Nine Days in Russia (Part 2)
Taken from the travelogue ‘Safar dar Safar’ by Hadhrat Mawlana Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (dāmat barakātuhum). English translation by Kaiser Nizamani. Edited by Al Balagh editorial team.
(Shawwal 1427 AH / November 2006 CE)
Praise and glory be for that Being who bestowed existence to the universe
and
peace and blessings be upon His Final Messenger H who elevated the Truth in the world.
In Daghestan
In accordance with our itinerary, at 1pm on the 3rd of November we took a Siberian Airlines flight to Daghestan, and after a two-and-a-half-hour journey, landed in Makhachkala, the capital city of Daghestan province.
Daghestan is a vast region situated to the south of Moscow between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains. As I will mention ahead, most parts of this region were conquered and came under Muslim control during the times of the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and thereafter various Muslim kings ruled over it for about one thousand years. In the end, it was part of the Ottoman Caliphate, and it was also ruled by the Safavids and Qachars for some period of time.
Then Russian emperors attacked it numerous times and occupied it several times. Finally, Imam Shamil Afandi (may Allah have mercy on him) established his governance here in the 13th century Hijri. Imam Shamil was a resident of Daghestan itself and was a great scholar as well as a Shaykh in the Naqshbandi Silsila. During his rule, he established equality and justice in accordance with the Islamic Shariah, but the Russian Tsar’s forces pursued him continuously, and twenty-five years of his life were spent in fighting the Russian forces with great wisdom and valiance. This continued until 1276 AH, when he saw that the Russian forces had besieged them from all four sides while only three hundred of his companions had remained, whereas the Russian forces consisted of twenty thousand soldiers. At this point, the Russian forces appealed to him to lay down his arms on the guarantee of granting them peace, and Imam Shamil accepted this. It was the decency of the government of the Tsar of Russia that they honoured Imam Shamil and kept him with them as a venerable guest. When Imam Shamil expressed his desire to perform Hajj, the Russian government gave him permission. He first arrived in Istanbul, where Sultan Abdul Aziz treated him with great honour, and thereafter he went to the sacred Hijaz and eventually passed away in Madinah Munawwarah and was buried in Jannat al-Baqi.
After he laid down his arms, this entire region came under the control of the Tsar of Russia, and when the Bolshevik Revolution of the Communists arose, it was another valiant mujahid of Daghestan, Shaykh Najm al-Din Afandi, who laid everything on the line to stop its entry into Daghestan. Shaykh Najm al-Din Afandi was a senior scholar of Daghestan, and through his insight, he sensed that the Communist government would be very different from the Tsar’s government, and the opportunities they received to follow the Deen during the Tsar’s rule would cease entirely during the Communists’ rule. He thus formed a group of his valiant and devoted companions and prevented the entry of Communists into Daghestan for a long time. The Communists made false promises to certain Shaykhs of Daghestan that they would be granted the same religious freedom as during the Tsar’s rule. They thus tried to stop Shaykh Najm al-Din from his resistance movement, but Shaykh Najm al-Din said to them: “I am aware of the intentions of these people. Whatever they are saying is a mere deception. I have thus made my final decision to fight them until my last breath”. He thus continued fighting Communist attackers for a long time, but the Communists eventually overpowered them and arrested him. Nobody could know what they did to him after arrest. Various narrations are famous in this regard. Some people say that he was thrown out of an aircraft, while some others say that he was thrown into the sea. However, nobody knows with certainty except Allah Most High. May Allah have mercy on him, be pleased with him, and please him.
Daghestan was a centre of Islamic scholars, and despite severe oppression and tyranny of the Communist government, the scholars here preserved the knowledge of Deen by laying their lives on the line. Though openly learning or teaching religious knowledge was equivalent to inviting death, the local scholars built secret chambers in their homes and continued teaching the Deen. Thus, even today more than ninety percent of the population here is Muslim, and a large number of scholars who acquired Islamic knowledge in those chambers are still present.
When we landed at the airport in Makhachkala, a big group of local scholars was present to receive us. Shaykh Yahya is an influential scholar here. He was acquainted with me through reading numerous Fatwas and articles of mine on the internet. He is the one who informed the local scholars about me and they had gathered to receive this lowly one. Shaykh Yahya said that some of those scholars had travelled a hundred kilometers to reach here, so it would be appropriate for this lowly one to address them in the mosque of the airport before proceeding. Most of them were scholars, but some common Muslims had also come with each scholar. Thus, quite a number gathered in the mosque, and after asr prayer, my talk in Arabic took place, which comprised an explanation of the renowned Hadith من أحيا سنة أميتت بعدي فله أجر مائة شهيد. A question-and-answer session continued after this, but Shaykh Yahya intervened by saying: “Insha’allah a large gathering of scholars will take place tomorrow night as well as day-after-tomorrow morning. The remaining questions should be deferred for that gathering, for our guest has to undertake another long journey now”. This gathering thus came to an end shortly before maghrib and we offered maghrib prayer in a mosque on the way.
Our entire itinerary in Daghestan was planned by Shaykh Yahya, according to which we had to spend this night in Shaykh Yahya’s city of Khasavyurt, which is about 100km from Makhachkala. On the way, Shaykh Yahya told us about the history of Daghestan, the scholars belonging to this region, the traditions and culture here as well as the cruelties of the Communist era. He said: “My maternal grandfather was a big scholar, and he had painstakingly compiled a collection of books of various Islamic sciences in his house. When the Communists occupied this region, he hid his library in an underground vault of his house to safeguard it. After some time, he feared that termites might eat those precious books, so he stealthily went to the vault and began cleaning the books. A spy (who was apparently one of the Muslims) reported this to the Communist police. The police besieged the house and raided the library. They tore the books to pieces and trampled them with their feet, and burnt all the books, and arrested my grandfather and took him away. My mother was a small child at that time; she and my grandmother, who was young at the time, were left crying in helplessness, and despite a thousand pleas and efforts, they could not see my grandfather ever again. Until today, nobody knows what happened to him”. The Communist era is replete with such incidents, and in my opinion, a true and trustworthy history of the oppressions that were raged during that era can never be compiled.
Shaykh Yahya also informed that the current government has granted religious freedom to a large extent, and the new Constitution of the country grants freedom to followers of all religions to practice, teach and preach their religion. Daghestan was full of mosques and madrasas prior to Communism, but during Communist rule, only twenty-four mosques remained standing in the entire province, and those too deserted. However, mosques are rapidly being constructed throughout the length and width of the province after the fall of Communism, and now the total number of mosques in Daghestan is more than 2500.
The journey elapsed in these conversations and we entered Khasavyurt. This city is located at the border of Daghestan province; Chechnya is only ten kilometers from here, and its capital city of Grozny is about seventy kilometers away. Isha time was approaching when we entered the city, so we headed straight for a mosque. A large number of congregants offered the prayer. They were very happy to meet a student of knowledge visiting from a faraway land, and despite the language barrier, their faces contained innumerable unspoken messages for us.
Shaykh Yahya took us to his brother’s mansionesque house, where his brother gave us a very hearty welcome. Soon, a large number of dignitaries of the city gathered in a hall of this mansion. Many of them were scholars who could be conversed with in Arabic, and they would in turn render services of translation to converse with other individuals. Dinner was arranged during the question-and-answer session itself, and this gathering dispersed late at night.
We were informed that the province of Daghestan is currently the biggest centre of scholars in the whole of Russia, and that about three hundred scholars are present here. The elderly ones among them acquired their Islamic education clandestinely during Communist rule, while the younger ones went to Syria, Egypt or Saudi Arabia for their religious education. Thus, scholars began arriving from the surrounding cities from the next morning. The oldest scholar among them was Shaykh Muhammad Ramadan Samakhi, who is considered the teacher of all teachers in the entire province as well as the senior-most Shaykh of the Naqshbandi Silsila. He travelled miles to arrive here, and his radiant appearance bore witness to his worship and piety. We talked about various scholarly and local issues for quite some time.
Thereafter Shaykh Yahya took us to his madrasa, ‘Jamia al-Imam Abi al-Hasan al-Ashari’, which is considered the biggest madrasa of this area. A senior scholar of this area, Shaykh Muhammad as-Sayyid, had established it in 1992 in a small building, and a new magnificent building of this madrasa was built in 2002. Currently it is managed by Shaykh Yahya, and a ten-year curriculum is taught here. Together with Russian language and an introduction to other contemporary subjects, high-standard books of Hadith and Fiqh are taught here. About three hundred students are studying in this madrasa. A separate girls’ madrasa also exists which is established in a separate building. This lowly one got to talk to the teachers and students in Arabic, and it was appreciated that masha’allah the standard of education is quite satisfactory. Branches of this madrasa exist in other cities and towns of Daghestan as well.
Journey to Derbend
I had expressed my desire to visit the historical city of Derbend during the visit to Daghestan. This is the same Derbend which is also called Bāb al-Abwab. The noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) had conquered it and the graves of about forty Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) exist there. Shaykh Yahya very enthusiastically arranged this visit. Since Chechnya is nearby where an independence movement is ongoing, numerous police check-posts are established in Daghestan. When Shaykh Yahya informed a Member of Assembly of Daghestan about me, he got ready to personally drive us to Derbend in his magnificent vehicle. When the scholars of Makhachkala and Bugdel came to know of our program, they expressed their desire to accompany us in this journey. Thus, our convoy of eight to ten vehicles departed for Derbend and entered the city after a journey of about three-and-a-half hours. Here, an old-style madrasa exists next to a mosque, which is headed by an influential personality of the area, Shaykh Siraj al-Din.
We reached here during zuhr time and offered zuhr prayer in this mosque, and thereafter headed for the old part of Derbend which is situated on the foot of a mountain. On top of the mountain is the famous historical citadel of Derbend, which stands in all its awe and glory despite the passage of centuries. The breathtaking view of the surroundings from the tower of this citadel is unforgettable. The city of Derbend at the foot of the mountain extending into the distance, with the azure waters of the Caspian Sea looming behind it into the horizon, and lush green mountains and valleys towards the left and right of the citadel! Our companions enjoyed this spectacle for a long time.
Barrier of Dhul Qarnayn
One specific reason I wanted to visit Derbend is that some contemporary scholars have expressed the view that the wall built by Hadhrat Dhul Qarnayn that the noble Quran has mentioned, which was built to protect from the ravages of Ya’juj and Ma’jūj (Gog and Magog), is located in Derbend. According to those scholars, remnants of that wall can still be seen today. After reaching the tower of the citadel, I thus asked the local scholars regarding that wall. They pointed towards a dilapidated rampart which could be seen at the foot of this citadel, but it felt that it is highly unlikely for this wall to be the barrier constructed by Dhul Qarnayn. The main reason for this is that this wall begins at the foot of the mountain and, passing through the open grounds of Derbend city, reaches the sea. It is not situated between mountains, whereas its description in the noble Quran indicates that the wall built by Dhul Qarnayn was to close the gap between two mountains. The tower of the citadel on which we were standing is situated on the edge of a mountain, with another mountain located at a short distance from here. There is a gap between these two mountains but there is no sign of any wall in this gap. Also, these mountains are not so high as to be impossible to cross for creatures like Ya’juj and Ma’juj. Thus, even if a wall were erected between these mountains, it seems very implausible that it would stop Ya’juj and Ma’juj from crossing over. Furthermore, with respect to the wall of Derbend which is built on an open ground from the mountains to the sea, it is mentioned in history that Nosherwan had built it as a defense from attackers on the other side. Due to all these reasons, after personally seeing this place, one becomes almost completely certain that declaring that wall of Derbend to be the barrier constructed by Dhul Qarnayn is not at all correct.
In his well-researched book Qasas al-Quran, Hadhrat Maulana Hifz ur-Rahman Seoharwi (may Allah have mercy on him) has also rebutted the notion that the wall at the fortress of Derbend is the wall built by Dhul Qarnayn, and after seeing this place with one’s own eyes, the evidences he presented in this regard become completely manifest. However, this same Caucasus Mountain range rises higher towards the west, and among those high mountains is a Darial Gorge where signs of a wall made of iron and molten copper have been found. Hadhrat Maulana Hifz ur-Rahman Seoharwi (may Allah have mercy on him) opines that the “Sadd al-Dhul Qarnayn” (Barrier of Dhul Qarnayn) was built to close this gorge. (Qasas al-Qurān, pages 218 and 219, volume 3)
Anyway! After touring the fortress of Derbend for some time, our convoy descended the mountain and entered Derbend city. Here, inside a large graveyard is a walled enclosure that contains a small graveyard about which it is proven through tawātur that it contains the graves of forty Companions (may Allah be pleased with them).
The noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) had reached this region during the caliphate of Hadhrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Historians are agreed that after conquering Armenia and Azerbaijan, the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) headed towards this region. Subsequently, some narrations indicate that Derbend was conquered through truce under the leadership of Hadhrat Suraqa bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him), while in others Hadhrat Salman bin Rabeeʿa Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) has been named as its conqueror. However, the Khazar people who used to live here made Balanjar as their centre and continued fighting against the Muslims for a long time, and Hadhrat Salman bin Rabeeʿa (may Allah be pleased with him) and many of his companions were martyred during this fighting.
This small graveyard contains forty old-style graves which are said to belong to noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), of which a particular one is said to belong to Hadhrat Salman bin Rabee’a (may Allah be pleased with him). While many Muhadditheen (scholars of hadith) have included Hadhrat Salman bin Rabee’a (may Allah be pleased with him) among the Companions, numerous have called him a Tabi’i. Caliph Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had appointed him as the governor of Kufa, and one Hadith is narrated from him in Sahih Muslim, and a narration says that he used to perform Hajj every year. May Allah be pleased with him and please him.
(Al-Isabah, page 61, volume 2 and Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, page 136, volume 4)
Alhamdulillah! I received the tawfīq to present salam at the graves of those noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them).
A large graveyard exists outside this enclosure, and a “modern” practice was seen in many of the graves here which I have not seen anywhere before; the marble inscriptions of some of the graves contained pictures of the deceased. The locals informed that hundreds of thousands of rupees are spent on making these kinds of inscriptions. إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ
After the graveyard, we arrived at the oldest mosque in Derbend city which is said to be built in the time of the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and an inscription affixed in it indicates the same. This mosque also contains a gigantic tree about which the locals popularly believe that Hadhrat Junaid Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him) stayed here at some point. And Allah knows best.
It was asr time when we departed from here and Shaykh Siraj al-Din was waiting for us in the mosque in which we had offered zuhr prayer. We performed asr prayer there and thereafter Shaykh Siraj al-Din arranged for a sumptuous lunch. Shaykh Siraj al-Din is famous in this area as a customary Pir (spiritual leader), and is popular among people more due to his lighthearted personality and helping people than his religious knowledge. The elementary madrasa he has established next to the mosque has a style reminiscent of the rural madrasas in our province of NWFP (now known as KPK).
(…to be continued)