Al-Muhannad 'ala al-Mufannad (), also known as al-Tasdiqat li-Daf' al-Talbisat (), was subsequently published in Urdu as 'Aqa'id 'Ulama' Ahl al-Sunna Deoband (The Beliefs of the Sunni Scholars of Deoband) is a book that expresses some of the beliefs held by the Sunni Hanafi Deobandis. It was authored by the Indian Hanafi-Maturidi hadith scholar and Sufi master Khalil Ahmad al-Saharanpuri in 1907, who wrote a commentary on Sunan Abi Dawud, entitled Badhl al-Majhud.
The book is not an independent book on creed, but rather a compilation of questions and answers which were asked by the Arab scholars at that time. These questions were sent to the Deobandi scholars by Husain Ahmad al-Madani, who was living in Medina, so Saharanpuri responded and answered them, and then these questions and answers were compiled into a book and were printed under the name of al-Muhannad 'ala al-Mufannad. Since most of these questions were related to beliefs, and in the correct jargon, were related to the branches which pertain to beliefs and the science of Kalam, it became published under the title of Mabahith fi 'Aqa'id Ahl al-Sunna ().
The text succinctly summarizes Deobandi perspectives on a range of controversial issues, such as: the ruling on Wahhabis, the ruling on celebrating Prophet Muhammad's birth (al-Mawlid al-Nabawi), whether the Deobandis believe it commendable to visit the Prophet Muhammad's grave (they do, according to Saharanpuri), whether intercession through the Prophet or saints is permissible (it is, so long as one understands the power to intercede comes from God), whether the Prophet is living in his grave (he is), whether it is permissible to send salutations to the Prophet (it is), whether any part of creation is better than the Prophet (it is not), whether the Prophet is the Seal of the Prophets (he is), and the possibility of the occurrence of lying or reneging on a promise, among other topics and issues that were raised by various sects of Islam towards Deobandi scholars.
According to Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari, the book first appeared in the 1325 Hijri year.
The edited version of al-Muhannad ala al-Mufannad by Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari, entitled Mabahith fi AqaâÂÂid Ahl al-Sunna al-Musamma al-Muhannad ala al-Mufannad was first published in Arabic in 2004 in Amman (Jordon) by Dar al-Fath for Research and Publishing and copies of it are available in bookshops in many Arab counties such as Syria, Jordon, UAE, Yemen and Egypt.
The book was translated into Pashto by Habib al-Rahman Habibi.
The book was translated into Persian by Abd al-Rahman Sarbazi, an Iranian Sunni Hanafi scholar, and published in 2015 in Mashhad.
Here are some quotations from the book:
The book has been described by Muhammad Ali Jalandhari (1895âÂÂ1971) as "sarkari tarjuman", (the official spokesperson) for the tradition of Deoband, to accept which is to be Deobandi, and to deviate from which is to depart from the Deobandi tradition.â According to Mazhar Husayn (1914âÂÂ2004), "Al-Muhannad is, as it were, a unanimous historical document of the senior Deobandi scholars that has preserved the Deobandi tradition in terms of its principles." The book was positively received by scholars such as Mahmud Hasan Deobandi, Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Muhammad Shafi, Muhammad Yousuf Banuri, Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi, Zafar Ahmad Usmani, Mahmood Ashraf Usmani, and (chief Maliki mufti and Grand Imam of Al-Azhar), and others. Muhammad Yusuf Ludhianvi (1932âÂÂ2000) description of the book, as stated in Fatawa Bayyinat ():