The Proper Approach to Enhance Iman - Part I

People called it Jemaah Tabligh or Tablighi Jamaat. However, this Muslim missionary subscribed himself or herself to what the great Prophet Muhammad saw and his Companions went through 1430 years ago. In my opinion, this is the most proper approach or methodology to enhance our Iman. In the UK, people called them “brothers”, thus, allow me to use Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) for our common vocabulary. The terminology varies from one continent to another. I involved with the TJ since 1982 when I was still in the University. In this chapter, we will learn briefly the history and background of TJ, which is quite essential for us to know before we explore further the significance of TJ with our entire life.
Leaders of TJ claim that the movement is strictly non-political in nature, with the main aim of the participants being to work at the grass roots level for spiritual development.
Tablighi Jamat seeks to revitalize Muslims around the world. It is claimed that their ideology and practices are in strict accordance with Qur'an and Sunnah.
Despite their affiliation and influence of the prominent scholars of Deoband, they do not focus any particular sect or community. It gathers its members and aids in community activities such as mosque building and education.
TJ maintains an international headquarters, the Markaz, in Nizamuddin, Delhi and has several national headquarters to coordinate its activities in over 80 countries. Throughout its history, it has sent its members to travel the world, preaching a message of peace and tolerance. It organizes preachers in groups. Each group, on average, consists of 10 to 12 Muslims who fund themselves in this preaching mission.
The second largest gathering of Muslims after the Hajj (the pilgrimage to Makkah, which is obligatory to each able Muslim at least once in a lifetime) is known as Bishwa Ijtema, a non-political gathering of Muslims from all over the world hosted by the leaders of "International Tabligh Jama'at". It takes place in Tongi, which is on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The well-known scholar Maulana Ilyas (Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhelvi) in the Mewat province of India founded the TJ in the late 1920s. The inspiration for devoting his life to Islam came to Ilyas during his second pilgrimage to the Hejaz in 1926. Maulana Ilyas put forward the slogan, ‘Aye Musalmano! Musalman bano’ in Urdu, which translates 'O Muslims! Become Muslims' (in English). This expressed the central focus of TJ, which has been renewing Muslim society by renewing Muslim practice in those it feels have lost their desire to devote themselves to Allah swt and the Prophet Mohammad saw.
Maulana Ilyas was a prominent member of the movement and throughout TJ's history, there has been a degree of association between scholars of Deoband and TJ. Tabligh was formed at a time in India when some Muslim leaders feared that Indian Muslim were losing their Muslim identity to the majority Hindu culture.
In 1978, construction of the Tabligh mosque in Dewsbury, England commenced. Subsequently, the mosque became the European headquarters of TJ.