Miftah-ul-Janna (Booklet for way to Paradise)

He ate and drank and married women. He had sons and
daughters. All of them were from Hadrat Khadîja ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anhâ’. Only Ibrâhîm was from a jâriya named Mâriya. And then
he passed away before having been weaned. All his children, with
the exception of Fâtima ‘radiy-Allâhu ‘anhâ’, died before his own
death. He married her to Hadrat ’Alî ‘kerrem-Allâhu ta’âlâ’.
Hadrat Hasan and Hadrat Huseyn are the sons of Hadrat ’Alî and
Hadrat Fâtima ‘radiy-Allâhu ‘anhum’. Of all his daughters, Hadrat
Fâtima is the highest. And she is the beloved one of Hadrat
Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’.
Rasûl-i-ekrem ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ has eleven
blessed wives: Hadrat Khadîja, Sawda (or Sevde), ’Âisha, Hafsa,
Umm-i-Selema, Umm-i-Habîba, Zeyneb bint-i-Jahsh, Zeyneb
bint-i-Huzayma, Meymûna, Juwayriyya, Safiyya ‘radiy-Allâhu
’anhunna’.
The Edilla-i-shar’îyya are made up of Kitâb, Sunnat, Ijmâ’-i-
Ummat, and Qiyâs-i-mujtahid. From these four soruces did the
Islamic scholars derive their religious knowledge. The Word of
Allâhu ’adhîm-ush-shân is called ‘Kitâb (the Book)’. ‘Sunnat’ is
the Qawl-i-Rasûl (Utterances of the Messenger of Allah), the Fi’li-Rasûl
(Deeds Acts, Behaviours of the Messenger of Allah), and
the Taqrîr-i-Rasûl (Confirmation, Ratification of the Messenger of
Allah). Ijmâ’-i-Ummat is the consensus reached by the mujtahids
who lived in the same century, e.g. by the Ashâb-i-kirâm ‘radiy-
Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum’, or by the four Madhhabs. Qiyâs is analogy
drawn between two different things by mujtahids.
And also, lexical meaning of madhhab is way. We have two
different ways: One of them is our way in i’tiqâd (belief, credo),
and the other one is our way in ’amal (practices).
Our imâm, i.e. guide, in the way of i’tiqâd is Abû Mansûr
Mâturîdî ‘rahima-hullâhu ta’âlâ’. His way is called Ahl as-Sunnat.
Our guide in the way of ’amal is Imâm a’zam Abû Hanîfa ‘rahimahullâhu
ta’âlâ’. His way is called Hanafî Madhhab.
Abû Mansûr Mâturîdî’s name is Muhammad, his father’s name
is Muhammad, his grandfather’s name is Muhammad, and his
teacher’s name is Abû Nasr-i-Iyâd ‘rahima-humullâhu ta’âlâ’.
Abû Nasr-i-Iyâd’s teacher’s name is Abû Bakr-i-Jurjânî, whose
teacher’s name is Abû Suleymân Jurjânî, whose teachers’ names
are Abû Yûsuf and Imâm-i-Muhammad Sheybânî (or Shaybânî).
And the teacher of these two celebrities is Imâm a’zam Abû
Hanîfa ‘rahima-humullâhu ta’âlâ’. Hence, Imâm a’zam is the chief
– 34 –