Title: Breaking Idols is Necessary to Save Tablighi Jamaat
In a few days, we might also hear that visiting Nizamuddin carries the reward of an Umrah. Or that Muslims should now vote for a certain party, and Nizamuddin’s status becomes like Dera Sacha Sauda and Maulana Saad becomes like Baba Ram Rahim.
By: Hafeez Nomani
Who can deny that Hazrat Maulana Ilyas created an organization like Tablighi Jamaat for the invitation to religion and first made Muslims anew of those Muslims of Mewat in Haryana whose lifestyle, food habits, living and dying, marriage ceremonies, everything had become like the Hindus living there. It took Hazrat Maulana years, but he grafted such a branch onto Islam’s tree in rocky soil that it became not just a mighty tree but a garden. And after this, Maulana didn’t keep them limited to just worship but made them preachers of religion and sent them in groups to cities, towns, and villages, and those Mewatis who were rural folk from head to toe became preachers of religion.
After finishing with Mewat, Hazrat Maulana Ilyas called upon the scholars. History bears witness that Maulana Syed Abul Ala Maududi also went to Delhi to meet Hazrat Maulana Ilyas and understand his invitation. And it is also a page of history that Hazrat Maulana Ilyas specially prayed for Maulana Manzoor Nomani and made collective prayers that he should come and join the work of tabligh. And everyone knows that there was also a time when hundreds of distinguished scholars in the country, which included India as well as Pakistan and Bangladesh, were so involved in the work of the Jamaat that there might not have been as many scholars even in Jamiat Ulama.
It is only Tablighi Jamaat’s achievement that at Muslim University Aligarh, where Mr. Jinnah was the ultimate authority for every student and Mr. Jinnah had made all students ill-mannered, disrespectful and inconsiderate, who only had shameful words coming from their mouths for respected scholars – these same students were not only made regular in prayer and fasting but Aligarh Muslim University was turned into Tablighi Jamaat’s modern center. And the way Jamaat spread Islam throughout the world, converting thousands to Islam in Europe, America, Africa, China, Japan, Russia and Australia, that is solely the achievement of Muslim University’s capable professors and highly educated students.
A few days ago, Professor Akhtar ul Wase’s article caught my eye in Inqilab. He has shed light on the Tablighi Jamaat issue with heartfelt pain and written at the end that among the six points that are considered the foundation of the Jamaat, if everyone could be united just on Ikram-e-Muslim (respecting Muslims), the issue could be reduced.
Akhtar ul Wase sahib is from Aligarh and has seen the work of Jamaat and its effect in his alma mater. And all those who have seen the era of Hazrat Maulana Yusuf sahib and Hazrat Maulana Inamul Hassan cannot imagine where things have reached today. Until Hazrat Maulana Inamul Hassan, there was no succession and custodianship.
Our father Maulana Manzoor Nomani had much love but absolutely no compromise. In Hazrat Maulana Ilyas’s final days, he was with him in Delhi. During those days, he had collected Malfuzat Maulana Ilyas. And he had also seen that despite being the son, Hazrat Maulana Yusuf sahib would only meet his father when called. Everyone found this strange. One day Hazrat Maulana called Yusuf and said, “Come Yusuf, embrace me, now we are leaving.” (The words may vary) When Maulana Yusuf embraced him, the father held him for a long time and kept praying.
When Hazrat Maulana Ilyas passed away that same night or the next day, all the scholars who were gathered consulted and selected Maulana Yusuf sahib as successor. Father himself told that he was very hurt because he was just the son and making him successor seemed like the same tradition that after father comes son. But after Fajr in the morning when Maulana Yusuf sahib stood up and gave a speech, it was felt that he was speaking not from his tongue but from his heart and everyone accepted that he truly was the successor. Then the world saw that whatever work happened in the country and other countries of the world, that was solely Maulana Yusuf’s achievement. During Maulana Yusuf’s time, Maulana Ubaidullah Balyawi, Maulana Palanpuri and dozens of scholars would stay and come and go. Maulana Inamul Hassan sahib’s achievement is that however much the work had spread, he kept it managed and didn’t let it scatter. The biggest loss to Jamaat was that the eldest of all, Hazrat Sheikh ul Hadith Maulana Zakariya sahib passed away and there remained no one who could manage such big work. Hazrat Maulana Yusuf’s grandson Maulvi Saad is not running a movement but running a shop, he has made the Banglewali Masjid Nizamuddin a source of income like the shrine of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz in Ajmer, the shrine of Haji Waris Ali Shah in Dewa, the shrine of Hazrat Mujaddid Alf Sani in Sirhind. His saying that if there is any place worthy of respect and gathering after Mecca and Medina then it is only Nizamuddin. And saying that thinking wrong about Nizamuddin is equal to thinking wrong about Mecca and Medina. And statements like these are just like how the followers of Bareilly’s Maulana Ahmad Raza Khan have said that Muslims should come to Bareilly instead of going to Ajmer.
God has given such age that there is knowledge of most gatherings from the country’s first international gathering in Bhopal until now. In my life, I heard that a district DM is saying that such a big rally is happening and we are finding out what is needed, then the answer comes that nothing. Moradabad’s DM Ajay Vikram Singh told us that at least take some service of electricity, water, traffic, security. We had said that these are people of Allah, Allah makes all their work happen, you just keep watching. And now news is coming from everywhere that for the international gathering at such and such place, the government has given 10 crore rupees. It’s possible that after some days we might also hear that attending Nizamuddin carries the reward of an Umrah. Or that Muslims should now vote for a certain party, and Nizamuddin’s status becomes like Dera Sacha Sauda and Maulana Saad becomes like Baba Ram Rahim. A scholar associated with Jamaat told us that where did the news of 10 crore come from, we told the names of Al-Furqan and Munsif newspapers. After that in response to a question, they said that Maulana Saad speaks from mind, stomach and tongue while those who spoke from heart had taken Jamaat from earth to sky. Today there is an earthquake in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh and scholars of all three countries want to bring Jamaat back to its path in any way, but our information is that the group which follows Satan has taken Maulana Saad in its grip, now if any decision can work then it is to break the idol of Nizamuddin. And this work can only be done by those scholars who are roaming with proposals of reconciliation in Pakistan and Bangladesh. They cannot get out from where they are now trapped. Because they have become the custodians of the most popular workers.
