Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi (1796/1797 – 19 August 1861) was a Hanafi jurist, rationalist scholar, Maturidi theologian, philosopher and poet. He was an activist of the Indian independence movement and campaigned against British occupation. 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 Taḥqīqulfatvá fī ibt̤āl al-t̤ug̲h̲vá in refutation of Ismail Dehlvi's Taqwiyat al-Imān and authored books such as al-S̲aurah al-Hindiyah.
Life
Fazl-e-Haq was born into a family of native Indian Muslims. He was born in 1796 or 1797 in Khairabad, Sitapur. His father was sadr-ul-sadur, the chief advisor to the Mughals regarding religious matters. He became a teacher by the age of 13. In 1828, he was appointed to the position of mufti in the Department of Qaza. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he never claimed any fabricated Arab or Central Asian ancestries.
Besides being a scholar of Islamic studies and theology, he was also a literary persona, especially of Urdu, Arabic and Persian literature. More than 4,00 couplets in Arabic are attributed to him. He edited the first diwan of Mirza Ghalib on his request. He followed the Hanafi school of thought and was a theologian of the Maturidi school. He was also a poet.
He had a phenomenal memory and memorized the Qur'an in a little over four months, and by the age of thirteen, he had also completed the curriculum in Arabic, Persian and religious studies .
On account of his deep knowledge and erudition, he was called "Allama" and later was venerated as a great Sufi. He was also bestowed with the title imam hikmat and kalaam (The imam of logic, philosophy and literature). He was considered by scholars, the final authority on issuing fatwas or religious rulings.
He possessed a great presence of mind and was very witty. 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-e-Sauratul Hindia in Arabic language and wrote an account of the rebellion called As-Saurat al Hindiya.
Fatwas against Wahhabi theories
Khairabadi, in his career, had written various Masnavis against Wahhabis. In 1825, Khairabadi issued fatwas against Ismail Dehlvi for his alleged doctrine of God's alleged ability to lie (Imkan-e-Kizb) which in reality was a misrepresentation on Shah Ismail’s part & an exaggeration that suppposes blasphemy on his part.Ismail is considered as an intellectual ancestor of Deobandis however the reality is that early Deobandi scholars although they praised him, had some academic disagreements with him especially in the book ‘Taqwiyah Al-Imam’ which the Barelwi sect mistakenly believes that all Deobandi scholars unanimously approve every section of. It has been alleged by some that Darul Uloom Deoband, founder Rashid Ahmad Gangohi later accepted Dehlvi's doctrines of Imkan e kizb by stating that God has the ability to lie. This doctrine is called Imkan-i Kizb. However this could not be further from the truth as Moulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi [ra] had clearly mentioned in Fatawa Rashidiyyah (pg.93) that if anyone says that Allah lies or even thinks that Allah lies can never be a Mu’min. He will be regarded as a Kaafir. Allah states, ‘Wa man asdaqu minallaahu qeela’ (Who is more truthful than Allah). According to this doctrine, because God is omnipotent, God is capable of lying.
Allama Fazle Haq Khairabadi refuted these theories and wrote that, according to the Qur’an and Hadith, the prophet Muhammad is the final prophet, and there can be no other prophet or "messenger" after him. To believe that there can be another Muhammad would necessitate that Allah did something apart from what he has stated in the Qur’an, that is, that Allah has lied. Lying is a flaw and it is impossible for Allah to have a flaw. This reflects his deep insight into the political, social and religious environment which was emerging with the growing influence of Englishmen and at last capture of Delhi by them.