11th

[SargeCandy]

@cricketplaya

1. If such a custom is not mentioned in Ahaadith, and has no proof then how can it be regarded as meritorious?

Hadrat Anas Radi Allahu anhu reports: He asked, “O Messenger of Allah! We give charity for our deceased and we perform Hajj on their behalf and we supplicate for them, do all these deeds reach them?”
He (Salla Allahu ta’ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) replied, “Yes, they do receive them and they become happy with them like anyone of you is happy when a tray of gifts is given to him.”

Hadith narrated by Ma`qal bin Yasar in which the Prophet peace be upon him says:
“Recite the verses of Surat Yasin upon your dead”

(narrated by Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’iyy and Ibn Majah, who classified it as a Sahih Hadith).

Hadrat Anas Radi Allahu anhu reports that he heard the blessed Prophet Salla Allahu ta’ala 'alayhi wa Sallam saying, “When a donation is made for a dead person it is presented to him by Jibraeel on a tray of light. He then stands at the edge of the grave and says to him, ‘O dweller of the deep grave this is a gift sent to you by your family, accept it.’ And it will be given to him. He will rejoice because of it and his neighbours who have not received anything will be sad.” [Sharh us-Sudoor]

It is also universally accepted that the Bismillah is a part of the holy Qur’an. So when such a small part of the Holy Qur’an gives blessings in food, naturally the more the blessed Qur’an is recited over the food the more increase in the blessings. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala says: “And we reveal in the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe though it causes nothing to the unjust but loss after loss.” [Surah Al-Israa - 17:82]

It must be noted that Ithale Thawab can be handled individually but many Khattams involve calling an Imam. What is the nature of this practice? And is it Islamically permitted? Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala has said in the blessed Qur’an: “And help each other (in matters of) virtue and piety.” [Surah Al-Maidah - 5:2] And who can help us more than those who are acquainted with the religion, the ones whom we accept to lead us in prayer. The blessed Prophet Salla Allahu ta’ala 'alayhi wa Sallam has time and time again encourage us to keep their company. Hadrat Abu Sa’eed Khudri Radi Allahu anhu relates that the Noble Prophet (Salla Allahu ta’ala 'alayhi wa Sallam) Salla Allahu ta’ala 'alayhi wa Sallam said, “Only keep company with a believer, and let your food be eaten only by the righteous.” [Abu Daud and Tirmazi]

2. Had such a custom be mentioned in Ahaadith, and had it been that meritorious then why is the history of Islam so silent about it?

Because , it is mentioned in Ahaadith.

3. Gayarwi is linked to “Peeran e Peer” Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilaani (rehm) How so, that Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilaani’s (rehm)'s life is itself void of such a custom?

Do read the book written by him,“Al-Ghunya li-Talibi Tariq al-Haqq”.lso known in the Indian sub-continent as Al-Ghunya li-Talibin.
These five volumes, written by the Shaikh at the request of one of his murids, is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of Islam, both the inward and the outward.

4. If for instance it is only commemorated regarding the death of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilaani (rehm), then Islam has not stipulated mourning for any dead.

There is a difference between Khatam-e-paak and mourning. people get together for Khatam-e-paak, not mourning.

5. If for an instance we do say that Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilaani (rehm) did start such a custom, then it cannot be attributd to Ahaadith.

Reply to 3.

6. Why Giyarwi? why specify the 11th? why not do it everyday?

Most probably because he died on 11th of Rabi’ al-thani. There are people who love Him so much, they do it everyday also. But normally everyone has to take out time to come also for a Khatam paak, which cannot be easy for everyone everyday.

7. If it is done in its sincerity to Isaal e Thawab to great Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilaani rehm., then why not stipulate other days for other great Sahaba r.a (eg. Abu Bakr As-Sadeeq r.a or Umar al Farooq r.a), who excelled in their spirituality and rank far beyond the esteemed Sheikh (rehm).

By all means go ahead and stipulate days, You lead and people will follow. Talk is cheap and BS. Make an example practically.

Normally a common response to these questions is that “only good deeds are done in it(e.d Read Quran, feed poor etc)”, However the reality is a bit different then that.

As deduced from above people in the past have done it in name of Ghayr Allah. Along with this, it is also an experience of this humble servant who has seen such majalis in pakistan. The food (normally sweet meats) are only to be blessed by the masjid imam, and are thereafter distributed to the musallis within that Jamaat. Many times one sees small children stick closely to the mosque doors in hope of getting a morsel or two. Aside from this aspect, the majalis are commonly echoed with callings like, “Yaa ghaus e paak” or " Ya Peraan e Peer". It is unfortunate that these are the traits of a decent Giyarwi sharif regarding which it is claimed that it only has good it in it. Then there are deifinitely those majalis where invitations are given out, stages are set, music is played and gender mixing is also done.

The fact is Giyarwi is such a custom that cannot be explained or justified in any way as a meritorious event, leave aside making it a part of deen. If one or two majalis are conducted where all the shar’ii aspect are considered, even then we would not be able to allude the fact that the custom fails to prove its basis in sharia.

Regarding the comment that “I have been told that this is a sufi belief” it should be understood that Any unislamic Bidah that enters the Spiritual path of Taswaf(sufism) does not demean the merrit of Tasawaf itself. Just as a group of people committing illegal acts in a country cannot be the criteria for the laws of that country to be wrong. Sadly, this is a custom that has crept its way into Islam and tainted the pure objective of Tasawaf. The sole purpose of tasawaf is to attain closeness to Allah by following sharia in its entirety. Any act that is against sharia is by default against Tasawaf.

Allah has made Islam easy upon us. This does not mean that Allah has open the doors for us to follow our Nafs. In many aspects of life where former laws, paganistic customs and cultural norms were so filled with difficulty, Islam came to ease them down. An example would be marriage. It is well known that in Indo-Pak customs, the cost of a marriage may reach in millions of Rupees at times, and no commoner is excluded from such cruelty. In such instance Islam made it a law for the husband to pay the mahar relieving the agony of dowry from the bride’s side. Upon this it declared that the lesser the money is spent on marriage, the more meritorious will it be.

There are practically countless examples of such ease. So as a rule of thumb, anything that has Ghulu (extremism) in it has no place in Islam.
Abu Hajira bin Abdul Hamid

Most of this is over-rated crap.

Regarding innovations,Amongst the practices which the Prophet never performed nor did he mention, yet many people of knowledge and piety practiced with, is what the Khalifah Ar-Rashid Uthman bin Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, innovated from second ‘Adhan (call for prayer) for the Friday khutbah (speech).

Another example is the placement of the dots on the Arabic letters of the Book of the Qur’an, as did At-Tabiiyy Al-Jalil Yahya bin Yamar who met the companions. Another of such practices is the formation of the hollow niche in the mosques to mark the direction of Mecca , as did the Khalifah Umar bin Abdul Aziz, may Allah be pleased with him. All these listed matters, despite the Prophet not performing them nor mentioning them in his Hadith, do not contradict the Hadiths and the rulings of the Prophet, hence they are taken to be agreeable matters in Religion.

Anyway this is a very delicate matter, there’s differences amongst the Ulema. It’s not really an important “day”.

For you it many not be important, for many it is.