SESSION AT AVARI – 2007
What is the ‘Absolute Truth’? Where can we find the ‘Absolute Truth’?
Ten years ago, in 2007, I received a
phone call on Saturday night from a friend’s younger brother. In an excited
tone, he told me that there was going to be a lecture session by a Sufi scholar
from UK at Avari Hotel on Sunday. He offered that he would himself come next
morning at my place to take me there.
Though I myself loved researching on
Islam and mingling with different groups to seek the spirit of true Islam but
he failed to stir my emotions then. I just said to myself, “Oh, this kid just
wants to go there because it is a grand hotel and a lecture by a ‘foreigner’. “
Hence, I told him politely that I didn’t feel like attending that lecture. The
‘kid’ was apparently disappointed!
Next morning arrived and I felt quite
fresh when I woke up. The lecture was scheduled around 11 AM and there was
still plenty of time. With a change of mood I decided that it was not a bad
idea to attend the lecture and gave the kid a phone call. Hence, we reached
Avari well in time for the session ultimately!
The lecture was to be delivered by
Sheikh Nuh Keller, a Sufi scholar from UK who was a Christian before and had
converted to Islam in 1977. He follows a particular ‘silsila’ of Islam and has
written some books on Islam as well. Before attending that lecture I had never
even heard his name and the experience broadened my outlook on the world of
Islam.
The arrangement was in a suite with partition
between men and women (cloth sheets were used for that purpose). The Sheikh sat
on the floor of the stage in front of us with his legs crossed while there were
regular chairs for the audience in front of him. He was wearing a loose ‘Kurta’
with an exquisitely-shaped turban on his head. We guessed he was above 55 years
of age. He had a noble and sober appearance with a proper Sunnah beard.
As Sheikh Nuh started his lecture we
found that though his words were charged with wisdom but he was not really a
great speaker (as he was more of a writer). It is not possible now to recall
the content of lecture but only the theme. He spoke slowly and in a soft tone.
His lecture was about the challenges to our faith in the current times and also
about upbringing of children. We found that he was more conservative than our
local clerics and scholars in approach towards issues.
At the end of lecture was the
question-answer session. People asked different questions about what the scholar
had earlier spoken in his lecture. Someone
asked a question about making or drawing pictures of living things and Sheikh replied that it is
forbidden in Islam as per authentic Ahadith (sayings of the Prophet pbuh). However,
there is need to seek the opinions of other scholars also on the issue. The
purpose of mentioning his approach is to make us see how conservative he was
(and still is) even though he was a Christian Englishman prior to converting to
Islam. Later on I searched for his lectures on youtube and there was only his
voice-over with still nature scenes etc. in his video lectures.
At the end, I approached the
coordinator of the session and he told me that there were weekly meetings by Sheikh’s
disciples at a residential house in Defence area in Lahore. I took his number
and then visited the venue a week later.
The participants were mostly young
and educated. The host of the house asked everybody for introductions and then
a specific name of Allah was transmitted on a stereo for some time which the
participants were required to repeat also. Afterwards, a thick book with notes
on Islamic practices was introduced to all which was in English. After the meal
as we were about to leave, a young boy at the door said that ladies were
passing by outside (who were also participating and were in the adjacent
section of the house) and so we all had to wait for their departure before we
went out in the porch.
When I returned home, I contemplated everything.
I was myself looking to be part of a religious group since long but then I decided
against joining the disciples of Sheikh Keller on long-term basis. The fact is
the whole experience at Avari and then at the gathering of disciples was very
proper as per the true spirit of Islam. However, I did not want to study Islam
at that time in English only even though I had nothing against the language. I
felt Urdu being closer to Arabic should not be left while pursuing Islamic
knowledge.
So that was one of the good
experiences I personally had while trying to learn from good scholars of Islam.
Unfortunately today some pseudo-scholars have appeared who are misleading the
modern Muslims and presenting an ‘easy way-out’ in Islam. The real danger is
that they love to challenge the conventional teachings of Islam and many of
them could be funded by enemies of Islam. The modern Muslim needs to be careful
about such traps set up by Satan.
You clearly know that one is a
pseudo-scholar if he refutes the 1000 year old Islamic philosophers and
scholars like Ibn-e-Kathir (who has written a Tafsir on Qur’an which is
available in Urdu language also) and Ibn-e-Jarir. These pseudo-scholars have
been planted by the West after 9/11 and they love to blame terrorism on Muslims
alone without talking about the invading sprees of the imperial powers against
the Muslim countries. And also without talking about the fact that terrorist Khawarij
groups like TTP and ISIS have been created by the same forces that are invading
Muslim lands. Basically they try to score some points by claiming that all
terrorism today is taking place due to wrong interpretations of Islam by conventional
Islamic philosophers and scholars. Really? Islam is 1400 years old and
terrorism by certain Khawarij groups only started after 9/11.
So where is the ‘Absolute Truth’? Did we not find it yet? Or do we still need to look around further?
- Written 25/11/2017
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