Islam, as you would be knowing very well by now, stands for that wholesome
way of life and that Divine guidance the inspired communication of which
has been reaching mankind from God through his selected Apostles. The
mission of the apostle in this behalf was comprised of two parts: to receive
knowledge of that way of life and that guidance from God by means of the
revealed word, and, then, to preach it to fellow-men, to instruct them
in it, and to persuade them to put it into action in their daily life.
The first of the mission ended with the termination of the luminous line
of the Apostles. The very term. Termination Apostleship, denotes that,
after Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), no one is going to be raised
up as the revealer and interpreter of the Divine will in the world, to
aspect and to obey whom as a Divine Apostle might be an obligation for
men. The law and guidance brought by the Prophet (Peace be upon him) sufficient
since they are to meet the needs of humanity till the end of time, and
guaranteed as their preservation is by God have permanently ruled out
the necessity of another messenger above. But the second part of the Apostolic
work, the preaching of Divine law and guidance and the persuading of men
to enact them in their every day existence, continues as ever, and it
is the unique privilege of Muslims that, as successors of the Prophet
(Peace be upon him), the sacred duty of discharging this responsibility
and carrying ahead the Holy mission of the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
to fulfillment has now finally fallen to their lot.
The Prophet had begun his historic task in Mecca with preaching and invitation.
He used to call the people to the Divine faith that was his first step.
Then, as by the mercy of God, a few persons responded to the Divine call
and those for themselves the true religion and the life of virtue towards
which he invited, the training and instruction of the faithful, their
moral and spiritual cleansing and purification and the allowing of the
lawful and the prohibiting of the forbidden were added to his duties.
Later, there came a time when it became necessary for the defence and
progress of the Divine mission and for enabling more and more men to drink
and the well of right belief and virtuous conduct to grapple with the
forces of darkness that were threatening to put the light of faith or
to restrict its radiance. The taking up of arms in support of faith Jehad
thenceforth, also came to be a part of the program of Prophetic endeavor.
And these duties continued to grow and expand steadily with the progress
of time. In addition to instructing those who embraced Islam in the fundamentals
of faith, the Prophet (Peace be upon him), then, would also impress upon
them that they had to participate along with him and according to their
means and circumstances in the moral and spiritual resuscitation of humanity
and make his struggle their own. As long as the Prophet (Peace be upon
him) remained in the world, his followers, under his inspiration, spared
themselves neither life nor money to have their full share, as staunch
friends and associates, in the glorious task of bringing light to mankind
through guidance and instruction and through service and assistance in
the cause of faith. They marched under him, without demur or hesitation,
to do their duty by the Divine religion in the realm of missionary activity,
in the areas of human uplift, correction and reformation and in the field
of battle. After the Prophet (Peace be upon him) death, the responsibility
of keeping alive the lofty struggle, in all its aspects, fell upon the
shoulders of the Ummat as a whole; which is now accountable for safeguarding
and promoting the interests of faith as the successor of the Prophet (Peace
be upon him), for all future time.
It is enough to know by way of the great sanctity and importance of this
work that it is the work of the Prophets. We may, however, also take note
of some of the pronouncements contained in relation to it in the Quran
and the Traditions.
It would be apparent by now that there are many aspects to this endeavor
including preaching and propagation of faith, religious instruction and
reform, the sanctioning of what is right and the forbidding of what is
wrong, and the taking up of arms in the cause of God. We will take the
Quranic verses that exhort the Muslims to strive in the cause of faith
in a general way and then those in which the various branches of the sacred
duty are mentioned individually. We will begin with Sura-i-Maida:
" O ye who believe! Do your duty to God, seek the means of approach
unto him, and strive with might and main in his cause: that ye may prosper."
(Quran:Maida,6)
The concluding lines of Sura-i-Haj read:
"And strive in his cause as ye to strive, (with sincerity and discipline).
He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion;
it is the cult of your father Abraham. It is he who has named you Muslims
both before and in this (revelation); that the Apostle may be a witness
for you, and ye may be witness for mankind."
(Quran : Haj, 10)
In Sura-i-Saff, we find :
"O ye who believe! shall I lead you to a borgain that will save you
from a grievous penalty? that ye believe in God and his Apostles, and
that ye strive (your utmost) in the cause of God with your property and
your persons; that will be best for you if ye but knew. He will forgive
you your sins, and admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow and
in beautiful mansions in Gardens of eternity: that is needed the supreme
achivement. And another (favour will he bestow) which ye do love help
from God and a speedy victory. So give the glade tidings to the believers.
O ye who believe ! be ye helpers of God: as said Jesus, the son of Mary:
"Who will my helper to (the work of) God?" said the disciples,
"We are God's helpers!" (Quran : Saff, 2)
The manner of alluding to the stirring call of Jesus " who will be
my helpers to (the work of) God? "response to it of his disciples
" We are God's helper!" in the above Sura while enjoining the
service of the faith on "those who believe" through the heart-warming
slogan of "Be ye helpers of God" demonstrates it clearly that
the Jehad (Struggle) and Nusrat (Help) spoken of in it the path os God
since it is a well known fact about Jesus and his Apstles that they never
took resort to arms. Their Jehad consisted exclusively of pain and suffering
undergone willingly in the service of truth and faith.
In any case, the sevice and exertion spoken of in the above Suras as Jehad
or Nusrat include every effort, endeavour or sacrifice made for the defence
and promotion of the Holy cause and the moral and spiritual progress ad
uplift of mankind whether in the shape of preaching and propagation or
training and instruction or warfare.
We will now consider some of the verses that deal with an individual branch
of religious endeavor and call out the people to it specifically. Read
Sura-i-Aal-i-Imran:
"Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that
is good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong: they are
the one who will attain felicity." (Quran: Aal-e-Imran, 11)
It may be deduced from the phrase "out of you" in the verse
we have just quoted that the duty of " inviting to all that is good,
enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong" is applicable
not to the whole of the Ummat, but to action of it alone. But that would
not be correct because, as we have seen, the verse itself adds that "they
are the one who will attain felicity", and a matter on which depends
the supreme issue of deliverence and salvation, cannot, obviously, be
made the concern of any indevidual section or class. Moreover, four or
five verses later, in the same Sura, it has been said that:
"Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what
is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in God. (Quran : Aal-i-Imran,
12)
The very aim of raising up the Muslims, thus, is that they perform, in
addition to bearing faith in God, the function of "enjoining what
is right and forbidding what is wrong." such being the case, the
responsibility for the discharge of this duty rests with the body of the
Ummat, as a whole, but the nature of the wrong the generally rules out
the necessity or the possibility of every member of the community taking
a hand in it. A task of this nature is, as a rule, best accomplished of
a body of persons with the right aptitude and ability comes forward to
devote itself to it while the rest of the people extend to it their ready
support and co-operation. I suggest that the phrase " out of you"
has been used solely for that reason. We will take another Sura, Maida,
It says;
" Curses were pronounced on those among the children of Israel who
rejected faith, by the tongue of David and Jesus, the son of Mary,: because
they disobeyed and persisted in excess. Nor did they (usually) forbid
one another the inequities which they committed: evil indeed were the
deeds which they did."
(Quran : Maida, 11)
The above verses reveal how vital to the enjoyment of faith the duty of
"enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong" is. The
disregard of it by the Israelites led to their damnation. The chief idea,
in fact, in bringing it in here in this Sura was to warn the Muslims that
the same fate awaited them too if they did not pay an adequate heed to
their responsibilities in this regard.
After the Quranic verses we will reproduce a few of the sayings of the
Prophet (Peace be upon him) on the subject. Here are three of them:
"By the Holy Being in whose power is my life, persevere with the
task of 'enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong', otherwise
God will surely send down upon you a punishment. Then you will supplicate
to him (for deliverance from the punishment), and the supplication will
avail you nothing."
"If any one among you sees a wrong or a sin being perpetrated then
(should he be in a position to do so) he should try to eradicate it by
force, and if that not be possible he should try to eradicate it by raising
his voice against it, and if that, too, be not possible, he should feel
sore about it in the heart (and think of possible ways of removing the
evil) this last state is the weakest state of faith."
"If a person living in a community transgresses against the law of
God and the community does not set right his ways although it has the
power and the authority to do so, God's chastisement will overtake it
in this very existence."
To take now the duties of the preaching and propagation of faith, religious
training and instruction and moral and spiritual guidance and reformation,
the Quran declares in Sura-i-Ha Mim Sajda:
"who is better in speech than one who calls (men) to God, works righteousness,
and says, I am of those who bow in Islam?" (Quran : Ha Mim Sajda,
5)
In other words, the most pleasing thing with God is the conduct of a person
who, while blessed himself with the wealth of faith and virtuous living,
invites the other to the same and strives for their reformation.To quote
the Sura, Al-Asr:
"By (the token of ) time (through the Ages), verily, man is in loss,
except such as have faith and do righteous deeds and (join together) in
the mutual teaching of truth, and of patience and constance." (Quran
: Asr)
It is reported by Sahl bin Sa,ad (Razi Allah-o-Ta,ala) that the Prophet
(Peace be upon him) one observed: "By the Almighty, if a single person
receives guidance through you, it is better (for you) than the red camels."
Abu Masood Ansari (Razi Allah-o-Ta,ala) relates it from the Prophet (Peace
be upon him) that, "A person who guides another to a deed of virtue
will have the same recompense for it as the doer of the deed."
Aas bin Malik (Razi Allah-o-Ta,ala) has narrated that, "The Holy
Prophet (Peace be upon him) once asked, 'Do you know who is the best in
charity?' 'God and his prophet alone (Peace be upon him) know', replied
the Companions. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) then explained, 'In charity
the most high is God; then there is myself; after me is the man who having
acquired the knowledge of Divine guidance strove to spread it and to take
it on to others. Such a man will, on the day of Reckoning, arise as a
chief and an officer,. (Or, that 'he by himself will rise up as a whole
Ummat)
It is further reported by Abdul Rahiman bin abza that one day the Prophet
(Peace be upon him) delivered a sermon, in the course of which he praised
the deeds and achivements of some Muslim tribes in the cause of faith.
He then asked, "(But) why is it that some other tribes do nothing
by way of creating the consciousness and understanding of faith among
their neighbors? They neither instruct nor inform them nor carry out among
them the duty of 'enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong?
And why is it that some tribes make no effort to learn the faith and acquire
an awareness of it from their neighbors? They go not to them for instruction
and guidance. I declare by God that it is the duty of every group, class
or tribe possessed of religious knowledge and awareness to take steps
for the instruction of its neighbours to counsel them, to elighten them,
to check them from sinning and to pursued them to do good deeds. In the
same way, it is the duty of groups, classes or tribes. Who are ignorant
of the teachings of faith, to learn them from the neighbours who know
and seek guidance and enlightement from them. (That is, it is religious
obligation for those who don't learn from those who do). I will wee that
the group which fails in the discharge of its part of the duty soon receives
a sever punishment."
What grave responsibility rests with the Muslims in the spheres of the
propagation of faith and religious instruction guidance and reformation
of the ignorant and the uninformed is abundantly evident from the tradition
we have just seen. They can ignore it only at their peril the peril of
incurring the wrath of God and the Prophet (Peace be upon him). This responsibility
has again been emphasized by the Prophet (Peace be upon him) in this popular
phrase of his, "Everyone of you is the keeper of his fold and he
shall have to answer before God for the fold that he has in his keeping."
Jehad is another important from of religious endeavour. Before we studied
the relevent Quranic verses and Traditions it is essential to know that
war in itself is by no means a desirable thing. It is like a painful surgical
operation which when occasion demands becomes the greatest measure of
good-will to the patient. Thus, when it becomes unavoideable to take up
arms for protection against a grave evil or mischief, or for the removal
of some great hindrance between God and his servants or in the path of
the seems to be a fair hope of success that way, the Divine faith, Islam,
and Holy book, the Quran, sanction may, the prescribe the waging for war,
under rules and conditions provided by them, to those of the faithful
who possess the means necessary to the undertaking and the ability to
acquite themselves of the responsibilities resulting from it.
Unfortunately, however, Jehad is one of the most misunderstood terms occurring
in Islam. This arises out of the folly of confusing it with something
of a Muslim national war, although all national wars and conflicts are
strictly forbidden in Islam. A war will be considered on Islamic Jehad
only if it is waged in the cause of God and with no other object than
the Glory of his word, the attainment of his pleasure and the love of
paradise, and iscontained within the bounds laid down it in the Shariat.
A war that is motivated by the urges of national self-interest or is fought
purely for material or political ends, as the case usually is with the
modern wars, can never be recognized by the Islamic faith and Shariat
as a Jehad even though one of the parties to it may be Muslims. It will
be condemned by Islam as a downright evil and its heroes and companions
will stand in the eyes of God not a Mujahids (warriors in the defence
of faith) but as criminals and the makers of mischief on the earth.
With this in the mind we proceed to examine some of the relevant Quranic
texts and the Traditions of the Prophet (Peace be upon him). We will being
with a verse from Sura-i-Haj because it was through it that the Muslims
were initially granted the permission to take recourse to arms.
"To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight),
because they are wronged; and verily, God is most powerful for their aid;
(they are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defence of
right, (for no cause) except that they say, 'Our Lord is God." (Quran
: Haj,6)
The Sura goes on to explain the need and the wisdom of putting up brave
resistance against oppression and injustice and to give assurance of the
unchanging practice of God that he makes his help available to those who
are the supporters of Truth. It declares that (about these oppressed people
whom leave is given to make war in their defence, God is aware that):
(They are) those who, if we establish them the land. (will) establish
regular prayer and regular charity, enjoin the right and forbid wrong;
with God rests the end (and decision) of (all affairs). (Quran : Haj,
6)
Two things emerge distinctly from the above verses. Firstly, the basic
idea behind the mandate of Jehad that the might of the oppressors and
tyrants who revel in creating obstacles in the way of the Truth and righteous
doing and practice coercion and violence upon the seekers of faith may
be destroyed and power may pass into the hands of the God-loving and the
God-fearing who will establish goodness and piety in the land guard men
against straying from the 'straight path'. In such an event, particularly
when the situation be so gloomy that it cannot be altered without the
employment of force, war will clearly prove to be a great blessing for
mankind.
The second thing is that the Muslims who may take on the sacred responsibility
of Jehad should be so staunch, earnest and well-conditioned in faith that
if they came to rule over any part of the world as a result of the struggle
they would utilize the opportunity establishment of God-worship and piety
and the deliverance of mankind from untruth and tyranny.
But, tragically enough, the present-day Muslims, and, in particular, the
ruling sections of the modern Muslim states, have shut their minds completely
to this factor, and it is hard to imagine from the way they and the officers
and men of the armed forces of their lands conduct themselves that they
bear any relation to the high Islamic ideal of Jehad.
The following extract is from Sura-i-Tauba, in which, after eulogizing
the role of those who fight in the way of God and extending to them the
glad tidings of the Garden of paradise, a mention is made of some of the
noble qualities they are expected to possess.
God hath purchased of the Believers their persons and their goods; for
theirs (in return)is the Garden (of Paradise): they fight in his cause
and slay and are slain; a promise binding on him in Truth, through the
law, the Gospel and the Quran: and who is more faithful to his Covenant
than God? Then rejoice in the Georgian which ye have concluded: that is
the achivement supreme. Those that turn(to God) in repentance, that serve
him and praise Him; that wander in devotion to the cause of God; that
bow and prostrate themselves in prayer; that enjoin good and forbid evil;
and observe the limits set by God; (those do rejoice). So proclaim the
glad tidings to the believers. (Quran : Tauba, 14)
And, in Sura-i-Saff, these glorious fighters who make their lives cheap
in the path of God have been spoken of in this inspiring manner.
"Truly God loes those who fight in his cause in battle array, as
if they were a solid cemented structure." (Quran : Saff, 1)
Indeed, the Quran is full of passages extolling the magnificent virtuea
of Jehad and enthusing the Muslims with the spirit and the love of it.
We will refer to tow of them here. In these verses it is proclaimed that
those who are slain in the Jehad should not be deemed or spoken of as
deed; on them is conferred a very special existence by God in which they
rejoice, exulting in the choicest favours of their Lord.
And say not of those who are slain in the way of God, "They are deed",
Nay, they are living, though ye perceive (them) not. (Quran : Baqara,
19)
Think not of those who slain in God's way as dead. Nay, they live, finding
their sustenance in the presence of their Lord: they rejoice in the bounty
provided by God. (Quran : Aal-i-Imran , 170)
Coming to the Tradition, Hazrat Anas (Razi Allah-o-Ta,ala) relates that
it was once observed by the Prophet (Peace be upon him) that, "To
set out in God's way once in the morning and once in the evening, is more
precious than the whole world and all that is contained in it."
It is reported by Abdul Rahman bin jubair Ansari (Razi Allah-o-Ta,ala)
that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, "It will not be that a
person whose feet are covered with dust in the path of God goes to Hell."
Abdullah bin Amr bin-Aas (Razi Allah-o-Ta,ala) narrated it from the Prophet
(Peace be upon him) that, "To fall a martyr in the cause of God atones
for everything except a debt."
Abu Huraira (Razi Allah-o-Ta,ala) relates that it was said by the Prophet
(Peace be upon him) that, "No one will want to be sent back to the
world after he has found a place in the Paradise, even though all the
worldly joys and riches may be his in that case, except he who has met
his death in the path of God; such a man will want to be returned to the
earth and killed in the cause of God ten times over because of the high
honor and splendid ceremony with which he will be received in the Heaven
on account of dying a martyr's death."
Abu Huraira (Razi Allah-o-Ta,ala) again relates that once after expressing
his earnest desire to participate in each and every Jehad, the Prophet
(Peace be upon him) remarked that, "By the Holy being in whose power
lies my life, I wish that I was killed and God,s way and brought back
to life and killed again and brought back to life once more and this happened
over and over again."
This last Tradition alone is sufficient to bring home the subline significance
of the Jehad and the unique privilege of meeting one's death in the course
of it. Be that as it may, togather with preaching, guidance and reformation,
Jehad is a part of the Apostolic mission of service and assistence to
the faith, and now, by virtue of its being the vicegerent of the Prophet
(Peace be upon him), the entire Muslim Millat has permanently to bear
the responsibility of discharging all these duties.
The ideal way for the Ummat to carry them out was what was witnessed for
sometime after the death of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) during the
period known as Khilafat-i-Rashida, . It was in the nature of collective
arrangment by the Ummat for the purpose of identifying itself, as completely
as it could, with the most excellent way of the Prophet (Peace be upon
him), both in aims and means.
The question of the appointment of the Caliph; that arose at the Prophet's
(Peace be upon him) death, was not, as some people erroneously believe,
similar to that of the appointment of theHead of a State. The real issue
before the Holy Companions was to determine who among them was the most
competent person to carry on the multitudinous work of the preaching and
propagation of the faith, Spiritual instruction, guidance, Jehad and the
enjoining of good and forbidding of evil the Prophet (Peace be upon him)
had bequeathed to the Ummat as a part of his Divine mission of the redemption
of mankind and the orga-
nizatin and management of the world and accordance with the will of God.
We have it from the most authentic sources that a sentence in the sermon
delivered on the occasion by Hazrat Abu Bakr (Razi Allah-o-Ta'ala) ran
as follows : "Mohammad (Peace be upon him) is dead; it is now necessary
to chose a person who can take upon himself the responsibilities of the
faith."
This, in brief, was the crux of the problem that confronted the muslims
at critical hour. They were faced with the task of chossing a person who
was most suited to lead the Ummat, as the Prophet's (Peace be upon him)
deputy and successor, in his footsteps a person under whose guidance the
caravan of the Ummat night continue to march forward steadily on the road
on which the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had set it forth.
During the reign of the first four Caliphs specially that of the first
two, Hazrat Abu Bakr (Razi Allah-o-Ta'ala) and Hazrat Omar (Razi Allah-o-Ta'ala)
fullest attention was paid to these functions and they were attended to
most admirably. But, afterwards, as the process of decay set in and the
institution of the Caliphate got transformed, under the stress of imperialistic
and other worldly ambitions, from the lieutenancy of the Prophet (Peace
be upon him) to kingship, the Apostolic work also suffered a sever setback
and receded from the mental horizons of the Caliphs we leave aside the
exceptions here, The Ummat, on the whole, however, did remain alive, in
a greater and lesser degree, to its duty during all the different phases
of its history. It never ceased to send forth from its bosom determined
and deep hearted men who did their bit to fulfil the great trust the Prophet
(Peace be upon him) and charged it with, Jehad, by the very nature of
its case, was the look-out of the rulers; the common people could do nothing
about it on thier own, nor they were for that reason bound by the Shariat
to take the initiative in the matter. But where the other aspects of religious
endeavour were concerned, aspects that could be taken care of privately,
some activity or another was always kept up at the individual level to
strengthen and promote them, and what little stock of faith and piety
the Ummat can boast of today is but the fruit of the exertions of its
inspired sons who come forward to give up themselve to these lofty purposes.
All such men, what ever might have been the nature of their service preaching
or guidance, writing or the giving of sermons belong, without a question,
to the halved circle of the 'Friends of God', and have a share in the
deputy ship and lieutenancy of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), although
they might have never had a hand in the exercise of the power and the
authority of the state.
Shah Waliullah has stated very plainly in Fuyuzul Harmain that people
who strive with all sincerity and with no other motive than to propitiate
the favour of God through such branches of the Apostolic work as religious
and moral preaching, instruction, guidance and reformation are as such
the Caliphs of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) as those that engage themselves
conscientiously and without any selfish considerations in the political
and governmental section of it like Jehad and the establishment of peace,
justice and equity. The only difference is that while the latter hold
the 'outer' or the 'perceptible' part of the Caliphate, the former, the
'inner' or the 'transcendental' part of it the Shah having divided the
office of the Caliphate into two parts, the 'outer' and the 'inner'.
The Caliphate, as a political and governmental institution ceased to exist
a long time ago. The Muslim States of today and there are found quite
a score of them largely, have nothing to do-with the aim and purpose of
the prophet, and they also lay no prete-
nsions to it. Some of them are, on the other hand, as thoroughly indifferent
to the faith as any of the mon-Muslim States of the World. But the other
half of the Prophet's duputy ship the missionary half of it which appertains
to the spreading of his message outside the instrumentality of the government
is still very much there: its doors are open and the scope for it is greater
today then it ever was. Its possibilities in the modern age are unlimited.
Let more and more servants of God make this auspicious field, of work
their own, let moer and more of them step down in this glorious arena
of selfless service, and devote themselves, according to their capacity
and merit, to the task of popularizing the way of life the the Prophet
(Peace be upon him) had brought into the world. To strive and to struggle
in this path and to make sacrifices in it is the greatest Jehad of the
modern times, the truest form of loyalty and sincerity to the Prophet
(Peace be upon him) and his most genuine deputy ship. Those who will set
their feet on it will see that other avenues will also be opened out to
them by God. It was in circumstances not far different to what we are
faced with today that the following words of assurance and good cheer
were spoken to the Muslim of Mecca through the last verse of Sura-i-Ankaboot:
And those who strive in Our (cause), We will certainly guide them to our
paths; for verily, God is with those who do good
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