173 - Allama Parwez as I knew him

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Dr. Shabbir
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173 - Allama Parwez as I knew him

Post by Dr. Shabbir »

Allama Parwez as I knew him

By:Prof Ismail Dhoraji
Date: Saturday, 2 June 2012, 7:37 pm

(Chaudhary) Ghulam Ahmad Parwez (1903-1985) s/o Chaudhary Fazal Din s/o Hakim Maulvi Raheem Bakhsh.

He spelled his name differently as Parwaiz, Parwez, Parvez, Pervez, Perwaiz, Parvaiz and so can we.

He told me that he had dropped Chaudhary from his name on the Day of Qarardad-e-Lahore - Lahore Resolution, 23rd March 1940. (The next day a Hindu newspaper called it Qarardad-e-Pakistan - Pakistan Resolution.)

No doubt, G.A. Parwez was a brilliant man of knowledge and penmanship but, like all humans, he was not infallible.

I find it strange that not a single person in the world, not even the Tolu-e-Islam Foundation in Lahore, could groom or find a befitting successor.

The few but important errors had gone unnoticed or ignored for a very long time. I have been noticing those few important errors in his works; lectures and marvelous books since the 1970s.

However, he left a huge vacuum behind him that had remained unfulfilled until Allah caused another genius to rise up on the horizons worthy of being called the true intellectual successor of Parwez although he denies it in his humility but denies forcefully. Guess who?

THE VOID: It took decades after the 1950s until the Almighty matured up my dear son Dr Shabbir Ahmed of Florida and he started re-examining, revisiting, addressing and improving the great works of Allama G.A.P.

Most certainly, my favorite Quranic son, Shabbir, is the most gifted and knowledgeable scholar of the Quran in the world today. By the grace of God, Shabbir undertook the daunting task in 1990 and not a single well-known country in the world is devoid of his most enlightening 50 plus books, some of them translated in up to eleven languages. My heart-felt prayers go out to God Almighty for Shabbir's health, long life and continued success.

While Allama's colleagues, students, audiences and T.I. Bazms have kept snoring, the extremely dedicated, selfless Dr Shabbir Ahmed has also accomplished the phenomenal task left undone by Allama Parwez, and continues doing so to date. After all, one life is not sufficient to explore the vast ocean of knowledge even if it were Parwez.

PTO

I enjoyed the Mo'min Parwez' company, learned a lot from him and attended his weekly lectures in Lahore for more than five years in the 1970s. The most pleasant experiences and fond memories of the extraordinary man with me are too many, and it will require a big volume to convey them to you.

In one sentence: He loved, taught and LIVED the Quran. Again, he LIVED the Quran.

A virtuous, humble man of quality, he disliked questions unrelated to the Quran or Pakistan. Perhaps he was right in doing so in order to save time and stick to his noble mission. May Allah bless his soul and forgive me for relating a couple of my unique experiences with him just for general information. A renowned person cannot escape laurels as well as criticism, come what may.

1 - Once I respectfully drew his attention to history. Khusrau Parwaiz was the unfortunate emperor of Persia who had torn apart Huzoor Muhammad's letter in pride and disgust. Unassumingly, Allama Parwaiz answered, "Allah will not ask us about our names. He will ask us about our deeds." Did he dodge the question? I don't think so.

2 - I never saw him praying at home or in Masjid and he had no hesitation in admitting the fact to his associates and friends. I was his respectful student associate. He used to say, "Inhain pardhnay dou jo pardhtay hain - Let Muslims 'read' Namaz as they 'read'. I do not preach any changes in ritual prayers although Salat is not Namaz and Namaz is not Salat."

Born in 1933 Surat of Gujarat, India, I was never convinced about the ritual anyhow and thus I naturally agreed with him by birth on this score :-)

3 - Vacationing from Bahrain, I met with the Allama in 1984 and very curiously asked him about the then new video showing him 'reading' Namaz. He smiled and said, "It might help quell some kaaen kaaen of the hostile Mullahs." That is the only example I can cite where Parwaiz did something without his heart being into it.

..............................................................................

Dear Sir,

I consider Allama Perwez as the greatest scholar of Islam / the Qur'an in the last one thousand years.

Of course, he was not infallible.

Thank you for sharing your very interesting experience with him!

I am also grateful to you for your words of appreciation and kindness for me but I am no more than a sincere student of the Qur'an.

I may not deserve your superlative accolades.

A lifelong student

PS: My respected college teacher Prof Ismail Dhoraji Saheb is a truthful, highly honored and reliable gentleman. No one can contradict his eye witness account of Babaji, for, he was in close company with him for many years. I know three more surviving companions of Allama Parwez, now in their late 80s and they fully concur with Prof Ismail Dhoraji.
Wassalam,
SA
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