A Barelwi is a Sunni, Sufi, and Hanafi. He is a follower of Imam-e-A’zam Abu Hanifa (d. 689 C.E.) and all the Hanafi scholars of distinction including Imam Ahmed Raza Muhaddith[1] Barelwi (d. 1921 C.E.). The latter came from the city of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, India, which is indicated by the last title in his name. The word “Barelwi” is actually something of a misnomer since Ahmed Raza and his followers referred to themselves as the Ahle Sunnat wal Jama’at or the People of the Way of the Prophet and the Congregation of Muslims[2].
In the 1800s, Muslims in British India were either Sunni or Shia. Communal strife and sectarianism began with the publication and propagation of several heretical works in the common vernacular (Urdu). One reformist school in particular professed to be Hanafis when, in fact, the forerunners of this seminary embraced some of the wayward teachings of Molvi Isma’il Dihlawi (d. 1831 C.E.) and Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul Wahhab (d. 1792 C.E.). Consequentially, the seal of the Wahhabi sect was indelibly stamped upon their movement, adulterating their faith[3]. Those who kept the ways of religion came under tremendous difficulty. Thus, Allah Most High sent a Reviver [Mujaddid] to Bareilly at the turn of the 19thcentury to preserve the pristine teachings of the Ahle Sunnat wal Jama’at. This august scholar and Sufi saint was none other than Imam Ahmed Raza, who fought the people of falsehood and defended the honor of our Master Prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). Henceforth, adversaries of the Mujaddid began calling Sunnis “Barelwis” to confuse and mislead the masses[4].
Ahmed Raza strictly adhered to the beliefs and doctrines of Sunni Muslims as formalized by Imam Ashari (d. 936 C.E.) and the Ashari school, Imam Maturidi (d. 944 C.E.) and the Maturidi school, and Imam al-Tahawi (d. 933 C.E.) in his widely acclaimed aqida Tahawiyya. His writings increase a Muslim’s love for the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace). Likewise, his respect [adab] toward the Beloved (Allah bless him and give him peace) was impeccable and anyone who attempts to imitate his august example or recites his poetry praising the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) [naat sharif] will derive untold spiritual grace. His school champions practices that honor the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) following in the footsteps of the pious Predecessors [Salaf[5]]. Assuredly, the Barelwi approach is valid because it is, quite simply, a South Asian synonym for the Ahle Sunnat wal Jama’at that mainstream Muslims all over the world adhere to.
© Maryam Qadri
[1] Muhaddith: a Traditionalist, i.e. one who adheres to traditional Islamic scholarship.
[2] Scholars unanimously define this group as mainstream Islam. The Ahle Sunnatconsists of the four schools of Islamic Law (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii, and Hanbali), which entails following the Holy Qur’an and sunna and being, therefore, respectful of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), his noble Family, the Companions and the Followers [tabiin] (may Allah be well pleased with them all).
[3] The original seminary of this movement was founded in 1867 in the small, country town northeast of Delhi, Deoband.
[4] Mufti Mohammed Akhtar Raza Khan Qadri Azhari, Haqiqat al-Barelwiyyah, 19.
[5] Salaf: the Predecessors, i.e. Muslims of the first three centuries.
Source: almukhtarbooks.com