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would have heard of such writers whose pen sprinkles a galaxy
of words on paper. You would have seen such forceful speakers
who have the ability to ignite the passions of audience. Your
would have seen such poets whose poetry gets worldwide acclaim.
You would have read about the philosophers whose reasoning
mystified the people. You would have come across such politicians
who have the capability to work wonders. You would have been
impressed by the popularity of scientists who scale the planets.
You would have heard about the businessmen whose wealth has
no bounds. You would have heard of the rulers who know the
tricks to lengthen their rule.
But the number of those exemplary people was and is very little
who feel for the whole Muslim Ummah and ache for the true
religion, who feel the pain in their heart if a thorn pricks
the foot of a Muslim in the last corner of the world. Their
love is beyond racial, linguistic and country boundaries,
their thought is higher than skies and vaster than deserts,
their insight is deeper than oceans, and their words and actions
have no clash. Their life is dedicated for the cause of others.
In every era, such great people are very little in number
but not non-existent. If the face of earth got totally devoid
of such people, there would be doomsday on earth. There are
many preceding personalities that may be rightly counted among
such great people. In this column, we shall discuss only one
such person.
Sheikh-ul-Hind, Maulana Mahmood Hassan Deobandi was a class
unto himself. A torchbearer and a leader of politics simultaneously,
he was very much aggrieved over the oppressions against Muslims
in Balkan and Trabulus. Mufti Aziz-ur-Rahman writes, “When
Hazrat Sheikh-ul-Hind would hear about defeat to the Turks,
tears would roll down from his eyes making his beard wet.
All night, he would pray to Allah. It seemed as if he would
chew the British if he could.”
He gave leaves to the teachers and students of his madrasah
and sent them to village and towns for collecting donations.
He gave his own salary and the salaries of teachers and other
staff as donations. At his order, the students donated even
their educational awards and the food of their canteen. His
concern for the Ummah made him the leader of mujahideen of
the world. His emergence as the leader of mujahideen was unbearable
for the British. They arrested Hazrat Sheikh-ul-Hind and imprisoned
him in an island of Malta. The British did imprison his body
but could not imprison his heart and mind. In the jail, he
would feel anguished for the downfall of the Muslim Ummah.
After being released in 1920, he returned to Hindustan. Once
speaking at a big gathering of `Ulama, he said, “We
learnt two lessons from our life in Malta.” These words
made the whole audience attentive, as they wanted to know
what the 80-year-old sage was going to say. “In the
loneliness of jail in Malta, I pondered over the causes of
Muslims’ ruination both religiously and temporally,
I found out two causes: One, forsaking the Quran. Two, internal
differences and discords. From the jail, I have come with
a resolve that I would spend the rest of my live in promoting
the Quran and its meaning. There is a need that madrasahs
for children are set up in every town and village to give
children the literal education of Quran, and public gatherings
are organized for enlightening the adults with the meaning
of Quran and preparing them to act accordingly. And the internal
differences among the Muslims should not be tolerated at any
cost.”
If we cool-mindedly ponder over the causes of Muslims’
downfall and disgrace, we shall find the two very causes as
responsible. The Holy Quran is the command centre of all individual
and collective matters, rituals and worships of the Muslims.
As long as the Muslims retained the Quran as their leader,
they were the leaders of the world. Under the leadership of
the Quran, wherever they marched, they conquered and big powers
of the time fell to them. But when the Muslims diverted from
the way of Quran, they lost their leading role and their unity
as a nation crumbled. The Muslims have not only become apathetic
towards Quran but also they have started distorting the meaning
of Quran. Everyone is at liberty to call himself a scholar
of Quran and define the meaning of Quranic verses from his
own mind.
In the same way, the other secret of Muslims’ power
and rule over the unbelievers was their unity, which has has
vanished too. As long as they were maintained the bonds of
emaan and brotherhood, they were dominant over the whole world
and when they started begrudging their own brothers and making
friends with the enemies, they fell in the abyss of disgrace
and humiliation. It is strange that we do not take lesson
from our history. The whole Muslim history is a witness that
the Kuffar alone could never defeat the Muslims, rather, it
was Muslims’ internal discord that always led to defeat.
The land of Andalusia was majestically ruled by the Muslims
for eight hundred years, and its magnificent mosques, splendid
buildings and beautiful gardens still recall their originators.
When did the Muslims’ downfall begin there? Only when
they divided in sects and races and started calling the Christians
for help against one another. Baghdad – the then centre
of Muslims' knowledge and politics – was savagely destroyed
by the Tartars only when the Muslims got engaged in internal
conflicts and lost tolerance for one another. The then ruler
of Baghdad wanted to weaken his rival Khuarzam Shah. So, he
invited the Tartars to attack the Shah. The Tartars first
destroyed Khuarzam Shah’s empire and then wrecked Baghdad.
Today, Andalusia and Baghdad-like situation is prevailing
again. The Muslims have plunged in discord, dispersion and
sectarianism despite they are facing an enemy that is more
merciless, more savage, more cunning and more prejudiced than
the Tartars. The enmity of Tartars was confined to some rulers
and kingdoms while the present-day enemy is out to annihilate
the Muslims from the face of the world. It wants to beat the
Muslims one by one. First, it played havoc with Afghanistan
and the whole world acted as a silent spectator. Now, it has
unfolded its plans against Iraq, Iran, Somalia and Yemen.
Apart from the international scenario, the inside situation
is very frightening too. The most regretful fact is that the
Islamic organizations are at great distance from one another,
providing the anti-Islam forces with an opportunity to criticize
them. We wish that at least the upright ulama gathered under
command of one Ameer (leader). The Muslims of Hindustan were
lucky for they had got the “Sheikh-ul-Hind” under
whose command and leadership Muslims from every sect got united.
We wish all the Islam-loving people in Pakistan agreed on
one Ameer. The formation of one unified organization under
one Ameer would inspirit the Muslims and frighten the enemies.
It is pertinent to mention that when Sheikh-ul-Hind’s
health declined to irrecoverable state, he called for electing
an upright scholar as leader after him. Just one week before
his demise, Jami`at Ulama-i-Hind was holding its second annual
meeting. Though he was too sick to move, he said: “Take
my cot to the meeting place. All people of wisdom and knowledge
from all over Hind are present there. They must elect an Ameer.
I will be the first person to pledge the oath of allegiance
at the hands of that Ameer.”
It is to be noted that most of the participants in the meeting
were his students and murids but still he was prepared to
pledge the oath of allegiance at the hands of one Ameer elected
from among them. In our beloved country, is it not possible
that for the protection of Islamic values, religious institutes
and our future, all the righteous people elect from among
themselves one capable and insightful person as Ameer and
get united under his leadership?
The sage of the time, Sheikh-ul-Hind Mahmood Hasan had pointed
out two causes of Muslims’ downfall. The two causes
are still playing the pivotal role in the downfall of the
Muslim Ummah today. For everyone who dreams of the revival
of Islam and eminence of Muslim Ummah, it is vital to spend
his capabilities in eliminating the two causes. When the light
of Quranic education would spread, the darkness of fallacies
would automatically shrink, and when the upholders of right
would get united, the upholders of falsehood would get frightened,
not being able to rise again.
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