Shaykh al-Hind’s solution to our downtrodden state

Mawlānā Maḥmūd Ḥasan is seen among the most reputed scholars that the Indian land has ever produced. Following his release from the Malta prison, he was asked to preside the foundation ceremony of the Muslim National University, now known as the Jamia Millia Islamia. Mawlānā’s servants insisted that he should turn down the offer because he had turned weak due to spending a long time in prison. The Mawlānā replied that “presiding over the ceremony pains the British, he should definitely travel in order to preside it.” Thereafter he made his journey, presided the foundation ceremony of the Jamia Millia Islamia, gave a speech, and laid down its first stone.

The lecture that Mawlānā gave was actually written by his student Mawlānā Shabbīr Aḥmad Usmānī who would also read it aloud in the congregation. The fact is that Mawlānā commanded his student to write the speech and then corrected it before sending it to the print. In the speech, Mawlānā focused that Muslims should tend to control the system of education themselves. He says “but the education should be in the hands of Muslims.” He provides solution to the downtrodden state of Muslims and says that we can achieve highness when three attributes come together. These include maturity, high imagination and consciousness.

Shaykh al-Hind tries to give a strategy to attain these three attributes. He manages to say that a person who has a plan of action can wear this garment easily. The Mawlānā uses the words ‘bold and wise’ for this. He considers selfishness as a major obstacle and asks the Muslims to fight it and put it completely under control, and asks for a ‘very patient perseverance’. It means that a plan of action needs to be made considering these points and then should be followed very patiently because huge results are not achieved in a day or two. To conclude, it is necessary for Muslims to enter into Islam completely and become pure ‘Muḥammadī’ if they want their issues to be solved.

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Aaqib Anjum Aafi

The author is a biographical researcher and scholar… Read More