Until I went out with the Tablighi Jamaat, this work did not hold any special importance for me. We used to hear things like, "Go out in the path of Allah, you will understand the importance of faith (Iman), get an idea of the people's condition, realize how far the Ummah is from religion, people do not even know the Kalimah," etc. We heard all these things, but it would go in through one ear and out the other. However, when I saw this scene with my own eyes—that people have come very close to apostasy (Irtidad)—I realized that no matter how much we thank Allah for the environment He has kept us in, it is not enough.
Our Jamaat happened to visit a village in Maharashtra (Saikheda, District Buldhana) on 21st Shawwal 1445 AH. When the conditions there were assessed, it was found that except for a few houses, the entire village is Muslim. However, the names of the people are not like Muslims. Someone is named Suraj, another Arjun, while someone introduces himself as Rahul. When this matter was investigated (as to why they are keeping non-Muslim names despite being Muslim), no one was ready to explain it; everyone was trying to cover it up. Finally, after speaking to several people, the full explanation came forward. There is an RSS school here where ten thousand rupees are given annually in the name of a scholarship—five thousand on August 15th and five thousand on January 26th—and two meals a day are also provided. But admission to this school is granted only when one changes their Muslim name and adopts a name according to the Hindu religion. As a result, despite the entire village being Muslim, everyone's names are according to the Hindu religion, to the extent that there are a few Islamic scholars (Ulema) in the village who are also included in this list of names. The people there say, "What harm is there in this apparently? Only the name has changed," whereas there is not just one harm in this, but many harms.
The names of all the people are registered under these same names in government records. Because of this, a student shared his experience: "I went to get admission to a madrasa, but I was denied admission because my name on my Aadhaar card was Sawan. The madrasa administration thought that I might be a spy who came with a changed name, or they feared that giving admission to someone with a Hindu name might cause trouble for the madrasa."
The second harm is that it has now become a general norm for the people there to keep their children's names according to the Hindu religion. Although there is hardly any house where someone has not spent a 'Chilla' (40 days) or four months in Jamaat, despite most people spending their time in Jamaat, the environment is such that alcohol is completely common, there is no sign of modesty (Haya) anywhere, and people are in such negligence that no one realizes this dangerous conspiracy. As for the children's education, there are only two Maktabs (religious schools) running in the entire village, that too unorganized, out of which one Maktab has been closed for several months. Yet, it is the Maktab through which the faith and beliefs of children can be protected. If this is not paid attention to, conditions will go from bad to worse.
And the biggest harm, which no one is considering, seems to be that this effort of theirs dates back fifty or sixty years. Now, when a few generations pass, they will return and they will come with proof. They will go door-to-door to people's houses and say, "You are not Muslim at all, we have proof! Look, your name is Arjun, your father's name is Rahul, your grandfather's name was Jeevan, your great-grandfather's name was Suraj, so how did you become Muslim?"
This is the real result of their effort. And its beginning has already occurred, as I saw idols in some houses with my own eyes. However, the people there claim that they are not originally Muslim, although it is well-known that only three or four houses belong to non-Muslims, and these houses do not fall among those three or four houses. (Wallahu A'lam bis-Sawab - Allah knows best what is correct).
Now there is a need to pray fervently for these people and to work on the ground by sending a strong Jamaat there that tries to change the conditions of this village, otherwise the day is not far when people will lose their faith. (Allahumma Ahfazna - O Allah, protect us).
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Selection: Islamic Tube Pro App
By: Imran Ibn Muhammad Musa Banarsi
اناس میمن پلانپوری
