Istifta (Questionnaire)
Khwaja Garib Nawaz
Committee Ajmer Sharif Rajasthan India
Ajmer
Shareef Dargah Committee Ajmer Shareef India
Istifta (Questionnaire) -:What were the verdict of Sunni Scholars
on the following
1. Who is entitled to receive the Nazar offered to the inhabitant of a Shrine (Sahib-e-Mazar)?
2. Whether the Nazar for Sahib-e-Mazar and offering for Dargah carry the same idea
and conception or both are different and if so what is the utility of the two ?
3. In general when a Nazar is committed for fulfillment of some desire, will it
be deemed for the Sahib-e-Mazar or for his Dargah ?
4. Any Dargah Committee (Govt. body) has a right to deprive the Khadim of a Shrine
from the income of the Nazar for Sahib-e-Mazar and create its right thereupon ?
5. If the money out of Nazar for Sahib-e-Mazar is given in the custody of the Dargah
Committee (Govt. body) and the Dargah Committee (Govt. body) spent it for some other
purpose instead of spending it on the Khadims of the Shrine, then would the Nazar
be treated as fulfilled or not.
The Fatawas (religious verdicts) received from various religious authorities and
scholars are summarized below :-
Answer to Q. 1.
As per Islamic law, the Khadims of Sahib-e-Mazar are entitled to receive the Nazar.
The Nazar is rather not acceptable if it is not meant for the Khadims as refered
to above because the dead has no right of ownership and the only intention will
be to offer to those associated with the Mazar.
Answer to Q. 2.
Nazar for the Khadim of Shaib-e-Mazar and donations for Dargah are two different
things. The former ensures the benefit of specific persons through ownership while
later refuses ownership to any specific person. The benefit is accrued to the administration
of the Dargah but these administrator will not own the Nazar (Dakshina) but it can
seek donations (Daan). Instead they will spend it on the administration and management
of Dargah. The idea behind the former is to seek spiritual benefits from the Mazar-e-Aqdas
through Khadim while the purpose in the later case is to strengthen and assist the
management of Dargah. Hazrat Maulana Abdul Aziz Mohaddis Dehlvi has also expressed
the same opinion in Fatawa-e-Azizia.
Answer to Q. 3.
Although Nazar is restricted for Almighty Allah yet generally it is made to Auliyas
(Saints) as a Wasila (source/medium) to achieve the goal because the Auliyas are
close to Allah. On the contrary Dargah is nothing but a collection of bricks and
stones. It derives all its sanctity only from Sahib-e-Mazar and a Nazar to Dargah
carries no meaning.
Answer to Q. 4.
It is nobody’s right to break the law of Shariat. The Islamic courts have
established that the management of Dargah should respect the convictions and traditions
of the past and should never forget the intention with which a Waqf is created.
The Nazar to Dargah is therefore meaningless. In case of Khadims their forefather
Hazrat Khwaja Fakhruddin Gurdezi (R.A.) served Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishty
(R.A.) in his life time and their descendents are serving the Holy Shrine till today,
its a matter of great honour and pride for Khadims and they can never be deprived
of their hereditary rights and duties, adverse human efforts culminating into anarchy.
Answer to Q. 5.
According to Allama Abdul Ghani Nabulusi (R.A.) and Hazrat Shah Sahib Mohaddis Dehlvi
the real intention behind offering of Nazar is its utilization by Khadims of Sahib-e-Mazar.
In furtherance to this the abstract from Hadique-e-Nadiyya is also important to
note that Nazar should be utilized according to the will of that who offers the
same. It may therefore be concluded that Nazar should be spent essentially upon
the Khadims of Sahib-e-Mazar. If spent otherwise it shall not remain a Nazar. And
all knowledge is derived from Allah the great who knows and commands everything.
Sd/- Arshad Ul Qadri, Madarsa Faizul Uloom Jamshedpur, Mohd. Zafaruddin Qadri Rizvi.
Principal Jamia Latifia Behrul uloom Katihar.
Mohd. Mushtaq Ahmed, Muzaffarpur, lecturer Jamia Latifia Behrul uloom Katihar.
Mohd. Yusuf Hamidi Naqshbandi Abul Ulaai lecturer II Jamia Latifia Behrul Uloom
Katihar.
Mohd. Sulaiman Rizvi lecturer Jamia Latifia Katihar.
A collective verdict on all the five issues was further produced
endorsing the same view, by the following dignitaries.
Mohd. Abdul Qadri Ferungi Mahal, Madarsa Alia Nizamia Lucknow.
Syed Abul Zafar Mohib ul Raza Mohd. Mehboob Ali.
Abul Hamid Syed Mohd. Ashrafi Jeelani Kachaucha Sharif.
Obaidul Rehman Hasani Nazim Darul Ifta Hugli Ghulam Mohd. Khan Jama Masjid Arbia
Nagpur. Mohd. Ajmal Mufti Madarsa Ajmal ul uloom Sambhal.
Professor Syed Ziauddin Shamsi Tehrani, Mufti-e-Azam, Tonk (Rajasthan) has also
added some relevant references based on the following authentic books of Islamic
jurisprudence written by the prominent theologians
1. Raddul Mohtar FI Sharh-e-Durre Mukhtar by Allama Syed Ibn-e-Abidin Shami Hanafi
(Kitabus som, Nazar-e-Amwat)
2. Risala-e-Nuzoor (Persian) by Shah Rafiuddin son of Shah Waliullah Muhaddis Dehlavi
Page 12.
3. Tafsir-e-Ahmadi by Mulla Ahmed Jiwan, Ustad of Aurangzeb Alamgir.
4. Kashfun-Noor by Allama Abdul Ghani Nabulusi.
5. Mukhzan-e-Aras (Persian) by Allama Mohammad Najib Qadiri Chishty Page 14 (Manuscript
Kutubkhana Asifya, Hydrabad, A.P.)
6. Hazrat Allama Ahmed Raza Khan Fazile Barelawi has also confirmed that acceptance
of offerings at a Mazar (Shrine) is the right of its Khadims and he has further
emphasised that the kiths and kins of Saheb-e-Mazar will not be the beneficiaries.
(Fatwa-e-Rizwiyah, Vol. 4, P. 126, Published by Sunni Darul Ishaat, Mubarakpur,
Azamgarh, U.P.)
There is a general consensus among all theologians of four schools of Islamic jurisprudence
about accepting Nazar-o-Niyaz (offerings and oblations) at any Holy Shrine is solely
the prerogative of its Khadims. The tradition of accepting Nazar-o-Niyaz by the
pilgrims exists in its pristine purity since the inception of the Holy Shrine of
Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (R.A.),