Dr. Shahid Qureshi
I am witness to the more than 50 years long effort of self-discovery of Dr. Masood Quraishi. His life journey can be described as “From Discovering Nature (Forestry, Wildlife, Agriculture Ecosystem) to the Discovery of the Purpose of Life”.
Almost three decades ago, Dr. Quraishi during discussions with one of his colleagues, Prof Akram Zia at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad developed a strong feeling to connect the kids and youth to the divine message Allah SWTA (Alquran). He had a strong feeling that the divine message of the Quran is relevant for kids.
Spending countless hours in reading the Quran and reflection led him to discover a novel way to present the Quran to kids. He discovered eight themes for Quran i.e. Unity of Allah, Messengerhood, the message of Allah, Principles, rules and regulations of Allah, Good and lovable deeds, Bad and evil deeds, Accountability and Judgment and Prayers supplication and requests.
In the next phase he embarked on a journey of reading and reflecting on the Quran to identify words and small verses which are suitable and understandable by kids of different ages. One would always find him working 10 to 15 hours and writing Quranic words and verses on small pieces of paper. As the first book on prep and class 1 got completed, he used it on his own grand kids. A positive response made him work harder and he completed these books from class Prep to 12. He was of the opinion that spending around 10 mins a day will enable the young kids to learn and understand the divine message organically and lead them to a life of meaning and purpose.
Allah SWTA was so kind to him that he kept on working tirelessly and people from various backgrounds kept on contributing to the Minal Quran project. Notable among them are the typist and Madam Maryam who helped in the printing and designing of books.
As Dr. Quraishi completed the Quran for kids, he embarked on a journey to introduce the message of Iqbal to kids. In this project, he searched Kalam Iqbal for verses suitable for young kids and the themes he had earlier identified.
He did not stop here and then wrote a series a books i.e. Summary of surah Yaseen and other major surahs of Quran. In addition he wrote books titled the crux of the Quran using 1% of the verses of the Quran. Later on he developed an interest in Persian poetry of Iqbal.
Dr. Quraishi lived a life of simplicity, love and care for humanity. His life was an embodiment of adventure, creativity, and love for Quran and Iqbal.
Few days before his departure for the eternal destination, he emphasised and reiterated the importance of Min al Quran and how it can reach to each household of muslims.
I wish and pray that this effort is accepted by Allah SWTA and becomes a source of sadqa Jaria for Dr. Masood Quraishi sb and this effort leads to an awakening among kids and youth of muslim world. Ameen.
I and the member of the minal quran society would like to invite our muslim brothers and sisters to fall in love with Quran and take this message to the our kids and youth.
All the books and in pdf format are available on this website. Printed versions of Minal Quran can be ordered online.