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