By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,
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. ([email protected])