for this study.
Ijazahs in Hadith
Imam Ahmad Rida was very fortunate to complete his studies at a very young age.
It is recorded in many sources that the first time he issued a fatwa were at the
age of thirteen. His detailed answer to a question on ‘breastfeeding’ astonished
his father thus acclaimed popularity for his knowledge at a very young age.
On his first travel to Haj, in company with his father, Imam al-Mutakallimeen
Mawlana Naqi Ali Khan, he attained ijazahs in hadith from the following scholars
of Makkah
His Ijazahs in hadith from
India pass through his grand teacher, the pillar of Muhaddith masters, Shah Abd
al-Aziz al-Dehlvi from whom he narrates through his teacher and spiritual guide,
al-Sayyid Aal al-Rasul al-Marharwi.
Imam Ahmad Rida narrates all hadith from his father, too, which pass through
Sheikh Abd al-Haq al-Dehlvi.
From his other ijazah’s are the musalsalat which he narrates from numerous
scholars. May Allah be pleased with all of them.
Scholars’ praise to Him
On his second travel for haj and ziyarah in 1323h (1905), Imam Ahmad Rida’s
knowledge shun over the horizon of al-Hijaz and his great work ‘al-Dawlah al-Makkiyah
bi al-Madah al-Ghaybiyyah’ , which he wrote in response to the wahabi rejection
of the Prophet’s knowledge of the unseen during his travel in approximately nine
hours, acclaimed great praise and commendation. Imam Ahmad wrote this book
without the direct study of any books which was then recited in his absence in a
gathering of three hundred scholars, in two sittings.
Thereafter, great scholars of hadith from Makkah and Madinah took ijazahs from
him in hadith which are recorded in two of his great works,
The total number of ijazahs
he issued were seven to the follwing scholars,
Shaykh Yaseen Ahmad al-Khiyari, a renowned
scholar of Madinah, referred to him as ‘Imam al-Muhadditheen’ the leader of
hadith masters.
The Archive keeper of the Mekkan library, Shaykh Isma’il Makki called him
‘Shaykh al-Muhadditheen ala al-Itlaq’ the absolute shaykh of Hadith scholars.
Ali bin Hussain Maliki, a teacher of the Mekkan Haram, called him ‘the
encyclopedia of all sciences’.
When asked about the mastery of Imam Ahmad in Hadith, ‘Hafiz al-Bukhari’ Shah
Wasi Ahmad Surti (who was known as ‘the pillar of hadith masters’ in the
subcontinent) said: ‘he is the commander of believers in Hadith of our era’.
Upon hearing this Muhaddith Kachawchwi remarked: ‘do you know what level of
mastery this is!?’ To which Hafiz al-Bukhari replied, ‘the awilya distinguish
awliya and masters identify the masters’.
In 1303H Imam Ahmad Rida was invited to the opening ceremony of Madrasah al-Hadith
in Peeli Bheet, India, to lecture on the Sciences of Hadith. Renowned scholars
of hadith from Saharanpur, Lahore, Kanpur, Jauwnpur, Rampur, Badayun and
elsewhere attended (all of the aforementioned are far-famed cities for service
in hadith sciences in the subcontinent). Imam Ahmad lectured continuously for
three hours shedding light on Hadith fundamentals and its obscure stages and in
other of its branches whereupon the scholars were astounded by his
meticulousness in Hadith narration, breadth of knowledge of the biographies of
men, memorization of hadith texts and their channels of transmission. Sheikh
Khaleel al-Rahman, the son of the great master of Hadith in Saharanpur Mawlana
Ahmad Ali, praised the Imam with these words, ‘Had my father been alive today,
he would have acclaimed your mastery in hadith and he would have the right to do
so’. Hafiz al-Bukhari al-Surti and Mawlana Muhammad Ali Mawngeeri, the founder
of Nadwat al-Ulama Lakhnouw, accredited this reality.
Upon reading the Imam’s response to a question on the legal stance of making a
sajdah of reverence ‘sajdah al-Ta’zeem’, Mawlana Abu al-Hassan Ali al-Nadwi
remarked, ‘This rich epistle clearly indicates his depth of knowledge and
strength of inference’. He furthermore comments saying, ‘Other than the various
verses and one hundred and fifty legal proof texts on this issue, he i.e. Imam
Ahmad Rida refers to fourty hadith linked to it’.
From his unpublished works in the sciences of hadith are his commentaries and
notes on the following great works
Dr Masud Ahamd from Imam
Ahmad Rida research Institute, Karachi, has managed to obtain all of the
abovementioned works. Walhamdulillah
The greatest resources available on Imam Ahmad
Rida’s mastery in Hadith are listed below:
‘Ilm-e-Hadith auwr Muhaddithe-e-Brelvi ki rijaley hadith auwr Usul par nazar’
(The science of Hadith and the Muhaddith’s knowledge of its men and
fundamentals) by Aal Mustafa Misbahi prnt. Ma’arif Raza Karachi, 1991
‘Imam Ahmad Rida bahaythiyyet Imam-e-Fanney hadith’ (Imam Ahmad Rida; An Imam of
Hadith Science) by Abdal Mustafa al-Azhari prnt Ma’arif Raza Karachi, 1992
‘Imam Ahmad Rida auwr Ilmey Hadith bahawalah tareekh -e- Adabiyyat –e-
Musalmanan-e- Pak wa Hind’ (Imam Ahmad Rida & hadith sciences; a study from the
historical perspective of scholars from the subcontinent) by Dr Ghulam Mustafa
Khan, Punjab University
‘Ilm-e-Hadith auwr Muhaddith-e- Brelvi’ (Hadith Science and the master of
Breiley) by Muhammad Anwar Nizami prnt Ma’arif Raza, Karachi, 1998
‘Hadith-e-Nabawi Fatawa Rizwiyyah ka bunyadi Ma’khaz’ (Hadith; the fundamental
source of Fatawa Ridhwiyyah) by Dr Muhammad Tufayl
Jami’ al-Ridhwi also known as ‘Saheeh al-Bihari’ (a collection of Imam Ahmad
Rida’s narrations in hadith) by Sheikh Muhmmad Zafar al-Din al-Bihari
‘Imam Ahmad Rida auwr Ilme-e-Hadith’ (Imam Ahmad Rida and the science of Hadith
in 3vols) by Sheikh Muhammad Isa Rizvi prnt Dehli, 1999
‘Muhaddith-e-Breillvi’ (The hadith master of Bareilly) by Dr. Masud Ahmad,
Karachi, 1993
‘Imam Ahmad Rida aur Aalmi Jami’at’ (A study of Imam Ahmad Rida in the
international universities) by Dr Masud Ahmad, Karachi, 1998
‘Jami al-Ahadith’ (a collection of the Imam’s hadith from his Fatawa in 6 Vols)
by Sheikh Muhammad Haneef Khan, Gujrat, 2001
‘Imam Ahmad Rida ki Khidmaat-e-Ulum-e-Hadith ka tahqeeqi wa tanqeedi Ja’izah’ (A
phd on Imam Ahmad Rida’s service in Hadith sciences; a critical research)
recently completed by Sheikh Manzur Ahmad Sa’eedi
I hope this article has shed some light on the hadith knowledge of Imam Ahmad
Rida and lifted the weak comments on his mastery, as such made by Mawlana Ali
Miyah al-Nadwi who wrote the additional notes on his father’s (Mawlana Abd al-Hayy
al-Lakhanwi) biography of the subcontinent scholars entitled ‘Nuzhat al-Khawatir’
in which he added, ‘he i.e. Imam Ahmad Rida had little experience in hadith and
Tafseer’. I will request the reader to think about this injustice. Even so,
‘Inba al-Hayy’, the detailed commentary on al-Dawlah based on largely tafseer
and hadith issues, alone is sufficient to know about Imam Ahmad’s mastery in
tafseer and Hadith!
Wa Sallalahu ala Sayyidina Muhammadin wa Aalihi
wa saHbihi wa Sallim
--
Munawwar Ateeq Rizvi
Completed on 13th May 2005