By Pervez Bari
Jaipur – Maulana Shah Abdur Rahim Mujaddidi (R.A.), who was the founder of Jaipur-based seminary known by the name of Jamea-Tul-Hidaya, was a perfect man as visualised by Allama Iqbal in “Mard-e-Momin”. He was a visionary who understood the requirements of the modern era. He was warm for the renaissance of Islam all his life, he had an eye on the future and he raised the Shaheens of Iqbal to the heights of the sky on the wings of religion and technology. He wanted to see it fly.
In Maulana Shah Abdur Rahim Mujaddidi’s nature the essences of courage, honesty, sincerity, nobleness, determination, stability and perseverance were prominent qualities which were ingrained since early childhood. Fighting adverse conditions with determination and courage, serving the religion and the world with healthy consciousness and feelings of religious honour and solidarity was his motto.
The above is the gist of the thoughts and opinions of over 100 clerics, litterateurs and intellectuals who expressed these views while presenting their papers in the three-day international seminar on “Maulana Shah Abdur Rahim Mujaddidi – Life and Services”. The 40th seminar of the Aalami Rabta-e-Adab-e-Islami (The World Coordination of Islamic Literature) was held in Jaipur which was hosted by the seminary Jamea-Tul-Hidaya recently.
During the seminar scholars from India and abroad, highlighted Maulana Shah Abdur Rahim Mujaddidi’s dedication to establish Jamea-Tul-Hidaya. Scholars noted that he held extensive consultations with prominent Islamic thinkers, including Maulana Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi, over 25 years before realising his vision of a comprehensive educational institution aimed at empowering the community educationally, economically and spiritually.
Family heritage
Speakers delved into Maulana Shah Abdur Rahim Mujaddidi’s family heritage, tracing his lineage to Rohilla Pathans. His great-grandfather, Yusuf Ali Khan, was a successful horse trader who passed away in Junagadh, Gujarat, in 1856, receiving a royal burial. The family later settled in Jaipur under the guidance of Maulana Mujaddidi’s grand-father, Maulana Shah Mohammed Hidayat Ali, a revered Sufi, scholar and thinker.
Maulana Shah Hidayat Ali recognized the potential in his grandson Maulana Shah Abdur Rahim Mujaddidi and bestowed spiritual leadership (Khilafat) upon him in 1951. He envisioned a revolutionary educational system combining religious and worldly knowledge. While Hidayat Ali’s efforts remained unfinished during his lifetime, Maulana Mujaddidi made it his mission to fulfil his grandfather’s dream.
Despite initial resistance from traditional religious institutions, Maulana Mujaddidi tirelessly advocated for a modernised curriculum in Islamic madrasas. When his proposals were met with opposition, he decided to create a prototype institution himself.
Welcome Address
Meanwhile, Maulana Shah Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, present Rector of Jamea-Tul-Hidaya, Jaipur, who is also the current general secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), while delivering the welcome address at the seminar said that unless we manage modern education along with religious studies in madrasas, we cannot deal with the present hate-mongering situation.
Pointing to the hanging sword and the conspiracy being raised towards the Islamic seminaries in the present era, Maulana Shah Fazlur Rahim, who happens to be the son of Shah Abdur Rahim Mujaddidi, said that today the situation is such that there is talk of reforming the madrasas on a large scale but in fact they are being forced to reform. He said that Maulana Shah Abdul Rahim Naqshbandi Mujaddidi had realised 50 years ago that if madrasas are to be protected from sedition, civil strife or persecution then along with religious education, modern education will also have to be arranged. He said that Maulana Shah Hidayat Ali, the grandfather of the founder of Jamea-Tul-Hidaya, while establishing madrasa-e-Islam, had written that along with religious education in madrasas, the knowledge of industries and skills should also be imparted.
He said that the founder established the institute on this basis and modern education is also going on along with religious studies and graduates here are making a name for themselves in the field of medicine, engineering and other sciences. Praise is to Allah Almighty, today most madrasas are including school education in their curriculum. He had said that modern education is optional today but tomorrow it will be compulsory part of the curriculum.
Prof. Syed Waseem Akhtar, founder chancellor of Integral University, said that Maulana Abdul Rahim Mujaddidi was a mujaddad who built a bridge between modern and ancient sciences. He presented an outline of The University of Hidayah. The fact is that the world and religion are not separate. He explained that religion is complete without the world and the world is not complete without religion. Then why not teach modern sciences in Islamic seminaries? “I don’t mean to say that there should be any change in madrasas,” he said. Rather, modern sciences should also be included in it. He described Maulana Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi as a brilliant son and said that he would fulfil his dream.
Maulana Bilal Hasani Nadvi
Maulana Syed Bilal Abdul Hai Hasani Nadvi, Nazim-e-Ameer of Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow, has made the life and services of Maulana Shah Abdul Rahim, a messenger of international contact with Islamic da’wah and thought, a timely topic. At the same time, he said that there is a need to focus on moral elevation along with science technology. He stressed on clean literature and said that the modern education system is westernized, which has moral flaws.
Canada-based NRIs Dr. Iqbal Masood Nadvi and Dr. Saeed Faizi Nadvi emphasized on conducting such a program in Canada and said that by connecting people of all languages to it, the indignity can be removed.
Maulana Hassan Mahmood Qasmi, head of Jamia Arabiya Barkat-ul-Islam Khairwa and a member of Majlis-e-Shura of Darul Uloom Deoband, while referring to the services of Aalami Rabta-e-Adab-e-Islami, while paying tributes to Maulana Shah Abdul Rahim, he said that the Maulana had presented and implemented the sketch 40 years ago and drew attention to such a language which is literary as well as Islamic.
Maulana Syed Jafar Masood Hassani Nadwi, president of the Aalami Rabta-e-Adab-e-Islami, stressed the need to encourage poets and writers with Islamic ideology, saying that the way progressive writers had created a distorted literary atmosphere and ignored poets and writers with Islamic ideology, encouraging such people is a part of the goal of global contact. Secretary report was presented by Maulana Iqbal Nadwi.
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