Tabligh

Tabligh is a name associated with one of the most important 20th-century Islamic reform movements. It is an Islamic term, a synonym of da'wah, referring to the call or invitation to Islam in particular and the call to good deeds in general. Tabligh, an Arabic infinitive word stemming from the root b-l-‘, literally means to transmit, to deliver, or to convey. Even though this term does not exist in the Qur'an in infinitive form, its verb forms are used occasionally meaning “delivering the message of God” (5:67, 7:62–68, 33:39, 46:23).

Tabligh became known as the name of an influential Islamic revival movement, Tablighi Jama'at, that originated in the Muslim community in India in the first decades of the 20th century and spread elsewhere within the Muslim world. Shaikh Muhammad Ilyas Qandahlavi (1885–1944), a former cleric trained in the Deoband theological center and former teacher at Madrasah Mazhar al-‘Ulum in Saharanpur, founded his movement in Delhi in 1927 with the goal of renewing the Muslim community by destroying common superstitions and calling on Muslims to adopt the “true” Islamic virtues. Although this movement has been described as a missionary movement in the West, it differs from Christian missionaries with its efforts aimed at Muslims rather than at proselytizing non-Muslims. Beside his famous motto “O Muslims! Be Muslims !” Muhammad Ilyas declared six principles of the movement:

• 1.
  Kalimah: The famous article of Islamic faith, “There is no god but Allah and the Prophet Muhammad is His messenger”
• 2.
  Salah: Five daily prayers that occupy the center of Muslims' life
• 3.
  Ilm and Dhikr: Arranging public knowledge and recitation sessions
• 4.
  Ikram-i Muslim: Establishing good relationship between Muslims
• 5.
  Tashih-i Niyyat: Undertaking all actions for the sake of Allah, not for getting any worldly capital
• 6.
  Tafri-i Waqt: Devoting time to call people to the Qur'an and sunna

According to the sixth principle, each follower should devote at least 40 days in a group of around 10 persons for calling people door-to-door to join the movement and follow its principles. Because of its simple principles and effective method of expanding, the movement obtained great success, reaching hundreds of thousands of people in a short period and became known worldwide in the 1940s. After the death of Muhammad Ilyas in 1944, his son Mawlana Yusuf became the second leader of the movement. Mawlana Yusuf disseminated the movement around the world, especially in Europe, the United States, Japan, and Middle [Page 1256]East. It is still one of the most influential Islamic movements in the world.

The hallmark of the movement is that it strictly stays away from politics. It is the first Islamic movement that sees politics as unnecessary and unimportant for a religious life. Because of this feature, the Tablighi movement has not been seen as a threat by local governments and is even supported sometimes. During the British period, the leader of the movement issued a fatwa against Mawlana Abul Ala Mawdudi, who was the leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, another influential Islamic movement in India, which was effective in the sphere of politics.