Joint letter from the Elders of Nizamuddin

The following is a letter sent by the Muqeem elders of Nizamuddin that left Nizamuddin following the destructive events that happened there

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THIS AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR THE RESPONSIBLE BROTHERS OF DAWAT AND THE SYMPATHIZERS OF UMMAH

Assalam-o-Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,

First of all, keeping in mind that we are accountable before Allah سبحانه وتعالى for every word that we utter, we wish to clarify before the whole world that, we find a rise in the intense love, connection, and respect that we always had with the four-walls of Nizamuddin ever since we joined Tableegh.

We ask from Allah سبحانه وتعالى that we live and die with the same intensity of love and devotion. This is because Nizamuddin is such a place where loads of tears have been shed for Deen, hundreds of pious people have got their bones dissolved here. We respect it so that we can show our faces to Allah سبحانه وتعالى and be counted among these pious people on the Day of Judgment.

Secondly, we wish to clarify that we do not have any personal differences with any believer on the face of the earth. In our hearts, we have respect, love, and regard for all believers according to their status. In addition to these clarifications, some realities must be kept in mind in order not to be duped or misled –what are the foundations of the work in Nizamuddin and how these foundations have recently been shaken?

The foundations of the work laid out in Nizamuddin from the very first day are not the creation of someone’s mind, but rather they are laid out based on the Quran, Hadith, and the life of Sahabah under the guidance and company of true Ulema so that the complete Deen reaches to every human being in its true sense.

The effort of six qualities is meant to achieve this target; without this effort, it is impossible to get complete Deen in one’s life and get the reality of virtuous acts. Moreover, these qualities cannot come into one’s life until he is made to go through the ‘Aamal-e-Nubuwwat’, which are Da’wa, Taleem, Ibadah, and Akhlaq.

Now, two spheres of work have been suggested to get the entire Ummah onto these Aamal, one is to move out in the path of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and the other is the local effort. These two engagements are very close to Hijrat and Nusrah, respectively. Also, for the acceptance of the effort in this direction, Ikhlaas is required along with Maswara and Ijtimaai’yat.

This effort and its foundation are very close to “Nahj-e-Nubuwwat”. Therefore, Maulana Ilyas رحمة الله عليه used to say, “I regard this effort as the effort of Prophets, each and everyone, common or elite, should be joined in this effort. Even a drunkard sinner must be welcomed with open arms. Every believer must be enjoined politely and affectionately to spend his life and wealth in this effort while valuing his merits and ignoring his weaknesses.

Especially, the Ulama, elders, and people contributing to different areas of Deen may be requested most respectfully to take part in this effort as per their schedule while remaining active in their respective fields. In case it is difficult for them to participate actively, they may support this effort through their approval and prayers”.

These are the foundations of Nizamuddin and from day one this effort has been raised in this direction. We have understood these foundations from the words of Maulana Ilyas Sahab رحمة الله عليه, from his letters, and also from the words & writings of his trained and trusted lifetime companions –Maulana Yusuf Sahab رحمة الله عليه and Maulana Inamul Hasan Sahab رحمة الله عليه, and also from the people who spent their lives in the company of these elders.

How these foundations are shaken:

However, for the last few years, instead of spending energy to establish these foundations in the Ummah, distractive things have been introduced. At times, people have been confused on the premise of “Asbab”(means) that engaging in “Asbab” even with a belief in Allah سبحانه وتعالى is “Shirk”. It is because of this confusion, that many sick people abandoned their medical treatment and many left their occupations thereby getting into financial difficulties.

Sometimes, confusion was created either based on the book for Taleem or sometimes in the name of “Aabadi-e-Masjid”. The true meaning of “Gusht” has been confused by misinterpreting the stories of Sahabah. At times, it was claimed that in the 30-year-long period, Hazratji Maulana Inamul Hasan has confused the work of Da’wa and Tabligh” with an organization*. It was said in front of the crowd that only in the time of Maulana Ilyas and Maulana Yusuf was the real work (of Da’wa & Tabligh) carried out. Later it was downgraded into an organization. The harmful effect of this was that people started saying that Maulana Inamul Hasan failed to understand the work of Da’wah from these two earlier elders. The thirty (30) years period of Hazratji Maulana Inamul Hasan was a waste.

(*Translator’s note: Maulana Saad used the word ‘Tahreek’ or sometimes ‘Tanzeem’ which means ‘movement’ or ‘organization’ but in a negative sense. It conveys the meaning that Hazratji Maulana Inamul Hassan has downgraded the original Da’wah mission into a contemporary Islamic movement. When viewed this way, he indirectly means that Hazratji has made the movement useless and only claims to work for Islam, but in reality, they are working for a non-Islamic cause and not following the prophetic method of Da’wah)

Besides this, the veterans have often been insulted in front of the new brothers. Even the active brothers were blamed and humiliated. The Professors have been accused of having turned the effort into an organization. The confidence of the old workers has been shattered in front of the new ones.

When as a result of the extreme efforts put in by the Arab and non-Arab elders a five-member “Nizamuddin Shura” and a 13-member “Shura” of the three countries were created, it was outrightly rejected. A situation of conflict has been created. Despite all this chaos that led to a division among our brothers to such an extent that it resulted in fights and bloodshed in Nizamuddin many times. A laid-back attitude was shown in response to these violent incidents and there has been a criminal silence as if to justify these incidents.

Likewise, the Ulama had been labelled as work-shy and corrupt in front of the masses. Their income was said to be worse than that of a prostitute.

All other Deeni activities and efforts have been termed as customary. Only the current form of Dawah is regarded as Sunnah and the rest of the forms are called customary which may spread only the customs and traditions and not the true Deen.

This is despite the fact that whatever Deeni benefit we see around the whole world is directly or indirectly to the credit of Islamic seminaries or Madrasas. Maulana Ilyas رحمة الله عليه, Maulana Yusuf رحمة الله عليه and Maulana Inamul Hasan رحمة الله عليه are also the products of these Madrasas. Whatever religious awakening that we see in the whole world is due to the different efforts of Deen including this universal effort of Dawah.

Every segment of Deen is focused on its work. As far as the weaknesses and shortcomings are concerned – no activity of our time is free from them due to the distance from the time of Nabi (saw).

A repeated assertion of these things from the platform of Nizamuddin has made the masses work with a typical mentality and due to a lack of wisdom, they are thus moving away from the truth and those who uphold the truth.

This situation has made visionary people fear that this work may become a separate cult. Because of this, our crowd across the world has got divided into a few groups. A fairly large group is unable to comprehend the adverse effects of these things on the effort and has been welcoming any sound or unsound things said to them. This group is intoxicated with the personality cult.

The second group is the one that understands that these things are harmful but remains silent.

The third group is feeling suffocated by all these and has been restless.

The fourth group, oblivious to its fate, is simply sticking to the work without correcting the wrong.

The fifth group is not only sticking to it but also advocating it, serving as its broker, and trying to shove the masses into this. A dead body must only be buried; it cannot be revived by applying cream, powder, flowers, and garlands.

The reasons for all these weaknesses are (a) the overrated awe of Nizamuddin and (b) the personality cult. Doctrines and systems don’t come from a specific place, not even from Makkah or Madinah, and not from Nizamuddin either. Elevating any place beyond its due status gives rise to misleading perceptions. Millions of people have been misled in this way, which can be witnessed at the tombs.

Doctrines and systems are only from Allah سبحانه وتعالى and his messenger (saw). There is no place for personality cults in Islam. History bears witness to the fact that the biggest reason for people going astray has been the personality cult. Blind faith leads to the acceptance of right and wrong without distinction. Jews, Christians, and all other misled groups are the products of this personality cult.

We are allowed to accept only what is right even from a person we respect and revere the most because no mortal can claim to be free from desires and infallible, except the Prophets who, by the divine protection and guidance from Allah سبحانه وتعالى, spoke only the truth.

Similarly, Allah made the Sahabah the standard of truth by conferring upon them the seal of acceptance. Therefore, no other human being has the right to proclaim that the truth is only what he is saying. It is the need of the hour that we come out of the influence of overrated awe of places and personalities and unite to understand, follow and spread the truth in the whole world.

There is also a need to avoid schism because division is the biggest punishment for this Ummah. Carrying out every work in the right manner brings Allah’s pleasure and leads to Jannah.

Carrying out the right work in the wrong way, however, invites Allah’s wrath and leads to Jahannam, which is the worst destination. The excuse that our words and actions were at someone else’s insistence will never be accepted on the day of judgment.

Therefore every worker must spend his health, wealth, and time on the right way till his last breath, always keeping in mind the Hadith of Abu Hurairah (r.a.) –Jahannum will be inflamed first by those who have spent their lives in the service of knowledge, those who spent their wealth for the noble causes without any hesitation, every moment of their lives and every drop of their blood was for Tableegh, but having carried out all these noble works in a wrong way would lead them to such a fate.

We must ensure that we safeguard our capabilities, and that of our families and the entire Ummah from going into the hands of people pursuing their selfish interests. We must try hard to make our Akhirat better by following the path of the sincere ones, so that we may attain the pleasure of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the Barakah in our final meeting with Him, and the intercession of Rasoolullah (saw) on the day of judgment followed by the access to Hauz-e-Kausar and declaration of Rasoolullah (saw) that these are my people who have carried out my work.

The sixth and last group is trying to correct this wrong trend by exerting all their capabilities and energies, even at the cost of their lives. Every possible effort has been made to rectify this whole situation and to protect the foundations of Nizamuddin.

But, there has been a complete failure on this front and there is no hope of success in the future as well. Now, there was an option to continue with this wrong trend, thereby supporting the wrong in place of the right just to avoid “Fitnah” (disunity). However, this hypocritical approach would have all our capabilities, time, and wealth spent for the cause of the establishment of Baatil (wrong things) rather than the Haq (right things) in this world.

Therefore, being left with no alternative, our friends have decided to find out the ways and means of utilizing our capabilities, life, and wealth and that of the entire Ummah in the right way. However, we have no intention to establish a new Markaz, induce fights between the workers, deceive the Ummah, or start a new Jamaat altogether.

Having said that, It is just not possible to bring alive the true foundations of Nizamuddin in its present setting. Thus, keeping in mind that we are accountable before Allah سبحانه وتعالى, we have decided to keep ourselves and our brothers away from distracting words, actions, and places. We shall never give away the people and the work of our area to confusion and chaos.

Even an ordinary vehicle is not handed to an incompetent driver, as he may put the vehicle and the passenger’s lives in danger. The matter of Deen and the Aakhirat of the whole Ummah is much more critical. Therefore, it is decided that we shall steer ourselves and our people in the right direction and spirit of the work. InshaAllah.

Correct Foundations of the Work:

Engage yourselves and the masses in the local effort with its true spirit. Avoid making the work a routine custom. Similarly, the outside work must be done by sending Jamaats from our masjids to the areas where the work is required. These Jamaats must spend their time sticking to only the foundations of the effort. Clear work instructions must be given to these Jamaats in their respective masjids and proper ‘Karguzari’ be taken when they return. This is because, despite dispatching numerous jamaats, 80% of areas in India are still barren.

Foundations for local and external efforts are as follows: The First foundation is that everyone joining the effort must be properly groomed and trained, which means that his heart should be turned towards Allah, his commandments, and the Aakhirat.

The entire life should be moulded into the ways of Rasoolullah (saw) Everyone in the effort should develop a concern for Dawah. For this, all the individual and collective Amaals should be explained. All the prohibited actions should also be explained because doing good and abstaining from bad are the prerequisites for self-correction.

The second foundation is to bring every Muslim brother into the environment of the masjid from the evil atmosphere outside after explaining ‘Tauheed’, ‘Risaalat’, and ‘Aakhirat’ and encouraging him to go out in jamaat. Without this movement and thereby seeing one’s face in the mirror of Sahabah, it is not possible to realize and remove one’s spiritual weaknesses.

The third foundation is that every member of this Ummah should be connected to the ‘Aamal-e-Dawat’ in masjids. To establish these foundations, one must exert all his energy and toil away so much that Allah سبحانه وتعالى en-dears him.

The fourth foundation is that nothing will happen by our efforts without the will and intent of Allah سبحانه وتعالى. This can only be attained through crying and shedding tears. Therefore, every jamaat, as well as the local brothers, should spend a substantial portion of their nights in Namaz, dua, crying and shedding tears because the very foundation of this effort is Dawat and Dua, but not with ignorance, forgetfulness, bad behaviour, and arrogance, rather with the knowledge from Nubuwwat, remembrance, and attachment with Allah and sacrifices.

Sacrifice is not about being reclusive and leaving out the house and job. Instead, it is to leave one’s wishes for the sake of completing the commandments of Allah and the requirements of Dawah and also, to leave the material possessions and occupations in favor of the demands of Deen and Dawah.

This is called “Mujahadah” or sacrifice that guarantees guidance from Allah, Halal provisions from His treasures, the easing up of tight situations, and the acceptance of prayers. This will solve our problems and the problems of the entire Ummah, just as the problems of “Sahabah” were solved.

That is why we should spend all our efforts on understanding and explaining these foundations to all our people. Movements are just like containers and a container is valued by what is contained in it, just as a human being is valued by his beliefs and actions and not by his physique.

The last thing is that we shall continue to work independently in this direction until:

(a) You and your companions attain enough integrity, capability, maturity, and accountability that this great effort demands. These qualities cannot be attained without engaging in the conventional effort at the grassroots level for a substantial period.

(b) Those with the true pain, worry, and concern of this work find a viable mutual solution to the current situation and settle on a clear effective work setup along the lines of our three founding elders who had established the effort in the light of Quran, Hadith, lives of Sahabah and the guidance of true Ulama.

From:

(1) Maulvi Ismail, Godhra (2) Maulvi Usman Kakosi (3) Maulvi Abdul Rehman Mumbai

(4) Farooque Bhai, Bangalore (5) Prof. Khalid Siddiqui, Aligarh (6) Muhammad Muhsin Sahab, Lucknow

(7) Prof. Sanaullah Sahab, Aligarh (8) Prof. Abdul Rehman Sahab, Madras

C.C. to:

Maulana Yaqoob Sahab, Haji Abdul Wahhab Sahab & Shura, Shaikh Fahad

Maulana Ibrahim Sahab, Maulana Tarique Jameel Sahab, Shaikh Fazil

Maulana Ahmed Lat Sahab, Maulana Salimullah Khan Sahab, Shaikh Gassan

Maulana Saad Sahab, Mufti Taqi Usmani Sahab, Shaikh Umar Khateeb

Maulana Zuhairul Hasan Sahab, Mufti Rafi Usmani Sahab, Shaikh Wisam

Mufti Abul Qasim Sahab, Maulana Abdul Rehman Patel Sahab, Shaikh Salih Muqbil,

Maulana Arshad Madni Sahab, Maulana Zarwali Khan Sahab, Shaikh Taha Abdul Satar

Maulana Abdul Khalique Madrasi Sb., Maulana Rabiul Haque Sahab, Shaikh Hasan Nasr

Maulana Salman Mansurpuri Sahab, Wasiful Islam Sahab, Shaikh Abal Qasim

Maulana Rabe Hasni Sahab, Maulana Zubair Ahmed Siddiqui Sb., Shaikh Bilal

Mufti Ahmed Khanpuri Sahab, Dr. Aslam Sahab

Maulana Ibrahim Patni Sahab, Mufti Rizvi Sahab

Maulana Mehmood Madni Sahab, Maulana Altafur Rahman Sahab

Maulana Salman Nadwi Sahab, Mufti Saeed Ahmed Sahab

Mufti Saeed Sahab Palanpuri, Maulana Abul Fazl

Maulana Talha Sahab Saharanpuri, Maulana Hakim Kalimullah Sahab

Shaikhul Hadith Maulana Yunus Sb., Maulana Hanif Jalandhri and Qari Fath Sahab