Context: Recently, Many people linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, which was held in Nizamuddin in Delhi, have tested positive for coronavirus.Over 200 have tested positive for COVID-19 from among 4,000-odd who had gathered in Delhi’s Markaz Nizamuddin, the headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat.

History of the movement

• Its roots lie in the Deobandi version of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. 
• It was launched by Deoband cleric and prominet Islamic scholar Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Khandhalaw in 1927 in Mewat. 
• Its emergence also coincided with Hindu proselytising movements.

About Tablighi Jamaat

• Markaz means center, and tablig means to convey the words of Allah and the Quran, hadith to others. At the same time, Jamaat means group. 
• Tabligi Jamaat means the group of a group. Tabligi Markaz means the center of spreading the word of Islam to other people.
• It is a non-political global Sunni Islamic evangelical movement of Indian origin, has now been termed as the “largest known viral vector” of the novel coronavirus in South Asia. 
• Tablighi Jamaat (or society for spreading faith) is a missionary movement that focuses on urging Muslims to return to primary Sunni Islam, particularly in matters of rituals, attire and personal behaviour.
• Started in 1927 by Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi in Mewat, India, it has been called “one of the most influential religious movements in 20th century Islam”.
• The proselytising movement aims to reach out to ordinary Muslims and revive their faith, particularly in matters of ritual, dress, and personal behaviour.
• It established a network of madrasas and Mosque.
• It means 'the Society for Spreading Faith', is an Islamic missionary movement which aims to encourage Muslims to return to practising their religion during the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and particularly in matters of ritual, dress, and personal behavior.

About its Teaching

• The teachings of Tabligh Jamaat are expressed in "Six Principles" namely
• The first is the kalimah, an article of faith in which the Tabligh accepts that there is no God but Allah and that Prophet Muhammad is his messenger. 
• The second is salaat, or prayer five times daily. 
• The third is ilm and dhikr, the knowledge and remembrance of Allah conducted in sessions in which the congregation listens to preaching by the imam, performs prayers, recites the Quran and reads the Hadith; the congregation also uses these sessions to dine together, thus fostering a sense of community and identity. 
• The fourth principle is ikram-i-Muslim, the treatment of fellow Muslims with honour. 
• The fifth is ikhlas-i-niyat, or sincerity of intention. 
• And the sixth is dawat-o-tabligh, or proselytisaton.
• They believe that God has sent us for good in the world. Somewhere we are getting away from the path of goodness and Islam. 
• So this havoc of God is for us. And after the prayers of Maghrib, special prayers are done for peace and salvation in the country.

Outreach of this Organisation

• In two decades after its launch, the Tablighi Jamaat had spread beyond the Mewat region. 
• In the first Tablighi conference held in 1941, approximately 25,000 people from across North India attended.
• After Partition in 1947, a Pakistan chapter was started in the town of Raiwind, Lahore. Currently, Bangladesh has one of the largest chapters. 
• The Tablighi Jamaat also has a significant base in the United States and Britian, which has a large Indian subcontinent diaspora. It also has a presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

About Markaz

• Markaz means center, and tablig means to convey the words of Allah and the Quran, hadith to others.
• Markz gained so much fame from these works that he became known all over the world. People from all over the world started coming here and then became the center of bringing evil from good to good.
• In Markaz, on the instructions of Amir, the head, groups of people in every corner of the country and abroad, who are called Jamaat, started going to mosques to spread the message of Islam. 
• The committee made of the mosque of the area gives its list to the main center of the district and then it is sent to Markaz. 
• In Markaz, only the land and the sky are mentioned here, there is a complete ban on any kind of worldly things. 
• This is the reason why Tabligi Jamaat gets visas all over the world. Tabligi Jamaat's Jalsa takes place every year in every part of the country along with Bhopal. 
• A large crowd gathers in it. The Jamaat present in Markaj is completely dedicated to the country. 
• This is the reason that whenever there is any kind of loss in the whole country, they blame themselves instead of the government.