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Bhopal:
The three-day 62nd edition of international "Tablighi Ijtema"
(congregation of preachers) on the outskirts of Bhopal at Eintkhedi
village in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh concluded here
on Sunday with Muslims offering "Dua" (Akheri Munajat) seeking
divine blessings for peace, progress and prosperity of Muslim Ummah
together with entreating for universal brotherhood and regime of
humanity.
The thronging of devotees to the "Ijtema"
(congregation) at the new site about 15 kms away from the historical
Taj-ul-Masajid in Bhopal surpassed all previous records. Over half a
million people are estimated to have joined the "Dua", the
concluding prayers of the "Ijtema" this year, turning the site into
a sea of humanity. People took part in "Dua" from nearby homes, on
the roof tops of houses and buildings, sitting on roadsides, shops
and on trees.
It is to be mentioned that apart from
all over India "Jamaats" (Groups of people) from 40 foreign
countries participated in the "Ijtema".
Hazrat Maulana Sa'ad, advisory
committee member of the "Tablighi Jamaat" headquarters at Hazrat
Nizamuddin in New Delhi, conducted the "Dua" in a mix of Arabic,
Urdu and Hindi. In the prayers divine blessings for peace, progress
and unity of Muslim Ummah and mankind at large were sought.
Earlier, before the "Dua" Maulana
Sa'ad in his religious discourse urged Muslims to lead an upright
life in this world so that they could be rewarded in the life
hereafter. He stressed them to become messenger of peace so that
humanity at large could benefit from them. He highlighted the
importance of Namaz and emphasized the need to acquire Islamic
teachings.
After the conclusion of "Dua" about
600 "Jamaats" fanned out through the length and breadth of the
country and abroad to sermonize their co-religionists, who have gone
astray, to lead a life as ordained by Allah. They would be asked to
follow the five tenets of Islam in the true sense of the word. They
would work in the path of Allah for about one "Chilla" (40 days) to
three "Chillas" to persuade their Muslim brethren to strike a
perfect balance between materialism and spirituality while leading
their lives.
About 410 Nikahs were performed on the
second day after Asr prayers. Maulana Zubair, who recited a single
“Khutba” for all the Nikahs, stressed upon the assemblage for simple
marriage ceremonies avoiding extravagance. The formalities of Nikahs
were later completed by him and a number of other “Akabreens” helped
by local “Nikahkhuahs” of Masajid Committee.
Bharatiya Janata Party ruled Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Madhya Pradesh
Congress Committee president Suresh Pachauri visited the venue of
the international Muslim congregation and met various religious
heads of the Muslim community on second day and sought their
blessings.
Meanwhile, the "Ijtema" area
experienced not much traffic jams after the "Dua" was over. The
traffic system did not go haywire as in the past as the traffic
police did a yeoman service to regulate the vehicular traffic by
planning meticulously well in advance. Some people compared the
scene at the "Ijtema" site and the people's beeline to it as that
one witnesses at Mina, near Makkah, during Hajj pilgrimage every
year.
Atiq-ul-Islam, member of the
organizing committee, has thanked Chief Minister Chouhan, all the
agencies including M.P. Govt., PHE, BMC, MPSRTC, Railways, MP
Police, Traffic Police, Zila Panchayat and villagers around
Ghasipura & Eintkhedi and others for extending their services in
making the arrangements and making the Ijtema successful.
It may be recalled here that Maulana
Ilyas, a religious scholar of the orthodox Deoband, and a follower
of the Naqshabandiyah, learned the situation. His initial effort was
to establish a network of mosque-based religious schools to educate
Mewati Muslim about correct Islamic beliefs and practices. But he
became disillusioned with the reality that these institutions were
producing religious functionaries but not preachers. Following this,
he quit his teaching position at Madrasah Mazhar-ul-Uloom in
Saharanpur and moved to Basti Nizamuddin in the old quarters of
Delhi to begin his missionary work. Tablighi movement was formally
launched in 1926 from this place.
Maulana Ilyas devoted to what he
described as “the mission of the prophets”. His message was simple:
“Ai Musalmano Musalman Bano”. The method adopted by him was equally
simple. It was to organize units of at least ten persons and send
them to various villages. These units (Jamaat), would visit a
village, invite the local Muslim to assemble in the mosque and
present their message in the form of six demands: 1. Every Muslim
must be able to recite Shahadah correctly in Arabic; 2. A muslim
must learn how to say the Salat correctly; 3. To learn the basic
teaching of Islam and to do Zikr; 4. To respect the fellow Muslims;
5. To inculcate honesty and sincerity of purpose in such endeavors;
6. To spend some times and travel from place to place spreading the
words of Allah.
Maulana Ilyas later added another rule
asking members to abstain from wasting time in idle talk and from
sinful deeds.
The movement met with spectacular
success in a relatively short period. Thousands of Muslims joined
Maulana Ilyas to propagate the message of Islam throughout Mewat in
Haryana. There were signs of Islamic religious revival everywhere in
the area. Jamaat workers are rigid in following the orthodox and
observing the Shariah. They stayed away from politics and political
controversies. Instead of publishing books, they go door to door and
invite people to join their work.
pervezbari@eth.net
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