This issue marks the end of the fifth year of the
journal's short but challenging history. Five years ago, we had embarked on this
mission with these words:
"The inaugural issue of RENAISSANCE is before you. It
has been launched with an aim to communicate the true message of Islam and to
purge it from various innovations which, over the years, have crept into its
edifice. The basic idea behind its initiation is to present the teachings of
Islam in their pristine form and to apply its principles in current
circumstances with a view to present positive solutions to the problems faced in
the fields of law and politics, economics and sociology and indeed in all the
other spheres of life.
No doubt, a tempest has blown the Muslim fleet
out of course. We are going through a period of general decline in all the
affairs of life. A revolution in the intellectual and mental perspectives is the
need of the hour. The challenge we face is prodigious and the effort required is
Herculean. But then, there is a heartening aspect to this situation. The
Almighty has promised us to send forth people in this world who would remain on
the right path and revive the religion of truth, cleansing it from alien
concepts whenever the forces of evil gain momentum. The following hadith bears
witness to this:
"One group of my Ummah will always be on the
right path and remain predominant among the people. No one will be able to hurt
or harm them, until the decree of God arrives." (Muslim: Kitaab-ul-Imaarah)
In recent times, the task of such an intellectual and
mental reformation was taken up by a religious scholar of exceptional intellect,
Imam Hameed Uddin Farahi. He, together with his most outstanding pupil Amin
Ahsan Islahi, has redirected the Muslim religious thought to the path it
deviated from and, as such, laid the foundations of an intellectual awakening.
Under the guidance of our mentor, Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a charismatic religious
scholar and a brilliant pupil of Islahi, we humbly intend to contribute what
little we can to the cause of this revolution. We are no scholars or men of
learning, but are very ordinary seekers of the truth. Our limitations and
shortcomings are as evident to us as the midday sun, yet it is just the quest
for the truth and the desire for its dissemination that has inspired a bunch of
mediocres to undertake such a daunting task. In the tremendous pandemonium that
prevails, our voice is no more than a whisper, yet something deep down in our
hearts beckons us to devote even the last quantum of energy we have for the
cause of truth:
Stand upright, speak thy
thoughts, declare,
The truth thou hast that all may share,
Be bold, proclaim it every where,
They only live who dare."
O
Today, the team of Renaissance renews this pledge made five
years ago. With new resolve and determination, we, once again, embark on this
voyage. Only this time, the very able Asif Iftikhar shall take charge of this
movement of Renaissance. May Allah be with all of us. Amen |