Qur’ān is for the Guidance from Darkness to Light: Maulana Jalaluddin Umari

Konkani Shanti Publications (KSP), Goa, in a grand ceremony of book release, launched the ISLAMIYAT books designed for the weekend Islamic classes conducted by Board of Islamic Education (BIE), Goa.
The Gomantak Maratha Samaj Hall, Panjim was packed beyond its full capacity on 28 July for this enlightening and enriching programme. The event commenced with the recitation of the holy ayahs of the Qur’ān by Mohsin Haroon.
Abdul Waheed Khan, Chairman of BIE and Ameer-e-Halqa of JIH Goa, delivered the inaugural speech in which he highlighted the impact of colonial rule in keeping the community engrossed with western values and how important it was to initiate the process of educating our children with Islamic values. Summarising the six years of BIE journey, he enlisted the key achievements of BIE and concluded with an appeal to orient the younger generation of Goa towards Islamic values making them competent professionals and a committed Muslims.
The guest speaker of the ceremony, Eejaz Ahmed Aslam, Editor-in-Chief of Radiance Viewsweekly, delivered a talk on “Guiding children in the present challenges”.
The learned speaker, addressing a gathering of over 600 persons, reiterated the role of humans as servants and vicegerents of Allah, the importance of gaining knowledge, the duty of orienting the younger generation on the values of Islam.  The Goan culture, the atmosphere of this tiny state, contains elements which drag our youngsters towards unbeneficial activities; this challenge should be countered through the strong Islamic orientation. To achieve this herculean task, Islamic scholars, intellectuals, teachers, people with wisdom, men and women should all play a key role in this regard.
The learned speaker got into the inspirational mode when he emphasised the vital role of a mother in the ethical upbringing of the child. Concluding his talk, he appealed to the large gathering of ladies (around 350) who outnumbered the gents to realise their role and create a generation who would testify to be the Khair-E-Ummah
A short video documentary of 20 minutes on the journey of BIE weekend classes was screened on the occasion. Also Islamiyat website (www.islamiyat.in) was launched by Dr. Hasan Raza, Director Islami Academy, New Delhi. The key features of the website were briefly highlighted by Ateequr Rahaman, Member, BIE, Goa.
It was a delightful moment to watch the galaxy of guests from across the country that did the honour of releasing nine books published by KSP amidst the presence of educationists, scholars, intellectuals, teachers, professionals and prominent individuals from the community.
The six BIE books which were released are Islamiyat Level 1 to Level 4, Al-Misbah & My Dua, The Department of Research & Literary Efforts (RLE), JIH, Goa translated three Urdu books written by Mael Khairabadi into the English language namely Misfortunate, Dual Character of Man and Islamic Culture and Traditions were also released on the occasion.
The final segment of the event was the enlightening and enriching concluding address by Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari, Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.
The author of several books of international repute, the JIH chief started his talk with the punch line “Book is for the Guidance of Mankind” by the Lord of the worlds and in the same breadth stressed that “guidance is for those who want to live righteously”. The world today is immersed into darkness and it is this BOOK (The Qur’ān) which serves as a guiding light for the problems of entire humanity.
Seeking attention of the audience, the Islamic scholar said that every parent strives to provide his children with the best of schooling, clothes, food, etc. but one must imprint in his mind that “the best gift a parent can offer his children is Islamic manners and education”.
Orienting our children with the fundamentals of Islam, acquainting them with the values and principles of Islam is obligatory. A child (boy or girl) who reaches puberty needs to be aware that prayer is mandatory on him or her. Our children should know in the similar way about other Islamic values and manners. If the atmosphere in Goa is still not conducive to these things, the learned scholar said that it is the responsibility of the Muslims of Goa to “create an Islamic atmosphere for our children”.
Concluding his deeply educative talk, Maulana Umari appreciated the efforts behind the ISLAMIYAT classes by BIE in Goa and said that BIE is a blessing in disguise for the Muslim community of Goa; it’s a great noble initiative and efforts in this regard should never end for the cause of the Muslim community of Goa and for the cause of Islam.
Present on stage on this occasion were also eminent leaders of Jamaat namely Nusrat Ali, Vice President, JIH, Engineer Muhammad Saleem, Secretary General, JIH, Dr. Mohammed Rafat, Professor, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, Abdur Raqeeb, General Secretary, Indian Centre for Islamic Finance, New Delhi.
The event was convened by Asif Hussain, Secretary JIH, Goa.
A bookstall by the name, House of Wisdom with Islamic literature was set up for the benefit of the audience; hundreds visited and took home the Islamic treasure. The programme concluded with a networking dinner.
[The writer is Media Secretary, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Goa]