| (7)
Assessment of the current Situation of Muslims
The previous chapter detailed the situation of groups which do
not claim being enemies of shirk. Now we must look at the
group that was created primarily on the basis of tawhid and
whose fundamental purpose was to destroy shirk and establish
tawhid.
It is absolutely certain that the reality of anything does not
change just because its location changes. If any element of
shirk exists within polytheists and hypocrites and it also
exists within Muslims, it will not become tawhid, but will
remain shirk. Impurity, whether it exists in a dirty utensil
or in one of gold or silver is impure in both. Its matter does
not change due to the change of container. However, as
circumstances change, instructions for them are also altered.
Pork and liquor are forbidden regardless, but if someone who
is helpless and distressed eats some of this to satisfy his
hunger, the shari‘ah will not hold him accountable. Thus, an
incident or situation is one thing and the instruction
according to change in circumstance is another. In this
chapter, we shall undertake a review of the situation and then
present the instructions in the subsequent chapter.
If the current situation of Muslims is assessed and if
undeserved pride does not stand in the way of the admission of
the truth, it must be accepted that the majority, if not all,
types of shirk beginning from the times of the Arab jahiliyyah
to the hypocrites exist within Muslims. Only their
manifestations have differed. Which worship: worship of
djinns, evil forces, nationalism and support of the jahiliyyah
and worship of evil forces, self and ego and personal benefit
of hypocrites is not present in Muslims?
How many Muslims are involved in black magic? They have made
sorcery, rituals, tricks, amulets,
magic and casting spells the foundation of their business.
Knowledge of chants and incantations based on control of
djinns and devils is real knowledge for them. They go through
various physical and mental exercises to bring djinns under
their control; undertake meditation; make offerings; believe
that these djinns are their entry to knowledge of the unknown;
consider them to be a source of benefit and harm; call upon
them and declare many things to be haram and many to be halal.
Similarly, there are many who are busy with extracting
knowledge of names and the characteristics of specific terms
and entities. They use this knowledge for the same evil
purposes for which their precursors, the Jews used. Some have
gone to such an extent that they use of verses from the Qur’an
to create love and grudge between people, to foster discord
and control among them, to ensure pregnancy and a painless
delivery among women. So much so, some verses are used to
prolong intercourse by delaying ejaculation. Those who
create such practices convert some of God's blessings into
halal, sometimes temporarily and sometimes, permanently.
During times of epidemics or when patients are suffering from
some specific diseases, there are many things inside homes
that are not used for fear of the spirits responsible for
these illnesses getting angry and becoming furious if they see
these things inside the home.
There are also so many superstitions related to star zones,
days, months and eclipses of the sun and moon which both men
and women are suffering from.
Many Muslims are involved in ancestor worship. Shrines of
elders and sages are present in every corner and are
worshipped openly. Offerings are placed over these graves;
sacrifices are made; they are covered with sheets and prayers
are offered. Problems and losses are attributed to the anger
of these people in the graves. People come from far off places
to pay homage; meditate here, prostrate and commit various
forms of acts that are forbidden in the shari‘ah. Connection
with them is considered essential to attain closeness to God.
Many believe that they can see and hear and call to them at
times of danger and problems. They think that these people
lying in the graves will speak up for them in front of God and
ask for success in this world; victory in court cases;
prosperity in business and blessings of children. Requests are
made to them for different purposes. Formal arrangements are
available to present requests for some shrines.
There so many polytheistic innovations that exist in
association with the names of the Prophet (sws), his
companions and his noble wives. Special dishes are cooked in
their names and they are differentiated on the basis of
distinctions that were practiced by the polytheists
and that have been mentioned by the Qur’an in Surah An‘am.
There are so many people who associate the specific attributes
of God with the Prophet (sws), to the extent that they claim:
“He who was at level with the heaven as God descended on
Madinah in the form of Mustafa.”
There are so many places where sacred relics from the Prophet
(sws) and his companions are said to be located and the
pilgrimage celebrations of these relics remain a source of
constant mischief. In some places, water after bathing graves
of saints, chests containing their relics or the imprint of
the Prophet (sws)’s foot are distributed among pilgrims. Many
people drink it in the belief that this is the only cure for
various physical and mental illnesses. They rub this water in
their eyes and rub it in their beards. Polytheistic
innovations of Muharram and the ta‘ziyah are common in every
town and village and almost every person is aware of these.
There are so many who consider their lineage to be the path to
redemption or at the very least, closeness to God. So many
believe that the way of their ancestors is what religion and
shari‘ah really is. Religious and traditional phrases are at
the tip of all tongues and those who prefer customs over
shari‘ah exist in every group of Muslims.
Search and desire for knowledge of God’s guidance is almost
nonexistent. Muslims have various sects. In every sect,
fanatics can be found among both the common people and
religious scholars, who are so fixated and biased towards
their own, specific ways, their own scholars and their own
designated imams that the concept of truth and guidance
outside of their circle is difficult. Some extremists go to
the extent of spending every effort on shredding to pieces the
content of the Book and Sunnah but will not allow any
criticism on what their imam says. Some even say that this
verse or this hadith would have been assessed by their imam,
but when he has given his fatwa despite this, we shall follow
him only. Understanding the secrets of the verse and hadith is
his responsibility.
There are many who possess knowledge of the religion of God,
due to His blessings, but believe that their scholars and
sheikhs are the standard for truth. They are not satisfied
with the legitimacy of arguments of the sect to which their
sheikhs do not belong, even if one presents these based on the
Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet (sws), rationality or
previous understanding. The partiality that they should
possess towards God and His Prophet (sws) is directed towards
their scholars and sheikhs and the regard required for God’s
guidance and the way of the Prophet (sws) exists for their
preacher’s path. Even people with intelligence do not
understand the significance of this problem.
We have discussed the self worship of polytheists and nation
worship of Jews earlier and have demonstrated how nations and
groups become evil forces after having obtained legitimacy in
the religious and worldly sense; how they connect God’s
promises and all of His blessings to their lineage and
families instead of faith in God and good deeds; how they make
their circle the circle of redemption and their path the
stand-in for God’s guidance. Muslims today are exactly in this
situation. Whatever they do become Islamic automatically. It
is not necessary that this should be according to the Qur’an
or to the path of the Prophet (sws). The ways they adopt
become the colour of God, even if it is a coarse imitation of
the ignorant culture of the West. The education they provide
to their children is Islamic, even if such an education
uproots Islam from within the hearts of these children. The
institutions they set up are Islamic, even though Islam and
its teachings may be ridiculed in them. Whatever basis they
establish their collective lives on and whatever laws and
constitution they adopt, their Islam will never be taken away
from them. Turkey took its personal law from Switzerland;
penal code from Italy and trade laws from Germany. However, it
remained an important Muslim state and the people who made
these things happen are considered upholders of religion,
mujahid and worthy of gratitude.
It is due to the predominance of this point of view that
Muslims of Hindustan think that if they have created a few
sectors in which there is a majority of Muslims that has
dominated the government machinery and legislative processes
and they were able to show their performance in collective and
social matters, these sectors would become Pakistan,
regardless of whether the governance system would be an
imitation of an ignorant system, and the Qur’an would neither
play any role in legislation, nor would religion have any say
in cultural and traditional sectors. The Qur’an had counted
pretensions related to superiority and purity of Jews and
polytheists to be elements of shirk. Muslims of today have
clarified the interpretation of this so clearly. They were the
progeny of those dear to God and a prestigious nation, hence
they have started to believe that they are the best of nations
and so, every act of theirs is better and pure. Whatever law
their majority passes is the law of God; whatever polish they
prepare for the faces of Muslims is the colour of God and
whoever leads them in this process is the greatest of leaders.
As if it is enough to be within the group of Muslims to be on
the guided path, regardless of life spent in rebellion against
God and disobedience to Him. This circle is a haven for those
who go against God: those who are outside this circle are
destined for .Hell, but the ones who are within are worthy of
God’s mercy despite being evil instead of being His servants.
The Prophet (sws) had said that they would follow every step
of their predecessors, the Jews. Think about how close the
thinking of Muslims is to كُوۡنُوۡا هُوۡدًا
اَوۡ نَصٰرٰی تَهۡتَدُوۡا (if you become Jew or
Christian, you will find guidance (2:135)) and
وَ قَالُوۡا
لَنۡ
تَمَسَّنَا النَّارُ اِلَّاۤ
اَیَّامًا
مَّعۡدُوۡدَۃًؕ
(they will not be touched by Hellfire but only for a
few days (2:80)).
The Qur’an has declared the worship of evil forces by the
Jews and hypocrites and their support to shirk as shirk. Jews
worshipped evil forces by following leaders who made people
follow their desires instead of guidance from God. The same
situation exists for Muslims today. How many among them follow
leaders who make them follow their desires? They claim to
follow the Book of God and Sunnah of the Prophet (sws) but are
neither aware of it nor do they practice it. There are many
simpletons who say that their path may not be that of God and
the Prophet, but they retain good will towards Muslims. What
can be a worse example of becoming an evil force than the fact
that today, Muslims desire their personal benefit over what
God, His religion and the Prophet (sws) have preferred? If
they can get their way, but the way of God is destroyed, it is
fine with them. If a person is leading them on a path where
their own head seems to be high, there is no problem if the
flag of religion is lowered. Allah O’ Akbar! What a time of
mischief! A Muslim claims to be a Muslim even though he is
outside of servitude to God and believes those people who lead
him on a path away from the religion of God to be his well
wishers.
The evil worship of hypocrites was that they would take some
of their matters to courts of Jews, not to that of God and the
Prophet (sws). Here the situation is that every sector of life
is dominated by evil forces. Courts are evil and Muslims refer
to them in all situations; teaching institutions are evil and
a large group of Muslims send their children to these places;
the system is evil and not only are Muslims instruments of
this system, they compete with each other for their progress
within this system and try to get above others. The culture
is evil and Muslims are eager to paint their faces with this
rose paint. The economic and trade system is evil and the
Muslim is ahead in adopting this. Literature and art is evil
and the Muslim is keen to get a share in it. There are few, if
any, who feel that there may be anything wrong with these
things.
We have shown above that support of and agreement with shirk
is also shirk. But here how many Muslims spend their mental
abilities and strength of their physical selves in the
development of an evil system and civilization? How many are
there who labour to strengthen and stabilize this and who are
ready to give their lives to uphold the words of kufr?
The Qur’an has considered the whispers of hypocrites and
their willfulness against the path of the believers, but how
many Muslims today are not satisfied only with defaming the
instructions of God and the Prophet (sws), but ridiculing the
same openly. They call the shari‘ah laws out of date,
impossible to implement and against rationality and
civilization. They believe that Islamic laws and economic
systems were appropriate only for those times. They consider
the wisdom of the Qur’an to be subservient to the standards
of current times and are deniers, in every sector of their
lives, whether external or internal, of the route that was
determined by God and His prophet (sws) for believers. Their
approach is un-Islamic; their social systems are un-Islamic.
That which is required by God and the Prophet (sws) is
detestable and rejected by them. That which is odious and
condemned by God and His Prophet (sws) is desirable and
popular among them. They have either made their desires or the
people they envy for their education and culture their
deities. Their relationship with Islam is only to the extent
that, in spite of all this, they still call themselves
Muslims.
The worship of benefits to self was also considered to be
shirk. There are so many Muslims today who claim to worship
God but they present a picture of those who
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَّعْبُدُ اللّٰهَ عَلٰي حَرْف
(they worship God while standing on one side (22:11)). To the
extent that there is no misgiving about accepting Islam and
following it, they are Muslims. But where the demands of Islam
begin, where their worldly concerns are damaged, or their
lives face challenges, they cut themselves off. They have not
submitted completely to God and the Prophet (sws). They
consider it enough to believe in the Prophet (sws) as a matter
of belief only. For them it is not a part of tawhid and faith
in prophet hood to obey him in all matters in every aspect of
life according to the teachings he had brought and the
guidance he delivered. However, every messenger instructs his
people to obey God and to obey him as well and also clarifies
that those who are against his path should be rebelled
against. وَلَا تُطِيْعُوْا اَمْرَ
الْمُسْرِفِيْنَ (fight those who go against my path
(26:151)) .
This is the point where the real dispute between Islam and
denial begins. Otherwise, what is the problem with the
belief that God is one, messengers are sent by God, we
believe in God, His angels, His books and the day of Judgement,
that necks are cut, swords come into action, and deeds of
hijrah, jihad and killing are carried out? There were people
in Arabia before the Prophet (sws) who decried idol worship
openly and among them were many famous orators. They would
openly talk about tawhid in their speeches but the Quraysh
were not against them. Hence, there was no reason for them to
fight the Prophet (sws) only because he considered himself to
be the messenger of God and was against idols. They entire
battle was because the Prophet (sws) called for complete
obedience to God as an essential element of worship, the way
to His obedience as obedience to himself and rebellion against
them as necessary.
This is the part of religion that cannot be private and that
calls for giving up one’s life for sustainability. This is the
reason why Arabs could tolerate followers of the hanifi
belief, but could not bear the Prophet (sws) and his
companions. Thus, those Muslims who do not find any aspect of
shirk in including elements of other religions along with
their belief in God and His Prophet (sws), whose religion
requires no more than a mosque in Lobe and graveyard in
London, whose strike of “no god but God” falls only on dead
gods and not those who are alive, should think that for them,
not only Hindustan but the entire world is a world of peace.
This blunt sword would have been of no danger to Arab jahiliyyah
and is of no danger to the ignorance of modern times. If the
ignorant Arabs disliked it, the civilized human of current
times faces no danger from this mouthless cannon and a dummy
gun. He is happy with worship of anyone, provided only he is
obeyed.
Real Obligation of Current Times and Removal of Some Doubts
The natural relationship of a Muslim with things that are
shirk or that possess even basic elements of shirk is not one
of union, but of separation; not of friendship but of enmity;
not of love but of hostility; not of support and victory but
of hatred and rebellion. It is the responsibility of a Muslim
that he destroys it if he the power to do so. If not, he
should raise his voice against it. If he cannot do this
either, he should at least hold hatred and anger against it in
his heart. There is no level of faith and intent below this.
It is clear from the condition of Muslims explained in
previous chapters that the majority are in opposition to the
above. Not only are they falling below the lowest level of
faith and intent, layers of shirk related deeds and beliefs
are covering them. The reason for this is nothing other than
the fact that the true realization of tawhid and its demands
is missing from their minds due to a long term absence of a
true religious system and overwhelming presence of the forces
of evil. The real responsibility of the times is for a
reformist and pure group to rise up which should create a
correct sense of tawhid among Muslims; explain the actual
meaning of worship and obedience to people; clarify what is
meant by rule of God and obedience to the Prophet (sws); make
the demands and requirements of Islam and faith clear to the
world; fulfill the obligation that is levied upon the ummah
of the last Prophet (sws) by order of
كَذٰلِكَ جَعَلْنٰكُمْ اُمَّةً وَّسَطًا لِّتَكُوْنُوْا
شُهَدَآءَ عَلَي النَّاسِ وَيَكُوْنَ الرَّسُوْلُ عَلَيْكُمْ
شَهِيْدًا God (We have made you a midway ummah so
that you may become witness upon people and the Prophet is
witness upon you (2:143)). Such a group would pay to God the
trust due to non- payment of which the Jews were cursed:
لَوۡ لَا یَنۡهٰهُمُ الرَّبّٰنِیُّوۡنَ وَ
الۡاَحۡبَارُ عَنۡ قَوۡلِهِمُ الۡاِثۡمَ وَ اَکۡلِهِمُ السُّحۡتَ لَبِئۡسَ مَا کَانُوۡا یَصۡنَعُوۡنَ (Why do their
rabbis and jurists not stop them from saying sinful things and
eating haram?) (5:63). And that would fulfill the aim of God
for which He sent His messengers again and again and for which
He destroyed many nations and uplifted many. وَلۡتَکُنۡ
مِّنۡکُمۡ اُمَّةٌ
یَّدۡعُوۡنَ
اِلَی الۡخَیۡرِ
وَ یَاۡمُرُوۡنَ
بِالۡمَعۡرُوۡفِ
وَ یَنۡهَوۡنَ
عَنِ الۡمُنۡکَرِ (And it is required that
there be a group within you that invites people to do good ,
instructs for the best and prevents them from what is wrong.
(3:104))
This group should not only be witness to God’s tawhid through
verbal or written words but also through its own practice. It
should rise up to colour the world in the colour of God and
should itself be steeped in this colour. It would break all
prejudices of nationhood and statehood and all barriers of
race and clan. Even a small desire for political superiority
of a specific nation, numeric majority or economic preference
should not be hidden in any corners of the heart of such a
group. The only purpose of its efforts should be to raise the
word of God and the invitation of His messengers. It should be
enemy not just to a single falsehood in the world, but to all
falsehood and mischief of the world. It should strike all
ignorant and evil systems simultaneously to the extent that
even evil that arises from within its own nation would not
expect to be excused or overlooked. Such a group would select
every falsehood one by one and declare its support for the
truth and enmity for falsehood. For this path, it would cut
off from all desires, aims, all friendships, relationships and
connections and be satisfied with what it has been given by
God. Its invitation for the whole world would be the same: the
bread in its satchel and water in its bottle would possess
contentment and quenching for all who are hungry or thirsty.
Its lamp would light up like that atop a hill and point the
direction for anyone who has lost his way. The brightness of
its guidance would be for the benefit of all and sundry, just
as the sun of God. Its clouds would make fertile every desert
and mountain like the rain from heavens. It would speak in all
languages and to all addressees. It would shout out to all and
explain by holding everyone hard to its chest. The spiritual
illnesses of humankind would disturb it to the extent that it
weeps un-consolably when prostrating to God in isolation. Its
nights should become deprived of the comfort of sleep and its
days of moments of freedom. It becomes full of pain and sorrow
after observing the heavy yoke of slavery of so many elites
and deities around the necks of God’s creation. It would carry
the invitation of God that is the only solution to all such
problems to every ear that listens and every eye that sees
through word and practice.
Such a group that connects with everyone cannot be
unsuccessful in its aim. In spite of the dominance of evil,
human nature is not dead. There are so many servants of God
within whose hearts the awareness of tawhid and its
requirements is still alive. But they do not possess the
resolve and strength that disturbs them enough to fight with
current conditions. They do not await any evidence or argument
for acceptance of the truth, but they only need a sincere
person who can raise his voice to come to prayer” and
convince them with his firm determination and what he says,
he also wishes for. As soon as this reality dawns upon them,
they would wrap up their beds and, breaking all chains of
their worries would accompany him.
There are so many who are completely disgusted with shirk but
are not aware of all the requirements of tawhid. They have not
understood the devotion of humans, the absolute rule of God,
messenger-ship of the Prophet (sws) and the real meaning of
Islam and faith. They have either not read about religion or,
if they have, they have not done so with thoughtful analysis.
Due to this, they do not see their current lives as being
parallel to the path of God. If they do, the actual divergence
of their path is not evident to them. They are under the
misconception that while they may have created a way different
from that of God, this separation is not so as to make the
integration impossible. As soon as they understand that these
two paths are proceeding in two different directions and the
farther they move ahead, the greater will this difference
become and when they reach the Day of Judgement, they could
find themselves to have strayed the most, they would ponder
over their situation and a majority of them would, God
willing, side with truth.
There are many people who are not unable to understand truth
as truth but they are unable to recognize their own
difficulties. As they gain better knowledge of God and His
attributes through deeper appreciation of His invitation, they
will break away from the chains of their personal desires,
until there will be many who emerge from this process
preferring the soul over the body; faith over hunger and God
and servitude to Him over the world and its false reputation
and affectations. They would see safety only in the path of
God and those among them who are less strong would find
strength from the practical demonstration of the group of the
faithful. When they see that there are people under God’s
heavens who have given up on false worldly positions in favour
of obedience to God; turned their backs on the world; rebelled
against evil and invited all kinds of danger to their benefit
and family, their conscience would also be invigorated. They,
too, would test the power of their will.
Such a group would not be labeled as one belonging to any
specific nation. Instead, it would be linked totally with
God’s religion and its rules. Hence every person would
contemplate solely upon the characteristics of its invitation.
He would not mistrust this invitation based on misgivings
about its links with any nation’s majority or political
superiority. The popularity of this invitation would increase
at the same pace at which this reality becomes evident. A
Christian, an Englishman, a German, , an Italian, a Hindu, a
Jain, a Buddhist- all would ponder only from the perspective
of the rational value of this invitation. They would think
about the scale of its morals; the level of its economic and
political point of view; its comparison with all tested and
tried ways and faiths of the world; the extent of its ability
to address the problems in the world. This would make Islam a
vibrant element: something is currently dormant like the water
of a closed pond would cover everything above and below like
the energy and storm of a flood.
The invitation of this group would not begin with the
presupposition that Hindustan has 100 million Muslims: their
number should increase to 120 or 160 million. Instead, it
would differentiate between these Muslims on the basis of
their beliefs and practices. This does not mean that this
invitation would begin with “O’ deniers of truth, believe in
God.” Those who have this misunderstanding are not aware of
the form of invitation that has been derived from earlier
prophets of God and that has been explained in the Qur’an
itself.
Those who have studied the phased stages of Qur’anic
invitation know that when the Prophet (sws) gained his prophet
hood, he did not begin his invitation with words of “O’
infidels” and “O’polytheists”, despite the fact that everyone
in his nation was a polytheist. How can people have the right
to assume that those who have been Muslims for generations and
it is unknown how many of them could be on the right path are
deniers and begin their invitation by calling them
polytheists? The Prophet (sws) had started by calling them “O’
my nation” and “O’ people” and “O’ humans”. He first revived
the sense of requirements and needs of their nature in
principle and clarified how they had developed elements of
polytheism in their lives. As long as God wished, this work
continued until all arguments had been completed. Those who
had the capacity to understand accepted the truth and those
whose hearts had deadened or who had developed hard positions
not only declared themselves as deniers of truth but also
decided to kill the Prophet (sws). At that stage, the Prophet
(sws) was ordered to migrate and that was the first time that
the word kafir (denier of truth) was uttered by him. This word
occurs in Surah Kafirun.
Before this, this word is not found in the Qur’an from the
Prophet (sws). In the same way, the word “the word
“polytheist” is also used for the people of Makkah at the time
of or after migration. قُلۡ یٰۤاَیُّهَا
الۡکٰفِرُوۡنَ
In the same manner, the invitation given to the People of the
Book did not begin with “O’ infidels” or “O’ polytheists”, but
with “O’ People of the Book” and “O’ people”. Until the
requirements of all their principles had been clarified to
them and the messenger and a pious group had fulfilled its
responsibility of explaining the truth and completing all
arguments, neither was their denial and polytheism declared
nor was the stage to fight with them reached.
Exactly the same situation occurred with the hypocrites. These
people apparently believed in all principles of Islam. The
Qur’an always addressed them as “O’ People of Faith” and
defined for them requirements of faith, Islam, tawhid and
belief in prophet hood so that those who were making mistakes
due to their ignorance and being in slumber would take heed.
Then the Qur’an threatened them of a war against them if they
did not refrain from making mischief and breaking their
promises. This approach was followed for the hypocrites and
those weak in faith from the time of the Battle of Uhud to
the Battle of Tabuk. During this time, if there was the
danger from passionate Muslims that they might adopt a severe
attitude towards them, the former were stopped from doing so.
There is evidence on this both in the Qur’an and Ahadith.
Thus, those who were warned and reformed themselves were
accepted into the fold of Islam. Those who did not refrain
from their deeds even after these admonitions were exposed and
final decisions were made about them.
This approach adopted by the Prophet (sws) was not a false
demonstration of the psychology of invitation and preaching.
It was, in fact, based on a very significant truth which most
people today are ignorant of. If something is false, shirk
or wrong, it does not mean that the person committing it is a
false person, or polytheist or hypocrite. Someone who consumes
haram does not become a sinner automatically. It is quite
possible that such a person might not be aware of the
forbidden nature of that thing; he could also have been forced
by necessity to consume it. It is possible that he has become
involved with a misconception based on an argument. Any other
reason could be possible. Especially, during the hiatus of
messengers, with the propagation of truth having being
abandoned for a long period, such darkness is spread
throughout that even those with sight cannot see the path
ahead, let alone common people. The natural requirement of
such times is that whichever prophet comes, he does not come
with labels of denials and polytheism. He does not attach
labels such as deniers of the truth, hypocrites and
polytheists to people. He highlights the signs of the truth
for people; removes dust from pathways; opens up closed
alleyways; and lights up the truth as the light of dawn with
his constant effort, continuous struggle, a pious and pure
life and selfless deeds. This struggle extracts the essence
from within people who possess pure hearts and their
distinctive presence is another proof of truth being truth and
falsehood being falsehood. At this time, whoever possesses
even the semblance of recognizing the truth sees with his own
eyes that the path to God is this and that it is also possible
to walk on it. Then, either God’s punishment appears to decide
on their falsehood or the swords of the faithful comes into
action. This is the lesson we derive from the lives of God’s
prophets.
People who get up today with the blessed resolve to reinstate
religion and to resurrect the Sunnah will find their guidance
from the same style of prophet hood. Obviously, no one is in
this ummah is waiting for a prophet to come now. The system to
sustain faith and revive it is one following the way of the
Prophet (sws). It was the same system that had kept Muslims on
the mid way and completed arguments on the creations of God.
But this system has been disrupted for centuries. It has been
replaced and is dominated by an evil system that has made
every part of a Muslim’s life impure. There is no sector that
is free of subservience to these evil forces. From among us,
those who do not willingly succumb to this system are doing it
unwillingly. The purest of persons are not clean from the
splashes of this dirt. The entire system of religious
education is in abeyance. Whatever remains is governed by the
dominant system. The tongue and the pen is free for all
obscenities except for the word of truth. Much of what is
being taught in the name of religion today is a license for
current society and the current system of ignorance from
religion.
In these troubled and chaotic times it is not a surprise that
Muslims become unaware of faith and its demands, tawhid and
its requirements. A garden that has become bereft of the care
of its caretakers, or those who are charged with looking after
it believe that the wild weeds and trees are the real plants
and spend their efforts in watering and nourishing these
instead of cleaning it, pruning its trees, getting rid of
weeds and taking care of the sprouting plants becomes a jungle
instead of a garden. This is a true example of the command to
do good and say no to evil. This is a natural obligation that
a farmer fulfils for his farm; a gardener for his garden; a
shepherd for his herd; a guide for his nation and the
authorities on an ummah for their people. The caliphate system
is the natural and system for fulfillment of such a
responsibility. Without it, it is neither possible for Muslims
to remain on the right path, nor can arguments for religion be
completed upon the world. Hence, one should neither censure
Muslims for straying from the true path nor should people be
blamed for their perdition. Muslims were salt for this land:
when their salty nature has disappeared, how can any salty
dish be prepared.
If the group that rises up today to invite Muslims towards
tawhid and its requirements believes that all Muslims have
become non believers, they would be unmerciful in the extreme.
If it does so, it would demonstrate clearly that it neither
possesses a correct assessment of the situation, nor does it
have any inclination towards the invitation approach that was
adopted by God’s messengers. Before deciding upon denial or
transgression of anyone, this group should first clearly
explain the Book of God and struggle hard to become pious and
God fearing itself until God removes the darkness that covers
everything and it becomes possible for everyone to distinguish
between truth and falsehood.
Accusing someone of being an infidel actually means that such
a person be declared an apostate and he be given the
punishment that has been stated in Islam. A pious and
authoritative group gives this punishment to those people
within it who rebel against this invitation and its basic
system openly and deliberately. The condition for giving this
punishment is that a group that is pious exists. A non pious
group does not have the right to declare another group as non
pious. The second condition is that such a group should
possess the authority. A group that does not have the
necessary legitimacy cannot issue regulations for punishments.
The third condition is that due to the establishment of a
pious group, the environment should have become such that it
is no longer easy for sinners and criminals and all resources
are available to explain and clarify religion and truth upon
people. Without this, neither can the hand be cut off for the
crime of theft, nor can an adulterer be stoned and nor can a
drunkard be given lashes. Even if such a group that is both
pious and in control comes to rule the nation and the
religious environment is such that moral restrictions exist
that deter crime, in case temporary conditions that enable
rise in crimes arise, the government shall not issue the shari‘ah
related punishments for such crimes. During the reign of ‘Umar
(rta), a severe famine led to an economic downturn, he
postponed the punishment of cutting off hands for theft until
improvement of the situation.
During the times of Jesus (sws), a woman was brought to him
for having committed adultery. Jew rabbis asked for the
stoning punishment for her. Jesus (sws) replied to the affect:
“Yes! Stone her, but only he who has never committed such a
sin should do so” (John, 8:7). He did not mean that everyone
was an adulterer and that no pious person had remained. He was
pointing towards the conditions of those times when there was
no pious group, no pious system and no shari‘ah environment.
If the woman was guilty of infidelity to her husband, who
among the people present was not guilty of infidelity to a
greater sin, i.e. faithlessness and infidelity towards God?
They had broken their promise to God and polytheist Romans had
been imposed upon them as a punishment from God. They had no
right to punish the woman because of her infidelity.
Thus in principle, it is wrong to accuse some one of being an
infidel. This is an extreme punishment, after which a person
gets cut off from his group and after which it becomes
obligatory to kill him. Today, no pious group with authority
exists; no shari‘ah system of calling people to do good and
restraining them from evil exists that could keep alive the
sense of shirk and denial. The darkness of evil surrounds all
aspects of life and, not only is the distinction between truth
and falsehood non-existent, but efforts to embellish falsehood
and show it as the truth are more successful today than all
previous times. Under these conditions, people who are playing
games of infidelity and perdition charges are completely
ignorant of the situation, significance of applying such
accusations and the rules and regulations that govern this.
They are themselves a result of the ignorance and mischief of
current times. The people to whom God has given the strength
and desire to make a real effort are not seeking to declare
others as infidels. Their point of invitation begins from: “O’
People, you who believe, believe fully.”
If all have fallen into a dirty pond, no one has the right to
call the other impure and consider him liable for punishment.
One has only the right to explain what is dirty and invite
others to escape the dirt. This effort should continue so that
Muslims who are sleeping a calm slumber, thinking that
Hindustan is a world of peace would understand that it is not
a peaceful home, but it is a house that is full of smoke or a
toilet where it is difficult to breathe because of the stench.
Human nature does not possess shirk, as we will explain in the
next chapter. A Muslim cannot even imagine shirk. Thus, there
is no reason for such a nature that is currently dormant due
to the darkness of the time and lulled into ignorance by
those around not to be awakened and for humans not become
aware of the true love for and obedience to God.
(Translated by Nikhat Sattar)
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