Asslamu alaikum,

There were three of us from Kenya, Yunus Hassanali Admani, and Kassam Bharadia from Mombasa, and myself from Nairobi.

The 3-day Ijtima is held on a 400 acre ground (owned by Dawate Islami) near Multan Shariff. This ground was packed from the second day. There are special trains from various towns. In addition to the people from Pakistan, there were brothers from many other countries including Mauritius, South Africa, Korea, UK, Kuwait, UAE. Dawate Islami work has spread to 42 countries. Ameere Ahle Sunnat, Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Attar came on the second day. He gave two speeches. I saw people whose tears started flowing spontaneously on seeing him. The whole event was superbly organised. Washroom facilities were plentiful. We were anticipating lots of problems, especially with washrooom facilities and food availability – but Alhamdulillah everything was fine. All the brothers we met went out of their way to ensure we did not have any problems.

We came back to Karachi on Laylatun Nisful Sha’baan. We were privileged to meet Ameere Ahle Sunnat that night. There was a special Ijtima held at one of the cemeteries, and attended by thousands of people.

The next three days, we attended a special training course organised for all the overseas attendees, held at Faizane Madina Karachi – the headquarters of Dawate Islami. Faizane Madina houses a dar-ul-uloom, a small hospital, shops etc. We were privileged to pray most of the salaah behind Ameere Ahle Sunnat, and listen to his lectures.

After the training, we went on a 3-day Madni Qafila to an area of Karachi called Punjab Colony. We came back on Saturday to Faizane Madina for the weekly Ijtima. Tha large mosque was filled to capacity, with lots of people having to sit in the streets outside.

We visited a number of mazaarat of Awliyaa in both Multan and Karachi.

Masha-Allah, Ameere Ahle Sunnat has managed to do so much in only 20 years. It was great to see the numerical and spiritual strength of the Ahlus Sunnah. May Allah (Azza wa Jal) grant increase in the life, and status of Ameere Ahle Sunnat and enable Muslims worldwide to benefit from him. Aameen bijaahi Nabiyyil Ameen (Sall Allahu alaihi wasallam)

Kasim

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Gentlemen,

I took an interest in Islamic thought a few years ago and have a few questions and perhaps a favor to ask.

1. Is it true that the name of your organization 'iqra' is the first word that Allah spoke to the Prophet and that it means 'read' or 'study'?

2. If so, I am thinking about tattooing this word on my chest over my heart. Would doing this be offensive in any way to Muslims? Obviously, I will not do so if it would be considered inappropriate.

3. If it would not be offensive, could you provide me with a file of the word in Arabic to use as a template for the design?

Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Respectfully,
Jonathan