Islam

Shamsul Ulama Allama Shibli Nomani

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(Residential halls of Aligarh Muslim University: Person behind the name series/ blog 5)

Mohsin Aziz

Adab aur mashriqi Tarikh ka ho dekhna makhzan

To Shibli sa waheedey asr wa ektaye zameen dekhen

(Malulan Altaf Hussain Hali)

Shibli hostel is part of Mohsinul Milk Hall. Mohsinul Mull Hall or MM Hall is a male residential Hall of Aligarh Muslim University. The Hall was established in 1963 with the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, laying it’s foundation stone.

Early Life and Education

Shibli was born in extraordinary times. He was born in May 1857 in Bindwal village of District Azamgarh. The first war of Indian Independence was underway and Shibli was born on the day when freedom fighters had broken the gate of Azamgarh Jail and released fighters from there. His fathers family belonged to Rajpoot converts. His given name was Mohammad Shibli which he later changed to Shibli Nomani (Nadvi, Syed Sulaiman, 1986). As per the norm in Azamgarh, all the inhabitants of Bindwal now use the surname of Nomani with their names. Shibli was a poet par excellence. In the beginning he used the takhallus (nom de plume) of tasneem. However, he has often used the takhallus of nomani and shibli also particularly in his Persian poetry. However both the takhallus were used as per the meter of the poem (Nadvi, Syed Sulaiman, 1986). It was due to Sir Syed’s efforts that modern education gained acceptance in the present day eastern Uttar Pradesh. Shibli’s father was also an admirer of Sir Syed. Shibli’s early education was under Hakeem Abdullah of Jairajpur Village. Later he studied under the guidance of Maulvi Shukrullah. Later he studied Arabic from Maulvi Faizullah. Maulvi Faizullah was head of Madrasa Ulum Arbia which was opened by Shibli’s father along with some others in Azamgarh. Later Shibli was admitted to Madrasa Chashmai Rahmat, Ghazipur. Chashmai Rahmat was famous in those days because of Maulana Farooq Chirayakoti who used to teach there. At Chashmai Rahmat, Shibli became student of Maulana Farooq Chirayakoti. Shibli studied both Arabic and Persian from Maulana Farooq Chirayakoti and completed his education under him (Nadvi, Syed Sulaiman, 1986).

After completing his education under Maulana Farooq Chirayakoti, Shibli went to several other cities in search of further knowledge. First he went to Rampur and studied usool and fiqh for about one year from Maulana Irshaad Hussain. From Rampur, Shibli went to Deoband. He did not take part in classes at Deoband but used the library and studied farayez there. From Deoband, Shibli went to Lahore. At that time Maulana Faizul Hassan Saharanpuri was professor of Arabic Literature at Oriental College Lahore. Maulana Faizul Hassan Saharanpuri could not find any time for Shibli to teach as his whole day was already scheduled for various students and activities. However, the persistence of Shibli paid off and Maulana Faizul Hassan Saharanpuri offered to teach Shibli. But the schedule of teaching is very interesting and an example of the dedication of both the teacher and the student. Maulana Faizul Hassan Saharanpuri used to walk to the College. The only time available to Maulana Faizul Hassan Saharanpuri was when he was going to and coming from college. Shibli agreed to the arrangement. Shibli started taking lessons from Maulana Faizul Hassan Saharanpuri during his walk from home to College and from College and home. In the meantime, it was vacation time and Maulana Faizul Hassan Saharanpuri travelled to his hometown in Saharanpur. By this time, teacher had seen dedication of the student. Maulana Faizul Hassan Saharanpuri took Shibli with him to his hometown so that he can teach Shibli during his vacation. The visit proved to be very beneficial and allowed Shibli to develop his command over Arabic Literature and Poetry further. It was during this time that Shibli memorized hamasa and studied jumharatul arab . Shibli’s next teacher was Maulana Ahmad Ali Mohaddis Saharanpuri. Shibli studied Hadees from him and got a sanad e hadees from his teacher. Shibli wanted to continue his education further under Maulana Ahmad Ali but got a chance to go for hajj. He took permission from his ustad and proceeded for hajj journey. At that time, Shibli’s age was 19. Thus ended the educational journey lasting 14 years (Nadvi, Syed Sulaiman, 1993).

Hajj

During hajj, Shibli made full use of his free time and visited libraries in Madinah and benefitted from the large collection of hadees books there. Shibli has shared many interesting anecdotes and stories from his hajj journey. Shibli shared story of an Indian Hajj pilgrim who used to travel barefooted braving thorns. Once after getting tired he sat down and started removing thorns from his feet. Shibli went near him. The haji asked Shibli to sit and recited the following couplet:

Abley rotey hain khoon, ranj bada hota hai

Koi kaanta jo kafe pa se juda hota hai

Time in Judiciary

Shibli’s father and his maternal uncle both were successful lawyers of Azamgarh. Shibli’s father wanted him to join judiciary. Shibli was not very much interested but started preparation for Judicial exam. He used to study and his younger brother, Mehdi Hassan, would listen what Shibli has preparing. When the results came out for the year 1879, Shibli was not selected but his younger brother Mehdi Hassan who did not prepare for the exam but only listened to Shibli passed the exam. This shocked Shibli and he realised the importance of English language. His brother knew English. He decided to prepare again. He started reading law books and prepared his own notes for studies. His hard work paid off and he was selected in 1880 exam. In fact his notes proved to be so good that many of his friends got selected using the notes. He started practicing law at Azamgarh in 1880-81 but could not continue for long. Very soon his father found out that Shibli is always speaking the truth and it was difficult for him to continue his practice. Hence the practice was stopped.

Sir Syed and Aligarh

Shibli’s father was supporter of Sir Syed’s mission for the spread of education from the beginning. When Sir Syed was posted at Ghazipur, he had already started propagating his ideas about English education. Sir Syed created a favorable environment towards modern education. Shibli’s father, Sheikh Habibullah was an ardent admirer of Sir Syed. His father contributed to the College fund during Sir Syed’s tours of Azamgarh district. When Sir Syed started Madrasatul Uloom in 1875 at Aligarh which later became MAO College, Shibli’s father sent his younger son to study at MAO College. When he came to meet his son in October 1881 to Aligarh, Shibli also came along with his father. For the occasion, Shibli wrote an Arabic Qasida (laudatory poem) for Sir Syed and presented it to Sir Syed. Sir Syed liked it so much that he published it in Aligarh Institute Gazette (15 October 1881, Vol 16, No. 2, p. 1175).

Later Shibli joined Aligarh in 1883 as Professor of Persian and Assistant Professor of Arabic for a salary of 40 INR. In 1886 he was given full professorship of Arabic as well. In the beginning he stayed outside college but after sometime Sir Syed made arrangements for Shibli’s stay near his house (Islahi, Z.I., ). A small banglow was given to Shibli just behind the Sir Syed House (I am witness to the ruins of the banglow in my childhood. It was popularly called Shibli ki Kutiya or Shibli’s hut as it was very small. Now there is no trace of that very small banglow. It is indeed sad that the historical room which was given to Shibli by Sir Syed was allowed to deteriorate and then destroyed). Besides teaching Arabic and Persian, he was additionally given the charge of Darse Quran by Sir Syed himself. In fact, it was the beginning of Darse Quran at the college. Among his Darse Quran students, one can count Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar and Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. He was also involved in the curriculum development at the college and wrote a book as per the wish of Sir Syed entitled “lujnatul islam” which was included in the college curriculum. The rights of the book were given to the college by Shibli so that college could monetarily benefit. When Sir Syed was facing flak from ulema for promoting english education, Shibli wrote his famous poem Subh e Ummeed in favour of college and Sir Syed in which he traced the history of muslims and their downfall and urged fellow muslims to support Sir Syed as he was trying to get them up once again. To the naysayers of Sir Syed and College he wrote:

Syed se hai agar bhu’z lillah

Wo khadim e qaum agar hai gumrah

Kutch aap hi intezaam kartey

Islam ko nek namm kartey (Shibli Nomani)

At another place he very beautifully described the personality of Sir Syed in the following words:

Soorat se ayaan jalaley shahi

chahrey par faroghey subhey gahi

wo mulk pe jaan deney wala

wo qaum ki naaw kheney wala (Shibli Nomani)

It was at Aligarh that he came into contact with Prof. T. W. Arnold. Shibli learned French and modern research methodology from him. Two became very good friends. It was through Arnold and Sir Syed’s library that Shibli got to educate himself about Orientalists and their work. Reading the work of orientalists gave the idea to Shibli to write heroes of Islam series of which Al Farooq is the perhaps most famous.

Travel to Turkey, Syria and Egypt

In 1892, Shibli decided to travel to Turkey, Egypt and Syria. In fact Shibli had planned a Heroes of Islam series for which enough reference was not available in India at that time. The basic thought behind this journey was to collect reference and consult books for his upcoming project. Although he did not plan to write travelogue but after return to Aligarh, on the request of many people decided to write account of his journey which resulted in Safarnama e Rome o Misr o Shaam. The travelogue is a complex and masterful account of his travels to the Ottoman lands where he met a wide variety of people, visited schools and libraries and gave account of day to day life of the places he visited. The riveting account by Shibli of his travels makes the travelogue a classic of Urdu literature. Shibli wanted to write a series of books on his journey. Shibli’s journey started on 26 April 1892 from Aligarh. At that time Shibli was professor of Arabic and Persian in the College. The summer vacations of the college were usually for three months. Due to his service in the college, Shibli was also entitled to 3 months of privilege leave. Shibli combined the two leaves and took 6 months off from the college and started his journey along with Thomas Arnold who was also associated with the college. Thomas Arnold was Professor of Philosophy at the college. He was not only a colleague of Shibli but Shibli had learnt French from Thomas Arnold. Shibli learnt that Arnold was traveling to England during the vacation. Shibli decided to accompany Arnold for a part of the journey to travel to the Ottoman lands. There are many interesting anecdotes, observations and accounts in the travelogue. One incident is worth mentioning. Shibli mentions that one morning after leaving the port of Aden, the engine of the ship developed some problem. There was chaos everywhere and the captain and crew of the ship were looking worried. Shibli got worried and immediately went to Arnold. He saw Arnold calmly sitting on a chair on the deck of the ship and reading a book. Shibli asked Arnold that is this the time to read a book? Are you not worried? Arnold’s reply is worth writing in gold. Arnold told Shibli that if the ship is going to be drowned then the whatever little time is left is very precious, and to waste such precious moments is nothing but foolishness. It took the crew eight hours to fix the engine and the journey continued (Shibli, Nomani, 1335 Hijri corresponding to 1916). It was during this journey that Shibli was honoured by the Ottoman Sultan. Shibli was given tamgahe majidia. It was first title to be awarded to anybody from the college except Sir Syed. However, Shibli could not use the medal because the permission from the British Crown was not granted (Shibli, Nomani, 1916).

In Istanbul Shibli was able to create a network of well connected people. He visited libraries, schools, madrasas and colleges. The strict discipline and common routine for students and common dress impressed Shibli. He was also impressed by the large residential halls for the students rather than separate rooms which were prevalent at MAO College at that time (Shibli, Nomani, 1916). After returning to India, a similar residence, namely Zahoor Hussain Ward, was started at the MAO College (Jalal, Ayesha, 2021, p. 25) However, what impressed Shibli most was the tradition of Monogram of the College or School on the collar of students coat. The monogram was written in Naskh and was embossed. Shibli reports that the monogram of the college on the black coat of the students distinguishes them from others. In his words ‘itna khushnuma maloom hota hai ki bayaan se bahar hai’ (looks so beautiful that it can not be explained in words) (Shibli, Nomani, 1916). Most probably the tradition of Black sherwani with university monogram on the collar at Aligarh Muslim University is related to this journey.

Title of Shamsul Ulama

After his return from Turkey, he was given the title of Shamsul Ulama by the government. At that time Shibli was only 37 years of age. It was a great honour not only for him but also for the college. It was for the first time that a professor of college was given such high honour. Only Sir Syed was recipient of honour from the government upto that time. Celebrations were held in the college. First program was jointly held by the Ikhwanus Safa and Lujnatul Adab on January 19. Later another function was held on February 17 in the Strachey Hall where European Officers, their ladies, college community and notables of Aligarh were present. It was in this function that he was given the Khilat, robe of honour (Zilli, I. A., 2024 ).

Establishment of National School

It was the affect of Aligarh that just after four months of service at Aligarh, Shibli decided to start an English medium school at Azamgarh. Shibli came to Aligarh in February 1883 and on 26 June 1883, National School was started in Azamgarh City. He became secretary of school and arranged land from his family. The school became middle school in 1887 and High School in 1895 (Nadvi, S.S., 1943, pp. 133-134). It became Inter College in 1940 in first degree college of the district in 1946 (Al Azmi, M. I., 2019). At present, it is the biggest minority educational institution in Uttar Pradesh after Aligarh Muslim University.

Hyderabad

Shibli was in Hyderabad from February 1901 to May 1905. Shibli’s stay at Hyderabad proved to intellectually very fruitful as he was able to write a number of his books during his relatively short stay in Hyderabad.

Nadwatul Ulama

Nadwatul Ulama is a Islamic Seminar based in Lucknow. It was formed by first annual convention of Nadwatul Ulama in 1894 by Mohammad Ali Mungeri, Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Mahmudul Hasan and Shibli Nomani. The foundation stone was laid by the then Lieutenant Governor of India, John Briscott Hewitt, on November 28, 1906. Shibli acted as Rector of Nadwa for sometime. During his stay at Nadwa, English was made compulsory for students which was a new concept at that time in any Madarsa. Similar he started a section of Hindi and Sanskrit teaching at Nadwa which was again a new concept in a Madarsa. It was during his stay at Nadwa that young Maulana Azad stayed for six months under the mentorship of Shibli and learned from him. Shibli resigned from Nadwa in July 1913 and shifted to his hometown, Azamgarh.

Darul Musannefin

Shibli always wanted to establish an academy like a think tank where academics can come and stay and do research. His idea was to create an institution with library and living quarters where researcher could do their work in peace. He wanted to establish it at Lucknow when he was at Nadwa. However, he could not get time to do so in Lucknow. Later when he moved to Azamgarh, he decided to establish it there. Although his dream could not materialize during his lifetime but immediately after his death, his close associates and students fulfilled his dream. Shibli had big dreams for the academy. However, three days before his death created an endowment which included his spacious garden, two kutchcha bungalows and about 300 books to form the nucleus of a library. He had, however, created a small group of co-workers and pupils who could carry the work further and had also compiled a few standard works to serve as pilot project. Darul Musannefin Shibli Academy was established on 21 November, 1914 i.e. three days after his death by his disciple and cousin Allama Hamiduddin Farahi and Maulana Syed Sulaiman Nadvi (www.shibliacademy.org., 2024). Today Darul Musannefin is well academy producing work of high quality and boast of almost 300 titles published by it. It has a large library with well over one lakh books and reading hall. There is a large conference hall and Staff quarters. Academy has its own press and it is proud publisher of longest surviving Urdu monthly research journal, Maarif.

Madrasatul Islah

Although the founder of Madrasatul Islah was Maulana Mohammad Shafi, Shibli was involved in the affairs of the Madrasa from the very beginning. Shibli convinced his cousin Maulana Hamiduddin Farahi to join him in this endeavour. Farahi at that time was in Hyderabad. Farahi resigned from his job and joined Madrasatul Islah at Saraimeer, Azamgarh. Today Madrasatul Islam is among the most renowned madarsa of India.

Proposal for Islamic University at Mecca

Shibli was very keen on the establishment of and Islamic University at Mecca. Shibli proposed the idea on 15 April 1913 in Zamindar (famous Urdu daily published from Lahore). He wrote “In my opinion, establishment of a University at Mecca which can impart religious along with modern education is imparted is of utmost importance. It is an established fact that the key to power of a nation is education.” It was a brief proposal along with suggestions regarding syllabus and the reasons for establishing such an institutions at Mecca.

Shibli and Politics

Though Shibli never actively participated in politics but he kept a keen eye on it. He regularly wrote articles and poems on politics. He was supporter of Congress and a strongly opposed Muslim League and its politics.

Shibli wrote an interesting article “Musalmanon ki Political Karvat” (Turning point of Muslim Politics) which is strong critique of Muslim League politics. He calls it ‘strange thing’. He says in this essay that Muslims when asked about their politics mention one hypothetical and useless thing called Muslim league and say that this is Muslim politics. Today thousands of educated (Muslims) think this mirage as river of life. He then says that Muslim League cannot be a true political party even after thousand years. He raised some fundamental questions as to why it came into existence and who established it and called it a tamasha. At another place he called Muslim League as ajeebul khilqat makhlooq (strange creature).

Shibli as Author

Shibli was a prolific author. He did not only write numerous books on several topics but also set very standards. Some of his famous books are: Al Farooque, Al Ghazali, Seeratun Nabi (First two volumes), Sherul Ajam (Five volumes), Mawazna Anis wo Dabeer, Al Mamoon, Seeratun Noman, Aurangzeb Alamgir par ek nazar, Rasail e Shibli, Safarma e rome o misr o shaam, Kulliyat e Shibli (Urdu), Kulliyat e Shibli (Persian), Al Kalaam, Ilmul Kalaam and Lujnatul Islam. Many of these books are pioneers in Philosophy, Criticism, Travelogue and historiography. Most of his books set very high standard of literary language as well as rigorous research.

Shibli the poet

Anybody who has any interest in Urdu poetry must have heard the following couplet. However, very few know that the poet of the couplet is Shibli

Uski saadgi pe kaun na marjaye ae khuda

Ladtey Hain aur hasth main talwaar bhi Nahin (Shibli Nomani)

For somebody like Shibli who was dabbling into so many tasks at the same time, it was not possible to be a full time poet, however, he was a poet par excellence in his own right. Some of his political poems have no parallel. He wrote extensively on current political situation both in India as well events happening on world stage.

Some of his famous poems are: Adle Jahangiri, Adl Farooqui ka ek namoona, Ulam e Zindani, Maulvi ka Shugley Takfir, Muslim League, Ahley Bait Rasool s.a.w. Ki Zindagi, etc.

Main ruh e alam e imkan sharhe azmat e yazdan

Azal hai meri bedari abd khwab e giran mera (Shibli Nomani)

When the kanpur mosque tragegy happened in 1913 and many youngsters died in police firing, he wrote:

Ajab kya hai jo naukhezon ne sab se pehley janen deen

Ke ye bachhe hain inko jald so janey ki adat hai (Shibli Nomani)

Famous writer of times, Deputy Nazeer Ahmad, has written the following couplet praising Shibli’s poetry.

Tum apni nasr ko lo nazm ko chodo nazir Ahmad
Ke iskey wastey mozoon Hain hali aur Shibli (Deputy Nazeer Ahmad)

Accident and loss of a leg

In a freak accident, he accidently fired upon himself and injured one of his legs which had to be cut to save his life. The incident restricted his movement. He became more confined to his home in Azamgarh and fully focused on Siratun Nabi.

It was after the incident when he was invited by another contemporary famous poet, Akbar Allahabadi. Shibli could not go due to health issues and wrote following couplets in response:

Aaj Dawat main na aney ka mujhey bhi hai malal

Lekin asbab kutch aisey hain ki majboor hoon main

Apkey lutf o karam ka mujhey inkaar nahin

halqa dargosh hoon mamnoon hoon mashkoor hoon main

lekin ab main wo nahin hoon ke pada phirta tha

Ab to Allah ke afzal se taimur hoon main

Dil ke behlaney ki bateen hain ye shibli warna

Jitey ji murda hoon marhoom hoon maghfoor hoon main

Death

Shibli died in November 1914 while Hali died in December 1914. Aligarh movement lost two of the most learned pillars of Sir Syed’s Karawan. At the time of Hali’s death, Allama Iqbal mourned the death of Shibli also in the follwing words:

Khamosh ho gaye chamanistan ke raazdar

Sarmaye ghudaaz thi jinki nawae dard

Shibli ko ro rahey they abhi ahley gulistaan

Hali bhi ho gaya sooye firdaus e rah naward

For References and more information, Please see:

Al Azmi, Mohammad Ilyas (2019) Shibli National School Azamgarh ki tareekh ka ek warq. Tehzibul Akhlaq, September, Vol. 38, No. 9, pp. 42-45

Nadvi, Syed Sulaiman (1943) Hayat e Shibli. Darul Musanneffin Shibli Academy, Azamgarh.

Shibli, Nomani (1916) Safarnama Rome o Misr of Shaam. Delhi: Tohfa e Jannat

Jalal, Ayesha (2021) Muslim Universalist Aspirations: Intimacies between the Indus-Gangetic Plain and the Indian Ocean, In Bose, Sugata & Jalal, Ayesha (Eds) Oceanic Islam: Muslim Universalism and European Imperialism. India: Bloomsbury.

http://daak.co.in/safarnama-e-rum-o-misr-o-sham-shibli-nomanis-discovery-european-orientalism/

http://www.turkvehint.org/2018/05/urdu-resources/182/

Zilli, I. A. (2024) Allama Shibli Nomani. http://www.shibliacademy.org

Ramadan: The month of Charity

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Ramadan is the month of charity. Although it is not obligatory to pay Zakat in the month of Ramadan, most Muslims pay their Zakat in Ramadan. Besides Zakat, there is obligatory Fitra to be paid to the poor before the Eid Prayer. Besides these two obligatory charities, lot of Sadaqa (Voluntary Charity) is paid during Ramadan. It is not that one is not encouraged to do charity throughout the year and do it only in the month of Ramadan. However, it was the Sunnah of the Prophet to do more charity in the month of Ramadan. It is reported that during the month of Ramadan the prophet used to do so much charity that he was likened to fast blowing wind.

It is narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) “The Prophet (peace be upon him) was the most generous amongst the people, and he used to be more so in the month of Ramadan when Gabriel visited him, and Gabriel used to meet him on every night of Ramadan till the end of the month. The Prophet used to recite the Holy Qur’an to Gabriel, and when Gabriel met him, he used to be more generous than a fast wind” (Sahih Al Bukhari: Book No. 31: Hadith No. 126).

Qur’an exhorts the believers to do charity and equals it to load given to Allah which will be returned in multiples on the day of Judgement.

“Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly loan so He may multiply it for him many times over? And it is Allah who withholds and grants abundance, and to Him you will be returned” (Surah Al Baqarah 2:245).

At another place Qur’an explains the benefit of charity by giving the example of grain of corn. According to Quran:

“The likeness of those who spend their money for Allah’s sake, is as the likeness of a grain (of corn), it grows seven ears, every single ear has a hundred grains, and Allah multiplies (increases the reward) for whom He wills, and Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures needs, All Knower” (Surah Al Baqarah 2: 261)

“Those who spend of their goods (in charity) by night and by day in secret and in public shall have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve” (Surah Al Baqarah 2:274)

The literal meaning of Zakat is purification and growth. It is a specific amount of money due to be spent on specific accounts after the passage of specific time. There are numerous spiritual, psychological as well as economic benefits of charity, especially zakat.

Spiritually it brings the giver closer to the Creator. There is no denying the fact that physical ibadah (worship) does not affect a person as deeply and does not put as much burden on him or his resources as parting with hard earned money. It is also a form of informal social insurance system which takes care of the basic needs of the poorer sections of the society by the wealthier section. In this way it bridges the gap between the rich and the poor which may lead to many unwanted situations. It creates a feeling of love and brotherhood between the rich and the poor and thus reduces social tensions also.

It has a psychological dimension as well. It has a positive affect of the giver, the receiver, and the society at large. It purifies the property and assets of the giver, restraints his lust for wealth and material goods and creates in him the virtue and urge to share with less fortunate ones. It uplifts the giver from a life of materialism and self-gratification to a life endowed with a higher moral purpose.

Sadaqa and Zakat prepares one to spend in the way of Allah willingly and largeheartedly. It drives away greed and pride from the wealthy and does away with glaring income inequality and at the same time imperceptibly effects a gradual redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor.

Economically it prevents concentration of wealth by circulating it in the society by transferring wealth from the rich to the poor. It redistributes real income among the members of the society by redistributing a part of purchasing power from the rich to the poor. It is well known economic fact that poor tend to spend most of their income on basic necessities of life as compared to the rich who spend less proportion of their wealth on basic necessities. A major part of the wealth of the rich is spent on luxuries of life. When charity is paid by the rich to the poor it helps in the circulation of money in the economy by creating demand for basic necessities of life.

It also discourages hoarding and accumulation of idle wealth. It ensures to put the waiting resources back into economic activity by pushing every bit of idle wealth into production activity by increasing the cost of waiting.

Let us pay our Zakat and give Sadaqa to reap the spiritual rewards in the holy month of Ramadan. Let us reach out to the less fortunate and make a difference in somebodies’ life. Let us make this Ramadan more fulfilling and satisfying.

Using interest money to help the poor and the needy

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Darul Ifta at Darul Uloom Deoband (Islamic Seminary, India) has issued a Fatwa (religious opinion) that it is permissible for Muslims to use interest accrued on bank savings to help the poor. The fatwa was issued in response to a query from Karnataka which stated that “there is enough money from the interest in the bank account of our area’s mosque. And at present, many poor are suffering because of lockdown and they have no ration in their homes. In such a situation, can the needy persons be helped with this money?”. The reply of Darul Uloom Deoband was that:

“According to Islamic laws, the interest given by banks is haram (prohibited), it can not be used. But the interest money can be given to the poor and disabled without any intention of sawab (reward).  So if bank account of the mosque has such interest money and its management wants to give to poor and needy people or wants to buy ration for them during the lockdown, there is nothing wrong in it”.

This is a welcome decision and clarification coming from Darul Uloom. These are difficult times and people are going through hardship. Muslims should use this opportunity to help the poor and the needy. This help must be given without any discrimination or prejudice. It should be given to people of every faith and colour and gender, Poor is a poor and needs to be supported.

Personally, I have being doing this for almost two decades now. I always use the interest money to help the poor. However, I believe that this should not be confined to only during lockdown period. Personally I have given interest money mostly to schools. That there is very high level of illiteracy among Indian Muslims is well documented. What better way of  using this money lying in banks than helping somebody get educated. As they say instead of giving somebody fish, teach the person how to fish. When a person gets educated instead on depending on charity for life that person will become charity giver in future. If all the interest money lying in banks is used it can help educate a lot of children who cannot get decent education because their parents are too poor to afford school fees. This will not only strengthen the community but also the Nation.

There was always a large percentage of Muslims who were apprehensive of using interest money and used to leave it lying in banks. The concerns and apprehensions of such people have been addressed in this fatwa. Let us all use this opportunity to help our fellow citizens to get better education and have a decent shot at life. Let us help the poor to get educated, Let us build the Nation.

Kyon Zyankar Banoon, Sood Faramosh Rahoom

Fikr e Farda na Karoon, Mehve Gham e Dosh Rahoon

Reference:

Mohd Dilshad (6 May 2020) Can use bank interest to help the needy, says Darul Uloom. Available at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/75562934.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst.  Accessed on 8 May 2020.

Ramazan, Corona Virus and the Indian Muslim Leadership

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Ramazan is round the corner. It is a special month for Muslims all over the world. The moment one Ramazan finishes, they start waiting for the next one. Even kids eagerly wait for Ramzan. There is something special which one can feel immediately upon confirming the news that Ramazan is starting tomorrow. From maghrib itself, the environment changes. Suddenly, the whole environment becomes spiritual. Everybody start preparing for Isha prayer and males especially look forward to praying special congregational prayers what are commonly called as Taraweeh (The real name by the way is Qayamul Lail) and prayed in the Mosque after Isha.

When the corona virus was in early stages the countries of Middle East decided to close Mosques. Even the Haram Makki as well as Haram Madni were closed. Regarding these decisions there has been lot self-congratulatory talk at the popular level in India . When Saudi Arabia decided to close the Harmain Sharifain and other mosques it was received with not only disbelief but also disdain in the Indian Subcontinent. Not only Saudi Arabia, all the GCC countries i.e. United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Sultanate of Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain also closed all the Mosques not only for daily five obligatory prayers but also for Friday prayers. The general response in the Indian Subcontinent was that it is a sign of weakness of Iman. This was basically indirectly saying that Muslims in India have more Iman than Middle Eastern Muslims. However, time has proved that it was absolutely correct decision and there are historical precedents available in early Islamic history that this has been done before. Even for Ramzan, all the GCC countries have decided to continue with the earlier decision of keeping the Mosques closed throughout the month.

In this regard I am looking at two different advices which have come for Indian Muslims as guidelines to be followed during coming Ramazan. One is a copy of a Fatwa from Darul Ifta of Darul Ulum Deoband and other from a group of prominent Indian Muslims. Both of them have advised Indian Muslims to follow the law of the land and not to do anything which may spread the Virus. Both the advisories contain some great advice which are quite practical. It is a welcome sign. However, in both of them there are points which at least to me don’t make any sense at all.

The advisory from Darul Ifta of Darul Ulum suggests that not more than 4 or 5 people should pray in the Mosque, either the five obligatory prayers Friday prayers (point three) or Taraweeh (point four). The same point is contained in the advisory given by the group of prominent citizens (point one). I fail to understand as to how this will help in containment of the virus. If only those who live in the Mosque pray, it does make some sense but to suggest that some from the neighborhood should join them to make it 4 or 5 does defeat the very purpose of social distancing. It even goes on to suggest that in case of non-agreement as to who will join from the neighborhood, there should be a chit based random selection to avoid controversy. However, it is another point in the advisory of Darul Ulum Deoband really baffles me. It asks people to make announcement from the Mosque for the time of Suhoor (early morning meal before sunrise to start the fast) as well as Iftar (meal taken to break the fast at sunset. Point fourteen). What is the point of creating a situation which can lead to unnecessary controversy? Those who fast can find out the time anyway. Everybody has got either a watch or a mobile. One can easily see time and break the fast. Where in the world was the need for this advisory? For me it certainly defies logic. Coming to the first point, is it so important to open Mosques as to put people in danger.

There can be only two plausible explanations for this. Either those giving these advices are not competent to really comprehend what is staring at them. They are unable to really put things in historical perspective and come up with a suitable response. This is quite possible as this is what religious leadership in India has done quite a few times in the past with disastrous results. It does not mean that they have never taken correct decisions and positions. Mostly that is the case. But it must be remembered in today’s world of prevalence of social media and instant decision making, there is hardly any margin of error. We have just witnessed the drama that was played on television channels with regards to Tablighi Jamaat. The time at which the congregation took place at Markaz, there was no government advisory against any such gathering. Still, those responsible at the Markaz are now being blamed left right and center.

The other explanation is that they understand the reality and know very well as to what needs to be done but are afraid to speak so. They are afraid that if they speak the truth and advice people correctly, they may loose their followership and popularity. Both the scenarios are quite scary. If this is the quality of leadership than only Allah can save us. In such a situation it is better to err on the side of caution rather then regret later.

With due respect to  Sir Allama Mohammad Iqbal, I would like to rephrase a couplet from Shikwa and say that:

Jurrat Amoz Meri Taabe Sukhan hai mujhko

Shikwa Ulema Se khakam badahan hai mujhko

The strength of my talk (poetry) is encouraging me

May dust be in my mouth, I have complaint against Ulema