VERBATIM TEXT

 

SPECIAL REMARKS BY

 

YAB DATO’ SERI ANWAR BIN IBRAHIM

PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA

FOR

COURTESY VISIT TO MARKAZU SAQUAFATHI SUNNIYYA AND MAQAM SYARIF SYEIKH MADAVOOR C.M. VALIYULLAHI

 

SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2026 (SUNDAY)

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Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

 

Alhamdulillah thumma Alhamdulillah.

Wa ma tawfiqi illa billah, ‘alayhi tawakkaltu wa ilayhi unib.

 

 

 

Alhamdulillahil-qa’il,

Wa man ahsanu qawlan mimman da‘a ilallahi wa ‘amila salihan wa qala innani minal-muslimin.

 

Wa usolli wa nusalli ‘ala rasulihil-karim,

wa ‘ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma’in.

 

Entha Varthanam.

 

Fadilatul Sheikh, respected teacher and honored Sheikh Abu Bakar Ahmad, Grand Mufti of India;

 

President Jamia Mankas, Saeed Alibak;

 

President, Jamia Markaz, Syed Ali Bafaqi;

 

President, Samastha Kerala Jamiyyatul Ulama’ Sheikh E. Sulaiman Musliyar;

 

Ministers from Malaysia;

 

Ministers from Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu;

 

Respected Masyaikh and Ulama’ present, we are honored;

 

Invited guests and my children, the students.

 

1. Alhamdulillah, we are here tonight. Well honestly, we honor the Shera for his immense contribution to scholarship, dedication and dakwah. So, I’m accepting it on behalf of those of you who have dedicated and sacrificed much more than I would myself imagine and do.

 

2. I’m here in the invitation of Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, to attend the BRICS conference. I told him that it’s my interest to also visit and honour my Sheikh. And I thank him Prime Minister Modi for facilitating this visit, and he has asked me to send respects to the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abu Bakar Ahmad.

 

3. I’m also here in this beautiful State of Kerala which has a long historical time to the Malay Archipelago, the Malay world which has also had an immense contribution to the Islamization of the Malay world. From Pattani to Malaya, Singapore, Brunei, and Indonesia and Southern Philippines. So, the Malabari coast has profound engagement and historical ties with us.

 

4. So, what is the vision of the Grand Mufti? When I was first here, I could sense that bond of affection that ties us to hundreds of years of engagement, dedication for real dakwah, for understanding, for scholarship, for education and for the betterment of mankind.

 

5. So must thank also Chief Minister of Kerala, V. D. Satheesan whom I will meet insya-Allah tomorrow with his colleagues, cabinet colleagues, to discuss ways to enhance not only bilateral relations between India and Malaysia but also the State of Kerala and Malaysia.

 

6. And I’m thankful Sheikh not only to you and Markaz, but also all facilitators, the security force, your officers, many of them are also non-Muslims, but shows as much respect, kindness and working together to succeed to ensure the success of this program and the state.

 

7. Malaysia is also a multi-racial country. Majority are Muslims. We have a very significant number of Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and those of other religious denominations. And our position in Negara MADANI is of course to champion the cause humanity respect, honoring the friendship between all races and all religions.

 

8. But of course, we are also having our own strategy belief based on our akidah to enhance our value system and akhlak. That is why I put the mission as MADANI. All countries want artificial intelligence, and the Sheikh gave very profound suggestions. Can you imagine an experience an elderly Sheikh understands the dictates and demands of the present.

 

9. The Duat, the religious scholars have to accept the start of new realities and the challenges of the present life that includes our understanding of modern technology, new sciences, digital transformation and artificial intelligence. But believe me, this new technology is not without values.

 

10. If you are not careful. I mentioned just now in our discussion upstairs. That’s what our scholars have reminded us. Imperialism and colonialism have gone. Except, of course, in Palestine and Gaza. But the imperialism and colonialism, ‘istima‘ ruhi wa fikri’, that’s the major challenge. We don’t have colonial offices, but there is a danger of the seeping of values that disrupt our faith and akhlak, ethics due to our own ignorance.

 

11. That is why Saidina Ali bin Abi Talib RA always reminded us about the need to inculcate knowledge and scholarship ‘ladzatul ma’rifah’. So, this markaz is beautiful because it can’t keep precisely that.

 

12. Without knowledge, we will fail. Without understanding artificial intelligence, we will be colonized and will become just weapons, weaponized by the foreign forces to weaken our resolve.

 

13. And interesting enough today, one of the top founders of AI, Elon Musk, they’re talking about their concern about AI. Can you imagine? And Muslim scholars are least worried. Muslim societies are not following the challenges. What is our concern is not necessarily the same. Our concern is one, we need the knowledge, we need expertise. But our concern is also the need to have, to protect our faith and moral values.

 

14. That’s why I began with “Wa man ahsanu qawlan mimman da‘a ilallahi wa ‘amila salihan wa qala innani minal-muslimin” – Surah Fussilat, ayat 33. That you need to ensure that you retain the faith of moral values through knowledge and understanding. May Allah guide us and protect us. But the beauty is, of course, to be inculcated in that understanding.

 

15. That happens to be just a recent proposal on the Asia Forum to discuss, evaluate: one, to absorb artificial intelligence; two, to ensure that our values, our faith remains strong and formidable. And, of course, destruction of the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abu Bakar, I will certainly have to ask my colleagues to study and support this endeavour.

 

16. And not losing sight of our tradition, what’s called the turath. That is our problem. We grant new technology, new knowledge, but we lose sight of our own heritage. The Quran, the Sunnah Rasulullah SAW, the great works of the great alim of the past.

 

17. Turath or Islamic legacy is important because they shows us so much tolerance, so much hikmah. Even in dakwah, when I say the tolerance between Muslims and respecting Hindus and Christians and Buddhists is not a new phenomenon. That is “Ud‘u ila sabili rabbika bil-hikmati wal-maw‘izatil-hasanah, wa jadilhum billati hiya ahsan”- Surah An-Nahl ayat 125. The inculcating the truth is our responsibility. But it is with hikmah, with wisdom, not anger, not reaction, but through good deeds, through discussion, “wal-maw‘izatil-hasanah, wa jadilhum billati hiya ahsan” –  Surah An-Nahl ayat 125.

 

18. Imagine, repeat that three times to remind us. And you know why? Because sometimes we get a bit too enthusiastic, too energetic. And we decide without hikmah, wisdom, and using good deeds, using our ability to engage in a nice manner.

 

19. Coming to turath, let us see, that’s why when Sheikh Abu Bakar, years back, when I met him here, suggested that why don’t we have this annual function, getting people. Of course, everybody reads the al-Quran. We need to encourage them to do more, understand. And as you know, al-Quran is not to be just read. But. “Ya ayyuhalladhina amanu-stajibu lillahi wa lir-rasuli idha da‘akum lima yuhyikum” – Surah An-Anfal ayat 24. That is the challenge. Not only to recite, but to make sure that we actualize, we practicing it.

 

20. That’s the failure Muslims. We all talk about good governance. We talk about against corruption. We talk about good deeds and respect and tolerance. “`Idha da`akum”, talking about appealing people to understand. What is lacking? “Lima Yuhyikum”. No example, no good deeds. That shows so much intolerance, there’s so much hatred, there’s so much ignorance because the failure to actualize and practice what we preach.

 

21. May Allah protect us again from these failures and weaknesses. Because the Sheikh came up with this suggestion, we decided in this MADANI government and nation to invite you to lead the khatam of Sahih Bukhari, the first year, meaning a session to complete the hundreds and thousands of hadith to be read and sessions to explain and summarize the first year.

 

22. The second year was to khatam of Sahih Muslim. And this year, insya-Allah, in November I suppose, we will have him with all the scholars and alim in Malaysia to khatam of Sahih Tarmizi.
23. So may Allah bless our efforts. Thank you again for this great opportunity and apologize to the ulama for trying to, of course, express some of my concerns. Although I know you are more qualified to explain.

 

24. But, I should take this opportunity not only to thank not only jazakallahu khairan those in the Markaz, but also the central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and also the state government of Kerala and colleagues, Ministers who come all the way from Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the friends. Thank you very much.

 

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.