The 25th annual edition of International Spiritual Gathering was organized under the banner of Minhaj-ul-Quran International to mark the 27th of Ramazan, which was presided over by Shahzada Ghous-ul-Wara Sayyid Mahmood Mohi-ud-Din Al-Qadri, Al-Gillani. Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri delivered his special address on the occasion and led a tearful Dua. In addition to thousands of residents of Itikaf City, hundreds of thousands of people from across the country attended the gathering.

The proceedings of the programme were broadcast live via Minhaj.tv, Facebook live feed and private TV channels. The people watched the programme in groups at 200 places in India in addition to other countries of the world.

The International Spiritual Gathering got underway with the recitation of the Holy Quran followed by Naat in the honour of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Tasbih prayer was offered after Isha & Trawih prayers. The proceedings of the programme started at 11:45 pm with the recitation of the Holy Quran followed by recitation of Qaseeda Burda Sharif by Ahmad Mustafa Al-Arabi in his unique style. Sahibzada Hammad Mustafa Al-Madni joined Muhammad Afzal Noshahi and others to recite an Arabic Naat which created spiritual ecstasy among the people. Later on Muhammad Afzal Noshahi, Minhaj Naat Council, Zaheer Bilali, Amjad Bilali, and Shahzad Brothers did the collective Zikr. Mufti Irshad Hussain Saeedi gave an introductory talk on the recently published works of Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri.

Addressing the participants of the International Spiritual Gathering, Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri said that he who adopt the right path become successful. He said that Allah starts loving a man who loves his Lord. He said that one who intends to win pleasure of Allah Almighty, becomes a ‘mureed’ (disciple) and those whom Allah intends to choose for His Path, the whole world starts to love them.

Shaykh-ul-Islam said that our problem is that all of our efforts are geared towards worldly pursuits. He said that we do worship for the purpose of show-off. He asked the participants to become sincere in their love of Allah, saying if they do so, life will take a whole new different but pleasant turn because if one makes God the ultimate purpose of one’s life and seeks Him with one’s utmost sincerity, such a person wins the nearness of his Creator.

Shaykh-ul-Islam said that Pakistan is a gift of the holy month of Ramazan and the blessed night of 27th Ramazan and the world will see the fate of those who are trying to damage it in one way or the other. He said that Pakistan is there to stay for good. He said that the country will become the fortress of Islam and real testing laboratory for Islamic teachings. He said that those slitting the throats of innocent people will also meet their dreadful end and the hell will be their residence. He asked the people to reject extremism and militancy.

Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said that thought based on extremism and bias has undermined the peaceful teachings of a faith that is based on welfare of humanity without any discrimination, adding that these are the very people who are hatching conspiracies to cut at the roots of Pakistan and its solidarity. He said that God willing, the enemies of Pakistan will be destroyed because Pakistan is the gift of Layla-tul-Qadr and it was achieved in the name of Islam. He said that Islamic teachings are based on moderation and tolerance and these teachings aim to expand the hearts and minds to new horizons of excellence. He said that those who take the name of Islam cannot even think of taking the life of an innocent person. He said that the paid killers who spread mayhem and mass-kill people in the name of religion have nothing to do with Islam. He made it clear that the Holy Quran has given the guarantee of sanctity and protection of human life. According to the Quranic teachings, it is not just the life of a Muslim but of every man and woman which is precious. He said that extremism and ‘Takfeeriyat’ are outside the pale of Islam.

The MQI leader urged the youth to connect themselves with the Holy Quran, learn Arabic language and read the Quran with utmost attention and sincerity. He said that if they do so, they will develop clarity and all confusions spread by the enemies of Islam and extremists will be removed forever. He said that Islam is a religion, which reconnects the broken hearts and revives relationship among those who get estranged from one another. He said that it is the only code of conduct which has ordained its followers to spread love in the society and desist from boycotting people.

The address of Shaykh-ul-Islam concluded with prayer of peace, security, and stability of Pakistan.