I do not deem myself competent enough to address such a magnificent religious gathering. But as you have invited me to speak to you on this occasion, I comply most humbly by submitting a few random thoughts on topic which might be really beneficial to those who, according to a Qur’anic verse, “hear and bear witness.” It is expected only of such listeners that my words may find a place in their heart.

I have based my talk on the verse 33 of Surah Ha-Meem As-Sajdah which states:

“And who is better in speech than one who calls (men) to Allah, while lie does righteous deeds, and says, I am surely of those who surrender (unto Him)”.

The topic of my talk is Islamic Da’wah – or calling and inviting people to Allah (SWT). I have chosen this particular topic for two reasons:

1. The Collective Aim of the Ummah and
2. The foremost Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW).

The Collective Aim of the Ummah

We Muslims are the member of an Ummah (Islamic community) whose sole purpose of existence and the aim of installation, according to Qur’an, is none other than calling people to Allah. As such, in this terrestrial existence not only our dignity and honor depends on realizing this collective aim, but our very existence as a religious community also depends on executing this duty in the right earnest. In the seventeenth section (ruku) of Surah Al-Baqarah (the Cow), along with the order for the change of Qiblah, the following verse was revealed:

“And thus have We made you an exalted (middle) nation (Ummah), that you may be the bearers of witness against the people and (that) the Messenger of Allah may be the bearer of witness against you.” (2:143)

The divine order for the change of Qiblah was in fact a symbol that henceforth the custodian of the mosque of Jerusalem i.e. the sons of Israel have been deprived of the guardianship of the holy place and of their position as the upholders of the divine guidance. And in their place were installed the sons of Ismael as the custodians of the Holy Kaba at Makkah Al-Mukarramah and as the new recipients and propagators of the Divine Guidance. Quite obviously, the sons of Ismael occupy the pivotal and nuclear position in the Muslim Ummah. As such their language was chosen for the revelation of the last Divine Book, and their customs and practices with amendments, modifications, additions and omissions have become the warp and woof of the last divinely revealed code of life. Other nations – akhereen2 -which joined them later in Islam became in essence an integral part of them. This indeed was a great blessing of God on them. But it was a privilege of only “Ummiyyeen” (unlettered people of Arabia) that the last Prophet (SAW) was chosen from amongst them.3

The objective and aim of the formation of this Ummah has been described very clearly thus in Surah Al-i-Imran:

“You are the best of the nations raised up for (the benefit of)men: you enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in Allah.” (3:110)”

This verse makes it crystal clear that, according to the Qur’an, there is a radical difference in the ultimate aims and goals of the Muslim Ummah and other nations and communities of the world. By and large the goals which most nations of the world have been aiming at are self-aggrandizement, political power and military armaments, amassing of wealth, and subjugation of other peoples for their own selfish ends. This subjugation has been both political and/or cultural and economic. On the other hand, the aim and object of the very existence of this Ummah is that Allah (SWT) is recognized as the Lord of the Universe, His commands are exalted and upheld by all, the truth triumphs, virtues and good deeds flourish and vices and wickedness are completely uprooted. In other words, this Ummah is in reality the representative of God on earth: an agency for the propagation of virtue and an institution for the total eradication of evil and falsehood from this world.

History is a witness to the fact that so long as the Islamic community as a whole discharged its divinely ordained duty, it was itself exalted and honored along with the Truth it stood for. But when it turned a blind eye to its very raison d’etre and became only a nation like other nations pursuing worldly riches and comforts, it became the target of Divine wrath in the same way as the children of Israel had become earlier. In the beginning the punishment was confined to:

“And if you turn your backs He will bring in your stead a people other than you” (48: 38)

That is, the leadership of the Islamic world was taken away from the “children of Ismael” (i.e. the Arabs) and was entrusted to the Kurds and Saijukes. And when they did not take a lesson even from this, the more severe warning of Divine wrath overtook them in the form of Tatar onslaught and thus providing an exemplification of a state depicted in the Qur’an in these words:

“We sent against you Our servants, of mighty prowess, so they went to and fro among the houses ruining them completely.” (17:5)”

Historians surmise in vain as to why the Tatars marched straight down to Baghdad and did not turn toward India even though the Indians very much anticipated their attack. The answer to this enigma is not far to look. The nucleus of the Islamic Ummah at that time was constituted by the Children of Ismael (Bani lsmael) and Baghdad was then the political center of their government. And it was God’s will to punish them severely for their misdeeds. It is an historical fact that the groups of people who gained ascendancy afterwards in the Ummah were not from the ‘Children of Ismael’. Rather they hailed from other people – ‘akhereen’ in the Quranic terminology, viz; Moghuls in India and Turks in Asia Minor who also ultimately held the Ummah-wide religio-political leadership of ‘Khilafat-i-Islami’. In this way the vestigial religious superiority of the ‘Children of Ismael’ vanished completely and made them the subject and tax-payer of the Turks. It was only in the early part of this century that they came out from the subjugation of the Turks and were later dominated by the European Imperialists. In the middle of the century they however gradually got freedom from them and heaved a sigh of relief. A quarter century after this occurs the most painful chapter of this story. Even after having political freedom after a long spell of subjugation, they did not learn a lesson from their history. They turned their backs to the ‘Deen’ and adopted westernized luxurious and lavish way of living, and indulged in mental and behavioural vagrancy. Instead of promoting the global unity of the Muslim Ummah, they took to racial and territorial nationalism. They completely repudiated the fundamental teachings of Islam and oppressed the advocates of the true religion. Until at last to the extent of the ‘Children of Ismael the “second warning”4 of Allah (SWF) was also fulfilled at the hands of a Divinely proclaimed damned nation (i.e. the Jews) they suffered a terribly disgraceful defeat in 1967.

As a result of the recent5 Arab-Israel war, no doubt the entire Muslim Ummah has been disgraced and the stigma has been shared by all Muslims. But surely the Arabs are the worst hit as the Qur’an says:

“Who took on himself the lead among them, will be given a grievous punishment”. (24:11)

Religious and moral decadence is undoubtedly visible in the whole of Muslim Ummah, but the fact is that in this some Arab countries are far ahead of other Muslim nations. It is, therefore no wonder that they got the lion’s share in the disgrace and humiliation. As the Arabs were historically top most in honour and respect, quite logically they should now have the largest share in humiliation and disgrace.

To cut the long story short the sole aim of this Ummah is to invite people to the call of Allah. And not only its honour and respect, its very survival rests on the fulfillment of this aim.

There is only one way, both for the ‘ummiyyeen’ (unlettered people i.e. the Arabs) and ‘akhereen’ (other non-Arab nations) taking inspirations from the happy tidings contained in the Qur’an:

“It may be that your Lord will have mercy on you” (17:8)

they should build up their morale and pay heed to the Divine warning:

“….and if you again return (to disobedience) We too will return (to punishment).” (17:8)

They should get up to discharge their duties honestly and sincerely. These repeated warnings are for us only to remind that there is no way for we Muslims but to turn to Allah (SWT). And that not only for regaining the past grandeur and glory but also for the guarantee of our survival, there is no programme of action for us except turning ourselves and inviting others to Allah (SWT).

The Foremost Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (Saw)

The second reason why I have chosen this particular topic for today’s talk is that this gathering consists of such people who love the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (SAW) and are eager to put in practice his example of conduct and character. Blessed are you indeed who really have a strong desire to follow the Prophet’s Sunnah. You try to learn and remember as many of Prophet’s teachings and practices as possible and act upon them with great zeal. Not only this, on the basis of minor differences in details you even quarrel with each other. But what a pity that you have totally renounced and forgotten the greatest Sunnah of the Prophet, an action which he persistently performed from the very first moment of his Divine Call to the last moment of his earthly life, viz, the Sunnah of Islamic Da’wah – calling people to Allah. Who can deny that preaching and propagating the word of Allah were the most emphasized Sunnah of the Holly Prophet (SAW)? Who can say that the Prophet has been involved all his life more in anything else than spreading and disseminating the message of Allah and turning people toward Almighty Allah? Now if Sunnah is constituted by the behavioural pattern and actions of the Prophet, then for God’s sake, ponder a little over the question: What is his most important Sunnah? Please think over the emphatic injunction of the Prophet:

“Convey from me/on my behalf”

and realize how much he has generalized and widened this order by adding:

“even if it is a single verse”.

‘Raji Yadain’ (raising two hands in prayers) and ‘Ameen-bil-jahar’ (to say Ameen aloud in the prayers) and many other practices of the Prophet (SAW) are often debated violently among the rival sects of Muslims. But surely even those who observe these practices in prayers cannot say that the Holy Prophet (SAW) acted on these throughout his life without break. On the other hand, however, was the act of preaching and propagating the Islamic faith and its fundamental principles – calling people to Allah, and worship Him alone. This was an act which he performed continuously, persistently and zealously throughout his prophetic mission. For twenty three long years he was ceaselessly engaged with all his mind and soul in this most vitally important activity. It means that the work of Da’wah, on the one hand, according to the Quran is the very objective and aim of the existence of Muslim Ummah. On the other hand, it is the most persistent and emphasized practice of our beloved Prophet (SAW). I shall, therefore, take this opportunity to make a few observations on this theme.

Stages and Levels of Islamic Da’wah

Inviting people to Deen or “Call them to Allah” is by no mean a simple or single-phased action. Rather it involves a plurality of variegated steps and progressive stages. Beginning from the very person of an individual Muslim and his family:

Save yourself and your family from the hell – fire (66:6)

it extends to kith and kin, and tribe or the groups, and further: and warn your nearest kinsmen (26:214) and still further it goes to one’s total social group or polity:

O people, worship Allah (11:50),

and finally at the widest possible level it relates to the whole of humanity:

. . .so that you may be witness for mankind (2:143)

Again in its initial stages, the obligation of propagating Islam and inviting people to Allah consists only in admonishing and warning people against the grave consequences of their wrong beliefs and evil deeds:

O you who are clothed! Arise and warn (74:1-2)

but its ultimate goal is to proclaim and establish the supreme greatness and sovereignty of the Lord in the whole of universe:

And your Lord do magnify (74:3)

Considered from the point of content and approach, the Da’wah work admits of several types and levels according to the taste and competence of the audience it is addressed to. For example, if call people to Allah is sounded out to highly educated people and intellectuals, it must necessarily be made in strictly academic and rationally cogent manner. Otherwise it will have no impact on them, as the Quran says:

Call people to the way of your Lord with wisdom (16:125)

And if the occasion demands, it might be couched in simple and plain phraseology. In other words, it might consist in a sort of exhortation or sermon delivered in a heart – moving tone:

…and with goodly exhortation (16:125)

Again, a preacher during the course of his work may come across an obstinate and fussy person. There he has to resort to debate and logical argument as the Qur’an says:

…and argue with them in a way that is the best (16: 125)

That is to say, even in dialectical argument or debate the Qur’an enjoins one to be nice and polite, and not harsh and foul-mouthed. And, finally, if the need arises, a holy war also becomes the highest stage of the religious obligation of “calling people to Allah”:

And fight with them until there is no persecution and total religion freely professed for Allah. (8:39)

So that Almighty Allah’s word is exalted, only His orders reign supreme in the world and people act with justice and equity:

…so that people act with justice (57:25)

In today’s discourse I shall not discuss these higher stages of Da’wah which necessitate collective effort on the part of Ummah, and which, as an essential aspect of the Universal prophethood of Muhammad (SAW), is undoubtedly an obligation to be fulfilled by the Ummah as a whole. Nor shall I concern myself with the total social and religious revival and re-awakening of all Muslims which cannot be accomplished without organized and sustained efforts of well – organized groups working for this noble cause. Rather, I shall today concentrate on those initial and basic stages and levels of Islamic Da’wah which are both obligatory as well as possible for each Muslim in his individual capacity.

Ridiculing and Belittling the Prophet’s Sunnah

Before proceeding further, I want to draw your attention to the utter mockery which is prevalent in our society in the garb of ‘the holy duty of religious preaching and propagation.’ As you know, every religious sect or party has enlisted a group of people who can quite appropriately be called the “civil service” of that particular group or sect, who on payment deliver fiery and polemic speeches on minor controversial points in villages and towns. These sermons and speeches hardly bear any fruit except that of throwing the audience of that very particular sect into momentary ecstasy and convicting and cajoling them to the belief that their own standpoint on those controversial points is the right one. Quite understandably, such preachers do not have the courage to say clearly and directly to their listeners that they have such and such shortcomings and omissions. They cannot admonish them on un-Islamic practices, viz; business and trade based on interest, keeping of wrong accounts, illegal gratification, tax evasion, ostentatious living, etc,. Even if some oblique reference is made to those practices, it is generally of no avail because these meetings themselves are financed by the donations of people indulging in all sorts of illegal and un-Islamic practices. Majority of the listeners may for a short while enjoy the truthfulness of their preachers without realizing the practical implications of those imperatives. On the other hand, the big businessmen and moneyed people remain content with a silent, sarcastic smile on their own life and behaviour without any resolve to really discontinue their evil deeds. In fact they manage to take revenge on these preachers for feeling of bad conscience by maliciously narrating the private lives and practices of these very preachers which are usually worse than their own. And this entire activity is known as the preaching and propagation of the Deen.

Gentlemen, I most warmly and sincerely invite you to ponder over this whole issue very very seriously. Is it not tantamount to ridicule and derision of the most emphatic and continuous Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (SAW)? And are we not in this way scoffing at, and making fun of, the personality of the Prophet? Does it not indirectly bring disgrace and bad name to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) with whom the pulpit of the mosque is associated? For God’s sake try to think over this issue candidly. To be sure, to work for religion on payment is not prohibited. But the fact should be borne in mind clearly that a paid worker can at best be a teacher or mentor but not a preacher with a missionary spirit, and an ‘inviter to Allah’ in the real sense of the word. Indeed the very first condition that a true preacher must fulfill is that his work should have no motive other than a concern and a sincere wish for people’s salvation and success. He should openly declare that he is disseminating and propagating the Divine religion selflessly and in the spirit described in the Qur’anic verse thus:

And ask of you no reward for it. My reward is only with the Lord of the worlds. (26:109)

The Reward of Reviving the Sunnah

I believe you must have heard several times the saying of the Holy Prophet (SAW) that “he who revives any of my sunnah, which has become obsolete and unknown on account of being out of practice for long, will get the reward of hundred martyrs.” I invite you most humbly today to revive and activate the Prophet’s sunnah of ‘calling people to Allah’. And this is possible only when each one of us resolves with all his heart and soul that he will be an ‘inviter’ to Deen, a ‘caller to Allah’, and humble follower of the Prophet’s tradition of the propagation and dissemination of Islam.

The Most Essential Condition of Da’wah: Faith in the Providence of Allah

One should not at all think that the obligation of inviting people to Islam requires very elaborate and thorough knowledge of the Islamic faith. I assure you that most of the Prophet’s companions possessed far less knowledge of which now passes as ‘Ilm-e-Deen’ and which most of you have acquired so laboriously. The complete and perfect knowledge in which they excelled was the knowledge of true faith and belief, as one of the companions reported:

We first learned the faith and then Qur’an.

It is also quite logical that the pre-requisite of Islamic Da’wah should be staunch and deep faith and belief in the Oneness of the Creator – Allah, that is the reason why the verse immediately before the verse quoted above mentions the highest pinnacle of faith i.e., steadfastness and resoluteness in the belief of Allah’s providence and sustenance:

Verily those who say ‘Our lord is Allah’ and  then remain steadfast (41:30)

Only those can fulfill the requirements of Islamic Da’wah who have full faith in Allah and remain firm in their belief.

Second Condition: Religious Action

The second pre-requisite of Da’wah is that the life of the preacher should be an embodiment of all the virtues and good deeds that Islam enjoins upon its followers. His whole personality and life should be enlivened by a true and passionate faith in Allah. That is exactly why in the above cited verse immediately after

. . .and who is better in speech than he who invites men to Allah (41:33)

good and pious action has been mentioned. And this is quite understandable because without the example of good and pious practical life of the preacher himself the vocation of calling others to Islam will remain ineffective and empty. Mere teaching, pedagogy and research work, no doubt can all be carried out and pursued even by persons who do not themselves act upon what they profess. And of course all these activities are important in their own sphere and certainly not without utility so for as they go. But Da’wah work is of a totally different nature. It can be effective and truly useful only when it is supported and accompanied by the pious and righteous conduct of the preacher. The fact is that the requirement of good and righteous deed is such a challenge that many a Muslims cannot accept it. And they consequently make an illegitimate division of groups among Muslims: between those who earn money by Islamic or un-Islamic means and not engage themselves in Da’wah work and those who devote themselves exclusively to Islamic Da’wah or preaching and are patronized by the first group. No doubt this division of roles among Muslims is a clever move and prudently welcomed by most. But the fact is that there can be no greater revolt and subversion against Islam than this apparently gentlemen’s agreement between groups of Muslims.

The Real Objective of Da’wah

The above mentioned Quranic verse highlights another all important aspect of the religious duty of Da’wah, viz; people should be called to Allah and to Islam and not to a particular person, group, party, or sect. The chief aim and objective of Da’wah work should be that the largest possible number of men should recognize and confess the Lordship of Allah, and believe in Him wholeheartedly and with full conviction, should make only His obedience and worship obligatory upon themselves, should seek His pleasure as the chief aim of life, and for achieving that, they should adopt the pattern of behaviour prescribed and exemplified by the Holy Prophet (SAW). This idea has been expressed in this magnificent verse in two ways: (1) “He who invites men to Allah” lays down unambiguously that the call or invitation should be for Allah, not for a particular individual, party or sectarian group. (ii) In the words

… and he said, verily I am from amongst the Muslims (41:33)

It has been made emphatically dear that the caller (preacher) should proclaim himself only a Muslim and should not align himself to any particular group or sect. His call should only be to Islam alone in its pristine purity and not to any biased or sectarian interpretation of it, because in the sight of Allah the true ‘Deen’ is only Islam.

Surely, the religion, with Allah is Islam (3:19)

Third Condition: Humility and Modesty

This is indeed a great miracle of the Qur’an that it explains most comprehensive meanings in briefest possible words. In the part of the verse:

. . .verily, I am from amongst the Muslims (41:33)

attention has been drawn to another trap a preacher is liable to fall into i.e. false pride, self-conceit and egotism as a preacher. This wrong attitude, on the one hand, takes the preacher away from the mercy of the Almighty and, on the other hand, makes his Da’wah activity ineffective. In these words, the inner humility and modesty of a true preacher has been aptly depicted. That is, he always considers himself as one member of the Muslim Ummah or community, and in no way superior to other Muslims.

Two Pitfalls Avoided

In fact if we deeply ponder over the above lines, we would realize that the association of a preacher with ordinary Muslims by saying, ‘Verily, I am from amongst the Muslims’ forecloses two types of pitfalls in which heedless preachers may get entrapped. Firstly, they may unwittingly create a new sect within the Muslim community and thus damage the unity of the Muslim Ummah. This danger can be averted by the fact that a true and sincere preacher of Islam and his companions always keep in view that they are from amongst the Muslims in general and not a separatist or exclusive group of Muslims to be distinguished from others. Secondly, the personality of the Da’wah worker may be idolized and revered to the extent that it is almost worshipped by his followers. Mostly, this predicament originates from the preacher himself when he develops the feeling that he is somehow different from the common run of people. This megalomaniac feeling of the preacher about himself necessarily influences his close associates and they start to eulogize him. And gradually his teachings become a sort of cult and he, as its leader and exponent, becomes like on idol who is worshipped and revered, thus adding to the traditional list of false gods worshipped by pagans. This evil can only be averted if the preacher always keeps in mind the truth that he is an ordinary member of the Muslim community and that in Islam there is no personality cult. The Muslims worship no man, however, highly placed, great and noble he may be. Islam teaches strict monotheism and this teaching is its most distinctive feature and its basic cardinal principle. As such, the greatest desire of a true preacher of Islam always is that he should breathe his last in the state of Iman and he considers this as the highest success in life.

The Most Exalted Mission and Call

Also ponder over the significant statement:

And who is better in speech than who calls people to Allah (41:33)

These Quranic words point out that in this world many motivated and capable men invite people to various envisaged ends and work untiringly to achieve their goals. For example, some sound out a call for the interests of their tribe and clan, some praise their homeland and work for its greatness, some claim to stand for and establish democratic political system in their society, while some others try to enforce communist ideals in their polity and economy. But of all these, the most high, sublime and exalted is the call of a person who invites men to their Creator – Allah – and His Deen. As a matter of fact there is no higher calling on this earth in which a person can engage himself than this one, viz to become a summoner unto Allah and to become like the Holy Prophet (who was a beacon house of light) at least a small candle of guidance. According to the Qur’an this ideal and mission in life is the highest thing people should aspire and crave for:

.. .and for this let aspirants aspire (83:26)

The Gist of the Discourse

What has been said above can be summarized as follows:

1. As the very purpose and objective of the creation and existence of the Muslim Ummah is to summon people unto Allah, not only the dignity and honour of the Ummah, its very existence and continuity is dependent upon fulfilling this obligation – the Divinely ordained duty.
2. Da’wah or calling people unto Allah is the most emphatic and foremost teaching of the Holy Prophet (SAW) on which he himself worked ceaselessly throughout his life. So the premier obligation which we owe to the prophet (SAW) is to follow his Sunnah of Da’wah.
3. We observe that different religions and denominational groups usually employ a team of workers (which may be called their ‘civil service’) who work to propagate and popularize their own particular sectarian point of view. This phenomenon is not only useless for any really effective work of Da’wah but is often positively harmful for the propose.
4. The essential pre-requisites of Da’wah work are strong and staunch belief in Islam and the ensuing good deeds, and not scholarly erudition and knowledge of minor religious matters and details of Fiqh. Along with a deep conviction in the providence of Allah and a life of righteous deeds and good conduct, a Da’wah worker should be a paragon of humility and courtesy. A true and sincere preacher should have a humble disposition. Again, his Da’wah should be strictly for Allah and His Deen in order to avoid any chance of himself becoming a revered personality (which ultimately leads to the formation of a sort of personality cult) or letting his followers constitute a new religious sect within the community of Muslims.
5. There are several aspects and stages of Da’wah work. The aim of today’s discourse is to elucidate only those primary and fundamental stages which are open to, and essential for, every moderately knowledgeable and motivated Muslim.

The Most Sublime Pattern of Conduct

Now I would like to draw your attention to the events which took place in the life of the Holy Prophet (SAW) immediately after his call to prophethood. By doing this, firstly, the real fundamental principle and method of Da’wah will be elucidated; and secondly, it will become clear as to what type of hardships and frustrations the Prophet experienced in the early stages of his preaching. Indeed these hardships and difficulties were not different from those which are met with by any pioneering leader of an ideological movement. And he adopted those very natural methods for disseminating his message which any human initiator of a movement is obliged to adopt. We all know very well that even before prophethood the life of Muhammad (SAW) was a perfect model of moral excellence and his character was a spotless one. He won the epithets of ‘As-Sadiq’ (the most truthful) and ‘Al-A min’ (the most trustworthy and honest) from his community by dint of his probity and fair dealings. It is important to note here that he won these laudatory titles while fully participating in the everyday life and its engagements. He was not at all a hermit who withdraws himself away from the humdrum of life. He always took active part in the affairs of his society, so mush so that he even carried on business and trade at the highest level of his time. And as a matter of fact it was in this very trade and commercial transactions that his real moral qualities of honesty and truthfulness were displayed. Afterwards when he received the revelation from Allah and called people to Islam the penetration and effectiveness of his call depended both on the fact that his teaching was in conformity with the dictates of human nature, familiar to sound discernment and right disposition as well as on the fact that the Prophet (SAW) was himself already known as the most truthful and the most trustworthy.

During the period prior to his being commissioned as the Messenger. of Allah, Muhammad (SAW) took to reflection and meditation and he became more and more dissatisfied with the ephemeral and transitory character of temporal objects and sought more earnestly for the Really Real and the Truth. Accordingly Hadhrat Ayesha (RAA) is reported to have said:

“Then he (SAW) gradually became a lover of seclusion and he started to retire to cave ‘Hira’ for meditation and prayer”

The commentaries of Hadith literature (sayings of the Holy Prophet) explain the Arabic word “tahannus” the activity in which Muhammad (SAW) engaged in the cave “Hira” contemplating and getting revelation. God knows better how long this practice of his persisted. However the time at last came when the seeker of truth6 did receive the guidance, the word of Allah was brought to him by Gabrael, reality was exposed, and he was summoned to call people to the way of Allah. In the words of Qur’an:

“O prophet! Truly we have sent thee as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner, and a summoner unto Allah, by his command, and as a lamp that gives bright light.” (33:45-46)

Immediately after he was commissioned as the Divine messenger, Muhammad (SAW) commenced the disseminating and preaching work. Quite naturally, the persons first approached were those who were closest to him, the family members and the people who knew him and his conduct intimately, viz, his wife Hadhrat Khadija, his cousin – Hadhrat Ali, his freed servant, Hadhrat Zaid, his close associate, Hadhrat Abu Bakr Siddique (RAAA). They all testified Muhammad’s claim of Divine apostleship without the slightest hesitation and embraced Islam on the very first day. This fact also shows very vividly the most legitimate starting point from where an Islamic da’wah worker should start his campaign that is, da’wah should start from one’s own household and family members and then gradually extend to closest relatives, companions and friends.

Again, amongst these ‘first converts to Islam’, Hadhrat Abu Bakr was the most magnificent example of really understanding and earnestly following the Prophet’s practice of preaching and calling people to Allah. In compliance with the Prophet’s teachings, immediately after embracing Islam, Abu Bakr himself became an ardent advocate and preacher of that faith. And it was on account of his preaching and propagating work that the ‘foremost in faith’ – Hadhrat Usman, Abdur Rahman Bin Auaf, Taiha, Zubair, Saad bin Abi Waqqas, Abu Ubaida bin aT¬Jarrah, Usman bin Mazoon and many others (RAAA) -came in the fold of Islam and became members of Muhammad’s (SAW) Ummah. These historical facts prove beyond any doubt that the premier demand of the claim of love for the Prophet is to follow his Sunnah of Islamic preaching and calling people to the way of Allah. It is to be noted here that Abu Bakr (Siddique-i-Akbar) was no hermit or recluse. Rather he was a man of wealth and social influence, and a well-established trader. The Holy Prophet (SAW) is reported to have said on one occasion: ‘I have paid for the benefaction of every one except that of Abu Bakr. Only Allah can repay the good which he has done to me. The fact is that the whole of the Ummah is greatly indebted to Abu Bakr for the great service rendered to it by winning over to Islam a large number of highly devoted persons at the very early stage of his preaching and thus strengthening the ranks of the nascent Muslim community. Indeed this is true about all other companions of the Prophet (SAW). As a matter of historical fact, whosoever embraced Islam, instantly became himself a preacher and daaee (one who calls and invites people to Allah) of that faith.

Let us concentrate here on the most fundamental and earliest Quranic injunction in this context. The Holy Prophet was ordered:

And warn thy tribe, near kindred (26:214)

Just try to think what a man will do even today if he is commanded to communicate an important message to his relatives and family members. The Prophet (SAW) took recourse to the best and most effective way ever conceivable. He invited all the members of his dan – Banu Hashim – to his place for a meal. Thus after entertaining about forty of them, he very gently started to present the teachings of Islam before them.

He had hardly started his discourse when the profane and nonsense talk of Abu Lahab intervened and the gathering dispersed without hearing Prophet’s talk. Just think how much apparently disappointing and nerve shattering this experience might have been for him. However, there is no question of real disappointment for a person who calls people to Allah. He again arranged a feast and addressed them after the meal. We know from reliable reports that from amongst the whole gathering only one boy Hadhrat Ali vowed to help him (SAW) in his Divine mission. Just visualize the prophet calling his kinsmen and family members to Allah and no one paying heed to him except a lad! In fact Hadhrat Ali (RAA) was already his own kith, as he lived under his patronage. This means that these two feasts were really of no avail. Such were the occasions on which numerous Qur’anic verses were specifically revealed for consolation and solace:

And wait patiently for the judgement of thy Lord; for assuredly thou art before our eyes. (52:48)

And endure thou with patience; and verily thy patience is possible only with the help of Allah. (16:127)

So now declare openly that which thou art commanded. (15:94)

Accordingly, following the custom of those days, the Prophet stood up on the mountain ‘Safa’ and addressed the people at the top of his voice thus: “O, people! I warn you of a danger; assemble at once.” When the people gathered near him, he delivered his ‘Sermon of the Mountain’ by saying, “O, the community of Quraish! Will you believe me if I tell you that an enemy troop is rushing from behind the hill?” They all said, “Why not, we have always found you truthful”. Thereupon the Prophet said in a moving tone, “If you do not believe in Allah and worship Him alone, grievous punishment would befall upon you”. In response however, the people were very much flared up, and it is reported that on this very occasion Abu Lahab had uttered these words:

May you face perdition, you called and assembled us for this!

At this juncture the Surah Lahab was revealed to the Prophet stating that not the hands of Muhammad (SAW) but the hands of Abu Lahab had perished. The perdition of Abu Lahab, though decreed by Allah and as such a ‘fact’ of AIam-i-A mar was yet to appear after a few years in the world of temporal events. At the time of the Prophet’s preaching at the mountain Safa, it looked as if he were addressing and putting his message before the deaf and the dumb as not a single one of them responded to his call favourably. If we analyze this ‘Sermon of the Mountain’, we come to realize that the most important argument presented in this was People’s confession of the proclaimer’s truthfulness and trustworthiness. Moreover, it also very graphically clarifies the position of a Divine prophet vis a vis the People. Standing on a mountain, a prophet can look on both sides of it; whereas people standing at the foot of the mountain are unaware of the situation at the other side. Ordinary men are short-sighted and their perception is restricted to only the phenomenal world, and even in this realm to the apparent aspects of reality. Their gaze cannot penetrate the inner and hidden core of physical entities. As the Qur’an says:

They know but the outer (things) in the life of this world: but of the end of thing (or the hereafter) they are headless. (30:7.)

A Prophet – a Divine Messenger – on the other hand, not only has a knowledge of the inner reality and true significance of spatio-temporal world, his gaze even goes beyond, to have a look of other-worldly things, the objects and happenings of the Hereafter.

This is how the fold of Da’wah expanded gradually. The Prophet (SAW) addressed gatherings of people on innumerable occasions. He also approached them individually and sounded out his call of Islam. He even visited them at their places and left no stone unturned in executing this duty. Whenever he came to know that a caravan or some strangers had arrived in Makkah, he would go to meet them and present his teachings to them. This also explains very clearly and significantly the difference between the Da’wah Work on the one hand and his day – to – day teachings on the other. A teacher usually does not take such pains as a missionary worker i.e. a daaee (one who invites people to Allah) takes. Teacher is a person who is eagerly sought and respected by his students. Students come to him in order to quench their thirst for knowledge and wisdom. On the contrary, a daaee is always on the look out for those to whom he can preach his message. He knocks at every door and visits every hearth and hamlet in the hope that he may find a person who would listen to him sympathetically. Most of the people not only turn a deaf ear to him, they also ridicule and manhandle him. Despite all this, he prays to Almighty Allah at night with utmost humility and begs favourable change in the attitude of the people. It is reported that Prophet Muhammad (SAW), used to pray, “0 God I beg Thee that either Umar bin Khattab or Amr bin Hisham may enter the fold of Islam (so that he could help him in his mission).” One should also here bear in mind that a daaee has most sensitive heart in his bosom which feels misery, pain and agony over the negative attitude of the people. This was much more so in the case of the Prophet (SAW). He was so much grief-stricken by persistent rejection of his Da’wah that he started looking much older than his age. So much so that Allah had to console him as well as warn him lovingly thus:

It may be that thou tormentest thyself (0 Muhammad) because they believe not. (26:3)

Yet it may be, if they believe not in this statement, that though (Muhammad) will torment thy soul with grief over their foot steps. (18:6)

Ta’ Ha We have not revealed unto thee (Muhammad) this Qur’an that thou shouldest be distressed. (20:1-2)

THE BASIC POINTS OF DA’WAH

After this preliminary stage of Da’wah, a long spell of persecution and torture started at Makkah in which the Holy Prophet (SAW) and his companions suffered all sorts of hardships and ordeals. Some even lost their lives as a result of grievous injuries inflicted upon them by the callous and ruthless opponents. This is a long chapter of the missionary life of the Holy Prophet (SAW) and calls for detailed and independent treatment. I shall not pause here to do that. As I said at the beginning, I would confine myself in this discourse to the preliminary stages of Da’wah. I do want, however, to narrate at this juncture one of the sermons of the Holy Prophet which definitely relates to the early period of his Prophetic mission. This sermon very graphically and clearly tells us the basic and fundamental themes to be developed and emphasized in Da’wah work and Islamic preaching in its initial stages. In numerous collections of the sermons of the Prophet this has been reported thus:

“O People you know very well that the guide of a caravan never leads it astray. I swear by Cod that, even if I could mislead others, I would not have misled you (as you are my own tribesmen). Even if I could misinform others, I would not misinform you. I swear by Allah the only Cod to be worshipped that I am Allah’s messenger to you in particular and to all humanity in general. I swear by Cod that one day you will all die as you daily go to sleep. Then surely you will be awakened as you wake every morning after sleep. Certainly you will then face the Day of Judgement, you will be rewarded for your good deeds and punished for the evil. The reward is the permanent abode in paradise and the punishment is eternal burning in hell-fire.”

in this address the Prophet (SAW) has very wisely compared a Divine messenger to the guide of a caravan (Raid in Arabic) who was usually the most trusted person and during a long journey through a desert, he used to decide about the suitable halting points. He knew the best camping sites where water and other necessities were available. It is obvious that the safety and welfare of the entire caravan depended on the truthfulness and sincerity of the guide. A slight neglect or misdemeanor on his part could endanger the whole caravan. Quite similar is the position of a Prophet. He informs the caravan of this world about the ultimate destination that lies in the Hereafter, and warns those who are neglectful or ignorant about their doom and peril on the Day of Judgement After explaining in a telling manner, his role as a Divine Prophet (SAW), he. informed the people of Makkah about the oneness of the Creator and his call to prophethood. Then he warned them most vehemently about the eternal life after death in which they were going to account for each and every action of theirs, however small and insignificant it might be. Whereas good and virtuous deeds would lead a man to the blissful life of paradise, bad deeds would lead to eternal and severest torture of the hell. This itself amply shows that the basic and fundamental points of Islamic Da’wah are the following three:

1. Belief in the unity (or oneness) of God.
2. Belief in prophethood or Divine guidance through messengers.
3. Belief in the Day of Judgment and the life Hereafter.

But even amongst these, initially more emphasis should be placed on reckoning of deeds in the Hereafter and warning about the eternal punishment and glad tidings about the eternal blissful abode in paradise. The whole of the Qur’an and, in particular, the surahs revealed at Makkah bear witness to this. This first order given to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) regarding Da’wah in these words:

O thou enveloped in thy cloak arise and warn (74:1-2)

also proves this conclusively and without a shadow of doubt. The implementation of the Islamic sharia (legal system) and the enforcement of the total Islamic way of life at the global level is certainly the ultimate goal and objective of Islamic preaching and Da’wah. But it is important to bear in mind that this is rather a distant and final objective. The primary and immediate goal, however, is that of the salvation and deliverance of humanity in the life Hereafter. This truth is authenticated by one of the sayings of the Prophet (SAW) in which he described himself as one trying to pull out those who were bent on falling into a deep ditch of burning fire. Again it is quite understandable that the individuals who are loved most are approached first in this regard. That is why the Holy Prophet (SAW) used to assemble his closest family members and addressed them thus:

‘O Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad (SAW), act in order to be saved from hell on the day of reckoning, as I shall have no authority before Allah Almighty in this respect.’(Tirmizi)

‘O Safiyya, the aunt of Allah’s messenger, I would be of no avail to you in front of Allah, and 0 Fatima the daughter of Muhammad (SAW), you can ask anything from my belongings but I have no authority to benefit you before Allah.’(Bukhan, Muslim)

In the above lines I have made a modest attempt to present before you very precisely and systematically the fundamentals of Islamic Da’wah and salient features of its methodology. Fortunate and blessed are those who decide henceforth to work for the propagation of Islam, keeping in view the above mentioned guide lines. In this way they will also truly follow the practice of the Holy Prophet (SAW) with regard to calling people to Allah. I have deliberately confined myself in this discourse to the initial stages of Islamic preaching and Da’wah because I am convinced that until and unless centres for Da’wah work on this pattern are not established in all cities, towns, and villages of our lands, we cannot struggle to attain the higher and culminating stages of Da’wah, i.e., the establishment of the Deen of Allah on the earth in its totality. And only in this way the Ummah as a whole can execute its duties and obligations to the rest of humanity. On the contrary, if a group of Muslims engaged in Islamic revivalist work prematurely start making big claims like “the International Islamic revolution” and “the establishment of the Islamic way of life”, they are not likely to succeed in their mission. Such attempts must be preceded by Da ‘wah work at a very large scale both at the grass-root level and at the highest intellectual level, in which salvation of the Hereafter is truly emphasized and not just cursorily mentioned.

Endnotes

1. Surah Qaf: 37

2. This is an allusion to verse (aaya) No. 3 of Surah Al-Jumuah.

3. This is a connotation to verse (aaya) No. 2 of Surah Al-Jumuah.

4. This refers to the verse 7 of Surah “Bani Israel”. The complete verse reads:

So when the second of the warnings came to pass, We permitted your enemies to disfigure your faces, and to enter your temple as they had entered it before and to visit with destruction all that fell into their power.

5. The reader must bear in mind that this article was written in 1967 and much has happened since.

6 The Qur’anic verse of Surah Wad-Duha “And found you in search of reality, so guided you.”

Three ayaat (102-104) of Surah Aal-e-Imran are of immense significance as they contain in a nutshell the comprehensive three-point plan of action Muslims are commanded to undertake in order to attain terrestrial success as well as salvation and felicity in the Hereafter. These ayaat and their English translation are as follows:

Believers! Heed Allah as He should be heeded, and see that you do not die except in the state of Islam.

And hold fast, all together, to the Rope of Allah (which He stretched out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah’s favor on you, for you were once enemies and then He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace you became brethren; and you were on the brink of the pit of fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make His Signs clear to you, that you may be guided to the right way.

Let there arise from among you a band of people (i.e., a party) who invite people to all that is good, and enjoin the doing of all that is right and forbid the doing of all that is wrong. It is they who will attain true success.

These ayaat occur almost in the middle of the Surah Aal-e-Imran and as such occupy a pivotal position in the numerous themes with which the Surah deals. As is commonly believed by Muslims, every single ayah of the Qur’an contains both theoretical wisdom and practical guidance. Similarly, though the above mentioned three ayaat too have philosophical points of wisdom or theoretical hikmah, I shall mainly dilate upon the practical guidance provided by them. I personally believe that pure academicism or too much philosophical or critical acumen exercised in understanding a particular point quite often hides from the scholar the concrete and practical guidance contained therein. Moreover, what the Muslim Ummah as a whole needs today is a dear and precise perception of the religious obligations and imperatives and a resolve to act upon them in the right earnest.

• The first ayah tells the Muslims very precisely, and yet very comprehensively, the obligations which they have to fulfill as members of the Muslim Ummah - the priorities in the conduct of life and the value-structure to be upheld during the course of this-worldly life.
• The second ayah enlightens the Muslims about the binding-force which unites and welds them into an Ummah (a religious fraternity) - the instrument which turns them into a disciplined community with a common aim.
• The third ayah delineates the objective and goal of the Muslim Ummah in general and that of the activist Islamic group or hizbullah in particular. In other words, it deals with the question: What is the mission and the target for which the Ummah has to strive?

One can very easily see that there is a strong logical relationship between these three points. Every organizational effort or collectivity depends ultimately upon the individual members — their existential commitment to the group’s world-view and determination to act accordingly. How can a group or a collectivity proceed in the right direction unless its individual members act and behave in the right manner? If individuals do not conduct themselves on the prescribed lines, how can the group as a whole work appropriately and achieve its envisaged targets? It is quite logical, therefore, that in organizing a collective effort the individual person himself comes first. In the context of Islamic Ummah’s mission and goal, the foremost point is that an individual Muslim should realize and perform his religious obligations. He should be quite clear as to what Islam requires him to do, and he must fulfill those requirements.

Let me illustrate this point with the help of an example. Suppose a person has to ascend a platform which has three steps. The surest and safest way for him will be first to rise up to the first step, then to the second and finally to the last. If, on the other hand, he tries to jump at the top he is most likely to fall down, thus failing to achieve his target. The nyant cited above similarly unfold before us three steps or stages through which Muslims should pursue their ummatic goal.

So let us focus our attention on the first ayah that reads:

Believers! Heed Allah as He should be heeded, and see that you do not die except in the
state of Islam.

Here two points are noteworthy before we embark upon an in-depth analysis of the contents of the ayah: First, almost two-third of the Qur’an consists of Makkan Surahs in which the expression “0 Believers!” has not been used even once. This way of address was employed in the Medinan period when the Muslims had formally became a community. Thus this expression marked the formation of Muslim Ummah and Allah Almighty (SWT) used these words while addressing all the members of the Islamic polity.

Secondly, a major portion of Surah Aal-e-Imran was revealed in the third year after Hijrah, immediately after the battle of Uhud (Shawwal, 3 A.H.). If one tries to visualize, with the help of authentic historical accounts, the state of the Muslim community at that time in Medinah, one sees that the faith and belief of the community presented a wide spectrum. At the one end of that spectrum were true, staunch, and pious believers (among both Ansar and Muhajiroon) the depth of whose inner certitude and unflinching belief (Iman) was fathomless, whereas at the other extreme were those who lacked firm commitment and dedication to Islam — the vacillating and faint-hearted among the Prophet’s (SAW) followers. The highest degree of this attitude was exhibited by those whom the Qur’an terms as Munafiqun — people who had rancor or hatred against true Muslims and suffered from incredulity, impiety, shiftlessness, and dissimulation. The important point to note, however, is that these people were never treated as a separate group; rather they were included among the Muslims and the address starting with the expressions “0 Believers!” also covered them. This point has far reaching implications. Legally, even the hypocrites are to be treated as Muslims in an Islamic society as they profess the Oneness of Allah (SWT) and prophethood of Muhammad (SAW). That is why in the whole of the Qur’an we do not read even once the words “0 Hypocrites!” even though a complete Surah entitled “Al-Munafiqun” (the Hypocrites) deals with the wiles, plots, and false pretexts of the dissemblers, whom the Holy Book likens to propped-up timbers. At other places the hypocrites, faint-hearted, and weak-willed Muslims are described as a menace to military discipline, quislings under pressure and vacillators always guessing at their shifting fortunes. All those who profess to have Iman, the Qur’an says, are not necessarily trule believers; many have diseases of feebleness or hypocrisy in their hearts:

And there are some men who say: We believe in God and the Last Day; but they are not really believers …in their hearts is disease…. (Al-Baqarah 2:8-10)

The Bedouins say, We believe. Say: You do not (truly) believe, rather say, “We have (outwardly) surrendered” — for faith has not yet entered your hearts. (Al-Hujurat 49:14)

0 Messenger, let those who vie with one another in (the way of) kufr not grieve you, from among those who say with their mouths “We believe” while their hearts believe not…. (Al-Ma’ida 5:41)

So, here in this world, true and staunch believers as well as weaklings and hypocrites are all mixed together. However, Almighty Allah (SWT) will make a clear division between them on the Day of Judgment, when everybody will be rewarded on the basis of his belief and deeds (see Al-Hadeed 57:13). In other words, in this world a man’s being Muslim (i.e., his verbal attestation of the basic beliefs of Islam and outward actions) is all that matters; but in the Hereafter only true and sincere belief — Iman —and deeds performed with the sole intention of pleasing Allah (SWT) will save one from the torments of hell-fire.

Turning now to the meanings of the ayaat, one notes that they address all who claim themselves to be believers, and the first demand that is made is: “0 Believers! Heed Allah as much as He should be really heeded.” This means that people who profess faith are being commanded to be true believers and to have fear and awe of Allah (SWT) to the utmost degree. The Arabic word Taqwa is very meagerly transliterated in the English word “fear.” Fear is obviously of many kinds:

• the abject fear of the coward;
• the fear of a child or an inexperienced person in the face of an unknown danger, more properly called dread;
• the fear of a reasonable man who wishes to avoid harm to himself or to people whom he wishes to protect;
• the reverence which is akin to love, for it fears to do anything which is not pleasing to the object of love.

The first is unworthy of man; the second is necessary for one spiritually immature; the third is a manly precaution against evil so long as it is unconquered; and the fourth is the seed-bed of righteousness and piety. Those mature in faith cultivate the fourth; at earlier stages, the third or the second may be necessary. But even here it is both fear and reverential awe of Allah (SWT). The first, on the other hand, is a feeling of which anyone should be ashamed. To respond to the call of Allah (SWT) and His Messenger (SAW) even after one has been smitten by injuries indicates that one fears God. Taqwa is indeed God-consciousness that makes a person righteous and pious. Steadfastness and perseverance in obedience and loyalty to Almighty Allah (SWT) necessarily characterize the pious (i.e., a muttaqi). According to the Qur’an, Taqwa is an all-embracing moral¬cum-spiritual quality of the highest order — the inner driving force that keeps a Muslim on the right track.

Let us try to understand Taqwa a little further. Taqwa does not merely imply any particular form, appearance or life-style. Rather, it is a state of mind and heart which no doubt does reflect in every aspect of life. It permeates the whole being of a true believer; it is not a mere veneer or outward show. Essentially, it can be termed God-consciousness: a human being’s awe of God, consciousness of one’s duty towards Him, and an awareness of one’s accountability to Him; to be conscious of the fact that the world is a phase of trial where Allah (SWT) has sent us for a specified period of time; that Allah’s decisions on the Day of Judgment on an individual’s future in the Hereafter will depend on how he makes use of his energies and capabilities in the period of time at his disposal in this world. A conscience which is fired by consciousness of Allah (SWT) becomes alive. Man’s sensitivity becomes sharp under this influence and he avoids everything that is against Allah’s will. He starts examining his own thoughts and feelings to see what tendencies are being nurtured within him. He begins to scrutinize his life to find out in what activities he is spending his time and energy.

Once the second Caliph Umar (RAA) asked Ubai Ibn Ka’b (RAA) as to how he would define Taqwa and what its essence is. Ubai Ibn Ka’b (RAA), acdaimed by the Holy Prophet (SAW) as a great scholar and reciter of the Qur’an, explained it in such a convincing and vivid manner that everyone of the Companions sitting in that meeting appreciated it. The explanation given by him may be paraphrased like this: If a man has to cross a jungle with thorny bushes on both sides of a narrow track, he will take extreme care and tuck up his garments in order to avoid any harm to his clothes or to himself. This attitude of caution and care is to be called Taqwa.

Keeping this connotation of Taqwa in view, let us first understand what Iman or Islamic religions belief is. Iman signifies that a person has acknowledged the unity of God and believed in Him as the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe, one has testified to the Day of Judgment, and, finally, believed the messengership of Muhammad (SAW). This tripartite belief entails crucially important practical imperatives, which are, in the words of the Qur’an, as follows:

So, obey Allah and obey His Messenger; but if you turn back, the duty of our
Messenger is but to proclaim the Message clearly and openly. (Al-Taghabun 64:12)
So take and put in practice what the Messenger assigns to you and deny yourselves
that which he withholds from you…. (Al-Hashr 59:7).

Then guard yourselves against the Day when one soul shall not avail another, nor shall compensation be accepted from her, nor shall intercession profit her, nor shall anyone be helped. (Al-Baqarah 2:123)

In a nutshell, the first and foremost demand of Iman on a Muslim is that he should have Taqwa. Not only does a person with Taqwa scrupulously avoid things which are explicitly prohibited, he also hesitates from getting involved in affairs which are in any way dubious or worthless. His sense of duty makes him fulfill Allah’s commands in a spirit of total submission. His fear of God causes a feeling of deep anxiety and agony whenever there is a possibility that he may be in danger of exceeding limits prescribed by Almighty Allah (SWT). Ensuring the discharge of his obligations towards God and towards his fellow-beings becomes his way of life; he shudders at the very thought of doing anything unjust and against the Islamic Shari’ah. He keeps a vigil on whatever his bodily limbs (arms, legs, eyes, ears, sexual organs) perform. He thinks himself accountable for all voluntary acts performed through them. Since, according to the Qur’an an angel always records whatever a man speaks out, a God-fearing man is vigilant about what he utters. This vigilance, control, concern, and caution are the hallmarks of the Taqwa-based attitude in life.

Again, the words which accompany and qualify the commandment for Taqwa are immensely noteworthy: “…as He should be heeded.” While reciting this ayah we generally take a cursory and cavalier view of these words. How radically different was the attitude and response of the Companions of the Prophet (SAW) when they came to know of this challenging demand! They became extremely perturbed and thought that it was impossible for one to fear Almighty Allah (SWT) to the highest degree due Him. They, therefore, inquired from the Prophet about this and got consolation only when the following words of Allah, Most Merciful and Most Compassionate, were revealed: “So heed God as much as you can…” (Al-Taghabun 64:15). On hearing this, they were relieved of a terrible anxiety. Allah’s Taqwa combined with “as much as you can” obviously means: “lead lives of sell-restraint and righteousness to the highest possible degree.” And the Companions of the Holy Prophet (SAW) amply acted upon this Divine injunction. However, on our part we should not absolve ourselves of our obligation by underestimating our own capacities and capabilities. One should not deliberately forego the struggle for restraint and piety on the false (and self-deceiving!) pretext that he lacks the required mental and physical strength. The All-Knowing Allah (SWT) knows well how much strength and capability He has given to each person and everyone will be judged according to that measure.

Now let us discuss the second injunction contained in the ayah: “and see that you do not die except in the state of Islam.” What does Islam literally mean? It means submission and surrender to Allah (SWT). Islam implies belief in the unity of God and the prophethood of Muhammad (SAW). Anyone who testifies to this belief fulfills the legal requirement for entry into the fold of Islam. This belief has very significant practical ramifications. The edifice of a complete Islamic life can only be built on a belief in God’s unity (Tauheed) that permeates a person’s entire personal and social life, and which is so strong that he considers himself and all that he possesses as really belonging to Almighty Allah (SWT); he accepts Him as the sole rightful Owner, Object of worship, Receiver of obedience, and Law-giver for himself as well as for the rest of the world; he considers Him the fountain-head of guidance, and is fully aware that disobedience to Allah (SWT) or indifference to the divinely revealed law constitutes deviation from the right path of Islam. Indeed, controlling the baser prompting and desires of the sell and always striving to act according to the dictates of the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet is what Islam essentially means.

Moreover, the command given in a most emphatic style — “and see that you do not die save in the state of Islam” — is very significant and subtle. As a matter of fact, nobody knows as to how long he is going to live and where and in what conditions his death will take place. We often hear that a person travels in the morning to a certain place on a business or pleasure trip. His family members fondly expect him back after a few days, but instead in the evening of the very same day he left his house, his wife and children receive his dead body. Thus, if a person firmly decides that death does not take him except in the state of submission and total surrender to Allah (SWT), he will have to be extremely and ceaselessly alert so that not even a single moment of his life is spent in sinful activity. Nobody has any guarantee whatsoever that he is not to die at the time of indulging in sin and thus transgressing the limits set by the Qur’an and the Sunnah.

Many Qur’anic ayaat and ahadith emphasize that an un-Islamic act cannot co-exist with Iman, indeed to the extent that, at least while man is committing a sin, his Iman leaves him. Let me here quote a very authentic hadith.

Hadrat Abu Hurayra (RAA) says that Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said: While one is committing fornication, he is not a believer; while one is stealing, he is not a believer; while one is taking liquor, he is not a believer; while one is plundering, as people look on, he is not a believer; while one is committing fraud, he is not a believer; so beware, beware! (Bukhari and Muslim)

Leaving aside for a moment the arguments of the jurists and theologians about Iman and its relation to a’maal (actions), one must try to understand the matter in the light of the Qur’an. It is crystal clear from the Qur’an that the inner conviction of faith and the practice of Islam are essentially interdependent. Allah (SWT) almost invariably mentions faith and righteous conduct together. Verbal profession of Islamic beliefs, though important in its own right, is not sufficient for supporting the edifice of an Islamic morality and way of life and for winning him salvation in the Hereafter. Just imagine the utter misfortune of a person whose soul is overtaken by death while he is committing a grievous sin and no time is left for him to repent and make amends. This situation can only be avoided by a Muslim who makes Islam the ultimate, paramount and all-time concern in his life.

First things first. This, then, is the foremost and base-line practical step or action which a true Muslim has to undertake most earnestly. Without accomplishing this, he cannot fruitfully move on to the two higher steps of the action-agenda. Allah (SWT) castigates the religious divines of the Jews with severest reproach on this account thus:

Do you enjoin right conduct on the people, and forget (to practise it) yourselves, and
yet you study the Scripture? Will you not understand? (Al-Baqarah 2:44)

This attitude (of double standards) is also conspicuously visible in our own present day Muslim society. Many a preacher deliver moving and passionate sermons to others on religion and moral rectitude. A large group of spiritual mentors is seen engaged in Islamic da’wah activity across the Muslim world. High-quality and first-rate academic papers are being written and published by a host of scholars in the Muslim lands. Yet, on closer examination, one regrettably finds that most of these scholars, writers, and mentors do not practise Islam themselves. Their own lives and conduct, far from being based on Taqwa and Iman, exhibit many deviations from Islamic principles. Unfortunately, they forget that the first thing that Islam demands from them is to lead their own lives as much as possible according to the dictates of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW).

The demand of the Qur’an as explained in the above lines is that we are required to worship and love Allah (SWT) with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our strength. In Islam, the religious concern is ultimate, it excludes all other concerns from ultimate significance. The concern for Islam is to be unconditional: independent of any condition of character, desire, or circumstance. The unconditional concern is total: no part of ourselves or of our world is excluded from it, there is no place to flee from it. The total concern is infinite: no moment of relaxation and rest is possible in the face of a religious concern which is ultimate, unconditional, total and infinite. The Qur’anic ayah: “0 Believers! Enter wholly in Islam…” (Al-Baqarah 2:208) means exactly this. Allah (SWT) demands that man should submit, without reservation, the whole of his being and life to His will. Man’s outlook, intellectual pursuits, behavior, interaction with other people and modes of behavior should all be completely subordinate to Islam. Allah (SWT) does not accept the splitting up of human life into separate compartments, some governed by the teachings of Islam and others exempt from them. Whether seen from the point of view of Islam or Taqwa (i.e., God-fearing attitude and God-consciousness), the Qur’an instructs us to believe wholeheartedly and to bow in submission and obedience to God totally and completely. It allows no fragmentation of life. Taqwa is an all-embracing moral quality of the highest order. It manifests itself in an individual’s whole way of thinking and acting. The Qur’an emphasizes that the guidance given by Allah (SWT) cannot be split into parts — the peripheral, less important ones to be followed, the fundamental, more important ones to be put in cold storage. We can see with our own eyes in the lives of those who often enjoy great fame for their Taqwa that they are so particular about the minute details of the Shari’ah that deviation from the secondary injunctions of their own juristic persuasions is to them tantamount to heresy and threatened with hell-fire. But their neglect of the fundamentals of Islam — e.g., prohibition of interest in business and concern for economic exploitation and social injustice in society — reaches such heights that compromise and expediency seem to dominate lives.

Taqwa or God-consciousness must assert itself both in public life and in the inner denizens of private life. In case it is shallow and fake, it will manifest only in the external veneer of living and conduct. Once the Holy Prophet (SAW) pointed to his breast thrice and said that Taqwa resides in here. If the heart of a man is enlivened by Taqwa, it will permeate his entire being and dye his total personality with the “color of Allah.” A Muslim has been commanded by Allah (SWT) not only to pray and fast, but also to put in practice His injunctions with respect to the social, political, and economic aspects of life. Islam does not allow in the least the modern secular approach in which religion is confined to one’s private life and modes of worship. On no pretext whatsoever — economic stringency, difficulties in interest-free monetary transactions, extravagant customary practices on weddings and other social occasions — can a true and committed Muslim justify himself in indulging in un-Islamic behavior. This is the basic and foremost lesson that comes out so clearly and emphatically from this ayah of Surah Aal-e-Imran for anyone who aspires to live as a Muslim and die as a Muslim.

And hold fast, all together, to the Rope of Allah (which He stretched out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah’s favor on you, for you were once enemies and then He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace you became brethren; and you were on the brink of the pit of fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make His Signs clear to you, that you may be guided to the right way.

The next ayah (ayah 103) of Surah Aal-e-Imran explains the second practical step that the Muslim Ummah is urged to undertake. All those who have accomplished to the maximum possible degree the requirement of the preceding ayah and attained the driving force of Taqwa (i.e., God-consciousness) in their lives — are called upon to unite and join together for the cause of Islam. Until and unless they join hands together and become like a solid steel-ribbed structure, they cannot achieve the supremacy and ascendancy of Islam at the global level. It is a well-established truth that any influential and wide-ranging mission, be it a moral or an immoral one, requires the concerted efforts of a group of people.

The noblest and loftiest end — to make humanity surrender to one God — that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) achieved in his life time was only achieved with the selfless, dedicated, and cooperative efforts of his Companions (RAA). But the Prophet (SAW) himself could achieve this within the boundaries of Arabian Peninsula and the task of disseminating Islam and making it dominant in the entire world was put on the shoulders of Muslim Ummah. This gigantic duty obviously calls for a united and organized struggle.

Now, just as a strong and solid wall requires strong blocks or bricks, the individual members of the Islamic Jihad movement should also be men of deep inner conviction and noblest character, who strive together to bring all power and all powers under God. If the individual Muslim suffers from lack of commitment to the Islamic cause and is not a dedicated worker, the Islamic Ummah cannot accomplish its Divinely ordained mission. In other words, each Muslim must first himself become a sincere, wholehearted, and authentic believer in order to play his role in the discharge of Ummatic obligations. The consolidation and invigoration of Iman or Taqwa in the individual person is the subject which has been dealt with most fully yet succinctly in the preceding ayah of the Holy Qur’an. Now, we move on to the second step.

We have seen that it is of utmost urgency for Muslims to join hands together for the realization of Ummah ‘s destiny as the standard-bearer of truth, the establishment of Divine Order of social justice and equity on earth; in other words, bringing God’s earth under God’s rule. The most important question that arises here is: What is that bond or cementing material which would bind the Muslims into a strongly united group or collectivity? The Qur’anic ayah under discussion provides answer to this very question: “And hold fast, all together, the cord of Allah (that he stretched out for you), and be not divided among yourselves

The simile used here is that of people struggling in deep water, to whom a benevolent Providence stretches out a strong and unbreakable cord or rope of rescue. If all hold fast to it together, their mutual support adds to the chance of their safety. One may wonder here as to what habl Allah — the cord of Allah (SWT) — really means. Mention of a few methodological points with regard to the commentary on, and understanding of, the Holy Qur’an will be in the fitness of things!

The first principle to be kept in mind in the interpretation and understanding of the Qur’an is that its one ayah or portion is sometimes explained and elaborated by another ayah or portion of the Qur’an. In case one does not find such explanation within the Qur’an, then the second recognized principle is to explore the backgrounds of the Qur’anic revelations called the “occasions of revelation.” They were recorded by the Companions of the Prophet (SAW) as a necessary aid for fixing the correct meaning of the Word of God. And linked with this is the belief with regard to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) vis-à-vis the Qur’an, for he clarified and elaborated the Qur’an, supplementing its broad general principles by giving them precise and detailed forms, and incorporating them into practical life, his own as well as those of his followers. Thus the Qur’an affirms this role of the Prophet in these words:

And we sent down the Book to you for the express purpose that you should make
clear to them those things in which they differ, and that it should be a guide and a
mercy to those who believe. (An-Nahl 16:64)

In the light of these principles, for an understanding of the expression “cord of Allah,” we should turn to the traditions of the Holy Prophet (SAW). In the presence of authentic historical traditions of the Prophet (SAW) about a particular issue or point, it is wrong to resort to free-play of reason or fancy. Indeed such interpretation of arbitrary opinion (tafseer bil-ra’ay) has never found favor with orthodox Muslims. Many Urdu translators and exegesists of the Qur’an have not bothered to study the more than one available authentic (i.e., sound in terms of chain of transmission) statements of the Prophet (SAW) himself which elucidate the expression. For one renowned scholar, the expression generally refers to the “religion of God.” I see no reason why one should deal with it so cavalierly and ignore a genuine, trustworthy and marfu’ hadith (in which the saying of the Prophet itself is reported). As a matter of principle, knowledge of Arabic language, grammar, lexicography, Arabic literature, and familiarity with Arabic idiom of the times of the Prophet (SAW) are all important as instruments for writing commentary on Qur’an. But recourse to semantic and linguistic analysis or personal opinion should not in any way overrule the primary importance of the Prophet’s sayings and explications. Following this paramount principle of Qur’anic exegesis, I shall mention here very briefly three ahadith of the Prophet (SAW) which explicate without an iota of doubt the real import and meaning of habl Allah.

1. A rather lengthy historical tradition on the Qur’an has been narrated by the fourth Caliph Ali (RAA), in which the Prophet (SAW) is reported to have said about the Qur’an: “It is this very Qur’an that is the cord of Allah.” (Tirmidhi & Darimi)
2. In another hadith, reported on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud (RAA), the Prophet (SAW) said: “This Qur’an is the cord of Allah which He has stretched from the heavens to the earth.”
3. The third had ith has been reported by Jubair Ibn Mut’im (RAA) and included in Tibrani Kabir. This hadith so vividly gives the details of an episode in the lifetime of the Prophet (SAW) that the reader begins to feel for a few moments as if he himself is sitting in the company of the Prophet. Once the Holy Prophet (SAW) came out of his hujrah and saw a few of the Companions (RAA) studying and discussing the Qur’an in a corner of the mosque. The Prophet (SAW), very much pleased with this, approached them and asked them a strange question. This question we should also put to ourselves and see if we can sincerely give the same affirmative answer that was given by the Companions. The Prophet (SAW) asked them, “Do you not attest to the truths that there is no god but Allah who alone should be worshipped, that He is one and without partner, that I am His Messenger, and that this Qur’an has come from Him?” All the Companions firmly replied in the affirmative. (May Allah enable us also to attest sincerely and with heart-felt certitude the fundamental metaphysical beliefs of Islam. Although we all verbally attest these beliefs, what is required is inner conviction and faith of the heart). On this the Prophet (SAW) said, “Rejoice at what you have got with yourselves because one end of the Qur’an is in Allah’s hand and the other end is with you. So hold it fast. If you do that, you will never perish or go astray.”

Despite these three authentic traditions of the Prophet (SAW), if someone maintains that habl Allah means something other than the Qur’an, his opinion cannot be taken seriously. Indeed he has no justification whatsoever for that. Allama Iqbal has expressed this very truth in the following Persian couplets thus:

That is to say, the collective life and Ummatic existence of the Muslims is due to the Qur’an that provides them with a common legal framework and code of life. The multitudes of Muslims have no significance; all significance rests with the Qur’an that functions like a throbbing heart in the socio political body of the Muslims. Iqbal, therefore, advises the Muslims to hold fast to the Qur’an as it is the cord of Allah (SWT).

The second imperative that is laid down by ayah 103 is, therefore, that all Muslims are commanded by Allah (SWT) to hold fast to the Divine cord, the Qur’an. The Arabic verb i’tesam used in this ayah is also very significant. The root of the verb — ismat means security and protection; and the meaning of the verb i’tesam is to hold fast to something or somebody for security and safety in the face of danger or threat. Its real sense comes out clearly when we see a child who, in all his innocence, clings to his mother, thinking that she can protect him from all sorts of dangers and odds. Clinging or holding fast to somebody for security is i’tesam. So Almighty Allah (SWT) enjoins upon the Muslims to hold fast to the Divine cord — the Holy Qur’an.

The Arabic expression Jamee’an used in the ayah can be interpreted in two ways, and I think both meanings are to be taken here. First, it may mean that all Muslims should jointly hold fast and cling to the Qur’an. Secondly, it may also signify that the whole, and not a few parts, of the Qur’an is to be taken as guide for life. If only some fragmentary injunctions of the Divine writ are put into practice and others are simply ignored, this will be like the attitude of the Israelites who were reproached very strongly by Allah (SWT) in these words:

Do you believe in a part of the Scripture and reject the other? What else, then, could be the retribution of those among you who do this than they should live in degradation in the present life, and that on the Day of Resurrection they should be sent to the severest chastisement? (Al-Baqarah 2 : 85)

Belief in the Qur’an remains imperfect until the code of life it lays down is accepted in its entirety. It is ironic to see that the majority of Westernized and secularized Muslims take a partial view of Islamic life and do not at all see the need to extend, strengthen, and complete its Qur’anic foundations, with the result that the door to the highest stages of Taqwa and Ihsan are supposed to be open for a judge of court who may give judgments in violation of the Qur’an, for a lawyer who may argue on the basis of laws contrary to the Shari’ah, for the administrator who may manage the affairs of life in accordance with a system based on kufr, for the political leader and his followers who may work for founding and building of life on the social and political principles of the disbelievers in short, for everyone, provided he fashions his outward style of life after a certain pattern and observes a few rituals and ceremonies of worship.

The reason for the use of the word habl (cord) is that the Qur’an both establishes a bond between man and God and joins all believers together in the religious fraternity. To take a firm hold on this cord means that the believers should attach utmost importance to their religion: this should always be the center of their concerns; they should continually strive to establish it; and the common desire to serve it should make them cooperate with each other. As soon as Muslims turn their attention away from the fundamental teachings of their faith and lose sight of establishing its ascendancy in life they begin to concern themselves with matters of secondary importance. And, just as they rent the communities of the former prophets, enticing people away from their true objective in life, so schism and dissension are bound to plague their lives. If Muslims do this they are bound to suffer indignity and disgrace both in this world and the Next as
happened with the followers of the previous prophets. So a true Muslim is only one whose whole being is permeated with Islam; it is not a mere veneer or outward show.

After this, an historical evidence from the period in which the Qur’an was being revealed was presented and the believers were addressed thus : “And remember with gratitude Allah’s favor on you, for you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His grace you became brethren.”

Yathrib, and indeed the whole of Arabia, was torn with civil and tribal feuds and contentions before the Prophet of Islam set his sacred feet on its soil. After that, it became the city of the Prophet (SAW), an unmatched brotherhood, and the pivot of Islam. Before the advent of Islam, there were animosities among the tribes which regularly broke out into fighting and devastation; every now and then there was much bloodshed. Things had reached a point where the entire Arabian nation seemed to be on the verge of destroying itself. It was due to the blessings of Islam alone that it was saved from being consumed by the fire to which this ayah alludes. The people of Yathrib (which later came to be known as Medinah) had embraced Islam some three or four years before this ayah was revealed. They had witnessed the blessing of Islam as it unified into one brotherhood the Aws and the Khazraj, two tribes which had long been sworn enemies. Moreover, both tribes treated the migrants from Makkah in a spirit of sacrifice and love seldom seen even among members of the same family. The ayah under consideration ends with the words: “Thus Allah makes His signs clear to you that you may be guided to the right way.” That is to say, if people had eyes to see they could conclude for themselves whether their salvation lay in adhering firmly to the teachings of the Qur’an or in abandoning them and reverting to their former state. They could decide very easily whether their true well-wishers were Allah (SWT) and His Messenger (SAW) or those Jews, Polytheists, and hypocrites who strove to plunge them back into their former despicable state.

Before we proceed further, it is quite appropriate to see if the historical evidence alluded to in this ayah has any special bearing on the current political scenario of Pakistan. As Muslims, we believe that the teachings of the Qur’an have eternal and everlasting validity and that, as a source of guidance, the Qur’anic principles have applicability for all places and for all times to come. Seen in this perspective, we can better appreciate the gravity of the conditions prevailing today in Pakistan, and, at the same time, see a ray of hope offered to all believers in the Qur’anic ayah under discussion. Just as Allah (SWT) welded the warring Arab factions into a strong brotherhood fourteen centuries ago He can now turn the disarrayed and conflicting provinces of Pakistan into a strong unity, provided the people of Pakistan earnestly act upon the three-point action strategy explained in these three ayaat.

It is an undeniable historical fact that the Indian subcontinent was partitioned on the basis of Two-Nation theory, and that Pakistan was established on the foundation of Muslim Nationhood and in the name of Islam. Muslims living in the widely separated areas of India were united by the bond of Islamic faith, and demanded a separate homeland with the objective that Muslims of India, by removing all the taints of decadent and monarchical Islam, get an opportunity to re-establish the pristine Islamic system of political, economic, and social justice which is the most important manifestation of the Holy Prophet’s (SAW) universal mercy and blessing. We regret to say, however, that in spite of the fact that forty seven years have passed since Pakistan was established, no real progress has as yet been made towards achieving the envisaged goal. The political and economic system inherited from the British Raj has throughout been kept intact; not only in the overall system, but in matters of social and communal values also we are strictly maintaining the status quo. Both in practice and thought we exhibit the same old slavish mentality.

The system to which we are sticking in the political governance of our homeland has the following important features:

1. Territorial Nationalism, i.e., the concept of nationalism that was born of Western secularism and on whose absolute negation Pakistan movement was launched.
2. Parliamentary Democracy, the initial training of which was imparted to us by our English rulers.
3. The names and boundaries of the provinces demarcated by the British for their administrative expediency and which we consider not only permanent and everlasting but even sacrosanct.
4. The banking system — on which all our industry and trade, in fact our entire economy, is based — is contaminated to this day by the filth of interest. As a result, the entire nation and the country is, in the words of the Qur’an, at war with Allah (SWT) and His Messenger (SAW).
5. Accursed evils of gambling, speculation and lottery —declared by the Qur’an as “an abomination of Satan’s handiwork” (Al-Mai’da 5:90) — are rampant.
6. The system of feudalism and absentee landlordism, the worst and most abominable form of oppression and usurpation, has basically not changed at all in spite of the so-called land reforms introduced twice.
7. Mixed (non-segregated) social living that debased the West as far as modesty and chastity are concerned. It destroyed the domestic peace and confounded the family structure. And this evil is such that it did not take roots in our society even during the British rule to the extent it is now in vogue, and is increasing by leaps and bounds every day.
8. The distinction between the “tribal” and “settled” areas in the N.W.F.P. is still continuing.

The current scenario of Pakistan calls for a total change in the entire body politic and socio-economic system of the homeland. Unity among the people of Pakistan and the establishment of Islamic Social Justice is the need of the day. This, in fact, was the real purpose of establishing Pakistan, and only this can ensure her continued existence, stability and progress. It is on account of deviation from this very cause that the Muslim nation of Pakistan got divided into different regional, ethnic and linguistic nationalities.

This breaking of our vow with Allah (SWT) and disloyalty to His Deen has led to tremendous plunder and bloodshed among the people of various regions. Divine punishment whipped us in 1971 and even now if we do not make headway towards the real objective of Pakistan, Divine punishment could whip us again any time and would whip us more severely. Indeed, Pakistan has to prepare herself to face all the threats posed by the New World Order. If, on the contrary, Pakistanis do not come out of their deep slumber and do not give up their materialistic pursuits, the anti-Islamic designs of the so-called “supreme world power” will subjugate it to the point of virtual nonexistence. An ostrich-like attitude will not save us from perilous dangers, and it is imperative that we, at the earliest and in right earnest, read the writing on the wall.

If a true Muslim reflects on the conditions of Pakistan diligently and thoughtfully, he will realize that the situation of Pakistanis totally resembles that of the Arabs before the advent of Islam depicted in the words of the Qur’an — “you stood on the brink of a pit of fire.” And the only way out of this pit of fire is the one delineated by these ayaat of Surah Aal-e-Imran. As the Qur’an is the eternal Divine message for all humanity, its teachings too have abiding efficacy and applicability. No matter how degenerate our conditions and circumstances may be, the Qur’an offers a sure panacea for all our ills.

In the Khatm Al-Qur’an prayer we most humbly pray to Almighty Allah (SWT) that Qur’an may be made our leader, guide and beacon of light. But, surely, we cannot get it all merely for the asking. We have to struggle hard to achieve our solicited desires. Holding fast together to the cord of Allah — the Holy Qur’an — is, therefore, the second practical point of the strategy laid down by the Divine Book.

To summarize the action-agenda so far covered in these pages: the first practical step of the three-point Qur’anic strategy is with regard to Taqwa and Islam. That is to say, a true Muslim should remain steadfast in his obedience and loyalty to God. He should avoid everything which is not pleasing to Him and live his entire life in total submission to His commandments. As a corollary, acting on the injunctions of the Holy Prophet (SAW) is also included in it, as the commandments of the Prophet (SAW) are in fact the commandments of Allah (see Al-Nisa 4:80). The second practical step is with regard to the Qur’an: i’tesam bil-Qur’an holding fast and attaching oneself firmly to the Qur’an. And this obligation is to be discharged in a unified manner. Division and dissension among Muslims is thoroughly disapproved by Allah (SWT).

Now the question is : What does “holding fast together the cord of Allah” mean and imply in practical terms. In the booklet The Obligations Muslims Owe To the Qur’an, I have made an impassioned call to the Muslims to return to the Qur’an, to rededicate themselves to its study, and make it the sole guide for their lives. Instead of making purely academic attempts at describing the unique merits and magnificence of Qur’an, the most pertinent thing for us to do is that we should clearly understand our responsibilities towards the Qur’an and then assess for ourselves whether or not we are conscientiously fulfilling them. Paying lip service or pompous tributes to the Qur’an will not be enough and these cannot substitute for actually discharging our obligations towards the Holy Book. Now what are these obligations? Or, in other words, what does the Qur’an demand from us? An objective study of the Book makes it amply dear that it makes five demands from every Muslim. Put in a simple language, these demands or obligations are as follows:

1. A Muslim is required to truly believe in the Qur’an.
2. He is required to read it properly.
3. He is required to understand it.
4. He is required to act upon its teachings in his private life to struggle for the implementation of Shari’ah and the establishment of Social Justice at the state level.
5. He is required to disseminate its teachings to others and operationalize Islam at the
   global level. He must spend most of his energies and monetary sources for this cause.

As a matter of fact, if Muslims rejuvenate their relationship with the Qur’an on these lines, it will weld them into one Ummah with utmost mental and emotional unity as well as unique singularity of purpose and objective. All sorts of dissension, strife and antagonism among them will automatically vanish, and they will become united like a solid cemented structure (in Qur’anic expression, bunyan marsus). And this will indeed be a concrete exemplification of the Holy Prophet’s saying according to which Almighty Allah (SWT) will bestow dignity and honor on those people who hold fast to the Qur’an and will degrade and disgrace those who turn a deaf ear to it and do not discharge their obligations towards it. Allama Iqbal has expressed these very ideas in beautiful Persian verses thus:

To sum up: there are the two practical steps through which a man personally becomes a true believer and the collectivity of believers takes the form of a strong ideological fraternity. Now the question that crops up is: what methodology is to be pursued by this ideological group for its global struggle? This indeed is the subject matter of the next Qur’anic ayah to be explained in the sequel. It is a happy coincidence that this methodology too consists of three points and we will dwell upon them at some length.

Let us now concentrate our attention on the third ayah (ayah 104 of Surah Aal-e¬Imran) the English translation of which reads:

And from among you there must be a party (a group or band of committed Muslims) who invite people to all that is good, and enjoin the doing of all that is right and forbid the doing of all that is wrong. It is they who will attain true success.

An objective and detailed study of the preceding two ayaat of the Surah leaves no ambiguity or doubt in the mind of the reader that both of them call for a collectivity of believers, and that a serious and sincere action on their dictates necessarily demands the formation of a group or party. Now the question arises: what is the objective or goal this group should keep in view and work for? As a matter of fact, all creations and artifacts are made for serving some purpose. Even a small and modest association of people is constituted and organized for achieving certain goals defined in the memorandum of aims and objectives. So the question that quite naturally arises is: what is the purpose or goal of that group which results from collectively dinging to the Qur’an? This exactly is what is explained in the ayah under review.

This ayah has been translated in two different ways by the translators. For some, the preposition min of minkum in the ayah is general and descriptive, while for some others it is of particularizing nature. Leaving aside the technicalities of the two types of min just mentioned, let us see what difference, if any, is made in the meaning of the ayah by either use of it. According to the former the ayah would be translated as: “And you should together form a group that invites people to all that is good…,” whereas according to the latter sense of min the translation would be: “And from among you there must be a group or party that invites people to all that is good ….“ Now in my view both these translations of the ayah are entirely correct, and the logical import of the meaning of the ayah is hardly changed by the minor linguistic difference of the two translations. If all the Muslims of the world unite and together constitute an ideological fraternity (i.e., the Muslim Ummah) that performs the duties of inviting people to all that is good, enjoin the doing of all right actions and forbid the doing of all that is wrong —this would be the import of the ayah according to the descriptive or indicative use of min. But since this descriptive function of the whole of Muslim Ummah is repeated a little further on in ayah 110 of this very Surah, a large majority of Qur’anic scholars take min in the particularizing sense and interpret the ayah by maintaining that it demands the formation of a group comprising of committed and motivated Muslims from among the vast Muslim fraternity of less motivated believers. That is to say, this ayah provides answer to the question: what should be done when, by and large, the Ummah neglects its religious obligations and thus pays no heed to its Divinely ordained duties.

Let us frankly acknowledge the hard facts and conditions of present-day Muslims, however unpleasant they may appear to us. Theoretically, the words “Muslim Ummah” cover in their fold all the Muslims of the world and as such it is a universalistic concept. But, as a matter of fact, one global Muslim Ummah is at the moment a non-entity. Instead, there are many Muslim nations in the world. Even Allama Muhammad Iqbal, a great advocate of the unity of Muslim Ummah, had to be realistic about the actual condition of Muslims in the world. Accordingly, in his lectures, entitled Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, he wrote that there is no one united Muslim Ummah in the world; rather there are many Muslim nations living in different states. However, perhaps this too was true more than half a century ago when Allama Iqbal delivered the Lectures. The present situation of most Muslim nations is worse still and most Muslim nations are split into numerous regional, ethnic, or linguistic groups.

The readers of these lines can very well appreciate this fact if they consider the case of Pakistan. At the time of its appearance in 1947 as a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent, Pakistanis were considered as one Muslim nation by all. Both wings of Pakistan were united and considered Islam the basis of their unity. Soon afterwards, however, regional sentiments and concern for regional languages came up on the surface and eventually paved the way for the ceding of East Pakistan. Consequently, it became Bangladesh in 1971 and asserted her Bengali identity more than the former Muslim character. Every one of us laments how savagely and brutally non-Bengali Muslims were tortured and murdered by the Bengali nationalists of East Pakistan. And in the truncated Pakistan, too, there is no ideological unity in the people. The Pakistani nation stands divided and fragmented on the bases of ethnicity, culture, and language, and different groups are constantly at loggers head with each other. Since not a single province of Pakistan has only one ethnic community, we often hear news of gruesome violence and brutalities among various communities living in one province and even in one city. For example, in Baluchistan there are at least three large ethnic groups, and to a lesser degree this is also true of other provinces of Pakistan. In Sindh the Mohajirs (migrants from India) have formally assumed the status of a politico-cultural entity. Indeed, from the very beginning, distinction was made almost every where in the country but particularly in the province of Sindh between the locals and the migrants, and this discrimination eventually led to the formation of MQM in urban Sindh. Again the Arab world, where all speak and write Arabic, is divided in a number of nation-states and people there identify themselves with reference to distinct nationalities.

So the hard fact that we must accept is that today a united world Muslim Ummah is non-existent. The de facto position is frankly none other than this. The Ummah only exists as an ideal concept in the minds of Muslims who consider theoretically all believers of Islam and the Prophet (SAW) as members of one global religious fraternity. According to this belief, each confessor of Muhammad’s (SAW) Prophethood is regarded a member of the universal Muslim brotherhood. This belief in itself is perfectly correct, but the question is whether Muslims all around the world do in fact behave as a well-knit ideological group? Is there any discipline among the Muslims? Is there a plenary leadership among Muslim nations and are the directives and recommendations of that leadership heeded by the member states? I regret to say that the answer to all these questions is in the negative. Was not a large part of Afghan army with the Russians when the latter were killing Afghan people mercilessly? Were not the most inhuman atrocities against Afghans committed by their own Islam-professing Afghan brethren? Again was not the long and devastating war between Iran and Iraq between two Muslim countries? Armed clashes between different factions of Muslims in Lebanon and brutal and murderous assaults on Palestinian refugee camps are known to anyone who is in touch with modern media. And the recent Gulf war has proved beyond any doubt that, as a matter of fact, one world-wide Muslim Ummah does not exist.

In the light of these facts the ayah under consideration with the particularizing sense of preposition in the expression minkum assumes special significance and its meanings become quite intelligible. In effect, what it means is that even when the vast multitudes of people in the Muslim Ummah are in a state of slumber, are divided among themselves and pursuing only secular ends, there must arise a group or party within the larger Ummah that performs the duties laid down by the Qur’an in this ayah, and also make the rest aware of them.

Some readers may wonder as to what an Ummah within the Ummah means. I am sure you must be familiar with the expressions of “a state within a state” and “a party within a party.” For instance, those among you who have read about the freedom struggle of the Indian subcontinent know very well that the Indian National Congress was a big political party and there was a forward block of it within the Congress that consisted of rather more revolutionary members. The forward block stood for more radical strategy as compared with the ordinary political policies approved by the Congress. Despite their membership and loyalty to the Indian Congress, they constituted a separate group under the leadership of Subhash Chandra Bose.

Similarly, since in the contemporary context the universal Muslim Ummah has been reduced to the level of an abstract concept, its reification is needed in the form of a smaller group (from among the larger Ummah) consisting of such Muslims as have fulfilled, to the maximum possible degree, the requirements and demands made in ayah 102 of the Surah with respect to the individual behavior and practice of a true Muslim. They attain the driving force of Taqwa in their hearts and meticulously observe the commandments of the Holy Prophet (SAW). Moreover, in compliance, to a fair degree, with the imperatives of the next ayah, they hold fast to the Qur’an for guidance even in minor details of their lives, and unite and join together as comrades in order to make up an ideological group. Ayah 104 of Surah Aal-e-Imran enlightens us about the three aims and objectives this collectivity of God-conscious and motivated Muslims is to work for:

1. Calling and inviting people to all that is good and noble.
2. Enjoining and dictating the doing of all that is right and virtuous.
3. Forbidding the doing of all that is wrong and immoral.

First of all, let us discuss the first two objectives and goals of the real and hard-core Muslim Ummah’s struggle. The Islamic summons have, by and large, been understood by Muslims to be in general call to Iman and A’mal Saleh (righteous action) in conformity with the guidance of Revelation, summoning people to God and inviting them to follow His and His Messenger’s dictates. But the crucial question that must be asked here is:

Do the Qur’anic injunctions “calling and inviting people to all that is good” and “enjoining the doing of all that is right” mean one and the same action? We, however, cannot think for a minute that Almighty Allah (SWT) has used synonymous expressions in the same ayah for pointless repetition. They certainly mean and imply different performances or levels and intensity of operations. da’wah ilal-khair and amr bil-ma’roof are obviously semantically distinct expressions and thus connote different types of activities. Most probably, da’wah ilal-khair means calling and inviting people to the Qur’an, as according to the Holy Qur’an the highest khair (i.e., good) is the Qur’an itself. To substantiate this the following ayaat of Surah Yunus can be cited:

O mankind! There has come unto you an Admonition (or an Exhortation) from your Lord, and a Healing for the diseases in your hearts, and for those who believe a Guidance and a Mercy. Say: In this bounty of Allah and in His Mercy, therein let them rejoice; it is better than all (the worldly wealth) that they may amass! (Yunus 10: 57,58)

These two ayaat clearly tell us how majestically Qur’an describes its own magnificence. Those who do wrong have a disease in their hearts, which causes their spirits to suffocate. Allah (SWT) in His Mercy declares His Will (i.e., the Qur’an) to them which should direct their lives and provide a healing for their spiritual malaise. If they accept faith, the remedy acts; they find themselves in right guidance and receive Allah’s forgiveness and mercy. Surely this guidance — the Qur’an — is far better a gift than material gains, wealth, or possessions. Therefore, according to this ayah, the referent of khair is Qur’an itself, something far superior to what worldly people hoard. To be sure, worldly possessions and wealth have also been termed as khair by the Qur’an. For example, an ayah of Surah Al-Aadiyaat reads:

… for, verily, to the love of wealth (khair) is he most ardently devoted. (A1-Aadiyaat 100:8)

This, of course, refers to a natural inclination and disposition of man. Yet, we are told in very dear and categorical terms that the Divine gift bestowed upon us in the form of the Qur’an is in reality far better than material riches and belongings. So da’wah ilal-khair (that is to say, inviting and calling people to goodness) is, in fact, exhorting men to study and act upon the teachings of the Qur’an.

While the first objective or aim of the Ummah’s missionary work is specifically with respect to the Qur’an, the second one is quite general and broad. It includes advising, admonishing, preaching, and exhorting people to all that is morally right and virtuous. However, the literal meaning of the Arabic verb amr is definitely more, and stronger, than just advising or preaching sermons; it additionally implies commanding and implementing with force. Thus amr is quite a wide expression. Starting from moralizing it goes right up to the bringing about of a revolution in political leadership so that corrupt and ungodly people are forced to be righteous and follow Divine guidance.

Another difference between da’wah and amr is that the former (i.e., preaching and exhorting) is never undertaken in an authoritative manner. On the contrary, it is always performed in a warm and heart-moving manner. In da’wah one pleads and even requests people most humbly to uphold goodness and probity. The da’ee (i.e., one who performs the da’wah) is always on the look out for an appropriate moment when he can approach people in a receptive mood. He even requests them in the name of God to order their lives according to the dictates of Islam. His role is both of an evangelist (i.e., one who gives glad tidings on moral actions) and of a warner of the torments of hell¬fire. He is always very polite and never harsh, aggressive, or authoritative. This indeed is the attitude which members of the Tableeghi Jama’at have adopted for the past several decades for their missionary activities.

In da’wah, one speaks from the depth of ones heart and strikes a cord in the interlocutor’s heart as the preacher is definitely taken as a well-wisher. This difference amply shows why calling people to goodness has been mentioned by the Qur’an as distinct and separate from “enjoining what is morally right.” The mild and polite manner to be adopted in da’wah was required of Prophet Musa (AS) and Prophet Haroon (AS) when the two messengers were ordered by Allah (SWT) to go to the Pharaoh. We read in Surah Taha the following ayaat:

Go forth (then), you and your brother, with My messages, and never tire of remembering Me. Go forth, both of you, unto Pharaoh, for verily he has transgressed all bounds of equity! But speak unto him in a mild manner, so that he might bethink himself or (at least) be filled with apprehension (Taha 42:44).

Thus amr bil-ma’roof is a step higher than mere da’wah ilal-khair or preaching and, as such, it calls for a different methodology and approach. The word amr literally means to order, dictate, or enforce on the basis of authority. This necessitates, at the societal or state level, a change or revolutions in the whole power structure so that the morally good and right is implemented and enforced with the authority of governmental institutions. Supporting evidence for this is also provided by the fact that the expression amr bil-ma’roof was first used in Surah Al-Hajj when the Prophet (SAW) and his Companions (RAA) were obliquely given the glad tiding of political power. English translation of ayah 41 of this Surah reads:

(They are) those who, if we establish them in the land, organize regular prayer and give regular charity, enjoin the right and forbid wrong.. .(Al-Hajj 22:41).

Soon after the revelation of this Surah, the foundations of an Islamic state were laid in Medinah, and the Prophet (SAW) began to enforce the laws of Shari’ah and religious practices in the capacity of a political ruler. However, it may be noted that full and total authority in the Arabian peninsula was achieved only after the conquest of Makkah, some ten years latter.

A very important point must be clearly appreciated and understood by all of us at this juncture. Absence of Islamic political power at the state level does not imply that the Qur’anic injunction of amr bil-ma’roof has no scope or relevance for Muslims. Each individual Muslim who wields power over some persons in his home, factory, office, or business establishment, is under obligation to act upon this injunction. He or she must enforce religious and moral commandments upon his or her subordinates and dependents. If need be, even force or moderate punishment may be resorted to in this regard. No true Muslim can absolve himself of this obligation of amr bil-ma’roof (of course, within the sphere of his/her authority) on the pretext that this duty can be discharged only by the Muslim political leadership of the State. Complete and total observance of Islamic law and morality, no doubt, is possible only when a change or revolution in favor of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s (SAW) Sunnah is brought about by the Islamic revivalist movement in the country’s leadership. This all-important point was very clearly realized and forcefully presented by late Maulana Sayyid Abul A’la Maududi — one of the chief influential writers and leaders of the contemporary Islamic resurgence. I shall here quote a long relevant passage from his Tehreek-e-Islami ki Akhlaqi Bunyadain rendered into English by Khurram Murad. These lines will put into bold relief the difference between da’wah and amr bil-ma’roofi

The objective of the Islamic movement, in this world, is revolution in leadership. A leadership that has rebelled against God and His guidance and is responsible for the suffering of mankind has to be replaced by a leadership that is God-conscious, righteous and committed to following Divine guidance. Striving to achieve this noble purpose, we believe, will secure God’s favor in this world and in the next. It is regrettable that both Muslims and non-Muslims have tended to lose sight of the significance of this revolution. Muslims all too often consider it necessary only from the point of view of political expediency, and have no appreciation of its central place in their religion. Non-Muslims, partly from prejudice and partly from lack of information, do not understand that ungodly leadership is at the root of the evils afflicting humanity, and that it is essential for human well-being that the affairs of the world should be directed by moral and God-fearing people. Whenever corruption is let loose in the world, whenever injustice is done, whenever tyranny or oppression exists, whenever poison flows in the veins of human culture, economic life, and politics, whatever misuse of resources and human knowledge for destruction instead of welfare and enlightenment there may be, the reason is bad leadership. There is no lack of good and high-minded people in society; the problem is that power is concentrated in the hands of people immersed in materialism and ungodliness. To change this situation it is not enough to preach sermons, exhort people to obey and worship God or to invite them to adopt high moral standards. Rather it is necessary for morally-just people to search each other out and strive to achieve enough collective power to wrest control of society from the morally corrupt. What is needed to change the centre of power and authority is effort. The revolution requires a coming together of the righteous in a common cause. (The Islamic Movement Dynamics of Values, Power and Change; Edited by Khurram Murad)

After having understood the first two objectives for which the Muslim Ummah should earnestly work for and the subtle but crucial difference between them, let us now move on to discuss at length the third one as delineated by the ayah — viz., nahee anil-munkar or forbidding people from all that is morally bad and evil. Unfortunately, a large majority of religiously devout and noble people remain unmoved at the sight of evil deeds and morally wrong actions. They just remain complacent or unconcerned while people are engaged in un-Islamic activities. They think that only inviting them to good and virtuous actions through advice and sermon is enough and something worth doing. The truth, on the other hand, is that I can at least cite nine such places from the Qur’an where inviting or calling people to good and forbidding and stopping them from evil have been mentioned jointly. They have been mentioned together so constantly that it seems as if the two are integral aspects of one single activity or two parts of one organic whole. Or else, one is, as it were, concomitant to the other. For example, in Surah Luqman, among the advice given by Luqman to his son, we read:

0 my dear son! Be constant in prayer, and enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and bear in patience whatever (ill) may befall thee. (Luqman 31:17)

How much nahee anil-munkar is important and how much emphasis was put on it by the Prophet (SAW) can be seen in the light of two Ahadith from Sahih Muslim — one of the most authentic collections of Prophetic traditions. The first hadith goes like this:

Abu Said Al-Khudri (RAA) says that Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said: If any of you sees some wrong he should change it with his hand; if he is unable to do so, then with his tongue; if he cannot do even that, then with his heart; and that is the weakest Iman.

A dose and thoughtful perusal of this Prophetic saying brings out the following noteworthy points:

1. In this hadith there is no mention of amr bil-ma’roof or enjoining the good. This means that nahee anil-munkar, i.e., changing or stopping the evil, is an independent and equally significant activity in the value-structure and obligations of our faith. A religiously wrong or evil action is in fact a transgression of the limits laid down by the Creator, and, as such, a true and faithful believer cannot remain passive or unconcerned on the violation of Divine commandments.
2. Changing or stopping evil with one’s hand obviously means that all available power and authority should be used in curbing wrong action and routing out evil from the society. If there is an Islamic government in the county, it is its duty and responsibility to use all its force to eliminate un-Islamic practices. But in case the government remains complacent in this regard, it is the duty of all true Muslims to force people to shun evil and loathsome actions within the sphere in which they can exercise authority. For example, a father or an employer should use a reasonable amount of force in correcting such subordinates who indulge in immoral and forbidden activities.
3. If neither the State authorities discharge their duties with regard to nahee anil-munkar nor an individual Muslim can muster the power to check all that is wrong, he must, as the second best alternative, verbally denounce it and ask or request the person concerned to give it up. In the present age this will also include writing and publishing in the print media articles condemning un-Islamic patterns of behavior so that public opinion is mobilized against the evil. Indeed, “changing or stopping the evil with tongue” involves all the variegated moves of protest and agitation permissible in a democratic set-up. Both individuals in their private capacity and Islamic groups collectively should use all their resources of speech and printed word for increasing people’s awareness and sensibility against satanic tendencies of thought and action. They should do this boldly, remaining undaunted by the criticism and harassment of the general public or government.
4. In case social and political conditions in a place are so repressive that a truly committed Muslim cannot even use his tongue or pen in denouncing the evil, then he should at least feel pain inwardly. He should feel disgusted and condemn evil with his heart. Far from showing apathy, he must feel disturbed and perturbed. This will itself be a pointer to the fact that the person has Iman or faith, even though minimal and of the lowest degree. The word ad’af used in the had ith is of the superlative degree and as such signifies the “weakest” or the “faintest.” In another Prophetic saying instead of the expression “that is the lowest Iman,” the following description has been used: “and after this, Iman is not present even in as meager a quantity as a small grain.” That is to say, if one of the attitudes out of the above three is not adopted by a Muslim, it would mean that true faith and Iman is almost nonexistent in the core of his heart.
5. The three attitudes mentioned and the corresponding states of Iman are not to be measured and judged by any external observer. No objective formula can be used in determining the faith-state of a person. Each individual Muslim can be a judge in his or her own case and choose the best and the highest possible course of nahee anil-munkar. It all depends on the intensity and depth of one’s Iman and the degree of one’s commitment to the cause of Islam. Each individual Muslim himself can measure these for himself. Nobody else can do it for him or make a wholly correct judgment upon his assessment. Nevertheless, the inward state of one’s Iman is reflected by the external attitude and behavior. For example if a person keeps silent or remains passive when his father or mother is publicly disgraced, this attitude of his is a sure indication of his unconcern or apathy towards his parents. Or else it shows that he lacks courage or even that he is impudent or disrespectful. If a person is not shameless but somehow lacks the means to physically counteract or defend, at least his face will become red with rage, exhibiting utter disgust and displeasure.

The example given in the preceding paragraph also sheds light in a parallel way on the degree and depth of a Muslim’s commitment to Islam and Iman. If he is not in a position to check and physically stop anti-Islamic actions, he protests against them using all the means at his command. He is even ready to face the atrocities of State agencies like baton-charging and firing. Indeed, his greatest desire is to lay down his life for the cause of Islam. The last part of the had ith under consideration — “and that is the weakest Iman” implicitly demands that Muslims as a collectivity should try their utmost to acquire strength and power so as to completely eradicate evil from the society.

Now let us study closely the text of the second hadith:

Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud (RAA) says that Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said: There was never a prophet sent before me by Allah (SWT) to his nation who had not among his people (his) disciples and companions, who followed his ways and obeyed his commands. Then there came after them their successors who said what they did not practise and did what they were not commanded to do. He who struggles against them with his hand (i.e., physically), he is the believer; and he who struggles against them with his tongue, he is the believer; and he who struggles against them with his heart, he is also the believer: but beyond that there is not even a grain of Iman.

In this long hadith the Holy Prophet (SAW) starts by mentioning the fact that whenever Allah (SWT) sent a messenger to a people, he would get from amongst them some disciples or companions who truly acted upon God’s commandments and followed the messenger’s example. This would continue for a few generations and then religious fervor would gradually start diminishing. Moral purity preached by the prophet and his companions gradually declines and gives place to degeneration and innovation. (And, as a matter of truth, each innovative addition to Islam replaces an action enunciated by the Qur’an and Sunnah.) The later generations of so-called believers have been very aptly described by the Prophet (SAW) thus: “…people who say what they do not practise and do what they have not been commanded to do.” And this is all the more true about we Muslims living in the 15th century after Hi jrah. Temporally, we are so far removed from the times of the Holy Prophet (SAW) and the Companions (RAA) that there is tremendous deviation from ideal Islam as projected by the teachings of the Qur’an and the Prophet (SAW). And the present hadith is a darion call for changing and stopping all that is disliked and disapproved by the Creator of the universe.

This hadith too is a pointer to three levels of nahee anil-munkar, exactly in the same manner and order of priority as were delineated by the had ith discussed earlier. The three levels are:

1. Struggling against evil and un-Islamic actions with hand;
2. struggling against them with tongue; and
3. struggling against them with heart.

The first two have already been explained in the above paragraphs. Some additional points with respect to the third level should be noted here. Disliking the evil inwardly and struggling against it with one’s heart necessarily implies that a true and committed Muslim will not develop warm and close relationship with those indulging in un-Islamic practices. But if he does not do that, he will be generally taken to endorse or accept the un-Islamic practices and thus lose the whole point of his protest against them. Indeed, according to another had ith of the Prophet (SAW), such a complacent and “liberal” Muslim gradually ceases to have even passive inward disapprobation of evil practices, and himself starts indulging in them openly. Serious notice of this point should be taken by all of us. The criterion and the norm for all our likes and dislikes and for all our social relations and friendships should be Islam, and nothing else.

The last assertion of the Prophet (SAW) in the above mentioned hadith is particularly noteworthy. The words “…beyond that there is not even a grain of Iman” should provide an impetus to all God-fearing Muslims for deep thinking and soul¬searching. They should assess their own Iman in the light of this had ith and should refrain from making a judgment about others. Earlier, in this essay, we have endeavored to state clearly the distinction between Islam and Iman and so we can, at this juncture, very well appreciate the point that the Iman that is being negated here is the true faith and Iman of the heart or inner self. A man failing in the said requirements or performatives would not cease to be a Muslim in the strict legal sense of the term. However, on the Day of Judgment only true inner conviction and Iman would be of significance in winning a man his salvation and felicity. It will be the real basis of final loss or gain as we read in Surah Al-Taghabun:

The Day that He assembles you (all) for a day of Assembly — that will be the day of mutual loss and gain (among you); and those who believe in God and work righteously, He will remove from them their sins and admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow to dwell therein forever; that will be the supreme achievement (Al¬Taghabun 64:9).

The most significant point of the had ith should be kept very dearly in mind. The Holy Prophet (SAW) has enjoined upon all Muslims to struggle against evils, in particular those perpetrated and supported by the so-called Muslim rulers and heads of governments in Muslim countries. Since they control the print and electronic media and other influential agencies, they can very effectively promote un-Islamic ideas and practices in the society. In the had ith, the Prophet (SAW) has explicitly mentioned the gradual decline of religious and moral fervor particularly in persons at the helm of communal affairs, and has commanded the true believers to reform and correct them. Similarly, religious scholars and spiritual leaders are also covered by this category as they too influence the populace through their teachings and example. And if they go wrong, misconceptions and false notions may spread very widely. As already explained above, this had ith behoves all committed and true Muslims to mobilize their resources to the full and employ all the variegated forms of protest and non-violent agitation —rights of which are guaranteed to them by the democratic set-up — to struggle against the evil-mongers and anti-Islam agents. A recourse here to the technicalities of Khuruj (i.e., revolt or uprising against the established political authority) is simply besides the point and pure (and idle!) scholastic academicism that kills the dynamism and religious activism required for Islamic revival.

In the Light of Surah A1-Asr:

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. By (the Token of) Time (through the Ages),

2. Verily Men are In a state of loss,

3. Except those who have Faith, And do righteous deeds, And join together In the mutual teaching Of Truth, and of  Patience and Constancy.

FOREWORD

This booklet includes two papers on the same topic. The first one was published in the monthly ‘MEESAQ’ Lahore in 1966. The second is a speech which was delivered before a gathering of the staff and senior students of Aitchison College, Lahore (Pakistan). The speech was taped by the Principal, and was transcribed later. It appeared in the monthly ‘MEESAQ’ of June, 1973. The Principal of Aitchison College also published it and distributed it freely. I pray that these sincere efforts of the former Principal of Aitchison College may be accepted by Allah, and may He shower His blessings on him in this world and in the Hereafter. Both the articles are now being published together by Markazi Anjuman Khuddamul Quran, Lahore.

As the topic of both articles is the same, naturally there might be some repetition. It might be asked what was the necessity of publishing both of them. In this connection it may be pointed out that the style and standard of both differ in many respects. The first one is a written document in which, leaving aside the mental horizon of readers, the thoughts have been expressed smoothly and fluently in a particular style of writing and in a special linguistic tone.

The second article is basically a speech and its style portrays the sense of the spoken discourse and the language used is comparatively simpler. In this way the combination of these two articles, it is hoped, has enhanced its utility and efficacy.

Secondly, when studied seriously, it would become clear that wherever something has been repeated, it has also brought out a new point and there are many important items, which are either in the first one and absent in the other and vice versa. Both these articles are based on the sole aim, that is: to explain to Muslims the correct doctrine of eternal salvation and deliverance, and the practical demands of the Islamic faith. For this objective, I have compiled a selected course of the Holy Quran, the starting point of which is Surah AI-’Asr. If Allah so wishes and gives us the means, we intend to bring out the entire course in the form of such booklets for our readers.

Dr. lsrar Ahmad,
Founder President,
Markazi Anjuman Khuddamul Quran,
Lahore

THE WAY TO SALVATION IN THE LIGHT OF SURAH AL-’ASR

SURAH AL-’ASR, a very early Makkan surah is one of the shortest surahs of the Quran. The words used in this surah are also commonly used in Urdu and are familiar to those who have a fair knowledge of this language. This is why a sketchy meaning of the surah is grasped without much difficulty by every Urdu-knowing individual. But studied and pondered over at a deeper level, this Surah opens up a treasure house of knowledge and wisdom.

As a matter of fact, there is a striking analogy between this surah and Surah Al-Ikhlas. Surah Al-’Asr sums up in a few concise words the way and practical guidance that leads to eternal success and salvation just as Surah Al-Ikhlas delineates in a few words the nature and unity of Godhood in Islam. Though very short and compact, both of these surahs are extremely rich in meaning relating to their respective themes. On this ground Maulana Hamid-ud-Din Farahi has categorized Surah Al-’Asr as an aphorism of great wisdom, whereas lmam Al-Sha’feii maintained that a deep and thoughtful study of this surah alone provides adequate guidance for attaining one’s salvation.

This surah is composed of three verses. The second verse is of central importance in meaning and significance. This verse expresses the painful and tragic state of man generally, a state of loss and deprivation. The evidence for this is presented in the first verse, in the form of an oath or adjuration. The third verse of the surah carves out an exception from the general condition of man laid down in the second verse.

In this way, this surah is clearly divided into two parts. Its first part ‘By fleeting time, verily man is doomed (or destined) to loss and ruin’—consists of a statement and its proof and as such is of immense philosophical significance, whereas the second part of the surah —‘Save those who believe, and do righteous deeds, and unite for the sake of truth and steadfastness’—is of utmost practical importance, giving the essential requirements and conditions of a successful life, a precise but nevertheless complete and comprehensive elucidation of the ‘right path’.

BIG IMPACT

It is not my aim to write down, in the following pages, an exegetical explanation of this surah, firstly because this venture calls for greater scholarship and deeper insight than I can claim and, secondly, because in my opinion Maulana Hameed-ud-Din Farahi has already done full justice to the elucidation and exposition of the profound meaning of this surah. In the following discussion an attempt has been made merely at explaining some general principles of the surah and, in particular, some crucial points of its second part so that a detailed and synoptic view of the obligations and duties that Islam enjoins upon us is put in bold relief.

If we look at this surah as a whole, we realize that the note of warning and admonition is much more pronounced than the conditions for hope given at the end. Firstly, its very opening statement produces a big impact on the reader. The words ‘By (the token of) time, verily man is in a state of loss even if considered only in their vocal effect, are capable of giving a big jolt and arousing the listener from his slumber. A full realization of its meaning must produce a still more potent effect.

Secondly; the statement, ‘Verily man is doomed to failure’, has been laid down as an all-compassing and categorical assertion. On the other hand, the verse starting with the words, ‘except those who have faith. . .‘ grants an exception to the general statement. This is tantamount to saying that whereas the loss or doom of man is almost a universal truth, salvation is an exception to be achieved by only a few.

A statement very similar to this has been made in Surah At-Teen (XCV). The verse of this surah, “Then we reduced him to the lowest of the low” describes the depraved condition of mankind as a whole, while the next part of this verse ‘Save those who believe and do good deeds’ marks out the persons saved from the state of depravity.

But in Surah At-Teen two optimistic points have been made to lighten the note of warning. One, prior to, “Then we reduced him to the lowest of the low” a re-assurance of the primordial goodness of man has been given in these words:

“Surely we created man in the best of moulds”. Two, immediately after the words “Save those who believe and do good deeds”, a heart-warming promise of eternal salvation has been made in the same verse, ‘and theirs is a reward unfailing’. In Surah AI-’Asr, on the contrary, not only there is no reassurance of man’s creation ‘in the best of moulds’, but also it lacks a positive promise of an ‘unfailing reward’. It ends with a mere statement of the possibility of deliverance from loss and ruin. Further, in Surah At-Teen only two conditions have been laid that exempt one from falling into a depraved state i.e., belief and good deeds, Surah Al-‘Asr demands for the exemption from universal ruin, in addition to faith and good deeds, two stringent requirements of faith—exhorting one another to truth and exhorting one another to endurance.

A statement of Prophet Jesus is very helpful in understanding a subtle difference in the subject matter of Surah At-Teen and Swift Al-’Asr. In the famous Sermon of the Mount he said:

“Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones who go in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading to life, and few are the ones who find it”

Surah At-Teen and Surah Al-’Asr both contain a reference to the two paths alluded to by Jesus. The main emphasis of Surah Al-’Asr is on that broad path which the large majority of humanity is treading in its blind worship of carnal desires, gratification of sex and hunger, belief in ”wishful thinking” and polluted traditions and unauthentic existence, coming nearer every moment to a dreadful end of an eternal doom. On the contrary, the light of Surah At-Teen is converging on the other type of path, which, though narrow and followed by a handful of men, ultimately leads to ‘openness’ and eternal success and well being.

When a thoughtful and sensitive person would think in the light of Surah A/-’Asr about the wretched plight of so many and visualize the doom they shall meet, he may well be overwhelmed by a deep sense of dejection and hopelessness. It is just possible that he might lose faith in the natural and primordial goodness of man. In the darkness of this stark pessimism, Surah At-Teen appears as a shining ray of hope and confidence. In its light we have a glimpse of some pious and saintly persons following the right path, and also the evidence of man’s natural and original goodness and his potential for the pinnacle of excellence. And this quells the darkness of pessimism, giving a man self-confidence and hope about his future.

The universal truth, “Verily man is doomed” has been supported by the equally comprehensive evidence, ‘By (the token of time’. This is so because the substantive proposition and its evidence are both almost universal and open to common observation. On the other hand, the rather little known truth expressed in the verse ‘Surely we created man in the best of moulds’ has been instantiated by a few holy persons who walked under the ‘fig and olive trees’, or conversed with the Lord on the Mount of Sinai, or were witness to the spiritual greatness of man in the City of Security.

The thundering call of ‘By (the token of) time’ jolts the mind of a sensitive and thoughtful person out of absorption in his petty personal involvements, and presents to him the vast panorama of world history as unfolded in time. The primary purpose of this adjuration, therefore, is to make the reader ponder over the deeper meaning and value of the vicissitudes of world history.

The truth of the matter is that complete preoccupation with the demands of his immediate environments and personal problems is a manifestation of man’s intellectual bankruptcy. In this way the entire expanse of his conscious being is often confined to these demands, and he is rendered incapable of any intuitive illumination emanating from his inner-most self or comprehension of the astounding signs (‘ayat’ in Quranic terminology) present throughout the universe. Very insignificant and minor issues of daily life are blown quite out of proportion, and he exhausts all his time and energy in struggling for trifles and petty desires. The Holy Quran has delineated two ways that help a person in coming out of this mental and psychological confinement. First, the way of attaining the ultimate truth through a deep soul-searching, a listening to the affirmations of one’s inner self. Second, the way of reflecting and meditating on the signs found in the cosmos and the clear testimonies provided by history. The contents of Surah Al‘Asr guide us to this latter way.

It is only due to sheer negligence or insensitivity that we take time to be something static. On the contrary, everything, which exists today in the world, will perish before long. Similarly, human beings who are busy now in managing the manifold activities of a full life, will in a matter of few years yield place to other generations. The fleeting passage of time is itself a warning to unmindful persons and should be sufficient to bring home to them that they and all their  worldly pursuits will shortly come to an end. Our short lease of life is expiring rapidly, and after a little while we will disappear in the mist of past.

CHANGES

Time is the greatest teacher and mentor of man. It is labeled in oriental lore as “Falak-i-Peer” (the old heaven). In the bosom of time are contained tremendous accounts of nations’ rise and fall which can be of great significance and value for people living now on earth. This planet has seen hundreds of nations in the past, rising slowly towards eminence, consolidating their power for sometime and then degenerating and falling into oblivion. How many nations took shape, reached their climax and then vanished without a trace! Dozens of civilizations saw the light of day and, after touching the summit of success and fame, decayed and were annihilated. Billions and billions of human beings were born into this world and after having passed through the stages of adolescence, youth, and old age, returned to dust.

Thousands built big empires by means of massive military campaigns and conquests, some even went to the extent of claiming divine and god-like status for themselves, and ordered their subordinates to worship them. But at last they were all drowned in the ocean of time.

The great historical episodes, alluded to by the Quran in the brief ‘By (the token of) time’ were studied and expounded in great depth and detail by scholars and commentators of the Holy Book. This particular attempt towards understanding the meaning of the Quran assumed the status of a separate branch of Quranic studies and was termed by Shah Waliullah of Delhi (RA) as ‘Tazkeer bi Ayyamillah’ which means reminding or instructing the reader of the Book by means of recounting the moral lessons inherent in the events of past history.

The Quranic verse, ‘Verily men are in a state of loss’, epitomizes the undeniable tragedy to which relics of history spread all around the world bear witness. The real bitterness of this tragic fact will however be experienced only in the life Hereafter. It is something to be commended that very few persons have been gifted with a really keen and sensitive heart, otherwise thousands of men like Buddha, at the sight of mankind’s misery and exceedingly unhappy plight, might have turned their back on worldly pleasures and gone into ascetic hide-outs. On examining rather critically and attentively the human condition, one will come to realize that inspite of hard labour all day long, millions of the unprivileged classes do not even get an adequate meal. There are tens of thousands of people who see their relatives and dear ones dying before their eyes but cannot afford a spoonful of medicine that might help in curing the disease. An unaccountable number of human beings do not possess even the bare minimum of clothing and shelter. Terrible and heart-rending afflictions are suffered by many.

Even the bright exterior of the life of men of privilege and wealth only covers up their own tales of woe. Often the travail and suffering of these men are more dreadful than that of the common run of people. Lnspite of having all conceivable luxuries of life, they crave for an anxiety-free moment during the day and for peaceful sleep at night.

In this stage of terrestrial existence the condition of most men is as pitiable as that of animals which are mercilessly forced to carry back-breaking burdens throughout their life. Taking a more judicious view of things, one can say that pangs of psychic anxiety and bouts of spiritual agony suffered by human beings are much greater in intensity than the purely bodily pains which, animals suffer.

But, still worse, man will see the climax of his tragedy when, having experienced all these worldly hardship, grief and afflictions, he will at last be brought before Almighty Allah for the last reckoning of his deeds. The Quran describes this in these words:

‘O thou man ! Verily thou art ever toiling on towards thy Lord—painfully toiling–but thou shalt meet Him’ (LXXXIV: 6)

At that crucial moment of great trial man will cry out:

‘Would that I were dust’! The noblest souls of all humanity tremble and quiver at the very thought of that final trial and some men even wish they were like a sparrow chirping on a tree or like a straw of grass (so they might not be called to account for on the day of Judgement).

At that critical moment the reality of the verse ‘Verily, man is in a state of loss’ will become manifest in the highest degree, and the large majority of human beings will say in utter despair: ‘If only my mother had not given birth to me’. As the Quranic verse tells us the most real and obvious loss is the loss met on that Day in the life hereafter.

The last verse of Surah Al-’Asr “save those who believe, do good deeds and exhort one another to uphold the truth and exhort one another to constancy”, delineates the sole means of deliverance from eternal hell-fire. It is, therefore, imperative that we should exercise utmost diligence in understanding the full meaning of this verse.

Since this verse is inseparably linked with the preceding one “Verily man is in a state of loss”, it must be studied principally in this context. Both these verses describe most clearly and distinctly the all-important truth that the success of human life depends upon the following:

1. ‘Iman’ or belief (in the metaphysical tenets of Islam).
2. ‘AmaI-e-Saleh’ or good deeds.
3. ‘Twasi bil-Haq’ or mutual exhortation to truth.
4. ‘Twasi bis-Sabr’ or mutual exhortation to constancy and steadfastness.

DESTRUCTION

Life without fulfilling these four inevitable conditions leads to eternal destruction. However, bright or glittering a man’s worldly success might be, it is no success if he lacks the above four conditions. These verses present a criterion of man’s ultimate triumph and failure which is diametrically opposed to the one prevalent in present day materialistic society. A thorough grasp of the meaning of these verses and a deep conviction of their veracity must necessarily result in a total transvaluation of values regarding life’s aims and achievements. If all that man cherishes most-political power, social status, affluence, availability of resources, high-ranking posts, well-established business, shining limousines, and big palatial buildings—are unaccompanied by the above mentioned four conditions; then they must be a preamble to eternal torment.

The only thing that can possibly save a man from everlasting doom is a real transformation of his nature, one which reforms his mind and heart and radically changes his perspective to conform to these four items, which collectively constitute the indispensable minimum requirements of human salvation. And this is only sufficient for the deliverance from destruction and not necessarily enough for the attainment of lofty stations in paradise. The Quran is not the work of a poet who says many things simply for the sake of adding elegance to the composition or under the necessity of rhythm and rhyme, but the word of God Almighty, and each word is precise and full of true wisdom. It contains nothing else but ‘Haqq’ or the truth, not allowing any addition or diminution whatsoever. If we eliminate even a single of the above mentioned stipulations, the responsibility of the Quran in respect of our salvation stands null and void and it will be sheer self-deception if we consider ourselves as the rightful recipients of the Quranic promise.

TRUTH

It is most unfortunate that, in the present age of religious degeneration and decline, we have become completely ignorant of this truth. A large majority of Muslims today assumes that belief (Iman) is the sole condition of a man’s success on the Day of Judgement, and hence takes belief in a strictly legal sense. Those who are a little more sensible and knowledgeable also take good deeds as an essential requirement in addition. But even a good number of learned religious persons nowadays consider ‘mutual exhortation to truth’ and ‘mutual exhortation to constancy and steadfastness’ as secondary of supererogatory conditions to be fulfilled only by those desirous of exceptionally higher positions in the Hereafter. May people study and ponder over Surah Al‘Asr afresh and get to know with full conviction that the Quran has very clearly and unambiguously made human salvation to depend upon four conditions:

1. Belief.
2. Good deeds.
3. Mutual exhortation to uphold the truth, and
4. Mutual exhortation to constancy.

Let us take another step and concentrate our attention on these four points separately so as to get a better comprehension of their profound meaning. The first most important point that comes out on a closer study is that these four things are not to be compared with the four independent items of, for example, a medical compound but rather they are four stages on the road that leads to salvation, four milestones of one single path of truth. They have within themselves an organic unity, and logically imply each other. True belief (lman) is a prelude to righteous action which itself is a preliminary to mutual teaching of truth(Twasi bill-haqq). And this in turn is a forerunner of mutual teaching of steadfastness (Twasi bis-sabr). Deeply entrenched and rightly-nurtured belief and faith must necessarily blossom into righteous life and conduct. Further, if a true believer lived only for himself, he will not have fulfilled his whole duty. Whatever good he possesses, especially moral and spiritual truth, he must disseminate among his brethren, so that they may also see the truth and stand by it in patient hope and unshaken constancy amidst all the storm and stress of worldly life. An essential consequence of righteous life is the teaching of truth to others and this necessitates uniting together and exhorting one another to patience and endurance in facing the forces of evil.

Reflecting on the reality and pristine nature of faith and belief i.e., ‘Iman~ leaving aside its politico-social aspects and legal or theological controversies, we come to know that faith connotes a particular mode of ones s mind or psyche (nafs or qulb) which is governed by a recognition of the oneness and unity of God, the reality of prophet hood and the life Hereafter. This state of mind reigns over one’s entire being, one’s faculties of head and heart, so that his desires, emotions and actions all harmonize with this knowledge.

In a word, it does away with disunion and duplicity in cognition and volition, and produces, concordance between them. The essence of genuine belief therefore, lies in a complete co-ordination of a man ‘s knowledge of ultimate truths and his will and actions. The real fruit of ‘Iman’ is the tranquility of mind that a believer experiences as a consequence of this harmony. As long as a man’s religious belief remains merely an idea untranslated into action, he will not have attained true belief or ‘Iman~ Summing up his excellent discussion of belief Maulana Hamid-ud-Din Farahi writes:

“Belief or ‘Iman’ refers to a particular mental and spiritual state which rules over a man’s total creed and actions…. it has two pillars : knowledge and action. If we pull down either one of the two, the entire edifice will collapse. A man who is well-versed in theological doctrines such as God’s Providence, and in all the principles and details of Islamic faith, but continues to indulge in sinful and forbidden (haram) activities, he does not have an iota of that belief or ‘Iman’ which alone is creditable in the sight of Allah (SWT).  ( Mujmuoe-e-Tafaasir-e-Farahi Page -350 )

If this is the nature of faith, then righteous action is a corollary, or, if you prefer, an essential consequence of faith and from the absence of righteous deeds and the actual manifestations of belief, one can rightly infer the lack of faith. A Quranic verse describes this situation thus:

“The desert Arabs say, ‘we have faith’. Say Ye have no faith; but ye (only) say, ‘We have submitted our wills to God’, for not yet has faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey God and his apostle, He will not belittle aught of your deeds for God is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (XLI 14).

Belief (Iman) and righteous deeds are so closely united and inter-twined that the latter can be treated as a sine qua non of the former. Indeed to consider the two as one and the same thing is not wholly unjustified.

Understanding the Quranic term ‘AmaI-i-Saleh’ —righteous or good deeds — requires deep thought and reflection. The Quran includes under this blanket term all its moral and legal teachings, including the laws of individual and social conduct. It also makes an allusion to the fact that the secret of man’s real development and progress lies in performing these very acts. Righteous deeds alone can guarantee the growth of man’s natural capacities and potentialities on the right lines. To quote Maulana Farahi again:

“Almighty Allah has designated good and righteous deeds with the word ‘SaIehat~ This term itself guides us to the great truth that the whole of man’s development and rectitude — be it outward or inner, worldly or spiritual, personal or collective, bodily or intellectual — depends upon good and righteous deeds. Righteous action is life-giving and a source of maturity and enhancement. By means of good deeds alone man can attain those highest stages of development to which he aspires by nature …  This point can be put in alternative words thus: Since man is an integral part of the total scheme of universe, only those of his deeds will be righteous which accord with the grand design on which the universe has been fashioned by its Creator”.

TWO SIDES

And so, belief and faith is simply a complete consonance between a man’s true knowledge of the Absolute and his thoughts, ideas, emotions and passions. And righteousness of action is the co-ordination which human actions should have with the Divine will, the will that animates and sustains the cosmos. Belief and righteous deeds are two aspects or facets of one and the same reality, two sides of a single picture. This is the reason why the Quran usually mentions these two together.

There are very few cases in the Quran where belief alone has been mentioned, and even in these cases we can most often, on deeper reflection, discover an implicit reference to the moral and practical obligations that genuine faith must entail.

Let us press our inquiry a step further. It is almost a truism that man is a social animal. There is always an interaction between him and the surrounding social reality. He influences his environment and receives its influence. This can be illustrated by considering an example. Just as fire warms the objects around it while ice freezes what surrounds it, a man’s righteous deeds have a wholesome and ennobling influence upon others. Similarly, immoral actions tend to degrade and disintegrate the world. If evil is rampant in a society, a righteous person must struggle hard to ward off its influence. So mutual exhortation to truth (twasi-biI-haqq) and mutual exhortation to stead-fastness (twasi-bis-sabr) must necessarily ensue from true belief (Iman) and righteous deeds. Just as true belief and righteous actions go together, so uniting in truth and in constancy to it are inseparabl.

Maulana Farahi elaborates the relation between righteous conduct and mutual exhortation (twasi) in these words

“Just as ‘lman’ gives rise to righteous deeds, so righteous deeds necessarily give rise to mutual encouragement to truth. This is so quite understandably because a person, whose adherence to the truth can make him endure the worst possible trial and affliction, must consider his knowledge of the truth and fidelity to it as superior to everything else”.

TRUTH

He will not rest content merely with his own love of the truth but rather will also wish to see the whole world adhering to it. Wherever he sees the truth trampled upon and falsehood triumphant, he will be moved tremendously, and try to persuade his fellows to support the truth. This defense of his convictions is a natural and essential consequence of his own sentiment. Therefore, Allah has here mentioned ‘twasi’ (mutual exhortation) as an implication of ‘amal-i-saleh’ (righteous deed). Maulana Farahi has thus explained the literal meaning of the word ‘Truth’ or (Haqq):

Truth, though originally it signified anything existent, stable, and fixed , in actual usage has acquired a variety of meanings. It is generally used to mean the following three:

1. Anything the existence or occurrence of which is absolutely sure.
2. Anything rationally proved and accepted.
3. Any moral obligation.

This amply shows that the expression ‘twasi bil-haqq’ (mutual exhortation to truth) covers a wide range of activities starting from the teaching of minor moral duties and the self-evident principles of reason and established facts of the universe, to the highest and most esteemed activity, the propagation and establishment of the religion of truth (Din-aI-Haqq) which Allah (SWT) revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Maulana Farahi expressed this very explicitly in a passage:

“This brings out clearly the truth that it is incumbent on Muslims to do righteous deeds in order to fulfill their obligations (to the Almighty). This fulfillment further necessitates that they help each other in executing their religious and moral duties. Since execution of all the duties and obligations laid down by Allah (SWT) is not possible without ‘Khilafat’ (Islamic Government and justice), it is imperative that they strive to establish it”

Now only one step remains to be explored, that mutual exhortation to truth (twasi-bil-haqq) necessarily implies mutual exhortation to constancy (twasi bis-sabr). Self-restraint and constancy is required even in one’s own firm adherence to truth simply because one must exercise self-control in the face of a great many temptations, must curb his sensual appetites, and must face scores of painful disappointments and impediments. At the stage of mutual exhortation to truth (twasi-bil-haqq) much bigger trials of patience and resolution become inevitable. It is a matter of common observation that at times even propagating a minor truth puts a man to severe tests of endurance. Sticking to a right policy is sometimes as difficult as trial by fire.

History is replete with instances of torture and wanton injuries inflicted on champions of moral truths. Proclamation and dissemination of the basic truth of man’s life and obligation to God may well require proportionately greater ordeals and suffering. If an attempt is made to call all people to the fulfillment of their religious obligations and the establishment of an equitable and just order, severest opposition is sure to follow. Any one may try it for himself. He needs only start by advising people to perform ordinary and simple moral actions, and soon they will frown and become furious. Let him try to persuade somebody who has forcefully usurped the property of a poor man to give the man his due and he will see how great a resentment he must face. Let him just utter a word in support of someone oppressed, and in no time the tyrant becomes his deadly enemy. It should not take much thought to realize that demanding the fulfillment of one’s total moral obligations, fighting for an entire system of social justice and equity, and calling to the whole of ‘Din-al-Haqq’ (the true religion) can never be possible without utmost hostility and opposition.

UNITY

If an exhortation is made to uphold the truth without evil forces putting obstacles in its way, if a programmatic and concerted call is issued to establish social justice but tyrants and oppressors merely keep silent, then either the advocates of Truth have some clandestine agreement with the forces of injustice, or they are working for just a part of the Truth, not the whole of it. Men thriving upon injustice may not deem it necessary to suppress a movement towards social justice if they find that that particular part of the truth is harmless to their vested interests. But total commitment to truth and the struggle to establish it inevitably brings persecution and harassment. Every step on this path invites ever greater ordeals and challenges. A poet has rendered this in a beautiful couplet:

“People consider being a true Muslim an easy affair.

Nay! It is like stepping in the pyre of love and martyrdom. ”

At this stage there is no alternative for men of faith in the true religion but to unite their aspiration and energies. Encouraging and helping each other, being firm and patient themselves and exhorting others to firmness and patience, they must form a united front, what the Quran calls a ‘solid cemented structure’  In so doing, they will make themselves an embodiment of the Quranic verse:

“O Ye who believe! persevere in patience and constancy. Vie in such perseverance ; Strengthen each other. And fear God so that ye may succeed and prosper.” (III : 200)

At the stage of ‘twasi-bil-haqq’ (mutual exhortation to Truth), it is perhaps impossible for Muslims in their individual capacities to stand up to the opposition mounted against them by the evil forces. It is therefore, imperative, that they unite into a well-organized group. This is the reason why the Quran has given the injunctions regarding ‘Haqq’ and ‘Sabr’ in the Arabic grammatical form of “tafa’uI’. that is to say, in the verse ‘Wa twaso biI-Haqqe wa twaso bis-sabr’ there is an implicit reference to the necessity of a united and organized group life for Muslims. These virtues we must exercise both for ourselves and in relation to others. We must set an example for others and take the excellence of others as an example for ourselves, so that we may not fall short of what is due from us. In this way we strengthen each other and bind our mutual relations closer in common service to God. In the later part of the passage quoted above from Maulana Farahi’s book, he says, ‘-and since the establishment of ‘Khilafat’ depends on obedience to an ‘Ameer’ (the leader), it is essential that Muslims submit themselves to discipline. It is, therefore, clear that belief, righteous deeds, mutual exhortation to truth and mutual exhortation to steadfastness are not mutually exclusive. Rather, they are bound together closely in a strictly logical sequence, four stages of a single straight path.

Faith is like a seed from which sprouts the bud of righteous conduct. The bud grows into a mature plant with leaves and flowers of mutual exhortation to truth and constancy. This also explains why the Quran almost always couples faith and good deeds, even when only faith is men-tioned, the reader can easily understand that it covers in its connotation all of the four requirements. For instance, in the following verse:

‘Lo! those who say: Our Lord is Allah, and further stand straight and steadfast….’ (XLI 30)

Here only the most fundamental of Islamic beliefs, i.e., belief in the providence of Almighty Allah, has been mentioned, though, it should be taken to include the other fundamentals, such as Hazrat Muhammad’s prophet hood (peace be upon him) and the reality of life in the Hereafter. And in ‘Summa-Staqamu’ (further stand straight and steadfast) have been summed up the remaining three conditions, viz., righteous conduct, mutual exhortation of truth and mutual exhortation to persistence in truth. At other places in the Quran, in addition to the primal condition of belief only mutual exhortation has been mentioned. The following verse of Surah ‘AI.-Balad’is an example of this:

“Then will he be of those who believe and enjoin compassion”. (XXC: 17)

The truth of the matter is that all these four conditions are basic to the Quranic way that leads to eternal bliss and salvation. Elucidation and explanation of these requirements and detailed accounts of their stages and degrees are found throughout the Holy Book.

CONDITIONS

In the preceding paragraph mention has been made of stages and degrees pertaining to the several conditions of success and salvation. A point of crucial importance as it is, a few brief remarks about them are in order here. Each of the three articles of belief, righteous deeds and mutual exhor-tation of truth admits of degrees and ranks. Taking belief first, even the ordinary believer who accepts faith, that is who believes in the tenets of Islam and does good deeds, becomes a member of a great and beautiful spiritual fraternity — a company which lives perpetually in the sunshine of God’s grace.

Within itself however ‘Iman’ has a glorious hierarchy, of which two grades are specified by the Quran: the highest grade is that of the prophets, who get plenary inspiration from Allah (SWT) and who teach mankind by example and precept and that of the ‘Siddiqeen’, the most sincere lovers of truth, who support the truth with their person, their means, their influence, and all that is theirs. This second rank was held by the closest companions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), such as Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique  (RAA).

Similarly the category of righteous deed (amal-i-saleh) applies to a wide variety of actions, beginning from the very ordinary moral acts of kindness like removing a stone from a road on which men walk. In its higher reaches it is attributable to thorough obedience to Quranic injunctions covering all aspects of a Muslim’s life, including even the minor details of his personal life. It means more than just conformity to an external code of law. At its highest level it permeates all actions to attain a state of moral excellence which the Quran calls ‘ihsan’ and ‘taqwa’.

In a like manner ‘twasi bil-haqq’ has several grades. Its lowest stage is exhorting one another to perform acts of kindness and compassion, ‘twasi bil-marhama’, on occasions which arise fairly commonly in every day life. A sense of kindness and compassion has been ingrained in the nature of human beings and only the most wicked one lacks it. According to a Quranic verse, those who discourage or forbid others from feeding the poor have touched the nadir of moral depravity.

KINDNESS

A prophetic saying further elaborates this in these words:

‘He who is devoid of kindness is devoid of all good’.

A higher stage of ‘twasi bil-haqq’ is that of calling people to Allah, enjoining good and forbidding evil. A true Muslim should give clothing to the ill-clad, food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty. But the greatest benefit he can render to his fellow beings is to turn them back from moral and spiritual bankruptcy and guide them to the straight path of the Quran and Sunnah. In one’s life journey to the ultimate goal, the duty of each Muslim is to catch hold of the hand of one who goes astray from the straight path of Islam and to guide him aright. Mutual counsel gives life to actions and foster a healthy spirit among the individuals.

At a still higher stage, ‘twasi bil-haqq’ adopts the form of testifying to the truth and veracity of Islam (Shahadat-ihaqq) exalting the truth from Allah over all man-made ideologies (E’Ia-e-Kallmatillah), and establishing Islam both in the individual and social aspects of life (Iqamat-i-Din). The testimony to the truth may be by the tongue of a true preacher or the pen of a devoted scholar, or by the life of a man devoted to service. The highest and most revered form of this testimony is presented by a Muslim who leaves his house and family to fight the enemy for the cause of Allah (Jehad-fi-Sabilillah). Endurance is the greatest solace of a true Muslim while going through all the trials on account of ‘twasi bil-haqq’. Especially in the higher stages, mutual teaching and exhorting to constancy become so essential that ‘twasi-bis-sabr’ has been mentioned separately to highlight the collective and cooperative character of Muslim society.

It is no doubt difficult for all and sundry to attain the above mentioned highest stages of belief or ‘Iman’, righteous deeds, mutual exhortation of truth and mutual exhortation of patience and endurance. But if a man’s inner personality has not been corroded by some spiritual or moral ailment, it is almost certain that a healthy and potent seed of religious belief will flourish into wholesome and balanced branches of righteous actions, exhortation to truth and constancy.

It is surely excusable if a lay Muslim, who has very little knowledge of the fundamentals of Islam and performs the well known basic duties of ‘Shariah’ (Islamic code of law), confines himself to ‘twasi bil-marhama’ i.e., doing himself acts of kindness and compassion and advising others to the same, which is just the threshold of ‘twasi bil-Haqq’. But those who embark on rigorous spiritual exercises like repeated recitation of a religious formula called ‘Zikr’ to attain deeper and richer states of faith and belief, those who engage themselves in devotional prayers and ‘mustahabbat’ (some thing additional to what is obligatory of ‘farz’) but pay little attention to the more obligatory duty of ‘twasi-biI-haqq’ are seriously misguided in their attitude. Lives of these people are mostly either totally devoid of the essential religious duty of ‘twasi bll-haqq’ or they exhibit just a vestige of it in the form of occasional brief sermon or sporadic moralizing advice. This state of affairs is certainly wrong and needs to be rectified immediately. In this connection a story reported by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) puts the urgency of this duty in very bold relief. He mentioned an extremely pious old man whom the angels testified that he never indulged in sin even for as long as the blink of an eye, but who never angered or got moved at the sight of people breaking the commands of God. Despite all his piety and life-long spiritual observances, Allah ordered the angels to destroy him first and then the entire community.

On the other hand, it should also be clearly understood that it is equally dangerous to aspire and struggle for the highest stages of ‘twasi bil-haqq’ through activities geared to establishing an Islamic order of society, but taking meager interest in spiritual devotions and performing only those prayers which are obligatory (farz), and attenuate faith to a mere theological belief without realizing its deeper meaning and cultivating it inwardly. All types of unbalanced attitudes and life-styles within these two extremes are misconceived and possibly dangerous.

STRUGGLE

The sole way of salvation and deliverance from eternal damnation towards which Surah Al-’Asr points is that every human being should strive and struggle within the limits of his capacity to attain the maximum degree of faith, righteous action, enjoinment of truth and of constancy. As far as the question of determining one’s capacities is concerned, there is a simple and foolproof procedure for this which each may apply to himself.

Self deceiving and self-pitying excuses of incapability may be induced by Satan (Devil), but the honest test of self-assessment is quite simply this: each Muslim should ask himself to what extent he is exerting himself in the economic struggle of life and to what degree his capacities and potentialities, mental and physical, are becoming visible in the over-all course of mundane pursuits. If a weak, frail and ungifted person who has either met complete failure or lagged far behind in the struggle of worldly existence tenders on the Day of Judgement some excuse for his shortcoming and deficiency in spiritual attainments, he is most likely to be pardoned by the Grace of Allah. But surely those who are progressing and flourishing in worldly matters cannot legitimately make such excuses. Nor should they expect from Allah any mercy on them. A Quranic verse puts this unambi-guously in these words:

“Nay, man will be a telling witness against himself, even though he were to put forward excuses!’ (LXXV:14, 15)

COMMENTARY ON SURAH AL-’ASR
(A speech delivered at Aitchison College, Lahore)

Four Fundamental Points Regarding Surah Al-’Asr:

1. The first point is that this is one of the earliest surahs of the Glorious Quran to be revealed. It was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the earliest period of his prophet hood in Makkah.
2. The second point is that it is one of the shortest surahs of the Glorious Quran as it has only three verses, the first of which is comprised of only one word “WaI-Asr”.
3. The third point is that it is one of the most comprehensive surahs of the Glorious Quran. The Holy Quran is a book of guidance for all mankind, which has been revealed to guide mankind on the road to success and salvation. This path of salvation towards which the Holy Quran guides us has been described with utmost brevity and comprehensiveness in this short surah.The whole Glorious Quran is like a tree, and this short surah is its seed. And as a seed contains the total potentiality of a whole tree, Surah Al-’Asr contains the essence of the Holy Quran.This is why some reports of the Companions of the Holy Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them) indicate that whenever two of them met and sat together they never parted without reciting Surah AI-’Asr to each other.

   And this can be the reason why Imam Al-Sha’feii (may Allah bless him) has said about this surah that if the people were to ponder over this surah alone, it would suffice for their guidance. He has also been reported as saying that if nothing else would have been revealed in this Glorious Quran except this surah then this surah would have been sufficient for man’s guidance.

4. The fourth point is that the wording of this surah is very simple and easy to understand. The masterpieces of literature of every language are sublime in subject matter and meaning but so simple in style and wording that they can be understood by all. This is why such pieces of literature are easily accessible to everyone. The Glorious Quran is the most eminent masterpiece of Arabic literature and in its totality can be understood easily. But this short surah is the best example of the most lucid surahs of the Holy Quran. Though it is very complete and all-embracing, not a single high-sounding or elusive word has been used in it. Its words are familiar even to those who are only acquainted with Urdu or Persian, and do not know Arabic.

The Two Levels of Understanding Quran:

Before describing the significance of this surah, it is important to state the fundamental principle that the Quran can be comprehended on many levels. The real lesson which is implicit in any surah or verse of the Holy Quran should be made explicit in order that the basic guidance regarding hu-man conduct may be attained. The Glorious Quran calls this Tazakkur-bil-Quran, i.e., realizing through the Quran the fundamental truths implicit in human nature. From this point of view, the Glorious Quran is the easiest of books to understand. The highest stage of contemplation of Quranic verses has been termed Tadabbur-i-Quran, which means reflecting and pondering over every word deeply, in order to deduce the philosophy and the wisdom of the Holy Book. In this sense the Holy Quran is the most difficult of books as it is not easy to attain the depth of its meaning.

In this paper, I will describe clearly and in detail the basic guidance obtained through the application of Tazakkur-bil Quran to Surah AI-’Asr. I will also include some hints concerning Tadabbur-i-Quran so that those who are interested in the deeper contemplation of the Quran may also benefit.

The English Translation of Surah AI-’Asr:

A simple translation of the surah is as follows:

1. By Time,
2. Verily all human beings are in loss,
3. Except those who have achieved ‘Faith’, have performed Righteous deeds, and have emphasized to each other the teaching of ‘Truth’ and (the value of) ‘Patience’ (perseverance and constancy).

Analysis of the Translation:

The three verses in this surah form one complete sentence. The first verse “Wal-’Asr” is an oath. The second verse describes a general rule. The third verse describes an exception from that general rule. Combined together, all the three verses constitute a single statement.

Please implant this simple statement firmly and clearly in your mind. And by pondering over it, you should deduce four conclusions which are the basic lessons of this surah.

The Criterion of Success and Failure:

The most important truth flowing forth from this surah is Allah’s presentation of the real criterion of man’s success and failure.

Every person keeps in his mind a criterion of success and failure, of gain and loss. All his endeavours and the whole struggle of his life in this world is directed according to this criterion. An intellectually mature person is rarely found who does not have an appointed goal or an ideal before him. Even small children, specially the more intelligent ones, keep before them a standard of achievement. They concentrate their energies on the attainment of their goals.

If we were to look around in our society as well as to search our hearts and minds, we would find that in this age, the real criterion of success or failure is wealth and property, or status, honour, fame and ostentation, or worldly power. All but a few are running after these things. They expend their energies for these purposes. The minds of most of our students are directed towards obtaining degrees in science or technology, so that they may earn a lot of money or achieve status, position or power. The achievement of these things is their criterion of success or failure.

The paramount truth which comes to our minds by studying Surah Al-’Asr is very different from this. In other words, the criterion of man’s success is neither money or wealth, nor status, position, power, or ostentation. Rather its first condition is ‘Faith’, the second is ‘righteous deeds’, the third is ‘exhortation to truth’, and the fourth is ‘exhortation to patience’.

By this criterion, a person who does not possess the above four qualities is unsuccessful and will never achieve his real goal, and in the end he will be a loser, though he might be a millionaire, even a billionaire like Qarun and __ might__  have highest status, position, and power, even kingship like Pharaoh or Herod. Conversely any one who has these four prerequisites is successful and triumphant, even if he has no worldly wealth or property, and may be penniless, homeless, friendless, unknown, unhonoured and starving.

If you reflect deeply over it, you will find that acknowledging this truth is very easy, but its realization in your heart and soul is very difficult. We are living in a world of cause and effect, and we are bound to be influenced by its external features. When we see that comfort, prosperity, honour and reputation is due to wealth and worldly resources, we involuntarily rush to get these things, so much so that we forget to distinguish between right and wrong, legal and illegal, approved and forbidden. In other words, the reformation of our attitudes and the righteousness of our actions depends upon changing our criteria of our success and failure, gain and loss. This is the real lesson of this unique surah.

With a little contemplation it will become clear that if the simple truth stated in this great surah is engraved on our heart and penetrates our soul, it will revolutionize our point of view, change our values, and transform radically our day to day life. What was thought most important before will appear to be most trivial, and what was insignificant before will become significant.

The great transformation which was brought about in the lives of the Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the result of this deep-rooted change in their point of view. In their sight this world arid whatever is in it seemed insignificant as compared to the achievement of Allah’s pleasure and that of the Prophet. This is the real lesson of this magnificent surah, and everyone should keep it in mind so that it may be infused in his heart and soul.

The Minimum Conditions and Essential prerequisites of Salvation:

This surah describes only the minimum conditions and the essential prerequisites for salvation, not the highest stages of achievement, nor the lofty ranks of success and accomplishment. It explains the minimum demanded of us for our salvation. Anything less would be failure. It does not mention first or second division, grades ‘A’ or ‘B’ of success, but only states the mere passing grade, the minimum requirement for our success.

This second conclusion has very important implications for our actions. The extreme decadence of the moral and practical life of Muslims is a result of their forgetting this injunction of the Glorious Quran. The realization that this is the minimum standard of success will necessarily produce the proportionate effort, struggle, and sacrifice for achieving it. People who strive for the lofty ranks and sublime stages of religious excellence are rare. Most men only try to fulfil the minimum requirements for salvation in one way or another. This is why in this glorious surah the minimum demands of salvation have been described in simplest terms so that people may dedicate themselves to its achievement according to their capability.

All the four Conditions are indispensable:

The third conclusion is a corollary of the second one. For salvation, ‘faith’, ‘righteous deeds’, ‘exhortation of truth’, and ‘exhortation of patience’ are all necessary. None of them can be dropped. These are the words of Allah. Not a single additional word is added in it for the sake of rhyme or exaggeration. Four conditions have been stated for saving us from utter loss or failure, and certainly all four of them are necessary. If any one of them is left out, then the guarantee of man’s salvation will not rest on the Holy Quran. For example, if a medical expert writes four medicines in a prescription for a patient, and the patient leaves out any of them according to his own judgement, then the medical expert will not be responsible for the incomplete medication. The patient himself will be responsible for this error.

It is necessary to emphasize this fact, because a false notion has taken hold of the great majority of Muslims that salvation depends on the mere utterance of the declaration of ‘faith, that the mere verbal confession of ‘faith’ is sufficient for salvation, and any practical application of it to his life is an additional goodness which will elevate him to high stages. You will find very few people who think that after professing faith actively living by its dictates is necessary for salvation. Even these few people rarely regard it as necessary for everyone to take up the task of ‘exhortation to truth’. It is usually assumed that the propagation of the message of Islam is the task of a particular group only, and for others preaching is neither necessary nor suitable. Even that special group, instead of propagating the complete truth facing all the tribulations this effort brings with it, have left the path of determination and sacrifice, and made their path easier by attenuating Allah’s requirements. In this manner the whole Muslim Nation has become dominated by inactivity, stagnation, escapism, and sloth. This situation cannot change until Muslims realize that the performance of righteous deeds is essential for salvation. Even more is required. The affirmation and declaration of truth and inviting others to accept it, as well as remaining steadfast in the face of hardships and calamities for truth’s sake is also necessary. This is the truth which has been stated in this shortest but most comprehensive surah.

It is necessary to understand the rational relation between these four components. To be called a man of character implies, judging what is wrong or right in every matter, then adopting in practice whatever his heart and mind has sanctioned as right. A man must not only adopt it himself, but must declare it openly, inviting others to acknowledge and accept it. If in this connection, he faces difficulties and hardships, or has to offer sacrifices, then he must show courage and fortitude, patience and perseverance, and should never retreat or withdraw from his stand. For a man of noble character, it is not possible to adopt any other course. Otherwise he will be a coward and man of weak character, not a man of principle. This is the rational and logical sequence in these four components: (1) ‘faith’ (2) ‘righteous deeds’ (3) ‘exhortation to truth’ (4) ‘exhortation to patience and endurance’. And it is not possible for a man of strong character to try to avoid any one of these.

Eloquence with categorical Emphasis:

The fourth conclusion obtained by analyzing and paraphrasing this surah is that the above three conclusions are categorical and most emphatic in their nature and that there is no doubt concerning any of them. Our whole faith rests upon accepting the Glorious Quran as the word of Allah and accepting this word as infallible. And who can be more truthful in his statements than Allah? Moreover, Allah has not merely stated these truths, but has taken an oath for confirming their validity. This oath makes this statement more emphatic, and whatever realities are hidden in it, and whatever moral lessons are conveyed by it, are all of them delivered with complete certainty, free from all doubts and compromise. This means that mankind is unknowingly moving towards utter loss and is on the verge of destruction, with the exception of those who have fulfilled these four conditions of ‘faith’, ‘righteous deeds’, ‘exhortation to truth’, and ‘exhortation to patience’, and ha passed all tests and ordeals which come in the way of fulfilling these conditions.

These are the four basic conclusions which can be drawn by contemplating on this glorious surah. In fact this is the gist of Surah Al-’Asr, according to the practice of Tazakkur-bil-Quran in order to obtain its basic meaning.

Now I want you to study and understand every word of this surah rather in depth, in order to make clear that inspire of its simple wording great realities are concealed in it, and gems of wisdom and prudence are hidden in it.

The Real Meaning of “Wal-’Asr”:

Let us take the word “Wal-’Asr” which we have simply translated as ‘taking an oath by time’.

The real meaning of ‘Asr’ is not only time, but a period which passes swiftly. In Arabic language the two words ‘Asr’ (        )and ‘Dahr’ (        ) are very comprehensive. In both of them, not only time, but time-space complex is implied. Curiously enough in the Glorious Quran, there are surahs with the title of both ‘Asr’ and ‘Dahr. The word ‘Dahr’ connotes the vastness of the space-time continuum, or in the terminology of modern philosophy, absolute time or pure duration. The word ‘Asr’ connotes the sweep of time or its swift flow. In other words, ‘Asr’ means serial time.

In the word “WaI-’Asr” the letter ‘
‘ (wa’w) is a preposition, and is used as an oath and testimonial. In short, the real meaning of the word “Wa/-’Asr” is that the swift passage of time through the ages bears witness and provides evidence for the statements that follow.

The Vast Meaning of ‘Khusran’ or Loss:

We have translated the second verse as ‘Verily all human beings are in loss’. But even this translation does not convey the real meaning, because the Quranic term ‘Khusran’ is not a monetary loss of a few thousands or millions, but indicates complete destruction, in the Holy Quran many words have been used for achievement and success such as accomplishment, triumph, fulfillment, and blessing. But as an antonym of all these, only one comprehensive word is used and that is ‘Khusran It means that the second verse really shows that the whole mankind is standing on the verge of destruction or doom.

The significant reality which has been described in this verse, and the human tragedy towards which this verse points out, can be conceived or realized full in its true perspective in two stages.

Firstly, every one in this worldly life faces a hard struggle for existence. Many people have to undertake rigorous labour from morning till evening, but are unable to provide the bare necessities of life for their dependents. The majority of human beings can not afford even the basic necessities of life, such as food, clothing, shelter, education, and medical care. Even prosperous people have to work hard to maintain their status. From this point of view, a human being is like a beast of burden. But it is even more tragic because he is a creature of feelings and emotions. In addition to all that labour, he has to bear numerous mental hardships. Sometimes, he is deeply moved by the love of his children, sometimes by the troubles faced by his kith and kin. Sometimes he has to put up with the sorrow of a relative’s illness, or the shock of the death of someone loved by him. Not only hard work and labour is his lot but grief and sorrow as well.

You must have known that by observing these very troubles and tribulations of life Buddha was so much disheartened and dismayed that in the prime of his life he left his young wife and innocent son and ran out to the jungles in search of ‘truth’.

The masses generally harbour the misunderstanding that wealthy and prosperous people have no anxieties. As a matter of fact, the kind of psychic agony which they face is rarely experienced by a common man. They face numerous conflicts and frustrations, and very often the people of this class fall prey to mental diseases and psychic disorders. This is the first stage of human tragedy and this has been mentioned very eloquently in the last part of the Glorious Quran, is surah No. 90 ‘Al-Balad’ in verse No. 4 wherein Allah says:

‘Verily We have created man in toil and struggle.’

But added to this tragedy of the terrestrial existence I the doom of the worst type that is manifest in the life Hereafter. The climax of human tragedy is that after tolerating all troubles and hardships of this world, suddenly he will have to present himself before his Creator and give account for all the activities of his life. This is the picture. which has been presented in surah No. 84, entitled ‘Insheqaq’ verse No. 6 wherein Allah says:

‘Verily O man, thou art ever toiling on towards thy Lord —painfully toiling — but thou shalt meet Him’.

And, if in that trial, his thoughts, convictions, actions and activities are found deviating from the straight path, he would undergo a heart-rending and most severe punishment and torture in the hell for ever. And this is the real loss as Allah says in the Holy Quran:

‘That is the sheer loss’

The Inter-relation of the First Two Verses:

It is clear that the first verse is an oath and the second is the statement for which the oath has been taken. That is, in the second verse a truth has been stated, and in the first evidence has been presented for it. The question is: what is the logical sequence between the two?

By contemplating over it, we realize that ‘time’, constantly passing, is like a sheet, which is spread up to eternity. It means that ‘time’ is an entity, which is an eye witness to the entire passage of man’s life, from his birth to death and to the life of the Hereafter. Hence, the toiling, painful life of man is present before it, and it stands witness also to the momentous events of the rise and fall of nations. The life of the Hereafter, the climax of human tragedy, is also before its gaze. Thus ‘time’ is the greatest witness to the fact that ‘verily man is in a state of loss.

This ascertained truth has an added element of warning implied by “Wal-’Asr’ This warning is, that the real cause of mankind’s ruination, destruction, and utter loss is his negligence, and that by entangling himself in his immediate problems and the trivial affairs of his life, he faces a state of perplexity and self-negation.

The word “Wal-’Asr” is a clarion call to wake him up from his indifference and slumber. It points out: O careless man! your real asset is time, which is passing swiftly, and your real capital is this probationary period of worldly life which is ending quickly, and if you are unable to build up your personality, or according to the words of lqbal, the poet of the East, if you have not achieved any sublimity in your SELF or EGO, then you will have ‘to face eternal loss, and your life will be doomed.

The Real Meaning of ‘Iman’ or Faith:

The first condition of salvation, or deliverance from this sheer destruction, is ‘Iman’ (faith). The word ‘Iman’ has been derived from ‘aman’ meaning peace. Its literal meaning is to provide peace and tranquillity But in its technical sense the word ‘Iman’ is used with the prepositions (  ) or (  )  such as              or            . In this form its literal meaning is to have trust or in and to testify. In order to understand the real meaning of ‘Iman’ (faith) it is necessary to realize that any man who has attained maturity of intelligence obviously starts thinking on perennial questions like ‘‘Who am I ‘?‘‘, ‘‘From where did I come ?‘‘, ‘‘What is the nature of the Universe ?“ and “What is the last destination of the journey of my life ?“ Those who have studied philosophy, know that throughout the history of human thought many thinkers continued to ponder over these questions, and tried to find satisfactory answers. Without an answer to these questions, a human being is in the dark, knowing little about his real self, or about the universe, or his own beginning, or the beginning or end of the Universe.

It is evident that these questions cannot be answered merely by our physical senses. As yet we have not been able to fathom the vastness even of the physical world. How can we have any knowledge of its beginning or end? Similarly, the question whether or not we had any existence before our creation in this world, and whether after death there will be any continuity of our existence or not, cannot be answered by our senses, because we cannot possibly peep into the world of existence either prior to our birth or beyond physical death. In short, man is utterly helpless to attain true and ultimate knowledge.

Despite these natural limitations, there have been in the history of mankind a number of persons who claimed that they had a special source of knowledge which they called ‘revelation’. On the authority of ‘revelation’ they knew for certain that this universe did not exist from eternity nor would to remain in existence for ever. It has been brought into existence by a Creator Who possesses all the attributes of perfection in their utmost degree of excellence, and He is Unique in His essenceand attributes. He had always existed and will continue to exist for ever. It is He Who has created you, and your life is not the life of this world only, but He would again bring you back to life after death, and that life will be real and eternal. In that life of the Hereafter, you will face your rewards or punishments for your convictions, actions and pursuits during this life. This Creator and Master has assigned messengers from among men and given them the task of proclaiming these verities and the right way of living in this world so that men may be saved from sheer loss in the life Hereafter and may achieve success and eternal bliss.

These Messengers are known as Prophets of Allah and the affirmation of our belief in them is called ‘Iman’ or belief in prophethood. This faith has two aspects: verbal confession and certainty in our hearts. We testify verbally that we believe in all prophets, and, according to their teachings, we believe in Allah with all His revealed attributes, and we believe in life after death, and in the day of judgement, in reward and punishment, and in hell and heaven. We also accept these verities with utmost certitude in our hearts. These two conditions constitute our faith or ‘Iman’ Faith is certitude about the Creator, man and the universe. It leads to two results:

The first is that a man’s internal anxiety must disappear and he must achieve inner peace and satisfaction, when, as a result of this faith, the natural inquisitiveness regarding his own identity and the nature of universe is gratified. This internal serenity is the gift of faith. That is why, ety-mologically, the Arabic word for faith is a derivative of the root word ‘aman’ which means peace.

The second is a reform of one’s actions and life-style. As the Socratic doctrine says ‘Knowledge is virtue, and ignorance is vice’. A believer should be adorned with high morals and virtuous deeds, and should be free from inferior and degrading actions.

This second point is very important because it shows that ‘faith’ and ‘action’ are linked, that faith (Iman) and righteous deeds (Amal-i-Saleh) are interrelated. Compare for a moment two men. One thinks that this universe has come into existence accidentally and that its entire system and organization is running automatically. The second acknowledges that there is an Almighty, All-knowing, All-wise, All-powerful, Supreme Being, Who has ordained and created this cosmos and that He is the Ordained Who has ordained this Universe and everything in it, and it is running according to His decrees. Is it possible that the life attitude and actions of these two persons would be similar? Would not there be a tremendous difference between their attitudes and behaviour? Similarly, one man thinks that this life which he is leading in this world is the only life and there is no life after death, there is no accountability, no responsibility, no reward or punishment. Another man is sure that the real and everlasting life will begin after death, that the life of this material world is nothing but a preamble of that real life which will start in the Hereafter, and that after death every person will be answerable not only for every action, but for every word and thought. The attitudes and actions of these two would necessarily be different.

It is quite easy to conclude that the goal of life of the former would be to enjoy every minute of this life, as there is no life after it. And in this gratification of the instinct of enjoyment, he might not distinguish between right and wrong, lawful and unlawful. But the second man would take every step in his life with caution and he would be conscious of his responsibility at all times. A man’s faith necessitates tremendous transformation in his life.

Please do understand clearly that the idea commonly held in our society that ‘faith’ and ‘action’ are separate is only true about the legal aspect of ‘faith’. In this society a man is considered and pronounced a Muslim on the basis of verbal confession only. We cannot possibly include his action and conduct in this. But that genuine ‘faith’ which includes certainty of one’s heart and soul must bring a transformation in one’s actions. If one’s daily life is not changed, this is an absolute proof that genuine ‘faith’ does not exist in his heart. His faith is no more than a profession.

This truth has been clarified by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in many of his traditions and sayings. He said:

“A man who betrays his trust has no ‘faith’, and the person who does not fulfil his promise has no religion.”

Now think over it and see how beautiful is our Prophet’s way of expression, and how the thought expressed is as clear as a basic mathematical proposition.

Similarly, once the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) swore three times, saying:

“By God, he is not a believer, by God, he is not a believer, by God, he is not a believer”. The Companions of the Prophet enquired: “Who is that person about whom you are saying this ?“ He said in reply “It is the person from whose misconduct his neighbour is not safe.”

Just see how emphatically the Holy Prophet has referred to the complete negation of faith and that too not on account of committing a major sin, such as, polytheism, unjustified murder, adultery, theft or robbery, but only on account of something normally regarded as merely poor behaviour. Is there any justification after this for thinking that ‘faith’ and ‘action’ are separate things and are not co-essential and interrelated? This is why in order to remove this misunderstanding completely the Holy Quran consistently mentions righteous deeds as the accompaniment of ‘faith’.

So long as faith is confined to the stage of verbal confession and it is limited upto an utterance of words only, actions can be exactly the opposite of it, because the contradiction of word and actions is very commonly found in this world. But when faith reaches a state of certainty in our heart, when it penetrates our heart and soul and becomes an unshakable conviction, then our actions will necessarily be changed because the actions of a man are based on his belief and conviction. For example, we know that fire can burn us, so we would never put even a finger in it. Even suspicion can influence our actions. We know that all snakes are not poisonous, but still even if we suspect that a particular snake might be poisonous, we keep away from it. Now if a person believes with utmost surety that Allah exists and that He is All-seeing, All-hearing, All-knowing; that every movement of his, every word which he utters and, more than this, even every intention of his heart is known to Him; that after death, he shall have no alternative but to present himself before Him, and shall have to give full account of his entire life, with no chance of escaping from the grip of His punishment, nor any hope of deliverance through ransom or intercession; then that man, believing all these things firmly, would not dare to lead a sinful life. This is the condition which has been described in the following saying of Prophet Muhammad (SAW):

“No adulterer commits adultery while he has faith. No thief commits a theft while he has faith. And no drunkard drinks intoxicants while he has faith.”

In fact these sins are committed only at a time when due to one reason or another the real faith of a man has dissipated or vanished from his heart. Faith and righteous deeds are interdependent and each of them is essential for the other. Righteous deeds, good morals and a lofty character are sine qua non of true faith. This is why in Surah Al-’Asr’, after faith, righteous deeds have been mentioned as a necessary condition of salvation.

The Real Meaning of Righteous Deeds:

The phrase righteous deeds is commonly translated as good actions. But, if we look deep into it, we would discover more significance hidden behind it. The two locutions ‘action’ and ‘activity’ are generally taken to convey the same sense. But there is a subtle difference in their meaning. Any kind of movement or work can be called activity, but the word action usually implies some strenuous or arduous work. On the other side, the word ‘virtuous’ or ‘righteous’ denotes something which had developmental characteristics and potential for enhancement. By combining these two, we would realize that the actual significance of this term is that it is necessary for man to put up a hard struggle to achieve that real goat for which he was potentially created, and he had to ascend certain heights to attain that goal. All this is conveyed by the comprehensive word ‘righteous deed’.

Surah ‘At-Teen’ in many respects resembles Surah Al‘Asr. Verses 4, 5 and 6 of the surah state:

‘Surely we created man of the best stature. Then we reduced  him to the lowest of the low, save those who believe and do good works, and theirs is a reward unfailing.’ (XCV: 4-6)

This means that, in reality, man was created for the most sublime rank, and Allah conferred on him superiority not only over ]inn (Genie) but also over angels. He was even endowed with the vicegerency of God. But in his terrestrial existence the spiritual self is imprisoned in his gross body of clay, wherein he falls a prey to the clutches of his carnal nature and is reduced to the lowest of low. Now to regain his lost status and sublime rank, it is necessary for him to obtain real knowledge. He must illumine his inner self with the light of faith and must perform good deeds, adorning his outer self with righteous actions, observing the canonical law of Islam and following the Prophet’s way of life. These are the prime prerequisites of his salvation.

The Meaning of Mutual Exhortation:

In the last part of Surah Al- ‘Asr, the word ‘tawasau’ has been used twice. Its verbal noun is ‘tawasi’ and it is derived from ‘wasiyyat’ which means admonition, exhortation with persistent emphasis. Again, this infinitive is formed from the stem of the verbal noun ‘tafaul’, whose first attribute is mutual cooperation and the second is emphasis to the point of exaggeration. It means that this action of exhortation is required with the greatest fervour and intensity. This stage necessitates the establishment of a collective community or Ummah based on the principles of mutual preaching of truth and patience.

The Meaning of ‘Haqq’ or Truth:

Similarly, the connotation of the word ‘Haqq’ is very extensive. Its meaning includes everything which is actually real (that is, it is not imaginary or based on presumption). It also connotes what is acknowledged by reason or is necessary ethically, or is purposive and not useless or vacuous. Hence exhortation to truth means confirming, acknowledging, inviting to and preaching every thing which is factually true and real, is ethically necessary and is proved by reason. Thus the spectrum of ‘truth’ encompasses on the one hand the testimony of the evident facts of our existence and, on the other hand, the testimony of the ultimate metaphysical truths of existence. Exhortation to truth includes a whole range of activities, from giving personal moral advice to the clarion call of the greatest truth, the truth that the real Lord and master of this universe is Allah, and that it is He who deserves that His Commands should be promulgated and that His laws should be enforced in this world. And this truth should not merely be pronounced verbally, but a vigorous struggle should be launched for its practical implementation and actualization.

Similarly, the comprehensive term ‘exhortation to truth’ embraces within itself concepts which underlie many technical terms of the Holy Quran, such as preaching virtues and holding back people from vices. It implies asking and inviting people to do good deeds and stop them from falling in the snare of every kind of evil, exhorting them to be merciful, to have compassion for each other and to be kind to each other; and calling people towards Allah, persuading them to seek real knowledge and devotion before their Real Sovereign and Master, Allah. Also it includes efforts in the path of Allah, that is, struggling hard for the establishment of the supremacy of the true religion of Allah and spending one’s wealth for this purpose and sacrificing one’s life for this noble cause.

The Meaning of Patience:

The meaning of patience is very comprehensive. Its real essence is that a person should continue to maintain himself upon the chosen path, without allowing any trouble, or temptation to deviate him from it. No amount of persecution or trial should cause him to desist. He must remain steadfast in every situation, and should display firmness, perseverance, bravery and fortitude. He must not only persevere in following the truth but must also continue to persuade others to accept it and comply with it.

Exhortation to Truth and Exhortation to Patience are co-essential:

As faith and righteous deeds are inter-related; so are exhortation to truth and exhortation to patience. This is because the invitation to truth is usually not welcomed and it has often to face resistance. It is necessary for those who are dedicated to truth to put up with oppression and persecution.

Perhaps all of us have experienced that even a little piece of moral advice can be disliked by people. For example, if a person owes five dollars to some one, and is putting off its payment and you ask him to pay that amount to his creditor, he will frown at you. If he is in an angry mood, he may warn you not to interfere in his affairs. Now you can well imagine how much resistance would be offered and to what extent people will oppose the preaching which demands from them the fulfilling of their major obligations and religious duties.

And this is the point where a person faces the real test of his character and conviction. It is a fact that mere apprehension and recognition of truth is not so difficult, as is adopting it for oneself and inviting others to act upon it and to remaining firm in this struggle. In Quranic terminology, this is called ‘istiqamat’ i.e., steadfastness. This is the acid test which proves to what extent a person is committed to his objectives and whether he possesses anything which can be termed stability of character and commitment.

This is why the Holy Quran lays so much emphasis on the fact that true believers necessarily have to face tests and ordeals, and the truthfulness of their claims to have faith is to be examined and tested in many ways. Only those are regarded as sincere in their faith who remain firm in the face of ordeals and provide concrete proof of patience and perseverance.

The Interrelation of Faith, Righteous Deeds and Mutual Exhortation:

We have seen that faith and righteous deeds are interdependent and also exhortation to truth and exhortation to patience. Now, if we understand the relationship between these two pairs, we will have a complete view of this surah.

Nothing and no one can avoid influencing his environment and being influenced by it. The coldness of ice will necessarily chill its surroundings and the heat of fire will surely make them warmer. The same is true in the field of morality. If the spirit of righteous deeds is really engendered in a person, it must have an impact upon his environment and he will necessarily be a source of diffusing goodness and virtue. The natural outcome of righteous deeds is the propagation of truth in society.

This principle operates in ethics very forcefully. If the social environment favours evil, it will necessarily bring about deterioration in the lives of its citizens. The only possible way to escape from this is to change that environment or at least to struggle vehemently to change it. Even if a person cannot change it, he can at least in this way, act on the principle that the best defense is a good offence, and repel it defensively. Thus the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“lf any one among you observes a vice, it is his duty to change it by force, If he is not able to do so, he should protest against it verbally. If he does not possess even this much of courage, he should detest it by his heart and soul, which means that his heart should regard it as bad, and that he should regret that he could not stop it, and this is the weakest degree of faith”.

The nobility of a man’s character demands exhortation to truth because the goodness in any person who has discovered truth and adopted for himself necessarily demands that he should present it to others, that the greatest number of people may benefit from it, and should partake of its blessing. Thus the Holy Prophet said:

“No one among you can be regarded a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”

The self-respect and ardent zeal of a man who has accepted truth demand that he should preach it to others. He should uphold it, propagate it, and should sacrifice his life and wealth in the struggle to make it supremely established in society.

If a man adopts a particular way of life and his environment adopts another, then there are only two possibilities. He must either adopt himself to his environment, in that way, removing the discrepancies and resolving clash and discords or, if he finds the environment totally against his wishes, he should put up a tough resistance, should wage war against it, and should try to change it, according to his point of view. Now it is obvious that for a man of dignity, honour, and zeal, a man of earnest concern, the only course open to him is the second one. He would be glad to sacrifice his life for the sake of truth, but would never tolerate that by leading a life of ease and comfort, he should treacherously distort and misrepresent the truth.

Faith, righteous deeds, exhortation to truth and exhortation to patience are indispensable requirements for salvation, and also dependent upon each other. All four are indivisible aspects of a unit, and are inseparable factors of one single totality. In fact, what are all these four except an exposition or commentary of the word faith? If faith has in reality penetrated a person’s heart, it will necessarily result in the performance of righteous deeds and if the habit of doing righteous deeds has become one’s second nature, its natural outcome would be exhortation to truth; and if the preaching of truth is done with real sincerity and dedication, it will necessarily lead to the stage of exhortation to patience and endurance. The reverse order also holds good. If the stage of preaching patience and endurance is not encountered, then this is a certain proof that the preaching is not of the whole truth, but only of a harmless part of it. If the stage of taking up missionary work is missing, then this implies that a man’s actions are not righteous and that he lacks religious zeal. And if his actions are not being performed on the right lines, then this is a categorical proof that genuine faith has not entered his heart.

The path of salvation which is pointed out by Surah Al-’Asr, the path of success and triumph towards which it guides and directs us has four mile-stones: faith, righteous deeds, exhortation to truth and exhortation to patience.

The most perfect example of the pattern delineated above is the life-story of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) wherein all these four components are present in their utmost perfection. At first the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) tried to discover the reality of his own identity and that of the cosmos. A Quranic verse asks:

“And did He not find thee perplexed (and unable to find the right course by thyself) and so He guided (thee)”?

The angel Gabriel revealed to him the truths he required. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) confirmed them and affirmed his faith in them, as stated in the Glorious Quran:

“The Messenger believeth in that which hath been revealed unto him from his Lord, and so do the believers.”

The life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was the perfect model of moral excellence and unparalleled example of sublime character. The Holy Quran states: “And thou standest on an exalted standard of character”. After fulfilling these fundamental requirements of faith and right-eous deeds to perfection, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) spent twenty three years in the untiring struggle of preaching the truth and declaring and promulgating the grandeur and glory of Allah. He bravely tolerated all troubles for this purpose, courageously suffered all afflictions and faced all the persecutions and oppressions of his opponents. In the canyon of Bani Hashim, he endured severe hardships during three long years of imprisonment. In the streets of Taif, he was stoned and ridiculed by rascals and urchins. The lives of his dear relatives and his beloved companions were sacrificed for the pleasure of his Lord and in order to uphold divine truth. After indefatigable efforts, struggling night and day for twenty-three years, finally he made the truth reign supreme. And only after making the divine religion ‘Islam’ the dominant force in the Arabian peninsula, did he return to his Divine Lord, Allah. May the peace and blessings of Allah be showered on him and on his companions. In short, the biography of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) embodies the contents of Surah-Al-’Asr in action.

So, this is a concise explanation of the significance of Surah Al-’Asr. Now you must have realized why I regarded it is the most comprehensive surah of the Holy Quran, and why Imam Al-Shafeii had said, that if people were to contemplate it seriously, this brief surah would be sufficient for their direction and guidance.

Its relation to the surahs before and after:

Finally, let us cast a glance on the surahs of the Holy Quran which precede and follow Sarah Al-’Asr. I had stated that the righteousness of a man’s character is based upon the establishment of the real criterion of success and failure in his heart and soul and his willingness to act according to it always. If this criterion is not established, then the aim of his life may be reduced to amassing wealth, material comforts and luxuries. The desire for greater material well-being may overwhelm and over-power his mind to such an extent that it makes him oblivious of the greater realities of his life and the universe. The curtain of this negligence and indifference is only lifted at the time of death. This state of affairs has been described in Surah ‘AI-Takathur that blessed surah of the Glorious Quran which precedes Surah Al-’Asr. As a result of this negligence a man becomes unable to differentiate between right and wrong, lawful and unlawful, approved and forbidden. He sees success as a matter of hoarding and piling up wealth, and he becomes bereft of all good qualities of character and morals, and his personality becomes replete with sins arid vices. This picture has been revealed in Sarah ‘AI-Humaza’ which comes after Surah Al-’Asr I seek refuge in Allah, and pray to Him to protect us from such a grievous, dreadful and disastrous end to our lives. Amen!

Introduction

The present booklet is a revised and edited version of a lecture on the subject of Baiy‘ah, delivered in English by Dr. Israr Ahmad, Ameer of Tanzeem-e-Islami. The lecture was originally delivered in August 1995, in Elgin, Illinois (USA). It was first published in the October-December 1996 issue of The Qur’anic Horizons, and now it is being presented in the form of a booklet.

Dr. Israr Ahmad (b. 1932) is well-known as a scholar and teacher of the Holy Qur’an. He firmly believes that the pathetic and wretched condition of the Muslim Ummah today is a punishment from Almighty Allah (SWT), the cause being the dereliction of individual and collective duties on the part of the Muslims. The only way to salvation, therefore, is for the Muslims to repent with the true spirit of repentance, and to strive for the fulfillment of all their Divinely ordained obligations. The Muslims not only need to practice Islam in their individual lives, but it is also their duty to spread and propagate the teachings of Islam throughout the world, and to struggle for the establishment of Islam as a socio-political order so that justice and peace can reign supreme.

Today in the Muslim world, we find that most of the Islamic movements have taken either to the bullet or to the ballet. Dr. Israr Ahmad, on the other hand, refers to the following saying of Imam Malik (RA): “The latter part of this community will not be reformed except by following the same process through which its initial part was reformed.” He argues that the lack of success on the part of various Islamic movements is actually due to their deviation, in one way or another, from the way of the Prophet (SAW). Dr. Israr Ahmad has no doubt in his mind that the revival and establishment of Islam will be possible only by adopting the methodology of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). As derived from the study of the Seerah, the methodology of the Prophet (SAW) involved the following stages: Calling people towards the light of Iman, Organizing those who respond into a cohesive force, Training them with respect to spiritual and moral purification and discipline, Passive Resistance in the face of persecution and oppression, Challenge and Active Resistance at the appropriate moment, and finally Armed Conflict. Dr. Israr Ahmad has spelled out the details of these phases and their application in modern times in his numerous lectures and writings. He has emphasized that the revitalization of true faith by means of the Qur’an is an essential prerequisite for Islamic renaissance. Concerning the final step, he believes that the evolution of social thought since the time of the Prophet (SAW) implies that, in our times, a non-violent mass movement can supplant a bilateral armed conflict, the latter not being feasible in the contemporary world. He argues that it is now possible to bring about positive and fundamental changes in Muslim societies by means of popular movements — consisting of peaceful agitation and leading to civil disobedience, if required — while strictly refraining from all sorts of violence. The struggle to revive and re-establish Islam, however, requires a disciplined organization.

According to Dr. Israr Ahmad, the Western constitutional and democratic model works satisfactorily as the basis of organizational structure for community work, institution building, and da‘wah work. However, he argues that this model is not suitable for the purpose of establishing a truly revivalist party. Further, Dr. Israr Ahmad also points out that the organizational model we find in the Seerah of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is based on baiy‘ah (pledge of allegiance). The Prophet (SAW) was a Messenger of Almighty Allah (SWT) and every command from him had to be followed; the reason he took baiy‘ah from the Companions (RAA), therefore, was only to leave a model for his Ummah. The Caliphs after him continued the same system, and after them almost all of the revivalist movements have adopted the same system of baiy‘ah for the purpose of organization. In the Western constitutional and democratic model, a number of people who want to achieve the same goals get together and form an organization in which the majority vote is decisive. In the system based on baiy‘ah, on the other hand, one person gives a call that he is going to initiate the struggle for the revival and establishment of the Deen of Allah (SWT); he then invites people to join him in this cause (Cf., Surah Al-Saff 61:14). In such a system, the leader (or ameer) is required to consult with his associates (or rufaqa) but is not bound by the majority decision (Cf., Surah Aal-e-Imran 3:159). The only difference is that while each and every command given by the Prophet (SAW) had to be followed, the leader of a revivalist party can be obeyed not in an absolute sense but only within the bounds of the Shari‘ah (i.e., fil Mar‘uf).

Dr. Israr Ahmad has made it clear elsewhere that no revivalist party can claim for itself the status of Al-Jama‘ah, a term applicable only to the collective organization of the entire Muslim Ummah under a single leader or ameer. Although ideal from the Islamic perspective, this unified state of the Muslim Ummah does not exist in the real world. Dr. Israr Ahmad believes that the internal discipline of a revivalist party that is working to re-establish Islam should be based on the Islamic ideal of “listening and obeying” to the ameer, a discipline that can only be achieved by following the Prophetic model of baiy‘ah. He is firmly of the opinion that an amorphous (and anonymous!) body of Islamic workers, scattered all over the world and without a well-defined leadership, hardly merits the expression “the Islamic movement.” It is at best a hypothetical entity.  Going beyond “creating a New Civilization of Islam,” Dr. Israr Ahmad is aiming at a concentrated, centralized, and concerted effort to establish Islamic socio-politico order in toto, initially in Pakistan and then in other states.  For this he is following the prophetic model of organization in the form of bai’yah and well-disciplined party structure.

Dr. Ahmed Afzaal

In the name of

1. Global Domination of Western Thought

The present age can rightly be described as the age of the predominance of Western philosophical thought and learning. The Western ideas about the nature of man and the universe are strongly upheld all around the world. Having taken shape roughly two hundred years ago, these ideas were continuously affirmed and reinforced by theorists and philosophers. Though politically the present-day world may be divided into number of blocs, one single philosophical point of view prevails throughout. This attitude has colored all human civilization and culture at the global level. No doubt there are also found here and there some alternative view points, but they are of marginal importance. The people both in the Occident and in the Orient who really have a say in public affairs, political as well as social and cultural, are without exception adhering to this viewpoint. The dominance of Western culture and philosophical thought is so pervasive and universal that even the point of view of such people as are struggling against it in some countries turns out on closer examination to be itself greatly influenced by the West. Indeed, they are themselves to a great extent Western in their approach and method and even in their purported ideology. They too think in terms of Western philosophy and ideology with the result that they lose their impact and efficacy to oppose it.

2. The Fundamental Point of View

The thought pattern which is operative at the basis of present-day culture and civilization was not hatched in a day, nor is it a simple and abstract phenomenon. Over the past hundred and fifty or two hundred years European philosophers developed a number of schools of thought about the nature of man and human life, but one central attitude that persisted all through these variegated philosophical theories and went on gaining momentum was the disregard for ideational and transcendental concepts. Concrete fact and physical phenomena became the core and object of human inquiry and philosophical quest. God, soul, and the Hereafter gradually disappeared from the spectrum of thought, yielding place respectively to discussions about the nature of the physical universe, matter, and human terrestrial existence. Though at the academic level it was said that we neither affirm nor reject the doctrines about God, soul, and life-after-death, yet this avowedly agnostic position quite understandably led to the gradual elimination of these ideas from philosophical inquiry and discussion.

God has imbued man with a great many capacities and mental faculties to exploit to his benefit any field or domain in which he applies them. Every earnest research worker can explore a new world in the domain of his selected field of inquiry. Compared with the vastness and grandeur of the universe the shining sun itself is nothing more than a tiny speck, while a tiny particle of dust may open up for a scientist realms hardly less in complexity and fascination than the shining sun. Similarly, the universe, matter, and terrestrial existence may look extremely trivial in contrast to God, the soul, and the life Hereafter, but if these mundane concerns are made the subject of study and research, they may lead to boundless vistas of knowledge.

This actually happened in Europe. When the universe and matter were brought under scientific investigation, man gradually discovered to his utter astonishment a clue to power and energy in apparently dead and inert material phenomena. And this led to a new revolution in the realm of knowledge and technology. A series of scientific discoveries led to greater control and exploitation of nature, and a wealth of new inventions made Europe an invisible power. The great impact and efficacy of the properties of matter became reasons for focusing attention on physical laws in place of the spirit. As against the age-old discussions about God, His attributes, and spiritual entities, the physical universe and exploitation of natural forces were given prime importance in human inquiry.

3. Political and Ideological Onslaught of the West on the Islamic World

The newly acquired scientific knowledge and technical know-how gave to the West tremendous superiority in arms and military equipment. Its political power swept across the world in a very short time. Eastern nations and their governments crumbled before it like sand castles. Since the Muslim states of the Near and Middle East bore the brunt of this attack, the onslaught of the West struck Islam and Muslim nations the severest blow. The whole Muslim world was subjugated by Western imperialist powers in a matter of a few decades.

The West’s occupation of the Islamic world was two-fold, military and political as well as ideological and cultural. But since the European attack was primarily and initially political, the reaction against it in the Islamic world contained in its early stages a sense of revolt against political repression only. The painful realization by the Muslim world of the fact of European domination and the fragmentation of its own strength, either in the form of direct political rule and annexation or in the guise of indirect involvement and support of puppet governments, was expressed in heart-rending poems. The nostalgic memory of the glorious past and the passionate desire to regain the old strength and solidarity, indeed the desire to set the clock backward, expressed itself at one time in the volatile personality of Jamaluddin Afghani and at another in the form of Tehreek-e-Khilafat. But reality prevailed over emotions and the political domination of the West became an established fact.

Immediately after consolidating its political hegemony, Europe started disseminating her ideological principles and point of view with a missionary zeal so as to capture and control the ideas and thoughts of Muslim nations. The material and scientific progress of the West had already dazzled the eyes of the world’s conquered people. Moreover any superior nation must have some fundamental human qualities which help her to achieve her expansionist goals. The apparent evidences of Europeans’ superiority contributed greatly to infuse defeatism in the minds of Muslims, and a vast majority of them began to appropriate Western ideas and values uncritically. Since the Europeans had themselves many schools of thought in the field of philosophy and social sciences, there was some scope of debate, counter position, and selective adoption in these fields. But as the findings of science had an element of certainty and its results were practical and tangible, they were not open to dispute. Science was therefore received with as much enthusiasm as should be accorded to Divine Revelation, and a large number of educated men in the Islamic world consciously or unconsciously accepted a secular and materialistic point of view. The entire Islamic world, including its deeply religious core, started giving more importance to material existence and worldly life, and less importance to God, the spirit, and the life Hereafter. A radical change of emphasis from transcendental themes to material and worldly pursuits occurred not only in Islamic society in general, but also in its religious leaders and scholars.

4. The Early Defensive Attempts and their Achievements

The Islamic world made a number of attempts to meet the Western ideological onslaught, and many convinced and devout Muslims worked wholeheartedly to protect their faith and religion. These attempts to defend and safeguard Islamic values were of two types, the first being limited to mere protection but others sought apologetic compromise and attenuation.

The merely defensive efforts to protect religious values and beliefs can be described, to quote Maulana Manazir Ahsan Gilani, as the following of Ashab-e-Kahaf’s Attitude. They fled from the mainstream of social life in order to hold fast to faith. Even though this might appear to be sheer escapist in motivation, it was in fact based on the realistic acceptance of the truth that the Muslim world was not able to mount a direct frontal offensive on the West. The only was that remained open was to keep away from the flood tide of secularism and hold fast to religious faith, caring little for those who derided this approach. As a matter of fact, whatever meager success was achieved in the defense of faith was made possible through this approach. The faith of a section of the Muslim community was saved from atheistic influences and a few candles of faith were left alight in the darkness of crass materialism. The structure of the faith and religious law was maintained through sermons and the teachings of the Quran and Hadith. The most important phenomena of this type of struggle in the Indo-Pak subcontinent was the establishment of a Dar-ul-Uloom at Deoband. In name a mere scholastic institution, it was in reality the harbinger of a great revivalist movement.

The fundamental principle of the more aggressive approach was to keep up with the changing times without loosing faith. To achieve this they undertook to sift the sound from the fallacious in modern ideas and to construct a modernist version of Islam in order to prove its veracity as well as its capacity to meet modern challenges effectively.

At first, sings of defeatism were manifest in those who took up this work. A number of pseudo-scholastic thinkers of India and Egypt started to test the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith in the light of the new rationalism of the West. As a result of this, religious beliefs were attenuated and their metaphysical concepts were reinterpreted in purely scientific terms. Sayyid Ahmed Khan in the Indo-Pak subcontinent and Mufti Muhammad Abduh in Egypt and their acolytes attempted to formulate a modern interpretation of Islam to save it from anachronism and allow believers to make headway on the path of scientific progress like the Europeans. Their motives may have been sincere and their dedication genuine, but thorough these attempts Islam undeniably lost its very spirit and élan. The influence of Western materialism resulted in a non-religious version of Islam. Thus these attempts served only a negative purpose: saving of those who were already completely Europeanized in culture and life-style from being called “un-Islamic.” Their inclusion in the fraternity of Muslim brotherhood remained unchallenged, and this new version of Islam was presented to the West on their behalf as an “apology.”

5. The Development of the Social Sciences

The fundamentals of Western philosophy, disguised as suspension of judgment or agnosticism, were in fact the denial of God and the life Hereafter. They caused the physical universe to replace the transcendental concepts of God and soul from the center of human concern and inquiry. Numerous scientific discoveries and inventions naturally followed from this exclusive emphasis on worldly interests. Eschatological doctrines of life-after-death were completely rejected as topics of research in favor of the immediacy of world existence. As a result of persistent and exclusive thinking about the multifarious aspects of worldly life, a number of sociological and politico-economic theories were conceived and put forward. These theories gradually developed into full-fledged ideologies and world-views. Confined to strictly academic discussion in the earlier stages, these world-views were later made the social, political, and economic basis of nations. The age-old political systems based on traditional feudalism were replaced by nationalism, dictatorship, and democracy, and ancient economic system by capitalism and socialism. A number of new political and economic movements emerged in the wake of these changes.

6. The Idea of an “Islamic Way of Life” and the Twentieth Century Islamic Movements

The world of Islam also received the impact of Western ideas in the field of social sciences, and Muslims began to propound Islam as a system of life. Islamic teachings were projected as an all-embracing “system of life,” and movements in different lands were launched to implement and put into practice this system of life.

These twentieth century revivalist movements started almost simultaneously in Muslim countries from Indonesia to Egypt. They were similar in a number of ways. Indeed it would not be far from true to say that they were all animated by a single conception of religion. It must be admitted, in all fairness, that these efforts imparted credibility to Islam as a code of life superior to other ideologies, and have weakened the influence of the West upon the young.

There were other factors which helped to limit the influence of Western ideas and culture. The sweeping military and political victories of the Western colonial powers were checked with the passage of time and in many countries were met with forceful and sustained nationalist freedom movements. Consequently Western countries were forced to withdraw their political hegemony from occupied lands.1 (Footnotes at end of document)

Though political influence and economic domination in the form of defense pacts or military and monetary aid programs are still very much there, almost the entire Muslim bloc has got ride of the yoke of direct rule by imperialist powers. In many Muslim countries nationalist freedom and self-rule movements were launched, and these invariably appealed to religious sentiments of the people for sparking off feelings of nationalism. There was no alternative to this, as Muslim nationalism had no anchorage other than Islam. This appeal to religion, however, was more like a slogan than an existential concern for the Islamic faith. Yet it did strengthen the idea of the revival of Islam. At the same time, the hollowness of Western civilization has been clearly brought out by the two disastrous world wars, so that even the West has come to consider the foundations of its own culture as ill-conceived and misguided. Materialistic atheism reached its logical culmination in the forms of socialism and communism, and moral as well as religious values were reinterpreted in purely economic terms. This alarmed Western peoples themselves, and they began to propound a new philosophy of humanism which was quite sympathetic to spiritual values. In the realm of science new physical theories shook the very foundations of Newtonian physics and Euclidean geometry. Matter was no longer considered as something permanent and tangible, and the former absolute faith in mechanical laws gave way to less rigid views of the universe. This made easier to affirm metaphysical beliefs, and gave support to religion.

Supported by these factors, movements for “Islamic Renaissance,” “establishment of government according to the Will of God,” and “enforcement of the Islamic system of life” were started in various Muslim countries. Of all these, the Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslemoon, which began in Egypt was the most prominent in point of quantitative strength and emotional fervor. The Indo-Pak subcontinent’s Jama`at-e-Islami however, occupies a distinguished place among these movements, based as it is on a solid and strongly defended thought-system.

These movements have been active in Muslim countries for more than thirty years and a substantial number of Muslim youth has been influenced by them. But it is an irony of history that practically none of these movements has achieved any remarkable success. Rather it seems as if they have outlived the span of their lives, and the moment is not yet ripe when the fond hopes for the renaissance of Islam can be realized. Egypt’s Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslemoon has met almost complete disintegration within the country, and its few remaining members are scattered all over the Middle East and Europe. The Indo-Pak subcontinent’s Jama`at-e-Islami fared no better, a greater portion of its potentialities having been spent up in the politics of Pakistan. At the moment it has hardly any program other than joining hands with various political parties in the struggle for democracy.

One may think that the real cause of the failure of these revivalist movements lies in the impatience of their leaders. That is to say, they perhaps hastily, without first changing the minds of a considerable number of the country’s intelligentsia, took part in active politics, which resulted in premature clash with the national leadership and the so-called “progressive” elements. But in truth their failure is a direct result of their misconceived notion of faith and the error in their view of Islam.

7. The Error of their Interpretation of Islam

These movements’ understanding and view of Islam are based on the same Western standpoint, preferring material existence and worldly pursuits to spirit and the life Hereafter. Though the metaphysical beliefs of Islam which collectively constitute Islamic faith are affirmed in their studies of Islam, they have not been properly stressed. Their gaze has been exclusively fixed on the teachings and precepts which Islam has laid down for the multifarious practical aspects of life and to which they have given the name of Islami Nizam-e-Hayat. Their interpretation of Islam affirms all the religious beliefs but it lacks the inner state of deep faith in God (Iman Billah) which alone makes us know Allah as the only absolutely powerful agent and the ultimate cause within us and in the cosmos. The belief in the Hereafter is asserted but it is practically devoid of the living faith, which was described by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) when he commanded: “Live in this world like a stranger or wayfarer.”

Similarly, the prophethood of Muhammad (SAW) is not denied, yet there is no real love or heart-felt attachment to him. For the more progressive elements, the Prophet had a role hardly higher than that of a postman or a leader of the social life of the Muslim community.2 And even those who hold the Sunnah as definitive and fundamentally important in religious matters, have created a loop-hole in it by making a distinction between Sunnah adat and Sunnah risalat. This bifurcation has made it possible for its propounders to live freely at least their private lives in harmony with the fashionable trends of the times. In a word, faith is upheld only to the extent which suffices for one to be called a “Muslim” in the legal sense of the term. The inner experience of faith which truly fulfills and validates the propositions of Islamic belief is not present. Indeed nobody seems to be aware of its importance and indispensability.

It is an outcome of this very standpoint that the practice of the Islamic faith has come to be regarded as synonymous with the State, and worship (Ibadah) simply equivalent to obedience (Ita`ah). The Prophet’s statement that prayer (Salat) is the spiritual ascension of the believer is completely disregarded. The attachment of the human soul to prayer to the degree that it becomes the only source of inner happiness and peace is nowhere to be seen. 3 Contrary to this, the more progressive elements have identified the canonical prayer with the social order of the community. Some others assign importance to it only in so far as it is a comprehensive method for the organization of the Muslim community. The power of Zakat, the annul poor due, to develop and purify the soul is regarded as secondary to its role in the Islamic economic system or national welfare scheme. Fasting is commonly said to be an exercise in self control, but its potency to vitalize the soul by relaxing the shackle of the corporeal body upon it is either not fully realized or left unexpressed. The Prophet’s saying (Al Saum Al-Junnah) 4 is often reiterated in religious writings and sermons and a good deal of time is spent in its explanation. But the holy traditions (Al-Saum li…) 5 is mentioned briefly and cursorily if at all. Similarly it is common knowledge about Pilgrimage that this provides the pivot of worship around which a vast universal brotherhood is organized. But its deeper religious significance and the spiritual blessings it brings are seldom expressed.

This new interpretation of Islam is a direct result of the universal domination of Western philosophical thought which has completely secularized the point of view of Muslims. Consequently the soul and its inner life is wholly discarded in favor of the affairs of worldly life which constitute the sole object of thought and reflection. This has resulted in a materialistic interpretation of faith and religion. Though at the theoretical level it is said that Islam is a comprehensive system of human welfare, concerned with both this world and the Hereafter. But since their eyes are firmly fixed on the problems of this-worldly existence. Islam is in the final analysis reduced to a political and social system. Theological beliefs are considered as no more than a “veil,” facade, or outer crust.6 The real mission they have set for themselves is the enforcement of this system of life and conduct. The yearning for communion with God, adoration of Him and humble supplication before Him, which are the real essence of worship, are relegated to a peripheral status.7

The import of all these movement is more social and political than religious. They are more this-worldly than other-worldly. They are distinguished from other political and economic movements only in holding the Islamic way of life as a better solution to human problems than the life systems enunciated by capitalistic democracy or communism. And this is tantamount to saying that the task of reviving the real values of Islam has not yet even started.

This is the reason why these Islamic revivalist movements are comparable to ships without anchors drifting to and fro on the waves. Quite often they behave helplessly like a traveler who neither knows his destination nor remembers where he started from.

8. Revitalization of Faith: The Necessary Precondition of an Islamic Renaissance

Modern rationalistic and pseudo-scientific interpretations of Islam are quite alien to Islam itself and lack a direct link with the original mission of the Prophet (SAW). They are devoid of the spiritual message that is the heart of the Quranic revelation. They fail to appreciate Islam as a spiritual and metaphysical tradition. But since Islam is essentially based on inward faith known in Arabic as Iman, its renaissance can never be brought about without first reviving and indeed revitalizing the faith of a large part of the Muslim community. There is no denying the importance of political freedom and the independence of Muslim countries and these have undoubtedly contributed to generate greater awareness of Islamic values and ideals. Similarly, the idea of an Islamic way of life and confidence in its superiority over other ideologies has been useful to a limited extent and deserves our praise. The movements which were launched in the past or are still engaged in advancing the cause of freedom are in fact contributing partially and in their own way towards the revival of the Islamic message. But the most real and fundamental task in this regard still remains to be done. It is imperative for the entire intelligentsia of the Muslim world to pay attention to, and whosoever realizes its real importance should strive for the cardinal principle that a forceful movement be launched for reviving and revitalizing the Iman in the whole of the Muslim Ummah. In this way, Iman must be transformed from mere verbal attestation (qal) to an inward existential faith (hal).8

Iman is essentially attestation of, and inner faith in, some metaphysical truths. The first step towards attaining this faith is to believe more firmly in some truths even though they are not observable or perceptible, and to hold the things heard by the heart to be more trustworthy than the things heard by the ear. Belief in the unseen (Iman bil-Ghaib) is the first and foremost condition of Iman and this requires a radical change in the thought system and in the point of view of the believer. According to this new perspective, the whole order of creation should be taken as nothing more than a fleeting appearance or shadow, whereas the existence of God should be felt as an eternally living Reality. Contrary to the view that the universe is a chain of eternally present and uncreated causes and effects or the world is governed by “natural” forces and rigid mechanical laws, the Will of God and His design and purpose should be “seen” and felt in operation at all times and in all parts of the cosmos. Matter is looked upon as insignificant, and the soul is thought to be man’s essence. The locution Insan is not to be attributed to man’s animal and corporeal body but to the Divine spirit, the presence of which makes man superior to angels.9 Worldly life should appear to be transitory and unreal, and life Hereafter should alone be taken as real and ever-lasting. The pleasure of God should be held as more valuable than the attainment of all the riches of this world. And, according to a saying of the Prophet (SAW) riches of the world should not be assigned more value than a mosquito’s wing deserves. Let it be clearly and distinctly understood that unless and until a major portion of the Muslim Ummah really undergoes this profound transformation in thought and belief, the vision and the fond hope of an Islamic renaissance can never be realized.

The most effective way to implant and inculcate faith in the hearts of the Muslim masses is the company and fellowship of such deeply religious persons whose hearts and minds are illumined by Divine knowledge and by the light of faith, persons whose hearts are untouched by conceit, hypocrisy, rancor, and avarice. It was through ceaseless evangelist and disseminating work, teaching and exhortation as well as practical examples portrayed through their conduct of life, that a continuous chain of pious and God-intoxicated people kept the beacon of faith burning after the collapse of Khilafah ala minhaj al-Nubuwwah.10 Even though the winds of Western atheism and materialism are blowing high in Muslim lands, yet one can find here and there persons whose hearts and minds are full of certitude and staunch faith. The need of the time now is that the movement for Islamic faith and Iman be popularized and extended far and wide so that each and every inhabited piece of Muslim territory does have a few dedicated and selfless preachers whose sole aim in life is the pursuit of Allah’s pleasure, men who, in obedience to the teaching of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), make religious and moral guidance of people their sole aim and ambition in life.11

Fortunately, in the recent past there has emerged in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent a mass religious movement, the impact of which is visible on a vast multitude of people. It has led them to a firm belief in Islam and the radical change of values that this entails. That is to say, the Creator, spiritual existence, the human soul and the life Hereafter are held superior to the whole order of creation and worldly life. This movement is the Jamaat-e-Tableegh. It is an off-shoot of the movement of Deoband. It was founded and initiated by persons of deep and inner religious conviction. Although more than a third of a century has flown past, its fervor and emotional zeal has not abated a bit. Though we do not wholly agree with its approach and methodology, there is no denying the fact that it has brought about a complete change in the thinking of a great many people, who have started to feel that it is the Creator and not the created objects that should command our attention and that the uncaused first cause, 12 and not finite causes, is of prime importance. Similarly they develop a strong belief that it is not food or water but the Will of God that mitigates hunger and quenches thirst. Even the minor injunctions and precepts of the faith start appearing to them as of intrinsic worth and goodness without being grounded upon any logical argumentation or considered as part of a system of life or as means to establish it. The smallest details of the Holy Prophet’s Sunnah appear to these people as pregnant with light (noor) and splendor. They content themselves with the minimum material requirements of life and spend a major part of their time and energy in the propagation of Islam in their own way.

But as this movement addresses the sentiments and not the reason of the people and its main emphasis lies on action and not on understanding, its influence and efficacy is limited. The members of a community who hold reason and understanding to be superior to sentiments and action, remain uninfluenced by this type of preaching. The very mental constitution of these people compels them not to appropriate passionately anything that does not satisfy the test of reason and critical inquiry. They cannot attain the deeper levels of religious life without first untying the intellectual knots of their minds. These are the people who constitute the intellectual minority of a society and who command leadership over its ideology and policy. A change and indeed a total revolution in their viewpoint and way of thought is therefore of paramount importance. If Iman and belief could not be kindled in their hearts and they remained in the darkness of disbelief, faith occurring merely in the lower strata of society could not guarantee Islamization in a real and enduring sense.

9. The Real Task Ahead

For this reason the most essential task to be undertaken is to launch a high-powered academic movement which brings about a real change in the educated elite and intelligentsia of the society, taking them from the darkness of materialism and atheism to the light of faith and belief. This movement should be aimed at inducing in them a worshipful attitude and a heightened self awareness.13 This objective can only be achieved at a strictly academic level through a cogently reasoned presentation of Islamic beliefs and a strong refutation of atheistic and materialistic philosophies. In this connection a point must be borne in mind. Since in our age fast means of communication have considerably increased mobility and the whole world can be looked upon as one human family, the aforesaid academic level of discussion will not be limited to one particular country. Rather it would be required to come up to the highest standard of sophistication found anywhere in the world. This colossal work must be extremely painstaking. But the vision of an Islamic renaissance which does not fulfill this requirement is like living in a fool’s paradise.

The first thing essential for this movement is to get in its fold such intelligent and talented young men who have a keen desire for knowledge and whose minds and souls are burning for the attainment of truth. These young men must experience an inner feeling that the ultimate reality is far from the realm of sensuous objects. The passionate desire in them for acquiring knowledge and discovering truth should be so intense that, paying no heed to petty cravings for worldly comforts and bright professional careers, they are prepared to dedicate all their lives for the achievement of this end.

These young dedicated research-workers will have to take a deep and critical look into the entire history of human thought from its earliest stages to the present day. Logic, metaphysics, psychology, ethics, and theology would become the central subjects of their study and reflection, though due attention will also be given to the social and physical sciences. Along with this thorough and critical study of human thought, it would be essential for them to study the holy Quran, the last and most comprehensive Divine Revelation, in order to discover its truths. And if after a long and laborious study of human knowledge and Quranic wisdom, the beacon-bright message of the Quran becomes crystal clear to them, their minds and souls vibrate with its statements, the Quranic teachings about the nature of the outer world and of their own souls (afaq wa anfus) satisfy them completely and they experience an inner contentment as a result of this enlightenment, then they will have attained the true faith.

Only these men will possess excellence in true knowledge and wisdom. Instead of mental disruption and moral lewdness, their knowledge will lead them to greater fear of God’s justice and punishment. Their personalities will be embodiments of the Quranic verse:

The fear of God is found only in the hearts of men who have abundant knowledge. (Al-Fatir 35:28)

Also their personalities and character will bear witness to the truth of a poetic line:

Not merely a reader of the Quran, A true Muslim is the Quran personified.

The essence of the Holy Book lies in the particular gnosis which is called Iman or faith. No doubt the Quranic laws and precepts about the practical aspects of life are of immense importance in their own right. But compared with the essence which is constituted by its teachings regarding Iman, the legal aspects of the Quran are of secondary significance. Without the prior acquisition of this inner faith, deliberation upon the Quranic laws is of hardly any value. This point was very aptly conveyed in a statement of the Prophet’s Companion, Hadrat Ibn Abbas (RAA): “We first learned Iman and then we learned the Quran.”

The difficult task of refuting western thought and rooting out its civilization and culture can only be executed in the real sense by those who have drunk deep at the fountains of wisdom and knowledge that flow from the Quran. It would be possible for these men to write a new Refutation 14 of the philosophers of today and mount a crushing attack 15 upon modern logicians. In a word, they will check effectively the flood of atheism and materialism which has been carrying away the human mind for the last two hundred years.

Besides this, they will have to undertake the positive task of initiating a new Islamic philosophical theology or Kalam, so that the facts discovered in the domains of mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and psychology may be assigned a proper place in the framework of Islamic beliefs. There is no inherent contradiction between the facts of these sciences and the tenets of Iman. The facts of physical sciences point partially to the same Absolute Reality which is comprehended through Iman. Forty years ago, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal set a precedence for this sort of work through the seven lectures published under the title, Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. The followers of Iqbal have, however, rather inappropriately concentrated on the nature of law, Ijma` and Ijtihad in Islam, which are in fact not directly related to the religious and philosophical aspect of his book. In fact his real purpose was the reconstruction and reformulation of the philosophical theology of Islam and his work is highly stimulating and thought-provoking in this regard. He did not claim that his word was final or perfect. He himself observed in the preface: “As knowledge advances and fresh avenues of thought are opened, other views and probably sounder views than those set forth in these lectures, are possible. Our duty is to watch carefully the progress of human thought and to maintain an independent critical attitude towards it.” Therefore if this task had been continued on lines suggested by Dr. Iqbal and some talented and dedicated men had devoted their lives to Quranic research, making it the hub and center of their intellectual activity, quite valuable and substantial work would have been produced by now. Until and unless a considerable amount of really good quality work is available in the field of Islamic theology or Kalam, the hope of instilling in the intelligentsia a deeply religious point of view can never be realized.

After the development and reformulation of religious and philosophical thought, the second most essential task would be to elaborate cogently in modern terminology the teachings of Islam regarding the practical aspects of life such as politics, jurisprudence, culture, and economics. In this connection, it was mentioned earlier that during the past forty years or so some commendable work was undertaken in Egypt and the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Both the Jama`at-e-Islami and Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimoon have made “Islamic way of life” and “Social Justice in Islam” the central themes of their published work. However, this should only be considered as an appreciably good start in the right direction. It must be pointed out here that the current wave of plagiarism and publishing the old material under new titles will not at all serve the purpose. Pamphleteering by pseudo-scholars and immature writers and sale of publications among a particular group of people may bring economic benefit to a few but surely this will render no positive and lasting service to Islam itself. In the world of today in which people generally are pressed for time, persons of high intellectual caliber cannot possible find time and leisure for superficial and second-rate literature. It is, therefore, imperative that whatever material is brought out, it should be of high standard without necessarily being voluminous. For this task as well, besides critical knowledge of contemporary world affairs and social sciences, a deep and sound understanding of the Quran and Sunnah is called for.

10. A Blueprint for Action

Two things must be implemented immediately in order to launch the above-mentioned academic and Quranic research movement.

First, an organization should be established for the mass dissemination and exposition of the Quranic message. This organization should work for two objectives. It should strive to revive and revitalize the faith of Muslims in general, to enlighten their minds and chasten their character. It should also provide, through study circles and residential camps, practical training and guidance for the intellectual, moral, and religious enhancement of the people who respond to its call. It should convince those who sincerely aspire for an Islamic renaissance of the supreme importance of the academic movement referred to above. This organization should also earnestly look for such brilliant young scholars who are willing to devote all their lives in the academic task required for them. It is not an easy job to get hold of young and dedicated scholars in this age of exclusive pursuit of worldly gains. The problem of earning one’s livelihood has become so acutely difficult today that most young men spend all their energies and potentialities in their professional task. In our society generally when a person is able to manage his basic necessities, he usually embarks on the never-ending process of raising his standard of life. But there are always in the world some pious and God-fearing persons. If some sincere and courageous men start this work with single-minded devotion, they are, with the help of Allah, sure to find a good many intelligent and capable youths, who will, in accordance with a Prophet’s tradition 16 make the learning and dissemination of Quranic wisdom the sole aim of their lives. The real need for the execution of a momentous task is always a strong inner urge for action which follows a particular emotion or idea. Once we have this inner urge, new possibilities or chances of success come up unexpectedly and the obstacles and the difficulties envisaged are overcome. What needs to be done is to propagate with missionary zeal the necessity of the Islamic renaissance and revival. And if this is undertaken in right earnest, there is no reason why this movement should not attract devoted and persevering workers for its noble ideals.

Secondly, a Quranic research academy should be established so that it may start a popular movement for learning and teaching the Quran among Muslims themselves, so that they may develop a fresh attitude of devotion to the study of the Quran. It is only when they come to cherish true faith and belief with a deep, inward conviction that the light of the Quran will illumine their hearts and their feeling of reverence for the Holy Book will become profound. This academy should educate and train such young scholars who have fully equipped themselves with both modern knowledge and Quranic wisdom, so that they may progress in the academic task before them.

The mass communication of Quranic teaching will result most importantly in drawing people’s heart to it. As their faith will strengthen, their minds will come more and more under the spell of the Quran and their feelings of reverence and devotion for it will become deeper. Consequently a large number of intelligent and capable young men will also be attracted to it, and quite possibly some of these seekers of knowledge will devote themselves to Quranic studies wholly and solely and make the learning and teaching of the Quran the sole aim of their lives. The major function of this academy would be to instruct and train those young men to become ardent workers for the cause of the Islamic renaissance. For this they will require a thorough knowledge of the Arabic language and its grammar and a refined literary taste to appreciate the beauty, force, and eloquence of its expressions. They should acquire a good grounding in the language in which the Quran was revealed by a critical study of the works of the renowned traditional writers. They should receive education in other religious studies, especially in tradition (Hadith) Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh) and its principles. Every student who joins this academy should study as elective subjects one or more of the disciplines of social sciences according to his own taste and aptitude. It is only then that some of these scholars who are interested in philosophy and theology, would be competent to level, in the light of the Quran, reasoned criticism against contemporary philosophical positions and trends. In this way, they would initiate the new Islamic philosophical theology or Kalam. And students of various subjects in modern social sciences would be able to carry out research on the Quran in the sphere of their own choice and present the light and guidance of the Quran effectively to others. Thus they would approach the intellect of modern man making a judicious use of modern terminology and sophisticated methods of logical reasoning.

Endnotes

1. The way the British Empire had to vacate one after another her vast dominion is an eye opener for any thoughtful person.
2. Ghulam Ahmad Pervez is the leading exponent of this school of thought in Pakistan. The purpose to mention Mr. Pervez’s thoughts here is to bring home to the reader the fact that this type of position is only the next logical step from the error inherent in most revivalist movements.
3. The Prophet’s saying means that I find inner comfort in Salat i.e., the prayer offered five times a day.
4. Fasting is like a shield protecting the soul against the sins.
5. Holy tradition (Hadith Qudsi) is that tradition in which God speaks in the first person through the Prophet. There are forty of these in all. The “holy tradition” mentioned above means that fasting is for the pleasure of Allah and He will Himself grant its reward.
6. A statement to this effect has been attributed to a well known “Kalamist” and advocate of Islam. The actual statement reportedly reads: “Islam is in fact a socio-political system onto which a veil of theology has been placed.”
7. Even this state of affair is to be found in rather traditional and conservative Islamic movements. Otherwise the more liberal and progressive elements, under the impact of socialism and communism — the logical consequences of Western thought — have gone beyond calling Islam a socio-political system and regard it strictly an economic program. That is to say, for them Islam is co-extensive with a particular type of nizam-e-rabubiat. In the explanation of religious metaphysical beliefs and tenets of Iman they take their start from where Sayyid Ahmad Khan had got at through his rationalistic strain. By interpreting Paradise and Hell in terms of the well-being or otherwise of life here on this earth, and by interpreting Qiyamah in terms of atomic explosions, they have completely deprived Islam of its very spirit. In my view this is only the logical terminus of the materialistic interpretation of Islam. A criticism of this view is not my objective here because even though it is given the label of Quranic thought it is undoubtedly gross, crass, and naked materialism and anti-Quranic in spirit. This incidental allusion to the so-called “Quranic thought” has been made in order merely to show as to what extent secular version of religion can be pressed. A Persian verse depicts this situation very graphically thus: If a mason lays the foundation in a wrong way, The wall goes defective up to the summit.
8. The terms Qal and Hal are often found in the literature of Tasawwuf or Islamic mysticism. Generally speaking, when the avowed attestation of Iman, something spoken and verbal, develops inwardly and permeates the entire being and activity of the believer, the Qal deepens and enriches into Hal.
9. This refers to the Quran, verse of Surah Al-Baqarah, according to which Allah ordered the angels to prostrate before Adam.
10. This is an alternative expression for Khilafate-e-Rashida, the “Rightly Guided” Khilafah of Hadrat Abu Bakr, Hadrat Umar, Hadrat Uthman and Hadrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with them all).
11. This refers to the saying of the Prophet: “If Allah guides a man to the right path through your effort and struggle, this is better for you than the costly brown camels.”
12. This is how philosophers have traditionally conceived of God as Necessary and Ultimate Being existing independently and in its own right.
13. According to Quranic Philosophy, a true knowledge of one’s own deeper self necessarily leads to awareness of the ultimate Self or God. There are also Prophet’s sayings to this effect.
14. This refers to Iman Ghazali’s book Refutation of Philosophers in which he tried to refute the rationalistic philosophies of the eleventh century.
15. Here the allusion is to Imam Ibn Taimiyya’s book entitled Attack on the Logicians in which he criticized and conclusively refuted the argument advanced by the logicians of his time.
16. The Prophet’s saying reads: “The best amongst you are those who learn the Quran and teach and impart it to others.”

The long standing political and moral decline of the Muslim Ummah has reslted, among other things, in a serious distortion of our very concept of Islam itself. We have grown accustomed to viewing Islam as a mere “religion,” instead of using the original Qur’anic term “Deen.” This apparently minor change in semantics is actually a huge leap backwards. This is because the word religion is commonly used in a rather narrow sense, its scope being limited to a set of dogmas, some rituals for worship, and a number of social customs to celebrate important life-events. Deen, on the other hand, is a system of life in which human beings consciously surrender to the sovereignty of a higher authority, and live a life of total obedience to that higher authority. In this sense, the term Deen can be applied to monarchy, where the king is accepted as the final authority, or to democracy, where the people as a whole act as sovereign. Thus, when the term Deen is used for Islam, it obviously means a system of life where the Almighty God is worshipped and obeyed, not just in the narrow religious sense, but in a manner that includes all aspects of human of life.

A well-integrated set of beliefs describing the nature of existence as it really is (Iman), modes of worship including Salat, Zakat, Saum, and Hajj, as well as social customs and ceremonies — all comprise indispensable and integral parts of Islam. However, in addition to these “religious” features, we are also provided by the Almighty God all the relevant instructions regarding our social, economic, and political existence (generally considered to be the “secular” elements of life), and this is what really distinguishes Islam from other religions, say, Christianity or Buddhism. Unfortunately, the majority of our masses are simply, and perhaps blissfully, unaware of what it really means to be a Muslim; thus, their concept of religious duties is usually very narrow and limited. But, as Allama Iqbal has so correctly observed, you begin to shudder with the fear of accountability once you realize the tremendous responsibilities that come with being a Muslim.

When Islam loses its political authority, it is relegated and dethroned to the status of a mere religion — a private affair of the individual; and if any particular generation is to revive the teachings of Islam in the social, economic, and political spheres, then this is impossible without adopting the same methodology as was adopted by Prophet Muhammad (SAW). After the independence of the Muslim lands from direct subjugation of Western Imperialism, it was naively believed that since political authority now belongs to the Muslims, the next step, that of implementing the Islamic values, won’t be all that difficult. However, it has been proved during the last half century or so that the ideal Islamic State is still very much a dream, and since no short-cuts are available, we have no alternative except to start at the very beginning. We must remind the Muslims of their responsibilities. The significance of this subject is quite clear: We cannot hope to achieve salvation in the Hereafter without fulfilling all our obligations. Moreover, we cannot even think about the revival of the Muslim Ummah and the Renaissance of Islam without first inculcating the true concept of our Divinely ordained obligations in a significant portion of the Ummah.

OUR FIRST OBLIGATION as a Muslim is to develop real faith and true conviction (or Iman) in the teachings of the Qur’an as explained by to us by Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The faith must not be a mere dogma which has little or nothing to do with the practical aspects of one’s life, but it must be a deeply-felt certitude that changes the whole system of values, ambitions, and behavior in favor of Islam. Iman can be gained by reading, comprehending, and pondering over the meaning of Holy Qur’an with a genuine search for truth. The knowledge of Arabic language is indispensable for this purpose.

OUR SECOND OBLIGATION is to live a life of total obedience to the Almighty God. This duty is described in the Holy Qur’an as Ibadah, which is often inaccurately translated as worship or prayers. However, the true meaning of the term Ibadah can only be understood if we combine two apparently unrelated concepts: one is surrender, obedience, submission; the other is love, adoration, devotion. Total and unconditional compliance to all Divine injunctions is obviously required; at the same time, this compliance ought to be with a spirit of wholehearted devotion and love for the Creator.

All of us need someone or something to love, admire, and adore. Usually, our lack of knowledge of the one Being worthy of all our love, admiration, and adoration lead us towards other, less than perfect, ideals. We start loving various ideologies, like Socialism, or Liberalism, or Humanism; we sometimes start loving our tribe, our nation, or our race as the ultimate ideal. The Holy Qur’an teaches us that the faithful are those who love the Almighty God over everyone and everything else. When we love our Lord, we find it easy to obey Him. Sometimes we slip and forget, committing a sin; the point is to immediately turn back towards the Almighty God with genuine remorse, and to repent; if we can do this, Divine forgiveness is guaranteed.

OUR THIRD OBLIGATION as a Muslim is to preach and disseminate the word of Almighty Allah (SWT) — the Holy Qur’an — and the teachings of his last messenger Muhammad (SAW) to the whole humanity. What does it involve? Calling people towards the light of Islam and Iman; enjoining and encouraging all that is good and just and moral, forbidding all that is evil and unjust and sinful; exhorting the common people, explaining the philosophy and wisdom of Islam to the educated and intelligent classes, debating with the stubborn and the rigid; testifying to the truthfulness of the message with our behavior and conduct, our character and morals.

It is significant to note that communicating and explaining the teachings of Islam to others is not, as we have erroneously come to believe, the “profession” of the Mulla alone, but this is actually a duty of anyone who claims to be a Muslim. As Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has ordered, “Convey on my behalf, even if it is only a single verse (of the Qur’an that you know).”

This is because preaching and delivering the message of God to the entire humanity is actually the responsibility of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), but now, after his departure and due to the termination of Prophethood, that sacred obligation has been transferred on to the shoulders of the Ummah as a whole. This, incidentally, is the purpose for which the entire Muslim Ummah was created in the first place, as mentioned in a most emphatic fashion in the Holy Qur’an: “You are the best of people raised for the (guidance of) mankind; You enjoin the good, forbid the evil, and believe in Allah” (3:110).

Of course, you cannot convince anyone unless you understand yourself the message you are trying to preach. Thus, according to another saying of the Prophet, “The best among you are those who learn (and comprehend) the Qur’an, and then teach (and propagate) its message.”

OUR FOURTH OBLIGATION as Muslims is to try our utmost in establishing a polity based on Qur’an and Sunnah and the Islamic System of Collective Justice, initially in our own homeland and then, ultimately, over the entire globe. The teachings of Islam vis-à-vis human society, law, economics, and politics cannot be implemented without a true and ideal Islamic state in existence. There are numerous terms to describe this highest of all our duties: establishing the Deen of Allah, achieving the domination of Islam, creating on earth the kingdom of God, bringing about an Islamic Revolution; different phrases, same meaning. Unless we succeed in creating a real model of what an ideal Islamic state should look like, all our adulations and glorifications of Islam would continue to be dismissed by the world as mere Utopian claims.

What are we talking about in practical terms? An ideal Islamic state is neither a monarchy nor a theocracy. Instead, we have a vision of a democratic welfare state, where the sovereignty of the Almighty God is accepted and enforced at all levels of the state — executive, judiciary, and legislature; where no law can be formulated repugnant to the Qur’an and the Sunnah; and where the elimination of all forms of injustice, exploitation, and repression is the primary aim of the government.

The process of an Islamic Revolution will start from a single country, and then it would spread to the rest of the globe. Muslims are obliged to struggle tirelessly in establishing the de facto soverignty of Almighty God, first in the country where they live, and ultimately all over the world.

This comprehensive view of the duties of a Muslim can be very easily understood by a simple analogy. Consider a three-storied building which is supported by four pillars. The underground foundation represents faith or Iman, which remains hidden from the spectators; the plinth of the building represents Shahadah, or the testimony of faith on a legal level; the four pillars of the building are obviously Salat, Zakat, Saum, and Hajj. The first floor represents our first level of obligation as a Muslim, i.e., to live a life of total obedience to Almighty God; the second floor is a symbol for our second level of obligation, i.e., to preach and disseminate the teachings of Islam; and, finally, the third floor represents our third level of obligation, to try our very best in establishing the Deen of Allah in its entirety on a socio-political level.

(This paper was originally presented by Dr. Israr Ahmad in the fifth session of the second annual “Quran Conference” held on March 26, 1975, at Jinnah Hall, Lahore.)

We Muslims believe that the best of all human beings — Muhammad, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him — was much more than just one of the many prophets, as he was Khatam al-nabiyyeen (seal of the prophets); simultaneously, we also believe that he was much more than just one of the numerous messengers of Allah, as he was Aakhir al-rusul (the final Messenger). Prophecy or Prophethood not only ends and comes to a close with the advent of Muhammad (SAW), but it also achieves its final plenitude, consummation and culmination in him. This means that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) represents the completion and climax of all earlier prophetic missions, as well as the fulfillment and full blossoming of all antecedent Divine revelations. Seen in this perspective, it becomes absolutely certain that whereas the objective and aim of Muhammad’s prophethood cannot be fundamentally different from those of all other prophets, at the same time it must also reflect the characteristic of completion and full realization. And this by itself confers on him a distinct and special place in the galaxy of noble prophets.

It is, therefore, clear that in order to fully comprehend and appreciate the objective of Muhammad’s advent as the final prophet we must first understand, as enunciated by the Holy Qur’an, the general objective of the institution of Prophethood itself. Only then can we attempt to grasp the distinctive and unique nature of the goal of Muhammad’s Prophethood, as well as its significance. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him.

THE AXIAL PURPOSE OF PROPHETS

Three Doctrinal Beliefs

It is common knowledge that Islam is based upon three metaphysical beliefs, viz., the faith in Allah as the one Supreme Creator and Sovereign (Tawheed), the belief in the accountability in the life-after-death (Ma’ad), and the faith in the institutions of Prophethood and Revelation (Risalah). However, what is generally not realized is the fact that these three doctrinal beliefs are very deeply connected and logically related, and, taken together, constitute an indivisible organic unity. Let us try to examine very briefly and schematically the real import of these beliefs and the nature of their mutual relationship.

Belief in Allah

Keeping aside philosophical controversies and theological intricacies, the quintessential claim of belief in Allah is as follows. The entire realm of being and the whole cosmic complex is neither eternal nor ever-lasting; rather, it is both contingent and perishable. In itself, it has no warrant for its own existence and it cannot explain itself. However, there is one such Being as has neither beginning in time nor an end — Allah, the proper name for God. It makes no difference whether one calls Him Allah or Al-Rahman (The Most Beneficent). He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and of man, and, particularly, the giver of guidance for man and the Supreme Judge of his conduct. God’s existence can be brought home to those who care to reflect, so that it not only ceases to be an ‘irrational’ or ‘unreasonable’ belief but also becomes for them the Master-Truth. He is all-enveloping, literally boundless, and He alone is absolute, eternal, and infinite. Everything else carries in the very texture of its being the hallmark of its finitude and creatureliness. He is the personification of all good attributes, like Power, Majesty, Mercy, Munificence, Knowledge, etc., in the utmost degree. In the very nature of the case, there can be only one God, for whenever one tries to conceive of more than one, only one will be found to emerge as the First. The Holy Qur’an declares:

Do not take two gods (for) He is only One. (Al-Nahl 16:51)

God bears witness that there is no god but He. (Aal-i-Imran 3:18)

Say (O Muhammad) if there were other gods beside Him, as these people assert, they would all (necessarily) seek their way to the (one) Lord of the Throne. (Al-Isra 17:42)

Nobody from amongst the creatures shares His substantial essence, attributes, rights, authority and privileges. God cannot be regarded as an existent among other existents. In the metaphysical realm, there can be no democratic and equal sharing of being between the Original, the Creator, the Self-Necessary on the one hand and the borrowed, the created, the contingent on the other. The Qur’anic condemnation of Shirk (assigning partners to God) has its roots firmly in the metaphysical realm and then issues forth its corollaries in the political and moral fields.

The whole Sura al-Ikhlas, like many other verses of the Holy Qur’an, most categorically emphasizes the oneness and absoluteness of God Almighty:

Say: He is one God: God the eternal, the Uncaused (Absolute) Cause of all being. He begets not, and neither is He begotten; and there is nothing that could be compared with Him. (Al-Ikhlas 112:1-4)

And say: All praise is to God, who begets no offspring, and has no partner in his dominion, and has no weakness, and therefore no need of any aid, and (thus) extol His limitless greatness. (Al-Isra 17:111)

He allots to no one a share in His dominion and rule. (Al-Kahf 18:26)

Almighty Allah (SWT) has created the universe with a purpose and for a definite period of time. The creation of the universe is a serious affair, not a sport or triviality:

And We have not created the heavens and the earth and what is therein purposelessly — that is the opinion of those who reject (God) or are ungrateful. (Al-Saad 38:27)

The non-ultimacy of nature itself proves its destructibility and the Qur’an tells us that God in His wisdom has created the myriad forms of existence for a finite duration of time, known only to Him. At the pinnacle of God’s multi-layered creations appears man whom He endowed with a dual nature: Allah (SWT) created his animal form and then breathed into him out of His own Spirit, and made him His vicegerent on earth. In other words, the Holy Qur’an presents a theomorphic conception of man: he is homo cum Deo. The creation of man represents the acme of Divine creative process, as, according to an authentic tradition of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), God has created man in His own image. The following verses of the Holy Qur’an refers to both aspects of the creation of man:

We have indeed created man in the finest of moulds, then We reversed him to the lowest of the low. (Al-Teen 95: 4,5)

Belief in the Life Hereafter

The core of this Islamic belief lies in the assertion that the present terrestrial existence of man does not constitute his total life; rather, it is a short preamble of the everlasting life in the Hereafter, a very brief preface of the long life-book. Life in this world is merely a trial or examination period, the rewards or punishments of which will be enjoyed or suffered in the Hereafter (Al-Aakhira). Physical death experienced by man in this world does not represent the annihilation of the individual person; rather it is only his transportation from this world to the eternal life in the next world. Immediately after death is the Barzakh, a brief halting station on the way to the Hereafter, and the ever-lasting life will begin after the Day of Judgement (the final accounting of deeds). Resurrection of the dead, final reckoning, weighing of deed-records, torments of the hell-fire and joys of the Paradise — all are essential parts of the Qur’anic eschatology which fully elaborate the Islamic belief in the Hereafter. Al-Aakhira or the ‘end’ is the moment of truth. Thus “that day man will recall what he had been striving for” (Al-Naaziat 79:35) is a typical statement of this phenomenon. It is an Hour when all veils between the subjective perceptions of man and the objective moral reality will be rent:

You were in deep heedlessness about this (Hour of self-awareness), but now We have rent your veil, so your sight today is keen. (Qaaf 50:22)

Indeed, the essence of the Hereafter (Al-Aakhira) consists in the long-range results or consequences of man’s endeavours during his earthly life. Ad-Dunya, or the immediate objectives and the here-and-now of life, on the contrary, represents the lower values, the baser pursuits which appear so tempting that most men run after them most of the time, at the expense of the higher and long-range ends. The Holy Prophet (SAW) has elaborated this in one of his moving sermons thus:

I swear by Allah that all of you will certainly die, just as you go to sleep at night. Then surely you will all be raised again as you wake up in the morning. Then you will definitely be judged for the deeds you had been doing. You will get rewards for good deeds and punishment for the evil ones; it will either be the everlasting life of Paradise or the endless torment of Hell-fire. (Cf. Sermons of the Holy Prophet, reproduced in Nahjul Balagha)

The Relationship between the Belief in Allah and the Belief in the Hereafter

With a little thoughtful reflection one can realize that the Islamic metaphysical belief in the Divine Creator and the eschatological belief in the Hereafter together constitute the total sapiential knowledge of the whence (mabda) and whither (ma’ad) of man. That is to say, one who upholds these beliefs reflectively and with full consciousness, ipso facto, possesses authentic knowledge both about his source or origin and his ultimate destiny or destination. The Holy Qur’an summarizes this in the following words:

Verily, we are from Allah and unto Him we shall return. (Al-Baqara 2:156)

As a matter of truth, a man without this absolutely essential knowledge of the whence and whither of humanity is like a wayfarer who, due to a mishap during the course of his journey, neither remembers as to wherefrom he started his excursion nor recalls the destination to which he was traveling. One can well imagine the miserable plight and mental anguish of that traveler. This is exactly the situation of a man who, not knowing his ultimate destination or the purpose of his existence, spends his entire life in pursuing this-worldly goals, in accumulating the means of material sustenance and luxuries, and in seeking carnal gratifications. Such a man is so absorbed in his immediate physical concerns and his narrow material gains that he does not heed the higher ideals and values of life. The Holy Qur’an allegorically speaks of this man thus:

But then, is he who goes along prone on his face better guided than he who walks upright on a straight path? (Al-Mulk 67:22)

That is to say, the man who is ignorant of Divine guidance is confined in a narrow single dimension. He therefore sees only what is immediately beneath his feet, and is utterly unaware of the direction his path is taking him to. This is a metaphor of the spiritual obtuseness which prevents a person from caring for anything beyond his proximate worldly concerns.

Or else, this man is like a kite which, its thin cord having been cut, is entirely at the mercy of the ever-changing winds. The winds may carry it wherever they like. The Holy Qur’an expresses this very graphically in these words:

For he who ascribes divine qualities to anything beside God is like one who is hurtling down from the sky, whereupon either the birds snatch him off, or the winds blow him away to a far off place (Al-Hajj 22:31)

The net result of this rejection or ignorance of the Divine guidance in respect of the whence and whither of man is that he becomes enmeshed in metaphysical doubts and uncertainties, ending up with wholesale agnosticism or skepticism. The logical end-point of this epistemological confusion is that some thinkers are led even to the extent of casting doubts on their own objective existence and into total ethical nihilism.

An Important Question

At this juncture a very crucial question arises, the right answer to which can explain the logical relation between the Islamic metaphysical beliefs discussed above — that is, belief in Allah and in the Hereafter — and the doctrine of Prophethood. The question is: on what basis is man to be judged in the Hereafter? Or, in other words, on what grounds is man accountable for his deeds on the Day of Judgement?

The most authentic explanation of this issue, in the light of the Holy Qur’an, can be very succinctly expressed thus:

Primarily (and essentially), a man is accountable for his deeds on the grounds of natural capacities and higher faculties which are bestowed on him by Allah (SWT), viz., the abilities of sight and hearing and reasoning, the faculties of perception and intuition and insight, and a powerful penchant and love for the Creator — that is to say, the three faculties of nafs (self), qalb (heart), and ruh (spirit or soul).

Secondarily, Almighty Allah (SWT) has, in His infinite Mercy, supplemented the above mentioned inherent potentialities of man with heavenly guidance through revelation of Books and sending of His Prophets and Messengers, so that men might have no excuse before God on the Day of Judgement, so that they may not be in a position to plead ignorance. Revelation and Prophethood is thus an additional (and external, so to say) factor that makes man fully answerable to God for his deeds in the Hereafter. This point, however, calls for a little clarification:

Latifa-e-Nafs

Self or ego is the lowest of all the faculties possessed by man. Considered from this standpoint, man no doubt is only a highly evolved animal and belongs to the realm of Creation (Aalam-e-Khalq). A major part of this self is carnal, and its dominant inclination is towards inferior and baser pursuits. The Holy Qur’an calls this self nafs-e-ammarah, i.e., the self which prompts man to worldly and immoral aims. This is an expression for the lowest stage in the spiritual growth of man, the stage where low desires and animal passions rule his personality and he succumbs to them like any other brute. Different aspects of this self were studied and pointed out by Marx, Freud, and Adler. Each of them focused his attention exclusively on one of the urges and desires belonging to the lower human self. Darwin, too, was not entirely wrong in asserting the human biological evolution which is a fact in respect of the natural development of the earthly or animal part of man.

Latifa-e-Ruh

Diametrically opposed to the above mentioned animal self is that component of man which is his soul or spirit. It is a Divine element in man, as Almighty Allah (SWT) has associated it with Himself: “and breathed into him of My Spirit” (Al-Hijr 15:29 & Al-Saad 38:72). This spiritual element of man totally belongs to Aalam-e-Amr, or the realm of Divine directive force: “Say, the spirit is from God’s direction” (Al-Asra 17:85). Being strictly of Divine origin, it has an inherent love for, and attraction towards, Almighty Allah (SWT), and, consequently, aspires for a communion with Him. In spiritually mature personalities, however, this dormant tendency becomes very acute and lights up in the form of what is described as a Divine spark.

The Internal Strife of Good and Evil

Being a composite of baser animal ego (nafs) and the Divine spiritual soul (ruh), man can rightly be characterized as a “microcosm” of the whole being — possessing in, and reflecting from, the innermost recesses of his selfhood both evil tendencies and higher spiritual aspirations. He experiences within himself the lowest drives of evil and vice, as well as the noblest urgings for moral righteousness and spiritual excellence. Man’s inner personality thus is an arena of a long and perpetual pitched battle between the forces of evil and goodness.

The Basic Grounds for Accountability

Almighty Allah (SWT) has not sent man in this world without giving him any capacity and potential to cope with the inner strife of good and evil. On the contrary, man has been endowed with numerous faculties that help him in fighting out the blind and irrational promptings of evil. Even the lowest element of his personality — the animal self or Latifa-e-Nafs — is equipped not only with the capacities of sight, hearing, and reasoning, but also with an acute moral sense. There is a world of qualitative difference between the sensory and mental operations of human beings and brute animals. Logical reasoning through induction and deduction, abstractions and thoughtful reflections, as well as metaphysical speculations are only the prerogatives of human beings. Moreover, the human self has been equipped by Allah (SWT) with a moral sense that discriminates between virtue and vice, between moral rectitude and immorality. That is why man’s own inner moral self, or nafs-i-lawwamah in Qur’anic terminology, is the most authentic judge within. Slightest departure from the path of moral rectitude activates this “self-accusing soul” and the pricks of conscience are immediately experienced by the evil-doer. The following verses of the Holy Qur’an categorically state these truths:

Indeed, We created man from a mixed sperm-drop in order to try him, and therefore We made him capable of hearing and seeing. (Al-Dahr 76:2)

Nay, I call to witness the Day of Resurrection! But nay, I call to witness the accusing voice of man’s own conscience (Al-Qiyamah 75:1,2)

And (by the) human self, and how it is formed in accordance with what it is meant to be; then inspired it with its moral failings as well as with its God-consciousness. (Al-Shams 91:7,8)

The connotation of the verb sawwa, used in the Arabic text of the last quotation above, is that Almighty Allah (SWT) has endowed the human self with an inner coherence and with qualities consistent with the functions which it is meant to perform, and thus has adapted it a priori to the exigencies of its terrestrial existence. Moreover, Allah (SWT) has implanted a keen moral sense in him; thus, the fact that man is equally liable to rise to great spiritual heights as well as to fall into utter immorality is an essential and primordial characteristic of human nature as such. In other words, it is this inherent dichotomy of tendencies which gives to every right choice a value, and, thus, endows man with moral free-will.

The Holy Qur’an speaks of three types of human self, or three stages or states of the spiritual development: Nafs-e-ammara (Yousuf 12:53) is prone to evil, and, if unchecked and uncontrolled, leads to perdition and eternal damnation; nafs-e-lawwama (Al-Qiyamah 75:2) which feels conscious of the evil and resists, asks for God’s grace and pardon after repentance and tries to amend; nafs-e-mutma’inna (Al-Fajr 89:27), the highest stage of all, when it achieves full peace and satisfaction in obeying Divine commands. According to the Qur’an, a man is always cognizant, because of his inborn moral sense, of the morality or immorality of his actions, irrespective of the rationalizations or excuses that he may offer. Thus, the Qur’an says:

Nay, but man is a witness against himself, even though he may veil himself in excuses. (Al-Qiyamah 75:14,15)

On the Day of Judgement, one’s tongue, hands, feet, and skin will bear witness against him as to his actions. It is not what a man will say about himself, or what others say of him, that determines the judgement upon him. It is what he is in himself. His own inner personality will betray him and condemn him.

The above cited Qur’anic verses and the brief explanatory notes make the truth crystal clear that man is not, like animals, merely a sentient or instinctive being; rather, he has been made by the Creator into a full-fledged human person — a human being capable of discerning between right and wrong and thus of choosing his way of life. On the basis of this ingrained moral sense, every human being as such is answerable on the Day of Final Reckoning, and is fully liable to punishment or reward. Every individual will have to account for his own deeds personally, and face the trial and the judgement himself. The Holy Qur’an makes clear this point thus:

(Be conscious, then, of) the Day every human being shall come to plead for himself (alone), and every human being shall be repaid in full for whatever he has done, and none shall be wronged. (Al-Nahl 16:111)

The Holy Qur’an categorically refutes the Christian doctrine of vicarious redemption as well as the Jewish idea that “the chosen people” — as the Jews consider themselves — would be exempt from punishment on the Day of Judgement. On that day, nobody would be able to help another, nor will there be any possibility of ransom or intercession, as the Qur’an says:

And remain conscious of (the coming of) a Day when no human being shall in the least avail another, nor shall intercession be accepted from any of them, nor ransom taken from them, and none shall be succoured (Al-Baqara 2:48)

Latifa-e-Qalb

In addition to the above mentioned faculties of sight, hearing, reasoning, and moral acumen, Almighty Allah (SWT) has also endowed man with the heart (qalb), i.e., the faculty of contemplative intuition and the seat or organ of numinous apprehension. The heart is indeed ablaze with the light of love and gnosis of Almighty Allah (SWT). It reflects within itself all the transcendental truths and the reality of all true existence.

The heart is, so to say, a microcosmic reality which contains within itself the reflection of the entire supersensible Macrocosm. Whereas latifa-e-nafs has been bestowed with the faculties of receiving and interpreting sense data — which is the foundation of all physical and theoretical sciences — latifa-e-qalb has been given the power of direct perception of spiritual verities. Heart, in Qur’anic epistemology, is the seat of the true self or the repository of soul, of which we may be conscious or ignorant, but which is our true existential and intellectual — and therefore universal — center. Knowledge afforded by the heart is qualitatively different from that which is acquired at the level of latifa-i-nafs through external senses and ordinary channels of ratiocination. The heart is, as it were, immersed in the immutability of Being and is, thus, an organ of ilm-i-ladunni, which is knowledge imparted directly by God through intuition and inner perception. It is a supersensory organ of cognition in which the knowledge of esoteric truths transpires through tafaqquh, i.e., meditative reflection, where contemplativity is stressed more than the sharpness of intelligence. By bestowing upon man the subtle and luminous cognitive faculty of heart, Almighty Allah (SWT) has conclusively rendered him responsible and accountable for his deeds in the Life-after-death.

Muslim poets in general and the mystic poets of the Indo-Persia in particular have, in their lyrical compositions, lauded the role of the heart in attaining veridical knowledge. They have done so quite rightly, and with hardly any fanciful exaggeration, since the paramount importance of the heart was emphatically pointed out by the Holy Prophet himself (SAW). For instance, according to one of his oft-quoted sayings, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, “Verily, just like pieces of iron which get rusty if water touches them, hearts also become rusty.” Thereupon his Companions asked, “We do polish rusty objects, but how can we polish rusty hearts?” He answered that hearts are polished “through frequent remembering of death and reading of the Holy Qur’an.”

Men who do not use their God-given cognitive faculties can only be called worse than cattle, inasmuch as animals follow only their instincts and natural urges and are not conscious of either the possibility or the necessity of higher knowledge or moral choice. Animals do see physical objects, but they lack the capacity to perceive them meaningfully as items of articulated and theory-loaded knowledge. If a human being similarly fails to attain the metaphysical knowledge of the Really Real — despite possessing all the faculties to do so — then he is not just like animals, he is worse than them.

… they have hearts with which they fail to grasp the truth, and eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear. They are like cattle; nay, they are farther astray. (Al-Aa’raf 7:179)

Though these people apparently have all the faculties of reason and perception, yet they have so deadened them that those faculties do not work in the real sense; as a result they remain misguided throughout their lives and go headlong into Hell.

The External Prompter of Good and Evil

As explained above from the Qur’anic point of view, the inner denizen of man’s self is an arena of ceaseless struggle between good and evil tendencies. It is this deep-seated moral fact that constitutes the eternal challenge for man and renders his life an unceasing moral struggle. Man is squarely charged with his efforts to overcome evil because he is unique in the order of creation, and has been endowed with the highest faculties of intellect and intuition in order to fulfill his mission as God’s vicegerent on earth.

In addition to the inner impulses mentioned above, man also encounters some external agents and prompters, both on the side of good and of evil. However, the truth that must be appreciated deeply here is that, ultimately, the decisive role in this respect is played by man’s own inner preference and choice. That is to say, the real nucleus of initiation and volition is the subjective-self itself. External forces can only partly instigate and encourage either in the direction of virtue and moral probity or in the direction of sin and immorality. Even Iblees (or Satan), the greatest instigator of evil, has no power to force a man to perform an evil deed. Although Satan waylays man from all sides, his machinations fail against really virtuous persons. To be sure, no man is immune from the Devil’s temptations — not even the prophets — yet it is within the reach of any man of true faith and will to resist and overcome these enticements. Thus the Qur’an states:

Verily, you shall have no power over My servants — unless it be such as are (already) lost in grievous error and follow you of their own will. (Al-Hijr 15:42)

Behold, he (Satan, the accursed) has no power over those who attained to faith and who put their trust in their Lord. (Al-Nahl 16:99)

These and some other verses of the Holy Qur’an clearly assert that Satan cannot force men to commit sin, and will address his erstwhile followers on the Day of Judgement thus:

I had no power at all over you; but I called you, and you responded unto me. (Ibrahim 14:22)

This shows that the real evil emanates from man’s own complex of desires, for Satan makes it clear that it is only by means of suggestions and insinuations (wasawis) that he was able to reach the sinner’s self; and had it not been for an already-existing evil disposition due to lust, anger, superstition or fanciful ideas, these temptations would have had no effect whatsoever. This, in effect, means that Satan never forces, nor can force, anyone to do evil but he only tries to entice or allure his potential victim. His enticement consists in presenting the immediate and superficial gains or pleasures of this worldly life, so that many people fall victim to these temptations, most of them temporarily but many permanently. The latter are termed by the Holy Qur’an the “friends” or the “party” of the Devil. Thus, Iblees is far more cunning and artful than strong, more sly and contriving than forthrightly challenging.

Similarly, on the other side, no preacher or instigator of faith and virtue — not even Prophet Muhammad (SAAWS) — could ever convert any person to the right path. And, surely, we cannot possibly imagine a better and more sincere preacher than our beloved Holy Prophet (SAAWS). Therefore, we read in the Qur’an:

(O Prophet!) you cannot give guidance to whom you please, but it is Allah who guides whomever He wills; and He is fully aware of all those who would let themselves be guided. (Al-Qassas 28:56)

According to several authentic traditions, the above verse relates to the Prophet’s inability to induce his dying uncle Abu Talib — whom he loved dearly and who had loved and protected his nephew from the leaders of Quraysh — to renounce the pagan beliefs of his ancestors and to profess faith in God’s unity. The Qur’anic statement ” you cannot give guidance to whom you please” has undoubtedly a timeless import as well; it stresses the inadequacy and inability of all human endeavours to “convert” any other person, however loving and loved, to one’s own beliefs, or to prevent him from falling into what one regards as error and sin, unless that person wills to be so guided.

With regard to external tempters and motivators of evil, we all know that they are the friends and progeny of Iblees, from amongst both men and jinns. The Qur’an explicitly states:

Indeed, he (Satan) and his tribe (ilk) see you from where you cannot see them. (Al-Aaraf 7:27)

A tradition of the Holy Prophet (SAW), reported by Imam Bukhari (RA), also tells us that Satan so vigorously influences a man that he, as it were, penetrates his entire inner being just like blood that circulates in the whole body. In contrast with the all too common knowledge of external agents and motivators of evil, however, what is generally less appreciated is the truth that angels help and provide strength, tenacity and moral firmness to the true believers in this worldly life. Just like the hordes of Satan who, through their beguiling activity, tempt a man towards evil, the pure and holy angels provide inner peace and perseverance to believers in following the straight path of Islam and in the arduous task of establishing the sovereignty of Allah (SWT), i.e., in establishing the socio-political order of Islam. Both Almighty Allah (SWT) and His angels bless and give glad tidings to them, as is borne out by the following verses:

And remember when your Lord commanded the angels: I am with you; so give firmness unto those who have attained to faith (with these words from Me) I shall cast terror into the hearts of those who are bent on denying the truth … (Al-Anfal 8:12)

(But) behold, as for those who say, “Our Sustainer is Allah” and then stand firm, upon them angels descend (saying): “Fear not and grieve not, but receive the good news of that Paradise which has been promised to you. We are your companions in the life of this world and (will be so) in the life to come. (Haa Meem Al-Sajda 41:30, 31)

Peremptory Factor or Argument for Islam (Itmam Al-Hujjah)

Now, we can easily discuss and expound the last point of the first portion of the subject under discussion. We have observed that although the basic internal motivators of evil and good are already given to man in the form of latifa-e-nafs and latifa-e-ruh, the really decisive grounds for moral and virtuous conduct are the cognitive faculties of the nafs, the inherent moral sense, and the power of spiritual apprehension. On the other hand, with regard to the external and objective impelling factors for evil and good, there are respectively the Devil (including all Satanic agents) and the angels (including all the angelic forces). But here again the decisive and peremptory role is played by Divine revelations, God’s messengers, and His revealed Books. Together, they constitute a peremptory argument from Almighty Allah (SWT) for man’s accountability, and leave for him no ground for excuse or ignorance on the Day of Judgement. The affirmation of all these doctrines is known as the belief in Prophethood (Iman bil-Risalah). We read in the Qur’an:

(We sent all) Prophets as heralds of glad tidings and as warners, so that men might have no excuse before God after the coming of these Prophets; and God is indeed Almighty, Wise. (Al-Nisa 4:65)

O People of the Book! Now (after a long time during which no messenger has come) there has come unto you (this) messenger of ours to make the truth clear to you, lest you say, “No bearer of glad tidings has come unto us, nor any warner,” for now there has come unto you a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. And Allah has the power to will anything. (Al-Ma’ida 5:19)

From these two Qur’anic verses it becomes clear that the real purpose and objective of the advent of God’s messengers (or envoys) has been to establish conclusively and finally man’s responsibility to act as God’s vicegerent on earth and to follow His guidance in this life, and to leave no scope for excuses on the Day of Judgement. All excuses offered by man for his misdemeanor will be lame and of no avail.

The truth may be recalled here once again that just as the external motivators and instigators of good and evil have no real power or authority over a human being — they only motivate and inspire or tempt and seduce — the institution of Prophethood also works only as an agent of advice and exhortation. That is the reason why at most places in the Qur’an the function of prophets and messengers of God has been described as “heralds of glad tidings” and “warners” (Cf. e.g., Al-Kahf 18:56). And the oft-used expression employed for revelation and the Holy Book are zikr, zikra, and tazkira, all derivatives of the root z-k-r, meaning to recall or to remind (a forgotten truth). The following six quotations from the Holy Qur’an bear this out:

Behold! It is We who have revealed this Reminder, and, behold! It is We who shall truly guard it (from all corruption). (Al-Hijr 15:9)

Ta Ha; We did not send down the Qur’an to you to make you unhappy (or unsuccessful), but only as an Exhortation to all who stand in awe of God. (Ta Ha 20:1-3)

Nay, verily, these (revealed messages) are but a reminder (Abas 80:11)

Thus offering an Insight and a Reminder unto every human being who willingly turns unto God (Qaf 50:8)

In this, indeed, there is a Reminder for anyone who has a (wide-awake) heart, or who gives ear and listens with attention (i.e., who listens with a conscious mind). (Qaf 50:37)

And so, (O Prophet) exhort them; your task is only to exhort, you cannot compel them (to believe). (Al-Ghashia 88:21,22)

Tazakkur and its derivatives are very significant Qur’anic terms which mean recalling to mind the fundamental truths intuitively recognized and apprehended by the primordial human nature (fitrah). In essence, tazakkur pertains to the first stage in the comprehension of Divine realities and meanings. It also alludes to the fact that the Qur’anic teachings are not extraneous or alien to human nature. They actually reflect the experiences of man’s true inner self and are meant to awaken reminiscences of something already apprehended but forgotten, rather than to import something altogether new. God, in His infinite mercy, has sent His messengers and Books in order to reinvigorate the innate ethical perception of mankind and to facilitate moral choice and motivation.

The Holy Qur’an appeals to all thoughtful persons and men of discernment and comprehension to think and ponder over the outer universe of matter as well as the inner realm of the spirit, as both are replete with the unmistakable signs of the Almighty Creator. Along with these, it invites them to deliberate over the Divinely inspired verses or ayaat (literally meaning the “signs of God”, because they too turn man’s mind to the Almighty). In effect, this means that with the aid of the Qur’an, full and intense awareness of the Absolute Reality springs up to man’s consciousness, just as a forgotten piece of memory rises up from the depths of the psyche to the surface of conscious awareness. The upshot of the ideas expressed in the above lines is that, through the advent of prophets and revelation of Books, an external witness for or against man has been established by Almighty God. On the Day of Judgement, prophets and messengers — who were sent to guide various communities or nations — will be brought forth as prosecution witnesses against their own people.

(O Muhammad, warn them of) the Day when We shall raise up a witness from among every community to testify against it, and We shall call you to testify against these people…. (Al-Nahl 16:89)

We have sent unto you a messenger to be a witness over you, just as We had sent a messenger to the Pharaoh. (Al-Muzzammil 73:15)

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is told by the Almighty that he is only a “warner” or a “reminder”, and therefore “your task is only to preach”, and “you are not a warden over them.” The vocation of Prophethood, according to the Qur’an, is bearing witness to the Truth before men, in this world as well as in the world-to-come. The following Qur’anic verse substantiates it fully:

He has chosen you….so that the Messenger may be a witness (to Truth) before you and you might bear witness (to it) before all mankind. (Al-Hajj 22:78)

To sum up, the real mission and purpose of Prophethood is that, through preaching, admonition, advice, greeting and warning, God’s chosen messengers may establish a peremptory hujjah (or argument) for man’s accountability. The cover term for the entire prophetic activities is called shahada ala al-naas, i.e., bearing witness to the Truth before mankind. And that was, therefore, the foremost and the primary purpose of the advent of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), who is addressed thus in the Qur’an:

O Prophet, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good news and a warner, and as one who summons (all men) to God by His leave, and as a luminous lamp. (Al-Ahzab 33:45,46)

This means that, like all other prophets and messengers of God, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was also a preacher, a moral and spiritual mentor, a teacher, a warner, a bearer of glad tidings and a witness of Truth. Even though each prophet of Almighty Allah (SWT) had his own mark of distinction with regard to one or the other of these numerous aspects of the prophetic call, the truth of the matter is that the loftiest and most distinguished position among all the prophets is occupied by Prophet Muhammad (SAW). However, with regard to his position as the last and the final messenger of Almighty Allah (SWT), the splendour and magnificence of the prophetic mission of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is particularly distinct and unique, as will be made clear in the following section.

The most distinctive characteristic of the mission of the Holy Prophet (SAW) has been brought out by the Qur’an at three places thus:

He it is Who has sent forth His messenger with the Guidance (Al-Huda) and the True way of life (Deen al-Haq), to the end that he make it prevail over all aspects of living… (Al-Tawba 9:33; Al-Fath 48:28; & Al-Saff 61:9)

The important point of which notice should be taken here is that with respect to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), these words have been repeated at three places in the Qur’an without the slightest change or difference of construction, whereas these have not been revealed even once for any other prophet or messenger.

The famous scholar and mystic of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent — Shah Waliyullah Dehlvi (1703-1762) — has made this Qur’anic verse the subject of in-depth and extensive study in his book Izalatul Khafa un Khilafatul Khulafa. He has described it as the most important verse in understanding the purpose and mission of Muhammad’s Prophethood (SAW). Similarly, Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi (1872-1944) has taken this verse as the key for understanding the global revolutionary manifesto of Islam.

A careful study of the verse reveals that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has been sent by Almighty God along with two items: (1) Al-Huda or The Guidance, and (2) Deen al-Haq or the True Way of Life (sometimes translated as “the religion of truth”). Let us study these expressions more closely one by one:

Al-Huda

We would not be wrong to take the word in its wider literal sense, but if we are to try and understand the term Al-Huda in the light of numerous Qur’anic precedents, then it can only signify the Holy Qur’an itself. This is because only this very Divine Book is hudal lil-muttaqeen (guidance for the God-fearing; Al-Baqarahh 2:2), as well as hudal lin-naas (guidance for the ordinary run of people; Al-Baqarahh 2:185). The meaning of Al-Huda is thus elucidated in the following verses:

We have caused this (message) to be a light, whereby We guide whom We will of Our servants. (Al-Shura 42:52)

Verily, this Qur’an guides to the path that is most right. (Al-Isra 17:9)

(O Prophet) Say: It has been revealed to me that a group of jinn listened, then (returning to their folks) they said, “we have indeedd heard a wonderful Qur’an, which guides to the right way…” (Al-Jinn 72:1,2)

This point is further reaffirmed if we study the following verse where the purpose of sending messengers has been described in these words:

We sent Our messengers with clear instructions and bright signs and sent with them (Our revealed) Book and the Balance… (Al-Hadeed 57:25)

It is quite obvious that in this verse just as the word Al-Meezan has been substituted for Deen al-Haq, similarly, Al-Kitab has been used in place of the expression Al-Huda used in the verse under discussion. This proves the truth without an iota of doubt that in the context of Muhammad’s Prophethood (SAW), Al-Huda signifies nothing else but Al-Qur’an.

Deen al-Haq

Whether we take the complex locution as a relational compound and translate it as “Deen of Truth”, or take it as a qualitative compound and translate it as “True Deen” (as has been done by the majority of the translators of the Holy Qur’an), its connotation and meaning remain essentially unchanged. Deen Al-Haq means Deen of Allah, because the true faith and the true way of life can be none else but that which comes from Almighty Allah (SWT). Similarly, the personification of “Haq” can be none other than Allah Himself, as the Qur’an says:

This is because Allah is the Truth. (Al-Hajj 22:6)

On that Day (of Judgement) Allah will pay them in full their just due, and they will come to know that Allah alone is the Ultimate Truth, manifest and manifesting. (Al-Nur 24:25)

This clearly shows that Deen al-Haq is, in real import and meaning, equivalent to “Deen of Allah.” If we concentrate on the word Deen, we come to know that in Arabic language it connotes exactly what it means in Surah Al-Fatiha, viz., recompense, which is, of course, rewards of the Paradise in case of good deeds and torments of Hell-fire in case of bad ones. That explains the fact why in the early surahs of the Makkan period the word Deen is used in its core meaning of recompense; for instance:

Have you seen him who belies the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter? (Al-Ma’un 107:1)

Therefore (O Prophet!) who can belie you after this concerning the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter? (Al-Teen 95:7)

Nay, but they deny the rewards and punsihments of the Hereafter. (Al-Infitar 82:9)

In addition to Surah Al-Fatiha, the word Deen alongwith yaum has appeared at twelve other places in the Qur’an and it signifies the Day of Judgement and Final Reckoning. Again, as recompense (both in the form of reward and punishment) necessarily implies a law or code of conduct and its observance, the connotation of the word Deen also extended from its literal root meaning to a full-fledged Qur’anic term and initially meant obedience and servitude. Consequently, we read twice the expression mukhlis sal lahud-din, once the expression mukhlis lahu-deeni, and six times mukhlis seena lahud-din. And at all these places, it invariably means total, unconditional and exclusive obedience and submission to Almighty God. An element of intensity and emphasis is added to it through the additional use of haneefan or hunafa” The word Deen, however, finally assumed the full richness of meaning and implied a whole system of obedience and servitude. The pivotal position in this system of life is assigned to the person or being who is taken to be the supreme ruler and with reference to whom the detailed practical commands are laid down. This meaning of Deen is amply borne out by the following Qur’anic words:

Thus We supported Yousuf with Our plan; for under the king’s law, he would not have been (otherwise) able to detain his brother. (Yousuf 12:76)

In the kingdom prevalent at that time in Egypt, the king was the absolute sovereign and everybody submitted to his will. The Qur’an speaks of this socio-political system as deen al-malik. Exactly in this sense, it also speaks of Deen Allah — the Deen of Almihgty Allah (SWT) — in the following verse:

When God’s succour comes and victory (is attained), and you see people entering the Deen of God in large groups. (Al-Nasr 110:1,2)

This means that when Prophet Muhammad (SAW), after more than two decades of strenuous struggle, succeeded in establishing in the Arabian peninsula the system of life in which Allah (SWT) was accepted as the Supreme and Absolute Sovereign and people entered into this faith in great numbers, it was referred to by the Holy Qur’an as Deen Allah. From this perspective, it would not be inapproopriate to call the modern political set-up of Democracy (in which, at least theoretically, the people of a country are themselves the sovereign) as deen al jamhoor.

However, the Holy Qur’an also employs expressions in which Deen is attributed to somebody other than God, and this should be described as a metaphorical usage of the possessive pronoun/adjective, e.g., deeni (my Deen), dinukum (your Deen), or dinuhum (their Deen). This is obviously in the sense of the system or way of life;which one has accepted and adopted. This system of life and socio-political governance, so to say, is a person’s Deen. In this very sense, Islam is sometimes called Deen of Muhammad; e.g., in one of the popular prayers we supplicate thus: “O Lord, succour all those who support and promote the Deen of Muhammad.” Of course, Islam is actually Deen of Allah, but it is also Muhammad’s Deen as it has been revealed and given to mankind through Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

To sum up, Deen Allah is that system of belief and action which is based on the basic premise of total, absolute and unconditional submission to the commands of Almighty Allah (SWT). And this, in fact, is the Al-Meezan. After progressing gradually through the vicissitudes of history, Divine guidance finally culminated in the most comprehensive and balanced system of life as revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The Islamic way of life represents the ideal system of social justice and equity wherein the duties and rights of all are clearly laid down, “in order that the humanity may stick to, and behave with, Justice.”(Al-Hadeed 57:25)

The Wisdom in the Timing of the Last Prophet’s Advent

A deeper consideration will reveal the truth that the point and wisdom in the temporal location of the culmination of Prophethood and imparting perfection to the revealed system of life can also be appreciated with reference to these two expressions viz., Al-Huda and Deen al-Haq. Indeed, the time of the advent of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was the period of human history in which humanity moved from infancy to mental maturity in two respects.

First, just before the appearance of Islam and its revealed Book, man had reached rational maturity and had conceived and spelled out all types of philosophies he could think of solely on the basis of his reason. The late Professor Yousuf Salim Chishty (d. 1984), a great scholar of religion, philosophy, theology and mysticism, was of the opinion that twelve hundred years, i.e., from 600 B.C to 600 C.E., is the span of history in which human thought and intellect progressed from infancy to maturity. All major world religions as well as all of the influential philosophical shcools appeared during this very period. Though, in later centuries, physical sciences have progressed trememdously and the range of man’s general information has expanded immensely, no essentially new idea has been expressed in the realm of metaphysical thought and philosophy, and neither a new religion nor new thought-system or philosophical school has appeared during that period. Ideas and thoughts expressed in pompous phraseology in modern times are, in fact, nothing more than echoes of older philosophies. Indeed, even though they are wrongly presented as novel thoughts or fresh ideas of the most original variety, they are, in reality, like old wine in new bottles.

Now, if all this is true — and there is no ground whatsoever to challenge this thesis — it becomes quite understandable that 7th century C.E was the most appropriate time for the revelation of the last Divine Guidance in the form of Al-Qur’an for the whole mankind and for all times to come. The protection of its text is guaranteed by Almighty Allah (SWT) Himself, so that it could serve as a permanent source of guidance in thought and action. That is the reason why the Qur’an asserts the following very explicitly:

Say: If the whole of mankind and jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed each other with help and support. (Al-Isra 17:88)

And, time and again, it offered the whole mankind a challenge in these words:

And if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a surah like thereunto. (Al-Baqarah 2:23)

It is a pity that so far Qur’anic scholars have mainly focused on the literary and stylistic beauties of the Holy Book and its linguistic and rhymic excellences. Whatever scant attention was paid to the meaning-content of the Book was too, by and large, misguided and misconceived in so far as either Aristotelian logic or half-baked scientific theories were made paradigm of truth in the light of which attempts were made to understand the Qur’an. Little did they realize that the Qur’an could not possibly accept these ever-changing strait-jackets. The truth should be clearly borne in mind that the Holy Qur’an is essentially Al-Huda and its real magnificence lies in its guidance for thought and practical life; and that it was given to man at a time when his independent thought, as such, had reached its zenith and he had, so to say, attained mental adulthood and maturity.

The second point of wisdom in the timing of the last Prophet’s advent seems to be the fact that the social consciouness of mankind had also reached maturity in the 7th century C.E., in that human polity had experienced all the major evolutionary stages. After passing through the social polities of tribal organization and city state, human life had entered the phase of great kingdoms and empires. This, in fact, meant that the hold and domination of socio-political system on human life had reached its full intensity for the first time, and that man had begun to face the vexed and multi-dimensional problems of human society and collective life. Moreover, the time was about to usher in which humanity had to encounter such unsolvable issues — as those of the Individual versus Group, Man versus Woman, Capital versus Labour — and in the solution of which human thought moved from one extreme to another, always adding to human travail and misery.

Therefore it was quite in the fitness of things that, at this satage of human history, Almighty Allah (SWT) bestowed upon man the most balanced system of social justice and equity that was really Al-Meezan and offered the best and the most excellent solutions for all the intricate issues and problems of social existence. In all spheres of collective life — social, economic, and political — the God-given system of life guided humanity to the straight path and the most balanced middle way, putting an end to social perversions or discrimination, economic exploitation and political repression. And thus the sole purpose of sending prophets and revelation of Books — which was to guide the people to live with equity and justice — was fully realized in the advent of the Last Prophet and a concrete example was set for all times to come through the completion of the true faith, as the Qur’an says:

This day I have perfected your Deen for you, completed My favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your Deen. (Al-Mai’dah 5:3)

Le-yuzhira-hu

Now, let us take another step forward and try to understand the meaning of the Arabic expression le-yuzhira-hu used in the Qur’anic verse under discussion. The literal meaning and connotation of the verb izhar — to make dominant — is accepted by all scholars and experts of Qur’anic sciences. However, there are more than one opinion in respect of the subject and object of the verb izhar, though these differences of opinion cause no real change in the essential meaning of the verse.

According to some scholars, the subject of the verb izhar is the same Being Who is also the subject of the verb irsal — to send — i.e., Almighty Allah; in this case the translation would read: “He it is Who has sent forth His messenger … to the end that He, i.e., Almighty Allah, make it prevail over all aspects of living…” Some others maintain that the implicit subjective pronoun in the expression le-yuzhira-hu refers to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), in which case the translation would read: “He it is who sent forth His messenger … to the end that he, i.e., the Holy Prophet, make it prevail over all aspects of living…” Both interpreters have taken recourse to finer subtleties of Arabic grammar in support of their respective positions, but the question that clinches the matter is this: What real difference does either position make in the over-all purported intent of the verse? As Muslims, we all believe that the final and real agent for all actions is none other than Almighty Allah (SWT). Despite this basic metaphysical belief, all imperatives in the Qur’an are directed and addressed to human beings living in the world of facts, and it is incumbent upon them to leave no stone unturned in performing their religious obligations. That is why we see that the Holy Prophet (SAW) struggled very hard all through his prophetic career for making Islam triumphant and dominant. That is to say, in the world of objective facts, the Prophet had to carry out an extremely arduous struggle for Islam at a purely human level, although we believe that the ultimate and real causal agent of all actions is always Almighty Allah (SWT). The Qur’an categorically asserts thus:

So the fact is that (O Believers) you did not slay them but Allah slew them, and (O Prophet) you did not throw (the sand) but Allah threw it. (Al-Anfal 8:17)

Would those who are, through minor difference of interpretation based on feeble arguments, trying to distort the whole concept of religious obligations think about the far-reaching implications of their standpoint! The truth of the matter is that, on the basis of a trivial point, they have wrongly absolved themselves of the Qur’anic obligation of making Islam dominant as a politico-socio-economic order in the world. They should try to honestly consider as what would have happened if the Holy Prophet and his Companions had taken the above quoted verse in its apparent literal sense. Obviously, they would have forthwith given up their struggle for the cause of Islam and the subsequent world history would have been radically different from what it is. Moreover, would it be possible for anyone of us to have embraced Islam, the true Divine faith?

Indeed, we should always try to be on guard against the seductive trappings of Satan, in particular his master deception that causes us to see as superfluous, burdensome, or frightening that which is really one of the basic obligations of all faithful. Is not the attitude of complacency exhibited by these misguided interpreters of the Holy Qur’an identical with one depicted in the proverb “A bad workman quarrels with his tools”?

The whole matter is quite clear to anyone who endeavours to think with an unbiased mind. Surahs Al-Tawba, Al-Fath, and Al-Saff — the three surahs which contain the verse under discussion — are all concerned mainly with the subjects of Jihad (or struggle and effort) and Qitaal (or armed conflict) in the cause of Almighty Allah (SWT). In particular, Surah Al-Saff is entirely, from the beginning to the end, on the theme of struggle and war in the way of Allah. And in this, immediately after the verse under discussion, a clarion call has been made in an extrememly motivating manner for Muslims to girdle up their loins for the cause of Islam. First, the question is put to believers whether they wanted themselves to be saved from grievous suffering. And then it is said in clear and unambiguous terms that this can only be achieved by undertaking the hard and arduous tasks of struggle and armed strife in the way of Almighty Allah (SWT). The verses in full read:

O Believers ! Shall I point out to you a bargain that will save you from grievous suffering? That you believe in Allah and His Prophet, and that you strive (your utmost) in the cause of Allah with your property and your lives; that will be best for you if you but knew. (Al-Saff 61:10,11)

It is truly a wonderful bargain; what we are asked to give is so little, what we are promised in return is so much — only if we knew the eternal truth, and understood the comparative value of things — the sacrifice of our fleeting pleasures and gains for Divine mercy and forgiveness, His love, and eternal bliss. In reward of struggle and war in the cause of Islam we get Almighty Allah’s unbounded bounty and munificence. Later in this surah, Almighty Allah (SWT) assures the believers of victory in this world too. On top of it all, the believers who endeavour for Islam with zeal and zest are regarded as helpers of Allah (SWT) and the Prophet (SAW). If a man does not enter into this bargain, he will not even rid himself of grievous suffering, let alone seek loftier spiritual rewads and blessings.

This, in effect, means that the whole issue is quite simple and understandable. Islam is Deen of Almighty Allah (SWT) and to make it prevail in this world is essentially the duty of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Now, the acid test for the sincerity of a person who claims belief in both of them — in Almighty Allah (SWT) and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) — is whether or not he strives his utmost in the cause of Islam with all his energies, capabilities, wealth, and life. If he thus “helps” Allah and His Messenger, he will attain eternal success and bliss. Otherwise, he will face condemnation and torments of Hell-fire in the life to come. This is stated very clearly in verse 25 of Surah Al-Hadeed, part of which has already been quoted above. The translation of the full verse is as follows:

We sent Our messengers with clear instructions and bright signs and sent with them (Our revealed) Book and the Balance in order that the humanity may stick to, and behave with, Justice. And We sent down iron which has great strength and other benefits for men. This has been done so that Allah may know who helps Him and His messengers, unseen. Sureley, Allah is Strong, Almighty. (Al-Hadeed 57:25)

Similarly, Surah Al-Saff ends with this call:

O Believers, be helpers (in the cause) of God, even as Jesus, the son of Mary, said to his disciples, “who will be my helpers (in the cause) of God?” (Al-Saff 61:14)

If one does not accept this immaculately clear view of the Islamic obligation (regarding the struggle to establish the Deen of Allah) based on self-explanatory propositions, he will do so at his own peril.

It may be mentioned here that there is a difference of opinion about the referent of objective pronoun hu in the expression le-yuzhira-hu. According to some interpreters and exegetists of the Qur’an, it refers to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and, according to some others, it refers to Deen Al-Haq. Again, this makes no real difference in the meaning and import; the victory of the Prophet is not to be taken as his personal or his clan’s or tribe’s victory. Rather, it means the dominance and triumph of the Faith which he preached tirelessly, and established, in letter and spirit, throughout the whole of the Arabian peninsula.

Alad-deeni Kulli-hi

This expression of the Qur’anic verse has been variously translated as “over all false religions” and “over all Deen.” It is quite significant that the plural form of the noun Deen — which is Adiyyan — has not appeared in the whole of Qur’an even once. Moreover, the emphasis connoted by the expression kulli-hi, in addition to the verse already noted, appears at only one other place in the Holy Qur’an, as follows:

And fight against them until there is no more oppression and all Deen belongs to Allah alone. (Al-Anfal 8:39)

Here, to translate Deen in the plural as Adiyyan will be quite wrong; to say that all religions can belong to God is an utter travesty of truth, whereas directing and devoting all sincere worship and obedience to One Almighty is an important Qur’anic theme which has been expressed repeatedly in nearly identical words. With this significance of the locution Deen in mind the real import of the verse under discussion becomes very obvious; that is, the purpose of the advent of the Last Prophet (SAW) is that he should make the Deen of Allah dominant over the whole way of life and with regard to all collective institutions. One can therefore translate this part of the verse as “…to the end that he make it prevail over the entire Deen, i.e., over all aspects of living….”

It is important at this juncture to understand logically and rationally as to why establishing Deen or making it dominant was at all essential. This was for two reasons: First, Deen by its very nature demands its establishment and domination over all the spheres and institutions of life. A way of life — particularly one based on total submission to God Almighty — is meaningless and contradictory if it is not implemented and put in practice. This by itself makes Deen quite radically different from a mere religion in the contemporary Western sense of the word. A religion is, in fact, a fragmentary or a partial affair and can exist under any Deen, which is identifiable with the dominant politico-socio-economic order of a given land. At the time when Islam was dominant as a Deen, we find that Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism and Buddhism survived under its domination as religions, and their followers were forced to accept the Qur’anic injunction “… they agree to pay the exemption tax (jizia), and remain humbled.” (Al-Tawba 9:29). Similarly, reduced and attenuated to the status of a private affair, Islam existed during the Colonial era as a mere religion.

Deen, on the other hand, is a total and integrated whole, and it has no reality or efficacy until it is practised in toto and held supreme over all spheres of life, including that of the political authority itself. As a matter of common sense, two different Deens — that is to say, two different politico-socio-economic systems — can never co-exist; thus, the co-existence of Monarchy and Democracy or Capitalism and Communism on a par with each other in the same country is just not possible. However, their co-existence is conceivable only in case one of them maintains its authority as the dominant system of the country, while the other yields and allows itself to be reduced to the level of a ritualistic and non-assertive religion.

In respect of the difference between religion and Deen, two points should be clearly borne in mind: (1) the Arabic word for religion is madhhab, which has not been used at all in the Qur’an, nor has it been used in the whole corpus of Hadith in its present commonly understood meaning. It came to be used much later quite rightly to connote various schools of juristic thinking, e.g., Hanbali madhab, Maleki madhab, Hanafi madhab, etc, which are in reality branches or developmental variants of that part of the faith of Islam that deals with law or Shari’ah. (2) Though, in matters of details, the revealed law or the Shari’ah given to Prophet Musa (AS) and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) shows numerous points of divergence, yet the essentials of Deen have remained identical right from Prophet Adam (AS) down to Prophet Muhammad (SAW). This point is elucidated by the following Qur’anic verse:

The same Deen has been ordained for you as that which He enjoined on Noah, the one which We have sent by inspiration to you (O Prophet), and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: namely, that they should establish this Deen and make no divinsion therein. (Al-Shura 42:13)

The second reason why the establishing of the Deen of Allah is so vital is this: irrespective of its excellence and instrinsic worth, a given system of life will never rise above the level of a fantacy or a daydream unless it is established in the world of reality so that everyone can see its merits, instead of just hearing and reading about them. For Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the actual establishment of Islam’s dominance over all social structures and institutions was essential to prove its viability and practicability; otherwise even this matchless and most outstanding system of life would have been taken as a mere utopia. And surely, utopias never convince people at large. The Prophet’s duty of furnishing a “Witness to the Truth” for people and leaving them no excuse of ignorance would have remained undischarged until the whole politico-socio-economic system of Islam — including its law or Shari’ah — were translated into concrete facts. That is why the Holy Prophet (SAW) and his Companions (RAA) endeavoured to their fullest in their strenuous struggle to achieve the domination of Islam, which blossomed and flourished during the period of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. In this golden era of pristine Islam, the ideal moral values preached so far only in sermons — values like human freedom, fraternity and equality — were turned into real and objective facts, and this feat has been authentically recorded in history and acknowledged by world historians.

H. G. Wells, the eminent British author and historian who otherwise shows disrepect and insolence towards the personal life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), acknowledges in his A Concise History of the World that although high-sounding and idealistic sermons were frequently delivered in favour of values like human freedom, fraternity and equality, no attempt was ever made to put them in practice; the moving sermons of Jesus of Nazareth being a case in point. According to Mr. Wells, it was Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who, for the first time in human history, established an actual social order based on these high moral values. Thus, we see that even an enemy of Islam is forced to acknowledge the marvelous superiority of the prophetic career of our Holy Prophet (SAW), not only in the capacity of a preacher and a sermonizer but also as the architect par excellence of the Islamic polity.

It was this success of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his devoted Companions (RAA) — in establishing Islam as a Deen — which proved the fact that all the higher abstract values can indeed be put into practice. In the family system, it was shown how women can have a status of high respect and dignity and enjoy their rights even though an administrative authority was given to the husband. In the political setup, it was proved that the individual’s complete freedom of speech and criticism can co-exist side by side with strict political regimentation and discipline, as well as with all the demands of justice. On top of this, it was shown that, in the economic sphere, private ownership and personal initiataive are perfectly compatible with smooth circulaltion and equitable distribution of wealth. Without accomplishing all this in practice, a conclusive proof would not have been established in favour of the Islamic way of life for the men of the age that began with the advent of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

Just think of any good or social value, and you will find it realized supremely and in the most balanaced form in the system of life established by the Holy Prophet fourteen centuries ago. Indeed, one feels that in the realm of social justice and equity, human thought and endeavour has throughout only tried to reach near or approximate to the lofty ideals set by the Prophet’s revolutionary struggle, and in no sense surpass them. That is the reason why in the present century, during the freedom struggle for India, the Hindu leader Mr. Gandhi asked his co-nationals to keep before themselves the models of the governance of Abu Bakr and Umar (and not those of Ramayana and Maha Bharata, or Bikrama Jeet and Chandra Gupt Moria). Gandhi expressed these thoughts in his own magazine Harijan in 1937 at the time when ministries were formed for the first time in British India, and since Muslim League had boycotted the 1936 elections, the Congress had formed ministerial cabinets throughout the Indian subcontinent.

The completion of Divine guidance and finality of Muhammad’s Prophethood logically necessitated that he, in addition to variegated missionary and soul-purifying and character-building activities, organize a revolutionary party of highly committed and dedicated men, and that, after defeating all forces of evil, actually establish and operationalize the Deen of Allah in its totality. This constitutes the summatory character of Prophet Muhammad’s mission which assigns to him a unique and privileged status in the galaxy of Divine messengers.

The Leader of Revolution

We will no doubt be guilty of irreverence if we consider Prophet Muhammad (SAW) comparable to other leaders of historical revolutions in the world. But, nevertheless, it is a fact that no one in the entire human history deserves the title of “leader of revolution” more than Prophet Muhammad (SAW). This is because all revolutions witnessed by mankind — including the French and the Bolshevik Revolutions — were partial and imperfect, as they affected only some part of the collective human existence. Thus, the French Revolution brought change in the political structure and the form of government, while the Bolshevik Revolution mainly changed the economic setup of Russia. On the other hand, the Islamic Revolution of the 7th century C.E was a total and absolute transformation which affected all aspects of life. Everything changed. Right from the basic metaphysical beliefs to the ethical value-structure, from the eating and drinking habits to the dynamics of interpersonal relations, from the rites and rituals for worship to ceremonies and customs, and from the social setup and economic system to the political order and statecraft — all underwent radical changes. Indeed, this was a Revolution in the true sense of the word.

The Revolutionary Struggle

The endeavor and struggle of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to bring about the Islamic revolution too was unique and unparalleled in the entire human histoy, in so far as all the variegated stages of the revolutionary process were completed in one man’s life span. There is on other instance in world history in which a propounder of a revolutionary ideology — starting from theoretical dissemination and going through all the phases of organization, passive resistance, challenge, and armed conflict — successfully brought about a revolution. This, in fact, is the most remarkable feat of our beloved Prophet (SAW) that, starting the mission of making Islam dominant from his individual self, he established the “Kingdom of Heaven on earth” within a brief span of twenty three years (of lunar calender) so that Islam was practiced in its totality, both in letter and in spirit, throughout the length and breadth of the Arabian peninsula.

Now, we would like to discuss two important points which link up with ideas presented in the above lines. The first point is about the short-sightedness and errorneous judgement of Western shcolars vis-à-vis the revolutionary struggle of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), while the other relates to the ummatic obligation of Muslims with regard to completing the mission of the Holy Prophet.

The Misconception of Western Writers

The Western “scholars” of Islam and the orientalists who have published a number of books on the life-history of the Holy Prophet (SAW), have generally erred in their over-all assessment of the Prophetic mission.

The main reason for their misunderstanding is that they did not at all appreciate the culminatoy and summatory character of his prophetic mission. They do have a vague notion of the basic and primary objectives of the prophetic call, and hence they feel that a prophet may at best be a preacher, a mentor, a teacher, a reformer and a warner. But as they are not clear about the finality of Prophethood and the summatory character of Prophet Muhammad’s mission, they cannot possibly imagine a prophet as a statesman, a commander of fighting armies, and an administrator. They just cannot swallow the fact that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) performed all the above mentioned functions, that he was both a preacher and a statesman. Finding it difficult to reconcile mentally all the capacities of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), some openly repudiated his Divine messenger-ship and only acclaim him to be a great leader. Others had recourse to very naive and foolish theses.

Thus, in the words of Dr. Michael Hart, “he [Prophet Muhammad] was the only man in history who was suprememly successful on both the religious and secular levels.” Arnold Toynbee maintains that “Muhammad failed as a prophet and succeeded as a statesman.” Montgomery Watt speaks of the Prophet as “one of the greatest sons of Adam”, but, unable to harmonize the “secular” with the “religious”, he has, very wrongly, divided the life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) into two disparate and disjointed phases, hence the titles of his two books are “Muhammad At Makkah” and “Muhammad At Medinah.” The insinuation here is that the personality of the Prophet at Makkah was entirely different from his personality at Medinah. All this, in fact, is the result of a fundamental misconception regarding Prophet Muhammad’s Divinely ordained mission as the last of all prophets.

The Ummatic Obligation of Muslims

The vital question that a true Muslim must ask himself is this: Did Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself fulfill the prophetic mission assigned to him by Allah (SWT) completely and in all respects? Or has that mission to be continued and carried out by Muslims to its completion at the global level? If we concede the turth projected in the latter question, can we really accomplish this gigantic task merely by celebrating annually the prophet’s birthday with devotion and fervor and by eulogizing his life and character traits? The right answer to this is definitely in the negative.

We Muslims must understand very clearly the all-important corollary of the belief in the Finality of Prophethood with the advent of Muhammad (SAW). That the institution of Prophethood has reached its zenith means that there will be no more prophets, and, therefore, the responsiblity for the task executed by the chain of prophets has now been placed on to the shoulders of the Muslim Ummah. In respect of both types of duties — those pertaining to the basic purpose of Prophethood, which is preaching, and those related to the consummatory nature of Muhammad’s Prophethood, which is establishing the Deen of Allah in its totality — the responibility lies with those who take pride in belonging to the Muslim Ummah and who adore and eulogize the Holy Prophet.

All convinced and committed Muslims must realize that, since after Prophet Muhammad (SAW) there is going to be no prophet for the guidance of mankind, Prophet Muhammad’s mission has therefore acquired the following two-fold direction and significance. Firstly, he is the Messenger of Almighty Allah (SWT) to his contemporary Arab people (in particular) and, secondly, he is also the Messenger to the entire humanity till the end of the world (in general). It is stated quite clearly in the Holy Qur’an (Al-Jum’ah 62:2,3) that the Prophet (SAW) was sent unto both the unlettered people (ummiyeen) and unto all the people belonging to other lands and future times (akhereen). The latter aspect of Muhammad’s Prophethood stresses the universality and timeless validity of all that was revealed to him. In a sermon already referred to, the Holy Prophet (SAW) addressed his audience thus:

Verily, I am God’s Messenger unto you people in particular and unto all mankind (of other lands and of future times) in general. (Cf. Sermons of the Holy Prophet, reproduced in Nahjul Balaghah)

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) executed and fully achieved the target envisaged by the more immediate or “particularized” aspect of the prophetic call in his own life time, through the myriad activities of preaching and disseminating the Truth as well as persistent active struggle and even armed conflicts, in making Islam the supreme and dominant force in all of the Arabian peninsula. In this struggle, the Holy Prophet (SAW) and his Companions (RAA) had to put up with all sorts of opposition, verbal and physical persecution, slander and mental anguish, conspiracies and armed attacks, vilifications and disinformation campaigns. Prominent landmarks in this arduous struggle include the confinement in the Sheb of Bani Hashim, the extremly insulting treatment and physical assault in Ta’if, the ordeal of hiding in the cave of Thaur while the Prophet and his Comanion Abu Bakr were chased by the Quraysh, the migration to Medinah, and the battles of Badr and Uhad and Khyber and Tabuk; the Holy Prophet (SAW) was forced to see hundreds of his devoted and cherished Companions martyred in this struggle, including Mus’ab Ibn Umair and Hamza (May God be pleased with them). But without faltering a bit, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his Companions (RAA) endured all the hardships and tribulations with patience and persevarence, and continued to work persistently for the exection of the Divinely ordained mission, until Islam gained ascendancy in all walks of life and the Qur’anic values and laws were implemented at all levels.

The climax and finale of the prophetic mission came at the pilgrimage performed by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in 9 AH, when he addressed a mammoth gathering of Muslims at the Hajj Congregation and asked them whether he had fully transmitted to them the Truth. In reply, all testified that he had indeed communicated the Truth, that he had conscientiously discharged the duty entrusted to him by Almighty Allah (SWT), and that he had worked for their spiritual well being in the best possible manner. Only a few months later the Holy Prophet (SAW) left this world for the Heavenly abode. Now, in the light of the following Qur’anic verse:

He has chosen you….so that the Messenger may be a witness (to Truth) before you and you might bear witness (to it) before all mankind. (Al-Hajj 22:78)

the execution of the prophetic mission at the global level is the obligation of the Muslim Ummah as a whole. In the pursuance of this very objective the noblest of the Prophet’s Companions, i.e., the four Rightly Guided Caliphs, carried the banner of Islam on his behalf to the wide world outside the Arabian Peninsula. Indeed, Islam reigned supreme in its pristine excellence on a vast area of the then civilized world, and the obligations of witnessing to the Truth before mankind, preaching the message of Almighty Allah (SWT) and making Islam dominant as a system of life were discharged with utmost dedication for almost three decades. Thereafter, the Deen of Allah experienced a slow and gradual decline till it reached its lowest ebb in the first quarter of the present century.

Starting as an ideology believed in by a handful of people, Islam became the rock-bottom foundation of a whole world civilization. Now it has been reverted back to a position in which very few Muslims genuinely and whole-heartedly adhere to its dictates. We have, however, seen that Almighty Allah (SWT) demands of us a struggle and persistent endeavour to re-establish the link between faith and power, bringing both of them into a single unified whole.

So let us passionataely involve ourselves in our society to do His will, and still more passionately let our hearts yearn for His pleasure. Let the life of the Prophet energize our ambitions and priorities. Let his message be our message, let his conduct be our conduct, and let his goals be our goals. Let nothing motivate us but an intense longing to please our Lord in the world to come, and let this expectation and desire give a dicisive impetus to our life in this world.

The hope of meaningful future must make us bold enough to confront the risks and endure the pains that lie in living by God’s will. We, as Muslims, have but one option: to strive to change the world to conform to the model given to mankind by Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Any other choice will only betray our hypocrisy.

The pathetic and disastrous condition of the Muslim Ummah throughout the world is due to the abandoning of the Holy Qur’an by the Muslims. The attitude of indifference that we constantly show towards the last of the Allah’s Revelations, along with our hypocritical lip-service, is tantamount to ridiculing it. Instead, we must clearly understand our responsibilities towards the Holy Qur’an and try our very best in fulfilling them. We can neither expect any improvement in our worldly state of affairs nor hope for salvation in the Hereafter, unless we carry out all the obligations that we owe to the Qur’an.

The Qur’an makes five demands from every Muslim, which are as follows:

1. A Muslim is required to believe in the Qur’an;
2. He is required to read it;
3. He is required to understand it;
4. He is required to act upon its teachings;
5. He is required to convey its teachings to others.

OUR FIRST OBLIGATION is to have faith (Iman) in the Divine origin of the Qur’an. Iman has two phases: verbal profession (iqrar bil-lisan) and heart-felt conviction (tasdeeq bil-qalb). To have faith in the Qur’an means that we should verbally profess that the Qur’an is the Word of Almighty Allah (SWT) that was revealed by Him through His angel Gabriel to the last of His messengers, Prophet Muhammad (SAW). This is a legal requirement for the acceptance of a person as a member of the Muslim society. Having done that, however, we also need to develop a deeply felt certitude in the Qur’an. It is only when we have real conviction in that verbal declaration that our hearts and minds would come under the spell of the Holy Qur’an, leading us towards genuine devotion and veneration of the Holy Book. Unfortunately, there is a woeful lack of staunch faith in the Divine origin of the Qur’an among the Muslims of today. This lack of faith is the reason why we neither find any reverence for the Qur’an in our hearts, nor feel inclined to study it, nor evince any interest in pondering over its meanings, nor ever think of seeking its guidance in conducting our lives.

It might be asked as to how can we acquire true faith? The answer is that the source of Iman is the Holy Qur’an itself. If the Book is studied and its meanings are pondered upon in an authentic quest for truth, all the veils of darkness shall be lifted from one’s heart, and the inner self — the soul — will get illuminated by the light of true faith. Note that faith is not something that can be planted in us from the outside. It is an embodiment of fundamental truths that already exist inside us; the practice of pondering over the ayaat (verses) of the Qur’an serves to bring them to the surface of our consciousness.

OUR SECOND OBLIGATION is slow and thoughtful reading of the Holy Qur’an with correct pronunciation, generally described as Tilawat, Tarteel, and Tajweed. Note that Tilawat is not only an important form of worship, but it is also an effective method of continually refreshing our faith. The Qur’an is not a book to be read once; it is a book that needs to be read again and again. We must read it carefully, reflecting on its messages, constantly seeking guidance for our lives. Just as our material body is in constant need of food for its sustenance, our spiritual soul or Rooh is also in perpetual need for its nourishment. And just as the food for our bodies is derived from the earth, the diet for our souls is obtained from the Word of God, the Holy Qur’an itself.

Moreover, a regular and constant program of reciting the Holy Qur’an is also needed because it is a means of refreshing and reviving our faith, and a weapon for surmounting the obstacles in the path of Almighty Allah. The ideal way in which the Holy Book should be recited is that one should stand in the post-midnight prayer before his Lord and recite its ayaat in a slow and patient manner, pausing at proper places so as to enable one’s heart to imbibe its influence.

OUR THIRD OBLIGATION is to understand and comprehend the Holy Qur’an. The Qur’an has been revealed so that it may be understood and pondered upon. Of course, there are numerous levels and grades of comprehension, accessible to different persons according to their respective planes of intellect and consciousness. The first stage in the comprehension of the Holy Qur’an is called Tazakkur, a term which alludes to the fact that the teachings of the Qur’an are not at all foreign or alien to the human fitrah. Instead, they represent the eternal truths dormant in the human soul itself, and the reading or listening of the Holy Qur’an only facilitates the recalling of these forgotten verities. The Holy Qur’an has been rendered very easy, by Almighty Allah (SWT), for the purpose of gaining this level of guidance. It does not matter if a person’s intelligence is limited, or his knowledge of logic and philosophy is poor, or if he has no fine sense of language and literature. In spite of these drawbacks, he can still understand the basic message and practical guidance of the Holy Qur’an, provided he has an untainted nature not perverted by any crookedness. The knowledge of Arabic language is, however, indispensable for this purpose. Muslims who are not only educated but who have obtained advanced degrees in arts and sciences would have no excuse before Almighty Allah (SWT) on the Day of Judgment, if they failed to learn so much Arabic as would have enabled them to understand His Book. Learning basic Arabic is a duty that every educated Muslim owes to the Holy Qur’an.

The second stage in the comprehension of the Holy Qur’an is far from easy. Tadabbur is described as a penetrating study, an intense reflection, as thorough deliberation of the Holy Qur’an as possible, and diving deep into the bottomless ocean of its wisdom. This kind of understanding is impossible unless one is to devote his entire life, all his talents, and all his energies for the sole purpose of comprehending the Qur’an. Obviously, not everyone is capable of such a high level of devotion and effort to acquire such insight and comprehension. But there must be a number of persons, at all times, who are engaged in this enterprise.

Such scholars cannot be produced unless we have a network of universities throughout the Muslim world, which concentrate on the Qur’anic research and make this Book the focus of all their intellectual activity. Such scholars would need to have a thorough knowledge of the Arabic language and its grammar and a refined literary taste to appreciate the beauty and force of its expression. They must acquire a good grounding in the language in which the Qur’an was revealed by a critical study of the works of the pre-Islamic poets and orators. They must be able to appreciate the terms and modes of expression evolved by the Qur’an itself, along with an understanding of the coherence in the Qur’an. A good knowledge of Tradition and old scriptures is also necessary for the comprehension of the Qur’an. Along with this classical knowledge, the scholars must also have an understanding of the fundamentals of modern physical and social sciences. This would widen their intellectual horizon and enable them to present the eternal Qur’anic truths in the contemporary idiom.

OUR FOURTH OBLIGATION is to act upon the teachings of the Holy Qur’an. The Qur’an is the “Guidance for mankind.” The purpose for which this Book has been revealed will be fully realized only when people act upon its teachings and make it the guide for them in every sphere of their lives. If we disregard the injunctions of the Qur’an, then the reading and understanding of the Holy Book, instead of doing us any good, will only make us more guilty before Almighty Allah (SWT).

At an individual level, it is imperative for every Muslim to mold his or her life according to the teachings of the Qur’an. Our Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has said: “None of you can become a true believer until his desires become subordinate to what I have brought.” The best way to benefit from the study of the Holy Qur’an is to go on changing our life-styles and mending our ways in accordance with its teachings.

At the collective level of the community, it is equally imperative for us to try and establish the system of Social Justice as given by the Holy Qur’an. The Muslims are, as a whole, responsible for establishing the Sovereignty of Almighty Allah (SWT) in the public as well as the private sphere, and each of us is obligated to try his utmost in this path. The struggle for the establishment of such a just and equitable order in accordance with the teachings of the Qur’an is the bounding duty of its followers.

OUR FIFTH OBLIGATION is to propagate the message of the Holy Qur’an to every nook and corner of the world. This was originally the responsibility of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), who fulfilled his own obligation by conveying the Divine message to the Ummah; since Prophethood has been concluded with the advent of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), who is the last of the Divine Messengers, it is now the duty of the Muslims to deliver that message to all humanity. Unfortunately, the proclamation of the Divine message to the whole world appears like a far-fetched and fantastic idea, because, at the moment, the Muslims themselves are ignorant of the teachings of the Holy Qur’an.

Therefore, a powerful intellectual and academic movement — back to the Qur’an — is needed in order to propagate and disseminate the knowledge and wisdom of the Holy Qur’an, both on a general scale for the benefit of our masses and on the highest level of scholarship in order to convert the educated and intelligent elite of the Muslim society.

I shall deal with the topic of “The Quran and World Peace” at three different levels, viz., the peace and tranquility of an individual person, the socio-political peace of a group, and finally, world peace.

An Individual Person’s Peace and Tranquility

One may be surprised that I am embarking upon a discussion of world peace by first mentioning an individual’s personal peace and inner state of harmony. But a moment’s reflection will be sufficient to bring home to the reader the all-important truth that the most effective factor in establishing world peace is personal peace and mental satisfaction of an individual. This is so because of the following four reasons:

Firstly, an individual human being is the basic unit of humanity. A wall, however high and long it may be, is after all a complex of bricks. Its strength and stability depends on the strength and good quality of individual bricks. Similarly world peace is unthinkable without the spiritual and psychological peace of a large majority of its inhabitants.

Secondly, man in himself is a “miniature universe” and as such his consciousness reflects the entire cosmos. This important truth has been fully realized by the Sufis of Islam — the greatest researchers into human psychology. That is the reason why I have chosen their term — “miniature universe” or microcosm — to express my meaning.

Just as external and environmental happenings influence the inner state of man, it is equally true that man also influences the macro-cosmic physical universe around him. His inner state affects and brings about changes in the vast expanses of the material cosmos. Therefore, the peace and tranquility enjoyed by human individuals necessarily makes its impression on the outer world. In other words, the subjective peace experienced within makes harmony possible in the world outside the individual.

Thirdly, even a cursory glance at world history is enough to show that often the personal disquietude of a few individuals led to disastrous wars resulting in widespread bloodshed and destruction. If we study closely the life-history and personalities of leaders like Hulagu Khan, Genghis Khan, Hitler and Mussolini, we come to know that it was due to their mental disquietude and perversity that the world peace was shattered and innumerable innocent human beings were savagely killed.

Fourthly, even now if we consider for a moment the few persons in whom tremendous powers are vested (such as those who preside in the White House and the Kremlin), we will be assured that world peace largely depends upon the inner peace and tranquility of these very few individuals. Not to speak of mental disruption, even the nervous tension or anxiety of a single one of these men might spark off an extremely devastating nuclear war.

Iman — Doctrinal Belief

Viewed from this angle, Islam seems to occupy a unique position in the community of world religions. Iman is the collective term for all those beliefs on which the Islamic faith is based. The root of the word Iman is a-m-n, which points to the peace and tranquility that the believer enjoys in his heart as a result of entertaining and upholding these beliefs.

The quintessence of Iman is belief in Almighty God, or Iman billah, which is constituted by intuitive knowledge of Allah (SWT) and a relationship to Him of hope and total dependence and submission. Only this type of personal and subjective relationship with Allah (SWT) can engender true and lasting peace in the heart of a man, providing a positive and durable ground for the stability of his inner being. Tauheed — oneness of God, which we translate as “unity” or “unityism” — is the characteristic term for this pure spiritual relation of a man to his Creator, which ultimately leads him to a state described by the Quran in these words: “Allah became pleased with them and they became pleased with Him” (Al-Bayyinah 97:8). This is a state in which the Creator and the worshipper are in total consonance with each other. A believer who has obtained this spiritual height is completely free from all anxiety and fear, and his mind and heart experience a bliss which can be felt but cannot be described in words.

In Surah Al-An‘am, Allah (SWT) first poses a question in this manner:

…Which of the two parties has more right to security and peace, (tell me) if you know. (Al-An‘am 6:81)

and then the answer is supplied thus:

It is those who believed and did not pollute their faith with zulm that are truly in security and are rightly guided. (Al-An‘am 6:82)

In short, true belief in Allah (SWT) is the sole positive and real ground for a man’s inner peace and happiness. This devotional relationship with Allah (SWT) accompanied with pure and resolute submission to His commands can be achieved and enhanced by remembrance of Allah (or zikr). The Quran of peace, love, and harmony for the interim period as well. Islam provides us with two cardinal principles, on the basis of which the peoples of the world can be united in global harmony. Thus, the ayah 13 of Surah Al-Hujurat reads:

O mankind! We created you from a single (pair of a) male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may know each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (one who is) the most righteous of you…. (Al-Hujurat 49:13)

Here the Holy Quran mentions two points which can create a deep sense of unity among the diverse races and religio-cultural groups of the world, viz., the unity of the Creator which leads us to the essential equality of humankind, and the common origin of the entire human race in the primordial pair of Adam and Eve, which leads us to the idea of universal brotherhood.

This ayah addresses all of humanity and not just the Muslim community. All humankind has descended from the first couple, Adam and Eve. Their tribes, races, and nations are conventional labels by which we may know their differing characteristics. Before Allah (SWT) they are all one, and the most righteous is the most honorable. Allah (SWT) is the Creator of all human beings and as such they are all equal before Him.

These two principles of unity of the human race and oneness of Creator may appear rather theoretical, but history tells us that the Prophet of Islam (SAW) established a society based on these very principles which was free of internal strife and conflict. Even H. G. Wells, who otherwise is a critic of the personal life of the Holy Prophet (SAW), acclaims that it was a great feat of Muhammad (SAW) that he, in fact, established a human society based on the lofty moral ideals of Islam.

Everybody knows that modern science and technology has brought about fantastic changes in contemporary life. Our globe has shrunk tremendously; we can travel from one corner of the earth to another in a matter of hours. The world has been reduced to a village, various countries being like localities of a single town. But this elimination of distance is entirely a physical and outer phenomenon. Mentally and psychologically, the various nations of the world are still far apart from each other. Even though at the political level men aspire to develop a universal brotherhood and a single world-State, yet in reality they cannot find a basis or value through which to overcome the barriers of color, creed, and race.

The desire for world peace and cordial relations among the nations of the world led to the formation of “League of Nations” in the early part of this century. But it failed miserably and ceased to exist after a few years because of the utterly selfish and inhuman attitude of some of the member countries. The yearning for peace and amicability in international relations persisted and it again resulted in the formation of a world body known as the “United Nations Organization.” It is an open secret, however, that it too has failed to achieve its purpose. Most resolutions passed by the UNO are not implemented in clear defiance of its Charter. Even though it has a prestigious paraphernalia of offices and divisions, its efficacy as a custodian of peace has never been up to the mark.

If we look at the matter from the right perspective, we realize that only Islam can meet the challenge of the time. The failure of peace-making world bodies like the UNO lies in the fact that these cannot possibly offer a ground for treating various national and ethnic groups as equal partners in the community of nations. Islam, on the other hand, gives us two such fundamental concepts which alone can bind the human race in one single totality. It tells us that all human beings living on the surface of this earth come from one primordial pair — Adam and Eve — and as such they are like members of one family. Again, the Creator of all is Allah (SWT) and as such they are all equal in His eyes. White people have no superiority over colored nations, nor have Western nations any ground to boast against the Eastern ones. Islam totally negates all baseless values and attitudes which treat some people as inferior to others in any respect whatsoever.

The contents of the above mentioned ayah of Surah Al-Hujurat have appeared in reverse order in the first ayah of Surah Al-Nisa thus:

O mankind! Be mindful of your Guardian-Lord Who created you from a single person. Created, of like nature, his mate and from them twain scattered countless men and women. Be mindful of Allah through Whom you demand (your mutual rights), and (be mindful of violating relations based on) the wombs; for Allah ever watches over you. (Al-Nisa 4:1)

All our mutual rights and duties, according to Islam, are referred to Allah (SWT). We are His creatures; His will is the standard and measure of good, and our duties are measured by our conformity to His Will. The Prophet of Islam (SAW) has not only shown a way to salvation in a future life, but has also brought practical answers to the problems of this-worldly life. And surely we do need concrete facts. In today’s situation of crisis the call for renewal, change, and progress is heard everywhere. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is the prime example of a personality who understood how to bring about revolutionary progress and build a community of true brotherhood. For example, his address on the occasion of the Farewell Pilgrimage epitomizes the climax of his mission, in which he said: “An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor has a non-Arab over an Arab. You are all born of Adam, and Adam was made out of clay.” This universality is also depicted subtly in the above cited Quranic ayaat; both address all humanity and thus make explicit the fundamental facts shared by all human beings.

The role of an important pillar of Islam, Hajj, is also very significant in this context. The spirit of Hajj is the spirit of sacrifice of vanities, dress and personal appearance, pride relating to birth, national origin, accomplishments, work or social status. It signifies the brotherhood of all Muslims, demonstrated in the greatest of all international assemblies. The privileged cast away their arrogance and pride because they know it is a sin to be harsh or scornful to one’s bother. In bridging the gap between man and man, forgiveness (which is closely related with taqwa) plays an essential part. Magnanimity is a sign of strength.

Obviously, Quranic teachings can give lead to the rest of the world on the question of race relations. Islam has the best record of racial tolerance. Its mosque and pilgrimage gatherings have known no racial discrimination. The message of Islam has completely rejected racial prejudice or superiority of one race over the other. Even the western non-Muslim scholars admit this, the historian Arnold Toynbee among them. He writes:

The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding moral achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue. The forces of racial toleration, which at present seem to be fighting a losing battle in a spiritual struggle of immense importance to mankind, might still regain the upper hand if any strong influence militating against racial consciousness were now to be thrown into the scales. It is conceivable that the spirit of Islam might be the timely reinforcement which would decide this issue in favor of tolerance and peace. (A. J. Toynbee, Civilization an Trial, Oxford university Press, 1948, pp. 205-6)

The disregard of color and race in the Muslim world is expressed by Malcolm X in a moving account of his experiences in Makkah. He wrote:

For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed at around me by people of all colors You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions…. Perhaps if White Americans could accept in reality the Oneness of mankind — and cease to measure and hinder and harm others in terms of their “differences” in color…. Each hour here in the Holy Land enables me to have greater spiritual insight into what is happening in America between black and white.

It is most unfortunate that, to the total neglect of such magnificent teachings of universal brotherhood, Muslims themselves are taking to various secular slogans for uniting cross-sections of the world population on the basis of racial and national loyalties. It is height of insanity that people who produced the finest examples of human equality and brotherhood in their past on the basis of their faith alone are now adopting racial and ethnic nationalism as a panacea for their social and political ills. To give a historical example, Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (RAA) who belonged to the respectable Arab tribe of Quryaish and was the head of the then largest Muslim State of his time, used to address Bilal (RAA) — a black Muslim and a former slave of humble means — as Sayyidina (our master).

The upshot of my discussion is that the truth which is essential for the happiness and peace (of both individual as well as social at the widest level) is all there and complete in the Quran and the Sunnah (i.e., the tradition and practice of the Prophet). Whoever amongst Muslims studies the Holy Quran and the life of Prophet of Islam (SAW) in earnest must face the question: “Are you ready to follow the heights that Allah (SWT) shows you and be a witness to this unto the world?” I believe that the need of the hour is to explain and spread the teachings and wisdom of the Holy Quran, first among the Muslims themselves and then among the entire humankind. This can be achieved only through sincere and tireless efforts of those young men who decide to dedicate their lives to the learning and teaching of the Book of Allah (SWT).

If we were to make a list of all the Islamic terms and concepts that have been inadvertently misconstrued or deliberately distorted, by the apologetic Muslims or Western orientalists, then Jihad can easily be placed at the top of that list.

Although the significance of Jihad in the Qur’an and Sunnah cannot be overstated, its exact place in the overall framework of Islamic values and imperatives has been a matter of some debate. Some writers have described Jihad as the fifth pillar of Islam, while others have relegated it to a mere Fard Kafayah (a collective, rather than personal, duty). A highly misleading but popular idea in this respect is that any war in which the Muslims are engaged, even if the motives are other than purely Islamic, is Jihad fi Sabeel lillah. In view of the confusions and misunderstandings that surround this most fundamental of Islamic concepts, we are going to discuss here, very briefly, the meaning and import of Jihad vis-à-vis the other duties and obligations of a Muslim.

The word Jihad is not synonymous with “Holy War” which is what the Western media wants everyone to believe. After four decades of Cold War, the Western powers suddenly found themselves without a legitimate enemy, and, consequently, they have designated Islam and the Muslims as the most deadly threat to world peace. The image of all Muslims as terrorists was inculcated by numerous so-called documentaries, like the infamous Jihad in America (PBS). In the face of such widespread media stereotypes, it is indeed an uphill task to educate the non-Muslims regarding the true meaning of Jihad. Much more important, however, is the task of removing the misconception which are prevalent among the Muslims themselves.

The foundation of the edifice of Islam consists in the verbal testimony of God’s unity and Muhammad’s (SAW) prophethood. Built upon this foundation are the four pillars of Islam with which all of us are familiar, i.e., Salat, Zakat, Saum, and Hajj. Please note, however, that Iman (or faith) also has two pillars: an unshakable inner conviction in the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the struggle in the path of Almighty Allah (SWT). This has been described in the Qur’an thus:

They alone are the mo’min who come to believe in Allah and His messenger and afterwards never doubted, and who strive in the way of Allah with their wealth and their lives. Only they are truthful and sincere. (Al-Hujurat 49:15)

What does this ayah really mean? It means that there is absolutely no way, for a person who claims to be a believer, to avoid Jihad fi Sabeel lillah and still remain a believer in the sight of Almighty Allah (SWT). Indeed, the very definition of a mo’min, as given in Surah Al-Hujurat, necessitates that a strong faith and state of inner certitude be coupled with an active struggle in the path of Allah (SWT).

The word Jihad and the verb that goes with it mean to struggle against some opposition. Thus, each and every human being is engaged in Jihad, in the sense that everyone has to struggle for his existence. However, the kind of Jihad we are talking about should be qualified as fi Sabeel lillah, that is to say, trying and exerting one’s utmost in the path of Almighty Allah. It is an earnest and ceaseless activity involving the sacrifice of physical and mental resources, wealth, property, and even life, only for the sake of attaining the pleasure Almighty Allah (SWT).

In order to understand the meaning of striving in the path of Allah, we should first have a clear concept of the responsibilities of a Muslim. According to the Qur’an and the Sunnah, the obligations of a Muslim are three-fold: A Muslim is required to become an obedient slave of Almighty Allah (SWT), he is required to mold his life, his values, his priorities, and his ambitions according to the commands of his Lord. Secondly, he must preach and disseminate the ideational and practical guidance of Islam to his fellow human beings, to enjoin all that is good and prohibit all that is evil. Thirdly, he must try his utmost to establish the domination of Islam over all other systems of life, all over the world.

Even a superficial analysis of these three obligations is enough to establish the fact that none of them is easy to fulfill. There are immence difficulties to overcome, all sorts of oppositions to put up with, and countless problems to solve at each of the three levels. A Muslim must put in a great deal of hard labor in fulfilling these obligations, he must exercise all his abilities and all his resources if he is to fulfill his duties. In other words, he is required to engage in a constant Jihad. This struggle or Jihad covers a wide spectrum of religious obligations, and its inherent activism can be understood as having nine different stages or aspects, as explained below:

In trying to live a life of total obedience to Almighty Allah (SWT) and to follow the example of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), a Muslim must resist the following:

• the sinful impulses and evil inclinations of his own nafs;
• the temptations implanted by Iblees and his progeny;
• the ridicule, opposition, and pressures from the un-Islamic society in which he happens to live.

In trying to spread the teachings of the Holy Qur’an and those of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to every nook and corner of the world, a Muslim will encounter three types of people, and therefore he must develop different approaches and levels of scholarship to cater for each of these groups:

• the educated and intelligent classes;
• the common people, or the masses at large;
• the rigid and inflexible adversaries.

In endeavoring for the establishment of the ascendancy of Islam over all other systems of life, members of the Islamic movement will have to go through the following stages:

• Passive Resistance, enduring all verbal and physical persecution without retaliation;
• Active Resistance, challenging the un-Islamic system when there is enough strength available to do so;
• and finally, the Armed Conflict (or a non-violent and disciplined popular movement)

It should be obvious from the above discussion that armed conflict or Qitaal constitutes only the last of the nine stages or aspects of Jihad, and that these two are not synonymous terms. Thus, we see that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) spent the entire twelve years of the Meccan period in calling people towards Islam, in organizing and training those who responded, and, during all that time, both he and his Companions endured all verbal and physical harassment with a non-violent attitude. It was only after Hijrah, when a strong center of the Islamic Movement was established in Medina, that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) decided that now there was enough strength at his disposal to challenge the Quraysh, and only then the Islamic movement entered the phases of Active Resistance and Armed Conflict. In view of this, all the revivalist and revolutionary Islamic groups throughout the Muslim world must keep the following fact in mind: While an armed struggle against an un-Islamic political system is permissible under certain conditions (whether or not it is feasible in today’s world is another issue), such a struggle cannot be launched without first going through the initial eight stages of Jihad.

It is vitally important that those who are trying to change the world in accordance with the will of Allah (SWT) must first change their own lives. It is indeed ironical that the life-style of many of the Muslims who are engaged in Islamic activism cannot be described as ideal or exemplary. We must keep in mind that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has described the struggle to make one’s own self obedient to Almighty Allah (SWT) as the “Greater Jihad.” We cannot expect to eradicate the evils in our society unless we first subjugate our own sinful impulses. Similarly, it is also essential that all the available means and resources be utilized in calling people towards the light of Islam, in removing their false beliefs, and in helping them realize the truth of Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) teachings, before initiating the final phases of Jihad.

What, exactly, is the nature of the relationship between Iman and Jihad, or faith and struggle? During the days of early, pristine Islam, we find that the two major realities — which formed the focus of attention for the Muslims — were Qur’an and Jihad. Qur’an was the source of Iman, and Iman manifested itself in Jihad. Primarily, it was the force and appeal of the Qur’anic verses that conquered the hearts and souls of the Companions (RAA), leading to a profound change in their values, priorities, ambitions, and thinking pattern. This inner transformation quite naturally led to a sense of dissatisfaction and discontent with what was happening in their environment, resulting in the development of friction and a lack of harmony between the Muslims and their un-Islamic milieu. A genuine inner change necessarily leads to a conflict with the status quo. In the case of the Companions (RAA), the inner transformation was characterized by Iman, and the resulting conflict took the form of Jihad.

Things began to change, however, when Islam entered the era of “statehood” and ceased to be a “movement.” As a result, the attention of the Muslim community gradually started to shift from the moving and inspiring verses of the Qur’an to legal and judicial matters, from the inner dynamics of Iman to the external manifestation of Islam, and from Jihad in the path of Allah (SWT) to warfare for the defense — or expansion —of the Muslim territories. The idea that Jihad is a Fard Kafayah was made popular by the legalistic mind which equated it with the responsibilities of the armed forces.

How can we bring about an Islamic Renaissance in our own times? It will be possible only by following the methodology of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The only surefire and unfailing strategy for Islamic Renaissance, therefore, must involve the revitalization of Iman through the Qur’an, and the launching of an Islamic movement on the basis of the dynamism thus unleashed. We need to establish a strong nucleus of true conviction and faith among the educated and rational elements of the Muslim society — the brain-trust of the Muslim Ummah — by means of the propagation of the Qur’anic wisdom at the highest intellectual level. The light of Iman will then illuminate all other segments of the society. This is the essential prerequisite for Islamic Renaissance, as it constitutes the only methodology to generate the dedicated and committed man-power to undertake the Jihad for the establishment of the domination of Islam over all other systems of life, all over the world.