Exploring academic excellence by embarking on a journey of knowledge and insight

All the religions of the world have certain fundamentals that are basic to their structure, organization, profession, and practice. Islam, one of the largest religions in contemporary times, holds true to the same essence, preaching peace, tranquillity, and world order aided with moral values and virtues. Islamic Studies, as the name suggests, is all about Islamic understandings vis-à-vis its fundamentals, practices, sayings, and majorly the socio-political and economic contributions that Muslims have made to humanity in general. Through various organizations, departments, and institutions, Islamic Studies as a Social Science discipline has been trying to make the world aware of its contributions to streamlining the world order.
Among the various institutions, we are also blessed with such an institution in our Kashmir vale, none other than the University of Kashmir (KU). I, with my classmates, got an opportunity on 29th November 2023 (Wednesday) to visit KU on a subject tour to have glimpses of the beautiful and serene campus of KU.
We boarded our college bus in the morning at 07:00 AM toward KU and were accompanied by our subject teacher Dr. Tauseef Ahmad Parray (HoD, Islamic Studies), Dr. Rafia Wali (Dept. of Urdu), and other staff members Mr. Aamir Khan, Mr. Basharat Bashir, and Mr. Aamir Sohail. We were assisted by the hosting department and got opportunities to see the various departments of KU.
After reaching the KU campus, we first visited Markazi-i-Noor: Sheikh-ul-Alam Centre for Multidisciplinary Studies (SACMS), then Allama Iqbal Library followed by Shah-i-Hamadan Institute of Islamic Studies (SHIIS) and finally to the Directorate of Distance Education (DDE). Here we had interactions with the faculty and staff, and we received a warm welcome and full cooperation from all of them.
SACMS is a research Centre dedicated to exploring the lives, thoughts, works, and teachings of Sufi saints, especially Sheikh-ul-Alam. During our visit, we saw a remarkable collection of Sufi manuscripts and had the opportunity to meet Prof. Adil Amin Kak (Chairman, SACMS) who warmly welcomed us. Dr. Muhammad Ilham briefed us about the Center’s mission, vision, and activities, which was highly informative for all the students. Additionally, all the students and our faculty received complimentary copies of their annual journal, “ALAMDAR”. SACMS also presented a special book on Sheikh-ul-Alam to our teacher Dr. Tauseef Ahmad as a gesture of appreciation and respect.
We explored the Allama Iqbal Library and its Museum which left me astonished. Allama Iqbal Library has an impressive collection of approximately seven (7) lakh books covering diverse subjects and disciplines, including sciences, social sciences, languages, etc. The library was alive with the sounds of pages turning as readers immersed themselves in their favourite sections. Some were diligently studying for competitive exams, while others were surfing in the Browsing Centre.
Additionally, we had the privilege of visiting the AIL Museum showcasing exquisite Kani shawls, rare artefacts, and traditional jewellery, all meticulously preserved.
After these two places, we visited SHIIS, located in the picturesque Naseem Bagh. A very warm welcome was given to us by Prof. Salah ud Din Tak (HoD, SHIIS) and other staff members. As this is a tour of Islamic Studies subject, this place was meant for us. We first visited the SHIIS library, which is evaluated and enriched with thousands of books on diverse themes and areas, including the Quran, Hadith, Seerah, Islamic history, Islam and the Modern world and other areas and allied disciplines. It has separate sections for MPhil and PhD thesis and has some rare manuscripts as well. Prof. Tak Sahab and Dr. Bilal Ahmad Wani introduced us to the whole library. A good interaction among students and professors of that department was also held here. In this interactive session, the faculty who spoke to us included Dr. Nasir Nabi, Dr. Abid Mushtaq, and Dr. Bilal Wani. They highlighted the department’s history and achievements, facilities and features and shared their valuable experiences.
Thereafter, the staff and students were offered refreshments, and the session concluded with a group photo at SHIIS’s lawn. As a gesture of appreciation, three complimentary copies of their annual research journal “INSIGHT ISLAMICUS” were gifted to us.
We also visited the Directorate of Distance Education (DDE) where we had good conversations with different professors in the DDE conference hall. We were very happy to see and interact with Dr. Syed Ishfaq (AP Education, DDE), who hails from Sogam Lolab, Dr. Altaf Anjum (Sr. AP Urdu, Coordinator DDE). Dr. M . Dawood Sofi ( coordinator Islamic Studies), Dr. Towseef Ahmad (coordinator, Urdu). Our Urdu teacher, Dr. Rafia Wali also narrated her experience of presenting her first short story in the same conference hall. The professors discussed the mission, vision, and various programs (PG, Certificate, and Diploma courses) offered by DDE in the distance mode. Tea and snacks were provided during this interactive session.
After exploring departments at KU, students had lunch in the park adjacent to the KU campus on the bank of the Dal Lake.
We wholeheartedly thank the administration of GC Sogam, especially our worthy Principal (Dr. Shameem Ahmad Dar sahab), our subject teacher (Dr. Tauseef Ahmad), and other members who made this trip possible and memorable.
We had friendly interactions and fruitful conversations with the teachers and staff in every department/place we visited, and we learned much from this experience. We got a lot of exposure in terms of the ideas and thoughts they shared with us, and all this will be an important part of our journey and will assist in our future building.
As the famous novelist Pico Iyer says: “We travel initially to lose ourselves, and we travel, next to find ourselves.” Travelling to the places of our interest makes our way of thinking rational, enriches new ideas, subjects us to new concepts, ideologies, culture, etc. This subject tour also proved helpful to us in many ways. We thank you, sir, for making our trip possible and enjoyable.
Mehrunnisa is a 1st Semester student of Islamic Studies at Government Degree College Sogam (Lolab), Kupwara. Feedback at [email protected]

Mehrun Nisa