Aqdas Barelwi Shares Baseless Comparison Chart Between Taqwiyat al-Iman & Ibn Abd al-Wahhab (UPDATED)

We have seen that Ahmad Rida Khan Barelwi believed Shah Isma’il Shahid’s Taqwiyat al-Iman is a translation of Muhammad b ‘Abd al-Wahhab’s Kitab al-Tawhid, a view he expressed both early and late in his writing career. (See here.) Amjad ‘Ali A’zami, a successor of Ahmad Rida Khan Barelwi, repeated the same claim in the popular Barelwi manual Bahar-i-Shari’at. (See here.)

The claim actually originated with Fadl Rasul Badayuni, who described a forgery purporting to be a summary of Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab’s Kitab al-Tawhid. This so-called “summary of Kitab al-Tawhid” was created precisely so it could be claimed Taqwiyat al-Iman derives from Kitab al-Tawhid! For details see here, here and here (where it is pointed out that Mawlana Nurul Hasan Rashid Kandhlawi also pointed out this forgery in his extensive research on Taqwiyat al-Iman). The so-called “summary of Kitab al-Tawhid” bears no resemblance with the actual Kitab al-Tawhid.

This is in fact evidence, as Mawlana Manzur Nu’mani mentions, that neither Fadl Rasul Badayuni nor Ahmad Rida Khan Barelwi had access to the actual Kitab al-Tawhid of Muhammad b ‘Abd al-Wahhab.

Notorious online Barelwi, Abu Hasan, went through the trouble of producing a comparison chart between this fabricated document (as originally described by Fadl Rasul Badayuni) and Taqwiyat al-Iman! A Barelwi admirer of Abu Hasan recently reproduced this “research” as follows:

The miskeen Barelwi doesn’t realise (or does he?) that the comparison is based on a forgery that was created precisely for it to be used as evidence that Taqwiyat al-Iman derives from Kitab al-Tawhid!

The Barelwi can refer to the actual Kitab al-Tawhid here (pp7-151 of this volume). (An English translation here.) He won’t find a chapter on “refuting polytheism concerning knowledge” or “refuting polytheism concerning tasarruf” or “refuting polythesim in habits” etc. As Mawlana Manzur Nu’mani said, while there is crossover in the subject-matter between the two books, they are very different pieces of writing.

Will the Barelwi retract?

Update (06/09/23)

The Barelwi who shared the above image & caption has now silently removed it from his feed!

A person of integrity and moral courage would retract or, at least, withdraw the claim pending further review. They may even offer an apology for sharing something without proper study.

Unfortunately, however, integrity and courage are rare qualities amongst fanatical Barelwis.

Update (23/12/23)

Notorious Barelwi fanatic Aqdas recently shared the above table, presenting it as some kind of “proof” that Taqwiyat al-Iman derives from Muhammad b ‘Abd al-Wahhab’s writings.

The table is not proof, it is what needs proving.

Let us see if the behaya Aqdas (previously caught red handed lying about Taqwiyat al-Iman) can answer the simple challenge:

Produce the work of Muhammad b ‘Abd al-Wahhab that fits the description in the above table.

Update (04/01/24)

Doubling down on the false comparison between Taqwiyat al-Iman and Kitab al-Tawhid, the Barelwi shares the following:

The very document he shares acknowledges that the alleged “Kitab al-Tawhid” it is quoting is from Sayf al-Jabbar of Fadl Rasul Badayuni!

It appears the Barelwi doesn’t realise that by sharing Barelwi “research” using the fabricated “Kitab al-Tawhid” he is only making the Barelwi case weaker, not stronger. It shows only how entrenched this myth is in Barelwi circles and how widespread the use of this fabricated “Kitab al-Tawhid” is.

The fact Barelwis must resort to such fabrications demonstrates they have no actual evidence for Taqwiyat al-Iman deriving from Kitab al-Tawhid or any other writing of Muhammad b Abd al-Wahhab.

The actual Kitab al-Tawhid is easily available. The Barelwi couldn’t even be bothered to check that the “quotes” his “Allamah” shared from “Kitab al-Tawhid” bear no resemblance at all with the actual Kitab al-Tawhid.

See also:

Is Taqwiyat al-Iman Universally Endorsed by the Akabir of Deoband?

Factchecking Ahmad Rida Khan’s Claims About Taqwiyat al-Iman in al-Dawlat al-Makkiyyah