ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY FOR MUSLIMS AND SHAIKHUL HIND'S ADDRESS

"At This old age, in a state of illness and in such a convalescent stage I have come here on your invitation with the hope to find a precious lost treassure. There are many people whose faces are aglow with marks of prayer and remembrance of Allah. But when they are asked to rise up and act in order to protect and save the devrived Ummah from the tightening clutches of Kufr, their hearts tremble and sink with fear. Whose fear? Not of Allah, but of a few despicable men and of their weapons of war and destruction....."

While Shaikhu Hind was severely ill, students of the Aligarh Muslim University boycotted the university management (for its pro-British stance) and decided to establish a National University for Muslims. They organized a meeting and invited Shaikhul Hind to deliver the presidential address. Shaikhul Hind's condition had deteriorated so much that he often found it difficult even to turn sides on his bed. His doctor and friends tried to dissuade him from participating in the meeting, fearing that he might be arrested and that his arrest may prove fatal for him. Shaikhul Hind's curt answer was that if his participation in the meeting annoyed the British, he would certainly attend the meeting. Thus he was taken, lying in a palanquin, to Deoband railway station by students of Darul Uloom Deoband. The meeting at the Aligarh Muslim University was held on October 29, 1920. Shabbir Ahmed Uthmani read out Shaikhul Hind's presidential address at the meeting.

The following excerpts from that address remain engraved in the pages of history:

"At this old age, in a state of illness and in such a convalescent stage I have come here on your invitation with the hope to find a precious lost treasure. There are many people whose faces are aglow with marks of prayer and remembrance of Allah. But when they are asked to rise up and act in order to protect and save the deprived Ummah from the tightening clutches of Kufr, their hearts tremble and sink with fear. Whose fear? Not of Allah, but of a few despicable men and of their weapons of war and destruction....

"Listen to me O' Children of this great nation! When I saw that my sympathizers, you soothers and comforters of my agony, the agony that has caused my bones to melt down to this state, are more in schools and colleges than in Madaris and Khanqah (religious schools and monasteries), I along with some sincere friends have stepped forward and come to you. Thus 1 have become instrumental in developing a link and relationship between the two great and historic educational institutions (Darul Uloom Deoband and Aligarh Muslim University) of India.

Those among you who are researchers must be aware of the truth that our elders, at any point of time in history, did not issue or promulgate the Fatwa (edict) of Kufr against learning any foreign language or against the learning of arts and sciences of other nations. Of course, they have said that from the end results of the English and Western education it has often been witnessed that it had painted the youth's mind with the Christian colour. This type of education either inspired them to hurt the sentiments of Muslims by their nonsense talk and irreligious remarks or as often witnessed, they have become the worshipers of power and acted like the stooges of the rulers. In such a case, it would be better for a Muslim to remain ignorant than to acquire education.

The truth is that the influential leaders of Ummah have recognized the importance of this fact today. Whereas the contemporary education is imparted with zeal in Muslim educational institutions, students of these educational institutions are left to remain ignorant about the cardinal principles of their own religion. If they forget the Islamic duties and ignore the people's feeling; if the feeling of love, affection and dignity for their own people and nation edges to the lowest ebb, we should understand that these educational institutions of Muslims have become the tools to weaken the Ummah. And this is why it has been felt that such a Muslim University should be established that would remain totally free from the government's aid and assistance as well as from all sorts of its influence. And the functioning style of this type of Muslim institutions should be based on Islamic characteristics and it should also represent the community feelings,"