Author: Obaidullah Nimruzi
Imam Shah Waliullah Muhaddis Dehlawi, MAPH (Part 3)
Teaching method
Shah Waliullah Dehlawi’s teaching style was such that he taught the Holy Quran first, as he says in his will: “Teach the Holy Quran in such a way that you only learn the text of the Quran and the translation without commentary; then read the issues that arise in the text of the Quran, for example, morphological, syntactical, or the revelation of the Quran, and after finishing the Quran, read Jalalin according to the nisab; because there is a lot of grace and blessing in this way; after that, at the same time, learn the Sahihs and other hadith books, and then read the books of jurisprudence, beliefs, and conduct simultaneously.”
Shah Waliullah Dehlawi also taught Quran and hadith to the general public, and the purpose of this informal lesson was to disseminate and spread it to the public, as Shah Abdul Aziz says: “The manner of my great-grandfather was such that after finishing the lesson of the Holy Quran, he would recite the noble hadith. And here both were taught simultaneously.”
Reformed and scientific services of Imam Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, MAPH
Allamah Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, may Allah have mercy on him, was a prominent figure in the Islamic history of India. He was a research scientist, a thinker, an enlightened jurist and a pious mystic and a decisive reformer who left a role in the history of Indian thought that will never be erased.
He had a deep thought and an awake heart, and he used these divine gifts in the best way to revive the Islamic movement in India.
Any writer who writes about the reformation services of Shah Sahib, may Allah have mercy on him, will inevitably recall this Persian poem in his mind:
دامان نگه تنگ و گل حُسن تو بسیار گلچین بهار تو ز دامان، گله دارد
Keep your arms tight and your flowers are many The spring anthology has a flock in your lap
First, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, may Allah have mercy on him, put his finger on the opinion of the Indian nation; Because the first advantage and clear sign of this religion is the emphasis on the correct belief, and before any cultural work, the belief must be corrected.
He stepped on this path with effort and effort and was never threatened or enticed. He stood up against polytheism and superstition. Because polytheism (with its many types) is the oldest and most dangerous disease of human society.
In addition to provoking the wrath of Allah Almighty, this disease is the biggest obstacle to prosperity and spiritual, moral and human civilization and this disease suffocates all human religious instincts.
Imam Shah Waliullah, may Allah have mercy on him, believes that the cure for these spiritual diseases is the Qur’an and thinking about its meanings; Therefore, for this purpose, he translated the Quran into Persian, the official administrative, religious and scientific language of India at that time, and made it available to the public.
The most brilliant work of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, may Allah have mercy on him, is spreading and publishing the Quran and its sciences; Because the Holy Qur’an is the eternal source of human guidance, and also the reformation and education of Muslims and their scientific and intellectual development is dependent on the understanding and consideration of the Holy Qur’an and the implementation of its rules, therefore, Shah Sahib gave special care to the teaching and expansion of the Qur’an and the Qur’anic sciences.
During the time of Shah Waliullah, may Allah have mercy on him, people thought that understanding the Holy Quran, accuracy and thinking in it is the work of scholars and thinkers, and for the general public, it is enough to recite the Quran and, in the teaching, and learning environment of the Holy Quran Rather than understanding the Qur’an, translation and pure interpretation were done with care and attention.
Shah Waliullah, may Allah have mercy on him, listens to Muslims that: “If you look at it from the point of view of fairness, the main benefit of the revelation of the Qur’an is to take advice from it and take advantage of its gifts, and the purpose of the Qur’an is not only to recite it, although reciting it is also a treasure; But what is the way that Muslims have taken that they do not try to understand the Quran, and the one who does not know the meaning of the Holy Quran, what happiness and pleasure will he enjoy.”
Therefore, Imam Shah Waliullah translated the Holy Quran for the people in fluent Persian, which is known as “Fathur Rahman”. The purpose of this translation was only for people to turn to the Qur’an, read it, understand it and build their lives according to it, as well as to eliminate misconceptions, illusions, and wrong and misplaced customs that had spread among Muslims.
Another of the works of Shah Waliullah, may Allah have mercy on him, in this matter, is the authoring of the unique book “Al-Fawz al-Kabeer fi Asul al-Tafsir”, which according to Allameh Seyyed Abul Hasan Nadwi, may Allah have mercy on him, is unparalleled in its art in the libraries of the Islamic world, although this book is brief; But every line of the book is full of important points and generalities of the interpretation technique; This book is actually a precious notebook that was prepared by this great scientist after continuous scientific experiences about solving the problems of the Qur’an.
This speech is completely appropriate, the movement that Shah Waliullah started in India to reform the Muslim Ummah, especially to guide all people in general, was a Quranic movement that started from understanding the Qur’an and progressed to Jihad with the sword, which seems to be the basic performance of Shah Waliullah.
It is that he was a preacher and preacher of the Qur’an, and it cannot be said that with the start of the intellectual movement of Shah Waliullah, may Allah have mercy on him, polytheism, heresies, debauchery and debauchery immediately ended and ignorance was destroyed; But this point should be kept in mind that the power of the storm of oppression and ignorance has significantly decreased and the situation has changed significantly and the belief in the importance and attention to the publication and distribution of the Holy Quran has increased and the Muslim Ummah has reached the stage of reading the Quran to the stage of understanding the Quran. that these effects were clearly felt in the following years.
According to Maulana Syed Abul Hasan Nadwi, may Allah have mercy on him: “Shah Waliullah, may Allah have mercy on him, considered studying and thinking in the Qur’an and understanding it to be the most effective treatment for eradicating the disease of polytheism and heresy, as well as for curing the common plague, and this statement was not based only on vigilance and the power of study and analogy. ; Rather, it was such a clear truth that the Holy Qur’an itself was a witness to it, and not only the history of the Prophethood; Rather, the complete history of the Islamic call and the currents of reform and renewal are proof of it.
Continues…