City decorated for Eid Milad

LAHORE :The nation will celebrate Eid Miladun Nabi on Sunday (today) to rejoice the birth of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (SAW), the final messenger of Allah, who provided for the deliverance of mankind by bringing the last divine book and final religion to human beings.

Religious organisations and individuals across the country were engaged in a last minute rush to complete preparations for celebrating the great occasion with traditional religious spirit and zeal. Hundreds of Seerat conferences, processions and gatherings were held besides traditional modes of celebrations like illuminating buildings, mosques, markets and mohallas to express their joy.

This year, the PTI government has decided to celebrate Eid Miladun Nabi at the government level by holding Seerat conferences at federal and provincial capitals. The government has increased security measures to ward off subversive activities in the wake of terrorism incidents, especially in Sindh and Balochistan. CCTV cameras have been installed by district governments to monitor troublemakers while ensuring foolproof security.

As is the practice for the last many years, various religious organisations are observing the occasion as Namoos-e-Risalat Day, (Prophet's honor Day) to counter the western conspiracy of deliberate and organised blasphemy against the Prophet of Islam. Various religious organisations and groups like, Tehrik Hurmat-e-Rasool (THR), Tehrik-e-Namoos-e-Risalat Mahaz(TNRM), and other platforms striving to counter western blasphemy attempts and conspiracy to amend blasphemy laws, have appealed to the believers to devote extra efforts to highlight the glorious Seerat of the Prophet (SAW) in order to expose the western hatred of Islam and the conspiracies. The celebrations received a shock by the Indian Supreme Court’s decision to order building a Hindu temple at the site of the historic Babri Masjid, causing a wave of anger and sorrow among the entire Muslim world.

Markazi Milad Committee and some other religious organisations have also been campaigning lately to ban certain objectionable practices in this year’s Eid Milad celebrations, especially those that hurt the feelings of certain schools of thought.

Almost all city mosques and important government and private buildings were decorated with colorful lightings and buntings.

The preparations culminated on Saturday night with the taking out of a torch-bearers’ procession under the aegis of Central Milad Committee Jamia Hizbul Ahnaf from Data Darbar. The participants riding vehicles and motorbikes, and on foot, marched on The Mall up to Regal Chowk, carrying torches and reciting Durood and Naats, paying homage to the most sacred and remarkable personality of the entire world history.

The torch-bearers were led by committee president Mukhtar Ashraf Rizvi while various other leaders of ahle Sunnat organisations, seminaries and representatives from all walks of life included Pir Afzal Qadri, Raghib Hussain Naeemi, Shahid Gardezi, Mustafa Ashraf Rizvi, Pir Idris Shah, Nisar Ashraf Rizvi, Naeem Arif Noori, Arif Awan Advocate, Muhammad Shah Hamdani, Pir Khadim Hussain, Usman Noori, Maulana Tahir Tabassum and others.

The day will begin with a 31-gun salute in the federal capital and 21-gun salute in provincial capitals while special prayers would be offered for the security, solidarity and prosperity of the country in particular and the Mulsim ummah in general. It will be a public holiday and all offices and business centers would be closed. The electronic and print media will highlight the significance of the day by airing special programs and brining out special supplements.

In Lahore the central Eid-e-Milad in Nabi procession will be taken out from the railway station and march up to Data Darbar while dozens of smaller processions from different parts of the city will merge with the central procession en route to Data Darbar. The participants in the procession will be showered with rose petals and rose water from airplane. The central ceremony would be chaired by committee president Malik Pervaiz Rabbani, Justice (retd) Mian Nazeer Akhtar, Justice (Retd) Dr Munir Mughal. The procession accompanying naat khwans and decorated vehicles would march from Australia Chowk, Branderth Road, Circular road, Railway Road, Gowalmandi, Mayo Hospital, Bansanwala Bazaar, Shah Alam Chowk, Anarkali and culminate at Data Darbar.

Apart from the central procession, a number of gatherings for Naat Khwani, Qirat, Qawwali and Naatia Mushaairas will be held across the country. Groups of volunteers and market committees will decorate their own markets, mohallas, houses and surroundings with illuminations, colored flower ropes, buntings, chandeliers and ribbons and many organisations will hold competitions among people for best decorated mohallah and street. Children and youths were busy setting up clay replicas of desert and mountains of the Arab peninsula where the divine message was first dawned on the Prophet (SAW). The government has issued directives to beef up security all over the country especially along the route of processions to counter enemy designs. Volunteers of bomb disposal squad and ambulance units will remain stand by to meet any emergency while units of rangers and reserve police will also be deployed in sensitive areas.

Tehreek Minhajul Quran (TMQ) held as Milad conference at historic Minar-e-Pakistan which was addressed by its chief Dr Tahirul Qadri.

It was participated in by noted scholars and Naat Khwans from across the country and attended by thousands of people including women and children from all over the country, and its proceedings were televised all over the world. Milad conferences were also held at Baba Ground behind the Civil Secretariat by Dawat-e-Islami and other parts of the city by a number of other religious organisations.

Besides, Auqaf Department Punjab also held the provincial Seerat conference at Alhamra Hall presided over by provincial minister for religious affairs and addressed by different religious scholars and officials to pay glowing tribute to the Holy Prophet (SAW).