The last few centuries bear witness to a sharp decline in the individual as well as the collective affairs of the Muslims. A very significant reason for this sorry state of affairs is our mental and intellectual regression. We believe that until and unless a determined effort is made to reconstruct the Muslim thought in these perspectives, it is not very difficult to foresee a future that does not exist.
In view of this, we have humbly chalked out a programme under the able guidance of our mentor, Mr Javed Ahmad Ghāmidī, to contribute what little w e can for the mental revival and intellectual reformation of the Muslims of Pakistan in particular and those of the Ummah in general. The course of action is based on different projects of which the most fundamental in importance are some scholarly discourses upon which Mr. Ghāmidī has been working since the past two decades. These include:
‘Al-Ishraq’: (Arabic) A commentary of the Qur’ān based upon the methodology of deliberation and reflection formulated by Imām Hamīd Uddin Farāhī and Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī.
‘Mīzān: (Urdu) A treatise comprising two volumes of which the first is based on Islamic law, and t he second on t he philosophical issues of Islam.
‘Al-Biyān - (Urdu) A translation of the Qur’ān in which its coherence has been unfolded to enable even a common reader to appreciate the subtle delicacies of the Divine Message.
‘Burhan’: (Urdu) a dissertation I which contemporary religious thoughts and concepts have been critically analysed.
‘Baqiyat’: (Urdu) A miscellaneous collection of essays.
Besides these, two literary expositions in Urdu ‘Maqamat’ (prose and ‘Mathnavi Khiyal’ul - Khamah’ (Poetry are also under composition.
The rest of the work has been organised under the guidance and patronage of Mr Javed Ahmad Ghāmidī in the form of three institutions:
1. Dar’ul Ishraq
This institution has two divisions:
i) The Academic Department: This department has been organised under an ‘Academic Council’ which has the following task before it:
a) A critical analysis and collection of all Hadiths which are concordant with the Qur’ān and Sunnah, with an explanation of their texts in Arabic, Urdu, and English.
b) Based upon the same principle, a compilation of the life of the Prophet (sws) and a history of the early Islamic period.
c) The completion of some of the unfinished works of Imām Hamīd Uddin Farāhī and Imām Amīn Ahsan Islāhī, and their translation in various languages.
d) Documentation of literature for an intellectual refutation of all un-Islamic concepts, ideologies and systems of thought.
The ‘Academic Council’ has been constituted under the chairmanship of Mr Javed Ahmad Ghāmidī and Mr Talib Mohsin has been appointed its secretary. Other members include Mr Mohammad Rafi Mufti, Mr Khalid Zaheer, Mr Muneer Ahmad, Mr Sajid Hamid, Mr Moiz Amjad Sheikh, Mr Asif Iftikhar, Mr Khurshid Ahmad Nadeem, Mr Shehzad Saleem and Mrs Kaukab Shehzad.
ii) The Da’wah Department: The function of this department is to communicate the true message of Islam by the written as well as the spoken word.
Under this department two monthly Islamic journals ‘Ishraq’ (Urdu) and ‘Renaissance’ (English) are regularly published, while preparations are underway to launch ‘Ar-Raid’, a monthly Arabic journal.
Also organised under this department are weekly and monthly lectures. To supplement these lectures an audio-visual service is being established for general use.
2. Al-Mawrid
This is the name of a religion educational institution which is being established to produce competent scholars of Islam. The syllabus of this institution will not only cater for their religious education but also equip them with the basics of the modern branches of knowledge.
Students will be given a thorough knowledge of the Qur’ān, whose study will be made the pivot around which the whole curriculum will revolve. They will be reared with the notion that in the Qur’ān rests the final authority, and it is the Qur’ān which rules over every matter in our religion. They will be made to ponder over every word, and meditate over every verse they encounter. Besides this, the basic emphasis will be upon the disciplines of Arabic Grammar and Rhetoric, pre-Islamic Arabic literature, Usul-i-Faqh1, Hadith and Al-Fiqh’ul-Islam2. Also, the essential, of modern philosophy, psychology, economics, physics and politics will be 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 held by the Qur’ān and Sunnah. The syllabus will also constitute an anthology of world literature which will assist the students in developing a literary taste, and in having some idea about the delicacies of the sublime language of the Qur’an. A comprehensive book upon the principles and fundamentals of modern law will also be part of the syllabus. All schools of Fiqh will be taught, and the students will be made to realise. That any biased affiliation in this regard is intolerable in the world of knowledge and learning. It will be made clear to them that from this profound legacy of our scholars only the materials which is in consonance with the Qur’ān and Sunnah is acceptable, and everything else stands rejected without any hesitation, whatsoever.
Besides these mental pursuits, the characters of the students will be moulded so that they profess a high calibre of moral conduct. They will be made to spend sometime, everyday, in the economy of pious scholars, and urged to pay special attention to the injunctions of the Qur’ān and Hadīth which relate to is elf-purification and character building. They will be induced to offer their utmost support and co-operation in furthering the cause of Islam, and also made conscious of the fast 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.
3. Al-Ansaar’ul Muslimoon
This is a forum through which efforts will be made to achieve the supremacy of Islam in the Muslim Ummah. A monthly journal ‘Tazkeer ’ is being published as an organ of this forum.
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This is a brief introduction of the course of action we have adopted to launch an all out effort for a Muslim revival first in Pakistan, and then in the whole world – so that once again the Muslim Ummah is able to bear witness to the world that Islam is the only way to salvation.
1. The Principles of deducing commands from the Qur’ān and Sunnah.
2. Islamic Law