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Witness Unto Mankind
by Sayyid Abul Al'a Maududi
Translated and edited by Khurram Murad
Praise and
Salutations
Our Message
The Purpose and Duty of
the Muslim Ummah
Responsibilities and
Duties
The Only Purpose of
Existence
Witness to
the Truth
Nature and
Importance
How Should We Witness to the
Truth? Word-witness
Act-witness
The Islamic
State
And With What Consequences! Our
Punishment
In This World
What is
Our Real Problem? Pseudo Problems
Our Real Problem
Praise
and Salutations
All praise be to God who alone is the
Creator, Master and Sovereign of the universe. It is He who rules over it
with perfect wisdom, absolute power and infinite mercy. He who has created
man, e ndowed him with knowledge and reason, made him His vicegerent on
earth, and has sent His Books and Messengers to guide him.
May God bless all those righteous and noble
servants of His who were appointed to teach man how to live as true human
beings and who made man aware of the real purpose of his life, and showed
him the right way to live in this world. Whatever measure of true guidance,
morality, piety, and selflessness that the world possesses today, it owes
to the teachings of these servants of God, peace be upon them. This is a
debt that can never be sufficiently repaid.
Our
Message
Brothers and friends, we usually divide our
meetings into two parts. In one part, we review, among ourselves, our
activities and discuss plans for their advancement. The other part we
devote to conveying our message to the people of the area where we hold our
meeting. We have, thus, asked you to join us in this meeting so that we may
explain our message to you.
On the one hand our message is addressed to
Muslims, and on the other hand to all those human beings who are outside
the fold of Islam. It is unfortunate, however, that I do not see here today
people belonging to the second category. Our past mistakes and present
errors are responsible for alienating a great many people from us.
Therefore, we hardly ever find the opportunity either to draw them near to
us or draw near to them, so that we may communicate to them the message
sent by God, in whom we all believe, through His Messengers for the
guidance of us all. Since we do not have any non-Muslims present amongst
us, I shall only concentrate upon that part of our message which is meant
for Muslims.
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The Purpose and Duty
of the Muslim Ummah
Responsibilities and Duties
To the Muslims we have
only one very simple thing to say: Understand and fulfil the
responsibilities and duties that fall upon you by virtue of your being
Muslims. You cannot get away with merely affirming that you are Muslims
and that you have accepted God as your only God and Islam as your
religion. Rather, as soon as you acknowledge Allah as your only Lord and
His guidance as your way of life, you take upon yourselves certain
obligations and duties. These obligations you must always remain
conscious of, these duties you must always endeavour to discharge. If you
evade them, you shall not escape the evil consequences of your conduct in
this world or in the Hereafter.
What are these duties?
They are not merely confined to the affirmation of faith in Allah, His
Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgement. Nor are they
confined to performing the Prayers, observing the Fasts, going on the
Pilgrimage, and paying the Alms. Nor are these duties exhausted by
observing the injunctions of Islam relating to marriage, divorce and
inheritance. Over and above all these duties, there is one which is the
most important: that your lives bear witness to the Truth that you have
been given by God before all mankind, the Truth which you believe to be
true. |
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The Only Purpose of Existence
The Qur'an clearly
states that witnessing to the Truth in a manner that would leave mankind
with no justifiable ground to deny it is the only purpose behind
constituting you as a distinct Ummah (community), named Muslims.
And
thus We have made you a community of the middle way, so that you may be
witnesses [to the Truth] before all mankind, and the Messenger may be
witness [to it] before you
(al-Baqarah 2: 143).
This mission is the sole
objective for which your Ummah has been brought into being, it is the
raison d'etre of its existence as a society of human beings. Unless you
fulfil it you are squandering your life. For this is no ordinary duty; it
is a duty enjoined on you by God. It is a Divine command and a Divine
call:
O
believers, be ever steadfast in standing up, for the sake of God, bearing
witness to justice
(al-Ma'idah 5: 8) .
It is not a mere trifle
but an emphatic and grave mandate, for Allah also says:
And
who is a greater wrong-doer than he who suppresses a witness entrusted to
him by God
(al-Baqarah 2: 140).
You have been warned of
the consequences of evading this duty. Look at the history of the people
of Israel. They
too were appointed to stand in the witness-box; but sometimes they
suppressed the Truth, and sometimes they witnessed against it. By their
conduct, they, in fact, became witnesses to falsehood rather than
witnesses to the Truth. The consequence was that God forsook them and a
curse fell upon them.
And
so, humiliation and powerlessness afflicted them, and they earned God's
anger
(al-Baqarah 2: 61). |
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Witness to the Truth
What does this duty
of witness imply?
Consider it carefully: You have been given
Divine guidance, you have been shown the Truth. You must, therefore,
establish by your testimony and witness its authenticity and truthfulness
before all mankind. This is a testimony that will make the authenticity
and truthfulness of Divine guidance self-evident, for all to see, and a
witness that will make it clear and indisputable for all people.
For this very purpose
all the Messengers were sent to the world; this was their primary duty.
After them, their followers were entrusted with the same duty. And now
the Muslim Ummah, as the successor to the Last Prophet, blessings and
peace be on him, is charged with this very mission, just as he was
charged with it during his lifetime. |
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Nature and Importance
What is the importance
of this witness? You will know its importance only when you understand
that man has been made accountable for his conduct and will be rewarded
and punished in the Hereafter under the Divine Law which rests entirely
on this witness. God is All-wise, All-merciful, and All just. His mercy,
justice and wisdom are not such that He should punish people for living
against His will while they had no knowledge of it, that He should take
people to task for deviating from the right path of which they were
ignorant, that He should hold people accountable for things of which they
were unaware.
[1] It was as a provision against this
that the first man He created was a Messenger, and that after him many
more were sent from time to time.
[2] They were all to be witnesses to mankind, to make it
understand and remember the will of God. They were all to teach human
beings the proper way of conducting their lives, the code of behaviour
that they should adopt to win God's favour, the acts that they should
perform, the acts that they should avoid, and the things for which they
will be brought to account.
[3]
This witness was given
by Allah's Messengers so that the people may not be in a position to say
to God: How can we be punished for things of which we were not warned?
The Qur'an says:
[We
sent] all Messengers as heralds of glad tidings and as warners, so that
men may not have any argument against God, after [the coming of] these
Messengers; God is indeed All-mighty, All-wise
(al-Nisa' 4: 165).
In this manner God made
His Messengers bear the crucial responsibility for guiding man on His
behalf. They were thus charged with a very delicate and grave
responsibility: if they bore witness to the Truth properly, the people
would be accountable for their own actions, but if they failed in their
duty, they themselves would be called to account for their people going
astray. In other words, unless the Messengers made people responsible for
their conduct by giving them conclusive and indisputable testimony to the
Truth, the people would hold the Messengers responsible for their own
misdeeds, saying: 'The knowledge that God gave you, that you did not
communicate to us; the way of life that He showed you, that you did not
show US.'
[4] That is why all the Messengers
always remained acutely conscious of the burden of this responsibility,
and that is why they endeavoured so hard to bear witness before the
people to the Truth entrusted to them.
[5] |
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Responsibility of the Ummah
All those who were led
by the Messengers to the knowledge of the Truth and Divine guidance were
formed into a community, an Ummah. Every Ummah was charged with the same
mission as the Messengers of witnessing to the Truth. As successors to
the Messengers, every Ummah has the same crucial role and responsibility
as they had. Thus, if an Ummah properly fulfils its duty of witnessing to
the Truth and yet the people do not pay heed, it will be rewarded and the
people will be brought to account. However, if the Ummah neglects its
duty, or if it gives false witness, it will deserve to be punished more
severely than the people. The Ummah shall be accountable not only for its
own misdeeds, but also for the misdeeds of those who went astray or
turned to error and wickedness because the testimony given to them by the
Ummah was misleading or false.
This, brothers, is the
nature and logic of that grave and crucial duty which lies upon me, you
and all those who consider themselves part of the Muslim Ummah, or those
who have become sufficiently aware of God's Book and the guidance brought
by His Messengers. |
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Notes by Khurram Murad
1.
Law of God for Judgement:
The Qur'an has explained
in considerable detail the law under which man's accountability on the
Day of Judgement depends upon the witness to the Truth rendered by its
bearers before him. It is important to understand what the Qur'an says in
this regard.
Firstly, why has man
been placed on earth? So that he may use his full and enormous potential
to conduct himself in that right manner which will fulfil the meaning in
his life.
And
He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in six days, and His
throne was upon the waters, so that He might test you which of you is
best in conduct
(Hud 11: 7).
He
who has created death and life, so that He might test you, which of you
is best in conduct
(al-Mulk 67: 2).
We
have made all that is on earth an adornment for it, and so that we might
test which of them is best in conduct
(al-Kahf 18: 7).
Secondly, what is the
meaning and purpose of man's life? That he lives as his Creator desires
him to live: in surrender and worship to Him alone. Not because God in
any way needs his worship, but because man needs to worship only his
Creator and none else so that his own nature is not perverted and
corrupted, and so that he does not live in opposition to its intrinsic
character. Also, only by so living, will his earthly life be set onthe
right path and will prosper, bringing him peace and happiness (all of
which the Qur'an calls falah).
And I
have not created Jinn and mankind except to serve and worship Me. I
desire of them no provision, neither do I desire that they should feed Me
(al-Dhariyat 51: 5S7).
Thirdly, and
consequently, man's earthly life must be judged. He must give an account
of his conduct, and he must face the consequences of how he lives his
life. Obviously, to be judged fairly, this judgement must be made only
after his earthly life has come to an end, and only by the One who gave
this life, who knows everything, and who is All-powerful and Alljust.
Only then can he be judged fairly, and duly rewarded and punished, for
everything from the most hidden innermost thoughts to the consequences of
his conduct that extend far and wide, and beyond life for generations to
come. The judge, in other words, must be the King and Master of the Day
of Judgement.
What,
did you think that We created you in mere idle play, and that you would
not be returned to Us? But, high exalted is God, the King, the True!
There is no god but He, the Lord of the Noble Throne
(al-Mu'minun 23: 115-16).
And
We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is between
them in mere idle play; We have not created them but with truth [meaning
and purpose], but most of them understand it not
(al-Dukhan 44: 38-9).
Or,
do those who commit evil deeds think that We shall place them on an equal
footing with those who believe and do righteous deeds, both in their life
and their death? How bad is their judgement! God has created the heavens
and the earth with truth [meaning and purpose], so that every human being
shall be recompensed for what he has earned, and they shall not be
wronged
(al-Jathiyah 45: 21-2).
Every human being shall taste death;
and you shall surely be paid in full your wages on the Day of
Resurrection; whosoever [then] is saved from the Fire and admitted to
Paradise, he indeed wins the triumph; worldly life is nothing but
enjoyment of delusion
(Al 'Imran 3: 185).
And
We shall set up just balance-scales on Resurrectlon Day, and no human
being shall be wronged anything; even if it be the weight of a
mustard-seed, We shall bring it forth, and sufficient are We as reckoners
(al-Anbiya' 21: 47).
He
knows the [most] stealthy glance, and what the hearts conceal
(Ghafir 40: 19).
Fourthly, therefore,
man's ultimate destiny lies in the life to come, in the Akhirah. Equally
important is the fact that the account of the Akhirah as given in the
Qur'an clearly demonstrates, and repeatedly emphasizes, that one will be
judged there by due process of justice, fairly and equitably, mercifully
and kindly. Also, no one will be wronged or dealt with unjustly even by
an atom's weight.
And
vie with one another, hastening to forgiveness from your Lord, and to
Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, which has been prepared
for the God-conscious
(Al 'Imran 3: 133).
O my
people, surely this worldly life is but a brief enjoyment; surely the
world to come is the home abiding. [There] whosoever does an evil deed
shall be recompensed only with the like of it, but whosoever does
righteous deeds be it man or woman, and is a believer those shall enter
Paradise, therein provided [with blessings] beyond all reckoning
(Ghafir 40: 39-40).
Surely God shall not wrong so much as an atoms weight
(al-Nisa' 4: 40).
Fifthly, in all
fairness, therefore, man must be made aware of how he should live his
earthly life. In other words, he should know of his Creator and Lord, of
what He desires of him, of how He wants him to worship Him and surrender
to Him. Unless man knows all this, he cannot be held fully responsible
and accountable if he pursues a wrong way of life. Such knowledge has
been given to him in his own nature, in the universe around him, and in
the revelations sent through God's Messengers.
And
when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins,
their descendants, and made them bear witness about themselves: Am I not
your Lord? They said: Yes, we bear witness lest you say on the Day of
Resurrection: We were unaware of this. Or lest you say: Our fathers
ascribed partners [to God] aforetime, and we were but their descendants
after them. What, wilt Thou then destroy us for the deeds of the
vain-doers?
(al-A'raf 7: 172-3) .
How
many a sign there is in the heavens and on earth which they pass by
[unthinkingly], and on which they turn their backs! And most of them do
not believe in God, but they ascribe partners [to Him]
(Yusuf 12: 105-6).
[And
God will say:] O community of jinn and men, did not Messengers come unto
you from among you, who conveyed unto you My revelations and warned you
of the meeting of this your day? . . . That is because your Lord would
not destroy communities unjustly, while their people are ignorant
(al-An'am
6: 130-1).
Sixthly, for a number of
reasons, all of which it is not possible to discuss here, only God, and
no one else, can provide man with the knowledge of the right guidance.
Firstly and primarily, because only He can tell how man should relate to
Him. Secondly, because only the Creator can tell him how he should relate
to himself, to other human beings, and to all other things in the
universe. And, finally, because only God can give man a guidance which
will be applicable universally, and for all times.
Say:
Is there any of those you associate [with God] who guides to the Truth?
Say: Only God guides to the Truth. Thus, then, He who guides to the Truth
deserves more to be followed or He who cannot guide unless he be guided?
What ails you? How judge you? And most of them follow nothing but
conjecture, and conjecture can never take the place of truth
(Yunus 10:
35-6).
Say:
Shall we call, apart from God, on that which neither benefits us nor
harms us, and shall we be turned back on our heels after God has guided
us aright? Like one lured to bewilderment on the earth by Satans, and he
has friends who call him to guidance: Come to us! Say: God's guidance is
the only [true] guidance; and so we have been commanded to surrender to
the Lord of all the worlds
(al-An'am 6: 71).
This, then, is the
Divine law for the judgement of man. Central to this law is that the
Truth be witnessed before mankind fully, faithfully, and by all possible
means. For without guidance from God, man's earthly life, both individual
and collective, will result in misery and suffering. But, more
importantly, without that guidance man will never be in a position to
make his ultimate destiny glorious. |
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2. God's promise to guide:
Adam, according to the
Qur'an, is neither a mythical figure nor merely a symbol of the human
race. He is mentioned, as a Messenger, along with Noah and Abraham.
God
chose Adam, and Noah, and the House of Abraham and the House of Imran
above all mankind, offspring of one another
(Al 'Imran 3: 33).
He
was given knowledge and guidance
(2: 31-5);
when
he erred and his weaknesses became known to him, God turned towards him
in mercy, exhalted him, guided him and promised him and his progeny
continuing guidance
(20: 115-27, 2: 3S9).
Adam
disobeyed his Lord, and so he erred. Thereafter his Lord chose him, and
so He turned towards him, and He guided him. He said: Get you down, both
of you, from here, each of you an enemy to each. Nonetheless, there shall
most certainly come unto you guidance from Me; and he who follows My
guidance shall not go astray, neither shall he be unprosperous. But
whosoever turns away from My remembrance, his shall be a life of narrow
scope; and on the Resurrection Day, We shall raise him blind. He shall
say: O my Lord, why has Thou raised me blind, whereas I was given sight?
God shall say: Thus it is. Our revelations came unto you and you did
forget them; and so today you are forgotten
(Ta Ha 20: 121-6). |
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3. Messengers and their
mission:
It was in fulfilment of
this promise to mankind that, firstly, God sent His Messengers with His
guidance, with the Truth, to every people some of them the Qur'an has
named, some it has not.
We
have sent you [O Prophet] with the Truth, as a bearer of glad tidings and
a warner; not a community there is, but there has passed away in it a
warner
(al-Fatir 35: 24).
We
have revealed to you [O Prophet] as We revealed to Noah and the Prophets
after him, as We revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and
their descendants, including Jesus and Job and Jonah and Aaron and
Solomon, and as We gave to David Psalms; and Messengers We have mentioned
to you before, and Messengers We have not mentioned to you; and as God
spoke His word unto Moses. Messengers [We sent] as heralds of glad
tidings and as warners, so that mankind might have no excuse before God
after [the coming of] the Messengers; and God is All-mighty, All-wise
(al-Nisa' 4: 163-5).
Secondly, He charged all
of them with this mission and duty: to communicate the Truth, to invite
people to worship the One God alone and surrender to Him as their only
Lord by word and example. In other words, to witness to the Truth before
men and women to whom they were sent, so that they could have no plea to
make before God, so that they could be questioned as to how they lived
their lives, so that those who lived by the Truth could be rewarded, and
those who did not could be punished.
And
We never sent, before you, any Messenger except that We revealed to him:
There is no god but I; so serve and worship only Me
(al-Anbiya' 21: 25).
And
this was Our argument, which We gave to Abraham as against his people. We
raise up in degrees whom We will; surely your Lord is All-wise,
All-knowing. And We gave Isaac and Jacob, and both of them We guided and
Noah We guided beforeand [We guided] of his descendants: David, and
Solomon, and Job, and Joseph, and Moses, and Aaron and thes do We reward
the doers of good Zachariah and John, and Jesus, and Elijah, each was of
the righteous; and Ishmael, and Elisha, and Jonah, and Lut. And every one
of them did We favour above other people. And [likewise We guided] some
of their forefathers and their descendants and their brethren. And We
elected them, and guided them onto the straight path. That is God's
guidance; He guides by it whomsoever He wills of His servants. And had
they ascribed partners [to God], in vain would have been all that they
ever did. Those are they to whom We gave the Book, and the Judgement, and
the Prophethood. So if these deny this [Our guidance], We have entrusted
it to people who do not disbelieve in it. Those [Messengers] are they
whom God has guided; follow, then, their guidance. Say: I ask of you no
reward for it; it is but a reminder unto all mankind
(al-An'am 6: 83-90).
Indeed We sent forth Our Messengers with clear revelations and We sent
down with them the Book and the Balance, so that mankind may establish
justice
(al-Hadld 57: 25).
The Prophet Muhammad was
the last of them. He did not bring any new Truth, message or guidance; he
came with the same Truth, and was entrusted with the same mission and
duty as were all the Messengers preceding him. This duty and mission has
been expressed in a number of ways: warning (indhar), bringing glad
tidings (tabshir), inviting and calling (da'wah), communicating (tabligh),
reminding (dhikr), teaching (ta'lim), conveying and propagating (tilawah),
enjoining and promoting what is good and right and forbidding and
eradicating what is wrong and bad (amr bi 'l-ma'ruf wa nahl 'ani 'l-munkar),
establishing Din (iqamah), establishing justice (qist), making the Divine
guidance and Din prevail (izhar), or witnessing (shahadah). All these
expressions pertain to the same mission, though from different
perspectives and with different emphases.
O
Prophet, We have sent you as a witness [to the Truth], and as a herald of
glad tidings and a warner, and as one who calls to God, by His leave, and
as a light-giving lamp
(al-Ahzab 33: 45-6).
O
Messenger, deliver that which has been sent down to you from your Lord;
for if you do not, you will not have delivered His message
(al-Ma'idah 5: 67).
Even
so We have sent among you, of yourselves, a Messenger, to convey unto you
Our revelations, and to purify you, and to teach you the Book and wisdom,
and to teach you that which you knew not
(al-Baqarah 2: 151).
It is
He who has sent forth His Messenger with the guidance and the way of the
Truth, so that he makes it prevail over all other ways of life; and God
suffices as a witness
(al-Fath 48: 28; also 9: 33, 61: 9).
. . .
and those [among the followers of Moses] who follow the Messenger, the
unlettered Prophet, whom they find written down with them in the Torah
and the Gospel, who will enjoin upon them the right and forbid them the
wrong, and make lawful to them the good things and make unlawful for them
the bad things, and lift from them their burdens and the shackles that
were upon them. Those who believe in him and succour him and help him,
and follow the light that has been sent down with him it is they who are
the prosperous
(al-A'raf 7: 157). |
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4. Man's accountability
and the witness:
The witness given by the
Messengers, and by all those who are charged with the same duty, is the
basis for man's accountability in the Akhirah, and his consequent reward
and punishment. The Truth is witnessed before them so that they are left
with no argument against God; they will be charged because they received
it: this position has been stated in the Qur'an in many places and from
many different perspectives, as we have seen before.
Whoever follows the right path, follows it for his own good, and whoever
goes astray, goes astray to his own loss; and no bearer of burdens shall
bear the burden of another. We never chastise, until we have sent forth a
Messenger
(al-Isra' 17:15)
So,
[on Judgement Day,] We shall most certainly call to account all those
unto whom [Our] message was sent, and We shall most certainly call to
account the Message-bearers and thereupon We shall most certainly relate
unto them [their account] with knowledge, for We were never absent
(al-A'raf 7: 6-7).
And when We took a pledge from all the
Prophets from you [O Prophet], and from Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and
Jesus, the son of Mary We took from them a solemn pledge, so that He
might question the truthful concerning their truthfulness, and He has
prepared for those who deny the truth a painful punishment
(al-Ahzab 33: 7-8).
The
day when God shall assemble all the Messengers, and say: What answer were
you given? They shall say: We have no knowledge; Thou art the Knower of
the things unseen
(al-Ma'idah 5: 109).
[And
God will say:] O community of jinn and men, did not Messengers come unto
you from among you, who conveyed unto you My revelations and warned you
of the meeting of this your day? They shall say: We bear witness against
ourselves. They were deluded by the life of this world, and they bear
witness against themselves that they had been disbelievers
(al-An'am 6: 130).
Then
the disbelievers shall be driven in companies into Jahannam till, when
they reach it, its gates will be opened, and its keepers will say to
them: Did not Messengers come to you, from among yourselves, who conveyed
unto you your Lord's revelations, and warn you against the meeting of
this your Day? They shall say: Yes, indeed! But the word of punishment
will have fallen due upon the disbelievers; and it shall be said to them:
Enter the gates of Jahannam, to dwell therein forever. How evil is the
abode of those who are arrogant!
(al-Zumar 39: 71-2).
Surely We shall help Our Messengers and those who have believed, in this
world's life and on the Day when all the witnesses shall stand up the day
when their excuses shall not profit the evil-doers, and theirs shall be
the curse, and theirs the evil abode
(Ghafir 40: S1-2). |
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5. Sense of responsibility:
The Qur'an gives a very
moving account of how God's Messengers devoted themselves in all
earnestness to their mission, how they laboured hard to fulfil their
duty, how they suffered heavily in their cause. Their history is ample
testimony of this. But here two examples should suffice: firstly, that of
the Prophet Noah and secondly, that of the Prophet Muhammad, blessings
and peace be on them.
Indeed, We sent Noah unto his people, and he dwelt among them a thousand
years, all but fifty . . .
(al-'Ankabut 29: 14) .
He
[Noah] said: My Lord, I have been calling my people night and day, but my
call has only caused them to flee farther away. And whenever I called
them, that Thou mightest forgive them, they put their fingers in their
ears, and wrapped themselves in their garments, and persisted, and became
arrogant in their pride. Then indeed I called them openly, then indeed I
spoke publicly unto them, and I spoke unto them in private
(Nuh. 71: 5-9).
Would
you [O Prophet], perhaps, torment yourself to death because they refuse
to believe?
(al-Shuiara' 26: 3). |
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How Should We Witness to the
Truth?
Let us now see in what manner we
should discharge our duty of witnessing to the Truth. Witnessing is of
two types: one, witness by words, or the word-witness; the other, witness
by acts and deeds, or the act-witness.
[6]
Word-witness
In what way should our words witness
to the Truth? Through our speech and writing, we should proclaim and
explain to the world the guidance that has come to us through God's
Messengers. This, in sum, is the word-witness. Employing all possible
methods of education, using all possible means of communication and
propagation, mastering all knowledge provided by the contemporary arts
and sciences, we should inform mankind of the way of life that God has
laid down for man. The guidance that Islam gives to humanity in thought
and belief, in morality and behaviour, in culture and civilization, in
economics and business, in jurisprudence and judiciary, in politics and
civil administration that is, in all aspects of inter-human relations we
should clearly and fully expound before mankind. By rational discourse
and convincing evidence, we should establish its truth and soundness. By
soundly reasoned critique, we should rebut all that is contrary to the
guidance given by God.
The task is enormous. Full justice
cannot be done to it unless the thought of guiding man to the right path
seizes the whole Ummah as completely as it did each Messenger personally.
It is essential, too, that this task should become the central objective
of all our collective endeavours, that we should commit all our hearts
and minds, all of our resources, to this cause. Uppermost in all our
actions should be this objective. Under no circumstances should we allow
any voice within ourselves to bear witness against the Truth and Divine
guidance that we have. |
|
Act-witness
In what way should our acts and deeds
witness to the Truth? For this purpose, the guidance that we hold to be
true we must put into practice. Our actions should demonstrate the
principles we profess to believe in.
Put simply: let our lives speak the
truth, and let the world hear it not merely from our lips but also from
our deeds; let mankind witness all the blessings that the Divine guidance
brings to human life. Let the world taste in our conduct, individual and
collective, that sweetness and flavour which only the faith in One God
can impart to character and morality. Let the world see what fine
examples of humanity are fashioned by Islam, what a just society is
established, what a sound social order emerges, what a clean and noble
civilization arises, how science, literature, and art flourish and
develop on sound lines, what a just economy compassionate and free from
conflict is brought about. Indeed, how every aspect of life is set right,
developed and enriched.
We shall not be doing our duty to this
task unless our lives, individual and collective, become a living
embodiment of Islam: unless our personal characters are a living proof of
its truth, our homes are fragrant with its teachings, our businesses and
factories are illuminated by its rules and laws, our schools and
institutions are shaped by its ideas and norms, and our literature and
media reflect its principles. Indeed until our entire national policy and
public life make its truth manifest and self-evident.
In short, wherever and whenever any
individual or people come in contact with us it is our duty to convince
them, by our example, that the principles and teachings which Islam
proclaims to be true are indeed true, and that they do improve the
quality of human life and raise it to better and higher levels. |
|
The Islamic State
Finally, I should state one more
important thing. This witness of ours would not be complete unless we
establish a state based on the principles and teachings of Islam. By
translating its ideals and practices, its norms and values, its rules and
laws, into public policies and programmes, such a state would demonstrate
how the Divine guidance leads to equity and justice, reform and
upliftment, caring and efficient administration, social welfare, peace
and order, high standards of morality in public servants, virtue and
righteousness in internal policies, honesty in foreign policies,
civilized conduct in war, integrity and loyalty in peace. Such public
conduct would be a living testimony for all mankind that Islam is indeed
the true guarantor of human well-being, that only following its tenets
can ensure the good of mankind.
Only when the Truth is witnessed in
this manner, by both words and actions, will the crucial responsibility
laid upon the Muslim Ummah be fully discharged. Only then will no ground
remain for mankind to deny or turn away from the Divine guidance. Only
then, in the Hereafter, will the Muslim Ummah be in a position to take
the witness-stand after the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, and
declare that: Whatever truth and guidance we were given by this Prophet,
that we conveyed to mankind; those who did not follow it are themselves
to blame for going astray, not us.
This is the real meaning and scope of
the witness that we as Muslims ought to have been giving to the world,
both by our words and our deeds. But now let us turn to the actual state
of affairs and examine the witness that we in fact are giving in favour
of the Divine guidance. |
|
Notes
by Khurram Murad
6. Types of
witness:
The witness by word may be taken to be
broadly subsumed under the Quranic terminology of warning (indhar),
bringing glad tidings (tabshir), inviting and calling (da'wah),
communicating (tabligh), teaching and instructing (ta'lim), conveying and
propagating (tilawah). The terminology for the witness by actions
includes establishing Islam (iqamatu 'd-din), making God's guidance and
way of life prevail over all others (izhar), establishing justice (qist),
enjoining right and forbidding wrong, and Jihad. |
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Where Do we Stand?
Our Word - Witness
First, look at the testimony that is
being given by our word-witness. There are few people amongst us who are
using their tongues and pens to witness to the truth of Islam. Still
fewer in number are those who are doing so in an appropriate and adequate
manner. Otherwise, in almost every respect Muslims, on the whole, are
giving their witness against Islam and not in its favour as they should.
What is the witness of our landlords?
That the Islamic law of inheritance is wrong and that the customs which
came down from the pre-Islamic days are correct. What is the witness of
our lawyers and judges? That all the laws of Islam are bad laws, and that
their very basis the sovereignty of God is unacceptable. They tell us
that only the man-made laws, which have come to us through the British,
are good laws.
What is the witness of our teachers
and educational institutions? That in philosophy and science, history and
sociology, economics and politics, law and ethics, the only true and
valid knowledge and thought is that derived from the Western secular
world-view. That in all these disciplines the Islamic approach is not
even worthy of consideration. What is the witness of our writers? That
their literature has the same message to impart as that of the godless
writers of the secular West. They demonstrate that as Muslims they have
no distinctive literary approach of their own. What is the witness of our
press and media? That the only issues and debates that they consider
important and which preoccupy them, and the only methods and standards of
communication that they consider fit to employ, are those which bear the
hallmark of the non-Muslim media.
What is the witness of our businessmen
and industrialists? That the rules laid down by Islam for economic
transactions are impracticable, that business can be conducted only by
the methods devised by Kafirs.* What is the witness of our leaders and
rulers? That they have the same slogans of nationalism and motherland to
mobilize people, the same goals to pursue on national levels, the same
methods of solving national problems, the same principles of politics and
constitution-makingv as are practised by Kafirs. They declare that Islam
has no guidance to offer in this respect.
And what is the witness of our masses?
They testify that they have nothing to speak about except worldly
matters, that they have no such Din which desires to be propagated or
which demands that they spend part of their time for this purpose. This,
then, is the state of witness being given by our whole Ummah by means of
its words. This is the case not only in this country but throughout the
whole world. |
|
Our Act - Witness
Now let us turn to our act-witness and
look at the witness being given by our actions and deeds. Here our
conduct is even more scandalous than that in respect of our witness by
words. No doubt there are a few good Muslims whose lives are a true
example of Islam. But consider how the overwhelming majority of the Ummah,
the society at large, is conducting itself.
What is the witness being given by the
life of a typical, ordinary Muslim? That the persons shaped and moulded
by Islam are in no way better than, or different from, those prepared by
Kufr. If anything, the former are worse than the latter: for instance, it
is more likely that a Muslim would speak a lie, that he would betray and
breach a trust placed in him, that he would oppress people and do wrong
to them, that he would abandon his promise, that he would steal and rob,
that he would engage himself in disorderly and violent conduct, that he
would indulge in all sorts of indecent acts. Indeed, in respect of all
these immoral actions the level of Muslim 'performance' is no less than
that of any Kafir people.
What is the witness of our social
life? Look at our life-styles, our customs and ceremonies, our
festivities, our fairs and religious gatherings, our meetings and
processions: in no aspect do we truly represent Islam. Indeed, on the
contrary, our social life is a pathetic testimony that the followers of
Islam consider the un-Islamic ways to be better and preferable than the
Islamic.
Similar is the testimony of our other
social institutions and collective pursuits. When we set up educational
institutions, we import everything from Kafirs our knowledge, our
educational system, our philosophy, our spirit and objective. When we
form parties and associations, we model everything on the patterns set by
Kafirs our ideals and goals, our structures and constitutions, our
policies and methods. When we, as a people, launch a struggle, our cause,
our slogans and demands, our issues and debates, our programmes and
procedures, our resolutions, statements, and speeches, are all true
replicas of the practices of Kafir communities and nations.
Things have come to such a pass that
even our independent states, where they exist, have borrowed their
constitutions, their codes of law, and their guiding policies and
principles from Kafirs. In some states, the Islamic law has been reduced
to a mere personal law; in some others even this personal law has been
altered. An English writer tauntingly remarks:
In view of the many charges levelled
by Indians at the British administration, it is important to realize that
the British were extraordinarily slow to introduce any innovations in the
law . . . [Indeed] as far as Islam is concerned the result of the British
connexion with India has been to establish on a firmer basis the Muslim
personal and religious law . . . while all the rest of the shari'a has
been abolished . . .
On the other hand Albania and Turkey
have both become secular states [adopting European penal and civil codes,
even altering Muslim penal law] . . . [Thus, it can be said, as Lindsay
says, that] 'The Muslim doctrine that legislation is not within the
competence of an earthly sovereign was never, indeed, anything more than
a pious fiction . . .'
This, then, is the witness being given
by the actions of almost all Muslims. This witness, too, goes against
Islam. It is not in its favour. Whatever lip-service we might pay to
Islam, our public conduct proves that there is no aspect of Islam that we
approve of, that we do not consider its laws to be good and conducive to
our well-being. |
|
And With What Consequences!
Our Punishment
In view of our conduct, we are guilty
of giving false witness, of perjury and concealing the Truth. As a
consequence, we are facing precisely the same punishment that has been
prescribed in the Law of God for such grave and heinous crimes.
What is this law? When a people reject
and turn away from God's guidance, when they are guilty of perjury and
disloyalty to their Creator, and when they turn traitors to Him, then God
punishes them severely in this world as well as in the world-to-come.
[7] This law was applied to the Children
of Israel.
[8] Now it is we, the Muslim Ummah, who
stand in the dock. God had no personal vendetta against the Jews that He
should have punished only them. Nor does He have any kinship or special
relationship with Muslims that He should set us free even though we are
now committing the same crime as they did then.
[9] |
|
In This World
The punishment meted out to Muslims
for their crimes in this world is there for all to see. Indeed, the
extent and pace of our decline has been in true proportion to the extent
and pace of our negligence and failure to do our duty to witness to the
Truth and our 'progress' in witnessing to falsehood. During the last one
hundred years, from Morocco to Indonesia, country after country has been
lost by us to alien subjugation; one Muslim people after another have
fallen under the yoke of colonial rule and domination. No longer does the
word 'Muslim' stand for dignity, no longer does it command respect;
rather it has become a mark of degradation, humiliation, gross
backwardness, and utter powerlessness.
How powerless have we become? We have
lost all honour and respect in the eyes of the world. In some places, our
blood has flowed like water and we have been subjected to large-scale
massacres; in other places, we have been driven out of our homes; in
others, we have been tortured and persecuted; in still others, we have
been reduced to living as serfs. If in some places Muslim states have
survived, they have suffered defeat after defeat until they have been
reduced to positions of fear and impotency in the face of foreign powers.
If only they had witnessed to Islam by their words and deeds, the secular
powers would have stood in awe of them.
Why go so far afield? Just look at
your situation in India. + Because you evaded your duty of bearing
witness to the truth of Islam, indeed because you went further and gave
false witness against it both by your words and deeds, the entire country
was wrested from your control. First, you were vanquished by the Marathas
and Sikhs, and later, servitude to the British rule became your fate. And
now still greater calamities stare you in the face.
Today your minority status has become
your greatest anxiety; you live in fear of the Hindu majority lest it
subjugates you and you meet the same fate as did the untouchables. But,
for God's sake, tell me: Could a majority have threatened you if you had
only been true witnesses of Islam? Will not this problem of majority and
minority vanish within a few years if today your words and actions bear
true witnesses to Islam?
In Arabia, an extremely hostile and
oppressive majority set out to exterminate an insignificant minority of
about one in one hundred thousand. With what result? Within ten years,
this minority, by its truthful and trustworthy witness in favour of
Islam, turned into a one hundred per cent majority. Later, when these
witnesses of Islam emerged from Arabia, within twenty-five years, from
Turkistan to Morocco, people after people trusted the probity of their
witness and joined them in their faith. Where no one but Zoroastrians,
Christians and pagans once lived, now only Muslims live. No
intransigence, no chauvinism, no religious bigotry, proved strong enough
to resist the living, true witness of the Divine guidance that Muslims
gave.
If you are being trampled upon today,
if you fear greater catastrophes tomorrow, is this not but the punishment
for your false witness and concealment of the Truth?
Punishment in the World-to-Come
This is the punishment you are
receiving in this world; but a more severe punishment is likely to be
meted out to you in the world-to-come. How can you be absolved of the
blame for every evil and every wrong to which man has been subjected only
because you failed to do your duty as witnesses of the Truth? Unless you
do your duty, whatever oppression and corruption is perpetrated in the
world and whatever immorality and wickedness prevails, there is no reason
why you should not be held accountable for it. You may not be responsible
for originating them yourselves, but you are certainly responsible,
because of your false witness, for maintaining and perpetuating them, for
their origination by others, and for allowing them to spread. |
|
Notes by Khurram Murad
7. Consequences of
failure and neglect:
The mission to witness the Truth and
invite mankind to surrender to its Creator has the status of a covenant
with God. Those who give up this mission, or fail to fulfil it or neglect
it, are guilty of breaching their covenant. Hence they are cursed by God,
and deprived of His blessings. They are cursed by angels, too, because
the light brought by them has been extinguished by such people while
mankind gropes in darkness; and by mankind as well, for its sufferings
and miseries are due mainly to the conduct of those who were entrusted
with that light.
Those
who conceal the clear messages and the guidance that We have sent down,
after We have made them clear, for mankind, in the Book they shall be
cursed by God and the cursers; but such as repent and put themselves
right, and make [the Book] known towards them I shall turn, I am the
Accepter of repentance, the Mercy-giving. But those who remain [in the
state of] denial and die denying upon them shall be the curse of God, and
the angels, and of all mankind . . .
(al-Baqarah 2: 159-61).
And,
humiliation and powerlessness afflicted them, and they earned God's
anger; all this, because they persisted in denying God's messages and in
slaying the Prophets against all right; all this, because they rebelled
[against God], and persisted in transgressing [the bounds of God]
(al-Baqarah 2:
61).
The duty, obviously, is
neglected or given up for the sake of worldly gains. These gains the
Qur'an describes as a trifle, which earn God's anger for the defaulters.
The punishment for this crime which the Qur'an mentions, is indeed the
only one of its kind, for such punishment is not mentioned for any other
crime.
Indeed, those who conceal what God has sent down in the Book, and barter
it away for a trifle price they eat nothing but fire in their bellies.
And God shall not speak unto them on the Day of Resurrection, nor purify
them; and for them is painful punishment. It is they who have bought
error at the price of guidance, and punishment at the price of
forgiveness. How patiently have they accepted the Fire! All that, because
God has sent down the Book with the Truth, those who differ in the matter
of the Book are most deeply in the wrong
(al-Baqarah 2: 174-6; also 3: 77-8). |
|
8. The Jewish example:
The history of the
people of Israel
is narrated by the Qursan in considerable detail. It provides the most
instructive example of a people who were guided by some of the greatest
Messengers of God. They made a covenant with God that they will be only
His servants and obey only Him and be His witnesses. They rose to great
heights and contributed much to the good of mankind by fulfilling their
covenant. But, finally, they broke their covenant, suffered grievously,
and thus became an object lesson in how people chosen by God to be
witnesses to His guidance may go astray and how they may earn God's
anger.
The purpose of narrating
their history is neither to create hatred against any particular religion
and people nor to take pleasure and comfort in their suffering and
humiliation. This becomes evident from the fact that, despite very severe
strictures against the people of
Israel by the Qur'an,
the most peaceful and glorious days of Jewish history, in the last two
thousand years, have been lived under Islamic rule. In fact their history
is meant to act like a mirror which the Qur'an holds to the Muslims so
that they may recognize themselves when they go astray and may remain
aware of the painful consequences of such conduct. Another purpose, of
course, was to awaken the Jews at the time of the Prophet, blessings and
peace be on him, and to invite them to believe in the Last Prophet and
support him, as their own mission demanded. The Quranic account is
similar to the Biblical account; if anything, much milder in tone and
language.
Firstly, the Qur'an
shows that great blessings were conferred by God on the people of
Israel, the greatest of
them being the Book and guidance from Him, and that they were chosen to
be His special servants.
Children of Israel, remember My blessing with which I blessed you, and
how I favoured you above all other people
(al-Baqarah 2: 47).
And
when Moses said unto his people: O my people, remember God's blessing
upon you, when He appointed among you Prophets, and made you kings, and
gave you such as He had not given to any beings
(al-Ma'idah 5: 20).
And
when We made a covenant with the Children of Israel: You shall serve and
worship none but God; and to be good to parents, and the near kinsman,
and to the orphan, and to the needy; and speak good to man, and perform
the prayer, and give the alms
(al-Baqarah 2: 83).
And
when We made covenant with you [O Children of Israel], and raised above
you the Mount: hold fast with [all your] strength unto what We have given
you, and remember what is in it, so that you might remain conscious of
God. Then you turned away after that . . .
(al-Baqarah 2: 63-4).
Surely We sent down the Torah, wherein
was guidance and light; thereby the Prophets, who had surrendered
themselves [to God], gave judgement for those who were Jews; and so did
the men of God and the rabbis, following such portion of God's Book as
they were given to keep; and they bore witness to its truth
(al-Ma'idah 5: 44).
The Bible gives a
similar account:
Do this because you belong to the Lord
your God. From all the peoples on earth, He chose you to be His own
special people. The Lord did not love you and choose you because you
outnumbered other peoples; you were the smallest nation on earth
(Deut. 7: 6-7).
At Mount Sinai the Lord our God made a
covenant, not only with our fathers, but with all of us who are living
today. There on the mountain the Lord spoke to you face-to-face from the
Fire . . . The Lord said, 'I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from
Egypt, where you were slaves. Worship no god but Me'
(Deut. 5: 2-7).
Israel, remember this! The Lord and
the Lord alone is our God. Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your strength. Never forget these
commands that I am giving you today. Teach them to your children. Repeat
them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and
when you are working. Tie them on your arms and wear them on your
foreheads as a reminder. Write them on the door-posts of your houses and
on your gates
(Deut. 6: 4-9). [This is a very good exegesis of the Quranic words 'and
remember'.]
Never forget the Lord your God or turn
to other gods to worship and serve them. If you do, then I warn you today
that you will certainly be destroyed
(Deut. 8: 19).
People of Israel, you are My
witnesses; I chose you to be My servant, so that you would know Me and
believe in Me and understand that I am the only God. Beside Me there is
no other god; there never was and never will be
(Isa. 43: 10) .
Secondly, the Qur'an exhorts and invites the people of Israel, as does
the Bible, to fulfil their covenant with God, to believe in His last
message, and to bear witness to its truth, reminding them of the promise
and threat that were made to them. Children of Israel, remember My
blessing with which I blessed you, and fulfil My covenant [with you], and
I shall fulfil your covenant [with Me]; and of Me alone stand in awe!
(al-Baqarah 2: 40).
Remember that the Lord your God is the
only God and that He is faithful. He will keep His covenant and show His
constant love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and obey
His commands, but He will not hesitate to punish those who hate Him
(Deut. 7: 9-10).
If you obey the Lord your God and do
everything He commands, He will make you His own people, as He has
promised . . . The Lord your God will make you the leader among the
nations and not a follower; you will always prosper and never fail . . .
But if you disobey the Lord your God and do not faithfully keep all His
commandments and laws that I am giving you today, all these evil things
will happen to you . . . the Lord will curse everything you do . . .
(Deut. 28: 9-19).
I will be your God, and you will be My
people (Lev. 26:
12) .
Thirdly, the Qur'an
indicts the people of
Israel for breaking
their covenant and neglecting their duty to worship and obey only God and
to be His witnesses. Not only did they themselves turn away from the
message of their Lord, they also prevented others from accepting and
following it.
People of the Book, why do you disbelieve God's revelations while you
yourselves witness [their truth]? People of the Book, why do you cloak
the truth with falsehood and conceal the truth, and that knowingly
(Al 'Imran 3: 70-1).
Say:
People of the book, why do you bar from the path of God those who
believe, trying to make it appear crooked, you yourselves being witnesses
to its truth?
(Al 'Imran 3: 99) .
Indeed, God made covenant with the Children of Israel, when We raised
from among them twelve of their leaders, and God said: I am with you.
Surely, if you perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and believe in My
Messengers, and succour them and lend to God a good loan, I will surely
efface your evil deeds and I will admit you to gardens through which
running waters flow. But whosoever of you thereafter disbelieves, surely
he has gone astray from the right way. Then, for their breaking their
covenant We cursed them and made their hearts hard . . .
(al-Ma'idah 5: 12-13).
Indeed, We made covenant with the Children of Israel, and We sent
Messengers to them; whenever there came to them a Messenger with what
they did not like [they rebelled], to some they gave the lie, while
others they slayed
(al-Ma'idah 5: 70).
The
People of the Book will ask you to bring down upon them a Book from
heaven; and they asked Moses for greater than that, for they said: Make
us see God face to face whereupon the thunderbolt overtook them for their
evil doing. Then, they took to [worshipping] the calf and this after the
clear Truth had come to them; yet We pardoned them that, and We bestowed
upon Moses a clear authority [for the Truth]. And We raised above them
the Mount making covenant with them; and We said to them: Enter the gate,
prostrating; and We said to them: Transgress not the Sabbath; and We made
a solemn covenant with them. So [We cursed them] for their breaking the
covenant, and their denying the revelations of God, and their slaying the
Prophets without right, and for their saying, 'Our hearts are closed [to
false guidance]' nay, but God sealed them for their disbelief so they
believe not, except a few and for their disbelief and their uttering
against Mary an awesome calumny, and for their saying, 'We killed the
Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of God'
(al-Nisa' 4: 153-7).
Cursed were the disbelievers among the Children of Israel by the tongue
of David, and Jesus, the son of Mary; this, because they rebelled
[against God] and persisted in transgression. They did not prevent one
another from the wrongs they committed. Surely evil were the things they
did (al-Ma'idah
5: 78-9).
The Bible speaks in the
same vein. Its indictment is no different from that which the Qur'an
says, although it is said more harshly and with severer strictures.
In addition, the leaders of Judah, the
priests, and the people followed the sinful example of the nations round
them in worshipping idols, and so they defiled the Temple, which the Lord
Himself had made holy. The Lord, the God of their ancestors, had
continued to send prophets to warn His people, because He wanted to spare
them and the Temple. But they ridiculed God's Messengers, ignoring His
words and laughing at His prophets, until at last the Lord's anger
against His people was so great that there was no escape
(2 Chr. 36: 14-16).
God
told me to write down in a Book what the people are like, so that there
would be a permanent record of how evil they are. They are always
rebelling against God, always Iying, always refusing to listen to the
Lord's teachings. They tell the prophets to keep quiet. They say: 'Don't
talk to us about what's right. Tell us what we want to hear. Let us keep
our illusions. Get out of our way and stop blocking our path. We don't
want to hear about your holy God of Israel'
(Isa. 30: 8-11).
But Your people rebelled and disobeyed
You; they turned their backs on Your law. They killed the prophets who
warned them, who told them to turn back to You. They insulted You time
after time, so You let their enemies conquer and rule them
(Neh. 9: 26-7).
The Children I brought up have
rebelled against Me. Cattle know who owns them, and donkeys know where
their master feeds them. But that is more than my people Israel know.
They don't understand at all . . . The city that once was faithful is
behaving like a whore! At one time it was filled with righteous men, but
now only murderers remain. Jerusalem, you were once like silver, but now
you are worthless; . . . Your leaders are rebels and friends of thieves;
they are always accepting gifts and bribes. They never defend orphans in
court or listen when widows present their case
(Isa. 1: 2-23).
And this is how Jesus
censures the people of
Israel.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the
prophets and stone the Messengers God has sent you! . . . And so your
temple will be abandoned and empty
(Mt. 23: 37-8).
They tie on to people's backs loads
that are heavy and are hard to carry, yet they aren't willing even to
lift a finger to help them carry those loads. They do everything so that
people will see them. Look at the straps with Scripture verses on them
which they wear on their foreheads and arms, and notice how large they
are! Notice also how long are the tassels on their cloaks! They love the
best places at feasts and the reserved seats in the synagogues; they love
to be greeted with respect in the market places and to be called
'Teacher' . . . You hypocrites! You lock the door to the Kingdom of
heaven in people's faces, and you yourselves don't go in, nor do you
allow in those who are trying to enter! . . . You clean the outside of
your cup and plate, while the inside is full of what you have obtained by
violence and selfishness . . . You are like whitewashed tombs, which look
fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the
inside . . . So you actually admit that you are the descendants of those
who murdered the prophets! Go on, then, and finish what your ancestors
started! You snakes and sons of snakes! How do you expect to escape from
being condemned to hell? And so I tell you that I will send you prophets
and wise men and teachers; you will kill some of them, crucify others,
and whip others in the synagogues and chase them from town to town
(Mt. 23: 4-34).
Perhaps the most moving
account of the fate of
Israel is in the
lamentations of the Prophet Isaiah, peace be upon him. Describing Israel
as a vineyard planted by God, he first describes how He blessed it with
every bounty, then goes on to describe how it produced sour fruits, and
how God punished it something very similar to what Sayyid Mawdudi has
said about the Muslims.
My friend had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill. He dug the soil and cleared it of stones; he
planted the finest vines. He built a tower to guard them, dug a pit for
treading the grapes. He waited for the grapes to ripen, but every grape
was sour.
So now my friend says:
'You people who live in
Jerusalem and Judah,
judge, between my vineyard and me. Is there anything I failed to do for
it? Then why did it produce sour grapes and not the good grapes I
expected?
This is what I am going to do to my
vineyard; I will take away the hedge round it, break down the wall that
protects it, and let wild animals eat it and trample it down. I will let
it be overgrown with weeds. I will not prune the vines or hoe the ground;
instead I will let briers and thorns cover it. I will even forbid the
clouds to let rain fall upon it
(Isa. 5: 14).
Finally, the Qur'an also
makes it clear that, after
Israel, it is the
Muslims who have been appointed to fulfil the same mission as was granted
to Israel.
Indeed, We gave the Children of Israel
the Book, the Judgement, and the Prophethood; and We provided them with
good things, and We favoured them above all other people. And We gave
them clear revelations pertaining to the affair [of their Din]; so they
did not take to different ways after the knowledge had come to themexcept
for the sake of mutual transgression . . . then We set you [O Muhammad]
on the Way [Shari'ah] pertaining to the affair [of your Din]; therefore
follow it, and follow not the likes ahd dislikes of those who do not know
(al-Jathiyah 45: 1S18) . |
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9. Illusions and excuses:
When a faith as total,
pervasive, deep and dynamic as Islam living in surrender to the One God
which is a calling and a commitrnent, becomes transformed into a
religion, hereditary and sectarian, its followers invent certain popular
beliefs to calm and quieten their conscience. On the basis of such
illusions and excuses, they are able to live peacefully while failing in
their total commitment to God. They neglect the mission that He has
entrusted to them, as well as refuse to accept any summons to renew their
faith and take up their duty. The Qur'an mentions some such popular
notions which had become part of the Jewish faith, and categorically
rejects them. Again, the objective is neither to condemn a certain faith
and people for all times to come nor to nurture hatred against them, but
to induce them to correct their wrong beliefs, and more importantly, to
warn the Muslims to beware of such notions. It is ironic that one would
find all such popular beliefs to be part of the Muslims' faith as well
today; for example, that our Ummah is the beloved of God, that Muslims,
whatever the state of their belief and conduct, have a monopoly over
Paradise, that God's mercies and rewards are reserved exclusively for
them, that, even if they are punished, their punishment will last only a
few days
And
the Jews and Christians say: We are God's children, and His beloved ones.
Say: Why then does He punish you for your sins? Nay, you are but human
beings of His creating. He forgives whom He wills, and He punishes whom
He wills
(al-Ma'idah 5:
18).
And
that they say: None shall enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or a
Christian. Such are their wishful beliefs! Say: Produce your proof, if
what you say is true! Nay, whosoever surrenders his whole being unto God,
attaining to excellence, his reward shall be with his Lord, and no fear
shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow
(al-Baqarah 2: 111-12).
And
they say: The Fire shall not touch us save a number of days. Say: Have
you made with God a covenant then God will not fail in His covenant or
you attribute to God some thing of which you know nothing? Not so; whoso
earns evil, and is engulfed by his transgressions those are the
inhabitants of the Fire . . .
(al-Baqarah 2: 81).
And
when they are told: Believe in what God has sent down, they say: We
believe in what was sent down on us; and they disbelieve what is beyond
that, yet it is the truth confirming what is with them. Say: Why then did
you kill God's Prophets in former times, if you were believers?
(al-Baqarah 2: 91).
Say:
If the abode in the life-to-come is to be for you alone, to the exclusion
of all other people, then long for that if what you say is true! But
never will they long for it, because of what their hands have sent ahead;
God knows the evil-doers; . . .
(al-Baqarah 2: 95).
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What is Our Real Problem?
Pseudo Problems
By now, brothers, you must have
understood how we, as Muslims, ought to have been living and behaving,
and how we in fact are living and behaving. You must also have realized
what grave consequences we are suffering because of our conduct. You
should, therefore, have no difficulty in seeing that the problems which
Muslims consider crucial for their societies and which they are doing
their utmost to solve by various devices some of them invented by them,
but mostly copied from others are not their real problem. The time,
energy and resources that they spend on solving these problems are simply
being wasted.
For example, we look upon ourselves as
a minority engulfed by an overwhelming alien majority, or as a majority
deprived of its sovereignty within its own territory, or as a nation
subjugated and exploited by a foreign power, or as a people suffering
from backwardness and poverty. Then we devote all our efforts to
achieving objectives which emanate from these conceptions and images of
ourselves. For instance, to objectives such as safeguarding and securing
our status in a country as a minority, or to achieving sovereignty within
our territorial boundaries, or to winning freedom from foreign
domination, or to achieving the same levels of economic progress and
development as those of the advanced nations.
These and other similar issues may be
the foremost concerns of those who are not Muslims, who do not accept God
as their Lord and Guide, and may form the central objects of their
endeavours. But for us Muslims they are not the primary problems; we face
them only because we have been, and still are, neglecting to do our duty.
Had we been true witnesses of Islam, we would not have found ourselves
lost in such a dense jungle of complex and inextricable problems. If we
now direct all our attention and endeavours to doing our duty instead of
dissipating our energies on clearing the woods, they will clear in no
time, and not only for ourselves but for all mankind. For, keeping the
world clean and improving it is our responsibility; as we have forsaken
our appointed duty, the world has become infested with thorny woods. And
no wonder that the most thorny part has fallen to our lot.
Unfortunately, our religious and
political leaders do not try to understand this simple but crucial
reality. Everywhere they continue to convince the Muslims that their
problems are the problems of a minority as against a majority, of
material progress, of national security, of winning freedom and
independence as a nation state. Furthermore, even the solutions that they
recommend have been borrowed from non-Muslims. But just as I believe in
God, so I believe that you are being misled, and that by following such
paths you will never achieve your well-being and destiny. |
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Our Real Problem
What, then, is our real problem? If I
do not tell you that clearly, without any reservation, I shall be doing
you a great disservice. To my mind, your destiny, now and ever, depends
on one issue only: How do you conduct yourselves in respect of God's
guidance that has come to you through His Messenger, blessings and peace
be on him?
Because of this guidance you are
Muslims. Because of this guidance, whether you like it or not, you have
agreed to become ambassadors of Islam to the entire world. Therefore,
only if you follow Islam totally and devotedly, if your words and actions
bear true witness to its teachings, if your social and public conduct
faithfully represents every aspect of Islam, will you rise from glory to
glory in this world, and receive highest honours in the world-to-come.
Then, in no time, the dark clouds of fear and anxiety, of disgrace and
humiliation, of subjugation and slavery will disperse. Then, the truth of
your message and the virtue of your character will capture mind after
mind and heart after heart. Then, your prestige and reputation, your
influence and authority, will hold sway over the world. Hopes of securing
justice will be pinned on you, trust will be placed in your integrity and
honesty, prospects of virtue will be confided in you, and authority will
be accorded to your world.
In contrast, the leaders of secularism
will lose all credibility and authority. Their philosophy and world-view,
their economic and political ideologies, will prove fake and spurious
when confronted by your truth and right conduct. The forces that today
belong to the secular camp will, one by one, break away and join the camp
of Islam. A time will, then, come when communism will live in fear of its
very survival in Moscow itself, when capitalist democracy will shudder at
the thought of defending itself even in Washington and New York, when
materialist secularism will be unable to find a place even in the
universities of London and Paris, when racialism and nationalism will not
win even one devotee even among the Brahmans and Germans.
The present era of abject humiliation
will, then, become consigned to the pages of history. It will only serve
to remind us of the days when the followers of a faith as universal and
powerful as Islam were reduced to such stupidity that they trembled in
the face of sticks and ropes while they held the staff of Moses under
their arm.
This future is yours! But only if you
follow Islam sincerely and exclusively and serve as its faithful
witnesses. Your present conduct, however, is entirely contrary. You have
been blessed with the Divine guidance, but, like a snake guarding
treasure, you neither benefit from it yourselves nor allow others to
benefit from it. By calling yourselves Muslims, you have assumed for
yourselves the position of Islam's representatives, but the combined
witness of your words and deeds is being given mostly in favour of
Ignorance (Jahillyah), idolatry, materialism, and immorality. You have
the Book of God with you, but you have put it on the shelf and, to seek
guidance, you turn to all sorts of persons who lead to Kufr, and to
sources which lead you astray. You claim to be the servants of the One
God, but in fact you are serving every false god, every Satan, and every
power in rebellion against God. You have friends and enemies, but it is
always your personal, selfish interests that determine your friendship
and enmity. In both cases you use Islam as a party to your cause.
Thus, your conduct has, on the one
hand, deprived your lives of the blessings that Islam has to offer you,
and, on the other, you are alienating mankind rather than attracting it
to Islam. If you continue to behave in this manner, you can attain no
good, either in this world or in the world-to-come. Its outcome,
according to the Law of God, is that miserable situation in which you
find yourselves. What the future holds for you may be much worse.
To be truthful, perhaps, if you remove
the label of Islam from yourselves and follow Kufr openly and sincerely,
then you might at least make as much worldly progress as America, Russia
and Britain have made. But, claiming to be Muslims and yet behaving as
non-Muslims, closing the door of Divine guidance to mankind by
representing Islam falsely before it, is such a heinous crime that it
will never allow you to prosper in this world. There is no way you can
avert the punishment prescribed by the Qur'an for this crime. Jewish
history provides a living proof of this reality. You may turn to secular
nationalism as a lesser evil, you may get yourself accepted as a separate
nation and achieve whatever Muslim nationalism seeks to achieve. But none
of this will help you.
There is only one way to ward off the
punishment of God. Turn back from your sin, and repent. |
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