IQRA is a programme watched by thousands of viewers all over the world. The 25-minute programme teaches how to read the Holy Quran with English and Urdu translations. The beauty of the show is that the lessons taught on it are short, and the teacher is a composed person who has invented a delightful method of teaching. I am one of those thousands, spread over 160 countries, who benefit from the programme.
Being an avid viewer and a keen learner, on one occasion I found discrepancies in the lessons. I registered my concern through email with one of the university teachers. Instead of paying heed to the complaint, the teacher without completing Sura Maaa-’idah, moved over to verse 23 and 26 of Sura An-’aam, which was something that I did not want to inquire about. Disappointed by the cold attitude of the teacher concerned at the campus, I located the teacher on the famous show, Dr Kaukab Noorani Okarvi, and sought an explanation for the discrepancies in his lessons.
The son of Maulana Mohammad Shafi Okarvi, Dr Kaukab Noorani is a non-controversial person, known for his extensive research work. He is the author of 27 books and has done his doctorate in economics. He refrains from politics and the habit of reading, writing and teaching keeps him occupied. When in Karachi, he dedicates three hours on a daily basis to teach women and children at his madressah Gulzar-i-Habib, which is well-equipped with modern methods of education. Everyday he delivers lecture in some part of the country including Karachi. His personal library is crammed with 12,000 books.
As Dr Noorani attended proper school and acquired religious education as well, he used to spend 18 hours a day studying his subjects as a student. He did his matriculation from the Government Boys Secondary School 1, Karachi. In between, he went to the Jamia Hanfia Ashraful Madaras, Okara, for a certain time period. He studied at the Government Commerce College and the Government National College, Karachi as well.
Due to his religious background, Dr Noorani could not be regular with his attendance in college. So he passed his examinations as an external candidate. As far as religious education went, Dr Noorani went to India, Baghdad and Madina for the purpose.
Dr Noorani feels sorry that the masses do not accept religious teachers and scholars as normal human beings. When asked as to who guided him to become a teacher, Dr Noorani said that it was nature that opted for him regarding what he would become. He adds, “I thank God for selecting me for a kind of work that refines the lives of my pupils and, in return, makes my life purposeful. My father was my first teacher. I always wanted to teach. My father gave me the advice that instead of becoming a teacher at the university, I should teach at a madressah — an institution for religious teachings. I had my reservations regarding the issue. I felt that most of the madressahs were serving as orphanages. Runaway children and those whose parents could not afford to feed them took refuge in madressahs for having two meals a day.”
Dr Noorani also objects to the general atmosphere of madressahs where teachers were interested only in getting a good salary. In this respect he tells that his father had asked him to take the occupation as a challenge; and he accepted it.
Dr Noorani has, so far, visited 40 countries. It was in European countries that he felt the need for formulating a method of teaching the Holy Quran to the Muslim youth who did not know how to read Arabic or Urdu. His formula was to start teaching with Qirat; then a reading session in Roman would be held; and finally Urdu and English translations of the Holy Quran with a bit of explanation would be taught, if required.
“With the mushrooming of private channels, PTV producers started coming up with programmes for private channels,” says Dr Noorani. “As I was already known to PTV officials for my shows on religious issues, Mudasar Abbasi and Sayed Aftab Azim discussed the issue with me regarding airing the show on a private channel. Iqra shown on QTV is a repetition of those 600 programmes, which were initially recorded for ARY when its office was functioning from Dubai only.
“In this connection I had no contact with anyone from ARY. The programmes were telecast two years ago on ARY. These 600 did not cover the whole of the Holy Quran. While discussing Sura Yousaf I received a call asking me not to come for recording without providing any reason. When viewers and listeners contacted the channel during an interactive programme as to why I stopped teaching, they were told that I refused to do so. It was added that I had become very demanding. I immediately made a call to the same programme and explained the factual position. So now what you see on QTV is something that I am not responsible for,” Dr Noorani says.
IQRA is a programme watched by thousands of viewers all over the world. The 25-minute programme teaches how to read the Holy Quran with English and Urdu translations. The beauty of the show is that the lessons taught on it are short, and the teacher is a composed person who has invented a delightful method of teaching. I am one of those thousands, spread over 160 countries, who benefit from the programme.
