Dought & clear - Critique of the book Fadaa’il al-A‘maal by Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandahlawi

Is it true that the book Fadaa'il al-A'maal by Muhammad Zakariyya
al-Kandahlawi contains a number of things that imply shirk?
Praise be to Allah.
The bookFadaa'il al-A'maal– the original title of which was Tableeghi
Nisaab– by Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandahlawi is a collection of
chapters about various virtuous deeds. It was written by the author to
be a reference for the group Jamaa'at al-Tableegh. This book became of
great importance for them, which they read intheir gatherings and
study in their schools and mosques. It is written in Urdu, which iswhy
it did not become widespread in the Arab countries; rather it is
widely known in the countries in which Jamaa'at al-Tableegh is
widespread, such as India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Shaykh Hammood at-Tuwaijri said inal-Qawl al-Baleegh(p. 11):
The most important book among the Tableeghis is Tableeghi Nisaab (also
known asFadaa'il al-A'maal), which was written by one of their leaders
whose name is Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandahlawi. They pay a great deal
of attention to this book, which they respect as Ahl as-Sunnah
respectas-Saheehaynand other books of hadeeth.
The Tableeghis have made this book the mostimportant reference work
for the Indians andother non-Arabs who follow them. It contains a
great deal of matters of shirk, innovation (bid'ah), myths, and
fabricated (mawdoo') and weak (da'eef) hadeeths. In fact it is a book
of evil, misguidance and confusion (fitnah). End quote.
Shaykh Shams ad-Deen al-Afghaani said in his bookJuhood 'Ulama'
al-Hanafiyyah fi Ibtaal 'Aqaa'id al-Qubooriyyah(2/776):
The leading imams of the Deobandis have books which are venerated by
the Deobandis, but they are filled with the myths of grave-worshippers
and Sufi idolatry, such as – and he mentioned a number of books,
including Tableeghi Nisaab, i.e., Nisaab at-Tableegh, and
Manhajat-Tableegh. These Deobandis did not openly disavow these books
or warn against them, and they did not put a stop to the printing and
sale of these books. The markets of India and Pakistan and elsewhere
are full of them. End quote.
It says inFataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah(vol 2, 2/97):
Question: I am a Muslim man living in Britain, and I want to follow
the path of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah in all aspects of my life. On
that basis I am trying to read religious books in Urdu. Whilst reading
some religious books written by the famous and prominent Indian
scholar who belongs to the Deobandi Jamaa'at at-Tableegh, whose name
is Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya Kandahlawi, the shaykh of hadeeth, I
found in his bookTableeghi Nisaab(p. 113), in Chapter 5, a story
quotedby the author from a book entitledRawnaq al-Majaalis. This is
the story of a merchant who died and his estate was shared between his
two sons. In addition to a great deal of wealth, thedeceased had left
behind a hair from the head of the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him). The younger son kept the hair from the head of the
Messenger (blessingsand peace of Allah be upon him) and gave up the
wealth to which he was entitled from his father's estate, giving it to
his older brother. What happened was that the one who took the wealth
soon became bankrupt, whilst the onewho took the hair became rich.
After the death of the younger brother, in whose possession was the
hair from the head of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him), one of the righteous saw the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) in his dream, and the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said to him: "Whoever has any need should
go to the grave of this younger brother and call upon Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted, at his graveside so that He might answer his
prayer." This is quoted from the bookTableeghi Nisaab.
I also read another bookcalledTareekh Mashaayikh Juththatby the same
author, ShaykhMuhammad Zakariyya Kandahlawi. On p. 232, he mentions
Shaykh HajiImdaadullah Muhaajir Makki, when he was in his final
illness and was visited by one of his followers who was grieved by his
state. The shaykh realised that he was feeling sad for him and he
said: "Do not grieve, for the ascetic (zaahid) worshipper does not
die; rather he moves from one place toanother, and he meets people's
needs when he is in his grave as he usedto meet their needs when he
was alive." Thisis quoted from the bookTareekh Mashaayikh Juththat.
I would like to hear yourwise opinions about the above and also about
the following matters:
(a)Is he – the author – and the one who narrated this story still a
Muslim in the light of this belief which is reflected in his books and
his words? Please explain to us with evidence from the Qur'an and
Sunnah.
(b)If he is no longer a Muslim, what is the evidence from the Qur'an
and Sunnah that he is beyond the pale of Islam?
The answer was:
What is quoted in these books, such as the example mentioned in the
question, comes under the heading of reprehensible innovation and
myths that are not based on any sound Islamic principle and have no
basis in the Book of Allahor the Sunnah of His Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him). No one says or believes this except one
who is confused and blinded to the truth, andhas gone astray from
thestraight path.
The claim that a hair of the Prophet still exists, and brings riches
to the one who keeps it, and the claim to have seen the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in a dream telling people
to offer supplication at the graveof this man – all of that islies and
fabrications for which there is no evidence. It is narrated in a
saheeh report that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "The Shaytaan cannot appear in my form." Agreed upon. So
how could the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
instruct people to call upon Allah at gravesides when he forbade such
actions during his lifetime and warned against it in the strongest
terms, and he forbade exaggerating about the Prophets and righteous
people and seeking to draw close to Allah (tawassul) by virtueof them
after their death? He (blessings andpeace of Allah be upon him) did
not die until Allah had perfected His religion by means of him(the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) and completed His
favour or blessings. So nothing can be added to or taken away from
what He prescribed. The beliefthat supplications offered at gravesides
will be answered is an innovation for which there is no basis in
Islam,and it may lead a personto major shirk if he calls upon the
occupant of the grave instead of Allah or alongside Him, or if he
believes that the occupant of the grave has the power to bring benefit
or cause harm, because the only One Who can bring benefit or cause
harm is Allah, may He be glorified.
Similarly, the belief that the ascetic (zaahid) worshipper does not
die, rather he moves from one place to another, and that he canmeet
people's needs from his grave as he used to meet their needswhen he
was alive, is also a false belief; it is one of the beliefs of the
deviant Sufis. There is nobasis for that; rather what is indicated by
the verses and saheeh hadeeths is that every person in this world will
die. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) will die and verily, they (too)will die"
[az-Zumar 39:30]
"And We granted not to any human being immortality before you (O
Muhammad SAW), then if you die, would they live forever?"
[al-Anbiya' 21:34]
"Everyone is going to taste death, and We shallmake a trial of you
with evil and with good, and to Us you will be returned."
[al-Anbiya' 21:35].
The saheeh hadeeths also indicate that when a person dies, all his
deeds come to an end except three: beneficial knowledge, a righteous
son who will pray for him, or ongoing charity (sadaqah jaariyah). The
deceased in his grave has no power to harm orbenefit himself, and it
is more apt to say that one who is in this state has no power to do
that for anyone else. It is not permissible to seek to have one's
needs met by anyone except Allah alone with regard to that over which
no one has any control except Allah; seeking such needs from the dead
is major shirk. Anyone whobelieves anything other than that has
disbelieved in the sense of major kufr and has gone beyond the pale
ofIslam – Allah forbid – because of his rejecting the proven evidence
to that effect from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). He has to repent sincerely
from that, resolve not to go back to that evil deed, and to follow the
path of the righteous early generations of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah
in order to attain the pleasure of Allah and His Paradise, and to be
safe from His punishment. End quote.
It says inal-Mawsoo'ah al-Muyassarah fi'l-Adyaan wa'l-Madhaahib
wa'l-Ahzaab al-Mu'aasirah(1/322):
In their gatherings in Arab countries they – i.e., Jamaa'at
at-Tableegh – focus on reading fromRiyadh as-Saaliheen, but in
non-Arab countries they focus on reading fromHayat
as-SahaabahandTableeghi Nisaab; the latter book is full of myths and
da'eef (weak)hadeeths. End quote.
To sum up, the scholars continue to warn against the bookTableeghi
Nisaab, otherwise known asFadaa'il al-A'maal. It is not permissible
for any Muslim to read it; rather they should focus on the books of
the saheeh Sunnah, books whose authors follow the path of Ahl
as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah. As for books that contain myths and lies,
they should not have any place in the heart or mind of the Muslim.
And Allah knows best.