A letter by Sayyid Abdulhakim bin Mustafa Arwasi (rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alaih):

Imam-i Busayri (rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alaih) the greatest of the Awliya educated by Shaikh Abul-Abbas Mursi 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih', a man of karamats and a disciple of shaikh Abul-Hasan-i Shazili (rahmatullahi ta'ala 'alaih), who was one of the great ones from the Sufiyya-i aliyya [ Great men of Tasavvuf, that is, the Awliya.], wrote a book entitled Qasida-i hamziyya that was read by Islamic savants with enthusiasm. In this book he praises our Prophet and says, "The mothers and fathers of the Best of Mankind were all good. Allahu ta'ala, of His human beings, picked out the best fathers and mothers for him."

In all the books of Mawlid written in various Islamic languages, it is written that his parents were extremely innocent. [Poems describing the Prophet's life are called "Mawlid."]

None of the ancestors [fathers and mothers] of our Prophet (sall Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) nor of any prophet was a disbeliever or base ('alaihimussalam). The following are the ayat al-karimas and hadith ash-Sharifs proving our statement correct:

1 - In a hadith ash-Sharif in Bukhari-i Sharif, the most valuable and the most correct book after the Qur'an al-karim, our Prophet declares: "I was born from the distinguished, the best ones of people living in every century, in every era."

2 - In a hadith in the book of Imam-i Muslim, which has, of the thousands of hadith books, won second place, Rasulullah declares: "Of the descendants of Hadrat Ismail 'alaihis- salam', Allahu ta'ala selected a person named Quraish. And of the descendants of Quraish, He selected the Hashim Family. And among them He placed me."

3 - In a hadith communicated by Tirmuzi, he declares: "Allahu ta'ala created everyone. He made me from the best group of humans. Then He created the best of these groups in Arabia. He made me from them. Then, choosing the best of homes, the best of families, He created me from them. Then, my soul and body are the best of creatures. My ancestors are the best people."

4 - In a hadith in a book by Tabarani, one of the most valuable hadith savants, he declares: "Allahu ta'ala created everything out of nothing. Of all things, He liked human beings and made them valuable. Of mankind He made those whom He selected settle in Arabia. And of the distinguished in Arabia, He chose me. He placed me among the distinguished, the best of the people in every age. Then, those who love the ones in Arabia who are obedient to me, love them for my sake. Those who feel hostility towards them feel hostility towards me." This hadith ash-Sharif is also written at the beginning of Mawahib-i Ladunniyya.

5 - As it is informed in Mawahib-i-Ladunniyya and in the explanation of Zarqani 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih', it is stated in a hadith ash-Sharif quoted by Abdullah bin Abbas 'radi-Allahu anhuma': "None of my grandfathers committed adultery. Allahu ta'ala made me from beautiful and good fathers and pure mothers. If one of my grandfathers had two sons. I would be in the most useful, the best of these." Before Islam, adultery was usual in Arabia. A woman would not marry a man before having been his mistress for a long time. [Today's disbelievers do the same.]

Hadrat Adam ('alaihi's-salam), when he was about to die, said to Hadrat Shis ('alaihi's- salam), his son, "My son! This nur shining on your forehead is the nur of Hadrat Muhammad, the Last Prophet. Deliver this nur to pure and chaste ladies, who believe in Allah, and tell your son to do so in your last request!" Up to Muhammad (alaihissalam), all fathers told their sons to do so. Each of them fulfilled this will by marrying the noblest, the chastest girl. The nur, passing through pure foreheads and chaste women, reached its owner. Allahu ta'ala calls the disbelievers foul in the Sura-i-Tawba. Since Rasulullah (sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallam) declares that all his grandfathers were innocent, Azar, who was a foul disbeliever, must not be Ibrahim's ('alaihi's-salam) father. To say that Azar was Hadrat Ibrahim's ('alaihi's-salam) father would mean to disbelieve the hadith above. Molla Jami (rahmatullahi 'alaih) says in his Persian book Shawahid-un-Nubuwwa, "A nur (holy light) shone on Adam's forehead ('alaihi's-salam) because he bore a mote of hadrat Muhammad ('alaihi's-salam). This mote was passed on to Hadrat Hawwa [the first mother] and from her to Hadrat Shis, thus passing from innocent men to innocent women and from innocent women to innocent men. The nur, together with the mote, passed from foreheads to foreheads."

It is written on the forty-eighth page of the book Qisas-i-Anbiya (History of Prophets), "If one of Rasulullah's grandfathers had two sons or if a tribe had been divided into two branches, the descendants of the Last Prophet would be on the best side. In each century, the person who was his grandfather was evident by the nur on his forehead. Ismail 'alaihis- salam' also had the nur on his forehead. It shone like the planet Venus. This nur, an inheritance from his father, passed from him on to his descendants, thus reaching Maadd and Nizar.

'Nizar' means 'a little.' He was named Nizar due to the following event: When he was born, his father Maadd, being pleased to see the nur on his son's forehead, gave a feast and said that the feast was only a little thing for such a son, thus causing his name to remain as Nizar. This nur was the nur of Hadrat Muhammad. Passing from son to son since Hadrat Adam, it came to its owner, Khatam-ul-anbiya, i.e. Hadrat Muhammad.

Thus, among the sons of Hadrat Adam, there was a distinguished race carrying Hadrat Muhammad's nur; in each century, the face of a person of this race was very beautiful and very bright. By this nur he was conspicuous among his brothers, and the tribe he belonged to was more exalted and more honorable than other tribes."

6 - It is declared in the two hundred and nineteenth ayat of Surat-ush-Shu'ara of the Qur'an al-karim: "You, that is, your nur has reached you after having always been transferred from one worshipper to another." Interpreting this ayat, the Ahl as-sunnat savants 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain' have inferred that "All his fathers and mothers were Believers and were innocent." As it is explained in the booklet Ashab-i kiram, there are also some people who suppose that the Ahl as-sunnat savants are Rafidis and who say that these are the words of Rafidis.

The great ones of the Ahl-i-sunnat 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaihim ajmain' say that his father and his mother, Amina, were in the religion of Hadrat Ibrahim. That is, they were Believers. Allahu ta'ala enlivened these two and had them hear the word 'Shahadat' from our Prophet and express it, not for giving them have iman, but in order that they might be honored with being in his Ummat [See article 46 for the word 'Shahadat'.] The ayat, "Do not ask a blessing on your relative," was intended for Abu Talib. It was not intended for his parents. It is written in the translations of Imam-i Azam's book Fiqh-i Akbar, of which there are many copies in the world, that they (his parents) died without belief. Yet it is written in Imam-i Azam's manuscript that they died with iman. Later, it was discovered that his enemies made this mistake on purpose by erasing the word 'ma' [In Arabic, the words 'ma' and 'la' make the meaning of the verb negative. 'Matu' means 'they died.' 'Ma-matu' means 'they didn't die.' When 'ma' in front of the sentence 'They didn't die as disbelievers' is erased, it becomes 'They died as disbelievers.'].

The manuscript of Fiqh-i Akbar by Imam-i Azam Abu Hanifa, along with a part of the Qur'an al-karim, which was written by the blessed hands of Hadrat 'Uthman, the Amir-ul- Muminin, and which was colored with his blood of martyrdom, and a number of valuable books were taken to Samarkand in 656 A.H. when Hulaghu burned Baghdad and massacred more than eight hundred thousand Muslims. When Samarkand was captured by the Russians in 1284 A.H. [A.D. 1868], these books were transferred to Petersburg and kept there very carefully. This fact is communicated by Shamsaddin Sami Beg, the author of Qamus-ul- alam, while explaining the entry 'Samarkand.' The book was taken to the city of Ufa in 1335 [1917 A.D.], and then from there to the mosque of Khwaja Ubaidullah-i Ahrar in the city of Tashkand in 1341 [1923 A.D.].

Some pages of the copies of the Qur'an written by the blessed hands of the Khalifas 'Umar-ul-Faruq, 'Uthman-i Zinnurain and Ali-yul-Murtada 'radi-Allahu ta'ala anhum' exist in the Museum of Islamic Works, which is next to the Sulaimaniya Mosque in Istanbul. Those who wish may see them.

The enemies of religion laid their hands on the books of great men of the religion, as they had at one time defiled the Tawrat and the Injil, the books of Allahu ta'ala. For example, they mixed some fables with the books Fusus and Futuhat by Muhyiddin-i Arabi. Yet, they were soon discovered. The great savant Hadrat Abdulwahhab-i Sharani 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih' explains this policy of the irreligious in his books Kibrit-i Ahmar and Al-yawaqit. And today, the policy of misrepresenting Islam to youngsters is being carried out far and wide; we notice with regret that the world no longer has any real savants to silence them.

For this reason, Hadrat Jalaladdin-i Rumi wrote his Mathnawi in a rhyme scheme, thus leaving no possibility for Islam's enemies to defile it.

The following books give valuable information by explaining the words of Islamic scholars: While beginning the discussion concerning the marriage of disbelievers in the annotation of Durr-ul-mukhtar by Ibni Abidin (alaihirrahma), chapter al-Hazar-wal-ibaha in the annotation of Ashbah by Hamawi (rahmat Allahu ta'ala 'alaih), and the book Mirat-i kainat write, "According to great savants, who have realized the truth, we shouldn't talk on whether our Prophet's 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' parents had or did not have iman, and we should watch our manners when discussing it. It has been stated in a hadith ash-Sharif, 'Do not hurt the living by talking ill of the dead.' It does not bring harm upon one not to talk about it or not to learn it, nor will it be asked in the grave or on the Last day of Judgement." [See article 18 for Ibni Abidin.] And again, they say, "Allahu ta'ala, as a blessing on our Prophet, enlivened his parents during his farewell hajj. They believed in His Prophet. The sahih hadith [A kind of hadith.] quoted by Muhammad bin Abu Bakr and Ibni Nasir-ud-din declares this fact. By the same token, His enlivening a man killed by the Bani Israil and the man's giving information about his murderer and His enlivening many dead people with the prayers of Hadrat Isa and Hadrat Muhammad were all blessings. It is incorrect to say that the ayat 'Do not ask My pardon on behalf of those who are for Hell' is about Rasulullah's blessed parents. As for the hadith ash-Sharif 'My father and your father are in the fire,' which is communicated in Muslim; it was said with ijtihad. It was declared afterwards that they had iman." It is written in the book Ahwal-u atfal-il-muslimin that it had ben declared so about the two sons of Hadrat Khadija, too, but afterwards it was communicated that they were not in Hell.

As it is understood from ayat al-karimas and hadith ash-Sharifs and as it is written in thousands of Islamic books, all the fortunate people who were honored with being Rasulullah's 'sall-Allahu alaihi wa sallam' fathers and mothers were the noblest, the most honorable, the most beautiful and the purest people of their times and in their countries. They all were cherished, blessed and respectable. Therefore, Hadrat Ibrahim's father was a Believer and was far from having evil habits or abominable, low attributes. Azar, who was a disbeliever, was not his father, but his uncle.

As it is declared at the beginning of Surat-u Al-i 'Imran, the Qur'an's ayats are of two kinds. Firstly, the ayats with clear, obvious meanings, which are called "Muhkamat." Secondly, there are ayats called "Mutshabihat" which are not apparent, plain or usual, but which contain unusual meanings. That is, it does not conform with the mind or with the Shariat to give them their clear, known meanings; it is necessary to give them unusual meanings, that is, tawil (to interpret) them. It is a sin to give them their obvious meanings. For example, the savants of Tafsir (interpretation) have interpreted the word yad (hand) as 'power' which means capability. By the same token, it is written in The Interpretation of Baidawi that in the ayat "When Ibrahim (alaihissalam) told his father Azar..." Azar is an atf-i bayan [In Arabic, the second noun, which is written for explaining the meaning of a noun, is called "atf-i-bayan." Its English counterpart is 'appositive'.] for the word 'father.' When a person has two names and these two names are mentioned together, it is understood that one of them is famous and the other is not famous, which is called "atf-i bayan." For this reason, according to the rules of balaghat, fasahat and ijaz [These words are the names of literary arts that make a statement valuable.], Hadrat Ibrahim calls two persons father. One of them is his own father, and the other is somebody else whom he refers to as father. The meaning of the ayat is: "When Hadrat Ibrahim told his Azar father." If it weren't so, it would be enough in the Qur'an to declare: "When he told Azar," or "When he told his father," instead of declaring: "When he told his father Azar." If he were his own father, the word 'his father' would be superfluous.

All of the scholars of the Tawrat (Torah) followed the religion of Musa ('alaihi's-salam) for a 1800 year period and along with them the Apostles of Jesus ('alaihi's-salam) and the priests who followed them said that Azar was not the real father but that he was the uncle of Ibrahim ('alaihi's-salam). As it is inferred from the undefiled old manuscripts of the Torah and the Bible, the name of the father of Ibrahim ('alaihi's-salam) was Taruh. The word Taruh is not the Hebrew synonym of Azar as some ignorant people write. It means that they both are not names for the same person. There are many verses in the Qur'an-al karim in accord with those in the Torah and the Bible. In the thirtieth page of the Turkish version of his book, Bayan-ul-haq, Rahmatullah Effendi (rahmat-Allahi 'alaih), one of the Islamic scholars of India, says, "Naskh; i.e., anything to be made invalid by Allahu ta'ala, involves only the commandments and the prohibitions. In the commentary Ma'alim-ut-tanzil al-Imam al-Baghawi says that Naskh did not occur in the qisas (narrations) and akhbar (information) [nor scientific and experimental knowledge] but only in the commandments and prohibitions. Naskh does not mean to change them but to inform as to the ending of their period of validity. The Qur'an al-karim did not invalidate the whole Torah and Bible but a part of them." [There is some information about Naskh in this fascicle in a letter by Imam-i Rabbani, Vol. 3-22]. Therefore, the tawil (explaining away) of the above- mentioned ayat-i karima becomes necessary.

Allahu ta'ala declares in the hundred and thirty-third ayat of the Surat-ul-Baqara that Hadrat Yaqub's (Jacob's) sons said to him, "And the creator of your fathers Ibrahim, Ismail and Ishaq...." This may come to mean that hadrat Ismail is the father of Hadrat Yaqub. However, Hadrat Yaqub is the son of Hadrat Ishaq 'alaihis-salam', who is the son of Hadrat Ibrahim 'alaihis-salam'. And Hadrat Ishaq 'alaihis-salam' is Hadrat Ismail's 'alaihis- salam' brother. Then, Hadrat Ismail 'alaihis-salam' is not Hadrat Yaqub's 'alaihis-salam' father but his uncle. This means to say that in the Qur'an al-karim 'uncle' means 'father.' It is written in the interpretation of this ayat in many books of interpretation that the word 'father' is used for uncle in various Arabic lexicons. It is written in many books that our Prophet used to call an Arabian villager and his uncle Abu Talib and also Abu Lahab and Abbas, father. It has been a custom in every nation, in every language, in every age to use the word 'father' for uncle, for step-father, for father-in-law, and also for any protecting or helping person. Besides, Azar was both the uncle and step-father of Hadrat Ibrahim. Also Firuzabadi confirms this fact in Qamus by saying, "Azar is the name of Hadrat Ibrahim's 'alaihis-salam' uncle. His father's name is Taruh." The statement, "The unanimity that Azar is the uncle is unsound. According to the sound unanimity, Azar is his father," is an unsound and worthless claim against such a clear declaration in religious books. It results from misunderstanding the subtlety in the words of savants.

It cannot be a document for the interpretation by Baidawi to give the seventy-fourth ayat in Surat-ul-Anam its plain meaning instead of interpreting it, [and that this ayat-i karima and the hundred and fifteenth ayat of Surat-ut-Tawba were explained away with an improper tawil in the commentary Ruh al-bayan.] Nor can it abrogate the unanimity among the savants of interpretation, the savants of hadith, the savants of kalam, and the Sufiyya-i aliyya. For it is only Muhammad (alaihissalam) who has given the Qur'an al-karim its correct meaning and who has interpreted it correctly through his hadith ash-Sharifs. None of the Ashab-i kiram or Tabiin-i 'Izam thought of Azar as the father when they heard this ayat al-karima, nor did any of them say so. They understood that he was his uncle. This is the belief of the Ahl as-sunnat.

It is written at the end of Fatawa-i Khayriyya, "It is written in Qamus that Azar is the name of Hadrat Ibrahim's uncle. His father's name is Taruh. It is written as Ibrahim bin Taruh in Tarih-i Hanbali. It says that Azar is the nickname of Taruh. In The Interpretation of Jalalayn it is written that the name Azar in the ayat is Taruh's last name. Ibni Hajar writes in his revision of Hamziyya: 'Azar was a disbeliever. It is declared in the Qur'an that he was Hadrat Ibrahim's 'alaihis-salam' father. The ummats with holy books say that Azar was not Hadrat Ibrahim's 'alaihis-salam' own father, but he was his uncle, for the Arabs call the uncle father. So the uncle has been called father in the Qur'an. It has been declared, 'The creator [Allah] of your father Ibrahim and Ismail' about Hadrat Yaqub. Nonetheless, Hadrat Ismail was Hadrat Yaqub's uncle, not his father. When the words of savants do not conform with one another, it is wajib to interpret a ayat in a manner agreeable with hadiths. choosing the easier way, Baidawi and others did not interpret the ayat."

Abdul-Ahad Nuri Bey wrote a special booklet for proving the fact that Rasulullah's parents were Believers. This booklet is in Turkish and consists of eighteen pages. It is kept with the call number '3612' in the Asad Effendi section in the library of Sulaimaniya, Istanbul.

Hadrat Imam-i Suyuti 'rahmatullahi ta'ala alaih' proves that Azar is not Hadrat Ibrahim's father, but that he was his uncle, through documents in his book Kitab-ud-darj-il-munifa. This book is available in the Sulaimaniya, library. Its call number 1150 is in the Rais-ul- kuttab Mustafa Effendi section.

It is written in Anwar-ul-Muhammadiyya that it is declared in the hadith ash-Sharif quoted by Hadrat 'Ali, "From Hadrat Adam up to my father Abdullah, I always passed through married fathers and mothers. None of my fathers had any child through adultery, without nikah." Rasulullah communicated the names of his twenty-one fathers back up to Adnan, as follows:

His father is Abdullah. The fathers of Abdullah successively are Abdulmuttalib, Hashim, Abdu-Menaf, Kussayy, Kilab, Murra, Ka'b, Luwayy, Ghalib, Fihr, Malik, Nadr, Kinana, Huzaima, Mudrika, Ilyas, Mudar, Nizar, Maadd and Adnan. All of them, with a brief description of each, have been written in alphabetical order at the end of the Turkish version of our book.

The passages announcing the purification of the ascendants of our Prophet in the book Matali'un-nur by Abdullah-i Rumi, the annotator of the book Fusus, are written in our book Nimat-i kubra.

Hadrat Sanaullah-i Dahlawi [pani-Puti], who had deep knowledge in branches of Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh, Tasawwuf and Islamic knowledge, and who performed great services to human beings by showing them the way to endless bliss, says in the first and third volumes of Tafsir-i Mazhari that the word 'Azar' in Surat-ul-Anam is an atf-i bayan for the word 'Abihi.' Documents stating that Azar was not Hadrat Ibrahim's 'alaihis-salam' father but that he was his uncle are more correct. In Arabia, an uncle is called father. In the Qur'an Hadrat Ismail 'alaihis-salam' is called the father of Hadrat Yaqub. Whereas, he is his uncle. Azar's real name was Nahur. Nahur was formerly in the righteous religion of his ancestors. When he became Nimrod's vizier, he turned into a disbeliever, changing his faith for the world. Also, Fakhraddin Razi and most of the salaf-i salihin have conveyed that Azar was an uncle. Zarqani, while explaining the book Mawahib-i ladunniyya, writes the words, "Those who believe holy books and also historians have unanimously said that Azar was an uncle," by Ibni Hajar-i Haitami, as a document. Imam-i Suyuti says that Ibni Abbas has communicated that Azar was not Hadrat Ibrahim's father and that Hadrat Ibrahim's father was Taruh. This word of Ibni Abbas has also been communicated by Mujahid, Ibni Jarir and Suddi through documents. Again, it is communicated by Suyuti, that also Ibni Munzir clearly explains in his interpretation that Azar was an uncle. Imam-i Suyuti wrote a booklet communicating that Rasulullah's grandfathers, up to Hadrat Adam were all Muslims. Despite this fact, Muhammad bin Ishaq, Dahhak, and Kelbi said that Hadrat Ibrahim's father was Azar whose other name was Taruh. "Yaqub 'alaihis-salam' had two names, too. His second name was Israil," they said. Also, mukafil and Ibni Habban said that Azar was the nickname for Hadrat Ibrahim's father, Taruh. As noted by Baghawi, Ata communicates from Ibni Abbas that when Rasulullah wondered about his parents, the hundred and nineteenth ayat of Surat-ul-Baqara descended, declaring: "Do not ask about the states of the inhabitants of Hell!" Yet Ibni Jarir has stated that this information was not dependable. If we should say that this information is true, then Ibni Abbas communicated his own supposition. And even if his supposition were true, it is not explained clearly that his (Rasulullah's) parents are in Hell. Even if they were in Hell, still they could not be said to be disbelievers, for there will be those Muslims who will go to Hell. It is declared in a hadith: "As I am the best of you, so my father is better than your fathers." The translation from the book Tafsir-i Mazhari is completed here.

It is written in the Al-hazar section of the book Uyun-ul-Basair, "Qadi Abu Bakr Ibnul- Arabi 'rahmatullahi alaih', one of the savants of the Maliki madhhab, said that he who said that Rasulullah's parents were in Hell would become accursed. Every Muslim has to abstain from saying something that will hurt Rasulullah. Allahu ta'ala has cursed the person who hurts him. Nothing could cause bitter pain than saying that his grandfathers were disbelievers!"

It is written in the book, al-Mustanad (p. 33): "Al-Imam as-Suyuti proves that Azar is the uncle, not the father of Ibrahim (alaihi's-salam). The hadith ash-Sharif: 'My father and your father are in Hell' means that Abu Lahab is in Hell." The book, on its hundred and seventy- fifth page, refutes with documents the assertions of 'Ali al-Qari, who slanders as-Suyuti. Translation of these pages exists in the section Din Adami Bolucu Olamaz (A Man of Religion Cannot Be A Separatist) of the book Faideli Bilgiler (Useful Teachings).