This manifesto is, in fact, a declaration of war against
the existing state of affairs. The objective behind its implementation is the
manifestation of the actual truth so that the hollow concepts of law and
politics, economics and sociology fashioned by the west be rendered meaningless.
Following are the details of this objective which are
actually the changes that must be brought about in the affairs of our state.
At The Political Level
1. It should be very clearly written down in the
constitution of our country that the Qur’an and Sunnah shall be the supreme law
of state to which the parliament and constitution itself must submit.
2. For the interpretation of the Qur’an and Sunnah, a
committee of competent religious scholars should be instituted by an electoral
mandate of the parliament. This committee would be entrusted with the task of
ascertaining the implications and purport of the Qur’an and Sunnah in the
collective affairs of life. It would also be assigned to formulate the rules for
legislation, and to determine the limits beyond which we, as Muslims, can never
exceed. After this, the actual task of legislation should be done by the
parliament itself keeping in view these ascertained implications, rules and
limits.
The following two principles should be clearly spelled out
in the basic code of this committee:
Firstly, all differences of opinion shall be resolved by a
majority vote. Anyone, within or outside the committee, who disagrees with its
final verdict will have all the freedom to rationally express his views,
wherever he likes and in whatever form he chooses. However, any protest, evasion
or refusal to obey it would be considered a criminal offence.
Secondly, the content of Islam is only that which is
endorsed by the Qur’an and Sunnah, which also, incidentally, are the only two
sources of it. Whoever considers this to be so, shall only be eligible for this
committee.
3. It should be declared that the enforcement of Tauheed
(monotheism), refutation of Shirk (associating others in the Being, Attributes
or Rights of Allah), establishment of prayers and zakat, enjoining what is
virtuous and forbidding what is evil are the primary objectives of the state.
4. The affairs of state should be run by the consultation
of only those, who establish regular prayers, and if eligible, pay zakat to the
Bayt‘ul-mal, and the only basis of their appointment in the Shu‘rah (parliament)
should be their wisdom and piety, intellect and sagacity which distinguish them
from others.
5. Those in authority (the ool-ul-amr) should be obligated
that their standard of living must not exceed that of a common man.
6.(a) The centre of each administrative unit of the state
should be its Jam‘i Mosque. Furthermore, the division of these administrative
units should be such that one Jam‘i Mosque should suffice for the needs of one
unit.
(b) Within each unit, all the administrative offices and
courts should be instituted adjacent to this Jam‘i Mosque.
(c) The capital of the country together with each of the
provincial capitals should have a single central Jam‘i Mosque.
(d) The address of the Friday prayers should only be
delivered by the head of state, and only he should lead these prayers in the
central Jam‘i Mosque of the capital. The provincial governors should be
entrusted with this job in the central Jam‘i Mosques of the provinces, while the
representatives of the government should perform this duty in the Jam‘i Mosques
of the various administrative units.
(e) The Friday prayers should be prohibited in all mosques
except these.
(f) These mosques should be managed and supervised by the
government.
(g) Every religious scholar should be allowed to deliver a
lecture or teach, train and instruct his followers according to his own views in
any of these mosques.
7. In the general elections, the mode of proportionate
representation should be adopted so that instead of an individual, a party
presents itself to take charge of the affairs of state, and as a result of which
the parties, on the basis of the trust and support bestowed on them by the
public, are able to nominate their pious and competent members for the
parliament.
8. In the parliament, the tradition should be established
that instead of the party members voting only for their own party, they should
vote for what they consider as right, abide by it and, in fact, take pride in
it. Also, no one should not be allowed to forcibly convince them against
something which they consider as correct.
9. After the general elections, the process of transfer of
power to the newly elected representatives should be delayed by at least six
months. During this interim period, all members of the parliament should undergo
training in political affairs in an academy specifically instituted for this
purpose---just as in the present set up, those selected for the civil services
are given a training in administrative affairs for a certain period before they
actually take charge of their duties.
10. The present set up of the Executive and the Judiciary
should be extracted from its roots, and in its place a new system be implanted.
Under this system, the whole country should be divided into small administrative
units where all the problems of the general public should be dealt. The present
gradations in the government should be finished, and these administrative units
should be first directly linked with the provinces and then to the centre.
11. For prompt action against any excesses committed by
the administration, an ombudsman invested with appropriate powers should be
appointed.
12. If the citizens of an Islamic State refrain from every
prohibited belief and deed, establish regular prayers and pay zakat, it is their
right that:
Their lives should be safeguarded at all costs and they
should not be compelled to put their lives in danger even for a very noble
cause.
Their rightfully owned wealth and property should be
protected.
No tax should be imposed on them.
Their honour and integrity should be given protection.
Even in extraordinary circumstances their personal freedom
should not be curtailed totally or partially, until after an open court hearing,
a court pronounces a verdict after they have been given a chance to plead.
They should not be forced to adopt any particular thought,
opinion, view, occupation, dress or attitude.
No restriction should be imposed on them as regards
forming an opinion is concerned as well as its presentation wherever and
whenever they like.
No responsibility should be imposed on them against their
wishes.
Every citizen rich or poor, high or low, strong or weak,
ruler or ruled should be considered equal in the eyes of the law and no
discrimination in this regard should be tolerated.
The state must grant each citizen the same social status
irrespective of his colour, creed and rank which are given importance only in
`uncivilized' societies.
The state must provide food, clothing, shelter, education,
health facilities and all such basic necessities to every needy citizen.
The doors of the ool-ul-amr must always remain open
without any restriction to the general public so that at any time and place they
are able to reach them to present their grievances and petitions, and are also
able to criticize them and to freely call them to account.
They should be provided unbiased justice in all
circumstances.
13. Similarly, dealings with non-Muslim citizens who are
Mu`aahids ie, those have come under an Islamic State on account of a treaty with
it, should be according to the terms of the treaty concluded with them. The
state should abide by these terms in all circumstances and should never violate
them in the slightest way.
At The Economic Level
(1) All institutions which provide capital on loan should
be completely abolished, and all Banks should be converted into various branches
of the Public Treasury (the Bait-ul-Maal) where people can deposit their
savings. These branches shall provide protection, exchange and other similar
facilities. In return for this service, the deposited money will be invested by
the government only in the public sector on industrial, commercial, agricultural
and welfare projects with the pre-condition that without being given any profit
on the original amount, the depositers would be returned their money whenever
they demand it. This broad-based public sector shall be planned by the
government keeping in view the collective requirement and welfare of all the
people. It shall finance all projects which need huge investments as part of its
basic obligation towards the public.
(2) The public sector so created shall not be run by the
government. Leaving it in state ownership, its running and management shall be
entrusted to the private sector by adopting either or both of the following two
modes, depending upon the circumstances: (i) selling a certain quantity of
shares to the private sector, (ii) imposing kharaj (tribute) on the party of the
private sector which is entrusted with the job of management.
However, the government can keep certain ventures of public interest, like the
ordinance factories or the mass media under its own management.
(3) Individuals in the private sector who intend to set up
their own business shall be freely allowed to do so. They can pool their money
to form a joint venture and employ other means to procure funds. Joint stock
companies can also play their role in the set up. However, no financial
institution shall be allowed to mediate and advance loans to them. Also, the
only form of absentee partnership permitted would be one in which people can
directly become shareholders in various projects of the private and public
sector.
4. Every economic venture which leads to moral misconduct
in the character of an individual, is a means of deceit or damage for the
parties involved, or is a cause of accumulation of wealth in the society should
be declared unlawful. Interest, insurance, gambling and hoarding should be
prohibited, and the law of inheritance should be correctly enforced.
5. To run the machinery of the state, the government
should be allowed to rely only on the income obtained from its lands,
industries, mineral reserves, trade and zakat. In emergency situations, however,
an appeal for money can be made by the government. Furthermore, no tax should be
imposed on the people so that they are liberated from the shackles of this
barbarity of the modern age.
Concerning zakat, however, six aspects must always remain
in consideration:
(i) There is no basis in the Qur’an and Sunnah for the
condition of making the recipient the owner of the money given to him (tamleek-i-zaatee)
imposed by our jurists. Therefore, in our consideration, just as zakat can be
given in the personal possession of an individual, it can also be spent on
projects of public welfare.
(ii) Nothing except the means of production, personal
items of daily use and a fixed statutory exemption called nisaab are exempt from
zakat. It shall be levied annually on all sorts of wealth, all types of animals
and all forms of production of every Muslim citizen. However, if a need arises,
an Islamic State can give a relaxation on any item.
(iii) It should also be borne in mind that according to
the various heads mentioned in the Qur’an, zakat is not merely for the poor and
destitute, but under al-aamileena-`alaihaa, it can be used to pay the salaries
of all government officials, under al-mu'allafat-i-quloobuhum, it can be spent
to meet all political expenditures in the interest of Islam, under fee
sabeelillaah, it can be expended on da`wah ventures and mosques, education and
research, Haj and ‘Umrah facilities, Jihad and Qital, and public welfare
projects like roads, bridges and hospitals, etc.
(iv) If the basis of the directive is kept in
consideration, all forms of industrial produce, all forms of production based on
various skills and all forms of rent on various items or buildings must be
classified as produce and not as wealth; therefore, their rates and nisaab
should be derived on the basis of the rates and nisaab specified by the Prophet
(sws) for land produce.
(v) The rates of zakat in all forms of production should
be fixed on the basis of the principle derived from the Prophet's directives.
According to this principle, zakat on all items which are produced both by the
interaction of labour and capital is 5%; on items which are produced such that
the basic factor in producing them is either labour or capital, it is 10% and on
items which are produced neither as a result of capital nor labour but are
actually are a gift of God, it is 20%.
(vi) According to the above mentioned principle, zakat on
rented houses, properties and other rented items should be 10% of the rent and
if they are not rented out, it should be 2 1/2 % of their net value.
6. In every economic enterprise which results from the
interaction of labour and capital, labour should be granted a share according to
its participation. Those working on the lands should also be given wages and be
entitled to all other facilities like the industrial workers.
7. It should be the responsibility of the state to provide
everyone with the basic necessities of life which include food, shelter,
clothing, education and medical treatment. Those in authority should always keep
in mind God's promise about all means and resources that if people in their
national capacity hold steadfast to His directives, He would bless them with
tremendous prosperity and happiness.
8. All means and resources of development and progress
should be divided into small units to get rid of the menace of large cities.
9. If in the means of production, the right of ownership
results in injustice and usurpation, the state has all the authority to
interfere and debar a person from this right, though, only after a court
pronounces this verdict.
10. To keep money in circulation, people should be urged
to spend it in the way of Allah, and to refrain from accumulating it.
At The Social Level
1. All the institutions of the state should help establish
a society in which people should be honoured and respected on the basis of their
wisdom and piety instead of their cast, creed, profession and social status.
2. The house should be regarded the center of activities
for women, and they should be granted the necessary facilities to maintain this
priority even in indispensable social and economic needs.
3. A husband should be accepted as the head of a family
and he should always be granted the right to admonish his wife according to
verse 34 of Surah Nisaa.
4. The tradition of obeying parents and treating them
kindly, which is still widely acclaimed in our society, should be promoted and
patronized in all circumstances.
5. Co-education should be completely abolished, and all
women should be obligated to dress as honourable Muslim women do when they go
out of their houses by wearing Jilbaabs (large cloaks).
6. The custom of Jahez (dowry) and Baaraat (marriage
procession) should be gradually eliminated, and the tradition established that
if at all there is to be some expenditure upon wedding ceremonies, the
bridegroom's family must bear it.
7. A restriction should be imposed on the people, that if
they desire intend to divorce their wives, they should do so according to the
prescribed procedure mentioned in the Qur’an by administering the divorce
sentence once only. However, if someone who is ignorant of this procedure, or
due to his own foolishness administers three divorce sentences in succession, he
should be punished, and such a case should be decided in the manner the Prophet
(sws) had done so with Rukaana-Bin-Abdi-Yazeed.
8. Polygamy should be made conditional upon some moral or
social need only, and the general concept about it being permissible in the
absolute sense should be discouraged.
9. A complete end should be put to the injustices suffered
by women, and they should be given all their divinely ordained rights in all
affairs, specially in inheritance.
10. The daily routines of people should be organized in a
manner that they gradually develop the habit of going to bed early at night and
rising early in the morning so that the status occupied by the morning prayers
and the morning Qur’anic recital is restored with all their glories.
11. Our national language and dress should be popularized
and given patronage and all national traditions should be firmly established in
the society. The Arabic language should be given the same status as the English
language is given in present times.
12. It should be accepted that music, photography,
painting and other branches of fine arts are in no way forbidden in the absolute
sense, but it is their nature and use which in some situations must be
forbidden. As such, their prohibition is no eternal law of the shar‘iah;
however, in certain circumstances when they become a source of evil, a
restriction can be imposed upon them by the government.
13. The every day offences committed by our media that
include radio, films, television, newspapers and journals should be stopped.
Their first offence is that they seldom give any coverage
to learned and accomplished women who have not only distinguished themselves in
the fields of arts and science, but also as scholars of Islam. Instead, they
present women as objects of lewd entertainment. This lecherous display is in
complete disregard to the injunctions of the Qur’an, which specifically enjoins
all Muslim women to cover their heads and chests, and to refrain from exhibiting
themselves. Rather than setting examples of dignity and modesty, they sell their
honour and integrity by furthering the shameless trends of a shameless culture.
Their second offence is that through their courtesy the
stories of romance, which everywhere in the world had been confined to the
subtleties of poetry and literature and whose recital and listening to was not
disallowed in a specific age and situation even by the great Caliph ‘Umar, have
now invaded the everyday atmosphere of our homes. Such is the nature of this
invasion that the sanctity in the relationship of a mother and son, father and
daughter, brother and sister upon which the poise and grace of a society so
heavily depends is becoming an episode of the past. Due to the courtesy of our
media, a stage has been reached in which our young men, like most women are seen
perpetually involved in glamourizing themselves with the latest flares of
fashion. The older lot, may not be very enthusiastic about their clothes and
appearances, but show tremendous enthusiasm in shredding off any shame they
might have originally had.
Their third offence is that they have promoted sports and
other means of amusement to an unwholesome and unhealthy degree. Such is the
nature of this patronization that our younger generation now regards actors and
sportsmen as their ideals of life. While our scientists and technologists,
scholars and thinkers do not even receive posthumous recognition for their
achievements, these merry-makers are kept in the highest esteem. The bewitching
manner in which they allure young minds by depicting the daily routines of these
celebrities, effectively diverts them from the higher objectives of life, after
which they can no longer be expected to become scholars, thinkers or indulge in
other intellectual pursuits.
Their fourth offence is that specifically among them radio
and television show complete disregard to the mandatory hours of worship in a
day when nothing except prayers are permissible.
At The Educational Level
1. A unified system of education should be enforced in our
country. Any diversity in nature, religious or non- religious, and medium, Urdu
or English should be eliminated.
2. Only teachers who are self-righteous, staunch and
practising Muslims besides being proficient in their fields should be selected.
3. Just as in the present system, the total period of
education should be divided into three levels: primary, secondary and a higher
level. The first of these should span over eight years, the second over four
years while the last level should extend over five years.
4. At the primary level, only the Qur’an and the language
trio of Arabic, Urdu and English along with mathematics and calligraphy should
be taught. Initially, the students should be made just capable enough to read
the Qur’an fluently and they should then be made to learn by heart the last
group of the Qur’an (Surah Al-Mulk to Surah An-Naas). As soon as the students
get acquainted with Arabic, the Qur’an should be studied with a specific stress
over its meanings. By including the essential teachings of Islam in the Arabic
reader and interweaving the Urdu reader with topics pertaining to general
knowledge and the English reader with topics relating to science, the students
should be imparted a comprehensive understanding of these languages, besides
being enlightened with these branches of learning. They should be encouraged to
read about subjects that interest them from the libraries. Furthermore, all
modern educational aids should be extensively employed in all these pursuits,
and the present way of loading the students with scores of text books should be
discontinued.
5. The study of the Qur’an and languages should continue
at the secondary level. Besides this, a few more subjects relating to the one in
which a student wants to specialize at the higher level should be introduced.
Just as in the present system, the students of medicine and engineering study
certain science subjects at this level, the students of deeniyaat for example,
would study pre-Islamic Arabic literature, grammar and rhetoric. This same mode
should be adopted in the teaching of other subjects.
6. The higher level should only be reserved for
specialization. This specialization can be in deeniyaat, medicine, engineering,
sociology, physics, biology or any other subject the students choose. The
existing mode of higher education should be completely terminated.
7. All topics in various books should begin with an
elucidation of the Qur’anic point of view about these topics. Other details
should be enlisted in coherence with this point of view so that the relationship
between the knowledge obtained from the Qur’an and the knowledge acquired by
means of rational inquiry and scientific observation is clear in the minds of
the students.
8. Teaching should be made the most highly paid profession
and teachers should be given more facilities than any other vocation. The fact
that a person should have an aptitude towards teaching must be firmly emphasized
in his selection.
9. The government should establish universities for
religious education under its own management and supervision, and should urge
our present religious educational institutions to revise and reorient their
courses.
10. Scholars entrusted with the task of teaching in these
universities should specifically be the ones, who only consider the Qur’an and
Sunnah as the source and basis of Islam, and as far as possible practice what
they preach.
11. These scholars should be allowed to form and express
their opinions about various matters and issues of our religion, wherever and
whenever they want to do so under the limits set by the Qur’an and Sunnah so
that all distinguished scholars are provided with an opportunity to lecture
here.
12. Only those students should be allowed admission in
these universities who have passed their intermediate, just as in the present
set up, the students of medicine and engineering are allowed admission only if
they have cleared their intermediate examinations.
13. The total period of education in these universities
should be five years. The Qur’an should be made the pivot around which the whole
curriculum should revolve. Students should be reared with the notion that in the
Qur’an rests the final authority, and it is the Qur’an which rules over every
matter in our religion. With this beacon in their hands, they should be made to
explore the various domains of knowledge and at every step seek its guidance.
Everything accepted in our religion should be scrutinized under the light of
this divine guidance. All basis of belief and faith should be directly derived
from this word of God. Students should be made aware of the fact that even the
works of great jurists like Abu Hanifa and Shafi, scholars of Hadith like
Bukhari and Muslim, scholastics like Ash`ari and Maaturidi, Sufis like Junaid
and Shibli must be weighed in the scales of this Meezan, and nothing can be
accepted from them which is not in consonance with it.
14. Besides these mental pursuits, the characters of the
students should be moulded, so that they profess a high calibre of moral
conduct. They should be made to spend sometime everyday in the company of pious
scholars. They should also be urged to pay special attention to the injunctions
of the Qur’an and Hadith which pertain to character building and purification of
the soul. They should be induced with the spirit of offering utmost support and
co-operation in furthering the cause of Islam. They should be made conscious of
the fact that after being enlightened with the true understanding of Islam, it
is their responsibility to urge and exhort the ruling class of our country to
follow and implement the teachings of Islam.
15. The existing way of obtaining higher education in
Islamiyaat should be stopped, and the degrees given to the students who graduate
from these universities should be equal in status to the M.B.B.S and the
Engineering degrees.
At The Penal Level
1. All those criminals who take the law into their own
hands, become a nuisance for the state, adopt immodesty and profligacy as a
profession, become notorious for their ill ways and vulgarity, commit rape,
become a threat to honourable people because of their immoral and dissolute
practices, openly disgrace women due to their social status, cause destruction,
are a source of terror and intimidation for the people, are guilty of killings,
robbery, decoity and hijacking, or create a law and order situation for the
government by committing other similar crimes should be severely dealt with.
They should be administered the punishments of Taqteel
crucifixion, chopping off limbs on alternate sides, and exile which are
specifically prescribed for such criminals in verses 33-34 of Surah Maidah.
2. Other criminals who commit zina (fornication), Qazf (to
falsely accuse chaste men or women of fornication), theft or are guilty of
killing or wounding someone, but at the same time do not create a situation of
law and order for the state, and do not take the law in their hands should be
administered the prescribed punishments of stripes, chopping of hands, Qisaas
and Deeyat.
3. In the case of Deeyat, it should be accepted and
acclaimed that though it is an everlasting law which must be obeyed in all
times, yet its quantity, nature and other related affairs have been left upon
the customs and traditions of a society. Consequently, no eternal quantity of
Deeyat has been fixed by Islam, nor has it obligated us in any manner to
discriminate between a man or a woman, a free man or a slave and a Muslim or a
non-Muslim in this matter.
4. Likewise, in the case of apostasy also, it should be
recognized that the prescribed death sentence was specifically meant for the
mushrikeen of Mecca ie, the people towards whom the Prophet (sws) was directly
assigned. It, now, has no bearing whatsoever upon any person or nation. Hence,
today if a Muslim becomes an apostate and is also not a source of nuisance for
the state, he cannot be administered any punishment merely on the basis of
apostasy.
5. The present erroneous concept about the testimony of
women must be revised. In cases of Hudud, Tazirat, Qisas, Diyat, Financial
matters, Marriage and Divorce and indeed in all such matters, it should be left
upon the discretion of the judge whether he accepts someone as a witness or not.
In this regard, there must be no discrimination between a man or a woman. If a
woman testifies in a clear and definite manner, her testimony cannot be turned
down simply on the basis that there is not another woman and man to testify
alongside her. Similarly, if a man records an ambiguous and vague statement, it
cannot be accepted merely on the grounds that a man has testified. If a court is
satisfied by the statement of the witnesses and by the circumstantial evidences,
it has all the authority to pronounce a case as proven, and if it is not
satisfied, it has all the authority to reject it even if ten men have testified.
6. Similarly, it must be accepted that it is not necessary
in cases of zina that four witness can only testify if they have seen the
convicted man or woman in position of the criminal act. According to the Qur’an
and Hadith, this is only required when a case has been filed on the basis of an
accusation and the accused are chaste, virtuous, and morally sound, and about
whom no one can even imagine that they can commit such a crime.
7. It should also be accepted that in all cases of Islamic
law a crime legally stands proven not only by the testimony of the witnesses or
by the confession of the criminals themselves but also by any circumstantial
evidence. Hence in cases of zina, for example, medical examination, and in some
other crimes the use of post mortem reports, finger prints and other similar
aids, the extent of certitude obtained is no less than that obtained by the
testimony of the witnesses or by the confession of a criminal himself.
8. Apart from the crimes whose punishments have been
mentioned in the Qur’an, punishments in cases of other criminal offences should
only be restricted to physical chastisement, exaction of fine, exile or house
arresting a criminal. The inhuman punishment of confining a person behind bars
should be completely abolished.
O
With this manifesto in our hands we declare war against
the existing tide of time, and upon the present state of fairs. For their nature
is diabolic, their fiber fiendish, their breed sinister and their constitution
satanic. The very movement of reformation started in the west in 1405 AD has
culminated in the creation of a civilization which is based on utter deception
and total fraud---a civilization that has rejected any metaphysical explanation
of this universe.
Our crusade will continue until the `Kingdom of God' is
established on this earth. Now is the time for every believer to have a share in
this blitz. For this will be an offensive launched by man against satan and his
agents---an assault of truth against falsehood, an onslaught of faith against
disbelief, an uprising of cognizance against ignorance. Let no one be mistaken
about our ammunition. Rational reasoning is our only weapon, and the only help
we are counting upon is the help of the Almighty. We invite every Muslim to join
this upheaval against the forces of evil. Before Gog and Magog are let loose to
herald the end of our first creation, and before the door of repentance is
closed forever, let us deliver the final blow.
Muslims! come forward and march for the glory of Islam to
the very front of this battlefield. What have you to lose except your lives,
which one day you would do so anyway. A life in which the regrets of the past
and fears of the future do not exist, awaits you. For once, rise to the call of
the day!.
(Translated and Adapted from Ghamidi's "Burhaan")
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