politics is the loss of even what is already in the possession of the agitators and getting nothing in return. This politics of the impossible is not just unwise: it is against Islam. In the field of politics

the demand of both wisdom and Islam is one and the same—that actions should be result-oriented. Where there is no hope of gaining anything, one has to remain content with what one already has. It is only

be pragmatic and aim at what is achievable. What the state of affairs should be by our lights is hardly worthy of consideration. What is actually worthy of consideration is what the state of affairs should

him or to try to destroy him. In other words, in Islam only peaceful struggle is permitted. Violent struggle is not legitimate in Islam, no matter what the conditions. There are no grounds whatsoever for

later generations of Muslims. This mentality became so deep-rooted and widespread among Muslims that what was truly the religion of mercy came to be thought of as the religion of jihad in the sense of qital

fiqh text has a chapter on dawah and related issues. The same is true for the entire corpus of Islamic literature produced in the later period. From Ibn Taimiyah to Shah Waliullah, and from Shah Waliullah

Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend. (41: 34) These Quranic verses have a background. When the Prophet of Islam started his mission

almost without exception, these are not Islamic jihads, but, instead, what is called fasad, or anarchy. They are a form of guerrilla war that is illegitimate in Islam because it is conducted by non-governmental

continuous struggle, it has been called jihad-e-kabir or ‘great jihad’ in the Quran (25:52). The Islamic mission of dawah, or inviting people to God, is called jihad as it has to be undertaken at the cost

changing—to keep Islam firmly established at the level of the non-political system. The Command of War in Islam It is a fact that certain verses in the Qur’an convey the command to do battle (qital)

(qital) (22:39). What the special circumstances are which justify the issuance of and compliance with this command we learn from our study of the Qur’an. 1. The first point to be noted is that aggression or

that fight against you, but do not be aggressive. (2:190) 2. Only defensive war is permitted in Islam. Such a war is one in which aggression is committed by some other party so that the believers have

social welfare or for the purpose of spreading the peaceful message of Islam.5.TO WHAT EXTENT ARE ISLAM AND SECULARISM RECONCILABLE?Islam and secularism are fully compatible. As per the Encyclopaedia of Religion

social welfare or for the purpose of spreading the peaceful message of Islam.5.TO WHAT EXTENT ARE ISLAM AND SECULARISM RECONCILABLE?Islam and secularism are fully compatible. As per the Encyclopaedia of Religion

this theory into ‘Islamic’ thought. They propounded a political interpretation of Islam. They declared the establishment of an ‘Islamic’ socio-political system as imperative for Islamic life. Looking back

system. Marx invented a secular edition of this concept. And later, Muslim scholars devised an ‘Islamic’ version of it. History reveals that during the last 2500 years or so, beginning with Aristotle,

people into two rival camps. In the words of those who propounded the political interpretation of Islam, one group is regarded as taghoot (evil or falsehood), and the other group is considered its polar

has to differentiate between what is possible and what is impossible. There is no other alternative. One has to be practical rather than idealistic if one wants to achieve a positive result. The object

justice in terms of his own personal criteria. It is situations and circumstances which will dictate to what extent we can achieve these goals. In fact, in this world of competition, it is not possible for

peace with justice fail to achieve anything positive. Moreover, during this futile exercise they lose what they already had in their hand. Conversely, those who delink justice from peace are always successful

and extended application. In this respect we find in it an eternal teaching of Islam, relevant, like other teachings of Islam to all later times. Looked at from this angle, we find that the point made in

often clash and come into confrontation with one another. This verse of the Quran guides us as to what course we must adopt in such situations. In accordance with this verse, there are only two possible

such occasions. For those who are fearless of God, nothing but failure awaits them in this world. What would an ungodly attitude be on such occasions? It is called hamiyat-e-jahiliyya in the Quran. The