{"id":4240,"date":"2020-12-26T19:40:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-26T14:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/?p=4240"},"modified":"2020-12-26T19:40:49","modified_gmt":"2020-12-26T14:10:49","slug":"noor-ahmad-a-religious-scholar-who-revolutionized-tral-tribute-by-prof-hameedah-nayeem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/point-of-view\/kashmir-talk\/noor-ahmad-a-religious-scholar-who-revolutionized-tral-tribute-by-prof-hameedah-nayeem\/","title":{"rendered":"Noor Ahmad A Religious Scholar Who Revolutionized Tral- Tribute by Prof. Hameedah Nayeem"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/fb:like>\n
\"\"
Prof. Dr. Hameedah Nayeem<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Noor Ahmad, the Passing away of an Illustrious Son of an
\nIllustrious Father: a Tribute
\nEven though we have been incessantly in mourning for a long
\ntime yet some moments of loss intensify it to new levels. The
\npassing away of Noor Ahmad at this juncture in time is such a
\nmoment that left the entire Tral division orphaned and dwarfed
\nand its ripples have been felt far and wide.I am extremely grieved
\nby his last journey as I understand beyond personal grief, his
\ncommunitarian significance and how almost impossible it is to fill
\nthe void left by his passing away. I have known him from my
\nteens and have been deeply impacted by his speeches. He was
\nthe first person for me who added intellectual dimension to Islamic
\nteachings when I was at an impressionable age; a time when their
\nwas no internet and no YouTube lectures of scholars to listen to
\ndiverse brilliant voices on the exegesis of Islam and the \u2018
\nconstructed theology\u2019. Over the years he had outgrown the earlier
\nstages of Tableeg and expanded his scope of intervention in the
\nsociety.
\n.
\nOut of four sons his father’s mantle fell on him and he proved
\nhimself more than worthy of it.His father was given the charge of
\nTalimul Islam Tral when it was established by some prominent
\ncommunity members when my father was a child and Noor Sb
\noffered to work on two rupees salary whereas he was getting
\nfifteen rupees in Srinagar Islamia school at the time.He developed
\nthe school literally brick by brick and gradually developed it into
\nthe best school in the area. Noor Ahmad took the school to new
\nheights by upgrading the school to higher classes and dividing it
\ninto three full fledged branches namely Boys school, Al banaat
\nand Darul Aloom at three separate locations.Darul Aloom<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is situated near Panzinag in our vicinity and a grand mosque,
\nthe only one of its kind,
\nhas been constructed in its compound of eight kanals of land in
\nthe recent years where he would lead prayer and deliver Khutba
\non every Friday as thousands of people from all directions would
\nthrong the mosque to listen to him..
\nWhat set Noor Ahmad arguably apart from all the current Ulema
\nin Kashmir are his all encompassing teachings on almost all
\naspects of life that are classified as: 1) Imaniyat and Tasdeeqaat
\n2)Aamaal and Ibadaat 3) Adaab and muashirat4)Mamlaat and
\nSiyasiyaat and 5) Salooq and Maqamaat according to Islamic
\nteachings.
\nThis particular feature greatly impressed the younger generation
\nand intelligentia who are baffled by several contemporary issues
\nand don\u2019t know hos to harmonise them with Islamic teachings.
\nThey are in search of answers to many questions that modern
\nlife throws up in the light of Islam. This also took him away from
\ncriticizing one sect or the other which he used to do sometimes in
\nthe past and concentrate on the core Islamic thought and
\nphilosophy of action. The result was he was able to unify all sects
\nunder the broader contours of Islam transcending hegemonic
\nsectarian politics and competitive discourses that has done a lot
\nof disservice to the unity and monolithic grand narrative of Islam
\nand Muslims. This was testified by the sea of people who came
\nweeping for his Namazi Janazah and to have the last glimpse of
\ntheir revered and beloved Imam. On every Friday he would
\nchoose a particular theme confronting society besides other
\nthings and explain that in the light of Islamic ethos.
\nHe had a sterling character, led a simple life, was taciturn by
\nnature and constantly cultivated his spirit by zikrullah.He was
\ndevoted to his wife and the couple had a deep bond of love ,
\nfidelity and commitment to each other and never allowed her to do
\ntough domestic chores.He had so much love for her that when
\nshe was ailing and was to be taken to hospital for medical
\nconsultation, he put the shoes on her feet himself and did not let<\/p>\n\n\n\n

his daughters to do so.( as told to me by his elder daughter). She
\nfurther said that he never reprimanded his children but would
\npoint to their mistakes indirectly in a friendly manner.
\nIn the earlier stages of his life he was averse to Peer Muridi –
\nwhat is called tariqa. and may have even criticized it but his
\nevolution was apparent in seeking spiritual guidance first from
\nMasihulah Khan and after his passing away from Hazrat Shah
\nAbrarul Haq Hardoi from UP. Both these personalities were
\nkhalifas of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi.
\nMy regret has been that I did not get a chance to get education in
\nMadrasai Talimul Islam (MTI) under his guidance as girls were
\nnot allowed those days and I carry this sense of bereavement\/
\nloss even today. I often yearn to go back in years to my
\nchildhood through the operation of some magic wand and join
\nthe school to learn everything afresh particularly languages –
\nArabic ,Persian,Urdu and English and Islamiyaat from him. My
\nsiblings- two sisters and two brothers were fortunate to be his
\nstudents in the school. Though my father got the best teachers
\nfrom this school to teach me at home yet I couldn’t get over this
\nsense of loss of not having learnt from him.
\nAll those people who have done well in education in Tral have
\ngot their mental nourishment from this school .His fathers
\ncontribution to religious education is invaluable but Noor Ahmad
\nstole a leaf over him by contributing to the holistic education as he
\nwas well versed in both. In a nutshell, he was a mard e momuin,
\nwho had achieved tazkiyai nafas, a genuine traditional scholar, a
\nQazi, an adminstrator, a waiz and a social leader.Tral and its
\nadjacent areas have lost an all protecting shield, a real community
\nleader who played multiple roles and whose place none could
\nreplace at present. May God grant him the highest station in
\nJannah and strength to us to tread on the path he painstakingly
\nshowed during his . mature life
\ntime\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since I have gone down the memory lane I feel an irresistible
\nurge to give more details related to Noor Sb, and women\u2019s
\neducation.
\nWhen Noor Sb had come back from Deoband after completing his
\nformal education there, he started preaching Tawheed and
\nsystematic Islamic thought and Ibadaat. He was persecuted by
\nhis brethren who mistakenly thought that he was attacking their
\nbeliefs, an attempt was made on his life and he leapt from the
\nwindow to escape the bid on his life, and never returned to that
\nhome. He preached that the Prophet is the messenger of God
\nand not a partner unto Him nor has any saint any divine power. It
\nis shirk to ask them for help. He bore all those torments and
\ndisgraces gracefully but stuck to his beliefs.That time there were
\na handful of people who followed him.For the rest he was an
\nuntouchable. As education spread, the entire area came under
\nthe influence of his teachings and when he died on 23rd Jan
\n1993 swarms of people in lakhs came from all regions to mourn
\nhis death and his opponents paid glowing tributes to his service to
\nIslam and people of the area.
\nNoor Ahmad didn’t have to go through all those trials and
\ntribulations.He had a vast youth following when his father passed
\naway.
\nI clearly remember Noor Sb’s evolution about women’s modern
\neducation. When I and my sister were send to govt school, Noor
\nSb had objected to my father for sending us to govt school
\nbecause sometimes he led prayers and people will object to his
\nImamat for sending his daughters to govt school and that girls
\nare at the risk of losing their morals\/ values. My father had a great
\npassion to educate his daughters and craved for some magical
\nshort cut to take us to higher classes .That is why I was directly
\nput in the 2nd primary class at the insistence of my father and the
\nschool administration added four more years to my actual age for
\njumping up the ladder. My father disagreed with Noor Sb arguing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that if he ever felt that his girls were going astray, he would call
\nthem back. My father thought matric was the ultimate degree for
\ngirls at that time and wanted us to reach there faster. He
\npromised to Noor Sb that he would let his daughters to have that
\ndegree if they stick to the right path. He told him that he was not
\ncommitting any blasphemy that people could object to his imamat
\nby trying to educate his daughters even in a govt school and
\nQuoted: Talabul ilmu bisceen;talabul ilmu farizatan alla kuli
\nmuslimin wa muslimah . In this hadith it was not said which kind
\nof exclusive education one should get. In the lighter vein he told
\nhim that China would not have been suggested as a favorite
\nspot for acquiring religious education by the Prophet.
\nWhen I was appointed in the university and visited Noor Sb to
\ngive him the news,he asked me for his share in my salary in a
\nhumourous tone .I reminded him again light heartedly of the
\ngeneral fallacy in the then Muslim society that women’s earnings
\nare haram for men and how could he take my earnings.He
\ndebunked this fallacy very forcefully. Incidentally by this time all
\nhis progeny- his sons, grand daughters and grand sons were
\ngetting modem education so much so that his grand daughters
\nwent to medical college and the university and became teachers,
\ndoctors etc.
\nThe real liberator for me,however, from the dead weight of
\ncustoms and conventional absurdities and the slavery of the
\nliteral sense was Mohd Akbar Ganaei Sb who taught in the
\nIslamia school and who tutored me at home.He was a mystic by
\nnature and took me to the heart of Quran and Hadith beyond
\nwords and beyond literality of legal discourse in Islam.I could
\nnever repay him for opening up vistas of my mind and imagination
\nand opening up the reality of things.My mental growth started with
\nhim and came to another level at the university where I was
\nintroduced to western philosophies..I had by this time the
\nconfidence of rejecting many philosophical ideas which were
\nshorn from godhead.Otherwise I could easily have been<\/p>\n\n\n\n

alienated from God. Ganai Sb would often say that Noor<\/p>\n<\/fb:like><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prof. Dr. Hameedah Nayeem<\/p>\n

Noor Ahmad, the Passing away of an Illustrious Son of an
\nIllustrious Father: a Tribute
\nEven though we have been incessantly in mourning for a long
\ntime yet some moments of loss intensify it to new levels. The
\npassing away of Noor Ahmad at this juncture in time is such a
\nmoment that left the entire Tral division orphaned and dwarfed
\nand its ripples have been felt far and wide.I am extremely grieved
\nby his last journey as I understand beyond personal grief, his
\ncommunitarian significance and how almost impossible it is to fill
\nthe void left by his passing away. I have known him from my
\nteens and have been deeply impacted by his speeches. He was
\nthe first person for me who added intellectual dimension to Islamic
\nteachings when I was at an impressionable age; a time when their
\nwas no internet and no YouTube lectures of scholars to listen to
\ndiverse brilliant voices on the exegesis of Islam …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kashmir-talk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4240"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4240"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4242,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4240\/revisions\/4242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}