Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi

Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi (1796/1797 – 19 August 1861) was a Hanafi mufti, Kalam scholar, Maturidi theologian, and poet. He was an activist of the Indian independence movement and campaigned against British colonialism. He issued an early religious edict in favour of doing military jihad against British colonialism during 1857 and inspired various others to participate in the 1857 rebellion. He wrote Tahqeeq al-Fatwa Fi Abtal al-Taghwa in refutation of Ismail Dehlvi's Taqwiyat al-Iman and authored books such as al-Thawra al-Hindiyya.

Early life and education Fazl-e-Haq was born in 1796 or 1797 in Khairabad, Sitapur (now Uttar Pradesh, India).#tag:ref|His birth year is given as 1796 by the Indian History Congress, but as 1797 by different sources including Asir Adrawi. His father Fazl-e-Imam Khairabadi was Sadr al-Sadur, the chief advisor to the Mughals regarding religious matters. He was known for his expertise in the intellectual and rational sciences, for which he was given the title Imam-i Maqulat (“leader in the intellectual sciences”). He was well acquainted with the teachings of the Shiraz School of philosophy in its specific tradition. Fazl-e-Imam wrote a number of scholarly works, many of which survive only in manuscript form, including a commentary on Mir Damad’s al-Ufuq al-Mubin. His work Mirqat remains part of the Dars-i Nizami curriculum in South Asia, especially in the study of logic.

Fazl-e-Haq began his scholarly education under the tutelage of his father Fazl-e-Imam. He studied Hadith with Shah Abd al-Qadir Muhaddith Delhawi and Shah Abd al-Aziz. In Sufism, he was a student of Hafiz Muhammad Ali Khairabadi. He also studied Ibn 'Arabi's Fusus al-Hikam with Hafiz Khairabadi, who was a spiritual representative of Shah Sulaiman Tonswi. The latter was a leading Chishti Sufi of the Indian subcontinent and a teacher of the Akbarian scholar Pir Mihr Ali Shah Golrawi.

Career Fazl-e-Haq became a teacher by the age of 13. In 1828, he was appointed to the position of mufti in the Department of Qaza.

On account of his deep knowledge and erudition, he was bestowed with the title of "Allama" and later was venerated as a great Sufi. He was also called the Imam of logic, philosophy and literature. He was considered by scholars to be the final authority on issuing fatwas or religious rulings.

He possessed a great presence of mind and was very intelligent. There are many stories about his repartee with Mirza Ghalib and other contemporary eminent poets, writers and intellectuals. He and his son Abdul al-Haq Khairabadi established Madrasa Khairabad in northern India, where many scholars got educated. He wrote Risala al-Thawra al-Hindiyya in Arabic language and wrote an account of the rebellion called al-Thawra al-Hindiyya. In 1825, Khairabadi issued fatwas against Ismail Dehlvi for his doctrine of God's alleged ability to lie (Imkan al-Kidhb). Ismail is considered as an intellectual ancestor of Deobandis. Darul Uloom Deoband, founder Rashid Ahmad Gangohi later accepted Dehlvi's doctrines of Imkan al-Kidhb by stating that God has the ability to lie. This doctrine is called Imkan al-Kidhb. Gangohi supported the doctrine that God has the ability to make additional prophets after Muhammad (Imkan al-Nazir) and other prophets equal to Muhammad.

Jihad against British governance As the Indians started to struggle against British occupation, Khairabadi conducted several private meetings with the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, which continued until May 1857. On June 26, 1857, when General Bakht Khan along with his army of 14000, reached Delhi from Bareilly, Khairabadi gave a Friday sermon, attended by a plethora of Muslim scholars and issued a religious edict supporting jihad against the colonial government. The fatwa was signed by Sadruddin Azurda, Abdul Qadir, Faizullah Dehalvi, Faiz Ahmed Badayuni, Wazir Khan, and Syed Mubarak Shah Rampuri. Through this edict, he inspired people to participate in 1857 rebellion. Subsequently, the Britishers deployed an army of some 90,000 around Delhi to protect its interests and to curb spread of jihad, following the issuance of Khairabadi's edict. Later, he was sent into exile to Kalapani jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

He was arrested by the British authorities on January 30, 1859, at Khairabad for inciting violence. He was tried and found guilty of encouraging murder and role in the rebellion. His other works include:

Among his sons, Abdul Haq Khairabadi was a rational scholar and a teacher of Majid Ali Jaunpuri.