For quite a long time a strong need of a library had been felt by many in the thickly Muslim concentration area of Zakir Nagar, New Delhi. On October 8, the inauguration of the first Islamic Library on Sir Syed Road under the aegis of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, was seen by many as a dream come true. The inaugural function of the library commenced with the recitation of the Holy Qur’ān by Maulana Arshad Sirajuddin.
Further Mr. Musharraf Ali introduced the audience with the vision of the library and said besides the primary function of the library, the place will be used as a centre to execute Tarbiyah and Dawah programmes along with Dars-e-Qur’ān.
The dignitaries who participated in the inaugural function included Deputy Ameer of JIH Mr. Mohd. Jafar, Ameer-e-Halqa Mr. Abdul Waheed, Nazim-e-Ilaqa Mr. Afaq Husan, and Dr. Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, General Secretary Welfare Party of India.
Dr. Ilyas stressed upon the importance of education and said, “Education has always remained a top priority in every civilized society, and no one can excel without education.” He further said that Muslims from the very beginning remained inclined towards education. He gave the example of Baghdad as to when it was plundered by the Tartars; they destroyed the whole of the knowledge base, which Muslims had made in the past. He further emphasised the negative consequences of bifurcating traditional and non-traditional education. He said that by neglecting the non-traditional education, which is basically the moral and spiritual education that a child receives at home, we are opening up the doors of immorality and indecency.
Citing the verse from the Holy Qur’ān which means “those who fear Allah are the knowledgeable ones”, Mr. Abdul Waheed said Islam gives so much stress on education that after the Battle of Badr, the disbelievers were let go only after they agreed to educate 10 Muslims each. He prayed to Allah that this library might prove to be beneficial and spread its wings in the near future.
Mr. Mohd. Jafar quoted the hadith which says “seeking knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim, man and woman.” He clarified that seeking knowledge does not mean just religious knowledge, but it is the amalgamation of both the worldly as well as religious knowledge. At the end of the programme Mr. Jafar inaugurated the library by entering it.