Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin
Researcher of Political Science & Classical Islam. Initiated by the Khwajagan i-Naqshband.
The Position of the Ashraaf al-Gilani Dynasty Regarding the Excellence of Hadrat ‘Ali over the Shaykhayn
With H.E. the new Naqib al-Ashraaf al-Shaykh Sayed ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Jilani the Custodian of the Mosque and Tomb of Ghawth al-Adham Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, Baghdad, Iraq.
Q. What is the position of the Ashraaf class, the recognized descendents of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, through the family of Ghawth al-Adham Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (rad) regarding the status of their grandfather ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib over or under that of the Shaykhayn (Abu Bakr and Umar)?
A. The historic position of the Ashraaf of the Qadiri-Musawi clan from whom I descend from my maternal grandmother’s side is recorded in the 9 volumes of Miskaat an-Nabuwat by Mawlana Ghulam ‘Ali Shah Qadiri, the great grandson of Sayyid al-Abdaal (the Master of the Abdaal) Mawlana Syed ‘Abd al-Latif Lawbali al-Hamawi wal-Baghdadi (qad), the first of the family to migrate to India from Hama Sherif in Syria. It was conveyed to me personally by Mawlana Syed ‘Abd al-Lateef Muhiuddin Qadiri, the senior most member of the family in India when I raised the issue with him in person on March 14th, 2012. This was his response:
“According to the elders of our family, namely Mawlana Ghulam ‘Ali Qadiri, in his Mishkaat an-Nabuwat, the Prophet’s declaring Hadrat ‘Ali as the Master (Mawla) of all Believers was the statement which identified Hadrat ‘Ali as the possessor of the Khilafat i-Akbar (Major Khilafah). Hadrat ‘Ali was appointed by Rasulullah (S) as a Khalifa, while Hadrat Abu Bakr was appointed by Hadrat Umar as a Khalifa. While both Khilafahs are valid, they are not the same”.
(Above) With the Ashraaf, the recognized descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (S) through the family of Ghawth al-Adham Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (rad): Pir Salman al-Jilani, grandson of Naqib al-Ashraf Pir Syed Ibrahim Saif al-Din al-Jilani (background) and Mawlana Syed ‘Abd al-Lateef Muhiuddin Qadiri (seated to Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin’s right) in 2007. Mawlana Syed ‘Abd al-Lateef Qadiri is the senior most member of the Ashraaf of the Qadiri-Musawi family in Hyderabad.
Naqib al-Ashraf fi Dar al-Islam Pir Ibrahim Saif al-Din al-Gilani and his son Pir Najm al-Din al-Gilani, father of Pir Salman al-Gilani, Bab el-Sheikh, Baghdad, Iraq.
H.E. Naqeeb al-Ashraf ‘Abd Al-Rahman al-Gilani, First Prime Minister of Iraq, grandfather of Pir Ibrahim Saif al-Din al-Gilani.
Mawlana Abul Fazal Syed Mahmood Quadri translator the first five volumes of Mishkaat an-Nabuwat into Urdu. The Khalifa of Naqib al-Ashraaf Syed Ibrahim Saif al-Din al-Gilani in Hyderabad.
Mawlana Abul Fazal was trained in religious knowledge by many eminent scholars of Deccan including Bahr-Ul-Uloom Allama Abdul Qadeer Siddiqi, Allama Syed Ibrahim Adeeb, Allama Syed Manazir Ahsan Gilani, Mufti Makhdoom Hussaini, Muhaddith-e-Deccan Syed Abdullah Shah Naqshbandi, Syed Yahya Hussaini Al-Hanbali, Syed Abu Nasr Qadri Al-Jilani, Shaikhul Islam Syed Badshah Hussaini, Muhammad Abdul Muqtadir Siddiqui Fazl. In Tasawwuf, Mawlana Abul Fazal was the Khalifa (Successor) of Naqeeb-ul-Ashraf fi Dar al-Islam Pir Syed Ibrahim Saif al-Din Al-Gilani in Hyderabad, Deccan. He translated the first five volumes of Mawlana Ghulam ‘Ali Shah Qadiri’s Mishkaat an-Nabuwat into the Urdu language.
The last Ottoman Caliph Abdul Mejed II performing the wedding of his daughter to the eldest son of the Nizam of Hyderabad Sahib Zada Nawab Azam Jah.
Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin 
There were many Sahabah’s including Fatima al-Zahra, Hadrat Hasan, Hadrat Husayn and their children, including Hadrat ‘Ali himself who held Hadrat ‘Ali was the most intellectually and culturally sophisticated and most spiritually advanced among the Sahabah. Hadrat Mahdi also believes Hadrat ‘Ali is superior to all after Rasulullah (S). However, similar to how holding the Shaykhayn to be superior (?) does not mean one denies the status of Hadrat ‘Ali and the Bani Hashem, so too can preference of ‘Ali also not instantly mean rejection or cursing of others. Also, just because even as a Naqshbandi murids, as doctrine we hold Ghwath al-Adham to be superior to all Awliyas, it does not mean we disregard Hadrat Khwaja i-Jahan Baha al-Din Shah Naqshband Bukhari and Ibn Arabi and other Aqtaab. We merely see the truth, that all Sainthood after the era of the Twelve Imams reaches us only through the mediumship of Ghawth al-Adham. This is a standard belief among Saints. Those who are not Awliya should not try to speak on their behalf. I was told by Mawlana I should speak for Awliyas. Finished.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, MashahAllah what an Amazing post
JazakAllah Khair
@ASFC:
But brother we cant get rid of what has been written in history books and the books of ahadith that what happened after Prophet Salla’l la ho alaye he wa aalihi wasallam veiled from this world and what happened with his ahl e bayt alayehim assalam ajmeen after that.
You cant deny that.
Hazrat ABU BAKAR SIDDIQ was the first khalifa … n our daleel lis His Imamat in Namaz….
Adam was the first Khalifatullah, and recited the Most Beautiful Names to the Angels, however, Rasulullah (s) is still superior. Hadrat Abu Bakr was not directly installed as a Khalifa by Rasulullah, rather Hadrat Umar installed him. We love all the Rashidun, but believe ‘Ali is superior, like you believe others excel our grandfather ‘Ali. Similar to how you think your love for others does not undermine your love or respect for ‘Ali, we too can hold the same position, from another camp. Brother, be careful how you address descendants of Ghawth al-Adham, since he has promised to defend them swiftly:) May Allah bless you and forgive you.
This view is not according to consensus though – you are complicating matters more than necesary
We accept both views as valid, but hold to the view of the majority of the family of the Prophet (S), not the “consensus”, as more correct. Awliya are a minority, and their knowledge is generally shocking as per my own experience. We also hold Hadrat Abu Talib (alaihi salam) was an Imam, a Believer, and a perfect Sahabi who is in Paradise with Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wa aalihi wa sallam) and his brothers Hadrat Abdullah ibn Abdul Muttallib (S), Hadrat Abbas, and Hadrat Hamzah. The hadith scholars disagree with this view but we hold it as true, and reject their view on this issue as lies and deem them incorrect. There is no issue here, and people are free to believe as they like.
There exist traditions in Sahi Bukhari and other books that hz abu bakr did’nt lead the prayer.In fact,when Prophet Salla’l la ho alaye hi wa aalihi wasallam came to know about this amtter,He came out with Hz ibn e Abbas RaziAllah Anhu and Ali alaye hi salam,helping Him to walk and Himself led the prayer and hz abu bakr offered the prayer behind HIm
@ASFC In fact,one sunni tafzeeli told me that Dehlan Mian the Mufti of Hijaz Shareef had issued a ruling that whosoever denies the faith of AbuTalib alaye hi salam ,is a disbeliever sinc eHis faith has been proved through extensive research.He claimed that he had the copy of that fatwa with him
@Nabeel and Maryam libraries have been filled with books on the arguments on the legitimation of Imam Ali’s superiority and His imamat.Yet to end the discussion i would quote here just imam malik and ahmad bin hanbal here.
imam Malik considered Pious Lady Syedah Fatima-tuz-zahra SalamUllahi alaye haa superior to each creation after Prophet Salla’l la ho alaye hi wa aalihi wasallam.This automatically proves Ali alaye hi salam superior than others as well since Ali and Fatima are “kufw” of each other.
And Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal said that i did’nt find as many traditions in the merit of any other sahabi as i did for Syedi Ali ibne Abi Talib alaye hi salam
@AFSC I condemned muavia in a post at eshaykh website and Sheikh gibrael haddad (shafa’i) replied that he had asked Maulana Sheikh Nazim Q.A.S regarding this issue and he had replied that when lions fight ,dogs should’nt bark.
I highly doubt that Maulana Sheikh Nazim said so because all AuliaUllah have been condemning the 3 rebellions against Imam Ali alaye hi salama and in particualr against Muavia who forged traditions in his merit and merits of first 3 caliphs as well.
And it is also recorded in history that he shunned to face Ali alaye hi salam in the battlefield and Hazrat Hassan Basir R.A exposed his bad habits.So How can Maulana Sheikh Nazim call Muawia as lion?
did Maulana Sheikh Naizm say so?
i humbly request you to ask Maulana Sheikh Nazim to clearly address these issues so that people may become aware of the reality.
Thank you
These are all silly positions to fight over. Since there are so many narrations, everyone is free to follow which ever opinion they feel is more correct. In regards to Mawlana’s alleged comments about lions and dogs, lions means Ali and his illustrious sons, since Ali, our forefather is the Lion of Allah. Dogs would be those among our people/race of the Arabs, who may appear like us, on account of being from the same family of animal, but in no way compare. Remember, both lions and dogs have the same origin, as did the Ahlul Bayt and their enemies during their life times from among the Quraysh, and the children of Abraham and Ishmael. You cannot say both are the same because both came from the same origin. The position of the Ashraaf dynasty I shared is NOT a religious issue, for us, it is a family matter. It may be of interest to you, Hajje Amina Adil referred to Abu Sufyan as “muallifal qulub” (those who did not enter Islam whole heatedly after the Victory at Makkah) in her book Muhammad the Messenger of Islam. I shared some interesting quotes about this subject here and you may wish to review them, http://alsunnahfoundation.org/Academy/ForgingHadith.pdf
However, I cannot be more clear, we accept BOTH views as valid opinions, but hold our view to be correct.
thanks for information.
Imam Rabbani states that it is narrated from Sayyidina Ali himself through not less than seventy different narrations, that he (Imam Ali) himself stated that the best of this Ummah is Abu Bakr and then Umar; whoever holds me greater than these two, he is a liar and I will punish him with the Hadd of a liar. [Maktubat]
Hence we are murids of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq in the Naqshbandi Order and deem our Order superior without debate to all other Orders because of Abu Bakr’s presence. Thats fine. No debate here.
Thanks a lot for clarifying the issue Please write a post on the issue of Wahdat ul Wujud , Wahdat ul Shuhud & Wahdat ul Maqsud of Sultan Bahu . What is the safest position for common people in genral and the seekers in specific Thanks in Advance
The Wujud manifest, or appeared as the Shuhud and the Shuhud Praised Itself hence in its Praise, in its Wujud within the Shuhud, also is the ultimate Maqsud.
The narration mentioned above regarding 80 lashes is da’eef for many reasons.
1- Ali A.S was not an ordinary person. He knew that 80 lashes is the punishment of Qazf, how could he equate it to the case where someone held him superior to AbuBakr?
2-During 92 years long rule of Banu Umayya, not even a single scribe or lover of Ali A.S was penalized on the basis of this position of Ali A.S whereas it is an established fact that Banu Umayya were always looking for an opportunity to suppress Ali’s scribes.
3-There are sahih ahadeeth as well as traditions of companions who held Ali A.S superior than whole mankind after the Prophet S.A.W.A.W.
Thanks
Mashallah. The idea here is to follow anyone your heart perfers. I believe in the superiority of ‘Ali. I am obliged to say I perfer Abu Bakr by these friends, and am now being compelled to say such things by my guests here to be safe from their slander and ideological repression in the name of official statements. However, we Naqshbandi’s also hold a secret doctrine and there is no debate on it. It is exclusive to certain initiates while not to others. I held these beliefs from the very first day I was initiated and received over 23 ijazahs without asking from Sultan ul-Awliya Mawlana Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani over a 12 year period. In the 12 years I served Mawlana, not once did he repremand me like this brute, in the nameof religion, nor force perference of Abu Bakr on me “as a matter of doctrine” like these brutes. Rather, on the contrary, in the last year of his earthly life, he declared ‘Ali’s superiority and passed from the world with these statements on record, saved and streamed on his SaltanatTV channel. Thereafter, after Mawlana opened these statements in 2013 with the Shah-e Mardan sohbets, did other Khalifas come around and speak openly of Mawla ‘Ali’s unique merits as I had been doing in record for 12 years already. There is no compulsion in faith, let alone preference of ones ancestor/father over a distant not immediate-relative, both of Qurayshite race and stock. However, these people, who force with religious threats like this, people to accept one or the other, especially in the case of ‘Ali, will be judged by the Mahdi’s sword along with their scholars and books. If they are good, he will keep and correct them, if they remain tyrants and threatening, he will cleanse the earth of them. Make of this what you will.