The 66th three-day annual Aalmi Tablighi Ijtema (World Islamic Congregation) concluded here on Monday at Ghasipura in Entkheri on the outskirts of the State capital with a grand 'Dua' (prayer) for the well-being of the community, prosperity of the nation and peace and harmony across the world.
lakhs of Muslims including Islamic scholars and intellectuals drawn from across the globe attended the three-day congregation, considered as the third biggest gathering of Muslims after Haj and a similar congregation in Bangladesh. The 'Dua' was conducted by Maulana Zubair-ul-Hasan (Hazratji junior) of Nizamuddin Markaz, New Delhi, in a mix of Arabic, Urdu and Hindi, who prayed particularly for those suffering from various diseases and asked devotees to follow the path shown by Prophet Mohammad. The dua was started at 11.07 am and came to an end exactly after 17 minutes at 11.24 am.
Earlier, before the ‘Dua’ Maulana Saad Ahmed from the Delhi Markaz in his sermon told the devotees about the importance of Namaz. Allah has given solution of every problem of the world in Namaz but despite knowing this the human beings remain involved in problems but do not offers Namaz to get their problems resolved, he added.
He also emphasised on recitation of Quran and called on the Ummah to recite it by understanding it. Over a million people are estimated to have joined the ‘Dua’, the concluding prayers of the "Ijtema" this year, turning the site into a sea of humanity. Many people had to trek several kilometres to reach the site as vehicular traffic was not allowed to avoid congestion.
During the three day congregation renowned Islamic scholars including Maulana Saad-ul-Hasan, Maulana Ahmad laat and others delivered sermons on the life and practice of Prophet Mohammad and Islamic Shariat (law). After the conclusion of ‘Dua’ ‘Jamatis’ (missionary groups) fanned out through the length and breadth of the country and abroad to sermonize their co-religionists, who have gone astray, to lead a life as ordained by Allah. They would be asked to follow the five tenets of Islam in the true sense of the word. They would work in the path of Allah for about one "Chilla" (40 days) to three ‘Dua’ to persuade their Muslim brethren to strike a perfect balance between materialism and spirituality while leading their lives.
Spokesman and member of the organizing committee Atiq-ul-Islam has thanked Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, all the government agencies including PHE, BMC, MPSRTC, Railways, MP Police, Traffic Police, Zila Panchayat and villagers around Ghasipura and Eintkhedi and others for extending their services in making the arrangements and making the Ijtema successful.
Notably, the first Ijtema was organised at Masjid Shakur Khan in the walled city in 1948. later, with increase in the number of devotees, the venue was shifted to one of the largest mosques in Asia, Taj-ul-Masajid. However, with passage of time, the devotees taking part in the Ijtema grew in numbers and eventually the venue has been shifted to the outskirts of Bhopal at Ghasipura in Eintkhedi village.