Question Summary:
The Mehdavi Sect

Question Detail:

 
We have some poor people in our locality who belongs to Mehdavi sect just for name sake. Their children are Practicing hanafi madhab since the age of 6 . They perform salat, keep fast, Read the kalimah and durood same as us and also read the quran . My question is can i give them zakat from my money and can we perform nikah with such girls ?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh
The founder of the Mahdaviya sect Sayed Muhammad Jounpuri was born in 847 Hijrī/ September 1443 CE.  In the year 905 Hijrī he claimed to be the promised Mahdi of the ummah and he persisted on this claim until his death in 910 Hijrī. Great scholars such as Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alf Thānī, Shaykh ‘Ali Muttaqi, Shaykh Muhammad Tahir Pattanī and Mulla ‘Ali Qari all refuted his false claims.
 
After his death his followers continued his misguided teachings.
 
Hereunder are some of the sects misguided claims and beliefs:
They believe that he is the promised Mahdi of this ummah. He died claiming this in 910 Hijri without fulfilling any of the prophesised qualities of the true Mahdi.
 
They believe it is fardh to accept Sayed Muhammad Jounpuri as Mahdi. They also claim that  the Mahdavis are the only Muslims and the entire muslim ummah are in fact non- Muslims.
 
They believe that although Sayed Muhammad Jounpuri is part of this ummah he is greater than Hadhrat Abu Bakr, Hadhrat ‘Umar, Hadhrat ‘Uthmān and Hadhrat ‘Ali (Radhiyallāhu ‘anhum).
 
They believe that with the exception of our Nabi Muhammad (Sallallāhu ‘Alaihi Wasallam), Sayed Muhammad Jounpuri is greater than all the prophets including Hadhrat Adam, Hadhrat Ibrahīm, Hadhrat Mūsa and Hadhrat ‘Isā (Alaihim Assalām).
 
They believe that Sayed Muhammad follows the religion of our Nabi Muhammad (Sallallāhu ‘Alaihi wasallam) but is equal to him in status and rank.
 
He claimed that he is the only complete Muslim and all the prophets were incomplete Muslims. In their book ‘Panj Fazail’ it is mentioned, Shah Dilāwar, a close disciple of Sayed Muhammad Jounpuri, quoted him as follows: “Adam was a Muslim till his nose, Nūh was a Muslim till his nose, Ibrahīm and Mūsa are Muslims till their chests and ‘Isa was a Muslim till his navel and he will become a complete Muslim when he returns. At the moment he is half.”
 
He falsely claimed that his parent’s names were Aminah and ‘Abdullāh in order to further substantiate his claim of being the Mahdi. All the scholar of his time rejected this claim.[1]
 
Many of their sects reject five times Salāh, Ramadhan, Zakat and the Qibla.
 
Hence, it is clear from the above that the Mahdavi sect are not Muslims (Zindeeq). It is impermissible to marry them or to have any type of dealings with them.[2]
 
You state that these people claim to be from the Mehdavi Sect for name sake and are practicing adherents of the Hanafi Mazhab. We advise you to consult with your Local Alim/Islamic Organization regarding the status of such people in order to ensure that they do not carry such heinous beliefs/Aqa’id and confirm that they belong to the Ahlul Sunnah Wa Jama’ah.
 
Zakaat is a fundamental element of Islam and we advise you to exercise caution in ensuring that your responsibility is fulfilled correctly.
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Ismail Desai,
Darul Iftaa
 
Checked and Approved,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.