Religious Poetry of Imam Ahmad Raza Khan: A Poetic Masterpiece
(A book of Naat)
Translated By DG Qurashi.
Book review By Shumaila Munib:
Introduction Of DG Qurashi:
DG Qurashi was a professor by profession. He had special devotion to Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi. He translated Ahmed Raza Khan’s poetry into English; his translated work is called “Religious Poetry of Imam Ahmad Raza.” Columns in this book have been written by MI Kashmiri, Chairman, Raza Academy; Mohammad Afzal Hameed, Journal Editor; and Dakar Mohd Haroon, Director, Raza Academy. This book contains 114 pages. This book was published by the Raza Academy in 1996. The book highlights the main themes of Ahmad Raza Khan’s poetry, such as his undying love for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his deep reverence for Islamic law (Sharia), and his conviction against deviations. A determination to defend. Qureshi highlights that these themes are not only a reflection of Ahmad Raza Khan’s personal piety but also a source of inspiration and guidance for his followers. Poetry is presented as a medium through which Ahmad Raza Khan expressed his religious ideals and mobilized his community towards spiritual and moral rectitude. This book is a comprehensive and insightful study of the spiritual and poetic services of the religious poetry of Imam Ahmad Raza Khan by DG Qureshi.
Introduction of Ahmad Raza Khan:
Mawlana Ahmed Raza Khan was a poet and religious scholar. He belonged to the Pathan family that came to India during the Mughal period. He is also known as Ala Hazrat. He was born on Saturday afternoon, June 14, 1856, or 10th Shawwal, 1272 AH. On Friday, the 25th of Safar, 1340 AH (October 28, 1921), he died away in Bareilly, British India.
Education:
Besides to his father, Mufti Naqi Ali Khan, and grandfather, Mufti Raza Ali Khan, Imam Ahmad Raza Khan got his official education from the following teachers are Mirza Qadir Baig Barelvi, Mawlana. Abdul Ali Rampuri, Mawlana. Mawlana Nuri Abu al-Hussain etc., All your teachers are commendable.
“With my first teacher, I would review the textbooks once or twice only. Then, in class, I would recall everything I had read, word for word, letter for letter. This amazed my teacher. He once rhetorically asked, “Are you a human or jinn? It takes me longer to teach the lesson than for you to memorize it!” The Imam replied, “Thanks to Allah, I am human. But yes, His grace and blessings are with me”1
“He wrote extensively on law, Religion, Philosophy and Sciences, mastering both rational and religious subjects. He was a reformer who defended Prophet Muhammad and popular Sufi practices” 2
“Influencing millions of people. Today, the Barelvi movement has around 200 million followers in the region.”3
Some people would unknowingly write hafiz (memorizer of the Quran) before my name, although I was not qualified for this accolade…˹However, now, ˺ I have worked hard and memorised the Quran. I have done this so the servants of Allah who add hafiz to my name are not ˹liable for˺ erring.4
Literary work of Imam Ahmad Raza:
Writing religious poetry or prose is not only emotional satisfaction but also requires great skill in the art of poetry.
“Religious Poetry has always been a subject of a great interest universally as any avid reader of the classics will track the relevance of poetry from the psalms of Holy David Religious Poetry has always been a subject of a great interest universally as an avid reader of the classics of sacred poetry will track the relevance the of sacred poetry. Islamic Poetry has a rich tradition, and it conveys the themes of love for God, morality, humanity, spiritual awakening and many more. Maulana Rumi, Hafiz, Ibn-E-Arbi are significant contributors in the strain of religious and mystic poetry. Imam Ahmad Raza, a renowned Indian Muslim scholar, added in the stream of religious poetry as noted by Abbas & Saleem (2019). Their article analyses the poetic contribution of Imam Ahmad Raza in terms of themes and concludes that “His poetry is very rich not only from cultural but also religious point of view” (p. 1).5
Ali Hazrat’s main achievement is ” Fatawa-i Razawiyya,” which has been called the “Encyclopedia of Islam” and a great jurisprudential masterpiece by the scholars of Pakistan and other countries. Allama Abdul Rauf, the former Shaykh of Al-Hadith Jamia Ashrafia (UP), writes: ” Fatawa-i Razawiyya (Qadim) is in twelve volumes, each volume of which contains about a thousand pages, in which research is described on thousands of issues of Islamic jurisprudence. Which is your example? Numerous Qur’anic verses, hadiths, and the testimonies of Al-Usul and Faroo have enriched most of your fatwas. Currently, the current “Fatawa-i Razawiyya” consists of 33 volumes with Takhrej, which is a large scholarly collection.
“He written roughly a thousand books on various subjects. From 1286 AH until 1340 AH, he authored millions of “Fatawa,” but sadly, not all of them could be preserved. Under the heading “اَلعَطَايَا النَّبَوِيَّه فٌِ الفَتَاوٌَ الرَّضَوِيَّه,” the recorded information has been gathered. ” Fatawa-i Razawiyya ” has 30 volumes, 21656 pages, 6847 question-answers, and 206 booklets in its most recent edition.”6
Imam Ahmad Raza’s highest position in scholarly research is only Muslim, according to scholars; along with this, he is a Qadir-ul-Kalam teacher in poetry. Dr. Muhyiddin Alwai of Al-Azhar University, Egypt, has expressed his surprise that a researcher who makes scientific discoveries and a delicate thinker can also be a poet. He was selected and presented literature poems such as the qasida of Mirajiyya and the salam that gained public popularity, “Mustafa sallallahu alaihi wasallam, peace be upon him.
Imam Ahmad Raza Khan’s Religious Poetry:
In poetry, he admired the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) Sayyidna Hasan bin Thabit, may God bless him and grant him peace. He was inspired by the poetry of Kifayat Ali Kafi among the poets of his time. Regarding the popularity of Naatiya Kalams, the acceptance of Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi’s Naats is unprecedented.
Every notable Naat Khawaan embellished their voices with your words from his book Haqaiq Bakhsh. One of the notable translations of his poetry is done by Professor G.D. Qureshi. In the poetry of Imam Ahmad Raza, intense love and devotion to Prophet Muhammad is often (peace be upon him) expressed. In these poems, the attributes of the Prophet, his importance in the lives of Muslims and the desire to emulate his character can be highlighted. A prominent theme in “The Religious Poetry of Imam Ahmad Raza” is the intense love and devotion to the Prophet (peace be upon him) of Islam. Imam Ahmad Raza’s poetry often expresses deep reverence for the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his importance in the lives of Muslims.
Qureshi carefully examines the themes, style and cultural significance of Ahmad Raza Khan’s poetry, focusing on how it reflects his deep spiritual devotion and religious insight. The book covers a wide range of poetic forms, including naat (praise of the Prophet Muhammad), hamad (praise of God), and manqabat (praise of saints), which are central to Islamic worship and cultural expression. are Each motif is analyzed in the context of its religious significance, demonstrating Ahmad Raza Khan’s mastery of combining poetic beauty with religious depth.
Ahmad raza says about himself that,
O Raza! I’m that tear, which dropped from the solar eye
When the sun, desperately longing to go to taibah
