Tablighi Jamaat (Urdu: تبلیغی جماعت, Tablīg͟hī Jamā‘at; Arabic: جماعة التبليغ, Jamā‘at at-Tablīgh; Bengali: তাবলীগ জামাত; Hindi: तबलीगी जमात; English: Society for spreading faith) is a religious movement based on the principle of the "Work of the Prophets" inviting to Allah in the manner of Muhammed. The movement was started in 1926 by Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi in India.[4] It primarily aims at Tablighi spiritual reformation by working at the grass roots level, reaching out to Muslims across all social and economic spectra to bring them closer to Islam.[3][5]
Tablighi Jamaat came forth as an offshoot of the Deobandi movement. Its inception is believed to be a response to the deteriorating values and negligence of fundamental aspects of Islam, which were considered a threat to Muslims.[6] It gradually expanded from local to national to an international movement and now has over 10 Million followers in over 200 countries.[3]Tablighi Jamaat maintains a non-affiliating stature in matters of politics and fiqh (jurisprudence).[7] Although Tabligh Jamaat emerged out of the Deobandi sub-school in the Hanafi fiqh, no particular interpretation of Islam has been endorsed since the beginning of the movement since the Quran and Hadith from which various denominations derive their authority and sanctity is one and immutable.[7][8] Tabligh Jamaat has largely avoided electronic media and has emphasised a personal communication for proselytising. The teachings of Tabligh Jamaat are mainly basic in approach and the Six Principles put forward by Muhammad Ilyas influence most of their teachings.
Tabligh Jamaat attracted significant public and media attention when it announced plans for the largest mosque in Europe to be built in London, United Kingdom. It is a pacifist (peaceful invitation) organisation.[9] Tablighi Jamaat believes that we are in a constant state of Jihaad (fight against evil) (the weapon of choice is Dawaat. a
History
The emergence of Tablighi Jamaat represented the intensification of individual reformation aspects of the original Deobandi movement. It was also a continuation of the broader trend of Islamic revival in India in the wake of the collapse of Muslim political power and the consolidation of the British rule.
The emergence of Tablighi Jamaat also coincided closely with the rise of various Hindu proselytising movements which launched massive efforts in the early twentieth century to reconvert Hindus who had converted to Islam and Christianity.[10] Notable among these Hindu revivalist movements were Shuddhi (purification) and Sanghatan (consolidation) movements. The Tabligh movement aimed to reaffirm Muslim religio-cultural identity of borderline Muslims who still practised customs and religious rites connected with Hinduism. Unlike common proselytising movements, TJ never strove to convert non-Muslims to Islam, rather it exclusively focused on making Muslims 'better and purer'.[11][12]
Origin
Main article: Tabligh movement in Mewat
Tablighi Jamaat was formed in 1926 in Mewat, in north India, which was inhabited by the Meos, a Rajput ethnic group. At the time, some Muslim Indian leaders feared that Muslims were losing their religious identity to the majority Hindu culture. The movement was never given any name officially, but Ilyas used to call it Tahrik-i Imaan.[13][14]There is evidence that several Meos converted to Islam, followed by re-conversion to Hinduism when Muslim political power declined in the region. The Meos were generally benighted Muslims before the emergence of Tabligh Jamaat, and lacked the necessary acumen required to resist the cultural and religious influence of Hindus.[10]
Muhammad Ilyas, the founder of Tabligh Jamaat, wanted to set forth a movement that would exemplify the Qur'anic decree of 'enjoining good and forbidding evil'.[15][16] The inspiration for devoting his life to Islam came to Ilyas during his second pilgrimage to Mecca in 1926.[17] He initially tried to establish a network of mosque-based religious schools to educate the Mewati Muslims about Islamic beliefs and practices. Shortly afterwards, he was disappointed with the reality that these institutions were producing religious functionaries but not preachers.[18]
Ilyas abandoned the teaching profession at Madrasah Mazahir Uloom in Saharanpur and became a missionary. He relocated to Nizamuddin near Delhi, where this movement was formally launched in 1926.[18] When setting the guidelines for the movement, he sought inspiration from the practices adopted by Muhammad at the dawn of Islam.[16] Muhammad Ilyas put forward the slogan, Urdu: "!اﮮ مسلمانو! مسلمان بنو", "O Muslims! Become Muslims". This expressed the central focus of Tablighi Jamat: their aim to renew Muslims socially by uniting them in embracing the lifestyle of Muhammad. The movement gained a phenomenal following in a relatively short period and nearly 25,000 people attended the annual conference in November 1941.[18]
Expansion
The group began to expand its activities in 1946, and within two decades the group reached Southwest and Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.[19] Tabligh Jamaat's aversion to politics, and also its absence of any direct and practical Economic-Political-Social viewpoints, like the occupation of Palestine helped it enter and operate in societies, especially western countries and societies where politically active religious groups faced severe restrictions.[20]The first foreign missions were sent to the Hejaz and Britain in 1946.[21] The next nation to receive Tablighi Jamatt missionaries was the United States. During the 1970s and 1980s Tablighi Jamaat established a large presence in continental Europe.[13]
The construction of the Markazi Masjid in Dewsbury, England commenced in 1978 which subsequently became the European headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat. This centre holds one major gathering annually, generally in Dewsbury itself. It has also constructed a busy madrasah, called the Institute of Islamic Education.[22]Introduced in France in 1960s, Tablighi Jamaat grew significantly in the two decades following 1970.[23] Tabligh Jamaat declined around 1989, although some members still represent it in the French Council of the Muslim Faith.[13] During the first half-decade of the 21st century Tablighi Jamaat went through a major revival in France, reaching 100,000 followers by 2006.[1] However, the United Kingdom is the current focus of the movement in the Europe, primarily due to the large South Asian population that began to arrive there in the 1960s.[24] By 2007, Tabligh members were situated at 600 of Britain's 1,350 mosques.[22]
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the movement made inroads into Central Asia. As of 2007, it was estimated that 10,000 Tabligh Jamaat members could be found in Kyrgyzstan.[2]
The FBI believes that nearly 50,000 members of Tablighi Jamaat are active in the United States.[3] As of 2008, the organisation had a presence in nearly 213countries and a total following of between 100 and 150 million people. By some measures this made Tablighi Jamaat the largest Muslim movement in the world. The majority of the followers of Tablighi Jamaat live in South Asia.[3][25]
Beliefs and objectives
Following the fundamentals of Sunni Islam, every member is allowed to follow his own fiqh as long as it does not deviate from Sunni Islam.[7][24] Tablighi Jamaat defines its objective with reference to the concept of Dawah, which literally means 'to call' and connotes to an invitation to act. In religious context, it implies to a call towards Islam which may also refer to a 'mission' if used in reference with religious prophets and people who were assigned such mission. Tabligh Jamaat interprets Dawah as enjoining good and forbidding evil only and defines its objective within the framework of two particular Qur'anic verses which refer to this mission.[26] Those two verses are:[27]
Who is better in speech than one who calls (men) to Allah, works righteousness, and says, "I am of those who bow in Islam"?
Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones to attain felicity.—Qur'an sura 3 (Al-i-Imran), ayah 104[15]
Tabligh Jamaat encourages everyone to fulfill the Islamic requirement of da'wa even if the person falls short of strong religious intellect. This was different from the other Islamic movements which were mainly ulama-led and extended their leadership roles to the religious erudites. Tabligh Jamaat also negated the prevailing idea that the highest standards of Islamic scholarship and ethical standards were prerequisites for proselytising, and promoted da'wa as a mechanism of self-reform.[29]
The only objective of Tabligh Jamaat, overtly stated in most sermons, is that Muslims adopt and invite for the Islamic lifestyle, exemplified by Muhammad, in its perfection. They encourage Muslims to spend time out of their daily routine in the tablighi activities so that the rest of routine could be harmonised with Tablighi lifestyle. In the Daa'wah tours, emphasis is laid on books like Tabligi Nisaab, comprising books like Faadha'il Aa'mal etc. They insist that the best way of learning is teaching and encouraging others, with the books prescribed by Tabligi Jamaat Movement in the light of stories of awliya.[6]
Tablighi ethic discourages social enmeshments in customary and ceremonial rituals which are usually extravagantly followed in South Asia. For example, in such annual congregations and other similar mass meetings, marriages are performed by dozens sans the costly celebrations.[30]
Six principles
The method adopted by Muhammad Ilyas was simple. It was to organise units (called jamaats, Arabic: جماعتِ meaning Assembly) of at least ten persons and send them to various villages. This jamaat would visit a village, invite the local Muslims only to assemble in the mosque and present their message in the form of Six Principles. These six principles were derived from the lives of the companions (Sahabah) of Muhammad. It is said in one narration (more or less),"My Sahabah are like guiding stars, whosoever follows one of them will enter paradise."[31] Muhammad Ilyas articulated six demands in the form of Six Principles which are quintessential to Tabligh Jamaat's teachings. These six principles are:
- Kalimah: Emaan - An article of faith in which a Muslim accepts that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his last messenger". Yet it is not as simple as proclaiming tawheed, rather it also has to do with having conviction that every single thing is done by the will of Allah. Moreover, the fact that not a leaf can fall from the tree yet it has been decreed by Allah. The means of bringing this conviction in one's life requires one to follow the Sunnah (way) of Muhammad.
- Salah: "Prayer - Five daily prayers that are essential to spiritual elevation, piety, and a life free from the ills of the material world" The notion that through one's salah, one can directly attain from the treasures of Allah. However it is not simply praying salah, but praying it in the manner of Muhammad, i.e. With concentration and devotion.
- Ikraam-e-Muslim: "Honoring a Muslim - The treatment of fellow Muslims with honor and deference" To Like for other what you like for yourself.
- Ikhlas-e-Niyyat: "Sincerity of Intention - Reforming one’s life in supplication to Allah by performing every human action for the sake of Allah and toward the goal of self-transformation"
Organization
Tablighi Jamaat follows an informal organizational structure and keeps an introvert institutional profile. It keeps its distance from mass media and avoids publishing details about its activities and membership. The group also exercises complete abstinence from expressing opinions on political and controversial issues mainly to avoid the disputes which would accompany these endorsements.[32][33] As an organisation, Tabligh Jamaat does not seek donations and is not funded by anyone, in fact members have to bear their own expenditures. Since there is no formal registration process and no official membership count has ever been taken, the exact membership statistics remain unknown.[34] The movement discourages interviews with its elders and has never officially released texts. Even though there are publications associated with the movement, particularly by Zakariya Kandahalwi, the emphasis has never been on book learning, but rather on first-hand personal communication.[6][35] A collection of books, usually referred as Tablighi Nisaab (Tablighi Curriculum), is recommended by Tabligh Jamaat elders for general reading. This set includes four books namely (Hayatus Sahabah, Fazail-e-Amaal, Fazail-e-Sadqaat and Muntakhab Ahadith).[36]
The organisation's activities are coordinated through centres and headquarters called Markaz. Tablighi Jamaat maintains its international headquarters, called Nizamuddin Markaz, in the Nizamuddin West district of South Delhi, India, from where it originally started. It also has country headquarters in over 213 countries to co-ordinate its activities. These headquarters organise volunteer, self-funding people in groups (called jamaats), averaging ten to twelve people, for reminding Muslims to remain steadfast on path of God.[25] These jamaats and preaching missions are self funded by their respective members.
Leadership
Ameer is the title of leadership in the Tabligh Jamaat and the attribute largely sought is the quality of faith, rather than the worldly rank.[30] The ameer of Tabligh Jamaat is appointed for life by central consultative council (shoora) and elders of Tabligh Jamaat.[35][37] First ameer, also the founder, was Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalawi, second was his son Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Kandhalawi and the third was Maulana Inaam ul Hasan.[19] At present, there is a council of known scholars like Haji Abdul Wahab Sb, Maulana Zubair ul Hasan, Maulana Saad Kandhalawi etc.nd that battles are won or lost in the hearts of man.)
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