ROn the occasion of the Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony for Dr. Shehzad Saleem espected and esteemed ones, the purpose of today’s gathering is to pay tribute to one of the great scholars of our time and the driving spirit behind the Farahi school of thought, Dr. Shehzad Saleem, in recognition of his lifelong efforts, his sincerity, and his scholarly contributions. I also wish to clarify the motivation behind this ceremony so that its significance may reach people. In this universe of Allah Almighty, one observes differences everywhere: the faces of people, their appearances, their colors and forms, their voices and tonalities—and in the same manner, there are differences in capabilities as well.
In this world created by Allah, a system has been established in which certain individuals are sent by Allah endowed with extraordinary abilities; they occupy positions of leadership, they are teachers, researchers, jurists, scholars, advisors, well-wishers, leaders, politicians, guides, and mentors. These abilities are granted and entrusted by Allah. While these capabilities are a great blessing, a favor, a grace, a kindness, and a gift from Allah, they also carry with them a tremendous responsibility.
In this world, there are only two types of classes: those who lead and those who follow. Even those who are not granted such abilities still receive an extraordinary favor from Allah, for in many situations, deprivation itself becomes a significant blessing. However, when Allah grants one an ability, the trial becomes more severe, and the responsibility becomes more intense.
The individuals who fulfill this responsibility etch their impact on the pages of existence, contribute to the upbringing of generations, and transform the destiny and lives of nations. Yet, those same talented individuals, if they fail to recognize their responsibilities, can also become the cause of a nation’s downfall—because their mere gestures, their ideologies and thoughts, can influence entire communities and generations.
Thus, possessing great talent is not only a divine favor but also a significant trial and test. Those individuals who have been granted these abilities by Allah and use them rightly and appropriately are truly worthy of high praise and heartfelt congratulations.
And the divine design of the world is such that when a human being is given any ability, he often becomes arrogant. He perceives that ability as a mark of his superiority and pride. The history is before us of how Allah dealt with the communities of the prophets: whenever they were given a position, an ability, or a superiority, rather than considering it a blessing from Allah and fulfilling it with a sense of responsibility, they regarded it as a source of pride, rebellion, and arrogance.
Such individuals who have dedicated their lives with sincerity, struggle, hard work, and love for the training of people and generations are of exceptional importance. Our effort and desire are that the world should be introduced to such people, and those people should also be introduced to the world, and their services should be acknowledged. It is a great deprivation for any nation, any community, and the collective systems and institutions of that community when they fail to recognize the value and worth of such individuals. In this materialistic world, people’s values and worth are determined by their tangible benefits.
Our endeavor is to communicate to the world the significance of the prominent individuals from every intellectual tradition of the Ummah who have passed through the school of thought of Javed Ahmed Ghamidi. Hence, when one enters this institution, the portraits on either side deliver this message—that differences in interpretation and perspective can exist in any school of thought, but all the great figures of the Ummah are our benefactors, our mentors, and we honor them as much as we honor our own elders and predecessors.
Alongside this, there is also the message that as servants of the religion, we have come together in these various institutions to contemplate upon religion. Therefore, within these institutions, this spirit should always prevail: that we have not come here to establish any sectarian prejudice, any denominational identity, or any sense of doctrinal superiority. Nor are we the first people to stand up in service of the religion.
This is an eternal, living, radiant and luminous history of the Muslim Ummah, in the continuity of which we stand today. It is indeed the methodology of jurisprudence and reflection that is carried forward by the Farahi school, or the Ghamidi circle, or the reformist thoughts of Islahi.
Generally, among us, those who are influenced by Javed Ahmed Ghamidi and listen to his ideas form an impression that a new methodology has emerged in opposition to traditional scholarship; this is an entirely incorrect understanding. We categorically reject this notion at every level and strive to inform our circle of disciples that we stand within the continuity of the Ummah’s own historical tradition. We do not present a unique or novel perspective with which people are unfamiliar; the tools are the same, the parameters are the same, and the protocols are the same. Differences arise in the application of these tools, and it is precisely this that our institutions aim to address. This is also the objective of our movement—that if today we find confidence in the principles of the Farahi school, then we should promote them and invite others to them. But at the same time, we should benefit from the entire historical scholarly heritage of the Ummah and not compel people to close their minds.
Whoever enters our institution should be awakened with the sense that they are not here to become followers or blind imitators of anyone, nor to become under the influence of any personality. Rather, we are travelers on the journey in pursuit of the truth. And if today that truth appears to us in the thoughts of Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, then we will strive to access it. If tomorrow criticism arises upon it, then—God willing—these very institutions, these very assemblies, and these very scholars will together engage in critique of Javed Ahmed Ghamidi’s thoughts as well. We do not consider him, or any individual of this school of thought, to be infallible in any degree. This is the foundation of our movement and this initiative. In it, individuals hold extraordinary importance, and we evaluate their thoughts within the same critical framework.
It must be kept in mind that when a person is honored, when they are respected and praised, it is not a matter of personality worship; rather, it is an appreciation of their thought. As far as thought is concerned, it is like a flowing river—present at one place today, and at another tomorrow; it constantly evolves and changes. In this context, today’s event has been organized. The thought, the movement, and the mission of Javed Ahmed Ghamidi has now been in existence for nearly fifty years. Among the earliest companions of this mission is Dr. Shehzad Saleem. You are all familiar with his remarkable contributions, his efforts, and his services. We have made an attempt in this institution to celebrate the life dedication of a person who has devoted his entire life with great sincerity and deep love to a mission—so that we may honor this selfless commitment. Alongside, we wish to send a message to our future generations and to our own history: that we must learn to appreciate individuals during their lifetime.
In our society, in most cases, people are appreciated only after they have passed away. A well-known saying of our praised and revered Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is that everyone acknowledges the prophet of history, but no one acknowledges the prophet of their own time. This is a great deprivation for the Muslim Ummah as well— that we never truly appreciate the great minds, great voices, and great ideas of our own era. During this age of mutual rivalry and contemporaneous competition, we rarely appreciate such contributions in their originality.
There is also another dimension to this: many people consider it inappropriate that, since these are individuals from within our own circles, showing them honor and respect appears biased. But here, I would like to state with great confidence and full pride that it is an honor for us to introduce the world to the dignity, the grandeur, and the competence of our teachers and our elders. And we must also communicate this message to them—that they are held in high esteem within our hearts, and this regard is not born out of vested interests or temporary benefits, but rather because of their legacy, their character, and the continuity of their contribution.
We desire that our future generations receive this message: that this institution, this movement, stands firmly within a continuous tradition. It possesses profound, timeless legacies. Within it, individuals of enlightened conscience have emerged, who have furthered its cause through their character. Dr. Shehzad Saleem stands at the forefront of the narrative of these greatnesses.
It is a matter of deep gratitude for me that I have the opportunity to formally acknowledge his services within this institution, and after a long journey of thirty-seven years, after the authorship of approximately forty books, and after passing through countless phases of life, we pay tribute to his steadfastness.
People are familiar with Dr. Shahzad Saleem’s scholarly contributions and virtues. Personally, my introduction to this school formally occurred in 2009, when I decided that I should now take the initiative and step into one of their institutions. At that time, I was a fourth-year student at Jamia-tur-Rasheed in Karachi. So, this was in December 2009—gathering great courage and determination, I stepped into Hotel Jabees in Karachi for the first time, and there, the very first person I met was Dr. Shehzad Saleem.
I still remember, he was conducting a workshop on Kimya-e-Saadat, the book by Imam Ghazali, and it was after this workshop that I was introduced to him for the first time. I was wholly immersed in our madrasah lifestyle, and the introduction was fairly basic. There was also fear, apprehension—who knew what this new circle was, what kind of people they were, how they operated. So, after that first meeting with him, when it ended, he asked me, “Where have you come from?” I introduced myself.
He had an evening or night flight that day. Dr. Shehzad trusted me enough that after finishing his class, he said, “Let’s go now, I will accompany you, and since my flight is in the evening, you can drop me off.” I still remember that we spent the entire day together on that first meeting. We sat by the seaside. Afterwards, I took him to my madrasah, where we walked around. And it was that very first meeting which introduced me to the practical dimension of this school of thought, and it made me realize that within this school, it is not just knowledge that exists, but the real essence is character, action, sincerity, and truthfulness.
2009, and now 2025; for approximately sixteen to seventeen years, there has been a daily relationship with Dr. Shehzad Saleem—conversations, dealings, and even crises and difficulties arose. But if you ask me what his greatest quality is, what his most significant service has been—people might name many of his books—then I say with complete honesty that if I were to mention only one thing, it would be this: in these sixteen years, I have never heard a single negative word from Dr. Shehzad Saleem’s tongue about any person. That is to say, it even happened that we ourselves witnessed that people committed grave injustices against him and subjected him to serious wrongs, yet never have we heard a single negative word from him about any individual, institution, or group.
So in my view, even if in these thirty-seven years he had done no other scholarly work, and if this one service alone he had upheld, then this alone would have secured for him the same value, respect, and honor in our hearts.
It is our institution’s good fortune and privilege that we are organizing this event. Behind it lies a vision, a thought that is actively at work. And in my collective efforts to advance this institution, I constantly keep in view—and strive to instill—the warning and caution that throughout the world, when institutions are established in support and service of religious thought, with the passage of time, the institutions themselves become the ultimate purpose. The institution becomes the beginning, and the institution becomes the end. The goals of the institution, its finances, its benefits, its image, its logos, its destination, and the praise and accolades it receives— all these become the ultimate aims and objectives of the people involved. However, our eyes bear witness that when individuals depart from these institutions, great movements, immense legacies, grand buildings, and monumental institutions come to resemble graveyards.
These institutions are composed of individuals, and people offer voluntary services to support and assist these individuals. This sequence must always remain in its correct order. On the day someone attempts to reverse or invert this order, these institutions will fall prey to the same kind of regression that we observe in religious institutions throughout the world.
Individuals hold importance, individuals offer support, individuals provide endorsement, individuals possess vision, individuals have an objective, individuals have a plan of action, and it is individuals who are the originators of this movement, the ones who carry it forward, the scholars of this thought, and the elders of this ideology.
In the end, I would just like to say that within this institution, our sole effort is to serve all of Javed Ahmed Ghamidi’s companions and students. We do so with dedication, without harboring any sentiment or notion that this service is some kind of favor upon them. This is a community built by them, it is the fruit of their labor that has been offered as a sacrifice for society, and which—through the form of these organizations—has been assigned to serve them. It is with this very spirit, God willing, that this process of service will continue.
I say what I have said, and I seek Allah’s forgiveness for myself, for you, and for all Muslims.