The last few centuries bear witness to a
sharp decline in the individual as well as the collective affairs of the
Muslims. A very significant reason for this sorry state of affairs is our mental
and intellectual regression. We believe that until and unless a determined
effort is made to reconstruct the Muslim thought in these perspectives, it is
not very difficult to foresee a future that does not exist.
In view of this, we have humbly chalked
out a programme under the able guidance of our mentor, Mr Javed Ahmad
Ghāmidī,
to contribute what little w e can for the mental revival and intellectual
reformation of the Muslims of Pakistan in particular and those of the Ummah in
general. The course of action is based on different projects of which the most
fundamental in importance are some scholarly discourses upon which Mr.
Ghāmidī
has been working since the past two decades. These include:
‘Al-Ishraq’: (Arabic) A commentary of
the Qur’ān based upon the methodology of deliberation and reflection formulated
by Imām Hamīd Uddin Farāhī and Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī.
‘Mīzān: (Urdu) A treatise comprising two
volumes of which the first is based on Islamic law, and t he second on t he
philosophical issues of Islam.
‘Al-Biyān - (Urdu) A translation of the
Qur’ān in which its coherence has been unfolded to enable even a common reader
to appreciate the subtle delicacies of the Divine Message.
‘Burhan’: (Urdu) a dissertation I which
contemporary religious thoughts and concepts have been critically analysed.
‘Baqiyat’: (Urdu) A miscellaneous
collection of essays.
Besides these, two literary expositions
in Urdu ‘Maqamat’ (prose and ‘Mathnavi Khiyal’ul - Khamah’ (Poetry are also
under composition.
The rest of the work has been organised
under the guidance and patronage of Mr Javed Ahmad Ghāmidī
in the form of three
institutions:
1. Dar’ul Ishraq
This institution has two divisions:
i) The Academic Department: This
department has been organised under an ‘Academic Council’ which has the
following task before it:
a) A critical analysis and collection of
all Hadiths which are concordant with the Qur’ān and Sunnah, with an explanation
of their texts in Arabic, Urdu, and English.
b) Based upon the same principle, a
compilation of the life of the Prophet (sws) and a history of the early Islamic
period.
c) The completion of some of the unfinished works
of Imām Hamīd Uddin Farāhī and Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, and
their translation in various languages.
d) Documentation of literature for an
intellectual refutation of all un-Islamic concepts, ideologies and systems of
thought.
The ‘Academic Council’ has been
constituted under the chairmanship of Mr Javed Ahmad Ghāmidī and Mr Talib Mohsin
has been appointed its secretary. Other members include Mr Mohammad Rafi Mufti,
Mr Khalid Zaheer, Mr Muneer Ahmad, Mr Sajid Hamid, Mr Moiz Amjad Sheikh, Mr Asif
Iftikhar, Mr Khurshid Ahmad Nadeem, Mr Shehzad Saleem and Mrs Kaukab Shehzad.
ii) The Da’wah Department: The function
of this department is to communicate the true message of Islam by the written as
well as the spoken word.
Under this department two monthly
Islamic journals ‘Ishraq’ (Urdu) and ‘Renaissance’ (English) are regularly
published, while preparations are underway to launch ‘Ar-Raid’, a monthly Arabic
journal.
Also organised under this department are
weekly and monthly lectures. To supplement these lectures an audio-visual
service is being established for general use.
2. Al-Mawrid
This is the name of a religion
educational institution which is being established to produce competent scholars
of Islam. The syllabus of this institution will not only cater for their
religious education but also equip them with the basics of the modern branches
of knowledge.
Students will be given a thorough
knowledge of the Qur’ān, whose study will be made the pivot around which the
whole curriculum will revolve. They will be reared with the notion that in the Qur’ān rests the final authority, and it is the Qur’ān which rules over every
matter in our religion. They will be made to ponder over every word, and
meditate over every verse they encounter. Besides this, the basic emphasis will
be upon the disciplines of Arabic Grammar and Rhetoric, pre-Islamic Arabic
literature, Usul-i-Faqh, Hadith and
Al-Fiqh’ul-Islam. Also, the
essential, of modern philosophy, psychology, economics, physics and politics
will be expounded to the students so that they are able to follow their
methodology of reasoning and have the capability to explicate, in contrast, the
views held by the Qur’ān and Sunnah. The syllabus will also constitute an
anthology of world literature which will assist the students in developing a
literary taste, and in having some idea about the delicacies of the sublime
language of the Qur’an. A comprehensive book upon the principles and
fundamentals of modern law will also be part of the syllabus. All schools of
Fiqh will be taught, and the students will be made to realise. That any biased
affiliation in this regard is intolerable in the world of knowledge and
learning. It will be made clear to them that from this profound legacy of our
scholars only the materials which is in consonance with the Qur’ān and Sunnah is
acceptable, and everything else stands rejected without any hesitation,
whatsoever.
Besides these mental pursuits, the
characters of the students will be moulded so that they profess a high calibre
of moral conduct. They will be made to spend sometime, everyday, in the economy
of pious scholars, and urged to pay special attention to the injunctions of the
Qur’ān and Hadīth which relate to is elf-purification and character building.
They will be induced to offer their utmost support and co-operation in
furthering the cause of Islam, and also made conscious of the fast that after
being enlightened with the true understanding of Islam, it is their
responsibility to urge and exhort the ruling class of our country to follow and
implement the teachings of Islam.
3. Al-Ansaar’ul Muslimoon
This is a forum through which efforts
will be made to achieve the supremacy of Islam in the Muslim Ummah. A monthly
journal ‘Tazkeer ’ is being published as an organ of this forum.
__________
This is a brief introduction of the
course of action we have adopted to launch an all out effort for a Muslim
revival first in Pakistan, and then in the whole world – so that once again the
Muslim Ummah is able to bear witness to the world that Islam is the only way to
salvation.
|