Dr. Mohammed Safiullah (1st right)
* Where prominent intellectuals exchanged views on Indian political and social scenario as well as discussion on food
By Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
The Deccan Heritage Trust of India’s Chief, Dr. Mohammed Safiullah hosted a traditional Hyderabadi lunch in honour of the Consulting Editor of Maravi Express, Dr. Ahmed Mohiuddin Siddiqui on a bright and chilly afternoon on Sunday.
The Deccan Heritage Foundation adopts a contemporary approach to the re-purposing of heritage buildings and places in order to achieve positive outcomes to preserve our art and architectural heritage of India.
The delicious culinary delights also gave food for thought to the gathering of intellectuals assembled in the swanky and aesthetic residence of the host — where they exchanged their views on a variety of topics concerning the Indian political and social scenario; agreeing to disagree respectfully on some topics.
Political analyst, Dr. Inam ur Rahman Ghayur led the discussion with his intellectual paint of wisdom splashed all over and at times interjecting to keep emotions in check.
Dr. Ahmed Mohiuddin Siddiqui in orange jacket
The scholars and experts in their respective fields of work discussed animatedly the proposed politically motivated Waqf Bill in the Indian Parliament pushed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to snatch the Waqf properties from the Waqf Boards and push the Muslims to the brink of economic disaster.
The Modi Government bared its diabolical intentions when one of the proposed amendments is to include two Hindu members in the Muslim religious institutions — the Waqf Boards.
The district collectors or the civil servants are to be given sweeping powers to decide whether a property belongs to Waqf or not in case of a dispute. Will the Modi Government appoint Muslims in the Hindu Temples administration and the Hindu Endowments Departments?
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The ills plaguing the Indian Muslim society, like the increasing divorce rates, sufferings of deserted women and men cheated by their spouses and the resultant extortions to end the marriages, unending legal tangles — formed the core of discussions.
Dr. Safiullah offered to host national seminars to spread awareness about the Sharia and legal positions and laws to do away with marital discord and easy resolution of divorce cases.
Food wastage in marriages without a thought for the poor, unnecessary expenses on decorations and imported flowers from Thailand for marriage ceremonies, which don’t last longer than 4 hours bothered the intellectuals.
On the suggestion of Dr. Ahmed Mohiuddin Siddiqui, educationist Syed Hashmat Kamal agreed to come out with a paper to limit marriage expenses on food and devise different menus limited to 5 or 6 wishes to curtail food wastage.
Hashmat Kamal narrated an incident about the First Caliph of Islam, Syedna Abu Bakr Siddique’s steadfastness of practising the tradition of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in not wasting food any time. At the dining table, a piece of food fell from Hadhrat Abu Bakr’s hand.
He bent down to collect the piece, blew over it to clean and consumed it. Sensing that some of his colleagues did not like it, he asked his colleagues why should he give up the tradition of the noble Prophet not to waste. It is to be reminded that the place must be entirely clean to avoid infection and the food has to be dry and not liquid for it to be consumed.
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There was a warm response to the mention regarding an earlier article of Dr. Ahmed Mohiuddin Siddiqui in Free Malaysia Today about ‘avoiding food wastage in Ramadan’.
The learned lawyers Moid Ansari and Syed Hashim Adil engaged in meaningful discussion and arguments on matters pertaining to Waqf, marriages and divorce. They showed their authority on the legal subjects with lighter moments included.
The generous host Dr. Safiullah wanted the fruitful discussions to continue by offering to host dinner too. The chief guest Dr. Ahmed Mohiuddin Siddiqui expressed his immense gratitude to Dr. Mohammed Safiullah and other guests for making it a memorable afternoon and agreed to meet soon to find ways of bettering the lot of the community and the nation. No man can annoy his better half by missing dinner at home including a journalist!
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