TABLIGHI MOVEMENT OF 20TH CENTURY: SIX PRINCIPLES

Abstract

Tablighi Jamaat is one of the most prominent and most widespread Islamic missionary movements of 20th century Islam. It’s active today almost in every country wherever Muslims live. The organization is said to be having a presence in between 150 to 200 countries, with its estimated adherents numbering between twelve million to one hundred fifty million, the majority of which are living in South Asia. It primarily focuses on making Muslims better and purer Muslims. When they visit a village or any place, they invite local people to assemble in a mosque and present their message in the form of six principles. These six principles are commonly called “chai baati’’ (six talks) in Tablighi circles. These six principles are: Kalimah ‘Article of Faith’, Salah ‘Prayers’, Ilm and Zikr ‘Knowledge and Remembrance of God’, Ikraam-i-Muslim ‘Respect for Muslim’, Ikhlas-e-Niyyat, ‘Sincerity of Intention’ and Tafrigh-i-waqt ‘Sparing of time in tabligh (preaching)’. These six principles are fundamental to the teachings of ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ and represent the basic ideological structure of the Tablighi Movement. KEY WORDS: Tablighi Jamaat, Six Principles, Preaching, Muslims.