The existence of man’s life on earth is dependent on several natural factors like air, water, food, etc. without which his survival is impossible. To aid him in benefiting from these natural resources, he has been gifted with the five basic senses of hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell. Further, in order to help him realise his role of Allah’s vicegerent on earth, messengers and divine books were sent down to him at regular intervals. The last such messenger is Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the last such book is none other the Holy Qur’ān.
It is thus naturally expected of men that they derive benefit from the Qur’ān just as they derive benefit from the aforementioned natural resources and sense organs to lead a completely guided and fulfilling life. But what we see around us, especially in the Indian subcontinent, is just the contrary! Man has abandoned the Qur’ānic teachings, which have led to disastrous consequences – simply enumerating which would need a separate article altogether. At the most, the Qur’ān is recited in Arabic without understanding a word thereof. The need of the hour is to re-introduce man to the Qur’ān – his guidebook and instruction manual.
Taking up this critical task, the Mira Road chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (in association with SIO and GIO – Mira Road) launched a week long ambitious campaign- ‘Aao Qur’ān Samajhkar Padheṅ’ (Let us Read the Qur’ān with Understanding) on 17 January and came up with some really inspiring activities:
Ulema seminar: The campaign started with a seminar of respected Ulema (religious scholars) so as to receive guidance from them and to urge them to fulfil their divinely ordained duties. Ulema are known to be the inheritors of prophetic legacy and it is their prime responsibility to act as torchbearers of the Islamic movement, enjoining and encouraging virtue and forbidding what is wrong. The Ulema were very forthcoming in this regard, and promised their wholehearted support to the campaign.
Rallies: Public rallies were taken out on the streets of Mira Road, covering stretches of several kilometres. Many bystanders joined the volunteers as the rally marched ahead. Attractive placards were utilised in the rally and several thousands of handbills were distributed among the masses. This rally was very well accepted by the public and the message of reading the Qur’ān with understanding struck a cord in almost everyone’s heart.
Handbills distributed outside masajid: Similarly, thousands of handbills were handed out to the devout flocking out of masajid after Juma prayers and Sunday afternoon prayers. Some 13 masajid were covered in this phase of the campaign. Altogether almost 30,000 handbills came to be distributed.
Public announcements and hoardings: Public announcements with the help of a car-mounted amplifier were organised after taking necessary permissions from the local administration.
The most effective campaign tool – a 92’x10’ imposing and attractive hoarding atop Mira Road’s iconic skywalk made every passerby stand and read it. Dozens of smaller hoardings and banners were also put up at strategic locations which carried the campaign’s message in a concise manner.
Social media: Facebook, Whatsapp and bulk sms were pressed into the campaign – spreading its message far and wide – across horizons and seas. The campaign’s message has thus been conveyed to more that 8000 netizens through Facebook alone and is expected to cross 12,000 by the time this report is published.
Exhibition: Now we come to the main attraction of the campaign. On Saturday, 23 January, a day-long exhibition was set up besides Mira Road’s central (Jama) masjid. Numerous models (stationary as well as working), posters and charts were put up on display with volunteers explaining the models to the attendees. The exhibition was divided into two 5-hour sessions – morning session for ladies and evening for men. An unprecedented 2200 men and women walked in and were overawed with the scale and discipline, grandeur and theme of the event.
All models and posters hinted at the need of reading the Qur’ān with understanding, delving on the accountability in the hereafter, need for unity, scientific facts in the Qur’ān, Qur’ānic concept of Jihad among others. Translations and exegeses of the Holy Qur’ān written by scholars of all hues and periods were put up on display and hundreds of books were offered for purchase in the exhibition itself to quench the thirst of the attendees, who had by now realised the dire need of studying the Qur’ān in detail. This can very well be gauged by the fact that books worth Rs.16,000 were sold off in a single day with huge demands for Qur’ānic translations in English, Urdu and Hindi. Feedbacks received from the attendees are so encouraging that JIH Mira Road has vowed to make this an annual event.
Public Address: This massive campaign concluded with a grand Public address held on Sunday, 24 January from 8-10 pm. Conservative estimates put the turnout at 1500 with even ladies attending in large numbers. The programme began with the recitation and translation of a passage from the Holy Qur’ān. Thereafter, the President of JIH Mira Road, Dr. Parvez Mandviwala addressed the audience and explained the purpose of this week-long campaign. He averred that distance from the Qur’ān is the prime cause for man’s woes in this life as well as utter failure in the hereafter.
Shadan Siddiqui from SIO recited an emotional poem – Qur’ān Ki Fariyad – which mirrored the depressing status of the Qur’ān in contemporary Muslim society. Guest of Honour, Muhammad Sami spoke at length on ‘Why the Qur’ān needs to be Read with Understanding’, while Rizwan-ur-Rahman, in his presidential address, enlisted the ways and means by which the Qur’ān can be effectively read and studied. He urged the audience to enrol themselves for the Qur’ānic Arabic classes run by JIH Mira Road and promised new batches for those interested in the same. The audience must surely have prayed that Allah enlighten their lives by the Qur’ān and, on the Day of Judgment, their faces become as radiant as the bright full moon that shone that night.
Feedback: No sooner did any phase of the campaign conclude, than support and enquiries for the campaign started pouring in from all quarters. Many people enlisted themselves to work with JIH Mira Road in Allah’s cause and presented themselves to help the organisation in all possible ways. Thus, this campaign also served to be an effective means of spreading the positive and peaceful, revolutionary ideology of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind in hitherto untapped hearts.
May Allah make this campaign an instrument of guidance for all citizens of Mira Road and elsewhere, may He reward the volunteers abundantly and overlook their shortcomings and sins, absolving them of all charges that the Qur’ān might put forward on the Day of Judgment with regard to its rights on us Muslims. Amen.