Raiwind (
Punjabi & ur, ) is a town (now promoted to Tehsil Head Quarter) located within
union council 149 (Dholanwal) in
Allama Iqbal Town
Allama Iqbal Town ( ur, ) (also known as Iqbal Town or abbreviated as AIT) is a commercial and a residential locality in the south-western Lahore.
It is named after Allama Iqbal, the national poet of Pakistan. Development was started in the l ...
of
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. The town serves as the headquarters of
Tablighi Jamaat
Tablighi Jamaat (, also translated as "propagation party" or "preaching party")
is a transnational Deobandi Islamic Dawah, missionary movement
that focuses on exhorting Muslims to be more religiously observant
and encouraging fellow memb ...
and hosts the annual
Raiwind Markaz Ijtema. Raiwind is also home to
Pakistan Railways Junction and Railways Track Workshop and serves as the political base for former Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...
.
History
During the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
, Raiwind was a
tehsil
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administ ...
of
Lahore District. The town also became notable when a junction was built by the
North Western State Railway between the
Karachi–Peshawar Railway Line and
Lodhran–Raiwind Branch Line. Before the
Ferozepore
Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who died ...
-
Bhatinda Railway opened, it was an important centre of the local trade in agricultural produce and had two cotton-ginning factories and a cotton-press, which employed around 203 people. Following independence in 1947, the railway links eastwards were no longer functional. Ch. Said Rasool was appointed as the Zaildar (District Administrator) of Raiwind.
Population
The population according to the 1901 census was 1764. Today, it is over 150,0000.
Annual Tablighi Ijtema
Every year a
Muslim religious convention is held here.
[
]
An annual gathering of followers in Pakistan, the ''ijtema'', is held at Raiwind Markaz. A typical ''ijtema'' starts on a Thursday afternoon and continues for the next three days and ends with an exceptionally long prayer.
These gatherings are considered moments of intense blessings by Tabligh Jamaat members and are known to attract members in excess of 2 million in Pakistan. The last day of Ijtema may often see several million people, including devoted celebrities, political and administrative brass of Pakistan. The Pakistani Ijtema is the largest of annual Tablighi Ijtemas after Bangladesh. In 2011 Pakistan divided the Ijtema into two parts and total 1 million People attended each of the two Ijtema.
This gathering lasts for 3 days and then groups of 10 to 15 people in a "Jamaat" (Muslim Group) are made to go around the world to preach the message of
Allah. Hundreds of thousands of people attend this religious gathering yearly. Presently the Ameer (principal) of Raiwind Center is
Maulana Nazar-ur-Rehman.Since 2007, this congregation has been held semiannually in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. A few Muslim scholars come from
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and the majority comes from
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. The central theme of the sermons of
Ulema
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
is that the success in this life and the hereafter lies in the commandments of
Allah and ways of
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
.
Maulana Tariq Jameel is a scholar who delivers lectures during this annual convention which in Pakistan is called ijtema.
Tabligh Jamaat encourages its followers to follow the pattern of spending "an evening, one night, three days, a week, or forty days, 40 continuous days a year, and ultimately 120 days at least once in their lives engaged in tabligh missions". During the course of these tours, members are generally seen dressed in simple, loose-clothing. The Jamaat's walking on streets can be identified by its members carrying sleeping bags and packs of bare minimum cookery on their backs and walking in a straight line along the pathways and footpaths, when they are aiming to arrive at a destination by foot.
[ These members use mosques as their base during their stays but particular mosques, due to more frequent tablighi activities, have come to be specifically associated with this organisation. These mosques generally hold the periodic, smaller scale convocations for neighbourhood members.]
During their stay in mosques, these ''jamaats'' conduct a daily ''gasht'', which involves visiting local neighbourhoods, preferably with the help of a local guide. They invite people to attend the ''Maghrib
The Maghrib Prayer ( ar, صلاة المغرب ', "sunset prayer") is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayer). As an Islamic day starts at sunset, the Maghrib prayer is technically the first prayer of the day. If counted from midni ...
'' prayer at their mosque and those who attend are delivered a sermon after the prayers, which essentially outlines the Six Principles. They urge the attendees to spend time in tabligh for self reformation and the propagation of Islam. Also the regular activities like eating, sleeping etc. are also carried out in the mosques.
Generally, the assumed role of these ''jamaat'' members cycle in a way that they may be engaged as a preacher, a cook or as a cleaner at other times. Among Tabligh Jamaat members, this is generally referred to as ''khidmat'' which essentially connotes to serving their companions and freeing them for tablighi engagements.[ The members of the Jamaat are assigned these roles based on the day's ''mashwara''. The markaz keeps records of each ''jamaat'' and its members, the identity of whom is verified from their respective mosques. Mosques are used to assist the tablighi activities of individual ''jamaats'' that voluntarily undertake preaching missions.] Members of a ''jamaat'', ideally, pay expenses themselves so as to avoid financial dependence on anyone. However, reverent members may at times also sponsor expenses of some of their "brothers" who might be devoted members but without necessary financial means.
See also
* Raiwind Markaz
Raiwind Markaz (in Punjabi مرکز رائےونڈ ) is a complex consisting of a main mosque, Islamic madrasa, and residential areas located in Raiwind city, near Lahore, Pakistan, and is the home of the Tablighi Jamaat in Pakistan. It attracts ...
* Raiwind Junction railway station
References
External links
Rejecting publicity, yet drawing millions to Raiwind
{{Neighbourhoods of Lahore
Populated places in Lahore District
Raiwind Tehsil