PUBLISHERS NOTE
Dear Readers,
Greetings and Best Wishes for the New Year!
It is January the first month of the year 2017. We are again in that time
of the year when every individual has a chance to change, to improve,
to repent, to learn from the past mistakes and to tread into the future
with wisdom and precaution.
In this journey of life towards progress and all that is truly good for
mankind, Spirit of Islam brings profound wisdom from the pen of our
mentor Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, the Islamic spiritual scholar, known
as Islam’s spiritual ambassador to the world. Some of the subjects
discussed in this monthly journal are the creation plan of God, peace
for its own sake, the importance of discovering God, the necessity of
de-conditioning to return to the good nature on which humans are
born, the sense of accountability to God and the existence of a perfect
world in the Hereafter where all of man’s desires shall be fulfilled.
Life’s principles pertaining to inter-relationships, virtues and helping
one in getting rid of vices and habits that are an obstacle to success,
have had a great influence on the readers according to the feedback
we receive. People from all age groups and from different backgrounds
both religious and secular, have responded positively to the magazine.
With this encouraging response from our readers we begin another
year full of hopes and aspirations with complete faith and trust in the
Lord Almighty. We beseech Him with all humility to continue to help
us in our endeavour to work towards global peace and spiritual living.
We are deeply grateful to God for our readers to whom we are very
thankful for their gracious patronage.
The year 2016 has been important in terms of the progress of reaching
out to more people as the magazine has been added to Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, Google Play Store. Time and again the Maulana
speaks of the significance of the modern means of communication,
thereby to acknowledge God's bounties and also acknowledge the role
of all the people who have worked and continue to work to bring us
this miracle of modern technology.
When we reflect on the matter we realize that everything in the universe
is assisting us in discovering God and bringing us all closer to each other. But unfortunately we human beings, in our limited and narrow
thinking are creating barriers between ourselves in various ways. We
pray that all of us should use our creativity exclusively for the good of
mankind and explore ways of becoming those personalities who are
held deserving of God’s Paradise.
Wishing you all a year full of knowledge, wisdom, peace and security!
Fathima Sarah
Publisher, Spirit of Islam.
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Be Cautious
If there is a very small wrong doing that you
may be involved in, Satan begins his work from
that point and totally deviates you from the
right path. This fact can be understood by an
illustration in the natural world. If only a toe
of yours goes into the mouth of a crocodile,
then through it the crocodile will pull your
whole body towards itself. So, one should be
very cautious and not overestimate oneself.
One should introspect and develop modesty.
Humility is the basis of religion.
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
Muslims
. 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.
LESSONS FROM DE-MONETISATION
ON the 8th of November 2016, when I tuned in to the 8:00 PM
news as usual on the All India Radio station, I was surprised
to hear the voice of the Prime Minister of India instead of the
regular newsreader. The Prime Minister announced that the “500
rupee and 1,000 rupee currency notes presently in use will no longer
be legal tender from midnight tonight, that is 8th November 2016.” He
added that these notes will not be considered valid currency anymore
and will be “just worthless pieces of paper.” The Prime Minister said
the measures were aimed at curbing the “disease” of corruption, black
money and terrorism which continue to plague the country.
This announcement came as a sudden catastrophe to many in the
nation just as if it were an earthquake. They reacted with much uproar
and lamentation, but there was nothing that could be done to change
this decision.
This incident was a worldly matter, but thinking about it I was reminded
of a verse from the Quran
This Day your wealth and your offspring will be of no avail, and only those
will be saved who come to God with a sound (purified) heart. (
The words ‘wealth’ and ‘offspring’ in this verse are symbolic of the
materialistic culture of man. Today, the sole concern of man is the
acquisition of material wealth and worldly power. He considers money
as everything and believes it to be the answer to all his desires. In such
a situation, the Prime Minister's announcement came as a bolt from
the blue, as much of, the wealth that people had accumulated was now
as good as garbage. After hearing this, many people burnt huge piles of
money and many others just threw them out with the garbage.
If all such things
come to naught in
the world of the
Hereafter, then what
is it, which will be of
use in the Hereafter?
There it is only a
‘purified heart’ that
will be of any value.
If within a moment of the Prime Minister's declaration, valid currency
had become dead currency, consider then what will be the situation
when the Lord of the universe declares that “Today your wealth and
your offspring will be of no use” In another
place in the Quran, God declares, “On that
Day man shall flee from his own brother, his
mother, his father, his wife and his sons.” (80:
Consider then what
will be the situation
when the Lord of the
universe declares
that “Today your
wealth and your
offspring will be of no
use”.
In this world, there are many people whom
others, consider their ‘whole and soul’ in life;
but suddenly in the world of the Hereafter they
will be deserted by these very same people. In
the verse, ‘flee from his own brother’ does not
mean actually deserting his brother. Rather,
all those people whom a person, held to be his
support and succour in the world will now appear as a burden to him.
Wealth, offspring, relatives, friends, positions, armies, governments
and all other things that man once relied on as his strength—will all
be shattered in the world of the Hereafter and man will find himself all
alone and powerless in front of Almighty God.
If all such things come to naught in the world of the Hereafter, what
is it which will be of use in the Hereafter? There it is only a ‘purified
heart’ that will be of any value. This matter has been related in the
Quran as follows, “Paradise is the recompense for those who purify
themselves”. (
A verse of the Quran that marks the signal for the Hereafter says,
“The trumpet will be blown and, at once, people will rise up from their
graves, and hasten to their Lord.” (
There is another symbolic meaning of this verse which can be explained
as follows. Every person lives in a protective shell that he has created for
himself. This shell is made of money, wealth, material interests, family
and societal ties, position and power. When suddenly ‘the trumpet is blown’, all these protective shells will be broken and man will stand
exposed and bare.
With the Prime Minister’s announcement of demonetisation, all the
‘black money’ hoards were exposed and laid bare. In a similar manner,
with the ‘blowing of the trumpet’, all the hidden qualities of people will
be exposed and their true personalities laid bare. Tomorrow, in the
world of the Hereafter that is sure to come, mankind will be separated
into two types of personalities; a purified personality and a ‘blackened
personality’. (
It is negative thinking that leads to the ‘blackening’ of one’s personality.
Negativity gradually obscures man’s personality and just as a dye
colours water, negative thinking blackens the personality.
The Quran mentions that there will be two ‘trumpet signals’ for the Day
of Judgement. I believe that the first ‘warning signal’ is a symbolic one
which can, therefore, be of more than one type. The second ‘warning
signal’ will be the final one, that will usher man into the world of the
Hereafter. Looking at it from this perspective, the Prime Minister’s
declaration of 8th November is a symbolic
‘warning signal’ that will reveal glimpses of
the Hereafter to the man who has the vision
to see it.
There are many
people whom others,
consider their 'whole
and soul' in life; but
suddenly in the world
of the Hereafter
they will be deserted
by these very same
people.
Today, the more wealth that one has, the
more is one distraught and stressed. Today,
there are piles of money but their value is
nothing. In a similar manner, in the Hereafter,
people will have their ‘pile’ of deeds that
they have accumulated in the world, but
it will be of no use to them. Just as today,
man lives in a self-centered world and
does not come to the aid of his fellow human beings, on the Day of
Judgment ‘he will have no friend’ (
friend’. (
After the announcement by the Prime Minister, people were in a
position to protest and condemn the decision. There have been many
debates and demonstrations against the decision. But in the Hereafter,
there will be no one to raise their voice against the declaration
of God. (
Such incidents that occur in our lives are equivalent to the ‘first
warning trumpet’ of the impending Day of Judgement. Similarly, every earthquake and storm, every natural disaster, every accident, old age,
disease and death are all a first ‘warning trumpet’. This ‘first warning
trumpet’ is a reminder of the Day of Reckoning to follow soon, but when
the ‘final trumpet’ is sounded it will signal the end of time for mankind
on earth and usher in a new period of eternal life in the Hereafter.
The most crucial aspect of this matter is that every man has dedicated
himself to the immediate acquisition of material gain and has no
concern for his eternal life to come. He cares
only about obtaining immediate wealth,
money, health, fame and position and makes
no effort towards preparing for his everlasting
life in the Hereafter.
The Prime Minister’s declaration of 8th
November 2016 was sudden and unexpected.
Similarly, death and the Day of Judgement will
also appear suddenly. The time has come for
man to think about his eternal life. Instead
of adorning his present home, which can be
seized from him at any moment, he must
work towards preparing an eternal home for life in the Hereafter. And
what is this eternal home for man? It is Paradise.
We do not need to travel into space to understand where or what is
Paradise. To get a live understanding of Paradise, consider this saying
of the Prophet of Islam:
Paradise has been veiled with unpleasantness
If you can develop your minds so that you are able to lift the veils of evil
and of things that are prohibited or to be avoided, then Paradise will
become apparent to you. In this present and temporary world we face
many unpleasant experiences. Paradise will be a place free of all such
experiences, it will be a place of eternal joy, whose inhabitants ‘shall
have no fear, nor shall they grieve.’ (
That is why the people of Paradise will live in eternal happiness and
praise God saying:
Praise be to God who has taken away all sorrow from us.
(THE QURAN 35: 34)
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
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DISCOVERING THE MODERN AGE
Building Economic Empires
THE problems of the present day stem from the advent of
modern Western colonialism which gained momentum in the
in African and Asian countries was basically industry-oriented, it was
from the outset militarily reinforced.
The phenomena of political occupation can be traced back, in fact,
to previous history. In former times, kings mainly wanted to expand
their rule over other countries, in order to occupy greater areas of
agricultural land. But with the advent of mechanical power, political
rule became irrelevant. Now, organization
and infrastructure replaced political power.
The setting up of an organized industrial
infrastructure was enough to enable
exploitation of the targeted countries, without
political rule over them being established.
The only way to make
Muslims a peaceful
people is to make
them conscious of
this revolutionary
change in the
modern age.
The old type of colonization has ostensibly
ended, but in the form of economic exploitation
it is still very much there. For example, there
are multinational corporations everywhere
in the world. What are these multinationals?
They are the modern commercial form of the old empire. Then there
is outsourcing which is also a kind of political expansion of the old
variety. After the Second World War, the Western powers discovered
the utility of this model on a large scale and completely abandoned
the idea of political occupation by military strength. Now they have
established a new kind of lordship all across the world in the form of
economic peaceful empires. Multinationals are clear manifestations of
this peaceful empire.
Those Muslims who subscribe to the gun and bomb culture as a means
to seek to attain supremacy over various nations are completely
unaware of this modern development. Their violent activities are a
direct result of this unawareness of what the modern age has to offer.
The only way to make Muslims a peaceful people, is to make them
conscious of this revolutionary change in the modern age.
NEED OR PANDERING TO DESIRES
Beware of Wastefulness
It is extravagance to eat everything you desire.
(Prophet of Islam, reported by Ibn Majah)
EVERY person lives between two things: needs, on the one hand,
and desires, on the other. To spend your wealth on things that
you need is a justified and legitimate use of it. But to spend it in
order to fulfil your desires is an action that you will have to answer for,
on the Day of Judgment.
Umar reiterated the same point when he said:
“It is enough for a person to be wasteful if he eats everything
that his heart desires.” (Kanz ul-Ummal)
To waste your money is to spend it on something that you do not really
need but that you simply desire.
In this matter, the right thing to do is that whenever you are faced with
a situation that requires money to be spent, take time off to seriously
think whether this is for something that you truly need or for something
that you simply desire. If it is for a genuine
need then decide in its favour. But if it is not
really for a necessity but only a desire, then
you should desist from spending on it.
To waste your money
is to spend it on
something that you
do not really need
but that you simply
desire.
In this matter one needs to analyse each of
one's wants. If one fails to do this even once,
one may find oneself sliding down the slippery
slope of wastefulness, and then it may be very
difficult for one to retrieve oneself.
Our Role
Everyone is endowed with the capacity to
play his role in the world, which he can do
provided he understand the abilities God
has given him, and utilizes them.
THE COMPLETE WORLD
Paradise Awaits You
GOD has created man with innumerable desires and longings.
The means exist in this world for the fulfilment of man's desires,
but even then man is unable to fulfil them. Sometimes old age
intervenes sometimes man’s inherent limitations prevent him from
achieving what he wishes; he is hindered by some weakness and,
sometimes, fortune does not favour him. The pleasures of this world
are short-lived. Its beauty soon fades from our vision. Man longs for
worldly honour and happiness, but before he has even begun to savour
them they begin to dwindle away to nothing. The world has everything
that man wants, but it is not possible for anyone—even those who seem
to have everything in life—to achieve all that they desire. Happiness is
not necessarily the lot of the 'successful'.
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: Man has a desire for perfection, but his world is
tragically imperfect. His life is meaningless until he inherits a world
free of all limitations and disadvantages. As a compensation for the
incompleteness of this world, God has promised us Paradise. God has
prepared a Paradise for man where he will be
granted all that he desires. After death man
enters a perfect 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.
But gaining entry to this realm, will be no easy
matter. The price that has to be paid for an
after-life of perfection is living through the
present world of imperfection and being able
to sacrifice this world for the next. 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. But only those who have paid the price for this in this life
will deserve Heaven in the next. This is the only way to enter Paradise.
Those who are not able to make this sacrifice will also enter an eternal
world after death, but it will be a world of anguish and despair as
opposed to one of joy and bliss.
GOD A SOURCE OF CONVICTION
Succour for Helpless Man
IF one observes the universe with a powerful telescope one will
notice that there is one exceptional planet among all other heavenly
bodies—and that is, planet Earth. One will also observe that amidst
the vast lifeless universe there is just this one planet that hosts life and
also has an abundant supply of everything that is necessary to sustain
life. This rare exception will fill one with awe and wonder!
The Earth, its moon and the other planets in constant motion around
their own axes, and are also revolving continuously around the sun.
The entire solar system is also rapidly revolving, along with the Milky
Way galaxy, in huge orbits. This galaxy again is in continuous motion
along with many other galaxies, in yet another massive orbit.
It will be an awesome experience to witness this constant motion of the
stars and planets. One can also see unbelievably enormous masses of
heavenly bodies countless in number, racing about amidst which the
planet Earth would appear like a little speck.
All of this will so astound one that compared to
this, our own existence will appear absolutely
insignificant.
Without God, our life
cannot be complete,
and that without
God’s help, we
can never be truly
successful.
This experience will lead to the discovery of
two important things. Firstly, the existence of
an All-Powerful God, who is its Creator as well
as its Sustainer. If one can bring to mind this
scene of the massive universe, one’s heart will
testify that the universe itself is a proof of its
Creator. And the second discovery will be that of the utter helplessness
of man. God is an indispensable need of man, for without God, man’s
very existence is impossible. When one discovers this reality, one will
race towards God and call out with one's complete being “God! Please
help me! Without You, nothing at all is possible for me.”
In this vast universe, it is God who is man’s support. It is He alone who
can help us cross this river of life and lead us to the other shore. Belief
in God is everything for man. Without this belief, man is nothing at all.
Each one of us, in our daily life, feels the same utter helplessness that
we experience when we observe the vast universe. Each one of us
repeatedly goes through experiences that lead us to realize our severe
limitations. Very often, we do not get what we want. Every now and then, situations arise in our lives that compel us to
feel completely helpless. In addition to this,
fear of loss, sickness, accidents, old age and
death tell us that we are utterly dependent on
a force that is infinitely greater than us, and
that without the help of this infinitely superior
power, we simply cannot succeed. This
feeling or realization is a psychological proof
of God’s existence. Every person necessarily
encounters this psychological experience.
Every person finds within a firm proof of God’s existence.
In this vast universe,
it is God who is man’s
support. It is He
alone who can help
us cross this river of
life and lead us to the
other shore.
For each one of us, our nature is continuously calling out to us, telling
us that we need God, that without God, our life cannot be complete,
and that without God’s help, we can never be truly successful.
A Good Human Being
What does it mean to be a good human
being? It means to begin to live on the
divine plane, to cultivate divine attributes
within oneself. For this, one has to fight
with the evil inclinations inside oneself. It
calls for working throughout the life to keep
away from negative influences. This is a
path of continuous sacrifice. One needs to
cleanse one's mind of all false ideas and
beliefs. One must engage in an íntellectual
operation, no matter what the cost, even
if it demands that one has to give up one's
wrong beliefs that one may deeply cherish.
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 AS A PRINCIPLE
TO BE PRACTISED
APERUSAL of the Quran followed by a study of latter-day Muslim
history will reveal a blatant contradiction between the two—that
between principle and practice. Where recent developments in
some Muslim countries bespeak the culture of war, the Quran, on the
contrary, is imbued with the spirit of tolerance. Its culture is not that of
war but of mercy.
At the very beginning of the Quran, the first invocation reads: “In the
name of God, the most Merciful, the most Beneficent.” Throughout the
Quran, God’s name is thus invoked no less than 114 times. Moreover,
the Quran states that the prophets were sent to the world as a mercy
to the people (
A perusal of the
Quran followed by
a study of latterday
Muslim history
will reveal a blatant
contradiction
between the two—
that of principle and
practice.
The word jihad has nowhere been used
in the Quran to mean war in the sense of
launching an offensive. It is used rather to
mean ‘struggle’. The action most consistently
called for in the Quran is the exercise of
patience. Yet today, the self-styled ‘Muslim
Mujahideen’ have equated “God is Great”
with “War is Great.” For them, the greatest
reward is to be able to wield a Kalashnikov
rifle. In the light of on-going conflict, by these
Muslims in the name of Islam we must ask
why such a great contradiction has arisen
between the principles of Islam on one hand and the practice of Muslims, on the other. At least one root cause
may be traced to historical exigency. Since time immemorial, military
commanders have been accorded positions of great eminence in the
annals of history. It is a universal phenomenon that the military hero
has been idolized even in peace time and is treated as a model for the
people. It is this placing of heroism in the militaristic context which
has been the greatest underlying factor in the
undue stress laid on war in the latter phase of
Muslim history.
It is this placing
of heroism in the
militaristic context
which has been the
greatest underlying
factor in the undue
stress laid on war in
the latter phase of
Islam’s history.
With the automatic accord in Muslim society of
a place of honour and importance to the heroes
of the battlefield, the annalists’ subsequent
compilations of Muslim history have tended
to read like an uninterrupted series of wars
and conquests. These early chronicles having
set such a precedent, subsequent writings
on Muslim history followed the same pattern
of emphasis on militarism. The Prophet’s
biographies were called Maghazi, that is, The Battles Fought by the
Prophet, yet the Prophet Muhammad in fact did battle only three times
in his entire life, and the period of his involvement in these battles
did not total more than one and a half days. He fought let it be said,
in self-defence, when hemmed in by aggressors, where he simply had
no other option. But Muslim historians—lying in the face of fact—have
converted his whole life into one of confrontation and war.
We must keep in mind that the Prophet Muhammad was born at a
time when an atmosphere of militancy prevailed in Arab society, there
being, in the view of the Arabs of that time no other path to justice. But
the Prophet always opted for the avoidance of conflict. For instance,
in the campaign of Ahzab, the Prophet advised his Companions to dig
a trench between them and the opponents, thus preventing a headon
clash. Another well-known instance of the Prophet’s dislike for
hostilities is the Hudaibiya peace treaty, in which the Prophet accepted
all the conditions of the the other party. In the case of the conquest of
Makkah, he avoided a battle altogether by making a rapid entry into
the city with ten thousand Muslims—a number large enough to awe his
opponents into submission. In this way, on all occasions the Prophet
endeavoured to achieve his objectives by peaceful rather than by warlike
means. It is, therefore, unconscionable that in later biographical
writings about the Prophet, many of the events of his life have been
arranged under the heading of ‘battles’ (ghazawat). How he managed to avert the cataclysms of war has not been dealt within any of the works
which purportedly depict his life.
Ibn Khaldun, the celebrated 14th century Muslim historian, was the
first to lay down definite rules for the study and writing of history
and sociology. He followed the revolutionary course of attempting
to present history as a chronicle of events centering on the common
man rather than on kings, their generals and the battles they fought.
But since war heroes were already entrenched as the idols of society,
the caravan of Muslim writers and historians continued to follow the
same well-worn path as had been trodden prior to Ibn Khaldun. When
people have come to regard war heroes as the greatest of men, it is
but natural that it is the events of the battlefield which will be given the
greatest prominence in works of history. All other events will either be
relegated to the background or omitted altogether.
In the past when the sword was the only weapon of war, militancy did
not lead to the mass-scale loss of life and property such as modern
warfare brings in its wake. In former times,
fighting was confined to the battlefield;
the only sufferers were those engaged in
the battle. But today, the spear and sword
have been replaced by mega-bombs and
devastating long-range missiles, so that killing
and destruction take place on a horrendous
scale. Entire human settlements have now
become the global arena of war. Even the air
we breathe and the water we drink are left
polluted in the aftermath of war.
When people have
come to regard
war heroes as the
greatest of men, it
is but natural that it
is the events of the
battlefield which will
be given the greatest
prominence in works
of history.
Most people think Islam to be outdated and
irrelevant precisely because of its militant
interpretation. Demands for a reform in Islam
are on the increase, as the ‘old’ version of Islam cannot apparently keep
pace with the modern world. But, in reality, it is not reformation which
is required but revival. What is needed is to discard the superficial
and erroneous militant and political interpretation of Islam and to
adopt the original, ‘old’ version of Islam based on peace, mercy and
the love of mankind. The so-called Muslim Mujahideen have been
exhorting their co-religionists to do battle all over the world. But the
Quran says: ‘...and God calls to the home of peace’ (
right-thinking people everywhere to reject the militant version of Islam
and to start seeing and understanding Islam as it is truly represented
by the Quran.
RESPONSIBILITY OF TRENDSETTERS
Role Models
“Whoever adopts a good practice and introduces it to others he
will receive its reward for both adopting it and for helping others
to follow it. Whoever adopts a bad practice and introduces it to
others, he will have to bear the burden for both adopting it and
for being the cause of introducing it to others who may follow it.”
(Prophet of Islam, reported by Ibn Majah)
WHAT is said in this Hadith is not about lay people or the masses,
but about those who have the role of opinion-makers in
society. Opinion -makers become role models for others to
emulate. In today’s parlance one could call them ‘trendsetters’.
Opinion-makers
become role models
for others to emulate
and have a very big
responsibility. They
must seriously think
before taking any
step.
The trendsetters of any social group have a very big responsibility.
They must seriously think before taking any step because it is likely
that other people will begin to do as they
do, so much that it would become a deeprooted
tradition that would be very difficult to
stop. The fact is that the responsibility of the
opinion-makers is much more than that of lay
people. In every society, it happens that some
people come to enjoy the status of opinionmakers
and others begin to copy them. Such
people must be very careful in their actions.
No excuse in this regard is acceptable.
Contentment
A feeling of contentment enables a
person to rise above trivialities and
live in higher realities. He practices
simple living and high thinking.
FATWA ACTIVISM
Self-styled Shariah
THERE is much talk these days about different kinds of activism.
One hears of political activism, social activism, community
activism, media activism, judicial activism, etc. A section of
Muslim religious leaders have launched a new form of activism of their
own—what can be called ‘fatwa activism’. They think that by issuing a
flurry of fatwas they can reform Muslim society. So, one hears of scores
of fatwas against 'un-Islamic' dress, fatwas against women being present
at certain religious places, fatwas calling for the killing of people accused
of traducing the Prophet, fatwas demanding the banning of books by
controversial authors, fatwas declaring some persons as apostates and
insisting on their social boycott, fatwas announcing television or other
things to be haraam or forbidden, fatwas declaring banking to be unIslamic
etc. Fatwas of these sorts have been issued in their thousands
in recent years, but almost all of them have proved to be practically
without any impact. They have not been able to produce the changes
that they intended to.
The literal meaning
of the word fatwa
is ‘the expression
of an opinion on a
certain matter’. By
its very nature, there
will always be the
possibility of more
than one opinion on
any matter
It is interesting to note one instance where
a mufti refused to give a fatwa despite being
asked to do so. Such an approach is the right
way to deal with the situation. This instance
concerns a noted Indian Islamic scholar,
Maulana Abdul Haq Haqqani, who died in
1831. He has authored a commentary on
the Quran. In his period, the British had
replaced gold and silver coins with paper
money. This new form of money appeared
to be unacceptable according to the rules
of traditional fiqh or Muslim jurisprudence.
The Maulana was asked to issue a fatwa on
the matter to opine whether this was Islamically-acceptable or not.
However, he declined to give the fatwa, and simply said, ‘My fatwa in
this regard won’t work. Instead, the paper money will.’ In such matters,
this is the correct Islamic approach to adopt.
The literal meaning of the word fatwa is ‘the expression of an opinion on
a certain matter’. By its very nature there will always be the possibility
of more than one opinion on any matter. On certain specific issues for
which there is no clear guidance in the Quran and Sunnah, the Islamic scholars (ulema) express by means of ijtihad—the exercise of judgement
by sound reasoning—their opinion on the matter in question. This is
regarded as a fatwa.
Nowadays, fatwas are used in a completely improper manner. Instead
of a fatwa used as an expression of opinion, it is employed for the
enforcement of a command.
People do not understand the wisdom in the Shariah. Instead they
engage in a self-styled Shariah of fatwas. With the changing times,
wisdom demands that the fatwa’s also change accordingly. However,
today the fatwa is often used against others like a gun with the fatwa
fired at them. As a result, when a person fails to find a solution to a
matter in the guidance available through deliberation in the Quran and
Sunnah, he resorts to the gun of fatwa to reach his ends.
A fatwa can take two forms. The first is in
the form of a question asked to a mufti—
an Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or
expounder of Islamic law—by a person with a
regard to a matter directly concerning himself
and with the intention of gaining guidance
thereby.
Instead of the
fatwa used as
an expression
of opinion, it is
employed for the
enforcement of a
command.
The second way of eliciting a fatwa relates to
a particular social evil in the wider society,
regarding which an individual approaches a
mufti for a fatwa on his own. It is not proper for the mufti to give a fatwa
in response to this sort of question. If he does so, the fatwa is unlikely
to have any positive role or influence in correcting the social ill that it
seeks to address. Instead, it can turn out to be a cause for giving Islam
a bad name. This has happened in numerous cases. To paraphrase
the words of Maulana Abdul Haq Haqqani such fatwas did not work
and the social ills they sought to combat remained as before. Thus,
scores of fatwas have been delivered on a variety of social ills, against
biddat or innovations in religion, against dowry, english education,
bank deposits etc. But, needless to say, all these fatwas proved to be of
little or no effect.
According to Islam the right methodology with regard to fatwas is that
a person seeking an answer to a personal question should approach a
mufti for a fatwa. A mufti should issue fatwas only in such cases. A fatwa
must not be asked or issued when the matter does not directly concern
the person who requests it.
The question then arises as to what the proper Islamic method
of social reform is. This proper method is one of persuasion and
guidance, through writings and lectures, and not through delivering
condemnatory fatwas. People should be addressed in such a way that
the advice given to them impresses itself in their hearts and they then
recognize and act on that advice on their own. In today’s terms, this
could be termed as ‘educational activism’. Islam’s approach to solving
social ills is through this sort of educational activism, rather than ‘fatwa
activism’.
A guiding principle in this matter is to be found in a narration which
is contained in the Sahih al-Bukhari. According to this report, Aisha
(wife of the Prophet) said that the Quranic verses that were revealed
in the initial stages of Islam dealt with Heaven and Hell so that in this
way people’s hearts would be softened enough to receive the Islamic
message. Then, gradually, after people had developed adequate
capacity to accept Divine laws, the Quranic commandments prohibiting
adultery and the consumption of alcohol were revealed. Had these
commandments been revealed in the initial stages of Islam, people
may not have accepted them, and, instead,
might have refused to give up adultery and
alcohol.
People do not
understand the
wisdom in the
Shariah, instead they
engage in a selfstyled
Shariah
of fatwas.
From this instance one can understand that
in general social reform cannot happen
through delivering fatwas against social ills.
Rather, for this sort of work, people’s capacity
and willingness to accept and act on divine
guidance must first be developed. Only after
this can religious laws be enforced. To issue
orders, in the form of fatwas, in the absence
of developing people’s capacity to accept religious guidance is no
solution at all. Often, it is not the ignorance of religious rulings that
causes social ills. Rather, the basic cause is the lack of the appropriate
spirit among people.
This is why social reform cannot begin with the issuing of fatwas. It
has to begin with work towards inculcating and promoting the right
spirit among people to ignite their consciousness and their capacity
and willingness to abide by the teachings of the faith. Only after this
work has been sufficiently done should issues be explained to people
using the language of the religious law. Without developing this inner
spirit among people, seeking to cure social ills by issuing fatwas from without would be of no use. This is putting the
cart before the horse.
When a person fails
to find a solution
to the matter in the
guidance available
through deliberation
in the Quran and
Sunnah, he resorts to
the gun of fatwa to
reach his ends.
The only criterion for judging ‘fatwa activism’,
or, for that matter, any other form of activism,
is its efficacy in producing the expected
results. Only those methods of activism are
worthwhile that actually succeed in achieving
their goals. Action must always be resultoriented.
The present-form of ‘fatwa activism’
must be seen and evaluated in the light of this
basic principle.
ISLAM IN THE CHANGING WORLD
Reformation Through Re-application
MODERN anthropologists generally look upon religion as a social
phenomenon. This is not however, a correct view of Islam for
Islam is not a product of social circumstances. As a revealed
religion, it enjoys the status of an eternal and sacred religious system.
Yet, there is always the question of how Islam is to remain applicable
to the altered scenario of the changing times. The answer is that Islam
is not a set of innumerable details. On the contrary, Islam embodies
a set of fundamental values. Whatever be the conflicts brought about
by changing times, they are inevitably to do with ritualistic details
concerning forms—never with fundamental values.
Whatever be the
conflicts brought
about by changing
times, they are
inevitably to do
with ritualistic
details concerning
forms—never with
fundamental values.
For instance, Islam preaches Monotheism, which is as a principle
and by its very nature eternal. Similarly, Islam prescribes deterrent
punishments for certain serious social crimes.
This again is a reality which is immutable in
the face of changing circumstances. To date,
no such facts have come to light that disprove
this principle of Islamic law. In modern times,
however, it has been opined that a need has
arisen to effect reforms in Islam. This is the
result of a number of current misconceptions.
Presented below are a few examples which
professedly relate to Islam, but which are
rather human additions to Islam made by
Muslims themselves. These cases ostensibly
give a clear indication that there is a need for reform, but it is not
the reform of Islam itself which is required, but its purification of the
additions.
For instance, a section of the Muslim ulema of modern times held that
the acquisition of Western sciences was un-Islamic. This was a case of
the ulema having made a serious error of judgement, for Islam actually
encourages progress in learning.
Another common misapprehension is that in Islam monarchical rule
is the preferred form of government. It is true, of course, that in later
times certain Muslim nations favoured the institution of monarchy and
that even today this system is extant in a number of Muslim countries.
But in no way is this the result of Islamic teachings. It is, in fact, a deviation from the archetypal democracy advocated by the Prophet
and his Companions. It is a matter of historical record that Islam, in
its early period, set an example of the highest form of democracy. It
would certainly be correct also to say that it was Islam which, for the
first time in history, put an end to monarchy by systemizing politics on
the democratic method.
The truth is that the examples taken from Islamic history which purport
to show the necessity for reform relate not to religious but to temporal
issues. Such reforms are, of course, necessary procedures, but Islamic
reform per se would, more appropriately, mean the purification of
Islam of external influences rather than any modification of Islam itself.
It has to be conceded, however, that our understanding of Islam does
sometimes has to face problems created by changing circumstances.
On such occasions solutions are found by the exercise of ijtihad. Ijtihad
in this case means the re-application of Islamic injunctions, rather than
any reform or change in their original substance.
The truth is that the
examples taken from
Islamic history, which
purport to show the
necessity for reform
relate not to religious
but to temporal
issues.
For instance, during the first phase of Islam,
dates were based on the sighting of the
moon. Now, after the discovery of new
scientific methods of scanning the heavens,
the calendar is based on dates determined
by astronomical observations. This, however,
will not result in the reform of updating Islam.
It will only mean a re-application of Islamic
injunctions. It is hardly proper to evolve a
theory of religious reform on the basis of
such examples.
Islam’s injunctions on the subject of women are often cited as being
in need of reform. It is held that under the influence of ancient
circumstances, women were degraded by Islam and that now, in view
of recent developments, the rectification of this error on the part of
Islam is a matter of the greatest urgency.
To be brief, Islamic commands pertaining to women are concerned with
practical requirements rather than with establishing the superiority
of one gender over another. While 'modernists' favour out-and-out
equality between the two genders, Islam believes in their being equal,
but different in roles. Islam’s position on this matter is that, in matters
of respect, there is no difference between a man and a woman. As
regards rights, too, both are treated as equals. However, for the sake
of being practical, their respective roles are different.
This division between the two is not made on the basis of superiority or
inferiority. It is based, rather, on biological differences. It is a fact that
by birth, the female is the more delicate and emotional while the male is
the tougher sex. As such, in everyday matters both have been assigned
such duties as are suited to their respective biological composition.
Such a division—a practical necessity—is to be found in all societies.
A similar division can also exist between men and men and between
women and women in relation to their biological dispositions.
Islam is a religion of
nature, and just as
there is no question
of revising nature,
neither is there any
question of revising
Islam.
That is why in the practical arrangements of
life, each gender has been assigned a role
suitable to their biological structure. This
division is in no way anachronistic. It is simply
in accord with nature. Nature has created
certain differences between men and women
by birth. This biological difference is such a
decisive factor that those societies which
refuse to accept it in theory are obliged in
to perpetuate this same division in practice,
thanks to the overwhelming pressures of
nature.
In many countries in spite of complete freedom given to women, it has
not proved possible to abolish this division. Till today, many extremely
physically demanding jobs are largely dominated by men. Women
however, have secured their place in the relatively less onerous and
less stressful departments. When women, for example, can move their
fingers delicately over the keyboards of computer, why should there be
any mention even of them engaging in heavy manual work in factories?
The realities of biology have to be given due recognition.
In short, the concept of revision is not relevant to Islam. Revision, after
all, implies that out of ignorance, mistakes have been made in the laying
down of Islamic precepts and that after the subsequent acquisition of
superior knowledge, man is now in a position to set them right. But
this is simply not true of Islam. Islam is a religion of nature, and just as
there is no question of revising nature, neither is there any question
of revising Islam. Re-interpretation of the scriptures may be the need
of the hour, but this certainly does not mean changing the original
system. All it means is a re-application of the original commands so
that they may accord more exactly with the changed circumstances.
This kind of fresh interpretation—always a requirement of Islam in the
past—will remain a requirement in the present and in the future.
RELIGION A DIVINE NOT A SOCIAL PHENOMENON
Differentiate between Islam and Muslims
IF nuclear energy is understood as a means to manufacture lethal
weapons which destroy life, one is bound to be opposed to it. But
if nuclear energy is considered on its own merit, it will not matter
how it is being misused by some people to make atomic bomb. In spite
of being opposed to the atomic bomb, one will continue to support
nuclear energy.
No one makes the mistake of thinking of nuclear energy itself being
harmful. The harmfulness or benefits of a concept or phenomenon
relates to its user. But there are many who make this mistake in the
study of religion. Religion is essentially divine
truth. But anthropology usually treats it as a
social phenomenon. For this reason, people
have formed a mistaken concept of religion.
Worst of all, this method of study prevents
the student from being able to distinguish
between theory and practice. Many people
think of the practice of Muslims and Muslim
nations, for instance, as the true Islam. It is
this method of study which has led people
to write books like The Dagger of Islam and
Militant Islam in recent years. The authors of these books saw that
Muslims are habitually “daggers drawn” and militant in their demands.
So, according to their concept of religion, they came to the conclusion
that these were defining features of Islam itself.
Look at Islam in the
light of Quran and
Hadith instead of
in the light of the
practice of Muslims.
But if one thinks of religion as a truth revealed by God and preserved
in the text of Quran and Hadith, then Islam ceases to be a social
phenomenon and becomes an ideology. One now begins to look at
Islam in the light of the Quran and the Hadith instead of in the light of
the practice of Muslims.
If one wishes to understand Islam, one must look at it apart from the
Muslims. One must think of it as a divine belief, rather than as a social
phenomenon. Only then can an accurate and fair picture of Islam be
formed.
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
MAN, AN EXCEPTIONAL CREATURE
A TRADITION of the Prophet of Islam reported in books of Hadith
reads: God created Adam in His own image (Sahih al Bukhari).
However, this does not mean that man is like God in physical
appearance. It means that God has in a limited way granted man those
divine attributes which exist in perfect form in His being.
In the entire universe man is an exceptional creature. He is the only
creature who has been granted a complete personality. He thinks,
sees, hears, carries out planned action and can enjoy a multitude of
things by using his senses.
Man has been given these exceptional gifts so that he may engage
himself in an exceptional task. This exceptional task is to recognize and
accept the Creator at a conscious level. In this way, the Almighty Lord of
the universe has given man the opportunity to discover Him at the level
of realization. This realization should enable a person to see God who
is physically unseen, to understand that he is actually powerless even
though he seems to have some powers, and so that he may surrender
himself before God of his own free will, and not out of compulsion.
Man has been
blessed in having
been given the ability
to convert the entire
world of nature into
spiritual provision for
himself.
Man is blessed in having been given the ability to convert the entire
world of nature into spiritual provision for himself, for he has to develop himself intellectually by awakening
his consciousness. When he does so, he finds
truth at the level of personal discovery; the
realization of God comes to him as he bows
in self-prostration. Then he has to develop
his personality to such a degree of moral
refinement that he may be held deserving of
finding a place in the vicinity of Almighty God.
Those who fail to develop such a personality
are mere animals in human form. They are
worthless in the eyes of God.
RESPECT FOR HUMANITY IN ISLAM
Respect as a Birth Right
We have indeed honoured the Children of Adam, and provided for
them means of transportation on land and sea, and given them
wholesome food and exalted them high above the greater part of
Our creation. (THE QURAN 17: 70)
THE above mentioned verse shows that man by his very creation
deserves regard and respect. This respect is man’s natural
birthright, regardless of which community he belongs to.
According to a Hadith: “That person is not one of us who is not merciful
to our youngsters and respectful to our elders.” According to another
Hadith the Prophet Muhammad said: “One who believes in God and the
Last Day must honour his neighbours; one who believes in God and the
Last Day must honour his guests.”
There are a number of such commands to the believers in the Quran
and the Hadith which lay great stress on showing due respect to the
servants of God. For, this is an important area in which we are actually
being tested in our faith in God. Our love
and devotion for God finds expression in this
world in the form of our relations with other
human beings. One who is a true believer has
an inner urge to love God’s servants.
Our love and
devotion for God
finds expression in
this world in the form
of our relations with
other human beings.
One who is a true
believer has an inner
urge to love God’s
servants.
Respect for mankind is one of the basic
teachings of Islam. Everyone whether of one’s
own religion or of any other religious tradition,
whether belonging to one community or
another to a friendly group or a group of
strangers, is worthy of respect. According to
the teachings of Islam human beings are to
be respected despite their differences. Even
where antagonism is displayed, we have to adopt the way of avoidance
of conflict and continue to show respectful behaviour. In the eyes of
Islam, all human beings are equal and deserve our respect.
CONFLICTRESOLUTION
The Quranic Way
TODAY’S Muslims may know much about the
divine rewards for reciting the Quran, but
they are unaware of the immense reward
for following the Quran in their own lives, although
this is precisely the highest sort of reward that
is associated with the Quran. The fact is that the
solutions to all problems are contained in the Quran,
but these solutions can work only for those who
agree to accept them without any mental reservations.
Uthman ibn Affan narrates that the Prophet remarked that the best
person is one who studies the Quran and teaches it to others (Sahih
Bukhari). According to another Hadith, Umar ibn al-Khattab narrates
that the Prophet said that God will elevate some people through His
Book (Sahih Muslim).
Such Hadith reports indicate that the definite solution to all sorts of
problems that Muslims may face is to obey the Quran. Muslims can
and will gain protection by following the commandments of the Quran.
This is a sure way for them to save themselves
from all sorts of trials and afflictions.
Muslims are very well
aware of the rewards
for reciting the
Quran, but they do
not know about the
rewards for obeying
the Quran.
If you ponder on the Quran, you will discover
a basic guiding principle—that good and evil
are not the same, and that in a seemingly
difficult situation, one must respond using
the best possible method. As a result of this,
one’s enemy will turn into a dear friend.
As the Quran (
Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel
evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once
your enemy has become your dearest friend […]
Elaborating on this Quranic verse, Ibn Kathir reports that Abdullah ibn
Abbas said:
God has commanded Muslims to exercise patience when they
are angry, to express tolerance in the face of others’ ignorance,
and to exhibit mercy in the face of something that is wrong.
When people act accordingly, God will save them from Satan, and He will soften the hearts of the enemy for them, so that
they become friends.
In this regard, Abdullah ibn Abbas, as reported in the Tafsir al-Qurtubi
is also said to have remarked:
If someone behaves in an ignorant way with you, you must
respond to his ignorance with tolerance.
The principle that the above-mentioned Quranic verse (
also the solution to the problem of inter-communal violence. That is
to say, instead of reacting to provocation, one should adopt a positive
approach and method. There is simply no other effective way. If there
were, the problem would have been solved
by now, because in the past all these other
methods have been tried but they have failed
miserably.
If Muslims adopt the
method of sabr and
avoidance in the face
of provocation then
this response will be
like water over the
fires of strife and
war.
The only way to end communal violence
involving Muslims is for Muslims to stop
thinking in communal terms and, instead, to
adopt the Quranic way of thinking. Muslims
are very well aware of the rewards for reciting
the Quran, but they do not know about the
rewards for obeying the Quran. The Quranic
commandments are actually laws of nature, on the basis of which God
has established the system that governs this world. It is by following
these laws that the cosmic system is able to function perfectly. Similarly,
it is by adhering to these laws that human beings can order their lives
in the appropriate manner.
In the light of Quranic teachings, one can derive certain key principles
of conflict-avoidance and conflict-resolution:
The need to properly investigate something that we happen to
hear before taking action on it.
The Quran (
Believers, if an evil-doer brings you news, ascertain the
correctness of the report fully, lest you unwittingly harm
others, and then regret what you have done […]
Often, people get provoked and resort to violence on the basis of mere
hearsay and rumour, without investigating the veracity of what they have heard. Sometimes, what they hear is completely baseless, but
by the time they realize this, it is too late: they have already taken to
violence, resulting in much loss of life and property.
Defusing the situation.
The Quran instructs us that in the face of provocation, we must
refrain from reacting and instead defuse the situation.
….Whenever they kindle the fire of war, God puts it out….. (
In this verse, ‘God puts it [the fire of violence] out’, means that we must
use the God given guidance of patience and avoidance in the face of
such situations to restore peace instead of reacting to the provocation
by fighting. If Muslims adopt the method of sabr and avoidance in
the face of provocation then this response will be like water over the
fires of strife and war. If instead Muslims react to the provocation with
violence then the response will only add fuel to the fire.
In the manner in which bombs are disarmed, defused and made
safe, Muslims should defuse the situations of violence and conflict. In
ancient times, a common means of provocation was defilement with
dirt and filth. In the sixth century CE, when
King Abraha made an alternate and imitation
Kaaba in Yemen and the Arabs defiled it,
he was incensed and set out on a military
campaign with a strong force of elephants to
destroy the Kaaba in Arabia. In a similar case,
when a stranger defiled the Prophet's Mosque
in Madinah, the Prophet instead of being
provoked responded with patience and by
cleaning the place the situation was defused.
The stranger returned to his tribe and related
this incident by proclaiming that, ‘God is witness that in spite of me
defiling the mosque, Muhammad did not censure or punish me.’
if Muslims instead
react to the
provocation with
violence then the
response will only
add fuel to the fire.
There are many verses in the Quran that inspire Muslims towards sabr
and avoidance. If Muslims adopt this Quranic method of defusing a
situation, it will cut the very roots of inter-communal conflict.
The need to abstain from ignorant prejudice and provocation.
In the context of the Treaty of Hudaibiya, the Quran relates that when
the Prophet’s opponents displayed their prejudice against the Muslims,
the believers did not respond in the same way. Rather, they remained established in God-consciousness (
did not behave as their opponents did that the Treaty of Hudaibiya was
possible. God termed this treaty as a ‘clear victory’. Two years after this
treaty, the whole of Arabia came under the sway of Islam.
If Muslims were to act according to this above-mentioned Quranic verse,
all of a sudden their history would take a different turn. It would also
put a complete end to communal violence. In many cases, communal
riots break out because, in the face of the prejudiced ways of others,
Muslims react in exactly the same way. This escalates the conflict, and
then turns into rioting.
In many cases, Muslims have reacted to the provocation of others by
expressing the same sort of prejudice themselves. But if, instead, they
had adopted the method that the Quran recommends, their response
would have been totally different. And then,
many lives would have been saved.
The Prophet related
that evil cannot be
wiped out through
evil. Rather, evil can
be wiped out only
through goodness.
According to a Hadith contained in the Musnad
of Imam Ahmad, Abdullah ibn Masud says
that the Prophet related that evil cannot be
wiped out through evil. Rather, evil can be
wiped out only through goodness.
This Hadith expresses a divine principle. The
entire world is governed by this principle, that
every evil can be put to an end only through goodness. Had this not been
the case, evil would have completely overwhelmed the world. Contrary
to what Islam tells us to do, Muslims are today engaged in trying to put an
end to evil by resorting to evil themselves. They want to end provocation
by resorting to provocation, to end hate by resorting to hate, to end enmity
by resorting to enmity, and to end communal prejudice by resorting
to communal prejudice. All of this is completely against divine principles.
Such efforts can never succeed. If Muslims insist on continuing this way,
they will have to setup an imaginary world of their own liking, because
they certainly cannot succeed in the real world in this manner .
Intellectual Discovery
An intellectual discovery is the
most thrilling experience.
MANMADE DWARFISM
Family Values
HUMAN babies are the most tender and weak of all the offspring
of living creatures. Babies therefore, need their parents’ care
and guidance for their physical and mental growth. This is why
nature has endowed parents with a special attraction for their offspring.
In the past, the separation of children from their parents was caused
only by abnormal circumstances. In normal circumstances, it was taken
for granted that children would enjoy the protection of their parents
for as long as they required.
However, this exception has come to be a rule in modern advanced
societies. This is the outcome of the modern concept of life which has
destroyed the sanctity of matrimony. There are many cases where
children are born out of wedlock or when the couples separate shortly
after marriage. The result is the same in both cases—alienation of
children from their parents, because they are “orphaned” during the
lifetime of their parents.
The increasing incidence of this kind of ‘orphaning’ is creating
complex problems in modern society, one of which has been termed
“Deprivation Dwarfism” or “Psychosocial Dwarfism”. An excerpt from a
report by medical experts on this subject says that, “Lack of love can
stunt children’s physical growth, retard their intellect or even kill them.”
Medical experts believe that unhappy home conditions can cause not
only mental retardation in children but stunted physical growth as well.
The syndrome is known to affect both infants and children with
symptoms that include decreased growth, very short stature, weight
that is inappropriate for the height, and immature skeletal age. This
disease is a progressive one, and as long as the child is left in the stressful
environment, the child's cognitive abilities continue to degenerate.
Feeding difficulties in infancy and persistent sleep problems are other
common findings.
Just as the human body can become dwarfed, so can the human spirit.
The only cure for this condition is the tender, loving care which is
engendered by love and family values. There is no substitute for it.
NEW PHASE OF HISTORY
In the Spirit of the Age
ISLAM emerged in the seventh century following
which and as result of the efforts of the followers
of Islam, a revolution came about in the world.
According to tradition, the Prophet of Islam had
made a prediction of this revolution. In one report,
the Prophet said: “There is no migration (hijrat) after
the conquest (fath) of Makkah.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)
In this Hadith, the words hijrat and fath are not meant in a temporary
sense. Rather, they signify a change in age. This means that after the
changes effected by the advent of Islam, a new period would dawn in
the world. The model of the seventh century would become obsolete.
That is, the sequence for any religious endeavour or practice that was
employed in the case of Islam—migrating (hijrath) to another land
and then engaging in armed Jihad—would be rendered unnecessary.
The conditions which led to migration and war in the seventh century
do not exist any longer. Freedom of thought and expression and the
freedom of religion or belief is now considered a fundamental human
right. In the present times, Muslims would be only required to carry
out their religious duties and enterprises by keeping in mind the spirit
of the age.
Similarly, the Prophet said: “When Khosrow is destroyed, there will be
no Khosrow after him; and when Caesar is destroyed, there will be no
Caesar after him.” (Sahih al-Bukhari). Here, too, the words ‘Khosrow’
and ‘Caesar’ are used in a symbolic way. This means that the age of
despotism has ended and will not come back again.
In this Hadith of the Prophet, using the language of prediction a
historical fact has been expressed. And that is, following the emergence
of Islam, despotism and imperialism will come to an end. In the ancient
past, owing to monarchical rule and imperialist dynasties, religious
movements faced persecution by government authorities. But in
today’s times religious movements will not face any such persecution.
The planning of a religious movement will now be on a purely nonpolitical
basis. From start to finish, those working for a religious cause
will get the opportunity to work in peaceful conditions, without any
threat of violence. Now, until the Day of Judgment, no enterprise
working purely for the sake of religion will have to face persecution of
the kind such movements had to face earlier only for the reason that
they had stood for a religion they believed to be true.
HIGH THINKING
Objective Analysis
TODAY, people find themselves hemmed in by their immediate
circumstances and conditions. The only meaningful way to handle
this predicament is to maintain what is called ‘high thinking’. You
need to think rising above your immediate circumstances. You need to
form your opinions from an objective analysis of things. You could say
that this kind of thinking is ‘thinking beyond the limits’.
All of us live amidst people. Every now and then, we face some sort of
unpleasant experience at their hands. Very often, we react to these
unpleasant experiences negatively, spurred on by negative emotions,
such as anger, jealousy, hate, revenge, false superiority, false inferiority,
and so on. Almost all of us spend our lives amidst these emotions.
These emotions, which are triggered off as a reaction, lead us to develop
unrealistic thinking. And so, we deviate from
the path set by nature and take to wrong
paths.
The only way to succeed in this world is to
think while rising above the conditions we are
faced with, and to make decisions objectively,
uninfluenced by negative emotions. We need
to nurture what is called ‘creative thinking’.
Only then can we think properly, plan properly
and act properly in this world and lead a truly
successful life.
You need to think
rising above
your immediate
circumstances. You
need to form your
opinions from an
objective analysis of
things.
High thinking is the greatest blessing a person can enjoy. The greatest
obstacle to high thinking is distraction—that is, to allow the mind to
stray off into multiple directions. We need to save ourselves from
every sort of mental distraction so that we can be firmly established in
healthy thinking.
It is healthy thinking that distinguishes man from animals.
Sincere Person
In the eyes of a sincere person,
pretensions lose their attraction.
THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF RITUALS
Expression of Inner Spirit
WHAT is ritual? Ritual is a religious ceremony carried out in
a prescribed order. Rituals are a part of every religion. In
their absence, religion becomes an abstract philosophy.
Philosophy with rituals is religion and religion without rituals is
philosophy.
Rituals are not just a set of rites; in fact, they are the external expression
of the inner content of religion. Religion begins as an inner spirit
but this spirit must always have an external manifestation. It is this
externalization of the inner spirit which is called ritual.
Ritual without spirit is a diluted form of religion like a nutshell without
a kernel. True, the shell does also have some value, but the kernel is
the most important part. Rituals are important, but they are like a body
which becomes lifeless when there is no spirit.
There are two levels of religion. One is that in which spirit and rituals
or form, both have their distinct values. That is the ideal version of
religion. The other level is that in which religion is characterized by
rituals without there being apparently any inner spirit.
Religion always
begins from
consciousness.
This consciousness
gradually, or
sometimes even
suddenly, expresses
itself in the
form of rituals.
Consciousness is the
real source of rituals.
Sometimes religion is in its ideal form, that
is, ritual and spirit go hand-in-hand. But this
ideal state cannot be maintained at all times.
There can be aberrations in the practice of
religion. Sometimes it happens that form or
rituals are present but the spirit is absent, at
least temporarily.
Religion in this latter state is at a minimum
level. But this minimum state is not totally
worthless. It also has its value and, indeed,
has a very important role to play. It maintains
the consciousness of religion and keeps one
mindful of it.
This minimum role of rituals can be described as a reminder of spirit
through routine. When you observe the rituals at their prescribed
times, it reminds you that rituals should be performed keeping in mind
their inner content, that is, their spirit.
Rituals might appear as a mere form but one should understand that
form symbolizes the inner spirit. If the inner spirit has real value, rituals
have symbolic value, and both are equally important.
Rituals, the external aspect of the inner spirit, help maintain the inner
spirit. Without them the spirit would be reduced to an abstract idea. In
such a situation, ritual, or form, serves the role of a compulsory or a
regular reminder.
There is a scientific relationship between the
spirit and form. The spirit, when externalized,
is not an entirely detached phenomenon. It is
very much attached to inner consciousness.
Without inner consciousness, no one
can perform external rituals. Both are
complementary to each other.
If the inner spirit
has real value, then
rituals have symbolic
value and both are
equally important.
It is difficult to understand the inner
spirit without external rituals or external
rituals without inner consciousness. Religion always begins from
consciousness. This consciousness gradually, or sometimes even
suddenly, expresses itself in the form of rituals. Consciousness is the
real source of rituals.
An important role that ritual plays is to give a religion an identity
without which religion would remain only an abstract idea.
Keep The Mind Positive
Man lives in this world in the midst of
problems and negativities. The mind thinks
of all these things and stores them up. We
cannot prevent the mind from doing this. All
we can do is to prevent these things in the
mind from being effective. One should stop
oneself from bringing these things again and
again to the mind.
THE SIGNS OF HYPOCRISY
Weak Personality
IT is narrated by Abdullah bin Amr that the Prophet of Islam said:
“There are four traits and if anyone has them he is surely a hypocrite,
and if any person has any one of them, he still reveals the flaw
of hypocrisy unless he renounces it. They are: he betrays the trust of
others; he speaks falsehood; he does not keep his promises; and when
differences arise, he will not hesitate to fight.”
This Hadith outlines the character of a hypocrite. A hypocrite is one
who becomes insensitive in matters of truth and falsehood, because
he does not fear God. Such a person becomes unprincipled. Having no
sense of accountability, he is obedient not to the principles of truth but
to his self-interest. He does not attach any importance to moral values.
As a result, if such a person is entrusted with anything, he breaks his
trust. When he talks, he does not bind himself to speak the truth. He
speaks easily such things that are at variance with facts. Such a man is
not true to his word, and he breaks his promises easily after they are
made.
Similarly, when such a man finds himself in
the midst of controversy or develops some
difference with others, he fails to maintain
himself on justice. Instead of talking in
a scientific and logical manner, he starts
making accusations. Instead of entering
into serious discussion, he behaves in a
quarrelsome manner. Instead of keeping the
dialogue within the limits of logic, he abuses
his interlocutor. Instead of making scientific
analysis, he passes negative remarks. Instead of remaining in touch with
reality, he talks on the basis of guesswork. Instead of limiting himself to
the issue at hand, he starts talking on the basis of assumptions. Instead
of discussing the matter on the basis of principles, he brings personal
considerations into the matter. Finally, he accuses his adversary of
saying something that he has never spoken of. And to support his
stand, he uses rumours that have no truth.
These traits of a hypocrite that are mentioned in the Hadith are
an extremely serious matter. One who cultivates any of these
characteristics will find a weak personality developing within him. A further loss of such a person is that he will be deprived of the divine
company of angels. He will not be a recipient of divine inspirations.
He will not receive any spiritual nourishment. He will be deprived of
a relationship with God. Such a person’s intellectual development will
come to a standstill. He will be denied the blessing of purification. The
light of faith will fail to reach him.
One who cultivates
any of the
characteristics of a
hypocrite will find
a weak personality
developing within
him.
A weak personality will always be under
the influence of Satan. On the other hand a
strong personality will continue to have divine
experiences as mentioned in the Quran: 'As
for those who affirm, Our Lord is God, and then
remain steadfast, the angels will descend on
them, saying, ‘Have no fear and do not grieve.
Rejoice in the [good news of the] Garden that
you have been promised. (
Patience in Social & Family Life
Patience means to think by rising above
complaints. Patience is not cowardice or
defeat. When you have an unpleasant
experience with someone and become
negative, this means you did not keep
patience. If you ignore what hurts you,
you raise your level. So, patience means
to raise your intellectual level. Patience
is not passivity. It is another name for
high thinking.
JOURNEY AFTER DEATH
Eternal Joy or Eternal Suffering
WHAT is Death? Dictionaries often define death as ‘the
permanent cessation of life’. This definition reflects a negative
image of death. It seems to suggest that death means the
complete extinguishing of a living being after its having been alive on
earth for a short while. It is as if when one dies, one ceases to exist
forever.
In contrast to this, Islam presents a positive understanding of death.
Islam teaches us that death is not the end of life. Rather, it marks the
beginning of a new phase of our lives.
According to Islam, man has been created as an eternal being. His lifespan
has been divided into two parts. The first is the pre-death phase;
and the second is the post-death phase.
Whatever good you
need to do to earn
yourself a good life
after death, you
should do it today,
because tomorrow
you may no longer be
alive.
The pre-death phase of our lives is a time for
us to make preparations for our post-death
phase, the life that is to come after we die.
The post-death phase is where we will reap
the results of all that we had done in the predeath
phase of our lives.
As per God’s Creation Plan, the phase before
death is our preparatory period. Accordingly,
in this period we should focus completely
on preparing ourselves for the eternal life to
come after death. We should know that in the
post-death phase that we will have to face one day, we will not have
the chance to do any actions that can be of any use to us. In that phase
of our life, we will only reap the fruits, sweet or bitter, of what we had
sowed in our pre-death phase.
Death is a message from life, as it were. The message is "Whatever good
you need to do to earn yourself a good life after death, you should do
it today, because tomorrow you may no longer be alive".
The Nature Of Man
When the inner man is awakened it
is no longer within an individual's
power to be cruel or unjust.
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
When your Lord said to the angels, ‘I am putting a successor on earth,’
they said, ‘Will You place someone there who will cause corruption
on it and shed blood, while we glorify You with Your praise and extol
Your holiness?’ [God] answered, ‘Surely, I know that which you do not
know.’ (
The literal meaning of khalifah or caliph is one who takes another’s
place— a successor. In the age of hereditary rule, it was generally used
for a monarch who took the place of his predecessor. According to this
usage, the word came to refer to one invested with power. When God
created man to dwell on earth, He decreed that he might enjoy freedom
of will. The angels became apprehensive of man being corrupted by
this grant of power and free will and, as a consequence, spreading evil
and causing bloodshed in the world. History showed that their fears
were well founded. God was also fully aware of this possibility. But
He had a particular reason for investing man with power and freedom
on earth. If many human beings were to be corrupted by their power,
there would also be a substantial number who, in spite of their power
and freedom on earth, would acknowledge God’s greatness and power
and their own helplessness. Such people would, of their own free
will, adopt the path of submission and obedience to God. Although
comparatively few in number, they would be specially prized above all
others. They would be just like the food grains at harvest time, which,
although greatly outweighed in bulk by chaff and straw, are the truly
valued part of the crop. (Indeed if the chaff and straw are permitted to
grow, it is solely so that people may have access to grain.)
He taught Adam all the names, then He set them before the angels
and said, ‘Tell Me the names of these, if what you say be true.’ They
said, ‘Glory be to You; we have no knowledge except whatever You have taught us. You are the All Knowing, the All Wise.’ Then He said,
‘O Adam, tell them their names.’ When Adam had told them the names,
God said to the angels, ‘Did I not say to you: I know the secrets of the
heavens and of the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you
conceal?’ (
The mixture of good and evil in mankind became evident when God,
in His omnipotence, brought all the progeny of Adam before their first
father. He said to the angels, ‘Look, these are the progeny of Adam. Can
you give me the name of each one of them, and say what sort of people
they will be?’ The angels, having no knowledge of them, were unable to
answer. Then God told Adam their names and characteristics, and then
commanded him to pass the knowledge on to the angels. When Adam
had explained to them the nature of the human race, they realized
that, besides the wicked and the corrupt, there would also be among
their number great, righteous and pious souls.
Man’s greatest crimes, after the denial of his Lord, are spreading
corruption and causing bloodshed in the world. Neither an individual
nor a group has God’s permission to indulge in such actions as may
disrupt the order of nature established by God. For example, no man
should take the life of another: all actions of this nature disqualify
mankind from receiving God’s mercy. In short, preserving the system
of nature is ‘to reform’ it, while upsetting this system is equal ‘to
spreading corruption’.
When We said to the angels, ‘Bow down before Adam,’ they all bowed
except for Iblis [Satan]. He refused and acted proudly and became
an unbeliever. We said, ‘O Adam! Live with your wife in Paradise and
eat freely from it anywhere you may wish. Yet do not approach this
tree lest you become wrongdoers.’ But Satan caused them both to slip
through this and thus brought about the loss of their former state. We
said, ‘Go down from here as enemies to each other; and on earth you
shall have your abode and your livelihood for a while!’ (
When God made Adam stand up in front of the angels including Iblis
(Satan), and tested them by commanding them to bow down before
Adam, He was giving the first man on earth a practical demonstration
of the two paths that would be open to his progeny. Either they would
follow the example of the angels and bow to God’s commandments,
even if it meant bowing before someone they held inferior to
themselves; or else they would be proud like Satan, and refuse to bow
to others. This is the test that man faces throughout his entire life.
Here on earth man is constantly faced with two alternative courses of action. He can either follow the course set by the angels and carry out
God’s commandments by bowing before truth and justice in all that he
does; or he can act as Satan did and, letting himself be controlled by
arrogance and contempt, refuse to concede the right of others.
Then Adam received some words [of prayer] from his Lord and He
accepted his repentance. He is the Forgiving One, the Merciful. We
said, ‘Go down, all of you, from here: then when guidance comes to
you from Me, anyone who follows My guidance will have no fear, nor
will they grieve—those who deny and reject Our signs shall be the
inhabitants of the Fire; therein shall they abide forever.’(
The practical lesson of the forbidden tree demonstrates how man goes
astray by letting himself be deceived by Satan, and exceeding the bounds
that God has laid down for him. As soon as he eats of the ‘forbidden
fruit’, he is deprived of God’s grace or, in other words, Paradise. But
this loss is not an irretrievable one. Man still has an opportunity to turn
in repentance to his Lord, rectify his actions and seek forgiveness for
his sins. When he turns to the Lord in repentance, God relents towards
him, and cleanses him of his sins, as if he had never committed them.
The preacher of truth is an ‘Adam’; it is for people to bow before him.
If, carried away by pride and prejudice, they refuse to acknowledge
his position, they are following in Satan’s footsteps. Such a denial
amounts to having failed the test devised for man by God.
God does not become plainly visible in this world; He reveals Himself
through His signs, thereby testing His creatures. It is only those who
can interpret His signs who will discover God Himself.
Responsibility
A person is born under the laws of nature, but
after birth, the development of his personality
lies in his own hands.
ASK MAULANA
Your Questions Answered
Q&A With Maulana Wahiduddin Khan on AntiMuslim
Sentiments.
In recent years, there’s been an escalation of
anti-Muslim sentiments in many countries.
In parts of the West, for instance, there have
been cases of Muslims being turned away from
restaurants, of Muslims being physically and
verbally abused, and of being asked to get off a
plane because someone else wrongly suspected
and accused them of being terrorists, of Muslim women being
dismissed from workplaces because they insist on wearing the hijab,
of local non-Muslims protesting against plans for building mosques,
and so on. The latest such development is in France, with the ban on
what are called burkinis in many French cities.
What do you think are the reasons for these growing anti-Muslim
sentiments?
The answer to this question can be found by studying a
verse in the Quran. “And beware of an affliction that will not
smite exclusively those among you who have done wrong.”
(
If we study this Quranic verse and objectively apply it to the present
situation of Muslims, we realize that what is happening in the world
today is not due to “anti-Muslim sentiment”. Rather it is a reaction to
Muslims’ own negative activities.
Muslims say that instances of terrorism are perpetrated only by
some Muslims, and not the whole Muslim community. This claim of
Muslims could be right, but another serious aspect of this matter is
that Muslims to this day have not unequivocally disowned Muslim
terrorism. I don’t know of a single person in the entire Muslim world
who openly condemns Muslims’ negative activities. If any person does
speak on this topic, he would speak with twists. For example, some
would say, ‘It is true that Muslims are involved in terrorist activities,
but this action of theirs is a reaction: they are reacting to others’
discriminatory behaviour towards them.’ This kind of condemnation is
certainly not condemnation. It is akin to indirectly justifying the violent
actions of Muslims. Objective analysis tells us that such instances that
you cite are certainly not discrimination. They are a result of Muslims’ own doubtful behaviour. Muslims are themselves responsible for this
discrimination. According to a Hadith, the Prophet said: “Save yourself
from being regarded as objectionable.” Because Muslims do not
outrightly disown the actions of those Muslims who are engaged in
wrong actions, others in the community will also face ‘discrimination’.
If Muslims were to clearly condemn the actions of those who are doing
wrong, then only those specific persons who are guilty of the wrong
would face the above kind of response, which is termed ‘discrimination’
or ‘anti-Muslim sentiment’.
Some Muslims may respond to displays of anti-Muslim sentiment
by protesting against them and denouncing what they say is
discrimination against them. They might, for instance, campaign for
a boycott of a restaurant where Muslims have been turned out from.
Or, they may demand that an airline company whose employees had
made a Muslim passenger disembark from a plane, wrongly suspecting
him to be a terrorist, should issue an apology. Or, they may insist that
countries pass stricter laws to counter anti-Muslim discrimination.
What do you think of this approach to countering or overcoming antiMuslim
sentiments?
These cases are due to the law of nature. The solution to them is not
that countries pass anti-Muslim discrimination laws. There are only two
options before Muslims. First, they should declare that they are not
a single community. The case of every individual Muslim is separate
and distinct. Thus, if anything happens with a Muslim, Muslims as a
whole should not make it their own case but should look at it only as
the case of a particular person. However, if Muslims cannot take this
option and do consider themselves as a single community or ummah,
they should condemn, in clear terms, those among them who engage
in negative activities. If they do not condemn these persons, then the
rest of the world would surely infer from the wrong actions of these
particular Muslims that the entire Muslim community is responsible,
because Muslims themselves say that all Muslims are members of a
single ummah or community.
Such instances of discrimination as you have cited in your question
happen on a regular basis with secular persons, but the rest of the
secular world does not look at it as a matter of the “secular community”.
In the secular world, each person is looked upon as distinct. There is no
“secular ummah”. So, when such cases happen with secular persons, the
sentiments of secular people do not get hurt, because secular people
do not regard themselves as a single community. They regard this as a
problem pertaining to those specific individuals. But when such cases happen with Muslims, the sentiments of the entire Muslim community
get hurt. What happens with one Muslim affects the whole of the
Muslim community. This is why when one Muslim performs a wrong
action, the world begins to doubt other Muslims too. In order to avoid
this, either Muslims should very strongly condemn those individual
Muslims among them who are doing wrong, or, if not this, they should
abandon the concept of the ummah: that is, every Muslim’s case is his
own and what he does has nothing to do with other Muslims.
How effective do you think this approach that many Muslims
advocate—of protesting against what is termed ‘Islamophobia’—
might be in changing the hearts and minds of people who may have
negative views of Muslims?
This approach of Muslims cannot change others’ views about Muslims.
The only way to change this situation is that Muslims should reform
themselves. Demanding others to change cannot at all be of any use
in this regard.
If you don’t think this approach is effective in this regard, what
alternate approach do you think Muslims should adopt to help others
change their opinions about Muslims and Islam?
The starting-point in this matter is that all those who are representatives
of Muslims should openly disown Muslims’ terrorist activities. They
should prevent Muslims from engaging in terrorism, and if this is not
possible for them, then they should clearly condemn these actions by
Muslims.
Complaining against and denouncing anti-Muslim sentiments
represents one approach that seeks to improve relations between
Muslims and others. It is a negative approach, in that it is against
something. But there is a very different approach to the issue—a
positive approach based on seeking to improve others’ perceptions of
Muslims and Islam by doing good to others, serving them and being
kind and helpful to them, even in the face of discrimination from
them. This is a constructive approach, in contrast to the first one. It
is about doing something positive, instead of denouncing something
negative.
Which of these two approaches would you suggest Muslims should
adopt and why?
The only way to change the perception of people about Islam and
Muslims is for the representatives of Muslims to condemn the wrong
actions of Muslims. For example, all ulema should collectively issue a
fatwa unconditionally denouncing the negative activities of Muslims.
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 )
