Zakir Naik in light of India's History

It is amazing how people have such a short memory of the historical facts that have led to the success of Dr.Zakir Naik. The subcontinent -India and Pakistan - has produced some of the most remarkable Muslim scholars that have left an indelible mark on Islamic History. For example, Pakistan - having the second largest population of Muslims in the world - stands at a very critical juncture as war in the region unfolds in front of our eyes. However, the war waging in Pakistan dates back to pre-partition; when Pakistan was actually India. A time when the British had waged an ideological war against the Muslims of India. The colonialists launched a deceptive campaign, using Christian Evengalists, to create confusion in the hearts of Indian Muslims. Before Zakir Naik was even born, Maulana Rahmatullah Kairanvi, a Hanafi scholar educated in the "Darse-Nizami" curriculum came to the forefront of rescuing the faith of the Muslims in India. Sheikh Kairanvi was a contemporary of the great Maulana Imadadullah Muhajir Makki (rahmatullahi alayhi). In fact, both will later migrate to Mecca when the the British stepped up their "Lal-Masjid" type mission of slaugtering the Muslim scholars. Maulana Kairanvi (rah) wrote his magnum opus, "Izhar-ul-Haq" in 1864 becoming the most authoritative work on the Christian Bible:

"This book, internationally recognized as one of the most authoritative and objective studies of the Bible, was originally written in Arabic under the title Izharul-Haq (Truth Revealed) by the distinguished 19th century Indian scholar, Rahmatullah Kairanvi, and appeared in 1864. The book was subsequently translated into Urdu, and then from Urdu into English by Mohammad Wali Raazi. Rahmatullah Kairanvi wrote the book in response to the Christian offensive against Islam during the British rule in India, and specifically to counter the subversive attack made by the Rev. C. C. P. Fonder. Rev. Fonder had written a book in Urdu entitled Meezanul Haq, the open intention of which was to create doubts into the minds of the Muslims about the authenticity of the Qur’an and Islam. Sheikh Kairanvi’s intention in his book was first of all to show that the Bible cannot in any way be considered as a directly revealed book. He does this very effectively by means of his voluminous and authoritative knowledge of the Jewish and
Christian scriptures. He demonstrates beyond doubt that the Books of the Old and New Testaments have been altered, almost beyond recognition, from their original forms. The work is even more notable in the light of subsequent Jewish and Christian scholarship and the various discoveries that have since been made in this field which all bear out the truth of Sheikh Kairanvi’s thesis."
[Please click on this link to read his works http://abdurrahman.org/comprel/IzharUlHaq.pdf]

Let us wind past the events of Maulana Kairanvi to the time when all went quite, history quitely folded its events with the passage of time; until another Muslim Scholar was born. Sheikh Ahmed Deedat was born in India, but later migrated to South Africa. Turn of events would lead Ahmed Deedat (rahtullahi alayhi) to the discovery of a historical event that would turn the tides on Christian Missionaries; the book "Izhar-ul-Haq". The profound nature of the book would pave the path for Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, taking him to great heights of scholarship and rewarding his life with the title of "Muslim Scholar of the Christian Bible".

Sheikh Ahmed Deedat will become an inspiration for millions, if not billions of Muslims across the world including Dr.Zakir Naik. It is sad that Dr.Naik down plays the role of Hanafi Ulema, who sacrificed their lives and saved millions of souls despite being branded as "Mullahs". It is so sad that he has not given the classical ulema the respect that they deserve; yet he enjoys his fame under the pretext of a doctoral title and as a "modern" forward thinking "scholar". He got his authentic seal from Sheikh Ahmed Deedat (rah) who possessed "ilm-Laduna" through the book of Maulana Kairanvi (rah). Dr.Naik would not be what he is today had he not drank from the fountain of knowledge flowing from stream of classical Ulema - who were in fact non other than from the "Deoband" school of Islamic scholarship.

Let me conclude with this very couplet I learned from my grandmother, who actually saw the great Muslim scholar Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (rahmatullahi alayhi) in her teens. The couplet is:

"Baa Adab Baa Naseeb" (He / She that possess 'Adab' - etiquettes & respect - is very blessed)
"Bay Adab Bay Naseeb" (He / She that possess no 'Adab' is without blessing)