In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah and upon his family and companions.
Your Eminence Prof. Yerlan Sydykov Battashevitch , Rector of Gumilyov Eurasian National University
Respected colleagues and faculty members,
Dear female and male students,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Honorable attendees,
May Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon you all!
It is my pleasure to start by expressing sincere gratefulness and appreciation to your esteemed university, in terms of its Rector, faculty members, students and staff, for kindly inviting me to visit this budding university, which is quite promising to turn into reality the hopes and dreams of the people in this region. This institution will soon assume its proper status among world universities and educational institutions in terms of knowledge, culture, art and technology. Only four years old, this nascent Eurasian National University has certainly become a member in various regional and European university associations, and international organizations and high education academies.
No doubt, these firm leaps, in terms of education, are driven by serious and distinguished teaching, as well as by alert and restless minds engaged in constant thinking and acting. These are appreciable efforts required for our Muslim peoples and anticipated by young scholars at both pre-university and university stages. These efforts are also engaged by teachers, intellectuals, men of letters, artists and journalists. It is not a far-fetched dream when the requirements for change are made available. These requirements are succinctly given in the Glorious Qur'an, in the verse that reads, "Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves" [Qur'an, 13: 11]. This noble verse represents a general law that is applicable to whatever requires change. Moreover, it is a law for the success of any effort that is exerted on the path of development and welfare. Despite the existence of this law, which we and our children at the different educational stages learn by heart, we still seldom put it into effect in our practical life or apply it in reality.
A greeting from the heart to this vibrant university and a salute to the makers of the minds of its students and the ones who disseminate determination and mettle around it.
Dear female and male students,
I would not be saying something new if I recount before you how Islam celebrates knowledge and the mind in the Qur'an and the Sunnah and through its civilization. I reckon that you know this well, just like me. However, I would like to talk to you about the overall frame of the Islamic civilization, in terms of knowledge, cognition and conduct.
As regards revelation in this tripartite system, it embodies the conclusive divine text of the Glorious Qur'an and the authentically reported sayings and deeds of the Prophet (pbuh), being a Prophet who conveyed to the people what Almighty Allah commanded him to communicate, including teachings, directives and legislations.
In this perspective, the mind represents the basic requirement for holding a person accountable before the Lord and for understanding the divine discourse and adhering to its content and spirit. The Glorious Qur'an fully draws on the mind in addressing humanity and in arguing with whoever has the capacity to understand and to hold dialogue. A quick glance at the verses of the Qur'an would suffice in recognizing the high status imparted to the mind and to all cognitive activities, whether by way of intuition, inference or deduction. The root Arabic word for mind and its derivatives or synonyms, indicating thinking and contemplation, are mentioned more than 120 times in the Qur'an, through frequent interesting utterances, such as "so that they may know/reason/ponder/think/perceive/comprehend", etc. Added to this is an accurate distinction between the level of cognizance, which is irrefutable certitude on the one hand and the level of conjecture, doubt and suspicion, on the other. Almighty Allah condemns those who confuse (sure) knowledge and conjecture, saying about them, " They have thereof no knowledge. They only follow assumption when indeed assumption never avails against the truth. So, turn away from whoever turns his back on Our message, who only desires this worldly life. That is their sum of knowledge. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of whoever strays from His way, and He is most knowing of who is well guided." [Qur'an, 53: 28-30]
The third dimension in this regard is the moral element that relates to conduct and behavior and their individual, familial and societal consequences. In appreciation of your precious time, I would address only two aspects of this dimension. First, moral rules in Islam are fixed in the sense that they do not develop or change. Such is the case with standards and criteria, even in relation to material and sensory issues. Indeed, fraud, deceit and lying are all vices that thrive under false balances and fluctuating standards, be the weighed thing tangible or abstract. Therefore, it is necessary that moral principles govern and redress the course of history. Hence, it is difficult to imagine a time in which the Muslims oppress others or justify killing people or subduing them against their will. A good deed in the balance of Islamic morality is good until the end of time, under all conditions and circumstances, and so is evil until the Day of Judgment.
The second aspect is concerned with the fact that morals are the basis of worship acts in Islam, in the sense that these do not substitute morality, no matter how much a worshipper may strictly observe the rituals. Interestingly, the Muslim's acts of worship – in all their different forms and types – will be ineffectual if they are not based on a prop of practical morality. It was said to the Prophet (pbuh), "Messenger of Allah! Such and such woman prays all night and fasts all day, but she hurts her neighbors by words.' The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, 'There is no good in her. She is one of the dwellers of Hell Fire.' They said, 'Another woman observes prescribed prayers only and gives little bits of curd as charity but does not hurt anyone.' The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, 'She is one of the dwellers of Paradise.'" He (pbuh) also says, "The believer is congenial, and there is no good in one who is neither congenial nor approachable". He (pbuh) also says, "Indeed, a person would attain through good manners the highest degrees and noblest ranks in the Afterlife even though he may be moderate in terms of performing worship acts; and a person would attain through bad manners the lowest base in Hellfire even though he may be a keen worshipper".
Honorable attendees,
You know that Al Azhar Ash Sharif, as a mosque of assembly for worship and a university for sciences and knowledge, historically dates back to 972 A.C., that is one thousand and forty six years ago. I can assure you that its curricula are all designed within this mentioned framework, and they revolve around textual sciences, rational sciences and taste (sapiential/intuitive) sciences.
Textual sciences are all disciplines that spring from the study of the Glorious Qur'anic text and the texts of the Prophetic Sunnah, such as exegesis, Qur'an sciences, Hadith and its disciplines, jurisprudence and its fundamentals, prophetic biography, and the essential principles of creed and its major issues.
The rational sciences involve scholasticism, philosophy – covering all philosophical schools at all ages, including logic, modern logic, research methodologies, and argumentation and debating.
Moreover, by taste sciences is meant the sciences of Islamic Sufism, including all its different schools and diverse approaches, which is concerned with morals, virtues and manners.
Thus, the curricula at Al Azhar have been a true and honest translation of the spirit of Islam, its moderation and the nature of its rational and traditional heritage.
It is important to note here that the educational process regarding the heritage sciences, though depending on explication and illustration, draw mainly on dialogue, free exchange of ideas and respect for the different schools in all sciences with no exception. This instills in the mind of the student of Al-Azhar, since an early age, the legitimacy of disagreement and unprejudiced acknowledgement of the different opinions as individual juristic attempts at understanding the text. Hence, no school or group is entitled to dismiss other schools or opinions as long as these opinions are grounded on legal evidence or rational proof. Accordingly, it is claimed that, "difference in opinion among scholars is an aspect of mercy", that is a means to provide spacious room for the people in terms of both worldly and religious matters alike.
In his Al-Muwafaqāt [Reconciliation of the Fundamentals of Islamic Law], Imam Ash-Shatibi quotes the rightly-guided Caliph, `Umar ibn `Abdul `Aziz as having said, "I would not like it that the companions of Allah's Messenger did not disagree, since if they only had a single opinion [in every issue], this would have suffered difficulty. Indeed, those companions are leaders to be followed, and it would be easier for the people to (freely) adopt the opinion of anyone among them (i.e. the companions)."
In this sense, the learners at Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif have always been the farthest from falling prey to radical ideologies and from being vulnerable to recruitment by armed groups that kill people falsly claiming that to be associated with this upright religion and its Prophet who has been sent by Almighty Allah as a mercy to the entire world, including humans, animals, plants and inanimate objects.
Honorable attendees,
My visit to this good country, which commences with today's meeting with such a refined scholarly congregation, renews in my memory scientific and linguistic bonds to the lands of Kazakhstan and its vicinities, since I was a student at the Department of Creed and Philosophy, College of Uṣul Uddīn , Al-Azhar University, during the sixties of the last century. I then started my studies in Islamic philosophy by reading for Al-Kindy, the philosopher of the Arabs, and then reading for your fellow, the Kazakh philosopher of Islam and the Second Teacher Abu Nasr Al-Farabi, who was born in Farab region, in 260 AH/874 AC. He is not only a Muslim philosopher, but rather a world philosopher, since universities in both the east and the west still teach his philosophy and heritage, in all its metaphysical, social and political dimensions, his musical discoveries, etc. Still, his simple and profoundly ascetic and abstinent life raises wonder and admiration among devout worshippers. There is still another Farabi, who was perhaps contemporaneous to the Second Teacher, namely Abu Ibrahim Is-ḩāq Al-Farabi, author of Diwān Al-‛Adab [A classical lexicon], the first Arabic lexicon that is indexed according to structure of entries (lexemes), in an unprecedented approach. It has recently been reprinted in Egypt in four volumes. This well established linguist was the maternal uncle of another scholar, Al-Jawhari, Isma`il ibn Ḥammad, one of the scholars of Farab and the author of Mu'jam Aṣ-Ṣiḥāḥ, which is an indispensable reference for Arabic writers and men of letters.
Those leading figures are examples to a convoy of pioneers of Islamic intellect whose numbers are beyond enumeration. They grew up in Kazakhstan and disseminated the lights of knowledge and intellect all over the Muslim countries. Through their long-standing precedent, Kazakhstan rightly earned the title of an authentic incubatory of the Muslim mind and the Arabic language.
Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif, in opening wide its gates for the youth of Kazakhstan to study at it, is taking this history and such precedence into account, being fully keen to sustain its continuity and constancy.
Respectable congregation,
Your esteemed university, in awarding me honorary doctorate, is in the meantime honoring Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif, both as a mosque and a university, including scholars, professors and learners. Moreover, it is honoring the Muslims in both the east and the west, and drawing attention to the universal message of Al-Azhar that is represented in disseminating the sound principles of Islam. These principles are based on peace, human fellow feeling, respect and acceptance of the other, regardless of their creed, race, color or language. All the humans are Allah's creatures and slaves, and "people are as equal as the teeth of a comb", as stated by the Messenger of Islam (pbuh). He (pbuh) also said in his Farewell Sermon, during his last Farewell Pilgrimage, "O people, your Lord is one and your father [Adam] is one. There is no favor of an Arab over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over an Arab, and neither a white skinned over a black skinned, nor a black skinned over a white skinned, except by righteousness. You all descend from Adam and Adam is from dust."
A religion based on this principle can by no means be described as a religion of bloodshed, killing, bombing or assassination. These heinous crimes represent a treachery to Allah and His Messenger, and a manifest lie and fabrication against Islam and the Muslims.