"Al-Maurid" is a unique institute of Islamic research and education. It is the custodian of the rich heritage of thought and learning of the Muslims. The driving force behind its establishment is that in present times the most important task for the propagation of Islam and for the achievement of its supremacy at the state level is to re-structure and re-orient Islamic Disciplines on the basis of the two original sources of Islam---the Qur’ān and the Sunnah.
The idea owes its inception to the fact that the process of attaining the true understanding of Islam is being carried out in our Ummah in a most injudicious and inappropriate manner. The Qur’ān which is the basis of Islamic knowledge is only being used for recital and committal to memory. Disciplines which were taught to enable the students to understand and appreciate the Qur’ān have become an end in themselves. The Sunnah, which is the second source of Islam has been alienated and isolated from the Quran, and the real stress of the existing syllabi is to teach the principles of a particular sect and prove their superiority to those of the other sects.
It is evident that this process of understanding Islam is totally against the Qur’ān as well as reason and rationality; moreover, it has also contributed significantly to the downfall of the Muslims and in producing in the minds of their intelligentsia an aversion from Islam.
The basic principle on which this institute has been established is that the only source of Islam on this earth is the Prophet (sws). It is only his personality through which Divine Guidance can now be obtained till the Day of Judgement and it is only through his sanction that anything can be regarded as part of Islam:
"Whatever the Prophet gives you accept it; and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it. Have fear of Allah; He is stern in retribution." (59:7)
The Prophet (sws) has transferred us the contents of Islam in three ways:
1. The Qur’ān
2. The Sunnat-i-Thaabitah
3. The Hadith
As far as the Qur’ān is concerned, it is our belief that it is the Meezaan ie, the Balance of Justice and the Furqaan ie, the Distinguisher between good and evil. Everything should be accepted or rejected in the light of this Divine Message. All bases of belief and faith should start and end with this Word of Allah. It should rule over any sort of revelation, inspiration, research or opinion. It should be accepted that even the works of great jurists like Abu Hanifa and Shaf'i, scholars of Hadith like Bukhari and Muslim, scholastics like Ash'are and Maaturedi, sufis like Junaid and Shibli must be weighed in the scales of this Meezaan and that nothing can be accepted from them which is not in consonance with it.
By Sunnat-i-Thaabitah, we mean the established customs of the Prophet (sws) which were passed on as religion to the Muslim Ummah by a vast majority of the Companions of the Prophet (sws) through their practical consensus or perpetual adherence to such customs. As far as its authenticity is concerned, we believe that there is no difference between it and the Quran. Just as the Qur’ān has been transmitted to us by verbal perpetuation of the Ummah, the Sunnat-i-Thaabitah has been transmitted to us by the perpetual adherence of the Ummah to it. Consequently, its authenticity is beyond doubt.
Hadith, we believe, refers to a short narrative which describes a statement, or an action or a tacit approval of the Prophet (sws). Most of these narratives are told by a few individuals at each link of the chain of narrators and, therefore, are aptly termed as Akhbaar-i-Ahaad. A hadith shall be considered as part of Islam if its basis exists in the Quran, Sunnat-i-Thaabitah or the established principles of human nature and intellect, if it does not contradict these three in any way and if it reaches us by reliable means.
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The institute consists of the following three departments:
1. Department of Research
2. Department of Education
3. Department of Da`wah
Department of Research
The aim of this department is to provide continuity to the pursuits of Ijtihaad and Research begun by our illustrious scholars in the early period of Islam, which have been revived once again in this period with full glory by Imaam Hameed Uddin Farahi and his most outstanding pupil Imaam Amin Ahsan Islahi. The real importance in the objectives of this department is to author detailed commentaries on the Qur’ān and Hadith, to document the view of Islam on various issues, to study and analyze Islamic history and to reconstruct the Islamic thought as a whole.
The following are the important projects on which the department aims at working:
(1) A detailed commentary of the Qur’ān in Arabic which takes into account the coherence within it.
(2) A translation of the Qur’ān in Urdu based on this principle of coherence.
(3) A comprehensive book on Islamic law, the philosophical issues of Islam and the principles of self-purification.
(4) A summary of the above mentioned book by the name of "Al-Islam".
(5) A critical analysis and collection of all the Ahaadith which are concordant with the Qur’ān and Sunnah, with an explanation of their texts in Arabic and Urdu.
(6) Based upon the same principle, a compilation of the life of the Prophet (sws) and a history of the early Islamic period.
(7) Reconstruction and reorientation of Islamic Law.
(8) Documentation of explanatory literature on various topics of Islam.
(9) Preparation of a detailed Manifesto of Islam to bring about an Islamic revolution.
(10) Completion of some of the unfinished works of Imaam Hameed Uddin Farahi and Imaam Amin Ahsan Islahi, and their translation in various languages.
Department of Education
This department is specifically meant for those students who intend to study the Qur’ān and Sunnah to carry out the projects which the institute wants to undertake. Only those students are entitled to enter this department who have passed their intermediate and who are not more than 25 years of age. The total duration of education is five years.
The syllabus of this department has been prepared and compiled in a manner that the Qur’ān occupies the cardinal position in it. It has been made the pivot around which the whole curriculum revolves. Students are reared with the notion that in the Qur’ān rests the final authority and that it is the Qur’ān which rules over every matter in our religion. With this beacon in hand, they are made to explore the various domains of knowledge and at every step seek its guidance. Every other subject taught merely helps the students to get a better understanding of the Quran. Everything accepted in our religion is rigorously scrutinized under the light of this Divine Guidance.
Besides this, the basic emphasis is upon the disciplines of Arabic grammar and rhetoric, pre-Islamic Arabic literature, usool-i-fiqh, Hadith and lslamic law. The students are just made familiar with the medieval trends and terminologies of philosophy and logic enabling them to read the works written in the older diction. The essentials of modern philosophy, psychology, economics, physics and politics are 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 of the Qur’ān and Sunnah. The syllabus also constitutes an anthology of world literature which assists the students in developing a literary taste and in having some idea about the sublime language of the Quran. A comprehensive book upon the principles and basis of modern law is also a part of the syllabus. All schools of fiqh are taught and students are made to consider themselves the beneficiaries of this vast heritage and also made to realize that any biased affiliation in this regard is intolerable in the world of knowledge and learning. It is made clear to them that from this profound legacy of our scholars, only material found in accordance with the Qur’ān and Sunnah is acceptable and everything else stands rejected without any hesitation whatsoever.
Besides these mental pursuits, the character of the students is moulded so that they profess a high calibre of moral conduct. They are made to spend sometime everyday in the company of pious scholars, and urged to pay special attention to the injunctions of the Qur’ān and Hadith which pertain to self-purification and character-building. They are induced to offer their utmost support and co-operation in furthering the cause of Islam, and also made conscious of the fact 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.
This department also caters for specialization in Quranic Exegesis, Hadith, Fiqh, History, and Economics.
If institutions of general education are established by members of this institute or by those who agree with its objectives then such institutions can be affiliated to this department.
Department of Da`wah
This department has been established to enable religious scholars (the ulema) to fulfil the obligation of da`wah and propagation imposed on them. The Qur’ān says:
"It was not possible for all the believers to undertake [this task]. So why did not a few from every group among them come forward to gain sound knowledge in religion and warn the people of their [respective] nations, when they returned to them that they might [also] take heed." (9:122)
If a nation becomes indifferent to its obligations, it is the duty of the ulema to warn them of the punishment of the Hereafter. The Qur’ān uses the word inzaar for this. Except for a few stipulations which are specific to the position of Prophethood, the bases of the strategy to discharge this obligation of inzaar are the same as those meant for the Prophets, as mentioned in the Quran. However, taking into account our circumstances, we have chalked out the following programme:
1. To arrange gatherings and sermons for the dissemination of the message of the Qur’ān and Hadith.
2. To hold lectures and speeches for the explanation of the Islamic thought.
3. To launch journals and newspapers in Arabic, Urdu and English.
4. To publish religious literature at different intellectual levels in various languages.
5. To prepare audio and video cassettes on such lectures and to plan for their delivery to the public.
6. To arrange workshops and conventions for the purification of the soul and for the cleansing of our thought and deeds, and to institute `Friday Schools'.
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It is our intent desire to equip this institution with all the modern facilities and services so that the task of recostruction of religious thought can take place at the highest level. It is hoped that the institute, as its name implies, would prove to be a place where people can really quench their thirst of knowledge.
We are neither making a tall claim nor overestimating ourselves for this task. It is only because of a sense of responsibility that this institute has been set up, and it is only to please the Almighty and to further the cause of Islam that this mission has been undertaken. We are well aware of the fact that, before us, all those undertook it were so illustrious and outstanding in their stature that we stand nowhere in comparison with them. The only thing we possess is a deep sense of concern for the Ummah. We would consider our job done if we are only able to communicate this concern to others.
(Translated and Adapted from Ghamidi's "Burhaan")