_____________________________________________________________ Cover Picture: A tile from the Dome of the Rock Mosque, Jerusalem Unknown Photographer © 2007 by Deccan Publishing House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form of by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo copying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 92-74796 ISBN: 1-882225-02-1 First Edition: January 2007, Hyderabad Published by Deccan Publishing House, Inc. 12-3-837 Zeba Bagh, Asif Nagar, Hyderabad A.P., India Printed and bound in

''O Ahlul Bayt of the most gracious Messenger, Allah has ordained your love in the Qur’an He revealed.

Indeed, it is a tribute to your exalted rank, That one who does not send peace upon you in prayer;

His prayer remains incomplete". - Imam Shafi’i

“O Most Generous One, Whose generosity is most abundant.

Bestow your generosity upon transgressors, For the sake of Hasnain and Batul,

And the King of Men (‘Ali).

Through the intercession of Muhammad of the two beautiful locks; Save us from miseries in both worlds.”

- Amjad Hyderabadi

Foreword

Advice Regarding Hadith By H.E. Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani

The Grand Mufti of Turkish Cyprus

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful The Prophet's sayings (ahadith) are equal to, and have the same rank as the Qur’an. We must respect the ahadith as much as we respect the Holy Qur’an's verses. They (the ahadtih) are an explanation of the Qur’anic verses. In his ahadith, the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace and blessings) did not speak for himself, but with revelation from Allah Almighty. If Allah did not permit it, he could not speak. Therefore, we respect the words of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as much as we respect the words of the Holy Qur’an. Our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained the Holy Qur’an according to our capacity, because the Qur’an is Allah's Word, while the hadith are the Prophet's words. Our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is from mankind like ourselves, and so his words are easier for us to understand. Therefore, (through his sayings) he explained the intricacies of the Holy Qur’an to us. If a trustworthy religious scholar says or writes in a book that such and such is a hadith (Prophetic saying), you must believe. For example, al-Ghazali (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote many books containing many ahadith. Some people consider some of these ahadith to be weak, but we are not in agreement with this thinking. If you find any learned man in whom your heart believes and trusts, you must believe any hadith he tells you. This is the way of students, and also of common people for hadith. If a man's heart is not clean, he will ask, “From where is this? From where is that?” So many questions! It shows that his heart is not clean. As much as he questions, so much is his heart filled with doubts. Any book that is written as hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him), we must believe. This is my way (madhhab).

Introduction to the Text and English Translation By Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin

Deputy of H.E. Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, an-Naqshbandi

In the Name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful. Shah Wali Allah Muhaddith al-Dahlawi was by far one of the most outstanding Islamic scholars of India. His full name was Shah Wali Allah Qutbuddin Ahmad ibn Abd ar-Rahim al-Dahlawi. He was born in 1703 A.D. during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb on Friday the 14th of Shawwal, 1114 A.H. in the town of Phulat, in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India. His paternal family traced its lineage back to the second of the Rightly Guided Caliphs; Umar ibn Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) while his maternal lineage was traced back to the venerable Imam Musa al Kazim, the son of Imam Ja’far al Sadiq (may Allah be pleased with him). His father, Shah Abd ar-Rahim was amongst the leading Hanafi jurists of the day, an expert in theology and a Shaykh of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order. Shah Wali Allah acquired the knowledge of Logic, Fiqh, Hadith, Tibb, Algebra, Mathematics, and Sufism from his father, who initiated him into the Naqshbandi Sufi Order at the age of fifteen. Within two years, at the age of seventeen, Shah Wali Allah was granted an Islamic investiture (ijazah) to initiate and accept students on the Path of Truth. In the year 1730 A.D., at the age of twenty three, Shah Wali Allah performed the pilgrimage to Makkah and Madinah. He stayed in Arabia for a little over one year and during that period took intense instruction in the Six Sahihs (Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasa’ai and Ibn Majah) and other books of hadith from the religious scholars of Makkah and Madinah. Amongst his teachers from the great hadith experts of Makkah was Shaykh Tajuddin al-Hanafi al-Makki, who gave Shah Wali Allah ijazah to teach all of the classic books of hadith. Shah Wali Allah was the author of over fifty literary works amongst which is this present Arabic work titled ‘Arba’een’. The ‘Arba’een’ is a compilation of forty sayings of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace and blessings) and its unique feature is that all forty of these ahadith were narrated through the Imams of the Prophet’s family; ‘Ali, Husayn and Zayn al Abidin (may Allah be pleased with them). The ‘Arba’een’ was later translated into Urdu by Shaykh al-Islam Hadrat Sayyid Muhammad Badshah al-Husayni, al-Hyderabadi (d.1964), one of Deccan’s most reputed Grand Shaykhs of the Qadri Sufi Order. It is important to point out that amongst the venerable Sayyid Muhammad Badshah’s admirers was the last Nizam of Hyderabad himself, Mir Osman ‘Ali Khan Asaf Jhah VII (d. 1949), who would attend the Sayyid’s ‘Ashura lectures for the first ten days of Muharram.(1)

Sayyid Muhammad Badshah al-Husayni received the ijazah to narrate the ‘Arba’een’ from Mawlana Abd al-Qadeer al-Siddiqui, another prominent Islamic scholar from the former Nizam State of Hyderabad, Deccan and he received permission in the Qadri Order from his father, Sayyid Umar Qadri, a reputed Islamic scholar, Sufi Shaykh and the author of ‘Tafsir Qadri’, a mystical exegesis of the Holy Qur’an. Sayyid Umar Qadri received the secret of the Qadri Order from Khwaja Muhammad Siddiq, who received it from Muhammad Pasha Mian, who received it from Mawlana Shujauddin, who received it from Shah Rafiuddin, who received it from Rahmat Allah Shah Nilur, who received it from Sayyid Sadaat Alawi, who received it from Abd Allah Barum, who received it from Shaykh Abd Allah, who received it from Shaykh Ahmad Qashashi, who received it from Muhammad Yusuf Salik, who received it from Aminuddin Marwahi, who received it from Sirajuddin Umar, who received it from Abd al-Qadir Yamani, who received it from Shaykh Junayd ibn Yamani, who received it from Shaykh Ahmad Mashrui’, who received it from Shaykh Abi Bakr Salami, who received it from Ishmael ibn Shaykh Siddiq, who received it from Muhammad Shaykh Mirzaji, who received it from Shah Shaykh Zubaydi, who received it from Shaykh Sirajuddin Yamani, who received it from Shaykh Muhiuddin Ahmad, who received it from Shaykh Fakhruddin Abu Bakr, who received it from Shaykh Muhammad, who received it from Shaykh Abd Allah Yusuf, who received it from Shaykh Abd Allah, who received it from al-Ghawth al-Adham Shaykh Muhiuddin Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, al-Hasani, al-Husayni (may Allah be well pleased with him). The Master and Pole, Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani received it from Abu Saeed ibn ‘Ali, who received it from Shah ‘Ali, who received it from Shaykh Taqr al-Tusi, who received it from Abd al-Wahid Shaykh al-Yamani, who received it from Shaykh Shibli, who received it from Shaykh Junayd al-Baghdadi, who received it from Sirri al-Saqati, who received it from Ma’ruf Karkhi, who received it from the Imam of mankind, the light of guidance, the dispeller of darkness; ‘Ali who is called Rida ibn Musa (may Allah be well pleased with him). Imam ‘Ali al Rida received it from his father Imam Musa al Kazim, the shinning, who received it from his father Imam Ja’far al Sadiq, the great, who received it from his father Imam Zayn al Abidin, the luminous, who received its secret from his pure father, the Prince of the Believers, Imam Husayn ibn ‘Ali, the famed martyr, who received it from the Lion of Allah, the Prince of the Believers ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, who in turn recieved it from the Light of Creation, Muhammad ibn Abd Allah, the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him and his righteous Family). I decided to accept the task of translating Hadrat Badshah al-Husayni’s Urdu translation of Shah Wali Allah’s ‘Arba’een’ at the direct request of his (Sayyid Muhammad Badshah al-Husayni) granddaughter, who currently resides in Canada. It is my prayer that this book finds acceptance in the Divine Presence and becomes a means to spread these ‘Pearls of Divine Wisdom, From the Divine Wisdom of Pearls’.

Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin Deputy of H.E. Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, al-Hanafi The Grand Mufti of Turkish Cyprus _____________________________________________________________________________________ (1) According to an article titled ‘Caliph's Beauteous Daughter’ which appeared in the November 09th ,1931 edition of TIME Magazine, His Exalted Highness the Nizam of Hyderabad, who was reputed as being "Richest Man in the World", wanted declare himself Caliph of the Muslim world in collaboration with and succession to the deposed Ottoman Caliph Abd al-Medjid Effendi, who married his daughter Princess Durri Chehvar to the Exalted Nizam's eldest son, Sahib Zada Nawah Azam Jah. However, the Nizam State lost its independence and fell to the Indian Union in 1948. Sayyid Muhammad Badshah al-Husayni was the Shaykh al-Islam during his reign.

Hadrat Sayyid Muhammad Badshah al-Husayni’s Introduction to the Text

It has been my intention from some time now, that I translate and publish Hadrat Shah Wali Allah Muhaddith al-Dahlawi’s collection of forty hadith for the benefit of my respected brothers of the Qadri Sufi Order. It is important to mention that until the commencement of our present effort, this collection of the Holy Prophet’s sayings from Hadrat Shah Wali Allah’s works were not publicly available. I was granted the ijazah and authorization to narrate and publish these luminous ahadith of the Messenger of Allah from ‘the Ocean of Divine Knowledge’ Hadrat Mawlana al-Hajj Shah Abd al-Qadeer Siddiqi. The unique feature of these ahadith of Shah Wali Allah’s ‘Arba’een’ is that they have all been narrated through the Ahlul Bayt, and as such, they are unparalleled and ‘light upon light’. According to a well known tradition of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the merit for preserving by heart forty of his sayings is as follows,

“One who preserves by heart forty of my sayings in the commandments of religion, or

teaches them to others, Allah the Most Sublime shall resurrect him on the Day of Judgment from amongst the men of knowledge and I shall intercede for him and be his

witness.”

These ahadith, as mentioned earlier, are narrated by the illustrious Ahlul Bayt, through him whose sorrow was fresh in memory of the martyrs of Karbala; Imam Zayn al Abidin (peace be upon him) the luminous, who received them from this pure father, the Prince of the Believers Imam Husayn (peace be upon him), the famed martyr. Imam Husayn (upon whom be peace) received them from the Sultan of the Saints, the Master of the Universe, ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (upon whom be peace); who heard and by hearted these luminous words from his Master, the Beloved of the Lord of the Worlds, the Leader of Prophets and Messengers; Muhammad, (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) the Prophet of Allah.

“Even if I am grateful, it will not suffice in comparison to this benevolence”

This poor soul has translated and published these hadith for his brothers on the Path of Truth, so they may benefit from them. And Allah is the best Guide and Closest Companion.

Sayyid Muhammad Badshah al-Husayni

Hadith (1.)

1. Narrational knowledge and direct knowledge are not one in the same.

Hadith (2.)

2. War is a deception.

Hadith (3.)

3. Muslims are mirrors to one another.

Hadith (4.)

4. He who is sought for counsel ought to be one who is faithful.

Hadith (5.)

5. Seek Allah to fulfill your needs, conceal them from others.

Hadith (6.)

6. Guard yourself from fire, even if it be as small as a date slice.

Hadith (7.)

7. The Life of this world is a prison for the believer, but a paradise for the blasphemer.

Hadith (8.)

8. One guiding towards goodness, is like one practicing it.

Hadith (9.)

9. It is impermissible for a believer to ignore his brother for more than three days.

Hadith (10.)

10. Modesty is the greatest of virtues.

Hadith (11.)

11. Promises of a believer are similar to an agreement (i.e. they are certain).

Hadith (12.)

12. One who deceives us is not of us.

Hadith (13.)

13. It is better to be content with little, than to be disoriented by greed.

Hadith (14.)

14. One who takes back gifts is like one who consumes his own vomit.

Hadith (15.)

15. Calamities befall one who speaks without purpose.

Hadith (16.)

16. Mankind is like the teeth of a single comb.

Hadith (17.)

17. The most accomplished is one who restrains ones self (nafs).

Hadith (18.)

18. The felicitous are those who accept guidance, even from strangers.

Hadith (19.)

19. Certainly, there is wisdom in poetry and a magic in language.

Hadith (20.)

20. The source of the subsistence of nations is its absolving monarchs.

Hadith (21.)

21. Men are with whom they love.

Hadith (22.)

22. Those mindful of their limitations shall not destroy themselves.

Hadith (23.)

23. The child is cared and provided for, but the adulterer stoned.

Hadith (24.)

24. The bestowing hand is better than the one bestowed.

Hadith (25.)

25. One is not grateful to Allah, when one is ungrateful to man.

Hadith (26.)

26. Love towards a thing can blind and deafen one.

Hadith (27.)

27. In their essence, hearts are drawn towards ones presenting beauty (in the form of

virtue and goodness), while repulsed from ones presenting ugliness (in the form of wickedness and vice).

Hadith (28.)

28. One wholeheartedly repenting from sin, is as one who had never carried it.

Hadith (29.)

29. The present witness what the absent do not.

Hadith (30.)

30. When generous people arrive, show them generosity.

Hadith (31)

31. False oaths destroy cities.

Hadith (32.)

32. One killed guarding ones wealth, is a martyr.

Hadith (33.)

33. Actions are in their intentions.

Hadith (34.)

34. The master of a nation is its servant

Hadith (35.)

35. The best of paths is the middle.

Hadith (36.)

36. May Allah bless the morning of Thursdays for my nation.

Hadith (37.)

37. Poverty can drive one to blasphemy.

Hadith (38.)

38. Traveling is a minor form of chastisement.

Hadith (39.)

39. Gather for honorable purposes.

Hadith (40.)

40. God weariness is the best provision.

Glossary of Islamic Terms A

Allah : The Islamic term for God, literally meaning the Deity. ‘Ali : Cousin of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and husband of the Prophet's daughter Fatima. Fourth and last of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Inheritor of the Prophet’s inner teachings and the most knowledgeable of all the Prophet's companions. Ahadith : A plural for hadith. Sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Ahlul Bayt : Referring to the members of the Prophet's Family; Prophet Muhammad, ‘Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn. Literally meaning the people of the household (of the Prophet). ‘Arba’een’ : The name of this work of Shah Wali Allah, referring to his compilation of forty sayings of the Prophet. al-Dahlawi : The one from Delhi. al-Husayni : A descendant of Imam Husayn, grandson of the Holy Prophet. al-Hyderabadi : The resident of Hyderabad. al-Haqqani : The defender of Truth. al-Naqshbandi : An initiate of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, the Naqshbandi. Amjad Hyderabadi : A prominent poet from Hyderabad Deccan, from whose poetry the Urdu translator quoted in praise of the Prophet's Family. al-Ghazali : "Hujjat al Islam", the proof of Islam's authenticity. One of the greatest scholars of Islamic history, whose works are widely accepted by all Muslims and whose works were amongst the pioneer texts which interlinked the Shari’ah (Islamic Law) to Tasawwuf (Sufism, Islamic Mysticism). Aurangzeb : A Moghul Emperor of late 17th Century who died in the year 1707A.D.

al-Ghawth al-Adham : The Arch Intercessor, the Supreme Helper, the Greatest Aid. A title exclusively reserved for the leader of all Sufis and Sufi Orders, Shaykh Muhiuddin Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, al-Hasani, al-Husayni. al-Jilani : A resident of Jilan, Persia (Iran). al-Hasani : The descendant of Imam Hasan, grandson of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). Ahmed : The praise worthy one. A name of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), also used by his followers.

B Batul : Another name for the Lady Fatima, daughter of Prophet Muhammad, wife of ‘Ali, mother of Hasan and Husayn.

C Caliph : A successor, usually used to identify the head of the Islamic state or the deputy of a Shaykh of any of the major Sufi Orders.

D Day of Judgement: The last day, the day of resurrection when all souls will be called to account by Allah Most High.

F Fiqh : Islamic jurisprudence.

G

Grand Shaykh: The leading Shaykh of his time, usually reserved as a title for the head (Grand Master) of any one of the forty-one Sufi Orders or schools of jurisprudence.

H Hasnain : This name refers to the grandsons of the Holy Prophet, Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn. Hanafi : A follower of Imam Abu Hanifa, one of the four major scholars of Sunni jurisprudence. It is also the title for the school of jurisprudence of Imam Abu Hanifa.

Hadith : Traditions. Records of the sayings and practices of the Holy Prophet passed down in unbroken chains by transmitters and compiled in collections in the second century after his lifetime.

I Imam Shafi’i : The Imam of the Shafi’i School of jurisprudence, one of Sunni Islam's four major schools of religious interpretations. Imam : A spiritual leader of a very high caliber. Ijazah : An Islamic investiture, a license to teach or convey granted from a Master to his Pupil, tracing back to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

K Kafir : Blasphemer. ‘Kufr’ and ‘Kufur’, meaning blasphemy. Khwajagan : Islam's illuminati, the Masters of Wisdom to whom the Naqshbandi and Chisti schools trace their spiritual lineage. Khwaja : A Master of Wisdom, a title reserved for a Master of any of the Sufi Orders which trace their spiritual lineage back to the Masters of Wisdom (Khwajagan).

M Messenger : Referring to the last Messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) Muhammad : The blessed name of the Seal of the Prophets. The last Prophet through whom the religion Islam was revealed. A name also adapted by his followers. Madhab : One of four schools of jurisprudence, school of religious thought. Muslim : One who surrenders to Allah's will, one professing the creed of Islam.

N Naqshbandi : A Sufi Tariqa or Order. Descended from the Khwajagan who take their name from Khwaja Bahauddin Shah Naqshband (may Allah have mercy on him). Nafs : The ego, the lower self P Prophet : Messenger of God, referring to Muhammad (peace be upon him)

Prince of the Believers : Amir al-Momineen, Commader of the Faithful. A term reserved for the successors of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and/or the rightful Caliph (the head of the Muslim world). Path of Truth : Tariq al- Haq. The path of those who seek absolute Truth, into the Divine Presence.

Q Qur’an : The final revelation revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. Qadri : A name of a Sufi Order based on the teachings of Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani; the Imam and leader of all Sufis and Sufi Orders.

R

Rightly Guided Caliphs : The term used to describe the first generation of pious Muslim rulers namely Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and ‘Ali; according to Al Suyuti, also Hasan the son of ‘Ali.

S Sufi : One who follows Tasawwuf (Islamic Mysticism). Sufi Order : Refer Tariqat Six Sahihs : The six authenticated books of Hadith widely read in the Sunni world. Shaykh : A reference specific to scholars of Islam and Islamic Mysticism. Shawwal : The tenth month of the Islamic calendar.

T Tariqat : An Order of Sufism ie; Naqshbandiyya, Rifai, Qadri, Chisti etc. Refering to the Path to Truth. Tafsir : Exegesis of the Holy Qur’an. Commentary on the meanings of the verses of the Holy Qur’an.

U, V, W, X, Y, Z

Zayn al Abidin : The Light of Worshippers, the Luminous. The title of ‘Ali, the son of Husayn, the son of ‘Ali.