Ghamidi Sahab's Advice to Students - Malaysia - 2023
[Hassan Ilyas] Please give few words of advice to these students of Deen
who have begun studying your works.
[Javed Ahmed Ghamidi] May Allah add His blessings
to the knowledge of you all,
my prayers are with you.
For me, there are only three things that I,
or you can say that my message consists of these three things.
One, whether you are a common person or an expert,
scholar or a student, you should remain a student,
under all circumstances, and this should be the attitude of
the ignorant and the knowledgeable too.
When a person develops notions about himself that he has become a scholar,
and the ignorant also tend to behave in this way,
they consider themselves well read,
that is the point when the door of knowledge closes for them.
One should be the true scholar,
and who is called the true scholar?
One who welcomes knowledge. And the person welcoming knowledge
is the one who welcomes differences.
That is because, in researc, favourable conclusions exist with you anyway
one seeks it when one is deprived of knowledge anyhow.
When you begin to welcome differences,
welcoming does not imply that you accept it,
acceptance is a different thing altogether,
i.e., you accept it with an open heart that, okay,
there is a person who is criticizing some point of mine.
He is saying something different about it.
This implies that some newer reality has dawned upon him.
My Ustaz Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi used to say a very nice sentence
during the time when we used to visit him in his village.
He used to say that the day he opens the Quran,
he was writing his 'Tafsir' (Exegesis) Tadabbur-i-Quran,
and some big difficulty surfaces in the Ayah,
then I say that this is my day,
i.e., this is the time when some mystery would be solved.
The time when some insight or discovery would be made.
Now some reality would become clear.
So, what is it? If a verse looks simple,
its explanation would be written easily.
But on confronting something hard, he becomes excited, and the excitement is because
something new might be discovered today, so, the day is blessed!.
This should be the attitude when we are confronted with
a difference of opinion.
Muslims have lost this sense and as a result
they have been deprived of knowledge.
Their religious and non-religious people, their teachers,
and the people with secular minds among them,
all are in the same boat. It is more or less impossible
to have a sensible and descent discussion with them.
i.e., even if you have a discussion with a person on Politics or Economics,
you would get an idea of how emotional and passionate
even for concepts which are widely accepted,
or have you taken something from him?
So, the welcoming of knowledge at every moment,
like the way when we study and go to new school,
if some good teacher discusses some point,
it gives a feeling of a new revelation dawning upon oneself.
We should be ready to welcome it with open arms.
If I delve into it right now and tell you how big a blessing is it,
if this quality develops in some person,
I am telling this from the core of my heart,
and all my students are aware of this,
I have just one question for them,
Manzoor Sahab resides here in Malaysia,
did you go through so and so criticism which has been made (on us)?
I am not interested in reading something
when someone has expressed agreement,
but have read the (new) criticism which has come?
Because if a student is weary of the criticism which is made of him,
then he no longer remains a student.
You should welcome criticism. The welcoming of criticism is
the welcoming of knowledge. The moment you would read it
and understand it in the way a student does,
then what would be its result?
Either your own point would get validated,
it will result in growing your own confidence,
i.e., a criticism could not do any harm to it,
or you would learn some new truths.
So, this is the thing that we were in the quest for.
Therefore, we would write a letter of thanks to that person.
We would go pay our respects to him,
that he enabled a newer world to open for you.
I say this with great pain that one of the main reasons
for our downfall is the lack of a critical atmosphere.
Criticism is not fault finding.
The critical analysis of things, neither do we teach this to the students,
though we teach them polemics, but not how to engage in critical analysis.
What is the first and foremost thing to do in critical analysis?
It is to describe the other's stand in the way as he himself describes it,
rather, going even further, when we state other's position,
and that person sits right in front of us,
then he should cry out that yes, I could not have expressed it any better.
When you will have the capacity to state other's stand
in exactly the right way,
then your capacity to criticize would also be of the highest order,
otherwise, what usually happens is that we conjure others' stand in our mind,
and then start criticizing on it. or begin propagandizing based on it,
or start giving 'Fatawas' (Decrees) on it.
While the point which the other had said is something else.
So, this is what I mean by criticism.
i.e., to accept that point from the critical point of view,
and doing that in the most honest way,
the next step is to analyze it, and then to try and see
where does it fit in? It is not necessary that you accept it,
however, we should pass it through that process,
irrespective of it being a good or bad criticism.
In this criticism, we often come across the reality that
the other person doesn't maintain decency in words and tone.
He might indulge in ridicule,
he might choose to test your knowledge,
just ignore this with (Gazz-e basar) [literally, lower your gaze].
i.e., the teaching of Allah with regard to Gazz-e-basar isn't
it isn't just regarding women, it applies to everything.
One should turn away from futile things, this has been stated by the Quran,
"Hum anil Laghwi Mu'urizun", 'These are vain things',
keep them aside,
you just focus on the criticism which he has done on me,
what is it actually irrespective of all the other absurdities?
This will teach you something from a person
indulging in even the worst of criticism.
This was one point.
The second which I would humbly submit is,
what advice I can give, I need advice myself,
the second point is that we should support the truth.
Support among us is our pride,
it has become racial and lineage-based.
Truth and righteousness demand that a human being
should develop concern for them.
And what does supporting the truth means?
Supporting the truth implies the same which I stated,
that 'Even if our shadow fail us, we shall still stand firm'.
Such a concern is demanded by the truth.
You do not have to go kill someone for the truth.
We must value the truth which we have discovered.
So now I would measure up to the expectations of this truth.
This can be applied to even at the smallest scale,
inside the home and at all places. This is what the Quran has stated.
i.e., the expectation of Iman is that we remain steadfast - "Qaaim bil Qist".
This Qaim Bil Qist' which has been described in Surah Nisa and Maida
from both aspects, whether it be against the parents, or against us,
particular names have been mentioned,
and "La Yajrimannukum Shanana Qaumin",
'Be firm on justice under all conditions, this is what 'Shahadah' is'.
Shahadah among people takes after giving up their lives,
the Shahadah of the Quran begins from this point,
hence, this should be adopted as a practice in our lives.
The life should be spent by being "Qaim bil Qist",
and this isn't possible without standing for the truth.
The truth becomes so inevitable that
no matter if people do not accept it,
or do not pay heed to it, if they have come to kill us,
they may as well, we become indifferent to it,
and life and death is in God's hand.
And the third and the last point is
when you converse with other human beings,
we should learn to talk in the language of knowledge.
Our sister had asked a question,
what is it which inculcates 'Tahammul' (Forbearance)?
It is the language of knowledge.
We generally speak the language of our passions
rather than of knowledge.
The language of emotions can turn a person explode with rage in a few minutes.
Post that the language of knowledge takes the back seat.
You should resolve that
you would always speak the language of knowledge.
The language of knowledge never lets down a person,
it has a sanctity and holiness of its own.
And as a person starts to communicate
in the language of knowledge, so, his language turns
into the language of knowledge,
and he does not realize the reason for turning sentimental.
These are a few words, if you have something to take from it
you are welcome, and in case you didn't like them,
you can just give it a pass.