Interview: Maulana Abdul Wahab Khilji

Unity can be achieved only by adhering to Tawheed

MAULANA ABDUL WAHAB KHILJI belongs to Malerkotla, Punjab. After having received his post-graduate degree in Islamic Studies from Islamic University, Medina with specialisation in Dawah and Aqeedah, he served Jamiat Ahle Hadees as its general secretary for two consecutive terms and is one of the founder members of Milli Council. He was also chief editor of Urdu fortnightly Jareeda Tarjuman for 18 years.

Maulana Khilji (second from the right) attending a conference

At present he is member of different organisations, including All India Muslim Personal Law Board. In an interview with MOHAMMAD SHAHABUDDIN he said Tauheed (Islamic monotheism) forms the bedrock of Islam; without Tauheed unity of the Ummah cannot be imagined.

What Jamiat Ahle Hadees has been doing for the uplift of Indian Muslims?
Jamiat Ahle Hadees is basically an educational and Dawah organisation. It has constantly been striving to address the problems of Muslim Ummah. It tries its best to solve the problems in the light of the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

What strides the Jamiat made during your stint with it as general-secretary?
We did our best to raise the standards of discipline in the organisation. You know, an organization cannot survive without abiding by certain rules and regulations, and discipline. In order to rejuvenate the organisation, we made trips to different cities, district headquarters, towns and villages. I personally visited Assam, Orissa, Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. These were the places where the organisation was fledgling. We also paid attention to the issues related to the youth, who, I believe, are the soul of the Ummah. I observed that some people were misleading youth regarding fundamentals of Islam and trying to attract them towards un-Islamic trends in society. Thus, we strived to encourage Muslim youth to take up some constructive tasks to be carried out. We called upon them to have Islamic approach. A large number of
youth gave positive response and renounced their extreme approach to the various problems. In order to unite I organised an all-India convention in 1989 in the Capital and launched a youth organisation Shubban-e-Ahle Hadees. But I am afraid, it couldn't delivered as was expected.
However, its message reached to different parts of the country. Apart from them, I tried to make a good rapport with different Muslim organisations and groups. We became, to a large extent, successful in removing some misconceptions about the Jamiat.

What part the Jamiat has played for Muslim unity?

We stood united along with other Muslim organisations and groups in the face of cropping up of any problem confronting the community so that we can solve it in the
light of Divine guidance. We try to reach the Muslims at large teaching them to be united.

What course of action do you suggest to be adopted by Muslim leaders and masses in order to strengthen the bonds of Muslim unity?

See, there are some prerequisites for unity in any section of society anywhere in the world. We have to resort to Islamic principles when we proceed to this direction. Tauheed (monotheism) forms the bedrock of Islam. Without following this belief in letter and spirit unity can't be imagined. This is why Allah, the Almighty, has proclaimed in His Holy Book: “And verily this Ummah of yours is a single Ummah and I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore worship Me (and none other).” Whenever there is a diversion from this bedrock belief, there creeps in ignorance and arrogance.
It is a good sign that there are several joint forums of Muslims to tackle different issues like Muslim Personal Law Board, Milli Council, and Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat.

What is your opinion about Hindu-Muslim unity?
Unity with Non-Muslims can be achieved on the basis of the Qur'anic principle: 'Help one another in acts of righteousness and piety; and do not help one another in sin and transgression’.

Although you had been associated with a particular organisation, how it came to you to join Milli Council?
I have been associated with Mill Council since its inception. I was one of its founder members. I have been on its executive committee for a long time. I had close acquaintance with late Qazi Mujahidul Islam Qasmi, who was the founder of the Council. Qazi sahib proposed to me two times the post of general-secretary, but I actually had no time to spare since I was already occupied with the responsibility of the Jamiat, as its general-secretary.

What could be done to avoid the differences over seeing of the moon (before Eid), as impinges on the unity of the Ummah?

It is the responsibility of Ulema of various schools and representatives of Muslim organisations to sit together and reach a consensus.
We can also follow the case of other Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia. There if the moon is sighted anywhere in the country, Eid is celebrated across the country. This time in Delhi, the celebration of Eid on two different days was an unusual kind of incident. It happened due to communication gap. There were some people who didn't wait and declared in the early hours of night that the next day was not Eid. Newspapers had also been briefed. The witnesses were turned up late, thus, the people on this task opined that the declaration had already been made and then it would not be proper to revert it. But
according to my point of view, it was also not proper to observe fast when witnesses had approached the authority entrusted with this task.
Yes, it could have been done that the people who had witnessed the moon and those believing in their version could not observe the fast on that day, but wait for a day to celebrate Eid together with others for the sake of the unity in the community.

What are the aims of the Milli Council and what are its achievements?

Milli Council is an organization which has risen to heights in a short span of time. The Council has taken different initiatives to solve different issues related to the nation and the community. For example, the Council was the first to address the issue of TADA.

Some Muslims and a section of media refuse to accept the status of Muslim Personal Law Board as a joint forum of Indian Muslims - of which you're also a member?


There is a class of so-called modern Muslim intellectuals who have their own viewpoint regarding Islam and issues of Indian Muslims. The Press too has its own standpoints and prejudices. The AIMPLB is a united platform of Indian Muslims. There's not a shred of doubt in it. And it has achieved great success in its aims.


(Published in Radiance Viewsweekly, 12-18 December 2004)

Read more...

Interview: Maulana Muhammad Farooq Khan

The Qur'an is Replete with Elegance and Eloquence

MAULANA MUHAMMAD FAROOQ KHAN, an eminent Islamic scholar, poet and writer, was born in 1932 in Karpi village of Sultanpur, UP. He did his Post-Graduation in Hindi literature. He started his career with teaching at Azamgarh. Afterwards he switched over to writing, as he had a knack for it. His first work was translation of the Holy Qur'an into the Hindi language. His compilation of Ahadith (Traditions of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him) with commentary named Kalaam-e-Nabuwwat in four volumes has been widely acclaimed.

Besides this a number of books on various subjects like Dawah, guidance, personality development and comparative study of religions are to his credit. He writes both in the Hindi and Urdu languages. He has also translated many books from Arabic and Urdu into Hindi. His anthologies of poems Harf-o-Sada and Chitij ke Par have been published in Urdu and Hindi respectively.



Here is excerpts from his talk with MOHAMMAD SHAHABUDDIN


You are known as a writer, poet and translator of the Holy Qur'an. Which subject is of your greatest interest?
Qur'aniyat (Qur'anic science) is the subject of great interest to me. I have rendered the Holy Qur'an into Hindi and Urdu and also translated the Tarjuma-e-Quran with explanatory notes of Maulana Maududi into Hindi.


How did you start your career?
I started my career as a teacher. During that period, I also used to contribute articles to various Urdu magazines like Burhaan, Zindagi-e-Nau and Tajalli on various Islamic subjects. Later, I completely devoted myself to research and writing on different disciplines of Islamic sciences.

How did the idea of translating the Qur'an come to you?
I was teaching at a High school in Azamgarh. Once, Maulana Abdul Hai, a renowned Islamic scholar, set up a bookstall in a conference of the Congress Party. Many non-Muslim customers expressed their desire to buy Hindi translation of the Qur'an. But up till then no translation was published. Maulana Abdul Hai proposed to me to render the Holy Qur'an into Hindi. I got ready with all my heart. Maulana Kausar Yazdani

Nadwi, Maulana Amanullah Islahi and Maulana Sadruddm Islahi also helped me in this great task. Afterwards, the translation was published with short explanatory notes prepared by myself.



How did you find the Qur'an in the course of translation?
From literary point of view, I realised that the language and diction of the Holy Qur'an is closer to poetry than to prose. It is the most influential book I've ever studied. It works at two levels. For a man of letters and learning, the Holy Qur'an is replete with elegance and eloquence. And to a common reader it is simple and lucid.



You have done a comparative study of all the prominent religions. Did you find anything common in different religions of the world?


Yes, one thing that is common to all religions of the world is that they answer the most fundamental craving of man. Man is relentlessly in pursuit of perfection. He wants to attain spiritual peace and success. And this is what every religion claims to provide for him.


What are your engagements these days?

At present, I am compiling sixth volume of Kalaam-e- Nabuwwat. The fifth volume is already in press. It is a subject- wise compilation of Traditions of the Prophet with short notes and commentary.


If the Vedas propound the doctrine of Oneness of God then from where polytheism crept into the Hindu society?
Hindu brethren merely adore the Vedas in name, while they are more attached to the Puranas. which are 18 in number, and other books written later by scholars of Hinduism.


What should be Muslims' attitude to the Hindi language?
Hindi is the national language and a large section of the country speaks it. From Dawah point of view, too. We should learn this language, so that we could properly and intelligibly convey our message. We Muslims should contribute our due to the Hindi language and literature. For the dissemination of Islamic thoughts through the medium of literature there is a literary forum, Idara Adab-e-Islami Hind which mainly uses Urdu only. But we find no such forum for the Hindi literature.

In the Indian context, it is inevitable to form such type of cultural and literary forums for the dissemination of the message of Islam to the Hindi-speaking people. Hindi scholars across the country, who are willing to serve the cause of Islam, should be brought under one banner and encouraged to work. And why only in Hindi, in regional languages also, Islamic thoughts must make their entry in different literary genres like poems, short stories, novels, etc.

What remedy do you suggest for the present malaise of Muslim community?
The foremost thing that I would like to say is that all the Muslims across the globe should have Milli Shaoor (community consciousness). Islam is the natural way of life chosen by God Himself. Its basic principles are crystal clear. Many things of secondary importance in Islam have been left at the discretion of the believer. It gives ample flexibility to its believers in dealing with the affairs of life.

When there is freedom of choice, the differences in viewpoint are quite natural. Giving undue importance to minor issues in religion can lead the community to sectarianism. This is averse to the integrity of any community. Muslims have assignment from Allah to check all types of mischief and injustice. They have been deployed with a universal objective. Diversion from the true objective gives birth to narrow-mindedness. Therefore, they should adopt universal and broadminded approach to all the worldly affairs.


What do you think about the present system of education in Madrasas?
I believe there is an urgent need of reviewing and reconsidering the syllabus of madrasas. It is widely observed that the madrasa students feel themselves inferior to university students. They fall prey to a sense of inferiority and fail to do their religious duties properly. It is not necessary for every madrasa graduate to be a Maulvi (cleric).

Those who are willing to render their services in the religious field as Imams or madrasa teachers can do. It should be left to their own choice to adopt any profession in either religious or general fields. Such educational reforms should be made in madrasas as the students passing out from there may be able to avail all the opportunities being availed by university students.

Read more...

Tsunami 2004: How It All Happened

Tsunami 2004: How It All Happened

Immunity from man-made disaster could be possible, but there is no escaping nature's authority. Tsunami, a less-known term until some days before, has acquainted itself to everyone into a nightmare. It was a disaster and tragedy swooped down on about 12 countries at the same time claiming more than 1,50,000 lives and

left in chaos lakhs of families living in coastal areas.

THE CATASTROPHE
It was the early morning of December 26 when a tsunami, a destructive wave train created by an undersea disturbance, just off the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island, creating mammoth waves, hit coastal areas of India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Maldives.
The massive tidal waves slammed the coastlines and tourists, fishermen, hotels, homes and cars were swept away by walls of water unleashed by 8.9-mangnitude undersea earthquake. The west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra was the epicenter of the earthquake. Towns near the epicentre were levelled by the tidal waves. The tragedy has been global in scope as it affected people in more than 50 countries in one way or the other.

WHAT IS TSUNAMI?
A Tsunami (pronounced su-nah-mi) is a wave train, or series of waves, generated in a body of water by an impulsive disturbance that vertically displaces water column. Earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, explosions and even the impact of cosmic bodies, such as meteorites, can generate tsunamis.
It could savagely attack coastlines, causing devastating property damage and loss of life. The word Tsunami is of Japanese origin which means "harbour wave". 'Tsu' means harbor and 4namr means waves. It is generally referred to as "tidal waves" and "seismic sea waves" by scientific community. It is a kind of ‘wall of water' that can challenge a jet plane in speed, rival a tall building in height and pack enough force to destroy hundreds of miles of coastlines. A tsunami travels at about 200m/s, or over 700 km/hr. A tsunami can have a wavelength in excess of 100 kms. Tsunamis not propagate at high speeds, they can also travel great, transoceanic distances with limited energy losses. For instance, in 1960, the earth-quake-generated Chilean tsunami traveled over 17,000 kms across the Pacific to Japan. When a Tectonic earthquake, a particular kind of earthquake that is associated with the earth's crustal deformation, occurs beneath the sea, the water above the deformed area is displaced from its equilibrium position and as displaced water mass, which acts under the influence of gravity, attempts to regain its equilibrium, and forms mammoth waves or tsunami.

THE DEVASTATION
At least 90,000 people were killed in Indonesian islands by flood and collapsing buildings. Aceh was by far the hardest hit province that faced combination of serious earthquake and tidal wave. Indonesia was struck hard by the tsunami since the powerful under-sea quake happened to just off Aceh. The death toll didn't show the signs of stabilising almost for a week. Sri Lanka stands second highest in the death toll stood at 40,000. The official estimate is 31,000. The Sri Lankan officials said that one million people or 5% of the population were affected. More than three-quarters of the island's coast devastated. Among the killed 12,000 were children, estimated UNICEF. The massive tidal waves flung a train off its track leaving 1,000 persons dead or missing. To deliver relief over a million of survivors Sri Lanka employed its military service and hundreds of foreign rescue workers for reinforcement. Mass burial was the only alternative to dispose of thousands of dead bodies.
Muslims are the largest ethnic group affected in Sri Lanka as per the report of Coordinating Centre for Relief and Rehabilitation (CCRR). They constitute 50 per cent of the deaths and 70 per cent of the destroyed and damaged. Their estimated deaths are 16,000, displaced 400,000 and houses destroyed 88,000. The Maldives declared a state of emergency as two-thirds of the capital, Male, was flooded. Out of 1,190 islands of Maldives 37 were completely destroyed and 78 moderately damaged. Thirteen islands were evacuated and out of three-lakh population 12,000 were displaced.
The Maldives has reported 80 persons dead and 28 missing. In Malaysia, 42 people were swept away near Penang. Thailand's official death toll rose to 1,829 but with the police saying more than 1,500 bodies had been found in one district alone, the toll could reach 3,000 and more than 1,900 injured.
The Thailand government said 5,288 Thais and foreigners were missing. Two hundred tourists are missing from one hotel in Khao Lak, north of Phuket island. A total number of 437 foreigners of 36 nationalities were among the dead. Thailand and Indonesia face GDP cuts by 0.2-0.5%. Thailand estimated losses at S510 million. The coastal parts of Indian States of Tamil Naidu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry, Andaman and Nicobar Island, Orissa and West Bengal were hit by the tsunami claiming over 15,000 lives. Nearly nine lakh people have been affected. Tamil Nadu was in the forefront in facing the brunt of tsunami. Nagapattinam district being the worst-hit, with 4,347 people killed. Cuddalore and Kanyakumari also reported large numbers of deaths. Thousands of crores of assets in Tamil Nadu alone have been lost. Giant waves crashed in inundating many places and washing away thousands of huts. The seawater entered almost 30-40 feet iinto the city roads. The tsunami had demolished 80 per cent of homes up to a depth of 1 km in affected areas. In Pondicherry about 27 fishing villages, with population of around 50,000, are badly damaged. The calamity has rendered thousands of children orphaned, women widowed, and families asunder. The villages of Prakasam district were lashed and residential localities in low-lying areas inundated. Estimated loss in TN comes at Rs 2730.7 cr, in Andhra at Rs 720.73cr., in Kerala at Rs 1358,62cr., and in Pondicherry at Rs 512cr. Total loss in the Andamans is estimated at Rs 2,500 crores.
Death toll in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was unknown for many days. Due to severe flooding there were no traces of terrain where a chopper could be landed. The areas where no relief could be delivered and the condition of people remained unknown for a number of days were Kondul, Little Nicobar, Trinkat, Champin and Kakana. Katchal was totally flattened and the almost half of the population of Chowra around 1,800 wiped out. It is also one of the largest stations for Indian airfield. There was no life loss in Andaman, however. Similarly Middle Andaman and North Andaman also had not been badly affected. The major concern was the estimate of missing persons, whose number stands at 4,000 in Car Nicobar alone and 800 in Chowra.

POST-CALAMITY NIGHTMARES
Millions of people may have survived the deadliest tsunami in living memory, but many are so deeply traumatised that it would take years for them to recover themselves. After losing their kith and kin the victims didn't admit to believe that the disaster had happened, and underwent through mental disorders. Psychiatrists say survivors of major disasters will suffer emotional turmoil and grief for months and even years. The 'Survivor Syndrome' or post-trauma stress disorder - like dizziness, nervousness, interrupted sleep, anger outbursts, flashbacks, difficulty in concentrating and guilt was widely reported from all the affected areas. Recognising the need for psychological support Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has sent 10 psychiatrists to help survivors cope with their new waking nightmare. People were solaced and encouraged to go back to some kind of routine.

THE RELIEF
One of the foremost challenges faced by the relief bodies was the disposal of thousands of dead bodies. The menace of epidemic in such circumstances always hounds. As putrefied bodies were piled on beaches in Sri Lankda, rescue teams reported a stench from human corpses mixed with dead animals in the Indonesian province of Aceh. A huge international rescue effort was made and is under way to provide the victims with food, drink, sanitation, shelter and healthcare. Army troops had been deployed for quick disposal. In India alone 4,000 armed troops were pressed in service in all the tsunami-hit areas. The mobilisation by the armed forces is of war-like dimensions: 32 warships, 82 aircrafts, and 17,500 troopers.
This made it the biggest-ever peacetime operation by the armed forces. Several NGOs and volunteers joined the government machinery for relief and rescue. The army was entrusted with the job of disposing off dead bodies in Tamil Nadu. A mass cremation of the dead was performed at Thennai Atrankarai. An ex-gratia of Rs. 10,000 was paid to the families of each of the victims. The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh reassured the victims of the Government's commitment to rehabilitate them and adopt orphan children.
The United Islamic Jama'at did relief work for 20,000 people in Cuddalore, a severely hit town in Tamil Nadu where there was hardly any Muslim population. The Indian Express and NDTV widely covered this purely humanitarian act while Soli J Sorabjee, former solicitor general commended their efforts: 'By the evening, about 3,000 Muslim men were tending over 10,000 Hindus and Christians in makeshift camps in the local schools. The huge community kitchens that had been using for its frequent community feasts were immediately turned into relief kitchens. A few hundred of the survivors were invited to stay in the masjid. The Muslims were carrying bodies on their own shoulders and cremating them in order to ensure that the dead "feel not offended in death".'

THE RELIEF FUND
Forty countries have offered support for the victims. The UN appealed for $977 million aid for covering basic humanitarian need. Nations worldwide have pledged around $3.7 million in aid. However the UN warned that the huge promises of aid from rich countries to the tsunami affected might not be fulfilled because governments traditionally renege on their humanitarian pledges. The Indian Government expected that it would take at least Rs 2,000 crores to provide immediate relief for the victims and an additional Rs 1,000 crore to provide houses for the affected areas in the country. The prominent Indian industrial giants, film celebrities, politicians and bureaucrats contributed to the Prime Minister Relief Fund.

GLOBAL WARNING SYSTEM
The US seismologists claimed tracking the tsunami but they had no way to warn local governments of the danger. 'Scientists wanted to place two "tsunametres" in the Indian Ocean, including one near Indonesia, as a part of a global warning system but the plan has not been funded,' said Eddie Bernard, Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. Mr Bernard said the tsunametres each cost $250,000 and took about a month to build.
In Thailand there was much criticism of the Government's failure to provide adequate warning. Don Mckinnon. the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, called for talks on creating a global early warning system to issue alerts about tsunamis. South-East Asian leaders discussed a similar system for the Indian Ocean last year, but the talks came to nothing because the problem was comparatively rare in the region.

THE TOPOGRAPHICAL CHANGES
The earthquake that unleashed deadly tidal waves on Asia was so powerful that it made the earth wobble on its axis and permanently altered the regional map, US geophysicist Ken Hudnut said. He said that some of the smaller islands off the southwest coast of Sumatra may have moved to the southwest by about 20 metres and the northern tip of the Indonesian territory to the southwest by around 36 metres. The topography of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was also affected.
Beautiful sea beaches and many Islands like Camebell Bay have disappeared. Car Nicobar, the Indian Air Force station, was the worst affected and has sunk to some extent. Even in and around Port Blair, water level of the sea has come up at many places like Bambooflat Island.

THE OBLIGATION
With so many charities and agencies involved from so many countries, there is a danger of confusion. The aid efforts need to be well managed so that relief assistance reaches people as quickly as possible. We cannot bring back those who have died. But we can help care for the survivors by giving practical support to the huge efforts that the countries are making. We have an obligation to help people rebuild their lives.

(Published in Radiance Viewsweekly 16-22 January 2005)

Read more...