Description
Title: From Britian To Bukhara
Format: [A5] Paperback
Type: Booklet
Author: Maroof Gul Pirzada
Publisher: Al-Karam Publication
Published Year: 2019
Edition: 1st
Language: [English]
ISBN: 0725423836813
Added to our Catalogue: 29th October 2022
Length: 210mm
Width: 148mm
Height: 4mm
Weight: 117g
Pages: 56
From Britain To Bukhara – Description
This travelogue documents a blessed and insightful journey to Uzbekistan accompanying Shaykh Muhammad Imdad Hussain Pirzada between 1st and 4th October 2019. It has been written with three distinct objectives in mind.
First and foremost, the services of Shaykh Pirzada to Islam and Muslims within the West are unique and internationally recognised and admired. His students who have graduated to date (both male and female, alim and alimahs) number more than 400 since the inception of Jamia Al-Karam in 1085. It is certainly the earnest desire of many of his students and associates to travel and accompany their Shaykh on blessed and momentous journeys such as his journey to Uzbekistan. Since Allah us has granted me this exceptional privilege and honour to travel with the Shaykh, I felt burdened to record the journey as accurately as possible for the benefit of the students, followers and associates of Shaykh Pirzada.
Second, human beings by their very nature are forgetful. The Arabic word for human is ‘insan’ which derives from the root word ‘nasiya’ meaning ‘to forget’. This is why we all require to be reminded from time to time of various aspects of our lives. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Allah us has ordained the five daily prayers for us to feature as a daily reminder of the purpose and objective of our creation. This could also be the reason why Allah de repeats the verse, “So which of the favours of your Lord would you deny?” in Surat al-Rahman (Chapter 55) a total of 20 times, almost to drill into our minds and hearts the message of being grateful to Allah 4s for the blessings and favours he has given us, knowing well that we occasionally and frequently forget these blessings.
The ability to write and preserve in a written format is from amongst the blessings of Allah is and it is for this reason that this written record of the journey to Uzbekistan is being written on the very last day of our visit, before the progression of time causes these cherished memories to get vaguer in our forgetful minds. It will also enable this journey to be preserved as a historical account allowing people in the future to benefit from.
Third, the region of modern-day Uzbekistan and its historic cities of Samarqand, Bukhara, Khiva (part of what was previously called Khwarezm), Termez (Tirmidh) and Tashkent (Shäsh) played an incredible role not only in the history of Islam and Muslims, but its strategic location was at the centre of the Silk Road connecting the East and West. It was therefore at the heart of political, economic, cultural, scientific and religious interactions for almost 15 centuries. Furthermore, starting with Qutham ibn Abbas (ra] who was a companion and cousin of Prophet Muhammad « and is buried in Samarqand, there followed a great line of illustrious Muslim scholars, sufi shaykhs, thinkers, poets and scientists who were born in and lived in this region. Classically, the region Uzbekistan occupies today forms part of what was known as mã wara’ al-nahr (what is beyond the river) and this term is used commonly in Islamic literature as many scholars lived in this region of modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, South Kyrgyzstan and Southwest Kazakhstan.
As part of this travelogue therefore, alongside the account of Shaykh Pirzada’s journey, some information will be given at various points in relation to historical sites that are connected to the religious, political and scientific achievements of Muslims in this region. This is intended to inspire and hopefully give zeal to readers to research into and perhaps visit Uzbekistan and marvel at the achievements of what was in the 14th and 15th centuries the largest empire (Timurid Empire) in the world established by the Muslim ruler, Amir Timur.
