tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29564707468383237982024-03-08T12:18:30.750-08:00Waris MazhariWaris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-59084860729998409102017-03-12T11:54:00.002-07:002017-03-12T11:54:34.715-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quran and Acceptance of Other Religions<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quran stresses acceptance of
other faiths as a fact, this being an important Islamic principle. Acceptance
here necessarily means that people should be not be coerced into following a
particular religion. This is entirely in consonance with Islam. The Quran
(2:256) insists </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">‘</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18.6667px;">There shall be no compulsion in religion’.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The occasion for the revelation of this verse further
clarifies the Quranic understanding of religious acceptance. This verse was
revealed in connection with a certain Muslim from among the ‘Helpers’ (Ansars) of
Medina named Husain, who had two sons. Some traders from Syria had made them
Jews when they were young, without their consent, and had had taken them to
their land. Husain complained about this to the Prophet. He wanted that his
children should be made to embrace Islam. This Quranic verse was revealed in
this regard.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quran clearly states that human
beings have the right to choose whatever religion or ideology they like. It is
against God’s Cosmic Plan that everyone should follow one religion—Islam. Thus,
the Quran says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Had your Lord
pleased, all the people on earth would have believed in Him, without exception.
So will you compel people to become believers? (10:99) […]and had God so
willed, He would have made you all a single community, but He did not so will,
in order that He might try you by what He has given you (5:48)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It was He who
created you; and some of you are those who deny this truth, and some who
believe [in it] (64:2)It was He who created you; and some of you are those who
deny this truth, and some who believe [in it] (64:2)It was He who created you;
and some of you are those who deny this truth, and some who believe [in it]
(64:2)It was He who created you; and some of you are those who deny this truth,
and some who believe [in it] (64:2)It was He who created you; and some of you
are those who deny this truth, and some who believe [in it] (64:2)It was He who
created you; and some of you are those who deny this truth, and some who
believe [in it] (64:2)It was He who created you; and some of you are those who
deny this truth, and some who believe [in it] (64:2)It was He who created you;
and some of you are those who deny this truth, and some who believe [in it]
(64:2)In this way, the Quran has accepted both faith and denial as eternal and
natural realities. The Quran (22:69) clearly states that God will judge with
regard to faith and denial on the Day of Judgment:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">On the Day of Resurrection, God will judge between you
regarding your differences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Meanwhile, in this world, even
deniers have freedom in matters of religion. As the Quran (109:6 ) says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> Say,
‘[…] <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">You have your religion and I have mine.’</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The deniers also have freedom of
action in this world, as the Quran (42:15) says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">‘[…]<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">we are responsible for what we do and you are
responsible for what you do […]’<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Further, the
Quran (6:108) forbids the believers from abusing deities worshipped by others:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Do not revile those [beings] whom they invoke instead of
God, lest they, in their hostility, revile God out of ignorance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quran
(16:125) advises Muslims to adopt a beautiful approach in reasoning with
others:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair
exhortation and reason with them in a way that is best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The believers
are advised to always act justly:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Believers, be strict in upholding justice and bear witness
for the sake of God, even though it be against yourselves, your parents, or
your kindred (4:135)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quranic
insistence on justice does not apply just among Muslims themselves. Rather, it
relates to the whole of humankind, and Muslims are expected to act justly with
everyone, irrespective of religion or community:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 5.25pt;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">O you who believe! Stand out firmly
for Allah and be just witnesses and let not the enmity and hatred of others
make you avoid justice. Be just: that is nearer to piety, and fear Allah.
Verily, Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> (5:8)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quran
provides for full religious freedom for members of other faiths, who also have
the right to judge their affairs according to their scriptures. They even have
the right to deal in things that Islam considers forbidden or <i>haram</i>, such as alcohol and pork. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quran talks
about two types of disbelievers. The first are those who have unleashed
aggression and war against Muslims, who refuse to give Muslims their religious
and social rights and who have made the Prophet and his Companions a target of
their oppression, forcing them out of their homes and lands. The Quran advises
stern measures against them, granting permission for engaging in war in defence
against their oppression. On the other hand are those disbelievers or deniers of
Truth who are not bent on waging war against Muslims and who have not compelled
Muslims to leave their homes. The Quran (60:8) advises Muslims to deal with
them with gentleness and goodness: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">He does not forbid you to deal kindly and justly with
anyone who has not fought you on account of your faith or driven you out of
your homes: God loves the just.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It is important
to consider here that the Quran considers even the fiercest enemy to be a
potential friend. Thus, it says (41:34):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 2.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Good and evil deeds are not equal.
Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your
enemy has become your dearest friend […] <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This Quranic
wisdom is related to the fact that every human being, even one’s staunchest
foe, is born on the same natural state or <i>fitrah</i>,
and <i>fitrah</i> has a tendency to like
what is good. It is external factors that become a barrier to some people’s
acceptance of goodness and truth. As the Prophet is said to have noted:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Every child is born in a state of <i>fitrah</i>, then his parents make him into a Jew or a Christian or a Magian.
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quran
basically addresses this <i>fitrah</i>,
which requires</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">
us to relate with others with love
and gentleness, not hate and sternness. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Another
expression of the Quranic spirit of tolerance is the fact that the Quran
(31:15) commands Muslims who have non-Muslim parents to deal with them in a
good manner:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Yet be kind to them in this world and follow the path of
those who turn to Me.<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Had your Lord
pleased, all the people on earth would have believed in Him, without exception.
So will you compel people to become believers? (10:99) […]and had God so
willed, He would have made you all a single community, but He did not so will,
in order that He might try you by what He has given you (5:48)The Quran, as is
readily evident from this discussion, reflects a universal notion of religious
tolerance. If this is not reflected in Muslims’ behavior, the fault lies with Muslims
themselves, and not with the Quran</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-48880568458643044912017-03-12T11:34:00.003-07:002017-03-12T11:34:18.024-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Islamic Understanding of
Politics</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Worldly
affairs are not divorced from spirituality in Islam. Islam considers the two as
necessary for each other, as well as complementary to each other. The Quran
(28: 77) explicitly says: ‘<span style="background: #FFFFF2;">do not forget your
share of the world’</span>. A <i>hadith</i> report, contained in the<i>Sahih
al-Bukhari</i>, terms the world as the field<b> </b>of the Hereafter. In
this way, religion and worldly affairs are necessarily interlinked in Islam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Politics is a
necessary part of worldly affairs. It relates to the regulation of life at the
collective level. Hence, any ideology that relates to life cannot remain
without reference to politics. This is a basic reality. But another aspect of
this reality is that politics has its own particular sphere in its relationship
with Islam. It is certainly part of the overall understanding of the <i>deen</i> of
Islam, but it is not part of the <i>basic</i>
or <i>foundational</i> understanding or
conception of the <i>deen</i>. In other words, the <i>deen</i> is
as complete without politics as it is with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The fact is
that Islam is a pragmatic religion, and pragmatism is a basic condition for
success in politics. That is why Islam cannot make it binding on its followers
to engage in forms of actions that are generally not possible for them. The
Quran (2: 286) clearly makes this point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Islamic
commandments (<i>ahkam</i>) are of two kinds: those that are fixed and
unchangeable—or what the <i>ulema</i> term as <i>ghayr
mujtahadfih</i>, commandments with regard to which there is no scope for <i>ijtihad</i> or new thinking and formulations; and
those in which change is possible in response to changing contexts and
conditions—or what the <i>ulema</i> term as <i>mujtahadfih</i>.
The first sort of commandments are integral to Islam’s belief-system, while the
latter are a practical aspect of the <i>deen</i>. Many Islamic rules about
politics come under of this second category of commandments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Islam does not
make a rigid distinction between religion and politics. But at the practical
level, it is not necessary for politics to be a part of Islam. That is why
Islam is present across the world along with its religious and spiritual
system, but, with just a few exceptions, nowhere is it present along with any
fixed and homogenous political system. This definitely does not mean that
Islam, in this form, is incomplete and faulty, as some radical Islamist
ideologues allege. This is because it has never been at all possible—and nor
can it be—that wherever Islam is found, it is found along with what is claimed
to be its particular political system, and that too with this system becoming
dominant over other systems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">All of God’s
prophets taught one and the same <i>deen</i>
or way of life. All of them invited people to the <i>deen</i> of God in
its entirety, and they themselves lead their lives according to it. But from
the Quran and Hadith it is amply clear that many prophets did not get the
chance to establish themselves in their own communities, leave alone exercising
political power. Only a relatively few prophets, such as the prophets Moses,
David, Solomon and Muhammad, were bestowed with political power by God. The
prophets who did not receive political power focused simply on conveying to
people the essentials of the <i>deen</i>, such as faith in the one God and
prophethood and belief in the Hereafter, as well as moral values, because this
was what God<b> </b>expected of them.<b> </b>The mission of Jesus,
for instance, did not go beyond conveying the Divine message. Many prophets
were killed by their opponents. But every Muslim believes, as a matter of
Islamic faith, that these and all the other prophets were fully successful in
the mission for which they were sent by God—that is, to teach people about
God-realization (<i>marifat</i>), to enable them to establish a connection with
God and to show them the way to purify their souls and make them eligible to
enter and inhabit heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The deviation
that has come about in Muslim political thought actually owes to deviation in
the very understanding of the <i>deen</i>. Changes in the understanding of
the <i>deen</i> have led to deviation in the understanding of the
relationship between God and man, too. The <i>deen</i>,
from the very beginning, has remained one for the whole of humankind. Its basic
values and conceptions have remained the same. Islam is not a separate
religion, but, rather, a continuation of the one and the same primordial religion,
the first prophet of which, the Prophet Adam, was the first man. Therefore, it
is not possible that Islam should depart from the basic values of the
primordial <i>deen</i>, for the Quran instructs the Prophet Muhammad to
follow the prophets who came before him. Thus, it says (6: 90):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">‘Those [the
previous prophets] were the people whom God guided. Follow their guidance then
and say, ‘I ask no reward for this from you: it is only a reminder for all
mankind.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Islam seeks at
the true welfare of humankind. It seeks to preserve the proper relationship
between man and God as well as to promote good relations between and among
human beings. In this regard, then, one can safely say that radical political
(mis-)interpretations of Islam, that have unfortunately become quite prominent
in our times, are totally counter to Islam and its underlying spirit and
values. These misinterpretations of Islam wrongly project Islam as a sort of
political party, negating completely its reality as a spiritual tradition based
on concern for universal welfare and goodness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-65381234785398610662017-03-12T11:32:00.004-07:002017-03-12T11:32:57.035-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Lessons from the Life of the Prophet</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Prophet
Muhammad exemplified the highest level of virtues and spirituality, to teach
which he was sent to the world. The Prophet spent 13 years in Mecca after
having received prophethood, during which he quietly worshipped God, engaged in
conveying God’s message, and patiently faced persecution at the hands of his
opponents. In Medina, he received from God the opportunity to establish a
polity, which he set up on the basis of pluralism and common values and principles.
Accordingly, at the Constitutional level, Jews and the polytheists (<i>mushrikeen</i>)
were given the same rights as Muslims. In this way, the state of Medina, headed
by the Prophet, was the first regularly-established polity to be based on the
concept of multiculturalism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Charter of
Medina that outlined the structure of this polity was the first written
Constitution in the history of Islam. According to this treaty, all those who
were bound by it, Muslims as well as non-Muslims, enjoyed equal rights. Muslims
and Jews (there were no Christians in Medina) were given the status of a
united <i>ummah</i>. Ibn Hisham relates in his biography of the Prophet
that according to the Constitution of Medina, the religion of the Muslims was
for the Muslims, and the religion of the Jews, for the Jews.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">According to
the Quran (5:47), every religious community should be given complete internal
autonomy:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 1.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">“Therefore,
let those who follow the Gospel judge according to what God has revealed in it.
Those who do not judge by what God has sent down are rebellious’’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Not only
should every religious community have full freedom of belief and worship, but
it should also have the freedom to judge its own affairs according to its laws,
administered by its own judges. That is why the Prophet could not limit the
range of rights and freedoms given by the Quran to non-Muslims in the polity
that he headed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In the course
of his peaceful mission of <i>dawah</i> or inviting people to God,
the Prophet had to engage in armed confrontation with some of his opponents on
some occasions. These were battles of a defensive nature, as the Quran (2: 192;
9: 36) clarifies. These battles aimed putting an end to the religious
persecution that was a legacy of the age of imperial despotism and was the
biggest barrier to the exercise of freedom of belief and thought. This is what
is meant by the term <i>fitna</i> in the Quran. This <i>fitna</i> was
ended during the time of the Prophet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Prophet’s
movement was not a political one. Rather, it was a purely religious and ethical
movement. However, in the early biographies of the Prophet that came to be
compiled after his demise, the battles in which the Prophet had been engaged
were given particular focus, and so these biographies themselves came to be
known as <i>maghazi</i>s or battle-chronicles<b>. </b>In the medieval
period, some Muslim rulers who were confronted by non-Muslim powers, such as
the Byzantines, and others who wanted to expand the sphere of territories under
used Islam for their own purposes and sought to portray Islam as a political project.
And so, in this environment of confrontation and conflict with people of other
faiths, a certain political image of Islam came to be constructed that did not
reflect Islam’s true spirit. The crystallization of Islamic law in the form
of <i>fiqh</i> or Muslim jurisprudence in the fourth century of the
Islamic century was also greatly influenced by this environment, as reflected,
for instance, in the invention of the concept of the world being divided into <i>darul-Islam</i> (‘abode
of Islam’) and <i>darul-harb</i> (‘abode of war’), the notion of
offensive jihad, and several rules about <i>dhimmi</i>s or non-Muslim
subjects that the world simply cannot accept today. Muslim scholars must go
back to the teachings of the Prophet and rethink issues related to religious
pluralism afresh, unhampered by such medieval accretions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In our
understanding of God, it is important to remember that according to Islam, God
is the Sustainer of all creatures. He loves and protects all of them. He will
decide the fate of every person on the Day of Judgment. God has made man as a
dignified creature. That is why all human beings—be they Muslims or
others—deserve respect and dignity. This point is expressed by the Hanafi
jurist Ibn Abidin al-Shami (1783-1836), who says that from the point of view of
the Shariah, every man is dignified and respectable, even if he is someone who
denies the truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Islam supports
pluralism. In fact, its ideological and practical structure is based on it. In
Islam, diversity is presented as a requirement of nature and also as beauty. It
sees the differences of languages and colours among human beings as among the
signs of God.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Thus, the
Quran (30:22) says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 242); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the
diversity of your languages and your colors. Indeed in that are signs for those
of knowledge.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 242); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It also says (49:13):</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 242); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made
you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quran
(2:256) relates, as a clear principle, that there is no compulsion in
religion—that people can choose to follow the religion or ideology of their
choice:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">There shall be
no compulsion in religion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Elsewhere, the
Quran (18:29) says :<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 45.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 242); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Then whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him
disbelieve.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It is against
the Creation Plan of God that everyone should conform to one way of thinking or
one way of behaviour. Thus, the Quran (10: 99) says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Had your Lord
pleased, all the people on earth would have believed in Him, without exception.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quran
(64:2) also relates:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 242); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">He it is Who created you, then some of you are disbelievers and some
of you are believers. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In this way,
Islam accepts that along with true believers (<i>momin</i>s) there will also be
deniers (<i>munkirs</i>), taking the existence of both to be natural realities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Every
community has its own mentality, environment, natural capacities and the
possibilities of rebutting or accepting Truth. That is why God has established
a law (<i>shiratun</i>) and a way (<i>minhaj</i>) for each community. The Quran
leaves the choice of one’s religion and one’s action to each person:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">‘<span style="background: #FFFFF2;">For you is your
religion, and for me is my religion’ (109:6)</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 242); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 242); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">‘For us are our deeds, and for you are
your deeds’ (28:55)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Another
expression of the importance of pluralism in Islam is the fact that the Quran
(22:40) condemns the destruction of places of worship of both Muslims as well
as others. In doing so, it mentions churches and synagogues before it mentions
mosques:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">If God did not
repel the aggression of some people by means of others, cloisters and churches
and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of God is much invoked, would
surely be destroyed. God will surely help him who helps His cause—God is indeed
powerful and mighty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This Quranic
verse indicates that God has taken it as His own responsibility to protect
non-Muslims and their places of worship.<b> </b>The treaties that the
Prophet entered into with the people of Najran and Hirah<b>, </b>many of
whom were Christians, provided for full freedom and autonomy for non-Muslims.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The
understanding of Islamic pluralism that emerges from the Quran and the practice
of the Prophet indicates that relations between Muslims and people of other
faiths and persuasions should be based on joint efforts to promote goodness,
justice, and equality. ‘Believers, be strict in upholding justice, the Quran
(4:135) says.<span style="background: #F9F9F9;"> </span>The Quran (5:8)
gives great stress to justice in inter-community relations. Thus, it lays down:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Believers, be
steadfast in the cause of God and bear witness with justice. Do not let your
enmity for others turn you away from justice. Deal justly; that is nearer to
being God-fearing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">On the issue
of equality, the Prophet declared that people (and this includes Muslims as
well as non-Muslims) are brothers of each other, and that they are the equals
of each other, like the teeth of a comb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Islam aims at
enabling people to rise above narrow boundaries of colour and race and work
together for welfare and justice and help each other. The Treaty of Medina is a
brilliant illustration of this objective. After the Prophet’s demise, Muslim
history went through many ups and downs. Yet, even then people of other faiths
often enjoyed considerable religious freedom, although not everywhere and at
all times. However, as Muslims became politically dominant over a large part of
the world, prejudices against people of other faiths did creep in. In this
regard, the corpus of <i>fiqh</i> that developed in this period of
Muslim political dominance failed to retain Islam’s true universal spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-14114851823522707222017-03-12T11:31:00.003-07:002017-03-12T11:31:57.962-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quranic Understanding of Jihad<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
The word ‘jihad’ is a broad term that connotes making strenuous efforts for a
certain purpose. Jihad is not limited to waging war with external enemies. Nor
does it always have that connotation. For war against one’s opponents the Quran
uses another word—<i>qital</i>—which is an
exceptional form of jihad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Jihad, in the basic sense of making great
effort for a noble purpose, appears in numerous verses of the Quran. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Thus, the Quran says (29: 69):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ng-binding" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 8.25pt; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 2.25pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">We will surely guide in Our ways those who strive hard for Our cause,
God is surely with the righteous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quran also speaks of believers engaging
in jihad through their wealth (49:15) and through the Quran (25:52). The
Prophet is said to have remarked that a <i>mujahid
</i>is one who engages in jihad with his <i>nafs</i>
(baser self). To engage in jihad against
one’s <i>nafs</i> is to struggle against
one’s base desires and evil inclinations. Itis called <i>jihad-e akbar</i> or the ‘greater jihad’ in another <i>hadith</i> report. But in addition to this sort of jihad is, as
mentioned above, another one that is generally termed as <i>qital</i> in the Quran, permission for which is also granted in Islam.
However, this permission is subject to various conditions. Accordingly, not
every war fought in the name of jihad (in the sense of <i>qital</i>) deserves to be called a jihad. Its intention must be proper
and pure, and so must its purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Misunderstanding about jihad abounds, among
not just non-Muslims, but among many Muslims, too. This is basically because
they have not tried to understand the Quranic conception of jihad in its proper
perspective. A large section of Muslims—in addition, of course, to
non-Muslims—make major blunders in their understanding and application of
Quranic verses that speak about jihad. They err in assuming that the <i>illat</i> or cause or rationale for <i>qital</i> in these verses is ‘infidelity’ (<i>kufr</i>), and so they conclude that Muslims
must engage in jihad in the sense of <i>qital</i>
against all ‘disbelievers’ and ‘polytheists’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This, however, is not correct. The <i>illat</i> of <i>qital</i> is not <i>kufr</i>, but,
rather, <i>muharaba</i> or waging war against
God and an Islamic polity. The Hanafi scholars of jurisprudence and the
majority of the <i>ulema</i> of the other
schools of Muslim jurisprudenceuphold this opinion. Had infidelity been the <i>illat</i> of <i>qital</i>, then numerous <i>hadith</i>
of the Prophet and reports of his Companions would not have forbidden the
killing of non-Muslim women, children and recluses living in non-Muslim places
of worship. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> *<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quran gives permission for jihad in the
sense of <i>qital</i> for two reasons:
putting an end to <i>fitna</i>, understood
here as religious persecution (2:193), and defence (2:191). The Quranic term <i>fitna</i> refers to the situation that
prevailed at the time of the Prophet when people did not have the freedom of
belief and conscience, and when those who accepted any belief system different
from the socially dominant one were persecuted. We can term the sort of jihad
that was permitted in order to put an end to this situation as ‘offensive
jihad’. All other forms of war in Islam are defensive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Quran ordains mostly this defensive
jihad, and the fact is that today only this command remains applicable.
Following the ending of the state of <i>fitna
</i>by the Prophet and his Companions, who put an end to religious persecution,
today the need for war to abolish <i>fitna</i>
no longer remains. A very large section of the <i>ulema</i>, from early Muslims like Sufyan ath-Thawri (d.778) and Ibn Shuburma,
to important <i>ulema</i> of our times, have
insisted that war in Islam is permissible only in defence. This is linked to
the argument that after the Prophet and his Companionsput an end to <i>fitna</i> or religious persecution, the <i>illat</i> for offensive jihad, no longer
exists. In this sense, Imam Awza‘i (d. 774) and some other <i>ulema </i>of the early Muslim period confine jihad in the sense of <i>qital</i> only against the Quraysh</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%;">opponents of the Prophet<span style="color: red;"> </span>of
Mecca or against the polytheists of Arabia in general<span style="color: red;"> </span>of the times of the Prophet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The noted Indian Muslim scholar and political
leader Maulana AbulKalam Azad makes a related point in his book <i>Rasul-e Rahmat</i> (‘The Prophet of Mercy’):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It should be
remembered that the commandment for war is only in relation to those groups of
polytheists who were engaged in fighting to stop the Islamic <i>dawah</i> [at the time of the Prophet], and
not the polytheists of the whole world. Hence [in the Quran], reference is,
from first to last, to these particular groups.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Voicing a similar opinion, the Egyptian
scholar Shaikh Abu Zahra opined in his <i>Nazariyat
al-Harb fi al-Islam</i> (‘The Concept of War in Islam’):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: 36.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Qital</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> was restricted just to the Quraysh, because it was they who had
launched aggression and were continuously persecuting the Muslims who had
remained behind in Mecca. The battles of Badr and Uhud were specific to the
Quraysh, but in the battle of Ahzab, the Quraysh had brought together the whole
of Arabia, who wanted to uproot the Islamic polity of Madinah. That is why <i>qital</i> had become necessary with regard
to the whole of Arabia—because all these people had launched aggression
[against Islam]. It was in connection with this that this Quranic verse (9:36) calling
for war against all the polytheists was revealed:</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">‘Fight the polytheists all together, as they
fight you all together’.<i> </i>*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In the Quran, when the commandment to engage in <i>qital</i> is given, it is generally
explained that the reason for this is the believers’ undergoing oppression,
their being driven from their homes, or war being unleashed against them, and
so on. </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The
first Quranic verses (22: 39-40) to grant permission to engage in <i>qital</i> read as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are
being fought, because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is competent to give
them victory. [They are] those who have been evicted from their homes without
right - only because they say, "Our Lord is Allah." At the time when
these verses were revealed, the Muslims and the polytheists of Arabia were
engaged in violent confrontation with each other, and so these verses should be
seen in that particular context.This very clearly indicates that particularly
in today’s context the Quran gives permission only for <i>qital</i> for the sake of defence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In addition, it is important to remember that while the
Quran does give permission to engage in <i>qital</i>
in unavoidable situations, this is with the following condition:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Thus you may exact retribution from whoever
transgresses against you, in proportion to his transgression (2: 194)Further,
while the Quran permits war in defence, it says that patience in the face of
oppression is a better response: If you want to retaliate, retaliate to the
same degree as the injury done to you. But if you are patient, it is better to
be so (16:126) In this regard, it should also be noted that with regard to
people of other faiths, the Quran (9:7) advises Muslims that:<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 242); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">‘As long as they act
straight with you, act straight with them’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 242); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Here, it should also be
noted that the aim of jihad is not just the protection of Islam and its
followers, but also to protect places of worship of people of other faiths. As
the Quran (22:40) says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 242); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And were it not that Allah
checks the people, some by means of others, there would have been demolished
monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allah is
much mentioned. (In this verse, mosques are mentioned at the very last of the list
of places of worship).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 242); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> *<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 242); font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In the light of this
discussion, it is clear that the issue of jihad is greatly misunderstood, not
just by non-Muslims but also by many Muslims themselves, and that this urgently
needs to be addressed. The wrong policies and actions of radical Muslim groups
in this regard have only further magnified these misunderstandings. It is
necessary for Muslim thinkers and organizations to counter their wrong
interpretations of jihad and to present the proper, Quranic understanding of
the concept.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-39287721231672850082017-03-05T02:04:00.003-08:002017-03-05T02:04:20.197-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Need
for a New <i>Hilf al-Fudul<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Some two decades before the
Prophet Muhammad was appointed as a prophet, a trader from Yemen sold some
goods to a Meccan man called ‘Aas ibn Wa’il, but the latter did not pay him for
them. In order to secure justice for the trader, a meeting was held at the
house of Abdullah ibn Jud‘an, attended by several respected inhabitants of
Mecca. They entered into a pact, according to which in incidents like this,
collective efforts would be taken to ensure justice for those rights had been
violated. This treaty is known as the Hilf al-Fudul, which is often translated
as ‘League of the Virtuous’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Prophet was present on this
occasion. At that time, he was around 20 years old. <span style="background: white;">After he was appointed as a prophet, he expressed his contentment at
having joined the association, saying that the oath of the Hilf al-Fudul </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">was more pleasant than owning red-haired camels (This
sort of camel was very rare and so was very expensive, being considered very
precious).<span style="color: red;"> </span>If he were summoned to it during the Islamic era, too, the Prophet said,
he would accept it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The Hilf al-Fudul and the
Prophet’s response to it can form the basis for joint efforts by people
irrespective of religion to work together for the preservation, protection and
promotion of human values. This sort of unity can be envisaged at various
levels—from the local to the regional to the national and even to the
international level. True, some people who simply cannot tolerate the idea of
Muslims and non-Muslims joining hands may balk at this idea, as might those who
take a very narrow view of ‘Islamic’ causes. But the Hilf-e Fudul shows how
such unity can bring people of different faiths and ideological persuasions to
work together for the collective good of humankind.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Today, people across the
world—from diverse countries, faith backgrounds and cultures—are closely inter-connected,
perhaps as never before. Hitherto largely mono-religious countries are
increasingly becoming multi-religious—and this is happening in both the Muslim
and non-Muslim ‘worlds’. Both these ‘worlds’ are now being impacted upon by
external religious, cultural and economic influences. This is leading to the
walls that have stood for centuries around them beginning to crumble. No longer
is it considered necessary for religious minorities to have to completely
assimilate into majority populations and lose their faith and identity. In an
atmosphere of increasing tolerance and respect, they can now maintain their
faith and culture and at the same time work with people of other faiths for
common purposes. True, there may be some exceptions in these regard, but these
are temporary, and are definitely not the rule. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This coming closer together of
various religious groups is in line with the Prophet’s saying that all
creatures are [part of] God’s family<em><span style="background: white; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">. </span></em>The Hilf
al-Fudul underlies the need for us to unite this family of God by rising above religious
and other ideological differences and working together for protecting and
promoting common human values. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In today’s world, there are
numerous problems that necessitate such joint cooperation and untied action by
people of different faiths and ideologies—endemic poverty, global warming, the
nuclear race, ecological devastation, rampant immorality, the crisis in the
institution of the family, violence in the name of religion, racism, war, terrorism
and so on. These problems are not specific to just one community or nation.
Rather, they have become global phenomena. They simply cannot be effectively
solved without the joint efforts of all communities and nations. In the absence
of such unity, humanity’s race towards destruction cannot be halted. Some
people might think that such unity is a foolish dream. But, then, the fact is
that we simply have no choice but to dream this dream and try to work to make
it a reality. All communities, Muslims included, need to enkindle the spirit of
the Hilf al-Fudul. Muslims especially should pay attention to this task.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-43130007459424827402017-03-03T10:50:00.001-08:002017-03-03T10:50:19.990-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">‘Westophobia’ is Dangerous for Muslims</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">In recent
years, what is called ‘Islamophobia’ has become a major issue globally,
including and especially in the West. Many non-Muslim political leaders,
scholars, journalists and ‘ordinary’ people in the West have come to think of
Islam as a grave threat to their culture and values. At the same time, the
‘Muslim world’ has witnessed the emergence of a certain sort of xenophobia that
may be termed as ‘Westophobia’. Many Muslims who have fallen prey to
Westophobia consider the West and everything that has to do with it to be a
source or symbol of a menacing threat to Islam and Muslims. They look at all
such things with hatred and dread, mistakenly taking this hate to be almost
like a necessary article of faith for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This mentality
has its roots in the period of Western colonialist control over most of the
‘Muslim world’. It saw its genesis in the late 19<sup>th</sup> and early
20<sup>th</sup> century. At that time, Muslims who had been infected by
Westophobia believed that even the best and most useful scientific inventions
of the West were against Islam and a threat to Muslim culture. These included
the printing press, the telegraph, the radio, the wall-clock, railways, trams,
and even loudspeakers! The Shaikhul-Islam of Turkey, who was considered that
country’s top-most religious authority by his followers, even issued a <i>fatwa</i> declaring that the printing press
and Western-style military training to be forbidden according to
the Shariah!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This hatred
for the West gradually declined in the years following the decolonization of
Muslim lands, when Muslim countries became political independent. However, in
recent years, his mentality is emerging once again. Contemporary Westophobia is
a worrying development for the West—because Western interests are crucially
linked to the ‘Muslim world’—but the ‘Muslim world’, too, will also have to pay
the heavy price of this phenomenon if necessary steps are not taken soon enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Islamophobia
and Westophobia feed on each other, and both, it must be realized, are gravely
harmful for both the non-Muslim West as well as for Muslims. As a result of
growing Westophobia, there is a very real danger of the good things of the West
being ignored or even condemned by Muslims who fall prey to this tendency, with
ominous consequences for Muslims in general. In blindly denouncing the West,
Muslim Westophobes ignore the goodness to be found in the West—for instance,
values such as honesty, punctuality, the spirit of social service, respect for
the law and human rights, discipline and so on. Muslim Westophobes either
completely ignore these things or else cynically claim that they are simply a
cover-up to promote Western economic interests. They just do not want to see
anything good in anyone but themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Like hardened
Islamophobes, blind Muslim Westophobes imagine themselves to be paragons of
virtue and consider those whom they berate as having a virtual monopoly on
vice. While it is true that, like every other civilization, the West has its
share of drawbacks, it is hardly acceptable to insist that the West is
incorrigibly and wholly evil. The fact of the matter is that all
civilizations—including both Muslim and Western civilizations—have their good
and bad aspects and they should freely learn from and adapt and adopt good
things from each other. However, victims of both types of phobia—Islamophobia
and Westophobia—insist that this is impossible or unwanted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">A good number
of Muslim preachers routinely rant and rave against the West. It is almost
impossible to hear them praising anything about the West. Many <i>ulema</i> and
other Muslim religious leaders who themselves live in the West never tire of
railing against it. This is indeed very lamentable. The issue here is not how
far this anti-Western sentiment is a result of or response to actual realities,
but, rather, of how this sentiment further reinforces the fear of Islam among
many non-Muslims.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Westophobia
makes Muslims who have been infected with it blind even to the many good things
that have been developed by the West that are today helping the cause of Islam
and Muslims. The printing press and the Internet, for instance, which are today
being used on a vast scale to introduce Islam to others, are inventions of
Western scientists. It is because of the freedom of thought and expression in
Western countries that Muslim missionary organizations there are able to work
in those countries and freely invite people to Islam.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Many years
ago, while talking with a teacher of mine, I expressed my anguish that the
‘Muslim world’ has become simply a consumer of goods made in the West, deriving
benefits from the inventions of the West but not doing anything creative
itself. He replied, very smugly, ‘Our status is that of masters, and the West
are our servants’. Needless to say, with a mentality such as this, such Muslims
fool themselves into imagining that the Muslims’ decline and degeneration are
actually a cause to celebrate, fondly imagining that their downfall is actually
their victory!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Westophobia
has become so extreme in some Muslim circles that adopting anything that
departs from traditional ways of thinking is lambasted as ‘blind imitation of
the West’. What is called ‘modernity’ is a result of the development of human
civilization. The fact is that contemporary modern civilization is led by the
West. That is why those who are infected by Westophobia see almost every modern
thing as ‘Western’ and, therefore, supposedly something to be shunned. They
simply have no idea that there are still some traditionalist circles in the
West who may be even more traditionalist than they themselves are. They wrongly
equate ‘modernity’ with Westernisation, although the two are not the same. That
is why they roundly condemn every new thing or thought as ‘Western’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It must be
admitted, though, that, to some extent, this is a reaction to the tendency in
some circles where blind imitation of the West is seen as necessary in order to
be considered ‘modern’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Muslim Westophobes
are often ignorant of the fact that there are many Muslims in the West today
and that these Muslims have the freedom to practice and propagate Islam and
lead their lives in accordance with it. There are numerous mosques, <i>madrasa</i>s
and Islamic centres in Western countries. Despite widespread Islamophobia there,
many Westerners are ardent advocates of understanding and dialogue with
Muslims. All this Muslim Westophobes are either ignorant of or willfully turn a
blind eye to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Muslims and
the non-Muslim West cannot wish each other away—which is what both Islamophobes
and Muslim Westophobes both might ardently hope for. The fact is that Muslims
and non-Muslim Westerners have no choice but to seek to relate to each other
through dialogue and understanding. Muslims, for their part, must make efforts
to establish good relations with non-Muslims (including non-Muslim Westerners),
even through unilateral means and even if the other side initially does not
reciprocate. By reaching out with genuine well-wishing for others, Muslims will
also disprove the claims of Islampohobes, who insist that Muslims are
necessarily inimical to other people and that they are addicted to terrorism.
In addition, good relations with others are a means for Muslims to learn from them
and benefit from their knowledge and experiences in various fields.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Islamopbhobia
and Westophobia are two sides of the same coin. They cannot survive without
each other. Mounting Westophobia can only further strengthen the forces
of Islamophobia. This is something Muslims must realise. They must also
recognise that hatred for the West is no solution for anything—unlike what
Muslim Westophobes might insist. On the contrary, it can only further
exacerbate the problems that Muslims face. Westophobia can only take Muslims
even further away from the urgent need to engage in introspection and see where
they have gone wrong, instead of blaming others for all their woes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-14803574613489755702017-02-20T07:52:00.003-08:002017-02-20T08:18:46.928-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Reflections on the ‘Conspiracy’
Theory and Muslim Attitudes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Many
Muslims think that a fundamental cause of the current problems of Muslims
globally is what they decry as a ‘Western conspiracy’ against Islam and
Muslims. They think that over the last few centuries Western countries have
reduced Muslims to such a state of utter helplessness that the latter can
hardly do anything to change their own conditions, try as hard as they might.
The ‘hidden hand’ of what they call the ‘enemies of Islam’, will, they argue,
simply not allow Muslims to get out of the unenviable situation in which they
find themselves today. The Muslim religious and politically-oriented media is
replete with stories of what are termed as ‘conspiracies’ of non-Muslims,
particularly the West, against Islam and Muslims. This, in fact, is the only
topic that a great many self-styled Muslim thinkers and writers can write about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The
simple fact is that this way of thinking only reveals the present-day Muslims’
extreme intellectual crisis.
This crisis does not have to do
with material resources or the lack
thereof. Rather, it is a crisis of thought. Whatever Muslims might have
faced, or are facing today, at the hands of others is plain enough to see—but
it is all the price of the Muslims’ own weaknesses and wrongdoings, which they
try to conceal blaming it on what they
brand as the immorality of others. This is despite the fact that the
Muslims’ own moral condition is woefully lamentable—this being so obvious a
fact that it needs no elaboration at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Thinking in terms of the so-called ‘conspiracy
theory’ is absolutely un-Islamic</span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">.</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> If this theory were accepted as
true, it would mean that the collective fate of Muslims is not in their hands
but, rather, in the hands of their supposed
opponents. It would mean that their supposed opponents, rather than Muslims themselves, are writing
the Muslims’ fate. If this absurd claim is accepted, one would have to invent an entirely new meaning of the
following Quranic declaration (13:11):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">God
does not change the condition of a people’s lot, unless they change what is in
their hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">God
does not change the condition of a people’s lot, unless they change what is in
their hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">It
is not completely untrue to say that Muslims have been the victim of some
Western conspiracies. But the way that this is sought to be generalized and
exaggerated completely out of proportion is utterly nonsensical, being
indicative of deep-rooted and widespread intellectual bankruptcy among Muslims.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">If
you survey the 1400-year history of Islam, you will notice that Muslims have
gone through numerous ups and downs. One of the most tragic developments in
Muslim history was the enormous devastation wrought by the Tartars in the 13<sup>th</sup>
century, who rampaged through many Muslim lands. They brought widespread
slaughter and destruction in their wake, provoking a contemporary historian to
comment that it seemed that Islam would be wiped off from the face of the
earth. The Tartars seemed so utterly invincible that people thought it
impossible that they could ever be defeated. Yet, even in such a trying situation,
the ‘conspiracy theory’ did not seem to have had many takers among Muslims of
that period. Generally speaking, the Muslims believed that whatever had
befallen them was a result of their own misdeeds, in accordance with the
Quranic teaching: ‘<span style="background: #F9F9F9;">Whatever misfortune befalls
you is of your own doing</span>’ (42:30). This is why not long after the Muslims
had been militarily crushed by the Tartars, the latter were won over to Islam. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">There
are several reasons why the ‘conspiracy theory’ has so many takers among
Muslims today. One basic reason is the marked tendency in Muslim intellectual
circles to refuse to engage in self-criticism and introspection. A second
reason is the failure of movements and parties that arose in the 20<sup>th</sup>
century in the name of defending Muslims and reviving Islam in securing their
basic goals. This led to mounting frustration in their ranks, accompanied by
extreme emotionalism, fear, suspicion and confusion—all of which made themmore prone
to thinking in terms of conspiracy theories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Thinking in terms of conspiracies is entirely
opposed to the teachings of the Quran. It is a result and a symbol of a
defeatist mentality, of a destructive, not constructive, mind-set.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">This
issue needs to be understood in the light of the teachings of the Quran. The
Quran mentions conspiracies (secret planning) against Muslims on the part of
their enemies. The Quran relates:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">And
they schemed but God also schemed and God is the Best of Schemers.(3:54)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">Remember how those who bent on denying the
truth plotted against you to imprison you or kill you or expel you: they
schemed—but God also schemed. God is the best of schemers (8:30)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">They
are planning a scheme, and so am I (86:15-16)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">From
these Quranic verses one learns that for one’s enemies to make conspiracies or secret
plans against one is to be expected .But since conspiring against others is an
act against nature, it cannot be so decisive as to overturn someone’s fate.
Therefore, the misfortune of Muslims today is an outcome of their own handiwork.
Another important point that emerges from these Quranic verses is that God has
made a natural arrangement to cause the conspiracies of one’s foes to fail. No
party, community can subordinate or destroy Islam or its followers on the basis
of a conspiracy. This is why in numerous
<i>hadiths</i> reports that foretell about
the weakness and disgrace of Muslims, the responsibility for this is placed on
Muslims themselves. For instance, it is related that the Prophet <span style="background: white;">said:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="hadith"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">"</span></i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">The
nations are about to call each other and set upon you, just as diners set upon
food."</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>It was
said: "Will it be because of our small number that day?" He said:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="hadith"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">"Rather, on that day you will be
many, but you will be like foam, like the foam on the river. And Allah will
remove the fear of you from the hearts of your enemies and will throw <i>wahn</i>
(weakness) into your hearts."</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Someone said: "O Messenger of
Allah! What is<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi; padding: 0cm;">wahn</span></em>?"
He said:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="hadith"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">"Love of the world and the hatred
for death."</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> (Source: Abu
Daud, <i>hadith</i> no.4297).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The
notion that other communities have reduced Muslims to a state of utter
helplessness and weakness through their ‘conspiracies’ and that they have, as
it were, sealed the Muslims’ fate, is nothing but absurd escapism and an excuse
for Muslims not to do anything positive and practical to help improve the
situation that they find themselves in. For instance, vast numbers of Muslims
rant and rave against the West’s conspiracies, but a huge proportion of these
very same people pines to get to live in those countries and lead a life of
luxury! I have met numerous Muslims who never tire of expressing hatred for the
West, but who, with the very same passion, also long to get an American ‘green
card’ or British passport for themselves or their children! This is a very
obvious and regrettable case of double-standards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">By
constantly harping on their perceived victimhood, weakness and vulnerability at
the hands of others such Muslims are certainly not helping themselves. This
attitude does nothing to get them out of the situation they find themselves in,
at the same time as it makes others also believe that Muslims are a spent people, a people who are capable only of agitating, protesting, wailing and
shrieking and of nothing good and positive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The
fact of the matter is that in this world, an individual or community’s progress
or regress, prosperity or degeneration, victory or defeat, rise or fall are all
linked to the laws of Nature. The principles on which these laws are based are
one and the same for all people. They are unchangeable. As the Quran (35:43)
says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">‘<i>You
will never find any change in the ways of God’.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"> These
principles and laws apply in exactly the same way to Muslims as they do to
other people. There are simply no short-cuts especially for Muslims, and nor
can any exceptions be made for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;">The
conspiracies of one community simply cannot block the path of another
community. If, as a result of a conspiracy, a person or community finds one
door closed to it, there will be other doors that remain, at the same time,
open to it. But one needs to look for these doors and then set out on the path
that these doors lead to, instead of banging against the one blocked door and
destroying oneself in the process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-49082910672077090312017-02-19T02:43:00.001-08:002017-02-19T02:56:29.649-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Islamophobia and
Terror in the Name of Islam Feed on Each Other<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">What
is called ‘Islamophobia’ has become an almost universal phenomenon today. The
media is awash with stories of hate-crimes and prejudice directed against
Muslims. In this regard, Muslims must ask themselves, ‘What is it that makes so
many people fear Islam and think of Muslims as monsters? How far are Muslims
themselves responsible for this?’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">If
we approach the issue dispassionately, in a spirit of genuine introspection,
Muslims are bound to realize their own culpability in creating and sustaining
Islamopbhobia. This stems from our wrong religious and political views and actions
based on them. We will be forced to recognize that many aspects of traditional
Muslim thought that are based on human <i>ijtihad</i>
or independent reasoning have lost their significance in today’s context and
that they require fresh thinking. However, a large and influential section of
Muslims continues to refuse to consider rethinking these issues in the light of
changing contexts and demands, in the process creating ever more problems for
Muslims themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In
this regard, one central issue that needs to be urgently addressed are some
dominant and conventional understandings of jihad, which some self-styled Islam
ideologues deploy to give sanction to almost every sort of violence. Because of
the unbridled violence in the name of Islam unleashed by some so-called Islamic
groups in various countries, many people have come to think of Islam as an
inherently violent and cruel religion. This is definitely one of the major
factors for contemporary Islamophobia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">In
seeking to understand and counter growing Islamophobia, Muslims bear in mind
that the misinterpretation of the concept of jihad by some self-styled Islamic
groups is definitely one of the major causes of anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim
sentiments. The fact of the matter is that in traditional Muslim jurisprudence
or <i>fiqh</i>, as developed by Muslim
scholars down the centuries, the concept of jihad has not been fully or
satisfactorily clarified and continues to be characterized by several
weaknesses and limitations. Many Muslim scholars today acutely feel this
problem. Certain conventional notions of jihad are rooted in the <i>fiqh</i> tradition that goes back to the
period of Muslim political dominance, which impacted on all aspects of Muslim
political jurisprudence. With the passage of time, the <i>fuqaha</i> or scholars of Muslim jurisprudence, could not give the same
sort of focus to Islamic politics as they did to other branches of Muslim
jurisprudence. Consequently, many aspects of Islamic political jurisprudence
that were in need of rethinking in the light of changes in the spatio-temporal
context, were not rethought. This is one reason why some of these conventional
understandings of jihad failed to be re-thought in the light of changing
contexts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
term ‘jihad’ has a very wide connotation. The noted scholar, Imam Raghib,
explains in his <i><span style="background: white;">Al-</span>Mufradat fi Gharib al-Quran</i>, that jihad relates
to making strenuous efforts in any matter. He outlines three types of jihad:
jihad against external enemies; jihad against Satan; and jihad with one’s <i>nafs</i> or baser self.<span style="background: #f9f9f9; color: #333333;"> </span>It is crucial to note that in
present times, the notion of jihad has wrongly come to be seen exclusively in
the sense of <i>qital</i>, or physical jihad
against external opponents, although <i>qital</i>
is actually just an exceptional form of jihad. Furthermore, <i>qital</i> is permitted only in defence, and,
that too in last resort, when there is no option left. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">It
must be remembered that jihad in the sense of <i>qital</i> is allowed only in defence, and not in offence or aggression.
Further, there does not seem to be any justification—from the point of view of
reason, religious belief and the Shariah—to engage in jihad in the sense of <i>qital</i> just to end <i>kufr</i> or denial of Truth. The Quran (2:190) says: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ng-binding" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8.25pt 36pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.0pt;"><i>And fight in God’s cause against those
who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression—for surely, God does not
love aggressors.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However,
despite this, the notion of offensive jihad emerged as Muslims became
politically dominant, reflecting the mind-set of the medieval period as well as
certain political interests. It soon became deeply-entrenched, so much so that
it became such a seemingly inseparable part of Muslim jurisprudence that,
sadly, Muslim scholars ignored the need to review or rethink it. Needless to
say, those Muslims who wrongly consider the concept of offensive jihad in
traditional <i>fiqh</i> to be legitimate and
regard that even in the absence of any aggression on its part, a non-Muslim
government can be targetted in order to expand the domain of an ‘Islamic’
government, and to bring lands ruled by others under the sway of an Islamic
polity are a major cause of horrific violence that the world is today
witnessing and a major threat to the possibility of Muslims living together
peacefully with people of other faiths.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="ng-binding" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8.25pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It
can hardly be denied that in order to address the problem of Islamophobia,
there is an urgent need for rethinking certain aspects of conventional Muslim
religious and political thought. Without the terror and turmoil unleashed in
the name of jihad by self-styled Islamic groups being clearly condemned by the <i>ulema</i> and other Muslim intellectuals, it
is simply not possible for Islamophobia to be effectively countered. After all,
Islamophobia, based on hatred for Muslims, and the violent, terror-driven
activities in the name of jihad in many countries, which are a complete
violation of Islamic principles, feed on each other. The one cannot exist
without the other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-33574893665004050912017-02-15T09:35:00.001-08:002017-02-15T09:35:58.665-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Benefiting from Other Religious Traditions: A Muslim Perspective<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">In a well-known verse
in the Quran, God says:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">“O men! Behold, We
have created you all out of a male and a female, and </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">have made you into nations and tribes, so
that you might come to know one another. Verily, the noblest of you in the
sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is
all-knowing, all-aware.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This Quranic verse mentions that all human beings are children of the
same set of primal parents. Thus, they all have, by birth itself, an equal status.
They also possess a similar nature (<i>fitrah</i>), the nature on which God has
created every human being. In the Islamic understanding, as we learn from this
verse, the only criterion for distinguishing between people in terms of their
nobility is their level of <i>taqwa</i>, i.e. God-consciousness. <i>Taqwa </i>is the only source of dignity and
superiority in the sight of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another fact that this Quranic verse highlights is that God has divided
the whole of humanity into groups and tribes, and this is with the purpose that
they should know each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The question here arises as to what it means ‘to know each other’?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Knowing each other is a means for people from diverse backgrounds,
including religious backgrounds, to come closer to each other and assist one
another to achieve common goals. This verse can also be read, then, as a call
for interfaith and inter-community understanding and cooperation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By underscoring the fact that human diversity is a God-given phenomenon,
the Quran teaches us about the importance of ‘unity in diversity’. Nature
dislikes uniformity because the universe that God has created is characterized
by diversity and pluralism. The Quran very beautifully says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“</span><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Did you not see how God sent down water from the
sky with which We bring forth fruit of diverse colours. In the mountains there
are streaks of various shades of white and red, and jet-black rocks;</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">in like manner, men, beasts, and cattle have their diverse
hues too. Only those of His servants, who possess knowledge, fear God. God is
almighty and most forgiving (35:27-28)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Taking a cue from Nature, which displays incredible harmony amidst
immense diversity, human beings are required to act in accordance with the principle
of respecting the unity of human beings amidst diversity, which is only truly
possible if we consider all of humankind as one vast family of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In my view, when the above-quoted Quranic verse talks about people from
different social groups getting to know one another, this is to be understood
not simply in the sense of gaining information about one another—or information
just for information sake. Rather, it could also include learning about and
from each other’s religious, spiritual, social and cultural traditions in order
to benefit from them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In this regard, it is instructive to note that the Quran says that the Torah
contains ‘guidance and light’ (5:44). Those who have read the Quran would know
that it refers to the Bible in several places. Many famous commentators on the
Quran draw on the Bible in explaining several Quranic verses. Likewise, it is
worth mentioning here that the Quran (26:196) talk about <i>zubur al-awwaleen</i>,
which means ancient books.Some Muslim scholars point out that this might also
include Hindu scriptures, which according to Hindu belief contain Divinely-revealed
knowledge and are called in <i>sruti </i>in Vedic terminology. Like the Bible
and other religious books, the Vedas and Upanishads also contain many teachings
similar to those in the Quran. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These similarities in different scriptures speak of the same Divine Source.
It has been explained in several verses in the Quran that to every community
God has sent a ‘guide’ (<i>hadin</i>) and a ‘warner’ (<i>nazeer</i>), who received
revelations from God. Many of these revelations may have not have been protected
from corruption over time, but one cannot over look the wisdom and insight they still
contain. This treasure of wisdom is a collective or universal human inheritance,
which every human being deserves to avail of. And that is in accordance with the
Islamic spirit. In this regard, it is instructive to recall a well-known <i>hadith</i>, reported by A</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">bu Huraira:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Messenger of God said, “The wise saying is
the lost property of the believer, so wherever he finds it then he has a right
to it.”(Source: <i>Tirmidhi</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is a very valuable and insightful tradition. It
implies that no community has a monopoly over wisdom and that everyone is
entitled to wisdom wherever he or she may find it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In this regard, it is striking to consider the tendency
among many religionists to benefit as much as they can from other communities’
worldly knowledge and experiments but to avoid doing the same when it comes to
their spiritual experiences and wisdom. This lamentable tendency can be
overcome if we train our minds to realise that the essence of every religion is
ethics and moral values and hence that they are not as different from each other
as many people sadly think. If almost every religion stresses ethical values
and moral character, there is really no reason why people of different faiths
should think of religions other than the one they claim to follow as something
totally contrary to their own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A number of verses in the Quran and many <i>hadith</i> reports talk about ‘wisdom’ (<i>hikmah</i>).
Now, what exactly does this word mean? Can we, Muslims, attempt to discover <i>hikmah</i> in the other religious and
spiritual traditions as well? Can we spiritually benefit from this wisdom and
insight that is found in other religious traditions? Some sayings attributed to
the Prophet Muhammad, irrespective of how reliable they may be,do not allow
Muslims to come into touch with scriptures of other religions. But here it
needs to be considered that even the traditionalist <i>ulema</i> are unanimous on the point that this relates to some specific
circumstances when the revelation of the Quran had not been completed and the
first generation of Muslim community was yet to be fully educated and trained.
In this phase of early Islamic history, even Muslims were asked not to gift or
carry the Quran to people of other faiths. This was similar to the prohibition
on writing down of <i>hadith</i> reports for
a certain period of time, for fear that they may be mixed with the Quranic
revelations that were so far not compiled. The prohibition on reading
scriptures of other religions at this time must be seen in that particular
context, because those who had become Muslims had only recently embraced the
faith and needed to grow fully in it. The restriction must then be seen as contextual,
not as a general rule for all times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While talking about the responsibilities of the prophets of God, the
Quran (2:129) specially states that they teach people the Book and wisdom (<i>hikmah</i>).
Commentators on the Quran have defined the word <i>hikmah</i> in many ways. I
firmly believe that this word also includes the spiritual insights and wisdom
that are contained in other religious scriptural traditions and transmitted
through the generations. They nurture the human soul, illuminate the human mind
and expand our spiritual experiences. They are a common human legacy and we
should not remain deprived of it. In this regard, it is important to note that
some commentators on the Quran suggest that <i>hikmah</i> includes, among other
things, the Jewish and Christian scriptures—or what are conventionally called the
Old and the New Testaments. In further support of our argument, it is also
interesting to note that Ali bin Abi Talib, the forth Caliph, has been quoted
as saying that one should seek knowledge even though it is from polytheists (Source:
<i>Jame Bayan ul-Ilm</i>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some Muslim scholars expound the view that anything not found in
established Islamic tradition is mere ‘ignorance’ (<i>jahiliyyah</i>) and hence, that there is no need for Muslims to study
or benefit from it. I do not agree with this. Here the concept of <i>jahiliyyah</i>
requires to be understood in proper sense.It is not right to think that every
single thing related to the pre-Islamic period is absolutely wrong and the Prophetic
mission was aimed at putting an end to it entirely, as is widely interpreted. The
fact is that many social and cultural traditions in the <i>jahiliyyah</i>
period possessed common human and moral value, which, instead of being
eliminated, was promoted by Islam. One saying of the Prophet appropriately proves
this fact. The Prophet said: </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“People are
like gold and silver; those who were best in Jahiliyyah [the pre-Islamic Period
of Ignorance)] are best in Islam, if they have religious understanding”(Source:
<i>Bukhari</i>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A story related to the Prophet make this point even more clear and
visible. Once, a group of people called on the Prophet and informed him that
they had learned five moral teachings in the <i>jahiliyyah</i> period. When the
Prophet asked them to elaborate, they said: “Expressing thanks to God when hope
for achieving something is fulfilled, exercising patience in the time of
tribulation, firmness in front of fighting enemies, reliance on destiny and
exercising patience with regard to enemies (not taking revenge) and rejoicing in
grief and misfortune.” It was so amazing for the Prophet that he said: “How
much wise and knowledgeable they are! They are talking like a prophet’’. (Source:
<i>Jame ul-Masaneed wa al-Sunan</i>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It can be inferred from this Prophetic report that wisdom and virtue are
definitely not a monopoly of a certain religion or community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Something being good does not inevitably need to be proved to be so from
a religious text if it is not incompatible with reason and human nature and is
not harmful to human society. If something promotes human causes and proves
useful for social and human welfare, it can be availed of by everyone,
irrespective of where it is found and who finds it. The Prophet is reported to
have said that the </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">best of people are
those who benefit humankind (Source: <i>Kanz
ul-Ummal</i>). This </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">clearly indicates that what Islam teaches is not odd and unusual. Apart
from a set of beliefs, it is essentially the same moral teachings and guidance
of all the prophets, religious leaders and sages (<i>rishi muni</i>s) who have appeared among the human
race ever since it came to this planet. That said, it is also important to keep
in mind that not everything in every culture or religious tradition is good, laudable
or worthy of emulation. Benefiting from others does not mean blindly imitating
them. In learning and imbibing from others one must make sure the norms and
teachings of one’s own faith are preserved.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is a well-established fact that what is called the ‘Muslim Golden
Age’ was indebted to several religious and cultural traditions, including the Greek,
Iranian, Indian, Coptic, Nestorian etc..This clearly shows how willingness to
learn good things from other peoples and cultures is itself a good thing and is
not something banned in Islam. The Sufistic tradition is the best example of
bringing the best human values together in itself, for it has borrowed from
several religious, non-religious and philosophical traditions, combining them
with the spirit of Islam. Authentic Sufism reflects this inclusive nature of
Islam and its true teachings of love for the whole of humanity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Muslims believe that Islam embodies Truth. But that does not necessarily
mean that everything pertaining to any other religion is false or ‘un-Islamic’.
We should not deny the goodness in them and their great contributions to human
society. Rather, we should readily acknowledge this goodness. I believe Islam,
far from preventing its followers from benefiting from it, actually encourages
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-61727956530717830872017-01-12T03:15:00.005-08:002017-02-15T08:08:17.238-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">All Creatures Are One Family
</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">According
to a <i>hadith</i> report, the Prophet Muhammad said: “All creatures
are [like] a family of God, and He loves the most those who are kindest to His
family.” (Source: <i>Baihaqi</i>).</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">The <i>hadith</i> report
uses the term <i>al-khalq</i>, which means ‘creatures’. And so, the <i>hadith</i> applies
to both human as well as non-human beings, including animals, plants and the
natural environment, all of which are also creatures of God. That said, of
course the <i>hadith </i>also applies to the whole of mankind as
such. The whole mankind is like a family of God, we learn from this saying of
the Prophet.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">According
to another <i>hadith</i> report, the Prophet said: “O God, ‘I bear
witness that all human beings are brothers of each other’” (Source: <i>Abu
Daud</i>). It is narrated that the Prophet pronounced this sentence after
every prayer (<i>namaz</i>).</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Unfortunately,
most Muslim writers argue that only Muslims have a brotherly relationship to
each other. However, these two sayings of the Prophet Muhammad clearly negate
this notion, affirming, as they do, that even people of other faiths are our
brothers and sisters, the <i>only </i>difference being that while
Muslims are brothers and sisters to each other in religion, Muslims and people
of other faiths are brothers and sisters to each other in humanity.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> In
the same vein, another <i>hadith</i> declares that the Prophet
Muhammad said that people areas equal to each other as the teeth of a comb.
(Source: <i>Ghareebul Hadith</i> by Khattabi)</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">All above sayings of the Prophet reflect two very
significant aspects of human relationships, which the Quran, too, emphasizes.
The first aspect is the unity of humankind, because all human beings are
descendants of Adam and Eve. The second aspect is human dignity, according to
which every human being, in her or his capacity of being human, deserves
dignity and respect. The Quran (17:70) says:</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">We have honoured the children of Adam, and have
borne them on the land and the sea, given them for sustenance things which
aregood and pure; and exalted them above many of Our </span></i><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">creatures.</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">This is why the Prophet Muhammad respected the
human soul. It is this concept which prompted prominent Muslim jurists and
scholars to affirm that every human being is dignified, no matter what his or
her religion may be.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">It
is reported that once, a funeral passed by the Prophet Muhammad and he
stood up. It was said to him, “It is a Jew.” And the Prophet replied, “Was he
not a soul?” (Source: <i>Bukhari</i>) This incident clearly tells us
that irrespective of a person’s affiliation to any particular creed or religion,
community or caste, merely as being a human being God has given him equal
rights, because it is God who has created him. God loves every person, even if
a person does not love God. According to a <i>hadith</i> report, the
Prophet said that God loves a person 70 times more than a mother loves her
child. From another <i>hadith</i> we learn that he who most serves
people</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">is
most beloved to God. By ‘people’</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">here
is meant not Muslims alone but everyone else, too. This means that the one who
serves people, irrespective of their religion, the most is most beloved of God.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Good and
evil, beautiful and ugly, all creatures are God’s </span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">handiwork</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">. An artist never
thinks of destroying his or her art, no matter how ugly it may be. Had this not
been so, God would already have destroyed those who are not obedient to Him.
But God may not even wish to do so, because this is not in accordance with His
preordained design for the universe. Since time immemorial it is in His
infinite knowledge that humankind would be divided into two groups: people of
faith and virtue and others. This is why He has left it to a person‘s free will
to adopt or to reject the way of faith and virtue. As the Quran (18:29) clearly
says: “</span></span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Let him who will, believe in it, and him who will,
deny it.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> The
actual problem lies with the concept of ‘otherness’. Every social,
including religious, group has its own concept of the ‘other’, and this ‘other’
can number one or more other groups. Again, common to all social groups are
notions of external and internal ‘others’. The <i>hadith </i>“All
creatures are [like] a family of God, and He loves the most those who are
kindest to His family”, cited earlier, is against any demeaning concept of
otherness. Every human being, irrespective of religion and creed, caste and
community, belongs to God’s family. God has divided humankind into groups for
God to know who the best among them in good deeds are, and for them to
learn about each other. As the Quran (49:13) says:</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> </span><i><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Mankind!
We have created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and
tribes, so that you might come to know each other. The noblest of you in God's
sight is the one who fears God most. God is all-knowing and all-aware</span></i><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">.</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> This
world which God has created, for which He has appointed human beings as His
trustees, is very beautiful. Its beauty lies in its pluralistic nature. The
various religious communities of this world are like the flowers of a single
garden. Every flower has a different colour and fragrance, but put together,
they increase the beauty and splendour of the garden.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Today,
the family of God is fighting each other. The garden of God has turned into a
battlefield. Such thick and high walls have been erected in the name of
religion that they have almost completely veiled the face of humanity, even though
our common humanity excels over all identities.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">One’s
religious life relates, in particular, to the life after death, where,
according to the Quran, God will make a final judgment about our fate. The
theory of truth and falsehood has always been very confusing to many, with
different groups considering themselves alone as true and all others as false.
One cannot be allowed to suppress others on this basis, as, however,
unfortunately continues to happen. It is totally inhuman and is against the
nature of God’s universal plan. To fight and try to destroy fellow members of
the one family of God is fighting God Himself—and, needless to say, one cannot
win a war against God.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> It
is a very important issue that although today we are living in a global village,
where we are all dependent on each other, many people harbor deep-rooted hatred
for others, including for those who follow other religions other than the one
they claim to. It seems as if the very same sources that were meant to bind us
together have been misused to create an enormous gulf between us. We are
victims of self-interested politics and pseudo-religiosity gone rampant.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Today’s
politics is free from every sort of ethical value. It is true that, barring
some exceptions, the past examples in this regard are also not very
encouraging, but the present situation is extremely bleak. This is because
modern society has lost its touch with the true spirit of religious and moral
values—or spirituality. Unless we transform ourselves into individuals bearing
a high moral character, we cannot transform entire communities and societies.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> From
a <i>hadith</i> referred to earlier in this essay we learn that he
who most serves the people is most beloved to God can be narrated another
way—as telling us that the best of people are those who benefit humankind.
This <i>hadith</i> requires us to be a well-wisher for all other
people. According to another <i>hadith</i>, the Prophet said that
‘Well-wishing is the religion [in its entirety]’ (<i>al-Deenu al-Naseeha</i>).
(Source: <i>Bukhari</i>) One can be a true Muslim and truly a worthy
member of God’s family only if one lives according to this <i>hadith</i>.
In this regard, it is important to always bear in mind this teaching of the
Quran (5:8):</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal;">
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> </span><i><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Believers,
be steadfast in the cause of God and bear witness with justice. Do not let your
enmity for others turn you away from justice. Deal justly; that is nearer to
being God-fearing. Fear God. God is aware of all that you do.</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> If
every one of us sincerely takes the <i>hadith</i> “All creatures are
[like] a family of God, and He loves the most those who are kindest to His
family” into consideration and acts upon it, all our major differences will
vanish. As a couplet of the famous Persian Sufi Jalaluddin Rumi reminds us:</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">You
have come to unite people</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Not to
sow seeds of difference.</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-34759982423438357942016-11-27T02:23:00.002-08:002016-11-27T02:23:39.111-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reflections on Relations Between Muslims and Others <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Recently,
a friend of mine asked me if I could write an article about people of other
faiths who might have had a deep impact on my life. He thought—and rightly
so—that if we become more aware of how indebted we are, in different ways, to
people from other religious communities, it can go a long way in promoting
interfaith harmony, which is such a pressing need across the globe today. In
asking me to write on the topic that he suggested, my friend probably wanted me
to help, in my own small way, promote better relations between Muslims and
people of other faiths—which is, of course, a very laudable objective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For
a long time now I have been interested in the issue of relations between Muslims
and others. I have written several articles about this issue. And so, when my
friend came up with the idea of me doing an article on this subject, I was
delighted and gladly agreed to his request. However, when I got down to
planning the structure of my article, I suddenly felt that I would not be able
to write it. The reason was because I discovered, to own surprise, that there
were hardly one or two non-Muslims among my friends and reasonably close
acquaintances. In fact, to be more correct, besides this friend of mine who had
requested me to write the article, there were no non-Muslims whom I could
really call friends in the true sense of the term. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
was quite taken aback at this lamentable discovery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
fact is that in the environment in which I was born and brought up, Muslims and
others regular interacted with each other. It was an everyday thing. Yet, growing
up, I did not develop a close friendship with any person from another faith
community other than the one I was born into.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
is really tragic. If people of different faith communities live together in the
same locality, in the same village, in the same city, or in the same country,
there are definitely ample opportunities for them to become friends. And they
must become friends if they are to live together in amity. Befriending people
from other communities is also a wonderful way to learn good things from other
people, from other communities and from other traditions. This is crucial for
personal, social, and global progress, I am now convinced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
my case, one major reason for my not having established close friendships with
anyone from another faith community was that I spent many years studying in
traditional Muslim madrasas, starting from the primary level. In the past, in
some parts of India, children of other faith communities would also study in
such madrasas, along with Muslim children. Some non-Muslims also generously
financially contributed to madrasas. But today, the tradition of children from
other faith communities studying in madrasas is, by and large, no longer there.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Studying
in an all-Muslim environment, where all the students in the madrasas I attended
were Muslims, I did not get the chance to befriend anyone else. After finishing
with madrasa education, I enrolled at the Aligarh Muslim University, and here
again, my friends were all Muslims. Later, I taught for two years at the
Maulana Azad National Urdu University, in Hyderabad. Here, because it was an
Urdu university, there were very few students and teachers from other faith communities.
Now, however, I teach at the Jamia Millia Islamia, in New Delhi, where I do
have more chances to interact with people from other faith communities—which is
a very good thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This,
in brief, is how things have been with me. By and large, it is the same with
most other people who have studied in traditional madrasas. There are very few
examples of <i>ulama</i> and other madrasa
graduates who have close friends among people of other faiths. This is in
contrast to many of those Muslims who have studied in government or good
quality private schools that have students from different religious backgrounds.
This provides such Muslims the opportunity to establish friendships with people
from other faith backgrounds, to visit each other’s homes, to join in each
other’s joyful and sorrowful occasions, and so on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
a plural society like India, it is really indispensable for people from
different faith backgrounds to enjoy friendly relations with each other. In
this regard, it is lamentable that in some parts of India, especially in
certain cities, close social interactions between Muslims and others have been
steadily declining over the years. There are two major reasons for this growing
gap. The first is a certain sort of majoritarian politics, which leads to
increasing ghettoisation of, and insularity among, Muslims. The second—and this
is the basic focus of this article—is a factor that is internal to Muslims
themselves and is a result of misinterpretations of certain Islamic teachings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Muslims
ought to make every effort to bridge the growing divide between them and people
of other faiths. This is both a religious as well as a social responsibility on
their part. When members of different communities have close, friendly
relations, they can share the good things their faiths and traditions with each
other. This can be a very beneficial learning experience for everyone
concerned. From the spiritual point of view, this can help all involved to grow
spiritually. From the social point of view, the importance of such friendly
relations is obvious, especially for Muslims, who are a minority in India and who
are largely economically poor and illiterate. Their own well-being is crucially
linked to having good relations with the majority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yet,
despite this, from the Muslim side itself there are major obstacles to building
good relations between Muslims and others. The biggest obstacle in this regard
are certain ‘religious’ views that are a result of wrong interpretations of
Islamic teachings. <span style="background: white; color: #222222;">It is a
lamentable fact that some Muslim ‘religious scholars’ have very negative views
of many people of other faiths, wrongly thinking them to be </span><i>najis </i>(‘impure) and <i>paleed </i>(‘dirty’). They wrongly claim sanction for this stance from
the scriptures. The fact, however, is that the impurity of the <i>mushrikeen</i> (polytheists or those who
associate others with God) that the Quran talks about is with reference to
certain beliefs of theirs, and not to their very person or being as such. That
is why, for instance, Abu Hanifa (founder of the Hanafi school of Sunni Muslim
jurisprudence, with which the vast majority of the Muslims of South Asia are
formally affiliated) was of the opinion that they could even enter the Kaaba<b><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>if
their bodies were free from external impurities. In the same way, when the
Quran refers to the enmity of the <i>mushrikeen</i>,
it relates to the <i>mushrikeen</i> of
Arabia at the time of the Prophet Muhammad and not to all the <i>mushrikeen </i>of the whole world. Moreover,
it relates specifically only to those <i>mushrikeen
</i>of seventh century Arabia of the Prophet’s times who were fighting against
the Muslims, and not to those <i>mushrikeen</i>
who had cordial relations with the Muslims. Had it referred to all <i>mushrikeen</i>, how could it be that in
promoting and spreading the message of Islam in Mecca itself many non-Muslims
played a very important role? For instance, the Prophet’s own paternal uncle,
Abu Talib (according to the Sunni view, he had not accepted Islam), by virtue
of whose protection and unprecedented support in the early phase of Islam the Prophet
was able to fearlessly devote himself to preach Islam to people in Mecca. Or, Mut’imbin
Adi, who, when the disbelievers of Mecca boycotted the Hashmi clan (to which the Prophet belonged), played a major role
in ending the boycott and gave the Prophet shelter, because of which the
Prophet entered Mecca and engaged in inviting people to God.<span style="color: #00b0f0;"> </span>Or, Abdullah bin Uraiqit, who guided the Prophet
on his migration (<i>hijrat</i>)<i> </i>to Medina because the Prophet and his
companion Abu Bakr (who was accompanying him on this journey) were not familiar
with the routes from Mecca to Medina. It definitely cannot be at all reasonable
to put the Prophet’s uncles Abu Talib and Abu Lahab in the same category just
because Abu Lahab was not a Muslim and, according to the Sunnis, nor was Abu
Talib. In contrast to Abu Talib, Abu Lahab vociferously opposed the Prophet and
left no stone unturned in stopping him from calling the people to God’s path.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In
the same way, some Prophetic <i>hadith</i>s,
according to which after the commandment was revealed to the Prophet to migrate
to Medina, Muslims were stopped from living amidst <i>mushrikeen</i>, have been wrongly interpreted by some self-styled
‘Islamic scholars’ to wrongly argue that Muslims should not live along with people
of other faiths<b><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>in
the same areas. Such inane and ignorant claims of some self-styled <i>ulama</i> are themselves a source of great
strife or <i>fitna</i>, which needs to be
countered. Another such erroneous view relates to friendship or <i>muwalat<b><s><span style="color: red;"> </span></s></b></i>with non-Muslims. Interpreting certain
Quranic verses in a very wrong way, several so-called <i>ulama</i> wrongly argue that Muslims must not have friendly love in
their hearts<span style="color: red;"> </span>for people of other faiths. This is
a really very wrong claim and has no sanction in the Quran, if the Quran is
understood properly. How, one must ask here, can people with such utterly
erroneous views have good relations with others?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There
is an urgent need for Muslims all over the world, including India, to reach out
to people of other faiths and persuasions and try to build close friendships
with them. This is for their mutual benefit, and for the collective benefit of
the whole world. In this regard, there are many practical things that Muslims
could do, including:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Teaching, in an empathetic
and objective manner, madrasa students about other religions </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">and</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">
the traditions, cultures and histories of other communities.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Including as many
people of other faiths as possible as beneficiaries in the social services provided
by Muslim organizations (Unfortunately, reflecting a rather widespread mindset
prevalent among Muslims, most Muslim organizations cater to Muslims alone. In
this regard, they should learn from the noble example of many Christian
organizations).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Promoting interfaith
initiatives. Muslim organizations, including madrasas, should promote
interfaith dialogue in the same way as, for instance, some Christian
organizations are doing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Rethink many issues related
to other communities (including about their status and relations between
Muslims and them) contained in the corpus of traditional <i>fiqh</i> or Muslim jurisprudence that are a big obstacle to
establishing friendly relations between Muslims and others. There is a need to
develop new understandings of <i>fiqh</i>
that reflect the contemporary context and the imperative for harmonious and
mutually-beneficial friendly relations between Muslims and others.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Improving relations
between Muslims and others is a very urgent necessity in India (and elsewhere)
today, much more important than launching political drives and insisting on
political demands. Good relations with others are indispensable for the
well-being of all people, including Muslims themselves.</span></div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-79598755091500914692016-11-03T23:02:00.000-07:002016-11-03T23:02:25.426-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Questions About Prayer<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">People have many
questions about <i>salaat</i> or <i>namaz</i>, the Islamic form of prayer. Some
of them are: What is <i>adhan or azan </i>(the call to prayer)? What is its significance? <span style="background: white;">Why does one direct his or her face towards the Kaaba while
praying? What is the purpose of intention (<i>niyyah or niyyat</i>) in prayer?
Is it compulsory to say prayers only in Arabic? What is the wisdom in the fixed
number of <i>rakahs </i>(prescribed units of prayer) for each of the five time daily prayers? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I
have tried to answer these questions in the following paragraphs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Azan</span></i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">literally
means “to call’’. It informs people when it is time for prayers so that they
can gather at the mosque to pray. The purpose of <i>iqamah </i>(the second call
to prayer, which is uttered immediately before the beginning of the obligatory
prayer) is similar to this, and is meant to summon the people who are already in
the mosque to come together and join the prayer in congregation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
<i>azan</i> functions similarly to the
practice in some Christian communities where church bells are rung for the same
purpose, i.e. summoning the faithful to prayer. It is analogous, in a way, to
the custom at some schools or students’ camps,where a bell is rung to call the
students to assemble in a certain area or to announce that class time hasstarted
or finished.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
objective of <i>azan</i> may look very
ordinary or simple, but it has to be achieved through a form of worship that
contains the praise and glorification of God. And that, indeed, is the spirit
of worship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Azan</span></i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
is a method to call people to come together in congregation to worship God.
Apart from this, the <i>azan</i> serves to remind the Muslims, five times a
day, of certain basic Islamic beliefs, such as the Oneness and greatness of God
and the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad. But <i>azan</i> is not a
precondition for prayer. Prayer can be performed at any place without calling <i>azan</i>
or <i>iqamah</i>. Prayer can be offered in a wilderness or jungle even without <i>azan</i> or <i>iqamah</i>. The Eid prayers require neither <i>azan</i> nor <i>iqamah</i>
because Muslim individuals already impatiently look forward to these prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
Kaaba in Makkah is the <i>qiblah</i>, or
direction in which prayers are offered for Muslims. Facing this <i>qiblah </i>is a prerequisite for performing prayers
in Islam. In the early phase of Islam, Muslims were ordered,according to some scholars,
to offer prayers directing their face towards the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, with
the aim of winning the hearts of Jews and to express solidarity with them (in
the sense that Muslims and Jews share many basic religious beliefs, including
worshipping the same God’),but,as the Quran(2:144) suggests, the Prophet was
keen that the Kaaba, the symbolic
House of God, should be approved as <i>qiblah</i>
for Muslims. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Nonetheless,the
Quran says:‘</span><span class="ayatext"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The East
and the West belong to God. Whichever way you turn, there is the Face of God.
God is all pervading and all knowing.’</span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">(2:115) According
to Islamic scholars, this verse was revealed before the verse which commands: ‘turn
your face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque’(2:149), or else that it applies
to a person offering his prayers in the darkest night when he is not sure of the
<i>qiblah</i>, the proper direction of prayer,
or is riding a vehicle which changes its direction rapidly, in which case even
if he faces a direction other than the <i>qiblah</i>,
his prayer would be considered proper. This indicates that the <i>qiblah </i>is
not attached to the core of the prayer, even though it is considered necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">What,
then, is the purpose of the <i>qiblah</i>? It is an intrinsic demand ofhuman
nature that if someone loves or bows down to some entity, he wants it to be present
and visible before him. But with regard to God, this is entirely impossible in
this physical world.That is why in place of Him, His symbolic house, the Kaaba, was
declared as the <i>qiblah</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
<i>qiblah</i> is the central point of the worshipper’s attention towards God while
in prayer. It is a way to put one’s whole concentration on God, feeling as if
Godis watching us while we pray, as the Prophet has asked his followers to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Making
the intention (<i>niyyah </i>or <i>niyyat</i>)
to pray is a precondition for prayer—that is, making the intention, in one’s
heart, of offering prayer. Uttering the intention of offering prayers by one’s
tongue is not necessary. Every act requires an intention by heart. No work can
be accomplished in proper manner without it. Any act not done with a proper
intention can be only hypothetically attributed to the related person. Making
the intention for prayer means that one is devoting oneself to God for some
time, while cutting oneself off from the whole world for that period. This
helps in building concentration and focussing on God while one is engaged in
prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">With
regard to the language in which prayer is to be offered, some Muslim theologians,
such as Abu Hanifa, the founder of Hanafi
school of jurisprudence, opined that the prayer could be performed in
other languages, like Persian. Later, Abu Hanifa changed his opinion and
adopted the common view of the Muslim scholars. But from this pointit might be
inferred that language has a secondary role in prayer. Primarily, what is
required in prayer is submissiveness (<i>khushu</i>) and the awareness that God
is watching one always. In principle,it seems logical and in keeping with
spirit of the religion that a person should remember his/her Creator in his/her
own language, comprehending what he/she recites or utters in the prayer. Prior
to the Prophet Muhammad, different prophets and their communities used
different languages in worshipping God. They glorified God in their own
languages, not necessarily the same as what Muslims use in their worship and
supplication to Him. For instance, in the Jewish and Christian traditions ‘Jehovah’
and ‘Eli’ were used as names of God respectively. According to the Quran
(35:24), there is no community to which a prophet has not been sent. In the
light of this, it means that God must have sent one or more prophets to India
too, who must have worshiped and glorified God in an ancient Indian language or
languages. There is not a single verse in the Quran or any Prophetic tradition
that makes the Arabic language obligatory for prayers and supplications. It can
be deduced from this that Arabic language is not a basic precondition for
prayer. Yet, in spite of this, it is </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">required that the prayer be offered in the language used by the concerned prophets
because along with the spirit, the words and form in which the prophet used to
perform worship are also<span style="color: red;"> </span>required to be followed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The
form is also an inevitable part of religion because religious belief reflects
itself through certain forms and practices. Without a particular form, the
religion will become a mess. That is why in almost every religion, the key words that
are part of the rituals and chants are pronounced in the very same language used
by and inherited from their founder or key figure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Another
important point to consider in this regard is that translation, no matter how
good, cannot be a substitute for the words of the original text,especially when
the text is a revealed scripture, because the original words of the text have,
apart from its meaning, a certain spiritual significance, efficacy and blessing
(<i>barakah</i>) as well, as religious experience and human intuition suggest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">As
for the fixed number of <i>rakah</i>s in the Islamic prayer, this is entirely in
accordance with what was revealed to the Prophet from God. Human beings cannot
satisfactorily perceive the wisdom behind this provision. The Prophet was
taught by the angel Gabriel the manner and method of prayers, and that is what
he asked his followers to do. He said: ‘Offer
the prayer as you have seen me offering it.’ (<i>Sahih al-Bukhari</i>) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-68910168909816946322016-11-03T09:06:00.001-07:002016-11-03T23:18:24.671-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Reflections on Prayer<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">God made this beautiful planet
Earth and settled human beings on it as His heirs.Scientific research tells us
that it took millions of years for the Earth to become habitable for plant,
animal and human life. This clearly indicates that there is definitely some
grand purpose behind human beings having been placed on Earth. In the Quran
(51:56), God tells us that this purpose is to worship God:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">
I created the jinn and mankind only so that they might worship Me</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The question then arises as to what
the purpose of worship itself is?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The basic purpose of worship is to
remember God, to express our love for Him and to come closer to Him. Thus, in
the Quran (20:14), God says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I am God. There is no deity save
Me; so worship Me alone, and say your prayers in My remembrance.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">According to a hadith report, the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Love God for what He nourishes you
with of His Blessings (at-Tirmidhi)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">According to another hadith report,
the Prophet said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"> “Whenever anyone of you
offers his prayer he is speaking in private to his Lord” (Sahih al-Bukhari)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">This indicates the closeness that
we acquire to God through prayer and other forms and acts of worship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">In Islam, the different forms of
worship (prayer, fasting, Zakat, Haj) that have been made obligatory are not an
end in themselves. This is because from the Prophet Adam to the Prophet
Muhammad, the external forms of worship kept changing. The actual purpose of
these means of worship is the strengthening of our relationship with God and so
that the distance between God and us, His servants, is overcome. That is why in
the Quran (2:186) God says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">When My servants ask you about Me,
say that I am near. I respond to the call of one who calls, whenever he calls
to Me: let them, then, respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be
rightly guided.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Further, God says (50:16):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">We created man -- We know the
promptings of his soul, and are closer to him than his jugular vein<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">While worship is a means to
strengthen our relationship with God, it is also a means to strengthen our
relationships with our fellow human beings. And so, Zakat, an action that
entails transfer of material wealth to those in need, is also included in the
category of worship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">According to a hadith, the Prophet
Muhammad is said to have remarked that all creatures are like a family of God
and that God loves the most those who are the most beneficent to His family.
From this we learn that in order to have a good relationship with God it is
necessary for us to have good relations with His creatures. It is precisely
because of this that in many cases where the commandment of prayer is mentioned
in the Quran, Zakat is also mentioned as a commandment. Prayer is the most
significant symbolic expression of our relationship with and love for God,
while Zakat symbolizes our relationship with fellow human beings, our concern
for their well-being and our sharing in their sorrows and difficulties.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Prayer is one of the pillars of the
Islamic way of life. Prayer is a hallmark of a person of faith. By bowing down
to God in prayer, we express our submission to Him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Regular prayer has many benefits,
for both our individual life and our collective life. Prayer is basic to our
spiritual life and growth. It signifies and expresses our consciousness of our
being slaves of God. The Prophet Muhammad said that between disbelief and faith
is abandoning the Salat (at-Tirmidhi). He is also reported to have said: “If a
person had a stream outside his door and he bathed in it five times a day, do
you think he would have any filth left on him?" The people said, "No
filth would remain on him whatsoever." The Prophet (peace be upon him)
then said, "That is like the five daily prayers: God wipes away the sins
by them." (Sahih al-Bukhari)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Prayer also has immense emotional
and psychological benefits. It provides the heart with peace and comfort. In
prayer, you appear before your Creator, who knows all your sorrows and who has
the solution to all your problems. When you offer Dua or supplication to God,
sometimes with tears rolling down your face, the heavy burden that lies on your
heart is lifted. The Quran (2:45) tells us: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Seek help with patience and prayer;
this is indeed an exacting discipline, but not to the humble<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Prayer
teaches us humility and helps remove pride from our hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Regular prayer helps us develop
duty-consciousness as well as punctuality. It also helps us to be
time-consciousness and to use our time in a proper manner. The Muslim form of
prayer also has great physical benefits. It helps us become more particular
about the cleanliness of our clothes, while the various postures in this form
of prayer also provide our body with physical exercise. Performing ablutions
before prayers removes accumulated physical dirt and provides freshness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Quran tells us (29:45):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Recite what has been revealed to
you of the book, and pray regularly. Surely prayer restrains one from indecency
and evil and remembrance of God is greater.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">From this we learn the benefits of
prayer at the social (in addition to the individual) level, for immorality and
wrongdoing lead to social breakdown and are a huge obstacle to social progress.
Praying together with others, in a congregation, helps foster the feeling of
brotherhood and fraternity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">While prayer in a prescribed manner
is one of the pillars of Islam, prayer itself is not something that God
ordained only for Muslims. Rather, God prescribed prayer for different
communities even before the advent of the Prophet Muhammad. The Quran tells us
that prophets were sent to all the nations of the world. Different prophets, it
says, called on their communities to worship God. The structure and form of
their method of worship were different from those practiced by Muslims, but
their spirit was the same—and that is, the praise of God, the remembrance of
God, and Dua, or beseeching God for help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-48681126796316571662016-09-22T08:58:00.001-07:002016-09-22T09:09:32.950-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Intellectual Tasks Before Islamic
Scholars</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Among the
gravest threats facing humankind today is extremism resulting from erroneous
interpretations of religious teachings. Almost every religion has some
teachings or the other that if not understood and practiced in the right manner
can have disastrous effects, at both the individual as well as collective
level. For instance, many religions underscore the need to protect society from
anti-social elements, call for eradicating injustice, advocate establishing
justice, and sanction self-defence in exceptional circumstances. All of these
things are part of our basic human duties. But if ignorance and immorality
leads some people to develop distorted and deviant perspectives about these
issues, it can easily lead to violent conflict in society. If this happens,
religious teachings that were meant for promoting goodness and human welfare
come to be used as a means to foment violence and destruction.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In this
regard, Islam is faced with a particular predicament—of being viewed through a
distorted lens by both those who claim to follow it as well as others. That it
is misunderstood by others is not as surprising as the fact that it is
misunderstood by many of those who claim to be its adherents, who are
themselves destroying the religious and cultural bases of the tradition that
they say they follow. These people are projecting their own religious teachings
as a grave threat to the world.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The source
of this distorted understanding of Islam is the intellectual crisis that
Muslims have fallen prey to over the last three or four centuries. Several
factors are responsible for this crisis, and unless these are properly
understood, no meaningful efforts can be made to help Muslims come out of the
morass in which they find themselves and to turn Muslim thought back in
the right direction. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In part, the
intellectual crisis of present-day Muslims can be traced to the suppression of
the movement of Islamic rationalism by the traditionalist, orthodox <i>ulama</i> in
the early centuries of Islam. In the conflict between reason (<i>aql</i>) and
text (<i>nass</i>), the suppression of reason played a major role in the
ensuing intellectual stagnation of Muslims.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A second
factor for this intellectual crisis of Muslims was the supposed closing of the
‘doors’ of <i>ijtihad</i>’, creative reflection on and application of
Islamic teachings in new contexts, in the 4<sup>th</sup>century AH following
the establishment of the various schools of Islamic jurisprudence (<i>fiqh</i>).
Who closed these ‘doors’ and when is a separate issue, but the fact is that,
for all practical purposes, meaningful <i>ijtihad</i> did come an end
and its ‘doors’ remain closed till this very day.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A third
factor for the present-day intellectual crisis of Muslims is the inability of
Muslim leaders to understand the social political challenges that have emerged
as a result of various socio-cultural processes. This, and a desperate clinging
to the past, meant that Muslims were unable to relate intellectually with the
present. Related to this is the fact that in seeking to preserve their
intellectual heritage in the face of modernity, they uncritically continued to
hold fast on to even those aspects of that heritage that were not a part of
Islam as such, but, rather, reflected the influence of particular historical
and socio-cultural contexts in which that heritage emerged.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Because of
all of these inter-related factors, Muslim thought has strayed far off from the
straight path.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The greatest
need of the ‘Muslim world’ today is the reconstruction of Islamic thought so
that Muslims can appropriately relate to contemporary socio-political demands.
The poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938) attempted to do precisely this
through his monumental work <i>The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in
Islam </i>(1930), but the book failed to have any noticeable impact on the
traditional <i>ulama</i> class, even though they counted themselves
among Iqbal’s greatest admirers. While they were all praise for his poetry,
they rebutted this serious academic work of his that raised many questions
about traditional Muslim religious thought.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">With regard
to the renewal and reconstruction of Islamic thought, one dimension that needs
particular attention is Muslim political theory. This urgently needs to be
re-looked at. Aspects of this political theory that have now become irrelevant,
and, more than this, have turned into a threat to the world of today, must be
completely renounced so that the younger generation of Muslims can be protected
from falling prey to deviant thinking and thus going astray. Controversial and
completely un-Islamic notions such as the global political hegemony of Islam,
offensive jihad, considering other people’s lack of faith in Islam as a
sufficient cause to wage war against them, and regarding war, not peace, to be
the basis of relations with people of other faiths regrettably remain deeply
entrenched in some Muslim quarters despite the fact that they can in no way be
proven from the Quran and the practice of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him). These notions fuel conflictual relations with people of other faiths.
Islamic scholars must clarify that these notions have actually no Islamic
legitimacy at all, contrary to what radical extremists claim. The enormous
confusion in Islamic circles about these issues has resulted, on the one hand,
in great misunderstandings about Islam among non-Muslims, and, on the other
hand, has facilitated the emergence and rapid spread of extremism and radicalism
among a section of Muslims.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The major
share of the blame for the enormous misunderstandings about Islam that abound
today, particularly with regard to the issues mentioned above, lies with the
traditionalist <i>ulama</i>, and, more than them, the Islamists or votaries of
a politics-centric interpretation of Islam, who dream of imposing and enforcing
their particular interpretation of the Shariah and establishing global what
they regard as Islamic political dominance—or, in other words, their own rule.
The traditionalist <i>ulama</i> are mired in stagnation, while the
Islamists are a victim of literalism. These two classes seek to establish the
political theology that emerged in the Middle Ages, when Muslims enjoyed
political dominance in large parts of the world, word for word, without making
any changes in it. The only difference between the two is that the former gives
stress to ‘patience’ and ‘waiting’ as a means to realise its dream of
establishing this political ideology, while the latter is driven by a frenzied
zeal to revive the past political glory of Muslims at any cost and without any
delay. Because of this, the image of Islam is being terribly stained and in
such a way as has never happened before. All across the world, there is a rapid
escalation of hate for Muslims, and, moreover, Muslims themselves are killing
each other.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">While much
has been written on various other aspects of Muslim jurispruden<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="m_8790736536072747955__GoBack"></a>ce, very little work has been done on
an issue of immense contemporary import—Islamic political jurisprudence.
Because this issue has not received the attention that it deserves, there is a
huge vacuum in Islamic political theology, which is being taken advantage of by
radical Islamists, who falsely claim to speak for Islam. In this regard, it is
truly lamentable that the mindset of traditional <i>ulama</i> is such
that they are not interested in taking up the task of addressing this
vacuum, although this work of rethinking Islamic political theory is something
that they would be more effective in doing because of the great influence that
they have on general Muslim thinking. On the other hand, there are relatively
few modernist Islamic scholars who can combine both traditional wisdom and
modern perspectives and fill this enormous gap. One hopes that this issue will
receive the attention that it so sorely deserves.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today’s
world is a closely interlinked ‘global village’. A saying of the Prophet
Muhammad: “<i>All God’s creatures are His family</i>’’ reflects this
reality, and we all, Muslims and everyone else, have to learn to live together
in harmony, like members of one large, well-knit family. It is for each one of
us to try to unite this family, through love, not to divide it, through hate.
There is a very urgent need today for interfaith dialogue on a vast scale in
order to promote mutual understanding, which is simply indispensable for
peaceful coexistence at every level. In this way, the external nearness between
religious communities across the world that has come about through new
communications technologies can evolve into an authentic, inner nearness.
Today, this is the most urgent task for those who have true love for Islam to
undertake and another major responsibility for Islamic scholars, besides other
Muslims.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-51933052078082163532012-04-12T05:16:00.000-07:002012-04-12T05:17:05.448-07:00The Role of Imams of Mosques in Social Reform<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:3"><a href="http://warismazhari.blogspot.com/2010/11/role-of-imams-of-mosques-in-social.html"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:blue"><br /></span></b></a><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Imams of mosques can play a very central role in promoting social reforms among Muslims, but, sadly, this is a task that has not been given the attention that it deserves. In popular perception, the role of mosque imam is seen as limited only to leading prayers, solemnising marriages, conducting burial services and so on. Unfortunately, the imams themselves have, consciously or otherwise, limited themselves to such tasks alone. This provokes many people to ask why imams should have to undergo a rigorous course of study that extends several years in madrasas, claiming that for their present tasks their course of study does not need to be longer than a year or two. I, for one, do not agree with this view, for, if accepted, it would legitimise the limited role of the imams as simply the performance of a few rituals, as is the case now. It would be like a seal of approval to cut the imams off completely from the mainstream of society.<br />Several decades ago, the poet Mohammad Iqbal expressed his dissatisfaction with the then current status of the imams thus:<br />Qaum kya cheez hai, qaumon ki imamat kya hai?<br />Is ko kya janey yeh masjid ke do rakat ke imam?<br />What is a community, and what does it mean to be the leader of a community?<br />What do the mosque imams, who lead [their congregations in] just two rakats of prayer know of this?<br />In this verse Iqbal complained about the imams of the mosques of his time, critiquing them for their lack of political consciousness in terms of the agenda of establishing ‘Islamic rule’ in the form of a Caliphate. But this agenda is today irrelevant and has no link at all to ground realities. Today, what our imams should be focussing on is not the establishment of a political Caliphate, or what is called the ‘Greater Imamat’ (imamat-e kubra), but, rather, on grassroots social reform. In this way, our mosques can turn into centres for social reform. At the time of the Prophet and shortly thereafter, mosques were not just places for ritual worship, as they generally are today. They were also centres of social and political activity. Till the end of the medieval period, education was also imparted in mosques. This was a time when the wrongful innovation or biddat of a division between ‘religious’ (dini) and ‘worldly’ (duniyavi) education had not yet come into being. Lamentably, these other roles of mosques ceased to be in the ‘modern’ period.<br />The biggest drawback or limitation that the imams of mosques suffer from, and which greatly limits the social reformist role they can possibly play, is their lack of proper training. Simply no arrangement exists for the training of our imams, just as no such arrangements exist for would-be madrasa teachers as well. As far as I know, in the whole of India there is not a single institution or organistion that provides training to imams to enable them to play the role of social activists or reformers. The fact is that, especially in north India, which has for decades been victim of communal politics, the ulema community is characterised by a peculiar sort of traditionalism and stagnation that is not at all conducive to positive thinking and action. The imams’ lack of proper training makes them underestimate and underuse their own abilities and talents and severely limits the positive influence they can have on others. It further reinforces the narrow sphere of their present role as simply ritual specialists. They simply cannot think beyond leading prayers, slaughtering animals on Bakrid and conducting nikahs.<br />That every person and social group suffers from some or the other weakness is a truism that does not need any explanation. Yet, it is a fact that the weaknesses of some people or groups can have a much more negative impact on the wider society than that of others. This rule applies to the imams of mosques, who are unable to understand the role they can play in positively influencing the wider Muslim community and in promoting a range of badly-needed reforms within the community. One simple indication of this is that, with very few exceptions, the imams of mosques never make burning social issues and problems the subject of their Friday sermons or their private conversations with others. Instead, they often deal with ordinary and inessential issues in their speeches.<br />The possible role that imams of mosques can play in social reform is much greater than that of madrasa-based ulema, who, lamentably, are now restricted to the four walls of their madrasas and whose work is now largely limited just to teaching. If at all they appear on any platform to promote social reform, it is not on their own volition. Rather, it is because they are generally invited by ‘lay’ Muslims to grace such occasions, and they do not hesitate to charge them, in cash or kind, for this ‘work’. The only possible exception to this are the activists of the Tablighi Jamaat, who, admittedly, have their own share of weaknesses and shortcomings, but believe that they would be rewarded by God for their efforts.<br />The imams of mosques have much greater opportunities to closely interact with ‘ordinary’ people—to address them, as during the Friday congregational prayers, and to participate in their occasions of joy and sorrow. This is why they can play a much more effective role in social reform than the ulema of the madrasas. But this is not possible unless they have proper social awareness or consciousness and a fine understanding of contemporary social, problems, concerns, challenges and new ways of thinking among people. Sadly, this is sorely missing, and to a degree even more than among the ulema of the madrasas. This is because, by and large, imams of mosques are graduates of madrasas who have not done very well in their studies, or what can be called ‘second grade ulema’. They receive very low salaries, and are under the constant watch and strict control of the mosque authorities, who place numerous restrictions on their social activities.<br />In large parts of India, imams of mosques play a leading role in fanning sectarian rivalries and conflicts. I personally known of several cases where imams routinely deliver fiery speeches that are filled with hatred of other Muslims sects. This has resulted in creating huge divisions among the local Muslims who had earlier lived in peace and harmony with each other. It is an undeniable fact that such imams are driven by deep-rooted sectarian prejudice and hatred, and that they have a vested interest in picking on minor issues on which the different Muslim sects differ and magnifying them all out of proportion, making them appear as issues of major theological import. In this way, they project themselves as the leaders, indeed saviours, of their own respective sects, while, at the same time, they cleverly divert peoples’ attention from the crucial issues and questions that ought to agitate them, such as poverty, illiteracy and so on, and for which these half-baked imams have no solution. In this, they are no different at all from any run-of-the-mill, low-grade politician, who is ever on the prowl for an opportunity to promote his political interests. It is not simply faulty education that is to blame here, but also grossly inadequate training. The imams have been trained simply to deliver speeches, and not to do any practical social work at all.<br />Another hurdle in the path of encouraging the imams of mosques to play a pro-active role in social reform is their own rather pitiable economic conditions. The salaries they receive from the managers of mosques are generally insufficient to make their ends meet. This is why they are often compelled to curry favour with the rich. Because of this, they are simply unable to engage in the task, which the Quran lays down for all Muslims, of forbidding the bad (nahi an al-munkar) with regard to the rich on whom they depend, although it is often the rich who are primarily responsible for a host of social evils. On the contrary, such imams even supplicate God for their rich patrons! I firmly believe that such imams cannot be entirely blamed for this behaviour. When our whole society is so corrupt, we cannot expect just one section of it—the ulema and the imams—to exemplify virtue. That said, it must be recognised that to encourage the imams to play a pro-active role in social reform it is crucial that they be economically empowered themselves.<br />The Imams of the Mosques and Contemporary Challenges and Demands<br />A central responsibility of the imams of the mosques is, undoubtedly, leading prayers, which is what Iqbal rather sarcastically referred to in the verse that I quoted earlier. The importance of this task cannot be underestimated. At the same time, this responsibility must be undertaken in such a way that it enables the imams to have a positive impact on the wider society. The opportunities that regularly leading prayers afford to the imams of interacting with a large number of people must be made proper use of in order to promote the agenda of social reform. At the same time, there must be a concomitant expansion in our understanding of the nature, purpose and functions of the mosque as an institution so that it does not remain confined to being a space for ritual worship, but regains its role as a place where education is imparted, social welfare schemes are implemented, and discussion and dialogue on a range of social issues takes place in a planned and well-organised manner.<br />Many Indian Muslim organisations admittedly do stress the need for social reform, but in this regard they have not taken the practical support of mosques and their imams, which could have been very effective. It must also be recognised that the notion of social reform as envisaged by many of our leaders and their organisations is very narrow and constricted, being limited just to a few issues such as dowry, denial of inheritance rights to daughters, misuse by husbands of their right to divorce, wasteful expenditure, the prevalence of certain Hinduistic customs, immorality, and so on. Leaving aside the issue as to what exactly Muslim organisations have done, in practical terms, about all these matters, and how effective, if at all, these efforts have actually been, the question that must be asked is: Is addressing just these issues enough for the comprehensive and meaningful reform of Indian Muslim society? No one denies the need to address all these various social ills, but, surely, there are many issues beyond just these that also need to be tackled. Sadly, however, they are almost totally ignored by Muslim leaders and organisations.<br />One of these sorely neglected issues is caste and caste-based discrimination among the Indian Muslims, which, in part, is a consequence of erroneous interpretations of the concept and rules of kufu or social parity that relate to marriage. This has made a complete mockery of Islam’s insistence on social equality and brotherhood.<br />A second such issue is the denial to Muslim women of their social and educational rights. They have been wrongly prohibited from taking up a range of social or public roles that Islam, properly understood, allows them. This has led to a big chunk of the Muslim population being rendered virtually paralysed.<br />A third such issue is inter-Muslim sectarian rivalry and conflict, that has completely destroyed the unity of Muslim society.<br />A fourth pressing issue is the extreme emotionalism and lack of necessary to patience among a section of Muslim youth who, totally oblivious to ground realities and the sensitivities of practical conditions, are driven by utopian schemes.<br />A fifth crucial issue is narrow communalism or asabiyyat that has led our religious and political leadership to defend Muslims even when they are in the wrong and are clearly oppressors, going clearly against the hadith of the Prophet wherein he very clearly declared that anyone who expressed such communalism was not among his people.<br />A sixth such burning issue is the misuse of religion for worldly purposes. This is by no means a new problem, but the forms and proportions it has acquired today are proving to be disastrous for both Muslims and for Islam. This is expressed, for instance, in the setting up of numbers of maktabs and madrasas in every little lane and locality, and in completely ignoring Islamic rules and ethics in seeking donations for these institutions. The enormity of this problem is such that even reliable ulema are now forced to admit that founding new madrasas has become a virtual industry. It should be noted in this regard that a major portion of money collected by way of zakat is given to madrasas, because of which other vitally important institutions such as hospitals, modern schools and colleges, orphanages, and social welfare organisations catering to the poor and the needy, are left starved of funds. Muslims, sad to say, hardly have any good quality social welfare organisations, although they never hesitate to remind themselves and others of the great importance that Islam gives to social justice and to serving the poor. Our people will very willingly donate millions of rupees to construct a palace-like mosque, but few of us are willing to financially help desperately poor people living in the vicinity of such mosques who need money urgently for medical treatment, for having their daughters married off, or for educating their little children, who are forced to work in roadside eateries and dingy factories to help supplement the family’s meagre incomes. There are almost no Muslim NGOS worth the name engaged in helping such needy people. Our pseudo-religious commitment is restricted only to supporting the setting up of more and more madrasas and mosques.<br />The point I am trying to make here is that while talking about and seeking to promote social reform, we need to address these burning issues as well that, lamentably, are generally ignored by our organisations and leaders. And since the imams of the mosques can, if properly trained and motivated, play a crucial role in social reform, it is necessary that they, too, are made properly aware of these issues as well.<br />The Role of Imams of Mosques in a Plural Society<br />Imams of mosques have additional roles to play in a religiously-plural society like India’s. In the process of training imams and the very important and in the sensitive task of shaping their minds as would-be community activists, the fact and the implications of religious pluralism must be taken into proper account. A religiously-plural society has its own particular sensitivities that must be respected, and if a social reformer is not aware of these and does not respect them as he should, he is bound to fail in his efforts.<br />The Meccan phase of the Prophet Muhammad’s life is more important for us as a model for how Muslims living in a religiously-plural society should engage in efforts for social reform. This phase was characterised by patience and avoiding conflict and confrontation. In this phase the Prophet paid greater stress on the internal reform of the fledgling Muslim community, tending to avoid involvement with external problems and issues. As with the Prophet, one can observe varying approaches to social reform in the case of his Companions, each approach being suited to particular the conditions they were faced with at a particular time. Following their example, Muslim social reformers must be able to properly gauge what sort of model of, or approach to, reform to follow depending on the context they are faced with, choosing the model or approach that is most appropriate to the situation at hand. In today’s context, they need to mould their approach in the light of a host of challenges that Muslims (and others) are faced with. In the specific Indian context, these challenges include Hindutva chauvinism, on the one hand, and extreme emotionalism among a section of Muslim youths, which is, to a great extent, a reaction to the targeting of Islam and Muslims in certain countries. This sort of response, it must be noted, is in no way beneficial to the Muslims at all, having, for instance, led Pakistan to the brink of disaster. It is crucial that in a religiously-plural society like India’s, the imams of mosques neither remain wholly silent on political issues affecting Islam or Muslims nor wag their tongues uncontrollably on such matters. Instead, they must learn to deal with these and other such affairs carefully, in a wise manner as befits those who are committed to God’s path and who seek to invite others to it.<br />To conclude, it is imperative for the imams of our mosque to play a pro-active role in efforts for promoting a wide range of much-needed reforms in Muslim society. They are well positioned to play such a role, being constantly in close touch with a large number of people at the local level. It is imperative that Muslim organisations turn their attention to this issue and devise appropriate programmes and institutions for this purpose. </span></p>Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-3495680517104581032012-04-12T05:15:00.001-07:002012-04-12T05:15:36.009-07:00The Prophet Muhammad and Jihad<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:3"><a href="http://warismazhari.blogspot.com/2010/04/prophet-muhammad-and-jihad.html"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:blue"><br /></span></b></a><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">What was the essence of the mission of the Prophet Muhammad? Was it da‘wah, inviting, using peaceful means, people to the path of God? Or, was it jihad, in the sense of physical fighting against others? The Quran is very clear on this point. It stresses that the Prophet’s mission was essentially that of peaceful da‘wah. Thus, addressing the Prophet, God says in the Quran:<br /><br /><br />‘O Messenger! Proclaim the [message] which has been sent to you from your Lord’ (5:67).<br /><br /><br />Accordingly, the Quran addresses the prophet as preacher (da‘i), bearer of glad tidings (mubashir) and warner (nazir). It explains: ‘We have sent among you a messenger of your own, rehearsing to you Our signs, and purifying you, and instructing you in scripture and wisdom and in new knowledge’ (2: 151). In this regard, the Prophet said, ‘I have been sent as a teacher to the people’ (ini boistu mualiman). He also said, ‘I have been sent to establish pinnacle of morality’. In other words, the Prophet Muhammad was a messenger of knowledge and morality, and his aim was to provide knowledge to people so that they could walk on the straight path. Nowhere in the Quran is it mentioned that the Prophet was sent to the world in order to engage in jihad, in the sense of physical warfare (qital).<br /><br /><br />Despite this, in the early Islamic period, not long after the Prophet’s demise, the books that came to be written about his life the Prophet was presented as a warrior (mujahid or ghazi), rather than as a teacher of morals. In fact, these biographies of the Prophet were also known as maghazis, that is accounts of the battles (ghazwat) of the Prophet, despite the fact that in the course of his 23 year-long span of prophethood, warfare was only an exception, and certainly not the rule. With regard to fighting, the Prophet clearly declared ‘O people! Do not desire to confront your enemies. You should seek protection of God from this.’ Had war been a permanent feature of the mission of Islam, obviously the Prophet would not have exhorted his followers thus.<br /><br /><br />The reason why after his demise, the Prophet’s biographies presented his life as essentially that of a mujahid, in the sense of one being engaged in physical battle with non-Muslims, is to be located not in the teachings of the Quran, but, rather, in the then prevalent cultural, literary and intellectual contexts. From earliest times, all victorious communities saw their battles and conquests as the essence of their history, and that was how it was recorded by them. Their exploits on the battlefield were converted into epics, in which they took great pride. This explains why the literary heritage of powerful communities in the past consisted almost wholly of such romanticized stories of their military exploits, and the pagan Arabs were no exception to this, as is evidenced from the poetry produced in the pre-Islamic period. It was thus not surprising that, after the demise of the Prophet, and as Islam began to spread out of the Arabian peninsula and the Arabs established a vast and mighty empire, the biographies of the Prophet that began to be written projected him as a warrior and his life in terms of the wars he participated in. Consequently, his basic mission, that of peaceful da‘wah, or inviting people to the path of God, was almost wholly eclipsed in the writings about him that were penned at this time.<br /><br /><br />The prophets who were sent by God prior to the Prophet Muhammad were provided with certain miracles through divine help. The miracles of numerous prophets, such as Abraham, Moses, Jesus and David, are mentioned in the Quran. The main miracle bestowed by God to the Prophet Muhammad was none other than the Quran itself, and the Prophet was asked to engage in jihad with his enemies using the Quran. This the Quran termed as the exalted form of jihad (jihadan kabiran). As the Quran lays down: ‘Therefore, listen not to the unbelievers but strive against them with the utmost strenuousness, with the [Quran]’ (25: 52). This clearly indicates that the Prophet’s mission was one of appealing to the people to adopt God’s path, using proofs and evidence to convince them, and not one of slaughtering people who disagreed with him.<br /><br /><br />The Prophet preached in Mecca for thirteen years, during which he and his companions were brutally persecuted by their opponents. Yet, he tolerated this oppression steadfastly and exhorted his disciples not to waver but yet to stay away from revenge. Some critics argue that this was because the Prophet and his companions were a small and relatively powerless group at this time and so in any case were in no position to take on their foes through arms even if they had wanted to. This, however, is not true. Admittedly, compared to the situation of the Prophet and his followers in Medina, where he later migrated, the situation of the Muslims in Mecca, that is before the Prophet’s migration, was certainly weak. But, at the same time, even in Mecca the Prophet had numerous brave disciples who were willing to lay down their lives for him. Had he wanted to, he could easily have secretly instructed them to strike at his aggressors. But this he did not do. This was because not only had he not received permission from God for this but also because, in fact, God had prevented him from taking to arms at this time against his oppressors. After he shifted to Medina, he was granted permission to take to arms only after he had arranged for the Muslims of the town to become a strong, consolidated force, which provoked the jealousy of his opponents. It is crucial to note here that the fighting that God now permitted Muslims to engage in was simply in defense. As the Quran explained:<br /><br /><br />‘To those against whom war is made, permission is given to [fight] because they are wronged […] They are those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right—[for no cause] except that they say, “Our Lord is God”’ (22:39-40).<br /><br /><br />It cannot be denied that many mistakes, indeed tragic blunders, in understanding and presenting before the world the true essence of the mission of the Prophet Muhammad have been made, by both Muslims as well as non-Muslims. The battles in which the Prophet fought were all directly or indirectly defensive in nature, but, despite this, some Islamic scholars and writers developed the completely untenable theory of offensive jihad, which has been elaborated upon in considerable detail in the books of medieval fiqh. In fact, the spurious theory of offensive jihad seems to pervade this corpus of literature, which wrongly seeks to argue that many of the battles of the Prophet were offensive wars. This literature gives the mistaken impression that the Prophet sought to exterminate all non-Muslims, or to force them to accept Islam at the point of the sword, which was not the case at all. Obviously, and needless to add, this completely wrong conception, which is so prominently present in the corpus of traditional Muslim writings, has given non-Muslim critics all the ammunition they need to criticize and even condemn Islam.<br /><br /><br /><br />It must also be added here that the wholly un-Islamic notion of ‘offensive jihad’ is a fundamental contradiction of the Quranic dictum: ‘There is no compulsion in religion’ (la ikraha fi ad-din). The cause of revelation (shan-al nuzul) of this verse is also pertinent to our discussion here. The Prophet forbade his companion Abul Husain from compelling his young son, whom he had earlier given to a Jew allowing him to convert him to Judaism, to convert to Islam. This was the cause of this particular verse being revealed.<br /><br /><br />Once, a needy non-Muslim woman approached the Caliph Umar with a request. Thereupon, Umar invited her to accept Islam but she declined. Later, Umar felt that perhaps his invitation might be construed as compulsion—he was the Caliph after all, and so was very upset about what he had done and repented of it. If this was how a careful a close companion of the Prophet like Umar was in not compelling anyone to accept Islam, how can it be expected that the Prophet would ever use force to make others believe in Islam?<br /><br /><br />But, despite this, some Islamic scholars, including the putative founder of the Shafi’ school, Imam Shafi’, went to the extent of arguing that the reason (‘illat) for fighting the ‘infidels’ (non-Muslims other than the ‘People of the Book’) was their infidelity. That is why these scholars granted such people only two choices: Islam or death. Obviously, this stance is a gross affront to Islamic teachings and also a clear contradiction of the practice of the Prophet Muhammad, who is described in the Quran as the ‘Mercy Unto the Worlds’ (rahmat al il ‘alamin), and who said about himself that he was a ‘gift of mercy’ sent by God. How could the Prophet, who clearly forbade his followers from killing in the course of war non-Muslim women, children, the aged and worshippers who had abandoned the world ever have permitted killing non-Muslims simply because of their infidelity?<br /><br /><br />The Prophet Muhammad was a peace-loving man. That is why he agreed to enter into a peace treaty with the pagan Meccans at Hudaibiyah despite the fact that the terms of the treaty were heavily weighed against him and the Muslims, which caused considerable resentment among his companions. The Quran referred to the treaty of Hudaibiyah as ‘the clear victory’ (fateh mubin). Further clearly indicating his love of peace, the Prophet instructed his disciple Mu‘az thus:<br /><br /><br />‘Do not engage in war with your enemies till you have invited them to Islam. Then, if they refuse this invitation, do not fight them till they start fighting. Then, if they start fighting, do not fight back till they kill one of your people. Then, if they do this, show them the dead person and say to them, “Is there no better path than this?” This is because if through you someone receives true guidance from God, it is better than the whole world.’(Al-Sirakhsi:Al-Mabsoot 1/31)<br /><br /><br />Every sensible and impartial person will thus readily admit that the Prophet was a lover of peace, and that the jihad, the sense of qital, that is, in certain cases, allowed for in Islam is definitely a blessing and not a curse. </span></p>Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-1720633362340149982012-04-12T05:12:00.000-07:002012-04-12T05:13:34.983-07:00Deviations in the Concept and Practice of Jihad<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:3"><a href="http://warismazhari.blogspot.com/2010/04/deviations-in-concept-and-practice-of_29.html"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";color:blue"><br /></span></b></a><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> </span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The term jihad has numerous meanings and connotations. It cannot be restricted just to one meaning, although this is how some people erroneously understand it. In its general sense, the term encompasses all efforts, at both the individual and the collective level, for the reformation of the self and society, for general human welfare and for acquiring the pleasure of God. In its particular sense, the term also includes efforts that involve the use of power, if need be, to combat opponents and enemies. Jihad, in this particular sense, is referred to in the Quran by the term qital. Islam allows for jihad in the sense of qital only in defence. In all other senses, jihad is a peaceful struggle that aims at following God’s path and conveying the message of God to others. It is in this sense that the noted classical Islamic scholar, Syed Sharif Jurjani interprets jihad as ‘inviting [others] to the True Religion’ (huwa al- dua‘o ila din al-haq).<br /><br /><br />Jihad does not only mean fighting against the enemy. In his Zad ul-Ma‘ad the noted classical scholar Allama Ibn Qayyim mentions 13 different types or forms of jihad, of which six relate to struggling against one’s baser self (nafs) and the devil; three relate to struggling against those who promote wrongful innovations and evil; and four relate to struggling against evil-doers and hypocrites. Thus, a total of nine forms of jihad, he explains, relate to struggles conducted within, or that are internal to, the Muslims. The other four forms of jihad relate to struggle on the external front, including jihad by one’s heart, by one’s tongue, by one’s wealth and by sacrificing one’s life.<br /><br /><br />Although it is a principal form of jihad, lamentably few Muslims pay attention to the jihad against one’s baser self. In particular, radical self-styled Islamists, who never tire of raising slogans calling for Islamic global domination, wholly ignore this imperative. For them, or so it appears from their actions, jihad is limited simply to qital.<br /><br /><br />In the Quran, God says:<br /><br /><br />‘And those who strive in Our [Cause]—We will certainly guide them to our Paths: for verily Allah is with those who do right’ (29: 69).<br /><br /><br />Elsewhere in the Quran, God says:<br /><br /><br />‘Therefore listen not to the unbelievers, but strive against them with the utmost strenuousness with the []Quran]’ (25: 52)<br /><br /><br />According to Abdullah Ibn Zubayr, a noted companion of the Prophet, the first-mentioned Quranic verse, which deals with God’s reward for those who engage in jihad, refers to acting in the best way on the basis of knowledge. The second-mentioned Quranic verse clearly instructs the Prophet to engage in jihad with the deniers of the truth using the Quran as a weapon. This, obviously, is a peaceful form of jihad, a non-violent effort to convey the message of Islam to others.<br /><br /><br />The Prophet Muhammad is quoted as having said: ‘The mujahid [one who engages in jihad] is he who, in obedience to God, wages jihad against his baser self, and the true emigrant (muhajir) is he who abandons mistakes and sins’ (al-mujahidu man jahada nafsahu fi ta‘at Allah wa al-muhajiru man hajara al-khataya wa al-zunub).<br /><br />Similarly, according to another hadith report, the Prophet is said to have referred to the jihad against one’s own baser self as the ‘greater jihad’ (jihad al-akbar).<br />Elaborating on this, Allama Ibn Qayyim writes:<br /><br /><br />‘Engaging in jihad externally with the enemies of God is a minor branch (furu’) of jihad against the baser self (jihad bin nafs) […], This is why jihad against the baser self is superior to jihad conducted against the external enemy.’<br /><br /><br />Islam does not consider armed jihad, in the sense of qital, to be a permanent or continuous phenomenon. It can be engaged in only in certain contexts and must be conducted according to certain rules and under certain conditions. On the other hand, other, that is non-violent, forms of jihad, are forms of struggle that one must constantly engage in. The former type of jihad is considered a collective duty (farz ul-kifaya). If engaged in when needed by some people, the entire community is absolved of responsibility for engaging in it. On the other hand, most of the latter forms of jihad are a duty binding on all believers (farz al-‘ayn).<br /><br /><br />A crucial issue, and one that radical self-styled Islamist groups generally ignore, are the stringent conditions under which jihad, in the sense of qital, can be engaged in if the need so arises, and the rules of conducting such jihad. If the requisite conditions are not met and the appropriate rules are not followed, even if the aims of an armed struggle are met it cannot be considered to be a jihad or an Islamic action. Such an action cannot receive the blessings and assistance of God, even if it might seem to be a successful venture in the eyes of those who engage in it.<br /><br /><br />I do not here intend to discuss the various terms and conditions governing jihad, which are dealt with in considerable detail in the books of fiqh. My focus here is on those conditions ignoring which most recent and contemporary Islamic movements that claim to be engaged in jihad have met with utter failure.<br /><br /><br />One of these basic conditions is proper preparation, which the Quran refers to using the term idad. Obviously, no jihad can be successful without proper preparation, in terms of planning, manpower, weapons and so on. The Prophet and his companions did not believe that they could, or should, fight without proper planning, manpower, and weapons. In Mecca, when Muslims were cruelly persecuted but lacked the appropriate means to take on the oppressive Quraish pagans, God instructed them to ‘hold back their hands [from fighting]’ and to ‘establish regular prayers’ (4:77). When the companions of the Prophet, tired of the persecution that they had to endure, approached the Prophet and sought permission to engage in armed jihad, he declined, and answered, ‘We are less in numbers’. On several occasions the companions of the Prophet chose to withdraw when they were heavily outnumbered by the enemy. Instead of condemning them for this, the Prophet supported their decision, saying that they were not those who flee (furrar), but, rather those who return to attack (kurrar).<br /><br />The Prophet thus did not advocate any short-cut method when the need for jihad arose, realizing the importance of numbers, weapons and proper training and planning, without which, he knew, a jihad could not be successful.<br /><br /><br />The Quran discusses in some detail the necessary prerequisites that a would-be mujahid group must fulfill, in terms of manpower, if it can be permitted to engage in armed jihad, failing which such jihad is not permissible as it would inevitably result in defeat. To begin with, the Quran mentioned that one believer could take on ten enemy soldiers (8:65), but, in the following verse this was abrogated, and one believer was said to be able to take on two enemy soldiers (8:66). In other words, for armed jihad to be considered permissible it is essential that the balance of power, in terms of manpower, between the Muslim army and the enemy army be at least 1:2. If this is not the case, then armed jihad is not permissible, as it is likely that the battle will end in the defeat of the Muslims. In such a situation, Muslims are to desist from fighting, and, instead, are expected to exercise restraint and steadfastness and refrain from hurtling themselves into destruction by fighting.<br /><br /><br />The above-mentioned two Quranic verses speak of the minimum balance of power, in terms of numbers of combatants, between the Muslim and enemy forces that might make armed jihad permissible. However, the noted Islamic scholar Imam Malik, quoted in Ibn Rushd’s Bidayat al-Mujtahid, views the question of balance of power in terms of the quality of the fighters rather than their numbers. He argues that although the Quran lays down that a single Muslim soldier can take on two enemy soldiers, if the former lacks weapons while the enemy’s forces are all well-armed, it is permissible for the former to withdraw from the battlefield even if he is faced with just one enemy soldier.<br /><br /><br />In today’s context, where numbers of soldiers count for little, and where wars are decided essentially by sophisticated weaponry and communications systems, the appropriate balance of power between Muslims and their opponents, without which armed jihad is impermissible, must be viewed in this qualitative sense that Imam Malik discusses. The Quran very clearly lays down that without a basic minimum balance of power and appropriate strength on the part of the Muslims, armed jihad is bound to result in defeat, which it warns Muslims against when it says: ‘[A]nd make not your own hands contribute to [your] destruction’ (2:195).<br />Certain other aspects of jihad are still not properly understood even by those who claim to be engaged in jihad, giving rise to enormous confusion. One such issue is interfN E N @ @ qMjM# PeY? # <br /> QUL.ruction on a much more deadly scale than before, and hence its being forbidden needs no explanation. For Muslim groups to attempt to do so can only lead to massive, irreparable damage to themselves and to Muslims in general. among you who sees any evil should try to change it with his hand, but if he is incapable of that then with his tongue, and if he is incapable of even that then with his heart.’<br /><br /><br />In his famous book Alam al-Muwaqain, Allama Ibn Qayyim discusses this work of internal reform and attacking social evils. He argues that if by attacking a certain social evil an even bigger evil is produced, it is impermissible to do so. This point seems to be totally lost on contemporary so-called jihadist movements active in different Muslim countries today, who, raising slogans of jihad, ‘Islamic Revolution’, and seeking to extirpate social evils through violence have generated untold strife and misery.<br /><br /><br />Another deviation in contemporary understandings of jihad is reflected in the fact that armed struggles for national liberation or for the defence of Muslim nations have been termed by their proponents as jihads. This is a completely wrong use of the term ‘Islamic jihad’, which applies only to those struggles that are fought in the path of God (jihad fi sabilillah), not for worldly or communal gains but to gain the pleasure of God. According to a hadith report, contained in the Sahih al-Bukhari, the aim of Islamic jihad is to proclaim the word of God (ailao kalimatillah). This clearly indicates that wars fought for fame, power, land and wealth or out of feelings of revenge have nothing whatsoever to do with jihad in the true sense of the term.<br /><br /><br />A basic condition of jihad, in the sense of qital, when the need to engage in it arises, is that it should be declared and led by an established leader. There is a near unanimity among the ulema that jihad cannot be declared by an individual other than by the leader. To argue, as some radical self-styled Islamists do, that because present-day Muslim governments are corrupt ‘rebels against God’ and because their countries are not ruled in accordance with the shariah, there is no need to secure permission from them for jihad is a result and a reflection of ideological deviation and corruption. Numerous hadith reports refer to the Prophet clearly forbidding revolt (khuruj) against established rulers. After the Prophet’s demise, the majority of his companions and their successors strictly abided by this rule even in the face of oppressive rulers because they knew that armed rebellion against them would create unwanted destruction, bloodshed and strife. Obviously, given the enormous powers of modern states today, such rebellion will lead to destruction on a much more deadly scale than before, and hence its being forbidden needs no explanation. For Muslim groups to attempt to do so can only lead to massive, irreparable damage to themselves and to Muslims in general.<br /><br /><br />Yet another issue about which confusion abounds is that of ‘offensive jihad’. Some radical self-styled Islamists claim that offensive armed jihad is permissible against non-Muslim governments even if these regimes permit their Muslim citizens to freely practice and propagate their faith, in order, as they put it, ‘to extirpate infidelity or to destroy its glory’. This is completely erroneous, indeed totally preposterous. The fact of the matter is that Islam permits only one form of jihad, in the sense of qital, and that is defensive jihad. The deviant and un-Islamic concept of ‘offensive jihad’ has become a source of great concern the world over, because of which non-Muslims increasingly look upon Muslims as a dangerous threat. The sooner this concept of ‘offensive jihad’ is debunked the better. </span></p>Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-56702986886812468382012-04-12T05:10:00.000-07:002012-04-12T05:11:10.429-07:00On the Notion of ‘Islamic Supremacy’In the Quran, God declares:<br />‘It is He who hath sent His Messenger with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, to cause it to prevail over all religion’ (9:33).<br /><br /><br />What exactly does this verse mean when it talks about establishing the supremacy of Islam over other religions? Numerous ulema, including leading Quranic commentators, have interpreted this verse in different ways. The vast majority of the ulema regard the Arabic word izhar that is used in the sense of ‘prevail’ in this verse (which is translated as ghalba in Urdu) to mean the establishment of the intellectual superiority of Islam over other religions because, being in accordance with reason and providing sufficient arguments for its claims, Islam is indeed superior to them.<br /><br />In his al-Jami‘ al-Ahkam al-Quran, the noted classical Islamic scholar Imam Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Qurtubi comments on the word izhar used in this verse as follows:<br /><br /><br />‘To prevail means to establish [Islam’s] superiority through proofs and evidence.’<br /><br /><br />In contrast, some scholars have taken the above-quoted Quranic verse as indicating the establishment of the superiority of, or domination by, Islam on the political plane at the global level, but they argue that this will happen only at the hands of Jesus when he returns to the world again, just before the Day of Judgment. This was the opinion of Abu Hurairah, a noted companion of the Prophet and narrator of numerous Hadith reports, and is mentioned in most of the important Quranic commentaries.<br /><br /><br />One of the leading classical scholars, Abdullah Ibn Abbas, who was a close companion of the Prophet, was of the opinion that the word izhar used in the above-quoted Quranic verse does not mean any form of domination. Rather, he translated the term to mean ‘to inform’. In other words, he opined that what is meant by this Quranic verse is that God had informed the prophet Muhammad of the truths and the details of all the religions of the world. Such an important Quranic commentator such as Imam Qurtubi mentions this explanation first while discussing this verse, which indicates that he possibly agreed with this argument or considered it to be more correct.<br /><br /><br />Another group of ulema argue that this Quranic verse is restricted in its geographical application and that it actually refers to the establishment of the supremacy of Islam over all other religions only in the Arabian peninsula, a domination that was secured by the Prophet Muhammad himself.<br /><br /><br />In contrast to these various explanations and theories, some influential modern-day Islamic political movements sought to give a political interpretation to this verse, arguing that it indicates the political supremacy or domination of Islam over other faiths and their adherents. Hence, in accordance with this political interpretation, they made the capture of political power as their main target. The key figure in this regard was the founder of the Jamaat-e Islami, Maulana Syed Abul ‘Ala Maududi (d.1979).<br /><br /><br />Maududi was of the opinion that Islam demands that Muslims should engage in constant struggle in order to establish an Islamic government that would encompass the entire globe. This capture of political power, he argued, was the principle objective of the Islamic movement. Indeed, he regarded this as a fundamental duty and as the basic mission of all Muslims. In his book Islami Nizam-e Zindagi Aur Uske Buniyadi Tasavvurat (‘The Islamic System of Life and its Basic Conceptions’), he wrote:<br />‘Islam is a revolutionary ideology and creed that seeks to transform the entire global social order and to build it on the basis of its ideology and creed. Muslims are members of this international revolutionary party that Islam organizes in order to bring into effect its revolutionary programme.’<br /><br /><br />Further, Maulana Maududi added:<br /><br />‘The objective [of Islam] is to establish government based on its ideology and creed, irrespective of who takes its flag and unfurls it and whose governance it causes damage to. It demands land—not just a small bit of land, but, in fact, the entire world [to govern].’<br /><br /><br />In accordance with his particular political understanding of Islam, which he elaborated upon in many of his works, in his widely-read Quranic commentary Tafhim al-Quran, Maududi interpreted the above-mentioned Quranic verse as follows:<br /><br /><br />‘The aim of sending the Prophet, this verse explains, is to establish the supremacy of the religion of truth, which he brought from God, over all religions, ways of life and systems. In other words, the Prophet was not sent so that the system of life that he brought with him be made subservient to or dominated by any other system of life or that it be permitted to remain confined to the extent that other systems of life permitted it to be. Rather [the Prophet] comes as the representative of the Lord of the lands and the heavens and desires that the true system of the Lord be made dominant. And, if any other system of life be [allowed to] remain in existence, it must remain confined to the extent that the divine system permits, as in the case of the system of the zimmis [protected, non-Muslim subjects] on payment of the jizyah.’<br /><br /><br />This passage clearly indicates that Maulana Maududi understood the term izhar, as used in the above-mentioned Quranic verse, to mean Islamic political hegemony so that the entire world comes under, and subservient to, what he regarded as Islamic rule. In other words, he understood this Quranic verse to mean that the whole world be brought under the rule of Islam and Muslims. This political interpretation of this verse, indeed of the entire Quran, of Maulana Maududi today enjoys particular favour with Islamist ideologues and activists. Numerous anti-imperialist revolutionary Muslim movements have made this political vision of Islam their motto.<br />Yet, this interpretation of the verse is open to serious questioning. Is it at all possible, feasible or realistic for the whole world to come under the political rule of Islam? Is this not in clear contradiction of the Quran, which clearly states: ‘On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear’ (2:286). It must also be asked that when the Quran, in the above-mentioned verse, speaks of the reason why God sent the Prophet, does it mean what Maulana Maududi argues it does: to establish the political rule or political supremacy of Islam over the entire globe?<br /><br /><br /><br />Those who, based on an erroneous interpretation of the above-mentioned Quranic verse, claim that the basic aim of the advent of the Prophet was to establish Islamic political supremacy are oblivious to the fact that by arguing in this fashion they make Islam appear as an imperialist power, making the mission of the Prophet seem as no different from that of any other imperialist power. It is obvious, and needs no explanation, that, contrary to what Maulana Maududi insisted, establishing Islamic political rule over the entire world today is simply impossible. That is why the ulema generally believe that this can only happen in the distant future, towards the advent of the Day of Judgment. Further in contrast to Maududi, who regarded the struggle for establishing global Islamic political rule a fundamental duty of every Muslim, many ulema regard it as the task and responsibility of Jesus in his Second Coming, who, they believe, will come strengthened with the special protection, assistance and miraculous powers bestowed by God. Other ulema believe that the domination or superiority that the above-mentioned Quranic verse refers to is not at all political, and does not refer to the establishment of Islamic government. Rather, it simply means the establishment of the intellectual superiority of Islam over other religions, and in this task, they argue, ordinary Muslims must play a key role by conveying the truth of Islam to others.<br /><br /><br />Those who, like Maududi, believe the basic aim of Islam is to establish Islamic or Muslim political supremacy also refer to a statement attributed to the Prophet, according to which he is said to have declared: ‘Islam is dominant, not dominated’ (al-islam yalu wa la yula aleih).They argue that this statement also indicates that Islam has come to rule as a political force and that it must be politically dominant, indeed hegemonic, throughout the world.<br /><br /><br />In my view, this interpretation is completely off the mark, for several reasons. Firstly, this statement is not to be found in any of the six authoritative collections of Hadith, nor in other such important Hadith collections such as the Musnad of Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and the Muwatta of Imam Malik. Rather, it is contained in Baihaqi, and its status, in terms of its chain of narrators, is recognized as weak. Secondly, there are no other Hadith reports that speak of or indicate Islamic political supremacy. Rather, like the above-mentioned Quranic verse, this report simply indicates the establishment of the intellectual, in contrast to the political, supremacy of Islam over other religions.<br /><br /><br />This firm conviction in the intellectual supremacy of Islam should not be regarded as tantamount to imperialism. It is natural, and but to be expected, that a believer in any religion or ideology regards it as superior to other religions or ideologies. That is why Muslims, like people of other religions, think that their religion is the best. This does not, however, mean that establishing the superiority of any religion or ideology, including Islam, through force or by capturing power and political dominance is permissible.<br /><br /><br />It must be recognized that this political interpretation of Islam is a recent development, invented by modern-day Islamist ideologues. This is a product of their seeking to interpret Islam on their own (tafsir bi‘l ray), in reaction, in particular, to certain modern political developments, particularly Western colonialism. This political interpretation of Islam is deeply tainted by feelings of revenge and a strong streak of emotionalism. The most pathetic and extreme case in this regard is that of the founder of the Jamaat-e Islami, Maulana Maududi, as evidenced in his one of the most controversial book Quran ki Char Buniyadi Istilahen (‘Four Basic Terms of the Quran’), wherein he provided a political twist to the notion of God’s sovereignty and where he argued that later generations of Muslims had completely forgotten the basic intention of the Quran, which, he claimed, was to establish Islamic political rule over the entire world. He went to the extent of claiming that this book of his was an attempt to revive consciousness of this supposedly long-forgotten basic intention of the Quran.<br /><br /><br />In contrast to Maududi, the ulema almost unanimously agree that the basic aim of the Islamic invitation or da‘wah is not the capture of political power, but, rather, to call all human beings, across the world, to the path of God. This is indicated in the following Quranic verse:<br /><br /><br />‘Thus have We made of you an ummah justly balanced. That you may be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves’ (2:143)<br /><br /><br />This duty of inviting others to the path of Islam was the basic duty of the Prophet, and is also the basic responsibility of his followers.<br /><br /><br />As is evident from numerous Hadith reports, God Himself has arranged for the establishment of ideological supremacy of Islam. According to one such report, in every century God sends to the world a reviver of the faith (mujaddid). Over the centuries numerous mujaddids have appeared, about whom there is a consensus among the ulema. It is vital to note that most of these mujdaddids stayed away from politics and, instead, concentrated on the revival of Islam and the reform of the community. They believed that their mission was the revival of Islam, and not the establishment of Islamic or Muslim political supremacy.<br /><br /><br />According to another Hadith report, the Prophet is said to have remarked that God has arranged for His religion to be protected from the corruptions of the extremists, from the wrong interpretations of the ignorant, and from deceit of the lovers of falsehood. This statement also indicates the divine plan of preserving the intellectual supremacy of Islam. In contrast, it is important to note, there is no Hadith report that clearly talks of divine promise to arrange for the political supremacy of Islam.<br /><br /><br />Loud slogans of ‘Islamic awakening’ and ‘Islamic Renaissance’ emanate and echo from Islamic circles today. Many leaders and activists in these circles take these slogans to represent existing reality, which, of course, is not really the case. If at all there is any truth in these slogans it is simply that, as compared to the recent past, there is a greater degree of religious awareness among Muslims today.<br />Organisations of ulema, Islamic preachers and scholars are today engaged all over the world in da‘wah or missionary work. Today, there is certainly much more scholarly and intellectual work being done in Islamic circles than in the recent past. This is an indication of God’s help in strengthening the intellectual supremacy of Islam.<br /><br /><br />On the other hand are those elements who regard Islamic awakening as synonymous with, or, at least inseparable from, establishing Islamic political supremacy at the global level. However, they have no basis from within the Islamic scriptural tradition to back their stance. The whole world is witness to the fact that, despite their efforts, rather than acquiring political power, Muslims are on the path of political decline or, at the very least, have proven unable to make any significant dent in their subjugation that is now over three centuries old.<br /><br /><br />This should make it obvious to present-day Islamic movements that they need to shift their focus from their obsession with the capture of political power so that they can work in a more effective manner for the cause of Islam and its adherents. If this does not happen, it is very likely that the work of Islamic da‘wah or inviting others to the path of God, which is the basic aim of Islam, would be faced with even greater hurdles than today.Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-42313609737934048172012-04-12T05:09:00.000-07:002012-04-12T05:10:10.029-07:00The Status of ‘Suicide Attacks’ or ‘Martyrdom Operations’ in the ShariahSuicide attacks have become a fairly frequent phenomenon today. Many of them are the handiwork of disgruntled Muslim elements. Indeed, in some countries what are known as fidayeen attacks undertaken by Muslim groups have become so common as to pose a major challenge to internal security and peace, emerging as a grave threat to the lives of ordinary citizens. Of these countries, perhaps Pakistan is the most hard-hit by suicide bombings, which now seem to occur there on an almost daily basis, not even sparing Muslims worshipping in mosques. Perhaps nothing worse can be conceived of than Muslims taking the name of Islam to kill innocents and thereby tarnishing the image of Islam.<br /><br /><br />The issue of whether fidayeen attacks are allowed at all in Islam and of what their status is in the shariah continues to be hotly debated. However, these questions have not received the sort of serious attention that they deserve by the ulema and other Islamic intellectuals. In fact, much effort has been expended by a section of Islamic scholars to seek to provide legitimacy to such attacks by drawing from rules and details contained in the books of medieval fiqh or Muslim jurisprudence. These scholars have, by and large, based their opinion on fidayeen attacks by focusing on the particular case of Palestine, where they believe that such attacks are the last resort by the Palestinian resistance in the face of Israeli barbarism and aggression.<br /><br /><br />However, now that fidayeen attacks are no longer confined just to Palestine and directed only at Israelis, but have become a global phenomenon, targeting even Muslim countries and Muslim peoples, as in the case of Pakistan, those who sought to provide legitimacy for such actions are faced with a peculiar dilemma. It is true that, prior to the American aggression against Iraq and Afghanistan, fidayeen attacks by Muslim groups were confined only to Palestine. However, continued American imperialist offensives, including America’s unstinting support to the Israeli occupiers, have driven many Muslim youth to the wall, forcing them to take to such radical steps as suicide bombings in utter desperation. This must be recognized as the basic root of the phenomenon of fidayeen attacks by Muslim groups that has now spread out from Palestine to expand to other lands. Ultimately, the dominant Western powers, particularly America, are to blame for this development, which they berate as inhuman and cruel. The fact of the matter is that these bombings are a result of pent-up feelings of revenge in the face of intolerable oppression. At the same time, it must also be recognized that seeking to right wrongs in this manner has led to these Muslim groups exceeding the bounds of Islam and morality. Hence, it is crucial for Islamic scholars to seriously ponder on the legitimacy of suicide bombings in Islam, especially since Muslim groups who engage in such attacks often do so precisely in the name of Islam and claim that in doing so they are acting according to Islamic commandments.<br /><br /><br />In a range of countries, such as Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and so on, the continuing wave of suicide attacks have not received the approval of any noteworthy Islamic scholar till date. Thus, such attacks in Muslim-majority countries, in which the victims are mostly Muslims, may be clearly said to be un-Islamic, according to the vast majority of the ulema. The case is different, however, in Muslim lands under non-Muslim occupation or with regard to suicide attacks against countries that commit aggression against Muslims and/or Islam. Those ulema who regard such attacks as a legitimate response to aggression and oppression regard them as permissible actions in the course of jihad. They view them as legitimate acts of defence and as a powerful deterrent. For this they use the fiqh principle al-inghimas fi al-aduwwe, which means ‘to enter the ranks of the enemy and attack’ so as to inflict damage on the enemy. They argue that if such actions, which might well cause the death of the attackers themselves, can help to put an end to aggression and war or can serve the larger interests of Islam, they are permissible.<br /><br /><br />If the death of the attackers is certain, they do not consider such actions as tantamount to suicide, which is sternly forbidden in Islam. To further back their stance, they invoke the fiqh principle according to which if some enemy forces use some Muslims as human shields (tatarus) in such a way that if the enemy is attacked the death of the human shields is also certain, to attack the enemy is permissible if this serves the greater good and the larger purposes of Islam. In such a case, the death of the human shields would be treated as an unavoidable loss.<br /><br /><br />In contrast, other Islamic scholars regard attacks and bombings by Muslims in which the attackers are certain to lose their lives as wholly illegitimate and even forbidden or haram. Numerous contemporary Saudi ulema, including the late Shaikh Abdul Aziz Ibn Baz, Shaikh Nasiruddin Albani, Shaikh Mohammad Ibn Saleh al-Uthaimeen, Shaikh Saleh al-Fauzan, and the present Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Shaikh Abdul Aziz Aal-e Shaikh, fall into this category. These ulema regard even such attacks in occupied Palestine as suicide attacks and, hence, as illegitimate in Islam. Obviously, then, fidayeen attacks in other countries, including Muslim countries, would, according to this view, be even more illegitimate. These scholars refer to verses in the Quran and references in the Hadith that clearly declare suicide as haram in order to condemn such attacks as illegitimate in Islam, as for instance, the Quranic commandment ‘make not your own hands contribute to [your] destruction’ (2:195), and the statement of the Prophet, as contained in the Sahih al-Bukhari, according to which what a person uses to kill himself will be used to punish him.<br /><br /><br />Undeniably, the position of those who declare fidayeen attacks as illegitimate is, on every count, much closer to the Quran and the Hadith and to the spirit of the shariah than those who consider such attacks as permissible. The verses in the Quran and the references in the Hadith that condemn suicide provide clear, direct and obvious arguments (mohkam dala‘il), and the commandment of the shariah in this regard can be easily understood from the ‘direct texts’ (dalat an-nass). In contrast, the position of those who regard such attacks as legitimate is based on arguments that are not absolutely evident. Rather, their arguments are indirect and ambiguous (mutashabeh dala‘il). According to the principles of Muslim jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh), such arguments must be interpreted, elaborated upon and clarified in the light of clear, direct and obvious arguments from the scriptures.<br /><br /><br />In this regard, those who legitimize such attacks seek to draw analogies with cases considered permissible in the books of traditional fiqh, such as entering the ranks of the enemy to destroy them and oneself for the greater good, or inflicting grave damage on the enemy even if this means the loss of life of innocents used by the enemy as human shields. This, however, is not proper or justified. What their supporters hail as ‘martyrdom operations’ and their critics as ‘suicide bombings’ cannot be regarded permissible analogies of these instances described and legitimized in the books of medieval fiqh. Those who enter the ranks of the enemy without caring about their own lives are not killed at their own hands, which is the case in suicide, but, rather, are slain by their enemies. Killing human shields is regarded as permissible in the fiqh tradition only if and when there is no other way out, when the benefit of this course of action is clear and obvious, and when such action is sanctioned by the Imam or leader. For this rule to apply, it is imperative that the Muslims be engaged in a genuine jihad in the path of God (jihad fi sabilillah) for the sake of the protection and promotion of the faith. Such actions are wholly impermissible if committed for communal or worldly purposes. It is obvious that an oppressed people must defend themselves from aggression, but to use the argument that attacking human shields is permissible in order to hit at the enemy in order to legitimize fidayeen attacks is, in general, not permissible, unless, of course, defence against the enemy is not possible without this or if by doing so a greater evil is avoided. As the noted classical Islamic scholar AbuAbdullah al-Qurtubi writes in his book al-Jami‘ li Ahkam al-Quran:<br /><br /><br />‘Sometimes, the killing of a human shield (tatarus) is permissible […] and this is when the benefit of this action is certain and complete, when it is not possible to attack the aggressor without attacking the human shield, and also when [the benefit of this action] is absolute with regard to the entire community […] Our ulema are unanimous on the legitimacy of this matter, provided that these conditions are met […]’<br /><br /><br />The stringent conditions that Imam Qurtubi has laid down for the permissibility of killing human shields if this becomes unavoidable in order to take on the aggressor do not appear to apply in the case of present-day fidayeen attacks. However, in defence of such attacks, some scholars and others claim that they are permissible because they are resorted to for noble aims. In response, one can argue that this claim is an obvious contradiction of the fiqh rule: ‘No aim, no matter how lofty, can justify the use of any wrongful means’ (al-ghayatu la tubarrirul wasilah).<br /><br /><br />In this regard, it is crucial to note that all over the world, including in Palestine, wherever such fidayeen attacks are being undertaken by Muslim groups, generally in the name of Islam, it is the Muslims who suffer the most—not just in terms of loss of life, but also in the form of heightened anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim sentiments which such attacks inevitably provoke. Numerous fidayeen attacks by Palestinian groups in Israel have only made the Israelis even more violent and aggressive, provoking them to stage revenge attacks that have caused the deaths of thousands of innocent Palestinians. In other words, such attacks have proven to be counter-productive from the Muslim point of view.<br /><br /><br />There is yet another reason why such attacks are impermissible. Those who participate in fidayeen attacks present themselves before other people as ordinary, unarmed people with no violent aim or intention, although they are heavily armed and their sole objective is to inflict violence and cause death and destruction. This is, needless to say, a form of cheating, which is incompatible with Islamic rules governing the conduct of the affairs of war.<br /><br /><br />In this connection, it is undeniable that contemporary Islamic political thought in general is characterized by great confusion and extremism. The noted Egyptian Islamic scholar, Allama Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who argues that fidayeen attacks in Palestine are legitimate, discusses this aspect of marked imbalance in current Islamic political thought in great detail in his book Min Fiq al-Daulah and recently published book Fiqh al-Jihad (‘Jurisprudence of Jihad’). This imbalance, the lack of proper religious awareness among ongoing Islamic movements and the vast numbers of Muslim youth who are fired by emotionalism make it impossible for fidayeen attacks to abide by the rules and restrictions laid down in the shariah. Thus, numerous Arab ulema who had regarded fidayeen attacks in Palestine as permissible and even considered all Israeli citizens as legitimate targets (harabi or ‘fighter’), when faced with the reality that today more such attacks are occurring in Pakistan than in Palestine, are now loudly condemning such attacks as impermissible ‘strife on earth’ (fasad fi al-arz), which the Quran sternly condemns, and a grave danger to the Muslims themselves.<br /><br /><br />As regards all matters, including the vexed issue of fidayeen strikes, it is absolutely necessary to consider not just the present context but also present and possible future consequences of actions. Lamentably, our ulema have not devoted any attention at all to developing a ‘fiqh of consequences’ (fiqh ul- ma‘al) and a ‘future-oriented fiqh’ (fiqh al-mustaqbaliyat). However, this is really necessary in order to develop rules and issue fatwas regarding the permissibility or impermissibility of certain actions, keeping in mind their possible consequences.<br />Seen in this light, one can argue that the fatwas that have been issued in favour of fidayeen attacks, even in the context of Palestine, are wholly incorrect because, as has been indicated above, the radical Muslim movements active today that claim to be engaged in protecting Islam or enforcing the shariah are based not so much on a proper understanding of Islamic teachings as on passion and emotionalism, and a profound and pervasive desire for revenge. They are, in general, ignorant of, or insensitive to, the difference between what is legitimate in Islam and what is not, particularly on issues related to violence. This lamentable state of affairs calls for serious introspection and for a proper ascertainment of methods and priorities on their part.<br /><br /><br />In actual fact, the opinion of the Saudi ulema who I referred to earlier, who condemn all forms of fidayeen attacks, is the right one and is, I believe, in accordance with the spirit and rules of the shariah.Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-78299451997076589842012-04-12T05:07:00.001-07:002012-04-12T05:07:59.614-07:00Muslim Decline and the Responsibilities of the Ulema<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:3"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><br /></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The fact of Muslim decline on almost all fronts is one that most Muslims themselves would readily concede. The moral distinctions that once characterised the early Muslims are no more, and the only thing that distinguishes them from others are external markers of religious or communal identity. The ulema once provided moral leadership to Muslim society, playing a central role in its formation and reformation. They were meant to be the true guides of the community, in accordance with the well-known saying of the Prophet Muhammad: ‘The ulema are the inheritors of the prophets’ (al-ulemao warasat al-anbiya). Throughout their history, the Muslim masses have always looked at the ulema to guide them. However, at times when rulers succeeded in co-opting sections of the ulema to justify their oppressive rule, they failed, as a class, to fulfill the duty entrusted to them by the Prophet. This also happened when sections of the ulema fell prey to worldly blandishments and temptations and strayed from the straight path. It cannot be denied, however, that in the early period of Islam the majority of the ulema remained determinedly on the right path and fulfilled their social responsibilities.<br /><br /><br />Today, the crucial question of what role the ulema should play in the reform of Muslim society remains hotly-debated and is as yet unresolved. In this regard, it is crucial that the ulema turn within and seriously introspect to see how far they have been able to live up to their responsibilities vis-à-vis the wider society.<br /><br /><br />The ulema have a greater role to play in social reform than other sections of Muslim society and, hence, the need for them to introspect is perhaps greater. After all, according to the Quran and the Hadith, the ulema have been accorded a more important role precisely because of the responsibilities with regard to social affairs that have been entrusted to them. If they shirk these responsibilities they cannot remain in their position and will inevitably be critiqued and even condemned by others, as is common today. The ulema claim that they have been given the role of guiding and leading the Muslim community, and so, if they do not do so in an appropriate manner it is obvious they will lose their relevance and popular support. In countries such as India, the majority of the ulema are economically dependent on the Muslim masses. This further requires that the ulema remain accountable to the latter in terms of fulfilling the roles required of them.<br /><br /><br />It is undoubtedly true that, in general, the ulema have played, and continue to play, a central role in promoting moral consciousness and religious awareness among the Muslim masses. At the same time, it is also true that, by and large, the ulema have not really lived up to the roles expected of them. Gradually, the ulema in most countries have withdrawn from social affairs. Lacking the appropriate skills and attributes of proper leadership, they are gradually losing the support of the Muslim masses. The ulema regard this as ‘deviation’ and as an ‘un-Islamic’ tendency, while the Muslim masses see the ulema as being concerned solely with rituals and external markers of religious identity and as no different, in terms of morals, from them. Indeed, many ‘ordinary’ Muslims even view the ulema as responsible for a host of ills, wrong interpretations of the religious scriptures.<br /><br /><br />Two basic pillars of social reform are education and morality. The Quran refers to these two in the following verse:<br /><br /><br />‘Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall rehearse Thy Signs to them and instruct them in Scripture and Wisdom, and purify them: for Thou art the Exalted in might, the Wise’ (2: 129).<br /><br /><br />There are different aspects of education, one of which is the transmission of the tradition of Islamic knowledge from one generation to the next. This task has been admirably undertaken by our ulema, who have set up a vast number of madrasas and other Islamic institutions for this purpose.<br /><br /><br />Another aspect of education is the intellectual formation and development of the community. This is also a task for the ulema, but, particularly after the departure of the British from India in 1947, they have almost wholly ignored it. It does not need to be stressed how crucial the intellectual development of a community is in its overall civilisational progress. A community that fails to keep up at the intellectual level with changing conditions and to keep up with other communities on the intellectual plane will inevitably be pushed to the margins of history. It was the task of the ulema to intellectually train the Muslim community by developing appropriate responses, from within the broader Islamic paradigm, to the changing demands and conditions of the times so as to enable Muslims to progress in an Islamically appropriate manner. Lamentably, however, they have failed to take up this crucial responsibility.<br /><br /><br />Morality is the underlying spirit and basis of religion. Promoting morality was the main objective of the mission of the prophets. The Prophet Muhammad is said to have remarked: ‘I have been sent to establish the pinnacle of morality’ (bohithto li uttamima husn al-akhlaq). In this regard, it can be said without any hesitation that the ulema have completely ignored the need for the moral development of the Muslim community on several fronts, and the baneful consequences of this, in terms of woeful moral standards, are fully in evidence, among both madrasa-educated Muslims as well as those who have studied in secular institutions. Indeed, so shocking is this lamentable state of affairs that managers of madrasas, who are meant to be the champions of morality, are known to grossly exploit the teachers and staff employed in their institutions, who are their fellow ulema, and, caring nothing for democracy, exercise a dictatorial control over community institutions, treating them as their own private properties. They splurge the money entrusted to them by the community on setting up massive buildings and lavish mosques or squander this money on useless things just for show and fame while caring nothing for the desperately poor people who live in their vicinity. How, then, can people accept to accord such ulema the lofty position of ‘preachers of morality’? Many of the institutions run by the ulema are torn by strife and internal conflict, and characterised by lack of transparency and rules, corruption, nepotism and gross inefficiency. Given this, how can the ulema expect to be respected by the masses? How can the masses consider them as their moral guides?<br /><br /><br />The basis of social reformation is the moral development of the members of a society. If those who claim to be the custodians or enforcers of morality, as the ulema see themselves, are themselves corrupt, to expect and hope for the community to develop is mere wishful thinking.<br /><br /><br />Another major drawback of our ulema is their marked tendency to ignore the demands of morality and the true spirit of religion in matters related to relations with other communities. Often, communal prejudices overshadow the demands for morality and justice. Let me explain this with the help of a single case. In 2007, some Hindu policemen deployed in Jamia Nagar, a Muslim-dominated locality in New Delhi, were alleged to have disrespected the Quran. On hearing this, a huge crowd of Muslims gathered at the police station and set it on fire. Several police posts in the vicinity were also attacked. Later, every sensible Islamic scholar learned that the whole incident was the handiwork of some rabble-rousing Muslim elements, and that the policemen had not deliberately treated the Quran with disrespect, as was alleged. However, I myself heard numerous ulema who are supposedly highly respected in Muslim circles saying that while the fault was actually that of the inflamed Muslim youth and not of the policemen, out of political compulsions they must support the former.<br /><br /><br />This is a brazen case of narrow communal prejudice, so sternly condemned by the Prophet Muhammad, triumphing over morality and justice. It would not be an exaggeration to say that in most matters related to the community, our attitude is deeply coloured by this sort of communal prejudice. One can cite almost very few cases in which our ulema have, in such matters involving Muslims and people of other faiths, abided by the demands of justice, morality and impartiality and have condemned the wrongful actions of their co-religionists.<br /><br /><br />The ulema claim to be concerned about the reform of Muslim society and often issue statements to that effect. However, their vision of reform is extremely limited—confined simply to purging Muslim society of non-Muslim influences. In actual fact, social reform is far more comprehensive than that. It concerns a channelization of energies at both the individual as well as collective levels for the welfare and progress of all sections of society and for overall peace and justice.<br /><br /><br />Certain other aspects of the social roles and responsibilities of the ulema, and their negligence thereof, must also be noted. For instance, sections of the ulema are now seeking to play a more prominent role in politics. An unfortunate aspect of this is that all sorts of ulema are now entering the political field, including many who lack the capacity for proper leadership, and some who are corrupt and for whom politics is simply a means to feather their own nests. This has, quite naturally, led to greater confusion and conflict, with many of these ulema indulging in immoral politics that thrive on communal conflict and strife.<br /><br /><br />Many ulema rather unrealistically expect Muslim society to reform itself simply by delivering long harangues about the need to abide by the laws of the shariah. Clearly, this is inadequate and, indeed, impossible. One cannot expect to change people’s behaviour simply by delivering fatwas on all sorts of matters. The only thing that can be done in this regard is to clarify the shariah position on various issues to those people who are willing to abide by the rules of the shariah. People cannot be forced against their will to do what the shariah expects of them. If the ulema seriously wish that in all matters people abide by the shariah, there is no alternative to gradually working for their intellectual and moral reform. For this, the ulema must be far-sighted, basing their actions and programmes on the future, rather than simply harping on the past. It is not enough for them to constantly dwell, as a means to exhort people to follow the right path, on how wonderful their predecessors were. Rather, their focus must be on the future, and Muslims must be made aware that if they fail to reform they will face a miserable future. This means that the ulema must live in the present, rather than in the past, and must plan for the future. In addition, the ulema must realize that this task is not for them alone to bear, and that they must share this with other sections of Muslim society, with whom they must work in tandem in a mutually respectful and meaningful manner.<br /><br /><br />In this regard, the issue of reforms in the madrasas, where the ulema are trained, assumes particular urgency. In the past, and even today, many social reformers among the Muslims were produced in the madrasas. The time has now come for the madrasas, particularly the larger ones, to set up specialized departments or centres for social work through which they can train their students, would-be ulema, to engage in social work and activism once they graduate.<br /><br /><br />Imams of mosques, who have close and daily interaction with the Muslim masses, have a crucial role to play in this task of social reform. Lamentably, however, untrained imams, far from doing anything positive in this regard, often become the cause of greater strife and division among the people. It is thus essential that the imams of mosques be given proper training for their additional role as community leaders. Perhaps the centres of social work that I have suggested that madrasas set up can provide them with the requisite skills. In addition, other Muslim institutions could develop and conduct courses for this purpose.<br /><br /><br />It is clear—and most Muslims themselves will admit this—that although Muslim society is today desperately in need of reform, the pace of such reform is extremely slow. Among the many reasons for this is the belief shared by many ulema that, as compared to other communities, Muslims are morally and intellectually much better off. Needless to say, this belief is based on an illusory sense of reality. The sooner the ulema realize this the better it would be—for themselves and for the Muslims in general. </span></p>Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-575888409638949652012-04-12T04:58:00.000-07:002012-04-12T04:59:50.173-07:00The Right Way of Combating Wrong According to the Shariah<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:3"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><br /></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">‘Enjoining the good and forbidding the wrong’ (amr bi’l ma‘aruf wa nahi an al-munkar) is a crucial Islamic duty binding on all Muslims. Indeed, it is the basis of the distinction that God has bestowed on his true followers as the ‘best ummah’.<br /><br />Thus, the Quran says:<br /><br /><br />‘You are the best of peoples evolved for mankind, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is wrong […]’ (3: 110).<br /><br /><br />Elsewhere, the Quran describes the attributes of the true believers thus:<br /><br /><br />‘The believers, men and women, are protectors, one of another: they enjoin what is just and forbid what is evil’ (9: 71).<br /><br /><br />It is but natural, therefore, that, in accordance with this divine injunction, Islamic groups, organizations and movements regard as one of their principal tasks the reform of individuals and society by forbidding what is wrong or evil (munkar).<br /><br />This is known as tagheer-e munkar in the terminology used by the fuqaha.<br /><br /><br />This indispensable task of reform by combating munkar has, however, to follow certain rules and principles. If these are not carefully observed, such efforts can, despite the best intentions of those who engage in them, can lead to immense conflict, strife, chaos, and even bloodshed. This is no mere conjecture. The efforts of certain radical movements in various parts of the Muslim world to combat munkar through unwarranted violence and repression have, as is common knowledge, proven entirely counter-productive. These efforts have not made their societies any more good or moral. On the contrary, instead of guiding people on the path of goodness, such a radical approach has led to massive destruction and bloodshed. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this wrong approach to the task of tagheer-e munkar has led, in many cases, to considerable resentment even against Islam, among not just non-Muslims but also several Muslims as well. This has further contributed to strengthening the widespread, though unwarranted, image of Islam as a brutal, intolerant, harsh and repressive religion.<br /><br /><br />According to a hadith report contained in the Musnad Ahmad and narrated by Adi Ibn Umariah, the Prophet is said to have declared, ‘God does not punish people in general for the [wrong] actions of specific individuals, but if the former see munkar amidst themselves and, despite being capable of stopping them, do not stop them, God subjects to punishment both [those who engage in munkar and those who, witnessing this, remain silent on this] […].’<br /><br /><br />In other words, Islam does not allow for its followers to remain mute witnesses to munkar, even if this is committed by an individual and does not affect other members of society. This latter is the approach that characterises contemporary Western individualistic philosophies, and has played such havoc in the present-day West, leading to widespread moral crisis.<br /><br /><br />Islam instructs its followers to seek to reform themselves as well as others, and to seek to combat munkar in themselves, in others and in the wider society as such. Thus, the noted companion of the Prophet Abu Said Khudri reports, in a hadith contained in the Sahih Muslim, that the Prophet said, ‘He among you who sees any munkar should seek to stop it with his hand. If he is not capable of that, he should [seek to stop it] with his tongue. And if he is incapable of even that, he should seek to remove it with his heart. And this is the lowest stage of faith.’<br /><br /><br />By removing munkar by one’s hand is meant to physically put an end to them. By removing munkar by one’s tongue is to seek to bring about reform through speech. And by opposing munkar by one’s heart is meant to be personally convinced, deep down in one’s own self, that a certain action or behaviour or thought is wrong.<br /><br /><br />In this above-mentioned hadith report, seeking to combat munkar by one’s hand is considered to be the highest form of faith. Yet, this should not be regarded in a literal sense in all cases. It cannot be said to be a general license for resorting to force or violence to curb munkar, as some radical self-styled Islamists imagine. Rather, the task of tagheer-e munkar is controlled by a number of principles, conditions and rules. After all, tagheer-e munkar is a very sensitive and extremely difficult task. To seek to prevent others from munkar is much more difficult than to exhort people to do good (ma‘aruf). Often, seeking to forcibly stop people from munkar—which is the approach taken by some extremist groups—can lead to an even more delicate, indeed much worse, situation. This is why the ulema have discussed this crucial issue of tagheer-e munkar in great detail, elaborating intricate rules laying down its scope and limits.<br /><br /><br />Another major subject of considerable debate among the ulema in this regard is the precise class of people among Muslims who are addressed by the above-mentioned hadith with regard to the duty of seeking to combat munkar through ‘the hand’ or, in other words, through physical force. They have also discussed at great length what forms of munkar can, or should, be combated through ‘the tongue’ and ‘the heart’.<br /><br /><br />In this regard, the noted Spanish Maliki jurist Imam Qurtubi writes in his Al-Jamia’ li Ahkam ul-Quran:<br /><br /><br />‘According to the ulema, the commandment to enjoin the good [or to combat evil] is the responsibility of the ruler (hakim); to do so by the tongue is the responsibility of the ulema; and to do so by the heart is the responsibility of the ordinary people.’<br /><br /><br />On the other hand, many ulema are of the view that while using force for enjoining the good and forbidding the evil is the duty of the ruler, the duty of doing so by the tongue is to be shared by both the ulema and ordinary Muslims. This view seems closer to the intention of the above-quoted hadith, for when it says ‘He among you’, it indicates that it is addressed to Muslims in general. At the same time, it appears that those who are capable of using force to enjoin good and combat evil do not enjoy a general permission to do so. Qualifying this right, the noted classical jurists Imam Juwaini and Imam Ghazali argue that ordinary Muslims who do have the capacity to do so can act accordingly only if they do not use violence for this purpose and if their actions do not result in bloodshed and strife (fitna).<br /><br /><br />Certain crucial question need to be asked in this regard. What are the limits set by the shariah on ordinary Muslims or rulers with regard to combating munkar? When can or should they do so? When are they not permitted to do so? What are the attributes or characteristics of the various forms of munkar that the above-mentioned hadith refers to?<br /><br /><br />The Conditions for Combatting munkar<br /><br /><br />The first and most basic condition for combatting munkar is, as is indicated in the above-mentioned hadith report, that the person must have the capacity to do so. If he lacks the physical capacity to combat munkar through his ‘hand’, this duty is not binding on him. Instead, he can seek to combat the same munkar by his ‘tongue’ or his ‘heart’, if he can do so. This is because if he seeks to engage in physically stopping munkar while not possessing the necessary capacity for the purpose, it is doubtful if he can be successful. In fact, his action might have an entirely contradictory effect and prove to be wholly counter-productive.<br /><br /><br />The second condition for someone to seek to physically or forcibly combat munkar is that the munkar in question be unanimously considered to be something forbidden (haram) in the shariah. In fact, this is the actual meaning of the word munkar, for, as the ulema put it, munkar is something that the shariah recognizes as repulsive, declares as forbidden, and enjoins people to avoid. The shariah considers as munkar something which, if committed, earns God’s anger. However, if the evil is not wholly haram according to the shariah, but, rather, falls in the category of makruh or what is reprehensible or disliked but yet not clearly forbidden, then it is not included in the category of munkar. That is why to abandon actions that are recommended or praiseworthy but not compulsory cannot be considered munkar because the shariah does not regard these actions as compulsory and binding on Muslims. Besides these, all matters that are subject to the ijtihad of the ulema and on which there are differences of opinion among the ulema cannot be considered to be in the category of munkar. In this regard, the noted second generation scholar of Hadith Sufian Sauri remarks,<br /><br /><br />‘If you see a person committing an act on which there is dispute [among the ulema as to its status ] then you should not seek to stop him.’ Likewise, in his al-Ashbah wa al-Nazair, Imam Suyuti writes, ‘Rebutting munkar will not apply to matters on which there is a dispute [as regards their status, among the ulema]. [Rather,] it will apply to matters on which there is unanimity [among the ulema, as to their status].’<br /><br /><br />The third condition for combating munkar by one’s hand is that the munkar in question be open and evident (zahir), not hidden. There is a consensus among the ulema that if a certain munkar is not visible to the eye, to seek to forcibly end it in the course of disclosing it is not permitted in the shariah, for engaging in unnecessary curiosity about other’s affairs in clearly forbidden in the Quran, which says :<br /><br /><br />‘O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much [as possible]: for suspicion in some cases is a sin: and spy not on each other, nor speak ill of each other behind their backs.’ (49: 12).<br /><br /><br />This point is also clear from the above-mentioned hadith, which begins the words ‘He among you who sees any munkar’.<br /><br /><br />This indicates that the munkar in question must be clearly visible. As a matter of principle, there exists unanimity on the issue that shariah rulings apply to external actions or behaviour, while matters that are not visible are for God to judge. In this regard, Imam Ghazali refers in his Ihya ul-Ulum ud-Din to a case involving Umar, the second Sunni Caliph. Once, as was his habit, Umar went around the town to inspect what was happening, and climbed a wall belonging to a man. Thereupon, he saw the man engaging in a bad deed, and scolded him. The man responded by saying, ‘O Commander of the Faithful! I have committed just one sin, while you have committed three.’ Umar asked the man to explain what he meant. The latter answered, ‘God has forbidden unwarranted curiosity about others, but you engaged in this. God has commanded that we must enter [people’s homes] through their doors, but you came in from the rear. Likewise, God has commanded that we must greet people with “peace” when we enter [their] homes, but you did not wish me in this way.’ Having listened to him, Umar forgave the man after the man repented of his evil deed and expressed remorse.<br /><br /><br />The fourth, and most crucial, condition for seeking to physically combat munkar is that in doing there is no fear of this leading to an even greater munkar.<br /><br /><br />Stages in Combatting munkar<br /><br /><br />Combatting munkar is not simply a question of passing and imposing certain laws and forcing people to abide by them on pain of severe punishment, as some of our ulema and Islamists fondly imagine. Rather, it is a long process, which can go through different stages. There are also different forms and levels that it can take. In his well-known book Amr bi‘l Ma‘aruf wa Nahi an al-Munkar, Allama Ibn Taiymiha explains these forms in considerable detail. His noted disciple Allama Ibn Qayyim elaborates on them as follows:<br /><br /><br />‘There are four levels of combating munkar. Firstly, when the munkar is uprooted completely and good is established [in its place]. Secondly, when the munkar diminishes although it is not fully extirpated. Thirdly, when the munkar is uprooted but its place is taken by a similar munkar. Fourthly, when the munkar is uprooted but it is replaced by an even bigger munkar.<br /><br /><br />Then, he adds:<br />‘The first two levels are permissible. As for the third level or form, it is subject to ijtihad [either to be left alone or else to be combated], while the fourth is forbidden (haram).’<br /><br /><br />Ibn Qayyim clarifies his argument with the help of an example. Suppose, he says, a person spends his time in wasteful and frivolous activities. If it is known beforehand that by asking him to stop this he will indeed do so, he should be asked to stop, provided, of course, this does not lead him to take engage in an even bigger munkar. If it is known that by giving up a particular munkar he will engage in an even bigger munkar, he should not be prevented from the former, and should, instead, be left to himself. In this regard, Ibn Qayyim approvingly cites the case of his teacher Ibn Taiymiyah, who, he says, once passed by a group of Tartars who were drinking alcohol. Because he did not attempt to stop them from doing so, he was rebuked by some people. Defending himself, Ibn Taimiyah answered, ‘Leave them to their state, so that their attention is diverted from killing and looting the wealth of the people.’<br />*<br /><br />From this discussion it clearly emerges that while combating munkar—be it at the level of the individual or of society—is a duty binding on all Muslims, it is a task that is to be carefully regulated and conducted according to certain principles, which the ulema have elaborated upon. If these are not observed, even the most well-intentioned efforts to combat munkar can prove entirely counter-productive, leading to widespread chaos and bloodshed, thereby tarnishing the fair name of Islam. The terrifying consequences of the efforts of some ‘Islamic’ movements, both in the past and in the present, to combat munkar through unwarranted violence, oppression and harshness are a chilling reminder in this regard. </span></p>Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-37794332318514444292012-04-12T04:57:00.000-07:002012-04-12T04:58:11.551-07:00The Brutal Consequences of the Misuse of Takfir<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:3"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><br /></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The marked tendency of several Islamic groups and movements to resort to takfir or branding other Muslims as apostates, often misusing it as a tool to settle scores with personal or ideological opponents, has had a brutalizing effect on the wider Muslim society. It has contributed in a major way to promoting extremist and exclusivist thinking, and has further widened intra-Muslim divisions and conflicts.<br /><br /><br />In India, takfiri tendencies are apparent in ongoing and longstanding Deobandi-Barelvi controversies and in harangues between the Ahl-e Hadith, on the one hand, and the Sunni Hanafis, including both the Deobandis and the Barelvis, on the other.<br /><br />In Pakistan, these conflicts also exist, as do conflicts between Shias and Sunnis, which have assumed violent and very bloody forms in recent years. In that country, sectarian strife has led to bombings of mosques and other religious institutions of rival sects, causing much wanton loss of innocent life. Lamentably, there has been no serious effort in both these countries to bring the ulema and other leaders of these different Muslim sects together to engage in meaningful and productive dialogue.<br /><br /><br />Fierce sectarian rivalries, instigated by sections of the ulema of different groups, have had a profound effect on relations between ordinary Muslims belonging to different sects. Numerous cases have been reported in India of Barelvi Muslims forbidding Deobandi Muslims from mosques controlled by them. In some cases, Deobandis who enter Barelvi-controlled mosques are forcibly expelled from them, after which the mosques have to be ‘cleaned’ in order to ‘purify’ them. Recently, a case was reported from Moradabad, in which when some Barelvi men prayed behind a Deobandi imam at a funeral service, a Barelvi maulvi issued a fatwa declaring the marriage of these men to their wives to have been annulled thereby, because, the Barelvi maulvi argued, by praying behind a Deobandi they had ceased to be Muslims and so could not be married to Muslim women. According to this Barelvi maulvi, Deobandis are not Muslims at all, but are, actually, kafirs. This is a widely-shared view among the Barelvis.<br /><br /><br />The mass media, ever on the prowl for sensational news about Muslims, routinely highlight such cases in their reporting—with unconcealed glee. Obviously, such cases of naked obscurantism prove a blessing, and also a source of perverse amusement, for elements that thrive on mocking the shariah and the ulema. Further dividing Muslims among themselves and playing into the hands of those who miss no opportunity to mock Islam are thus among the most alarming consequences of the wielding of the sword of takfir.<br /><br />In some Muslim countries, violent groups have resorted to takfir to engage in war against their own governments. These groups brand their governments as ‘agents of the West’, and, on that basis, declare them to be ‘kafir governments’ against which armed jihad is, so they claim, a binding religious duty. This obviously never-ending war, needless to say, is only leading to the further destruction of Muslim countries, besides further tarnishing the image of Islam and Muslims in the eyes of others.<br /><br /><br />Given the bloody and devastating consequences of takfiri tendencies, how should we Muslims, seriously committed to our faith and our people, seek to combat them? This is a critical issue, for which we must seek guidance from the Quran and the practice of the Prophet.<br /><br /><br />In this regard, it is pertinent to note what the Prophet’s own stance was on the matter. In a well-known hadith contained in the Sahih al-Bukhari, the Prophet declared, ‘ [if someone] engages in takfir of a true believer, it is as if he has killed him’. He also said, ‘If someone calls his brother (fellow Muslim) a kafir, then either of them is a kafir.’<br /><br /><br />On this issue, the noted classical Islamic scholar Imam Ghazali writes in his acclaimed Faisal al-Tafriqa Bayn al-Islam wa al-Zandaqa (‘The Decision Regarding the Difference Between Islam and Disbelief’):<br /><br /><br />‘The basis of faith are three: faith in God; faith in the Prophet; and faith in the Hereafter. Besides this, [all else] are minor branches (fur‘u). One should know that takfir [of anyone] cannot be engaged in on the basis of the minor branches except in one matter, and that is if a person denies any aspect of the principles of religion (usul ud-din) that has been continuously transmitted from the Prophet.’<br /><br /><br />In the same book, Imam Ghazali argues that there is danger in engaging in takfir, while there is no danger in ‘remaining silent’—that is to say, in refraining from engaging in takfir of others. In another of his works, titled Al-Iqtisad fi al-Itiqad (‘The Moderate Position in Matters of Faith’), Imam Ghazali contends, ‘To mistakenly release a thousand infidels is a lighter [sin] than to spill the blood of a single Muslim.’ In a similar vein, Allama Taftazani, another accomplished classical Islamic scholar, explains in his Sharh ul-‘Aqaid al-Nasafiya a basic principle of the Sunni school, according to which one should not engage in takfir against any person from among the ahl-e qibla, that is people who pray in the direction of the Ka‘aba—which is to say, any Muslim. The well-known Hanafi text Sharh Mawaqif relates that Imam Abu Hanifa, putative founder of the Hanafi school, never engaged in takfir against any one belonging to the ahl-e qibla. The Imam is also said to have opined, ‘If there are 99 reasons to declare a person a kafir and only reason not to do so, takfir shall not be engaged in against him.’ Likewise, another noted classical Islamic scholar, Allama Tajuddin Subqi, argued, ‘Till such time as a person believes that there is no god but God and [that] Muhammad is the prophet of God, it is difficult to engage in takfir against him.’<br /><br /><br />According to the noted Indian Deobandi scholar Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani, a leading ‘alim of the Deoband school Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, was of the view that even if there are 999 aspects of kufr in a person from among the ahl-e qibla, takfir should not be engaged in against him. Yet, despite this clear stand, some Deobandi ulema have committed enormous blunders, not sparing noted Islamic scholars such as Maulana Hamiduddin Farahi and Maulana Shibli Numani from the unsheathed sword of takfir.<br /><br /><br />The attitude and behaviour of the ulema of the Barelvi school is even more extreme in this regard. They openly declare all Deobandis and followers of the Ahl-e Hadith sect to be kafirs. The leading light of the Barelvi sect, Ahmad Riza Khan Barelvi, issued a fatwa claiming that if any person even doubts the ‘infidelity’ of the Deobandis, he, too, is a kafir. He was of the view that all Deobandis were kafir in the full sense of the term. Accordingly, in various fatwas he argued that Barelvis must desist from treating them as fellow Muslims in any manner whatsoever.<br /><br /><br />From all these details, it is amply clear that takfiri tendencies have today become a deadly disease that is eating away at the very vitals of Muslim society. It has divided the entire Muslim society against itself. It has also given a tremendous boost to extremism in influential Muslim religious and political circles. It has thus now become imperative for Muslims seriously concerned about and committed to their faith to deal with this monster, and to seriously work together to seek a solution to this menace.</span></p>Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-56037982820529356092012-04-12T04:52:00.001-07:002012-04-12T04:52:28.526-07:00Non-Muslims and Jizyah<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:3"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><br /></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">In discussions about the status of non-Muslims in Muslim-majority countries one issue that has been hotly debated is that of the jizyah tax. Much has been written, by both Muslim as well as non-Muslim scholars, on jizyah. Most non-Muslim scholars see jizyah as a symbol of what they regard as the degradation and subordination of non-Muslims under Islamic or Muslim rule. On the other hand, Muslim scholars argue that jizyah is a blessing for non-Muslim minorities, on the payment of which they are excused from military service and are also provided protection (zimma) by the Islamic state. They also claim that, in the past, in many cases the amount levied as jizyah was considerably less than the zakat tax that was obligatory on all eligible Muslim subjects.<br /><br /><br />In my view, those who invoke jizyah to argue that Islam seeks the subjugation of non-Muslim minorities are incorrect. In fact, several non-Muslim scholars have admitted that in the medieval age in many places, jizyah was not regarded as a symbol or badge of non-Muslim degradation. They also admit that, especially when compared to the Christian kings of Europe, medieval Muslim rulers generally adopted a far more enlightened and tolerant policy towards minority groups living in their domains.<br /><br /><br />Be that is it may, one question that is yet to be satisfactorily discussed is: In a modern Islamic or Muslim-majority state, are non-Muslims still to be treated as zimmis or ‘protected subjects’ who are obliged to pay jizyah to the state in return for protection? The fact of the matter is, as the noted Indian Islamic scholar Dr. Nejatullah Siddiqui convincingly argues in his recent book Maqasid-e Shariah (‘The Aims of the Shariah’), that, ‘[Muslim scholars] have focused on trying to argue that zimmis are given many rights in an Islamic state, but, despite these claims, the reality cannot be concealed that the status of a zimmi would be different from that of a citizen. Obviously, this different status cannot be higher than that of a citizen.’<br /><br /><br />In today’s world, which has witnessed massive social and political transformations, many fiqh prescriptions, including those related to jizyah, desperately need to be re-visited and reformulated in a contextually-appropriate manner. This has been attempted to some extent alreaddy, because of which, for instance, no present-day Islamic or Muslim government imposes jizyah on its non-Muslim citizens. Nor, it must be added, does it appear possible today to revive jizyah. That is why there is now no need to retain jizyah even at the conceptual level. In today’s context, the notions of dar ul-islam (‘abode of Islam’) and dar ul-harb (‘abode of war’) have become totally meaningless, because all the communities of the world have been linked at the global level through international treaties. Accordingly, practices such as slavery (that was sanctioned in medieval fiqh) or waging war against a community on the basis of religion no longer remain.<br /><br /><br />With regard to jizyah it must be kept in mind that it was not an institution invented by Islam. Levies similar to jizyah were a phenomenon in several societies and cultures even before the advent of the Prophet Muhammad. Naushirwan, a Sassanian ruler of pre-Islamic Iran, enforced jizyah on his non-Zoroastrian subjects. The noted Indian Islamic scholar Shibli Numani argues that the word jizyah is itself of Persian, and not Arabic origin. The original Persian term was gazit, which was later rendered into Arabic as jizyah. When the practice was incorporated into Islam, it was refined in order to protect some of the basic rights of the zimmis or those who paid jizyah. Thus, for instance, the treaty that involved the payment of jizyah by non-Muslim subjects in return for protection by the Islamic state was made permanent and no individual or group could, on his or its own, dissolve or modify it. Rather, it was considered to be the responsibility of God and the Prophet.<br /><br /><br />At the same time, the payment of jizyah was not a necessary condition for protection by the state. In other words, it was not that no matter what the circumstances, the zimmis simply had to pay jizyah. Rather, under some circumstances they could be excused from paying the tax, as was done under the orders of none other than some companions of the Prophet and some among the generation that followed them. Thus, in the mid-seventh century, Suraqa Ibn Umar excused the non-Muslim inhabitants of Armenia from paying jizyah, and the same policy was adopted by Habib IBn Muslim in Anatakya, a town in modern-day Turkey. Likewise, the representative of Abu ‘Ubaidah, a noted companion of the Prophet, entered into a pact with the Christians of the Jarajmah tribe, according to which the latter agreed assist the Muslims and, in turn, were exempted from jizyah. On the request of the Christian Banu Taghlib tribe, who considered the jizyah a sign of disgrace, the second Caliph of the Sunnis, Umar, levied zakat on them instead.<br /><br /><br />Likewise, there have been cases in the past where, when the Muslim state was unable to provide protection to its non-Muslim subjects, it did not levied jizyah on them or returned to them the money that it had acquired from them as jizyah. Thus, for instance, Abu Ubaidah Ibn al-Jarrah, a well-known companion of the Prophet, returned to the Christians of Syria the money that had been collected from them as jizyah because the Muslim army was unable to protect them from the Romans.<br /><br /><br />It is important to note that according to most ulema, jizyah is levied on non-Muslims in return for the protection they enjoy from the Islamic state and in lieu of the exemption they enjoy from compulsory military service. Accordingly, there have been instances in the past when non-Muslims performed military service and were hence exempted from jizyah. In today’s age of nation-states, all countries of the world have accepted the nation-state system, and the vast majority of the ulema have consented to it. Indeed, there exists a ‘silent consensus’ (ijma’-e sukuti) among them on this system. In such a context, every non-Muslim citizen of a Muslim-majority state has the right to perform military service in the same way as a Muslim fellow citizen. These non-Muslim minorities have played a crucial role in the struggle for freedom of their countries and for protecting them against external enemies. This is why, even from the point of view of traditional fiqh, it is not proper to levy jizyah on them. Further, in today’s age it is inconceivable that minorities would accept to be treated as ‘protected subjects’ rather than as equal citizens. This holds as true for non-Muslims in Muslim-majority countries as it does for Muslims in non-Muslim-majority countries. Naturally, then, in today’s world jizyah cannot be imposed on non-Muslim minorities. Accordingly, a noted Arab Islamic scholar, Zafir al-Qasmi, writes in his book Al-Jihadu wa al-Huququ ad-Dauwaliyah al-Ammah fi al-Islam (‘The Concept of Jihad and General International Rights’):<br /><br /><br />‘If the zimmis agree to participate in the jihad of protection of their common homeland, jizyah will not be levied on them. This principle applies fully and unambiguously on non-Muslims living in Muslim-majority countries today.’<br /><br /><br />In a similar vein, the noted Egyptian Islamic scholar Allama Yusuf al-Qaradawi has issued a fatwa in which he declares that non-Muslim citizens of modern Muslim-majority countries must have the same status as that of their Muslim fellow citizens. They must not be delegated to second-class citizen status, he argues. They must enjoy the same rights and concessions as Muslim citizens of the same state enjoy. Elsewhere, Allama Qaradawi writes, ‘All the fuqaha include the zimmis among the people of the abode of Islam (ahl-e dar ul-Islam). This, in today’s language, means that they are citizens.’ Further, he elaborates, ‘We need to rethink various issues related to [the status and rights] of non-Muslims, and, bearing in mind the changed conditions, should adopt a wise path [in this regard].’<br /><br /><br />From this discussion, it is obvious that the traditional notion of zimmi needs to be reviewed in the light of the vast differences between the present-day global context and that of the past. This is also necessitated by the fact that the entire world is now tied together in a practical covenant and also because in most contemporary non-Muslim-majority countries Muslim citizens enjoy the same rights as their non-Muslim compatriots. In today’s context, the traditional understanding of zimmi cannot be said to be in consonance with Islamic social ethics. It must be acknowledged that in traditional fiqh zimmis were granted second-grade status, something which is not acceptable today.<br /><br /><br />In discussing and seeking to understand the status and rights of non-Muslim citizens of Islamic or Muslim-majority states, it is crucial to bear in mind that Islam exhorts us to behave with goodness and kindness towards others and to wish for others what we wish for ourselves. Today, four-tenths of the world’s Muslim population live in countries where they are minorities. Most of them enjoy equal citizenship rights and status. In fact, in many such countries Muslims enjoy greater peace and freedom and are more prosperous than their co-religionists in most Muslim-majority countries. Given this, is it all justifiable that non-Muslim citizens of Muslim-majority countries be deprived of the same rights that Muslim citizens of non-Muslim-majority countries enjoy? Obviously, the answer is in the negative. </span></p>Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-55832534069468043702012-04-12T04:50:00.000-07:002012-04-12T04:51:36.162-07:00The Jihad For Our Times<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:3"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><br /></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">A great deal of misunderstanding exists about the concept of jihad in Islam among not just non-Muslims but many Muslims as well. ‘Jihad’ is a term that has many different shades of meaning. It refers to all efforts, undertaken to the limits of one capacity, for any noble purpose. Fighting against external enemies is only one form of jihad, for which the term qital is used in the Quran. Truly speaking, it could be said that qital is just an exceptional form of jihad, and not the rule. Qital, or armed jihad, is permissible only in defence, in the face of aggression on the part of an enemy.<br /><br /><br />There are numerous references in the Quran and in the corpus of Hadith that mention jihad in its general sense of determined effort made for any noble cause. Thus, for instance, the Quran says:<br /><br /><br />‘And those who strive in Our [cause]—We shall certainly guide them to Our paths: for verily God is with those who do right’ (29:69)<br /><br /><br />In a similar vein, the Quran speaks of engaging in jihad with one’s wealth (49:15) and with the Quran itself (25:52). The Prophet is said to have termed serving one’s parents and the pilgrimage to Mecca as forms of jihad. Likewise, numerous hadith reports refer to the struggle against one’s baser self (nafs) as jihad. The Prophet is said to have declared, ‘The highest form of jihad is to utter the truth before an oppressive ruler’ (afzal ul-jihad kalimato adlin ‘inda sultanin ja‘ir).<br /><br /><br />All this clearly indicates that jihad does not necessarily or always mean fighting against an external enemy, unlike what is commonly imagined. As Hasan Basri, the famous scholar from among the generation that came after the Prophet’s companions, said, ‘Some people never use a sword but still engage in jihad.’ This is in accordance with the Quranic injunction:<br /><br /><br />‘Therefore, listen not to the unbelievers, but strive against them with the utmost strenuousness, with the [Quran] (jihadan kabira)’ (25:52).<br /><br /><br />Obviously, this exhortation to engage in jihad with the Quran implies a struggle at the intellectual level to appeal to and convince non-Muslims about the truth of Islam, by providing them with adequate proofs.<br /><br /><br />It is crucial for us to seriously ponder on what form of jihad is required in today’s context for Muslims to engage in and focus on. Such jihad must be in consonance with the aims and spirit of the Quran, the Prophet’s practice (sunnah) and with the general interests of Islam and its followers.<br /><br /><br />For this purpose, it is crucial to bear in mind that today we Muslims live in a state similar to that of the Prophet and the early Muslims in Mecca. At this stage the Prophet focused all his energies only on da‘wah or inviting others to the path of God, tabligh or communicating God’s word to others, and providing moral instruction and training to his followers. At this time, the Prophet and his followers were instructed by God to restrain themselves in the face of the extreme oppression that they were subjected to, and to establish worship and help the poor and the needy. The Quran refers to this when it says:<br /><br /><br />‘[T]hey were told to hold back their hands [from fight] but establish regular prayers and spend in regular zakat’ (4: 77).<br /><br /><br />Under such circumstances, when the Muslims were subjected to extreme oppression, God commanded them to refrain from violence, and, instead, to strengthen their faith, determination and their own morals. In this context, it can be said that, today, radical self-styled Islamists who are seeking to provoke Muslim youth to engage in terrorism in the name of jihad are totally ignorant of the principles of Islamic mission that are exemplified in the above-mentioned Quranic verse. Nor do they possess the capacity to seriously analyse today’s complex political context.<br /><br /><br />According to a well-known hadith, on his way back from a battle the Prophet is said to have declared, ‘We are returning from a lesser jihad (al-jihad al-asghar) towards the bigger jihad (al-jihad al-akbar)’. The latter form of jihad is the jihad against one’s baser self. In this regard, the noted classical Islamic scholar Ibn Qayyim classifies jihad into 13 different types, of which four are directed against the baser self. He was of the view that the jihad against the baser self is more important that the jihad against external enemies.<br /><br /><br />The noted contemporary Islamic scholar Allama Yusuf al-Qaradawi writes in his Fi Fiqh al-Awlawiyyat (‘Fiqh of Priorities’) that while jihad in the sense of qital is temporary and need not be engaged in at once, jihad through the Quran, that is the work of inviting people to the path of God (da‘wah) and guidance (nasiha), is to be engaged in at all times. In this regard, it is crucial that we ask ourselves what precisely we are doing with regard to this latter form of jihad. How are we, if at all, seeking to reach out to others, in a spirit of peace and goodwill, with the message of Islam? How are we seeking to counter, using peaceful means, the wrong images and claims put forward by the critics of Islam? How are we countering the misunderstandings that many non-Muslims, and even a large number of Muslims themselves, have about Islam? These are all crucial forms of jihad that must be engaged in at all times.<br /><br /><br />It seems, however, that we are doing little, if at all, on this front. It is crucial that we take up the work of peaceful da‘wah with all the seriousness it deserves, using modern means of communication to reach out to people across the globe. Some groups and individuals are doing this in their own ways and their work and success have been remarkable. This is the jihad that we must engage in. This is the major jihad for today’s age. As Allama Yusuf al-Qaradawi perceptively remarked on launching what became an immensely popular Islamic website (which, lamentably, seems to have closed down now), ‘This is today’s jihad. Today, offensive jihad is not desirable.’<br /><br /><br />To reiterate, the real jihad for our age is peaceful Islamic da’wah work and practical efforts to establish and confirm Islam at the intellectual plane and to counter the intellectual and cultural imperialism that the entire world is presently a victim of. This work must also aim at countering the spread of immorality, selfishness, corruption and moral decay that are an inevitable result of the revolt against religion that is wrongly seen as inseparable from modernity. Alongside this, there is another jihad that we need to wage: against widespread illiteracy, poverty, ill-health, conflict, civil war, inequality, dictatorship, and exploitation in the name of religion among Muslim communities and in Muslim countries. To ignore all of these and, instead, to focus simply on combating other real or imaginary external enemies is pointless. It is like watering a dead plant that cannot be revived. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2956470746838323798.post-89207925150659814442012-04-12T04:45:00.000-07:002012-04-12T04:48:44.844-07:00Enforcing the Shariah: Some Critical Considerations<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:3"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><br /></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Most present-day ‘revolutionary’ Islamic movement have as their foremost priority the enforcement of the shariah as state law. Based on an extremely simplistic and romanticized vision, these movements believe that the cause for the decline of the Muslims, and, indeed, for all the manifold problems is the fact that Muslim societies and countries are presently not ruled by the shariah. Hence, they regard the imposition of the shariah as state law is the master-key, as it were, to solve all their problems. They take it as something that must at once be implemented by order of the state. They believe that when this happens, the Muslim ummah will once again walk on the path of progress, strength and glory and would, in fact, establish its domination all across the world.<br /><br /><br />It is undoubtedly true that the shariah exists in order to be implemented. It is also true that Islam is a way of life, and not simply a bundle of rituals to be followed by individuals in their personal lives. Islamic life must, indeed, be regulated by Islamic law and morality. If, for some reason, it is not possible for Muslims to abide by all shariah rules, or if some Muslims themselves choose not to do so, at the very least they ought to believe in them.<br /><br /><br />Today, especially in the West, efforts are underway to manufacture new interpretations of Islam in which the shariah has, if at all, only a minimal role to play. This is particularly unfortunate. But, in my view, this attempt can be seen, in part, as a reaction or response to the strident calls on the part of certain Islamist groups for the immediate and total enforcement of the shariah as public law across the Muslim world. These Islamist circles are perturbed as to why the West is so scared and opposed to the enforcement of shariah in Muslim countries. Despite this, they have failed to seriously think about this opposition to the shariah and about how the fears regarding establishing the shariah it can be allayed.<br /><br /><br />It cannot be denied that these very same ‘revolutionary’ Islamist groups are primarily to blame, through their words and deeds, for creating an image of Islam as a tyrannical or oppressive system, rather than as the source of mercy that it is, if it is interpreted properly. A good example in this regard is of the Taliban in Afghanistan. In the name of enforcing the shariah, they sought to impose, using brute force, inflexible medieval fiqh rules on the hapless people of their land, both Muslims and others. Now, their successors, the ‘neo-Taliban’ in Pakistan, are trying to do the same. The barbarism they are indulging in, in the name of Islam, simply has no parallels in the modern world. Likewise, in the name of acting according to the dictates of the shariah, the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini passed a fatwa calling for the death of the controversial author Salman Rushdie. The only thing this fatwa was able to achieve was to convert Rushdie into a hero in anti-Islamic circles and to reinforce the misplaced image of the shariah as an unsheathed sword that is a major threat to the entire world. Likewise, in countries such as Egypt and Algeria, radicals who pose themselves as ardent champions of shariah rule or what they call the ‘Islamic system’ have played no small role in creating enormous chaos that has led to untold violence and the deaths of thousands of innocent people. Undoubtedly, many of these activists were horribly tortured by the Muslim regimes they were opposed to who, are closely allied to the West. But, still, this did not justify their engaging in violence and oppression.<br /><br /><br />Islam does not consist simply or even primarily of laws. It also includes morality and spirituality. In this regard, it is striking to note what the Prophet once said—that he had been sent by God to lead to the culmination of morality. That is why even in times of war Islam insists that Muslims must abide by certain moral codes, practices and values.<br /><br /><br />In contrast to what some simple-minded Islamists, swayed by emotionally-driven sloganeering, might think, the enforcement of the shariah in all spheres of society is far from being a simple matter. After all, this effort must deal with the fact of modern society being very complex and highly plural, consisting of people with different mentalities, outlooks and worldviews. For people to accept to be ruled by the shariah requires a long and gradual process of training and nurturing that will need to pass through various stages. Without going through these stages, trying to enforce the shariah would be like trying to produce a chick without an egg.<br /><br /><br />If one takes an objective view of efforts to enforce the shariah by various movements in the Indian subcontinent over the last three hundred years or so, one would have to conclude that they have produced no results at all. Indeed, these failed efforts have only resulted in strife and destruction. The foremost such example was the movement launched in the early nineteenth century by Syed Ahmad Barelvi and his disciple Shah Ismail. These leaders sought to impose the shariah at once, without any regard for the consequences of doing so. Therefore, the ‘Islamic government’ that they managed to set up near Peshawar, through which they sought to enforce the shariah, came to an abrupt end in a very short while, leading to the complete destruction of their movement.<br /><br /><br />For any such movement to succeed it is, clearly, not enough that its leaders be motivated by sincerity and firm faith in God. After all, there have always existed such movements consisting of sincere believers, but most of them have not been able to succeed one bit in achieving their goals. The fact remains that efforts to establish the shariah must take cognizance of various factors, particularly various Islamic principles. One of these is the principle of gradualism. It was in reference to this point that Ayesha, the youngest wife of the Prophet, noted that in the beginning of the Prophet’s mission, those verses of the Quran were revealed to him that spoke of heaven and hell. After people repented of their ways and accepted Islam, and their capacity to follow divine commandments was strengthened, verses dealing with rules regarding forbidden (haram) and permissible (halal) things began to be revealed. Ayesha added that if, for instance, the commandment to abstain from alcohol had been revealed in the first stage itself, people would have refused to ever abide by it. Likewise, she said, if in the first stage the Quran had forbidden them from engaging in adultery, they would have insisted that they would never abandon it.<br /><br /><br />The Quran did not ban the consumption of alcohol in one go. Rather, this commandment was a gradual one, which passed through several stages. This point, and the statement of Ayesha mentioned above, well illustrates the principle of gradualism in seeking to establish the shariah. This principle is also clearly evident from the fact that when the son of the Caliph Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz asked him why he did not openly and directly crush strife and oppression and immediately impose shariah rules in this regard, he replied, ‘Son! Do not be in a hurry because God condemned the consumption of alcohol twice in the Quran and [only] on the third occasion declared it forbidden. I fear that if I try to make people follow the right path fully they might abandon the true path, leading to terrible strife.’<br /><br /><br />Another important Islamic principle that must be kept in mind when seeking to establish the shariah is that of properly choosing priorities. This is to say, one should be clear as to which issues need to be taken up and worked on first and which later. This principle is well illustrated in the life of the Prophet. Thus, in Mecca he focused only on inviting people to Islam and on spiritually nurturing his disciples. When some of his followers wanted to go to the Ka‘abah to pray, he advised them against it because, he said, the Muslims were still small in number.<br /><br /><br />When he shifted to Medina, the Prophet focused all his energies on peaceful missionary work and on the moral, intellectual and spiritual training of new converts to Islam so that a community of Muslims could be formed qualified to fulfill the personal and collective responsibilities required of them by Islam. In this way, the Prophet exemplified the principle of setting priorities in his effort to establish the shariah.<br /><br /><br />A third key principle in this regard is to create ease when seeking to engage in some effort. This applies to efforts to establish the shariah as well. In this regard, the Prophet said, ‘Islam [din] is easy, and you [Muslims] have been sent as people who create ease, not those who create harshness and difficulties.’ This is why, for instance, the Prophet brought into the fold of Islam some people who insisted that they would not pay the zakat.<br /><br /><br />A fourth principle to be followed with regard to social reformation and the establishment of the shariah in society is to tolerate a lesser evil in place of a larger one. This principle was well exemplified by the Prophet, who did not reconstruct the Ka ‘abah on its original lines as laid down by the prophet Abraham, even though he could have done so after he returned to Mecca in victory and had gained full control over the town. When Ayesha asked him why he chose not to reconstruct the Ka‘abah on the pattern established by Abraham, he replied that her people (by which he meant the Meccan Quraish) had only recently become Muslims, and so they might resent it if he did so.<br /><br /><br />To bring a single wayward individual to the right path needs much time, tolerance, patience, and determination. How much more of all these is needed to reform an entire society or country can only be imagined. The most deadly fault of ‘revolutionary’ groups whose slogan is ‘the enforcement of the shariah’ is their misplaced belief that this task is very simple and can be immediately accomplished simply by grabbing political power. They regard the capture of state power as the most important and basic step in this regard. If this were to happen, they fondly imagine, they can easily impose the shariah on their people and and their countries can hereby be transformed into ‘Islamic states’. The fact of the matter is that most of the activists of such groups are driven by strong emotions and have no idea of the difficulties and sensitivities involved in such a task as seeking to establish the shariah in complex modern-day societies. They mistakenly believe that if they capture state power and impose the shariah as the law of the land, their societies will automatically become Islamic in the true sense of the term.<br /><br /><br />A ‘revolutionary’ Islamist ideologue, who is immensely popular in Islamist circles, has written in one of his many books that the state is like the engine of a train, which can take the passengers sitting inside the bogies of the train in whichever direction it likes, even against their will. Hence, he insists, ‘revolutionary’ Muslims must first capture the ‘engine’—the levers of state power—after which they can enforce the shariah and force people, even against their will, to abide by its rules. In this way, he says, the ‘Islamic system’ can be established.<br /><br /><br />This, to my mind, is not at all a truly Islamic way of thinking. It does not represent the intention of the Quran and the Prophet’s practice. In fact, this type of thinking is deeply influenced by Communism, which Islamist ‘revolutionaries’ consider as one of their principle foes. This distorted way of thinking is based on force and compulsion, which are clearly and sternly forbidden in Islam. Islam seeks to transform people’s thinking and behaviour not through coercion but through appropriate moral, intellectual and spiritual training and nurturing and by convincing them of its stance. When, gradually, individuals begin to observe the rules of Islam in their personal lives as a result of such training, a truly Islamic society can come into being. Such a society cannot be expected to be created by state diktat, as ‘revolutionary’ Islamists imagine. Social change can come about only through the transformation of individuals, not through imposition of laws by the state on people against their will. This is what the Quran teaches us when it says:<br /><br /><br />‘Allah does not change a people's lot unless they change what is in their hearts'<br /><br /><br />The conditions of today’s Muslims are such that even though they might believe in the shariah laws and in the need for their enforcement in political and collective affairs, their minds are not ready to accept this enforcement in practical terms. They do not want their entire lives to be guided and controlled by the shariah. That is why if an effort is made for this purpose they will be the first to revolt against it. The fate that met the movement launched by Syed Ahmad Barelvi and Shah Ismail is ample testimony to this—it was violently opposed by the very Muslims they sought to rule according to the shariah.<br /><br /><br />A crucial point that needs to be noted here is that many aspects of the available corpus of fiqh are in urgent need of review in the light of ijtihad. Without reviewing and suitably reformulating these prescriptions, efforts to establish the shariah (which is mistakenly seen by some as synonymous with traditional fiqh) are bound to fail. This, in turn, will give the shariah itself a bad name. To make the issue of establishing the shariah as state law even more complicated is the existence of different, sometimes competing, interpretations of the shariah that are upheld by different Muslim sects and schools of law. This is an issue that is yet to be resolved. Another crucial matter is to convince non-Muslims, not just through our claims but also in practice, that establishing the shariah will indeed lead to justice. The noted classical Islamic scholar Allah Ibn Taimiyah rightly remarked, ‘An infidel government that practices justice can survive, but a Muslim government cannot survive if it practices oppression.’ The pathetic state of various Muslim governments in power throughout the world today can be properly understood in the light of this assertion.<br /><br /><br />In today’s context, it is imperative that Islamic movements place the matter of the formal enforcement of the shariah at the end of their list of priorities, and, instead, focus on solving the various social ills that are so widespread and deeply-rooted in Muslim communities and countries—issues such as illiteracy, economic exploitation, mounting inequalities, corruption, gender injustice, gross violation of human rights, and so on. Among their foremost priorities should also be raising the awareness and intellectual standards of the people so as to enable them to think about issues rationally instead of being driven simply by emotions and empty sloganeering. In this way they will be able to make a major contribution in addressing and removing widespread misunderstandings about Islam and the Islamic shariah, and will also help pave the way for a meaningful establishment of the shariah in their societies. </span></p>Waris Mazharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13629214989267894716noreply@blogger.com0