السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
Today is Wednesday 15th April 2020. My topic today is ‘Our connection with The Holy Qur’ān’.
June and July 2019 were 2 memorable months in my life. Last June, my colleagues and I hosted Mufti Aḥmed Khānpuri Ṣāḥib and his companions in the Mediterranean island of Malta. Then in July, we hosted Mufti Muḥammad Taqī Us̱mānī Ṣāḥib, again in Malta.
As young students in Dārul Uloom Bury, the word Malta had just one meaning – the place where Shaykh ul-Hind Mawlānā Maḥmūd ul-Ḥasan رَحْمَةُ الله عليه was imprisoned. ‘Māltā ki jail’ was the famous terminology. Upon our visit to Malta, both our respected guests quoted the most famous words of Shaykh ul-Hind after his release from Malta. In the words of Mufti Taqī Us̱mānī Ṣāḥib:
In the loneliness of the Malta jail, I pondered upon the reasons for the decline of this Ummah. Two reasons came to mind.
- The connection of The Holy Qur’ān with the Ummah is not as it should be, and
- There are too many divisions amongst the Ummah.
Therefore, for the remainder of my life, I intend to work towards rectifying these 2 major weaknesses.
(This was the quote of Shaykh ul-Hind in Urdu which Mufti Taqī Ṣāḥib narrated to us in Malta, in Urdu. I have translated it into English for the benefit of the readers).
Let us now ponder upon ourselves, and our connection with Holy Qur’ān. Each one can answer for themselves. Let’s ask Almighty Allāh’s forgiveness for our neglect of The Holy Qur’ān, and let’s rectify this weakness from today.
All who are Hafiz should pray at least 2 pārāhs (Juz) daily. This will result in one completion every 15 days … 24 a year اِنْ شَاءَ الَّلهُ. In Ramaḍān, increase it, to reach 30 completions a year. The rest of us should pray 1 Juz daily. 1 completion monthly … 12 annually. Increase in Ramaḍān, and achieve 15 annually.
Imāms need to deliver the Tafsīr of The Holy Qur’ān, if possible, daily. Even if it is 10 minutes covering one ayah. We all need to try and understand what our Creator is telling us.
Final point on The Holy Qur’ān. This is for the Imāms and ‘Ulamā to ponder upon. Should we be having daily Tā’līm of Tablīghi Nisāb or Fazāil-e-Ā’māl or, daily Dars of The Holy Qur’ān? In my humble view, The Holy Qur’ān comes first. Of course we should have Tā’līm, but that is secondary. Make the understanding of The Holy Qur’ān a priority.
Shaykh ul-Hind’s second concern was unity. At present, the unity closest to my heart, is the unity of UK Muslims on the issue of Moon Sighting. The majority follow actual sighting of the moon with the eye for all 12 months of the year. They follow either local sighting or sighting news from Morocco or South Africa. The key point is sighting.
Unfortunately, the minority (including me), follow our Central Moon Sighting Committee who are following the Umm ul-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia for 9 months, and maybe actual sighting for 3 months of the year. The Akābirīn, Muftiyān-e-Kirām and the ‘Ulamā of the UK need to look into this issue and make it their priority to unite the Muslims of the UK onto the actual sighting criteria.
The foresight of Shaykh ul-Hind was amazing. We repeat his words very regularly. Can we now put them into practice?
Please take out some time to listen to these lectures delivered by my respected teacher Shaykh Muḥammad Saleem Dhorāt حفظہ اللہ, on the subject.
Almighty Allāh give us all the correct understanding of His Beautiful Dīn, Āmeen.
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جزاك الله خيرا
Request for Du’ās
والسلام Hanif Dudhwala