TOn the occasion of the Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony for Dr. Shehzad Saleem.
he 1980s occupy a place of great significance in Pakistan’s history. Though under military rule, the country experienced a decade of relative political stability, during which a certain degree of intellectual, economic, and social development was visible. Among the youth, there was at the same time a marked inclination toward religious studies and religious movements. To examine the causes of this phenomenon, with its many positive as well as negative aspects, is not our present concern.
Among its most harmful religious consequences, however, was that under government patronage a highly distorted conception of jihad spread among the younger generation—indeed, it became something of a ‘fashion.’ This had catastrophic repercussions, not only for Pakistan itself but for the entire world. Yet a limited positive feature of that era was that, for the first time in Pakistan’s history, television programs on religious studies began to be broadcast. Among these, the lectures of Dr. Israr Ahmad (may God have mercy on him) proved to be a major means of awakening in the younger generation an interest in understanding the Quran.
Dr. Shehzad Saleem may be counted among those youth. It was through the influence of Dr. Israr Ahmad that he first turned toward the Quran. The associates and admirers of Dr. Israr Ahmad fell broadly into two categories: those who were drawn to the project of Islam’s political resurgence, and those who were primarily interested in Islamic sciences—above all, in the comprehension of the Quran. Brother Shehzad belonged to the latter group: he attached himself to Dr. Israr with an extraordinary passion and eagerness for understanding the Quran, and in his heart had already resolved to make mastery of Islamic sciences the great goal of his life.
It was in 1988 that certain questions arose in his mind regarding the comprehension of the Quran and the religion of Islam. Since a principal source of Dr. Israr’s scholarship was Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi’s exegesis Tadabbur- i-Quran, Shehzad was advised that he might obtain answers to his questions directly from Maulana Islahi himself. He then learned that Maulana Islahi delivered weekly Quranic lectures at the residence of Ms. Nisar Fatimah (the well-known politician Ahsan Iqbal’s mother, and Maulana’s sister-in-law) in Fazliyah Colony, Lahore.
Dr. Shehzad Saleem began to attend these lectures. At the conclusion of one lecture, he requested special permission to pose his questions. To his deep disappointment, however, he discovered that Maulana, due to impaired hearing, could not follow his words easily. He then tried to submit his questions in writing, but even this did not yield the desired outcome. On that occasion, another of our dear friends, the late Anees Mufti, was also present. God Almighty had endowed Mufti with a rare gift: the ability to discern latent potential. With his sharp insight, he not only perceived within Shehzad Saleem the deep passion for seeking truth, but also recognized his innate nobility of character.
He observed that out of deference and modesty, Shehzad Saleem was unable to raise his voice sufficiently, and thus even with a hearing aid, Maulana Islahi could not properly hear him. When he resorted to writing down his questions, the circumstances remained such that, owing to Maulana’s advanced age, effective communication could not be established. Nor could Shehzad Saleem fully convey his sense of dissatisfaction at not being properly understood. Somehow, he managed to ask a few essential questions, but the thirst for knowledge was still visibly etched upon his face.
At that moment, Anees Mufti stepped forward and told him about our esteemed teacher, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi—himself a direct disciple of Maulana. He suggested that if Dr. Shehzad Saleem so wished, he could approach Javed Ahmed Ghamidi to find satisfaction for all these intellectual yearnings.
Once a thirsty soul discovers where the well lies, how could he possibly stop? Soon, Dr. Shehzad Saleem was seated before Javed Ahmed Ghamidi at 51-E, Model Town, Lahore—and it seems, even to this day, that he has never left that place.
History, in a sense, repeated itself. Just as our teacher had once approached Maulana Islahi and been told: “Grasping the purport of the Quran is not overly difficult; true Quranic insight, however, is something else entirely—for at times even one’s own shadow deserts him in this pursuit,” so too did Javed Ahmed Ghamidi recognize, within only a few meetings, that Shehzad’s fervent yearning was ready to pay this very price. And the rest, as they say, is history.
This was the period when Al-Mawrid—the caravan of Islamic learning that had begun in 1982 from a small shop in Fortress Stadium—had, after enduring the turns of time and grappling with society’s indifference, grown somewhat weary and paused briefly to draw breath. For those of us who had joined this journey earlier, our regular study circles had become irregular, and each had retreated into his own corner.
Yet behold the divine decree: around the same time, several other courageous and gifted students joined this new cohort alongside Dr. Shehzad Saleem. Among them, the names of our brothers Moiz Amjad, Asif Iftikhar, and Rauf Haider shine most prominently.
I remember well how, among us older companions, there was much talk about Dr. Shehzad Saleem’s bold and striking arrival. I myself was especially eager to meet him. For that purpose, I went to see him at the University of Engineering and Technology. To speak candidly, I went intending to warn him. I had learned that this young man, then in the final year of his civil engineering studies, was prepared to abandon his education unfinished. Since I had taken such a step in the past and suffered its unpleasant consequences, I thought it appropriate to advise him that although no price is too great for this path, wisdom demands that one not increase the obstacles, but rather seek to lessen them.
Yet, the firmness of his resolve and the clarity and confidence of his plan left me with little to say. I returned with the happy sense that the journey of our once-halted caravan was about to begin anew. And indeed, soon after, news came that our esteemed teacher, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, had placed full trust in the sincerity and abilities of Dr. Shehzad Saleem and his fellow newcomers. With this fresh cohort, and with the cooperation of the late Altaf Mahmood, Al-Mawrid—the institute of Islamic learning—resumed its journey toward its intended destination with renewed determination.
Altaf Mahmood was a longtime friend of Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, and in religious work he extended generous financial support, even to the extent of taking loans for this purpose. Alongside him were Moiz Amjad, Asif Iftikhar, and other fresh companions who joined this revived caravan of Al-Mawrid. Reflecting on this very period in his essay Qafila dar Qafila, our esteemed teacher wrote:
After 1987, a period of trial and interruption also passed over Al-Mawrid, but, thanks be to Allah, since its revival in 1991 through the efforts of our friend Altaf Mahmood, its work has never again suffered disruption.
Dr. Shehzad Saleem’s command of the English language, owing to his education at Aitchison College, gave Al- Mawrid a new direction. In 1990, he launched the English journal Renaissance. Although Moiz Amjad and Asif Iftikhar too had an educational background in English, the decree of Providence and their own acknowledgment of his irresistible passion, expressed so aptly in the poet’s words—
One must witness the restless ardor of longing,
For the breath of the sword extends beyond the blade itself
had already destined this laurel to be placed upon Dr. Shehzad Saleem’s head.
Not only Renaissance, but he also undertook the translation of nearly all of Javed Ahmed Ghamidi’s works into English. With the exception of only a few writings, there is hardly any book of our teacher—Meezan, Al-Bayan, Al-Islam, and many others—that he has not translated. This was truly the work of an entire institution, yet Shehzad Saleem carried it out single-handedly. His equal proficiency in Arabic and Persian further enabled him in this monumental task. Under the tutelage and guidance of our esteemed teacher, he traversed the valleys of learning in his unrelenting quest for knowledge.
By this time, Dr. Shehzad Saleem had become the Chief Executive of Al-Mawrid, and under his leadership the institution had begun to flourish with renewed vigor. Looking back, it seems to me that in those very years Al- Mawrid began to take on the form of a modern university of Islamic studies. Many new students had joined its fold, among whom a prominent name is that of Dr. Muhammad Aamir Gazdar. During Dr. Shehzad Saleem’s tenure, countless chapters of success and achievement were written—so many that an entire book would be needed to encompass them. While gathering and preserving the scholarly legacy of his teacher, he also continued his own academic work, writing a doctoral dissertation at the University of Wales (UK) on the history of the Quran, now published in book form.
Who better than Dr. Shehzad Saleem to know that the caravan set in motion by Shibli and Farahi had been nurtured into a flourishing tree by Amin Ahsan through Tadabbur-e-Quran; and that Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, in turn, had cultivated and tended it with such devotion that he strove to fulfill the dream of those elders—that this caravan of knowledge and insight might keep journeying backward through time until it was once more joined with the era of the Companions. For them, the essential purpose of religion was purification of the soul. And today, when we look at our revered teacher, we find ourselves in wonder whether his knowledge is greater or his character. In precisely the same way, Dr. Shehzad Saleem carried forward the same legacy of his teacher. Though he had joined the caravan later than many others, he soon surpassed them all—so far ahead that none could deny it. His precedence was not only in knowledge and organization, but also in the bonds of affection. From senior associates of the institution to its junior workers, all regarded his leadership as that of a faithful servant. Never did he withhold help from anyone whose pain or difficulty came to his attention and within his reach.
Dr. Shehzad Saleem’s tenure of leadership, however, was brought to an end by the very tragic circumstances I alluded to at the outset. The decade of military rule had begun to reveal its deadly consequences. The culture of jihadism had grown into a monstrous dragon of terrorism, and its foremost enemy was none other than that school of thought and consciousness which alone possessed its most effective response—the institution of Al- Mawrid.
After four of its companions were bathed in blood, even the life of Javed Ahmed Ghamidi was at risk. Though he was unwilling to abandon his post, the enemy was so ruthless and unscrupulous that it was prepared to grind wheat and chaff alike. At last, the teacher was compelled to migrate. Yet out of this calamity Al-Mawrid re- emerged with a new form and color. The enemy sought to constrict its space on earth, but the Lord of the worlds opened for it the expanse of the heavens. Today, Al-Mawrid has become the voice of God’s religion across the five continents.
After Javed Ahmed Ghamidi himself, Dr. Shehzad Saleem is the only scholar who is connected with every institution of Al-Mawrid. He is the very apple of the eye of each of them. In recognition of his extraordinary services, Al-Mawrid US and Ghamidi Center of Islamic Learning arranged a gathering to confer upon him the Lifetime Achievement Award—an expression of their love and esteem for him. As Dr. Ammar Khan Nasir so beautifully remarked, it is the good fortune of this award itself that it has been adorned by being placed in the lap of Dr. Shehzad Saleem.
On this occasion, a prose poem is presented in his honor:
A Lifelong Devotion
You called upon Truth with all the strength of your heart and soul;
In the ocean of divine verses You sought the anchor of the spirit. Your life passed in the quest for fidelity,
At every turning, The Quran cast its light upon your steps.
The storms of trial kept blowing,
Yet your lamp never went out.
The candle of conviction Stood firm against the darkness.
This Word of God Became for you the dawn’s radiance,
Rising as a ray of morning in every night of gloom. The insight of your eyes Brought solace to many hearts,
Your devotion Turned love into passion.
Our prayer is that You always walk in the light; May the Quran’s eternal radiance Ever illumine your heart and soul.