Knowing Self is Knowing God

Introduction:

Though it is aimed at addressing the inquisitive interest of the non-Mahdavia visitors on this website, this introduction will be beneficial for the Mahdavia community as well. The rise of materialism has restructured the idea of living in our society to such an extent that the most important tenets of the religion are left confined to books with the utmost respect, instead of practicing them. Most of our youth are as ignorant as non-Mahdavis about the basics of our faith. Therefore, before we explain what Dairathul Basair is, what it stands for, and what are its objectives, we shall first explain what a Daira is.

Daira:

The word “Daira” means a circle, but its definition for the Mehdavia community is far more extensive. It is a place where seekers of Allah live around their spiritual leader under his guidance to achieve their spiritual purpose in life (seeing Allah). The foundation of Mehdavia beliefs and practices is based upon this very idea. We Mahdavis believe Allah’s Deedar (Seeing God) is possible in this world, whereas Thalab e Deedar e Kuda (Desire to see Allah) is obligatory for every Muslim. Hazrath Mehdi Maood AHS has held some of the practices to be obligatory for the seeker to achieve Deedar (seeing Allah). They are based upon non-other than the injunctions of Quran. Tark e Dunia (renouncing materialistic life), Uzlath anil khalkh (secession from acquisitive society), Tawakkal Alalllah (relying absolutely on Allah for not just sustenance but also every physical and spiritual need of life), Sohbath e Sadeqeen (The companionship of the truthful and pious people, Murshid (Spiritual guide)), Zikr e Dawam (remembrance of Allah in a perpetual state). Such a way of lifestyle is impossible to adopt while living in an avaricious society. Therefore, the seekers of Allah would migrate from their homes along with their families to live among pious seekers around a Spiritual Guide (Murshid) in a controlled environment. The place where they live with this notion is called Daira.

Basair:

Basair means those who see or those who desire to see God.

Dairathul Basair:

Dairathul Basair is a center to facilitate a favorable socio-religious environment to live and practice Hazrath Mehdi Maood AHS’s teachings with a desire to see Allah in this life and the life after.

History:

After the passing of Hazrath Mehdi Maood AHS, his companions took upon themselves the mission of propagating his teachings. For almost six hundred years the life of Daira which is the true way of Mehdavia living and the mirror of Prophet Muhammed SAS’s life is upheld by the descendants of some of these companions’ respective lineages. Few trained and efficient descendants of every lineage have inherited the permission to have a Daira of their own upon receiving necessary teachings and rigorous training from their respective Murshids (Spiritual Guide, Master, Teacher). Haztath Peer o Murshid Moulana Abu Sayeed Syed Mahmood urf Murshid Miyan Sahab RH is one such descendant of the lineage of Hazrath Bandagimiyan Shah e Khundmir Siddiq e Vilayath RZ (second Khalif of Hazrath Mehdi Maood AHS). He was a highly revered Murshid and perhaps the most admired scholar of his time. Successors of almost all his contemporaries were taught and trained by him in his Daira. His writings will be an important source of understanding Mahdavia Islamic beliefs and practices forever.

Varying time transmutes the challenges faced by a community and demands adaptive measures to endure such challenges. It is a popular trend among youth since the 70s of the 20th century to migrate, away from home and Daira to pursue their desired career. The rise of materialism led to this Idea. Many young members of society moved to the middle east and West for better opportunities. This was perhaps the biggest challenge of this age faced by our community, our survival as the prophesied community demands our people stay closer to Daira. There was no efficient means to bridge such a gap between the Daira and the members of the society. As a visionary leader Haztath Peer o Murshid Moulana Abu Sayeed Syed Mahmood urf Murshid Miyan Sahab RH wished to initiate a religious organization that would extend the reach of the Daira. It would quench the thirst of the community for the knowledge of religion and help them stay true to their beliefs despite living away from the source of guidance. Unfortunately, deteriorating health conditions due to old age did not allow him to implement this idea in his lifetime. In the year 1982 just before his demise he expressed his will before his people to start a religious organization and gave its name “Dairathul Basair”. His demise led to a vacuum that could not be filled for more than a decade. Despite the innate desire and will his son and successor Hazrath Moulana Syed Abdul Hai alias Hafez Miyan RH could not contribute much to the cause as he was faced with multiple health conditions. He passed away within eight years of his father’s demise in the year 1990 survived by his son and Successor Hazrath Moulana Syed Mohammed Sarfraz Mehdi Sahab who was merely 10 years of age. By the mercy of Allah, the blessings of his father and grandfather, sheer hard work, and unprecedented guardianship of his Mentor Hazrath Moulana Syed Fazlullah Hafez Sahab RH, he has not only established Dairathul Basair but also taken it to uncharted heights of success. He expedited its growth through his leadership skills and relentless efforts. As destined, it has emerged as one of the most successful religious organizations apart from being a traditional Daira extending its influence around the globe. As a Daira, it was there for more than five centuries but its formal registration with the government as a religious organization was sought and granted in the first month of the year 2020.

What we do:

Dairathul Basair as a Daira: Engages with all those who seek help for spiritual enlightenment and facilitates the practice of almost all the obligations of a Seeker mentioned above under the definition of Daira. Alhamdulillah, since the inception of the Mahdavia community this Daira has played an evident role in propagating the teachings of Hazrath Mehdi Maood AHS. Murshids of this lineage have traveled across India for almost six centuries doing so. The current primary location of our Daira in Kachiguda Hyderabad was originally established more than three centuries ago by Hazrath Bandagimiyan Syed Yaseen RH. Hazrath Peer o Murshid Syed Sadullah Miyan Sahab RH (the great-grandfather of the founder of Dairathul Basair) Migrated to this Daira before 1860 and the current Murshid Hazrath Moulana Syed Mohammed Sarfraz Mehdi Sahab is the sixth generation of this lineage in this place. Under his guidance, we are serving the community at three different locations. In Hyderabad India, we serve at Masjid e Hazrath Syed Naseeruddin Sahab Qibla RH, Canchalaguda, apart from our primary Dairathul Basair center in Kachiguda. We shall very soon initiate a new chapter of our Daira in Oswego Illinois USA if Allah wills it.

Dairathul Basair as an organization: Propagating the idea of life is an instinctive human behavior. A father, a grandfather, or a wise elder of society believes it to be an obligation to share experience and wisdom with his family and the community. The evolution of every civilization is a result of its members’ collaborated effort in sharing experience, knowledge, and wisdom. But the accumulation of knowledge based on human understanding cannot be infallible. even the wisest and most stable minds can be found allowing their emotions and sentiments to overwhelm their reasons. Hence the Creator needed to guide the creation to meet his expectations, So He sent his Messengers to serve his purpose. They received divine revelations from Allah and propagated them among people. But it was not possible to send one immediately after the other unceasingly. The enlightened companions of Messengers were ordained to carry forward the Message and their companions after them. For Muslims, it is obligatory to propagate the acquired knowledge among others. Allah SWT ordained the learned Muslims to guide others towards the right and forbid evil.

“And among you, there must be a group that invites people towards good and orders about doing right and forbids from doing wrong. It is they who will be successful.” 3:104.

“By the space! Indeed, humankind is at a grave loss. Except those who have faith and do righteous deeds and decrees (wills) Truth and decrees (wills) Patience.” Surah 103

Prophet Mohammed SAS said.

“Mandating good and prohibiting evil is the best Jihad. Narrated by Hazrath Ali RZ.” Madarik

Hazrath Mehdi AHS said.

“One who enters into Daira in the morning is the Murshid(teacher) of the one who enters in the evening”.

This makes it obligatory for people in faith to educate and get educated but the process of learning was not the same as it is today. Seekers would take upon the company of pious knowledgeable people and seek their guidance. This approach would not only facilitate education but also ensured its practical application. Unfortunately, with the rise of materialism, people started consuming most of their time and energy to obtain worldly pleasures. The most difficult challenge of this age is to be true to religious beliefs. There are lucrative but fatal worldly attractions on one side and Sirath al Mustaqeem (The straight path shown by Allah) with its difficult challenges demands many sacrifices on the other. We at Dairathul Basair are trying to make the journey toward Allah for the seekers easy, attractive, and well-informed.

We teach & preach:

How to read Quran so that people start finding pleasure in doing so.
The language of Quran so that they understand what they read.
Seerath un-Nabi SAS (Prophet’s biography) so that they learn Islamic ethos and built their character accordingly.
Urdu and English classical language so that they can comprehend and convey the message of Quran in the best possible manner.
Seerath e Mehdi AHS (Hazrath Mehdi AHS’s biography).
Faraiz e Nubuwath (Tauheed, Salah, Zakat, Roza, and Haj)
Faraiz e Vilayath (Talab e Deedar e Khuda, Tark e Dunya, Tawakkal, Uzlath anil khalkh, Sohbath e Sadeqeen, Hijrath, Zikr e Dawam, Ushr, and Dugana e Lailathul Qadr.
Organising Public meetings and gatherings
Poetry
Literature
Islamic history
Zikr Ullah (Meditation) and all the practices needed to be conducted in a Daira as mentioned above.

How:

As mentioned above we have an age-old Daira located in Kachiguda, Hyderabad, and an extended unit at Chanchalaguda Hyderabad. With both units fully functional, we have started a new unit in Oswego Illinois USA in 2020. For virtual coordination, we are running a full-fledged website www.dairatulbasair.com and we are active also on social media platforms such as Facebook WhatsApp, and Twitter. People contact us on all these platforms and via e-mail. All the contact options can be found under the contact us button on our website. We have a very informative YouTube channel http://youtube.com/@DairatulBasair / https://www.dairatulbasair.com/youtube-playlist featuring more than 100 hours of researched content. It also has a very successful ongoing series with 42 lectures and still going covering Seerath un-Nabi (Prophet SAS’s biography).

The website:

Our website plays an important role in connecting us with community members spread across the world. The informative and interactive features of the website attract the interest of many seekers of knowledge. The featured articles by our Murshideen explicate some of the most important issues of our religion. We welcome visitors to not just learn but express themselves by writing their blogs. One can bridge the gap between text and context by expressing his/her understanding and seeking the guidance of our Murshid. The vast collection of books in the library offers books on a wide range of topics. The schedules of our upcoming events can also be followed here and much more.