There is a famous saying “repeat the lie so many times such that it becomes the truth.”

This is what the leaders or propagators of deviant sects have done from time to time to misguide the people of faith.

The founder of Wahabiyyah in India is Ismail Dehalvi. He belonged to famous family of Shah Waliullah Muhaddith Dehalvi. He went to Arab and studied “Kitab ut-Tawheed” by Ibn Abdul Wahhab Najdi.

He (Ismail Dehalvi) was so impressed by the book that he translated it into Urdu, added his own views and had it printed under the name “Taqwiat ul-Iman”.

This book did damage which none of the past Indo-Pak deviant movements could do to Islam and Ahlus Sunnah in India. The Blessed Birth of Prophet ﷺ (Meelad un-Nabwi) which was celebrated across the length and breadth of the country was now called an innovation.

Remembering Awliya Allah on the occasion of their Urs was termed as un-Islamic. Visiting graves and seeking help through the wasila of pious of Allah's Creation was called polytheism, even naming someone as Abdul Mustafa was said to be shirk.

This book was the first and foremost book in dividing the Sunni Muslims of the Indo-Pak region. The public was confused by these new teachings, as this book proclaimed them and their forefather who had been observing these things as Kafir & Mushriks.

There were quarrels in every house, between relatives and families on these matters. Ulama of Ahlus Sunnah challenged Ismail Dehalvi for a debate in the Jamia Masjid of Delhi where he was shamefully defeated.

He was also called for a debate in Peshawar by the Ulama of Ahlus Sunnah where he was defeated again. A few of the contemporary scholars who debated with him and wrote books and fatawa against him were
• Allamah Fazle Haq Khairabadi
• Maulana Rasheeduddin Khan Dehalvi

•Shah Makhsoosullah Dehalvi
•Shaykh Muhammed Moosa Dehalvi
•Shaykh Muhammed Shareef Dehalvi
•Mufti Shujauddin Ali Khan
•Allamah Fazl-e-Rasool Badayuni
•Mufti Sadruddin Dehalvi
•Shaykh Ahmad Saeed Mujaddidi Rampuri
•Shaykh Haidar Ali Faizabadi

•Maulana Abdul Majeed Badayuni
•Shaykh Abdul Gafoor Swati
•Shaykh Muhammed Suleman Taunswi
•Shaykh Aale Rasool Marerhvi
•Maulana Turab Ali Lakhnawi etc.

In 1835, The book ‘Taqwiyyat ul-Iman’ was read from start to end and page by page in front of the Ulama of Madras and all 30 of them gave fatwa against the book saying that: Whosoever has beliefs as the contents of this book is a Kafir and out of fold of Islam.

Attesting the fatawa of Ulama of Madras, the esteemed scholars of Delhi also gave the fatwa against the book. It was announced in the streets of Delhi that: No one should read this book, as it contains insults of Beloved Prophet ﷺ and Awliyah

and it is prohibited to read a book which contains these.
Ustaz ul-Ulama Mawlana Muhammed Wajhiy Sahab wrote ‘Nizamul Islam’ refuting the contents of Taqwiyyat ul-Iman and 22 esteemed Ulama of Calcutta signed it.

Some of the books which were written refuting the beliefs written in Taqwiat ul-Iman were
•Gulzar-e-Hidayat by Mufti of Madras, Allamah Muhammed Sibghatullah.
•Tahqeeq ul-fatwa fi Ibtalil Tagwa by Allamah Fazle-Haq Khairabadi

•Hayat un-Nabi by Shaykh Muhammed Abid Sindhi
•Tehqeeq ush-Shirk wat-tawheed by Hafiz Muhammed Hasan
•Salahul Momineen fi Qat’il Kharijeen by Mawlana Lutf ul-Haq Qadiri
•Hujjat ul-Amal fi Ibtaal il-Hayl by Mawlana Moosa Dehalvi

•Rasm ul-Khayrat by Mawlana Khaleel ur-RahmanMustafabaadi
•Tuhfat ul-Muslimeen fi jazaabi Sayyad il-Mursaleen by Mawlana Abdullah Saharanpuri
•Tahleel Ma Ahall allahu fi Tafseer wa ma ahl bihi li ghair illah by Mawlana Khaleel ur-Rahman

• Sabeeblul Nijaah ila tahseel il -falaah by Maulana Turab Ali Lakhnawi
•Safeenat ul-Nijaat by Mawlana Muhammed Aslami Madrasi
•Nizame Islam by Mawlana Muhammed Waheed ud-deen Calcutta
•Quwat ul-Imaan by Mawlana Karamat Ali Jaunpuri

•Ahqaaq ul-Haq by Mawlana Syed Badruddin Ridawi Hyderabadi
•Khair uz-Zaad li Yawm il-Miyaad by Mawlana Khair ud-Din Madrasi
•Nem ul -Intibah li raf’ il-lishtibaah by Mawlana Muallim Ibraheem Bombay

•Hidayat ul-Muslimeen Ila Tareeq il-Haq wal-Yaqeen by Qadi Muhammad Hussayn Koofi
•Tohfa-e-Muhammadiyah dar Radd-e-Wahabiyah by Mawlana Syed Abd ul-Fattah Mufti Qadiri Gulshanabadi
•Siraj ul-Hidayat by Mawlana Gulshanabaadi

Other than these Ulama Mawlana Inayat Ahmad, Mawlana Shah Ra’oof Ahmad, Mawlana Shah Ahmad Saeed Dehalvi etc. strongly refuted the book and tried to stop its fitna.

Finally Ismail Dehalvi with his murshid Syed Ahmad Raibarelvi were killed by the pathan Muslims of Balakot when they found that the duo harbored beliefs which were against Ahl us-Sunnah and disrespected Almighty Allah & his Beloved ﷺ.

Deobandis and Wahhabis claim that they became martyrs while fighting with Sikhs but historical proofs do not support this claim. Beloved Prophet ﷺ truly said that Fitna is more severe than Qat’l (murder). Ismail Dehalvi died but his legacy continued.

The erroneous and blasphemous beliefs which he spread continued. After Ismail Dehalvi’s death his followers split into two groups.

One of them claimed to be muqallids of Imam Abu Hanifa and later came to be known as Deobandis and the other group rejected the taqleed of Imams and called themselves as ‘Ahle Hadith’.

Following in the footsteps of Ismail Dehalvi and with financial help from the ruling British government a madrassah was founded at Deoband, a small town near Delhi. The founding members were Mawlvi Qasim Nanotwi & Mawlvi Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi.

The supposedly Islamic madrassah which was supposed to protect the imaan of Muslims instead became a
movement [advocating] the terming of innocent Muslims, practicing the traditions of Ahl us-Sunnah as mushriks and bid'atis.

Hazrat Haji Imdadullah Mujahir Makki was one of most celebrated saint of Chishtiyyah Sabiri order in that era. He was a staunch Sunni scholar who approved of the Milad, Urs, Fatihah and other acts. His disciples include esteemed scholars such as Mawlana Abd us-Samee Rampuri,

Mawlana Lutfullah Aligarhi, Mawlana Ahmad Hasan Kanpuri, Mawlana Muhammad Hussain Ilahabadi and Shaykh ul-Islam Mawlana Anwarullah Farooqi (founder of Jamia Nizamiyah, Hyderabad, India). Ironically, Mawlvi Qasim Nanotwi, Mawlvi Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi

and other scholars of Deoband were also his disciples. The people of Indo-Pak had been observing Meelad celebration, Fatihah and majalis of Isale Sawaab, but it was the faculty of Deoband who gave the first fatwa against these acts, causing confusion in the minds of people.

As per this fatwa the celebration of Milad and performing Qiyam-e-Tazeemi were termed biddat. Similarly doing Fatihah and organizing the majlis of Isale Sawaab were said to be against the Shariah. It was signed by Mawlvi Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi along with others.

Later another 24 page fatwa was issued on the same issue and was printed along with the previous fatwa. Mawlana Abd us-Samee Rampuri was a great scholar and as stated above, a disciple and khalifa of Haji Imdadullah Mujahir Makki.

When this fatwa from Deoband began to cause fitnah between the people of
Ahl us-Sunnah, he wrote a detailed fatwa upon the permissibility of Milad, Fatihah & Urs etc. named ‘Anwar-e-Saatia’. His peer o murshid Haji Imdadullah Mujahir Makkri read the complete book

and attested it saying that the book is according to his and his predecessor's beliefs. When this book came into circulation it was overwhelmingly well-received and a wave of happiness spread over the people of Ahl us-Sunnah.

But it set the fire of anger amongst the Deoband camp. Mawlvi Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi lost all his senses and wrote the infamous book ‘Baraheen-e-Qaatia’ but it was printed in the name of Mawlvi Khaleel Ahmad Ambetwi.

Mawlvi Rasheed was so mad at the book of Allamah Abd us-Samee Rampuri that in his book he went to the extent that not only did he just declare Milad, Urs & Fatihah as bid'ats but compared the Milad celebration to the Hindu festival of Janmashtami

(the birthday of the Hindu god Krishna) and called the [Milad celebrating] people worse than Kafirs & Hindus. He even attacked the Almighty writing that Allah can lie; he wrote that the Blessed Prophet ﷺ is a normal human being like us

and the knowledge of the Blessed Prophet ﷺ is less than the knowledge possessed by Shaytan and the Angel of Death. He didn’t hesitate to say that the Prophet ﷺ was unaware of his end and was even unaware of the things which [occured, whilst hidden] behind a wall.

He even boasted that the Prophet ﷺ learnt Urdu from Deoband (May Allah Forbid).
Mawlvi Rasheed became so insane that he abused Allamah Abd ul-Samee, his own spiritual brother, by calling him ignorant, shameless and insane etc.

As Allamah Abd us-Samee Rampuri and Mawlvi Rasheed Gangohi were disciples and khalifas of Haji Imdadullah he tried to negotiate and resolve the issues between them.

Allamah Abd us-Samee, on the orders of his peer, edited the parts of his book in which he was harsh upon Mawlvi Rasheed and his group, but Mawlvi Rasheed didn't agree and till this date the same Baraheen-e-Qatia is in print.

In another step to resolve the conflicts Haji Imdadullah Mujahir Makki wrote Faislah Haft Mas'alah in which he explained the position of Ahl us-Sunnah on Milad, Fatihah ,Urs and Sama’a, Calling [upon the] ghairullah, Jamat-e-Sania, Imkan-e-Nazeer, Imkan-e-Kizb.

Mawlvi Ashraf Ali Thanvi sent a few copies of the book to Mawlvi Rasheed for distribution. But what can be expected from a person who could insult [even] Allah and his Prophet ﷺ and the Awliya? Mawlvi Rasheed burnt the books of his own spiritual guide.

So we see that the dispute between Ahl us-Sunnah and the Deobandi cult started as a difference of opinion between two disciples of Haji Imdadullah Mujahir Makki. But we find that most of the literature of Deobandi cult is against Aala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Rida RadiyAllāhu Ánhu only.

Infact one of the so called respected Scholars of Deoband, Mawlvi Hussain
Ahmad Madani swore at Aala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Rida Khan RadiyAllāhu Ánhu and called his names around 600 times in his book “ash-Shahab us-Saaqib”.

The reason behind exhausting all their energy [in writing] literature [against] Imam Ahmad Rida was because, while the Ulama of the last century wrote books and fataawa against specific Deobandi scholars; he was the one who laid open the whole Deobandi camp and exposed

their blasphemy and deviance to the world. The Deobandi cult continuously printed the literature which contained disrespect to Almighty Allah, His beloved Prophet ﷺ and against the beliefs and traditions of Ahl us-Sunnah causing fitnah among the Muslim ummah.

Though the literature contained clear insult of Allah and His Rasool ﷺ, still Imam Ahmad Rida Khan RadiyAllāhu Ánhu tried to have a formal discussion with the Deobandi scholars, he sent registered letters to them; which were even received by them,

to ask them to explain the statements in their books, he sent his students and Khulafa to have discussion with Mawlvi Ashraf Ali and others, but all in vain.
Neither did they explain their stance anyone of their followers.

When all channels of communication were exhausted Aala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Rida Khan RadiyAllāhu Ánhu wrote a fatwa “Hussam ul Haramayn” upon the blasphemy of the Deobandi cult and sent it to the scholars of Makkah Mukarramah and Madinah Munawwarah.

33 scholars of the blessed land gave the verdict that people who wrote these blasphemies were outside of the fold of Islam and whosoever considers them Muslim is also out of the fold of Islam.

When this fatwa was published in India, the Deobandi leaders had no place to hide themselves. People from across the country were cursing them and disassociating themselves from them.

The Deobandis came up with allegations that Imam Ahmad Rida forged the statements of the Deobandi scholars and as the scholars of Haramain were unaware of Urdu, he got the fatwa by fraud.

This shameless propaganda was again put to end by Allamah Hashmat Ali Lakhnawi who wrote “as-Sawarim ul-Hindiyyah “ and around 350 scholars of the Indo-Pak region anonymously declared the Deobandi leaders and all people with those beliefs, heretics.

The Deobandi cult was now exposed and people from across the country hated them and disrespected them. So they came up with another plan to hide their beliefs, by defaming the great Imam. They spread lies that Mawlana Ahmad Rida RadiyAllāhu Ánhu has his own school of thought,

which is against the Shari’ah and Ahl us-Sunnah. That he is a bid'ati and mushrik. All the wrongdoings of ignorant Muslims were attributed to him. They became so shameless that they (wrongly attempted to) prove him as belonging to a Shi'ite family.

They accused him of studying under the brother of Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani. In the past they spent all their energy and resources in defaming the Almighty and his beloved people and now the target became Imam Ahmad Rida. Innumerable books, pamphlets, posters were printed against him.

This is the reason why when Aala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Rida Khan RadiyAllāhu Ánhu was told that the Deobandis curse him, he said Alhamdulillah, for the time they curse me atleast they do not curse the Almighty and my Beloved ﷺ.

All this was done so that the main issues of difference, that is; the deviant beliefs of Deobandis, are not discussed in public and the people are made busy with disputation upon the minor issues of Milad, Fatihah & Urs etc. considering these to be basis of all differences.

One should research the books by Deobandis and Wahabis like the 8 Volume “Mutala-e-Barelviyat” by Khalid Mahmood Deobandi and “al-Barelviyat” by Ihsan Ilahi Zaheer, they have just wasted paper and blackened pages by making false accusations

and discussing issues rather than clarifying the accusations made upon their beliefs. One of the proofs that all their 'refutation' was a planned propaganda against Aala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Rida Khan RadiyAllāhu Ánhu is

that none of the contemporary Deobandi Ulama wrote against him nor did they called him a bid'ati and
mushrik. Infact Mawlvi Ashraf Ali said that we pray behind them (followers of Mawlana Ahmad Rida [True Followers of Ahlus Sunnah])

and did du'a when he heard of the demise of Aala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Rida Khan RadiyAllāhu Ánhu. Even the present days Deobandis and Wahhabis do not hesitate to pray behind Ahl us-Sunnah Imams but you will never find any Sunni praying behind them.

History has a peculiar trait, while moving forward it preserves that which came before. Now in this era of internet, almost all the books of the past are available online.

Any seeker of truth and guidance can go through the works of Aala Hazrat Imam Ahmad Rida Khan RadiyAllāhu Ánhu and see for himself the reality.