Shaykh Rashid Rida on Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيم

 

When Egyptian scholar Rashid Rida (may Allah have mercy on him) came to visit Nadwat al-‘Ulama, he also decided to visit Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband. At that time he didn’t hold a very favorable opinion about Ahnaf and Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him). During his stay, Imam al-Asr Sayyid Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri (may Allah have mercy on him) gave a lecture in Arabic on Quran, Hadith, status of Hanafi fiqh, thought of Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband and thought of Imam Shah Wali Allah Dehlawi (may Allah have mercy on him). After he heard the speech, he was amazed and he uttered many times:

واللّه ما رأيت مثل هذا العالم الجليل قط

“And by the oath of Allah I have not seen anyone like this highly scholar.”

And in his speech at Deoband he said:

“If Hanafiyat is exactly what Mawlana Anwar Shah has explained in his speech, then I declare that for amal [practice], Hanafi fiqh is enough!”

When he returned to Egypt, he wrote in his risala Al-Minaar:

“If I had not seen Dar al-‘Ulum Deoband in Hindustan, I would have returned hopeless from that country.”

[From Hayat Muhaddith Kashmiri – by ‘Allamah Anzar Shah Kashmiri]