Seminar on the Life of the Prophet
(PBUH) and the UMO under Dr. Pasha
Dr. Mozammel Haque
A Seminar on the
Life of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was organised by the Union of Muslim
Organisations of UK & Eire (UMO) on Thursday, the 7th of
February, 2012 at Churchill Hotel, London. This is a legacy of Dr. Syed Aziz
Pasha, the former General Secretary of the UMO. Dr. Pasha passed away in
November 2011. This is the second time the UMO is organising this Seminar on
Thursday, 7th of February, 2013 at the same place where Dr. Pasha
used to hold it for the last 40 years.
Being a devout, dedicated, practising Muslim, Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha devoted his entire octogenarian life for the spread of the Message of Islam through interfaith dialogue. To promote unity between the Muslims, to facilitate the upbringing of Muslim children in a moral and spiritual atmosphere and to spread the Message of Islam through interfaith dialogue in the wider circle were the guiding principles of Dr. Pasha’s life.
Born in an aristocratic Syed family of Madras, brought up in a country where Muslims are minority and having basic Islamic training at home, Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha developed an ideological commitment, a conviction and a mission to which he remained firm, unchangeable and unyielding till his death. He had a solid grounding to understand the importance of Dawah work to live peacefully and harmoniously with his cultural and religious identity.
This understanding and knowledge became more valuable and effective when he went to the United States of America for higher studies where he obtained SJD (Doctorate in Juridical Science) equivalent to Ph.D. in the United Kingdom. But when he came to this country, the first thing which he thought indispensable is to bring unity within the Muslim communities. But he also realised that to create an atmosphere of peace and harmony in a multicultural society, it is vital to understand each other, to know each other’s culture, belief, tradition and values.
Pasha
chose once in a
year to bring people
of different religions, cultures, traditions and races
under one roof to
speak about the religion
culture and belief of
Muslims and their Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon
him) and that is
the background of holding
this Seminar on the
Life of the Prophet
(peace be upon him).
Since the
formation of the UMO,
Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha,
its former General Secretary, used to hold
this Seminar on the
Life of the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon
him) for the past
forty years without fail.
This is one item
which Dr. Pasha never
missed. As early as
in 2009, Dr. Pasha
told me in an
interview: “Once I was
in hospital and I
asked my assistant secretary to carry on
and he held the
function.”
The UMO’s
last Seminar on the
Life of the Prophet
(peace be upon him)
organised by Dr. Pasha
was in 2010. After
that, he could not
organise the Seminar in
2011. Since November, 2010,
Dr. Pasha had been
off and on hospitals and home. He
died in the morning
of Wednesday, the 23rd of November 2011.
In the
Seminar on the Life
of the Prophet (peace
be upon him) organised by Dr. Pasha,
among the distinguished guests,
there were, besides others,
Rt. Hon. Mr. John
Patten, M.P. the then
Minister of State, Home
Office in 1989, Rt.
Hon. Mr. Robin Corbett,
M.P. the then Shadow
Minister on Home Affairs
in 1990; Rt. Hon.
Mr. Jack Straw, M.P.,
the then Shadow Education Secretary in 1991.
In 1996, nearly forty
nations were represented at
this celebration.
In 2012, the UMO
organised again the
Seminar, on the Life
of the Prophet (peace
be upon him) at
the same place, Churchill Hotel, on Wednesday, the 29th of
February, but this time
the person who never
failed to hold the
Seminar to convey the
Message of Islam to
the Muslim community as
well as to the
wider society was not
here. Both the Muslim
and the wider society
felt the physical absence
of this dedicated pious
Muslim, Dr. Pasha, who
started and founded this
organisation UMO to bring
unity among the British
Muslim community and also
to foster and develop
good cordial and harmonious relationship with
the wider society through
interfaith dialogue.
The purpose
of holding this Seminar
every year without fail
was two fold. Dr.
Pasha told me in
an interview, “We organised this function every
year without fail for
two reasons, said Dr
Pasha, one is spiritual and another is
mundane; spiritual reason because
the Prophet (peace be
upon him) was the
first of Creation. Allah
created the Nur of the Prophet
and then the other
Creation. He gave the
title Rahmatullil Alamin; Mercy of
all the Creatures. He
said that. Allah is
Rabbul Alamin; Prophet
is Rahmatullil Alamin. Then all
the Prophets who subsequently came they had
the same faith al-Islam
which he brought. The
latest Prophets - Musa
(peace be upon him)
and Issa (peace be
upon him) - both
of them had forecast
the coming of the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him). And they
said when he comes
follow him.”
Secondly, while
speaking on the mundane
side, Dr. Pasha mentioned, “Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) brought
a system of life;
a system of government and ideology which
guarantees happiness on this
earth and permanent felicity
in the life Hereafter. Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) was
the only Prophet who
was given the honour
of being transported bodily
to witness all the
seven Heavens and what
happens to people after
they die. The Paradise
and the Hell they
are realities.”
Dr. Pasha
also mentioned, “The UMO,
for the past 40
years, what we have
tried to do is
to promote unity between
the Muslims and to
facilitate the upbringing of
Muslim children in a
moral and spiritual atmosphere.”
Purpose of Holding Seminar on
The Life of Prophet (PBUH)
As the Seminar on
the Life of the
Prophet (peace be upon
him) was the last
Seminar organised by the
UMO under the leadership of Dr. Pasha
in 2010, I am
reproducing below in his
own words the purpose
of holding a Seminar
on the Life of
the Prophet (peace be
upon him).
Dr. Pasha
said, “The UMO being
the representative body
of the British Muslims
has, since its formation forty years ago,
has maintained its tradition to celebrate the
birthday of the Holy
Prophet (peace be upon
him) for two reasons,
namely, 1. spiritual and
2. mundane. At a
spiritual level ALLAH Subhanahu wa Ta’ala
created the Noor (Light) of the
Holy Prophet before any
other Creation and designated him as the
Seal of the Prophets
and Mercy unto all
creatures. This Noor was
transmitted through all Prophets
from Adam to all
succeeding Prophets including Prophets
Abraham, Moses and Jesus,
peace be upon them
all. ALLAH ordered all
these Prophets and their
followers to accept Islam
as their religion and
way of life. As
our Prophet is the
last in the line
of Prophets, the responsibility of conveying this
Message to the British
people lies on the
Muslims and the UMO
has been performing this
duty on behalf of
the Muslim Ummah.”
At a
mundane level, said Dr.
Pasha in his press
release of 2010, “The
Divine Message that the
Prophet brought is for
the guidance of the
whole of humanity guaranteeing a life of
peace and tranquillity in
this transient world and
eternal felicity in the
Life Hereafter. Historians, both
Muslims and non-Muslims and
Orientalists, acclaim him as
the greatest benefactor of
humanity. He is renowned
for his mercy, compassion and magnanimity. He
even forgave his enemies
after the conquest of
Makkah al-Mukarramah. After
his emigration to Madinah
al-Munawwarah, he promulgated a
Charter of Madinah guaranteeing freedom of religion
to minorities. In the
historic Sermon delivered at
the Farewell Pilgrimage he
declared a Charter of
Human Rights establishing the
brotherhood of all mankind
regardless of race, colour
or ethnicity, raising the
status of women to
one of legal equality
with men, abolishing usury
to prevent exploitation of
the poor by the
rich and banning the
consumption of intoxicants.”
Dr. Pasha
said in his last
press release of the
celebration of the Birthday
of the Prophet (peace
be upon him) in
2010, “It has taken
1400 years of strife
and suffering before the
West has accepted the
glorious Message of the
Prophet and has adopted
the United Nations Charter
and Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. Mankind owes
a debt of gratitude to the Holy
Prophet for his enormous
contribution which has brought
enlightenment and civilisation. Islam
is making steady progress
in Europe and desperate attempts are being
made in the media
to distort the image
of Islam as a
religion of peace, justice
and brotherhood. The
whole world is watching
that Muslims are not
terrorists but they are
victims of terrorism. The
UMO for the past
forty years has been
encouraging Muslims to play
their full role in
the mainstream while retaining their religious and
cultural identity.” (UMO Press
Release on 2 March
2010 on the Birthday
of the Prophet (peace
be upon him).
Picture:
File Photo (from Left
to Right: Rt. Hon.
Councillor Alan Bradley, Lord
Mayor of Westminster (locam
tenens), Dr. Syed Aziz
Pasha, General Secretary of
UMO and Rt. Hon.
Lord Sheikh of Cornhill
at the celebration of
the Birth of the
Prophet (peace be upon
him), function at Churchill Hotel, London, 16
March 2009);
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