On Monday, March 6 th, at 11:00 am, Syed Mahmood Asadullah, the great-grandson of education pioneer Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was warmly welcomed to the university. Dr. Shagufta Firdous, Director of Student Affairs, and Dr. Noreen Khalid, Convener of the Character Building Society set up his session with members of the student societies of the university. He quoted his motto that he wants to promote the morale of students for the purpose of their character building and started his address with the poetry of Allama Iqbal and Surah al-Asar to emphasize the significance of believing Allah, seeking direction from the Quran and Sunnah and performing righteous deeds. He emphasized the value of education and modesty for both men and women.
He explained how Muslims had to dealt with the brutal behavior of Indian and British people after 1857. At that crucial moment, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan spoke up for Muslims to alter their situation and to compete with these people. He accentuated the value of education for Muslims. He stated that Sir Syed Ahmed Khan is a role model for people of Pakistan. He further added that mothers are responsible for
the upbringing of children and that mothers are the ones who, by their proper guidance, give us leaders like Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. He spoke about Islam's norms and values that are being forgotten in Pakistan today as we have adopted the western culture, and all of these actions take place under the control of the government. In 1948, he had the opportunity to attend Aligarh School, where the rules were based on Islamic principles and equality, although the principal was British. He further added that today our society is unable to create equality because parents and teachers are failing to build character in students and, students nowadays are involved in unethical activities. He says that a good child is a gift from Allah. And without a strong character, no matter how educated a person is, their profession is meaningless.
He revealed Sir Syed Ahmad Khan's upbringing story, describing how their mother raised both of her sons. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan lived his life following the Sunnah. “Life of Muhammad (saw)†written by the governor of India contained blasphemous accusations. Sir Syed researched and traveled for a long distance and his whole inheritance was lost because he was determined to provide an answer to him. Additionally, he said that our Ulma keeps quiet about immoral activities taking place within their nation. He emphasized Sir Syed's accomplishments, including the founding of the Muslim League at the Sir Syed Educational Conference and Two-Nation Theory.
In the end, he donated books based on the life of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and his portrait to the university. The seminar was concluded by Dr. Afzaal Butt, Incharge Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and Dr. Shagufta Firdous by thanking and appreciating Syed Mehmood Asadullah for coming from Lahore to teach us about the value of character through the examples of the lives of people like Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.
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