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Gateway to Divine Mercy 2006
Sunday 25 June 2006 | The Sheridan Suite, Manchester

Sunday 25th June 2006, early in the morning cars, buses and coaches began to fill the spacious car park of the Sheridan Suite in Manchester. Over a thousand brothers and sisters, the vast majority of whom were the youth, came to this venue for a first time, one-of-a-kind, spiritual gathering featuring renowned scholars from around the world, all contributing immensely in showing that the Gateway to Divine Mercy remains constantly open even amidst these difficult times.

Following Zuhr Prayer, Bakhtyar H Pirzada al-Azhari, Vice Principal of Jamia Al-Karam, informed the audience that this event was brought to them by Jamia Al-Karam in partnership with  AKSA (Al-Karam Scholars Association). He introduced the event and highlighting its objective stated, “Water is worthless until there exists thirst. Once the body is thirsty, one strives to attain the desired water to quench that thirst. The objective today is not merely to discuss the desired water, but to truly create the correct thirst in our hearts. Once our hearts are thirsty, the thirst will lead us to the desired.”

The gathering formally commenced with the recitation of the Opening Chapter from the glorious Qur’an by Muhammad Zia, followed by a translation by Munir al-Hasan Rabbani, both students of Jamia Al-Karam. This was followed by a soul-enlightening singing of al-Busiri’s Qasida Burda led by Muhammad Nizaal Khodabux from Mauritius, also a student of Jamia Al-Karam.

The first talk was then delivered by Asif Ali al-Azhari, Head of the ICT Department at Jamia Al-Karam, who placed modern civilisation in its context discussing a book written by an American Justice titled ‘Slouching towards Gomorra’. His talk made the audience ponder over the direction towards which modern civilisation and various societies were heading. Then came along Abu Awais Imam Muhammad Zahoor Chishty, an inspiring Imam from Oldham, who mentioned the Hilf al-Fudul agreement made by the Prophet (pbuh) in his young days concluding that if evil doers can unite in the form of gangs to spread evil, why can’t the good also unite to promote good in society. Imam Muhammad al-Yazdani Raza al-Misbahi, teacher at Yusuf Islam’s Brondesbury College for Boys and who regularly features on IslamiQA on the Islam Channel, then took the stage and discussed the challenges Muslims face in terms of the onslaught on the values of Islam. This was followed by a talk by the President of AKSA, Imam Muhammad Arshad al-Misbahi, who urged the audience that the path to success can only be paved by the pursuit of beneficial knowledge and good education. A promising young Imam from the Leeds Makkah Masjid, Imam Muhammad Asim, spoke briefly on the Prophet (pbuh) as a mercy to the worlds.

After this initial session filled with inspiring and optimistic brief talks by born and bred British Muslim scholars, the first of the main guests, Hajj Ahmad Thomson, author of the renowned ‘Dajjal- The AntiChrist’ and Head of the Wynne Chambers, sat upon the stage and gave a profound analysis of the merciful nature of God and His chosen religion Islam. Straight after his few words, he raised his hands and led the entire audience in an inspirational prayer seeking the mercy of Allah (most high).

Since the audience had been seated for a while attentively listening to the noble talks, following Hajj Ahmad Thomson’s prayer, Aa’shiq-al-Rasul (AAR) were invited on to the stage who sang a few sensational nasheeds in English as well as Sufi songs from the Indian subcontinent tradition. The first session concluded with these nasheeds and then a buffet meal was served to all. During lunch all participants pondered over the talks delivered and had an opportunity to personally meet the shuyukh and other guests.

Following the lunch break, the second session began and another special guest who had come all the way from Chicago, USA, to attend the Gateway to Divine Mercy event, Shaykh Ahmed Tijani Ben Omar, took the stage and for approximately an hour and a quarter kept the auidence wide awake with his unique style and mixture of melodious recitals, wonderful singing and inspirational words of wisdom. He concluded his devotional performance highlighting the importance of Jamia Al-Karam and raising funds for the institution as well as al-Masjid al-Mustafa in Chicago, USA. Following his talk, Asr Prayer was offered.

The final session then began with a pertinent talk by the Founder and Principal of Jamia Al-Karam, Shaykh Muhammad Imdad Hussain Pirzada, who initially offered his time to the other shuyukh due to the shortening of the time, however, as a result of the enthusiastic demand from the audience and particularly due to the insistence of the chief guest, Shaykh Muhammad Amin al-Hasanat Shah al-Qurashi, he spoke for a short while. In his speech he passionately remarked, “There is the presence of Divine Mercy in this hall today, since, there are such pious and God-fearing Muslims present in whose presence the Divine Mercy of God showers and envelops the entire gathering.”

Imam Muhammad Shahid Raza Na’eemi, lecturer at the Muslim College London, then spoke for a short while commenting on the life of one of the leading scholars on Islam in the Indian subcontinent in the twentieth century, Diya’ al-Ummat, Justice Shaykh Muhammad Karam Shah al-Azhari.

This was followed by a talk by the chief guest, Shaykh Muhammad Amin al-Hasanat Shah al-Qurashi, the Principal of DMG Bhera and Ghawthiyya Girls College in Pakistan, who spoke in Urdu and his words were simultaneously translated into English by Irfan Faizi Chishti. He expressed his utmost joy at attending this gathering stating that this was the first time in this country that he had been granted the opportunity of speaking to only the youth, male and female. He commented that when the Prophet (pbuh) announced his prophethood, the vast majority of those who accepted his call and helped its cause were the youth. The importance of the youth cannot be under-estimated, he insisted. After his brief words, Shaykh Muhammad Amin al-Hasanat Shah al-Qurashi, led the entire gathering in a few moments of dhikr. It was a profound and spiritually uplifting experience for all to witness a dhikr and remembrance session led by a humble Shaykh in which over a thousand youthful British Muslims were taking part in utmost harmony. The prayer offered following the dhikr session was filled with tears as Shaykh Muhammad Amin al-Hasanat Shah asked the merciful Lord to shower His Divine Mercy upon all.

After this spiritual moment, the time had now come for the guest of honour to be introduced. He was none other than Shaykh Yusuf ‘Abd al-Wahhab Abu Sneina, the Imam and Khatib of al-Masjid al-Aqsa (Jerusalem), the third most holiest mosque in Islam. As he walked up on to the stage, the entire audience stood up and suddenly Shaykh Ahmed Tijani Ben Omar began singing in his ever melodious voice. This was followed by Shaykh Abu Sneina very humbly offering gratitude and asking all present to be seated. The Shaykh spoke passionately about the Friends of Allah (most high) and their position in His eyes. He spoke in his pure Arabic and it would seem as if he were reciting some Arabic poetry. Imam Muhammad al-Yazdani Raza al-Misbahi stood alongside the towering Shaykh and translated his words into English. The event concluded with the Imam of al-Masjid al-Aqsa offering a final prayer and then Maghrib Prayer was offered.

The entire event was supremely inspirational for all those who attended. Being in the presence of such noble servants of God, in today’s world, is a sign of optimism and hopefulness. Every individual had the chance to personally meet and exchange words as well as stand next to the shuyukh and have their photographs taken by their friends to cherish. The humbleness of all the shuyukh and scholars was the one most evident feature of the Gateway to Divine Mercy 2006. It was though unfortunate that Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hasani due to some difficulty was unable to attend, nevertheless, the other shuyukh did not allow his absence to be felt.

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