FROM MAULANA’S DESK

FROM MAULANA’S DESK 1. The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims 2018, Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, Jordan. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, born in 1925, in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, is an Islamic spiritual scholar who is well-versed in both classical Islamic learning and modern disciplines. The mission of his life has been the establishment of worldwide peace. He has received the Padma Bhushan, the Demiurgus Peace International Award and Sayyidina Imam Al Hassan Peace award for promoting peace in Muslim societies. He has been called ’Islam’s spiritual ambassador to the world’ and is recognized as one of its most influential Muslims1. His books have been translated into sixteen languages and are part of university curricula in six countries. He is the founder of the Centre for Peace and Spirituality based in New Delhi. RAMAZAN T HE month of Ramazan is the ninth month according to the lunar calendar. The month in which the revelation of the Quran began. The first revelation was made to the Prophet when he was in the cave of Hira, and it continued for the next 23 years, finally reaching completion in Madinah. The guidance given in the Quran is the best blessing to humankind from God, because it shows man the path to ultimate success. It tells man how to conduct himself so that in his eternal life he can gain entry into Paradise. Paradise is the goal of man. The month of Ramazan is an annual reminder of this blessing. The celebration of the revelation of the Quran is not observed in the usual way but by abstinence and being thankful to the Almighty. Fasting in this month is acknowledgement of divine blessings. It is like saying, ‘O Lord I have heard and I accept.’ This is a month during which the Quran should be read and understood. When the Quran is read during the month of its revelation, it reminds us of the time when divine light from heaven fell upon the earth. Man remembers this and calls out, ‘O Lord, fill my heart with Your divine