Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Ilyaas (rahimahullah) Spending His Own Wealth for the Cause of Deen – Part Seven
Spending his Own Wealth for the Cause of Deen
Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Ilyaas (rahimahullah) regarded the effort of deen as his personal work and responsibility. He believed that a person should carry out the work of deen with the same importance and enthusiasm that he carries out his personal work. Hence, he would not hesitate to spend his own wealth for the cause of deen.
On one occasion, a certain person presented some money to Hazrat Moulana (rahimahullah) saying, “Use all of this money for your personal work.” Hazrat Moulana (rahimahullah) replied, ‘If we do not regard the work of Allah Ta‘ala as our personal work then how can we claim to be His true servants?’ Then, with tears in his eyes, he heaved a sigh exclaiming, ‘Aah! We have not appreciated our Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)! (as Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had spent everything he had possessed for the sake of conveying deen to the ummah and saving them from Jahannum)’”
Thus, it was Hazrat Moulana’s (rahimahullah) policy that he would first spend his personal wealth (acquired from the income of the family properties or gifts that people had given him) on his deeni projects in Mewat, and only thereafter would he accept the wealth of others.
(Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Ilyaas aur un ki deeni da’wat pg. 86)
Establishing Maktab Madrasahs in Mewat
To the south of Delhi, there is an area called Mewat, and before the effort of da’wah and tableegh was revived, the Muslims of Mewat were far from deen. Few people in Mewat knew the kalimah, and even fewer were punctual on their salaah. There was widespread ignorance, to the extent that most of the people did not even know the times and basic rules regarding salaah. Furthermore, due to living with Hindus, they had inculcated many Hindu customs into their lives and would carry out many Hindu practices.
The father and brother of Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Ilyaas (rahimahullah) had previously worked among the people of Mewat, and now Hazrat Moulana (rahimahullah) also wished to make an effort on their imaan and deen. For this purpose, Hazrat Moulana (rahimahullah) wished to establish maktab madrasahs throughout Mewat so that the people could learn the basic injunctions and laws of Islam.
However, the challenge was that the local people did not wish to send their children to the maktab. There was no real thirst or desire to acquire the knowledge of deen, and since the majority of the people were farmers, they wanted their children to help in the fields or look after the animals.
Since the people had no thirst for deen, Hazrat Moulana (rahimahullah) did not expect that they would contribute to the salary of a maktab ustaad. However, his burning desire to establish deen was such that he would tell the people, “You give me the students, and I will arrange the salary for the teachers.”
Thereafter, through his untiring efforts, Hazrat Moulana (rahimahullah) managed to convince the parents of the importance of deeni education, and within a short period of time, a few hundred maktab madrasahs had been established in Mewat. These maktab madrasahs were a source of great happiness to Hazrat Moulana (rahimahullah) as they were centres where the Quraan Majeed was taught.
(Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Ilyaas aur un ki Deeni Da’wat pg. 73, 76, 82-83, 85 & 86)
