Pir Karam Shah sahib as a Teacher.

 The Teacher

When Pir Muhammad Karam Shah started the college of Arabic and Islamic studies, he was confronted by a multitude of problems; lack of finance, lack of properly trained teachers and lack of parents willing to dedicate their children for Islam. However, more perplexing problems arose about the syllabus. Should he teach the conventional Darse-Nizami (a 300 year old religious syllabus) or devise a new one? Which would better cater for the needs of today? He wisely decided to formulate a modern syllabus, which would incorporate the essential Islamic sciences from the Darse-Nizami:

• Arabic grammar
• Fiqh and the principals of Fiqh
• Logic
• Tafseer
• Hadith and the principals of Hadith
• contemporary subjects like; English language, Economics, Political science and Urdu

Students were expected to sit internal exams as well as the state exams. The timescale was eight years to complete the course. The track record of exam success has astonished everyone. The degree awarded by the college is now recognised as a Masters degree by the Punjab University. Pir sahib himself taught Arabic Grammar, Fiqh and Hadith.

For the last fifteen years of his life, he concentrated on teaching Hadith to the final year students. Traditionally, this has been regarded as the most honourable teaching post as Shaykh ul Hadith and is the most coveted post in Muslim seminaries. He was no ordinary teacher, he had a mission to educate and train young men in Islamic sciences. Moreover, to infuse in them the enthusiasm, the zeal and commitment to serve Islam. The maxim that enthusiasm is contagious was clearly evident in his classes. I had the privilege of sitting at the master’s feet during the one year course in Hadith (1991-1992).

He was 73 years old then but still taught full-time despite having diabetes. He began his day by praying Fajr with the congregation and then having breakfast. From 8:30am till 11:30am he would teach in the girls college, annexed to the main college. Thereafter he would take our Hadith class till 2:30pm. He would read the Hadith and explain it’s meaning, analysing it grammatically and highlighting any moral and spiritual lessons and divulge its literary and grammatical intricacies. All this in beautifully spoken Urdu punctuated with couplets from Rumi’s Mathnavi, or Hafiz Shiraz’s Gulistan or Urdu couplets from Iqbal who he admired enormously. Hearts were moved and tear glands stimulated. Since the spoken words came from a sincere and loving heart, they entered straight into the hearts! His encyclopedic knowledge coupled with the divine love created a special atmosphere in the classroom, which captivated the hearts and minds of his students.

Another distinguishing feature of his teaching was that he didn’t stop at just imparting knowledge and information but further urged the students to apply it in their lives. Encouraging them and spurring them to become the guardians of Islam. Emphasising the importance of sincerity that is freeing of intentions from all impurities to please Allah. He would also dwell on tawakkul, trust in Allah and having complete reliance on him. Instructing the future religious leaders of the Muslims, he would say “Allah is your greatest supporter, You must put trust in him.”

He always urged his students to follow the Sunnah. Himself, he was an exemplary role model of a devout Muslim, a dynamic and energetic Mujahid. He inspired his students, friends and Mureeds with love for Islam. Pir Karam Shah was not only a brilliant teacher but a benevolent spiritual director. The aim of his teaching programme was to produce people dedicated to Allah and to serve the Muslims. This is a far cry from the modern seats of learning, where only the intellect is developed but the soul is left untouched and aping. It’s no wonder that brought students from all over Pakistan to his college. To cater for these growing needs so far twenty-five branches of the college have been opened country-wide, where more than 3500 students are studying the Deen of Islam fulltime. Inspired by this charisma, devotional life and enthusiasm, many of his students have established Mosques, Madrassah’s and Schools not only in Pakistan but in other places including Britain, Norway, France, Italy, America, Canada and several African and Middle Eastern countries.

Source: Dr. Musharraf Hussain. UK