Evidence of Deobandi Elders Believing in the Doctrine of Waḥdat al-WujūdSource: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1 – Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p. 67
❖ Question:
Which scholars among the Deobandi school of thought believed in the concept of Waḥdat al-Wujūd (Unity of Existence)?
❖ Answer:
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
From among the senior scholars of Deoband, the following personalities are noted to have accepted and affirmed the concept of Waḥdat al-Wujūd:
◈ Mawlānā Rashīd Aḥmad Gangohī
◈ Mawlānā Muḥammad Qāsim Nānotwī
◈ Mawlānā Ḥusayn Aḥmad Madnī
◈ Mawlānā Ashraf ʿAlī Thānwī
◈ And their spiritual guide and mentor: Ḥājī Imdādullāh Thānvī
✦ Statement of Ḥājī Imdādullāh on Waḥdat al-Wujūd:
In his Persian treatise, Ḥājī Imdādullāh writes:
"Nuqtah-shinās! Mas’alah-e-Waḥdat al-Wujūd ḥaqq wa ṣaḥīḥ ast. Wa dar īn mas’alah shak o shubhah nīst. Wa faqīr wa hameh mashāyikh-e-faqīr wa muʿtaqidān-e-bayʿat dārand hamin ast. Mawlawī Muḥammad Qāsim Ṣāḥib marḥūm, Mawlawī Rashīd Aḥmad Ṣāḥib, Mawlawī Muḥammad Yaʿqūb Ṣāḥib, Mawlawī Aḥmad Ḥasan Ṣāḥib wa ghayrahum az ʿazīzān-e-in faqīr and wa taʿalluq dārand, hargiz khilāf-e-iʿtiqādāt-e-faqīr wa mashrab-e-mashāyikh-e-ṭarīq khud maslakī nakhwāhand pazīraft.”
(Kulliyāt Imdādiyyah, Risālah dar Bayān Waḥdat al-Wujūd, pp. 218–219; Shamā’im Imdādiyyah, p. 32)
Translation:
"O person of insight! The issue of Waḥdat al-Wujūd is true and correct. There is no doubt in this matter. I, my spiritual elders, and those who have pledged allegiance to me and maintain a connection with me all hold this belief. Mawlānā Muḥammad Qāsim, Mawlānā Rashīd Aḥmad, Mawlānā Muḥammad Yaʿqūb, Mawlānā Aḥmad Ḥasan and others are among my close associates and are aligned with my belief and method. They will never adopt any stance that contradicts my creed or the spiritual path of my elders.”
✦ Affirmation by Other Deobandi Scholars:
Ṣūfī ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd Khān Swātī, brother of Mawlānā Sarfarāz Khān Ṣafdar, writes:
"The senior scholars of Deoband such as Mawlānā Muḥammad Qāsim Nānotwī (d. 1297 AH), Mawlānā Madnī (d. 1377 AH), and others were firm believers in the concept of Waḥdat al-Wujūd. Mawlānā Nānotwī wrote a treatise on the topic, and he also mentioned this belief in several of his letters. Mawlānā Ḥusayn Aḥmad Madnī also affirmed this concept in his correspondences. Mawlānā Ashraf ʿAlī Thānwī (d. 1362 AH) also wrote extensively on the subject. Their spiritual guide, Mawlānā Ḥājī Imdādullāh, had profound conviction and attachment to this doctrine.”
(Maqālāt Swātī, Part 1, Akābir ʿUlamāʾ-e-Deoband aur Nazariyyah-e-Waḥdat al-Wujūd, p. 375)
✦ Mawlānā ʿUbaydullāh Sindhī and Waḥdat al-Wujūd:
Also quoted by ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd Swātī:
"Mawlānā ʿUbaydullāh Sindhī (d. 1363 AH) wrote regarding the distinguishing features of the Deobandi movement:
‘Among the distinctive traits of this group are:
① belief in Waḥdat al-Wujūd,
② adherence to Ḥanafī jurisprudence, and
③ spiritual connection with the Ottoman Khilāfah. These three principles set this group apart from others like the Amīr Walīyyat ʿAlī movement.’”
(Khuṭbāt wa Maqālāt, p. 237)
✦ Firm Belief of Deobandi Scholars in Waḥdat al-Wujūd:
It is a mistaken and uninformed claim to say that Deobandi scholars did not believe in Waḥdat al-Wujūd. The reality is that the senior leadership and founders of the Deobandi school were strongly committed to this mystical concept.
Mawlānā Ashraf ʿAlī Thānwī authored multiple works on this topic and even defended the views of Ibn ʿArabī (d. 638 AH) — the leading proponent of Waḥdat al-Wujūd.
See: Maqālāt Swātī, Part 1, pp. 375–376✦ Even Aḥmad Raḍā Khān of the Barelwi School Wrote:
"Waḥdat al-Wujūd is ḥaqq (true).”
(Fatāwā Riḍawiyyah, New Edition, Vol. 14, p. 641)
"And [the concept of] Ittiḥād (union) is false and its meaning is heresy."
(Fatāwā Riḍawiyyah, Vol. 14, p. 618)
Conclusion:
◈ It is clearly established that many senior Deobandi scholars were staunch proponents of the doctrine of Waḥdat al-Wujūd, influenced by Ibn ʿArabī’s metaphysical teachings.
◈ Declaring this belief as true, writing extensively on it, and affirming it in letters and teachings all point to their collective acceptance and endorsement of this mystical ideology.
◈ Calling Waḥdat al-Wujūd “truth” and offering interpretive justifications only reinforces the core idea itself.
ھٰذَا مَا عِندِي وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
