Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan (1913-2007)

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan (1913-2007)

Shaykh ‘Abdul Ghaffar Hasan, father of Shaykh Suhayb Hasan, was born in a family of scholars.

Short presentation of Shaykh ‘Abdul Jabbar ‘Umarpuri, grand father of Shaykh ‘Abdul Ghaffar Hasan

Shaykh ‘Abdul Jabbar ‘Umarpuri (born in 1277H) was a great scholar and Muhadith. He studied from the following scholars:

Qari Abdul ‘Aliy from Amritsar, and other scholars from Amritsar

Shaykh Muhammad Mazhar An-Nanotwi from which he studied Fiqh, Usul Al-Fiqh and other books.

Shaykh Ahmad ‘Ali As-Saharanpuri from which he studied Fiqh, Usul Al-Fiqh and other books.

Shaykh Faydh Al-hasan As-Saharanpuri from which he studied Mantiq, Falsafah and other subjects.

Shaykh As-Sayid Nazeer Husayn Ad-Dehlawi with which he stayed for a long time and studied Tafsir and Hadith, Sahih Al-Bukhari, Muslim, An=Nasai, ibn Majah and others.

Shaykh ‘Abdul Jabbar ‘Umarpuri taught in the Madrasah Dar Al-Huda in Kishan Ganj (Hasan Ganj) in Dehli. He would give Dars of Tafsir everyday after Fajr prayer. He established the monthly magazine “Dhiya As-Sunnah” in which he refuted the Hadith rejector ‘Abdullah Chakralwi.

This magazine had many articles on topics: Islamic Khilafah, sending of the Prophet (saw), refutation of Qadiansim, refutation of Arians, ‘Ismah of Prophets, miracles of the Prophet (saw), particularity of the Arabic language, days of sacrifice, Fatwa on forbiddance of Mut’ah, Tasawauf and other topics.

Shaykh ‘AbdurRahman Al-Mubarakpuri (author of Tuhfatul Ahwazi), Shaykh AbdusSalam Al-Mubarakpuri (author of “Sirah Al-Bukhari), Hakeem ‘Ubayd Ar-Rahman ‘Umarpuri, Hafiz Abu Yahya Muhamad Shah Jahanpuri, Shaykh Abu Nu’man A’zam Ghari, Shaykh Zia Ar-Rahman ‘Umarpuri had articles in this prestigious magazine.

Shaykh ‘Abdul Jabbar ‘Umarpuri authored some books as well:

1)          “Samsam At-Tawhid fir ad At-Taqlid”: this epistle of 32 pages refutes Taqlid Shakhsi

2)          “Irshad As-Saailin ila Masail Ath-Thalatheen”: This is a small Majmu’ah of Fatawa gathering 30 different topics.

3)          “Tazkeer Al-Ikhwan fi Khutab Al-Jumuah bi Kulli Lisan”: a 20 pages epistle about translating the Khutbah in other languages

4)          “Irshad Al-Anam bi fareedhatil Jumu’ah fi Kulli Maqam”: a 30 pages epistle about the Jumu’ah prayer being obligatory in villages as well as cities. A refutation of Nizamudin, a Hanafi scholar’s epistle called “Tanbih Al-Anam”

5)          “Tabsirah Al-Anam”: A 112 p book refuting the book “Siyanat Al-Anam” of the same Hanafi scholar Nizamudin who refuted “Irshad Al-Anam”.

6)          “Nasihah Al-Ikhwan fi Hijab An-Niswan”: a 32 p epistle refuting the modernist Sayid Mumtaz ‘Ali Al-Lahori’s views on Hijab.

7)          “Al-Baraheen Al-Qati’ah fi Rad Al-Anwar As-Sati’ah”: an epistle refuting the Mawlid. Shaykh Suhayb Hasan published this Risalah in different parts in the magazine “Sirat Al-Mustaqeem of Birmingham, and it has recently been pubslished as a single epistle by Dar Al-Khuld Lahore.

8)          “Risalah fi Inkar Majlis Al-Mawlid wa Al-Qiyam”: refutation of the innovations of standing in the sittings of the Mawlid

9)          “Diwan” (Arabic poetry)

10)      “Kasoti”: A poem written about adhering to the Book and Sunnah.

Shaykh ‘Abdul Jabbar ‘Umarpuri was a great Arab and Persian poet. He would recite some of his poems in the annual conference held in Dar Al-Ulum Nadwah Al-Ulama and they were appreciated by scholars. Shaykh Abul hasan An-Nadwi gave some of these poems to Shaykh Suhayb Hasan.

Shaykh ‘Abdul Jabber ‘Umarpuri passed away in Shawwal 1334H, 1916. He was buried near his beloved teacher Mian Nazeer Husayn Ad-Dehlawi in Shaydi Purah cemetery in Dehli.

Short presentation of Shaykh Abdus Sattar ‘Umarpuri, father of shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan

Shaykh Abdus Sattar ‘Umarpuri was born in 1301H. He memorised the Quran in 3 onths and studied in Madrasah Ahmadiyah Salafiyah in Aarah, in province of Bahar. He completed the 8 years of Dars Nizammi there.

He studied from these famous scholars:

1)         Shaykh ‘AbdurRahman Muin Ad-Deen ‘Umarpuri (maternal grand father of sh Abdus Sattar Hasan)

2)         Shaykh ‘Ubayd Ar-Rahman ‘Umarpuri (Uncle from mother side of sh Abdus Sattar Hasan)

3)         Shaykh Muhammad Basheer As-Sahsawani, author of “Siyanat Al_Insan ‘an Waswasah Shaykh Ad-Dahlan”

4)         His father Shaykh ‘Abdul Jabbar ‘Umarpuri

5)         Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Arwi

6)         Shaykh ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Raheemabadi

Shaykh ‘Abdus Sattar ‘Umarpuri wrote an epistle against Qadianis entitled “Ithbat Al-Khabar fir ad Munkiri Al-Hadith wa Al-Athar”. He also authored some articles in the weekly magazine “Ahlul Hadith Amritsar”.

Shaykh Muhammad Isma’eel As-Salafi was among his students. Shaykh As-Salafi himself told Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar that he studied Tafsir Ibn Katheer from his father, and he also was given as a gift the book “Rawdah An-Nadiyah” of Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan.

Shaykh ‘Abdus Sattar passed away at the age of 34 on the 2^nd March of 1916, when Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan was 3 years old. This year was a year of sadness for Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan as his grand father Shaykh Abdul Jabbar ‘Umarpuri, his father, mother and brother Abdul Qahhar Hasan passed away in the same year. Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar was thus raised by his grand mother Amat Ar Rafi’, and he was the only child of Shaykh Abdus Sattar after the death of his brother Abdul Qahhar.

Amat Ar-Rafi was the wife of shaykh Abdul Jabbar ‘Umarpuri, but also her first cousin. She was the daughter of Shaykh ‘AbdurRahman Muin Ad-Deen ‘Umarpuri, whose elder brother Shaykh Badrudin was the father of Shaykh ‘Abdul Jabbar ‘Umarpuri. And Amat Ar-Rafi’s brother Ubayd Ar-Rahman was also a scholar. Thus Shaykh Abdus Sattar studied from his maternal grand father and maternal uncle. And Shaykh Abdul Jabber had only one son (Abdus Sattar) and two daughters, so this is why Amat Ar-Rafi took care of Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan at the age of 3.

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan first studied in the Madrasah Dar Al-Huda in which his father, grand father and maternal uncle taught. At the age of 13 in 1925, he entered the famous Madrasah Rehmaniyah in Dehli and graduated from there in 1933. In 1928, his grand mother Amat Ar-Rafi passed away.

Jamiyah Rehmaniyah Dehli was the most important Salafi University in India. Shaykh Abdul Aziz Ar-Rahimbadi convinced two big Ahlul Hadith businessmen Shaykh AbdurRahman and his brother Shaykh Ata Ar-rahman to make a big university for Ahlul Hadith, and these two brothers bought some buildings for 1 Lakh Rupees and founded the University in 1921 with the advice and supervision of Shaykh Ibrahim Meer As-Sialkoti. Shaykh AbdurRahman passed away within a year and Shaykh AbdurRahman became the principal of the university.

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan’s main teachers in Jamiyah Rehmaniyah Dehli:

Shaykh Ahmadullah Ad-Dehlawi, student of Mian Nazeer Husayn Ad-Dehlawi, from whom he learned Sahih Al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunnan Abu Dawud, first half of Sunnan At-Tirmidhi, Sharh Nukhbat Al-Fikr, Ilm Al-Faraidh.

Shaykh Ubaydullah Al-Mubarakpuri from which he learned “Bulugh Al-Maram” and “Muwatta” of Imam Malik. The Shaykh would teach “Al-Muwatta” with explanations of Zarqani, “Musaffa” and “Musawwa” of Shah Waliyullah Ad-Dehlawi and others. Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar taught “Bulugh Al-Maram” in the Islamic university of Madeenah in the same manner as Shaykh Ubaydullah Al-Mubarakpuri. When Shaykh Ahmadullah Ad-Dehlawi left Jamiyah Rehmaniyah, Shaykh Ubaydullah Al-Mubarakpuri taught the two Sahih and Abu Dawud in the university. Shaykh Ubaydullah Al-Mubarakpuri had helped Shaykh AbdurRahman Al-Mubarakpuri to complete “Tuhfatul Ahwazi” and he himself authored “Mira’at Al-Mafatih Sharh Mishkat Al-Masabih” which he could only complete to the chapter of Business (Kitab Al-Buyu’).

Shaykh Nazeer Ahmad Ar-Rehmani, from which he learned some books of Arabic grammar and others. Shaykh Nazeer Ahmad Ar-Rehmani has authored many beneficial books among which “Rak’at At-Tarawih” refuting the Deobandi scholar Habib ur Rahman Al-‘Azami.

Shaykh Sakandar ‘Ali Al-Hazarwi from which he learned some chapters of the Hanafi book of Fiqh “Al-Hidayah”, some chapters of Tafsir Al-Baydawi, “Muthalam Ath-Thuboot” which is a book of Hanafi Usul Al-Fiq. The Shaykh was a very complete Hanafi scholar.

Shaykh AbdusSalam Al-Afghani from which he learned many books of Falsafah such as “Isharat” of ibn Sina, first part of “Tasawurat” and others. Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar said that he was not Salafi in creed rather Mutazili, but Salafi Universities would use such teachers or Hanafis to teach such subjects in which they were experts, and only Salafi teachers would teach Hadith and Aqidah.

Shaykh Shareefullah As-Sawati who also taught books of Falsafah after the death of Shaykh AbusSalam Al-Afghani. Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar completed “Isharat” and “Qadhi Mubarak” with him. He was a Hanafi scholar but not Muta’asib, and he also taught in Al-Jamiyah As-Salafiyah In Faysalabad after.

Shaykh ‘AbdurRahman NigarNahsawi Al-Bahari from which he learned “Mishkat Al-Masabih”, “Tarikh Al-Khulafa”, First part of “Jalalayn”, “Maqamat Hariri”, “Diwan Al-Mutanabi” and others

Shaykh Kabeer Ad-Deen from Bengal, from which he learned “Sunnan An-Nasai”

Shaykh Muhammad Sulayman Al-A’zami and Shaykh ‘AbdurRaoof Al-Bengali from whom he learned books of Arabic grammar.

Shaykh Abdullah An-Nadwi from which he learned some books of Arabic Adab.

Shaykh Muhammad Dawud Raghib Shah Jahanpuri, from whom he learned “Hidayah An-Nahw” and other books.

Shaykh Muhammad Surti from whom he learned the second part of “Sunnan At-Tirmidhi”

Scholars who would regularly come and do lectures in Jamiyah Rehmaniyah Dehli and from whom Sh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan listened and benefited:

Shaykh Abul Kalam Azad

Shaykh AbdurRahman Al-Mubarakpuri

Shaykh Thanaullah Al-Amritsari

Shaykh Dawud Al-Ghaznawi

Shaykh Muhammad Isma’eel Al-Ghaznawi

Shaykh Muhammad Ibraheem Meer As-Sialkoti

Shaykh AbdulQadir Al-Qasuri

Sayid Abdullah Al-Ghaznawi

Shaykh Abul Qasim Al-Banarsi

Shaykh Abdul Aziz Memon

Shaykh Jamaldin Pasha Al-Ghazi

Shaykh A’zaz ‘Ali

Shaykh Fad Ar-Rahman Ghazipuri

Shaykh Abu yahya Amam Khan Nosheri

Shaykh Muhammad Junagri

Shaykh Abdu Tawab ‘AlaGahri

Shaykh Ghulam Rasul Mehr

Shaykh Fadl Al-Haqq Khayrabadi

Shaykh Khawajah Abdul hay Faruqi

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan’s close relation with Shaykh AbdurRahman Al-Mubarakpuri

Whenever Shaykh AbdurRahman Al-Mubarakpuri would come to Dehli for treatment of his eyesight, he would visit Shaykh Ubaydullah Al-Mubarakpuri in Jamiyah Rehmaniyah in Dehli and the students would gather in his room and benefit from his knowledge. He would help students to revise their lessons and give them many Ilmi benefits.

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan said that Shaykh Taqiudin Al-Hilali, when they were teaching in the Islamic University of Madeenah, Shaykh Taqiudin told him that he went to Mubarakpur to learn books of Hadith from Shaykh AbdurRahman Al-Mubarakpuri, and after completing some books of Hadith, when Shaykh Taqiudin was leaving, Shaykh AbdurRahman Al-Mubarakpuri gave him 5 rupees, which was a big amount of money at the time, and Shaykh Taqiudin Al-Hilali first refused them, saying the Shaykh needs them more, but Shaykh AbdurRahman Al-Mubarakpuri started to have tears in his eyes, and Shaykh Taqiudin Al-Hilali then took the gift from his teacher and felt very touch by the behaviour of his teacher, who was not very rich though very generous and compassionate.

Shaykh’s teaching in Banaris and Mahir Kotlah

After completing his studies at Jamiyah Rehmaniyah Dehli in 1933, Qari Ahmad Sa’eed, brother of Shaykh Abul Qasim Sayf Al-Banarsi, invited Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar to teach in Dar Al-Hadith Banaris, and Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar taught there for 7 years in which he taught “Sunnan At-Tirmidhi”, “Mishkat Al-Masabih”, “Diwan Al-Mutanabi”, “Sab’ah Mu’alaqat”, “Hamasah”, “Maqamat Hariri”, “Tafsir Al-Baydawi”, “Jalalayn” and others.

During this time in Banaris, Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan went to different places with Shaykh Abul Qasim Sayf Al-Banarsi to give lectures.

In August 1942, Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar became Arabic teacher in a state school in Malir Kotlah, which he left after a year, and he established a Madrsah called “Kawthar Al-Ulum”. Shaykh Suhayb Hasan was born in this year in November. There, he requested a blacksmith to give him one of his children to become a scholar, and he gave him his child Nusratullah, who became the famous Ahlul Hadith scholar named as Asim Al-Haddad, who was also a member of Jamate Islami.

At this time, Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar was the local Ameer of Jamate Islami and local president of Jam’iyat Ahlil Hadith.

Shaykh’s role in Jamate Islami

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar explained why he entered Jamate Islami. He said that Ahlul Hadith scholars became divided in India, some like Shaykh Ibrahim Meer As-Sialkoti, Shaykh Abdullah Ar-Ropuri, Hafiz Muhammad Al-Gondlawi supported Muslim league and Shaykh Dawud Al-Ghaznawi, Shaykh Isma’eel As-Salafi and Shaykh Abul Qasim Sayf Al-Banarsi supported the Congress. Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar asked them why they differed and it was said to him: “Politically, people of knowledge can choose whichever party they wish to support, this is left to them, this is a matter of Ijtihad and we cannot force anyone.”

At that time, there were political differences between Shaykh Isma’eel As-Salafi and Hafiz Muhammad Al-Gondalwi. Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar wrote that in one meeting presided by Hafiz Al-Gondalwi, a Brelwi Molvi said “Ya Ali” and “Ya Rasoola Allah” and Molana remained quite and was smiling. The Ahlul Hadith scholars supporting Congress criticised him for remaining quiet.

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan did not like the leader of Muslim League Muhammad Ali Jinnah, neither Gandhi the leader of Congress, and thus he preferred Shaykh Abu ‘Ala Al-Mawdudi and his political group. Also Shaykh Abul Ghaffar said: “Ahlul Hadith were doing post mortem of innovators, Qadiyanis, Brelwis, Arians but in economical and social matters, I did not find anyone more proficient than Molana Mawdudi.”

Also as third reason, Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan said that reading Ibn Taymiyah’s “Raf Al-Malam” and Shah Waliyullah’s “Insaf” and “Hujjatullah Al-Balighah”’s chapter on Khilafah, he felt that there should be a Jamaat which does not insist on Furui matters rather focuses on Usul and tries to gather all groups.

So when Al-Mawdudi announced the creation of Jamate Islami in 1941, Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar became a member of it. He left this “Jamat” 16 years later in 1957 for many reasons, but main were that in Pakistan they focused more on electoral politics rather than Dawah and social work on level ground. Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan opposed elections and didn’t see them as a way to change rather he thought that emphasis should be change through Da’wah. Al-Mawdudi believed that elections were rigged that is why they were losing it, but Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar believed people were ignorant and they needed to be given Dawah first, and thus change would happen. Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan would vote in elections, but he opposed main focus of the Jamat being on elections rather than education and Da’wah.

Also Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar was not happy with nepotism in the Jamat, as disputes were not sorted out fairly.

In these 16 years, Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar said that he did not lose his identity, he was asked in an interview, as on p 443 of the book “Molana Abdul Ghaffar Hasan, Hayat wa Khidmat”:

“Did you remain upon the Maslak of Ahlul Hadith while in Jamte Islami?

Answer: My Ahlul Hadith personality (Tashakhus) remained intact, Naeem Siddiqi would argue with me some times: “Why you don’t leave Raful Yadayn, there is no Haraj?” and I replied to him: “Why don’t you increase your beard’s length? You oppose the Sunnah by shaving your beard and you ask me about Raful Yadayn?” Also I opposed Molana Al-Mawdudi’s Maslak Al-I’tidal (rejecting Ahadith against intellect) and would always argue about it and show him that the Maslak of Muhaditheen is stronger. I still have letters exchanged with him on such topics.”

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar wrote in an interview as on p 461: “When I resigned from Jamate Islami, I wrote that the first reason was that it deviated from its policy. Molana Al-Mawdudi said in his pamphlet “Ilsami Hukumat Kis Tarah Qaim ho gi” (how will the Islamic government be established) that unless the society is reformed, there will be no Inqilab (revolution)”…After coming to Pakistan, his view changed. First he opposed democracy and then he became its supporter.”

Shaykh’s teaching in Pakistan

In 1948, one year after the creation of Pakistan, Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar emigrated to Pakistan. He was in charge of the branch of education of “Jamate Islami” and resided in RawalPindi and other cities after.

In 1957, after leaving Jamate Islami, Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar moved to Fayslabad where he taught in Al-Jamiyah As-Salafiyah the books:  “Mishkat”, “Sunnan Abi Dawood”, “Muqadimmah ibn Khaldun” and others. Hafiz Muhammad Al-Gondlawi was teaching “Sahih Al-Bukhari” there at that time.

After Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan taught in another Madrasah in Faysalabad and after in “Dar Al-Hadith Rehmaniyah” in Karachi.

Shaykh Suhayb Hasan was accepted in the Islamic University of Madeenah in 1962, and after studying two years there, he came on holidays to be married in Paksitan in 1964. He and his elder brother Shoaib Hasan had their Waleemah on the same day and Shaykh Sohaib Hasan was surprised to see that his teacher of Hadith in Madeenah University Shaykh Abdul Qadir Shaybah Al-Hamd was present at the Waleemah, and he came to meet Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar to have him teacher at Madeenah University.

Shaykh Suhayb Hasan learned afterwards that Shaykh Isma’eel As-Salafi had recommended Hafiz Muhammad Al-Gondalwi and his father Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan to Sahykh Ibn Baz and Shaykh Isma’eel As-Salafi excused himself because of his role in the Markazi Jamiyat Ahlul hadith. And thus Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar went to Madeenah and his son Suhayb Hasan went to live with him in Madeenah. Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan remained teacher there up to 1980, while Hafiz Muhammad Al-Gondalwi only taught in Madeenah for two years and after wished to stay in GujranWala and teach there.

His famous students:

Shaykh Abdul Khaliq Ar-Rehmani

Shaykh Muhammad ‘Asim Al-Haddad

Shaykh Muhiyudin As-Salafi

Hafiz AbdulWaheed As-Salafi

His son Shaykh Suhayb Hasan

Shaykh Muhammad Basheer As-Sialkoti

Shaykh ‘Abdul Aziz ‘Alawi

Mufti Ubaydullah Afeef

Shaykh Mahmood Ahmed Al-Mirpuri

Shaykh Muhammad BinYameen Tur

Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Kaleem

Shaykh Akram Ad-Deen As-Salafi

Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf Anwar

Shaykh AbduKhaliq Al-Quddusi

Shaykh ‘Ali Muhammad Haneef As-Salafi

Shaykh Mahmud Ahmad Ghadhanfar

Shaykh AbdurRahman ‘Ajiz MalirKotli

His famous students from Madeenah University:

Shaykh Ehsan Ilahi Zaheer

Shaykh Dhiya Ar-Rahman A’-A’zami

Shaykh ‘AbdurRahman AbduKhaliq

Shaykh Muhammad Waili

Shaykh Rabee Al-Madkhali

Shaykh AbdulMuhsin Katabi

Shaykh AbdulQadir Habeebullah As-Sindhi

Shaykh Khalid Shareef

Shaykh Nihad Abdul Haleem ‘Ubayd (Lebanon)

Shaykh Ibrahim ‘Abdullah Yusuf (Ethiopia)

Shaykh ‘Abdul Aziz Abu Umar

Shaykh Yusuf Muhammad Abdullah Ad-Dukhayl

Shaykh Ahmad AbdusSalam (Sudan)

Shaykh Muhammad Habsh Jalal (Sudan)

Shaykh Rajab Abdul Hameed’Ali (Egypt)

Shaykh Abu Abdillah Kahlan (Iraq)

Shaykh AbdurRahman ibn Shaykh Ubaydullah Al-Mubarakpuri

Shaykh hasan Jan

Shaykh Abdullah Kakakhel

Shaykh AbdurRazaq Iskander

Shaykh Habeebullah Mukhtar

Shaykh Abdul Hameed Al-Bastawi

His son Shaykh Suhayl Hasan

Hafiz AbdusSalam Al-Kaylani

Hafiz Thanaullah Isa Khan Al-Madni

Shaykh ‘Abdul Khaliq tariq

Shaykh Muhammad Luqman As-Salafi

Shaykh Hilal Ahmad ibn Shaykh Nazeer Ahmad Ar-Rehmani

Shaykh Muhammad Ata Ur rehman Al-Bahari

Shaykh Muhammad As-Salafi ibn Shaykh AbdusSattar Ad-Dehlawi

Shaykh Salah Deen Maqbool Ahmad

Shaykh Wasiullah Abbas

Shaykh AbdurRahman Abdul Jabbar Al-Faryawi

Hafiz Fathi Muhammad Fathi

Hafiz Abdul Hameed Azhar

Hafiz Masood ‘Alim

Hafiz ‘AbdurRahman Al-Madni

His son Shaykh Raghib Hasan

His students from Jamate islami

Professor Khursheed Ahmad

Muhammad Mian ibn Muhammad Yunus Ad-Dehlawi

Khuram Jah Murad

Dr Anees Ahmad

Dr Umar Chapra

Kawthar Niayzi

Mustafa Sadiq

Qadhi Husayn Ahmad

Anecdotes during the Shaykh’s teaching at the Islamic University of Madeenah

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan and Hafiz Gondlawi started teaching at the same time in Madeenah university. Shaykh Albani left Madeenah University after a year, and Shaykh Abdul Ghafar had taken his lectures. Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar was teaching “Bulugh Al-Maram”, “Al-Bahith Al-Hatheeth” in Usul Al-Hadith, and Ilm of Isnad from his own notes. The Shaykh there was also sitting in Dars Al-Bukhari of Hafiz Muhammad Al-Gondalwi in which many teachers of Madeenah would sit such as Shaykh Muhamamd Ibrahim Shaqrah anmd Muhammad Al-Majzub. After Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan would also teach Sahih Al-Bukhari in Masjid An-Nabawwi.

At that time Shaykh Suhayb Hasan learned from Shaykh Muhammad Ameen Ash-Shanqiti in Tafsir, Shaykh Abdul Muhsin Al-’Abbad in ‘Aqidah At-Tahawiyah, Dr Nurudin Al-Itr was also teaching Hadith there. Shaykh Sulayman Al-Ashqar was teaching “Bidayatul Mujtahid”, Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Shaqrah and Mahmud At-Tahhan were teaching Usul Al-Fiqh and Usul Al-Hadith. In Masjid An-Nabawwi, Shaykh Suhayb Hasan benefited from Shaykh Muhammad ‘Atiyah Saalim, Shaykh Muhammad Umar Fulatah, Shaykh Mukhtar Ash-Shanqiti, Shaykh Abu Bakr Al-Jazairi. Also outside the Jamiyah, he benefited from Shaykh Hammad Al-Ansari and other scholars.

All these teachers had great respect for Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar, and whenever Shaykh Suhayb Hasan or his brother Suhayl Hasan were to meet Shaykh Ibn Baz, Shaykh Al-‘Abbad, Shaykh Nasir Al-‘Uboodi or others after Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar left the university in 1980, they would enquire about him.

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar told that once he debated with Shaykh Muhammad Ameen Ash-Shanqiti on the topic of dead hearing and Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar was denying such, and Shaykh Majzub was present there and smiling. Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan told that he was amazed by Shaykh Umar Fullatah’s behaviour, once Shaykh Umar even put his shoes straight for him.

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar met once Kind Faysal when he visited Madeenah University and he met Shaykh Albani many times, and they talked on different issues. The Shaykh during his teaching in Madeenah would receive in his house Ahlul Hadith scholars of Indiua and Pakistan but also scholars of other schools of thought such as Abul Hasan An-Nadwi, Mufti Shafee Uthmani, Taqi Uthmani, Yusuf Al-Binnori and Mufti Mahmood (father of Fazlur Rahman), Hakeem AbdurRaheem Ashraf (Jamate islami), dr Israr Ahmad, Manzoor Nu’mani, Sami’ Al-Haq and others.

The Shaykh visited England in 1972, and he went to London where his son Suhayb Hasan was residing, Birmingham where he held a gathering with his student Shaykh Mahmud Ahmad Al-Mirpuri and other scholars, and Leicester where he visited an institute of Professor Khursheed Ahmad (Jamate islami) which was ran by his student Khuram Jah Murad (Jamate Islami).

After returning to Pakistan in 1980, during the rule of General Zia Al-Haq, he was made a member of Islami Nazriati Council. This institution in Pakistan which gathered scholars from different school of thoughts had the aim of suggesting the parliament to modify the Laws according to the Shari’ah, and review new laws and others. The Shaykh was a member from 1982 to 1984, then 1985 to 1987, and then 1988 to 1990.

The Shaykh when asked about greatest scholar he met, he replied that Shaykh AbdurRahman Al-Mubarakpuri was a great scholar and very pious person. In Saudia, he said he was particularly impressed by Shaykh ibn Baz, his knowledge and character.

Once, his son Suhayb Hasan told him he wanted to put title “As-Salafi” at the end of his name and Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar told him that name will not make him Ahlul Hadith but behaviour.

The Shaykh had one daughter and seven sons: Sho’aib, Sohaib, Khubayb, Sohail, Raghib, Ahmad and Hamid. Shaykh Sohail Hasan also graduated from Madeenah University and he was a professor in the Islamic University of Islamabad where he taught with Dr Fazl Ilahi and they are both retired nowadays. Shaykh Sohail Hasan said he did not have chance to study under Shaykh Albani unlike his brother Sohaib Hasan, as Shaykh Albani had left Madeenah University after a year, but once Shaykh Albani saw him in the Maktabah of the university and asked him what he was doing, and he said he was making a Fihrist, and Shaykh Albani sat with him and taught him how to make a Fihrist.

The Shaykh’s books and articles

1)         “Izmat Hadith” (344 pages) in urdu refuting Hadith rejectors

2)         “Intekhab Hadith” (350 pages): a collection of Ahadith about Akhlaq and Raqaiq. It has been trasnalted into English and published by Islamic Fundation UK.

3)         “Din mein Ghulu”: a 40 pages epistle against extremism in the religion. It has been translated into Arabic by Raghib Hasan but is not yet published.

4)         “Sunnat Quran e hakeem ki Roshni mein”: a 40 pages epistle on the status of the Sunnah as mentioned in the Quran.

5)         “Ittihad e Milat or Sunnat”: 16 pages epistle.

6)         “Islam mein Sunnat ka Maqam”: a 24 pages epistle on authority of Sunnah.

7)         “Haqiqat Du’a or Ramadan Mubarak”: a 40 pages epistle on invocation and Ramadan.

8)         “Mi’yar Khatun”: A 80 pages epistle on women in Islam

9)         “Muslim Khatun”: a 94 p epistle which is in fact an addition to the previous book “Mi’yar Khatun.”

10)    “Khutbah Nikah or Mulsim Maashere mein Khawateen la Azaz wa Ihteram”: Islamic Khutbah and respect of women in Islamic society.

11)    “Quran Fahmy ke Bunyadi Usul”: a 42 p epistle on fundamentals to understand the Quran.

12)    “”Dini Jamate or Intikhabi Siyasat” (religious parties and electoral politics): a 12 pages epistle.

13)    “Nifaz e Shariat ki Barakat or Thamarat”: a 12 p epistle on the Barakah of Islamic Laws.

14)    “Tarikh Rehmaniyah”:  a 21 p epistle on the history of Jamiyah Rehmaniyah Dehli.

15)    “Tameer Sirat wa Akhlaq Ahadith ki Roshmi mein”: not published book about Ahadith for building character.

16)    “Masail Taharat wa Namaz”: not published book on rulings of purification and prayer.

17)    Translation of the book “Akhalquna Al-Ijtimaiyah” (Our characters in society) of Mustafa hasan As-Siba’i

In 2009 the book “Tafsiri Nukat wa Ifadat” gathering the translation Hafiz ibn Qayim’s Tafsir of different Surah has been published. Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar had translated these and published them in different magazines and it was gathered in one book of 448 pages.

Likewise the Shaykh has many articles in magazines in India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia on different topics such as Hadith, social problems, economy, women, implementation of Shari’ah, History, Takhrij of Ahadith, Da’wah, events he witnessed, comments on books, Fatawa, and letters with scholars such as Ubaydullah Al-Mubarakpuri, SafirRahman Al-Mubarakpuri, Ataullah Al-Bhujyani, Salah Din Yusuf and other scholars.

Among his articles in Arabic:

1)         Ahadith Ar-Rajam: Ahadith on stoning (for adultery)

2)         “Hadith Ikhtilaf Ummati Rahmah”: Tahqiq of the Hadith: the differing of my community is a mercy.

3)         “Hadith La Tajtamiu Ummati ‘ala Dhalalah”: Tahqiq of the Hadith my community will not gather upon misguidance.

4)         “Ahadith fil Khamr”: Tahqiq of Ahadith on alcohol.

5)         “Islam, Ma’nahu wa Haqiqatuhu wa Wajhu Tasmiatihi”: On the meaning of Islam.

6)         “Shahadah”: on witnessing.

7)         “Muzakarah KutubAl-Hadith”: description of famous books of Hadith.

8)         “Tatbiq Ash-Shari’ah fi Bakistan” (how to implement the Shari’ah in Pakistan)

9)         “Ahmiyatt Lughah Al-Arabiyah”: importance of the Arabic language.

10)    “Min Adhaleel Al-Qadiyaniyah” published in the magazine of the Islamic university of Madeenah in 12 parts.

11)    “Kayfa Yumkinu tatbiq Ash-Shari’ah Al-Islamiyah fi Bakistan bal fil ‘Alam Al-Islami Kullihui”: How to implement the Shari’ah in Pakistan rather all the Islamic world.

Shaykh’s views on how to implement the Shari’ah

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan said in an interview with the magazine “Al-Ittihad”, as quoted in “Molana Abdul Ghaffar Hasan, Hayat wa Khidmaat” p 524:

“Jayid Ulema Kiram have started since the beginning of Pakistan to do efforts for Nifaz e Shariat (implementation of the Shari’ah), but unfortunately the leaders of Tahreek e Pakistan did not have that much interest in Nifaz e Shariat. Hence scholars felt the religious responsibilities upon them and performed their obligation of continuously reminding the rulers about it, and concerning this, Ulema Kiram from different schools of thought held a national conference in 1951. Molana Sayid Sulayman An-Nadwi presided this conference, and the main participants of it were:

Molana Abu ‘Ala Al-Mawdudi, Ameer Jamat e Islami

Molana Ihtisham Al-Haq At-Thanvi

Molana Abdul Hamid Al-Qadiri Al-Badayuni, Ameer Jami’yat Ulema Pakistan Sindh

Molana Muhammad Shafee’, principal of Dar Al-Ulum Karachi

Molana Muhammad Yusuf Al-Binnori, founder and president of Jamiyah Ulum Islamiyah Binnori Town Karachi

Molana Athar Ali, Ameer Jami’yat Ulema Islam Mashraqi Pakistan

Molana Raghib Ahsan Mashraqi Pakistan

Molana Dawud Al-Ghaznawi, Ameer Markazi Jami’yat Ahlul Hadith Pakistan

Molana Isma’eel As-Salafi

Mufti Kifayat Husayn Mujtahid, Ameer council barae Tahfuz Huquq Shiah Pakistan”

Shaykh Abdul Ghaffar said in the same book that he opposes those who resort to violence to implement the Shariah, rather for him it should be done with Dawah and education.

The Shaykh passed away in Islamabad in 2007, after a long life devoted to spreading the teachings of Islam and calling people to it. May Allah grant the Shaykh a place in Firdaws Al-A’la!

May Allah send Salah and Salam on the Prophet (saw), his family and companions!

My Memoirs: Early Days of My Life, Part 1

 My Memoirs: Early Days of My Life, Part 1

Since my birth in November 1942, in the princely state of Malairkotla (India) till my matriculation (the end of secondary school) in 1957, I had the prints of my future life due to the way I was brought up in a family with seven siblings; one sister and six brothers. I was the third after my sister and my elder brother Shuaib. My brother Shuaib and I advanced in education together sharing the same class and almost the same subjects (except for the last two years of secondary school) but I was the one who was destined to follow my father’s aspiration and his profession as a teacher of Oriental Studies and as a preacher of the true teachings of Islam. Incidentally, this is the very same period which has totally been devoted, by my father, to the Jamaat Islami which was established by Maulana Mawdoodi in 1941 and which my father joined right after its inception. His presence in Malairkotla, the state where my mother’s family has settled since long, was due to his full time teaching job on behalf of Jamaat. No exaggeration if I say that I have been brought up in the lap of Jamaat.

I recollect dim memories of my childhood in the state till our migration to Lahore in 1948, just after the partition of India into Bharat and Pakistan. I remember attending Madrasa in the Mosque where I learnt the Urdu alphabet. My hand-writing, the basis for my interest in calligraphy, was deep rooted in those pens made by sharpening the end of wooden sticks. I remember getting the applause from my first Madrasa teacher when I was able to write the letter ‘Jeem’ better than any other child in the class. By the time we left Malairkotla for good, I had become fond of reading short stories wherever I could get hold of them. The trains to Lahore via Amritsar, the seat of Sikh religiosity, had witnessed in those early days of partition, baths of bloodshed on the hands of the hostile Sikh. Some trains reached Lahore with corpses drenched in blood only.

On a hot day in May 1948, we were fortunate enough to have a safe passage through Amritsar station by midnight. It witnessed an ambush where plundering and looting took place in the rear carriages of the train but we, with the grace of Allah, were not affected. The family of six, the father, mother and four children arrived safe and sound at Lahore. My father’s affiliation to Jamaat kept him moving from one place to the other, during the next nine years.

We spent three months in a two-storey small house in the very famous old city of Rawalpindi with narrow alleys and unhealthy sanitation. In the small reception room on the ground floor, my eyes cast a glance at a wooden cabinet, the shelves of which were seen through the glass, bundled with books and magazines. With lust in my eyes for catching hold of some story books, it was curtailed by the father who said, “These have been left by the Hindu owner of the house who, like us, has migrated to India. We have no right to touch things that belonged to someone else.”

Our family moved back to Lahore to stay in the locality of Ichra, the headquarters of Jamaat at that time. For the next four years, before I was ten, our studies were done at home. We started receiving a children’s magazine entitled “Phool” (A flower) with an entirely Islamic blend. I was fascinated in reading whatever material I could lay my hands on. My happiness knew no bounds when a short story written by me marked the page of this children’s bi-monthly magazine.

My father was so  engrossed in jamaat activities that he seldom had time to teach us. Mother took the major role in teaching us the Qur’an and Urdu reading and writing.

The first time I entered a proper school building was in Sialkot, a border town in Punjab, where my father was transferred in 1952 as an activist of Jamaat. He took both of us, me and my elder brother to Pakistan Modern High School (previously known as Khalsa School run by Sikhs) and handed us over to Master Muhammad Hussain, the headmaster and an activist of Jamaat as well. I remember myself crying to find myself in a multitude of boys all around us. We both were admitted to sixth class (the first of three years middle stage in those days).

As migrants speaking Urdu in a predominantly Punjabi gathering, we both were given a new title by the classmates: “Bhayya” i.e. little brother. No one called us by our real names. For the rest of the following three years, we were none but “Bhayya”.  For the first time, we had a set curriculum to follow. Apart from Urdu, we had to read English, Diniyat (Islamic studies), history, geography, mathematics, and arts (drawing only). Our school day used to start with the general assembly of all school children who sang with a collective voice the famous poem of Allama Iqbal: “lab pe ati hay dua ban ke tamanna meri”. While in the classroom, we would sometimes recite, “twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are”. I have been fascinated with both, though later in life, Arabic had left no room for mastering Urdu poetry or English classes.

Hockey became a passion for me. Our first group of school mates started playing, not with hockey sticks, because they could not afford to buy them, but with hard twigs of tree branches which had a bend at the end. The only person to bring his own hockey stick was our goal-keeper, who remained throughout his career a shining star of the children’s team. We bought our own hockey sticks sometime later. A scar on my chin, covered up by my beard later, was a result of a strong blow by a player’s stick, and always reminds me of my folly, being on the wrong side of my fellow player. Though this passion lasted only three years of my middle classes (6, 7, and 8^th), I have never been as fond of any other game as hockey itself. I loved watching hockey matches, no matter if I cannot play in the field. I remember sarcastic remarks of a Sikh, long after my days of education, when I started my career as an Arabic and Islamic studies teacher in Nairobi, Kenya. I could not resist paying a visit to watch a hockey match between Pakistan and Kenya. The ground was alive with Asian Muslims in support of Pakistan, and hosts of Sikhs to back the Kenyan team, which used to have a number of Sikh players. The remarks made by one of their spectators was “oh look at them (i.e. Muslims); their Molvis are here as well!”

Let me come back to the school. I remember Ashiq, a classmate whose story introduced us to some strange realities of life. One day he was found guilty of neglecting his homework completely. The teacher became so angry that he asked him to stand up and face lashings on his hand. The teacher hit him hard three times on this hand. The boy, with red hot eyes, stretched out both of his hands, inviting for more. The teacher did not resist continuing with more and more strikes while the boy did not show any sign of weakness, and did not, even for a single moment, withdrew his hands. The boys in the classroom shouted “teacher! This boy is possessed”. As soon as the teacher heard this cry, he was the first one to leave the classroom followed by the frightened boys who hurled towards the door while Ashiq was standing still at his desk with his eyes aghast and red. Our teacher for Dinyat (Quran studies) was called upon to handle the boy. He came and asked a few of our classmates to hold him tightly. The teacher read a number of the verses of the Quran and addressed the boy saying “who are you and why are you here?” Of course he was addressing the Jinn who had possessed the boy. “I am not going to leave him!” a trembling voice, much more different from his normal voice, resounded in the room. The teacher commanded more beating of the boy until the Jinn yielded to his demand. That poor child who normally did not have the strength to win a dual, turned into a real wrestler who could barely be controlled by the host of boys who caught hold of him. After he received a lot of blows, the Jinn finally decided to leave. Our teacher took from him a solemn oath not to possess him while he was in the class. As soon as he left, the boy fell on the floor, totally exhausted and unconscious. A charpoy, a bed with woven ropes and wooden frame and legs, was brought which worked as a stretcher for him to be taken back home by four boys. He must have been ill for many days because he did not return to the class. The only other time we felt a visitation by that Jinn was the day when the teachers asked him on the last day of fee collection to pay the fee or get expelled. Ashiq asked to leave to fetch the money. In no time, he came back with the sum in his palm. “How could you get this money so quickly?” the teacher asked. “Oh! That was my old friend who, because of his promise, did not enter the class room, but gave me the amount of fee at once. He said to me that he wanted to take me on a Hajj journey as well”. After this incident, I have never doubted the presence of Jinn, an invisible creature of Allah, who are around us but they hardly interfere with us except in very rare cases as that of Ashiq. Contrary to his name, which means “a lover”, Ashiq became the subject of “ishq”, love.

The other most pressing memory of my school life was the day when our whole house witnessed a lot of sadness and gloom. That was the day when the papers brought the news of the hanging of a great scholar, an Islamic activist, Abdul Qadir Audah, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. He was hanged with two other activists, by Jamal Nasir’s dictatorial regime. I remember that famous poem, penned by Naim Siddiqi, which covered the whole front page of Jamat’s magazine “Tasnim” with this opening line: “Ye Kaun Tha, Kis ka Khun Baha?” “Who was he whose blood has been spilled”. Our house, as a beacon of Jamat, used to have the first-hand knowledge of all such world movements with which Jamat shared their thoughts and ideologies. My father, in his beliefs, was a strict follower of the Ahl-e-Hadith school of thought. But he used to have good and friendly relations with other faith groups like Deobandis. This is why sometimes he would take us for Taraweeh prayers at Madrasa Shahabiya, an Islamic institution run by a famous Deobandi scholar Maulana Muhammad Ali Kandhalwi. Though we used to leave after offering 8 Rakaat in line with Ahl-e-Hadith view.

As a strict adherent to Ahl-e-Hadith theology, we were never  familiar with such innovative practices in our house like Shab-e-Bara’at (The night of 15^th Sha’ban when people adorn the roofs of their houses with candles or small eastern lamps); celebration of the birthday of the Prophet (SAW) on 12^th Rabi al-Awwal; providing Sabil of water for passersby on 10^th Muharram, the day of martyrdom of Imam Hussain (RA);  holding a gathering of friends and relatives to complete the reading of Al-Qur’an, a practice known as Khatam, especially on the third day of the death of a person, followed by the 40^th day’s gathering;  visiting saint’s mausoleums either locally or abroad;  celebrating the remembrance day on 11^th day of the lunar month in the name of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, and many more such innovations that are found to be prevalent among many Muslim houses. What we used to witness in our house were either circles attended by ladies to learn the Qur’an or feasts of some delicious food on Eid Day. My mother would hold such circles at home or would go to someone’s house for such a Qur’anic lesson. In Sialkot, Hamida Begum was such a talented woman who would hold weekly circles. In our house there was no such thing as radio, playing music, cards or any similar means of entertainment. Our whole enjoyment was reading the story books and magazines with Islamic flavours like ‘Phool’ (flower), Talim-o-Tarbiyat, Al-Hasanat and Nur (both published on behalf of jamaat in Rampur, India).

Our first residence was in a first floor apartment in Mubarak Pura which faced the railway line. From the windows, we used to have full sight of the trains, coming and going, with the loud cracking sounds of the iron wheels and startling cries of its whistles. My fascination with trains developed there long before I could have access to “The Railway Children.”

Sometimes, I had to accompany my mother, walking besides the rails to visit another famous lady worker of Jamaat who lived in the locality of ‘water works’ before reaching Sialkot station. My biggest attraction to her house was to be allowed to take hold of a monthly illustrated child magazine, ‘Khilona’ (a toy) by name, which her daughter used to receive from Delhi, India. The lady was a prolific writer in Jamaat papers and magazines. Her daughter later excelled her in story writing. In the company of children’s magazines, I could not resist copying that model myself. I started a hand-written small size magazine by the title of Chand (moon) which was decorated in colours by my brother Shuaib. This magazine showed my skill at hand-writing, storytelling and copying the material from the papers at hand. It was just a childish play which lasted a couple of months, an amusement for the visitors, an enjoyment for both of us after school hours. Encouraged by a small sum, a rupee or a half by the parents, we would be able to buy more sheets of blank papers and ink. I wish I had retained some copies of that child play to show to my grandchildren. I hope some of them are still in possession of my elder sister in Karachi.

Two other memories of the school days:

The school was on the other side of Nala Aik (a rivulet) which used to have such shallow water that we could cross it by foot. When it flooded, it turned into a stormy river. Then we had to follow the road, up to the bridge and straight to the school. Once I was holding a football in my hand, with my school bag in the other hand when a naughty village lad snatched the ball from my hand and ran fast to disappear in the mud houses beside Nala Aik. We ran after him, entered one of the open doors of a house. The old lady in the house must have known the vicious nature of her child. So she did not object to us stepping on the staircase to the roof. There he was, trying to hide himself in a heap of hay. We took our ball and headed back to the home. Once, after crossing the water, we passed by a crowd of people who encircled a village house. We could see the gloom, the anxiety, a feeling of awe on their faces. Led by curiosity we entered the courtyard where, on a wooden charpoy, two babies were resting; resting forever. Somebody had strangled them to death. A sight of death, marked in a young boy’s mind to last forever.

I remember that night when my father was delivering his speech in a public lecture arranged by Jamaat in the famous Ram Talai ground, with the shape of an amphitheatre. I was sitting near my mother among the women in a two storey building nearby. I could not resist leaving her to join one of the boys who tempted me to ascend to the roof and play ‘hide and seek’. It was dark. The roof had no boundary wall at all. I ran after him, only to fall from the top of the roof on to the ground below. With pain and anguish, I made my way to my mother and fell unconsciously in her lap. It was an arduous journey back home. I had to be confined to a dark room in the house for home-made treatment which included massage, oiling the legs and complete rest for a number of weeks. Was not I a naughty boy as well!!

How much trouble I had created for the whole family. I could feel the pain and suffering, so vivid in the eyes of my mother who cared for me during days and nights. May Allah shower His blessings and mercy on both graves (my mother and father) in the evergreen cemetery of Islamabad.

The year 1952 witnessed a great turmoil following the blood-stained movement of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat; a movement to support the finality of the Prophethood of our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) against the ongoing rebellious blasphemy of a claim of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be a Prophet as well. The famous treatise of Maulana Maudoodi, entitled ‘Qadiani Mas’ala’ attracted a death sentence to him by the High Court, which was later changed to a life sentence. My father Sheikh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan, along with the top leadership of Jamaat, were arrested and put behind bars. I remember accompanying my mother to Sialkot railway station where we had a glimpse of him. He was handcuffed and could hardly show his face from a window in a train packed with the prisoners and bound for Multan.

The streets of Sialkot had been surrounded with slogans of Takbir and Risalat, especially when the blood stained bodies of young men, killed by police brutality, were carried on shoulders. From the windows of our house in Kashmiri Kumahran we could see the processions with tumultuous roaring and shouting. At the age of ten, I had no idea of the issue except that a feeling of awe and fear had filled the air. My mother, with five children at that time, managed to cope with the situation with the help of local Jamaat.

During my father’s long absence, eleven months in total, we travelled once to Sukkhar, a very famous town known to have hot weather in Sindh province to attend the wedding of the daughter of Uncle Ubaidullah Ubaidi, one of my father’s best friends. This had been the longest train journey we enjoyed. Nearing Sukkhar, we had a full sight of the mighty river Indus. The bride had been very close to us as she visited us in Sialkot and then stayed at our home for a couple of days.

In 1951(I was still 9 at that time), the year we moved to Sialkot, Jamaat decided to participate in the provincial elections. That was the first time Jamaat tested its political strength. It was an outright failure. People were still not ready to choose a candidate on the basis of his honesty, trustworthiness and piety. Prejudice for clan and tribes affiliation to cast and race and obedience to landlords and masters were the keys to win the election. None of these qualities was enjoyed by the Jamaat. I remember the three “Ds” boldly marked and displayed in Jamaat’s elections’ camps: Na Dhaunce, Na Dhandly, Na Dhoka (i.e. No dictation by force, no malpractice, no deception). The failure in this election led the Jamaat leadership to discuss and debate the most important issue: “could an Islamic State be established through ballots or through a campaign to reform the whole society according to Islamic norms?”  My father always believed in the latter in line with the early writings of Maulana Maudoodi on this issue particularly. He always used to quote his saying: “The quality of the cream depends upon the milk itself; how good and unspoiled it is.” So let the society be reformed and it would spill the best out of it. It took my father six more years when the issue, along with the famous debate in Jamaat’s very volatile session in Matchi Goth in 1957, on the report of the survey committee, to which my father was a member, to tender finally his resignation from Jamaat.

In school summer holidays, we had been given a lot of school work which occupied most of our time. One evening, as I came out of the local mosque after Asr prayers, a man with a turban approached me. With a gentle tap on my shoulder, he asked me:

“Lad! Will you do me a favour?”

“What favour?” I asked.

“Sit here in front of me and let me see your thumb.”

He put a little oil on my thumb, on the nail itself. Then he asked:

“Lad! Can you see anything on your nail?”

“No! I cannot see anything.”

The people were now around us and were looking at us with surprise. He rubbed my nail once again and said:

“Can you see a man cleaning the ground and showering water upon it?”

Then, he kept on asking:

“Can you see a horse rider appearing at the sight?”

He could have asked many questions but I was a bit agitated and frightened. So with shouting “No, no”, I withdrew my hand and ran home.

In Punjab, you would see jugglers and soothsayers, story tellers, presenters of street-side shows with a monkey or a bear, drum beaters and lots of others. That man was among those who tried to discover stolen goods or a lost person by using ‘an innocent lad’ whose thumb would reveal the truth i.e. the location of the lost material.

By the grace of Allah, that was my first and last experience of such an exercise except for a very late event in London which involved a sitting to contact the souls which had already departed from this world. It was just an experiment which showed me how futile this exercise was. I will mention this event at a later stage. It will be a long way until I reach, during my life journey, to the British Isles and narrate that phase of my life.

Now let me narrate two events showing how we were disciplined in those days. During a school recess, I was confronted by a boy for no reason. I do not remember what he did to me but I remember calling him a “dog” out of contempt. The deputy headmaster, a very stern old man, happened to pass by the moment I uttered that word. He took out his lashing stick and gave me a hard blow on my palm which caused me a lot of pain for the rest of the day. The master was known for his violence to the boys. Thus he attracted a sarcastic nickname, “Majha Thus” (fat buffalo). Some naughty devils among the school boys had a nasty plan to offend him. One day, they stood in hiding looking for him to come out from his office. As soon as he appeared in the corridor, the boys jumped upon him with a ‘bori’ (a big bag of woven ropes) covering his head and face. Then they pounded him with fists and blows and then ran away as fast as they could. I do not remember what happened to them later.

Once we (both brothers) came to know about a screen show in Jinnah Park, an open play ground a mile away from our house. It was a public show of a documentary film by an advertising company. They used to attract the crowd showing such films through projectors. We got permission from our mother and slipped away to enjoy our first exposure to a very new world of moving pictures. The show ended and we took our way back home. Our father was waiting for us a few yards away from the house. We had never seen him to be so furious as he was that evening. It was just a heavy slap on our cheeks which deterred us from repeating this adventure for at least the rest of our “single” lives. Apart from that, we did enjoy our new hockey sticks to play between Asr and Maghrib.  

Once we were taken to a shoe shop where the size of our shoes was measured by the shoe maker. In a few days time, the shoes were ready for us to leave them for wear and tear. These were the only times when we were given this privilege, otherwise I had always my shoes readymade and straight from the shelves.

I still have to go through the events of 1956-1957 of my life. My father had to leave Sialkot in 1955, the year we (both brothers) had completed our middle school and we settled once again in Lahore. This time we were housed in a two room small house in Rahman Pura, very near to Jamaat main headquarters in Ichra. My father was given the task to organise for the members of Jamaat, a system of spiritual training (Tarbiya). To meet this purpose, he compiled a collection of Ahadith, all speaking about the character building of a true Muslim. This collection, known as Intikhab-e-Hadith, became  a major source of inspiration for the members of Jamaat. Now I am pleased to see its English translation by my son Usama Hasan after half a century had passed on its first publication.    

رحلتي مع اللّغة العربيّة

صهيب حسن عبد الغفار

 نشأتُ في بيت يبدأ كبارُه وصغارُه نَهارهم بقراءة كتاب الله، وإن لم يكن للأطفال دراية بمعناه، فالحروف هي من نفس لغتهم (الأردية)، لكنَّ تركيب الجُمل مخالف لما ألفوه في لغتهم. وكان لي حظّ في تعلّم مبادئ اللّغة العربيّة في السّنتين الأخيرتين من الثّانوية وفى السّنة الأولى من الكلّيّة، إلاّ أن هذه الدّراسة كانت هزيلة في مادّتِها، لا تؤهّل الطّالب لقراءة حرّة في غير الكتاب المدرسيّ المقرّر.

مضت السّنة الأولى في الكلّيّة، وإذا الوالد يأمرني بمغادرة الكلّيّة نِهائيًّا لأتفرّغ لدراسة العلوم الإسلاميّة، وأحذو حذوه في تلقّي العلم الشّرعيّ، وأحافظ على تقاليد عائلة "الحسن" المعروفة بالعلم، فقد تلقّى والدي الدّراسة الدّينية في إحدى المدارس الشّهيرة في "دلهي" وهي المدرسة الرّحمانيّة الّتي خرّجت جيلاً من أفاضل العلماء، فقبله درس أبوه في نفس المدرسة، أمّا جدّه فكان من نوابغ العلماء الّذين دافعوا عن السّنّة على صفحات جريدة "ضياء السّنة" الصّادرة من "كلكتا" في بداية القرن العشرين، فكان لزامًا علىّ أن أواصل هذه الرّحلة الّتي بدأها أجدادى في الهند وانتقل بها الوالد إلى باكستان إبّان نشأتها.
كانت المناهج المتبّعة في المدارس العربيّة آنذاك تتبّع منهجًا عقيمًا في تدريس اللّغة العربيّة، إذ كانت الدّراسة قاصرةً على كتب مثل "الكافية" الّتي تجعل الطّالب نحويًّا من دون أن يقدر على كتابة فقرة واحدة سالمة من الخطأ، وتجعله حافظاً للمتون من غير أن يقرأ قراءة صحيحة في جريدة عربيّة. فلذلك اختار لي الوالد، رحمه الله، كتاباً حديثاً في النّحو، سهلاً في أسلوبه، مرنًا في تمارينه، جامعًا لكلمات من العصر الذى كنا نعيشه، هو كتاب "النّحو الواضح" بأجزائه السّتّة.
كان عليّ أن أقرأ على الوالد القاعدة وشرحها، ثُمَّ أكتب جميع التّمارين من أوّلها الى آخرها. وهكذا حبّب إلىّ اللّغة العربيّة وجمع لي مع النّحو والصّرف كتاب البلاغة الواضحة الّتي ألّفت على منوال النّحو الواضح، وأردفها بكتاب القراءة الرّشيدة بأجزائه الأربعة الّتي جمعت بين نصوص أدبيّة نثرًا ونظمًا. وكانت لي بفضل هذا الكتاب جولات فكريّة في مصر، في أرضها وسمائها، في نَهرها وجداولها، في جبالها ووديانِها، وإذا بى أُردّد إلى الآن أبياتًا من هذا الكتاب:
مصر الحبيية لي وطن * وهى الحمى وهى السّكن
وهي الفريدة في الزّمن * وجميع ما فيها حسن
هُبُّوا اعملوا لرقيها * فالجدّ للعليا سَنن وكان يحبّبُ إلىَّ هذه اللّغةَ بتوفير قصص من أعمال الكيلانيّ، وهى سهلة التّعبير مفعمة بالمعاني، عريقة في تاريخها، تجول بك في غابر الأزمان، وتلتقط لك منه الجواهر الثّمينة، فقد رآني ولوعاً بالقصص والرّوايات، فلا تقع يدي على مثل هذه الكتب باللغة الأرديّة إلا أتيتُ عليها بنهم عجيب وتطلَّع. ولمَّا رآني متمكّنًا بعض الشّيء من قراءة الكتب العربيّة جعل لي هدفًا معيّنًا، وهو الإعداد لدخول اختبار للحصول على شهادة "العالم بالدّراسات العربيّة" الّتي كانت تُشرف عليها جامعة بنجاب ثم بشهادة "الفاضل بالدّراسات العربيّة" وكانت تعدّ أعلى شهادة في مناهج الألسنة الشّرقيّة، وجعل لي سنةً واحدة لكلّ مرحلة وإن كان الطّلاب يحتاجون إلى ضِعف هذه المدّة عادةً حتّى يخوضوا في اختبار كلّ واحدة منها.
وكان منهج كلا المرحلتين يضُمّ أجزاءً تفسيرية ونصوصًا من كتب الحديث الجامعة وشيئًا من الفقه والسّيرة وحكمة التّشريع، بالإضافة إلى التّراث الأدبيّ العربيّ، كالمعلّقات السّبع، وأجزاء من ديوان الحماسة، وديوان المتنبّي، ومختارات من المفضّليّات، و"الوسيط في الأدب العربيّ" وكتاب "أزهار العرب"، من تأليف أحد المستشرقين، وكتاب كليلة ودمنة الشّهير، ومقامات الحريريّ الأدبيّة. وكنت أقرأ بعض هذه الكتب على الوالد وبعضها، كطالب غير متفرغ، في مدرستين من مدارس مدينة "لايل بور" (فيصل آباد حاليًّا)، هما الجامعة السّلفية ودار القرآن والحديث.
وقبيل الاختبار بأيام كنت أحمل بعض هذه الكتب صباحًا حتّى أنتهي إلى حديقة عامّة فأفترش الأرض تحت شجرة من الأشجار فأكبّ على القراءة إلى أن يدفعني الحرّ إلى مغادرة المكان لأعود إليه بعد يوم، ودخلت الاختبار وخرجت منه بأظفر ما كان، إذ كنت الأوّل في كلتا المرحلتين، وذلك عامي 1959 و1960.
وقد شهدتْ هذه الفترة نشاطًا رائعًا قلّما يُرى مثله في مُدن باكستانية أخرى، فقد التحق في الفترة المذكورة عدد من الطّلبة العرب -من العراق والشّام خاصةً- بالكلّيّة الزّراعية، وعلى رأسهم الأخ الفاضل صالح السّامرّائيّ العراقيّ، الّذي كان طالبًا في مادّة الزّراعة، ولكنّه كان يزرع حبّ الدّين واللّغة في كلّ من صادقه وآخاه، فكنت أزوره في مسكنه بالكلّيّة حتّى أتمرّن على التّحدث باللّغة العربيّة، وكلّما رأيت عنده جريدة من جرائد الشّام أو العراق استعرتُها لأقرأها.
ووقفت آنذاك على "جريدة الشّهاب" اللّبنانية، وكان السّيّد صالح يزور الوالد الشّيخ عبد الغفّار حسن وصديقه الحميم الشّيخ عبد الرّحيم أشرف. وقد شَرُفت بالاستماع إلى حديثهم، وقد بدأ الوالد يقيم اجتماعًا شهريًّا باسم (جمعيّة إحياء لغة القرآن الكريم) يشجّع فيه طلبة المدارس العربيّة على إلقاء كلمات باللّغة العربيّة. لم يكن الطّلبة متعوّدين على مثل هذا النّشاط، فكانوا يشاركونه على مضض، يحضرون مرّة ويغيبون مرّات. ولمّا كنت مسئولاً عن عقد هذا الاجتماع، فقد سعيت لتوجيه الدّعوة إلى مشايخ يرتضون هذا العمل، سواءً أكانوا من المدارس العربيّة أم من الكلّيّة الحكوميّة الّتي سبقت لي الدّراسة فيها، وكان الأخ صالح السّامرّائيّ يُتحفنا بحلو حديثه كلّما سنحت له الفرصة بالحضور. وأذكر أنّني التقطت مِن فيه هذا المثل العربيّ في إحدى جلَسات الجمعيّة: "أُكِلت يوم أُكِل الثّور الأبيض".
لم يكن من الجرائد العربيّة في باكستان غير "جريدة العرب" الّتي كان يُصدرها السّيّد عبد المنعم العدويّ، أحد عرب المهجر، والمقيم في كراتشي، وكانت تتحدّث عادةً عن النّشاط الدّبلوماسيّ العربيّ في باكستان، وتسوق كلمات السّادة السّفراء الكرام في محافل دبلوماسيّة أو مناسبات دينيّة، وكنا نستلم آنذاك نشرتين باللّغة العربيّة من كتابة الطّلبة، إحداهما "الرّائد" الصّادرة من ندوة العلماء بلكناؤ، والثّانية "الدّاعي" الصّادرة من مدرسة ديوبند. ولم تكن الكتابة بحروف الرّصاص شائعة، فكانت النّشرتان بخط اليد بحروف ظاهرة بارزة.
وكنت أظفر بجرائد عربيّة أخرى مثل "قافلة الزّيت" الصّادرة من الظّهران، و"دعوة الحقّ" الصّادرة من الرّباط، ونشرات عربيّة بدأت تأتي من السّفارة الأمريكيّة باسم الجامعة الّتي أنشأها الحكيم عبد الرّحيم أشرف مع الوالد، وهي "جامعة تعليمات إسلاميّة" فكان لي الحظّ الأوفر من قراءة هذه الجرائد، يوم كان همُّ طلبة المدارس العربيّة مصروفًا لدراسة المتون المقرّرة، وكانوا يرون عملنا هذا عبثًا لا طائل تحته.
وما أنس فلا أنس جهود الأخ "محمّد بشير سيالكوتي" الذي حُبّبت إليه اللّغة العربيّة كما حبّبت إليّ، والّذي لا يزال يحمل علم هذه اللّغة في باكستان مع وعورة الطّريق وقلّة الأنصار وضيق المرافق. فقد بدأ يصدر منذ عدّة سنوات جريدة "نداء الاسلام" الّتي أثبتت جدارتَها وحظيت باحترام العلماء والأساتذة، ولكنّها لم تستطع أن تواصل المسير لظروف مادّية حالت دون استمرار صدورها. وكذلك جهود الأخ زاهد أشرف ابن الحكيم عبد الرّحيم أشرف، الّذي حمل راية الجامعة المذكورة بعد وفاة والده وحافظ على السّمعة الطّيبة الّتي كانت تتمتع بها هذه الجامعة منذ نشأتها، وخاصةً في مجال ترويج اللّغة العربيّة.
وشجّعني الوالد على ترجمة كتاب "مذكّرات الدّعوة والدّاعية"، للشّيخ البنّا، وكتاب "تذكرة الدّعاة"، لبهيّ الخولي، إلى اللغة الأرديّة، فكنت أقتطع من أوقاتي -مع إعداد للاختبارات المذكورة- لأقوم بالتّرجمة يوميًّا، حتّى أكملت الكتابين، ونشرت أجزاء من الكتاب الأوّل على صفحات جريدة "المنبر" الّتي كان يترأّسها الحكيم عبدالرّحيم أشرف، أما الكتاب الثّاني فراحت ترجمته طيّ النّسيان، ولا أدري هل ضاعت مسوّدتُها بين رفوف مكتب الجريدة أم أكلتها الأرَضة.
أذكر ذلك اليوم، وكانت "جامعة تعليمات إسلاميّة" في بداية أمرها، ليس لها بناية ولا عمارة، وإنما كانت عبارةً عن فصلٍ واحدٍ أرتاده أنا مع طالب أو طالبين في النّهار، ويرتاده مجموعة من الكبار لدراسة اللّغة العربيّة مساءً، وكان اليوم يومًا عزيزًا في تاريخ الجامعة، إذ ورد في المدينة عالم من جلّة علماء الهند النّاطقين بلغة الضّادّ كأهلها، وهو الشّيخ أبو الحسن النّدوي، فدعته الجامعة ودعت وجهاء مدينة "لايل بور" بهذه المناسبة فكانت حفلة مشوِّقة أتيحت لي فيها فرصة إلقاء كلمة التّرحيب، وتكلّم فيها الشّيخ النّدوي فأفاد وأجاد. ولّما رأى منّي حرصًا على اللّغة دعاني إلى مكان إقامته، وكان يزور شيخًا من شيوخ الطّريقة في البلد، وأملى عليّ مقالاً أراد أن يدفع به إلى بعض الجرائد، وحفظت من إملائه ذلك اليوم هذا البيت:
وعقاب لبنانٍ وكيف بقطعها * وهو الشّتاءُ وصيفُهنَّ شتاءُ ووقعت في يدي آنذاك إحدى روايات جرحي زيدان، فأعجبني سرد كلامه، فقرأتُها على طول محتواها وقلّة مغزاها، ووجدت عند بعض المشايخ مجلّدات من جريدة "الهلال" المصريّة فكنت أنظر اليها بشغفٍ، واستعيرها من الشّيخ ثم أردّها إليه لآخذ المزيد. وأسفت على قطع دراستي بالكلّيّة الحكوميّة يوم أن أمرني الوالد بتركها، ولكن بعد أن حصلت على شهادتي "العالم والفاضل" أتيحت لي فرصة لأن أدرس بنفسي منهج الكلّيّة (وهو منهج جامعة بنجاب أصلاً) في مادّة اللّغة الانجليزيّة لكلّ من مرحلة "الثّانوية العليا" و"البكالوريوس" حتّى أدخل في اختبار الجامعة لكلتا المرحلتين فاظفر بشهادة "البكالوريوس" في آداب اللّغة الإنجليزية بعد سنتين.
وكنت خلال هذين العامين (1961-1962) أقوم بتدريس اللّغة العربيّة في مدرسة ثانويّة أوّلاً، ثم في معهد خاصّ فتحه أحد الأفاضل الكرام (هو الدّكتور إسرار أحمد) باسم "دار القرآن" في مدينة "ساهي وال" أراد أن يجمع فيه بين الدّراستين: دراسة المناهج الحكوميّة، وذلك بطريق التحاق الطّلبة بالكلّيّة الحكوميّة، ودراسة اللّغة العربيّة كدراسة خاصّة بين جدران الدّار على يديّ، ومن المؤسف أنْ لم يلتحق بِهذه الدّار إلاّ أربعة طلاّب، كان من بينهم شقيقه الصّغير، أبصار أحمد، الّذى حاز على شهادة الدّكتوراه فيما بعد من إحدى جامعات بريطانيا.
ولم أنقطع خلال هذه الفترة عن طلب العلم، فكنت أواظب على حضور بعض الدّروس في أصول الفقه وعلم الكلام على أساتذه أفاضل في "جامعة رشيديّة" بنفس البلدة. وقد رأيت أنّنى، بعد انقطاعى عن الكلّيّة الحكوميّة عام 1958 إلى منتصف عام 1962م، قضيت أربعة أعوام كاملة وشغلي الشّاغل هو اللّغة العربيّة وآدابُها وقراءة كتب السّنّة وشروحها مع تعريج على التّفسير والفقه وغيرها من العلوم حسب مقتضيات المنهج، غير أنّنى كنت أشعر بخواءٍ في طلبي للعلم، إذ كان معظم دراستي على الوالد وعدد من المشايخ الآخرين دون أن تكون هناك دراسة منتظمة في جامعة من الجامعات.
وكنت أجد نفسي كثيراً ما أناطح معضلات اللّغة ومغاليق المتون فأفتحها بمعاجم اللّغة أو شروح الشّرّاح، فكنت أودّ لو كانت لي فرصة الالتحاق بمعهد من المعاهد كطالب منتظم. وجاءت هذه الفرصة أخيرًا، وما أجملها فرصة! أنشئت الجامعة الإسلاميّة بالمدينة المنوّرة عام 1961م، وبدأت تستقبل الطّلاّب من أنحاء العالم وجاءت الدّعوة مفتوحة إلى عدد من المشائخ في باكستان لترشيح عدد من الطّلاب. وكان الوالد على اتّصال بالشّيخ السّيّد داؤد غزنوى، أحد أساطين أهل الحديث في باكستان، فرشّح اسمى لأكون من روّاد طلبة العلم الباكستانيّين بالجامعة، وما إن عرفت بالبُشرى السّارّة حتّى توجّهت إلى "كراتشى" عاصمة البلاد آنذاك أعدّ أهبتى للسَّفر، فكان لي آنذاك أوّل جواز أراه في حياتي، وأوّل سفارة عربية أزورها، وأوّل رحلة بحريّة أقوم بها مع سبعة عشر طالبًا آخرين على متن سفينة الحجّاج، وكانت أكبرَ باخرة لنقل المسافرين تلك الأيّام.
حملت الباخرة خمسة آلاف من الحجّاج الباكستانيّين وعادت بهم من ميناء جدّه إلى ميناء كراتشى، وكانت تعتزم العودة إلى المملكة لترجع بالمزيد من الحجّاج. واستغلَّ السّفير السّعودى وجود الباخرة راسية في الميناء فقطع لنا التّذاكر عليها، فكانت لنا فرصة أخرى ما كنا نحلم بِها، وهى أن نصل إلى أرض الحجاز بعد طول انتظار، يحدونا شوق ورغبة، وتحفزنا تطلّعات وآمال، ونحن نرنو بعيون مترقّبة لرؤية أرض التقى فيها المصطفى من الملائكة بالمصطفى من البشر، وآذاننا مرهفة لسماع تلك اللّغة الّتي عشقناها وألفناها منذ نعومة أظفارنا بلسان أهلها.
أتانى هواها قبل أن أعرف الهوى * فصادف قلبًا فارغا فتمكَّنا ودّعتُ الوالد والأشقّاء وأنا ألوّح لهم بيدى من فوق أحد طوابق الباخرة وهم وقوفٌ على الميناء يرونَها تبتعدُ رويدًا رويدًا من السّاحل، حتّى لم أعد أراهم. وبقيت مع أصحاب أتعرّف عليهم لأوّل مرّة، وكنت أرى نفسى أصغر القوم، ولم يكن بالباخرة إلا نحن، المجموعةَ الأولى من الطّلاب، مع طاقم الباخرة وشابّ إندونيسى وحيد من غير بنى جلدتنا كُنَّا نحاول أن نتعرّف عليه فيحول بيننا وبينه عائق اللّغة، وكانت عنده كلمات من اللّغة العربيّة فكان حديثنا معه كالتّالى:
- من أين أنت؟
- إندونيسيا.
- كيف حال المسلمين في إندونيسيا؟
- في مساجد كثيرة والحمد لله، في مدارس كثيرة والحمد لله، في سينما كثير والحمد لله. وبقيت الباخرة تمخر عباب البحر وتصارع الأمواج، وكان الشّهر شهر يوليو، وكنّا في عزّ الصّيف، حين يواجه البحر الهندى تلاطمًا هائلاً وهيجانًا ثائرًا يجعل هذه الباخرة العظيمة تبدو كدُمية تافهة بلا حولٍ ولا قوّة، وبدأنا نشتاق إلى رؤية الأرض وقد مرَّت علينا خمسة أيّام، وإذا بنا نقترب من ساحل اليمن حتّى رست الباخرة في ظهيرة يوم بميناء عدن، المحميّة البريطانيّة آنذاك، وها هى أوّل مرّة تقرع أسماعنا أصواتٌ عربيّة من بلد عربيّ عريق في عروبته، أصيل في لغته، ويسمح لنا أن ندور دورةً في البلد، فنزلنا في قارب صغير قرّبنا من الميناء حيث ركبنا الحافلة، مرورًا بالجبال والوديان إلى وسط المدينة الّتي استقبلتنا بواجهات المتاجر، مكتوب عليها بالعربيّة، وصيحات وصراخ باللّهجة اليمنيّة، فكنّا نستغرب كلّ شيء يقع عليه بصرنا، فلكلّ جديد لذّة، فكيف إذا كان حُلمًا يتحقّق، أو أمنيّةً تنقلب حقيقة؟
واصلنا رحلتنا ليومين آخرين، وصَحِبَنَا السّاحل الغربيّ طول هذه الرّحلة حتّى قيل لنا إننا كدنا نقترب من موضعٍ يقال له يلملم، وهو ميقات أهل اليمن، فأحرمنا للعمرة ولبّينا لأوّل مرّة في حياتنا. نزلنا في ميناء جدّة ونحن في شوق وغرام وتلهّف للبقاع المقدّسة، واستقبلنا مندوب الجامعة السّيّد اللّنجاويّ، هذا الرّجل الكريم الوادع المجامل الذى ترك علينا جميعًا انطباعًا جميلاً للكرم العربيّ والمعاملة الحسنة.
أدّينا شعائر العمرة، وحظنيا برؤية بيت الله الحرام والطّواف حوله والسّعي بين الصّفا والمروة، وشربنا من ماء زمزم، وكان عليه بناء مرتفع يدخل فيه الدّاخل ويقف على الحائط المحيط بالبئر فَيُطلّ فيه ليقع بصرُه على غوره فيَرى الماءَ يلمع تحته. كانت تجربة فريدة في الحياة، لا يمرّ بها زائر اليوم، فقد اختفت البئر تحت أرض المطاف، ولم يَعُدْ يُرى ماؤها إلاّ خارجًا من الصّنابير. ولم يكن آنذاك من البناء الحديث إلا توسعة الملك سعود بن عبد العزيز، فكنّا نخرج من باب الملك سعود لندخل في أزقّةٍ ضيّقة تكتنفها البيوت والمتاجر، فمنها ما يذهب بنا إلى الجياد، ومنها ما يدفعنا إلى المسفلة أو السّوق، وكلّها تلاشت الآن لتنقلب إلى ساحة واسعة شاسعة ازدانت بأحدث العمائر والأبراج من جميع الأطراف. ولا يمكن لزائر اليوم أن يتخيّل الأجواء خارج البيت الحرام في ذلك الوقت إلا إذا زار مدينة القُدس وحام حول المسجد الأقصى المبارك.
وبعد أن تمّت الزّيارة والعُمرة اتجهنا إلى مدينة المصطفى لتكون لنا مقرًّا ومسكنًا للسّنوات الأربع القادمة. دخلنا الجامعة في مبناها القديم، وكانت عبارة عن بيوت وشقق، أو بالأحرى ثكنات للجيش في وقت من الأوقات، بعيدًا عن المدينة نفسها. وقد وصلنا إليها في عطلة الصّيف، إذ خلت المبانى من الطّلاب، ولم يكن فيها إلاّ نخبة من موظفي الجامعة، وكان على رأسهم الشّيخ عبد الله الزّائد الّذى استقبلنا استقبالاًً حارًّا، وأكرم وفادتنا، وخصّص لنا مخادعنا بعد استضافتنا ثلاثة أيّام في فندق قريب من المسجد النّبوى. ورحَّب بنا في اليوم التّالي الشّيخ عبد العزيز بن باز وأمينه العام الشّيخ محمّد ناصر العبُودى والقائم بشؤون التّعليم الشّيخ عطيه محمّد سالم، فكان لقاءًا مبدئيًّا، ولكن فتح لنا معهم صلة وُدّيّة أخويّة لا أزال أشعر بحلاوتها.
وكان علينا أن نقضى بقيّة أيّام الإجازة نُعِدُّ لاختبار القبول، فأعطينا كتبًا في اللّغة وأخرى في العقيدة، أذكر منها "قطر النّدى" في النّحو، وكتاب "التّوحيد" في العقيدة، وجاء يوم الاختبار وطلب منّا الشّيخ عطيّة محمّد سالم إنشاء مقال، وأذكر أنّنى كتبت مقالاً في سقوط الخلافة العثمانيّة وحالة الأمّة المسلمة بعدها، وجاءت النّتيجة لأكون أحد الثّمانية الّذين وقع عليهم الاختيار ليلتحقوا بالدّراسات العليا في كلّيّة الشّريعة، الكلّيّة الوحيدة الّتي فتحت بها الجامعة أبوابها، أمّا إخواننا الاثنا عشر الباقون فالتحقوا بالقسم الثّانويّ.
إنّنى سعيد بأن أقول: كان لنا حظٌّ كبيرٌ من التّتلمذ على كوكبة من الأساتذة الّذين ازدانت بوجودهم الجامعة فكانوا ألمع مَنْ طَلع في سماء فقه الدّين بجميع أبوابه، وآداب اللّغة بجميع مشاربها. حضرتُ كلمات الدّاعية المربّى للأجيال الشّيخ ابن باز في مجلسه ومسجده، في المجاميع والنّدوات، ومجالس توعية الحجّ والزّيارات، فوجدته خيرَ مرُبّ وخير مرشدٍ، سمحًا لطيفًا في معاملته، سخيًّا جوادًا في عطائه، كريمًا خيّرًا لزّوّاره، متواضعًا حليمًا، رفع الله شأنه في الدّنيا، وأرجو أن يُحشر مع الأنبياء والصّديقين والشّهداء والصّالحين في الآخرة. واستفدت من دروس التّفسير والنّحو للمفسّر الأصوليّ الكبير، الشّيخ محمّد أمين الشّنقيطيّ الّذي إذا استرسل في الكلام جاء بنوادر الأقاويل من التّفسير والأصول، وعرّج على بدائع الاستشهاد من ألفيّة ابن مالك وألفيّة العراقيّ وغيرهم من أساطين اللّغة والأدب.
وأذكر أنّ رئيس جامعة في طهران زار فصلنا أيّام الحجّ، وكان الدّرس درس الشّيخ، فاستمع إلى آخره ثم طلب منه الشّيخ كلمةً موجزة فقال: أيّها الشّيخ، حضرت درسك اليوم فلم أر قبلك شيخًا هو مثل ابن جرير في التّفسير، أو البخاريّ في الحديث، أو سيبويه في النّحو، أو ابن الهمام في الفقه، فللّه درّك! واستمع الشّيخ إلى كلمته، فلمّا انتهى، لم يزد على أن قال: إيش يقول؟
ولازمت دروس الشّيخ محمّد ناصر الدّين الألبانى فرأيت جدّه واجتهاده ومثابرته على الدّرس وتواضعه الجمّ مع الطّلبة عندما يفترش الحصبة أمام الفصل أثناء فترة الرّاحة بين الدّرسين ليجيب على أسئلتهم ويشفي غليلهم. ورأيت شيخنا الفاضل المصريّ الأصل النّجديّ المآل، الأستاذ عبد القادر شيبة الحمد وهو يدرّسنا الحديث بعد رحيل الشّيخ الألبانيّ، فيأتى بفصيح الكلام، وكأنه يخطب خطبةً في الأنام، فيجول ويصول ويبدع ويفيد. وأخذنا دروسًا في التّوحيد على يد الشّيخ الوقور، عبد المحسن حمد العبّاد، الّذى كان يحوم حول العقيدة الطّحاوية كأنّه يحفظها بمتـنها وشرحها، فيشرحها بميسور القول، بإسهاب مرةً وإيجاز أخرى.
وقد لحق والدى الشّيخ عَبدُ الغفَّارحَسَن كمدرّس للحديث وأصوله بعد مضىّ سنتين من الدّراسة فتولّى درس أصول الحديث لفصلنا، ثم أضيف إليه مادّة جديدة، هى مادّة الأسانيد، فتجدّد لي لقاؤه والقراءة عليه، وجاء معه الشّيخ الحافظ محمّد غوندلويّ من باكستان أيضًا، وهو علّامة في الحديث، يشار إليه بالبنان في روايته للبخاريّ وشرحه فتح الباري، ولم يكن لي حظٌّ من الدّراسة عليه إلا قليلاً لأنه عيّن في الفصل الّذى يعلونا بسنة.
وكان الأديب الألمعيّ الشّيخ محمّد المجذوب، صاحبُ التّآليف والمقالات الماتعة، أستاذَنا في الأدب والتّاريخ، وكانت لغته بحرًا زاخرًا يعجّ بالدّرر واللآلئ، فأفادنى أسلوبه السّلس وكتابته الرّشيقة، كأنّه هو والسّيّد عليّ الطّنطاويّ ينهلان من عين واحدة؛ أدركتُ أوّلهما في الفصل، وثانيَهما في ثنايا الكتب وعبر إذاعة القرآن الكريم.
وأعجبني النَّحويّ البارع الأستاذ عبد الرّؤوف اللَّبديّ المصريّ الَّذى تولَّى تدريس الألفيّة فحبّبها إلينا وهو يحلّ معضلاتِها ويشرح أبياتِها بأسلوب فذّ وعناية تامّة. وكان يكتب في مجلّة الجامعة بعنوان "رسائل لم يحملها البريد" فكانت مقالاته رائعة تستهوى القرّاء وتحوز على إعجابهم.
وكان لي حظّ من دروس الشّيخ الشّابّ نور الدّين العتر من الشّام، والدّاعية المفضال الشّيخ محمّد إبراهيم شقره من الأردن، والفقية الفاضل الدّكتور عمر سليمان الأشقر، والشّاب المحدّث الدّكتور محمّد الطّحّان، هولاء ممّن درست عليهم في الفصول. وهناك من استفدت منهم إمَّا في رحاب المسجد النّبويّ مثل الشّيخ عمر فلاتة، والشّيخ محمّد جابر الجزائريّ، والشّيخ محمّد مختار الشّنقيطيّ، والشّيخ حمّاد الأنصاريّ، والدّكتور تقيّ الدّين الهلاليّ، أو من طريق الصّحبة في الرّحلات والأسفار، كالشّيخ محمّد عبد الوهّاب البنَّاء المصريّ الَّذى شجّعنى وغيرى من الطّلبة على إلقاء الكلمات على الحجّاج في مساجد مكّه والمدينة، والشّيخ محمّد أمان الجامى والشّيخ سعد ندا، وغيرهم ممن لا تحضرني أسماؤهم.
وأتاحت لنا فرصة الموسم لقاء عدد من رموز العلم والأدب من العالم الإسلاميّ، كالدّكتور مصطفى السّباعيّ الذى رأيتُه في دار الحديث وهو مستلقٍ على الفراش بسبب مرض عضال ألَمَّ برجله، والشّيخ محمّد أبي زهرة، والشّيخ مناع القطّان، والشّيخ أمجد الزّهاويّ، والشّيخ محمّد محمود الصّوّاف، الّذى كان لي شرف ترجمة كلامه إلى اللّغة الأرديّة فيما بعدُ في حياتى العمليّة في شرق أفريقيا، والشّيخ محمّد قطب، والدّكتور محمّد الرّاوي، والشّيخ عبد الله القلقيليّ، مفتي الأردنّ، وكثير غيرهم، لا أستحضر أسماءَهم، ولكنَّهم دائمًا في بالي، أترحّم على من لحق منهم بالرّفيق الأعلى، وأدعو لمن بقي منهم على قيد الحياة.
ولم يكن المنهج الدّراسى ليصرفنى عن متابعة الأدباء والكُتّاب الّذين كانت لهم قصبة السّبق في هذا المجال، فاستهوانى "الوعد الحق"، و"الأيّام"، و"على هامش السّيرة"، لطه حسين، و"وحى القلم" للرّافعى، و"الوحى المحمّدى" لرشيد رضا، وكثير من كتب المنفلوطيّ ومحبّ الدّين الخطيب. كما كنت أتابع مجلّات مثل "حضارة الإسلام" و"المنهل" و"العربيّ" الّتي بدأت تصدر من الكويت أيّام طلبي للعلم. واقتنيت كتاب "المستطرف في كلّ فنّ مستظرف" و"العقد الفريد"، وإن لم تكن كتبًا منهجيّة، غير أنّه بقي بيني وبين "الأغاني" حاجزٌ منيع، فلم أفتحه إلا سرًّا، ولم أزره إلاّ غبًّا.
وقد شغلت الدّراسة جميع وقتي، فلم أجد وقتًا لكتابة المقالات، غير أنّى لم أتمالك نفسى عندما قرأت مقالاً فاجعًا عن أهل كشمير ومعاناتهم في جريدة أرديّة، فأمسكت بالقلم وترجمته إلى اللّغة العربيّة وأرسلته إلى جريدة "الشّهاب" الصّادرة من لبنان، وكان بعنوان (سُرج من دماءٍ)، وكم كان فرحي عندما رأيته منشورًا في عدد من أعدادها.
وتخرّجت في صيف عام 1966م، ودخلتُ الحياة عمليًّا عندما قبلتني دار الافتاء السّعودية برئاسة الشّيخ محمّد إبراهيم آل الشّيخ في أوّل بعثة دعويّة ابتعثت إلى شرق أفريقيا لتعليم النّاشئة ونشر كلمة الإسلام في ربوعها. وللحديث عن هذه الفترة المقبلة في حياتي موعدٌ آخر إن شاء الله، فإلى لقاء. والسّلام.