imam ahmad raza and the challenges of today

[Abu Ibraheem]

Salamun 'Alaykum

My greatest problem that i do not have any reading materials on the Imam you love and respect so dearly. I do have a very breif biography, and a fiqh book containing selected fatawaa.Thats it though. These are the only materials that i have found available to me.

What i am interested in is knowing his works on Aqidah. and if somebody has time to translate a short summary, a chapter, then that would be good for me.

If there are texts in 'Arabic then feel free to refer me to them, and i will seek them and read them inshaAllah.

As for disrespecting the Imam that has never been my intention. I have learnt under teachers that have a direct chain leading back to him, and have learnt a few on his fatawaa on a few issues via them.

His fatawaa about English, has to be understood with the context and the surroundings at his given time where India was being colianised by the Brittish. A lot of theological debates used to happen, and just maybe the blameworthiness of learning English to get involved with Khusumaat was the context.

I cannot help it if later scholars from indo-pak have done tahrif concerning the fatawaa and used it against Jusitce Karam Shah when he introduced the learning of English into the learning sylabus. This misconception that it is not allowed to dabble in English has hindered Ahmad Raza Khan's works from being translated. Therefore, i cannot be blamed if i do not know enough to accept him as a valid scholar, nor should i be forced too emotionally.

One expierence i had is that i was labelled a Wahaabi for not reciting his poetry after Jum'ah. This is amongst many other things that i have expierenced growing up in Islam amongst the indo-pak community.

If i seem to have any bad opinion, please overlook, it is just that i am finding it difficult to in so many words "buy the car! no test drives, just buy it!" We should remeber there is no compulsion in religion, however there is nothing wrong with building an understanding.