By Prof. S. S. Waheedulla Hussaini al-Quadri al-Multani
Kamil Jamia Nizamia, M.A., M.Com., Ph.D (Osm)
Before the arrival of the Noble Prophet (PBUH), human beings did not know the path that would lead them to their true master, nor did they have the ability to support the truth, nor did they have the courage to oppose falsehood, and neither were they blessed with righteous deeds that could lead to their spiritual evolution. To guide a society lost in disbelief and polytheism and shrouded in ignorance, Allah Almighty assigned the vital duties of education and spiritual training to His beloved prophet (PBUH) and appointed him as a teacher of humanity, which is the greatest blessing of Allah. It is not just the source of all blessings but the saviour of humanity from misguidance and destruction. The ignorance of the Arabs can be estimated from the fact that a poet said in a poem does not do any ignorance against us. Otherwise, we are more ignorant than you. In this poem, all the Arab tribes recognized this person as their greatest poet.
Before the blessed birth of the Noble Prophet (PBUH), Arab society was in a state of destruction in various aspects, including education, morals, religion, spirituality, economy, social structure, and politics. This era is commonly known as the Age of Ignorance. In such a situation, Muslims adorned their thoughts, ideas, actions, and morals with the guidance of the Qur’an, the noble characteristics of the Noble Prophet (PBUH), and the principles of education and spiritual training provided by the religion of Islam. They brought an end to this period after the conquest of Makkah.
Pointing to this fact, the Lord Almighty says, “Indeed, Allah conferred a great favour on the believers that He raised amongst them (the most eminent) Messenger (blessings and peace be upon him) from amongst themselves, who recites to them His Revelations, purifies them, and educates them on the Book and Wisdom though, before that, they were in manifest error.” (The Quran, 3:164). The critical part of this holy verse is that the Lord said, “We have bestowed a great favour upon the believers by sending a Messenger from among themselves.” The sending of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) is a great favour of Allah to all mankind. Scholars explain that believers are mentioned mainly because they benefit the most from the Noble Prophet’s (PBUH) teachings. Unfortunately, the majority of Muslims today have practically ignored the primary objectives and goals of the mission of the Noble Prophet (PBUH), which include the importance and usefulness of education and spiritual training, which in turn are the fundamental factors for character building.
As long as Muslims maintained their unbreakable relationship with education and spiritual training, the world saluted the greatness of Muslims and made them their leaders, but since Muslims broke their relationship with education and training, their thoughts, actions, deeds, morals and character began to decline, Islamic civilization and culture began to disappear, educational backwardness began to increase, poverty became common, the moral values and characteristics of the Islamic society began to be trampled by countless vices and evils, the angelic human being began to cross the limits of brutality, the nation that taught the world constitution was marginalized and made so helpless that fascist and Zionist powers are shedding the blood of thousands of innocent Muslims like water. Despite this, the Muslim rulers did not have the courage and strength to raise a voice of protest against these barbaric actions, let alone defend them, these people considered their peace in silence. Therefore, due to forgetting the importance and usefulness of education and spiritual training, the deep imprint of the age of ignorance began to be seen in the Muslim society, which was to be eradicated by the Noble Prophet (PBUH).
It is unfair to restrict the commemoration of the arrival of the Noble Prophet (PBUH) to just external actions and activities. Simply holding meetings and processions does not honour the main objectives of the Prophet’s arrival. When Hazrat Syedna Ibrahim Khalilullah (PBUH) was building the Kaaba, he prayed for God to send a noble Messenger among his descendants to benefit humanity through his education and spiritual training. The primary purpose of celebrating Milad is to promote the teachings, message, and mission of the Noble Prophet (PBUH), especially regarding education and spiritual training, both verbally and spiritually. Education and hospitals were considered non-profit organizations in the past, but today, educational institutions and hospitals are among the most profitable businesses. It is with great sadness and sorrow that I have to write these lines, that the majority of Muslims are no exception. This is the same nation whose Noble Prophet (PBUH) freed the prisoners of war from the Battle of Badr in exchange for teaching the children of the Ansar to write. Some of the children who wrote the Qur’an when they were young helped in the publication of Qur’anic sciences, which led the Muslim Ummah to produce scholars, commentators, traditionalists, jurists, mystics, philosophers, mathematicians, physicians, astronomers, and scientists.
This is the importance and usefulness of education, which the majority of Muslims have entirely ignored. One of the main reasons is that today, we have made education a business and are charging arbitrary fees from the parents, which is causing double losses to the Muslim Ummah. On the one hand, due to the commercialization of education, people who have become rich suffer from extravagance and other vices; on the other hand, poor people are being deprived of education, which harms Muslims and human society, and evils are becoming common in society.
There is no doubt that madaris are the fortress of religion, and the favours of these seminaries are countless on the Muslim Ummah. Still, selfishness and our misdeeds have also affected the system of seminaries. In Muslim society, many seminaries for memorization of the Quran and religious education are run by people who themselves are not well qualified. Such people run seminaries only to acquire wealth. Such seminaries are harming the Muslim Ummah in two ways. One is that the amount of zakat, sadaqat, and charity reaches the fake people instead of the deserving ones. The other is that the educational standard and academic level of the students studying in such seminaries is low because students are very busy with the Quran recitation meetings held in different contexts rather than focussing on their education. This happened because the madrasa’s moderator received money for each session. Due to this wrong attitude, students can neither concentrate on their studies nor get mastery in their studies. Such students not only cause an increase in the rate of educational backwardness but also lead to an increase in poverty in Muslim society.
The extreme desire for wealth and worldly pleasures has dramatically damaged the educational systems of Muslims, as well as the system of monasteries. While it is believed that spiritual training can compensate for a lack of education, it is not possible to fill the lack of spiritual training through education alone. Failures to educate children on Islamic principles, the younger generation’s distancing from religious education and morals, and excessive use of social media are having irreparable adverse effects on both the new generation and society.
In the past, monasteries were places of high-level spiritual training through strict rituals and struggles. However, today, many monasteries have become focused on superstitions and traditions. Previously, kings used to beg the Sufis with extreme humility and reluctance to come to the monastery and send requests one after another. But, today, it has become a known fact that when even a political leader of a low level attends a monastery, the monks start enjoying their fortune. Apart from this, the monasteries, where once there was a high level of training of the seeker through strict rules and spiritual struggles, now most of the monasteries have become places of superstitions and mundane affairs. Previously practice, sincerity, holiness, purity, high morals, and purity of character were considered the primary conditions for the spiritual master. But, today, the sign of a spiritual master lies in wealth, influence, and fame. When there is a lack of training, it becomes impossible to distinguish between the actions and deeds of a Muslim and a non-Muslim.
The history of Islam shows that the Muslim ummah suffered more damage from uneducated and untrained Muslims than the enemies. For the educational backwardness and poverty of the Muslim ummah, those dishonest persons working in Waqf Boards across India are responsible. By disregarding rules and regulations, fear of God, and the sense of accountability in the Hereafter, they have done irreparable harm to the Muslim nation by giving priority to personal interests over the mere behest of their political masters and leaders. Today, Muslims are actively participating in the campaign against the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, which is a very welcome thing. Still, suppose we want to save the Waqf property in the real sense and bring out the Muslims from educational backwardness and poverty, in that case, Muslims must raise a united voice of protest against dishonest persons working in Waqf Boards on a much larger scale than the opposition to the controversial bill. This work can be done only when we focus on education and spiritual training.
While celebrating Milad-ul-Nabi, Muslims pledge to sacrifice their desires, wishes, joys, and happiness while never breaking their relationship with education and spiritual training. This is because when an educated and trained person transitions from ignorance to knowledge, they also transform from evil deeds to righteous deeds and from bad morals to good morals. Therefore, the birthday of the Noble Prophet (PBUH) is a cause for joy and celebration among his followers. Today, it is essential for Muslims to focus on the purpose of celebrating Milad-ul-Nabi (PBUH) so that we can bring about a revolution in human society following the teachings of the Noble Prophet (PBUH) rather than focusing on the status of celebrating Milad-ul-Nabi in Islamic law. In conclusion, we pray to Allah Almighty to bless all human beings with His mercy and forgiveness. Amen.
The author is the son and spiritual successor of Hazrat Abul Arif Shah Syed Shafiulla Hussaini al-Quadri ul-Multani (may Allah sanctify his secret), the former sajjadahnashin of the shrine of Hazrat Shah Syed Peer Hussaini al-Quadri ul-Multani I, also known as Dargah Imampura Sharif. This shrine is located in Jiyaguda, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
