Muhammad Ilyas
Encyclopedia
Hazrat Mawlana Ilyas was born in 1885 in a small town in the United Province of British India in a family of religious scholars. As a response to degradation in practice of Islamic principles and values among the common Muslim folk and efforts by organizations such as Arya Samaj
to convert poorer sections of Muslims to Hinduism (see Shuddi Movement), Maulana Illyas started the Tabligh Jamaat movement in the 1920's. This movement focuses on preaching fundamental Islamic values to common Muslims and works on inculcating ritual prayer, fasting and other fundamental acts of worship in them. All the members work as volunteers and encourage each other on concern for Muslim community and mankind in general to return to worship and obedience of their Creator (God). Tabligh Jamaat maintains a non-affiliating stature in matters of politics and fiqh (jurisprudence) so as to eschew the controversies that would otherwise accompany such affiliations and today has a presence in over 150 countries in the world.
, attending to the needs of the travelers, teaching the Qur'an
and giving instruction in Islamic faith. Like all other children in the family, Mawlana Ilyas began his education in the maktab
, and, according to the family tradition, learnt the Qur'an by heart. The learning of the Qur'an was so common in the family that in the one-and-a-half row of worshippers in the family mosque, there was not a single non-Hafiz except the muezzin
.
The mother of Maulana Mohammad Ilyas, Bi Safia, had learnt the Quran by heart and attained great distinction in it. Maulana Mohammad Ilyas was Ammi Bi's favorite child. She used to say; to him. "Ilyas, I feel the aroma of the holy Companions in you. " Sometimes, placing her hand on his back, she would say, "How is it that I see figures resembling the holy Companions moving along with you?. From his childhood, there was present in Maulana Mohammad Ilyas a touch of the religious ardour and fervent feeling of the blessed Companions which had led Shaikhul Hind Maulana Mehmud Hasan
to remark that "when I see Mohammad Ilyas, I am reminded of the holy Companions. Eagerness and enthusiasm for Faith were ingrained in his nature.
In 1893, his elder brother, Mawlana Mohammad Yahya, went to live at Gangoh
with Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. Mawlana Ilyas used to live with his father at Nizamuddin, and, sometimes, with his maternal grandfather’s family at Kandhla. At Nizamuddin, his education was being neglected owing to the overfondness of his father and his own excessive occupation with prayers. Mawlana Yahya, thus, requested his father that as the education of Mawlana Ilyas was suffering, he might be allowed to take him to Gangoh
. The father agreed – and Mawlana Ilyas came to Gangoh in 1896 or early 1897 where Mawlana Mohammad Yahya began to teach him regularly.
Once Mawlana Ilyas told his brother of severe headache after which he could not bend his head even to the extent of performing the sajdah on a pillow for months. Mawlana Gangohi's son, Hakim Masud Ahmad, who was his physician, forbade him the use of water for a long time which was unbearable to most of the patients. But with the strength of mind that was so characteristic of him, MI abided strictly by the advice of his physician and abstained from drinking water for full seven years, and, during the next five years, he drank it only sparingly.
There was little hope that he would be to resume his education after the discontinuation owing to illness. He was very keen to take it up again, but his well-wishers would not allow. He turned to Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri
for spiritual guidance and instruction, since his mentor, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, had died. Under Saharanpuri’s supervision, he completed the various stages of sulook
in Saharanpur
.
“All the Meos are, now, Muslims, but only in name. Their village deities are the same as those of the Hindu landlords, and they celebrate several Hindu festivals. Holi is a season of special rejoicing among the Mewatis and they observe it like their own festivals, such as, Moharrum, ‘Id and Shab-i-Barat. The same is the case with Janam Ashtami, Dussehra and Diwali, The Meos engage the services of the Brahmins to fix the dates of marriages. They have Hindu names, with the exception of the word ‘Ram’, and their last name, often, is ‘Singh’, though not as frequently as ‘Khan’. Like Ahirs and Gujars, the Mewatis, too, observe Amawas as a holiday on which they abstain from work. When they build a well, they begin with the construction of a parapet in the name of Beeriyi or Hanuman, but when it comes to pillage, they do not show much reverence to the Hindu temples and other places of religious significance. If, on such an occasion, their attention is drawn to the sanctity of these establishments, they, unhesitatingly, says, ‘You are "Does" and we are "Meos".’ Meos are, largely, ignorant of their faith, i. e., Islam. Very few of them know the Kalima,’ and fewer still observe Namaz regularly. About the hours and rules of namaz, their ignorance is complete. This is the state of the Meos of Alwar. In the British territory of Gurgaon, the position is a little better because of the Madrassas. In some parts of Alwar, also, where the mosques have been built, the religious duties are observed to some extent. A few of them know the Kalima and offer up namaz and an attachment for the Madrassas, also, is found among them. As we have seen earlier, the initial ceremonies of marriage are performed by the Brahmins, but the real ceremony (of nikah) is performed by the Qazi. Men wear dhoti and loin-cloth. The pajamas are not worn at all. Their dress, thus, is wholly Hinduised. Even ornaments of gold are worn by men.”
In the early 1920s, he prepared a team of young madrasah
graduates from Deoband
and Saharanpur
and sent them to Mewat to establish a network of mosques and Islamic schools throughout the region.
He did not assign any name to this movement because his point of view was that, it is the duty of each and every Muslim of the world to give dawah (missionary efforts). He once said that if he had to attribute a name to his movement, it would have been Tehreek-e-Iman ("Iman movement"). The people of South Asia started calling the devotees Tableeghi. The new movement met with dramatic success in relatively short period of time, due to Ilyas' efforts. As a result many Muslims joined Ilyas’s movement to preach in every town and village of Mewat. When the first Tablighi conference was held in November 1941 in Mewat it was attended by 25,000 people, many of them had walked on foot for ten to fifteen miles to attend the conference.
Ilyas's followers note his dedication to dawah over all other priorities, noting an anecdote that, when visited on his deathbed by a friend, he said to him: “People out there are burning in the fire of ignorance and you are wasting your time here inquiring after my health!”
Jannah (Paradise) is the reward of rights, i.e. one must forgo ones'
rights and comforts for the sake of Allah and bear difficulties in order
to fulfil the rights of others (which also include the rights of Allah).
The reward for this is Jannah.
The real zikr (remembrance) is that in whichever condition, place or
activity a Person finds himself in. he should be aware of and fulfil the relevant commandtnents of Allah connected therewith. I advise my
friends with the same zikr putting greater emphasis on it.
People have given lesser importance to their servitude (to the Creator)
than their servitude and service to man. The slaves and servants of man
are generally fully devoted to their employers to do the work they
consider as their duty. Under the employers' instruction they run to and
fro, not even concerned about their meals - whatever little comes to
hand is consumed.
However, when it comes to man serving his Creator, then it is based on
convenience. Most of the time he will be indulging in his own desires
and sometimes he takes out time to do some work for Allah. For
example, he may perform salaat and give some money in charity or do
some other religious work. He now believes that he has fulfilled his
duty to his Creator. The real service to Allah is a continuous and
fundamental one - a person should always be serving his Master. It
should only be a necessity and not the object to satisfy his thirst, hunger
and other needs. (This does not mean that everyone should give up their
means of livelihood but the object should be that whatever one engages
in, should be for the sake of Allah and for serving His Deen. As far as
one's eating and drinking is concerned, these should be of a mere
incidental nature (by the way) just as an employee will be doing all this
while his main interest will be to do his employer's work).
One day in his dua he said:
"0 Allah! On account of the unbelievers being Your creation. they
deserve our compassion and mercy. hence make us fulfil their rights
while simultaneously make our hearts completely averse to their disbelief."
Man's nature inclines faster towards despair. This is so because when
one becomes despondent, he no longer regards himself responsible for
making efforts and therefore remains idle. Understand it well that this
is the trap of the shaytaan and nafs. To become despondent on account of lack of means and resources is a
sign that you have become worshippers of these resources and that your
faith in the promise of Allah and His unseen power is but little.
Depending entirely upon Allah and with courage rise to the occasion
and Allah will prepare the means otherwise, what can man accomplish
by himself? Effort and struggle according to our full capacity is a precondition.
Every part and even the end of our acitons should be accompanied by
acknowledgement of its shortcomings and the fear of it being rejected.
i.e. everq good deed b! nature should be done as best as possible but in
the end it should be realised that Allah's rights could not be fulfilled as
the) ought to be Moreover. there should be fear and anxiety in the
heart that because there may be shortcomings and corruption in our
efforts, they may be re-jected and thrown on our faces on the Day ot
Qiyamat. Thus on account of this apprehension, fear and anxiety. we
should cry in front of Allah repeatedly seeking His forgiveness.
The owner and editor of "Al Hilal", a daily newspaper in Urdu, Hafiz
Ali Bahadur Khan B.A., visited Hazrat on one occasion just before his
demise, who, inspite of his extreme weakness and inability, spoke to
him for about half an hour. He was very much impressed by this
discussion and after reaching Bombay, in a few editions wrote about his
impressions of Maulana's personality and significance of the work in
such a way which until now was not expected to be acknowledged by
any editor or leader. I received that copy of "Al Hilal" from somewhere
and having read Hafiz's article, I became very happy and intended to
read it to Hazrat. I took that paper with me hoping that on some
appropriate occasion, I may attend to him and having seen the paper in
my hand, he might himself enquire what was in my hand. I would then
reply and have the opportunity to read the article to him. Contrary to
hope and expectations, Hazrat did not enquire about it. After a long
time I could not restrain myself and said to him: "Hazrat! On one
occasion, Hafiz Ali Bahadur fiom Bombay came here and all thanks to
Allah, he was greatly impressed. He wrote a few articles concerning
our work in which he acknowledged its greatness and importance from
which it is manifest that he understood it well. If permitted, 1 would
read some of it to you."
He replied: "Molvi Sahib! What is the use of speaking about that work
which was accomplished. We must see how much is still left of the
work that has to be done. We must look into the shortcoming of what
has been done. To what extent were there deficiencies and sincerity
and how far have we lacked in having the greatness of Allah's order in
mind. How much have we failed to adopt the example of our Nabi
(Sallallahu alqhi wasallam) and in our search into the manners of
practice. Molvi Sahib! To be happy at looking back without taking
stock bf the above is just like a traveller who becomes happy looking
back at the distance covered. Looking back should only be for the
purpose of finding out shortcomings and to acquire the way to remedy
them in future and to see what has to be done in the future. Don't look
back at one who has understood our work and acknowledged it. Look
at how many hundreds or thousands there are to whom we have not
delivered Allah's words as yet and as to how many there are who,
inspite of being informed and having acknowledged our work, are not
taking part because of the lack of effort on our part.
accepted and instead they are insulted. they should not become
despondent and frustrated. On such an occasion they should remember
that this was the sunnat (established way) and heritage of the Arnbiya
(alayhiqus salaam), especially that of our Nabi (Sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam). Where does everyone get the good fortune of being belittled
and degraded in the path of Allah?
And wherever they are welcomed and honoured, they should appreciate
this and when people listen with enthusiasm to their talks it must be
considered a favour from ,Allah and at no time should they be
indifferent to these favours. It should be considered a great favour to
serve and teach these people even if they may be considered to be of the
lower classes. In the Qwan we are reminded of this in the ayat:
He fmed d turned away, when the blind approached him for
guidance.
At the same time one must keep a check on the deception of one's own
nafs. The nafs should not consider this acceptance as its own
perfection. This may lead to thefitnah (cormption)_of hero worship.
Therefore one should always be on one's guard.
It is indeed a wrong concept that when others accept our invitation, we
take it to be our success and if they do not, we consider it to be our
failure. To have this idea is absolutely wrong in this path. The
acceptance or rejection of the audience is their act. How can we be
successful or unsuccessful by the responses of our audience. Our
success is in fulfilling our task. If the audience do not accept our
message, it is their failure. Why should their rejection be regarded as
our failure? People have erred by regarding hidayat (guidance) as their
responsibility whereas this is really the work of Allah. Our duty is only
to make effort to the best of our ability. To give guidance was not even
the responsibility of the Ambiya (Alayhimus salaam).
Of course we should take a lesson from the failure of people when they
refuse to respond; that there is something lacking in our efforts and we
should try to improve in the future and the same time increase our
du'aas in quantity and quality.
Our workers in general, wherever they go, should make efforts to visit
the righteous Ulema and pious persons. The intention should only be
to benefit from them and not to invite them to this work.
These people are well versed and have experienced the advantages of
the Deeni work they are busy with, hence you will not be able to
convince them in a wholesome way that this work is of greater benefit
than their other Deeni engrossments.The outcome will be that they will
not accept your explanatior,. Once they say "NO" it will be difficult to
change this "NO" to "YES". Your talk will not be heard and it is
possible that you yourself will become uncertain.
Therefore meet them only to gain benefit from their auspicious company.
In their locality every effort should be made to stick closely to
the principles of the work. In this way it is hoped that the reports of the
progress of your work will reach them and draw their attention.
Thereafter, if they do pay attention, you should request them to
patronise and supervise you and with due reverence and respect explain
the work to them.
Letters from the merchants of Delhi should be sent with the jamaats
which go to Saharanpur, Deoband, etc. for tabligh wherein the Ulama
should be informed with utmost respect that these groups are being sent
to make tabligh to the public. The Ulama should be informed that their
time is very precious and if they could spare some of their time to
patronise these jamaats without sacrificing their time from their official
duties or that of the students, they should do so. The students should
only spend time under the supervision of their teachers. Without the
surveilance of their teachers, students should not be allowed to take part
in this work. The jamaats should also be instructed that if the UIarna do
not pay full attention, they should not critisize the Ulama in their hearts
but realise that the Ulama are doing more important work than them.
They are busy in Deeni academic work at night also while others are
sleeping in comfort. We should blame ourselves for their lack of
attention because we did not visit them enough. They are paying more
attention to those who have resolved to stay in their company for
several years.
He then continued: Even to entertain a bad thought about another
Muslim can be the cause of destruction, so to criticise the Ulama is
extremely dangerous.
Then again he said: The basis of our method of tabligh is to respect
every Muslim and to honour the Ulama. Every Muslim. on account of
Islam, should be respected, and the Ulama, on account of their knowledge,
should be honourzd.
Then he said: Until now, our muballighs have not yet mastered ilm and
zikr (knowledge and the remembrance of Allah) and this is of great
concern to me. The only method is to go tp the possessors of ilm and
zikr so that they may do tabligh under their patronage benefiting from their knowledge and company.
If one Muslim loves another for the sake of Allah or another Muslim
loves him sincerely for the sake of Allah, then this love and good
thought will be a great treasure in the hereafter. Those Muslims who
have love for me, I hope that, Insha-Allah (if Allah wills), Allah will
keep my faults covered in the hereafter.
To have faith in our empty-handedness is success in itself. None will
be successful because of his actions. Only by the Grace of Allah can
success be acquired. Rasulullah (Sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) has said,
"None will enter jannat through his actions. The Sahabah (Radhiaflahu
anhum) asked, "Not even you, 0 Rasulullah!." He replied, "Not even me except that Allah covers me with His Mercy." After relating this
Hadith, Maulana started crying and caused others to cry.
"If any one feels himself to be unfit for this work of tableegh, it does not mean that he must sit down. By no means, should this be so. In
I fact he should make an even greater effort to take part and make others
do the same. In some cases, by the continuous efforts of a few
incompetent people, good reaches the competent people and flowers
into full bloom and according to the Hadeeth, those incompetent people
receive the full rewards.
"Whoever invites to good will receive its rewards and the reward of
those who act accordingly. And the one who introduces a good practice
in Islam will have its reward and the reward of those who practice
I accordingly." (Hadeeth)
So he who is unfit must strive even more. Considering myself to be
unfit, I am also engrossed in this work with the hope that by my efforts,
the work will reach some competent person and then Allah will bestow
upon me also those high rewards for this work.
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda on 10 April 1875. He was a sannyasi who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda emphasized the ideals of brahmacharya...
to convert poorer sections of Muslims to Hinduism (see Shuddi Movement), Maulana Illyas started the Tabligh Jamaat movement in the 1920's. This movement focuses on preaching fundamental Islamic values to common Muslims and works on inculcating ritual prayer, fasting and other fundamental acts of worship in them. All the members work as volunteers and encourage each other on concern for Muslim community and mankind in general to return to worship and obedience of their Creator (God). Tabligh Jamaat maintains a non-affiliating stature in matters of politics and fiqh (jurisprudence) so as to eschew the controversies that would otherwise accompany such affiliations and today has a presence in over 150 countries in the world.
Early Life
His father, Mawlana Mohammad Ismail, spent his life in worship, dhikrDhikr
Dhikr , plural ; ), is an Islamic devotional act, typically involving the repetition of the Names of God, supplications or formulas taken from hadith texts and verses of the Qur'an. Dhikr is usually done individually, but in some Sufi orders it is instituted as a ceremonial activity...
, attending to the needs of the travelers, teaching the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and giving instruction in Islamic faith. Like all other children in the family, Mawlana Ilyas began his education in the maktab
Maktab
Maktab , also called kuttab , is an Arabic word meaning elementary schools...
, and, according to the family tradition, learnt the Qur'an by heart. The learning of the Qur'an was so common in the family that in the one-and-a-half row of worshippers in the family mosque, there was not a single non-Hafiz except the muezzin
Muezzin
A muezzin , or muzim, is the chosen person at a mosque who leads the call to prayer at Friday services and the five daily times for prayer from one of the mosque's minarets; in most modern mosques, electronic amplification aids the muezzin in his task.The professional muezzin is chosen for his...
.
The mother of Maulana Mohammad Ilyas, Bi Safia, had learnt the Quran by heart and attained great distinction in it. Maulana Mohammad Ilyas was Ammi Bi's favorite child. She used to say; to him. "Ilyas, I feel the aroma of the holy Companions in you. " Sometimes, placing her hand on his back, she would say, "How is it that I see figures resembling the holy Companions moving along with you?. From his childhood, there was present in Maulana Mohammad Ilyas a touch of the religious ardour and fervent feeling of the blessed Companions which had led Shaikhul Hind Maulana Mehmud Hasan
Maulana Mehmud Hasan
Shaykh-ul-Hind Maulana Mehmud Al-Hasan was an eminent Islamic Scholar who made tireless efforts in the freedom struggle during the British Rule in India. He was conferred upon by the title 'Shaykh-ul-Hind' which means the leading scholar of India. -Early life:Mehmud Hasan was born in the town of...
to remark that "when I see Mohammad Ilyas, I am reminded of the holy Companions. Eagerness and enthusiasm for Faith were ingrained in his nature.
In 1893, his elder brother, Mawlana Mohammad Yahya, went to live at Gangoh
Gangoh
Gangoh is a town and a municipal board in Saharanpur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.-Geography:Gangoh is located at . It has an average elevation of 292 metres .-Demographics:...
with Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. Mawlana Ilyas used to live with his father at Nizamuddin, and, sometimes, with his maternal grandfather’s family at Kandhla. At Nizamuddin, his education was being neglected owing to the overfondness of his father and his own excessive occupation with prayers. Mawlana Yahya, thus, requested his father that as the education of Mawlana Ilyas was suffering, he might be allowed to take him to Gangoh
Gangoh
Gangoh is a town and a municipal board in Saharanpur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.-Geography:Gangoh is located at . It has an average elevation of 292 metres .-Demographics:...
. The father agreed – and Mawlana Ilyas came to Gangoh in 1896 or early 1897 where Mawlana Mohammad Yahya began to teach him regularly.
Once Mawlana Ilyas told his brother of severe headache after which he could not bend his head even to the extent of performing the sajdah on a pillow for months. Mawlana Gangohi's son, Hakim Masud Ahmad, who was his physician, forbade him the use of water for a long time which was unbearable to most of the patients. But with the strength of mind that was so characteristic of him, MI abided strictly by the advice of his physician and abstained from drinking water for full seven years, and, during the next five years, he drank it only sparingly.
There was little hope that he would be to resume his education after the discontinuation owing to illness. He was very keen to take it up again, but his well-wishers would not allow. He turned to Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri
Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri
Aqdas Hafizul Qur'an wal 'Hadis Al Haj Shaikhul 'Hadis Moulana Khalil Ahmad ibn Shah Majid 'Ali ibn Shah Ahmad 'Ali Al Ayyubi Al Ansari Al Ambhetawi Thummas Saharanpuri Thummal Madani rahmatullahi alaiyh was an eminent Islamic scholar of British India and the author of Badhlul Majhud, a commentary...
for spiritual guidance and instruction, since his mentor, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, had died. Under Saharanpuri’s supervision, he completed the various stages of sulook
Sulook
Sulook or Suluk , as a noun, means pathway, and specifically refers to a spiritual pathway. As a verb, it means to walk a spiritual pathway.-Sulook in relation to Islam and Sufism:...
in Saharanpur
Saharanpur
Saharanpur is a city and a Municipal Corporation in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur District as well as Saharanpur Division...
.
Foundation of Tablighi Jamaat
Maulana Illyas became aware of the condition of Muslims in Mewat and their deviation from the tenets of Islam. Even non-Muslim historians have commented at length on their estrangement with Islam, as the following extract from the Alwar Gazetteer of 1878, written by Major Powlett, will show:“All the Meos are, now, Muslims, but only in name. Their village deities are the same as those of the Hindu landlords, and they celebrate several Hindu festivals. Holi is a season of special rejoicing among the Mewatis and they observe it like their own festivals, such as, Moharrum, ‘Id and Shab-i-Barat. The same is the case with Janam Ashtami, Dussehra and Diwali, The Meos engage the services of the Brahmins to fix the dates of marriages. They have Hindu names, with the exception of the word ‘Ram’, and their last name, often, is ‘Singh’, though not as frequently as ‘Khan’. Like Ahirs and Gujars, the Mewatis, too, observe Amawas as a holiday on which they abstain from work. When they build a well, they begin with the construction of a parapet in the name of Beeriyi or Hanuman, but when it comes to pillage, they do not show much reverence to the Hindu temples and other places of religious significance. If, on such an occasion, their attention is drawn to the sanctity of these establishments, they, unhesitatingly, says, ‘You are "Does" and we are "Meos".’ Meos are, largely, ignorant of their faith, i. e., Islam. Very few of them know the Kalima,’ and fewer still observe Namaz regularly. About the hours and rules of namaz, their ignorance is complete. This is the state of the Meos of Alwar. In the British territory of Gurgaon, the position is a little better because of the Madrassas. In some parts of Alwar, also, where the mosques have been built, the religious duties are observed to some extent. A few of them know the Kalima and offer up namaz and an attachment for the Madrassas, also, is found among them. As we have seen earlier, the initial ceremonies of marriage are performed by the Brahmins, but the real ceremony (of nikah) is performed by the Qazi. Men wear dhoti and loin-cloth. The pajamas are not worn at all. Their dress, thus, is wholly Hinduised. Even ornaments of gold are worn by men.”
In the early 1920s, he prepared a team of young madrasah
Madrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
graduates from Deoband
Deoband
Deoband is a city and a municipal board in Saharanpur district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the upper Doab region of Uttar Pradesh. Deoband used to be surrounded by dense forests, and was believed to be the abode of the Goddess Durga, according to one tradition this is...
and Saharanpur
Saharanpur
Saharanpur is a city and a Municipal Corporation in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur District as well as Saharanpur Division...
and sent them to Mewat to establish a network of mosques and Islamic schools throughout the region.
He did not assign any name to this movement because his point of view was that, it is the duty of each and every Muslim of the world to give dawah (missionary efforts). He once said that if he had to attribute a name to his movement, it would have been Tehreek-e-Iman ("Iman movement"). The people of South Asia started calling the devotees Tableeghi. The new movement met with dramatic success in relatively short period of time, due to Ilyas' efforts. As a result many Muslims joined Ilyas’s movement to preach in every town and village of Mewat. When the first Tablighi conference was held in November 1941 in Mewat it was attended by 25,000 people, many of them had walked on foot for ten to fifteen miles to attend the conference.
Ilyas's followers note his dedication to dawah over all other priorities, noting an anecdote that, when visited on his deathbed by a friend, he said to him: “People out there are burning in the fire of ignorance and you are wasting your time here inquiring after my health!”
Views and Ideas
Replying to the question raised, viz. "Why are Muslims not granted rulership and leadership in the world?" he replied: "When we do not fulfil the commandments of Allah and refrain from the forbidden in our personal lives over which we have full control and there is no obstacle or compulsion, then how is it possible that we be entrusted with the governing of this world. It is only through the decision of Allah that the believers may be granted government on the earth so that they may seek His pleasure and establish His laws in this world. Now, when we are not doing this in the sphere of our own choice (in our individual lives), how can it be expected, when tomorrow we are given the reins of government. we shall do so?"Jannah (Paradise) is the reward of rights, i.e. one must forgo ones'
rights and comforts for the sake of Allah and bear difficulties in order
to fulfil the rights of others (which also include the rights of Allah).
The reward for this is Jannah.
The real zikr (remembrance) is that in whichever condition, place or
activity a Person finds himself in. he should be aware of and fulfil the relevant commandtnents of Allah connected therewith. I advise my
friends with the same zikr putting greater emphasis on it.
People have given lesser importance to their servitude (to the Creator)
than their servitude and service to man. The slaves and servants of man
are generally fully devoted to their employers to do the work they
consider as their duty. Under the employers' instruction they run to and
fro, not even concerned about their meals - whatever little comes to
hand is consumed.
However, when it comes to man serving his Creator, then it is based on
convenience. Most of the time he will be indulging in his own desires
and sometimes he takes out time to do some work for Allah. For
example, he may perform salaat and give some money in charity or do
some other religious work. He now believes that he has fulfilled his
duty to his Creator. The real service to Allah is a continuous and
fundamental one - a person should always be serving his Master. It
should only be a necessity and not the object to satisfy his thirst, hunger
and other needs. (This does not mean that everyone should give up their
means of livelihood but the object should be that whatever one engages
in, should be for the sake of Allah and for serving His Deen. As far as
one's eating and drinking is concerned, these should be of a mere
incidental nature (by the way) just as an employee will be doing all this
while his main interest will be to do his employer's work).
One day in his dua he said:
"0 Allah! On account of the unbelievers being Your creation. they
deserve our compassion and mercy. hence make us fulfil their rights
while simultaneously make our hearts completely averse to their disbelief."
Man's nature inclines faster towards despair. This is so because when
one becomes despondent, he no longer regards himself responsible for
making efforts and therefore remains idle. Understand it well that this
is the trap of the shaytaan and nafs. To become despondent on account of lack of means and resources is a
sign that you have become worshippers of these resources and that your
faith in the promise of Allah and His unseen power is but little.
Depending entirely upon Allah and with courage rise to the occasion
and Allah will prepare the means otherwise, what can man accomplish
by himself? Effort and struggle according to our full capacity is a precondition.
Every part and even the end of our acitons should be accompanied by
acknowledgement of its shortcomings and the fear of it being rejected.
i.e. everq good deed b! nature should be done as best as possible but in
the end it should be realised that Allah's rights could not be fulfilled as
the) ought to be Moreover. there should be fear and anxiety in the
heart that because there may be shortcomings and corruption in our
efforts, they may be re-jected and thrown on our faces on the Day ot
Qiyamat. Thus on account of this apprehension, fear and anxiety. we
should cry in front of Allah repeatedly seeking His forgiveness.
The owner and editor of "Al Hilal", a daily newspaper in Urdu, Hafiz
Ali Bahadur Khan B.A., visited Hazrat on one occasion just before his
demise, who, inspite of his extreme weakness and inability, spoke to
him for about half an hour. He was very much impressed by this
discussion and after reaching Bombay, in a few editions wrote about his
impressions of Maulana's personality and significance of the work in
such a way which until now was not expected to be acknowledged by
any editor or leader. I received that copy of "Al Hilal" from somewhere
and having read Hafiz's article, I became very happy and intended to
read it to Hazrat. I took that paper with me hoping that on some
appropriate occasion, I may attend to him and having seen the paper in
my hand, he might himself enquire what was in my hand. I would then
reply and have the opportunity to read the article to him. Contrary to
hope and expectations, Hazrat did not enquire about it. After a long
time I could not restrain myself and said to him: "Hazrat! On one
occasion, Hafiz Ali Bahadur fiom Bombay came here and all thanks to
Allah, he was greatly impressed. He wrote a few articles concerning
our work in which he acknowledged its greatness and importance from
which it is manifest that he understood it well. If permitted, 1 would
read some of it to you."
He replied: "Molvi Sahib! What is the use of speaking about that work
which was accomplished. We must see how much is still left of the
work that has to be done. We must look into the shortcoming of what
has been done. To what extent were there deficiencies and sincerity
and how far have we lacked in having the greatness of Allah's order in
mind. How much have we failed to adopt the example of our Nabi
(Sallallahu alqhi wasallam) and in our search into the manners of
practice. Molvi Sahib! To be happy at looking back without taking
stock bf the above is just like a traveller who becomes happy looking
back at the distance covered. Looking back should only be for the
purpose of finding out shortcomings and to acquire the way to remedy
them in future and to see what has to be done in the future. Don't look
back at one who has understood our work and acknowledged it. Look
at how many hundreds or thousands there are to whom we have not
delivered Allah's words as yet and as to how many there are who,
inspite of being informed and having acknowledged our work, are not
taking part because of the lack of effort on our part.
Advice to Dawah workers
Our workers must remember well that if their da'wah (invitation) is notaccepted and instead they are insulted. they should not become
despondent and frustrated. On such an occasion they should remember
that this was the sunnat (established way) and heritage of the Arnbiya
(alayhiqus salaam), especially that of our Nabi (Sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam). Where does everyone get the good fortune of being belittled
and degraded in the path of Allah?
And wherever they are welcomed and honoured, they should appreciate
this and when people listen with enthusiasm to their talks it must be
considered a favour from ,Allah and at no time should they be
indifferent to these favours. It should be considered a great favour to
serve and teach these people even if they may be considered to be of the
lower classes. In the Qwan we are reminded of this in the ayat:
He fmed d turned away, when the blind approached him for
guidance.
At the same time one must keep a check on the deception of one's own
nafs. The nafs should not consider this acceptance as its own
perfection. This may lead to thefitnah (cormption)_of hero worship.
Therefore one should always be on one's guard.
It is indeed a wrong concept that when others accept our invitation, we
take it to be our success and if they do not, we consider it to be our
failure. To have this idea is absolutely wrong in this path. The
acceptance or rejection of the audience is their act. How can we be
successful or unsuccessful by the responses of our audience. Our
success is in fulfilling our task. If the audience do not accept our
message, it is their failure. Why should their rejection be regarded as
our failure? People have erred by regarding hidayat (guidance) as their
responsibility whereas this is really the work of Allah. Our duty is only
to make effort to the best of our ability. To give guidance was not even
the responsibility of the Ambiya (Alayhimus salaam).
Of course we should take a lesson from the failure of people when they
refuse to respond; that there is something lacking in our efforts and we
should try to improve in the future and the same time increase our
du'aas in quantity and quality.
Our workers in general, wherever they go, should make efforts to visit
the righteous Ulema and pious persons. The intention should only be
to benefit from them and not to invite them to this work.
These people are well versed and have experienced the advantages of
the Deeni work they are busy with, hence you will not be able to
convince them in a wholesome way that this work is of greater benefit
than their other Deeni engrossments.The outcome will be that they will
not accept your explanatior,. Once they say "NO" it will be difficult to
change this "NO" to "YES". Your talk will not be heard and it is
possible that you yourself will become uncertain.
Therefore meet them only to gain benefit from their auspicious company.
In their locality every effort should be made to stick closely to
the principles of the work. In this way it is hoped that the reports of the
progress of your work will reach them and draw their attention.
Thereafter, if they do pay attention, you should request them to
patronise and supervise you and with due reverence and respect explain
the work to them.
Letters from the merchants of Delhi should be sent with the jamaats
which go to Saharanpur, Deoband, etc. for tabligh wherein the Ulama
should be informed with utmost respect that these groups are being sent
to make tabligh to the public. The Ulama should be informed that their
time is very precious and if they could spare some of their time to
patronise these jamaats without sacrificing their time from their official
duties or that of the students, they should do so. The students should
only spend time under the supervision of their teachers. Without the
surveilance of their teachers, students should not be allowed to take part
in this work. The jamaats should also be instructed that if the UIarna do
not pay full attention, they should not critisize the Ulama in their hearts
but realise that the Ulama are doing more important work than them.
They are busy in Deeni academic work at night also while others are
sleeping in comfort. We should blame ourselves for their lack of
attention because we did not visit them enough. They are paying more
attention to those who have resolved to stay in their company for
several years.
He then continued: Even to entertain a bad thought about another
Muslim can be the cause of destruction, so to criticise the Ulama is
extremely dangerous.
Then again he said: The basis of our method of tabligh is to respect
every Muslim and to honour the Ulama. Every Muslim. on account of
Islam, should be respected, and the Ulama, on account of their knowledge,
should be honourzd.
Then he said: Until now, our muballighs have not yet mastered ilm and
zikr (knowledge and the remembrance of Allah) and this is of great
concern to me. The only method is to go tp the possessors of ilm and
zikr so that they may do tabligh under their patronage benefiting from their knowledge and company.
If one Muslim loves another for the sake of Allah or another Muslim
loves him sincerely for the sake of Allah, then this love and good
thought will be a great treasure in the hereafter. Those Muslims who
have love for me, I hope that, Insha-Allah (if Allah wills), Allah will
keep my faults covered in the hereafter.
To have faith in our empty-handedness is success in itself. None will
be successful because of his actions. Only by the Grace of Allah can
success be acquired. Rasulullah (Sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) has said,
"None will enter jannat through his actions. The Sahabah (Radhiaflahu
anhum) asked, "Not even you, 0 Rasulullah!." He replied, "Not even me except that Allah covers me with His Mercy." After relating this
Hadith, Maulana started crying and caused others to cry.
"If any one feels himself to be unfit for this work of tableegh, it does not mean that he must sit down. By no means, should this be so. In
I fact he should make an even greater effort to take part and make others
do the same. In some cases, by the continuous efforts of a few
incompetent people, good reaches the competent people and flowers
into full bloom and according to the Hadeeth, those incompetent people
receive the full rewards.
"Whoever invites to good will receive its rewards and the reward of
those who act accordingly. And the one who introduces a good practice
in Islam will have its reward and the reward of those who practice
I accordingly." (Hadeeth)
So he who is unfit must strive even more. Considering myself to be
unfit, I am also engrossed in this work with the hope that by my efforts,
the work will reach some competent person and then Allah will bestow
upon me also those high rewards for this work.
External links
- Biography of Maulana Muhammad Ilyas at FamousMuslims.com