The Important Duty of the Time
In 1912, news spread that some Muslims of Shahjahanpur had apostatised. At that time, ʿAllāmah Shiblī was gravely ill. Upon hearing this news, he became restless — neither by day did he find rest, nor by night tranquillity. In whatever way possible he strove to reach that region. The authorities had placed a strict cordon at the site, yet he was determined to arrive there. In a speech delivered in this context, he said:
“My brothers! Carry me in a palanquin and take me there. I am ready to go. But no one took me. Thus, for three days I remained lying here.” (Ḥayāt Shiblī, p. 558)
In that same speech, Shiblī also said:
“When I departed from here, my state was such that these students of Nadwah sitting before me can bear witness: at that time I had not withheld any abuse, which I did not hurl at those Nadwah people. I said to them: ‘O shameless ones! O wretches! Go drown yourselves! Such things have occurred that Nadwah should be set ablaze, and Aligarh also reduced to ashes!’” (Ḥayāt Shiblī, pp. 557–558)
Our respected teacher, Mawlānā Shahbāz, raḥimahu’Llāh, narrated this grief of Shiblī before us many times, and lamented that such zeal and protective jealousy (ghayrah) have now departed from the madrasahs and khānqāhs.
Today, India is again in the grip of apostasy. The situation is dire and terrifying. Yet we are intoxicated in the stupor of heedlessness to such a degree that we are unable even to read the open book of our destiny. Recently, I came across a message from our venerable Mawlānā Waqār ʿAẓīm Nadwī, madẓilluh, who wrote:
“About twenty-five years ago, in the home of one of my relatives, people saw a young boy, of school-going age, lying under a quilt at an unusual time. Upon enquiry, it emerged that he had lost one of his school books or homework notebooks. In school, he had been told that reciting the Hanumān Chālīsā brings back lost things. Hence, he was reciting it. That boy must have been made to memorise Hanumān Chālīsā, but very likely he had not been taught duʿāʾ al-qunūt at home.
This is but one example, not the last. Those who are associated with knowledge and daʿwah must integrate with the new generation. Our scowling and frowning clerical class are oblivious to this problem, and in any case are incapable of addressing it.”
Where are those reformers of the community today who would repeat the reproaches Shiblī hurled at Nadwah? To hurl abuse in such circumstances would not only be excusable but even meritorious. Such is our blindness that we are engrossed in the battle over the rakʿāt of tarāwīḥ — compelling those who pray eight to pray twenty, and those who pray twenty to pray eight. These are the supposed well-wishers of this ummah, while the majority of Muslims do not even establish their obligatory prayers. Godlessness and shamelessness are widespread. Kufr and shirk dominate the land. Alas, if only we would take hold of some sense! All our concern is for madhhab and maslak, while we care nothing for the dīn of God.
Who will arise in the place of Shiblī? Who will be worthy to censure the Nadwah people? There is no time to sit and count the days awaiting such a reproacher. I can only plead, I can only entreat. If not by the collar, then at least by the hem I will hold on. Woe unto us if my plea is resented by my very own brethren.
The very first and last purpose of your institution’s foundation was that Muslims not be entangled in minutiae, that they be taught forbearance and flexibility in subsidiary matters, that ijtihādī errors be overlooked, that sectarian tastes and inclinations be set aside — whether one is Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī, or Ahl al-Ḥadīth, let them be. Whether one maintains ties with Jamāʿat-i Islāmī or Tablīghī Jamāʿat, let them be. Treat all with respect and affection, and remain far from the futile occupation of weighing madhhabs and opinions against each other.
Call Muslims to the fundamentals of religion, cultivate within them the fear of God, remind them of the Hereafter, fill their hearts with mention of Paradise and Hellfire. Strive for the unity of the ummah, and remain far, far away from the poison of fiqhī and kalāmī bigotry and sectarianism.
In your curriculum, the Book of God and the Prophetic sīrah held a central place. These are the two things that can truly unite Muslims. Renew that forgotten pledge. Do not give any human speech a status equal to them. Understand the import of “man lam yataghanna bi’l-Qurʾān fa-laysa minnā” (“whoever does not find sufficiency in the Qurʾān is not of us”), and kindle protective jealousy for God and His Messenger. Do not make artificial grafts into their teachings: hājat mushāṭah nīst rū-yi dil-ārām rā (“The face of the heart’s beloved needs no beautician”).
In your local mosques, in modern educational institutions, in community centres, among men and among women, deliver two regular lessons: one on the Qurʾān and another on the Prophetic sīrah. Both are fountains of guidance. Their subjects are of utmost purity, satisfying to the intellect, and profoundly effective upon the heart.
In the Qurʾān lesson, endeavour to recite a few verses in Arabic, then translate them in simple language, and provide explanation as needed. Study those tafsīrs which are written with the contemporary mind in view. In Arabic, Fī Ẓilāl al-Qurʾān by Sayyid Quṭb (al-shahīd), and in Urdu, Tadabbur-i Qurʾān and Tafhīm al-Qurʾān will assist you. Through them you will be able to convey the message of the Qurʾān to ordinary people effectively.
As for the sīrah, no institution has produced as much work as yours. Study Nabī Raḥmat by Mawlānā Abū’l-Ḥasan ʿAlī Nadwī, Khuṭabāt Madras by Sayyid Sulaymān Nadwī, and Sīrat al-Nabī by Shiblī and Sulaymān. Through these, inspire in the hearts of Muslims love and obedience for the Messenger of God, ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam.
Do not think: the circumstances are so grave, what difference can our lessons make? This is a great trick of Shayṭān. Beware of it. Strive to your utmost. Pray to God. Then will come that help of God which you cannot imagine. These two lessons will awaken people from heedlessness, transform dispositions, bring extraordinary change in individuals and societies, draw bondsmen closer to their Lord, and adorn all with the noble example of the Prophet:
“Delight is found in the words of God,
and sweet are the words of Muṣṭafā.”
This world is not lasting. Here there is no permanence nor repose. It is transient and passing. It is not for binding the heart to, nor for clinging to. Before death, please that Master to Whom we must return. May God make us all righteous and accept us for the service of His religion. Āmīn.
https://t.me/DrAkramNadwi/6934
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Disclaimer: This article was translated by AI. Original post: https://t.me/DrAkramNadwi/6934
