Social reform impossible without efforts towards self-purification: Pir Saheb Baruna

Shaykhul Hadith Allama Mufti Rashidur Rahman Faruqi Barnavi, popularly known as Pir Saheb Baruna and Ameer of Anjumane Hefazate Islam Bangladesh, has said social reform is impossible without efforts towards self-purification.

He said complete submission to Allah and His Messenger is possible only through self-purification. Before embracing Islam, the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) committed various sins, but through efforts towards self-purification after accepting Islam, they transformed into exemplary human beings.

He added that all forms of social misconduct, murder, corruption and disorder could be brought to an end through self-purification.

He made the remarks in his inaugural address at a grand Islahi Ijtema organised at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital to mark the 82nd anniversary of Anjumane Hefazate Islam Bangladesh, a non-political religious reform organisation.

Addressing the devout Muslims attending the gathering, which began after Fajr prayers on Friday, he also said LGBTQ people and transgender identities were being promoted in various ways. He alleged that various conspiracies were underway to spread these practices in society and called for preventing them at any cost.

Pir Saheb Baruna further said religious education should be made compulsory at the primary level and religious teachers appointed at state institutions to protect the faith and religious practices of Muslim children in a country where 90 per cent of the population is Muslim.

He said this was the responsibility of the state. If the state failed to fulfil its responsibility, it would be their duty to ensure that their children received the obligatory basic religious education.

Devotees and followers of Pir Saheb Baruna arrived at Suhrawardy Udyan from different parts of the country on buses and trains before Fajr prayers to attend the Ijtema. A large number of worshippers gathered to take part in late-night Tahajjud prayers, remembrance of Allah (Zikr) and supplications.

A large Friday congregation will be held at Suhrawardy Udyan, led by Pir Saheb Baruna. More than 100,000 worshippers are expected to attend.

The sessions, moderated by the organisation’s Joint Secretaries General Mufti Sheikh Saad Ahmad Amin Barnavi, Mufti Wazed Ali and Mufti Faizullah Ashrafi, have already featured speeches by former Religious Affairs Adviser Dr AFM Khalid Hossain, Mufti Dilawar Hossain, Mufti Mizanur Rahman Saeed, Maulana Akram Ali Faridpuri, Maulana Khalid Saifullah Ayubi and Mufti Sakhawat Hossain Razi, among others.