He was a visionary who vouched for religious and modern education together in madrasa curriculum
Pervez Bari | Clarion India
JAIPUR – Glowing tributes were paid to Maulana Shah Abdur Rahim Mujaddidi, founder of Jamea-Tul-Hidaya seminary based in this Rajasthan city, at a seminar recently.
Speakers at the three-day 40th international seminar organised by Aalami Rabta-e-Adab-e-Islami (The World Coordination of Islamic Literature) described Maulana Mujaddidi as a perfect human being visualised by Allama Iqbal in “Mard-e-Momin”.
Over 100 clerics, litterateurs and intellectuals expressed these views while presenting their papers in the three-day seminar on “Maulana Shah Abdur Rahim Mujaddidi – Life and Services hosted by Jamea-Tul-Hidaya seminary.
Speakers said Maulana Mujaddidi was a visionary who understood the requirements of the modern era. He was warm for the renaissance of Islam all his life and had an eye on the future and he raised the Shaheens of Iqbal to the heights of the sky on the wings of religion and technology. He wanted to see it fly.
In Maulana Mujaddidi’s nature, the essences of courage, honesty, sincerity, nobleness, determination, stability and perseverance were prominent qualities which were ingrained since his early days. His motto was to fight in adverse conditions with determination and courage, to serve the religion and the world with healthy consciousness and with feelings of religious honour and solidarity.
Scholars from India and abroad highlighted Maulana Mujaddidi’s dedication to establishing Jamea-Tul-Hidaya. They noted that he held extensive consultations with prominent Islamic thinkers, including Maulana Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi, over 25 years before realising his vision of a comprehensive educational institution aimed at empowering the community educationally, economically and spiritually.
Family Heritage
Speakers delved into Maulana Shah Abdur Rahim Mujaddidi’s family heritage, tracing his lineage to Rohilla Pathans. His great-grandfather, Yusuf Ali Khan, was a successful horse trader who passed away in Junagadh, Gujarat, in 1856, receiving a royal burial. The family later settled in Jaipur under the guidance of Maulana Mujaddidi’s grandfather, Maulana Shah Mohammed Hidayat Ali, a revered Sufi, scholar and thinker.
Maulana Shah Hidayat Ali recognised the potential in his grandson Shah Abdur Rahim and bestowed spiritual leadership (Khilafat) upon him in 1951. He envisioned a revolutionary educational system combining religious and worldly knowledge. While Hidayat Ali’s efforts remained unfinished during his lifetime, Maulana Mujaddidi made it his mission to fulfill his grandfather’s dream.
Despite initial resistance from traditional religious institutions, Maulana Mujaddidi tirelessly advocated for a modernised curriculum in Islamic madrasas. When his proposals were met with opposition, he decided to create a prototype institution himself.
Welcome Address
Delivering his welcome address, Maulana Shah Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, present Rector of Jamea-Tul-Hidaya and general secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), said that managing modern education along with religious studies in madrasas is crucial to tackling the present hate-mongering situation.
Pointing to the hanging sword and the conspiracy being hatched against Islamic seminaries, Maulana Shah Fazlur Rahim, who happens to be the son of Shah Abdur Rahim Mujaddidi, said the situation is such that there is talk of reforming the madrasas on a large scale but they are being forced to reform. He said that Maulana Shah Abdul Rahim Mujaddidi had realised 50 years ago that if madrasas were to be protected from sedition, civil strife, or persecution then along with religious education, modern education should also be arranged. He said that Maulana Shah Hidayat Ali, the grandfather of the founder of Jamea-Tul-Hidaya, while establishing Madrasa-e-Islam, had written that along with religious education in madrasas, the knowledge of industries and skills should also be imparted.
He said that the founder established the institute on this basis and modern education is also going on along with religious studies and graduates here are making a name for themselves in the fields of medicine, engineering and other sciences.
Prof. Syed Waseem Akhtar, founder chancellor of Integral University, said that Maulana Abdul Rahim Mujaddidi built a bridge between modern and ancient sciences. He presented an outline of The University of Hidayah. The fact is that the world and religion are not separate. He explained that religion is complete without the world and the world is not complete without religion. Then why not teach modern sciences in Islamic seminaries? “I don’t mean to say that there should be any change in madrasas,” he said. Rather, modern sciences should also be included in it. He described Maulana Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi as a brilliant son and said that he would fulfill his dream.
Maulana Syed Bilal Abdul Hai Hasani Nadvi, Nazim-e-Ameer of Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow, made the life and services of Maulana Shah Abdul Rahim, a messenger of international contact with Islamic da’wah and thought a timely topic. At the same time, he said that there is a need to focus on moral elevation along with science and technology. He stressed clean literature and said that the modern education system is Westernised, which has moral flaws.
Canada-based NRIs Dr Iqbal Masood Nadvi and Dr Saeed Faizi Nadvi emphasised conducting such a program in Canada.
Maulana Hassan Mahmood Qasmi, head of Jamia Arabiya Barkat-ul-Islam Khairwa and a member of Majlis-e-Shura of Darul Uloom Deoband, while referring to the services of Aalami Rabta-e-Adab-e-Islami, paid tributes to Maulana Shah Abdul Rahim. He said that the Maulana had presented and implemented the sketch 40 years ago and drew attention to such a language which is literary as well as Islamic.
Maulana Syed Jafar Masood Hassani Nadwi, president of the Aalami Rabta-e-Adab-e-Islami, stressed the need to encourage poets and writers with Islamic ideology, saying that the way progressive writers had created a distorted literary atmosphere and ignored poets and writers with Islamic ideology, encouraging such people is a part of the goal of global contact.
Other speakers included Maulana Waris Mazhari, Assistant Professor Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi; Prof Faheem Akhtar Nadvi of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), Hyderabad; Prof (Dr) Hassan Khan, Ameer of Darul Uloom Taj-ul-Masajid, Bhopal; veteran Urdu Journalist Arif Aziz, Dr Husain Mohammad Nadwi, Dr Mohammad Nadwi and Syed Sa’ad Ali Nadwi, Maulana Qazi Syed Danish Parvez Nadwi (all five from Bhopal), and Dr Noorus Sabah Ismail Nadwi (West Bengal) etc.
