Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Hazrat Moulana Ilyaas’s (rahimahullah) Adherence and Love for the Sunnah
Hazrat Moulana Muhammed Ilyaas (rahimahullah) had such profound love for Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) that he aspired to emulate every sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) in his life.
Let alone following Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) in deeni actions, he even derived joy and happiness through emulating Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) in worldly actions that were carried out for the cause of deen. Below is one example of this:
In the early days of the effort of da’wah and tableegh, Mufti Mahmood Hasan Gangohi (rahimahullah) would sometimes accompany Moulana Muhammed Ilyaas (rahimahullah) on his tableegh journeys.
Once, they were traveling to Mewat through the mountains, and the uncle of Moulana Ilyaas (rahimahullah) was also part of the jamaat. At one point during the journey, Moulana (rahimahullah) placed his hands on his uncle’s shoulders and said, “O my uncle! Ponder over how many mountains Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) must have climbed in order to spread deen! Today, for the first time, we got the opportunity to climb a mountain in order to spread deen. What a great favour of Allah Ta‘ala upon us that He allowed us to practise on this Sunnah!” (Mufti Mahmood Gangohi [rahimahullah] pg. 147-148)
Regularly Consulting with Hazrat Sheikh (rahimahullah) and the Ulama to Ensure that he Conformed to the Sunnah
Though Hazrat Sheikhul Hadith, Moulana Muhammed Zakariyya (rahimahullah), was the nephew of Hazrat Moulana Muhammed Ilyaas (rahimahullah), Hazrat Moulana Muhammed Ilyaas (rahimahullah) held him in high regard and would regularly refer to him due to his deep understanding of deen and the Sunnah.
Hazrat Sheikhul Hadith (rahimahullah) mentions:
In the initial stages of this effort of da’wat and tableegh, if some matter regarding Tableegh was brought to the attention of Moulana Muhammed Ilyaas (rahimahullah), he would spontaneously say, “No decision will be taken regarding this matter until it is first discussed with Sheikhul Hadith.”
Thus, whenever I went to Delhi, I would find many queries awaiting me which had been set aside for discussing with me.
On one occasion, my uncle said to me, “Some of our friends are insistent upon the opinion that when our jamaats go out for gusht, then they should carry a small flag or banner with them (so that people will identify the jamaat as being affiliated with the tableegh jamaat). What is your opinion regarding this?” I immediately replied, “They should definitely not do this.”
My uncle asked, “What is the reason?” I replied, “Your jamaats are going out to call people to the musjid for salaah. According to the Ahaadith, when Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was asked by the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) as to whether they should use a flag or banner to call people for salaah (through hoisting it at the time of salaah), Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) did not approve of this. Hence, when Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had rejected this opinion, and your effort is the effort of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to invite people to the musjid for salaah, then how can you use a flag or banner to call people for salaah?”
Hearing this, Moulana Muhammed Ilyaas (rahimahullah) immediately said, “May Allah Ta‘ala reward you for this! The matter has been clarified!” (Aap Beeti 4/371)
The deep concern of Hazrat Moulana (rahimahullah) to adhere to the Sunnah at all times can be gauged from the following statement of Moulana Ubaidullah Balyaawi (rahimahullah) who says, “Moulana Muhammed Ilyaas (rahimahullah) had entrusted myself and Moulana Sa’eed Ahmed Khan (rahimahullah) with the responsibility of verifying that every statement which he made was supported by the Qur’aan and Hadith (i.e. Sunnah). He instructed us that if we found any statement he made to be contrary to the Qur’aan and Sunnah, then we should bring it to his attention for him to rectify it. Alhamdulillah, we did not find any statement of his that was not supported by the Qur’aan and Hadith.” (Mere Hajee Saheb pg. 59)
Advice Regarding the Sunnah One Day Prior to His Demise
The deep concern for reviving and spreading the Sunnah continued to burn in the heart of Hazrat Moulana Muhammed Ilyaas (rahimahullah) until the end of his life. Hence, Hazrat Sheikhul Hadith, Moulana Muhammed Zakariyya (rahimahullah), mentioned, “My respected uncle, Moulana Muhammed Ilyaas (rahimahullah), had called me one day prior to his demise and had given me the following advice. He said to me:
“Strive to the best of your ability to inculcate every Sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) in your life and also encourage your friends and associates to adhere to the Sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) in their lives.” (Malfoozaat Hazrat Sheikh 2/142)
