A Research-Based Review of Deobandi Beliefs in the Light of Qurʾān and Ḥadīth

Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah – Volume 3, Issues of Tawḥīd and Sunnah, p. 37

Question​

A Deobandi friend handed me a photocopied leaflet titled “Beliefs of the Scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah Deoband”.
In this leaflet, belief numbers 3 to 7, 9, and 24 were listed. The friend claimed these beliefs are absolutely correct, but Ahl al-Ḥadīth do not accept them.
I decided to send you this leaflet and request a research-based reply so that these beliefs can be examined in light of the Qurʾān and authentic ḥadīths, with a detailed analysis.


— Muḥammad Irfān, Nai Abadi, Morgah, Rawalpindi

Answer​

Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʾammā baʿd:

Foundations of Belief and Matters of Īmān​

In the methodology of Ahl al-Ḥadīth, beliefs are established only upon four evidences:
① The Noble Qurʾān
② Authentic marfūʿ ḥadīths
③ Established consensus of the Ummah (ijmāʿ)
④ Statements and actions of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn


Clarifications:

• Qurʾān and ḥadīth here mean explicit and unambiguous texts accepted by Ahl al-Sunnah with no scope for speculative interpretation, where the apparent meaning is intended — such as:
  
  • The Prophet ﷺ being the last Prophet
  • Angels being Allah’s creation made from light
  • The descent of ʿĪsā ibn Maryam عليه السلام before the Day of Judgment
• Āthār of the Salaf means the statements/actions of the Ṣaḥābah, Tābiʿīn, Atbāʿ al-Tābiʿīn, and their followers up to the accepted period, proven by authentic or ḥasan chains and agreed upon by the people of truth.

Historical Context of the Salaf:

• Best generations (khayr al-qurūn): up to 300 AH
• Era of ḥadīth compilation: until approximately 600 AH
• Era of ḥadīth commentators: until 900 AH
• The Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn are those Sunni scholars who were correct in creed, trustworthy, and truthful. All innovators are excluded from this group.

If any belief is not proven by these four sources, Ahl al-Ḥadīth deem it false and rejected.

Research Analysis of the Deobandi Beliefs​

Belief No. 3​

"The land touched by the blessed body of the Prophet ﷺ is, absolutely, the most superior — even above the Throne and the Footstool."
(al-Muhannad, p. 11; Zubdat al-Manāsik by Rashīd Aḥmad Gangohī)


Research:

• No evidence from Qurʾān, Sunnah, ijmāʿ, or Salaf for this belief.
• Not proven from Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, Qāḍī Abū Yūsuf, Ibn Furqad al-Shaybānī, or al-Ṭaḥāwī.
• Quoted by later scholars (e.g., Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ, Abū’l-Walīd al-Bājī) — all post-Salaf.
• Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ’s statement does not mention the Throne and Footstool.
• Ibn Taymiyyah said: “As for the soil itself, it is not superior to the Kaʿbah… No one among the scholars is known to have considered the soil of the grave superior to the Kaʿbah except Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ, and none before or after him agreed.” (Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 27/38)

Conclusion: Not established; silence is better.

Belief No. 4​

"It is permissible to use the deceased — Prophets, saints, martyrs, and the truthful — as intermediaries in supplication, both during life and after death."


Research:

• No proof from Qurʾān, Sunnah, ijmāʿ, or Salaf.
• Ibn Taymiyyah (in Qāʿidah Jalīlah fī al-Tawassul wa’l-Wasīlah) declared it impermissible.
• Imām Abū Ḥanīfah forbade saying “by the right of so-and-so” in duʿāʾ.

Conclusion: Not established.

Belief No. 5​

"It is permissible to request intercession from the Prophet ﷺ at his grave."


Research:

• No proof from Qurʾān, Sunnah, or Salaf.
• In this matter, Deobandis and Barelwīs share the same stance.

Belief No. 6​

"The Prophet ﷺ hears ṣalāh and salām at his grave, and from afar angels convey them to him."


Research:

• Angels conveying ṣalāh and salām from afar — authentic.
• Hearing at the grave — based on a weak narration.

Belief No. 7​

"The Prophet ﷺ is alive in his grave with worldly life, not barzakhī life."


Research:

• No proof for worldly life; authentic reports indicate barzakhī life.
• al-Dhahabī and Ibn Ḥajar affirmed barzakhī life.

Belief No. 9​

"The Prophet ﷺ (and other Prophets) are alive in their graves, pray, have beauty and knowledge, and the Ummah’s deeds are presented to them."


Research:

• If life refers to barzakhī life — agreed by Ahl al-Ḥadīth.
• Praying in the grave — authentic.
• Using this to claim worldly life — incorrect.

Belief No. 24​

"It is permissible to benefit spiritually from shaykhs and receive inner blessings from their graves."


Research:

• No proof from Qurʾān, Sunnah, or Salaf.
• Not from Imām Abū Ḥanīfah either.
• Deobandis and Barelwīs agree on this.

Final Challenge​

Deobandi scholars, especially:

• Muḥammad Taqī ʿUthmānī
• Muḥammad Ilyās Ghumman

…are challenged to prove any of these beliefs from any one of the following with an authentic chain:

• Companions
• Tābiʿīn
• Atbāʿ al-Tābiʿīn
• Followers of Atbāʿ al-Tābiʿīn in khayr al-qurūn
• Imām Abū Ḥanīfah
• Qāḍī Abū Yūsuf
• Ibn Furqad al-Shaybānī
• al-Ṭaḥāwī

If unable, they must repent openly.

Closing Note​

The claim of the Deoband school to be “Ahl al-Sunnah” is just that — a claim. Their beliefs are taken from later groups and from Muʿtazilah and Jahmiyyah, not from the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn.


For further study, see Taḥqīqī Maqālāt vol. 4, pp. 426–438.