Allah has chosen Islam as our religion. We have been ordered to follow the rules of this religion in all spheres of life. At the same time, we have been ordered to devote ourselves to spread the teachings and instructions of Islam all over the world.

Essentially, da'wah and wa'z, tabligh and ta'lim, targhib and tarhib, amr bil ma'ruf and nahy 'anil munkar, jihad fi sabilillah, tazkiyah and suluk, organizational activities...to protect the society from sins and wrongdoing and all other valid methods like this are different ways to help the religion. They are different ways and branches of helping Islam. And each branch has many smaller branches.

Da'wah ilallah itself has different branches. There are many ways to do da`wah among general people. One such important, beneficial and fruitful way of da`wah is the effort of Hadrat Mawlana Ilyas Rh.

 The Shari’ah has laid down some basic rules and principles of Da'wah. It is the duty of every Da'i and Da'awati Jama'at to follow these rules and regulations at all times. Under these rules and policies, the procedure of da`wah  may vary depending on the place, time and the environment.

Hadrat Mawlana Ilyas rh. was one of the greatest da`is of the last century. He studied the Quran and Sunnah deeply. He carefully observed the da`wah  section from the sirah of the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam and sirah of the Companions. Then he consulted and discussed with elders (akabir ulama). After that he prepared a procedure of da`wah. As the days passed, this effort of da`wah progressed. Finally, by Allah's will, this effort has been accepted all over the world and the Muslim Ummah has greatly benefited from this effort. May Allah accept this effort till the Day of Judgment and keep it safe from all kinds of mischief. Amin.

One of the basic objectives with which Hadrat Mawlana Ilyas RA . started this effort was to bring the common people closer to the `ulama, awaken in their  hearts respect for them and to train them in such a way that they themselves feel the need to acquire essential religious knowledge from the `ulama. In brief, the basic purpose of this effort was to make common people `ulama-oriented. Anyone who looks at Hazrat's biography, sayings, writings, can realize this fact. Below are some examples:

One

Hadrat Mawlana Ilyas Rh. said, the main goal of our Da'wa movement is to teach the complete religion brought by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). That is, to connect this Ummah with the full knowledge and practice of Islam. This is our real purpose... It is also clear that our Jamaat is not capable of carrying out the full work. In fact, they can only create a kind of awareness and consciousness among general people. Their duty is to create awareness among the indifferent people and connect them with the local pious ones and religious scholars so that they may try to correct them.

It is more beneficial for the common people to learn the religion from local `ulama.

(Malfuzat e Mawlana Ilyas RA ., p. 32, malfuz no. 24, ‘Jamaat e Tabligh par Iterazat ke Jawabat’, p. 23)

It is clear from the above Malfuz that one of the basic objectives of this effort is to create interest and awareness among the common people to learn deen and to acquaint them with the local ahl al-ilm (religious scholars).

There is another lesson to be learned from this Malfuz. It is a recognized fact that it is not possible for ordinary muballig brothers to teach complete religion to the general public. Therefore, their responsibility is to acquire the necessary religious knowledge from `ulama and encourage others to learn Deen. There is no scope to think of this effort  as a substitute for the companionship of `ulama and mashayikh.

Two

Hazrat Mawlana Ilyas RA . says:

Wherever the companions of our Jamaat go, they should try to meet the local religious scholars and good people. The only purpose of this visiting is to benefit from them. Do not directly invite them for this work, because they are already busy in religious works and they know its benefits very well...' (Malfuzat e Hazrat Mawlana Ilyas RA ., p. 35, malfuz no. 29)

Three

Hadrat RA . also says, 

Our muballigh brothers should go specifically to three classes of people with three objectives in mind. 1. One should go in the service of `ulama and good people for learning deen and receiving the good influence of deen... (Malfuzat e Hazrat Mawlana Ilyas RA., p. 75, Malfuz no. 85)

Four

Referring to the principles of tabligh Hadrat Mawlana Ilyas RA . says,

Respecting the common Muslims and respecting the religious scholars is a fundamental in our Tablig. All Muslims should be respected for the virtue of Islam and scholars should be especially respected for the virtue of deen.

He also says,

`Ilm and dhikir have not yet come under the control of our muballigh brothers, because of which I am very worried. The only solution is to send the muballigh brothers to ahl al-ilam and ahl adh-dhikr. Do the work of tabligh under their supervision and benefit from their knowledge and companionship.

Five

Hadrat Mawlana Ilyas RA . also says,

Muslims should serve the `ulama for four purposes:

... Secondly, their hearts and bodies are bearers of the Prophet's knowledge. Therefore, they are worthy of respect and service. Thirdly, they are the guardians of our religious work.

Six

38 years ago in 1984, Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, who was very dear to Hadrat Mawlana Ilyas RA. and a respected religious personality in the world, came on a visit to Bangladesh. In Kakrail masjid he delivered a valuable discourse on Thursday night, 2nd March of that year. In that speech he said,

Hadratji RA. (Ilyas Saheb RA .) used to say to the companions of tabligh with great affection, ‘Go to the `ulama. Appreciate the scholars, do ikram, go to the `ulama to acquire knowledge, and benefit from their knowledge.”

Hadratji Mawlana Ilyas RA. used to say very strongly that we should not go to the `ulama with invitations, rather we should go to acquire knowledge. Go to `ulama for two purposes: `ilm and suhbah.

One of Hadratji's words still resonates in my ears. He used to say in a very pained voice, "I started this work to turn people toward `ulama, not to turn people away from `ulama." (See: purbo diganto, poshchim diganto, by Mawlana Abu Tahir Misbah damat barakatuhum p. 506 )

Seven

One of the goals of Hadrat Mawlana Ilyas was to bring the `ulama and the general people closer to each other through this effort. In this regard, he said,

"Through this effort, we want to create love, harmony, understanding, and sympathy between the `ulama and general  people." (malfuzat e Hadrat Mawlana Ilyas RA . p. 84, Malfuz no. 102)

In this context, Hazrat Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi RA. writes,

That is why he could not tolerate distance of general people from `ulama. He considered it a great misfortune of the Ummah, a great danger to the future of Islam and a harbinger of irreligion and heresy.  Mawlana was optimistic about his effort that by participating in this work, the general people and the `ulama would come closer to each other and feel their need for each other...

On the one hand, Mawlana urged the `ulama to approach the general people through da'wah and be kind to them. On the other hand, he encouraged the public to understand the value and dignity of the `ulama and go serve them and acquire the necessary knowledge from them. He used to teach them the merits of visiting the `ulama and the manners of attending their service.

In this way, he brought the class of businessmen so close to the `ulama that this had not been seen for the past many years, perhaps after the Khilafat movement (i.e. Tahrik e Khilafat, Hadrat Shaikhul Hind). ...Hadrat Mawlana's effort and strategies were so successful that at least general people tolerated political disputes for the sake of Deen and they got an opportunity to respect the haqqani `ulama and recognize their greatness and dignity despite their political differences. The big businessmen, who had a negative opinion of the `ulama for many years, also began to appear in the service of `ulama and receive them with due dignity in their tablighi gatherings'' (Mawlana Ilyas awr unki Dini Dawat, Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, translation, Mawlana Abu Taher Misbah Damat Barakatuhum)

Eight

Like the first Hadratji, the second Hadratji Mawlana Yusuf Saheb has repeatedly highlighted the basic purpose of this effort.

Once he said,

The purpose of all the jama`at that I send to Deoband and Saharanpur is not to preach to the `ulama and to invite them; rather, my purpose is to make the general public close to the `ulama. And in this lies the welfare of the general people.

Nine

In a long letter containing principles of Tabligh, Mawlana Yusuf Saheb writes, a `alim is heavier on Satan than a thousand worshippers…. One should go to the `ulama and consider it as an act of worship.

Ten

Hadrat Mawlana Yusuf Saheb wrote in a long letter to Al-hajj Mawlana Fadle Alim Sahib Muradabadi Makki, 

The most important thing in human life is to remain always busy with `ilm and dhikr. For this, two important duties must be performed regularly.

One: respect ahlul'ilm and ahludhdhikr. Accept their advice in all your matters and give them all their rights. (Jamaat e Tabligh Par Iterazaat Ke Jawabat, Shaykh Zakariya RA ., p. 27)

Hadrat Mawlana Ilyas and other elders of Tabligh always strictly forbade people from indulging in criticism, suspicion, slandering and backbiting of `ulama. They even warned of its dire consequences. In this context, Hadrat Mawlana Ilyas RA . says,

The muballigh brothers should remember that if indifference to this effort is observed on the part of the `ulama, then they should not keep any kind of adverse attitude toward them. Rather, it should be remembered that `ulama are busy with more important work than us. While others are engrossed in deep sleep, they stay awake at night and are busy in the service of 'ilm and deen.

Then he said-

When abusing a common Muslim unnecessarily is a destructive sin, then abusing `ulama is a more destructive sin.' (malfuzat e Hadrat mawlana Ilyas, p. 56, malfooz no. or remove 54)

In kakrail masjid, on Thursday after Maghrib, on 22nd march, 1984 Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi RA . at the end of the speech said:

One important thing remained undiscussed. That is, ikram of `ulama. Hazratji Mawlana Ilyas RA . repeatedly urged that there should be love and respect for `ulama in the heart. If you notice any of their mistakes, overlook it. A bad attitude towards `ulama is a great harm to the religion.

Hazrat Mawlana Saeed Ahmad Khan Saheb was a great personality of this effort. He wrote in one of his long letters to the companions of Tabligh:

The second thing is that no insulting words should be uttered by the tongue against `ulama and people of dhikr. It is important to respect them in public and in private, and talk to them politely. Through this, they can improve themselves and acquire good qualities.' (Makatibe sayed Abmad khan

We request to all Tablighi brothers humbly, do not spoil your akhirah by harboring hatred towards `ulama. Repent on past mistakes and correct yourselves. According to the teachings of ilm and dhikr,  go to the `ulama and learn the obligatory amount of ilm and encourage  general people to go to the `ulama. May Allah accept us all. Amen.

N.B.

The Servant Muhammad Abdul Malek's request to his muballigh brothers is this-

Mawlana Abu Hassan Rayyan draws our attention to an important principle. All brothers should realize the importance of these instructions given by elders of Tabligh and try to put them into practice.

Nevertheless, one thing needs to be remembered; that is, it is important to keep balance in every work. Extreme adherence and excessive neglect are not desirable in any work. Some brothers are such that they – ma sha Allah - have relations with the `ulama. They also appear in the islahi majalis of mashayikh; but at the same time, a negligence is also observed among them - they left the effort of Tabligh altogether or reduced it.

Remember, it is essential to correct this condition, because it sends a wrong message to other partners. Seeing this, other Tablighi brothers may say, If we also go to the `ulama or attend the islahi majlis of mashayikh, then our situation will be like theirs. On basis of this pretext, those companions will be deprived of the benefit of the companionship of the `ulama. Therefore, a beautiful nizamul awaqat or work schedule should be made by consultation, on the basis of which the Tablighi effort will continue, and benefit from the company of mashayikh will also continue.

It will be possible to protect all sides easily if you take advice from the companions who have a balanced mindset and long experience.

- The servant Muhammad Abdul Malek