The big terror attack in Pathankot threatens to derail a renewed India-Pakistan peace process. For now, the government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party are saying that the talks will go on. But it is possible that they may not be able to work against public opinion for long.
Here are five reasons why India must continue the process of talks announced after Bangkok, and reaffirmed by prime minister Narendra Modi in his meeting with his Pakistani counterpart in Raiwind.
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4.1.16
Pathankot terror attack should not derail India - Pakistan Talks
Islam is for Peace: Muhammad Asad quotes
Islam appears to me like a perfect work of architecture. All its parts are harmoniously conceived to complement and support each other; nothing is superfluous and nothing lacking; and the result is a structure of absolute balance and solid composure.
Every age requires a new approach to the Qur’an for the simple reason that the Quran is made for all ages. It is our duty to look for deeper meanings in the Quran in order to increase our knowledge and experience. The Quran wants your intellect to be always active and trying to approach the message of God. God himself dedicated this book to people who think.
We (Muslims) have no right, in our present misery, to boast of past glories. But we must realise that it was the negligence of the Muslims - and not any deficiency in the teachings of Islam - that caused our present decay.
"It is not enough to say, 'We are Muslims and have an ideology or our own': we must also be in a position to show that our ideology is vital enough to withstand the pressure of the changing times, and to decided in what way the fact of our being Muslims will affect the course of our lives: in other words, we must find out whether Islam can offer us precise directives for the formation of our society, and whether its inspiration is strong enough in us to translate these directives into practice.
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2.1.16
The Age of Peace
Some books entertain, some educate, and some leave a lasting impression on the mind. Age of Peace, written by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, is one such book that falls in the latter category.
It is an enlightening and well researched book, which conveys the message of peace in a very rational, simple and convincing manner. The book has changed my perception that achieving social peace will always be an ever elusive condition that finds mention, perhaps only in mythological stories.
Age of Peace not only upholds the need for peace, it also provides the rationale for establishing peace, and outlines the general principles based on which it is possible to establish peace in the society.
The author, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is a noted Islamic scholar and the founder of Centre of Peace and Spirituality in New Delhi, who has been internationally recognized for his contribution to world peace.
Peace, the author says, is a pre-condition for progress and social development. It is the ‘summum bonum’ or the greatest good that is devoid of any negative effects. The author writes about individual peace (peace of mind) which results from self-management, and social peace, for which social management is needed.
Negating the general perception that peace would ensue from social justice, the author says, that this is an obscure theory, for as long as we think of peace as a derivative of social justice, it will remain elusive. The key, he says, is to accept peace as the status quo.
Just like most of us recognize the contribution of our family in shaping up our lives, similarly if we recognize the contribution of humanity at large and its role in providing us with the comfort and luxuries that we enjoy, then gratitude and compassion would replace negativism and serve as an intrinsic check to violence.
Peace brings normalcy, it throws opens the door for opportunities, which when availed increase the chances of success. With peace one can achieve what one cannot achieve with violence.
This very thought changed my perception of peace. Accepting peace as the status quo, the present for what it is rather than what it should be, not living in denial and working calmly towards the goal is a very balanced approach, which is advocated by all religions.
Backed by innumerable examples from different parts of the world, from the past centuries to the modern age, the author advocates the use of non – confrontational method, peaceful activism, and spreading the message of peace through education and awareness.
The author touches upon sensitive issues such as the menace of terrorism, political dichotomy of muslims and issues facing the muslim community, militancy, misinterpretation of ‘jihaad’ to legitimise militancy, and suicide bombings. Stressing upon the need for a counter ideology, the author says that the present militancy has no sanction in Islam.
He also talks about the futility of wars, and stresses upon the role of third party in putting an end to wars. Fighting, he says, is an archaic and outdated concept in the present age that provides people with alternatives to fulfil their ambitions without resorting to violence.
Quoting some excerpts from the book
The human mind has greatest potential, but it can only work in a peaceful atmosphere. In the absence of a peaceful environment for work, the minds capability will remain unutilized.
The secret of success in life is not to make others suffer loses at your hands. The secret of success in life is to plan one’s time and energy wisely to avail of the opportunities within one’s reach.
History tells us that war is like a rootless tree. A storm can completely uproot it. But a peaceful plan is like a tree which stands upright on its own strong roots and remains unaffected by storms.
Violence or terrorism is a negation of God’s creation plan.
Terrorism is an unnatural act. Neither reason nor conscience can ever sanction it. Terrorism always ends in repentance.
I had received a copy of this book from a blogger friend and after going through it, I found that it is a very relevant book for all particularly the youth in the turbulent times that we are living in.
The book has reinforced my belief that no religion can preach violence. Extremism, terrorism and wars are all a fallout of greed of a few, who misinterpret religion and use it to their convenience.
It is a book that I would like to read over and over again.
Book Review by: Somali K Chakrabarti | New Age Islam
اردو ترجمه
Book-The Age of Peace
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1.1.16
Sufism: Positive and Negative aspects
In order to promote love and understanding between Muslims and others and to remove the misunderstandings about Islam that abound, it is important to highlight the spiritual and humane aspects of Islam. This spiritual dimension of Islam is called Sufism, or Tasawwuf.
There are various theories about the origin of the word ‘Sufi’. One explanation, which is possibly the correct one, is that it is derived from the word ‘Suf’, which means ‘wool’ in Arabic. It is believed that early in Muslim history, some people distancing them from crass materialism and political wrangling, sought to lead a spiritual life, a life oriented to the Hereafter. In their fondness for simplicity, they wore clothes made of wool. It is possible that this is what led other people to refer to them as ‘Sufis’.
Sufism and Shariah
Islam seeks to bring man close to God. It can be thought of as consisting of two halves. The first half is related to the external Shariah. The other half is linked to the individual’s own inner quest. The Shariah provides the seeker of Truth with the basic framework so that he can continue his journey while saving himself from going astray. But the higher stages of God-realization or one’s relationship with God depend entirely on one’s own inner level of preparation or spiritual thirst. The greater one’s spiritual thirst, the greater is one’s spiritual progress.
The Quran is God’s Book. We initially learn about it from the Prophet. But when we ponder deeply on the Quran, our inner insight begins to bear witness to this reality—the reality that this book is indeed God’s Book, and not something invented by a human being. And so, the Quran being a Book of God no longer remains just a matter of belief for us. Instead, it becomes something that we know to be true through our own personal realization.
The same holds true for the Shariah. The Prophet has provided us with knowledge of worship and the way it should be performed. When we engage in worship ourselves, we begin to feel that, at the psychological level, we are connected with God. This becomes something that is based on our own personal discovery. At this point, worship no longer remains something that we do as a mere ritual, out of imitation.
That we should remember God is something we initially learn from the Prophet. And when we practically engage in remembrance of God, we experience that we are travelling on a spiritual journey, wherein the veils that lie between man and God are lifted. At this time, we feel that we are not remembering someone who is very far away from us and simply through reciting some words, but, rather, that we have arrived in God’s presence and that we are directly conversing with Him.
This same thing applies for the rest of the Shariah that we have received from the Prophet of Islam. Initially, the Shariah is an external body of commandments. But when a true seeker truly practices the rules of the Shariah in his life, he or she is stunned to discover that something that was an external set of regulations has now become a personal realization for him or her.
In this way, the Shariah and one’s inner reality or spirituality are intimately linked to each other. This clearly suggests that the notion that the ‘religious’ or ‘spiritual’ domain, on the one hand, and the ‘worldly’ or ‘secular’ domain, on the other, are entirely separate and have nothing to do with each other is erroneous. Advocates of this notion wrongly believe that the social and political aspects of life have no bearing on spirituality. They also erroneously consider that spirituality or what they call ‘mysticism’ is something that is based entirely on an individual’s inner search. As a result of this dichotomous thinking, spirituality and the external world are seen as being completely divorced from each other.
In this regard, Islam provides man with the right guidance. On the one hand, it provides, in the form of the Shariah, the seeker of the Truth with basic signposts on the path that he is travelling on, which guarantee him a safe journey. On the other hand, it awakens his true nature, and by abiding by the Shariah, he reaches the final stage of the spiritual journey.
True Sufism is the second half of Islam, the first half being the Shariah. If they are separate from each other, both are incomplete. But if they join together, they become that totality that is called Islam.
Love of God
The Quran teaches us both the love and the fear of God. The Sufis gave great stress to the dimension of love, drawing support for this from numerous Quranic verses, including the following:
‘God will replace them by others who love Him and are loved by Him.’ (5:54)
It was as a result of emphasizing the aspect of the love of God that the love for humankind became an absolute principle for the Sufis. They stressed gentleness, instead of hate; peace, instead of war; and reconciliation, instead of confrontation. Consider, for instance, these touching words from the Nafiʿal-Salikin, a Sufi text, about the Sufis of the Chishti order: “The principle of our Sufi order is to be at peace with Muslims and Hindus.” This sort of understanding and approach proved to be a great blessing for the societies in which Sufis lived and worked. They became an instrument for promoting harmony and peace between different communities.
The 13thcentury Baba Fariduddin Ganj-e Shakkar was a famous Sufi of the Chishti order. Once, it is said, a disciple from a town that manufactured scissors presented him with a pair of scissors as a gift. On this occasion, he said to this disciple: “What sort of gift have you brought for me? Scissors are an instrument to cut, whereas our work is that of joining together.” If he had to bring a gift for him, Baba Farid added, he could have brought him a needle and thread, because scissors cut things apart, while a needle joins them together.
The well-known poet, Allama Iqbal, was considerably influenced by Sufism. This is reflected, for instance, in this couplet of his:
Ho Chuka Go Qaum Ki Shan-E Jalali Ka Zuhur
Hai Baqi Abhi Shan-E Jamali Ka Zuhur
(The state of gloriousness of the Muslim community has made its appearance,
But the state of mercifulness and gentleness is yet to appear.)
This is something very relevant and significant in our present times. Today, people want peace, not war. Similarly, what Muslims need is not militant Islam but Sufistic Islam. Today, we need to give the greatest stress to this aspect of Islam.
The character of Sufis is beautifully brought out in the following tale. Once, a caravan of Sufis halted at a certain spot, all around which were a large number of trees. Shortly after, a large flock of birds arrived there. They settled down in the trees and began flapping their wings and calling out loudly, indicating that they were very upset about something.
The Sufi master asked the chief of the birds what the matter was. The chief replied, “A pair of birds from our flock was resting in a tree when a disciple of yours flung a stone and killed one of them.”
The master called this disciple and asked him about what had happened. The latter replied, “Your honour! I did not do anything wrong. These birds are food for us. It is permissible for us to kill them. And so, if I killed one of them, what wrong did I do?”
When the master conveyed this reply to the chief of the birds, the chief said, “We do not complain about this. Our complaint is that you people came here in the garb of Sufis but acted like hunters. When we saw you in Sufi garb, we were at rest, thinking that we would face no danger whatsoever from you. Had we known you were hunters, we would have taken measures to protect ourselves.”
The love and peace that the Sufis exemplified in their lives proved to be an important means for the expansion of Islam. The Muslim rulers who came to India from outside were like the hunters in the above story. Because of this, the inhabitants of this land sought to protect themselves from them. In this way, they distanced themselves from Islam. In contrast to this, the Sufis were harmless and full of love and goodwill. Because of this, people from other communities drew close to them. This closeness enabled them to learn about the beauties of Islam, as a result of which large numbers of them embraced the faith.
The noted 18th century Muslim scholar from Delhi, Shah Waliullah writes that his father was a great Sufi, and that he would often recite the following lines:
The comfort of the two worlds lies hidden in just two phrases:
Softness with friends and good behaviour with foes.
Hafiz Shirazi, the famous 14th century Persian poet, beautifully encapsulates the Sufi approach in the following couplet:
I have not read the stories of emperors like Alexander and Dara.
If you have to ask, then ask me only about love and loyalty.
It was this love that the Sufis embodied that endeared them to everyone. People from all walks of life and from different religious and community backgrounds sought to be in their presence. If people opposed to them came to them, they were overwhelmed by their kindness, which melted their hearts. In this way, the Sufis played a key role in promoting peace and harmony in society. The love and understanding that they exuded and taught helped bring Hindus and Muslims together. The Sufis and the atmosphere that they helped promote enabled people of different faith backgrounds to closely interact with each other. A natural result of this was that people of other faiths learnt about the beauties of Islam, as a result of which large numbers of them embraced it.
Genuine Sufism is Not World Renouncing
There is a fairly widespread misconception that Sufism teaches the renunciation of the world. As far as genuine Sufism is concerned, this is definitely not true. What Sufism teaches is not renunciation of the world, but, rather, renunciation of worldliness.
A criterion for determining the correctness of an ideology is that it should not contradict any basic demand of life. A proper and meaningful ideology takes into account all aspects of life. This is the case with Sufism. Sufism emphasizes the inner values of human life and seeks to awaken the deeper realities of existence. And so, it provides appropriate guidance for all aspects of our life.
Later Sufism
It is often the case that something that starts off as a natural phenomenon turns into something quite different. This happened with Sufism, too. The Sufism of the early period of Muslim history was quite distinct from later trends. Instead of making the Islamic aspect of Sufism dominant, these later forms of Sufism sought to make the Sufi aspect of Islam dominant. In this way, along with its many benefits, some negative aspects also crept into Sufism.
Islam is undoubtedly a religion of spirituality. But the spirituality of Islam is linked to the whole of our being. It seeks to nourish every aspect of our lives. But later forms of Sufism that emerged departed from this. They no longer played any effective role in human life except in a very restricted sphere.
Unfortunately, this development occurred in the period when the world was entering a new age. The traditional age was coming to an end and the scientific age was rapidly taking its place. Because by this time Muslim societies had come to be heavily influenced by later forms of Sufism, Muslims, as a whole, were cut off from this global process that was underway. A result of this was the backwardness that is apparent all across the ‘Muslim world’ even today. The Islamic Sufism of the early Muslim period had promoted research in various sciences, but the forms of Sufism that subsequently emerged became a major barrier to the promotion of such sciences among Muslims.
More than half a century ago, the Lebanese scholar-activist Amir Shakib Arslan (1869-1946) penned a book in Arabic titled Li Maza TaʾAkhkhara Al-Muslimun Wa Taqaddam Aghayruhum (‘Why Muslims Became Backward and Other Communities Went Ahead’). From then till today, literally thousands of books and articles have been written on the very same topic, but the real question remains unsolved. Muslim (and other) intellectuals are unanimous in agreeing about the backwardness in the field of science among present-day Muslims, but there is no agreement as to the cause of this.
I am of the opinion that at least one major reason for this predicament are forms of Sufism that later emerged, which were extremely one-sided and that had come to exercise a pervasive influence in many Muslim societies. Modern science treats natural phenomena as objects of research and investigation. In contrast, these forms of Sufism are but another name for getting lost in dreams, claims of mukashifa or ‘unveiling’ and alleged mysterious happenings. This sort of extremism in later forms of Sufism played a crucial role in shaping Muslim opinion, encouraging Muslims to turn their minds away from the realities of this world. It was roughly in the same period when these forms of Sufism emerged that people in the West began turning to investigating natural phenomena. A result of this intellectual difference is the very obvious empirical difference that exists between the Western and the Muslim worlds today.
To further clarify this point, I would like to cite an incident from the life of a well-known Sufi. This example symbolizes almost the whole Sufi fraternity of later times.
Shah Waliullah of Delhi is regarded as a great Sufi. He writes that his father, Shah Abdur Rahim, was a great blessing for him. Few other fathers were such a blessing for their sons, he says. And what was Shah Abdur Rahim’s method of education? This can be gauged from the following incident.
Shah Waliullah writes that once, when he was a child, he went off with some of his friends to a garden for an outing. When he returned home, his father said, “Waliullah, what did you obtain [from your outing] that will remain with you? In the period that you were out, I read durood (invocations for the Prophet) several times.”
Shah Waliullah says that on hearing this he lost all interest in going to gardens to stroll around and to enjoy himself, and that after this he never wanted to do so again (MaulanaAbulHasan Ali Nadvi, Tarikh-e Dawat-o-Azimat, Part 5, p.103).
This incident symbolizes the particular mindset of later Sufis. In the hope of attaining God-realization, they thought that certain mystical practices were enough—practices that were based on meditation, the recitation of certain words and phrases, and so on. They came to believe that reflection and research on the world of nature—of which a garden of the sort in which Shah Waliullah went for a stroll as a young child, as mentioned above, is a part—was something inessential, and so they abandoned it. This abandonment became a direct cause of the backwardness of Muslims in the natural sciences.
The period when this sort of one-sided trends in popular Sufism emerged coincided with the period that witnessed the emergence of modern science in the West. At a time when Westerners had begun to study the world, Muslim peoples, under the influence of this sort of Sufism, had begun to turn their backs to such research, imagining that meditating in a corner somewhere or isolating oneself in a room was something that was religiously greatly meritorious. In such a situation, what else could be expected but that they should fall far behind other peoples in the age of science?
I do not mean to say that the Sufis directly and explicitly instructed Muslims to stay away from science and forbade them to acquiring knowledge of various scientific disciplines. My point, rather, is that the mentality that was nourished by the forms of Sufism that later emerged was the total opposite of the scientific mentality.
The scientific temperament encourages the study of external realities, but the mindset developed by this sort of Sufism drew people only towards mysterious esotericism. The scientific temperament engenders creative thinking, while this sort of mystical mindset leads to intellectual stagnation. The scientific temperament nourishes the spirit of discovery, while this sort of mysticism teaches people to rely entirely on their Sufi master and to make no effort whatsoever to open the doors of their own minds.
In the very first verse of the Quran (96:1) revealed to the Prophet, he was instructed to read. In contrast, later Sufis went about belittling the importance of knowledge. The Quran (3:190) says that that the secret to God-realization lies in pondering on the universe. Contrary to this, later Sufis began to claim that Sufi shaikhs were treasuries of all sorts of powers and that if one were to connect to them, one could acquire all sorts of worldly and spiritual blessings.
The early Muslims were influenced by the ideology of the Quran, and so they made great progress in the field of knowledge—starting first with religious knowledge, and then worldly knowledge or the natural sciences. But later on, Muslim societies came under the dominance of later forms of Sufism, which caused them to fall prey to intellectual stagnation. If in their early history Muslims were the leaders of the world’s intellectual caravan, they now became the dust that the caravan threw up as it raced ahead.
The spiritual practices that later Sufis developed through ijtihad (independent reasoning) was without doubt controversial because these were related to worship, and the ulema are unanimous that ijtihad is not permissible in matters of worship. Later Sufis did not keep in mind this limit. Along with the methods of worship that were practiced by the Prophet Muhammad they added a large number of what they termed ‘assisting practices’ and popularized them among their disciples. This act of theirs undoubtedly went out of the bounds laid down by the Shariah.
In addition to this, another development emerged, deliberately or otherwise, among later Sufis that was not present at the time of the Prophet’s companions. This was the notion of personal holiness of certain individuals. The companions of the Prophet focused entirely on God, and for them it was God and the Prophet who were of religious importance. But in later Sufism a wrongful innovation emerged as people began to consider, whether consciously or otherwise, the Sufis to be holy. In this way, personality-worship or ‘gurudom’ took root and spread among Muslims, although this has no room in Islam at all.
Yet, as mentioned earlier on, the Sufis did two very important things, and their contribution in this regard cannot be ignored. Firstly, they promoted and spread among Muslims the humane values of Islam. And secondly, as a direct result of this, they facilitated the spread of Islam.
Islam possesses in itself a tremendous force of attraction. If the walls of hatred that divide Muslims and others come down and peace and harmony prevail between them, Islam will spread on its own. And this is what the Sufis did. Yet, in order to explain Islam to highly educated people, it needed to be presented according to modern intellectual standards, which was something that the Sufis did not do. That is why the expansion of Islam that occurred in their period was mainly at the mass level. Because of this, Islam spread rapidly among the poor, while the intellectual elites remained aloof. In terms of quantity, the Muslim population may have registered considerable increase, but in terms of quality, the gains were not so impressive.
The modern age is an age of intellectual progress. The scientific revolution wrought an enormous transformation in human thought. As the modern age dawned and people began taking to modern education in a big way, it was necessary for Muslim scholars to present Islam in terms of the intellectual standards of modern times, using modern logic, evidence and arguments so as to draw the attention of modern educated people to it. Yet, this urgent task was not undertaken—and the simple reason for this was that because of their unawareness, Muslims did not take up this task.
While Sufis played a key role in spreading Islam among the masses, the elites did not come under the influence of Islam. The result of this is that today, the Muslim population is greater than ever before, but in terms of power and influence, Muslims have little to count for, because power and influence come through higher intellect. And if the intellectual elites among Muslims themselves were not able to be drawn to Islam, how could the intellectual elites among other communities have done so?
By Molana Wahiduddin Khan
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The Root Cause of Terrorism: By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
These days there is a lot of mention in news of incidents that happened over the past few days in France and Beirut. Six places are reported to have been attacked by terrorists in and around Paris. A report in The Times of India of November 15 has mentioned that during the shooting by gunmen at one of the places, witnesses said that ‘There were shouts of Allahu Akbar’. That is, although the terrorists were killing human beings, they were making use of the slogan ‘God is great’. This is a very strange incident. The Quran says that killing one innocent person is like killing all of humanity. (5:32) Then, what kind of religion were the terrorists inspired by? It is certainly not the religion of God. Although the gunmen shouted ‘God is great’, through their actions they showed that ‘Other-than-God is great’. The greatest issue facing the present times is that those who believe in God and in Islam have turned violent. Everyday we get to hear news that terrorists have killed innocent people, both Muslim and non-Muslim, in places of gathering, mosques, and even graveyards. In this matter, religious scholars have not properly played their role. There have been cases where the ulema or Islamic scholars have, by consensus, issued a fatwa on a matter. But this has not happened in the matter of violence and extremism. If all scholars collectively issue a statement saying that acts of violence happening today bear no relation with God or with Islam and that these acts are wholly impermissible in Islam, then incidents of this kind can be prevented from happening. Therefore, the need of the hour is that all Islamic scholars should jointly condemn incidents of violence carried out in the name of Islam and issue a fatwa saying that violence perpetrated by terrorists has no relation whatsoever with the religion of Islam.
Political Stability versus Anarchy
It is important to understand why Muslims have taken to the path of violence or engaged in militancy in modern times. According to a Hadith, the Prophet of Islam had warned Muslims from getting involved in the violent culture: ‘When the sword is used among my people, it will not be withdrawn from them till the Day of Resurrection.’ (Sunan Abu Dawood). Why is there this prediction in the Hadith? I realized that those who have given a political interpretation to Islam are most responsible for this, because it was they who developed the idea that the rule of Islam should be established throughout the world. This political goal was baseless and had no relation with Islam. However, this idea was given at the time when Muslim empires—Ottoman empire and Mughal empire—had been demolished. The resulting conditions in Muslim countries where earlier empires existed made Muslims think that regaining their lost political glory was the right target for them and thus the political interpretation of Islam gained ground in spite of not having any basis in the Quran or Hadith. Muslims were at one time able to establish empires such as the Umayyad, Abbasid, Mughal, Ottoman. But the purpose of these empires was not to establish an Islamic system (Islamic nizam). There is no proof of this in history. These empires were actually dynasties or family rule. The advantage of these empires was that they gave political stability to Muslim countries. A long period of stability prevailed in Muslim society due to these empires, the most important benefits of which included the preservation of the Quran, compilation of the sayings of the Prophet, and development of various Islamic sciences such as jurisprudence. This was also the period in which Muslims embarked on disseminating their religion far and wide and as a result Islam spread to other places. Institutions such as mosques and madrasas could develop because of the atmosphere of peace and stability. Islamic scholars of the time endorsed these empires because they provided stability to people to work and grow. The dynastic pattern of rule began from the time of Amir Muawiyah (661 – 680 AD) and continued right up to the twentieth century. None of the fuqaha or religious scholars issued a fatwa nor did they initiate any movement against the empires and their dynastic pattern of rule. Islamic scholars even went to the extent of declaring that revolting against Muslim rulers was unlawful. The thirteenth century Islamic scholar Imam al-Nawawi says in his commentary on the Sahih Muslim that khuruj (revolt) against the ruler is haram or unlawful according to the consensus of the ulema, even if the ruler is fasiq (corrupt) or zalim (oppressive).
So, who were these rulers about which these scholars directed that revolt against them is unlawful? These were the very rulers who were following the dynastic pattern of governance rather than the democratic form of governance based on shura or consultation, as prescribed in the Quran (42:38). Then, why did all scholars jointly state that revolt against these rulers was unlawful? The reason for this is that the purpose of rule is not to establish a particular kind of system, rather it is to bring peace and stability in society. This is called tamkin fil-arz in the Quran (22:41). When there is stability, there is peace, normalcy and opportunities to do various kinds of work. During the time of these empires, when there was stability in society, all kinds of constructive activities in the fields of knowledge, institution building and missionary work could happen. Therefore, the ulema accepted dynastic rule.
Mindset behind the Present Violence
Now, I will cite a saying of Imam Malik: ‘The latter part of this ummah (community) will be reformed along the same lines as was the first part.’ What was the method followed by the first phase of the community that set it on the right path? That is, what was manhaj as-salaf or the way of the forefathers? It was, as pointed out above, based on acceptance of the dynastic form of rule. According to Imam Malik’s saying, the first phase of the community was successful by accepting the dynasties and so the latter part too will find success if they accept their existing dynasties and rulers.
What is the genesis of present violence? In modern times, Arab states have dynastic form of governance. Muslim leaders and their followers turned against these rulers, for example, they revolted against King Farouk in Egypt and the Shah in Iran. However, this is a very baseless claim by Muslim leaders. As we have seen, the Muslim empires of earlier times were all dynasties, but Islamic scholars of the time which included the Sahaba, Tabieen, Muhaddithin and Fuqaha, did not revolt against the rulers of the empires. Therefore, the movements of revolt in Arab countries against Arab rulers are actually leading to fasad or strife and destruction.
In the light of Imam Malik’s saying, it can be said that just as in the previous times all constructive work happened because of the acceptance of dynastic rulers, in the present times also matters can be set right by accepting the existing rulers in different Arab states rather than organizing revolt against them. Islamic scholars’ acceptance of dynastic rulers led to peace and stability in society because of which all kinds of positive and constructive activities could be carried out in an unhindered way. Similarly, today Muslims in Arab states should accept their rulers rather than try to bring them down. This would immediately bring stability and normalcy to these nations, and as a result all progress and development which has been halted would continue to take place.
The bombings that take place in various western countries happen because of a particular mindset amongst Muslims. According to this mindset, they believe that western nations have, for their own interest, propped up the Muslim rulers in Muslim countries. They think that Muslim rulers in their states have sided with the West so that the interests of the latter could be served and safeguarded. They think that their rulers are sheltered by the West. Therefore, they attack places in western countries as a reaction to the Muslim rulers of their country whom they think have been put in place by the West. The real target is not the West, but the Muslim rulers of their own country. They think if the West were destabilized, Muslim rulers of their nations would get affected and be removed. But these people fail to realize that the removal of these rulers would only lead to anarchy in their country.
Practical Wisdom
Islamic history of the past several centuries has shown that revolting against rulers is discouraged. This was due to practical wisdom. What prevails in the world is practical wisdom, and not ideal wisdom. Following practical wisdom is also a way of the Prophet of Islam. We know that in 628 AD the Prophet travelled from Madinah to Makkah to perform the pilgrimage. But he was stopped by his Makkan opponents at a place called Hudaybiyah and was prevented from entering Makkah. So, at Hudaybiyah the Prophet entered into a peace treaty with his opponents by unilaterally accepting all their conditions. This was an example of practical wisdom. Similarly, Islamic scholars of the past accepted the dynasties of their time due to practical wisdom. Had they not accepted the rulers of their time, it would have only led to jeopardizing of the whole situation as no work could have been undertaken in the resulting scenario of revolt. Acceptance of rulers, on the contrary, led to peace, normalcy, and end of bloodshed. Thus, a normal and peaceful environment was possible in which people could pursue intellectual and other kinds of activities.
Those who gave a political interpretation of Islam were unable to understand this practical wisdom and initiated movements against their rulers. This happened in Pakistan, Egypt, Iran and other places. Arab Muslim leaders think that movements against rulers which were successful in places like Egypt and Iran could not succeed in their states because their rulers were supported by the West. This led them to turn negative for the West and carry out violent attacks against western countries. This entire thinking is un-Islamic and unreasonable.
I think that the most important task today is to revive manhaj as-salaf, or the way of the scholars of the early period. That is, acceptance of the existing system so that there can be peace, stability and normalcy. Those who are engaged in militancy in the name of Allahu Akbar are unaware of the above ideas. The demand of Allahu Akbar is to revive the way of the scholars (salaf) of the early period of Islam. This involves avoiding confrontation with authorities so that a peaceful atmosphere can prevail in society.
We need to disseminate this idea among people on a large scale. Those Muslims who are engaged in violence are doing so on account of unawareness. They are ignorant of manhaj as-salaf. We need to remove people’s unawareness about this matter. The task before us is to make people aware of their unawareness.
All persons have been created by God. Every person has the same nature as we do. According to a Hadith: ‘All persons were born on the nature (al-fitrah).’ (Bukhari) If I have conscience and reason, those who are engaged in violence also have conscience and reason. We need to address the conscience of these people. The wrong interpretation of the history of Islam has to be corrected. Islam started with dawah or calling people to God. The Quran says: ‘Arise and give warning.’ (74:2) All Sahaba and scholars accepted dynasties so that the task of dawah could happen in an unhindered way. This task could have been carried out only in a peaceful environment. This is what we have to do today.
Political Status Quoism
The idea that Muslim rulers are backed by the West is wrong. Muslim rulers are part of dynasties, which are acceptable according to scholars of Islam. These dynasties are continuation or extension of the dynasty pattern that started with Amir Muawiyah. In Syria and Egypt earlier there was peace due to which all activities happened smoothly. But after the movements of revolt, there is only anarchy. Therefore these dynasties have to be accepted so that there can be peace. This is the demand of practical wisdom. When there is peace, all work can happen smoothly. Had our scholars of the earlier period been alive, then would have advised us to accept the existing rulers. What is important is peace so that opportunities for work can be availed of. Who sits on the political throne or has power is not important. Status quoism in political matters—this was the way of the scholars of the early period. They accepted the pious caliphate and also the dynasties, because the latter provided stability to society.
People have abandoned the way of the scholars of the early period. We have to again adopt their method, which was based on political status quoism or acceptance of the political situation. This course is practical wisdom.
We need to change the mindset that leads to people bombing the western nations. If political status quoism is adopted, that is, if a ruler provides political stability he should be accepted, then peace will follow immediately. Before this militancy, there was peace everywhere—Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. Only after the political interpretation, peace in these countries remained no more.
Our group is following this principle. We do not confront or clash with anyone. We do not hate anyone or declare anyone as our enemy. We only focus on availing of the opportunities before us. This, we believe, is the right method. The sole concern of the Muslim community should be to spread the message of the Quran to all mankind. The Quran says: ‘Blessed be He who has revealed the criterion [the Quran] to His servant that he may warn the nations.’ (25:1) This task remains to be done. Therefore, it is important to translate the Quran in various languages and spread it in an organized manner throughout the world. This should be the sole concern of all Muslims. Fourteen hundred years have past but the message of the Quran has not reached people. Media news about violence makes people generally think that the Quran preaches violence. Thus it is the responsibility of the Muslims to convey the message of the Quran. The Prophet and his Companions used to all recite the Quran to people. This was the pre-printing press period. But today, in the age of the press, every Muslim has to become a distributor of the Quran. For this we need only peace. We do not require any system. Peace is the only prerequisite for this task. Peace can come only if we unilaterally abandon all militant activities. This is the goal which the ummah has to adopt. Every other target will be a deviation.
I pray to God for you all and for myself. May He help us follow the Straight Path!
By Molama Wahududin Khan
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