by GF Haddad

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim

Gangohi Fatwas: [2] On "Darud Taj"*
*[The invocation of blessings on the Prophet ﷺ called "The Crown"]


Comment: There are literally hundreds of supplications by pious latter-day Muslims that were compiled years after the Prophet ﷺ, such as the famous Ahzab by al-Shadhili, al-Rifaʿi, etc. Most espically Dala'il al-Khayrat by al-Jazuli which is nothing but Durood, some of it from the Sunna and some of it from the heart of the author; not to mention the countless poems to the same end by the Awliya' such as al-Busiri (whose Qasidat al-Burda apparently is in the Deobandi syllabus), al-Nabahani, Shaykh Muhammad al-Burhani, etc.

As for the statement, "its status is impossible to be defined, until outlined by the Legislator (Holy Prophet) 'alaihi salaam. and this Durood was drafted years after [him]. So how can the reading of this wording (seegha) of durood be declared worthy of reward?" This criticism is astounding in view of the fact that it applies to much of Dala'il al-Khayrat, although the latter booklet of Salawat is part of the daily recitations of the Deobandi Shuyukh as reported by the Shaykh's student Khalil Saharanfuri in al-Muhannad (Karachi ed. p. 24-25):

"We consider it desirable to invoke blessings on the Prophet ﷺ abundantly and this is among the best acts of obedience and among the recommended acts that are closest to being obligations, whether through the recitation of the Dala'il [al-Khayrat] and the Awrad of Salawat composed in that chapter, or with other texts. However, the best according to us is whatever wording is authentically narrated from him ﷺ. But if one uses other than what was reported from him ﷺ, then *such can never be devoid of merit* and it deserves the glad tidings of [the hadith] 'Whoever invokes one blessing upon me, Allah blesses him ten times. and OUR SHAYKH THE ʿALLAMA AL-GANGOHI USED TO RECITE THE DALA'IL [AL-KHAYRAT] and so did the rest of our Shuyukh... and they used to transmit the narration of the Dala'il just like hadith narrations, and Mawlana al-Gangohi would give ijaza for it to his friends, Allah have mercy on him."

As to Darud Taj - quoted in full below -, it contains nothing except Tawhid and praise of the Prophet ﷺ in obedience of the Divine command to the believers to {invoke abundant blessings and greetings upon him} ﷺ in addition to a summary of his muʿjizat and shama'il, and it is a strange fatwa indeed to question its manifest pure Sunni character. The poems of the foremost Deobandi authority Shaykh Abu al-Qasim Nanotwi contain similar and possibly more emotional expressions of tawassul such as:

Help me O grace of Ahmad, since excepting you
There is none who can be of any help to Qaasim.
If the spirit of Allah [=ʿIsa (as)] were to help me in my distress,
I would then compose poems in his praise also.
If Jibra'eel were to help me in my thoughts
I would then step forward and call him master of the universe.
...
Be in praise of him if you want anything from Allah.

Plead with him if it is something you want from Allah.
Faced with millions of sins, how can this so-called Islam
benefit me, O Prophet of Allah?
Being told that you are the intercessor on behalf of the sinners
I have gathered a vast bundle of sins for myself.
Who will come to my help if you do not?
Who else will sympathise with me if you do not?
Qasaaid-e-Qaasimee,(Pages 6, 7 and 8)

What would Shaykh Rashid say of the Deobandi Imam, Imdaadul Laah Muhaajir Makki's funeral praise of his teacher Noor Muhammad Sahib:

You are the Indian deputy of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa!
(Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallam)
Why should Imdaad have any fear when you are there to help me,
But my hands and feet tremble when I listen to the talk of love.
O prince Noor Muhammad! This is the time to come to my help,
For you are my only sources of help in this world.
(Shamaa'im-e-lmdaadiyah, Page 83; and Imdaad -ul-Mushtaaq, Page 116 (Thanvi)

Hazrat Haaji Imdaadul Laah Muhaajir Makki further says:

"Ya Muhammad Mustafa Faryaad He
Ae Habeeb-e-Kibriya Faryaad He
Sakht Mushkil Me Phansa Hoon Aajkal
Ae Mere Mushkil Elisha Faryaad He"

(O Muhammad Mustafa I call out to you. O beloved of Allah I call out to you. I am in deep trouble these days. O my redresser of difficulties I call out to you). — (Naala'e Imdaad-e-Ghareeb Page 22.)

and Haji Imdadullah's own student, Ashraf Ali Sahib Thanvi, named no less than Hakeem-ul-Umma by the Ulema of Deoband, makes this supplication:

"O you who intercede on behalf of slaves!
Please come to my rescue.
You are my last hope of help in every distress,
There is no one else to protect me excepting you.
O my leader, my master, listens to my harrowing plaint,
O Prophet of Allah, bail me out of my miseries".

The "Sheikh-ul-Hind" of Deobandis, Janab Mahmood-ul-Hasan, sought remedies for all his needs from the Imam of the Deobandis, Shaykh Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi Sahib with the supplication:

To whom shall I now turn for the redress of my needs!
The redresser of all my physical and spiritual needs is now gone.

"Ghaus" means one who redresses one's grievances and Mahmood-ul-Hasan Sahib addresses Gangohi Sahib not only as "Ghaus" but as "Ghaus-e-A'zam":

"He is the second Junaid and Shiblee and Abu Mas'ood Ansari,
He is the Rasheed-e-Millat-o-Deen, the Ghaus-e-A'zam, the Qutb-e-Rabbani".

Mahmood-ul-Hasan Sahib declared Gangohi Sahib to be not only all these things, but also as "Murrabiye-Khalaaiq" (The Educator of all creatures) "Maseehaa-i-Zamaan (The Christ of this time), Qaseem-i-Faiz-e-Yazdaah (The Distributor of Divine outpourings), the equal of the founder of Islam, host to all creations, Muhyud Deen Jeelaani, the fountainhead of all beneficence, without any parallel, the object of veneration and reverence in this world and in the next, the light through and through, and Allah alone knows what else besides. In the compendium of his poetical works, he says:

"My guides, my teachers, for me the be-all and end-all,
You are my masters, my patrons and my princes.
Rasheed and Qaasim-i-Kairaat, both are venerated teachers
Both of them are Qibla-e-Deen and Ka'ba-e-lmaan".

— From the marsiyah (elegy), published by Raashid Company, Deoband." *

---

* More couplets from this elegy and the commentary on it can be seen in Allama Muhammad Shafee Okarvi's book, "An introduction to the ulama of Deoband".

Source for the above: http://members.tripod.com/okarvi/W_B.html which also states:


So it is clear that on both sides, Deobandi and Barelwi, there is great allegiance to Murshids to the point of tawassul and reliance upon them as the closest door to Divine acceptance and help. It is hard to understand why they should criticize each other for that practice when it is one and the same for both of them, contrary to the beliefs of Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab and his followers. What would they say of the following the following statements by ʿAbd al-Wahhab al-Warraq (d. 251), the one man whom Imam Ahmad on his deathbed considered his Khalifa: "Abu ʿAbd Allah [Imam Ahmad] is our Imam. He is one of {those who are firmly grounded in knowledge} (3:7, 4:162). If I were to stand tomorrow before Allah and He asked me: 'Who did you follow?' I would say: 'Ahmad ibn Hanbal.'" Ibn Abi Yaʿla, Tabaqat al-Hanabila (1:210-212).

It is in the same metaphorical and derived, non-absolute sense as in the above expressions, that the Prophet ﷺ is called in Darood Taj, "The Repeller of Affliction and Disease and Drought and Illness and Pain" as Allah Himself said of him ﷺ in His Book: {Verily thy Prayers are a source of security for them} (9:103) whereas in absolute terms only Allah Most High is <<al-Mu'min>> - the source of security as illustrated by the words of the Prophet ﷺ in the hadith of Abu Hurayra in Muslim: "Verily, these graves are full of darkness for their dwellers. Verily, Allah Mighty and Glorious illumines them for their occupants by reason of my prayer for them."

Following is the text of Durood Taj:

O Allah, send blessings and Peace upon our Master and Patron Muhammad, The Owner of the Crown and the Ascent and the Buraq and the Standard, The Repeller of Affliction and Disease and Drought and Illness and Pain.
His name is written on high, served and engraved in the Tablet and the Pen, The Leader of All, Arabs and non-Arabs,
Whose body is sanctified, fragrant, and pure,
Illumined in the House and the Haram,

The Sun of Brightness, the Full Moon in Darkness,
The Foremost One in the Highest Fields, the Light of Guidance,
The Cave of Refuge for Mortals, the Lamp That Dispels the Night,
The Best-Natured One, The Intercessor of Nations,
The Owner of Munificence and Generosity.

Allah is his Protector, Gabriel is his servant.
The Buraq is his mount, the Ascent is his voyage,
The Lote-Tree of the Furthermost Boundary is his station,
Two Bow-Lengths or Nearer is his desire,
His desire is his goal, and he has found his goal,

The Master of the Messengers, the Seal of the Prophets,
The intercessor of sinners, the friend of the strangers,
The Mercy for the Worlds,
The rest of those who burn with love, the goal of those who yearn,

The sun of knowers, the lamp of travellers,
The light of Those Brought Near,
The friend of the poor and destitute,

The master of Humans and Jinn,
The Prophet of the Two Sanctuaries,
The Imam of the Two Qiblas,

Our Means in the Two Abodes,
The Owner of Qaba Qawsayn,
The Beloved of the Lord of the Two Easts and the Two Wests,

The grandfather of al-Hasan and al-Husayn,
Our patron and the patron of Humans and Jinn:
Abu al-Qasim MUHAMMAD Son of ʿAbd Allah,
A light from the light of Allah.

O you who yearn for the light of his beauty,
Send blessings and utmost greetings of peace
Upon him and upon his Family.

--

Hajj Gibril

GF Haddad
[Mon, 26 Mar 2001]