Eidul Fitr is an occasion of festivity but when we look at the situations prevailing in the country we hardly get festive rather we feel sad, said Amir Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Omari while addressing a select gathering of dignitaries from different walks of life, both Muslims and Non-Muslims, in the Eid Get-together at JIH headquarters on September 4.
“Though this is a joyous occasion, we cannot ignore the painful realities of contemporary life. It is a sad fact that our country suffers from a number of problems. For instance, the legal structure governing the country recognises the rights of minorities; but in practice, these rights are often denied to them. Our society suffers from inequality in various forms and acute poverty. The corporate sector is exploiting the people and perpetuating the system of economic injustice. Moral values and ethical considerations are being ignored by most people and the young generation is being misled towards permissiveness and moral anarchy by irresponsible media,” the Jamaat leader said.
On the glory and magnificence of Ramadhan, the Maulana said that this is the yearly celebration of the revelation of the Holy Qur’ān that we recite and listen to the Holy Book with our hands folded in prayers. “Fasting is a rigorous form of worship since it involves abstaining from eating and drinking, for long spans of time. The regular prayer of Salat (namaz) five times a day of course continues as usual during Ramadhan as well. In addition, people stand up in prayer during the night and listen to the whole of the Qur’ān. Qur’ān is the only book on earth which is recited in this reverent manner,” he averred.
“After undergoing this month-long rigorous programme, Eidul Fitr is the occasion to rejoice. People offer their thanks to the Almighty who gave them the strength to perform these acts of worship. Indeed the essence of religion consists of these two basic traits; gratitude for the bounties provided by the Creator and sincere repentance for human mistakes.”
On corruption, which has occupied the centre stage, Maulana Omari said inter alia:
“Corruption is one of our problems. Recently this issue has occupied the centre stage and other equally acute problems have been neglected by the public debate. Be as it may, there is no doubt about the severity of this problem. It is unfortunate that to tackle corruption, only legislative measures are being contemplated. The fact of the matter is that without awakening the individual and social conscience and reforming the self the problem of corruption cannot be solved. Legislation alone is not enough.
“Our country has imported modern ideologies from the west and organised the polity on their basis. These ideologies have not been able to solve the problems of the society. We must now seriously consider Divine guidance, as the basis of public life, which promises to build individual character and social fabric along healthy lines. Islam presents belief in One God and sense of accountability before Him as the stable foundation for reform. Islam also seeks to build a social atmosphere which enjoins whatever is morally good and forbids whatever is evil.
“The recent awakening in our country on the issue of corruption is welcome. But let such public revolutions be created against all evils and not merely against corruption. We certainly need strong laws to tackle the ills of society but let the law be applicable to all, the high as well as the low. Finally, let the effort on the legal front be supplemented by equally serious efforts towards moral reform.
“An instance form Muslim history may be quoted here. Once the ruler of the Islamic State, Omar Farooque (the second Caliph) was addressing the people. A person in the audience stood up and exclaimed, ‘We will not listen to you. You have some explaining to do. Recently everyone was given a piece of cloth (by the State treasury) and that piece was certainly not large enough to make the shirt that you are wearing! Where did you get the extra cloth from?’ On hearing this, the ruler Omar asked his son Abdullah to explain the anomaly. Abdullah stood up and said, ‘I have gifted my share of cloth to my father.’ The outspoken representative of public morality was satisfied with this reply. He said, ‘Omar! You may continue your address. Now we will listen and obey.’
“This was the morally upright State which was created by sincere followers of Divine Guidance. Let our countrymen learn from this experience. Here indeed is a lesson for the ruler and the ruled alike.”
The dignitaries who graced the occasion included Sardar Kartar Singh Kochar, Secretary Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee and Sardar Ranjit Singh, Head Garanthi (Caretaker) of Gurudwara with a 12-member delegation; Atul Kumar Anjan of Communist Party of India; Subhradeep Chakravarty of famous ‘Godhra Tak: The Terro Trail’; Advocate N.D. Pancholi; Advocate Abdur Rasheed Chaudhary; Safdar Husain Khan chairman Delhi Minorities Commission; Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan, Editor Milli Gazette and Working President All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat; Dr. Shafeeque Ahmed Nadwi; Prof. Akhtarul Wasey, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Maulana Ataur Rahman Qasmi, Merajuddin former Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Kishori Lal, Kanwar Danish Ali National Secretary Janata Dal (S), Mauji Khan of Milli Council. Envoys from Embassies of Iran, Pakistan and Palestine also graced the occasion.
Mr. Iqbal Mulla, Secretary Jamaat-e-Islami Hind was convenor of the programme and Er. Muhammad Salim, another Secretary of the organisation conducted the programme. Dr. M. Rafat, also Secretary JIH, presented a brief translation of the speech of Amir Jamaat into English.
The programme was followed by dinner in the premises of the Jamaat.