Talk:Jamiat ul-Ulama

Jamiat ul Ulama (KZN)

Maulana Dr. Yunoos Osman has been fortunate to have met with most of the founding members of the organisation and would like to share the history, objectives and achievements of the organisation.The author (Dr. Yunoos Osman) served as its Secretary General for many years under the leadership of Maulana Yunus Patel. The organisation was founded in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, by senior Muslim Theologians. The first meeting was held in Pietermaritzburg (Kzn),in the early 1950's, in the home of Maulana Mohammed Haneef Afriqi to discuss the establishment of an organization to give a collective voice to the role, the Ulama should play, in solving the social and educational problems facing the Muslim community in the region.

Maulana Mohammed Haneef and Maulana Abdur Rahman Ansari had laid the foundation of the first Islamic College in January 1942 called the Nizamiya Islamic College in Pietermaritzburg with the aim of establishing an Institute for higher Islamic Education as there were very few scholars at the time in the Region. Many students who showed interest during that time were sent to India, these Ulama felt by establishing an Institute locally will give access to many more students. Establishing of an Ulama Body would help in fulfilling this objective as well.

The initial emphasis was on education but other aims and objectives which were discussed at the meeting:

• to guide generally the Muslim public in complete consonance with the laws of Islam;

• to propose, publish and expound the principles and practices of Islam; * to uphold and defend the religion of Islam, its tenets, beliefs, and juristic systems;

The Jamiatul Ulama was officially established on the 15 January 1955 (20 Jumaadal Ula 1374) at the East Street Madrasah, in Pietermaritzburg. It was indeed a momentous occasion when the senior founder members of the Jamiat met to establish the organization which was to become the official body of religious, educational and other affairs of the Muslim Community of KwaZulu-Natal. The senior founding members were:

1.Moulana Abdur Rahmaan Ansari 2.Moulana Muhammad Hanif 3.Moulana Ahmad Desai 4.Moulana Ahmad Sabat 5.Moulana Sayed Muhammad Loot 6.Moulana Cassim Muhammad Sema 7.Moulana Abdul Haq Omarjee 8.Moulana Abu Bakr Khatib 9.Moulana Muhammad Bashir Siddiqi 10.Moulana Abdul Qadir 11.Moulana Yusuf Omarwadi 12.Moulana Adam Bhayat

Short biographies of all these great scholars has been published in, The Early Guiding Stars of KwaZulu-Natal, a book researched and compiled by Dr. Yunoos Osman. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 105.225.114.170 (talk) 05:14, 7 May 2016 (UTC)

The Jamiat employs several `ulama' [Islamic scholars] on a full-time basis at its offices in Alpine Road, Springfield, Durban, and are engaged in:

• settling marital disputes and deciding cases related to marriage and divorce;

• proper calculations of estate (waqf] distribution and resolving disputes regarding estate and inheritance matters, advices on drawing wills according to Shari `ah;

• issuing Shari `ah rulings (fatawahJ pertaining to all aspects of Din;

• publication and distribution of Islamic literature and books to educate the Muslims;

• supervision of madaris, providing syllabi, notes, text books; conducting madaris examinations and presenting reports to organisations running the madaris;

• providing assistance and counselling to welfare cases in consultation with Muslim welfare agencies;

• providing bursaries to deserving students studying Islamic sciences at local and overseas institutions;

• advising Muslim businessmen in commerce and economics from the Shari `ah point of view;

• resolving disputes to save individual and community thousands of Rand in legal costs;

• issuing certificates of halal food, and also supervising the slaughtering of animals at abbatoirs.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.146.254.10 (talk) 07:10, 14 November 2010 (UTC)