Adherence to the Sunnah

أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Shaikh Muhammad Rashid Rida (a famous Egyptian scholar) once visited Deoband. He was partaking of some sweetmeats with Moulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri (rahmatullahi alaih). He was eating with a spoon and Moulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri (rahmatullahi alaih) was eating with his fingers. So he asked Moulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri (rahmatullahi alaih): Why don’t you eat with a spoon? Moulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri (rahmatullahi alaih) replied, “This spoon (i.e. the fingers) is much better than that spoon. This spoon can feel the heat of the food whereas that spoon cannot, this spoon can bend whereas that one cannot, this spoon is completely easy on the mouth whereas that spoon is tough and this spoon has got taste whereas that spoon does not.” Thereafter he asked Moulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri (rahmatullahi alaih) that when different ahadith suggest different things, then which one do you follow. Moulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri (rahmatullahi alaih) gave him a very detailed answer in Arabic. When Shaikh Muhammad Rashid Rida returned home, he said: “If I did not see Deoband, my entire journey would have been a wasted effort.” He also said: “The science of hadith had been wiped out from the entire world, May Allah Ta`ala reward our brothers from India who have preserved this science” (Discourse of Mufti Mahmood Hasan Gangohi rahimahullah).