SECULAR KNOWLEDGE AT ITS ISLAMIC BEST
Freedom of Science from Religion
Revealed knowledge is the only source from which to learn how
to make spiritual progress, while material progress is based on a
knowledge of nature.
SUCCESS or failure in the Hereafter rests entirely on the revealed
knowledge passed on to mankind by the Prophet. The Prophet
Muhammad is enjoined to proclaim to mankind that ’God’s
guidance is the only guidance.’ (THE QURAN 2: 120)
Nevertheless, Islam holds that while the principles for attaining
salvation in the Hereafter derive solely from divine revelation, the
attainment of material progress is got through knowledge of the laws
of nature as discovered and established by secular scientific research.
Islamic schema therefore, by reason and by tradition, has always
accorded secular sciences the status of an independent branch of
learning. The Quran repeatedly urges us to give serious thought to
the natural phenomena of the heavens and the earth, as being ’signs
for men of sense—those who remember God when standing, sitting
and lying down, and reflect on the creation
of the heavens and the earth, saying, ‘Lord,
You have not created this in vain‘ (
verses clearly suggest that we should proceed
to our own conclusions on the basis of logical
reasoning in matters of the world.
What is
demonstrable in
nature, yielding
itself to research
and experiment,
will be accepted by
Islam as established,
empirical knowledge.
The difference between the scientific and the
religious approach to practical matters has
been made clear in a Hadith. Fifty out of the
sixty three years of the Prophet’s life were
spent in Makkah, a desert city where there
was no agriculture. Later, he migrated to Madinah where agriculture
and horticulture were practiced—in particular, the growing of date
palms. Naturally, the Prophet had no experience of either farming or
fruit growing. One day, as the Prophet passed through the outskirts of
Madinah, he noticed some people, who had climbed up the date palms,
were engaged in some activity. On inquiring what they were doing, they explained that they were fertilizing the trees. Traditionally, they did this
through artificial pollination of the date flowers to ensure a good crop.
But when the Prophet said, “What if you don’t do it?” In deference to his
question they climbed down the trees without completing their task.
That year the yield was very low.
When the Prophet inquired about the low yield that particular year, the
orchard keepers replied that the yield depended on the pollination,
which they had been carrying out when he had stopped them. On
hearing this, the Prophet replied: “Continue doing as you used to, since
you know the matters of the world better than I do.”
This incident illustrates how the Prophet separated religious knowledge
from practical matters. This principle is applicable to all matters
governed by the laws of nature. The clear inference is that what is
demonstrable in nature, yielding itself to research and experiment, will
be accepted by Islam as established, empirical knowledge.
Revealed knowledge
is the only source
from which to
learn how to make
spiritual progress,
while material
progress is based
on a knowledge of
nature.
The same principle may be applied to all other
scientific disciplines—geology, astronomy,
engineering and so on. Islam is quite clear
that these are the subject matter not of
religion but of scientific research.
This Islamic policy of the division of religion
and science is extremely important, as it
opened the door to scientific progress for the
first time in human history. Prior to the advent
of Islam, this policy of division had never been
followed, so that science remained the mere
handmaiden of religion. Attempts at true
scientific research were generally hampered
or stopped altogether by the forces of dogmatism and superstition.
Independent progress was an impossibility. The division recognized
by Islam was epoch-making precisely because it freed secular science
from the grip of religion. This facilitated conducting of research and
experiment without any fear of interference. This process of liberation
continued for a thousand years, until the modern era, now known as
the scientific age.
WAR IS NO CHOICE AT ALL
Seek Positive Solutions
IN 2003, an American-led coalition launched a war
against Iraq, which lasted till 2009. On the face
of it, America won the war, but after this a huge
problem in the name of the self-styled ‘Islamic State
of Iraq and Syria’ (IS) was born.
The former British Prime Minister Tony Blair played
a key role in this war. He admitted that the war was
wrong. According to a media report titled “Iraq War contributed to rise
of IS”:
Britain’s former PM Tony Blair has apologized for the mistake
made over the Iraq war and said there were ‘elements of truth’
to claims that the 2003 US-led invasion was the principle cause
of the rise of IS.
War is really no
choice at all. Instead,
the right choice is
to try to manage a
war-like situation in
a peaceful manner.
In this regard, it is more proper to say that the
Iraq war was a case of a wrong choice. In this
war, more than 4000 American and British
soldiers were killed. The cost of the war was
around 3 trillion dollars. But the result was
counterproductive, and the problem of the
Middle East became only even more serious
than before.
The fact is that war cannot cease by one party
defeating another. In practice, what happens
is that the defeated party does not accept its defeat. Instead, a thirst
for revenge overtakes it. This negative reactionism can become so
severe that if the party does not have the strength to engage in regular
war, it can resort to suicide-bombing—destroying itself and the other
party, too.
War is really no choice at all. Instead, the right choice is to try to
manage a war-like situation in a peaceful manner. One should seek to
strengthen oneself on positive foundations in such a way that positivity
itself becomes enough for one’s victory.
RID YOURSELF OF COMPLAINTS
Root Cause of Problems
COMPLAINT culture is a self-destructive culture. Complaints
harm none other but one’s own self. A complaint culture is very
common in our society. It is this culture that develops over time
into a hate culture, culminating in violence. A complaint culture is the
root cause of all problems.
What is the remedy for this complaint culture?
It is Sabr (patience), the only workable remedy to overcome the
complaint culture. Most remedies are based on transforming others,
but Sabr seeks to bring about change in oneself. Changing someone
else is not possible.
Sabr or patience is
a two-fold blessing.
One is that patience
makes you “tension
free” and the other
is that it qualifies
you for entry into
Paradise.
Muslims who are involved in violence today
are actually a case of impatience. First they
develop complaints, which grow till they get
converted into hatred. By exercising patience
at the initial stage, the complaints can get
nipped in the bud. But they ignore this
quality. Instead they exaggerate matters to
the extent that it dominates their thoughts
and eventually makes them stoop to violence.
According to a Quranic verse, Paradise would
be for those who develop Sabr (complaintfree
culture):
We will certainly give those who are patient their reward according
to the best of their actions. (
Sabr or patience is a two-fold blessing. One is that patience makes
you “tension free” and the other is that it qualifies you for entry into
Paradise.
Desire
Where desire is blind, reason has the
capacity to discern the true nature of things.
FROM MAULANAS DESK
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, born in 1925, in
Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, is an Islamic spiritual
scholar who is well-versed in both classical Islamic
learning and modern disciplines. The mission of his life
has been the establishment of worldwide peace. He has
received the Padma Bhushan, the Demiurgus Peace
International Award and Sayyidina Imam Al Hassan
Peace award for promoting peace in Muslim societies.
He has been called ’Islam’s spiritual ambassador to the
world’ and is recognized as one of its most influential
Muslims1
. His books have been translated into sixteen
languages and are part of university curricula in six
countries. He is the founder of the Centre for Peace
and Spirituality based in New Delhi.
CONVERSION VERSUS DAWAH
ONE of the readers of Spirit of Islam wanted to know the difference
between conversion and Dawah (calling people towards God).
According to the reader’s understanding, both terms mean the
same.
Dawah is a bilateral
process which
involves sharing of
thoughts. It is an
invitation, while at
the same time it is
a means for mutual
learning
This, however, is far from the truth. It is very important to know the
difference between the two terms. Conversion literally means the
adoption of new religious beliefs that differ from the convert’s previous
beliefs. Thus conversion to a religion is one’s personal choice—it is
every person’s birth right. Taking conversion
in the sense of proselytization is incorrect.
Since the word ‘conversion’ creates
misunderstanding, it is not used in Islam.
Instead of this, the word adopted in Islam is
dawah. In its literal sense, dawah means ‘to call’.
It is another name for the peaceful use of
freedom of expression. According to the
modern concept of freedom, every one has
the right to peacefully express one's ideas.
Therefore, dawah is the other name for peaceful dialogue. It is a
healthy practice to share one’s ideas with others in an atmosphere of
openness.
Dawah is a bilateral process which involves sharing of thoughts. During
this process, one gives to others and also gains from others’ learning.
In this sense, dawah can also be termed mutual learning. We can say
that it is a process in which one shares one’s discovery of the truth with
others. In one respect it is an invitation, while at the same time it is a
means for mutual learning. Contrary to imposing one’s ideas on others,
it stands for sharing one’s discovery with others.
If dawah is taken in the sense of proselytization, it would serve to be
a cause for intellectual stagnation. If, however, it is taken in the sense
of dialogue and mutual learning, it would prove to be effective in the
intellectual development of people involved.
Dawah is not the same as debate. In a debate, one aims to establish
one’s superiority over another. This is not a method suitable for an
intellectual discussion. Debate does not ignite our thoughts to new
ideas presented by others. On the contrary, while doing dawah one
enters into a healthy exchange with others on religious subjects. The
target for this exchange is to further one’s creative thinking in order to
explore and discover new aspects of the truth.
Conversion, in Islamic thought, is not synonymous with proselytism.
According to Islam, conversion is an event which takes place in a
person’s life as a result of an intellectual
transformation. It is for the individual to
discover the truth after an exhaustive search
for it and then willingly make a choice in this
matter.
Conversion is an
event which takes
place in a person’s
life as a result of
an intellectual
transformation
Dawah refers to creative interaction. It is
a bilateral process. A peaceful exchange
of ideas in human society is the basic
aspect for the development of the world.
Every development was an idea which was
converted into action resulting in benefit to humanity. Sharing of ideas
with others in an atmosphere of peace and openness is the source of
human and intellectual development.
During this process, one also learns from others. It is mutual learning.
One presents what one has discovered and listens to what the other
person has to offer from his discovery in life. If this does not happen then
it will lead to intellectual stagnation. If taken in the sense of dialogue
and mutual learning, it would prove to be effective in one’s intellectual
growth and add to the wisdom of those who are participating in such
dialogue.
Dawah ends at this point. Any further thinking about the ideas presented
by others is the responsibility and freedom of the individual, a process
in which no second person is involved. This major point of difference is
to be understood clearly. When we speak of conversion it immediately
brings to mind the presence of two persons: a ‘converter’ and a
‘convertee’. This, however, is not an Islamic teaching. When a person
accepts a faith different from his previous faith, he alone should make
the choice on the basis of his discovery of that faith. It is a result of his
own discovery of God: there is no one in between him and His Creator.
Thus the entire work of conveying the message of God is about being
a true worshipper of God and a true well-wisher of mankind. The
framework for this task is to maintain unilateral peace and to live as a
giver member of society in every way.
The process of dawah has always helped me
in my self-development. In this connection, I
would like to relate an incident. By birth, I am
a Muslim. Through my study of the Quran, I
have found that Islam’s concept of life is that
a person should intellectually develop himself
to such an extent that he is able to turn a
minus into a plus. I had learnt this principle
through my study of Islam. Later, I came to
know of an incident of the famous Indian
monk Swami Vivekananda.
When a person
accepts a faith
different from his
previous faith, he
alone should make
the choice on the
basis of his discovery
of that faith; there
is no one in between
him and His Creator.
Once one of his Christian friends invited the
Swami to his house and led him to a room. Here on a table lay a pile of
books one on top of the other. These were sacred books of major world
religions. They were placed in such an order that the Gita was at the
bottom and the Bible was right on top. Would the Swami get provoked,
the host wondered. The host pointed towards the books and asked:
“Swamiji what is your comment on this arrangement?” Swamiji smiled
gently and said: “The foundation is really good.”
This incident of Swami Vivekananda provided a very good illustration
of the principle I had learnt from the Islamic scripture. Dawah is the
name of such creative interaction.
HARMONIOUS MARITAL RELATIONS
Acknowledge and Appreciate Differences
A NEWLY married couple wanted to know how they could make
their marital life harmonious. There is only one answer to
this question. The husband should learn to adjust with his
wife’s emotional nature and the wife should learn to adjust with her
husband’s tenacious nature. After this, if God wills, the couple will
enjoy harmonious relations for the rest of their lives.
Women and men are not opposing genders, but complement each
other. On this basis, each of them has been blessed with certain
additional qualities. Women are generally
more emotional, an added quality of
theirs. It does not indicate weakness or
shortcoming. Likewise, if men are generally
more unyielding, it is not their weakness but
rather, an added quality. Both these unique
qualities are necessary in life. Men and
women should see these differences as part
of God’s Creation Plan. If they realize this,
they will acknowledge and appreciate each
other, instead of complaining and clashing.
Women and men
are not opposing
genders, but
complement each
other. On this basis,
each of them has
been blessed with
certain additional
qualities.
In line with being emotional, most women are
soft in nature. They are able to solve problems using this natural trait
they have been blessed with. The good that lies in men’s tenacity is
that where needed, they can deal with issues in a strong manner. In
this way, both women and men are able to play their respective roles,
making the family and the wider society function harmoniously.
Being Hopeful
If man could but know the hopeful
circumstances of tomorrow, he would
never lose heart over the depressing
circumstances of today.
LESS SPEECH MORE SILENCE
Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak
A wise man, once asked why he was so miserly with words replied:
“The Creator of the world has given man two ears, but just one
tongue. This is so that we may listen more than we speak.”
LISTENING more than speaking is a prudent course to adopt. In
doing so we increase our knowledge, have a better understanding
of the other person’s viewpoint, prepare what we wish to say
and encourage in the speaker a greater receptivity to what we wish
to say when finally it is our turn to hold forth. When we speak, it is
not generally sufficient just to utter the truth. We have to be able to
talk persuasively if our listeners are to be convinced. This is where our
having listened carefully is an advantage. We get to know in advance
what misapprehensions we have to sweep aside, what illusions we have
to dispel and what emotional barriers we have to break down. If we
speak without ever listening to others, we shall always find ourselves
in a weak, uncertain, and ill-informed position.
If we speak without
ever listening to
others, we shall
always find ourselves
in a weak, uncertain,
and ill-informed
position.
Sometimes we voice opinions which are
not well supported by facts. We can save
ourselves embarrassment by first hearing
the subject discussed from different angles
by different speakers. It is only after mature
reflection upon what was said that we should
venture to air our views. And even then, they
should be aired with full consideration for the
feelings of our listeners.
The propensity to talk too much is often
a sign of wanting to sing one’s own praises
than of getting to the matter, and shows a lack of seriousness towards
others. The effect of this is at its worst when the flow of talk is based
on insufficient or superficial knowledge. What it most obviously betrays
is a lack of character.
The practice of listening more than speaking is not just the external
expression of one isolated personality trait; it reflects rather a whole
state of mind. Indicative of sincerity and humility, it is the essence of a
fine character.
THE HEREAFTER
Life After Death
THOSE huge masses of ice, which we know as icebergs, found
floating in the seas of the North and South poles are amongst
the most deceptive and, therefore, most dangerous phenomena
of nature. Their deceptiveness lies in the fact that no matter how
huge, or wonderful in configuration, what we see of them amounts
to only one tenth of their enormous bulk. What lies below the surface
of the ocean, spreading far and beyond the visible perimeter, poses
tremendous hazards to the unwary. In some ways, our lives are similar
to those floating mountains of ice. The part we spend in this world—
about a hundred years or less—is like the part of the iceberg which is
visible above the surface. We can see it, touch it and feel it. We can take
its measure and deal with it effectively. But the part which comes after
death is like the submerged one—vast, unfathomable and fraught with
peril. It defies the imagination but must nevertheless be understood,
for that is the part of human life which God has decreed should be
eternal and, as such, ineluctable.
We are familiar with the facts of our origin
and the course which life takes from womb
until death. But at the end of our lifespan,
whether it terminates in youth or in old
age, our familiarity with the nature of things
comes to an end. It has been surmised that
death means total and final annihilation. But
this is not so. Death is simply a means of
consigning us to a new womb, to the womb
of the universe itself. From that point, we are
ushered into another world: the Hereafter.
Nothing that we can
experience in this
world will ever match
the extremes of
agony and bliss of life
after death.
While the present, physical world as we know it has a finite time-frame,
the Hereafter stretches into infinity. We fondly imagine that there is
some parallel between the pleasures and pains of this world and those
of the next, but, in truth, nothing that we experience in this world will
ever match the extremes of agony and bliss of life after death. Those
who merit punishment in the Hereafter will be condemned to suffer
the most horrific pain for all time to come. But those who merit God’s
blessings in the Hereafter shall know the most wonderful joy and
contentment.
It is because life in this world is intended to be a testing-ground that the
world of the Hereafter remains beyond our reach. But all around us, we have innumerable signs which can help us by analogy, to understand
and appreciate the nature of the world to come. Imagine a room which
ostensibly consists of four walls, furniture, a few material objects and
some human occupants. To all outward appearances, that is what the
room adds up to. But the moment we switch on the TV set, we are
introduced to a hitherto unsuspected world of colour, movement, and
highly vocal human activity. This bustling and lively world has existed
all along. It needed the flip of a switch to make us aware of it.
Similarly, our terrestrial existence is made up of a world within a world.
The world we know is concrete, visible, audible and tangible. The ‘other’
world, the world within it, or rather, beyond it, cannot be apprehended
through any of the normal human senses; no switch can be turned on
to make us understand what it is really like. Only death can do this for
us. And when we reopen our eyes after death we find that what had
formerly been impalpable and quite beyond human comprehension
is now a stark, overwhelming reality. It is then that we grasp what had
hitherto existed, but remained invisible.
Once we are clear in our minds that the after-life truly exists, we realize
that the sole aim of our earthly existence should be to strive for success
in the life to come. Unlike the present ephemeral world, the Hereafter
is eternal and real. What we understand by suffering and solace in this
world cannot be compared with the suffering
and solace of the Hereafter.
Many individuals lead immoral, even criminal
existences because they feel that we are free
to do as we please in this world. Freedom
we do have, but it exists only so that God
may distinguish between the good and the
evil, and determine who deserves a place of
honour and dignity in the Hereafter and who
should be condemned to eternal disgrace.
The sole aim of our
earthly existence
should be to strive
for success in the life
to come.
While there is nothing to prevent the good and the evil from living
cheek by jowl in this world, they will be separated in the Hereafter like
the wheat from the chaff and will be judged according to their record
in this life. Some will be condemned to an eternal Hell of pain and
distress, while others will be blessed with eternal bliss and pleasure.
Each will get his deserts.
Now let us look at the Hereafter from another angle. During a visit to a
senior official’s house while seated on the lawns of his palatial bunglow
the following lament from him set me thinking. The official exclaimed “Maulana Sahib, you don’t know how bad our life is! Tomorrow I have
to be at the airport before sunrise to welcome a foreign dignitary. Not
only shall I have to deprive myself of sleep, but I shall have to welcome
him with smiles—and that in spite of the fact that he is somebody I
despise!”
This simple anecdote shows there are two sides to the lives of those in
high office. They enjoy power, prestige and the many perquisites that
go with them but there is also an unenviable side to their lives. If you
look deep into some of these ‘great’ men, you will discover that they
achieve their high positions because they persuade themselves to be
content with triviality. If outwardly they lead glamorous existences, it is
because, privately, they stoop to hypocrisy, sycophancy, opportunism
and unscrupulousness. This double life is the price they pay to bolster
their self-interest. Most people unthinkingly follow the trends of the
time. Every ‘great’ person has two sides to one's life—one of brilliance
and glitter, the other dark and soulless. The power and glamour which
one achieves has something animal-like about it when one agrees to
kill what is human in oneself.
Just as there are two sides to every life in this world, there is a similar
duality to every act in relation to this world and the Hereafter. One
aspect of each act is our acceptance of it as what it is seen to be in
this world. The other aspect is what results
from this act in terms of the Hereafter. Imam
Ahmad narrates that the Caliph Umar once
said: ‘No drink of milk or honey is better than
swallowing one’s anger.’ Overcoming one’s
anger is an extremely bitter experience, but in
the Hereafter the result of doing so is sweeter
by far than milk and honey. Today we reap
the worldly fruits of our actions! Tomorrow
in the Hereafter, we shall have to face the
results of our deeds and misdeeds. Today,
we can see only one aspect of our actions—
that of immediate pleasure or gain—but the Day of Resurrection will
place us in a position to see much more. Just as a person standing
on top of a wall can look down on both sides, so shall we be able to
see both aspects of the truth. We will get to watch our entire history
unreel before us like a film and witness the consequences of our own
worldly actions. ‘Then,’ as the Quran says, ‘shall each soul know what
it has sent forward (to the Hereafter) and what it has kept back (in the
world behind)’ (
the Hereafter in mind will benefit us in the life to come.
It is because life
in this world is
intended to be a
testing-ground that
the world of the
Hereafter remains
beyond our reach.
Two men once brought a case before the Prophet for judgement.
One had misappropriated the other’s land, but because of certain
legal quirks, it was difficult to pass a verdict against him. After due
consideration, the Prophet warned him: If
the court gives a verdict in your favour, think
of it as being fire and brimstone which you
have been awarded’. The piece of land might
be a prized possession, but in the Hereafter it
would assume the terrible properties of fire
and brimstone.
Freedom exists only
so that God may
distinguish between
the good and the evil,
and determine who
deserves a place of
honour and dignity in
the Hereafter.
By analogy, the present world and the
Hereafter are two sides of the same event. The
worldly side is trivial and temporary, while the
Hereafter is substantive and permanent. It is
the latter side we will face after death. Here we have complete freedom
to live our worldly existence as we will; in the life-to-come, we will have
no choice about the future course of our life. One will either be raised
to eternal glory, or cast down into the pit of everlasting Hell.
Be Mindful Of God
If one is unmindful of God, one will
react in whatever manner one's
desires and interests demand. If
however one's faith in God is strong,
every event throughout one's life
will remind one of God; the entire
range of one's emotions is then not
concentrated on oneself, but on God.
THE ACCEPTANCE OF REALITY
Face the Facts
SHAH FARUQ, the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali
dynasty was overthrown in the 1952 military coup and forced to
abdicate. He went into exile in Italy until his death in 1965. While
leaving the country he said: “The whole world is in revolt. Soon there will
be only five kings left: the king of spades, the king of clubs, the king of
hearts, the king of diamonds and the king of England.”
Shah Faruq’s abdication is generally seen as the result of a military
coup. But in reality it was the result of a global, political revolution. In
the wake of the democratic revolution in the 20th century, the age of
dynastic rule ended forever.
What finally remains
in life are not our
wishes and desires
but the law of nature
Besides having a good command over
Arabic and French, Shah Faruq had studied
the developments of the modern age.
Acknowledging the end of dynastic rule, he
was able to take his forced abdication as
inevitable. That is why he was able to accept
the reality of his situation. Thanks to this
acceptance of matters as they stood, he saved
himself from negative thinking and spent the
rest of his life peacefully in exile.
This is the secret of life. What finally remains in life are not our wishes
and desires but the law of nature. If man were to acknowledge this
reality, he would spare himself from the pangs of anger, complaint,
protest and violence.
Be Grateful
Be grateful for the seeming setbacks
and problems you face in life. They
may be God's way of telling you that
He has some higher purpose for you.
THE TEACHING OF PATIENCE
Essential Islamic Virtue
A WESTERN commentator, William Paton, has observed: One of
the fruits of Islam has been that stubborn durable patience which
comes out of the submission to the absolute will of Allah.
This observation is indeed very apt. Islam attaches great importance
to patience. Most of the verses of the Quran have a bearing, directly
or indirectly, upon this virtue. In truth, patience is an attribute without
which the very thought of Islam is unimaginable.
The present world is designed such that one has to often face
unpleasant experiences, both within and outside the home. Now if
people were to fall to wrangling on all such
occasions, they would fail to advance along
the path of human progress. That is why
Islam places great emphasis on patience, so
that by avoiding all unpleasantness, man may
continue his onward journey towards the
higher goal of God-realization.
With patience
man can avoid all
unpleasantness and
continue his onward
journey towards the
higher goal of Godrealization.
The Quran repeatedly stresses the need for
patience. We are enjoined to remain patient
in these words, “Endure with fortitude
whatever befalls you” (
“have patience. God is with those that are patient” (
says, “Perdition shall be the lot of man except for those who believe
and do good works and exhort one another to justice and to fortitude”
(
Similarly, the traditions have laid great emphasis on the importance
of patience. The Prophet once said, ‘Listen and obey and be patient.’
On another occasion he observed: ‘God has commanded man to be
patient and forgiving.’ A Companion of the Prophet said: ‘The Prophet
and his Companions always remained patient in the face of persecution
at the hands of enemies.’ Patience provides the basic quality for Islamic
activism. In this world no one can adhere to the path of Islamic virtue
without remaining patient.
GODS BLESSING
Peace and Provision
RIGHT from a glass of water to political power, everything that
people possess in this world is from God. Everything is a direct
blessing of God. Whatever one finds in this world is there because
of the will of God. If God does not will it, no one can have anything, no
matter how hard he tries for it. This is an undeniable truth proved by
the Quran and the Hadith.
Another thing that we learn from the Quran and the Hadith is that there
are two forms of divine blessing. One special and the other general.
Political power is a special blessing of God. We learn from the Quran
that political power is not given to everyone. Neither can it be received
through political movements or the gun culture. It is directly related
with the way of God. One of the sunnah of God is that if a group proves,
in the real sense of the word, to have true faith and to be virtuous in
action, then God grants that group political
power: God has promised those of you who
believe and do good works to make them
masters in the land. (THE QURAN 24: 55)
That is, even when power is desirable, the
movement will begin from the point of
character building and individual reform
instead of political action.
Two things are
called the blessings
of God: peace and
provision. From the
worldly point of view
these two things are
essential for human
beings.
Then God’s general gift is what is shared, more
or less by everyone. In principle, it consists of
two kinds of things—peaceful circumstances
and the easy availability of the necessities of life. This we learn from
the following verse of the Quran:
God has made an example of the city, which was once safe and peaceful.
Its provisions used to come in abundance from every quarter: but its
people denied the favours of God. Therefore, He afflicted them with
famine and fear as a punishment for what they did. (
Two things in this verse are called the blessings of God: peace and
provision. It shows that from the worldly point of view these two things
are essential for human beings. If a group comes to possess these two
things, then it should not wage war for anything else, such as political
power. Rather considering those blessings to be sufficient, believers
should engage themselves in thanksgiving to God, until God himself
paves the way for whatever else is to come.
What is thanksgiving to God? It is that whatever God has given us should
be put to proper religious and constructive use. Remaining content
with what one already has is thanksgiving, whereas regarding what one
already possesses as unimportant and launching stormy movements
for things not in our possession is ungratefulness.
Any one in possession of both peace and provision ought to occupy
themselves with spiritual matters rather than political activities. Now
is the time to engage themselves in producing spiritual fervour in
their people; in launching movements of moral reform; in educating
their people; in planning the way to communicate God’s message to
other communities; in spending their time in their places of worship, in
developing their academic institutions, in setting up their settlements
as a model abode of godly people, etc.
This is true thanksgiving. This is to pay the
due of God’s blessings. A true believer’s eyes
are on his responsibilities. That is why he
does not run for what he has yet to possess,
and always engages himself in discharging his
responsibilities within his own sphere.
Remaining content
with what one
already has is
thanksgiving,
whereas launching
stormy movements
for things not in
our possession is
ungratefulness.
Those who do not follow the path of
thankfulness launch heated movements
towards political goals or revive the gun
culture against their supposed enemies. Such
people are undoubtedly anarchists. Their
case is one of adding insult to injury, even
if their movement has been launched in the
name of Islam.
For such people it is the decree of God that they never reach their
political goal, and whatever blessings of peace and worldly provision
they have already enjoyed be denied to them. They will lose what they
already possess. This is the way of God.
Peace
Peace in actual fact opens up
opportunities and creates favourable
conditions to strive for justice and
other constructive ends.
REFORM YOURSELF
Success through Introspection
Whatever good befalls you, it is from God: and
whatever ill befalls you is from yourself.
(THE QURAN 4: 79)
Whatever misfortune befalls you is of your own
doing—God forgives much—[…] (THE QURAN 42: 30)
FROM these Quranic verses we learn that God
has made this world in such a way that every person must face
the consequences of his own actions. Whenever you confront
a problem, you should search for its cause, not outside, but, rather,
within yourself. This cause is always internal, located inside you.
Two examples from the time of the Prophet of Islam clearly illustrate
this point. One is related to the defeat Muslims faced in the Battle of
Uhud, in the year 625 CE. The other to the heavy losses that Muslims
incurred in the Battle of Hunayn, in the year 630 CE. The Quran refers
to these battles, and in both cases it places the entire responsibility
for whatever happened on Muslims themselves, rather than calling for
protests against those who were opposed to them—the Quraysh of
Makkah.
With regard to the Battle of Uhud, the Quran (
Muslims’ weakness owed to their internal differences and their not
obeying their central command. It tells us that this is what made them
face defeat at the hands of their opponents in
this battle. Similarly, the Quran (
with regard to the Battle of Hunayn that the
losses that Muslims faced was because of
their pride. Here, too, the cause was identified
within the Muslims themselves, rather than
without.
God has made this
world in such a way
that every person
must face the
consequences of his
own actions.
In both these cases, it might have been
possible to place the entire blame for
whatever happened wholly on the Quraysh
instead and to say bad things about them. But
when, in the Quran God commented on these events, He placed the
entire blame on the Muslims alone.
This fact stands as an eternal testimony to how Muslims should think
in similar situations: instead of identifying the conspiracies of others,
they should engage in introspection. Removing their own weaknesses,
they should try to move ahead. This is the way to succeed.
To further clarify this point, it is instructive to reflect on the following
letter sent by Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (died. 720 CE), regarded as the fifth
Pious Caliph of the Muslims, to a subordinate officer, Mansur ibn Ghalib,
whom he had sent on a military campaign against some opponents. He
advised Mansur to remain established in God-consciousness, because,
he wrote, the fear of God is the best form of preparation, the most
successful way and the strongest power. The best way to save oneself
from one’s enemies, he explained, is to save oneself from sin, because
sin is even more dangerous than the wiles of the enemy. Victory
over opponents owes to the latter’s sinfulness, even if they are more
numerous and better in terms of preparation. If the Caliph’s army,
which was smaller than its opponents, were
also to fall prey to sinfulness, they would not
be able to gain victory over their opponents.
Umar ibn Abdul Aziz advised Mansur to
fear his own sins even more than he feared
anyone’s enmity.
Instead of identifying
the conspiracies
of others, one
should engage
in introspection.
Removing personal
weaknesses, one
should try to move
ahead. This is the
only way to succeed.
The fact is that this world is God’s world,
not man’s world. Here one has power only
over one’s self. In reality, no individual or
community has any power over any other
individual or community.
This means that in this world whenever you
get anything, you actually get it from God,
even if it appears to reach you through somebody else. Similarly,
whenever something is taken away from you, it is actually taken away
by God, even if it appears that there is a person behind the loss you
have incurred. An intelligent person is one who in both situations turns
to God.
In the face of the treatment that some Muslims face today in some
places, they typically respond in just one way; by screaming and
protesting against what they brand as ‘oppressors’. This is a completely
un-Islamic approach and method. When everything that happens is
from God, then, undoubtedly, whatever Muslims are facing is also
from God. This is why the only way to respond to this situation is for
Muslims to turn to God. They should try to find out what errors they have made with regard to God because of which they are facing this
punishment. In this way, they can rectify their mistakes, and once again
make themselves eligible to receive God’s blessings.
If stones begin to rain upon you from above and you start looking
below to find out where they are coming from, you will never succeed
in saving yourself from being hurt by them!
THE GOAL OF MAN
Purpose of Creation
“I created the Jinn and mankind only so that they
might worship Me.” (THE QURAN 51: 56)
WE learn the purpose of man's creation from the above verse
of the Quran. Mujaahid Tabii, a disciple of Abdullah ibn Abbas
(died.
realization of God. (Tafsir Al Qurtubi)
Realization or Maarifat means the discovery of God. Man is born with
an extraordinary mind. Man is required to utilize his thinking capacity
to reflect upon all the related aspects of
existence. In this way, he discovers the truth
through personal contemplation. He must
take his place in this world on the basis of
self-discovered truth.
Man is required
to utilize his
thinking capacity
to reflect upon all
the related aspects
of existence and
discover the truth
through personal
contemplation.
That is to say, in a world where everything
is subjected to compulsory submission, man
should engage in voluntary submission given
his developed mind.
Self-discovered truth is no simple matter. This
state can be achieved only by saving oneself
from distraction, by being focused in one’s
thinking and by becoming a seeker in the full sense. When a person
devotes himself fully to study and contemplation, he receives special
divine help. He becomes God’s chosen servant (mukhlas) and starts to
receive divine inspiration.
With his experience and study, and God’s special support, he discovers
the truth and thus develops a realized personality. It is such individuals
who have surrendered to God of their own free will, who epitomize the
true purpose of creation.
Peace with Yourself
If you truly want to enjoy your
life you must be at peace
with yourself.
FROM THE SPIRITUAL TREE
There is a tree beside my house. I call
it the 'Spiritual Tree'. I derive spiritual
inspiration from it. A tree is an evergrowing
being that was initially a seed
possessing the potential of becoming a
full-grown tree. A seed takes food from the
universe around it and then grows into a
tree. The same is true with spirituality,
the desire for which is intrinsic to, and an
integral part of, the very nature of, every
human being. To realize this spirituality,
Man must derive spiritual food from the
universe around him. A tree converts
carbon-dioxide into oxygen; a spiritual person is one who can take positive lessons
from negative situations. From this perspective, a tree is an embodiment of a
spiritual personality. —Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BELIEVER
AND AN UNBELIEVER
THE Quran says that on Judgement-day, when mankind is
gathered before God, man will look upon his deeds. Those who
denied God, and rebelled against Him, will behold the doom that
awaits them. In anguish they will cry out:
“Would that I were dust!” (
When Umar, the second Caliph of Islam, lay on his death-bed, stricken
by the dagger of Abu Lulu Firoz, his son, Abdullah Ibn Umar was resting
his father’s head in his lap. “Rub my cheek in the dust, Abdullah,” Umar
said to him. Abdullah Ibn Umar did so. Then, with his head resting on
the ground, Umar addressed these words to himself:
“Woe betide you, Umar, and woe betide the one who gave
birth to you, if God does not forgive you.” (Tabqat lbn Saad)
If one compares both these events, one will find that the very words
uttered by unbelievers in the next world, are those uttered by believers
in this world. In the life after death, unbelievers will wish they were
dust. But here we have a believer saying, before he dies, in this life on
earth: “Join me with the dust.”
Who dare rebel against God when He appears before man? Everyone
will submit to Him then. But the only creditable submission of God is
that which comes before He makes Himself manifest. Unbelievers will
bow to God when He reveals Himself before
them. But a believer bows to Him while He is
still invisible.
Unbelievers will
bow to God when
He reveals Himself
before them. But
a believer bows to
God while He is still
invisible
The only reason that people rebel against God
is that He is not now cpresent before them.
But how can one rebel against Him when
He manifests Himself in all His might? Man
is cowed into submission before a lion. How
then can he dare otherwise when he comes
face to face with God, the Creator of the lion?
The truth is that a believer experiences in this world what an unbeliever
will experience in the next world. An unbeliever will humble himself on
seeing God: a believer does so without seeing Him.
Patience
The benefit of patience and tolerance
is that even after suffering losses, the
bereft one does not lose his balance.
Inspite of temporary defeat, he
never loses the ability to think cool
mindedly and by making a realistic
assessment of his situation, plans his
life anew. By forgetting what is lost,
he reorganizes his work.
QURANIC WISDOM
Guidance for Life
ACCORDING to the Quran, wisdom is of greatest
value for a human being. There is a verse in
Chapter al-Baqarah which states: “Whoever is
granted wisdom has indeed been granted abundant
wealth” (
summum bonum, or the greatest good. Wisdom
ensures success, while the lack of it signals failure.
I have tried to understand what wisdom is from the
Quran and Hadith, that is, what is the concept of wisdom, as defined in
the Quran and the prophetic practice.
After deep study, I have come to conclude that the definition of wisdom
according to the Quran is the ability to discover the relevant by sorting
out the irrelevant. After studying the life of the Prophet of Islam, I
have realized that the best title for him is that he was a ‘Prophet of
Wisdom’. In 1978 the American author Dr.
Michael Hart wrote a book with the title, The
100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons
in History. In this book he ranked the Prophet
Muhammad as the greatest achiever in entire
human history. But Dr. Hart does not explain
in his book the reason for Prophet’s superachievement.
I have discovered through my
study that the reason for Prophet’s success
was his application of Quranic wisdom to
the situations he faced. The Prophet experienced various kinds of
situations and in every situation he adopted Quranic wisdom. I will give
some examples to illustrate how the Prophet applied this wisdom.
The Prophet in Makkah: Ignoring the Problem and Availing the
Opportunity
The Prophet began his mission in 610 CE in ancient Makkah. Prophet’s
mission was based on tawheed, or monotheism. At the time, the whole
of Arabia was polytheistic. The Kabah was built four thousand years
ago by Prophet Abraham as a centre of worship of one God. But now
polytheism was practised by the different tribes of Arabia. This was a
grave situation confronting the prophetic mission.
Here the Prophet applied wisdom. Since the Kabah was used as a place
of worship and venerated by the various tribes of Arabia, people from all over the peninsula would gather to pay respects to their tribal gods.
As a result, the Kabah had acquired a central position where people
would gather on a daily basis. It hence became possible for the Prophet
to have an Arab audience present in Makkah, to whom he could preach
the teachings of his religion.
We therefore see that the Prophet never travelled in Arabia for the sole
reason that Arabs from the surrounding regions would themselves
visit Makkah for their worship. The Prophet had access to an audience
from all over Arabia. The Prophet would visit the Kabah daily, offer
his prayers and then engage in the task of conveying the message of
Islam to those gathered there. He would recite verses from the Quran
to people (Ibn Hisham). The Prophet used to tell people: “O people, say
that there is no god but God and you will find success.” (Ibn Hisham)
Similarly, he would recite verses from the
portions of the Quran that had been revealed
at that time. This was a wise method followed
by the Prophet because of which many
Makkans embraced Islam, including those
who are known as the foremost Companions
of the Prophet, for example Abu Bakr, Umar
ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abi
Talib, Muadh ibn Jabal and others.
Had the Prophet fought with the Makkans or
forcibly prevented people from their methods of worship, the prophetic
mission would have come to an end in Makkah itself. This is because
such action would have initiated a violent confrontation, leading to
killings on both sides. Muslims today have been fighting for the past
two hundred years and have not been successful. The only reason for
this failure is their inability to apply the above prophetic wisdom to the
present day situation. Muslims of today are fighting with problems and
are unaware of the opportunities that can be availed.
The whole of Prophet’s life can be explained by the single principle of
following divine wisdom. God has created this world in such a way that
every person here enjoys freedom. No one has the right to abolish the
freedom of another. Thus we have to manage other people’s freedom
rather than attempt to abolish it. Islamic wisdom is therefore to carry
on with your mission while managing the issues that arise on account
of other people’s freedom.
Migration: Re-planning of the Prophetic Mission
Prophet’s mission of monotheism did not suit the people of ancient
Makkah because the Kabah was an attraction for different polytheistic
tribes resulting in the flourishing of trade, serving as a source of income
for the people of Makkah and a means to bolster the economy of the
city. It therefore did not suit the Makkans to believe in a religion based
on monotheism. But because the Prophet could not abolish the Godgiven
freedom of people, he adopted a different option of managing
the situation. Instead of making an issue out of the worship aspect
of the place the Prophet availed the gathering as an audience for his
mission. This is an example of wise management.
Opposition to Prophet’s mission increased in intensity. Due to the
wisdom adhered to by the Prophet, a number of Makkans had come
to accept Islam. This group comprised of some of the best people of
the society of Makkah. The best minds of Makkah became followers of
the Prophet due to his adoption of the wise strategy explained above.
However, Prophet’s opponents still held sway in Makkah and after
thirteen years of his mission, they became even more hostile. Now
the Prophet had two options before him: he could either continue to
stay in Makkah and fight with those opposed
to Islam or leave Makkah for another place.
God has created this
world in such a way
that every person
here enjoys freedom.
No one has the
right to abolish the
freedom of another.
The Prophet again applied wisdom. Ancient
Makkah had become a controversial spot for
the Islamic mission. When a place becomes
controversial for one’s work, it is difficult to
remain there and work normally. Thus the
Prophet gathered information about other
places and found that Madinah, which was
then called Yathrib, was free of all such
controversies. The Prophet hence decided to
migrate to Madinah. Therefore, migration means re-planning of one’s
mission. Migration was not merely leaving of one place for another,
rather it involved a re-planning of prophetic mission. At the time of his
migration, the Prophet made a very historical statement: “I was ordered
to migrate to a town which will swallow all other towns. People call it
Yathrib and it is Madinah” (Sahih Bukhari). The Prophet had predicted
that his re-planning would give new success to Islam. In this way, as
part of a great vision, the Prophet decided to leave Makkah and migrate
to Madinah.
Avoiding Confrontation
Makkans became angry with Muslims’ having found a peaceful centre
for their mission, causing them to initiate wars out of revenge. The
Prophet was carrying out his mission in Madinah in a non-provocative
way, but the Muslims’ success did not go down well with the Makkans,
who thus launched attacks. But it was due to Prophet’s wisdom that he
reduced into skirmishes the wars waged by the Makkans. A full-fledged
war lasts at least for six days. There is no such war in the life of the
Prophet. On this basis we can say that there was no war during the
lifetime of the Prophet. Other people tried to engage him in war, but
using his wisdom he turned every such war into a mere skirmish.
With God’s special succour Muslims emerged
victorious at the Battle of Badr (
the Makkans suffered losses. It is human
nature to thirst for revenge after facing defeat
at the hands of their opponents. This is why
after their defeat, every time the Makkans
tried to enmesh the Muslims in confrontation.
Muslims today are
engaged in fighting,
wielding guns and
committing suicide
bombing. They do
not know that in
every situation there
are relevant aspects
alongside irrelevant
aspects. Success
comes with sorting
out the two.
Another event from the early history of
the Prophet is known as the Battle of the
Trench (
place. Traditions have it that a 12,000 strong
confederation advanced on Madinah for
attack. The Prophet realized that there would
be no use of fighting as many would die.
Before this, two years ago, seventy of the
Companions had died at the Battle of Uhud.
The Prophet did not want this to be repeated. Thus he adopted a
unique strategy—he had a trench dug between the Muslims and the
attackers. This trench served as a buffer between the two sides. This
wise strategy, which prevented confrontation, was unknown to the
Arabs of the time. Due to this those who had come for attack were
compelled to leave without fighting.
The Peace Treaty of Hudaibiya
The Prophet wanted peace to prevail in Arabia so that the work
of dawah, or conveying the message of God to people, could be
performed without any obstruction. Dawah cannot happen in the
absence of a peaceful atmosphere. Peace brings normalcy. The task
of dawah involves addressing the mind of those to whom the message
of God is to be conveyed. This is possible only in a normal situation.
So, under a great planning, the Prophet decided to go to Makkah with
his Companions to perform the umrah, or the lesser pilgrimage. In
Companions. This was not acceptable to the Makkans. When they
learnt that Muslims were approaching their city, they went forward and
stopped the Muslim advance at a place called Hudaibiya, about ten
miles from Makkah. This was followed by two weeks of negotiations
for peace. The Makkan opponents were bent on their conditions being
accepted for peace to be concluded between the two sides. Their
conditions were unilateral and did not take
into consideration Muslims’ interests. The
Prophet accepted all of the conditions of
the Makkans. After this the Prophet began
to dictate the terms of the agreement to
Ali to write on paper. He said: “O Ali write:
‘This is what has been concluded between
Muhammad the Messenger of God and…” At
this, Suhayl ibn Amr, the representative of
the Makkans, immediately said: “We do not
believe that you are a messenger. You will
have to remove the words ‘Messenger of God’
and write instead ‘Muhammad, son of Abdullah.” It is very astonishing
that the Prophet did not waste even a second and said to Ali: “O Ali
write: ‘This is what has been concluded between Muhammad, son of
Abdullah…’” Ali was not prepared to erase the words ‘Messenger of
God’, thus the Prophet asked where these words had been written and
erased them himself. In this way, the peaceful agreement, known as
the Hudaibiya Treaty was signed.
There were many among the Companions of the Prophet who thought
that the treaty was a humiliation. But the Prophet remained firm on
the agreement he had entered into with the Makkans and returned
from Hudaibiya. He had not yet reached Madinah when the Chapter alFath
was revealed in the Quran. The first verse of this chapter declares:
“Truly, We have granted you a clear victory” (
considered to be a unilateral defeat and humiliation was declared by
the Quran to be a clear victory. What was this clear victory? The Prophet
ignored the irrelevant aspect and focused on the relevant aspect.
The irrelevant aspect was to temporarily have ‘Muhammad, son of
Abdullah’ written on a piece of paper instead of the words ‘Muhammad,
Messenger of God’. This would have not changed the course of history.
The Prophet knew that changing words on paper would not change the course of history. Here we have an example of focusing on the
relevant aspect and ignoring the irrelevant aspect. As a result, after the
Hudaibiya Treaty was signed peace prevailed in Arabia.
Before this, there had been a situation of war between the Makkans and
the Muslims, both sides anticipating war to break out any time. When it
became known all over Arabia that the two groups had mutually agreed
on peace and would not fight for a period of ten years, movement of
people from both sides became common. Shihab al-Zuhri (d.
an early authority on Islam, has explained why people embraced Islam
in large numbers after the Hudaibiya Treaty. The reason for this was the
greatly increased interaction between the Muslims and the Makkans.
Before the treaty, there had been no interaction at all between the
two groups, however, the Hudaibiya Treaty broke the barrier between
the two sides, leading to more and more
interaction between people. This interaction
led to exchange of thoughts and ideas and
thus made people knowledgeable about
Islam. Hence the numbers of Muslims rose
rapidly.
In this way, in his twenty-three year prophetic
mission the Prophet always separated the
relevant from the irrelevant in the situations he
was faced with. In the present times, Muslims
are totally unaware of this wisdom. Muslims
today are engaged in fighting, wielding guns and committing suicide
bombing. They do not know that in every situation there are relevant
aspects alongside irrelevant aspects. Success comes with sorting out
the two. For example, Muslims today have complaints against the West.
Whether the complaint is right or wrong, it must be acknowledged that
the West has made many positive contributions—freedom, openness,
print and electronic media, means of communication and so on. If
there are certain complaints against the West, they should be taken
as irrelevant. The relevant fact is that in today’s age, there has been
an opportunity explosion. Modern civilization has opened up an age
of opportunities. Since Muslims are engaged in confrontation, they
cannot recognize these opportunities
The Supporting Role of Modern Civilization
I have discovered after a study of Prophet’s life that wisdom is the ability
to sort out the relevant from the irrelevant. Due to lack of prophetic
wisdom, Muslims have been making numerous sacrifices but have not been able to make any positive achievement. If Muslims were to adopt
this wisdom, they would realize that the entire modern civilization is
an example of this tradition of the Prophet: “God will certainly make
secular people support this religion” (Sahih Bukhari). The modern
civilization is a supporter of Islam and not an enemy of Islam. Because
Muslims are too engrossed with irrelevant aspects, they could not
discover the modern civilization as a supporter of Islam. If they sort out
the irrelevant aspects, they would realize that in reality this civilization
provides support to the religion of Islam.
The greatest practice of the Prophet that we need to revive today is to
discover prophetic wisdom and apply it to our present circumstances.
God has ushered in a new age in which the equation between people
has changed. At the time of the Prophet, some people had been
enemies of Islam while others were its friends.
It was due to
Prophet’s wisdom
that he reduced
into skirmishes the
wars waged by the
Makkans. A fullfledged
war lasts
at least for six days.
There is no such war
in the life of
the Prophet
In the present age, this equation has come to
an end. Today if there are Muslims on one
side of the equation, there are supporters on
the other side. The entire world has become
a supporter of Islam. A new revolution has
been brought about in the world, which has
given us communication, religious freedom,
openness, all of which are supportive for the
cause of Islam. There was a process which
started at the time of the Prophet and this
has culminated as modern civilization today.
According to a tradition of the Prophet: “A
time will come when you will advance to a
place where there will be a fort with closed
doors. You will not use swords or lances. Rather you will just say La
ilaha illallah and the doors will be opened up” (Sahih Muslim). Right
now, I am speaking at a place and my voice is potentially reaching the
entire world. Thus this tradition means that an age of communication
will dawn in the future which would open up all doors for Islam.
Muslims of the present day should revise and reassess their actions
and plans. I pray to God to guide us and accept us for Paradise in the
Hereafter.
DONT TAKE THINGS IN NEGATIVE TERMS
Positive Thinking
ONCE I addressed a group which was said to be involved in an
unhealthy practice. I advised them to abandon this practice. A
member of that group responded: “Aap to naraz ho gaye.” (You
became angry). I said: “No, I am not angry. Rather I have pointed out
an unwanted practice that you are engaged in. Anger is a negative
response. On the other hand, I have given you healthy advice only so
that you could correct yourself.”
There is a negative and positive side to all things. If you think negatively,
your mind will become negative. By being positive, your mind remains
positive.
Passing a remark against someone affects your thought process.
Adopting negative terms to express your feelings will activate your
mind in the negative direction. Consciously or
unconsciously it triggers a negative process in
your mind. By expressing your views positively,
your mind will be positively oriented.
Man is a social animal. He communicates
his ideas with others by speaking. When a
person speaks, he initially addresses himself.
His voice reaches his mind before it reaches
others. Every speaker first addresses himself
and then others. It is therefore imperative for
each individual to recognize and understand
the kind of signal they are giving to their mind. Whether the other
person gets affected or not, surely he himself gets affected by what he
says. Given this, every person should be very cautious while expressing
themselves.
Modest Person
A truly modest person will look at
all matters in relation to God rather
than in relation to human beings.
KNOW YOUR LIMITS
Achieve Your Goals
PEOPLE want to progress as much as possible. They aspire to
achieve the greatest possible success. For such people, “The sky is
the limit”, as the saying goes. But this saying is actually unnatural.
The fact is that man’s abilities are very limited. On account of our
limitations we can move up only to a certain limit, not beyond it.
If you take the saying “The sky is the limit” literally and you forget your
limitations, imagining that you can achieve any and every thing, you
are bound to fail to achieve all that you want. You are sure to suffer
frustration and despair and to leave the world in that condition.
Unlike what this saying claims, man’s true target is not the ‘sky’. What
we need to do, instead, is to know our natural limits and, accordingly,
plan our lives.
In place of ‘The sky is the limit’, the aphorism
‘Stress is our limit’ makes much more sense.
It indicates that we need to make efforts to
achieve our purposes, but when we feel that
we have fallen victim to stress we should
know that we have reached our limits. Our
limits, then, are defined by the limits within
which we enjoy peace of mind.
If you take the
saying “The sky is
the limit” literally
and you forget your
limitations, imagining
that you can achieve
any and every thing,
you are bound to fail
to achieve all that
you want.
We should make full use of our abilities, and
should continue to do this as long as we do not
face mental tension. That is what remaining
within our natural limits is about. But when
we find ourselves falling prey to tension, we
should realize that we have reached our limits. We must halt at this
point, and not futilely proceed further.
Whatever we might obtain in this world is possible only as long as we
remain within the limits of nature. We cannot get anything transgressing
these limits.
A DREAM WORLD
Answer to our Every Desire
GOD has created man with innumerable desires and longings.
The means exist in this world for the fulfilment of his desires,
but even so, man is unable to fulfil them. Sometimes old age
intervenes and sometimes man’s inherent limitations prevent him
from achieving what he wishes; he is hindered by some weakness and
sometimes he is not favoured by fortune.
Is man fated to come into the world with all
sorts of desires and then leave the world,
disappointed at having achieved none of
them? This is not the case: God has prepared a
Paradise for man where he will be granted all
that he desires. After death man enters into a
complete world, a world free of all defects. He
will find there everything that he had longed
for on earth but had been unable to obtain.
Heaven after death
is for those fortunate
ones who live
righteous lives on
earth; who prove by
their noble actions
that they deserve an
equally noble reward.
Heaven after death is for those fortunate
ones who live righteous lives on earth; who
prove by their noble actions that they deserve
an equally noble reward. Man will find in the next life the dream world
which eludes him on earth. Only those who have paid the price in this
life will deserve heaven in the next.
A Hidden Treasure
When a piece of glass breaks up, it breaks
into many parts.When a live amoeba
breaks up, it becomes two living amoebas.
Unlike glass there is no question of defeat
and destruction for a living being. Man has
a hidden treasure within him. Difficulties
and setbacks bring it forth. It is not in the
least difficult for one who can conquer
himself, to conquer others.
TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE
We often talk of peace in the context of war. But this
is a very narrow and restricted notion of peace. Peace
is deeply linked with the entirety of human life. Peace is
a complete ideology in itself. Peace is the only religion
for both—man and the universe. It is the master-key
that opens the doors to every success. Peace creates a
favourable atmosphere for success in every endeavour.
Without peace, no positive action—small or big—is possible.
PEACE IS POSSIBLE, BUT ONLY
THROUGH THE RIGHT WAY
IF your house is on fire, you will immediately get into action to try
to put out the flames. Now, there are two ways of doing this. The
first way is to act according to the principles that the Creator of this
universe has set for dousing a fire. The other way is that, overwhelmed
by emotions, you try out some other method, a method of your own
making.
You are free to choose either of these two methods. But the results of
the two are not the same. God has set pouring water as the method for
putting out a fire. You cannot extinguish a fire by pouring fuel on it. If
you do that, it will only add to the fire.
God has made
patience the secret
of success in this
world of His, you
cannot attain success
through impatience.
The same holds true for other challenges in life. If God has made
patience the secret of success in this world of His, you cannot attain
success through impatience. If God has
made positive action the means to arrive at
a particular result, you cannot hope to get
there through fiery speeches, angry rhetoric
and inflammatory statements. If God has
established pragmatism as the solution to
worldly problems, you cannot get what you
want through emotionalism. If God has placed
the secret of reform and progress in the silent
transformation of individuals, you cannot
hope to progress by stirring up agitation and strife. If God wants us to
get ahead in life by acknowledging our mistakes, you cannot advance by trying to prove others to be criminals and yourself to be faultless. If
God has established a rule that if you want to pluck a rose, you can do
so if you steer clear of the thorns, you won’t be able to obtain the rose
if you start fighting against each thorn that you come across.
This world is a place for us to be tested. This is why every human being
has been given the gift of free will. But this freedom is of action alone,
and not that of obtaining results or the fruits
of our actions. Undoubtedly, we are free to
do whatever we like to, but we have not been
given the power to acquire the results that we
seek. You are free to choose whether to dive
into the sea or not, but if you do not know how
to swim, you do not have the power to stop
yourself from drowning! Please remember
that this world is merciless when it comes
to accepting useless excuses, no matter how
beautifully you might seek to embellish them.
We can obtain what
we seek only if we
live in accordance
with the principles
that God has put into
place that govern
the universe. If we
deviate from these
principles, we cannot
get anything positive
at all.
The fact of the matter is that we do not live
in a world of our own making. Instead, this
world has been made by God. We can obtain
what we seek only if we live in accordance with the principles that
God has put into place that govern the universe. If we deviate from
these principles, we cannot get anything positive at all. The devastating
results of the merciless violence engaged in by terrorists is ample proof
of this.
Unattainable Goals
To lead the community in pursuit of
unattainable goals is a dastardly and
inimical act: such hot pursuits lead
not to the heights of success but to
the depths of despair.
CRITICISM OR ALLEGATION
With or Without Evidence
IF you have only allegations to prove someone wrong, you need to
understand that it is you who is in the wrong. Point out other’s flaws
or errors only if you have proper evidence to back this. Without
such evidence, finding fault with others and hurling allegations is a
major sin. It is tantamount to killing someone—or what is rightly called
‘character assassination’. It is no less a sin than physically murdering
someone. In the Hereafter, you will face stern punishment for this.
According to a Hadith: “Three things of a
Muslim are inviolable for his brother in faith:
his blood, his wealth and his honour.”
Criticism must always
be based on evidence
and proof. Criticism
that is bereft of such
evidence is a
grave sin.
The word “Muslim” appears in this Hadith,
but in the extended sense it relates to every
human being. Being aware that finally you
have to appear before God, will make you
alert and save you from such action.
Criticism is everyone’s legitimate right. But
criticism must always be based on evidence and proof. Criticism that is
bereft of such evidence is a grave sin.
HUMAN VALUES THROUGH ISLAM
Serving Mankind
ALL the teachings of Islam are based on two principles—the
worship of God and the service to mankind. Without putting
both principles into practice, there can be no true fulfillment of
one’s religious duties.
Islam inculcates the spirit of love and respect for all human beings. On
the one hand, by serving human beings they please God and on the
other, they achieve spiritual progress.
According to a Hadith, you should be merciful to people on earth and
God Almighty will be merciful to you. In this way Islam links personal
salvation to serving others. God’s reward in the Hereafter can be
earned only if one has striven to alleviate the sufferings of mankind.
The following incident brings out the concept of service to others in
a very profound way. During the British monarchy, one of the British
Emperors disguised himself as an ordinary person to inspect his
military establishments. During an interaction when one military officer
admonished him in a very stern and harsh manner, the disguised king
asked, “Do you know who I am?”
Taken aback at such a question and doubting
himself the officer said, “Are you a military
officer just as I am?” The king replied, “I am of
a greater position than that”. The officer said,
“Then you must be a Captain.” Again to this
the king replied, “I am greater than that.” “Are
you a colonel?” asked the officer. “No, I am
greater than that”, was the reply. The officer
said, “Then you must be a General”. “No, I am
even greater than a general”, said the king.
A person who
treats every human
interaction as an
interaction with
God will not commit
any excess in his
behaviour.
Then the officer who was by now in total shock said, “Then you must be
the Emperor”. He said, “Yes, I am the king”. The officer handed his gun
to the king and said, “You may shoot me for my crime, I have failed to
recognize my king”. The king said, “No, you are a good military officer
but I have an advice for you. Whenever you interact with any common
man think of him as your king and of yourself as an ordinary soldier
then you will treat every individual in the best manner and will consider
the common man’s affairs as the affairs of the king”.
In this incident there is a principle for living a God oriented life. When
God created man and asked the angels to bow down before man all
the angels obeyed God’s command but Satan refused to do so. The
angels considered the issue as a matter of God’s command but Satan
considered it as a personal issue between man and himself.
To understand the above more clearly the following Hadith is very
important. On doomsday, God says to a person, “I” was ill, but you did
not come to nurse Me.” The man will reply, “God, You being the Lord
of the universe, how can You be ill? God will
answer, “Such and such servant of Mine was
ill. Had you gone there, you would have found
Me there with him.” Then God says to another
person, “I was hungry but you did not feed Me.”
The person will reply, “God, You are the Lord
of the worlds, how could You go hungry?” God
says, “Such and such of My servants came to
you, but you did not feed him. Had you done
so, you would have found Me with him.” Then
God says to yet another man, “I was thirsty,
and you did not give Me water to drink. ”That person will also say, “God,
You are the Lord of the worlds, how could You be thirsty?” God says,
“Such and such servant of Mine came to you, but you did not give him
water to drink. Had you offered him water, you would have found Me
there with him.”
In this Hadith the teaching is that you consider every interaction with
others as an interaction with God. The words used in the Hadith are
symbolic otherwise this Hadith guides us towards the character
of a believer. A person who treats every human interaction as an
interaction with God then such a person will not commit any excess in
his behaviour.
The Islamic principle highlighted here is that if a person wants to find
God, he shall first have to make himself deserving of this by serving
others. This paves his way to spiritual progress. Only those who have
elevated themselves spiritually will find God.
This culture of mercy and compassion approved by God is not limited
to human beings, but extends also to the animal world. We must be
equally sympathetic to animals. The Hadith gives us many guidelines
laid down by God on how to care for all of God’s creatures and treat
them with kindness. Cruelty to animals risks being deprived of God’s
mercy.
Islamic belief softens the hearts of its believers. When this penetrates
people’s hearts, they will of necessity become kind and compassionate
to others. They will see everyone with eyes of ‘love and compassion
and feel this urge to serve others, and fulfill others’ needs.
If even after adopting the beliefs of Islam, feelings of love and
compassion do not well up in the heart of its adherent, he should
rethink about his faith. He should ask himself—have Islamic beliefs
truly found a place in my heart and mind? Can I fully practise my beliefs
and succeed and mould myself entirely on the model of Islam?
Umar Faruq, the second Caliph of Islam, had taken only one camel with
him when he travelled on a journey from Madinah to Palestine. He
realized that if he continued to ride the camel during the entire journey,
it would be cruelty to the animal, and it must be given rest. Therefore,
he decided to ride and walk by turns to give the camel periods of rest,
until he reached his destination.
If the true spirit of Islam is inculcated in a
person, he becomes so compassionate to all
living beings, that even at the cost of personal
comforts, he extends a helping hand to others.
According to a Hadith, “By God, he is not a
Muslim who eats his fill, while his neighbour
goes hungry.” This shows that a Muslim is one
who is concerned with others’ hunger and
thirst as he is with his own; who is concerned
not only with his own person but with the whole of humanity.
All the teachings of
Islam are based on
two principles—the
worship of God
and the service to
mankind.
According to another Hadith, you should, “extend greetings to people,
feed them and earn your place in heaven.” According to Islam, a person
is worthy of heaven whose heart is eager for others’ peace and wellbeing,
who is eager to share with everyone, whether it be food, clothes
or medical help, etc. In short, one should share in people’s pain and
suffering.
Islam is a religion of humanity. Islam considers serving others as a
great act of worship. According to the teachings of Islam, it is only in
serving people that we shall have a share in God’s mercy.
PROCESSION OF DEATH
The Final Journey
ACOFFIN is being carried aloft towards the grave. It seems like
a journey, not just from one point to another, but from man’s
beginning to his end.
When man is born, he immediately has recourse to a mother’s
compassion and a father’s protection. He grows up among friends and
relatives. On reaching adulthood he forges ahead on his chosen path
through life.
His journey continues until finally death comes. Those relatives who
had supported him through life now carry him to his final resting place.
They lay him under a mound of earth where he is alone; where there is
just him and his Lord.
Up till that point, he had been confronted with humans like himself;
now he is face to face with God infinitely greater than him. Till then he
had been in a world where he had power of his own, but now he finds
himself absolutely powerless. Man, the most helpless of creatures, will
come before God the All-Powerful—a meeting so awesome that it is
almost beyond imagining.
Man, the most
helpless of creatures,
will come face to face
with a God infinitely
greater than him.
A meeting so
awesome that it
is almost beyond
imagining
People are continually dying here on earth. Not a day goes by without
our seeing or hearing of the death of someone. Yet we fail to realize
the implications of death. This is because we
lack a living mental picture of Heaven and
Hell. We are preoccupied with unrelated,
matters—busy making homes for ourselves
instead of looking to our eternal home;
we are only concerned with worldly profitmaking
and not caring to do enough to earn
the life everlasting; we are too involved with
improving our position in society rather than
to consolidate our relation with God. We think
of every human being in the same worldly
terms, so when a person dies, we feel only a
sense of loss that one who gave so much to
the world has been taken away from it. We see man in relation to this
ephemeral world, but fail to see him in relation to the next eternal
world. How then can we realize the true implications of death? How
can we see that, as one is laid to “rest”, one is, in fact, being led to one’s
meeting with the Lord and one’s eternal fate?
THE WORD OF GOD
From The Scriptures
The Quran is the book of God. It has been preserved in its entirety since
its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between 610 and 632 CE. It is a book
that brings glad tidings to mankind, along with divine admonition, and
stresses the importance of man’s discovery of the Truth on a spiritual and
intellectual level.
Translated from Arabic and commentary
by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
In the name of God the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
He frowned and turned away when the blind man approached him,
for how can you know that he might seek to purify himself, or take
heed and derive benefit from [Our] warning? As for him who was
indifferent, you eagerly attended to him—though you are not to be
blamed if he would not purify himself—but as for one who comes to
you, eagerly and in awe of God you pay him no heed. Indeed, this
[Quran] is an admonition. Let him who will, pay heed to it. It is set
down on honoured pages, exalted and purified by the hands of noble
and virtuous scribes. Woe to man! How ungrateful he is! Of what
[stuff] has He created him? Out of a drop of sperm! He creates and
proportions him, He makes his path easy for him. (
The Prophet Muhammad was once preaching to the chiefs of the
Quraysh in Makkah, when a blind man, ‘Abdullah ibn Umm alMaktum,
arrived at the gathering and said, ‘O, Prophet of God ! Please
teach me something of what God has taught you.’ The arrival of a blind
person at this juncture displeased the Prophet. These verses were
revealed on that occasion. In these verses the apparent addressee
is the Prophet Muhammad, but in the eyes of God, those prominent
people who have turned away from religion have no value. Before God,
the valued person is the one who is imbued with the God-fearing spirit,
though apparently he may be a ‘blind’ person.
Then He causes him to die and be buried. Then when He pleases, He
will bring him back to life. Yet man declines to do His bidding. Let
man reflect on the food he eats. We let the rain pour down in torrents
and then We cleaved the earth asunder. We make the grain grow out
of it, and grape vines and vegetables, and olive trees and date palms and burgeoning enclosed gardens and fruits and fodder as provision
for you and for your cattle to enjoy. But when the deafening blast
is sounded, on that Day a man shall flee from his own brother, his
mother, his father, his wife and his sons: on that Day every man
among them will have enough concern of his own—on that Day some
faces will be beaming, laughing, and rejoicing, but some faces will be
covered with dust and overcast with gloom: those will be ones who
denied the truth and were immersed in iniquity. (
The driving force behind the true godliness required of a man is
in reality his sense of gratitude. If he gives serious consideration
to his creation and the various natural systems around him, he will
eventually develop a sense of gratitude towards his Lord. The state
of being resulting from these feelings of gratitude and obligation is
known as godliness, or adoration of God in the real sense.
Rejection of truth and being arrogant about it are the worst crimes.
Arrogant people will have absolutely no personal worth in the Hereafter,
while those who accept the Truth and bow down before it are the ones
who will carry weight in the Hereafter. The honour and successes of
the Hereafter will be theirs.
Competitive World
In the competitive world of today, those
who want concessions will always find
themselves in the back seat. It is only
those who make every effort to earn
excellent qualifications who will ever
come to the fore.
ASK MAULANA
Your Questions Answered
SOPHIA SCHAFER IN CONVERSATION
DIALOGUE-PLUS
WITH MAULANA WAHIDUDDIN KHAN
(Sophia Schafer is a student of Theology in
Germany).
Together with the Jesuit scholar Father Victor
Edwin (who teaches Islam and Christian-Muslim
Relations at Vidya Jyoti College of Theology, a
Jesuit centre in Delhi) I met Maulana Wahiduddin
Khan twice in March 2016, in New Delhi. In this article I would like to
present a portrait of this great Islamic scholar who is internationally
recognized for his engagement in efforts for peace and interfaith
understanding. He has been awarded many peace prizes, including
the Demiurgus Peace International Award (under the patronage of
the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev), the Padma Bhushan,
the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna Award and the National Citizen’s
Award. A recent book, The 500 Most Influential Muslims of 2009 by
Georgetown University, Washington DC, has named him “Islam’s
Spiritual Ambassador to the world.”
Wahiduddin Khan was born on 1 January 1925 and grew up in Azamgarh
(Uttar Pradesh, India). He was educated in a traditional Islamic
seminary, the Madrasatul Islah in Sarai Mir. Afterwards, he gained
modern knowledge through self-study. His brothers had studied in
secular, Western-style institutions in the 1940s, and members of his
family were engaged in India’s independence struggle. So, the young
Wahiduddin found himself exposed to many questions about religion,
politics, society and his own future. Highly influenced by Gandhian
ideals, he stood for non-violence, peace dialogue and peace. In 1970,
he founded the Islamic Centre in New Delhi, and in 2001, the Centre for
Peace and Spirituality.
The Islamic Centre publishes a monthly journal in Urdu called Al-Risala,
while the journal Spirit of Islam contains his articles in English. He has
translated the Quran into Urdu, with versions in English and Hindi, and
has authored over 200 books on Islam, Prophetic wisdom, spirituality,
and peaceful co-existence in multi-ethnic societies, including The
Prophet of Peace, The Teachings of Prophet Muhammad, True Jihad, Peace
and Inter-Community Relations in Islam, The Ideology of Peace, and The
Age of Peace. Even at the present age of 91, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is actively engaged in scholarly work, interacting with people and
engaging with groups working for interfaith and peace efforts.
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan invited Father Victor Edwin and me to his
house in New Delhi. As his granddaughters Maria and Sufia (who are
graduates in Islamic Studies) led us up the stairs to his living room,
I already felt happy and blessed to be welcomed so openly at his
home—I, a “stranger”, a “foreigner”, having grown up in a completely
different context and following another religion, too.
I asked the Maulana how he understands interfaith dialogue. There are
three types of dialogue, he replied. The first is debate, that is, when
someone wants to win by showing or proving his or her theology’s
superiority. The Maulana says that this actually is no dialogue at all. It
even kills the spirit of dialogue and makes people either scream in anger
or be silent. The second is the search for unity. This means that you try
to unite all religious doctrines by seeking to eliminate their differences.
But by this people also deny their own identities and the distinguishing
thoughts, understandings and behaviours that characterize their lives
and communities. Nature, traditions and social structures are never
uniform and cannot pretend to be, the Maulana says. The third form
of dialogue is intellectual partnership. In this case, we learn from and
about each other, and even about ourselves by being shown a mirror
from another perspective. This, the Maulana says, is the only genuine
way of dialogue.
These days, the Maulana says, many Christians are skeptical of Islam
and do not listen to its wisdom and see its beauty. Many Muslims, on
the other hand, he says, have developed a certain arrogance and are
not interested in others anymore. But the Maulana wants to remind us
of something that Jesus says: to love our neighbours, and even to love
our enemies! Solidarity and harmony in religiously-plural societies are
possible if we not only love people of our own faith communities but
also those who do not belong to our religion or subscribe to our way
of thinking.
According to the Maulana, Islam seeks to establish peace and bring
people together. Yes, some Muslims got lost on the way and began
to take to the course of violence. But people should follow the path
of peace that Moses, Isaiah, Jesus and Muhammad and all the other
prophets have shown: “Those are the ones whom God has guided, so
from their guidance take an example”(QURAN 6:90). The key is never to be
extreme in your religion, but to believe in the goodness and justice of
God. Interfaith dialogue brings people together to talk about their lives and become partners, working on this in the spirit of God, who is there
for the entire humanity, even if we may understand God differently. We
might learn to see a different face of God’s grace in the other’s eyes.
How can we do this? The Maulana explains this by invoking something
that Jesus teaches us: that man shall not live by bread alone. The Maulana
says (in a video podcast) that for him this means that although bread
is just baked flour, in the eyes of a believer it can become more than
bread: we could call it “bread-plus”. That is, he or she will be able to see
the deeper spiritual lesson in everything. When a believer eats food, he
will not simply engage in the act of eating. Rather, he would also think
about all the many processes in nature that help in the production and
development of food. This would engender profound thankfulness to
God for creating so many beneficial things for human beings. In this
way, a believer would try to see the spiritual in every material event,
causing him to develop God-consciousness. Accordingly, he would exist
not only at the physical level but would be nourished at the spiritual
level also. This is how a believer converts “bread” into “bread-plus”, or
the material into a non-material or spiritual lesson.
By understanding the spiritual character of things, we see things and
people who are with us as gifts from God. God nourishes us, makes
our environment and life beautiful, gives us love and wisdom, which we
cannot produce out of ourselves. Water not only quenches our thirst,
it also freshens and cleanses us. In hot weather, a glass of water can
cool us down. It becomes “water-plus”. Likewise, two persons are not
only two, but a community, if they come into contact. They become
a community, “people-plus”. The ones, who see the “plus” in life, will
flourish.
I was very inspired by a great Muslim scholar sharing his view of Biblical
stories and sayings of Jesus, and even asking Father Victor Edwin and
me to share our opinions on his camera. This was the dialogue we talk
about all the time! The Maulana went further and asked Father Edwin
to pray for all the Muslims in the room who had come to hear the
Maulana speak before they started to offer their namaz (prayer).
`
Did we pray together?
Yes, everybody prayed—to God, the One and Only!
I cannot say exactly what was on other peoples’ minds—the other
Christians and the Muslims—but I’m sure God hears and knows. Many
people came to us afterwards and the whole room was filled with
conversation, and I realized: Yes, God had brought us together! This
was “dialogue-plus”!
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan (1925-2021) was an Islamic scholar, spiritual guide, and an Ambassador of Peace. He authored over 200 books and recorded thousands of lectures giving the rational interpretation of Islamic concepts, prophetic wisdom, and the spiritual meaning of the Quran in the contemporary style. His English translation, The Quran, is widely appreciated as simple, clear and in contemporary style. He founded Centre for Peace and Spirituality (CPS) International in 2001 to re-engineer minds towards God-oriented living and present Islam as it is, based on the principles of peace, spirituality, and co-existence. Maulana breathed his last on 21 April, 2021 in New Delhi, India. His legacy is being carried forward through the CPS International Network.
What God most earnestly desires from human beings is worship. The Quran says: “I have not created jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” ( 51:56 )
