Qasim Nanoutwi issue in Takhdeerunnas Deoband Official Reply

Below is the english translation of the official Answers from Deoband 
(On the issues raised by Barelvi brothers)




Answer has been given by Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri  FROM deoband the Writer of Bazul Majhul commentary on Sunan abi Daud.This answer is official as it has signature of nearly 50 big deobandi Alim from different part of country.

(These translation are from book AL MUHANNAD ALA MUFANNAD (IN ARABIC) and AQAID E ULMA E DEOBAND (IN URDU) 

Question:

Do you consider any being better than the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace)?

Answer:

Our belief and the belief of our elders is that our chief, our master, our beloved and our intercessor, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace), is the best of all creatures and the best of them in the presence of Allah (Exalted is He). None is comparable to him, rather [none] come close to him (Allah bless him and grant him peace) in proximity to Allah (Exalted is He) and the elevation of his rank in His presence. He is the chief of the Prophets and Messengers and the seal of the purified and the Prophets as established in the texts. This is what we believe and acquiesce to Allah (Exalted is He). Our elders have expressed this in more than one book.

Question:

Do you allow the existence of a prophet after the Prophet (upon him blessing and peace), while he is the Seal of the Prophets and the meaning of his (upon him be peace) statement “there is no prophet after me” and those [statements] resembling it, have been mass-transmitted, and ijma’ has convened on this? What is your opinion of one who allows the incidence of this despite the presence of these texts? Have any of you or your elders said this?

Answer:

Our belief and the belief of our elders is that our chief, our master, our beloved and our intercessor, Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace), is the Seal of the Prophets and there is no prophet after him, as Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said in His Book, “But he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets” (33:40). This is established in many hadiths that aremutawatir in meaning, by consensus of the ummah. Far be it that one of us said something contrary to this, since the one who denies this is according to us a disbeliever because he denies decisive and unequivocal texts.

Yes, our teacher and our master, chief of the intelligent scrutinisers, Mawlawi Muhammad Qasim al-Nanotwi (Allah Exalted is He have mercy on him), produced a novel insight by his critical mind, completing his sealship (khatamiyyah) in a complete manner and perfecting it in a perfect manner, as he (Allah Exalted is He have mercy on him) said in his treatise entitled Tahdhir al-Nas, the upshot of which is that:

Sealship is a genus under which are two species:

The first of them is “chronological sealship” (khatamiyya zamaniyya) which is that the time of his prophethood (Allah bless him and grant him peace) occurs after the time of the prophethood of all other Prophets and he is thus a chronological seal of their prophethood.

The second is “essential sealship” (khatamiyya dhatiyyah), which is that by the essence of his (Allah bless him and grant him peace) prophethood, the prophethood of all the Prophets is sealed and culminates in it. Just as he (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the seal of the Prophets in time, he (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is also the seal of the Prophets in essence, since all that is accidental is terminated by that which is essential, culminate in it and do not surpass it.^[1]

Since his (Allah bless him and grant him peace) prophethood is essential and the prophethood of other Prophets is accidental, because their prophethood (upon them be peace) was secondary to his (Allah bless him and grant him peace) prophethood and he is the most perfect and honourable particular, the pole of the domain of prophethood and messengership and the medium of its contraction, he is [both] the chronological and essential seal of the Prophets.^[2] His sealship is not limited to chronological sealship since it is neither a big virtue nor an increase in his rank that his (Allah bless him and grant him peace) time comes after the time of the Prophets before him^[3], rather complete supremacy, extreme elevation, splendid glory and radiant pride reaches its utmost when his (Allah bless him and grant him peace) sealship is [both] essential and chronological. As regards to when it is limited to chronological sealship, his supremacy and his (Allah bless him and grant him peace) elevation in its perfection is not attained and his complete and comprehensive excellence is not acquired.

This insight from him (Allah Exalted is He have mercy on him) became apparent in his demonstration of the magnitude of his (Allah bless him and grant him peace) rank, the immensity of his proof, his exaltation and his veneration  as concluded by the verifiers (muhaqqiqun) from our masters, the ‘ulama, like al-Shaykh al-Akbar [ibn al-Arabi], al-Taqi al-Subki and the Pole of Existence Shaykh ‘Abd al-Quddus al-Gongohi (Allah Exalted is He have mercy on them). The mind of many of the ancient ‘ulamaand the erudite intellectuals, in what we believe and perceive, did not reach the pavilions of his courtyard.

This [belief], according to the Indian innovators, is disbelief and misguidance. They whisper to their followers and their friends that it is denial of the sealship (Allah bless him and grant him peace)^[4]. [This is] far, very far! By my life, this is undoubtedly the most slanderous calumny and the greatest falsehood and slander. Nothing prompted them to this except contempt, malice, envy and hatred for the people of Allah (Exalted is He) and the elite of His servants. This is how the Divine Pattern (sunnat Allah) proceeds when it comes to His Prophets and His Friends.

Al-Muhannad ‘ala l-Mufannad ya’ni ‘Aqa’id ‘Ulama Ahl Sunnah Deoband, pp. 49-53