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Verdict of the Hanafi Fuqaha on the Prophet (saw) not being Hazir and Nazir

Fatawa Qadhi Khan

It is written in the “Fatawa Qadhi Khan” of Imam Hasan Mansur ibn Abil Qasim (596), known as Qadhi Khan, v 3 p 428, edition Dar al-Fikr, Kitab As-Sayr, Bab: ma yakunu Kufran minal Muslim wa ma la Yakunu:

“A man marries a woman without witnesses and the man and the woman say: “Allah and His Messenger (saw) are our witnesses”, they (scholars) said: “This is Kufr because he believes that the Messenger of Allah (saw) knows Al-Ghayb (the unseen) and he (saw) did not know Al-Ghayb when he was alive, so what about after his death?”

Comment: The Hanafi Fuqaha denied the Prophet (saw) knowing the Unseen during his life and after. So what is denied is ‘ata’i knowledge (conferred knowledge), meaning that the Prophet (saw) was not given such a knowledge, he is not a witness of such events, else if they believed that the Prophet (saw) was given such a knowledge, why would they excommunicate the one who takes him as a witness?

Qadhi Khan says just afterwards:

“A man says: “I know where the stolen things are”, the Shaykh al-Imam Muhammad ibn Al-Fadl: “Whoever says such and whoever believes him are Kafir.” It was said to him: “I am informed about them because of Jinns informing me of such.” He said: “Whoever says such and whoever believes him are Kafir because of his (saw) saying: “Whoever comes to a fortune-teller and believes in what he says, he has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad”, none knows Al-Ghayb except Allah, neither the Jinn nor the human, Allah said about the Jinn: “So when he (Sulayman) fell down, the jinn saw clearly that if they had known the Unseen, they would not have stayed in the humiliating torment.” (Saba : 14)”

Comment: So what about the claims of the Barailwis that the Ghawth knows the Preserved Tablets which contain the detail of everything, every movement of birds or leaf, and that the Ghawth sees permanently the whole universe?

For Imam Muhammad ibn Al-Fadl whoever claims to know stolen objects is a Kafir, so what about the one who claims to know everything in the universe?

Qadhi Khan said in v 1 p 203, in Kitab An-Nikah:

“A man marries a woman with the witnessing of Allah and His Messenger, this is Batil (invalid) because of his (saw) saying: “There is no marriage without witnessing” and every marriage is with the witnessing of Allah. And some of them (scholars) considered this as Kufr because he believes that the Messenger knows Al-Ghayb, and this is Kufr”

Comment: The saying of Qadhi Khan: “and every marriage is with the witnessing of Allah” makes it clear that only Allah is witnessing such events and not the Prophet (saw). He did not say: “Every marriage is with the witnessing of Messenger of Allah (saw)“ while the Barailwis claim the Prophet (saw) is a witness of everything that occurs in the universe.

Fatawa Al-Bazaziyah:

Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Shihab Al-Bazazi wrote in “Fatawa Al-Bazaziyah”, v 1 p 79-80, edition Dar Al-Fikr, Kitab An-Nikah:

“He married her with the witness of Allah (Ta’ala Jala Jalaluhu) and His Messenger (saw), the contract (of marriage) is not valid and Kufr is feared for him, because he gives the false impression that he (saw) knows Al-Ghayb “And with Him are the keys of the Unseen” (Al-An’am : 59) and what Allah (Ta’ala) makes known to the best of His servants by revelation or true Ilham (inspiration), then it is not considered as Unseen after making it known”

Comment: Al-Bazazi condemned the belief that Prophet (saw) knows Al-Ghayb and such a statement can imply such a belief, that is why Kufr is feared for the author of such a statement. If the Prophet (saw) was given the knowledge of everything and was a witness to all events of the universe as the Barailwis claim, then Al-Bazazi would clearly say that Kufr is not feared as the Prophet (saw) was given knowledge of all things.

Al-Bazazi said in v 3 p 182, Kitab Alfazin Takunu Islaman aw Kufran aw Khathaan:

“And because of this, our scholars said: “Whoever says that the souls of the Mashaykh (saints) are present, he commits Kufr. And if a man or a woman say: “I know where the stolen things are”, he commits Kufr, and even if he says: “I am informing from the news of the Jinns “, he commits Kufr as well, because the Jinns are like the humans, they don’t know Al-Ghayb. Indeed, Allah (Ta’ala) said about the Jinns: “If they (Jinns) had known the Unseen” (Saba : 14)”

Comment: So in the same manner as Qadhi Khan, Al-Bazazi also considers Kafir whoever says that he knows where stolen objects are, so what about the Barailwis who claim that the Gawth knows everything and sees everything in the universe?

And Al-Bazazi before clarified the fact that the souls of the saints are not present everywhere and the saints do not know the Unseen, and whoever believes such is a disbeliever according to the Hanafi scholars. There is no mention of any difference among the Ahnaf.

Fatawa Al-Alamgiriyah

It is written in “Fatawa Al-Alamgiriyah” also known as “Fatawa Al-Hindiyah”, v 2 p 279, Edition Dar Al-Fikr, Kitab As-Siayr, bab Tasi’ fi ahkam Al-Murtaddin (chapter 9 regarding the rulings of the apostates):

“A man who marries a woman and he does not bring witnesses, but says: “I take Allah and the Messenger as witnesses” or says: “I take Allah and the angels as witnesses”, he commits Kufr. And if he says: “I take the angel of my right hand as a witness and the angel of my left hand as witnesses”, he does not become a Kafir, this is how it is mentioned in “Fusul Al-‘Imadiyah”.

Comment: This quote from a main reference of Hanafi Fiqh is crystal clear. Taking the Prophet (saw) or the angels as witnesses makes one Kafir, and taking the angel of the right and left shoulder as witnesses does not make one Kafir. And the reason is clear, because the angels of right and left shoulder are present with the person, while the Prophet (saw) and other angels are not present and are not witnesses of people’s marriages, they have not been given such a knowledge, and attributing such a knowledge to them is Kufr.

If a Barailwi says that what is denied is Zati knowledge (independent knowledge) and not given knowledge (‘ata’i knowledge), then if the Prophet (saw) was given such a knowledge, why would taking him as a witness be Kufr? Rather it would be said: this is not Kufr as the Prophet (saw)’s soul is present everywhere. Would the Hanafis scholars fail to mention this important point of creed?

Mulla Ali Al-Qari

Mulla Ali Al-Qari Al-Hanafi wrote in his “Sharh Fiqh Al-Akbar” p 253, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah:

“Know that the Prophets (peace be upon them) did not know matters related to hidden knowledge except for those that Allah taught them SOMETIMES (Ahyanan) and the Ahnaf have clearly affirmed the Takfeer (excommunication from Islam) for those who hold the belief that the Prophet (saw) knows Al-Ghayb (the Unseen) contradicting His saying:

“Say: “None In the heavens and the earth knows the Ghaib (unseen) except Allah” (An-Naml : 65)

This is how it is stated in Al-Musayarah (of ibn Al-Hummam Al-Hanafi)”

One can see that all Hanafi books of Fiqh consider that attributing the knowledge of the Unseen to the Prophet (saw) is Kufr. None of the above main books of the Hanafi Fiqh said that the Prophet (saw) is given knowledge of everything, he knows the Preserved Tablets, sees everything that occurs in the universe. Also they believe that whoever claims to know all stolen objects is a Kafir.

Imam Abul Qaasim as-Saffaar as-Soofee (326H)

Below are quotes from Hanafi Website: Barelwism WordPress

The Hanafi Mujtahid from the 5th Century, As-Sadr ush-Shaheed Husam ud-Deen, who was the senior teacher of numerous other pillars of the Hanafi Madh-hab, including the famous authors of al-Hidaaya and al-Muheet al-Ridawi, narrates the following ruling from his pious predecessors:

من تزوج امرأة بشهادة الله و رسوله لا يجوز لأنه نكاح لم يحضره الشهود، وحكى عن أبو القاسم الصفار أن هذا كفر محض لأنه اعتقد أن رسول الله يعلم الغيب وهذا كفر

“Whoever marries a woman, taking Allah and his messenger (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) as witnesses – it is not permissible because witnesses are not present for the Nikah.

It is related from Abul Qaasim as-Saffaar that this is Kufr Mahd (pure, unadulterated disbelief that expels a person from Islam) because he believed that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) knows the unseen (ghayb) and this is Kufr.” [Al-Waaqi’aat, page 70 of the manuscript]

Imam Abul Qaasim as-Saffaar as-Soofee (326H) was a Hanafi Mujtahid with only three links between himself and Imam Abu Hanifah (rahmatullahi alayh). This fatwa has been accepted and transmitted in every age by the Hanafi Fuqaha.

The very same Fatwa or similar versions to it were accepted and quoted approvingly by the early Fatwa manuals which constituted the Hanafi Madh-hab such as al-Fataawa ul-Walwaalijiyyah (Vol. 5, pg. 422), Khulaasat ul-Fataawa (Vol. 4, pg. 385), al-Muheet ul-Burhaani (Vol. 7, pg. 407), al-Fataawa al-Bazzaaziyyah (Vol. 6, pg. 325), al-Fusool ul-Imaadiyyah, al-Multaqat (pg. 244), Fataawa Qaadhi Khaan (Vol. 2, pg. 517), and other authoritative texts…

The following version is found in the authoritative compendium of the Hanafi Madh-hab, Fataawa ul-Hindiyyah, which was the product of a collaborative effort involving hundreds of Ulama from around the Ummah who were commissioned by Hadhrat Alamghir Aurangzeb (rahmatullah alayh) to record those rulings upon which there is consensus or a general agreement amongst the Hanafi Fuqaha:

“A man marries a woman while witnesses are not present. He says: “I make Allah and His Rasul witness”, or he says, “I make Allah and His Angels witness”, he becomes Kaafir; but if he says: “I make the angel on the left shoulder and angel on the right shoulder witness”, he does not become a Kaafir.” [Vol. 2 pg. 288]

…

The same version of the Fatwa narrated by Fataawa al-Hindiyyah is found in earlier compilations such as Khulaasat ul-Fataawa, al-Fusool ul-Imdaadiyyah, Fataawa al-Bazzaaziyah and al-Muheet ul-Burhaani.

Explaining why the one who invokes the two writing angels (Kiraaman Kaatibeen) as witnesses does not become a Kaafir, as opposed to the one who attributes the knowledge of the very same Nikah to Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), the author of al-Muheet narrates from an earlier Fataawa compilation:

“He does not become Kaafir because those two (i.e. the writing angels in the right and left shoulders) do know that (i.e. the Nikah), since they are not absent from him (i.e. the man making the statement).” [Vol. 7, pg. 407]

End of quote from Hanafi website Barelwism WordPress

May Allah send Salah and Salam on the Prophet (saw), his family and companions!