Post by StudentOfTheDeen on Nov 8, 2015 13:26:26 GMT
Did Mufti Rafi Sahib openly advise that we should not call ourselves Deobandi?
Maulana Abu Asim Badrul Islam:
Absolutely not. I think Ustadji's (damat barakatuhum) message (which has been the same in every majlis/speech during this UK tour) can easily be misconstrued and manipulated (or even innocently misunderstood). His message was the starkest at the 'ulama conference in Croydon. I felt the whole speech(es) needs to be contextualised in certain zaman, makan and socio-religious circumstances. I feel the same about Hazrat Ustadji's detailed speech about embracing TV media (and digital imagery) in the modern world, which he delivered, out of all places, at Shaykh Saleem Dhorat sahib's (damat barakatuhum) IDA/JRU in a packed gathering last Tuesday.
What Ustadji was condemning was not being affiliated with the maslak of the akabir of Deoband, but sectarianism in the name of those illustrious akabir (rahimahumullah). This form of sectarianism and extremely violent intolerance has, for the last several decades, wreaked havoc in his homeland of Pakistan. It has been ripping that hard-earned motherland apart - a motherland the foundation of which was laid with so many Muslim lives. You know this first hand, Mawlana, as one who has lived there for years.
Our circumstances here in the UK and most other western countries (including the USA) are much different. In an age of growing confusion, loss of identity and inferiority complex amongst youngsters coming out of our western (particularly UK) 'Deobandi' madaris, we ought to absorb the message in a different light - with some tashreeh. Our challenges are the rise of what I term 'neo-deobandism' and halafism.
If anyone claims (or innocently understands) Hazrat Ustadji's message to mean we should discard our affiliation with the school /maslak of our akabir (as some seem to be attempting to propagate), then that will be completely contrary to what Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Rafi' Usmani sahib, his brother, Hazrat 'Allamah Muhammad Taqi Usmani sahib and their illustrious father, Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Shafi' sahib (rah.) stand for and are emblematic of. Rather, their call in recent years has been for us to reconnect to our roots, to our akabir and realise who we really are. We need to be 'deobandi', if anyone wants to use that term, in our thought, outlook, maslak, manhaj, 'ilm, 'amal and tasawwuf - and we need to be proud of that. Otherwise, it would be ingratitude to this great blessing with which Allah ta'ala has blessed us.
Again, Hazrat Ustadji's message was not a call to discard our identity and sever our umbilical cord with our great masters of the maslak of Deoband, but, rather, to discard sectarianism and unlawful intolerance of other masalik, and break down our barriers so that we, the minority Muslim community in the UK and the west, can find common ground and work together in the face of increasingly sustained attacks from hostile and very complex forces.
The reason I wrote this message is because there have been others asking the same question, and this is symptomatic of confusion or foul play. I will, insha'Allah, bring the issue to the notice of the Shaykhayn of DU Karachi.
Posted with permission from Maulana Badrul Islam.