This excerpt is taken from Shaykh Abu Hudhayfah Muhammad Javed Salafi’s book"Ā’īnah Tawḥīd wa Sunnat – In Response to What is Shirk, Along with the Reality of Bid‘ah."
✦ The Core Belief of Barelvis: Divine Attributes in Humans
The Barelvi sect believes that certain divine attributes of Allah can exist in humans — Naʿūdhubillāh.
This article has already addressed their misinterpretations and false proofs regarding this belief. Here, we now explain why attributing titles such as “Dātā” (the giver) or “Ganj Bakhsh” (treasure distributor) to any human being is not just a false belief, but an act of shirk (polytheism) and kufr (disbelief).
◉ Calling a Human "Dātā" — The Giver
- Dātā is a descriptive noun in Hindi meaning "the one who gives."
In the worldly sense, everyone — whether good or bad, Muslim or non-Muslim — can give through means (asbāb), if they possess something. But giving without means is only within Allah’s power.
إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْوَهَّابُ
“Indeed, You alone are the Supreme Giver.”
(Surah Al-Imran: 8)
Only Allah provides sustenance to all creation:
ٱلْـحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
“All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.”
(Surah Al-Fatiha: 2)
❖ Refuting the "Dātā" Title for Ali Hujwiri
If Ali Hujwiri was Dātā, what about the time before he was born?
Who was the provider for his parents, or for the world then?
Ali Hujwiri has passed away, yet people seek from his grave as though he hears.
But Allah states:
وَمَا أَنتَ بِمُسْمِعٍۢ مَّن فِى ٱلْقُبُورِ
“You cannot make those in the graves hear.”
(Surah Fatir: 22)
If even the Prophet ﷺ could not make the dead hear, how can a deceased saint like Ali Hujwiri hear or respond to anyone?
❖ All Sustenance Comes Only From Allah
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ لَكُمْ رِزْقًا...
“Those whom you worship besides Allah have no power to give you sustenance.”
(Surah Al-‘Ankabūt: 17)
أَمَّن يَرْزُقُكُم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ...
“Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?”
(Surah An-Naml: 64)
وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا
“There is no creature on earth except that its provision is upon Allah.”
(Surah Hud: 6)
ٱللَّهُ يَبْسُطُ ٱلرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ...
“Allah expands provision for whom He wills.”
(Surah Al-‘Ankabūt: 62)
And finally, Allah states clearly:
وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ...
“Whoever puts their trust in Allah, He is sufficient for them.”
(Surah At-Talāq: 3)
◉ Hadith Evidence: Only Allah Gives and Withholds
The Prophet ﷺ used to say after every prayer:
اللَّهُمَّ لَا مَانِعَ لِمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَلَا مُعْطِيَ لِمَا مَنَعْتَ
“O Allah! None can withhold what You give, and none can give what You withhold.”
(Bukhari: 844, Muslim: 593)
This proves: No one can give except Allah. Everyone else — including the prophets — are in need of Allah and cannot provide independently.يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ أَنتُمُ ٱلْفُقَرَآءُ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ
“O mankind, you are all in need of Allah.”
(Surah Fatir: 15)
◉ Belief in Saints Protecting or Saving Is False
Many believe that offering nazr-o-niyāz at the shrines of saints will remove their hardships.
But Allah says:
قُلْ فَمَن يَمْلِكُ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ شَيْـًٔا إِنْ أَرَادَ بِكُمْ ضَرًّۭا أَوْ نَفْعًۭا
“Say: Who can protect you from Allah if He intends harm or benefit for you?”
(Surah Al-Fath: 11)
No one can intervene against Allah’s will — not even Isa (عليه السلام), as stated in:
قُلْ فَمَن يَمْلِكُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ شَيْـًٔا إِنْ أَرَادَ أَن يُهْلِكَ ٱلْمَسِيحَ...
“Say: Who can stop Allah if He wishes to destroy Messiah, his mother, and all on the earth?”
(Surah Al-Mā’idah: 17)
◉ Use of “Mawlānā” vs. "Dātā": Important Clarification
- "Mawlānā" in Arabic means “friend” or “ally” and is used in the Qur'an for people too:
فَإِن لَّمْ تَعْلَمُوا۟ ءَابَآءَهُمْ فَإِخْوَٰنُكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ وَمَوَٰلِيكُمْ
“They are your brothers in faith and your allies.”
(Surah Al-Aḥzāb: 5)
Using the word "Mawlānā" for scholars as a term of respect is permissible, provided no divine attributes are intended.
However, using “Dātā” implies:
- Knowledge of the unseen
- Hearing from all places
- Removing difficulties
- Granting sustenance
These are attributes only Allah possesses.
◉ Calling Ali Hujwiri "Ganj Bakhsh" — A Grave Error
“Ganj Bakhsh” is a Persian title meaning “Distributer of Treasures”.
But Allah says:
وَلِلَّهِ خَزَآئِنُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ
“To Allah belong the treasures of the heavens and the earth.”
(Surah Al-Munāfiqūn: 7)
Even the Prophet ﷺ declared:
قُل لَّآ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِندِى خَزَآئِنُ ٱللَّهِ
“Say: I do not say to you that I possess Allah’s treasures.”
(Surah Al-An‘ām: 50)
If even the Prophet ﷺ did not possess Allah’s treasures, how can a saint?◉ Ali Hujwiri’s Own Words Refuting “Ganj Bakhsh” Title
In his book Kashf al-Asrār, he addresses himself:
“O Ali! The people call you ‘Ganj Bakhsh’ but you do not even possess a single grain. Never let this thought cross your mind. The one and only who gives treasures is Allah, the Master of the Kingdom. Do not fall into shirk, or your life will be destroyed.”
(Sīrat-e-Ganj Bakhsh, p. 7 – Akmal Owaisi Pirzada)
Even he disowns such titles and warns against their usage.
❖ Poetic Evidence of Barelvi Extremism
A poem published in Rizā-e-Mustafā, May 1973, attributes divine powers to Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (رحمه الله):
- Controls the world
- Hears every cry
- Knows secrets of hearts
- Gives sustenance
- Raises the dead
- Removes calamities
- Appears in multiple places at once
This proves that Barelvi beliefs in saints directly conflict with the Qur’an and Sunnah, equating creation with the Creator — which is major shirk.
Conclusion
① Only Allah is Dātā, Ganj Bakhsh, and Provider.
② Attributing these names to the deceased or saints implies divine characteristics, which is shirk in the attributes of Allah.
③ Even Ali Hujwiri himself rejected these titles.
④ Qur’anic verses and Prophetic Hadiths confirm that no one can give, withhold, or protect except Allah.
⑤ Saints, prophets, and all creation are in need of Allah; they cannot act independently of Him.
⑥ Any belief suggesting otherwise is a deviation from true Islamic monotheism (Tawḥīd).
