Question

What do the Muftis of Deen-o-Millat say regarding this matter, in which Zaid says: to specifically designate [something] as “maslak of A’la Hazrat” is to label and make forgotten [the contributions of] the Awliya-e-Kiram and other great Ulama, whereas their services too are prominent for Deen and Sunniyyat — therefore, instead of “maslak of A’la Hazrat,” “maslak of Awliya-e-Ummat” should be said, because the maslak of A’la Hazrat Fazil-e-Barelwi (رضي الله عنه ) is the same as that of the Awliya-e-Ummat — calling the one who does not say “maslak of A’la Hazrat” a haasid (envier) is not correct. Is the mentioned statement of Zaid correct? State [and] you shall be rewarded.

Answer

For Mazhab-e-Haq (the true religion) Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'at, it is necessary for such a word that distinguishes [it] from all the bad maḍhabs — for this reason, in accordance with necessity, in every era, separate words have been remembered for the distinction of Mazhab-e-Haq, which is not hidden from the people of knowledge. For example, in the era of the Sahaba and Tabi'een, when the Mu'tazila appeared, at that time all the Sahaba and Tabi'een — among whom were Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (رضی اللہ عنہ) and Hazrat Hasan Basri (رضی اللہ عنہ), who were Jalīl ul Qadr (great and noble) Sahabi and Tabi'ee — all of them rejected the false beliefs of the Mu'tazila, but Hazrat Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (رضی اللہ عنہ) and his companions rejected them with great firmness and wrote books against them, due to which, to distinguish Ahl al-Sunnah from the Mu'tazila, the term "Ash'ari" was used — similarly, in the present era too, the existing Awliya-e-Kiram and other great Ulama have also rejected/refuted the Bad-Aqīdah (false-belief) sects and rendered services for Mazhab-e-Ahl al-Sunnah, but AalaHazrat Mujaddid-e-A'zam Hazrat Imām Ahmad Razā Muhaddith Baraylawī رحمة الله عليه rejected/refuted them with great firmness, and to distinguish from their Bātil (false) sects — Qadiani, Deobandi, Wahābi, and Maudūdi and others — the term "Maslak-e-A'la Hazrat" became prevalent among the Khās-o-Aam (specific and the general) [Muslims], which the general Muslims also approved of.

also it is in Hadith Sharif:

ا رآه المسلمون حسنا فهو عند الله حسنم
means "That which the general Muslims consider good, it is also good in the sight of Allah."
(Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal)

And to say that by saying "Maslak-e-A'la Hazrat," other Ulama and Awliya-e-Kiram are being made forgotten is not correct. Because when "Maslak-e-A'la Hazrat" is said, by it is meant the same maslak which is the maslak of the Awliya-e-Ummat. But "Deobandi" — since they are claimants of this matter that we too are upon the maslak of the Awliya-e-Ummat — because they also acknowledge their own akābir (elders) as Awliya, and many [of them] attend the shrines of famous elders, rather [they] even have possession (qabza) of some of the shrines of the Awliya-e-Ummat.A
Therefore, saying "Maslak Awliya-e-Ummat" for the distinction from these bad-maḍhabs will not be sufficient — for this, in this era, it will be necessary to call it specifically "Maslak A'la Hazrat", and the one who stops [others] from this will inevitably either be (of a false sect) a bad-mazhab or a hāsid (envier).

And Allah Ta'ala knows best

[Fatāwa Faqīh Millat vol.2 pg.429-430]

Answered By
Mufti Jalal al-Din Ahmad Amjadi
[Translated from Urdu]