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The Quran leads us to the true guidance. In this connection, we
quote a passage from the Quran:
'Allah is He besides Whom there is no god, the
Ever-living, the Self-subsisting by Whom all subsist;
slumber does not overtake Him nor sleep; whatever is
in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His;
who is he that can intercede with Him but by His
permission? He knows what is before them and what is
behind them, and they cannot comprehend anything out
of His knowledge except what He wills. His knowledge
encompasses the heavens and the earth, and the
preservation of them both tires Him not, and He is the
Most High, the Great. There is no compulsion in
religion; truly the right way has become clearly
distinct from error; therefore, whoever disbelieves
in Satan and believes in God, he indeed has laid hold
on the firmest handle, which shall not break off, and
God is Hearing, Knowing.
God is the guardian of those who believe. He brings
them out of the darkness into the light; and (as to)
those who disbelieve, their guardians are Satan's who
take them out of the light into the darkness; they are
the inmates of the fire, in it they shall abide.
(2:255-257)
Now, let us try to visualize the above quoted Quranic passage, in
its applied form, so that we may have an idea of what kind of
individual, what kind of society and what kind of state would
respectively emerge, when Islam is consciously accepted and
practiced in letter and spirit.
A - INDIVIDUAL
Islam is the religion of the universe. The Quran says:
Do they seek for other than the Religion of God?
While all creatures in the heavens and on earth have,
willingly or unwillingly bowed to His will. (3:83)
It means that submission to God is the only true religion for both
man and the universe. All the things on the earth or in the space
are following completely the command of God. The revolution of
stars, flowing of water, growing of trees, in short, everything is
following the same course, which was determined for him by God.
Nothing is allowed to deviate from the divine path. The Quran says:
"Neither is it allowable to the sun to catch up the
Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day. Each swims
along in (its own) orbit." (36:40)
The same is required by all human beings. Everyone should strictly obey
the
commands of God without any deviation or alteration. The Prophet of
Islam
has declared:
"A believer with his faith is like a horse with its
tether. The movement of the horse is restricted to
the length of its tether. So is the case with the
believer His all words and deeds are restricted by the
limitations set by his faith (Mishal Al Masabih,
vol. 2/1226)
The life of a true Muslim is a highly disciplined life. He always
adheres to the set of do's and don't ordained by God Almighty He
exercises full control over his speech. He even subordinates his
intention and his thinking to the will of God. He always feels
himself to be a servant of God. The Quran gives the picture of a
Muslim in these words.
And the servants of the Beneficent God are they who
walk on the earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant
address them, they say: Peace. And they who pass the
night prostrating themselves before their Lord and
standing. And they who say: O our Lord! Turn away from
us the punishment of hell; surely the punishment thereof
is a lasting evil. Surely it is an evil abode and (evil)
place to stay. And they who when they spend, are neither
extravagant nor parsimonious, and (keep) between these
the just mean. And they who do not call upon another
god with Allah and do not slay the soul, which Allah
has forbidden except in the requirements of justice,
and (who) do not commit fornication and he who does
this shall find a requital of sin; The punishment shall
be doubled to him on the day of resurrection, and he
shall abide therein abasement; Except him who repents
and believes and does a good deed; so these are they of
whom Allah changes the evil deeds to good ones; and
Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And whoever repents and
does good, he surely turns to Allah a (goodly) turning.
And they who do not bear witness to what is false, and
when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly. And
they who, when reminded of the signs of their Lord, do
not fall down thereat deaf and blind. And they who say:
O our Lord! Grant us in our wives and our offspring the
joy of our eyes, and make us guides to those who guard
(against evil). These shall be rewarded with high places
because they were patient, and shall be met therein with
greetings and salutations. Abiding therein; a blessed
dwelling and blessed resting place. Say (to the
unbelievers) little cares my Lord for you if you do not
invoke Him. But you have indeed rejected (the truth),
His punishment is bound to overtake you. (25:63-77)
B - SOCIETY
The foundation of society in Islam is based on mutual well wishing.
In chapter Al-Asr (Time) the Quran says:
By time, man is in loss, except those who believe and
do good works and exhort one another to truth and to
patience (103:1-3)
How a Muslim should live in a society? The answer given in a hadith
is like this: "Anyone of you sees an evil in the society, he must
rectify it by his own hand. And if he has no capacity to do so he
should do it by his tongue. And if he is unable even to discourage
it, then, let him condemn the same in his own heart." (Bukhari)
The society based on these principles will naturally be a place
wherein good will flourish as a result of mutual reminding, and the
roots of evil, if not totally be eradicated; will dry out due to
public discouragement. As the truth is openly propagated and the
virtue of patience is highly recommended in this society, there will
definitely prevail a peaceful atmosphere, which is an essential
prerequisite for healthy growth and development of both the
individual personality and the social system at large. It is only
under such a peaceful social order and atmosphere, that the rights
of individuals are secured, communal harmony ensured, higher values
of brotherhood, cooperation and altruism are sincerely observed;
and, finally, the projects of common welfare, progress and
prosperity are successfully achieved.
To sum up, when the Islamic ideals are consciously put into practice
by its adherents, there will emerge a society that will
distinguishably be more secure, free of violence and naturally
cooperative, progressive, prosperous, good enhancing and
evil-resisting, compared to any their human society in the past or
present.
C - STATE
What is state? It is an organized political community under one
Government. Islam does not prescribe any particular form or
structure of the state. Nevertheless. Islamic teachings seem to be
so comprehensive that they embrace all essential issues of life
including state and its related national or international problems
as well.
What is an Islamic state? Any state governed by the Muslims is not
necessarily an Islamic state. Apart from its monotheistic doctrinal
basis, an Islamic state would practically be identified with it
enumum bonum principle of 'no-compulsion.' No compulsion should be
exercised, neither before gaining of power, nor after gaining the
power. For the power gained through compulsion or the power used for
compulsion in any matter whatsoever, particularly in religious
matters, is strictly prohibited and condemned in Islam. That is why
the compulsive forms of states, though governed by Muslim dictators,
have
never been considered ideal Islamic states by the scholars of Islam.
Yet,
Islam does not allow its followers to rebel against any
established state even though it may not seem to be in accordance
with the Islamic Ideal. The compulsion on the part of state should
never be resisted by means of a counter compulsion, i.e. it has to
be countered by means of conviction and negotiation. This ensures
the stability of law and order, which subsequently helps promote
Islamic values, which may gradually prepare a firm ground for a real
Islamic state to stand on. To establish an ideal Islamic state is
not the main target of Islam, as wrongly projected by some groups of
Muslims. Islamic state is something that may ultimately emerge from
a society consisted of sincere practicing Muslims, and that may take
any workable form of government, which neither is predictable nor
pre-determinable. Such a state according to the Quran (24:55), is a
worldly reward of Allah granted to His righteous servants when He
wills, not a directly, targeted goal of the Muslim community to
struggle for.
To conclude, Islam begins when one discovers God as the ultimate
truth. This results in a spiritual transformation, which leads to
the emergence of a new personality with new thinking and new
sentiments. A new man is born, quite different from what he was
before. He now becomes a combination of spirituality, compassion and
peace. This is like an intellectual and spiritual revolution. This
inner revolution finds expression in his external behaviors, in
worship, in character, in social relations etc. To produce a person
like this is the main target of Islam. All other aspects of Islam
are due to the fact that man lives in a society, so when there are a
considerable number of such individuals in a society it is bound to
bring about some changes at the social level. This process leads to
that which may be called the social system of Islam.
This revolution among individuals and society goes on developing
until on finding favorable conditions it may culminate in what is
termed Islamic State. This process is mentioned in the Quran in this
word:
"God has promised to those of you who believe and work
righteous deeds that He shall make them successors on
the earth as He made those before them successors and
that He shall certainly established for them their
religion which He has approved for them, and that He
shall certainly change, after the fear in which they
lived, to one of security and peace. Provided they
worship Me." (24:55)
In a garden it is the individual tree, which has the real existence.
Garden is only a collective manifestation of a number of trees. So
is the case of man. In the Islamic scheme, it is the individual who
is the real part of the body of Islam while the society and the
state are only its relative part.
This kind of individual is called a rabbani person in the Quran.
Where there are rabbani individuals in a considerable number, the
orchard, that is Islamic society, and state will come into existence
on its own.
MAULANA WAHIDUDDIN KHAN
President,
The Islamic Centre,
1, Nizamuddin West Market,
New Delhi - 110 013; INDIA
Tel. 91-11-4625454, 4611128
Fax 91-11-4697333, 4647980
e-mail: Maulana@alrisala.org
website: www.alrisala.org |
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