Washington University in St.

Louis
Washington University Open Scholarship
Arts & Sciences Electronic Teses and Dissertations Arts & Sciences
Spring 5-1-2014
Hanaf Legal Teory and Hadith: A Study of the
Deobandi Atempts at "Rectifying" the Image of the
Hanaf School
Aamir Bashir
Washington University in St. Louis, ainbay97@gmail.com
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Recommended Citation
Bashir, Aamir, "Hanaf Legal Teory and Hadith: A Study of the Deobandi Atempts at "Rectifying" the Image of the Hanaf School"
(2014). Arts & Sciences Electronic Teses and Dissertations. Paper 5.
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS

Department of Jewish, Islamic, and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures










anaf Legal Theory and adth:
A Study of the Deoband Attempts at Rectifying the Image of the anaf School



by

Aamir Bashir












A thesis presented to the
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
of Washington University in
partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the
degree of Master of Arts



May 2014

St. Louis, Missouri




















Copyright 2014, Aamir Bashir

























ii

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments iv
Abstract v

INTRODUCTION 1
Background 1
Problem Statement 4
Literature Review 6
Sources and Methodology 9
Organization of the Study 11

CHAPTER 1: THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT 14
1.1 The Deobands 14
1.2 Shh Wal Allh and His Legacy 16
1.2.1 Wal Allh as a Renewer (Mujaddid) 17
1.2.2 Wal Allh and adth & Fiqh 19
1.2.3 Wal Allhs Ambiguous Legacy 21
1.3 Deoband Responses to Ahl-e-Hads 25

CHAPTER 2: DEOBAND RE-ARTICULATION OF ANAF LEGAL
THEORY WITH RESPECT TO ADTH
27
2.1 Deobands Sources 28
2.2 Speculative Nature of Principles of adth-Criticism 30
2.3 Ta (Validation/Declaration of Soundness) and Tasn (Declaration of Fairness)
of a adth
32
2.4 Conditions for the Use of a Weak adth 36
2.5 Rejecting Solitary Report (Khabar al-wid) 38
2.6 Position of the Opinions of Companions and Followers 39
2.7 Principles of Narrator-Criticism, i.e. Commendation (Tadl) and Discreditation
(Jar)
41
2.8 Principles of Preference when Proofs Contradict (Taru bayna al-adilla wa al-
tarj)
48
2.9 Conclusion 51

CHAPTER 3: AFFIRMING ADTH CREDENTIALS OF AB ANFA AND
HIS COMPANIONS
52
3.1 Deobands Sources 52
3.2 Ab anfa 54

iii

3.2.1 Ab anfa, the Follower (Tbi) 54
3.2.2 Ab anfa, the Absolute Mujtahid 55
3.2.3 Ab anfa, the Great Muaddith 56
1. Personal Knowledge of adth 56
2. Ab anfas Status as a Reliable Narrator 58
a. Ab anfa Not an Innovator 59
3. Ab anfas Muaddith Companions 61
3.3 Other anafs 62
3.4 Conclusion 62

CHAPTER 4: TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ANAF
DEFENDERS
63
4.1 Deoband Curriculum 64
4.2 Deoband Pedagogy 65
4.3 Current Situation 66
4.4 Effects 68

CONCLUSION 70

BIBLIOGRAPHY 75
























iv

Acknowledgments

The idea for this paper came while I was attending the Summer Program at the International
Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), Herndon, VA in 2013. Later, I was chosen to be a recipient of
the IIIT Research Fellowship to work on this project. My heartfelt gratitude is to the scholars and
researchers at IIIT who inspired this topic. In particular, I would like to thank Profs. Mahmoud
Ayoub and Abdulaziz Sachedina who helped with and approved the research proposal. At
Washington University in St. Louis, Prof. Hayrettin Yucesoy graciously agreed to supervise this
topic for my MA thesis. I am deeply indebted to him for his continued guidance throughout the
two semesters that I worked on this project. Had it not been for him, the project would not have
finished on time, and would not have been presentable. I would also like to thank the other two
members of my committee, Profs. John Bowen and Martin Jacobs for their insightful comments.
I would be remiss if I did not also thank my classmates, the members of JINELC Grad reading
group, Brett, Hannah and Lizzy. Our fruitful discussions greatly helped me streamline my
thoughts.
Above all, I owe more than I can express to my wife Maareah for supporting me
throughout this MA and putting up with my haphazarad work schedule. Thank you from the
bottom of my heart.




v

ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS
anafi Legal Theory and adth: A Study of the Deobandi Attempts at Rectifying the Image
of the anaf School
by
Aamir Bashir
Master of Arts in Islamic & Near Eastern Studies
Washington University in St. Louis, 2014
Associate Professor Hayrettin Yucesoy, Chair

Of the four main Sunn schools of law, the anaf school and its eponymous founder Ab anfa
(d. 767) have historically been labelled by their opponents as ahl al-ray (those who prefer
reason over adth (Prophetic reports)). This issue was quite charged in the early period of the
development of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). It was reignited in nineteenth century India by a
group of scholars who called themselves Ahl-e-Hads. In response, a group of anaf scholars,
later called Deobands, attempted to defend their school by re-articulating anaf legal theory to
explain the proper position of adth in it, and by trying to demonstrate the adth
competence of Ab anfa. In addition, Deobands also composed new adth collections and
commenatries on existing adth works, with a view to proving that the anaf school was as
grounded in adth as any other Sunn school. Moreover, they established a new curriculum in
their madrasas (traditional Islamic schools/colleges) in which major attention was given to the
relationship between anaf fiqh and adth. Through textual analysis of Deobandi works and
personal experience of the curriculum and pedagogy in a Deoband madrasa, I argue that
Deoband articulation of anaf legal theory with respect to adth was not mainly for the

vi

derivation of legal rulings but was meant to create acceptance of anaf adth proofs on the
part of their opponents, Ahl-e-Hads. Moreover, Deobands were not alone in trying to defend
Ab anfa and the anaf school. During the same period and earlier, in India and the Middle
East, other anafs were engaged in a similar defense of Ab anfa and the anaf school
against charges of indifference toward adth. I also argue that the Deobands approach toward
adth and anaf fiqh is a detailed and somewhat altered application of the ideas Wal Allh
had held earlier in his craeer, namely, selective appropriation of anaf jurists work to bring
forward those opinions from within the school that were closer to adth, and therefore, to the
Prophet sunna (practice).

1

Introduction
1


Background
The largest concentration of Muslims today is found in South Asia, approximately 500 million,
out of a global total of about 1.5 billion.
2
The majority of South Asian Muslims are Sunns and
the dominant school of thought among them is the anaf school.
3
Within South Asian anafs,
two sub-schools dominate. These are the Barelvs and the Deobands. While both groups have
been relatively under-studied in modern scholarship, in the past decade or so, Deobands have
been receiving increasing attention. This is not only because of geopolitical reasons (Islamic
militancy in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir); Deobands are also the most influential
intellectual group from among the Sunn ulam (traditional Islamic scholars) of South Asia,
whose reach and impact goes far beyond South Asia.
4
There is a network of Deoband madrasas
(traditional Islamic schools/colleges) that is spread throughout South Asia as well as in Southern
Africa, South East Asia, Europe, and North America.

1
Transliteration: All Arabic words, as well as those common to Urdu and Arabic, are transliterated using the IJMES
guidelines for transliterating Arabic. Words specific to Urdu are transliterated phonetically. Proper names of South
Asian persons that may be Arabic in origin are transliterated in Arabic where possible. Hence, Wal Allh. If there is
a clear difference in pronunciation, then they are transliterated phonetically. Thus Fazlur Rahmn and not Fal al-
Ramn, Ahl-e-Hads and not Ahl al-adth.

2
The Future of the Global Muslim Population, Pew Research Forum, http://features.pewforum.org/muslim-
population/?sort=Pop2010 (accessed February 2, 2014).

3
The anaf school is one of four main contemporary Sunn schools, others being Mlik, Shfi and anbal.
School is the English translation of the Arabic term madhhab, which literally means way. As a technical term, it
may refer to the doctrine of any school of thought, be it in theology, Sufism, grammar, or law. With respect to law, it
may refer to a body of opinions/doctrine of a collection of jurists who follow the principles or methods propounded
by a scholar whom they consider to be the founder of their school (Imm). For the various definitions and usages of
madhhab, see Christopher Melchert, The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law: 9th-10th Centuries C.E. (Leiden:
Brill, 1997), xiii-xvii. Also see Bernard Weiss, The Madhhab in Islamic Legal Theory, in The Islamic School of
Law: Evolution, Devolution, and Progress, ed. Peri Bearman, Rudolph Peters and Frank Vogel (Cambridge, MA:
Islamic Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School, 2005), 1-9.

4
Francis Robinson describes the Deoband movement as the most constructive and most important Islamic
movement of the past century. See Francis Robinson, Islam and Muslim History in South Asia (New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 2000), 255.

2

The Deoband movement arose in the middle of the nineteenth century as a Sunn
reformist movement. Its intellectual origins can be traced almost a century earlier to Shh Wal
Allh (d. 1762) of Delhi.
5
Wal Allh was an erudite scholar who sought to reform Muslim
thought and practice, both popular and scholarly, in a comprehensive manner. The foundation of
his reform effort was his call for Muslims to forge closer links to the two bases of their religion,
viz. the Qurn and the sunna (the example or way of the Prophet Muammad). This, at times,
conflicted with the authority of established schools of law, prominent among them the anaf
school, which dominated the Muslim India of his time. It seems Wal Allh himself underwent
some evolution in his thought over the course of his career. According to one modern scholar, in
the early part of his life, he had sought to revise anaf law by selectively appropriating those
opinions which were closer to adth (Prophetic reports).
6
Later, he moved to a larger project,
namely reconciling all four Sunn schools with adth.
7

This evolution, whose chronology cannot always be traced, has lent a certain degree of
ambiguity to Wal Allhs thought and was the cause of the later split of Wal Allhs followers
into two camps, the Deobands and Ahl-e-Hads.
8
The former subscribed to Wal Allahs views

5
For a detailed study of Wal Allhs life and work, see Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi, Shh Wal Allh and His Times
(Canberra, Australia: Marifat Publishing, 1980). For a review of Wal Allhs religious thought, see J.M.S. Baljon,
Religion and Thought of Shh Wal Allh Dihlaw 1703-1762 (Leiden: Brill, 1986). For a brief overview of the links
between Wal Allh and the Deobands and other reform movements of the nineteenth century, see Francis Robinson
Islamic Reform and Modernities in South Asia, in Islamic Reform in South Asia, ed. Filippo Osella and Caroline
Osella (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 26-49.

6
The word adth means a saying that includes practice, opinion or silent confirmation ascribed to Prophet
Muammad. In this paper, when I use it with a small , it will refer to a single Prophetic tradition. Its plural will be
adths. I will use adth with a capital H to refer to adths in general.

7
Mirj Muammad, Shh Wal Allhs Attempts to Reconcile the Schools of Fiqh (MA thesis, McGill
University, 1968), 3-4. This will be discussed in more detail in the next chapter.

8
Deobands are named after a town called Deoband, located north of Delhi, where the first madrasa of the
movement, later called Dr al-Ulm, was established in 1866. Ahl-e-Hads is the Urdu version of ahl al-adth,
which means people who follow Prophetic reports. The Ahl-e-Hads call themselves such since they consider
themselves to be the true intellectual descendants of the ahl al-adth of early Islamic history. See Muammad
Ibrhm Mr Silkot, Trkh Ahl-e-Hads (Lahore: Islamic Publishing Co. 1970). An excellent overview of the

3

of close connection of Muslims to the Qurn and the Sunna but tempered it with their strict
adherence to the anaf school. The Ahl-e-Hads, on the other hand, took his advice to what they
felt was its logical conclusion, and called for reliance solely on the Qurn and the sunna and
abandonment of strict adherence to legal schools (taqld). Perhaps, it is a testament to Wal
Allhs ambiguous legacy that his self-proclaimed followers, Deobands and Ahl-e-Hads, still
argue over whether he died a anaf or a ghayr muqallid, i.e. one who does not adhere to any
school of law.
Since, both Deobands and Ahl-e-Hads saw themselves as inheritors of Wal Allhs
reformist legacy, they sought to cleanse Muslim society of all those ideas and practices, which
they felt were not based on the Qurn and the Sunna. While their initial focus was reform of
popular Muslim ideas and practices, soon their attention turned towards each other. This was
because of their diametrically opposed approach to teaching and learning Islam. While the
Deobands insisted on adherence to the anaf school as the proper means for following the
Qurn and the Sunna, the Ahl-e-Hads saw this as tantamount to abandoning the Qurn and the
Sunna. Some of them even went to the extent of declaring it to be polytheism. The second issue
that the two sides argued over was the role that adth played in anaf jurisprudence.
According to some Ahl-e-Hads, the anaf school favored rational speculation over adth.
Moreover, some among them also accused Ab anfa (d. 767), the eponymous founder of the
anaf School, of being ignorant of adth.
9


anaf vs. Ahl-e-Hads divide in the nineteenth century in Urdu is Ubayd Allh Sindh, Shh Wal Allh k siys
terk, ed. Muammad Sarwar (Lahore, Sindh Sgar Academy, 2002). A more scholarly overview in Urdu is given
in Mauj-e-Kausar by S.M. Ikram. See Shaykh Muammad Ikrm, Mauj-e-Kausar (Lahore: Idra saqfat-e-islmia,
1979), 13-72. In English, Metcalfs famous work on the Deoband movement provides a good overview of the
particular historical circumstances in which Deobands and Ahl-e-Hads emerged as distinct movements. See
Barbara Metcalf, Islamic Revival in British India: Deoband, 1860-1900 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004),
46-86 & 264-297.

9
For examples of Ahl-e-Hads charges against anafs, see Metcalf, Islamic Revival, 152, 212-213, 265, 270-271.

4

Problem Statement
Modern scholars tend to agree that Wal Allhs reform effort encompassed multiple areas of
Islamic thought and practice, and was quite comprehensive in its scope. They also agree that his
work has provided the foundation for virtually every major Sunn movement in India (modern
South Asia) since the early nineteenth century.
10
His emphasis on Sunna and ambiguous attitude
toward the use of adth in legal reasoning affected both Deobands and the Ahl-e-Hads. While
this much has been acknowledged by scholars, the exact contours of this effect in the case of
Deobands have not been documented. In this thesis, I seek to do just that.
I begin by examining the immediate historical causes for the emergence of the Ahl-e-
Hads vs. anafs binary. Then, I explore the ways, theoretical/intellectual and practical, in
which Deobands sought to defend the anaf school and Ab anfa. Thus, I examine the
particularly Deoband articulation of anaf legal theory, which attempted to explain the
proper position of adth in it. This articulation also had a bearing on the Deoband defense of
Ab anfa. The latter had been accused by his opponents, during his own time and later, that he
was not a reliable transmitter of adths. Deobands used their discussions of legal theory
coupled with historical testimonies of Ab anfas contemporaries to demonstrate that Ab
Hanfa and other prominent anafs were reliable transmitters of adths, were well versed in the
adth literature and used it as a source of legal reasoning. An important part of my examination
of Deoband defense of the anaf school and Ab anfa is to identify the sources used by
Deobands to make these claims, to see how they use Hanaf and non-anaf works as primary
and secondary evidences. Identification and classification of the sources will also help to clarify


10
John Voll, Islam: Continuity and Change in the Modern World (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1994),
58. Aziz Ahmad has provided a detailed account of how Wal Allhs thought came to affect every major Muslim
movement in India after him, including the traditionalist reform movements of the nineteenth century, viz. the Ahl-
e-Hads and the Deobands. See Aziz Ahmad, Islamic Modernism in India and Pakistan, 1857-1964 (London:
Oxford University Press, 1967), 103-122. For further details on this link, see Metcalf, Islamic Revival, 3-86.

5

whether the Deobands arguments for defense of their school were completely novel or whether
they were linked in some way to earlier debates in South Asia and elsewhere. Lastly, to complete
the picture, I also examine the curriculum and pedagogy that the Deobands adopted in their
madrasas to disseminate these arguments.
It is a central argument of this thesis that the Deoband articulation of anaf legal theory
with respect to adth was meant not so much to derive legal rulings but to create a space in
which anaf adth proofs could be considered acceptable by their opponents. It is also my
contention that Deobands efforts at defending Ab anfa and the anaf school in the face of
charges of indifference towards adth was not an isolated event. There were other anafs
engaged in a similar effort in South Asia and beyond during the same period as well as before it.
An important earlier figure in this regard is Abd al-aqq al-Dehlaw (d. 1642). Just as in the
nineteenth century, debates between those scholars who disliked taqld and those who insisted on
following the anaf school had flared up in seventeenth century North India. In this climate,
Abd al-aqq sought to defend the anaf school by writing commentaries on the one adth
collection that was prevalent in India at that time, namely, Mishkt al-mab. He sought to
demonstrate the conformity of anaf fiqh (jurisprudence) to the Prophetic sunna using
evidences from within Mishkt al-mab and from other adth collections. The difference
between him and Deobands is that the former had focused mainly on just one text, Mishkt al-
mab, while the Deobands prepared commentaries on most major adth collections, and
also prepared newer collections. Moreover, the Deobands created a network of madrasas that
has helped popularize and perpetuate their ideas. Furthermore, as I discuss in the second chapter,
Deobands were not alone in their defense of the anaf school in the modern period. Prominent

6

among these fellow defenders were Abd al-ayy al-Laknaw (d. 1886) from Lucknow, India
and Zhid al-Kawthar (d. 1951) from Egypt.
It is also my contention that Deobands approach towards adth and anaf fiqh is a
detailed and somewhat altered application of the ideas Wal Allh had held earlier in his career,
namely selective appropriation of the anaf jurists work to bring forward those opinions from
within the school that were closer to adth, and therefore, to the Prophetic sunna.
11
While Wal
Allh had considered this to be a part of his larger reform effort to bring scholarly and popular
Muslim thought and practice closer to the Qurn and the Sunna, the Deobands did not think so.
Their reform efforts focused mainly on reforming popular thought and practice to bring them
closer to the Qurn and the sunna as interpreted by the anaf school. Moreover, whatever work
they did with respect to anaf fiqhs relationship with adth, they presented it as being nothing
new; rather, a re-statement of the same old authentic anaf fiqh.

Literature Review
Among those who have written extensively about Deobands, certain names stand out, such as
Barbara Metcalf, Muhammad Qasim Zaman, Dietrich Reetz, and Yoginder Sikand. While they
have all dealt with different aspects of the broader Deoband movement, no one has directly
engaged with the subject of this thesis. There is extensive literature on Deoband madrasas but
the themes under study are quite often conservative traditionalism vs. modernism, Islamism vs.
apolitical Islamic activism, construction of authority, and so on. The closest that a work gets to
dealing with Deoband articulation of anaf legal theory is Zamans influential work The
Ulama in Contemporary Islam (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002). The second

11
This is, of course, based on the chronology of the evolution in Wal Allhs thought as put forward by Mirj
Muammad, as cited above in f.n. 6.

7

chapter titled Constructions of Authority discusses a number of Deoband adth
commentaries, such as Il al-sunan, Lmi al-darr al Jmi al-Bukhr, and Fay al-Br
al a al-Bukhr. Unlike other works by him and others that mentioned Deoband
engagement with adth, this work is the only one where contents of these works are actually
engaged with. However, as the title of the chapter suggests, Zamans purpose is to examine how
these works served to construct authority. Furthermore, because of limited space, he only
engages with a few sections of each that relate to contemporary political issues as a way to
highlight how tradition is created and preserved, and how authority is constructed. Thus, he
discusses how the author of Il al-sunan, afar Amad Uthmn (d. 1973), uses commentary
on a single adth to argue against the idea of united nationalism and in favor of the two-
nation theory.
12
However, the author stops short of engaging broadly with the Deoband
articulation of anaf legal theory with respect to adh.
With respect to anafi legal theory in general, a number of modern works have dealt with
various aspects of it. Among these is Mohammad Hashim Kamalis Principles of Islamic
Jurisprudence (Cambridge, UK: Islamic Texts Society, 2006), which provides an overview of
Islamic legal theory, including anaf perspectives. Although highly detailed and technical, it
does not deal with the position of adth in Hanaf legal theory. A similar limited view of anaf
legal theory is to be found in Imran Ahsan Nyazees Islamic Jurisprudence: Ul al-Fiqh
(Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute, 2000). Wael Hallaqs A History of Islamic Legal
Theories: An Introduction to Sunni Usul al-Fiqh (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,

12
Among the Muslims of British India, two main political ideas held sway in the decade prior to the 1947 partition.
One of these, called united nationalism, argued that nations are formed by territories, and thus all people living in
India, Muslims and Hindus, are one nation. They should work together to evict the British and not fight among
themselves. The other idea called two-nation theory argued that Muslims were a distinct nation by virtue of their
religion. Hindus and the British were equally their enemies, and Muslims must work independently to safeguard
their rights vis--vis Hindus when the British finally leave India. For more on this, see Jamal Malik, Islam in South
Asia: A Short History (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 319-345.

8

1999) is more detailed in its treatment of anaf legal theory but has a limited discussion of
adths position in it. Deoband articulation of anaf legal theory is conspicuous by its
absence.
In the field of adth studies, Deoband attitudes toward adth are again understudied.
Hashim Kamalis A Textbook of Hadith Studies: Authenticity, Compilation, Classification and
Criticism of Hadith (Markfield, UK: Islamic Foundation, 2005) and Jonathan Browns adith:
Muhammads Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World (Oxford, UK: Oneworld Publications,
2009) are more narrowly focused on sources and reliability of adth and include distinctions
between various schools regarding their attitudes towards adth. However, they do not discuss
the Deoband articulation of anaf legal theory.
Among modern works on adth, the only reference to Deobands that I could locate was
a brief paragraph in Jonathan Browns Even If Its Not True Its True: Using Unreliable
adths in Sunni Islam (Islamic Law and Society 18 (2011):1-52). Brown mentions Uthmns
Qawid f ulm al-adth as embodying the permissive Sunni stance with respect to the use
of weak adths. According to Brown, Uthmns argument for the unconditional use of weak
adths was part of a larger argument that the anaf school has always heeded adths.
13

However, beyond this brief mention, he has nothing else to say about the Deobands.






13
Jonathan Brown, Even If Its Not True Its True: Using Unreliable adths in Sunni Islam, Islamic Law and
Society 18 (2011):1-52.


9

Sources and Methodology
I seek to explore the Deoband defense of the anaf school by engaging in textual analysis of
relevant works by Deobands.
14
In response to Ahl-e-Hads charges, Deobandis sought to prepare
commentaries on major adth works to show that anaf fiqh opinions could be demonstrated
to be not in conflict with the adths in these collections. In this regard, they prepared
commentaries and marginalia on the i Sitta (the six major Sunn collections of adth viz.
a al-Bukhr of Ab Abdillh al-Bukhr (d. 870), a Muslim of Muslim ibn al-ajjj
(d. 875), Jmi al-Tirmidh of Ab s al-Tirmidh (d. 892), Sunan Ab Dwd of Ab Dwd
al-Sijistn (d. 888), Sunan al-Nas of Ab Abd al-Ramn al-Nas (d. 915), and Sunan Ibn
Majah of Ab Abdillh ibn Mjah (d. 887)), as well as the Muwa of Mlik ibn Anas (d. 795),
and Shar mani al-thr of Ab Jafar al-aw (d. 933). It should also be noted that some of
these commentaries were actually lecture notes that were later compiled by students.
The introductions in all of these commentaries deal with the history of codification of
adth, development of adth sciences, and so on. However, because these authors are anaf,
they usually use this opportunity to establish the credentials of their Imm (the eponymous
founder), Ab anfa. They also seek to prove the validity of the anaf school and that it is
grounded in adth. In addition to adth works, Deoband authors have also written
biographical works dedicated to Ab anfa, many of which are in Urdu while some are in
Arabic. Almost always these include a section on his qualifications as a adth expert and his
standing as a jurist. In addition to these, there are polemical works dedicated to refuting Ahl-e-
Hads charges that the anaf School is not grounded in adth. Deoband adth works can be
seen as polemical as well since refuting Ahl-e-Hads charges is the underlying theme. However,

14
For a detailed list of scholarly works by Deoband scholars including those related to adth, see Dawr ulam
Deoband f majl al-tlf, Dr al-Ulm Deoband, http://www.darululoom-
deoband.com/arabic/magazine/tmp/1326796357fix4sub2file.htm (accessed September 10, 2013).

10

since they do not directly engage in a polemical debate with the Ahl-e-Hads; therefore, I call
them non-polemical works.
For the purpose of this thesis, my particular focus will be on the non-polemical Deoband
works. One work among these stands out. This is the 22-volume collection of adths titled Il
al-sunan [Elevation of Sunnas] prepared by afar Amad Uthmn under the order and
supervision of Uthmns spiritual mentor (Sufi shaykh) and uncle Ashraf Al Thnv (d. 1943),
himself a very prominent Deoband scholar. The work is organized according to fiqh chapters
and provides adth proofs for most anaf opinions. It also has three introductions
(muqaddima), each spanning a separate volume. The first one titled Qawid f ulm al-adth
[Principles of adth Sciences] is a detailed exposition of the anaf principles of adth-
criticism as Deobands understood them. This work will serve as the main source for this thesis
second chapter. The second introduction titled Fawid f ulm al-fiqh [Notes on Fiqh Sciences]
was written by Uthmns colleague abb Amad Krnw (d. unknown). It is a detailed
refutation of those who seek to negate the validity of taqld. As such it is beyond the scope of
this thesis. The third introduction titled Ab anfa wa abuhu al-muaddithn [Ab anfa
and His Muaddith Companions] is a comprehensive defense of Ab anfa and his
companions knowledge and attitude towards adth. As such, it will serve as the main source
for this thesis third chapter. While there are many other works written by Deobands on these
subjects, I have chosen these two introductions as representative of Deoband ideas because they
themselves see these as prestigious and representative of their school.
15





15
Personal interaction with various Deoband scholars.

11

Organization of the Study
The Introduction introduces the topic, the problem statement, literature review, my sources, an
outline of the thesis, and my methodology in research. The first chapter provides historical
background to the topic. It begins by providing a brief overview of the intellectual climate of
Muslim North India during and immediately preceding Wal Allhs time, followed by a
discussion of Wal Allhs overall intellectual project with a particular reference to his opinions
regarding the relationship between adth and fiqh. It argues that the ambiguity in Wal Allhs
thought with respect to adth and fiqh allowed his self-proclaimed followers to crystallize as
two distinct groups, namely Ahl-e-Hads and Deobands. Moreover, the Deobands were put on
the defensive vis--vis Ahl-e-Hads because of the intellectual environment created by Wal
Allh and his successors in which a Sunn could not be seen to be in opposition to adth.
The second and third chapters document in detail the Deoband non-polemical
intellectual responses to Ahl-e-Hads charges. Thus, the second chapter discusses the Deoaband
articulation of anaf legal theory. The starting point for Deobands is that principles of adth-
criticism are speculative and differed upon among adth scholars. Thus, one scholar may
declare a adth to be sound (a) or fair (asan) while another may consider it to be weak
(af) and vice versa. Moreover, while anafs share majority of terms and principles with the
generality of adth scholars, they disagree in some places. A prominent example of this is their
particular attitude towards discreditation (jar) of narrators and acceptance of a suspended report
(mursal). In the case of the former, anafs vigorously reject discreditation of narrators unless it
is supported with detailed description of that discreditation so that a muaddith can decide
whether the discreditation is acceptable or not. Similarly, they are more accepting of suspended
reports than other adth scholars.

12

The third chapter details Deobands arguments that Ab anfa and his companions
were well-versed in adth. The Deobands sought to demonstrate that Ab anfa was a
follower (tbi, someone who had seen a companion of the Prophet),
16
and was an absolute
mujtahid, i.e. someone who is able to carry out ijtihd (independent reasoning) at the highest
level.
17
For Deobands, being a follower not only meant greater prestige for Ab anfa, it also
implied that he had better access to the companions and through them to the Prophetic reports
(adth). Moreover, being an absolute mujathid implied that Ab anfa had good command of
adth because ijtihd of this order is not possible unless the mujtahid is well-versed in the
Qurn and the adth literature. Beyond these two indirect arguments for Ab anfas
knowledge of adith, Deobands also provided reports from Ab anfas contemporaries that
document his knowledge and command of adth. Deobands used the same argument, viz.
reports from contemporaries to demonstrate Ab anfas companions knowledge of adh.
The companions discussed in this chapter are Ab Ysuf (d. 798) and Muammad ibn al-asan
al-Shaybn (d. 805).
In the fourth chapter, I examine how Deobands have sought to spread their school,
particularly through establishment of madrasas around the world. I analyze the curriculum and
pedagogy adopted in these madrasas, and how they differ from the ones prevalent in eighteenth

16
In Sunn thought, great importance is attached to the first three generations of Muslims. These are defined as
follows: 1) companion (ab): someone who saw the Prophet Muammad while a believer and died as such.; 2)
follower/successor (tbi): someone who saw a companion while a believer and died as such; and 3) follower of the
follower/successor to the successor (tab tbi): someone who saw a follower while a believer and died as such.

17
Ijtihd literally means to exert oneself to the fullest. As a technical term, it refers to the jurists act of exerting
himself/herself to the utmost to find Gods command in a given matter when the Quran and the sunna do not
provide clear guidance. The one who engages in this act is called a mujtahid. For anafs, ijtihd has various levels.
The highest of these is called itjihd mulaq (absolute ijtihd), hence mujtahid mulaq (absolute mujtahid). It refers
to a jurists ability to directly derive rulings from the Qurn and the sunna in all matters of law. It also entails his
ability to create a methodology/legal thoery (ul al-fiqh) for this derivation. It is mujtahids such as these that give
their name to the various schools of law. Examples include Ab anfa (d. 767), Mlik ibn Anas (d. 795),
Muammad ibn Idrs al-Shfi (d. 820) and Amad ibn anbal (d. 855).

13

century north India. I use my personal experience as a student in one such madrasa, Jmia
Ashrafia in Lahore, Pakistan, to help document this.
The last chapter concludes the thesis by stating that the Deoband efforts at rectifying
the image of the anaf School seems to be only the latest in a line of anaf defenses of their
school over the centuries. Based on this, I also suggest a future line of inquiry, namely,
comparison of Deoband articulation of anaf legal theory with that articulated by other anaf
scholars from other eras and regions, to see if there is evolution or divergences in anaf legal
theory with respect to adth.

14

Chapter 1: The Historical Context

In this chapter, I examine the historical circumstances which led to the emergence of the
Ahl-e-Hads and Deoband schools. An important component in this regard is the ambiguous
intellectual legacy of Shh Wal Allh. Both groups claim him to be their intellectual
predecessor. Their claims notwithstanding, this is not a linear link. The circumstances in which
he operated were quite different from the circumstances in which Deobands and Ahl-e-Hads
operated, as will be seen shortly. I begin by taking a brief look at the Deobands, followed by a
discussion of Wal Allhs thought and its links with the modern Deoband movement. In the
process, I will also explore the reasons for the emergence of Ahl-e-Hads, whose polemical
attacks against the anafs precipitated the Deobands response that is the subject of this study.

1.1: The Deobands
As mentioned in the previous chapter, the Deoband movement arose in the middle of the
nineteenth century as a Sunn reform movement. The movement is named after Deoband, a mid-
sized town located north of Delhi, where a madrasa, later called Dr al-Ulm, was set up in
1866. The main founder of Dr al-Ulm was Mawln Muammad Qsim Nnautv (d. 1880).
Nnautv envisioned a chain of similar madrasas spread all over India to serve the religious
educational needs of the Muslims of India. Within months, he was laying the foundations of
other madrasas in Saharanpur, Moradabad, Amroha, Delhi, and other cities and towns. However,
amongst all these, the madrasa at Deoband occupied a unique position. It was the first and had
the most prominent scholars associated with it. Soon, all those scholars who were associated with
these madrasas came to be known as Deobands. These ulam did not choose this name for

15

themselves and were at pains to explain that they were not a new sect but the same old ahl al-
sunna wa al-jama (people of the Prophetic way and the community, Sunns for short).
18

However, the name stuck and after some time, these ulam also tacitly accepted it as indicating
their particular approach to Islam within the overall framework of ahl al-sunna wa al-jama.
In terms of their intellectual/scholarly orientation, Qr Muammad Tayyib (d. 1983), the
former rector (muhtamim) of Dr al-Ulm described it as follows:
[The term] ulam of Deoband does not only refer to the people who are based
in the Dr al-Ulm at Deoband for teaching, giving legal opinions, preaching,
writing, or for some other purposes. Rather, it refers to all those ulam whose
mental outlook and thought is connected to the thought of Mujaddid Alf-e-Sn
Shaykh Amad Sirhind and that of Imm Shh Wal Allh of Delhi All the
ulam of the hundreds of madrasas in the (various) districts of India are
Deoband.
19


It is important to note here that ayyib has clearly identified Deobands with Amad
Sirhind (d. 1624) and Shh Wal Allh, both of whom are major Sunn reformers of the Mughal
period.
20
Thus, Deobands consider themselves to belong to a chain of reformers that extends
down from Sirhind to Wal Allh and through his ideological descendants to the early leaders of
the Deoband movement.
21
This tradition represents the reformist streak within the Sunns of

18
Thus, Qr Muammad ayyib (d. 1983), the grandson of Muammad Qsim Nnautv, and the former rector
(muhtamim) of Dr al-Ulm Deoband defined Deobands as follows: As far as their religious orientation and
particular outlook is concerned, the ulam of Deoband are fully ahl al-Sunna wa al-jama. This is not a new sect
nor is it a group with new set of beliefs, which time and circumstances may have created. See Qr Muammad
ayyib, Ulam Deoband k dn rukh aur maslak mizj (Lahore: Idra-e-islamit, 1988), 23.

19
Tayyib, Ulam Deoband, 22.

20
Sirhind was called Mujaddid Alf-e-Sn (renewer of the second millennium) by his followers, and is seen by
them as ushering in a new era in South Asian Islam, one whose effects can still be felt. For more on that, see
Yohanan Friedmann, Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi: An Outline of His Thought and a Study of His Image in the Eyes of
Posterity (Montreal: McGill-Queen University Press, 1971).

21
The links between the Deoband movement and Wal Allh are well documented in modern scholarship.
Moreover, most scholars of South Asian Islam agree that the Deobands and the Ahl-e-adth are the intellectual
descendants of Wal Allh. This includes all the modern scholars that I have consulted so far. See, for example,
Nehemiah Levitzion and John Voll, eds., Eighteenth-Century Revival and Reform in Islam (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse
University Press, 1987), 19. Also, see Voll, Islam: Continuity and Change, 113.


16

South Asia. While Sirhinds intellectual work is not relevant to this study since he did not
engage with the position of adth vis--vis anaf legal theory, Wal Allhs thought and
intellectual legacy is, and it is to him that we now turn.

1.2: Shh Wal Allh and His Legacy
Born in 1701 in Delhi, Wal Allh grew up in a household known for its religious achievements.
He completed the then prevalent curriculum of education, in both traditional (manqlt) and
rational sciences (maqlt) by the age of 17. After his fathers death, he succeeded him as the
principal of Madrasat Ramiyya, which his father had founded in Delhi. Here, he taught for
more than ten years until he decided to go for the annual pilgrimage to Makka in 1731. He spent
14 months in the ijz, performed the pilgrimage twice and studied with the scholars of Makka
and Madina. In Madina, he furthered his adth studies with the foremost adth scholar of that
city Muammad Ab hir al-Krn al-Kurd al-Madan (d. 1733).
22
After having spent
fourteen months in the ijz, Wal Allh returned to Delhi and re-started teaching at Madrasat
Ramiyya.
Although trained in the anaf school, Wal Allh came to be convinced of the
superiority of adth over fiqh. Some writers have taken the view that this happened only after
his visit to the ijz.
23
According to Mirj Muammad, that is not the case. Rather, during the
course of his early training, he had developed this conviction under the influence of his father
Abd al-Ram and his other prominent teacher Afzal Silkot (d. 1750). In fact, he had

22
It would be useful to note here that Ab hirs father Ibrhm al-Krn al-Kurd (d. 1689), who was an erudite
scholar himself, has been described as Salaf in matters of creed and someone who used to defend Ibn Taymiyya
while also making allowance for the Sufis whose statements could be taken to mean incarnation and physical union
with God. See Sayyid Ab al-asan Al Nadv, Trkh-e-dawat-o-azmat (Karachi: Majlis nashrit-e-Islm,
n.d.), 5:111-112.

23
Notably Zhid al-Kawthar in his usn al-taq, as cited in Mirj Muammad, 96.

17

developed strong anti-taqld tendencies during the period before his visit to the ijz. During
this period, he studied major works of the four Sunn schools of law, along with their evidences.
As a result of the discrepancies he found between the rulings of these schools and adth texts,
he began to oppose taqld. During this period, he openly attacked anaf scholars for their lack
of attention to adth, and suffered because of that. It was only after his visit to the ijz that he
decided to tone down his rhetoric. Most of his works were composed after his return from the
ijz, including his magnum opus ujjat Allh al-bligha [The Conclusive Argument from
God]. During this time, he trained a number of students, most prominent among them his eldest
son Shh Abd al-Azz (d. 1823).

1.2.1: Wal Allh as a Renewer (Mujaddid)
24

Most Sunn groups in South Asia regard Wal Allh as the renewer (mujaddid) of the twelfth
Islamic century who initiated an intellectual movement for a comprehensive reform of Muslim
thought and practice.
25
According to Voll, Wal Allh was not primarily concerned with the
challenges coming from the modernizing West; rather, his reformism arose out of the
interactions between the changing local conditions.
26
Thus, he felt that the general decline of

24
Mujaddid is the active participle from the verbal noun tajdd (renewal). The theological basis for tajdd in Sunn
thought is the adith narrated by Ab Dwd in his Sunan, Every hundred years, Allah will send for this nation
someone who will renew for it, its religion. See Ab Dwd al-Sijistn, Sunan Ab Dwd, ed. Muammad Muy
al-Dn Abd al-amd (Beirut: Dr iy al-turth al-arab, n.d.), 4:109. The premise behind this adth is that while
decay is an intrinsic characteristic of human society, the Islamic umma is different in that a core group of people will
always carry the true message. Thus, when the larger Muslim society gets corrupted, someone from this group
will rise to reform (il) Muslim thought and practice and hence, renew the religion for the umma. For a brief
overview of the two Sunn concepts of tajdd and il, see John Voll, Renewal and Reform in Islamic History:
Tajdid and Islah, in Voices of Resurgent Islam, ed. John Esposito (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983), 32-
47.

25
Amd al-Zamn Qsm Krnv, Shh Wal Allh k tajdd khidmt: chand pehl, in Imm Shh Wal Allh aur
un kay afkr aur naarit, ed. A al-Ramn Qsm, (Lahore: Maktaba Khall, 2005), 90.

26
Voll, Islam: Continuity and Change, 58. It should be noted here that while British colonialism was already
making its mark on coastal regions of India during this period, the north-central region had not been directly
impacted by the British.

18

Muslim fortunes in India was as much a result of political divisions as of intellectual/scholarly
divisions and conflicts. The latter included the rivalry between various schools of thought and
between those who followed a school vs. those who did not follow any school (the latter can be
considered the forerunners of the group that later came to be called Ahl-e-Hads).
27

In this environment, Wal Allh attempted an integration (tabq) of the entire Islamic
intellectual system, something which according to Fazlur Rahman, was unprecedented in the
entire history of traditional Islam.
28
Wal Allhs reform efforts, thus, spanned the whole
spectrum of Islamic faith and practice beginning with matters of creed especially tawd
(oneness of Allah), and extending to the Qurn, adth, fiqh, political theory, economic reform,
etc.
29

Wal Allhs massive reform project was two-pronged. One was the establishment of the
outward khilfa (the political dimension); the other was the establishment and renewal of internal
khilfa (the social, spiritual and intellectual dimension).
30
With respect to the latter, Wal Allh
focused on revitalizing the concepts of tawd (oneness of God) and sunna in the lives of
Muslims. This meant forging a closer connection between the ordinary Muslim and Qurn and
adth.


27
To better understand the environment in which Wal Allh was operating, it will be helpful to take an overview of
the then prevalent intellectual currents in India. A useful resource is Mirj Muammad, Shh Wal Allhs
Attempts, 1-36. In Urdu, useful overviews can be found in Al Nadv, Tazkira Hazrat Shh Wal Allh Dehlav,
135-140; Shaykh Muammad Ikrm, Rd-e-Kausar, 528-534 & 551-567; and Sayyid Muammad Min, Ulam
Hind k shndr mz (Karachi: Maktaba Rashdia, n.d.), 2:1-6.

28
Fazlur Rahman, The Thinker of Crisis: Shah Waliy-Ullah, in Pakistan Quarterly 6, no. 2 (1956): 44.

29
Voll describes Wal Allh as a prime example of the particular approach to Islamic revivalism as it appeared in the
eighteenth century, with its emphasis on bringing together adth and neo-Sufism. For more on that, see Voll,
Islam: Continuity and Change, 29-30.

30
Daniel Brown, Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
1996), 23. Also see Krnv, Shh Wal Allh k tajdd khidmt, 93.


19

1.2.2: Wal Allh and adth & Fiqh
With respect to the study of adth in South Asia, the dominant view among South Asian Sunns
for the past century has been that until Wal Allh popularized it in the eighteenth century,
adth had a marginal place in South Asian intellectual/academic circles.
31
This view has been
challenged quite strongly by the likes of Manir Asan Gln (d. 1956) in his Pk-o-Hind main
Musalmnon k Nim-e-Talm-o-Tarbiyyat [The Muslim Educational System in Indo-Pak
Subcontinent]. Nevertheless, the former view has remained dominant. This has to do with two
factors. One is the towering personality of Wal Allh himself whose contributions to Islamic
thought overshadowed those of his predecessors in South Asia because of their
comprehensiveness. The other reason is that his self-styled followers sought to present him as the
mujaddid par excellence who brought light to the darkness that was Muslim India (modern
South Asia) of the time. The prolific literary output of these followers/supporters shaped the
narrative in a way that extolled Wal Allh at the expense of those before him.
When it comes to Wal Allh and adth, modern scholars tend to have the same opinion
as the one dominant among South Asian Sunns. To be sure, some of them have questioned
certain views about Amad Sirhind, an important predecessor of Wal Allhs, whose modern-
day Sunn supporters extol him for his political activism much the same way as they extol Wal
Allh for his political activism and contributions to Islamic scholarship, including adth. Thus,
Yohanan Friedmann has argued that Sirhind did not have a robust political agenda. He comes
across as a political player because of the interpretations of his later followers, which skew our

31
Shaykh Muammad Ikrm, Rd-e-Kausar (Lahore: Idara saqfat-e-islmia, 1984), 556-557.


20

understanding of his overall thought.
32
One could apply the same general reasoning to the case of
Wal Allhs contributions to the study of adth in South Asia.
Thus, according to Mirj Muammad, Wal Allh was not the first one to popularize
adth in North India.
33
In fact, during the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, Gujarat in
western India had emerged as a major center of adth scholarship. Gradually, links began to
develop between the ulam based in northern India and those in Gujarat and the ijz. As
interest in Hadth increased among the ulam of northern India, more and more anafs began
to feel threatened by the popularization of adth literature, which seemed to negate many
aspects of anaf fiqh. Gradually, two opposite tendencies emerged.
One tendency was a growing emphasis on sunna and Hadth, and disinclination to follow
any school of law. The other was to defend the anaf School by showing it to be in conformity
with the adth texts. A notable effort in this vein was made by the Naqshband Sufi scholar
Abd al-Haqq al-Dehlaw (d. 1642).
34
Realizing the tension between adth texts and anaf
fiqh, he sought to remedy it by writing a commentary on Mishkt al-mab of al-Khab al-
Tabrz (d. 1340 or 1341), which was the main adth text used in India at that time. In this
Persian commentary titled Ashiat al-Lamat, Abd al-aqq tried to support anaf fiqh rulings
by using adths found in other adth collections as evidences.
As Mirj Muammad has pointed out, these efforts did not succeed in bridging the
divide that had developed between strict adherents of the anaf school and those scholars who
were demanding strict adherence to the Qurn and Hadth only and abandonment of schools of

32
This is the main argument in Friedmanns previously cited Shaykh Amad Sirhind.

33
Mirj Muammad, Shh Wal Allhs Attempts, 15-18.

34
For a brief overview of Abd al-aqqs life and work, see Scott Kugle, Abd al-aqq, An Accidental Revivalist:
Knowledge and Power in the Passage from Delhi to Makka, in Journal of Islamic Studies 19, no. 2 (2008): 196-
246.

21

fiqh. That task it seems fell to Wal Allh. His solution was to undertake a review of anafi fiqh.
An important element of this review process was to selectively appropriate those opinions of the
early anafi scholars (Ab anfa, Ab Ysuf, and Muammad al-Shaybn) which appeared to
be closest to adth texts. Moreover, in those matters in which these three scholars had been
silent, Wal Allh proposed that the opinions of those later anaf scholars should be preferred
who were well versed in adth as opposed to those who were not.
35
While this may have been
Wal Allhs plan, he seems to have abandoned it for a more ambitious project, namely
integration/harmonization (tabq) between the four Sunn schools of fiqh and adth. His
magnum opus ujjat Allh al-bligha bears testimony to that. Furthermore, his two
commentaries on Mliks Muwa, al-Musaww [The Straightened] (in Arabic) and al-Muaff
[The Purified] (in Persian) are also an example of such an endeavor. In these works, he makes
use of the opinions of not just the four living Sunn schools but also of extinct Sunn schools. His
main focus, however, remained the anaf and the Shfi schools, the former he had inherited
and the second he had learned to respect during the course of his studies.

1.2.3: Wal Allhs Ambiguous Legacy
As mentioned earlier, Wal Allhs thought seems to have evolved over time. However, since we
cannot fully trace the chronological development of his thought in his works, his intellectual

35
Baljon, Religion and Thought of Wal Allh, 155; and Mirj Muammad, Shh Wal Allhs Attempts, 104.
Zafar Ishaq Ansari has reached a different conclusion. According to him, Wal Allhs approach to juristic
disagreements was to reject the idea that a jurist should adhere to one school. Moreover, he felt that ordinary
Muslims did not need to identify themselves as belonging to a particular school. Rather, they should follow the
advice given by muftis (juris-consults). His main sources for reaching this conclusion are ujjat Allh al-blighah
and al-Iqd al-jd. See Zafar Ishaq Ansari, Shah Wali Allah and Fiqhi Disagreements in Iqbal 15, no. 3 (Jan 1967):
44-52. I give more credence to Mirj Muammads arguments since his research is much more comprehensive and
takes into account, as far as is possible, the historical evolution of Wal Allhs thought in his various works.


22

works come across as ambiguous and at times contradictory.
36
Thus, in one place, he forcefully
argues for abandonment of taqld and strict adherence to the Qurn and sunna alone, while in
another place, he speaks of the virtues of following one school of fiqh.
37
It is because of these
ambiguities that his legacy remains contested to this day.
38

After Wal Allhs death, his sons took up the mantle of scholarship left vacant by their
father. Among them, Shh Abd al-Azz (d. 1823) was the most prominent and lived the longest.
He is credited with spreading his fathers knowledge especially with regards to adth
throughout South Asia. Abd al-Azzs contributions notwithstanding, Wal Allhs reform
movement found its fullest expression in early nineteenth century, when Muslim political power
in India had fragmented and weakened considerably. In this climate, Wali Allahs biological,
spiritual and intellectual descendants spearheaded a major reform and revival movement called
Tehrk-e-Mujhidn. The movement was led by Sayyid Amad of Rae Barel and Shh Isml,
Wal Allhs grandson.
39
The reformist rhetoric and actions of this movement soon led to a
hardening of sectarian positions. In the beginning, it was the anaf ulam of Badaun and
Khayrabad who took issue with the formers attempts to oppose popular practices. This

36
Mirj Muammad, Shh Wal Allhs Attempts, 4-9.

37
See, for example, Fuy al-aramayn, 319, as cited in Mirj Muammad, Shh Wal Allhs Attempts.

38
The main Ahl-e-Hads works that paint Wal Allh as essentially an adherent of the Ahl-e-Hads school of thought
are as follows: Muammad Isml Salafs Tehrk-e-zd-e-fikr aur Shh Wal Allh k tajdd mas [Movement
for Freedom of Thought and Shh Wal Allhs Renewal Effort]; Muammad Ibrhm Mr Silkots Trkh Ahl-e-
Hads [History of the Ahl-e-Hads], and Ab Yay Imm Khn Naushahrvs Tarjim ulam-e-ads Hind
[Biographies of the Ahl-e-Hadth Scholars of India]. For a representative Deoband work, see ayyib, Ulam
Deoband, 23.

39
For a brief overview of this movement and its leaders, see Encyclopaedia of Islam, 3rd ed., s.v. Barelw, Sayyid
Ahmad. The author, Marc Gaborieu has shown the links between Barelw and Wal Allh and Sirhinds
Naqshband Mujaddid Sufi order.


23

opposition later on crystallized in the form of the Barelv movement of Amad Raz Khn of
Bareilly.
40

After the death of Sayyid Amad and Shh Isml on the battlefield in 1831, their
movement split into two factions. The dividing factor was the members attitude towards taqld.
It seems reasonable to assume that diverging tendencies existed within the movement before
1831 as well. However, perhaps because of the charismatic personality of Sayyid Amad, the
movement did not split. After the defeat in 1831, because of the absence of a unifying
charismatic figure, these diverging tendencies came to the fore.
41
Thus, during this period, one
group of scholars openly began to attack taqld in general and anafs in particular. Many among
them were also actively teaching adth and writing commentaries on adth texts, in the
process shaming anafs indirectly by showing them to not be as engaged in adth as much
as the Ahl-e-ads and by not living up to Wal Allhs legacy.
42
This camp later called itself
Ahl-e-ads.
In opposition to this camp, the other camp insisted on strict adherence to one school,
specifically the anaf school because it was the dominant school in India at the time. Although
this camp shared the former camps emphasis on tawd and opposition to bida, their focus on
direct access to the Quran and sunna was moderated by their adherence to traditional anaf

40
Bareilly and Rae Bareilly are two separate towns. The former is in the western part of Uttar Pradesh in a region
called Rohilkhand inhabited by a large Pashtun Muslim population. The latter is in the central part of the state near
the capital Lucknow. Amad Raz Khn Barelv was from Bareilly while Sayyid Amad Barelw was from Rae
Barel.

41
Ikrm, Mauj-e-Kausar, 29-32.

42
For a listing of the various works in adth and fiqh that appeared during this period at the hands of Ahl-e-Hads
scholars, see Ab Yay Imm Khn Noshehrv, Hindustn main Ahl-e-Hads k ilm khidmt (Chichawatn,
Pakistan: Maktaba Nazria, 1970). For examples of polemical attacks, see Muammad Isml Salaf, Tehrk-e-
zdi-e-Fikr aur Shh Wal Allh k tajdd mas (Chichawatni, Pakistan: Maktaba Nazria, 1969). For an example
of a adth commentary that has anti-anaf material in it as well, see Shams al-aqq Ambd, Awn al-Mabd
Shar Sunan Ab Dwd (Madina: al-Maktaba al-Salafiyya, 1968).

24

scholarship. These anaf scholars later crystallized as the Deoband jamat (community/group)
or jamat ulam-e-Deoband (community of Deoband scholars).
Since both Deobands and Ahl-e-ads had emerged from the larger Wal Allh jamat,
they shared the legacy of Wal Allhs project to review received fiqh literature to bring it closer
to the Qurn and the sunna. As Robinson has pointed out, in the case of the Deoband
movement, this review merely meant a shift in emphasis in the madrasa curriculum from
theology and philosophy to Quran and Hadth, while in the case of Ahl-e-Hads, it meant
ignoring the medieval legal legacy and appropriating Quran and adth directly to engage in
ijtihd as and when needed.
43

Because of their different emphases, it was natural that the two groups would engage in
direct and indirect debates. For the Ahl-e-Hads, the anafs were guilty of deliberately ignoring
adth. For Deobands and other anafs, Ahl-e-Hads were guilty of being literalists. Moreover,
since the majority of Indian Muslims were anafs, Deobands felt that Ahl-e-Hads efforts at
propagating their ideas were a disruptive force that sowed confusion among ordinary Muslims.
For many Ahl-e-Hads scholars, there was enough information in the works of classical
and medieval adth scholars, which could be used against the anafs. This was because of the
historical animosity that many adth scholars had had towards Ab anfa and his
students/followers. During his lifetime, Ab anfa himself had been labelled as someone who
favored reason (ahl al-ray) over adth. This attitude has persisted throughout history to
varying degrees.
44
A typical example is Tarkh Baghdd by the Shfi scholar al-Khab al-
Baghdd (d. 1071) in which he devotes about hundred and forty pages to discussing various

43
Robinson, Islamic Reform and Modernities, 28-29.

44
I will deal with this issue at some length in the next two chapters.

25

reports about Ab anfa.
45
Of these, about forty pages mention positive reports, while about
eighty mention negative reports. Interestingly, al-Baghdd does not give his assessment of these
reports, thus leaving the field open for others to use them as they deem fit. In fact, Tarkh
Baghdd has continued to serve as a useful source for those seeking to vilify Ab anfa, as well
as for those seeking to defend him.

1.3 Deoband Responses to Ahl-e-Hads
In the face of Ahl-e-Hads polemical attacks, Deobands sought to defend their school and its
eponymous founder, Ab anfa. Their responses can be divided into two main categories,
polemical and non-polemical. The polemical responses included public debates as well as
publication of polemical materials that demonstrated the superiority of the anaf school vis--
vis the Ahl-e-Hads methodology of directly accessing Qurn and adth without recourse to
juristic scholarship.
The non-polemical responses can be divided into two further sub-categories: scholarly
works and education. Among scholarly works, Deobands probably devoted most attention to
writing commentaries on major adth collections such as the i sitta. Moreover, they
prepared a new collection titled Il al-sunan which sought to provide adth proofs for all
rulings within the anaf school. Along with these works, Deobands also prepared biographies
of Ab anfa and other prominent anafs with a view to demonstrating their knowledge of
adth. Lastly, Deobands sought to articulate the proper position of adth in anaf legal
theory as well as the anafs principles of adth- and narrator-criticism. While these works are

45
The edition that I have used for this paper is published by Dr al-Gharb al-Islm. See Ab Bakr Amad ibn Al
al-Khab al-Baghdd, Tarkh Madnat al-salm wa akhbr muaddithh wa dhikr qunih al-ulam min
ghayr ahlih wa wridh, (Beirut: Dr al-Gharb al-Islm, 2001), 15: 444-586. The long title is often shortened to
Tarkh Baghdd. Throughout this paper, I will refer to it thus.

26

ostensibly non-polemical, an underlying purpose behind all of these works is to answer Ahl-e-
Hads charges against the anafs. These scholarly works were written in both Arabic and Urdu.
The second category of non-polemical responses included the creation of a network of
madrasas where a new curriculum was adopted. Even though, it retained the old name dars-e-
nizm, it was a far cry from the dars-e-nizm prepared by Mull Nim al-Dn Sihlv (d.
1748). Unlike the original dars-e-nizm, which had focused more on rational sciences, the
Deoband curriculum tried to find a balance between rational and transmitted sciences. The last
year of the new curriculum, called dawrat al-adth, was dedicated to a study of the major
adth collections including the i sitta, the two Muwas of Mlik and Muammad, and
Shar mani al-thr of al-aw. An important pedagogical element of the dawrat al-adth
was to resolve the conflicts between rulings of the anaf school and adths contained in these
collections.
In the following chapters, I examine each of these responses one by one. Thus, in the
second chapter, I explore the Deoband articulation of anaf legal theory with respect to adth,
and in the third chapter, I explore their defense of Ab anfa and other prominent anafs. The
scholarly works mentioned above will serve as sources for these two chapters. The fourth chapter
will provide a brief overview of the Deoband non-polemical response to Ahl-e-Hads through
education. As for the polemical responses, they will not be the subject of this study.

27

Chapter 2: Deoband Re-articulation of anaf Legal Theory With Respect to adth



Among the many charges that the Ahl-e-Hads had levelled against the anafs, perhaps
the most important one was that the latter chose to deliberately ignore adths. In the intellectual
environment of nineteenth century North India, this was a serious charge because it implied that
the anafs were consciously ignoring the Prophets commands. This logical implication had
led some Ahl-e-Hads to declare anafs to be non-Muslims. While such pronouncements were
few, a milder version of this criticism was more prevalent among the Ahl-e-Hads, namely,
anaf adth proofs were weak because many of them were not to be found in the i sitta.
Moreover, Ahl-e-Hadis alleged that those proofs that were to be found in the i sitta were
only rarely to be found in the two as of al-Bukhr and Muslim and hence could not be
considered as sound as the ones in these two collections.
46

The Deoband response to these charges was to try to explain the proper position of
adth in anaf legal theory, which they felt would absolve anafs of Ahl-e-Hads charges.
The starting point for Deobands was their argument that principles of adth-criticism are
speculative (ann) and differed upon among adth scholars. Thus, one scholar may declare a
report to be sound (a) or fair (asan) while another may consider it to be weak (af) and
vice versa. Moreover, while anafs share majority of terms and principles with the generality of
adth scholars ((jamat al-muaddithn)), they disagree in some places.
Of the many works that Deoband scholars penned to explain anaf legal theory with
respect to adth, one of the most important and representative work is Qawid f ulm al-
adth of afar Amad Uthmn. Considering that this work serves as the main Deoband

46
Muammad Taq Uthmn, Dars-e-Tirmiz, ed. Rashd Ashraf Sayf (Karachi: Maktaba Dr al-Ulm Karachi,
2004), 1: 80.

28

articulation of anaf legal theory with respect to adth, one would imagine that anaf works
would serve as main sources. However, that is not always the case. More often than not, it is a
non-anaf adth work. As mentioned in the previous chapter, Ahl-e-Hads polemicists had
chosen to rely on works of medieval non-anaf adth scholars to prepare their charges against
the anafs. Therefore, Deobands also chose to refer to older works by those authors whom the
Ahl-e-Hads held in high esteem.
I begin with a discussion of the sources used by Uthmn in his Qawid f ulm al-
adth to get a better understanding of how Deobands derived authority and sought legitimacy.
I will follow that by a broad overview of their articulation of anaf legal theory with respect to
adth

2.1: Deobands Sources
The main non-anaf sources that Uthmn refers to are as follows: Tadhkirat al-uff and
Mzn al-itidl f naqd al-rijl of Shams al-Dn al-Dhahab (d. 1348), Fat al-Br sharh a
al-Bukhr, its introduction Hady al-sr, Tahdhb al-tahdhb, Nuzhat al-naar shar Nukhbat al-
fikr and Lisn al-mzn of Ibn ajar al-Asqaln (d. 1448), Fat al-Mughth bi shar Alfiyyat al-
adth of Shams al-Dn al-Sakhw (d. 1497), and Tadrb al-rw of Jall al-Dn al-Suy (d.
1505). Among the less cited non-anaf works are al-Ilal of Ab s al-Tirmidh (d. 892),
Shar a Muslim of Sharaf al-Dn al-Nawaw (d. 1277), Raf al-malm an al-aimma al-
alm and Minhj al-sunna al-nabawiyya of Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328), and Ilm al-muwaqqin
of Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (d. 1350).
It is clear from the list given above that barring books like al-Tirmidhs al-Ilal,
Uthmn has mostly relied on books by authors who are mainly Shfi, while a few are

29

anbals. They are all from the medieval period when Sunn adth sciences had reached
relative maturity. This is why works by these authors continue to serve as major references in
modern Sunn adth scholarship.
47

Works by anafs include the following: Nab al-rya of Uthmn ibn Al al-Zayla (d.
1342), al-Dbj al-mudhahhab of al-Sharf al-Jurjn (d. 1413), Umdat al-qr shar a al-
Bukhr of Badr al-Dn al-Ayn (d. 1453), Qafw al-athar f ulm afw al-athar of Ra al-Dn
ibn al-anbal al-anaf (d. 1563 or 1564), Ashiat al-Lamat of Abd al-aqq Muaddith
Dehlaw (d. 1642), Kashshf iilht al-funn of Muammad Al Thanv (d. c. 18th century),
Fawth al-Raamt shar Musallam al-thubt of Abd al-Al al-Anr (d. 1810), al-Raf wa
al-takml and al-Ajwiba al-fila of Abd al-ayy al-Laknaw (d. 1886), Fay al-Br al a
al-Bukhr of Anwar Shh Kashmr (d. 1933), and Fiqh ahl al-Irq wa adthihim of Zhid al-
Kawthar (d. 1951). Among these, the most often used sources are Qafw al-athar and al-Raf wa
al-takml.
As can be seen, along with medieval works, a number of works from the modern period
are also included among the anaf sources, which suggests that Deoband debates with Ahl-e-
Hads formed part of a larger debate taking place between Salafs and Ahl-e-Hads on the one
hand and anafs on the other, across regions (South Asia and the Middle East). The author of
al-Raf wa al-takml, Abd al-ayy al-Laknaw, who belonged to the famous family of ulam of
Farangi Mahall, had himself debated with Ahl-e-Hads scholars on the trustworthiness of Ab

47
For a brief overview of the development of adth sciences and their position in Sunn thought, see the chapter
titled The Formation of Sunn Traditionalism in Jonathan Berkey, The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society
in the Near East, 600-1800 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 141-151. Also see Richard
Bulliet, Islam: The View from the Edge (New York: Columbia University, 1994), 126-127; and Jonathan Brown,
The Canonization of al-Bukhr and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunn adth Canon (Leiden:
Brill, 2007), 367-368.

30

anfa and the position of qiys (analogical reasoning) in Islamic jurisprudence.
48
Similarly, al-
Kawthar, who was a former Ottoman official and had settled down in Egypt, had also engaged
in extensive debates with his Salaf detractors in the Middle East.
49

Having looked at the sources Uthmn referred to in his Qawid ulm al-adth, we
now look at the salient features of his articulation of anaf legal theory with respect to adth.

2.2: Speculative Nature of the Principles of adth-Criticism
50

The starting point for Deobands, as mentioned above, was to assert that all principles of adth-
criticism are speculative.
51
Moreover, the principles of declaring a adth to be sound or
otherwise are differed upon and vary according to the taste (dhawq) of each muaddith or
mujtahid. For example, Muslim and al-Bukhr differ over anana (a particular type of adth in
which the narrator does not use an expression that would indicate that he/she actually met the
person from whom they are narrating). Al-Bukhr stipulates that such a narrator must have met
the person from whom he is narrating with anana, at least once in his lifetime. On the other
hand, Muslim merely stipulates that the two should be contemporaries and there should be a
possibility that the two may have met. Despite this difference of opinion, both are accepted as
legitimate authorities in the field of adth-criticism.
52
Similarly, Ibn ibbn (d. 965), a famous

48
For a brief overview of the Farangi Mahall family of scholars, see Francis Robinson, The Ulama of Farangi
Mahall and Islamic Culture in South Asia (London: Hurst and Co., 2001).

49
Unfortunately, no academic study of Zhid al-Kawthars life and work seems to have been undertaken. For a
brief hagiographical biography, see G. F. Haddad, Imam al-Kawthari (May Allah be well-pleased with him),
Living Islam, http://livingislam.org/o/kawth_e.html (accessed March 24, 2014).

50
Sections 2.2 onwards are primarily descriptions of the principles enunciated by Uthmn. My comments, as and
when they appear, are only those that are clearly stated as such.

51
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, ed. Abd al-Fatt Ab Ghudda (Karachi: Idrat al-Qurn wa al-
ulm al-islmiyyah, n.d.), 20.

52
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 20-21.

31

adth scholar, has differed from the majority of adth scholars regarding the acceptance of the
report of an anonymous (majhl) person. According to him, such a adth is acceptable as long
as the person he is narrating from and the latters teacher are both reliable (thiqa), and the adth
is not munkar, i.e. the adth does not contradict the report of someone who is more trustworthy.
Majority of the adth scholars do not accept such a adth.
53

After giving these examples, Uthmn goes on to assert that since the principles of
adth-criticism are speculative and differed upon, therefore, declaring a narrator to be reliable
(thiqa) or weak (af), and declaring a adth to be sound (a) or weak (af) is also differed
upon. In the context of making this general argument, Uthmn cites numerous early and
medieval works by prominent adth scholars including al-Ilal, Tadhkirat al-uff, Shar
a Muslim, and Fat al-Br. However, more important than these is his quotation from Ibn
Taymiyyas Raf al-malm an al-aimma al-alm.
According to Ibn Taymiyya, as cited by Uthmn, none of the Imms (leading
scholars/eponymous founders) [of fiqh schools] that have been accepted by the umma can be
accused of intentionally opposing the Prophet in any of his sunnas, be they minor or major.
Therefore, if an Imm seems to be in conflict with a sound adth, it could be for a number of
legitimate reasons. Among the many reasons given by Ibn Taymiyya, Uthmn cites the
following two: one, this Imm may have considered the adth in question to be weak while
others considered it to be sound. The second is that the conditions for the soundness of a adth
may be different for this Imm as opposed to other scholars. Thus, for example, this Imm may
also consider it a condition to compare the text (matn) of the adth with the Qurn and the


53
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 21. For a brief overview of the various adth terms, see Ibn ajar
al-Asqaln, Nukhbat al-Fikr, trans. Musa Furber, in Sunna Notes: Studies in Hadith and Doctrine (UK: Aqsa
Publications, 2005), 1: 169-194. A similar list is also found in afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 22-48.

32

[otherwise established] sunna, or that the narrator has to be a jurist (faqh) if the adth opposes
qiys, or that the adth should have been more well known if its text concerns a matter which is
commonly-occurring.
54
The interesting thing to note here is the Ibn Taymiyya seems to be
answering the charges that the Ahl-e-Hads were to later make against the anafs.
Having made the general argument in support of the possibility that Ab anfa and other
anafs may have graded adiths based on criteria different from other adth scholars,
Uthmn goes on to state various anaf principles of adth- and narrator-criticism as follows:

2.3 Ta (Validation/Declaration of Soundness) and Tasn (Declaration of Fairness) of a
adth
In chapter two of his Qawid f Ulm al-adth, Uthmn has listed thirteen principles for
determining whether a adth is sound or fair.
55
Some of the important ones among these are as
follows:
1. When a muaddith uses a certain adth as evidence, then this action by itself amounts to
his validation (ta) of it. By the same token, if a mujtahid uses a certain adth as
evidence, then this also amounts to his validation of it. Thus, every adth that al-
Shaybn or al-aw mention in their books as evidence is sound because they were
both muaddiths and mujtahids.
56
The logical implication of this principle is that even if
other adth scholars were to declare these adths to be weak, it would be irrelevant.
2. When some qarna (context) indicates soundness of an otherwise weak adth, then it is
considered a sound adth. An example is the anaf ruling regarding a utensil, which a

54
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 49-50.

55
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 56-91.

56
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 57-59.


33

dog has licked (wulgh al-kalb fi al-in). According to anafs, such a utensil has to be
washed three times for it to become ritually clean. The anaf proof is a adth from Ab
Hurayra to that effect. The adth has a weak chain but because there is another report,
which states that Ab Hurayra himself always used to wash a utensil three times if a dog
had licked it; therefore, his adth from the Prophet would now be considered sound.
57

3. If a certain adth gains acceptance among the ulam, then that is its validation even if
the adth does not have a sound chain.
58
An example of this is the Prophets renewing
the marriage of his daughter Zaynab to her former husband Ab al- ibn al-Rab with
a new dower and a new contract when the latter converted to Islam. This adth has a
weak chain and opposing it is a adth with a stronger chain, which states that the
Prophet did not renew their marriage.
59
Majority of the jurists have adopted the adth
with a weak chain and discarded the one with the strong chain.
60
Because of the jurists
acting upon this adth, it can now compete with sound adths.
4. When a certain adth gains acceptance among the umma, then it is considered to be in
the same category as a mass transmitted adth (f mana al-tawtur). An example is the
narration from isha that the Prophet said that the irrevocable divorce of a slave-girl is
[achieved with] two divorces, and her waiting period is two menstrual cycles. Because

57
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 56-60.

58
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 60-62.

59
This adth is cited by al-Tirmidh in the chapter on two spouses who are polytheists and then one of them
converts to Islam. See Taq Uthmn, Dars-e-Tirmiz, 1: 84-85.

60
Apparently, the weak adth is supported by other evidences, which Taq Uthmn does not cite.


34

the umma has accepted this adth, therefore it will be considered mass transmitted even
though it is weak with respect to its chain.
61

5. Sound adths are not limited to the two as of al-Bukhr and Muslim but are found
outside of them as well. Here, Uthmn cites these two authors themselves expressing as
much. His conclusion from this is that one could therefore oppose a sound adth found
in one or both of the two as by another sound adth narrated by someone else in
another collection. He goes on to cite al-Asqaln from Fat al-Br saying that if two
sound adths are in contradiction, then the one in a al-Bukhr does not get
automatic precedence; rather, each will be judged based upon the narrators who appear in
the chain. Whichever has a stronger chain will be deemed more sound, irrespective of
whether it is in a al-Bukhr or not. Moreover, Uthmn cites both al-Asqaln and
al-Suy to assert that the superiority of a al-Bukhr over all other collections is in
general terms not in the sense that every adth in it is sounder than any that is found
outside of it.
62

An extension of this principle is that reference to the i sitta is needed only
after the second and third Islamic centuries. Ab anfa flourished before these works
were compiled. It is possible that a adth reached him through a sound chain and the
chain became weaker after him, which is why it was not included in these collections.
Moreover, since al-Bukhri and Muslim have themselves acknowledged that they did not

61
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 62.

62
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 63-66.


35

include all sound adths in their collections; therefore, a adths occurrence outside of
these two as does not automatically render it weak.
63

6. A fair adth is like a sound adth when being used as evidence even though the
formers chain is weaker compared to the latter. This is why some scholars such as al-
kim al-Nsbr (d. 1012) and Ibn ibbn (d. 965) count a fair adth among sound
adths. Moreover, a adth which is fair by itself (asan li dhtihi) can rise to the level
of a sound adth when it has more than one narration. Similarly, a weak adth can rise
to the level of a fair adth if it has more than one narration. In such a case, it can be used
as evidence just like a fair adth.
64

7. That adth which Ab Dwd has not commented on (sakata anhu) in his Sunan is
qualified to be used as evidence. Similarly, whatever adths al-Asqaln has quoted in
his Fat al-Br that are not in a al-Bukhr, and has not commented on them, will
be considered to be either sound or fair in al-Asqalns estimation.
65

8. Finally, a adth scholars statement about a certain adth that it is the most sound
adth on the subject does not mean that it is actually sound by itself; rather, it merely
means that all other adths on the subject have weaker chains than it. This adth could
be weak by itself but others would then be weaker according to this scholar.
66



63
This is a point often made by Deoband scholars in their adth lectures. Personal experience during adth
lectures at Jmia Ashrafia, Lahore, Pakistan, 2006.

64
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 78. Uthmns sources in this regard include Tadrb al-rw, Shar
al-nukhba and Fat al-Br of al-Asqaln, M thabata bi al-sunna of al-fi al-Irq, and al-Mzn al-kubr of
Abd al-Wahhb al-Sharn.

65
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 89. Uthmn cites Nayl al-awr of al-Shawkn, Nab al-rya of
al-Zayla, al-Targhb wa al-tarhb, and Tadrb al-rw to support this assertion.

66
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 91.


36

2.4: Conditions for the Use of a Weak adth
Uthmn has devoted the third chapter of his Qawid f ulm al-adth to principles governing
the use of a weak adth. Some of these are as follows:
1. Weak adths can be used for fail al-aml (supererogatory works). The wisdom
behind acting upon such a weak adth is that if such a adth is actually (f nafs al-amr)
sound, then its right has been fulfilled; otherwise, if nothing forbidden has been made
permissible and nothing permissible has been made forbidden, and no other persons
right has been taken, then there is no harm in acting upon it. Furthermore, according to
al-Suy, a weak adth can also be acted upon in matters of akm (legal rulings) as
long as such a weak adth entails caution (itiy).
67

2. A condition for acting upon a weak adth is that it should not be extremely weak, that it
should fall under some general principle (al mm), and that one should not consider this
act to be sunna. Extreme weakness refers to a case when every narration of the adth has
someone who is either a liar (kadhdhb) or is accused of lying (muttaham bi al-kadhib).
68

3. If a adth has a weak chain then this adth must be described as weak with respect to
the chain and not with respect to the text because it is possible that there may be another
chain which is sound. Only when an Imm [of adth?] has declared that this adth is
not narrated with any sound chain, or when the weakness of the adth has been
specified, then the adth can be described as weak without reference to the chain. In
short, one should refrain from declaring a adth to be weak merely because of one chain

67
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 92-93. His sources include al-Durr al-Mukhtr of al-akaf (d.
1677) and Ibn bidns (d. 1836) commentary on it titled Radd al-mutr ala al-Durr al-mukhtr aka shiyat
Ibn bidin. The latter cites al-Asqalns Shar al-arban.

68
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 94-95. His sources include al-Durr al-mukhtr, shiyat Ibn
bidn and al-Suys Shar al-taqrb.


37

until its proper context is known. A mujtahid can figure out the proper ruling for a
weak adth by seeing if it accords with qiys, or with statements of the companions or
followers, etc.
69

4. One must differentiate between a weak adth and a muaaf adth. The latter is one
whose weakness is differed upon. This difference of opinion could be with respect to the
chain or the text. Such a hadth is of a rank higher than weak. Uthmn goes on to cite
al-Suy and al-Asqaln concluding that adths whose soundness is differed upon are
of many ranks. Such adhs are found in the two as of al-Bukhr and Muslim. His
other conclusion is that a suspended report, narration of a mudallis (someone who does
not clearly state that he actually heard from the narrator above him), and the narration of
someone whose uprightness is not known, are all types of adths whose soundness is
differed upon. Thus, they belong to the larger category of muaaf and not of weak
adths.
70

5. A weak adth can be used to establish istibb (recommendation).
71

6. A weak adth can be used to support a position, which is already supported by some
other evidence.
72

7. There are two levels of extreme weakness. One is that whose extremeness is agreed upon,
and the other is the one whose extremeness is differed upon. The first one cannot be used
as evidence (ujja) but the latter can be used.
73


69
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 95. His main source for this principle is Tadrb al-rw.

70
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 108-110.

71
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 110-111.

72
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 111.

73
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 115.

38

8. A number of terms are used by muaddiths to refer to acceptable (maqbl) adths. One
of these is li, which refers to both sound and fair adths. It can also be used for those
weak adths, which can be used as evidence.
74


2.5: Rejecting Solitary Report (Khabar al-wid)
According to Uthmn, a solitary report is to be rejected if it opposes a well-known sunna, i.e.
something, which has been established through mass transmitted (mutawtir) adth or a well-
known (mashhr) adth. Similarly, if a solitary report pertains to a public incident and
contradicts a report from a group of companions, then it will be rejected. For example, when a
group of companions narrate that the Prophet used to say the basmala (the formula: bism Allh
al-Ramn al-Ram) in a low voice in ritual prayer, then the solitary report of someone who
says that he used to say it out loud, will be rejected. Lastly, if leading companions ignored the
report and used their reason regarding the matter, then this is an indication that either the report
is abrogated, weak or even broken-chained (munqai).
75
Uthmn sums this up by saying that in
addition to the uprightness and accuracy of the narrator, the anafs condition for the soundness
of a adth is also that the adth does not contradict unequivocal statement of the Quran or a
well-known sunna, and that it has not been ignored (or not acted upon) in the first generation,
and that it is not the only report concerning a matter of public nature.
An interesting application of some of these principles regarding a solitary report is the
issue of reciting srat al-Ftia behind the imm (praryer leader) in ritual prayer. According to
Ab anfa, one should not recite while praying behind the imm. According to many other


74
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 116.

75
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 125-126.

39

scholars including al-Shfi and Ibn anbal, ones prayer is not valid unless they recite srat al-
Ftia. Their proof is the adth narrated by the authors of the i sitta and Ibn anbal in his
Musnad, there is no prayer for the one who does not recite the opening of the book (srat al-
Ftia). Uthmn argues against the obligation of reciting srat al-Ftia by saying the Qurn
only requires one to recite some portion of the Quran, as stated in the Qurnic verse recite as
much of the Qurn as is easy (faqra m tayassara min al-Qurn) [Q 02:37]. According to
Uthmn, the word m in the Qurnic verse is either general (mm) or unrestricted (mulaq). In
both cases, a solitary report, which is a speculative proof cannot specify (takh) the general nor
can it restrict (taqyd) the unrestricted.
76


2.6: Position of the Opinions of Companions and Followers
77

According to Uthmn, the opinions of companions and followers can have multiple levels of
importance. If a companion describes something as being the sunna (min al-sunna kadh)
without qualifying it with respect to its doer, then it automatically refers to a sunna of the
Prophet. It is then at the level of a raised-chain report (adth marf) and is a proof (ujja) by
itself. Similarly, if a follower says that they used to do such and such without specifying the
doer, then it will automatically be understood to refer to companions unless there is a reason to
suggest otherwise. The same will also be true if a follower were to say that the predecessors
(salaf) used to do such and such, or used to say such and such. For a follower, the predecessors
are only the companions.

76
afar Uthmn, Il al-Sunan, 2: 234-235. afar Uthmns discussion of the subject continues for many pages
involving many more principles of anaf legal theory. For those interested in the whole discussion, see afar
Amad Uthmn, Il al-Sunan, ed. Muammad Taq Uthmn (Karachi: Idrat al-Qurn wa al-ulm al-
islmiyyah, 1997), 2: 229-242.

77
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 125-137.

40

Moreover, according to Uthmn, if a companion mentions something about a subject
other than language and other than something in which one can exercise ijtihd, then it also has
the ruling of a raised-chain report. An important restriction in this case is that such a companion
must not be someone who reads ancient books because in that case he may have acquired his
knowledge from there. The same will be true of the statement of a follower with the same
restrictions. His statement will have the ruling of a raised-chain report. The only difference will
be that his report will be considered a suspended report and not a connected (muttail) one
because the last link in the chain, namely, the name of the companion, is missing.
Lastly, Uthmn discusses the statement of a mujtahid companion regarding a matter in
which there is no text of the Qurn or adth. According to Uthmn, this is also a proof (ujja)
by itself. In the presence of such a statement, qiys will not be followed. If such a statement had
become widespread during the time of companions and other companions remained silent and
accepted it, then it is mandatory (wjib) to follow it. If the companions had differed over it, then
those coming after them can follow the opinion of any of them but they do not have the right to
exercise ijtihd.
The same will apply to the statement of a senior follower whose fatw (non-binding legal
opinion) became well known during the time of the companions, and none of them opposed him.
Thus, according to Uthmn, the opinion of Ibrhm al-Nakha (d. 714) is also a proof for the
anafs even though he is not one of the senior followers in terms of age. Rather, his opinion has
value because of his expertise in fiqh, and because of his knowledge of the school of Abdullh
ibn Masd (d. 650), a prominent companion of the Prophet. According to Uthmn, Ab anfa
used to give great weight to the opinions of al-Nakha because quite often the latter merely
repeated the opinion of Abdullh ibn Masd. Thus, in the case of placing of hands during the

41

ritual prayer, the anaf position is that the hands should be placed below the navel. The main
proof in this regard is the statement of Ab Majliz Lhiq ibn umayd (d. 100/101 AH) and
Ibrhm al-Nakha.
78
The former was a senior follower and his fatws were well known during
the time of the companions, while the latters status despite being a junior follower has been
elaborated above.

2.7 Principles of Narrator-criticism, i.e. Commendation (Tadl) and Discreditation (J ar)
The seventh chapter in Uthmns Qawid f ulm al-adth is dedicated to the principles of
narrator-criticism. Some of the important principles in this regard are as follows:
1. Ambiguous discreditation (al-jar al-mubham) is generally not accepted, and is only
accepted with respect to someone whom no one has declared to be reliable. This is the
opposite of commendation, which is accepted even when it is ambiguous and is not
accompanied with an explanation of the reason for commendation. The reason for this
difference is that sometimes people discredit someone because of something, which they
consider to be a cause for discreditation even though it might actually not be such a thing.
Therefore, the cause should be mentioned so that other adth scholars can decide for
themselves whether it actually merits discreditation or not.
79

2. If there is both commendation and discreditation regarding a certain narrator, and both
are ambiguous, then commendation will be given preference. If, however, the
discreditation is explained (mufassar) and only the commendation is ambiguous, then the
former will have precedence. On the other hand, if the commendor (muaddil) says that

78
afar Uthmn, Il al-sunan, 2: 191-192.

79
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 167-174.


42

so and so is reliable and whoever discredited him was wrong, or that whoever
discredited him did so without proof, then the commendation will have precedence. An
example of this is Ibn Abd al-Barrs statement regarding Ikrima al-Barbar (d. 722), viz.
he is one of the prominent scholars and whoever discredited him had no proof for
that.
80

3. If someones uprightness and greatness in knowledge is established in the umma
(worldwide Muslim community), then his discreditation, even if it is explained, is not
effective. A adth narrated by such a person will be sound and not merely fair. A
prominent example of such a person is the above-mentioned Ikrima who was discredited
by many but adth scholars did not accept this discreditation because his uprightness
and leadership in knowledge is established. His narrations are, therefore, considered
sound.
81

4. Not every persons discreditation of another is accepted. This is because sometimes the
discreditor himself is discredited due to something. Established adth scholars such as
al-Nas, Ibn ibbn, Ab tim (d. 890), etc. are known to exaggerate when
discrediting someone. Their discreditation of someone cannot be accepted at face-value.
Uthmn has devoted considerable space to this discussion. He quotes al-Dhahab and al-
Asqaln to argue that narrator-critics tend to vary in terms of their exaggeration in
discrediting someone. Thus, Shuba (d. 776) and Sufyn al-Thawr (d. 777) from the first
generation (abaqa), Yay ibn Sad al-Qan (d. 813) from the second generation,
Yay ibn Man (d. 847) from the third generation, Ab tim (d. 890) from the fourth
generation, and among the later scholars (mutaakhkhirn), Ibn al-Jawz (d. 1200) , al-

80
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 174-176.

81
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 176-177.

43

Ra al-ghn (d. 1252), and Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328) are among critics who tend to
exaggerate.
Uthmn also describes a particular sub-type of such critics who may be
moderate in general but are particularly harsh with respect to a certain group or
individual. Thus, al-Dhahab is particularly harsh on Sufis and Ashars. Al-Draqun (d.
995) is particularly harsh on Ab anfa and his companions, and al-Khab al-Baghdd
is particularly harsh on Ab anfa and Amad ibn anbal. According to the sources
cited by Uthmn, the discrediting of those critics who tend to exaggerate in general or
with respect to a particular group cannot be accepted at face value. Rather, if the one
being criticized is already well known for his uprightness and knowledge, or if his
commendors (mdin) are many while his discreditors (dhmmn) are few, and there is a
context of religious or group-based bigotry, then such discreditation will not be
accepted.
82

5. In terms of attributes that are required in a narrator for his narration to be accepted,
Uthmn states that all the leading authorities (aimma) of Hadth and fiqh agree that he
must be upright (dil), and accurate (bi) in his narration. These two conditions mean
that he should be a sane adult Muslim, who is free of things that would cause him to be
declared an immoral person (fsiq). Moreover, he should be alert (mutayaqqi) and not
negligent (ghayr mughaffal), he should have sound memory (fi) if he narrates from
memory, and should take care to make sure that his books are not altered if he narrates
from his books. Lastly, these two mean that he should be knowledgeable of what would
change the meaning when he narrates the report. A necessary result of these conditions is

82
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 177-197.

44

that the report of a disbeliever, a crazy person, a child, a negligent person or an immoral
person will not be accepted.
According to Uthmn, ab means that a persons memory of what he hears is
more preponderant than his lack of memory. At the same time, some degree of
forgetfulness and mistake is natural and a person will not be discredited (majr) if he
makes a mistake in one adth. Moreover, not being an immoral person (fsiq) means that
the person in question does not engage in any of the major sins, and does not persist in
committing minor sins.
83

6. Discreditation is to be considered only when it pertains to matters, which were mentioned
above as conditions for an acceptable narrator. Other things cannot be defined as cause of
discreditation. Thus, narrating a suspended-chain report, or engaging in fiqh, or working
for a ruler if the work is legitimate by itself, etc. are not valid causes for someones
discreditation. The same applies to the case when a person does not narrate much, or does
not have many teachers of adth, or has not traveled widely in search of adth. The
reason is that none of these things affects a persons uprightness or accuracy of
transmission in any way.
Apart from the above, ambiguous aspersion (al-an al-mubham) reported from
one of the leading scholars of adth regarding some narrator does not count as
discreditation. Thus, a adth scholars saying that a certain adth is discredited
(majr) or disclaimed (munkar) is not enough unless he were to clearly specify
something which is accepted as discreditation by all. If it is differed upon such that some
may consider it discreditation while others may not do so, then it will not be accepted.

83
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 197-198.


45

This is especially important in the case of a person who is otherwise known for his
sincerity and lack of prejudice/bigotry (taaub).
84

7. If a narrator from whom some report has been narrated refuses to acknowledge it as his
narration, then there is some detail. If the refusal is that of rejection (inkr jid) such
that he says I did not narrate this, then all adth scholars agree that one cannot act
upon this adth. If however, the refusal is of that of hesitation (inkr mutawaqqif) such
that he says I do not remember narrating this, then according to Ab Ysuf and al-
Karkh, one cannot act upon the adith, while according to Muammad al-Shaybn, one
can act upon the adth.
85

8. If a narrator acts against the report that he narrated after having narrated it, then one
cannot act upon such a report. However, if this action is from before his narration of it, or
its date is unknown, then it is not discreditation.
86

9. Companions or a companions acting against a adth necessitates aspersion in the
adth if the adth is equivocal, and it is not possible that it would have been unknown
to him or them. However, if there is a possibility that he or they may not have known of
it, then this action does not cause discreditation of the adth. Conversely, companions
acting upon a adth is a proof of its soundness.
87

10. Ignorance regarding the narrator (jahlat al-rw): Not knowing the name of a
companion narrator does not affect the soundness of the adth because all companions

84
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 199-201. His sources include al-Manr and Nr al-Anwr, two
important anaf legal theory texts from the early modern period.

85
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 201. His sources are al-Manr and Nr al-Anwr.

86
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 202. His sources are al-Manr and Nr al-Anwr.

87
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 202. His sources are al-Manr and Nr al-Anwr.


46

are considered to be upright (kulluhum udl). As for the case of someone other than a
companion, there can be two cases, ambiguous and non-ambiguous. According to
Uthmn, adth from a narrator with ambiguous ignorance will be accepted as long as
he is from one of the first three generations. With respect to the non-ambiguous case, if
both the person and character of the narrator is unknown (majhl al-ayn), then if his
adth appeared in the second or the third generation, then it is permissible to act on the
adth. However, if it appeared after the third generation, then it is not permissible to act
on it.
88

11. If a narrator is known to be upright and is also known for narrations, then his report will
be accepted, irrespective of whether he is a jurist (faqh) or not, and irrespective of
whether his report aligns with qiys or not.
89

12. Uprightness can also be proven through fame. Thus, if a persons uprightness is well-
known among people of knowledge, be they adth scholars or others, then his good
reputation suffices for uprightness. In this case, there is no need to find an explicit report
stating that so and so is upright, truthful, or trustworthy. According to Uthmn, this
principle applies to many early scholars such as Ab anfa, Mlik, Sufyn al-Thawr,
Sufyn ibn Uyayna (d. 814), al-Awz (d. 774), al-Shfi, Muammad al-Shaybn,
Ab Ysuf, Amad ibn anbal, etc.
90

13. If an upright person narrates from an unknown person, then that narration by itself can be
considered a substitute for commendation of the one narrated from. This is because if the
upright person knew anything that would discredit this person, he either would not have

88
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 202-209.

89
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 207-208.

90
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 210-212.


47

narrated from him or would have mentioned it. However, this level of scrupulousness can
only be expected in the first three generations. Thus, this principle is limited to these
generations.
91

According to Uthmn, certain leading scholars of the early generations are
known for their scrupulousness in that they would only narrate from a reliable person.
Thus, if there is a narration from one of these scholars and the person above him is not
specified, it will automatically be assumed that he is reliable. Uthmn has provided a
long list of such scholars with evidences from earlier sources to demonstrate that they
only narrated from reliable narrators. Such scholars include the following: Yay ibn
Sad al-Qan, Mlik ibn Anas, Shuba, Sa ibn al-Musayyab (d. 715), Muammad
ibn Srn (d. 733), Ibrhm al-Nakha, Yay ibn Man, Sufyn ibn Uyana, Amad ibn
anbal, al-Bukhr, al-Nas, Ab Dwd, and Ab anfa. Uthmn goes on to cite al-
Sharn at length to demonstrate that Ab anfa was extremely scrupulous in his
narrations and that he would only narrate from those whom he trusted.
92

14. Innovation (bida): Accoridng to Uthmn, while there is a great deal of difference of
opinion among Sunn scholars of adth and legal theory, the dominant position for the
anafs, as stated by Ibn al-anbal, is that if the innovation is such that it amounts to
disbelief, such as believing in divine incarnation in human form, then such a persons
narration is rejected. If, however, the innovation he subscribes to does not lead to
disbelief, then if he is otherwise morally upright and reliable, and does not preach this

91
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 213-215.

92
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 216-227.


48

innovation, then his narration can be accepted. Examples of such innovative groups
include moderate Shs, Khawrij, and Murjis.
93


2.8 Principles of Preference when Proofs Contradict (Taru bayna al-adillah wa al-tarj)
Uthmn sets out by stating that in reality (f nafs al-amr), there can be no contradiction in legal
proofs (ujaj shariyya) because that would mean that Gods commands are frivolous. Rather,
the contradiction is only outward and superficial. It is the job of the jurist to remove this apparent
contradiction between legal proofs. He can do so through abrogation if the early (mutaqaddim)
and the later (mutaakhkhir) are known and the two proofs can accept abrogation. A typical
example for the anafs is that of raising hands (raf al-yadayn) during ritual prayer. There are
multiple reports from the Prophet regarding raising hands during prayer. According to some
reports, he did so at the beginning of the prayer (takbr al-tarma) only. According to other
reports, he also did so while going down into ruk (bowing) and while getting up from it, and
while doing down into sajda (prostration) and while getting up from it, and so on. According to
anafs, there was a gradual process of abrogating the raising of the hands. The last stage was
when raising the hands was required only at the beginning of the prayer.
94

If abrogation does not work, then, if possible, one proof will have to be given preference
over the other. If that is not possible, then the two proofs will be harmonized (jam) as much as
possible. If harmonization is not possible either, then the two proofs will be considered void, and
one will resort to the proof that is below the two in rank. Thus, if there seemed to be a
contradiction between two verses of the Quran, and this contradiction could not be resolved,

93
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 227-231. I will discuss the issue of Murjis in more detail in the
next chapter because it has a direct bearing upon the uprightness of Ab anfa and hence his reliability as a
narrator.

94
Mahmd Hasan Gangohi, Adilla-e-kmila (Karachi: Qadm kutubkhna, n.d.), 23-36.


49

then one would resort to a solitary report (khabar al-wid). If the contradiction is between two
solitary reports and cannot be resolved, then one will resort to the statements of the companions
or to qiys.
95

Some of the other principles for resolving contradiction between proofs, many of which
are elaborations of the above discussion, outlined by Uthmn are as follows:
1. It is not permissible to give precedence based on the number of proofs. Thus, if one of the
two contradicting reports has multiple narrators while the other has less, then this by no
means is a cause for giving precedence to the former. The reason is that moral
uprightness is what matters and not the number of narrators.
96

2. When two narrators are equal in terms of memory and accuracy of transmission, and one
of them is a jurist who understands the nuances of words, then his narration will have
precedence. A typical example of this contrast is the story related by one of Wak ibn al-
Jarrs (d. 812) students. He relates that Wak asked us, which of the two following
chains is more beloved to you, al-Amash from Ab Wil from Abdullh [ibn Umar],
or Sufyn from Manr from Ibrhm from Alqama from Abdullh [ibn Masd]? The
student says we all said, We prefer the first one [because it was shorter]. Upon this,
Wak replied, Al-Amash and Ab Wil are old people, while Sufyn, Manr,
Ibrhm and Alqama are all jurists. The implication is that the narration transmitted by
jurists is better than the one transmitted by old men, even if the latter is shorter.
97


95
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 288-289. According to Uthmn, there is difference of opinion over
whether statements of the companions come first or qiys. According to al-Karkhi, the two are of the same rank.
According to al-Pazdaw, the statements of the companions have precedence over qiys.

96
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 294 & 297.

97
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 298.

50

Another example of this principle is the famous dialogue that took place between
Ab anfa and al-Awz. According to the story, Ab anfa and al-Awz were
together in Makka. Al-Awz said to Ab anfa, Why is it that you do not raise your
hands in ritual prayer while going down into ruk and while raising your head from it?
Ab anifa replied, Because nothing sound is reported from the Prophet in this regard.
Al-Awz was surprised and said, How can you say that when al-Zuhr narrated to me
from Slim who narrated from his father [Ibn Umar], who narrated about the Prophet
that he would raise his hands in the beginning of ritual prayer, at the time of going down
into ruk, and while rising from it. Ab anfa replied, Hammd narrated to us from
Ibrhm, who narrated from Alqama and al-Aswad, who narrated from Abdullh [ibn
Masd] that the Prophet would not raise his hands except at the beginning of ritual
prayer. Al-Awz replied, I narrate to you from al-Zuhr from Slim from his father,
and you narrate from ammd from Ibrm? Ab anfas response was, ammd
had more knowledge of jurisprudence (afqah) than al-Zuhr, and Ibrhm had more
knowledge of jurisprudence than Slm, and Alqama is no less than Ibn Umar although
the latter has the virtue of companionship. He went on to say, al-Aswad had great
virtue and Abdullh is Abdullh. Upon this, al-Awzi became quite. This is a clear
case of Ab anfa giving preference to the juridical qualifications of the narrator while
al-Awzi is more concerned about the shortness of the chain. As Uthmn explicitly
points out, shortness of chain has no intrinsic value for the anafs, rather, jurisprudential
knowledge of the narrator has much greater weight.
98



98
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 297-300 & 302.


51

2.9: Conclusion
It is clear from the principles listed above that Uthmns purpose, and by extension that of
Deobands in general, behind articulating these principles was to create a space for the anafs to
justify their existing fiqh. Theirs was not an articulation of legal theory for derivation of new
rulings. Rather, it was a case of back-projection whereby Deobands were seeking room for the
continued validity of anaf rulings despite their apparent weakness in terms of adth proofs.
Actually Uthmn states as much when he says that that not all of the books of adth from the
early period have survived, which means that we do not have full access to the entire corpus of
adth that would have been available to the early anaf masters. Therefore, when a statement
is found in a book of fiqh and some weak adth supports it, the alignment between qiys and the
weak adth, allows one to accept the adth.
99

The principles listed under the section on narrator-criticism indicate the Deobands
desire to see early anaf scholars declared reliable transmitters. One of the charges that the Ahl-
e-Hads had brought forth from medieval texts, which contained reports from Ab anfas
contemporaries, was that because he practiced qiys; therefore, he was unreliable as a
transmitter. Moreover, because he had not travelled much; therefore, his knowledge of adth
was limited. The same applied to his companions such as Ab Ysuf and Muammad al-
Shaybn. In the following chapter, I further explore Deoband efforts at exonerating Ab
anfa and his companions from such charges.

99
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 117.

52

Chapter 3: Affirming adth Credentials of Ab anfah and His Companions

As mentioned in the first chapter, the Deoband authors used every opportunity available
to them while working on adth to defend Ab anfa and other early anafs as a way to
defend their school. The most prominent work, as mentioned earlier, in this regard is afar
Uthmns Ab anfa wa abuhu al-muaddithn. Other discussions on the same subject in
the introductions to adth commentaries by Deoband authors are mainly summaries of the
discussions in this work.

3.1: Deobands Sources
The charges that Ahl-e-Hads authors/scholars had brought against Ab anfa were mainly
regurgitation of charges by various early and medieval adth scholars. These included his
unreliability as a narrator on account of his innovation (being a Murji), his lack of knowledge
of adth, his derision for adth, etc. Perhaps, the best collection of such charges is found in
Tarkh Baghdd. As mentioned earlier, its author al-Khab al-Baghdd (d. 1071) devoted large
space to a collection of positive and negative reports about Ab anfa without passing his own
judgment regarding the authenticity or otherwise of these reports. Just as the Ahl-e-Hads used
Tarkh Baghdd for their purposes, Deobands also extensively quoted reports from Tarkh
Baghdd to support their claims about Ab anfa.
Another important work in this regard is al-Intiq fi Fail al-Thaltha al-Fuqah of
the Mlik scholar Ibn Abd al-Barr (d. 1071). While his contemporary al-Baghdd had merely
chosen to narrate positive and negative reports about Ab anfa, Ibn Adb al-Barr actively

53

chose to defend him against charges of indifference or antagonism towards adth. His
arguments and statements appear in all of the Deoband works under study.
Other sources fall into two main categories. One is biographies/biographical dictionaries
penned by anafs and non-anafs, which provide reports about Ab anfas engagement with
adth, his status among his contemporaries, and their praises for him. Examples of this type
include al-Jawhir al-muiyy f abaqt al-anafiyya of Abd al-Qdir ibn Ab al-Waf al-
Qurash (d. 1373), Tadhkirat al-uff of Shams al-Dn al-Dhahab, Tahdhb al-kaml of Jaml
al-Dn al-Mizz, Taby al-afah of Jall al-Dn al-Suy, and al-Khayrt al-isn of Ibn ajar
al-Haytam (d. 1566). While all of these are medieval works, the value of these works is due to
two reasons. One is the prestigious status of their authors in the eyes of adth scholars in
general and the Ahl-e-Hads in particular. The other is they provide reports from earlier sources
which are no longer extant.
The second category of books are the works of the early adth scholars which contain
reports, positive and negative, about Ab anfa and his students, and also often have hints about
the unreliability of Ab anfa. Thus, al-Bukhr refers to Ab anfas statements by saying
qla ba al-ns (some say), while contrasting this statement with the statement of the Prophet.
adth scholars in general perceive this style as indicative of al-Bukhrs disapproval of Ab
anfa. Similarly, al-Tirmidh refers to Ab anfa and his companions as ba ahl Kfa
(one/some of the Kufans). Deobands engage with such works as well in an attempt to show that
these authors were either mistaken or were prejudiced.
The rest of this chapter will mainly focus on Ab anfa and Deobands defense of his
reliability as a narrator, and status as a adth master in the face of the charges/issues mentioned

54

above. This will be followed by a brief look at Deobands arguments in support of Ab Ysuf
and Muammad ibn al-asan al-Shaybn, Ab anfas two most important students.
100


3.2: Ab anfa
As mentioned earlier, the main target of Ahl-e-Hads charges was Ab anfa. Deoband
responses to their charges against him regarding the latters conscious indifference towards
adth as enshrined in the anaf school have already been looked at in the previous chapter.
Now, we look at their responses to the charge that he did not know adth at all.

3.2.1: Ab anfa, the Follower (bi)
The first argument that Uthmn makes is that Ab anfa was a follower. He had met a number
of companions including Anas ibn Mlik who died in 712, i.e. during Ab anfas lifetime. He
begins by arguing that even though medieval scholars have debated the definition of a follower,
the dominant opinion is that any Muslim who meets a companion is a follower. Since it has been
mentioned by numerous medieval scholars such as al-Nawaw in his Tahdhb al-asm wa al-
lught, al-Dhahab in his Tadhkirat al-uff, al-Mizz in his Tahdhb al-kaml, and al-Suy in
his Taby al-afah that Ab anfah had met Anas ibn Mlik; therefore, it is proven that he
was a follower.
Having demonstrated that Ab anfa was a follower, Uthmn goes on to assert that not
only did he meet companion(s) but he also narrated adths from them. Thus, he cites a report in
al-Jawhir al-muiyya from Ab anfa himself in which he describes listening to a adth
being narrated by Abdullh ibn al-rith ibn Juz, a companion, in Makka in the year 93 or 96

100
I use the word important because they are important to later anafs. During Ab Hanfas life, al-Shaybn
was very young and other students of the former held much higher status than him.

55

AH. The adth that ibn Juz narrated is as follows: the one who seeks understanding of Gods
religion, God takes care of his worries and provision from where he does not imagine (man
tafaqqaha f dn Allh kafhu Allh hammahu wa rizqahu min aythu l yahtasib). Uthmn
does not limit himself to just this report. He also cites an older work, Jmi al-masnd of
Muammad ibn Mamd al-Khawrizm (d. 1266), with a different narration of the same report.
Demonstrating that Ab anfa was a follower serves two purposes for Uthmn. Firstly, he has
a higher rank than that of other Sunn Imms since none of them was a follower. Moreover,
being a follower means he has a closer link to the adths of the Prophet, a distinction that cannot
be claimed by another Imm.

3.2.2: Ab anfa, the Absolute Mujtahid
Uthmns next argument is that Ab anfah was an absolute mujtahid (mujtahid mulaq). Like
the previous one, this is also an indirect argument. Uthmn cites a long list of reports from Ab
anfas contemporaries, cited by al-Dhahab in his Tadhkirat al-uff, who declared him to be
the most knowledgeable person of his time, among other accolades. These contemporaries
include Makk ibn Ibrhm, one of the teachers of al-Bukhr. Others include Ab Ysuf, Ab
anfas famous student, Abdullh ibn al-Mubrak, a famous muaddith in his own right, Yazd
ibn Hrn, etc. After listing all these reports, Uthmn asserts that it is obvious that during the
time of Ab anfa, the only thing that was referred to as knowledge was the knowledge of
Qurn and adth. It follows, therefore, that Ab anfa had excellent command of adth.
101

Building off this, Uthmn argues that since everyone agrees that Ab Hanfa was an
absolute mujtahid, and it is also known that a person cannot be an absolute mujtahid unless he

101
afar Amad Uthmn, Ab anfa wa abuhu al-muaddithn (Karachi: Idrat al-Qurn wa al-ulm al-
islmiyyah, 1993), 12.

56

has command of all the necessary sciences, including adth; therefore, it is proven that Ab
anfa was a muaddith. For each step of this argument, Uthmn cites numerous reports
supporting the premise that Ab anfa was a mujtahid mulaq, and the claim that a mujtahid
mulaq has to know adth really well. For the latter, he cites a statement of Muammad ibn al-
asan (al-Shaybn?) cited in Ilm al-Muwaqqin of Ibn al-Qayyim. His other evidence is the
detailed defense of Ab anfa against charges of ignorance of adth by Ibn Khaldn in his
Muqaddima.

3.2.3: Ab anfa, the Great Muaddith
After having argued his case for Ab anfa using indirect arguments, Uthmn focuses on
direct evidences. These are as follows:

1. Personal Knowledge of adth
Uthmn refers to al-Dhahabs Tadhkirat al-uff, in whose introduction, al-Dhahab states
that this (Tadhkirat al-uff) is a biographical dictionary of those who determine narrators
moral uprightness (an important criterion in narrator-criticism), who are bearers of Prophetic
knowledge, and whose ijtihd is relied upon for determining a narrators reliability (tawthq) or
weakness (taf), and for determining a adths soundness (ta) or forgery (tazyf). Since,
Ab anfa is one of those whose biography is included in this work; it, therefore, follows that
al-Dhahab considered him to embody all these qualities. The reference to al-Dhahab is
important because his name enjoys great prestige among adth scholars, a fact not lost on
Uthmn.
102


102
afar Uthmn, Ab anfa wa abuhu al-muaddithn, 15.


57

Later, Uthmn cites numerous reports from various sources such as al-Khayrt al-isn,
Tarkh Baghdd, Taby al-afa, Ilm al-muwaqqin, etc. to prove that Ab anfa knew
numerous adths. A particular point that Uthmn is keen to identify in these reports is that
Ab anfas city Kufa was a major center of adth studies where important adth scholars
such as Sufyn ibn Uyayna, Sufyn al-Thawr, al-Amash, Wak and Abdullh ibn al-Mubrak
flourished during Ab anfas time. According to Uthmn, among these, Wak and ibn al-
Mubrak followed Ab anfas fiqh, which is a sign of the trust that these adth scholars
placed in him.
103
Another implication is that Ab anfa did not have to travel far to acquire
adth since it was so easily available in Kufa.
In the course of this discussion, Uthmn cites the famous incident that is reported to
have taken place between al-Amash and Ab anfa. According to the story, Ab anfa was
present in al-Amashs gathering when the latter was asked about some legal issue. While al-
Amash had no reply for the questioner, Ab Hanfa replied. Upon being asked what his basis for
the answer was, Ab anfa is reported to have narrated reports with multiple chains, which al-
Amash had narrated to him. Upon this, al-Amash was pleasantly shocked. He is reported to
have said: I did not know that you acted upon these adths. O group of jurists, you are doctors
(aibb) and we (muaddiths) are pharmacists (aydila), and you, Ab anfa have a share of
both.
104
Uthmns goal in citing this incident seems to be two-fold. One is that jurists and
muaddiths have different roles to play. The job of the latter is to narrate reports, while their
interpretation is the job of the former. The second is that Ab anfa excelled in both, and not
only that, his own adth teacher acknowledged as much.

103
afar Uthmn, Ab anfa wa abuhu al-muaddithn, 16.

104
afar Uthmn, Ab anfa wa abuhu al-muaddithn, 18-19.


58

2. Ab anfas Status as a Reliable Narrator:
Uthmn has also devoted a full chapter to a rebuttal of the aspersions (main) that some
scholars (some medieval, some Ab anfas contemporaries, and some Uthmns
contemporaries) had cast on Ab anfa with respect to his reliability as a adth-narrator. It is
interesting to note that Uthmn does not name any of the critics that were his contemporaries
but does name critics from the past. These critics included adth scholars from among Ab
anfas contemporaries and later. Certain names stand out such as al-Nas (d. 915), Ibn Ad
(d. 975 or 978), al-Draqun (d. 995) and Ab Nuaym al-Asfahn (d. 1038). The first three had
declared Ab anfa to be a weak narrator and the last had shown his dislike towards Ab
anfa by not including him in his ilyat al-awliy, which is a biographical dictionary of pious
Muslim men and women and in which all other prominent Sunn scholars had been included.
105

While discussing Ab anfas critics, Uthmn also mentions a report narrated by al-
Bukhr in his al-Tarkh al-aghr from Nuaym ibn ammd, according to whom, Sufyn [al-
Thawr] expressed happiness at the death of Ab anfa by saying that the latter was the worst
thing that happened to Islam. Uthmn expresses extreme anger but is careful to direct it at
Nuaym ibn ammd and not al-Bukhr. He says that the latter merely narrated what his teacher
narrated to him. The real responsibility lies with Nuaym ibn ammd who, although considered
reliable by some scholars, has also been accused by others of forging adths against Ab
anfa, as mentioned in Tahdhb al-tahdhb of al-Asqaln and Mzn al-itidl of al-
Dhahab.
106
After citing these aspersions against Nuaym ibn ammd, Uthmn says that he
considers him to be above forging adths. At the same time, there is no doubt that he was

105
afar Uthmn, Ab anfa wa abuhu al-muaddithn, 32.

106
afar Uthmn, Ab anfa wa abuhu al-muaddithn, 33-34.


59

prejudiced against the anafs. Therefore, his statement or narration regarding them will never
be accepted.
It seems all these answers are not enough for Uthmn, so he goes on to say that even if
Nuaym ibn ammds narration was actually true, then we have to keep in mind that Sufyn, it
is not clear whether Uthmn means Sufyn ibn Uyayna or Sufyn al-Thawr, was a
contemporary of Ab anfa and there are reports of him praising Ab anfa, such as his
saying, We were like sparrows in front of a hawk, and that He [Ab anfa] was the leader of
the scholars. Moreover, Uthmn says that al-Subk [Tj al-Dn?] has pointed out that one
should not pay attention to anything negative narrated from Sufyn regarding Ab anfa
because it is born of contemporariness (muara) and/or mutual aversion (munfara).
107

It is obvious from all of Uthmns responses that he is in a bind. He cannot fully
exonerate Ab anifa without casting aspersion on one or more of the adth scholars. His is,
therefore, a delicate balancing act, which may or may not answer all the objections of the
opponents but which provides enough reason for Ab anfas supporters to feel confident in the
veracity of their Imam.

2 (a) Ab anfa, Not an Innovator: Another important issue with respect to Ab anfas status
as a reliable narrator of adths is the issue of him being an innovator, specifically a Murji. As
discussed in the previous chapter, anafs like other adth scholars consider innovation to be
something, which can cause a person to be declared an unreliable narrator. There are reports to
be found in medieval works in which different adth scholars are reported to have said that Ab

107
afar Uthmn, Ab anfa wa abuhu al-muaddithn, 34.

60

anfa was a Murji.
108
Uthmns contemporaries were citing these reports as part of their
overall campaign against anafs and Ab anfa.
In response, Uthmn engages in a long discussion of the meaning and types of irj (the
verbal noun from which the active participle Murji is derived). Citing several medieval
authorities on theology such as al-Taftzn (d. 1390) and al-mid (d. 1233), Uthmn argues
that irj, which literally means delay, can have multiple technical meanings. One of these is to
delay having an opinion about the wars that took place among companions after the death of the
third caliph, Uthmn ibn Affn (d. 656). According to Uthmn, there is nothing wrong with
this type of irj. Rather, it is a form of piety and God-fearingness (taqw).
The second meaning of irj is to say that major sins do not harm a person if he has mn,
since actions are not part of mn.
109
This is the opinion of the famous sect of Murjis.
According to Uthmn, this type of irj is definitely an innovation and discredits a narrator.
The third type of irj is that used by the Mutazils. According to Uthmn, since the Mutazils
believe that the one who commits a major sin and dies without repentance must be punished
through eternal damnation in Hell (mukhallad fi al-nr), they would call those who did not share
the same opinion and left the matter to Gods will, as Murjis. According to Uthmn, there is
nothing wrong with this type of irj; rather, it is the standard opinion of Ahl-Sunna.
After discussing these types of irj, Uthmn explains that there are a number of
reasons why people referred to Ab anfa as a Murji. One of these is that the Murjis spread

108
A very interesting case is that of al-Dhahabs Mzn al-itidl. According to Uthmn, al-Dhahab has actually
refuted those who accused Ab anfa of being a Murj but one of Uthmns unnamed contemporaries chose to
understand the same text to mean that al-Dhahab considered Ab anfa to be a Murji. See afar Uthmn, Ab
anfa wa abuhu al-muaddithn, 52-53.

109
mn is variously translated as faith or belief. For the purpose of our discussion, I am not translating it because its
definition is the subject of debate among these various Islamic groups, and translating it would lead to privileging
one understanding over another.


61

false rumors about him to gain support for their cause. The other reason is that Ab anfa did
not consider mn to be composed of affirmation (tadq) and works (aml) but only of
affirmation, unlike the majority of adth scholars who considered mn to be composed of
affirmation and actions. Because of this, many adth scholars labeled him and his companions
as Murjis. It is thus frequently found in the works of narrator-criticism. However, according to
Uthmn, this labeling does not qualify as actual aspersion (an) because these scholars failed
to discern the difference between Murjis on the one hand and Ab anfa and his companions
on the other hand. The former believed that actions were unimportant because they were not part
of mn, while the latter believed that actions were important even though they were not part of
mn.
110


3. Ab anfas Muaddith Companions:
According to Uthmn, Ab anfa was not operating alone. Rather, his companions included
experts in different fields such as Arabic language, rhetoric, qiys, and adth.
111
These adth
scholars who formed part of his committee at various times numbered up to thirty-three
individuals, many of whom also directly narrated adths from Ab anfa. Apart from his two
famous students Ab Ysuf and Muammad al-Shaybn and Ab Ysuf, the list includes many
prominent adth scholars from the second century of Islam such as Yay ibn Sad al-Qan,
Sufyn ibn Uyayna, Abdull ibn al-Mubrak, Wak ibn al-Jarr, etc.
112




110
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 232-242.

111
afar Uthmn, Qawid f ulm al-adth, 330-331.

112
afar Uthmn, Ab anfa wa abuhu al-muaddithn, 82-127.

62

3.3: Other anafs
While the majority of Deoband effort is expended on defending Ab anfa against charges of
ignorance of adth, Uthmn has also devoted considerable space to other anafs in his Ab
anfa wa abuhu al-muaddithn, who excelled in adth sciences. These include the thirty-
three mentioned above as Ab Hanfas muaddith companions. Besides these, Uthmn has
listed more than a hundred other anaf scholars from the second through fourth centuries who
excelled in adth. Providing short biographical notes on each of them, Uthmn argues for his
claim that early anafs were well versed in adth. Hence, for him, anaf legal theory with
respect to adth has its real roots in the legal thought of Ab anfa and his immediate and
later followers.

3.4: Conclusion
Unlike the case for the proper position of adth in anaf legal theory, the case for Ab
anfa has been much easier for Deobands. The main reason is the presence of extensive
literature from medieval times from anafs and non-anafs, who have argued for the moral
probity, knowledge, and juristic acumen of Ab Hanfa. These scholars include the Mlik Ibn
Abd al-Barr and Ibn al-Khaldn, the Shfi al-Haytam and al-Suy, and numerous anafs.
Perhaps, it will be useful to end this chapter with Ibn Khaldns statement regarding Ab anfa.
He says:
An angry deviant has said that one of the mujtahids had little knowledge of
adth and this is why few adths are narrated from him There are few
narrations from Imam Ab anfa only because he was very strict in narrating.
This is the reason large number of adths are not narrated from him. It is not that
he abandoned narrating adth. He is far from it. An indication of him being one
of the senior mujtahids in the science of adth is that his school is relied upon
among adth scholars.
113


113
afar Uthmn, Ab anfa wa abuhu al-muaddithn, 15.

63

Chapter 4: Training the Next Generation of anaf Defenders

Since the founding of the Dr al-Ulm at Deoband in 1866, and establishment of similar
madrasas in the following years, the number of Deoband madrasas has continued to rise. While
accurate figures are hard to come by, in 2002, the Pakistani federal minister for religious affairs
put the total number of madrasas in Pakistan at 10,000 with a million to 1.7 million students
enrolled for at least short periods of time.
114
Perhaps a similar number could be estimated for
India and Bangladesh.
115
Of these, perhaps one-third, if not more, belong to the Deoband anaf
school. One reason why an accurate measure of madrasa numbers and enrollment remains
challenging is that few are officially registered, maybe only up to a third of the actual number.
116

Beyond South Asia, growing numbers of Deoband madrasas are to be found in Southern Africa,
Europe, North America and South East Asia. Reetz has explored the connections between
various madrasas in these regions.
117

In this chapter, I do not engage with socio-political dimensions of the spread of Deoband
madrasas. Therefore, the numbers of institutions and their enrolled students are not my focus.
Rather, I focus on the curriculum followed in these madrasas which has a bearing on Deobands

114
Jamal Malik, Madrasas in South Asia: Teaching Terror? (New York: Routledge, 2008), 101n4.

115
I could not find any reliable source with estimates for the number of madrasas in India and Bangladesh.
However, considering that the number of Muslims in these two countries is close to that in Pakistan, one could
speculate that a similar number of madrasas serve these two communities as well.

116
Adeline Delavande and Basit Zafar, Stereotypes and Madrassas: Experimental Evidence from Pakistan, Federal
Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports, no. 501 (New York: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 2013), 9,
http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/sr501.pdf (accessed March 30, 2014).

117
Dietrich Reetz, The Deoband Universe: What Makes a Transcultural and Transnational Educational Movement
of Islam?, in Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 27, no. 1 (2007): 139-159.


64

attempts to defend their claim that the anaf school is grounded in adth.
118
In this regard, I
particularly focus on the curriculum used at Jamia Ashrafia, a prominent Deoband madrasa in
Lahore, Pakistan, where I studied from 2004 to 2006.

4.1: Deoband Curriculum
Prior to the establishment of the Dr al-Ulm at Deoband in 1866, curriculum of Islamic
madrasas in India was dominated by two orientations initiated by two prominent personalities.
One was Shh Wl Allh who taught at Madrasat Ramiyya in Delhi, and the other was Nim
al-Dn Sihlv of Lucknow (d. 1748) who taught at Farang Mahall in Lucknow. Of the two,
Wl Allhs curriculum focused on the teaching of adth especially the i Sitta, al-
Muwa of Mlik, and Mishkt al-mab. Sihlv, on the other hand, focused on developing a
comprehensive curriculum, which came to be called dars-e-nizm, after him.
Sihlv focused more on the maqlt (rational sciences) and fiqh than on the manqlt
(transmitted sciences). In fact, an examination of this curriculum shows that it included ten books
on logic, five on dialectics and three on philosophy while only a portion from two works of
Qurnic exegesis (tafsr) and one book of adth was studied.
119
This curriculum proved
extremely popular because of its ability to prepare students for independent study and critical
thinking. Even the Shites of Lucknow came to the Sunn school of Farang Mahall to study

118
Not much has been written in this regard with the exception of Manir Asan Glns (1956) description of how
he studied adth in Dr al-Ulm Deoband during his school years there. This short work has been translated into
English by Muhammad Qasim Zaman and will serve as one of my references. See Muhammad Qasim Zaman,
Studying adth in a Madrasa in the Early Twentieth Century, in Islam in South Asia in Practice, ed. Barbara
Metcalf (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009), 225-239.

119
Al-Nadwi & Moinuddin, Survey of Muslim Education: India (Cambridge: The Islamic Academy, 1985), 10.


65

because of the reputation of this curriculum at producing well-rounded and rational individuals
who could go on to serve as scholars, judges, and administrators.
120

Wal Allhs curriculum and Sihlvs curriculum represented two extremes in their
emphasis upon the transmitted and the rational sciences, respectively. Quite a number of people
took advantage of both the curricula but there was still no single unified curriculum. That came
about with the founding of the Dr al-Ulm at Deoband in 1866. The curriculum adopted at Dr
al-Ulm, although still referred to as dars-e-nizm, was a combination of the two. On the one
hand, rational sciences were studied in almost as much detail as Sihlv had envisaged. On the
other hand, Wal Allhs emphasis on adth was also incorporated so that during the last year
of study, called the dawrat al-adth, the i sitta, as well as portions from Shar man al-
thr of al-aw, and the Muwaas of Mlik and Muammad were studied in their totality.

4.2: Deoband Pedagogy
In Wal Allhs scheme, before engaging in the study of the i sitta, a student would study
Mishkt al-mab in detail with discussions on juridical and other matters. After that, the
student would go through the i sitta with his teacher(s) without much discussion. This was
called sard al-adth (adth recital). The purpose, it seems, was to familiarize the student with
the large body of adth. With the Deobandis, this changed. Not only did they engage in detailed
juridical discussions while teaching Mishkt al-mab, they did the same in the i sitta as
well as the two Muwaas and Shar mani al-thr, thereby ending the concept of sard al-
adh. It is through this process that some of the Deoband adth works such as al-Kawkab al-
durr shar Jmi al-Tirmidh and Fay al-Br shar a al-Bukhr were created. These are

120
Juan Cole, Roots of North Indian Shism in Iran and Iraq: Religion and State in Awadh, 1722-1859 (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1988), 43.

66

basically lectures notes taken by students which were later edited and annotated, and then
published as adth commentaries.

4.3: Current Situation
This curriculum continues till today with some modifications. In many madrasas, all the i
sitta are not always completed. While a al-Bukhr, a Muslim, Jmi al-Tirmidh and
Sunan Ab Dwd are almost always studied cover to cover; quite often, only portions from
Sunan ibn Mjah and Sunan al-Nasi are studied. The same goes for the two versions of
Muwaa and Shar Mani al-thr. This is also the format that I followed when was I was
enrolled in dawrat al-adth at Jmi Ashrafia in years 2005-2006.
It is interesting to note here that Shar mani al-thr is the work of Ab Jafar al-
aw (d. 935), a major anaf scholar from the early period. He provides detailed adth
proofs for anaf opinions. Yet his book receives less attention than the i sitta. The reason
can perhaps be found in Deoband focus on answering their detractors who use the i sitta as
evidence. The students are being trained to answer the objections of Ahl-e-Hads. Therefore,
their adth curriculum has to focus on those adth works that the Ahl-e-Hads use to attack the
anaf school.
Some Deobands have tried to change the situation by calling for more focus on al-
aws work. Notable among such scholars is Zakariyy Kndhlav (d. 1982). Those madrasas
that have been established by his followers have increased the portion of Shar mani al-thr
studied from one-fourth of the book to one-half. This is the case with many British and South
African madrasas, and is also the case with Darul Uloom Canada, which is the new incarnation

67

of Darul Uloom al-Madania of Buffalo, New York. However, to my knowledge, there is no
Deoband madrasa where Shar mani al-thr is studied cover to cover.
Apart from the major collections of adth studied at the end of the 8-year lim course,
students study other adth collections during their preceding years as well.
121
Many of these are
later additions and did not exist at the time of the founding of Dr al-Ulm Deoband. Thus, in
the second year, students study Zd al-libn, a short collection of brief adths meant to teach
aspects of Arabic grammar through adths. Its compiler was a prominent Deoband scholar,
shiq Ilhi Bulandshahr Muhjir Madan (d. 1999). In the third and fourth years, students study
Nawaws famous collection Riy al-lin. In the fifth year, students study thr al-sunan,
which is a collection of adths in support of the anaf school, compiled by the nineteenth
century non-Deoband anaf scholar Muammad ibn Subn Al al-Nmaw (d. 1904).
Uthmns Il al-sunan is patterned after it, the difference being that the former only dealt
with adths related to matters of ritual cleanliness (ahra) and ritual prayer (al), while the
later is comprehensive dealing with all areas traditionally covered by fiqh texts.
In their sixth year, students study Musnad al-Imm al-Aam (aka Musnad Ab anfa),
which is a collection of adths narrated from Ab anfa. In the seventh year, students study
Mishkt al-mab, and the eighth year is dawrat al-adth, whose details have been explained
earlier.




121
The length of the course is normally eight years in South Asia. In South Africa, UK and North America, the
course is quite often reduced to six or seven years, and sometimes to five years. In this thesis, I am using the
curriculum suggested by the Deoband board of madrasas (Wifq al-Madris al-Arabiyya) of Pakistan. It is
followed by the vast majority of Deoband madrasas in Pakistan. See Nib, Wifq al-madris,
http://www.wifaqulmadaris.org/nisab.php (accessed April 1, 2004).

68

4.4: Effects
It is clear from the list of books given above that the number of adth texts studied in
contemporary Deoband madrasas is more than a dozen, a far cry from the single collection of
adth studied during Abd al-aqqs time (the seventeenth century) as well as in Sihlvs
original dars-e-nizm. The purpose it seems is two-fold, to thoroughly familiarize students with
adth literature and to convinve them of the strength of the anaf schools adth proofs. It is
obvious that someone who graduates after eight years of lim course from a Deoband madrasa
will have gained thorough familiarity with adth literature. What is not so clear is whether such
a person will also have graduated convinced of the strength of the adth proofs of the anaf
school.
To my knowledge, no systematic study of the graduates of Deoband madrasas has been
undertaken to gauge the degree to which they are convinced that the anaf school is grounded
in adth. In the absence of such a systematic study, I have only my own experience and the
experience of some of my classmates to draw on. In my case, ever since I got into a madrasa, I
had been hearing claims about the superiority of the anaf school over other Sunn schools, and
that it is grounded in adth as much as any other Sunn school if not more. Nevertheless, many
of the students, myself included, doubted it because of the apparent distance between some of the
adths and the rulings of anaf fiqh that we knew.
However, during the course of dawrat al-adth, we gradually became convinced that the
anaf school is grounded in adth. The main factor in this regard was the degree to which our
teachers provided convincing answers to the objections raised by the Ahl-e-Hads against the
anafs. Another factor was that we rarely engaged with chain-criticism in class; rather,
discussions almost always focused on providing adths in defense of anaf claims without

69

regard to their level of authenticity. There were few references to works on anaf principles of
adth-criticism such as Uthmns Qawid f ulm al-Hadth. As to what are the causes for
that, one can only speculate. Is it because these principles are not authentically anaf, or not
acceptable to other adth scholars, or is there a shortage of qualified adth-critics among
Deoabands? Perhaps, the last metioned is the main cause, especially if we were to consider the
number of specialization courses offered by Deoband madrasas. While almost every major
Deoband madrasa around the world offers a post-lim, 1-2 year sepecialization in fiqh
(takhau fi al-fiqh) course, only less than a dozen around the world offer such a post-lim
sepecialization in adth (takhau fi al-adth) course.

70

Conclusion

The Deoband movement arose as a Sunn reformist movement in the middle of the
nineteenth century. Deobands intellectual ancestor, Wal Allh, had started a comprehensive
reform movement for the rejuvenation of Muslim thought and practice in India. However, a
century later, his self-styled followers split into two camps because of their disagreements over
his intellectual legacy. While both groups shared his emphasis on tawd and sunna, they
differed over the exact way to approach Qurn and adth. The Ahl-e-Hads believed that these
twin sources of Islamic thought and practice had to be approached without any intermediaries,
while the Deobands believed that the anaf school provided the best interpretation of Qurn
and adth for Indian Muslims to follow.
The intellectual differences between the two groups soon led to openly acrimonious
relations between the two. Ahl-e-Hads accused the anafs of abandoning the adth of the
Prophet, while their Deoband opponents accused them of causing dissension in Muslim ranks.
Deoband responses to Ahl-e-Hads charges regarding anaf attitudes towards adth fell into
two broad categories, polemical and non-polemical. In this thesis, I have only dealt with the
latter. Deoband non-polemical responses consisted of scholarly works on adth collections, as
well as articulation of anaf legal theory with respect to adth. Deobands also composed
biographies of their eponymous founder, Ab anfa, to defend him against Ahl-e-Hads attacks
regarding his reliability as a narrator and knowledge of adth. Another dimension of
Deobands response was the setting up of madrasas across South Asia and beyond to propagate
their school.

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Just as the Ahl-e-Hads had used medieval sources to attack anafs in general and Ab
anfa in particular, Deobands also resorted to these sources which often contained positive and
negative reports about Ab anfa. Furthermore, Deobands relied on works composed by earlier
medieval non-anaf scholars such as Ibn Abd al-Barr, Ibn Khaldn, and al-Suy, who had
defended Ab anfa during their time against similar charges. Deobands argued that not only
was Ab anfa a reliable narrator of adths, he was also a great scholar of adth. The relative
fewer number of adths narrated from him is because of his extreme caution regarding ascribing
something to the Prophet that the latter did not actually say.
With respect to the the Deoband articulation of anaf legal theory, I have demonstrated
using Uthmns Qawid f ulm al-Qurn that the Deobands were not so much interested in
articulating principles for actual adth-criticism as they were in creating a space for anaf
adth proofs to be considered acceptable by non-anaf adth scholars. Hence, their
emphasis on possible ways of raising the rank of weak hadths to fair, of fair adths to sound,
greater acceptance of suspended reports, greater acceptance of reports of unknown narrators,
acceptance of companions and followers opinions, etc. The obvious question here is why
would Deobands not articulate anaf legal theory for actual derivation of legal rulings and
merely resort to making existing anaf rulings adth proofs acceptable to their opponents?
I believe the answer may lie in the early history of the anaf school.
Unlike other Sunn schools, whose substantive law developed over a longer period of
time, anaf substantive law became extensive from a very early period and was also
documented early on. This was through the six books of Muammad al-Shaybn called the hir
al-riwya.
122
Al-Shaybn not only documented his own opinions in these books but also those

122
These are al-Mabs, al-Jmi al-kabr, al-Jmi al-aghr, al-Siyar al-kabr, al-Siyar al-aghr, and al-Ziydt.

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of his teachers Ab anfa and Ab Ysuf. Because of the comprehensive nature of these six
books, later anafs did not need to engage in ijtihd as often as non-anafs.
This extensive documentation was coupled with the fact that the legal theory underlying
the legal opinions of these early scholars was not preserved. Later anafs were now in a bind.
They trusted their teachers and teachers teachers but had no way of knowing what methodology
they had used. This hampered their ability to derive new legal rulings. Furthermore, as other
Sunn schools articulated their legal methodologies, anafs must have felt the pressure to
present their schools methodology as well.
Irrespective of what may have actually triggered it, early anaf legal theorists such as
Ab Bakr Amad al-Ja (d. 980), Ab Zayd al-Dabs (d. 1038/1039), Al ibn Muammad
al-Pazdaw (d. 1089), Muammad ibn Amad al-Sarakhs (d. 1089) engaged in a process of
reverse-engineering or back-projection. They surveyed extant anaf substantive law and the
random statements by Ab anfa and his companions regarding legal theory to create a
coherent legal theory. Works of Hanaf legal theory are therefore not so much manuals for
derivation of new laws but more manuals to understand and justify existing anaf law. This
situation was further compounded by the appearance of adth collections, many of which
contained adths directly opposed to anaf rulings. Whether it was a case of deliberate
oversight on the part of their non-anaf authors is debatable. In any case, the anafs went on
the defensive and felt the need to prove their schools rulings through adth.
123
Perhaps, the

123
This is all speculative and not based on conclusive scholarship. Modern scholars continue to debate the exact
details of early Islamic history, especially the role played by al-Shfi in forcing Sunns to accept adth as the
only way to approach the Prophetic sunna. Most recent works, such as Hallaqs Shara: Theory, Practice,
Transformations, uphold this role ascribed to al-Shfi. Practicing anafs have often been uncomfortable with this
assertion. Most recently, Volkan Stodolsky has sought to challenge Hallaqs thesis. See Volkan Yildiran Stodolsky,
A New Historical Model and Periodization for the Perception of the Sunnah of the Prophet and His Companions
(PhD diss., Univesity of Chicago, 2012). It remains to be seen how his work is received in the scholarly community.


73

appearance of al-aws Shar mani al-thr in late third Islamic century can be explained
thus. That is indeed how Sadeghi evaluates it.
124

We see a similar process at play in seventeenth and eighteenth century India. First Abd
al-aqq al-Dehlaw tried to defend the anaf school through writing adth commentaries that
explained anaf positions. Later, during the early part of his career, Wal Allh attempted to
selectively review the anaf school to bring it more in line with adth. The Deoband defense
of the anaf school through their articulation of anaf legal theory vis--vis adth, and their
vigorous defense of Ab anfa, thus appears to be only the latest in a long line of anaf
defenses of their school and its eponymous founder. Moreover, they were not alone in the
modern period. Already, we have seen through examination of Deoband sources that at least two
other anaf scholars of the modern period, namely Abd al-ayy al-Laknaw and Zhid al-
Kawthar were engaged in similar debates with their Ahl-e-Hads and Salaf detractors,
respectively.
A number of possible courses of action emerge at this stage, many of them building on
each other. The first one would be to engage in an exhaustive analysis of Deoband fiqh literature
to see to what extent they have adhered to their own articulation of anaf legal theory with
respect to adth. This would help confirm or alter the conclusions that I have reached in this
thesis. Another possible line of inquiry would be to explore further the relationship between Wal
Allhs legal thought and the Deobands and Ahl-e-Hads. Although a lot has been written on
Wal Allh but such a comparative examination which engages with primary texts for Wal
Allhs legal thought, as well as Deobands and Ahl-e-Hads has not been undertaken. In my
case, I relied on secondary literature about Wal Allhs legal thought. While understandable
considering the limited scope of an MA thesis and the breadth and depth of his work, more

124
Behnam Sadeghi, The Logic of Law Making in Islam (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 131.

74

conclusive and original conclusions can be reached if one were to engage in comparative work
using primary sources from Wal Allh, the Deobands and the Ahl-e-Hads.
An even more ambitious line of inquiry would be to engage in a comparative analysis of
anaf articulations of their legal theory vis--vis adth over the centuries and see how
Deobands articulation of the same compares with them. Hopefully, such a comparison would
tell us whether anaf legal theory with respect to adth has evolved over the centuries or not,
and whether these changes, if any, were a response to external factors such as Ahl-e-Hads
attacks in the case of Deobands, or was there internal anaf desire to engage with adth?



75

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