A MORAL DREAM ALL SHOULD ASPIRE To: Urdu Book Review

From the EC Desk

Book Name:
Rasool-e Akram Ki Amali Zindagi-Awr ham- Kitne Door Kitne Pass

Author: Maulana Muddassir Ahmad Qasmi

Language: Urdu
Pages: 144
Price: 50 rupees
Year of Publication: 2013
Publisher: Markazul Ma’arif Education & Research Center
                  Partliputra Nagar, Oshiwara, New Link Road
                  Jogeshwari (W), Mumbai-102

Authors, thinkers and statesmen have offered numerous collections and anthologies of the prophet’s speeches and aspects of his character -- which is a moral aurora borealis-- to bring humanity to the straight path by presenting glimpses of his compassionate and heart-warming dealings with people.

This book “Rasool-e Akram Ki Amali Zindagi-Awr ham- Kitne Door Kitne Pass” is one more link in a chain of the earlier expositions, but with a difference. They are not only presented in easy language that all can learn from, but the author has also wisely refrained from dry sermonizing while providing a passage to action in the turbulent and violent reality of the present time.

To use a simile, this book is a bouquet of twenty varied flowering traits of the messenger (saws). Each flower has its own hue and fragrance. It is a book written for the common people and it offers an easily assimilable moral communication compiled by a young scholar, Maulana Muddassir Ahmad Qasmi. He is a lecturer at Markazul Ma’arif Education and Research Center, Mumbai and the assistant editor of Eastern Crescent, Mumbai (English monthly). His maiden effort is worth appreciating and is commendable.

A drawback of the book is that it is so short and those who are interested would like to learn more of the charisma, charm and moral strength of Prophet Muhammad (saws). No book, however good, can do justice to the moral beacon of the prophet (saws) because he was the “very perfection of imperfection”. He assayed various roles, (as if a coterie of prophets were within him), and fulfilled them to the extent which is humanly possible, so much so that the passage of centuries and the deterioration of moral standards in society have deepened the chasm between the vatic reality and its image.

This book launch ceremony was held at an impressive ceremony at Jogeshwari at the convocation of MMERC graduates held in Mumbai recently.

“Reality rarely matches dream but only dreams give nobility to purpose”, someone has said; the prophet (saws) seems to have become a moral dream so far away from the sordidness of our quotidian reality. For this reason, coupled with the multi-hued siren blandishments of modernity, any attempt like the present one is welcome to weave us into the moral wonder of the prophet’s variegated personality. So one is a little disappointed that the book is so short and could have expanded more to include wider moral horizons.  

This book cannot benefit only the Muslims unaware of the Prophet’s character, but non- Muslim compatriots and other religion’s followers who harbour misconceptions and misgivings about the universal mercy and all-encompassing compassion of Prophet Muhammad (saws). One difficulty is owing to the Urdu language while non-Muslims are less likely to understand, but shortly an English version is expected to hit the stands. Though in a short compass it is difficult to encapsulate the multi-faceted personality of the prophet (saws), this book is a good primer to begin with.  It is hoped that it will enable people to shed their misunderstandings about Islam and Insha’Allah they will try to take refuge in the skyey cirrus of his large-heartedness.

This is an analytical piece of writing for in the beginning of every article the present day critical situation among Muslims is delineated while the middle is laced with the spiritual balm for social and personal maladies from examples of the practical teachings of the holy prophet Muhammad (saws). In the end, a message for practical conversion of advice into action along with realistic guide lines are proffered for those who wish to improve their personal and social conditions.

While studying the book readers are expected to bear in mind that neither any specific group is criticized nor is everyone targeted, but, only unreformed elements of the society are urged to improve their character.

As an example of the prophet’s strict adherence to the sanctity of agreements between communities, an incident is related in the book where a Muslim came back to his people almost before the ink could dry on the agreement between the warring groups of Muslims and the Quraish. The person demanded to be kept back in Madinah as he feared harm in Makkah where he originally stayed, but the non-Muslims insisted that the terms of the agreement be fulfilled and he should be handed over to them. Despite the remonstrations of the people, the prophet (saws) said that the agreement was binding and refused to entertain the pleas of the hapless and forced him to go back. This resplendent example should open our minds and also our hearts to the importance of agreements between different groups, which are not considered worth the paper they are printed upon nowadays, in flagrant violation of the trust that such treaties should inspire.     

According to the need of the times, the author has compiled story- based authentic Ahadith with their cogent explanations which provide a moral pathway to reorder and refurbish different aspects of our present day lives. Though the book is written with intellectual insight it is within the reach of the common public.

The author and publisher look forward to make the material offered in the book a catoptric image of the current malaise in society. It is expected that through the prism of the author’s portrayal of the prophet’s (saws) character, people might see in it the great gulf between true morality and fave morals and false pretensions and uncouth behaviour that is rife among Muslims today. May Allah (swt) give the readers the moral fervour to bring to life the true well-springs of action spurred with the “tawfeeq” for deepening their sense of accountability to Allah (swt) so that they may avoid the malappropriate behaviour which is found within Muslim society.

This book will not only help in opening new windows to the readers but is expected to reduce the entrenched prejudice against Islam and will also be a source of light and guidance, not only for those who know and do not act in the right way, but also to the unknowing and unaware public at large.

The price of the book at Rs 50 has been kept very low so that it might, Insha’Allah, reach a wider body of readers.
The author can be accessed at: mudqasmi@yahoo.com

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