Despite writing this, Zayd says: “If something contrary to this is proven from the Sharī‘ah, I will accept that. I am not adamant on this statement.” Thus, the context of Taḥdhīr al-Nās was to reconcile the superiority of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ with the report of Ibn ‘Abbās affirming counterparts existing on other earths. Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī had already explained his view on the superiority of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ in an earlier work, Āb-i-Ḥayāt, in 1870. In it, he explained a distinction between direct/non-derivative ( dhātī) and indirect/derivative ( ‘araḍi) attributes. The light of the moon and planets is indirect/derivative while the light of the sun is direct/non-derivative. He argued prophethood had a similar division. The point he is getting across is that based on this understanding of “Khātam al-Nabiyyīn”, there is no conceivable way that the narration of Ibn ‘Abbās (Allāh be pleased with him), which he and others regard to be authentic, can call into question the Prophet’s ﷺ absolute superiority. Morever, Ḥakīm Nūr al-Dīn studied with other famous scholars like Mawlānā Irshād Ḥusayn (1832 – 1893) of Rampur [71] (Ḥakīm Nūr al-Dīn spent three years in Rampur for studies [72]), Mawlānā Raḥmatullāh Kīrānawī (1818 – 1891) [73] and Shāh ‘Abd al-Ghanī Dihlawī. [74] He attended more than a single lecture of theirs. Why are they not implicated in Asrar Rashid’s conspiracy-laden discourse? There is no position or rank higher than the seal of the ranks of prophethood. All ranks fall below this. Hence, his laws will supersede the laws of all others. The laws of others will not supersede his. It is thus necessary that he is the seal in terms of time too because the turn of the highest authority occurs after all subordinate authorities. Therefore, his judgement is the endmost judgement. It is evident that a legal case is only taken to the supreme court after all else.

Navigating the end of time Archives - Sunnibooks

Whilst looking at the signs, the author puts to bed misinterpretations of eschatology and calls instead for Muslims to wait for the signs to appear as mentioned in the Quran and sunnah, they being the only certainty. The rest is mere conjecture. Zayd [a reference to Mawlānā Aḥsan Nānotwī himself] – in following a scholar [i.e. ‘Allāmah ‘Abd al-Ḥayy Laknawī] who was also endorsed by a muftī of the Muslims [i.e. Muftī Sa‘dullāh Murādābādī] – wrote this statement: In his earlier work ‘ Islam Answers Atheism’, Asrar Rashid enters the territories of the New Atheists and those pursuing kufr humanistic sciences—particularly those bent on debunking a Divine Reality. Intent on showing the false trails laid out for the unwary, he aims to rescue those who have been misled by showing the weakness and fallacies in their arguments and that in most cases, behind their disparagement and denigration, the Hand of God is merely replaced by straw-man arguments, emotional content, and fantasy. After having been away from his home for years – spent in quest of religious and medical education and performing the Ḥajj pilgrimmage twice – Ḥakīm Nūr al-Dīn left Jeddah for Bombay and from there to Delhi by rail. This was at the time when Qāsim al-Nānawtawī held spiritual sway in Delhi and was engaged in the teaching of the Holy Qur’ān and Ḥadīth. It was during that time that Ḥakīm Nūr al-Dīn had the opportunity of attending one of his sessions. Ḥakīm Nūr al-Dīn gave an account of such a meeting in his own words: “I have seen Mawlānā Qāsim al-Nānawtawī. He is a very intelligent man. He has an intellectual temperament and handles all questions sharply.” [67] The beauty of it is the signs are discussed chronologically with hadith cited as we go along so it gives a clearer picture than ever about the world we live in and how close we are to the end times.This book is a must read in the current time and it's the most important work on the topic as it's written in 2022, which allows the author to look at far more false claims than previous authors could and refer to very recent events such as ISIS. Therefore, if [sealship] is unrestricted and inclusive, the establishment of chronological finality is evident. Otherwise, accepting the necessity of chronological finality by implicative indication is definitely established. Here, the explicit statements of the Prophet ﷺ like: “You are to me at the level of Hārūn to Mūsā but there is no prophet after me”, [49] or as he said, which is apparently derived from the term “Khātam al-Nabiyyīn” in the manner explained above, are sufficient on this subject because they reach the level of mass-transmission. Since the blessed Muḥammadan being embodies the characteristic of prophethood directly and the remaining prophets embody it indirectly, it is now established that he ﷺ is a spiritual father ( wālid ma‘nawī), and the remaining prophets are with respect to him spiritual children ( awlād ma‘nawī). With respect to his community, ponder the phrase “RasūlAllāh” and this reality will become clear. [44]

Navigating the End of Time — Wardah Books

In Taḥdhīr al-Nās, Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī couches this argument in an esoteric meaning of the prophetic title “Khātam al-Nabiyyīn”, referred to in the verse of the Qur’ān: “Muḥammad is not the father of any of your men, but the messenger of Allāh ( rasūlAllāh) and the seal of prophets ( khātam al-nabiyyīn).” [27] While the plain meaning of “Khātam al-Nabiyyīn” is “the last chronological prophet”, a more subtle or esoteric meaning was propounded by some scholars. This unique work is a result of multiple engagements and debates in universities, mosques, private gatherings and elsewhere. The author, Asrar Rashid, takes on the more difficult questions taking us through a labrynth of Kalām, philosophy, logic, epistemology, science, the Qurʾān, Ḥadīth and Sharīʿa. The book covers in depth the proof for God, His divine attributes, the problem of evil, freewill and divine knowledge, the most difficult philosophical and scientific objections against Islam, as well as objections to Sharīʿa law, the Qurʾān’s historical preservation, the historicity of the Ḥadīth, slavery, Jihād, women’s rights and a host of other complex issues. This book is a must for all who are learning about Islam, Muslims and non-Muslims, apologists and detractors. He was one of the most prominent founders of the famous Dār al-‘Ulūm at Deoband in 1866, of which he served as its first “sarparast” (figurehead). The Dār al-‘Ulūm became renowned world-over not only for housing some of India’s most brilliant and saintly personalities, but also for spawning an educational reform movement in the subcontinent and beyond. Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī also founded a well-known madrasah in Moradabad, the Madrasah Shāhī. The unrestrictedness of “ Khātam” entails that the series of all prophets (upon them peace) terminates at him ﷺ. According to the above-described explanation, it is established from this expression that the earlier prophets are in need of him ﷺ for the characteristic of prophethood, and that he is not in need of anyone for this characteristic, whether earlier prophets or any other [created entity]. In the same way, if it is hypothesised that in his ﷺ time on this earth or any other earth, or in the sky, there was to be a prophet, he too would be dependent on him ﷺ for the characteristic of prophethood, and his series of prophethood will in any case terminate at him…The objective is that if sealship in the meaning I presented is taken, then his position as the Seal will not be specifically in relation to the past prophets. In fact, if hypothetically in his own time another prophet existed somewhere, even then his position as the Seal will remain sound. [63]In a recent book, Navigating the End of Time, Asrar Rashid attempts to show a link, albeit a “subtle” and “unexpressed” one, between Deobandīs and Qādiyānīs. [1] Apart from decontextualized citations from Taḥdhīr al-Nās of Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī, his evidences for this are extremely thin, indeed in some cases apparently fictitious. This is not altogether surprising given an earlier critique of some of his unfounded and untruthful claims. [2] Shaykh Asrar Rashid is a writer, public lecturer, debater and teacher of Arabic and Islamic disciplines. He has undertaken studies under traditional Islamic teachers in Arabic and Islam, Ash?ari Kalam, traditional rational theology, and its ancillary subjects in his city of birth, Birmingham (UK) and in Damascus (Syria). In his inspired tract [i.e. Taḥdhīr al-Nās], Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Muḥammad Qāsim Ṣāḥib (Allāh have mercy on him) offered strong evidences and proofs for the Prophet ﷺ being the Seal of the Prophets and espoused remarkable academic insights on the narration transmitted from Ḥaḍrat ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās. In several places in this treatise, Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā also affirmed that the Noble Prophet ﷺ is the Seal of the Prophets in terms of time, and that this is a unanimous doctrine, and that this meaning has been mass-transmitted and its denier is a disbeliever. See also Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā’s book Munāẓarah ‘Ajībah on this very topic, and also his Āb-i-Ḥayāt, Qāsim al-‘Ulūm and other writings.

Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī on Khatm al-Nubuwwah – Response to

During the court proceedings the Deobandī representatives were unable to answer this presentation on part of the Qādiyānites. The Sunnī scholars present, however, refuted these statements and made it abundantly clear that when al-Nānawtawī wrote them they were also declared heretical by the likes of Muftī Ḥāfiẓ Bakhsh al-Badāyūnī and Shaykh ‘Abd al-Ḥayy al-Laknawī. [81] These he juxtaposes with the language of the Quran and the key prophecies of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and what he says about the fitan of the End Times. These eschatological matters were further collected and mapped out by a few Muhaddithun and Rashid gently teaches us how to map read; ‘Do not travel there until you learn to read the signs properly, and if possible find a very good guide.’ In Ibṭāl Aghlāṭ Qāsimiyyah, the views of Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī are presented merely as citations from Taḥdhīr al-Nās, as well as one citation from a letter in Qāsim al-‘Ulūm (a collection of Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī’s letters). The bulk of Ibṭāl Aghlāṭ Qāsimiyyah consists of objections allegedly made by Mawlānā Muḥammad Shāh Punjābī, objections which Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī had already responded to in Tanwīr al-Nibrās. If it were legally possible for a prophet to be appointed after the Prophet ﷺ according to the deceased Mawlānā [Qāsim Nānotwī], he would not have used the word “hypothetically” ( bi ‘l-farz). The term “hypothetically” itself indicates it is impossible, the clear meaning of which is that this is impossible and in no way is it possible [for it to occur]. However, if in hypothetically assuming the impossible, for a short while this impossibility [of a future prophet being born] were to be entertained, even then there would be no difference to the positional sealship of the Prophet ﷺ, his excellence and supremacy. [62] Hence, what he took issue with is it being the “sole meaning”. This is clear from Taḥdhīr al-Nās itself as he has himself said the verse indicates chronological finality. As was quoted from him earlier, Mawlānā Qāsim Nānotwī said: “The author of Taḥdhīr al-Nās does not mean that the sentence on Khātam al-Nabiyyīn doesn’t in any way indicate chronological finality or that chronological finality cannot be meant by the term ‘Khātam al-Nabiyyīn’. He himself has given two explanations of how chronological finality is meant and indicated [by the verse/term].” [60]Let us now turn to how Asrar Rashid irresponsbily presents three “quotes” from Taḥdhīr al-Nās to forge a link between Deobandīs and Qādiyānīs. In a section of his book titled “Wahhābī/Deobandī Support” (i.e. of Qādiyānīs), he writes: