Global 'Tablighi Ijtema' concludes in Bhopal seeking blessings for world peace | Indian Muslims
By Pervez Bari
THE three-day long International congregation of Muslims known as "Aalami Tablighi Ijtema" on the outskirts of Bhopal at Eintkhedi village in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh from November 18 to 20 concluded with the offering of "Dua" (Akheri Munajat) seeking divine blessings for peace, progress and prosperity of Muslim Ummah together with the entire mankind.
The thronging of devotees to the 59th edition of the "Ijtema" (congregation) at the new site about 15 kms away from the historical Taj-ul-Masajid in Bhopal surpassed all previous records. Over half a million people are estimated to have joined the "Dua", the concluding prayers of the "Ijtema" this year, turning the site into a sea of humanity. People took part in "Dua" from nearby homes, on the roof tops of houses and buildings, sitting on roadsides or shops or on trees. Many people had to trek several kilometres to reach the site as vehicular traffic was not allowed to avoid congestion.
It is to be mentioned that apart from all over India "Jamaats" (Groups of people) from 58 foreign countries viz. Iran, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Canada, USA, England, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey etc. participated in the "Ijtema".
Hazrat Maulana Sa'ad, advisory committee member of the "Tablighi Jamaat" headquarters at Hazrat Nizamuddin in New Delhi, conducted the prayers in a mix of Arabic, Urdu and Hindi. In the prayers divine blessings for peace, progress and unity of Muslim Ummah and mankind at large were sought.
Earlier, before the "Dua" Maulana Sa'ad in his sermon urged Muslims to lead an upright life in this world so that they could be rewarded in the life hereafter. He stressed them to become messenger of peace so that humanity at large could benefit from them.
After the conclusion of "Dua" over 200 "Jamaats" fanned out through the length and breadth of the country and abroad to sermonize their co-religionists, who have gone astray, to lead a life as ordained by Allah. They would be asked to follow the five tenets of Islam in the true sense of the word. They would work in the path of Allah for about one "Chilla" (40 days) to three "Chillas" to persuade their Muslim brethren to strike a perfect balance between materialism and spirituality while leading their lives.
About 200 Nikahs were performed on the second day after Asar prayers. Maulana Sa'ad, who recited a single Khutba for all the 200 Nikahs, stressed upon the assemblage for simple marriage ceremonies avoiding extravagance.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the venue of the international Muslim congregation and met various religious heads of the Muslim community on second day of the congregation. He also spoke to several people who had come in "Jamaats" from various parts of India and abroad on the occasion.
Chouhan met Maulana Sa'ad, Maulana Sulaiman, Maulana Ahmed Laat, Maulana Mustaqueem etc. of "Tablighi Jamaat" headquarters. The chairman of Madhya Pradesh Minorities Commission Anwar Mohammed Khan, member of "Ijtema" committee Sikander Hafiz Khan and Agha Abdul Qayyum were also present on this occasion.
It may be pointed out here that the rightist Bharatiya Janata Party ruled Madhya Pradesh Government, had sanctioned a half-day holiday for Muslim employees working in government offices and institutions located in Bhopal to enable them to participate in the "Dua" on the conclusion of "Aalami Tablighi Ijtema" on November 20 in the forenoon.
One noteworthy point of this year's "Ijtema" was that 11 non-Muslim students of the third semester of EMS Academy of Journalism based at Bhopal visited the "Ijtema" site on the second day and remained the whole day there attending the various proceedings of the day. They were quite impressed by the discipline and bonhomie atmosphere prevailing at the "Ijtema" site. "It is my first experience in life to see erudite Muslims gathered in such large numbers for the cause of their community", a student exclaimed.
These students also had an exclusive audience with Maulana Ahmed Laat Saheb, a leading theologian from the "Tablighi Jamaat" headquarters, in the afternoon and inter-acted with him. The Maulana advised the students to be always good to others, then the Almighty will do good to them in a much better way than their own act of goodness.
Answering a query of one of the student the Maulana emphasized that Islam was practiced in India in a better way than anywhere else in the world, though there remains much to be desired.
These students earlier in the day attended Maulana Laat's stirring sermon to the Muslim intellectuals wherein he pulled them up for their inactiveness while their co-religionists were going astray causing irreparable harm to themselves and much chaos in the society at large.
Meanwhile, the "Ijtema" area experienced not much traffic jams after the "Dua" was over. The traffic system did not go haywire as in the past as the traffic police did a yeoman service to regulate the vehicular traffic by planning meticulously well in advance. Some people compared the scene at the "Ijtema" site and the people's beeline to it as that one witnesses at Mina, near Makkah, during Hajj pilgrimage every year.
However, the West Central Railways, (WCR), officials apathy caused much hardships to the "Jamaats" and about 20-25 thousand people could not book tickets from the "Ijtema" site. The organizers had provided all facilities to WCR to open counters and work uninterruptedly. According to sources the counters remained opened for only two hours wherein only few "Jamaats" could purchase the tickets while thousands of people had to run to the Bhopal railway station to fetch tickets.
Atiq-ul-Islam, member of the organizing committee, has thanked Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, all the agencies including M.P. Govt., PHE, BMC, MPSRTC, Railways, MP Police, Traffic Police, Zila Panchayat and villagers around Ghasipura & Eintkhedi and others for extending their services in making the arrangements and making the Ijtema successful.
It may be mentioned here that the "Ijtema" at Ghasipura was first organized at Masjid Shakur Khan in the walled city in 1948. Later, with increase in the number of devotees, the venue was shifted to one of the largest mosques in Asia, Taj-ul-Masajid. However, with passage of time, the devotees taking part in the Ijtema grew in numbers and eventually the venue has been shifted to the outskirts of Bhopal at Ghasipura in Eintkhedi village.
By Pervez Bari
THE three-day long International congregation of Muslims known as "Aalami Tablighi Ijtema" on the outskirts of Bhopal at Eintkhedi village in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh from November 18 to 20 concluded with the offering of "Dua" (Akheri Munajat) seeking divine blessings for peace, progress and prosperity of Muslim Ummah together with the entire mankind.
The thronging of devotees to the 59th edition of the "Ijtema" (congregation) at the new site about 15 kms away from the historical Taj-ul-Masajid in Bhopal surpassed all previous records. Over half a million people are estimated to have joined the "Dua", the concluding prayers of the "Ijtema" this year, turning the site into a sea of humanity. People took part in "Dua" from nearby homes, on the roof tops of houses and buildings, sitting on roadsides or shops or on trees. Many people had to trek several kilometres to reach the site as vehicular traffic was not allowed to avoid congestion.
It is to be mentioned that apart from all over India "Jamaats" (Groups of people) from 58 foreign countries viz. Iran, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Canada, USA, England, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey etc. participated in the "Ijtema".
Hazrat Maulana Sa'ad, advisory committee member of the "Tablighi Jamaat" headquarters at Hazrat Nizamuddin in New Delhi, conducted the prayers in a mix of Arabic, Urdu and Hindi. In the prayers divine blessings for peace, progress and unity of Muslim Ummah and mankind at large were sought.
Earlier, before the "Dua" Maulana Sa'ad in his sermon urged Muslims to lead an upright life in this world so that they could be rewarded in the life hereafter. He stressed them to become messenger of peace so that humanity at large could benefit from them.
After the conclusion of "Dua" over 200 "Jamaats" fanned out through the length and breadth of the country and abroad to sermonize their co-religionists, who have gone astray, to lead a life as ordained by Allah. They would be asked to follow the five tenets of Islam in the true sense of the word. They would work in the path of Allah for about one "Chilla" (40 days) to three "Chillas" to persuade their Muslim brethren to strike a perfect balance between materialism and spirituality while leading their lives.
About 200 Nikahs were performed on the second day after Asar prayers. Maulana Sa'ad, who recited a single Khutba for all the 200 Nikahs, stressed upon the assemblage for simple marriage ceremonies avoiding extravagance.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the venue of the international Muslim congregation and met various religious heads of the Muslim community on second day of the congregation. He also spoke to several people who had come in "Jamaats" from various parts of India and abroad on the occasion.
Chouhan met Maulana Sa'ad, Maulana Sulaiman, Maulana Ahmed Laat, Maulana Mustaqueem etc. of "Tablighi Jamaat" headquarters. The chairman of Madhya Pradesh Minorities Commission Anwar Mohammed Khan, member of "Ijtema" committee Sikander Hafiz Khan and Agha Abdul Qayyum were also present on this occasion.
It may be pointed out here that the rightist Bharatiya Janata Party ruled Madhya Pradesh Government, had sanctioned a half-day holiday for Muslim employees working in government offices and institutions located in Bhopal to enable them to participate in the "Dua" on the conclusion of "Aalami Tablighi Ijtema" on November 20 in the forenoon.
One noteworthy point of this year's "Ijtema" was that 11 non-Muslim students of the third semester of EMS Academy of Journalism based at Bhopal visited the "Ijtema" site on the second day and remained the whole day there attending the various proceedings of the day. They were quite impressed by the discipline and bonhomie atmosphere prevailing at the "Ijtema" site. "It is my first experience in life to see erudite Muslims gathered in such large numbers for the cause of their community", a student exclaimed.
These students also had an exclusive audience with Maulana Ahmed Laat Saheb, a leading theologian from the "Tablighi Jamaat" headquarters, in the afternoon and inter-acted with him. The Maulana advised the students to be always good to others, then the Almighty will do good to them in a much better way than their own act of goodness.
Answering a query of one of the student the Maulana emphasized that Islam was practiced in India in a better way than anywhere else in the world, though there remains much to be desired.
These students earlier in the day attended Maulana Laat's stirring sermon to the Muslim intellectuals wherein he pulled them up for their inactiveness while their co-religionists were going astray causing irreparable harm to themselves and much chaos in the society at large.
Meanwhile, the "Ijtema" area experienced not much traffic jams after the "Dua" was over. The traffic system did not go haywire as in the past as the traffic police did a yeoman service to regulate the vehicular traffic by planning meticulously well in advance. Some people compared the scene at the "Ijtema" site and the people's beeline to it as that one witnesses at Mina, near Makkah, during Hajj pilgrimage every year.
However, the West Central Railways, (WCR), officials apathy caused much hardships to the "Jamaats" and about 20-25 thousand people could not book tickets from the "Ijtema" site. The organizers had provided all facilities to WCR to open counters and work uninterruptedly. According to sources the counters remained opened for only two hours wherein only few "Jamaats" could purchase the tickets while thousands of people had to run to the Bhopal railway station to fetch tickets.
Atiq-ul-Islam, member of the organizing committee, has thanked Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, all the agencies including M.P. Govt., PHE, BMC, MPSRTC, Railways, MP Police, Traffic Police, Zila Panchayat and villagers around Ghasipura & Eintkhedi and others for extending their services in making the arrangements and making the Ijtema successful.
It may be mentioned here that the "Ijtema" at Ghasipura was first organized at Masjid Shakur Khan in the walled city in 1948. Later, with increase in the number of devotees, the venue was shifted to one of the largest mosques in Asia, Taj-ul-Masajid. However, with passage of time, the devotees taking part in the Ijtema grew in numbers and eventually the venue has been shifted to the outskirts of Bhopal at Ghasipura in Eintkhedi village.
