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The concept of "Haadir" and "Naadir" is summed up in the following passage by Hadhrat Syed Ahmad Sa'eed Kazmi (rahmatullah 'alaih): "When the word Haazir-o-Naazir is used for the Prophet (Peace be upon him), it does not mean that the physical body of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) is everywhere and that he is present in front of everybody. This in fact means that as the soul exists in every part of the body, similarly, the dear Prophet (Peace be upon him) exists in every atom of the worlds. Based on that, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) arrives with his spirituality in many places at one time. Many times, the pious observe the beauty of the beautiful Prophet (Peace be upon him) in a state of wakefulness with their physical eyes".
(Taskeenul Khawatir fi Mas'alatil Haazir wan Naazir. Page 13, Maktabah-e-Haamidya, Lahore)

A very commonly disputed point amongst the Sunnis and the Wahabi and Deobandi followers is that of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) being referred to as being Haadir wa Naadir (Haazir-o-Naazir in Urdu). The Sunnis believe that this attribute of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) is proven from clear Qur'anic verses but the Wahabi and Deobandi sects do not accept this belief and brand the Sunnis as mushriks for upholding this creed.

When did this split begin? Was it disputed by the Sahaba? The Tabi'een? The Tab'e Tabi'een? Any of the Salaf-us-Saliheen? No! In no book of hadith or tarikh (history) will one find the mas'ala of Haadir wa Naadir being one that caused any friction, disagreement or dispute amongst any of the aforementioned groups of pious Muslims (May Allah be pleased with them all).

Even up until the middle of the 17th century, the jamhur (vast majority) of the ummah were of the belief that the creed that our Dear Prophet, Sayyidina Muhammad-ur-Rasoolullah (Peace be upon him) is Haadir wa Naadir could and should be held.

The pioneer of the science of hadith in the Indian subcontinent, Shaikh Abdul Haq Muhaddith-e-Dehlwi (May Allah be pleased with him) writes:

"Even though many differences have now appeared in the Muslim ummah, the scholars of all sects remain united in the belief that the Prophet of Allah (Peace be upon him) is physically alive in his blessed grave and he is Haadir wa Naadir upon the actions of his ummah. The Dear Prophet distributes blessings to all those who turn to him in need".(Maktoobaat (no. 18), Akhbar-ul-Akhyar page 155)

Shaikh Abdul Haq Dehlwi (May Allah be pleased with him) passed away in the year 1642 and up until this time, no group of Muslims held a belief against the Prophetic attribute of Haadir wa Naadir.

Hence, dear unbiased Muslim, which party of people will fall into the category of being from the mubtadi'een (innovators)? Those who believe Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) to be Haadir wa Naadir as was the belief of the whole ummah up until the 17th century or those people who brand such beliefs as shirk eventhough their new creed has only been around for a maximum of 350 years? What is 350 years compared to over 1400 years of Islamic thought?

May Allah guide the misguided and keep those who are guided upon the truth, Aameen!

Allah knows best.

Muhammad Aqdas