Urdu: Khitab Jummah: Real Demand Of True Religion
The Authentic Representation of Islamic System of Social Justice
(After praising Allah (SWT) as he ought to be praised, sending peace and blessings on His final messenger (SAW) and reciting select verses from the Qur’an, he said)
Allah says in the Qur’an:
‘We have already sent Our messengers with clear evidences and sent down with them the Scripture and the Balance (system and principles to enforce justice) [so] that the people may maintain [their affairs] in justice.’
(Translation; Al-Hadeed: 25)
There are two things (or ingredients), mentioned in the recited verse, that Allah has sent accompanying all His noble messengers.
The first ‘ingredient’ is ‘The Book’ (or divine scriptures) that explain the reality of all existence in the universe. The Book gives information about He, Who created this universe, Who is, was and will eternally be the Master of this universe, firmly and completely in control of it. It informs us that all creation will be summoned in His presence on the day of Resurrection. The Qur’an (last of the revealed scriptures) answers these questions and explains the facts that count as the basic building blocks of our belief system. These include belief in Allah, belief in the institution of prophethood, in its entirety, and belief in life after death & judgment after resurrection.
The second ‘ingredient’ mentioned in the recited verse is the Balance of Justice, which symbolizes the system of fairness and justness (also called the system of social justice). This
indicates that Allah sent all his messengers with ‘The Balance of Justice’, in order to enforce a
system of social justice amongst people. Allah did not reveal His Word for the purpose of recitation, without any understanding and implementation of the divinely prescribed do’s and don’ts therein, alone. Rather, His word is meant to be implemented amongst them as an
integrated system, which would protect the rights and enforce the duties of all and protect the desolate from oppression. The end goal being a Deen (system which encompasses all dimension of life) whereby everyone could serve Allah to his/her full potential. It follows that in the presence of a corrupt system, servitude to Allah would be imperfect and deficient. Today’s economic system based on riba and gambling makes it impossible for us to serve Allah as He ought to be served. Our legal system is based on the laws enacted by the British Imperialist rulers of the nineteenth century. How can one be a submissive slave of Allah in the presence oflaws made by other than Him? Today’s man has blasphemously stripped Allah of His sovereignty and claimed it for himself. The parliament of today is considered sovereign, which can pass any legislation that it pleases, without the slightest regard for the Law of Allah the Most High. The citizens of Pakistan witnessed the so-called ‘Women’s Rights’ bill being passed in the National Assembly during the Musharraf regime. Although religious scholars from all schools of thought called it a blatant violation of Islamic Shariah, yet it was promulgated and is effective even today. Similarly the current political administration of Pakistan appears eager to abolish the award of capital punishment to qualifying offenders. No death sentence has been executed for the last five years and convicted murderers and serial killers have been let off the hook. Those in power claim (and we seek Allah’s forgiveness from what they say) that Islamic Sentences and Punishments are barbaric. While Allah’s Law calls for a murderer to be sentenced to death for a proven offence, those who have the authority are seeking to abolish the death sentence altogether. It has to be understood that the Messenger of Allah gave us a complete divine system of social justice. That system, which recognizes Allah’s sovereignty to be supreme, was established throughout the Arabian Peninsula during the lifetime of the messenger. It is incumbent on Muslims of all ages and times to follow in his blessed footsteps and to transmit his message to Muslims at large. The Creator and Giver of Divine Law Himself has passed the baton of understanding, dissemination and implementation of His message in the Qur’an unto Muslims as a whole.
It is, thus, stated in the Qur’an:
’And remember Allah's Favor upon you and His Covenant with which He bound you when you said: "We hear and we obey."
(Translation; Al-Maidah: 7)
Allah has blessed us with an exalted favor by bestowing on us the riches of Islam. He gave us His Word (The Qur’an). Hence we are now bound in oath of allegiance to Allah. It is, therefore, our duty to fulfill it in letter and spirit.
The covenant is explained further in the verse that follows:
‘O you who believe! Stand out firmly for Allah and be just witnesses..’
(Translation; Al-Maidah:8)
The implication of this covenant is that we have to do Jihad (strive) for the establishment of Islam as a Deen in its full glory, the same way Allah’s messenger did and hence set an example for all times to come. This is the Deen that Allah has chosen for us and it must prevail over all rivals. The Deen and the Shariah of Allah must be established in the whole world, whether someone likes it or not. It is for this precise reason that Allah sent his messenger.
The reason for blessing us with the presence of His messenger is explained in the Qur’an as follows:
‘It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the Deen of truth to make it dominant over all rivals. And sufficient is Allah as Witness.’
(Translation; Al-Fath:28)
Allah ruined to extinction, with His wrath, all such nations of yesteryears that did not submit to the divine message brought by His messengers. We know that Muhammad is the seal of
prophets and there will be no messenger after him. Allah, in His divine wisdom, planned for his messenger and his companions (RA) to wage a mighty Jihad in order to establish His Deen, with a minimal reliance on miracles. That set a sublime example, for all people to come, of the method for instituting as well as reviving Allah’s Deen, till the end of time.
The Messenger of Allah spent 13 years of his life in Makkah, giving Da’wah (inviting) the leaders of powerful tribes as well as the common citizens towards submission to Allah’s sovereignty, His Shariah and the Islamic code of life. When most of them rejected his Da’wah, he and his companions, who were few in number, made Hijrah (migrated) to the city of Madinah, just like previous messengers had done in their respective times. But Allah, in His divine wisdom, did not send His wrath on the unbelievers of Makkah to destroy them and hence cause His Deen to become enforced promptly. He, rather, chose the method of Jihad in His way for the messenger and his companions establish and enforce Allah’s Deen, so that it could become a case study for the Muslims of all times to follow. In Madinah, the Messenger of Allah dared the forces of falsehood in open confrontation, challenging their oppressive and tyrannical system. Deen, in fact, is an alternative expression for the prevailing order vis-à-vis political, economic and social system. The Deen prevalent at the time was that of the tribes of Qure’sh. All of Arabia ceded to their authority as enforcers and upholders of the system. Therefore, the real battle of Islam was against the Deen of Qure’sh. The messenger waged that mighty Jihad to uproot the Deen of Qure’sh, before installing Islam instead.
It must be noted that the Messenger of Allah turned towards the tribes living in the vicinity of Madinah with offers of joint defense pacts and treaties of truce & cooperation. The messenger asked these tribes to join hands with the Muslim in the battle against Qure’sh or remain neutral. These strategically crucial steps were taken to protect Madinah from opening additional hostile fronts when faced with the onslaught from armies of Qure’sh. The unwaivered attention of the messenger remained focused on challenging the Qure’sh of Makkah, the Deen of whom was the prevalent system in the whole peninsula. In the presence of an existing system, the masses were reluctant to enter the fold of Islam. Once the Qure’sh tribes were defeated and their Deen annihilated people started entering the folds of its successor, the Deen of Islam, wave after wave.
This model is applicable for all times to come. Muslims as an Ummah (nation) have the responsibility to perform, by proxy, the function that messengers of previous Ummahs (nations) used to do. We have to make Jihad (struggle to our utmost potential), with our thoughts, words, energies and time to restore the pristine Deen that Allah’s messenger established during his lifetime. All this has to be done with utmost resilience and fortitude, without waiting for miracles to happen. Allah has chosen this Ummah for this very purpose.
He says in the Qur’an:
‘so that the Messenger may be your custodian and witness and that you may be witness against mankind.’
(Translation; Al Hajj: 78)
The verse sums up the responsibility that Allah has chosen for the Muslim Ummah, which
cannot be fulfilled by individual efforts only. One person can only give Da’wah to his tribe, his
nation and the people that speak his language. Someone else may give individual Da’wah to
another set of people. But in order to establish Islam as the dominant global Deen, all individuals have to unite under the banner of Islam, forming a collective Ummah. That unified Muslim Ummah, living their lives according to the authentic Islam of Qur’an and Sunnah, can then make concerted efforts to invite the whole world to Islam and wage a mighty Jihad (struggle) against those who insist on serving the tyrannical and oppressive Deens that resist and rival Islam. Unfortunately, we live in a time when Islam has been a subdued entity for the last three centuries or so. We are, hence, forced to live under a despotic and unjust system, which, to its core, is rebellious towards Allah. The Muslims, ironically, have turned their Deen into mere religion, which involves no more than certain beliefs, some rituals and some modes of worship. Islam gives freedom of choice in matters of religion, in the true sense of the word, but strictly prohibits any other Deen except that of Allah to be enforced. The companions of the messenger spread out in all directions with the simple message that people are free in their individual choice of religion, but the Deen (overall system governing people’s collective lives) must be that of Allah.
The Quran orders the same to Muslim Ummah when it says:
‘Fight those who believe not in Allah, nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Apostle, nor acknowledge the Deen of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.’
(Translation; At Tauba: 29)
Moses (AS) brought the same Deen. So did Jesus (AS). Islam is the Deen that Allah has chosen for the whole of mankind. This Deen has to prevail over all rivals. Those who choose to follow a religion are free to do so. They may believe in their own supreme entity; they may choose to be atheists; they may have their own rituals and modes of worship. But the
supreme law governing the collective lives of individuals (Deen) must be one chosen by
Allah, i.e., Islam. Muslims are blessed with a complete blueprint, the Qur’an, for establishing that Deen. Unfortunately, we have reduced it to a book of mere recitation for reward. We are unwilling to establish the Deen based on the tenets mentioned therein. We are neither practicing it ourselves, nor willing to disseminate its revolutionary message to humanity at large. This renders us incapable of presenting to the world a Deen that could function as a superior rival to the existing system. We fail to present any practical model of the Deen to the world. All we do is keep repeating the rhetorical claims of possessing an unmatchable Deen. The companions of the messenger were able to convince people of the superiority of Islam as a Deen because they had implemented it in their lives and in the Khilafah state of Madinah, which served as a beacon for others to experience for themselves a system of social justice. This established a verdict on the superiority of Allah’s Deen on all rival systems, hence allowing them to challenge on high moral grounds those who repudiated its implementation.
It must also be noted that Deen can never be established by Da’wah alone. One cannot deny the importance of Da’wah in trying to convince people about the veracity and benefits of Islam, and it is likely that those who are oppressed will start identifying themselves with the system. Others, whose hearts are alive, will also show sympathy towards the message. However, the elite group of powerful individuals, who manage and control the existing system of oppression and have vested interests linked with the status quo, will vehemently oppose it and never stop short of drawing daggers. These groups were represented, predominantly, by the Qure’sh of Makkah and the Jewish tribes of Madinah during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah who gave the best possible Da’wah to them. Eventually, the time came when he had to wage an organized armed struggle to subdue them and make the Deen of Allah ascendant in the Arabian Peninsula. It is, therefore, imperative for us to be organized as a tightly knit unit, bound by a high degree of discipline, if we are to succeed in challenging the systems of oppression successfully. We ought to live our lives as an organized party, join forces under one banner and prepare ourselves for sacrificing our lives in confronting the systems of oppression with relentless might.
We pray to Allah to grant us courage to do so. Ameen!
0 Response to "Urdu: Khitab Jummah: Real Demand Of True Religion"
Post a Comment