Further To The ‘Aligarh Movement: A Prototype’

A respected member of our Forums has asked me to write a bit in detail about what I perceive of the Aligarh Movement. What I think of the Movement is not something new and may be I have incomplete idea about the whole thing. Still I feel that the Aligarh Movement is the antithesis of duality and the dichotomy of knowledge. It is about (rejecting) the serious and thick line that we have drawn between deen and dunyaa and deenee ‘ilm and dunyaawee ‘ilm. Aligarh Movement started to do away with this division by asking the Muslims to put Qur’an in the right hand and most modern scientific and technological advancements in the left hand. The movement did not ask them to put two contradictory things together. It asked for putting two integrated things in two hands. Both are intimately related with each other. They are not at all contrary to each other. The Qur’anic spirit is behind all the scientific discoveries and technological advancements. But this is not the complete reality. It (the Book) gives a proper direction to all human activities and guides towards higher and long term spiritual goals as well. It combines ad-dunyaa with al-aakhirah. It does not separate deen from dunyaa. It is not a secret. It is not new.

The Aligarh Movement can spearhead a ‘Movement’ long overdue in this regard. Its enlightened fraternity should undertake the task of dispelling the myth of duality of knowledge – may be first of all from within the Campus. It will have repercussions outside – with concerted efforts. It is a requirement due to the esteem that the Muslims hold this Institution in and the aspirations with which they look towards it.

Every speech and sermon delivered in the Campus should echo the same spirit. Sometime back a dua‘aa’ was suggested to be said after every prayer in the Campus: “Almighty Lord! Make the upholders of Your deen understand Your Book in its totality. Make them master all the sciences of the world and become the founders of many more. My Lord! Make the Muslims contribute their maximum to the world civilization and enrich it to the best of their capacities”. The same should be said in all other congregations. It may be taken outside the confines of the Campus to other masaajid, too, in due course.

The Aligarh Movement is about critical, rational and scientific thinking. This is what the Founder tried to inculcate among us. We forgot it along the way. As we did with many other things. Where to begin from, then? From the AMU. What could be the first step? Introduction of a course on critical thinking. And more importantly the spirit as a culture and as a new ‘tradition’. We have to adopt a motto about the critical thinking at Aligarh: “If not here, then where?” Let’s augment it with renewed dedication. If it is already there.

The Aligarh Movement today is all about a BATTLE of minds and thoughts. It is not about laying the foundation stone of a new College as much as it was earlier. Though we should lay more foundations – undoubtedly. (This we are not talking about, most unfortunately.) The Aligarh Movement will again lead to a lot of opposition. Surprisingly! Not really. It will lead to opposition because it is now about correcting many prevalent and deep rooted (mis)conceptions. To be precise, it is now about listening to every speech and reading every write-up critically and analyzing it thoroughly. This is a must for a rebirth. We cannot avoid the pangs, hence. But then we need very many people who should do this job. There is good news. There are many who can undertake this job, al-hamdu lillah, and they will.