The British chased him and allocated a reward for his arrest.

Although more than 150 years have passed since the publication of the book “Manifesting the Truth” by the scholar Rahmatullah Al-Hindi, this unique book is still a landmark in the Islamic library as the best book written in modern history to respond to the suspicions spread by the missionaries.

Likewise, the story of the author's life and the circumstances of writing the book is still a renewed inspiration for generations of Muslims who have found in their hands a valuable inheritance and verified knowledge that they can use in confronting the successive campaigns that wanted to undermine Islam or question the Qur'an and the prophethood of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.

Birth and upbringing

Maulana Muhammad Rahmatullah bin Khalil Rahman Al-Kiranawi, the Ottoman Indian, was born in 1818 in the town of Kirana, which is currently located in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India, about 100 km from the capital, New Delhi.

He is called the Ottoman because his lineage ends with the great companion Othman bin Affan, may God be pleased with him, at the 34th grandfather.

Sheikh Al-Hindi grew up in a family of scholars and notables who held high positions at that time. He memorized the Holy Qur’an at the age of 12, mastered the Persian language, and read books of jurisprudence and the Arabic language by scholars from the family, then he traveled to Delhi to continue his education.

After his studies in Delhi, Sheikh Al-Othmani went to Lucknow, where he learned about Mufti Saadullah Al-Muradabadi, and his talent appeared in jurisprudence and the sciences of Islamic law.

Christianization resistance

Al-Hindi led the councils of lessons and fatwas, and established a legal school in Kirana, but the rise of Christianization campaigns under the auspices and protection of the British occupation made the sheikh spend most of his time and effort in confronting these campaigns.

Al-Othmani rushed to invalidate the claims of the missionaries and respond to their suspicions, so he began to compose books and letters and invite the major missionaries and the most influential of them to his debate.

And about these campaigns, the sheikh says in the introduction to his book “Exhibition of Truth” (investigated by Dr. Muhammad Ahmad Muhammad Abd al-Qadir Khalil Malkawi) that “the English state, when it had a strong domination over the Kingdom of India, and spread the rug of security and order satisfactorily, and from the beginning of their sultanate to forty-three years, it did not appear The call from their scholars to their sect, and after that they took the call and were gradually in it, until they wrote letters and books in responding to the people of Islam, and divided them in the cities among the common people, and they began preaching in the markets, the synagogues of the people, and the streets of the public.

“The common people of Islam were, for a period of time, repelled from listening to their preaching and reading their messages, so none of the Indian scholars paid attention to responding to those messages, but weakness touched after a while, in the aversion of some of the common people, and there was fear of slipping the feet of some ignorant people who are like cattle, and then some turned to The scholars of the people of Islam to their response, and that even if I was secluded in the angle of idleness, and I was not numbered among the group of virile scholars, and I was not worthy of this great speech, but when I looked at their reports and edits, and I received many messages from their writings, I thought I should strive as well.

One of the most famous and most active missionaries was the German Protestant priest Karl Gottlieb Pfander, who was calling the common people to Christianity in markets, forums, and even in front of mosques under the protection of the English occupation soldiers.

Fender became famous for his book "The Balance of Truth", which included the most prominent suspicions and objections to Islam, the Qur'an, and the prophecy of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.

The famous debate of 1854

When Pastor Fender became famous, Al-Hindi wrote to him asking for his debate, so the priest set conditions that the sheikh considered unfair, but he accepted them nonetheless because he was keen to hold the debate with the person he described as "skillful and higher-heeled than the Christian scholars who were in India engaged in stabbing and wounding the Islamic faith." .

The sheikh said that he worked hard to hold the debate, "so that it becomes clear that the lack of orientation of the scholars of Islam is not due to their inability to respond to the messages of the priests, as some Christians claim, so the debate was decided on the five issues that are the main issues in conflict between Christians and Muslims, I mean: distortion and abrogation, triangulation, and truth." The Qur'an, the prophethood of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.

After the agreement, the debate - which is one of the most famous debates between Muslim and Christian scholars in modern history - was held for two days in Akbarabad (currently the city of Agra in the state of Uttar Pradesh) in the presence of a group of Indian and English scholars, princes and dignitaries.

And about the course of the debate, Sheikh Al-Othmani says, "The victory appeared for us, thanks to God, in the issues of abrogation and distortion, which were among the most accurate and oldest issues in the claim of the pastor.. When he saw that, he closed the door to debate in the remaining three issues."

Although the debate had been settled on the issues of distortion and abrogation, Fender decided after that that the debate would not take place unless the sheikh acknowledged that the "Bible" had not been distorted, and this marked the end of the debate.

required by the English

The star of Al-Othmani shone after the debate, especially since his response to Christianization coincided with his efforts to resist the English occupation, and this was enough to make him a target for the occupation authorities, who began to pursue him and allocate a reward for his arrest, as his property was confiscated and his books were prevented from circulation.

As a result, the Sheikh decided to leave India, so he traveled to Makkah Al-Mukarramah, where he met the imam and preacher of the Grand Mosque, Sheikh Ahmed bin Zaini Dahlan, who knew his destiny and honored him and gave him a license to teach in the Grand Mosque.

Showing the truth book

Fender was a preacher of wide influence and had tours in several countries to spread his call. He traveled to Astana, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, where he met Sultan Abdul Aziz I (1830-1876) and claimed before him that he had prevailed over Sheikh al-Hindi in that famous debate.

The sultan was displeased with what he had heard from Fender, and he began to ask about the news of Sheikh al-Hindi until he learned of his residence in Mecca and asked him to come to Constantinople.

There, after Fender had left, the Sultan listened to Sheikh Al-Othmani’s speech and his statement of what took place in that debate, so he calmed himself and asked him to write a book detailing the issues of the debate to be a reference in responding to the suspicions broadcast by Fender and his ilk.

Sultan Abdul Aziz I (from the documents of the Ottoman Empire)

The sheikh devoted himself to writing this book in Arabic, so he completed it in only about 5 months in 1864, relying on what he had previously written in Persian and Urdu on these issues.

Although the Ottoman Sultan instructed him to do so, he returned the credit to the first person who recommended him to write this book, the imam of the Grand Mosque, Sheikh Dahlan.

Al-Hindi says in the introduction to his book, “I arrived in Makkah, honored by God Almighty, and attended the threshold of the scholar, the scholar, the eloquent, the discerning, the eye of knowledge and know-how, the fountain of judgment and narration, the sun of writers, the crown of eloquent people, the pioneer of investigators, the support of auditors, the imam of hadiths, the role model of jurists and theologians, the pleasure of the liver of the virgin, The accepted Messenger, my master, my supporter, and my master, was named Ahmad bin Zaini Dahlan, may God perpetuate his abundance until the Day of Judgment, so he commanded me to translate into the Arabic language these five topics from the books that were written in this section, because they were either in the language of the Persians, or in the language of the Muslims of India.

Renewed inspiration

The book's fame was not wide at all times, but it was always an inspiration for preachers and debaters who drew from its vast knowledge and quoted from its strong arguments and proofs and from its research in Islam and Christianity.

At the forefront of these is Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, the preacher who fought the most famous and strongest debates with Christian scholars in the West, and was a pioneer in this field and many preachers followed his path until today.

Sheikh Deedat says that the book "Manifesting the Truth" changed his life after it fell into his hands by chance when he was in dire need of it.

The Sheikh narrated this amazing story that occurred in the aftermath of his emigration, at the age of 9, from India to South Africa in 1927, where he joined his father, who had preceded him in emigration and settled in Durban.

Deedat attended school for a short time and then left because the family was facing financial difficulties, so he had to work in a grocery store in rural Durban.

Just opposite the store is the headquarters of the Christian "Adams Mission", where students are trained in methods of Christianization and influencing the Muslims of that region.

Deedat says that these students made his life and the lives of his companions who work in the store hell. When they came to buy their needs, they used to bombard them with suspicions and questions about Islam and the Messenger.

And he adds: Sometimes they say that Islam spread by the sword, and sometimes they say that the Messenger of Islam had many wives, and sometimes they say that the Messenger borrowed the Qur’an from the books of Jews and Christians.

The young missionaries were thus trained to use what they had learned in the mission, but Deedat and his companions did not find anything to respond to them because they were ignorant of these issues, and this made them sad and painful.

But this situation was about to change completely, for one day Deedat was bored looking for something to entertain himself with, so he went to the store owner of the store and took a search in a pile of old newspapers, hoping to find something to read.

And then he found an old book whose cover had fallen off and its papers withered, and on the first page he read the title: Izhar ul-Haq, and it was written in English letters (Izhar ul-Haq) and under it the translation: (The Truth Revealed).

This copy was an English translation of Sheikh Al-Hindi's book. Deedat picked it up and bent over it, reading it voraciously, and found in it the answers he was looking for and more.

This was the starting point for the South African preacher, for whom the book "Manifesting the Truth" was his first teacher in his long career, during which he toured the countries of the world, and he engaged in remarkable debates that left a great impact to this day.

Among the contemporaries who were affected by this book is Dr. Sami Ameri, a scholar who specializes in comparative religions and biblical studies, who says that "manifesting the truth" was the reason for his specialization in this science.

Amiri recounts - in a video recording on YouTube - that one day he was in a library, and he wanted to read something about comparing religions, and he did not find many books on this topic, but he noticed a book entitled "Manifesting the Truth."

It shows that the book captivated him with its rich material and interesting style, and its immersion in various topics from the Prophet’s biography to the miracles of the Qur’an and so on.

Amiri recommends to all Muslims - even non-specialists - to read this comprehensive book, which dispenses them with reading many books in this section, according to him.

He also says that despite the cognitive revolution that exists today, this book is still the best written in responding to the suspicions of the Christians and their objections to Islam and the prophethood of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.

Death

The Indian Ottoman sheikh resided in Makkah and was called the Dweller of the Two Holy Mosques, and established a school to spread his call. He died on the night of Friday, the 22nd of blessed Ramadan 1308 AH, corresponding to 1891 AD, at the age of about 73 years, and was buried in Al-Mu’alla (the cemetery of Makkah Al-Mukarramah).