There are people in subcontinent who think that ad-Dahabi was an extreme sufi like them, But when we see the Aqida of Imam ad-Dahabi it clears the issue that he was actually Imam of Ahlus sunnah. Following are some of his aqaid against mainstream aqaid of brailwiyah.
1. Asking help from pious people in the graves
2. The aqeedah of Wahdatul Wajood and Imam ad-Dahabi
3. Writing, Making domes, structures, praying near the graves
4. Doing Tawaf of the Graves
5. Imam ad-Dahabi and Ibn Tamiyah
6. The Aqeedah of Imam ad-Dahabi and Ama was-Siffaat of Allah
7. Conclusion
1. Asking help from pious people in the graves
It is well known aqeedah of Brailwis that It is recommended to ask help from the Auliyah in the graves even from far away. As they say YA GAWTH AL ADHAM MADAD.
Ahmad raza khan said
Whenever I asked help I said O GAWTH, Once I wanted to ask help from another wali but my tongue only said O gawth but not other wali`s name [Malfuzaat part 3 page 44]
scan directly from brailwi website:
Response:
a) Ahmad Raza used to ask help for Abdul Qadir al-Jilani ra, whereas Imam ad-Dahabi used to say:
فواغوثاه بالله
And seek the help of Allaah [Seyar Ailaam an-Nubala 16/264]
He again said in the Biography of Al Ghazali ra:
فواغوثاه بالله
And seek the help of Allaah[Siyar Ailam an-Nubala, 19/340]
He said same in The biography of Muhiyudin Ibn Arabi [Ibid 23/48] He repeated same words in the biography of Al-Mustansarbillah [Ibid 23/160]
Comment: Imam ad-Dahabee asked help directly from Allah, Whereas, Brailwis use this word “Gawth al Adham” for Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jelani.
b) Imam ad-Dahabi said regarding these types of deviants:
ولجهلة المصريين فيها اعتقاد يتجاوز الوصف، ولايجوز مما فيه من الشرك، ويسجدون لها، ويلتمسون منها المغفرة
And among the ignorance of the Egyptians they have characteristics that transgresses their belief , and this is not permissible , and it consists of shirk , and prostrating to her grave and seeking isthighfar from her and like that of idol worshipers[Seyar Ailam Nubala 10/106]
c) He distinguished between respect and extremism, then he said:
فإن إطراء رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يؤدى إلى إساءة الادب على الرب
“Extremism in veneration of Prophet peace be upon him makes the person gustakh of Rabb” [Meezan al aitedaal 2/650]
Comment: So he was against extremism which people do on the graves. Like they ask help from Sayyedah Nafeesah etc.
d) ad-Dahabi writes :
النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم سيد البشر، [ وهو بشر ] يأكل ويشرب وينام، ويقضى حاجته، ويمرض ويتداوى، ويتسوك ليطيب فمه، فهو في هذا كسائر المؤمنين، فلما مات – بأبى هو وأمى صلى الله عليه وسلم – عمل به كما يعمل بالبشر من الغسل والتنظيف والكفن واللحد والدفن
Prophet peace be upon him was Syed ul Bashar, He used to eat, drink, sleep, call of nature, get sick, serve medicine for cure and to clean his mouth he used Miswak. May My Parents will die on you , When Prophet peace be upon him died same things were done to him which are done with other Human beings, Means he was given Ghusul, Kafan, and his Grave was dig out and then he was buried.[Meezan al Itedal 2/649]
e) Imam ad-Dahabi quoted narrations of acceptance of dua near the grave of pious and said
فهذا ما وحدت من أخبار هذا الشَّيْخ ، وفي النّفس شيءٌ من ثُبُوت هذه الحكايات.
والدّعاء عند القبور جائزٌ لكنْ فِي المسجد أفضل ، وفي السَّحَر أفضل ، ودُبُر الصّلاة أفضل ، والصّلاة لا تجوز عند القبور الفاضلة.
This is all that I have heard about this Shaykh, and I have doubt about their authenticity.
The dua at the graves is allowed but it is better to pray in Mosques, and it is better In the last part of the night, It is better to (supplicate) after the Prayer and Prayer is not allowed at the graves of virtuous. [Tareekh al Islam under the Tarjuma of Sultan bin Mahmood]
source: http://library.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?bk_no=936&pid=511209
So for Imam ad-Dahabi these type of sufis are deviants and mushriqs who ask help from the dead people.
Ibn Taymiyyah said same
فإن الدعاء عند القبر لا يكره مطلقاً بل، يؤمر به للميت،كما جاءت به السنة فيما تقدم ضمناً وتبعاً، وإنما المكروه أن يتحرى المجيء للقبر للدعاء عنده.
[Al-Iqtidha Siraat al Mustaqeem 2/721]
Imam ad-Dahabi beautifully answered those who claimed that the dua is answered near the grave due to the people in granes, He said:
والدعاء مستجاب عند قبور الأنبياء والأولياء وفي سائر البقاع لكن سبب الإجابة حضور الداعي وخشوعه وابتهاله وبلا ريب في البقعة المباركة وفي المسجد وفي السحر ونحو ذلك يتحصل ذلك للداعي كثيرا وكل مضطر فدعاؤه مجاب
Dua is answered near the graves of Prophets, Auliya and other blessed places, But the reason of acceptance of the dua is his khush’oo and weeping. No doubt that the one who is praying can get many things in the blessed places, Mosques, (Time of) Suhr and others like it, and every prayer of distressed is accepted. [Seyar 17/77]
2. The aqeedah of Wahdatul Wajood and Imam ad-Dahabi
a) Hafidh ad-Dahabi said regarding Wahdatul wajoodi Ibn Arabi.
وعلق شيئا كثيرا في تصوف أهل الوحدة . ومن أردأ تواليفه كتاب ” الفصوص ” فإن كان لا كفر فيه ، فما في الدنيا كفر
“He commented many things for Tasawwuf of Ahlul wahdah (wahdatul wajood) and The worst of his books is Kitaab al-Fusoos, if this book does not contain Kufr, then Kufr does not exist in the world.”
b) Then he said
قلت: إن كان محيي الدين رجع عن مقالاته تلك قبل الموت، فقد فاز،
I say : if Muhiyudeein (Ibn Arabi) had returned from his sayings before his death, then he is successful[Seyar Ailam an-Nubala under the biography of Ibn Arabi]
Comment: So for Imam ad-Dahabi Wahdatul wajoodis are deviants, rather the book “al-Fusoos” contains kufr. And If by chance Ibn Arabi recanted from his positions like Wahdatul wajood then he succeeded as Allah loves repentance. Brailwis do not have courage to say “Al-Fusoos” includes kufr.
Almost same is said by Ibn Taymiyyah, as he wrote a letter to Nasr al Manjabi who was follower of Ibn Arabi
Allama Ataullah Hanif Bhojiani as-Salafee said that Ibn Taymiyyah said:
“I had good opinion regarding Ibn Arabi and i used to respect him because his book Futuhaat al Makkiyah has good things in it. But I had not seen Fusus al Hikam at that time, after reading this i came to know about his reality. [Majmoo Rasaail wal Masaail 1/171] after that he refuted the quotes in Fusus al Hikam and said:
والله تعالى أعلم بما مات الرجل عليه
Allah Tala knows on which (aqeedah) he died (Majmoo Rasail wal Masaail page 174) [taken from Hiyat Shaykh al Islam by Abu Zahrah, footnote by Ata ullah Hanif Bhojiyani page 516]
3. Writing, Making domes, structures, praying near the graves
It is well known fatawa of Brailwiyah that they say it is allowed to make shrine, pray near the grave of pious but Imam ad-Dahabee said otherwise.
a) He said regarding the hadith “The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Observe part of the Salat (prayers) in your homes. Do not turn your homes into graves.”
هذا حديث نظيف الاسناد، حسن المتن، فيه النهي عن الدفن في البيوت ، وله شاهد من طريق آخر، وقد نهى عليه السلام أن يبنى على القبور، ولو اندفن الناس في بيوتهم، لصارت المقبرة والبيوت شيئا واحدا، والصلاة في المقبرة، فمنهي عنها نهي كراهية، أو نهي تحريم، وقد قال عليه السلام: ” أفضل صلاة الرجل في بيته إلا المكتوبة ” فناسب ذلك ألا تتخذ المساكن قبورا
This Hadith has a pure chain and a good text, there is prohibition in it to bury in the houses, There is another shahid of this with another chain. Prophet peace be upon him forbade to make structures over the graves and If people would bury in the houses than there would be no difference between the house and graveyards, While the tanzeehi or tehreemi prohibition of praying in shrines is present. [Seyar Ailam an-Nubala vol 2 pages 29-30]
b) Imam ad-Dahabi said regarding writing over the graves:
ولا نعلم صحابياً فعل ذلك ، وإنما هو شيء أحدثه بعض التابعين فمن بعدهم ، ولم يبلغهم النهي
“I don`t know any companion of Prophet peace be upon him doing this (meaning writing on the graves) This was introduced by some of the Tabiyeen and people after them who were not informed regarding its prohibition”[Talkhees alMustadrak]
c) Ibn al Jawzi said:
«وهذا محمول على ما كانوا يفعلونه من تعلية القبور بالبناء الحسن العالي»
This hadith concerns the leveling of high graves with beautiful constructions on them [at-Tahqeeq by Ibn al Jawzi]
ad-Dahabi mentioned it in his Tanqeeh at-Tahqeeq 1/318 without criticizing it.
Note EVEN Ahmad Raza Brailwi was asked: How is it to make the grave high?
He replied: It is against sunnah, see the grave of my father, the grave of my mother, the grave of my brother, they are not higher than one span. [Malfuzaat Ahmad raza part 3 page 57]
Scan:
4. Doing Tawaf of the Graves
The brailwis claim that Tawaf of the graves is not allowed for the lay people but it is allowed for the scholars. See the quotes from their great “scholars”
a) Ahmad raza Khan said.
“Without a doubt the Tawaf of other than Kaba tul Muazzama is not allowed. Sajdah to other then Allah is Prohibited in our Shariyah. And there is dispute among the scholars in kissing the grave and True is that It is not allowed, Especially on the blessed Shrines of Auliya e Kiram as Our scholars have said that the distance (from the grave) should be four hands and this is Respect. Then how one can touch it (the grave)? This FATWA IS FOR AWAAM (LAY PEOPLE) and THE STATUS FOR RESEARCH IS DIFFERENT.” [Akham e Shariyat part 3 page 4]
b) It is mentioned in Bahar e Shariyat
“And tawaf for veneration around the grave is not allowed, but if circumambulates around the shrine to seek blessings then there is no harm in it. But the laymen would be stopped from this and it should not be done in front of the laymen as they can think whatever” [Bahar e Shariyat 4/90]
c) Ahmad Yaar khan brailwi said:
“ash-Shami said:“The just statement about this is what Imaam Nasafi رضی اللہ تعالٰی عنہ has said. He was asked, “Is it allowed to say that the Kaaba went to visit one SaintT” He answered, “The AhIe-Sunnah wal-Jamaat believe miracles (karaamats) by the Saints that defy normality to be corrcct.”
This extract proves that even the Kaaba travels the earth to visit the Friends of Allah .[Ja al Haq page 76 maslah of Haadir Naadir] Scan from brailwi website: http://www.alahazrat.net/library/UrduBooks/Ja-Al-Haq/index.php?page=76
d) It is mentioned in Malfuzaat Ahmad Raza
A Faqeer was doing Tawaf of the Rawza shareef of Khawaja ghareeb Nawaz. He was saying “Khawaja I will take RS 5 in an hour and i will take it from only one man” A Wahabi was watching this, he thought its been an hour he is saying this and no one gave him RS 5, He gave him the money and said: Khawaja can not give you, take the money from me. The faqeer took it and said after doing tawaf “Khawaja you are awesome, you gave money on the hands of khabees munkar” [Malfuzaat Ahmad Raza part 3 page 35]
scan:
Response
a) Imam ad-Dahabi said
(ثمَّ قال السلميُّ ، وقيلَ له : إنَّك ذهبتَ إلى الناووس وطُفتَ بهِ ، وقلتَ : هذا طَوَافي فتنقَّصتَ بهذا الكعبة !! قال : لا ، ولكنهما مخلوقان ، لكن بها فضلٌ ليسَ هنا ، وهذا كمن يُكرمُ كلبًا ، لأنَّهُ خلقُ الله ، فعوتِبَ في ذلك سنين .
قلتُ : وهذه ورطةٌ أُخرى . أفتَكونُ قبلةُ الإسلام كقبرٍ ويُطافُ بهِ ؟ فقد لعَن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم مَن اتخذ قبرًا مسجِدًا)
Al-Sulami said It was said to him: You went to a stone box and performed its tawaaf, and I (as-Sulami) said: This is my tawaaf, you have insulted this Ka’bah! So he said: No, rather they both are the creations of Allaah, except that it has a virtue that it ( stone box) does not have. This is similar to a person respecting a dog because it is created by Allaah..
I (ad-Dahabee) say: This is another strange situation. Is the Qiblah of Islaam like a grave around which one performs tawaaf? That is why indeed the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) has cursed the one who takes a grave as a place of prostration.[Seyar Ailaam an-Nubala 16/264, the quote is translated by Br Ibn Abi Raza]
b) Imam ad-Dahabee also mentioned criticisism on an-Nasfi to whom Ahmad Yaar Khan quoted in evidence that even Kabah circumambulates Auliyah (Naudhubillah).
He said Imam Sam-aani said
فلما وافيت سمرقند استعرت عدة كتب من تصانيفه فرأيت فيها أوهاما كثيرة خارجة عن الحد فعرفت أنه كان ممن أحب الحديث ولم يرزق فهمه.
[Meezan al Aitedaal, It is also mentioned in Lisaan al Meezan (4/327)]
Note: an-Nasfi Mentioned by Ahmad Yaar khan and ash-Shami is not the famous Imam an-Nasfi the author of Tafsir al-Madarak Abul Barakaat Abdullah bin Ahmad an-Nasfi. Rather he is Abu Hafs Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Luqmaan an-Nafsi.
Note 2: Imam Ibn Abi al-Izz Hanafi said
وكذا من يقول بأن الكعبة تطوف برجال منهم حيث كانوا ! ! فهلا خرجت الكعبة إلى الحديبية فطافت برسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حين أحصر عنها ، وهو يود منها نظرة ؟ !
Those who say that the Kabah circumambulates some of their leaders, wherever they maybe are no better. I would ask them a simple question: How is it that the Kabah did not go to the Hudabiyah and circumambulate the Prophet peace be upon him when he was prevented from entering Makkah and looking upon it when Prophet peace be upon him wanted to see it (Kabah)? [Sharah Aqeeda Tahawiyah Page 478]
5. Imam ad-Dahabi and Ibn Tamiyah
Imam ad-Dahabi said
“Al shaykh Al Imam AL hafiz AL naqid(faqeeh) AL MUJTAHID AL MUFASSIR al bare`e Shaykh ul ISLAM,” [Tadhkaratul Huffaz 4/1496 no: 1175]
He also said
هو شيخنا ، وشيخ الإسلام ، وفريد العصر ، علماً ، ومعرفة ، وشجاعة ، وذكاء ، وتنويراً إلهيّاً ً، وكرماً ، ونصحاً للأمَّة ، وأمراً بالمعروف ، ونهياً عن المنكر ، سمع الحديث ، وأكثر بنفسه من طلبه وكتابته ، وخرج ، ونظر في الرجال ، والطبقات ، وحصَّل ما لم يحصله غيره .
برَع في تفسير القرآن ، وغاص في دقيق معانيه ، بطبع سيَّال ، وخاطر إلى مواقع الإِشكال ميَّال ، واستنبط منه أشياء لم يسبق إليها ، وبرع في الحديث ، وحفِظه ، فقلَّ من يحفظ ما يحفظه من الحديث ، معزوّاً إلى أصوله وصحابته ، مع شدة استحضاره له وقت إقامة الدليل ، وفاق الناس في معرفة الفقه ، واختلاف المذاهب ، وفتاوى الصحابة والتابعين ، بحيث إنه إذا أفتى لم يلتزم بمذهب ، بل يقوم بما دليله عنده ، وأتقن العربيَّة أصولاً وفروعاً ، وتعليلاً واختلافاً ، ونظر في العقليات ، وعرف أقوال المتكلمين ، وَرَدَّ عليهم ، وَنبَّه على خطئهم ، وحذَّر منهم ، ونصر السنَّة بأوضح حجج وأبهر براهين ، وأُوذي في ذات اللّه من المخالفين ، وأُخيف في نصر السنَّة المحضة ، حتى أعلى الله مناره ، وجمع قلوب أهل التقوى على محبته والدعاء له ، وَكَبَتَ أعداءه ، وهدى به رجالاً من أهل الملل والنحل ، وجبل قلوب الملوك والأمراء على الانقياد له غالباً ، وعلى طاعته ، أحيى به الشام ، بل والإسلام ، بعد أن كاد ينثلم بتثبيت أولى الأمر لما أقبل حزب التتر والبغي في خيلائهم ، فظُنت بالله الظنون ، وزلزل المؤمنون ، واشْرَأَب النفاق وأبدى صفحته .
ومحاسنه كثيرة ، وهو أكبر من أن ينبه على سيرته مثلي ، فلو حلفت بين الركن والمقام لحلفت : إني ما رأيت بعيني مثله ، وأنه ما رأى مثل نفسه .
He is our Shaykh, the Shaykh of Islam, unrivalled in our time in terms of knowledge, courage, intelligence, spiritual enlightenment, generosity, sincerity towards the ummah, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, and learning hadeeth – he put a great deal of effort into seeking it and writing it down, and he examined the different categories of narrators and acquired knowledge that no one else acquired.
He excelled in Qur’aanic commentary (tafseer) and delved deeply into its subtle meanings. He derived meanings from it that no one else managed to do before him. He also excelled in hadeeth and in the memorization thereof; very few have memorized as much hadeeth as he memorized. He attributed ahaadeeth to their proper sources and narrators, and he was able to quote readily whatever he needed to establish proof. He surpassed all people in knowledge of fiqh and the views of different madhhabs, and the fatwas of the Sahaabah and Taabi’een, so much so that when he issued a fatwa he did not adhere to the view of a madhhab, rather he based his fatwa on whichever view was supported by the stronger evidence.He excelled in knowledge of Arabic language, and studied issues on the basis of rationality and reason. He studied the views of the philosophers and refuted their arguments and pointed out their mistakes and warned against them. He supported the Sunnah with the strongest evidence and proofs. He was harmed for the sake of Allaah by his opponents and persecuted for his support of the pure Sunnah, until Allaah caused him to prevail and caused the pious to unite in loving him and praying for him, and suppressed his enemies and guided men of other groups and sects through him. Allaah made kings and commanders inclined to follow him and obey him,and he revived Syria – and indeed Islam – through his efforts, when it was almost defeated, by urging the rulers to resist the Tatars,when people were harbouring doubts about Allaah and the believers were tried and shaken with a mighty shaking (cf. al-Ahzaab 33:10-11), and hypocrisy grew strong.
His good qualities are many, and he is too great for a man like me to talk about his life. If I were to swear an oath between the Corner and the Maqaam I would swear that I have never seen anyone like him, and that he has never seen anyone like himself. [Dhayl Tabaqaat al-Hanaabilah by Ibn e Rajab Hanblee (4/390), translation from Islamqa]
6. The Aqeedah of Imam ad-Dahabi and Asma was-Siffaat of Allah
7. Conclusion
We can conclude that according to the opinions of Imam ad-Dahabi, brailwis are deviants.