By Zeeshan Rasool Khan

In the future, when historians will discourse on the religious personalities of the present age, they would definitely make mention of the renowned religious scholar Dr. Tahir ul Qadri for his remarkable contributions. In a short period of time, Dr. Qadri has achieved many feats through his overwhelming calibre and ardor. Having many accomplishments to his credit, he is, undoubtedly, a multidimensional personality and writing about any of his aspects is not an easy task, as his role in every realm is very great. Take him as a leader, you see him peerless, having an organizational network of Minhaj ul Quran in 90 countries with a beautiful and unique set-up everywhere.

Minhaj ul Quran (way of Quran) is devotedly engaged in propagating true message of Islam, spreading love, peace, and harmony globally with a progressive thought. Under the charismatic leadership of Dr. Qadri, Minhaj has contributed immensely in guiding the younger generation, the welfare of society and awakening of conscience of Muslims throughout the world. Consequently, more and more youngsters are showing interest to become part of Dr. Qadri’s mission. Consider his speeches and oratory – everyone, literate or illiterate, professional or unprofessional, hence, people from all sections of society say that Dr. Qadri represents their emotions and speaks their language.

So far, Dr. Qadri has delivered 5000 plus speeches worldwide and has made the entire world his admirer. It is not an exaggeration but in accordance with facts that not only the public but also the ulamas, researchers, speakers, students get assistance from his lectures. When we talk about his authorship, words fail us. Such a great literary work in contemporary times is not simple. When the whole world is engaged in materialism, he burns the midnight oil in writing and compiling books, to transmit knowledge and wisdom to future generation with the aim to uphold the glory of Islam.

More than 500 books of Dr. Qadri are available to us in hard copy versions and hundreds just a click away. These include milestone works like; translation of Quran – Irfan ul Quran, Collection of Hadith on miscellaneous topics – Minhaj-u-Sawi, Biography of Prophet (PBUH)- Seerat-ul-Rasool (SAW), Tafseer e Surah Fatih (7 volumes) besides others that cover almost every topic ranging from belief to culture, described in the light of Quran and Hadith. And , go through the material of his books, you feel as if you have entered into the new world. The philosophy, idea, expression, and proof of points with valuable references fascinate a reader.

Recently, the great scholar and exegetist has come up with a unique literary compilation titled the ‘Quranic Encyclopedia’. Dr. Tahir ul Qadri terms this book as an outcome of his three-decade-long struggle and total research work. This book is, indeed, the first attempt of its kind to inspire, attract, and to reconnect people with Islam and its message. Up to this point, common people had only heard that the Quran is the complete book, which provides a solution to every problem but Dr. Qadri has practicalized it by highlighting and organizing the Quranic verses in a peculiar and systematic way.

In a literal manner, we can say Dr. Qadri has endeavored to equip a common person with the ability to find answers/solutions to his questions/problems himself by using the divine book. In addition, it can be seen as an effort to end religious monopoly as hopefully, readers will no longer rely on others- most of which claim to be ‘only experts’. It can prove an effectual tool to eliminate the factors that contribute to sectarianism. Last but not least, this wonderful task will surely serve as a watershed in Islamic history in pushing the younger generation particularly, back to track – which leads to ascendancy.

Let us have a superficial review of this creative work. The book ‘Quranic encyclopedia’ comprises eight volumes, in which Quranic verses about a particular topic have been collected at one place under a common title with the interpretation of verses in the Urdu language. In this way, book covers near about five thousand topics. The first volume encompasses topics like; faith in God, Tawheed (belief in the oneness of God), and its importance, besides the index of topics that is spread over 400 pages. The second volume contains topic like polytheism, belief in the Prophet (PBUH), divine books, and the angels of God. The third volume is based on topics related to the Day of Judgment, prayers, rights, obligations, science, and technology. Concepts of Peace and love, non-violence, and rights of non-Muslims in the Islamic system are incorporated in volume fourth. The fifth volume covers topics like; governance, political system, the system of justice, economics etc in the view of Allah’s book. Last three volumes add to the beauty of the book. These three volumes contain a glossary that will help the reader to understand Quranic words lucidly and can develop the expertise of a common person.

To put it briefly, this comprehensive book is an intellectual treat for those conducting research on Islam as well as those interested in understanding the Quran. People from all spheres of life will certainly benefit from its reading in a big way.

The author writes on current issues and can be reached at: mohdzeeshan605@gmail.com