Daura Sahih Muslim Sharif

Under the aegis of Minhaj-ul-Quran International Birmingham, the second and third sitting of three-day Daura Sahih Muslim was held in the central mosque Ghamgole Sharif, Birmingham on October 20, 2007 in which hundreds of scholars including Mufti Gul Rahman, Abdul Rasool Mansoor, Mufti Muhammad Ayyub Hazarvi, Allama Bustan Qadri, Allama Niaz Ahmad Siddiqui and Abdul Ghafoor Haidari participated. Famous Pakistani actor Firdaus Jamal not only listened to 10-hour long discussion but also had the honour of reciting the Naat during the start of first sitting.

Addressing at the occasion, Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri said that changing the syllabi being taught in religious seminaries in accordance with modern research was need of the hour. Stagnation has come to plague the syllabi resulting into further stagnation of religious sciences and research. Referring to one particular school of thought, he said that it has got stuck up in mental grooves showing its willingness to accept what, according to them, is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari or Sahih Muslim only in addition to the Holy Quran. It is illiteracy and lack of knowledge, pure and simple. It has never been the way or behaviour of scholars in Islamic history. In both sittings of Saturday, he came up with 10-hour long scholarly discourse on kinds of Hadith, authentication of Hadith and narration of Hadith quoting from Sahih Muslim. He said that no one can match Imam Bukhari (May Allah be pleased with him) in authenticity of Hadith but the status enjoyed by the Sahih Muslim in terms of order and manner of its ordering is much higher.

Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri was of the view that today parents have got bogged down in mundane and materialistic pursuits of life so much that the situation at their homes has worsened due to obscene TV programmes. They are only stirred into action and seek solutions to their problems when their young children start disobeying them. But they are themselves responsible for creating such reprehensible conditions at their homes. Warning the parents, Shaykh-ul-Islam said that they take no notice when their children disobey Allah and His Prophet (PBUH) but the moment they themselves are disrespected and not obeyed, they start crying. There is a need of pious and clean conditions for children to be trained in piety.

Urging the Ulama and Mashaikh of Ahl-us-Sunnah, Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri said that without reviving relationship with studies, tahajjud prayer and being awake throughout night for the sake of Allah (qiyam bil-layl), knowledge was of no use. Because such knowledge without purification of heart and soul was meaningless. Referring to instances in the Arab countries where certain portions and chapters from religious books, which did not correspond to faith of these people were deleted, he urged the Ulama to set up their own libraries at any cost. Shaykh-ul-Islam told the learned gathering that many narrators of Sahih Bukhari were accused of being Shiites or Kharji. He referred to a famous saying according to which the evidence of one scholar will not be acceptable if it went against the other scholar but if one religious scholar gave evidence in favour of another, it would be considered to be evidence of higher status.

Talking of our detachment from knowledge, Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri said that the status of knowledge has been confined to the holding of and participation in religious gatherings like Mawlid or Urs etc. But if the intellectual logjam was not broken, it would be next to impossible to transfer real traditions of Islam to succeeding generations because they would seek arguments and intellectual justifications, which we would be unable to offer. Therefore Shaykh-ul-Islam urged the Ulama of Ahl-us-Sunnah to revive their relationship with books and studies.

Discussing mysticism in relation to Sahih Muslim, he said that if mysticism was declared as innovation (bid`ah), the confidence of Umma in all Books of Hadiths including Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim would be shaken because majority of hadith-narrators were Allah's friends. He said knowledge and respect for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) were integral to each other. No one can become scholar without respect because it (respect) opens all the doors of knowledge.

He held forth scholarly discussion on kissing of hands, touching the knees and standing in the honour of someone and knowledge of the unseen with special reference to many hadiths of Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari.