Habibullah Derwi Sahib and His Method of Reasoning
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلوة والسلام على رسوله الأمين ، أما بعد :
In this article, some fabricated and rejected narrations with references from certain published books of Hafiz Habibullah Derwi Hayati Deobandi Sahib are presented, from which he has argued or presented as proof. After that, ten examples each of Derwi Sahib’s lies and moral character are listed so that Habibullah Derwi Sahib and his method of argument become clear to the general public.
① Derwi Sahib writes:
And when Hazrat Imam Shafi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, reached the grave of Hazrat Imam Azam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, for visitation, he abandoned raising the hands in prayers there. Someone asked Imam Shafi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, the reason for this, to which he replied:
استحياء من صاحب هذا القبر “This grave inspires modesty.”
Hazrat Shah Rafiuddin Muhaddith Dehlawi, may Allah have mercy on him, after mentioning this incident
, states مشعر لعدم التاكيد that this incident indicates that raising the hands at rukoo’ etc. was not emphasized by Imam Shafi’i.
Commenting on this, the writer wrote:
This incident is fabricated and a blatant lie. Shah Rafiuddin’s narrating an incident without a chain of transmission is not proof of its authenticity. There is a gap of several hundred years between Shah Rafiuddin and Imam Shafi’i during which many travelers died. It is the responsibility of Derwi Sahib to present the complete and detailed chain of transmission of this incident so that the truthfulness of the narrators can be known. Chains of transmission are part of religion, and without a chain, no one’s statement has even the slightest status.
So far, neither Derwi Sahib nor any of his associates have presented any chain for this fabricated and rejected story. (11 Jumada al-Awwal 1427 H)
This is proof that these fabricated stories have no chain available with these people.
② Derwi Sahib writes:
Hazrat Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, practiced abandoning raising the hands and considered it the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and forbade those who raised their hands. Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, writes in
:
Qutaibah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: I heard Abu Maqatil saying that I prayed beside Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, and I kept raising my hands, when Imam Abu Hanifa finished the prayer, he said: “O Abu Maqatil, perhaps you are also among those who fan (raise hands).”
Abu Maqatil Hafs ibn Salm al-Samarqandi is considered weak by the majority of Muhaddithin. Ibn ‘Adi, Ibn Hibban, Juzjani, and others have criticized him.
Abu Nu’aym al-Asbahani mentioned him in Kitab al-Du’afa.
Hakim Nishapuri said:
حدث عن عبيد الله بن عمر وأيوب السختياني ومسعر وغيره بأحاديث موضوعة..
He (Abu Maqatil) narrated fabricated hadiths from Ubaidullah ibn Umar, Ayub al-Sakhtiyani, Mus’ar, and others.
Hafiz Dhahabi said: “Woe to him, he is a severely weak narrator.”
The authentication by Muhaddith Khalili is rejected in view of the majority’s criticism.
Salih ibn Abdullah (Al-Tirmidhi) said that we were with Abu Maqatil al-Samarqandi when he began narrating long hadiths such as the Will of Luqman and the killing of Sa’id ibn Jubayr from ‘Awn ibn Abi Shaddad. Abu Maqatil’s nephew said to him: “O uncle! Do not say that ‘Awn narrated to us because you did not hear these things.” He replied: “O son! This is good speech.”
It is clear that for the sake of what he considered good speech, Abu Maqatil did not hesitate to fabricate chains. Derwi Sahib is presenting the narration of such a liar as proof!!
③ Derwi Sahib, citing the author Ibn Abi Shaybah
, writes:
عن جابر عن الأسود وعلقمة أنهما كان يرفعان أيديهما إذا افتتحا ثم لا يعودان
Hazrat Aswad, may Allah have mercy on him, and Hazrat Alqamah, may Allah have mercy on him, used to raise their hands at the time of the opening Takbir of prayer and then did not raise their hands afterward.
Its narrator Jabir al-Ju’fi is considered weak by the majority of Muhaddithin. Hafiz Ibn Hajar said:
ضعيف رافضي He is a weak Rafidhi.
Imam Abu Hanifa said:
ما رأيت أحدا أكذب من جابر الجعفي ولا أفضل من عطاء بن أبى رباح
I have not seen anyone more lying than Jabir al-Ju’fi, nor anyone better than ‘Ata ibn Abi Rabah.
Derwi Sahib himself writes:
Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju’fi is very lying and a vile Shia. But Ansari Sahib included the narration of raising hands from this great liar in Al-Rasa’il
etc., because the intention is to deceive Muslims. (مقدمه نور الصباح بترقيمي ص 19, this phrase is before the preface of the book)
It is clear that by presenting the narration of a liar himself, Derwi Sahib has deceived the general Muslims.
④ Derwi Sahib, quoting his praised Anwar Shah Kashmiri Deobandi
, writes:
“It is narrated from Hazrat Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal that he said: On any issue on which Imam Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, Imam Abu Yusuf, may Allah have mercy on him, and Imam Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, agree, no contrary statement should be heard because Imam Abu Hanifa is more expert in Qiyas.”
This narration presented by Kashmiri Sahib and Derwi Sahib is purely without chain, baseless, and fabricated.
In contrast, Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
حديث أبى حنيفة ضعيف ورأيه ضعيف
Abu Hanifa’s hadith is weak and his opinion is also weak.
Imam Ahmad did not even like to mention Imam Abu Hanifa’s name in his famous book Al-Musnad.
There is absolutely no proof of Imam Ahmad’s authentication or praise of Imam Abu Hanifa; rather, criticism is established, the details of which are in my book “Al-Asanid al-Sahihah fi Akhbar al-Imam Abi Hanifa.”
Regarding Qadi Abu Yusuf, Imam Ahmad said:
وأنا لا أحدث عنه “And I do not narrate hadith from him.”
Regarding Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, Imam Ahmad said:
لا أروي عنه شيئا “I do not narrate anything from him.”
Someone asked Imam Ahmad: In a region, there are two types of people: one are the people of hadith who narrate hadith but know nothing about authentic or weak; the other are people of opinion who have little knowledge of hadith. From whom should one seek religious rulings?
Imam Ahmad replied:
يسأل أصحاب الحديث ولا يسأل أصحاب الرأي، ضعيف الحديث خير من ر أى أبى حنيفة
One should ask the people of hadith and not the people of opinion. The weak hadith narrator is better than Abu Hanifa’s opinion.
A polite request to Derwi Sahib and all Deobandis is to present the authentic and connected chain of this narration narrated by Kashmiri Sahib.
⑤ Derwi Sahib writes:
Imam Bukhari’s teacher Hafiz Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah, may Allah have mercy on him, writes in his book
: عن أشعث عن الشعبي أنه كان يرفع يديه فى أول التكبيرة ثم لا يرفعهما Hazrat Imam Shu’aybi, may Allah have mercy on him, used to raise hands at the first Takbir and then not raise them afterward.
The narrator of this report, Ash’ath ibn Suwar, is weak according to the majority of Muhaddithin; therefore, this narration is rejected.
Derwi Sahib himself writes about a narration: Its chain includes Ash’ath ibn Suwar al-Kindi al-Kufi, who is weak according to the majority.
⑥ Derwi Sahib writes:
Ibn Jurayj is a narrator who committed temporary marriage and fornication with ninety women. [Tadhkirat al-Huffaz by Dhahabi etc.]
There is no authentic chain proof that Ibn Jurayj committed temporary marriage with ninety women (or even one woman).
All references in Tadhkirat al-Huffaz
are without chain and rejected. The word fornication was fabricated by Derwi Sahib himself, whereas the rejected and chainless narration in Tadhkirat al-Huffaz uses the word “married.”
Derwi Sahib himself wrote Ibn Jurayj, who practiced temporary marriage and fornication, as “trustworthy.”
He argued from Ibn Jurayj’s narration in this book.
⑦ Derwi Sahib writes:
Similarly, Imam Bukhari’s teacher Hafiz Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah, may Allah have mercy on him, writes in his book
:
عن سفيان بن مسلم الجهني قال كان ابن أبى ليلى يرفع يديه أول شي إذا كبر
Hazrat Abdul Rahman ibn Abi Layla used to raise hands only at the beginning when saying Takbir.
It is noted that Sufyan ibn Muslim al-Juhani is an entirely unknown and obscure narrator; no authentication is found. It is quite possible that this is a writing or printing error and the correct word is سفيان عن مسلم الجهني. Allah knows best.
Muslim ibn Salim Abu Furwah al-Junni is a truthful narrator, but Sufyan (Thawri) is a famous mudallis (one who conceals defects in narration), so this chain is weak and rejected due to Sufyan’s concealment.
⑧ The author Ibn Abi Shaybah
narrates a hadith عن الحجاج عن طلحة عن خيثمة. Before narrating this, Derwi Sahib writes in bold letters: Hazrat Khuthaymah, may Allah have mercy on him, also did not raise hands.
It is noted that the narrator Hajjaj is unknown due to unspecified identity. If it is taken to mean Hajjaj ibn Artaah, the teacher of Abu Bakr (ibn ‘Ayyash), then Derwi Sahib himself writes about him: “Because Hajjaj ibn Artaah is weak, mudallis, frequently mistaken, and abandoned in hadith.”
Derwi Sahib presented this “weak” and “abandoned hadith” himself as proof citing
as argument number 19.
Such numerous examples prove that Derwi Sahib argues from narrations he likes and criticizes those against his desire.
⑨ Derwi Sahib writes:
And when Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, came to Kufa and saw the teaching of Ibn Mas’ud and his students, he spontaneously said: اصحاب عبدالله سرج هذه القرية
The students of Abdullah are the lamps of this town.
This narration is narrated in Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d (our copy
) and Hilyat al-Awliya
through the chain Malik ibn Maqbul from al-Qasim (ibn Abd al-Rahman) from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him.
Qasim is unspecified. If it is taken to mean Qasim ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah ibn Mas’ud al-Mas’udi or Qasim ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Dimashqi, then this narration is disconnected and therefore rejected.
⑩ A tafsir attributed to Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, is entirely fabricated and fabricated. Its chain includes Muhammad ibn Marwan al-Saddi and Muhammad ibn al-Sa’ib al-Kalbi, both liars narrators.
Derwi Sahib quotes from this fabricated tafsir:
مخبتون متواضعون لا يلتفتون يمينا ولا شمالا ولا يرفعون ايديهم فى الصلوة
Those who are humble and modest do not look right or left and do not raise their hands in prayer.
Dear readers, this fatwa of Hazrat Ibn Abbas is exactly in accordance with his raised narration in which raising hands is forbidden.
This phrase is on page 212 in our copy.
Regarding the narrator al-Saddi, Derwi Sahib’s praised Sarfaraz Khan Safdar Deobandi writes: “Al-Saddi is a liar and fabricator.”
Sarfaraz Khan Sahib further writes:
You people hold on to al-Saddi’s “tail,” and this is your blessing.
It is clear that by presenting this tafsir attributed to Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas, Derwi Sahib has held on to the tail of the liar al-Saddi!
Warning: It is established from Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, that he used to raise hands at the beginning of prayer, before rukoo’, and when rising from rukoo’.
Therefore, this fabricated tafsir narration is rejected even compared to the companion’s practice.
These ten narrations are presented as examples so that the general Muslims also know that Hafiz Habibullah Derwi Deobandi has argued from fabricated and rejected narrations and presented fabricated narrations as proof.
Deravi Sahib’s Ten Lies
Now, here are ten explicit lies of Hafiz Habibullah Dervi Sahib presented for your consideration:
① Dervi Sahib writes about Muhammad bin Abdur Rahman bin Abi Layla:
“However, still, according to the majority, he is truthful and trustworthy.”
This statement of Dervi Sahib is entirely based on falsehood. On the contrary, Al-Busiri says:
ضعفه الجمهور
Al-Tahawi says: مضطرب الحفظ جدا
He has a lot of confusion in his memory.
Moreover, Anwar Shah Kashmiri Deobandi, one of Dervi Sahib’s senior scholars, says:
فهو ضعيف عندي كما ذهب إليه الجمهور (He [Ibn Abi Layla] is weak in my view as the majority have declared him weak) See
② Imam Yahya bin Ma’in says about Imam Abu Hanifa:
لا يكتب حديثه His hadith should not be written.
This statement was quoted by Maulana Irshad-ul-Haq Athari from Tarikh Baghdad
with reference to Al-Kamil by Ibn Adi
.
Responding to this, Dervi Sahib writes:
This criticism of Imam Ibn Ma’in by Al-Kamil Ibn Adi is not even transmitted; rather, the biography of Imam Azam (may Allah have mercy on him) starts from
. This is pure falsehood and dishonesty by Athari Sahib.
Whereas the biography of Imam Abu Hanifa starts in Al-Kamil Ibn Adi from
. Anyone who wants to see with their own eyes can come to us and see the original book.
On the cited page of Al-Kamil Ibn Adi, the criticism of Imam Ibn Ma’in on Imam Abu Hanifa is exactly transmitted; therefore, Dervi Sahib himself is guilty of lying and ……
③ With a weak and rejected chain, it is narrated in Al-Kamil Ibn Adi from Imam Nazar bin Shumail:
كان أبو حنيفة متروك الحديث ليس بثقة
Abu Hanifa abandoned hadith; he was not trustworthy.
This weak and rejected statement was quoted by Maulana Athari Sahib with reference to Al-Kamil Ibn Adi.
And its narrator Ahmad bin Hafs has been criticized.
Regarding this reference, Dervi Sahib writes:
This statement of Imam Nafar is not in Al-Kamil Ibn Adi. This is pure falsehood by Maulana Athari Sahib.
Whereas this statement is present in both manuscripts of Al-Kamil Ibn Adi, and its narrator Ahmad bin Hafs is criticized.
④ In a weak narration attributed to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), it is mentioned that he raised his hands only with the first Takbir. About this hadith, Dervi Sahib quotes Maulana Ataullah Hani Bhujiyani (may Allah have mercy on him):
قوله ثم لم يعد قد تكلم ناس فى ثبوت هذا الحديث والقوي أنه ثابت من رواية عبدالله بن مسعود . Then people debated about the proof of raising hands at every Takbir, and the strong opinion is that this hadith is indeed authentic and established according to the method of Abdullah bin Mas’ud.
This narration is quoted in Al-Ta’liqaat al-Salafiyyah
with reference to “S”, i.e., Hashiyah al-Sindhi on Sunan al-Nasa’i, and the same wording is written in Hashiyah al-Sindhi.
Dervi Sahib attributed Sindhi’s statement to Bhujiyani (may Allah have mercy on him), which is a blatant lie and betrayal.
⑤ Dervi Sahib writes:
Thus, it is established with an authentic chain that Sayyiduna Abu Qatada (may Allah be pleased with him) was led in funeral prayer by Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).
It is submitted that the narrator Musa bin Abdullah bin Yazid’s meeting with Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is not established.
After narrating this hadith, Imam Bayhaqi writes: وهو غلط And this is incorrect.
Presenting a false narration as authentic chain is a great lie.
⑥ Dervi Sahib writes: Thus, Imam Abu Hatim (may Allah have mercy on him) declared Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) as abandoned in hadith.
Whether Muqaddimah Nasb al-Rayah or Kitab al-Jarh wa al-Ta’dil, in no book did Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) say ”متروك الحديث“ to Imam Bukhari. ثم ترك حديثه to متروك الحديث is a black lie of Dervi Sahib.
Warning: Since both Abu Hatim al-Razi and Abu Zur’ah al-Razi narrated from Imam Bukhari, see Tahdhib al-Kamal
, therefore the statement with ثم ترك حديثه is abrogated.
⑦ Dervi Sahib writes:
In both chains, Al-Awza’i is also a mudallis and the narration is from ‘an.
It is submitted that it is not established from any single Muhaddith explicitly that Imam Awza’i was a mudallis.
⑧ Dervi Sahib writes:
“But in its chain Abu Umar al-Harshi is unknown and”
It is submitted that Hafiz Dhahabi said about Abu Umar Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Hafs bin Muslim al-Nisaburi Ajmiri al-Harthi: الحافظ الإمام الرحال and he narrated from Dhahli that أبو عمرو حجة Abu Umar is a proof.
Calling such a famous Imam unknown by Dervi Sahib after the era of hadith compilation is false and rejected.
⑨ Saeed bin Ayas al-Jurairi is a narrator who suffered confusion in his later life. Among his students is Imam Ismail bin Alayh, about whom Dervi Sahib writes: “While his student here is Ibn Alayh and he is not an early listener.”
It is submitted that (Ibrahim bin Musa bin Ayub) al-Abnasi (d. 802 AH) says:
وممن سمع منه قبل التغير شعبة وسفيان الثوري والحمادان وإسماعيل بن علية
And before his (al-Jurairi’s) confusion, Shu’bah, Sufyan al-Thawri, Hammad bin Zayd, Hammad bin Salmah, and Ismail bin Alayh heard from him.
Also see the note in Nihayat al-Ightibat biman Rumi min al-Ruwat bil Ikhtilat
Therefore, Dervi Sahib’s statement is based on falsehood.
⑩ A weak narration about raising hands in prostrations is narrated from Saeed (bin Abi ‘Aroobah), which due to a copyist’s or scribe’s error got attributed to Shu’bah in the manuscripts of Sunan al-Sughra by al-Nasa’i.
About this, Anwar Shah Kashmiri Deobandi says: Shu’bah’s presence inside Nasa’i is incorrect as is evident from the wording of Fath al-Bari.
Then responding, Dervi Sahib writes:
But Allama Kashmiri (may Allah have mercy on him) has a wrong good opinion about Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) because just as Shu’bah (may Allah have mercy on him) is present in Nasa’i, similarly he is also present in Sahih Abu Awana. It is clear that mentioning Shu’bah (may Allah have mercy on him) is neither wrong in Nasa’i nor in Sahih Abu Awana, rather it is a misconception of Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) and a mere good opinion of Allama Syed Kashmiri (may Allah have mercy on him).
It is submitted that [شعبة] عن قتادة عن نصر بن عاصم عن مالك بن الحويرث
narration, in which raising hands in prostrations is mentioned, is not present in Musnad Abu Awana with this text.
Therefore, in this statement, Dervi Sahib has told a blatant lie about Musnad Abu Awana.
These ten lies are presented as samples among many falsehoods and fabrications of Dervi Sahib.
Some of Deravi Sahib’s Bad Manners!
Finally, here are a few references to the moral character of Deravi Sahib, which reveal his inner personality.
① Regarding the truthful and good narrator and Imam Abu Hanifa’s teacher, Tabi’i Saghir Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar al-Madani, Deravi Sahib writes:
In this chain, “An Abi Ishaq” is actually Muhammad bin Ishaq, who is known as “Dala”.
Everyone knows that in Punjabi, Pashto, and Urdu, “Dala” is a very big insult. For its explanation, one can refer to dictionaries. The pages of the monthly “Al-Hadith” do not permit the explanation of such filthy and vulgar words.
② Deravi Sahib writes:
Imam Tirmidhi, may Allah have mercy on him, has confused the doctrines of the noble Imams, may Allah have mercy on them. Because of this, even a person like Allama Ayni has gone astray.
③ About Amir al-Mu’minin fi al-Hadith Imam Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, Deravi Sahib writes bluntly: The restlessness of Hazrat Imam Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him.
④ About Imam Abu Bakr al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Deravi Sahib writes: Khatib Baghdadi is a strange man.
⑤ About the famous trustworthy Imam Bayhaqi, may Allah have mercy on him, Deravi Sahib writes: Dear readers, in this phrase, Hazrat Imam Bayhaqi has committed a great betrayal.
⑥ About the famous trustworthy Imam Dar Qutni, may Allah have mercy on him, Deravi Sahib wrote: From which Dar Qutni, may Allah have mercy on him, shows bias and injustice.
⑦ About the famous Imam, Muhadhdhab and الحافظ الإمام العلامة الثبت Abu Ali al-Nisaburi, may Allah have mercy on him, Deravi Sahib writes:
Abu Ali al-Hafiz is unjust.
⑧ About Abdul Ha’i Lakhnawi (Hanafi), Deravi Sahib writes: It is a common noble habit of Maulana Abdul Ha’i Lakhnawi to distort phrases and harm the Hanafis.
⑨ About Habib ur-Rahman Azmi (Deobandi), Deravi Sahib writes:
“Maulana Habib ur-Rahman Azmi, may Allah have mercy on him, fell into a strange delusion that…”
⑩ About the famous Ahl al-Hadith scholar Maulana Irshad ul-Haq Athari, may Allah preserve him, Deravi Sahib writes in his characteristic language:
From which it is proven that Athari Sahib, despite knowing, is accustomed to licking filth.
Deravi Sahib further writes:
Athari Sahib has become so blind in enmity towards Muammar, may Allah have mercy on him, that he has lost his senses.
About Athari Sahib, at one place Deravi Sahib demonstrates his “nobility” in these words:
“May the cruel person’s mother never have given birth to you.”
You have seen Deravi Sahib’s lying, fabrications, and noble writing, from which the status and rank of Hafiz Habibullah Deravi Hayati Deobandi become clear. وما تخفي صدورهم أكبر
(11 Jumada al-Awwal 1427 AH)
