Friday 30th April
Arrival:
Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hassani touched down at Karachi International Airport where he was given a warm reception by the members, leaders and dignitaries of Minhaj-ul-Quran International (Karachi). Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hassani was accompanied by two of his students, sidi Khalid Mardeeni from Syria and sidi Saqib from UK.
Dinner was then held in honour of the guests at Khawjah House. The Shaykh commented that he was very impressed and greatly liked the lighting around Karachi done for the month of Rabi-ul-Awwal.
Saturday 1st May
Visit to Mausoleum of the great Saint Abdullah Shah Ghazi:
Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hassani visited the Mausoleum of the great Saint Abdullah Shah Ghazi. He paid his respects to the great Saint and supplicated there.
Departure for Lahore:
Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hassani touched down at Lahore International Airport where he was received by central leaders of MQI and hundreds of members, students of COSMOS and students of ICIS. The Shaykh was greatly touched by the grand reception and thanked those who had come to receive him. The Shaykh enquired from the students of ICIS on how their studies were going and how they finding life in Pakistan.
Visit to Mausoleum of the Data Ganj Bakhsh Ali Hujwairi:
Soon after his arrival to Lahore, Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hassani vsited the mausoleum of one of the greatest Saints who lived a thousand years ago, Shaykh Ali bin Uthman Al-Hujwairi commonly known as Daata Ganj Bakhs Ali Hujwairi. The Shaykh was very impressed by the fact that even in the late hours of night the mausoleum was packed with visitors. He said this was a sign that Daata Ganj Bakhsh was a true Wali of Allah and as he used to remember Allah in his life time and served His Deen, Allah SWT was keeping Daata Ganj Baksh`s remembrance alive in this way as he has promised in authentic traditions. The Shaykh paid his respect to Daata Ganj Baksh and supplicated beside his grave.
Sight Seeing in Lahore:
The Shaykh went sight seeing in Lahore. He particularly wanted to visit the Minar-e-Pakistan, the sight of the International Mawlid Conference for which he was the Chief Guest.
Visit to MQI`s Research Library:
Due to the Shaykhs great love for classical Islamic books, once he was informed of the great collection of classical books at the Research Library of MQI, Farid-e-Millat Research Institute, he desired to visit it although it was close to midnight. The books have been collected by Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri from all over the world. The Shaykh was happy to see such a large collection of classical Arabic books.
Sunday 2nd May
Sight Seeing:
The Shaykh visited the Badshahi Mosque. He particularly enjoyed the relics gallery in the mosque which had relics of the Holy Prophet Muhammad SAW, the Sahabah and other saints.
Visit to the Mausoleum of Mian Meer:
Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hassani visited the mausoleum of the great Saint of Lahore, Hadhrah Mian Meer. He paid his respects and supplicated there.
Dinner with Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri:
The Shaykh and his students were invited by Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri
for a Welcome Dinner at his residence. This was the first time they had met
each other. They also had a detailed meeting during and after Dinner. It was
discovered that Dr. Farid-ud-Din Qadri, the father and teacher of Dr
Tahir-ul-Qadri, had gained an Ijaza of Hadith from Shaykh al-Qattani a great
Muhadith of Syria from whom the father of Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi
al-Hassani had gained the Ijaza of Hadith. Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi
al-Hassani also gained an Ijaza of Hadith from Shaykh al-Qattani. This was a
very enlightening discovery that although this was the first time the two great
scholars were meeting and had merely heard of each other but they were actually
very closely related, which brought great joy to both of them.
12th Rabi-ul-Awwal:
The Annual International Mawlid Conference:
The Annual International Mawlid Conference was held on the
grounds of the Minar-e-Pakistan. It is held annually to welcome the morning of
the Birth of the Mercy to the Universe, Prophet Muhammad SAW. The conference
began after Isha Prayer with recitations of the Holy Quran by renowned Qaris of
Pakistan followed by praise to the Prophet SAW sang by world famous singers of
Hamd, praise to the Prophet SAW, Islamic songs/Nasheeds. Introductory lectures
were also given by central leaders of MQI.
Stalls were held by all departments and forums of MQI around the grounds of Minar-e-Pakistan to offer their services to the participants. The 290 books of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri and his approximately 6000 lectures on CDs, video/audio cassettes, in English, Urdu and Arabic were available on half price to the participants.
The grounds of Minar-e-Pakistan literally exploded when Dr
Tahir-ul-Qadri accompanied with the Chief Guest of the conference ash-Shaykh
as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hassani stepped onto the stage.
They waved at the hundreds of thousands of participants who were overjoyed to see them and were shouting slogans of takbeer and risalaah in unison together
with slogans of Mawlid-un-Nabbi. Also shouting slogans with the names of Dr
Tahir-ul-Qadri and Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hassani.
Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri introduced the Chief Guest to the audience and to a national TV channel. He also gave an introductory message of the Mawlid-un-Nabbi in which he made it clear that the Muslim Ummah can only confront the problems it is currently facing by strengthening its love for the Holy prophet SAW. He said that the Muslim Ummah and the world at large is subject to the state terrorism of the USA, the worlds greatest rogue state.
Alongside Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hassani
who was the chief Guest of the Great International Mawlid Conference, Raza Ali
Gilani, Minister for Housing and Development, Government of Punjab, Pakistan was
one of the special guests.
Book Launch: "Milad-un-Nabbi" by Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri
"Milad-un-Nabbi" a book launched at the conference, which is an encyclopaedia of all issues regarding Mawlid, with its thousands pages, was sold out with in hours of its launch. Three other books of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri in Urdu were also launched on the night. A DVD set of 4 lectures of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri in the English Language on the Legality of Mawlid celebrations together with seven books by Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri in the English language will also be launched in the month of Rabi-ul-Awwal, Insha Allah.
Grand Mawlid Dinner:
The grand Mawlid Dinner which was a new feature of the Mawlid
celebrations, was also going on as the thousands of participants were arriving
at the conference. The meat of 1000 goats was cooked for the dinner and was
served to more than 1,50,000 ladies and gentlemen. This was done with the aim
of reviving the practice of past Muslim scholars and pious rulers who celebrated
Mawlid in the way it should be.
Monday 3rd May 2004
Mawlid Program at Residence of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri:
Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hassani was the Chief Guest at the program. Praise to the Prophet SAW was the main feature of the program especially the Qasida Burda of Imam Basuri. The participants were treated to the rare occurrence of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri singing the Qasida and Salaam he has written in the Arabic language. Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni particularly appreciated the Salaam. The pinnacle of the program was the lecture of ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni on the topic of the "The true being of the Prophet SAW". He said that the nur of the Prophet SAW was only placed into a human body as there was no other way of sending him to the world as a Prophet SAW. He said the Prophet was different to normal humans in many ways; seeing from behind is only a small part of that. Other special guests at the program were Deputy Head (Naib Nazim) District Government of Lahore Amjad Faruq Mir, many Shayukh and distinguished politicians and leaders of MQI.
Tuesday 4th May 2004
Visit of Head Quarters of Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI)
Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni visited all offices of Central Secretariat of MQI. He was shown around by Dr Raheeq Ahmad Abbassi Secretary General MQI, Dawood Hussain Mash`hadi Director Directorate of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Shaykh Ali Akbar al-Qadri al-Azhari Editor in Chief Monthly Minhaj-ul-Quran Magazine. He firstly visited the offices of the Central Secretariat, such as the DFA, Minhaj Education Society and all other directorates. The Shaykh was impressed with the organised and structured way in which the different departments were set up and running in a systemized manner.
The Minhaj University:
He then visited The Minhaj University, Model Town Campus which has all faculties of non religious education such as Managements sciences, Computer sciences, Modern Languages, Economics etc..
Tahfeez-ul-Quran Institute
Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni was then taken to the Baghdad Town Campus where he firstly visited the Tehfeez-ul-Quran Institute. He was shown around the vast campus where over 2000 students learn the Holy Quran by heart by at the same time attending school which is also on sight. The Institute has the honour of having the mausoleum of Shaykh Tahir Aloudin al-Qadri al-Baghdadi the spiritual Shaykh of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri, with in its perimeter.
The Mausoleum of Shaykh Tahir Aloudin al-Qadri al-Baghdadi:
Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni then visited the Mausoleum of Shaykh Tahir Aloudin al-Qadri al-Baghdadi the spiritual Shaykh of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri, where he paid his respects and supplicated there.
Institute of Classical Islamic Sciences (ICIS):
Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni then visited the ICIS and met the students who have come from the UK and EU to study there. He then honoured the students by having a group photo taken with them. The Shaykh mention that he has already met a few of the students in the UK. He was told that the students are great fans of his.
Minhaj College for Women (MCW):
The Shaykh then visited the MCW which is exclusively for female students studying Classical Islamic studies along regular college studies. The Shaykh was impressed by the safe and private environments the students were provided with all facilities being provided in the grounds of the college in an Islamic environment.
College of Shariah and Modern Sciences (COSMOS)
The Shaykh then visited COSMOS where the complete shariah course of Classical Islamic sciences is taught to students over a period of 7 years alongside regular college studies. The Shaykh visited the studend Library and conversed with the great shayukh who teach there such as Shaykh-ul-Hadith Maulana Muhammad Miraj-ul-Islam, Mufti Abdul Qayyum Khan Hazarvi and Allama Nawaz Zaffer. He then talked on matters concerning the Ummah with the Shayukh.
Dinner at Central Secretariat, MQI:
Another remarkable discovery was made during dinner hosted in honour of Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni, which was that the grandfather of Shaykh Tahir Aloudin al-Qadri al-Baghdadi, as-Sayyad Abd-ur-Rahman an-Naqeeb is the spiritual Shaykh of Shaykh Qattani and gave Ijazah of Hadith to him. Shaykh Qattani went to him in Iraq for this purpose. This was the second relationship that Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri and Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni had with each other. Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni was very happy to discover this and mentioned that "where ever I go in the world I say to people that the sign of true scolars of the Ahl-us-Sunnah is that they are always related to each other some in their chains of ijazah or their tariqah". Dr Raheeq Ahmad Abbasi, Dawood Hussain Mash`hadi, and other MQI office bearers also had the pleasure to dine with the Shaykh.
Lecture to students of ICIS
The students of the Institute of Classical Islamic Sciences (ICIS) were treated to a lecture by Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni. The subject of the lecture was, "The importance of gaining sacred (Islamic) knowledge and the importance of respect". Introducing himself to the students he aid that the Prphet SAW is his 32nd grand father and there are 17 links between him and the prophet SAW in the Ijazahs of Hadith which he has. The Shaykh shed light on the methods of gaining sacred knowledge together with its superiority over modern sciences which only serve the purpose of earning a living. He made it clear that once a person goes on the path of sacred knowledge, Allah SWT arranges and solves living and financial matters for that person.
The Shaykh said that up until scientific inventions were done by Muslim scientists, not a single invention had negative or side effects because the Muslim scientists also had scared knowledge. He said Muslims should also gain knowledge of modern sciences so long as they primarily gain sacred knowledge and their knowledge of modern sciences is based upon the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. They shaykh emphasised on the fact that when sacred knowledge is gained, as the knowledge increases, the amount of respect that person shows to others should also increase. He said sacred knowledge with out respect is as if that person in reality has not gained the sacred knowledge.
Ameer Minah-ul-Quran International (MQI), Sahabzada Miskeen Faiz-ur-Rahman Durani thanked the Shaykh for delivering a great lecture which was of direct relevance to the students of ICIS.
Farewell Dinner with Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri
Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri invited Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni to dinner at his residence. They discussed ways of working together in the future. Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri invited Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni to come and teach Hadith every year at The Minhaj University with the classes also to be attended by students from many other institutions from Lahore. The Shaykh thought it was a very good idea so he agreed upon coming every year for a period of two weeks. He will be returning to Pakistan in December 2004 for this purpose. The two Shayukh also decided to exchange teachers and students annually, details of which will be finalised later. Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni said he can assist MQI in publishing the Arabic books and arbaeenaat of Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri from publishers in Damascus in order to make the books more accessible to the Arab world.
Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni revealed that although he has travelled all over the world and has made many journeys, this journey to Pakistan was his best because he has met true lovers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad SAW. He of course could only make such a statement because he himself is a true lover of the prophet SAW which is why he recognised Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri as another true lover of the Prophet SAW.
The shaykh revealed that he performs an istikhara before travelling abroad on any journey and that he did the same before comming to the International Mawlid Conference organised by MQI. He also revealed that he had dreamt four years ago that he would visit Pakistan.
They gave each other their fare well prayers and then concluded their last meeting with each other during this tour of Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni to Pakistan.
Wednesday 5th May 2004:
Visit to Bookshops
Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni was very eager to visit classical and Arabic bookshops so he was taken to some prominent ones by Abdul Jabbar Qamar the Chief Librarian at the Farid-e-Millat Research Institute (FMRI) and graduates from Jamia mustanser, Baghdad who were working as Research Assistants at FMRI. The Shaykh purchased many books which were of unique nature.
Visit to Jamia Ashrafiyah
The Shaykh then visited the famous Madrassah of Lahore, Jamia Ashrafiyah.
Meeting and Dinner with Scholars from all backgrounds
A meeting was arranged for Scholars from all backgrounds to share views with Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni, at the MQI Central Secretariat. The most prominent scholars present were Ustadh-ul-Ulema Dawood Ahmad Azhar, Mufti Abdul Qayyum Khan Hazarvi, Allama Nawaz Zaffar, Miskeen Faiz-ur-Rahman Durani, Shaykh ali Akabar al-Qadri al-Azhari, Allama Akeel Abbaas, Prof. Rafeeq Siyal. The guests enquired on life in Syria and matters relating to the Ummah. They shared views on many issues relating to the Muslim world including methods of implementing in the Ummah, clarifications on what is and is not Jihad, why the Muslim world has lagged behind the West in technological advancements.
Asked on what was his impression of MQI and its leader Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri, after spending a week here, Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni replied that he is greatly impressed with the work being done by MQI and Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri which is all because of the great Tariqah of Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri.
Dr. Raheeq Ahamd Abbasi presented gifts
to the two students of Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni, Sidi
Khalid Mardini and Sidi Saqib, who had accompanied him on the tour and thanked
them very much for visiting MQI, and apologised for any short coming which may
have occurred. He then present a shield to Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi
al-Hasni from Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri, another shield from MQI, a large size
na`alain-e-pak (imitation of the shoe of the Prophet SAW) and gifts from MQI.
Ameer MQI Miskeen Faiz-ur-Rahman Durani thanked Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni for blessing us with his visit in the great month of Rabi-ul-Awwal. H ealso thanked the noble scholars for coming to see Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni in such short notice. The guests then had the pleasure of dining with Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni.
Thursday 6th May 2004:
Departure to Syria
Ash-Shaykh as-Sayyad Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasni departed from Lahore International Airport at 8.AM. Dr. Raheeq Ahmad Abbasi and Dawood Hussain Mash`hadi were amongst many MQI representatives who had come to see off the Shaykh.
Report by: Jawed Iqbal Tahiri MA, BSc.
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