Nizam-ul-'Amal

Halqa-e-Shaheen's own working system: membership, structure, the حلقے, gatherings, reporting, consultation, publication and finance. Nine articles.

This is a draft. It awaits the ratification of Halqa-e-Shaheen, which under clause 5.7 is a first-order decision.

The full document (PDF)

Article 1: Standing and Scope

1.1 Standing: This document is Halqa-e-Shaheen's own working system, and stands on its own. Tanzeem-e-Islami's Nizam-ul-'Amal serves only as a structural model, an example of how such a document is ordered. It is not a superior instrument to which Halqa-e-Shaheen is subject. Many of its provisions are inapplicable here, and this document is the shorter of the two.

1.2 Scope: This Nizam-ul-'Amal binds Halqa-e-Shaheen and its حلقے, both the seven now constituted and any established hereafter. Since growth is expected to take the form of new حلقے, the document will bind those not yet formed. The Da'wah Society (ADS) and the Administration Society (AMS) fall outside its scope.

1.3 Relation to the other societies: Halqa-e-Shaheen serves as the intellectual and operational centre for all three societies. This is recorded here by way of explanation only; the document imposes no duty in respect of ADS or AMS.

Article 2: Membership

2.1 Classification: Halqa-e-Shaheen is itself the central body, comprising the conveners of the حلقے and other central members. All others are members of the Research Society (RDS). A member of a حلقہ's team is counted a member of the Research Society, not of Halqa-e-Shaheen.

2.2 Required qualities: The following are required of a member of Halqa-e-Shaheen:

A living relationship with Allah
A settled connection with the Qur'an
Humility, and abstention from arrogance
Scholarly seriousness, and continuity in it

2.3 Eligibility — convener of a حلقہ

Multazim and Part 2: preferred
Multazim and Part 1: the minimum

2.4 Eligibility — members of a حلقہ (Research Society)

A member of the Anjuman, or a rafiq of the Tanzeem
In full accord with the ideology and the fikr
Humble in temperament, a student, and active

2.5 Route of admission: One principle governs both tiers: the scholarly assessment is made within, and the final authority rests with the Anjuman.

Members of a حلقہ: the convener of the حلقہ concerned approves the candidate on subject knowledge, cast of thought, and basic scholarly capacity. The final decision rests with Saleem-ud-Din sahib.
The central body: the serving conveners assess the candidate. The final decision rests with Saleem-ud-Din sahib.

2.6 Undertaking: A new member gives a short written undertaking covering attachment to the حلقہ, regularity in reporting, and observance of this Nizam-ul-'Amal.

2.7 Admission season: Admission opens after each Ramadan.

2.8 Dormancy: A member who becomes inactive, or who leaves the central body, remains within the Research Society and is not excluded from the work.

2.9 Exclusion: Any one of the following grounds suffices:

Suspension from the Tanzeem
Acting against the settled beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jama'ah
Persistent breach of this Nizam-ul-'Amal

The procedure has three stages. Whoever becomes aware of the matter speaks first in private. If it is not settled there, it is brought before Halqa-e-Shaheen. If it is not settled there either, it goes to Saleem-ud-Din sahib for exclusion.

2.10 Attendance at the reading session: Prospective members, and those whose contribution is expected to be of scholarly benefit.

2.11 Unattached members: A member belonging to no active حلقہ:

A convener whose حلقہ has no members yet appointed: the standing curriculum and the connection with the Qur'an remain binding, and a monthly report is still submitted, recording that the حلقہ's members are not yet appointed.
An inactive member within the Research Society: attendance at the reading session remains open, and return to the central body follows the ordinary route of admission.

Article 3: Structure

3.1 Halqa-e-Shaheen: The central body, comprising the conveners of the حلقے.

3.2 The حلقے: Each حلقہ is a field of study with a convener and its members. There is no separate head beyond that. Seven are presently constituted:

حلقۂ نظامِ تعلیم — the educational system
حلقۂ تاریخِ فلسفہ — the history of philosophy
حلقۂ علومِ دینیہ — the religious sciences
حلقۂ طبیعیات — the natural sciences
حلقۂ ردِّ جدیدیت — modernity and its critiques
حلقۂ نفسیات — psychology
حلقۂ ریاضی و منطق — mathematics and logic

> Who convenes each حلقہ is not recorded in this document. Appointment is made > separately, and a change of holder requires no amendment here.

3.3 Offices: Besides the convening of the حلقے, the central body holds seven offices, and each member holds one of them:

Nazim-e-Mutaba'at — the list of tasks, their pursuit, and seeing whether what was decided was in fact done. Also the arranging of the akabireen's admonitory sessions (clause 5.4)
Nazim-e-Report — the حلقے's reports, the preparation and presentation of the monthly report, and its transmission to the Anjuman
Nazim-e-Wasa'il — the provision and upkeep of the tools and means for all of Halqa-e-Shaheen's work
Nazim-e-Ijtima'at — the convening of every gathering, the fixing of times, and reminding the members (clause 5.5)
Nazim-e-Mutala'ah — the arranging and conduct of the weekly reading session (clause 5.2)
Nazim-e-Nishist — the conduct of Halqa-e-Shaheen's shared gatherings: the weekly meeting, whether in person or online, the consultative session, and the administrative session
Nazim-e-Mahfuzat — the keeping, ordering and supply of all records and decisions (clause 7.4)

Two further duties rest with one or another of the same members:

Nazim-e-Rawabit — the single channel to the Anjuman and to Saleem-ud-Din sahib, and outward contacts besides
Nazim-e-Isha'at — Aaina-e-Anjuman, publication in journals, and social media

> The offices are fixed; the names of those holding them are not recorded in this > document. Appointment and change are made separately, and require no amendment > to the Nizam-ul-'Amal.

3.4 Saleem-ud-Din sahib: As the representative of the Anjuman's leadership, his functions are:

Approval — to receive Halqa-e-Shaheen's reports, and to satisfy himself that the work accords with the Anjuman's purpose
Final authority over admission to the central body
Final authority over the admission of members to a حلقہ
The final stage of exclusion

Article 4: The System of the حلقے

4.1 Constitution: A حلقہ is constituted as soon as its convener is appointed. No minimum number of members is required, neither to constitute it nor to maintain it.

4.2 Duties of a convener

Holding the session — calling it, settling what is to be read, and maintaining continuity
Reporting — submitting a monthly report to Halqa-e-Shaheen (clause 4.6)
Admission and training — assessing candidates (clause 2.5), and training the حلقہ's members
Output — being answerable for the حلقہ's stated scholarly output

4.3 Powers of a convener: The convener may settle the following on his own authority:

Curriculum — the حلقہ's reading list
Form of gathering — the حلقہ's own day, time and manner, provided it falls within the limits this Nizam-ul-'Amal sets
Proposal of output — proposing the حلقہ's scholarly output, which Halqa-e-Shaheen then confirms

Not on his own authority: transferring an inactive member to another society of the programme. That follows only on reference upward. *(This differs from exclusion, for which the three-stage procedure of clause 2.9 applies.

4.4 Connection with the Qur'an: Every حلقہ is bound to keep its scholarly work connected to the Qur'an, both text and tafsir. The frequency and manner are settled by the convener, since the حلقے differ in nature.

4.5 Standing curriculum: The Muntakhab Nisab (detailed) and the Mahazraat are prescribed for members of the central body, and run alongside the work of the حلقہ. This is each member's own responsibility, not an office's.

4.6 Reporting: Each convener submits a monthly report covering:

Sessions held
Attendance
Material under study
Progress on the حلقہ's output

These reports form the basis of the monthly report.

Article 5: The System of Gatherings

5.1 Monthly minimums

Gathering	Monthly minimum
Consultative session (central body)	2
Session of a حلقہ (each)	4, that is weekly
Administrative session	2

> The weekly obligation binds a حلقہ whose members have been appointed. A حلقہ > with only a convener is not bound by it.

5.2 Reading session: On Iqbal's Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, Mondays from Maghrib to Isha, online. This is a gathering of Halqa-e-Shaheen as a whole, and is not counted among any حلقہ's four sessions.

5.3 Other gatherings: A special session as need arises; a monthly training session, open to all members of the programme; a quarterly Shab-e-Bedari; a six-monthly refresher course on Islam ki Nashat-e-Sania, open to members of the programme; and the Annual General Gathering.

5.4 Admonitory session: The training of members is not an office of Halqa-e-Shaheen. It rests with the akabireen of the Anjuman and Tanzeem-e-Islami, who hold sessions of tazkir from time to time. Halqa-e-Shaheen's responsibility is only the arranging of these sessions, which falls to Nazim-e-Mutaba'at.

> No number is fixed for these sessions. The akabireen are not members of > Halqa-e-Shaheen, and no monthly obligation can be laid upon them. Should a > number be settled, it will be added to clause 5.1.

5.5 Convening and cancellation

Session of a حلقہ: called by the convener concerned
Shared gatherings: called by Nazim-e-Ijtima'at, who fixes the time and issues the reminder. The conduct of the session, however, rests with the office whose gathering it is: the reading session with Nazim-e-Mutala'ah, the weekly meeting with Nazim-e-Nishist, and the admonitory session with Nazim-e-Mutaba'at.

> One office keeps the whole month in view, so that no gathering is missed; and > each session is run by the office whose work it is. That office also compiles > the record (clause 7.3).

5.6 Participation in decisions: First-order decisions are taken in consultation with every member, not by the view of those present alone. This condition does not apply to routine matters.

5.7 First-order decisions

Amendment of this Nizam-ul-'Amal
Admission and exclusion
Appointment to office (clause 3.3)
Fixing the date of the Annual General Gathering
The constitution or closing of a حلقہ

> This list is final. A matter not within it is, as a rule, not first-order; and > adding to the list is itself an amendment of the Nizam-ul-'Amal, that is, item 1.

Article 6: The System of Reporting

6.1 Internal reporting: Each convener submits a monthly report to Halqa-e-Shaheen. The particulars are at clause 4.6.

6.2 External reporting: Halqa-e-Shaheen sends the monthly report to Saleem-ud-Din sahib, for his approval under clause 3.4.

> The chain is thus complete: from the convener to Halqa-e-Shaheen, and from > Halqa-e-Shaheen to Saleem-ud-Din sahib. All three stages are monthly.

6.3 Responsibility: The preparation, presentation and transmission of the monthly report rest with Nazim-e-Report (clause 3.3).

6.4 Review of performance: Performance is judged on two counts:

Activity — sessions held, against the numbers prescribed in clause 5.1, and attendance
Output — progress on each حلقہ's stated scholarly output

> The second count cannot be judged until every حلقہ has declared its stated > output.

Article 7: The System of Consultation

7.1 The consultative body: Halqa-e-Shaheen is itself the consultative body. There is no separate council or committee within it, and no wider council beyond it.

> In Tanzeem-e-Islami a Majlis-e-Amilah and a Majlis-e-Mashwarah stand apart at > each tier. Here the central body is seven members, and a council within a body > that size would be a council of nearly all of it.

7.2 Manner of decision: Halqa-e-Shaheen's decisions are taken by common agreement. Where agreement cannot be reached, the matter is referred to Saleem-ud-Din sahib.

> Every unresolved matter before Halqa-e-Shaheen, whether admission, exclusion or > a difference of view, is thus settled along a single path.

7.3 The record: The record of each gathering is compiled by the office whose gathering it is: a حلقہ's session by the convener concerned, the reading session by Nazim-e-Mutala'ah, the shared gatherings by Nazim-e-Nishist, and the admonitory session by Nazim-e-Mutaba'at. Nazim-e-Ijtima'at calls the gathering and issues the reminder, but does not compile the record.

Each record carries at least: the date, attendance, the matters discussed, and the decisions taken.

7.4 Custody of the record: All records and decisions rest with Nazim-e-Mahfuzat, who keeps them in one place and supplies them to any member on request.

> Until a decision is written down, it lives only in the memory of whoever was > present. Hence the record is compiled by whoever ran the session, who knows the > matter; and held by one person, so that whoever looks for it has one place to > look.

Article 8: Authorship and Publication

8.1 Route to publication: Any piece of writing passes the review of the academic council before it is published.

8.2 Criterion of review: Fidelity to the purpose of Dr. Israr Ahmad.

8.3 Transmission: Nazim-e-Isha'at sends Halqa-e-Shaheen's writings to:

Internal and related periodicals, such as the monthly Aaina-e-Anjuman
External journals, whether scholarly or general

8.4 Social media: Rests with Nazim-e-Isha'at, and is also reviewed by the Anjuman's publication department.

8.5 Outward contacts: Contact with scholars and institutions is arranged through the Anjuman.

Article 9: Finance

9.1 Voluntary service: All members of Halqa-e-Shaheen serve voluntarily, and none receives any remuneration.

9.2 Expenses: The expenses of projects, such as publication and the arrangements for the Annual General Gathering, are met from the Anjuman's own resources.

9.3 Contribution: Halqa-e-Shaheen lays no financial obligation on its members, and this document gives no ruling on the matter.

9.4 Bait-ul-Maal: Halqa-e-Shaheen holds no treasury of its own.

*All nine articles are drafted. The next step is the ratification of Halqa-e-Shaheen, which under clause 5.7 is a first-order decision.