Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Sheikh-ul-Islam Hazrat Moulana Husain Ahmed Madani (rahimahullah)
Sheikh-ul-Islam, Hazrat Sayyid Moulana Husain Ahmed Madani (rahimahullah), was a descendant of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and a very great Aalim. He was born in 1296 AH (1879) and passed away in 1377 AH (1957) at the age of 81.
He was a student of Daar-ul-Uloom Deoband and was also blessed to teach there for 32 years. During this period, approximately 3856 students studied under him. Allah Ta‘ala blessed him with such acceptance that a person can go to almost any country in the world today and he will find Ulama whose chain of Hadith is either directly or indirectly transmitted via Hazrat Moulana Madani (rahimahullah).
Allah Ta‘ala had blessed Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah) with many praiseworthy and exemplary qualities. Among them was his firm adherence and strong commitment to upholding the sunnah in all aspects of his life. Below are a few incidents which highlight his deep love for the sunnah:
The Sunnah Qiraat in Salaah
Hazrat Moulana Madani (rahimahullah) was very particular about reciting the sunnah qiraat in salaah. Hence, he would show great importance to reciting the Tiwaal Mufassal surahs in the Fajr Salaah, the Awsaat Mufassal surahs in the Esha Salaah, and the Qisaar Mufassal surahs in the Maghrib Salaah.
Such was Hazrat Madani’s (rahimahullah) adherence to the sunnah quraat that if he happened to perform salaah in any musjid, and the Imaam did not recite the sunnah qiraat, then Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah) would go to him after the salaah and would encourage him to recite the sunnah qiraat.
Bringing Comfort to Others
On one occasion, Hazrat Moulana Madani (rahimahullah) was traveling to a certain place by train. Coincidentally, there was a Hindu person seated with Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah) in the same compartment of the train.
During the journey, Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah) noticed the Hindu person standing, leaving the carriage and then returning. The Hindu person did this a few times and seemed to be uncomfortable. Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah) immediately asked him, “What is the matter? Is there anything that I can help you with?” The Hindu replied, “I need to use the toilet. However, the toilet is extremely dirty and hence I feel uncomfortable to use it.”
Hearing this, Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah) remained seated and did not say anything. A short while later, he went and stood at the window. Then, he gradually went to the toilet, entered it and closed the door. After closing the door, he personally cleaned the toilet. Thereafter, he came out and remarked to the Hindu, “I have just come from the toilet, and it appears to be clean now.” In other words, Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah) did not even inform the Hindu that he had been the one to clean the toilet.
Concern for His Muslim Brother
There was a certain Aalim who lived in the province of UP in India. He was the student and mureed of Hazrat Moulana Madani (rahimahullah), and also enjoyed a close relationship with Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah).
Once, this Aalim became extremely sick. His condition deteriorated to the point where his family members were convinced that he could pass away at any moment. In this condition, his children wrote a letter to Hazrat Moulana Madani (rahimahullah) saying, “Hazrat! We are writing to you to inform you of something which is of great concern and worry to us. Our father is very sick and appears to be on the verge of death.
“However, what is worrying us is that now, at the very end of his life, we find him behaving in a strange manner. Whenever we go to him, he only speaks about wealth. He asks us, “What happened to such-and-such property? How much of income is being received from it? Such-and-such amount of money was loaned to so-and-so. Has he paid back the money?”
“This has caused us immense worry and sadness, that now, in his final moments, which are extremely valuable and important, his heart and mind is engrossed in the dunya.”
On reading the letter, Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah) was overcome by concern. Hence, as soon as he completed teaching the lessons, he left the classroom and immediately went to the train station. On seeing that Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah) was going somewhere, a few of the students and Asaatizah, approximately ten in number, joined him and accompanied him.
On arriving at the home of the Aalim, Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah) did not engage in conversation with him. He did not reprimand the Aalim, nor did he lecture him regarding the virtue of zuhd (abstinence from the world), nor did he quote any Hadith to him. Rather, after entering the home, Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah) merely asked the man how he was, and thereafter remained seated with his head down for a short while.
In those moments, all the people who were present could hear that the zikr of Allah Ta‘ala was emanating from the entire house – from the roof, the walls, the doors, the windows and everything else. This was clearly a karaamat that Allah Ta‘ala allowed to manifest at the hands of Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah). Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah) thereafter departed.
The Aalim’s son thereafter wrote another letter to Hazrat Madani (rahimahullah) in which he said, “Hazrat! From the time you visited my father, his condition has changed. At all times, his heart and mind are engaged in zikr and are focused towards Allah Ta‘ala.”
(Hazrat Moulana Husain Ahmed Madani pg. 151-152 and Jamaal-e-Muhammadi 1/337-338, 405-407)
