AN INTERVIEW
AN INTERVIEW
In Conversation with
Khaja Kaleemuddin Khaja Kaleemuddin is the founding member and chapter head of the CPS USA team. He has been tirelessly engaged in spreading the Quran in the Americas in particular. Identified as the Quran Man in the local community, he has been instrumental in distributing around 1.3 million copies of the translations of the Quran. He is a teacher by profession. He has rendered his services in many countries such as India, Zambia, Nigeria, and the USA. He has been associated with Maulana for more than 40 years. He was the first CPS member to visit New Zealand after the gruesome Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019. Through his effort, the Quran copies and other books on Islam are available in the same mosque. These books are aimed at dispelling the misconceptions about Islam. He lives in Pennsylvania, USA.
He visited CPS International, New Delhi in August 2021 where he was interviewed by Dr Rajat Malhotra. The interview was live-streamed on Facebook. Some of the questions were from the online viewers. This is an edited and abridged version of the interview.
How were you introduced to Maulana Wahiduddin Khan?
I had started reading Maulana Wahiduddin Khan’s Urdu monthly AlRisala Urdu in 1976. If you remember, this was the year the magazine started. Thus, I can say that I have read every single issue of Al-Risala. I continued to read it for the next 10 years before I decided to meet him. My Urdu was not so fluent then. I could read Urdu but only with difficulty. I found that articles appealed to my inner nature. They were a treasure of wisdom. Then I read some of his books. Around the same time, I had to leave India for Zambia for a teaching assignment. The magazine contained so much practical advice about the art of life management. I started applying those principles in my life. I began sharing the magazine with others. I met him in 1986.
Do you remember your first meeting?
I was staying in a hotel in New Delhi. I was returning from Zambia and had to wait in New Delhi for a day before taking the flight to Hyderabad. I called him on phone and sought an appointment the same evening. Maulana told me to come right away if I had time. He knew me already as I had got Al-Risala printed in Nigeria and sent him the samples.
I had some ideas about how imposing the house and the personality of a writer and religious scholar of his stature could be! Quite the contrary, I found Maulana sitting in a very simple and modest office without the train of people following him everywhere. He welcomed me personally. He had the Nigerian edition in his hand. We had a fruitful conversation.
Looking back on your student life, how was your mentality then? I mean what did you think of religion in particular Islam?
I divide my life into two parts. The first part is before I started reading Maulana’s books. And the second part is after I started reading him.
I grew up in a village and only knew traditional Islam. It was a formbased religion. It taught that if you do this, read that you will get so much reward. If you recite such and such a word for this number of times, your place in Paradise is assured. I was not satisfied with this explanation of religion. When I entered college. I was introduced to another type of Islam. It may be called political interpretation of Islam. It held the view that Islam and Muslims are superior. Muslims are a unique nation, and establishing divine government is the goal of Islam. It was at this time, I got the opportunity to read Al-Risala. After reading it for 10 years, I was fully convinced that the arguments presented by Maulana were based on Quran and Hadith and the interpretation of Islam presented in these pages were sound indeed. I found that this is the answer to my quest. I knew that this is the true face of Islam. Every page of Al-Risala contained explanations of the verses of the Quran and Hadith. The art of life is found on almost every page. I found these were the traits to win a day and not some form of lip service. I had a 180-degree change in my mentality. From those days till now, whatever I have become, it is because of Maulana’s literature. My personality is the result of Maulana’s writing. I have dedicated my life to this mission.
You said that you didn’t know Urdu. What motivated you to learn it?
The storehouse of wisdom of Maulana’s writing could be found on every single page of Al-Risala. I was so enamoured of the magazine that I would read an issue many times over. I vividly remember which article appeared on what page and which issue of Al-Risala. It is no surprise then just by reading the magazine in such a fashion, my Urdu improved. I would also like to mention that Urdu was my mother tongue, only my medium of education was different.
When a reader reads an author he likes so much, it is natural to form a mental picture of the writer. What difference did you find in the image and actual picture of Maulana?
When I met Maulana for the first time, he was all alone in his office. I thought he would be crowded by the people. I thought about why he is alone. As I had read his writings, I knew that his is the true interpretation of Islam and futuristic. I told him that his literature is futuristic and Muslim thinking is not yet up to the level. In later meetings, he took me to different mosques each morning for Fajr prayers. I could see no one paid attention to him or knew what his status as an Islamic thinker and writer was! I was not demotivated that Maulana was not recognized and that these people didn’t recognize the true import of his writings. I knew that in the future there will be people who will understand it and make it a mission to carry forward Maulana’s writings and interpretation of Islam. Maulana would often read an Arabic saying to the effect that the people generally become enemies of the things they do not know. Now, we know that his books are read and appreciated all over the world.
I agree with you Kaleem Saheb that Maulana’s literature is indeed futuristic. I remember that Maulana was invited to the Islamic Centre in New Delhi for a speech. It was a successful event. At the end of the programme, the President of the Islamic Centre Mr Siraj Qureshi met Maulana and emotionally said, “Your literature will be valued all over the world once you are gone.” Today, not just in religious and secular spheres, even in academic circles, his writings have become topics of research. In Sha Allah, this ideology will spread.
How would you describe the thought process of Maulana behind the ideology he presented?
Maulana’s interpretation of Islam is based on a thorough and indepth study of the Quran and the corpus of Hadith literature. It is then fortified by a master’s grasp over all the related fields of study. Maulana presented the results in a contemporary language. We cannot say that he presented something new. He did not present what was not there. He once wrote that after his madrasa education, he was not able to address the modern man and convince him about the veracity of Islam. He learnt English and the western mind on his own. He understood the mentality of the modern man. Then, he presented Islam in a modern idiom for the modern man. It is comprehensible for the modern man. His writings have a unique trait that they appear natural. For a seeking person, his writings serve as an answer to his innermost nature, and he readily accepts them
Let’s turn our attention to the USA to the time when you moved there from Zambia. Today the USA chapter of CPS is so involved in spreading the message. Tell us how it all started?
When I was fully convinced about the truthfulness of this mission, and that there is no other religious literature that inspires us to the extent Maulana’s literature inspires. It is a pure and unadulterated form of Islam, unlike other ideologies that claim to present Islam. It was then I decided to devote my time and resources to this mission. In Nigeria, I started publishing Al-Risala for the Urdu speaking people of the subcontinent residing there.
Those who were impressed by the political interpretation of Islam didn’t like this material. They were more moved by the prospects of establishing the Islamic Caliphate. I would visit their homes and talk to them at length on these topics. I started printing Al-Risala English.
At the same time, the economy and currency of Zambia plummeted, and I had to move to the USA in 1989. I performed Hajj in 1984. I prayed there, “O God! Grant me the strength to spread this message all over the globe.” I was never demotivated that people then did not welcome the message when they returned me the copies of the magazine, I just thought that they did not yet understand.
In the USA, my priority was to spread the message. I called Maulana for guidance. He told me to get settled first with family and job. I started putting together a team. I would distribute books on Islam at various gatherings. I would get Maulana’s books reprinted in the USA. I used the platforms available. I started getting support. In 1996, Maulana visited the USA. It was during this visit that a team was officially formed named Al Risala Forum International. We registered it in New York. We formed a website to reach people far and wide. This was www.alrisala.org. I uploaded soft copies of Maulana's books, Al-Risala Urdu. I also recorded Al Risala in my voice and uploaded it. Now all material is available on www.archive.org.
There are many women members in the CPS team of the USA. How did that happen?
At the very beginning, the first women member who joined us was Sister Gul Zeba. She had already read Maulana’s literature. She contacted me on phone. Now, she is so busy conducting classes for women and children. She has established a vast network for the task in introducing Islam on her own. Then sister Kauser Izhar joined. Their enthusiasm and sincerity are unparalleled.
I am often asked by the new team members what should they do first. I always advise new CPS members to do nothing except reading Maulana’s literature. They should get fully convinced about the truthfulness of the mission. It is only after a thorough reading of Maulana’s writings that one should venture out into the field of introducing the message of Islam. Maulana used to say that we don’t produce programmes, we produce programme-makers.
It is a defining feature of CPS members that they have a sense of mission that they must spread the message of CPS forward. Wherever they are, they set up libraries and study centres.
What inspires you to devote yourself wholly to the mission? What is the secret behind this?
This is something I cannot answer. I was convinced of the truthfulness of this mission from day one. I knew that it would get the support of the people who would know its true value. Many events could have derailed me but I never wavered. I was never demoralized.
We need to stand up for God. Whenever you are weak, just stand, angels, will line up to help you.
Maulana is my source of inspiration. To cater to the needs of others, people often deviate from the truth. It was not the case with Maulana. Only after a thorough and first-hand study of any event or topic would he arrive at a conclusion. Then, he would speak and write on the subject. He knew that people will not understand it now but later they will come to realize it. His solutions to the problems of Indian Muslims were based directly on the life of the Prophet such as unilateral peace, big bird thinking. He always stood by his conclusions.
CPS USA played a massive role in the distribution of the Quran. Some containers that reach Kaleem Saheb’s house carry at least 80 thousand copies of the translations of the Quran. His house is a centre from where the task of introducing the message of the Quran is being carried out. His basement is filled to the brim with translations of the Quran and Maulana’s books. I remember that once while Maulana was there, the containers reached. He helped in pushing the carts. He was 85 years old then. That was way back in 2013. He watched the whole process while sitting under the tree. He said that Kaleem Saheb, you have opened an industry for the spread of the message of the Quran.
You were called a special name by the postal department of your area. What was it?
I would dispatch the translations of the Quran by post. I would visit the postal office again and again. They asked me what I was sending in so large a quantity. I told them I was dispatching copies of translations of the Quran. Then they started calling me Quran Man.
My house is now officially called the Quran House. I pray that my house retains this status always and this work goes on always. I maintain that we are helped by the angels. So far, we have distributed 1.3 million copies of the Quran. We distribute it to other organizations and institutes.
Maulana visited you many times in the USA. Please tell us some insightful events from his visits.
There are many such events. In 1996, someone from Detroit contacted me. He said he had read The Vision of Islam and wished to read more of Maulana’s books. These books contained my phone number then. I told him the books are available and the author of the books would be here in a few days. He visited and stayed for two days with Maulana. He asked him if he did not wish to die for the sake of God, Maulana said, “Do you think I am alive?”
On another trip in North Carolina, while driving, Maulana related how Al-Risala started. People told him that it would not be successful. They said, “Your articles are suggestive and not informative. People do not like suggestive magazines. People don’t want someone to tell them what to do.” Maulana replied that those were the days he was flooded with ideas of articles and books. He said, “If I start Al-Risala, the magazine will die of failure; and if I don’t start Al-Risala, I would die being burdened by the ideas.”
God-realization is central to the message of Maulana. Please share some personal experiences of God realization?
In a recent article by Maulana, I read about a group of people who were waiting to see a President. The moment it was announced that the President is about to enter the hall, everyone became a picture of anticipation, respect and awe. He also wrote that if you are standing in front of a cave about which you have been informed that it is empty and no creature lives inside. Suddenly, you see a human being coming out of it. How surprised you would be!
Compare these experiences with the event of a child being born. How surprised we should be to see childbirth!
There are countless phenomena in the universe through which God is manifesting His presence to us. How much more thrilling this discovery should be for us!
Maulana said that God-realization is true faith indeed.
How to use Maulana’s lectures to guide youths to the right path and personality development?
The best way to make children discover Islam is through your example. One cannot inculcate Islam by just establishing Islamic schools. First, adults need to live a truly Islamic life, children being silent observers will imbibe these values. No need to specifically train them, start with yourself. It’s through practical demonstration that such an objective can be achieved.
How can we become sincere about the task of introducing the message of Islam?
Keep reading Maulana’s books over and over again. Introducing the religion of Islam is a two-part task. Personality development, increasing God-realization and then sharing the experience. No derailment is then possible from this path.
There is a great example from the life of the Prophet Muhammad about the supremacy of the task of introducing Islam. Hilf al-Fudul was an alliance created by the Makkans in the year AD 590 to establish justice for all through collective action, even for those who had no connections to the powerful. Fudul commonly means “virtuous”, therefore, the alliance is often translated as ‘League of the Virtuous’. Later, the Prophet expressed his wish to become part of such alliances if the need arose. It means he was willing to be led by others in community matters, while in matters of introducing Islam, he was the leader.
What is your message to the CPS family?
Keep doing the work of spreading the message of Islam sincerely. Keep reading Maulana’s books. Don’t get demotivated. Aim to do this till the last breath.
I always tell my team that we should keep working for the mission. We should not worry about the result. We should not be discouraged from not getting support from the people. CPS members should not be disheartened if more people are not coming to join them in the cause of spreading the Word of God. Our tireless efforts will bring results from places we least expect. Maulana would say that we should set a target, then fight every impulse that derails us from the target. We should follow this advice.
