Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari, Vice President All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and former President (Ameer) Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), was conferred with the 14th Shah Waliullah Award by Institute of Objective Studies (IOS) at a virtual conferment ceremony held on June 20.
The Award is in the form of one lakh rupees, a Memento, a Shawl and a Scroll of Honour containing citation.
Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam, Chairman IOS presided over the meeting. Secretary IOS Z.M. Khan introduced the activities of IOS to the virtual audience. Renowned journalist Suhail Anjum presented a sketch of Maulana Umari in a grandiloquent style. An IOS Associate Nikhat Husain read out the citation prepared by Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam, and then the citation along with the honorarium (a cheque of one lakh rupees) and the memento was handed over to Maulana Umari. Thereafter Maulana Umari was invited to address the audience.
In his virtual address, the Maulana underlined the importance and demands of Islamic Dawah. “The need today is that we should have all-inclusive knowledge of the addressees’ language, culture and civilization, beliefs and thoughts, and historical perspective,” he averred.
IOS instituted Shah Waliullah Award in 2000, and since then it has conferred this Award upon 14 eminent Islamic scholars who have done outstanding work in Social Sciences, Humanities, Law and Islamic Studies. Earlier recipients of the Award include Maulana Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi, Qazi Mujahidul Islam, Prof. M. Nejatullah Siddiqi, Maulana Mohammed Shihabuddin Nadvi, Prof. Mohd Yasin Mazhar Siddiqi, Prof. Tahir Mahmood, Dr Maulana Taqiuddin Nadvi, Maulana Syed Rabe Hasani Nadvi, Prof. Obaidullah Fahad Falahi, etc.
Maulana Syed Muhammad Rabey Hasani Nadvi, President, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB); Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, Spokesperson and Secretary AIMPLB; Syed Sadatullah Husaini, Ameer, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind; Prof. Akhtarul Wasey, President, Maulana Azad Institute, Jodhpur; and Prof. Md. Ishtiyaq, Former Vice Chancellor, Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, Bihar addressed the ceremony online. These great dignitaries eulogised the Islamic and academic services rendered by Maulana Umari and bestowed poignant accolades upon him.
IOS also announced an essay competition on “Islamic Dawah and Demands of the Modern Age”. Mrs. Farida Husaini, Research Scholar, Dept. of Psychology, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) received this Competition Award and later expressed her views on the subject.
In his presidential speech, Dr. Manzoor Alam hinted at the aims and objectives as well as the activities of IOS and highlighted the need for academic research work in certain fields. He also mentioned the plans of the Institute in this regard. Professor Afzal Wani, Vice Chairman IOS extended vote of thanks while Dr. Ajmal Farooque compered the programme.