حضرت حا جی امداداللہ مہاجر مکی اورمسلکی ہم آہنگی: ’فیصلہ ہفت مسئلہ‘ کے خصوصی حوالے سے ایک مطالعہ ... Haji Imad Allah Muhajir Makki and Intra-Islam Harmony: An Analytical Study with Special Reference to the Treatise Faisalah-i Haft Mas’alah ...

Abstract

This paper deals with the Sufi shaykh Haji Imad Allah Muhajir Makki’s (1817-1899) efforts for conciliation of different strands of Muslim religious thought in the late nineteenth century with special reference to his main work on this theme — a short treatise titled Faisalah-i Haft Mas’alah (literally: A Resolution of the Seven Controversies). The paper begins with a brief description of the colonial milieu and historical context of the emergence and persistence of theological differences between Sunni ‘Ulama of India from early decades of the nineteenth century onwards and explains how gradually the disciples and deputies of Haji Imad Allah Muhajir Makkigot entangled into this problem. As he had already migrated to Makkah, then a part of the Ottoman Caliphate, to escape the British colonial rule in India, his conciliatory role relied mainly on correspondence and occasional meetings with ‘Ulama of India who used to frequent Makkah for pilgrimage. Deliberately evading any judgments on (un)orthodoxy of different theological issues at hand, the paper ventures to figure out principles of his hermeneutics of conciliation. It is opined that though Haji Imad Allah Muhajir Makkidid not succeed in halting crystallization of new sectarian identities among Muslims of South Asia because of various historical reasons, the principles of conciliation that permeate and underlie his teachings bear universal significance and thus have ample practical value in our own times for any project directed towards bringing about inter-communal harmony and tolerance between different Muslim denominations.