NO NEED TO FEAR JEMAAH TABLIGH
Movement aims only to spread the good word of God
WHEN stand-up comedian Nabil Ahmad found himself crying in his self-made video about Jemaah Tabligh, I came to the realisation that more and more people are joining the faith renewal movement.
Nabil was not sad, but he was psyched that he had finally found a way of life that he should have lived according to the traditions prescribed by the Quran and hadiths.
Apart from Nabil, philanthropist Ustaz Ebit Lew, Malakat mall owner and chief executive officer (CEO) Fadzil Hashim, early childhood education Little Caliphs International kindergarten CEO Haji Roslan Nordin and actor Zul Yahya are the few known individuals connected to the movement.
There are thousands of others known as Karkuns in Urdu, or “executants”, who dedicate their lives to carry out the work of dakwah (proselytisation) in the path of God.
Jemaah Tabligh is not an organisation, it is a movement founded and established in 1926 by Muhammad Ilyas alKandhlawi in the Mewat region of British India. It began as an offshoot of the Deobandi movement and as a response to perceived deterioration of moral values and a supposed neglect of the aspects of Islam.
Jemaah Tabligh is not restricted by regulations or by-laws that are usually enshrined in an organisation’s constitution. In fact, the movement does not have any. It aims for the spiritual reformation of Islam by working at the grassroots level and, at the same time, strives for individual’s renewal of faith.
It is a movement guided by values. The teachings of Jemaah Tabligh are expressed in six principles comprising the kalimah (declaration of faith), solat (prayers), ilmu dan zikir (knowledge and remembrance of God), ikramul-Muslimin (respect of other Muslims), ikhlas niat (sincerity of intention), as well as dakwah dan tabligh (proselytisation).
The movement believes that the principles, considered essential for it, are derived from the Quran and Sunnah (practices and traditions of Prophet Muhammad). They serve as guardians to obtain the pleasure of God and protect Deen (religion).
To realise the six principles, Jemaah Tabligh has adopted physical movement and travel as the most effective method of dakwah and personal reform. This gradually expanded from local to national to transnational travel over the years.
The Karkuns are required to travel for three days to a neighbouring district every month, and 40 days’ or four months’ travel (at least once a year) to another state or foreign country.
I have known some Karkuns who travelled to foreign countries for a year. A few others have gone for dakwah for the rest of their lives. One was a family friend who died in the path of God when he was carrying dakwah in the African continent.
Like the 240,000 companions of Prophet Muhammad who travelled out of the first Islamic state of Madinah to proselytise on Islam worldwide, the Karkuns vehemently believe that the work of dakwah now falls on their shoulders.
They believe the kalimah has its own meaning, purpose and function. The Kalimah Tayyibah not only prescribes a believer to recite it in his prayers, but also to recite them to others as to invite them to have a true conviction in their hearts of the greatness of One God.
They also believe that once they travel out of the comforts of their home to seek the pleasure of God, only God sustains and nourishes the families they leave behind, which may contradict the beliefs of the masses.
It is sad that Jemaah Tabligh has sometimes been regarded as a potential threat to nation-state polities. Some see it as another pan-Islamic movement, others as a fundamentalist Islamic movement opposing the nationalistic basis of the state.
We should not be afraid of Jemaah Tabligh. It’s a movement that only aims to spread the good word of God and His prophets.
When the country was struck by the Covid-19 pandemic in March last year, hundreds of Karkuns were infected and admitted to Sungai Buloh hospital.
They cooperated with the medical authorities and were praised by many for their akhlak (manners) in reinforcing the six principles.
Look at Lew, who has travelled all over the country to help people regardless of race and creed. Now he is in South Africa to help undernourished families who have been affected by the pandemic.