A seminar under MQI pays tribute to Maulana Rumi

The thousands of verses contained in the Mathnavi of Maulana Jalal-ud-Din Rumi are the voice of the soul, which call people to their real and permanent abode. There are different interpretations of the Mathnavi and it is also called the sum and substance of the Holy Quran. The journey of becoming Maulana Roomi from being a Maulvi could not be completed without the company of Hazrat Shams Tabraiz. If one’s quest for knowledge is not accompanied by a pious company on permanent basis, the seeker of such knowledge is likely to descend into the abyss of sin and arrogance.

Sahibzada Faiz-ur-Rehman Durrani, Amir of Minhaj-ul-Quran International, expressed these views while addressing an intellectual gathering held on the life and works of Maulana Jalal-ud-Din Rumi organized by Farid-e-Millat Research Institute in Lahore today. Khawaja Muhammad Qutb-ud-Din Faridi, Dr Raheeq Abbasi, Prof Zafar-ul-Haq Majeed Chishti, Allama Noor-uz-Zaman Noori, Dr Ali Akbar Al-Azhari, Prof Naeem Anwar Nomani, Irshad Tahir, Hafizullah Javed, and other intellectuals were also present on the occasion.

Faiz-ur-Rehman Durrani said that the one who has greed for wealth becomes the cause of his own degradation in spiritual terms. Likening the world to an ocean, he said that the status of life was that of a boat in it. One must journey in such as a way that the water does not enter the boat and he reaches his destination. He, who let the water of worldly greed pollute the world of heart and soul, got decimated.

Speaking on the occasion, Khawaja Ghulam Qutb-ud-Din Faridi said that MQI was such a place as combined education with moral and spiritual training in letter and spirit and the credit for making this happen goes to Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri. He said that Shaykh-ul-Islam was inspiring hopes in the hearts of the Muslims by spreading the true message of Islam in the world. If we believe in the pernicious effect of an evil eye, in the same way, a sight of a mystic could also change the destiny of the people, he said. Khawaja Qutb said that many stages were involved in the process of a raw iron becoming a sword, which bears the brunt of raw iron.

Noor Muhammad Daghan, a special guest who flew from Turkey to take part in the intellectual sitting, said that verses of Rumi were the yearning of soul and it was correct to regard it as the Holy Quran in Persian language. He said that Rumi was the representative of soul, who imparts us a lesson of putting in place a protective shield against the cardinal desires. The pre-eminence of Maulana Rumi in the world of spiritualism is an established fact and Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri was the Rumi of the modern times, he added.

Prof Zafar-ul-Haq Majeed Chishti, expert on the works of Maulana Rumi, said that Mathnavi was a struggle of a soul which was estranged from its real abode. He said that the fact Allama Iqbal considered Maulana Rumi as his spiritual mentor throws light on the greatness of Maulana. He said that the youths needed to imbibe the teachings of Maulana Rumi and make him as their role model. He said that acting upon the teachings of a Sufi was like complying with the teachings of the Holy Prophet (SAW). Other speakers also spoke on the occasion.