Do people prostrate themselves before Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri?

Some mischievous and unwise people tampered with the video clips of Mahfil Samaa held in Damascus under the banner of Minhaj-ul-Quran International in 2005 and uploaded them on the internet to propagate that people were falling in prostration before Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri and that Shaykh-ul-Islam was appreciating the gesture. It is stated that no such incident took place and it is but a slander, pure and simple. Those who have cooked this conspiracy are afraid that their fabricated beliefs are being hammered. In their heart of hearts they are afraid of Shaykh-ul-Islams towering intellectual personality and his powerful arguments based on Quran and Hadith. They are, through these base tricks, trying to distract the attention of people from Shaykh-ul-Islams wisdom-laden speeches and books. Mindlessly, they are flinging mud on the person who presented Islam based the Holy Quran and Hadith; on intellectual level they have yielded, so they are behaving in this foolish way.

First of all, we would take up for discussion the matter of video clip of Mahfil Samaa held in Damascus so that the confusion of those unwise and simpleton people, who have developed doubt that (God forbid) someone is offering prostration to Shaykh-ul-Islam, may be clarified.

1. Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri never allowed anyone in his life to fall in prostration before him. What to speak of prostration, he strictly forbids his followers to kiss his hands. He never likes the act of someone kissing his feet.

2. He can clearly be seen pushing the person away who was bending to kiss his feet in the video clip of Mahfil Samaa held in Damascus. Is it not regrettable that some of the blind commentators have interpreted his act as demonstration of appreciation?

3. The entire world knows this fact that Shaykh-ul-Islam offers his prayer while sitting in the chair due to pain in his backbone and always uses medicated seat for sitting purpose. Therefore it was not possible for him to suddenly bend down to stop the person from bowing to kiss his feet. However, he can be seen trying to stop him with his hands.

4. The world also knows this too that he does use foot rest owing to pain in his backbone but he had parti ted in the Mahfil Samaa held in Damascus during his journey. Therefore pillow was used due to unavailability of foot rest in the Mahfil Samaa. The pill was not used there (God forbid) for people to bend over it and fall in prostration to him. What a pity that those commenting on it regarded it as an act of prostration in contravention of all cannons of justice and fair play!

5. Since the Mahfil Samaa was held during the journey, therefore, it was not possible to make such arrangement as are normally made for such gatherings held at the central secretariat of Minhaj-ul-Quran International. In such gatherings, people are deputed to stop followers from kissing his feet strictly. If the video clip is reviewed by shunning all prejudice and partiality, it would become certain that one person is deputed there to prevent the followers from kissing his feet but when the person coming in did not find anyone on the other side, he took that way to be able to kiss his feet whom Shaykh-ul-Islam kept stopping strictly.

6. Therefore, it is not right for any Muslim to advertise and propagate anything without scrutiny and exact knowledge of facts. This is what the Holy Quran and the Sunna preach and is only the demand of the faith. So far as the kalam (poetry) being sung in the Mahfil Samma is concerned, there is a message of Oneness of Allah (monotheism) in the poetry; based on mysticism and spiritualism. This kalam dedicated to Allah Almighty and the misuse of such kalam of excellence and highest order to establish ones heinous and misplaced viewpoint is nothing but a sign of ignorance and out and out wretchedness.

We have so far clarified that Shaykh-ul-Islam neither liked the act of kissing his hands and feet nor ever encouraged it, leave alone falling in prostration before him. In his speeches and books, he has always dubbed the act of prostration for worship (sajda ibada) as polytheism (shirk) and prostration out of veneration (sajda tazim) for someone other than Allah as forbidden (haram). Two of his books namely Kitab at-Tawhid and Tazim and Ibada could be consulted in this regard along with his numerous lectures and speeches.