A three-day international seminar was held at Madrastul Islah, Sarai Mir, Azamgarh (India) on November 2, 2019. The theme of this seminar was “The History of Madrasatul Islah, Sarai Mir.” The seminar was inaugurated by Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umri. Over sixty scholarly papers were presented in various sessions. Among the speakers were Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed Zilli, Dr. Inayatullah Subhani, and Muhammad Jameel Siddiqui. On this occasion, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, was also invited to address the participants. He, through a video link, in his brief address, discussed the scholarly contributions of Imam Hamiduddin Farahi and his expected impact in the contemporary era. The address of the esteemed teacher is as follows.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon Muhammad, the trustworthy. I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
I am grateful to you all for honoring this humble student and granting me the privilege to say a few words in this gathering of scholars.
You are aware that Allah Almighty has arranged guidance for humanity in such a way that the Qur’an holds a special position until the Day of Judgment. Allah has stated as a principle that when differences arose among people, the series of prophets was intitiated: fa-ba‘atha-llāhu an-nabiyyīna mubashshirīna wa mundhirīn (God sent forth prophets as bearers of glad tidings and as warners) and then the book was revealed with them: wa anzala ma‘ahumu-l-kitāba bil-haqqi li-yaḥkuma bayna-n-nāsi fīmā ikhtalafoo fīhi (and with them
He sent down His Book as the decisive truth so that it may settle between people the differences among them),1 so that it could resolve the differences among people regarding religion and faith. This reality has also been expressed by the Qur’an in some other styles. It is stated that Allah has revealed this book as a balance li-yaqūma-n-nāsu bil-qist (so that people adhere to justice)2 so that people establish true justice in religious matters.
This is the status of the Qur’an. However, when we study our intellectual heritage, it becomes apparent that this status has been most undermined. The greatest contribution of Imam Farahi to this community is that before this world comes to an end, he restored this status once again with full glory. At present, we can say that the way he understood the Qur’an, the way he taught us to understand it, the way he organized its knowledge and wisdom, the way he delved into its verses to illustrate how it speaks, to whom it speaks, and how it delivers its verdict; it is the result of this that a firm foundation has been provided for establishing the supremacy of the Qur’an over everything related to religion and faith. That is, in its role as a judge, as a balance, it now dictates what is acceptable in religion, in faith, in the guidance of God, and what is not acceptable.
In this regard, I consider him as Ayah min Ayātillah, one of the signs among the signs of Allah.
Before this, the world was in the era of empires. Will Durant referred to the entire period dominated by religion as the ‘Age of Faith.’ This meant that religion had dominance over politics, and as a result, society and civilization were also being shaped in its light. That era has now ended. Imam Farahi’s birth, in fact, is God’s arrangement to once again complete His argument in this new era, in this new world. If we study the results at a global level, on one hand, we observe that the old theology has come to an end, its premises have been dismantled, and its foundations have crumbled. This era—which can also be called the
‘Age of Reason,’ and in terms of its outcome, ‘Age of Atheism’—demanded the emergence of solid reasoning based on the fundamental premises of human nature. If you look at Hujjaj al-Qur’an, or Al-Qa’id ila ‘Uyun al-‘Aqa’id, or examine such matters in his exegesis, you will conclude that the natural reasoning of the Qur’an has been revealed with such grandeur for the first time. If history is leading itself to the point of atheism, then God’s argument, in opposition, has also positioned itself to be equally prominent.
The era when great empires were established was characterized by a relationship between rulers and subjects. The interpretation of law in that time—whether it was in our lands or in the Roman Empire—had entirely different contexts and conditions. All of this has now become irrelevant and extraneous. A figure like Allama Iqbal felt the necessity for a reconstruction of religious thought. However, a solid foundation was not available to this Sage of the Community. This foundation has indeed been provided by the discourse of Imam Farahi. The way he made the Qur’an a balance (Meezan), a criterion (Furqan), highlighted its authority, and defined the foundations is beginning to influence the legal minds of Muslims. Only after this development did the possibility emerge that in the modern nation-states, we could collectively implement God’s Shariah. Before this, neither the legal framework we had constructed nor the precedents upon which we had established our laws could meet the needs of the present era. Human efforts in their respective times are extraordinary, but they can neither be universal nor transcend time and space. It is only God’s guidance that can be universal and transcend time and space; it can maintain its relevance and connection in every era. In this era, as this new world is coming into existence, a firm foundation has been provided by Imam Farahi, allowing us not only to follow God’s Shariah in our individual lives but also to structure our collective life according to Shariah. Consequently, if Shariah is to relate to our collective life now, it will be based on this discourse, this line of thought.
In the same way, in ancient Islamic jurisprudence, the world was divided into Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb, which had certain
requirements that have now been fulfilled. It was Imam Farahi, who, by discovering the principle of Itmam-e-Hujjat (Completion of Proof), have clarified the perspective from which we should view the world: the perspective from which the world was viewed during the era of messengership, and the perspective from which it will be viewed until the Day of Judgment. What will be the nature of interpersonal and inter-nation relationships now? What will be the method of inviting people to Islam in the present age? And if the world is indeed moving towards a global government, how will our role be determined as Muslims in that context? These are a few very prominent aspects. Study his exegesis, examine his writings, and review his manuscripts; everywhere, he is laying the foundations for the reconstruction of the Muslim religious thought.
I would like to present to both students and teachers the suggestion that they study Imam Farahi from this perspective. I can say with complete certainty that if, on one hand, history seems to be concluding with the cultural discoveries of Western thinkers—as the thinkers of Western civilization believe—then, on the other hand, these signs of Allah have also appeared. Ayah min Ayātillah. One of the signs of Allah. One of the manifestations of Allah’s signs. It is not far-fetched to think that in this final era, Allah’s argument might be completed through His Book in the light of Farahi’s thought!
I say this statement of mine, and I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you and for all the Muslims.
[January 2020]
- Al-Baqarah 2:213
- Al-Hadeed 57:25