Karachi, Governor's
House: Aqa Maula Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin TUS was
conferred the degree of "Doctor of Literature',
D.Litt (Honoris Causa) by the University of Karachi.
The conferment took place on the occasion of a dinner
in Maulana's TUS honour hosted by the Governor of Sindh,
also Chancellor of the Karachi University, Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ibad
at the Governor House on Saturday 5th June,The academic
procession entered the Hall at the Governor House at
7:45 pm followed by the declaration of the opening of
the convocation. After the reverential recitation of
the Holy Quran and the National Anthem the Vice Chancellor
of the University of Karachi, Syed Zafar Saify made
a welcome address.
A citation was read out by the Dean
of Arts and the 52nd Dai-al-Mutlaq, Syedna Mohammed
Burhanuddin TUS was conferred the degree of Doctor of
Literature, D. Litt (Honoris Causa). Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ibad,
Chancellor of the university addressed the gathering
followed by a speech by Huzoorala TUS.
The convocation was then declared
close and the academic procession returned. This was
followed by a dinner hosted by the Governor in Aqa Maula's
TUS honour.
In recognition of Syedna Mohammed
Burhanuddin's TUS services, Al Azhar University, Cairo,
the 4th largest university in the world and the oldest
university of the world founded by the Fatimid Imam,
Imam Moiz le Deenillah in 970 AD, has already conferred
on Maulana TUS the degree of 'Doctor of Islamic Science'
in 1966. The Aligarh Muslim University has not only
conferred on Huzoorala TUS the degree of 'Doctor of
Theology' in 1966 but recently in 1999 also sought the
honour of his Chancellorship, which Syedna Mohammed
Burhanuddin has accepted.
The funding of the 'Syedna Mohammed
Burhanuddin Building', at the Department of Genetics,
Karachi University is just one of the many glowing examples
of Syedna's keen interest in science and technological
development. Today, for many, science is viewed as a
discipline that does not admit to the existence of anything
beyond matter or energy, their interplay being purely
physical or biological. Consequently man has committed
the folly of trying to study this world of matter without
reference to a Creator. But Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin
harbours an infallible belief that no discovery or advancement
by man can refute or replace the existence and omnipotence
of the Creator and that every 'dry' and 'damp' thing
has been mentioned in the Holy Quran.
By Maulana's TUS step to construct
the department of Genetics at the University of Karachi,
Huzoorala TUS is thus playing the role of a patron to
an educational discipline for research and development
within the orbit of Islam.
The Saifee Eide Zahabi Institute
of Technology is a polytechnic in the private sector
of Karachi, open to all without distinction of caste
and creed, was established by Syedna's illustrious father,
Syedna Taher Saifuddin, in 1963 and funded by Syedna
Burhanuddin until its nationalization in October 1972
Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin's contribution
to the field of education has been phenomenal. One example
of this is the setting up of an Arabic academy called
'Al Jamea Tus Saifiyah'. The 'Jamea', as it is usually
referred to, like its prototype in Surat, India was
also established in Karachi, Pakistan in 1983. The core
of all learning at the Jamea is the unshakeable faith
in the Holy Quran, where an indepth and immaculately
regulated study of Islamic lore, Arabic language, and
literature is undertaken. The curriculum at the Jamea
is dexterously coupled with an up-to-date study of contemporary
disciplines like Exact Sciences, Humanities and with
English being a compulsory subject.
The Jamea's unique feature is the
'Mahad-al-Zahra' inaugurated in 1998 in Surat, a center
established for the singular purpose of the memorization
of the Holy Quran. It boasts of state-of-the-art recitation
cubicles, rooms designed to alter acoustic feedback,
and indoor gardens and fountains planned strategically
to create an unparalleled aura of peace and tranquility
to facilitate 'Hifz'.
Also to Aqa Maula's TUS credit is
the setting up of the international chain of schools
under the name of 'Al. Madrasa-tus-Saifiyah-tul-Burhaniyah'
with over 20 branches around the world. The Dawoodi
Bohra community also runs hundreds of secular schools
imparting quality education on a non-commercial basis,
a large number of colleges, as well as technical institutes,
in assorted corners of the world, particularly in the
sub continent. A large number of educational institutions
have been the beneficiaries of his munificence.
A network on 550 madrassahs are functioning
effectively around the world wherever Momineen reside
under the auspices of a coordinating department called
the 'Daeratul Taalim wa Tarbiyat'.
Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin TUS is
a scholar whose definition of education exceeds the
conventional connotation of mere intellectual training.
To Maulana TUS education is the strengthening of the
moral fibre for the purpose of inducing spontaneous
self-discipline and inculcation of humane values thus
allowing the fullest flowering of the human personality.
Certainly, Maulana Mohammed Burhanuddin's
TUS every gesture and utterance resounds with the qualities
he preaches, serving as an exemplar, not only for his
coterie of followers, but for the Muslim Ummah and humanity
at large.
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