Several life ago, the prevarication came to us in Toronto nigh a man who was in the merchant serviceman and prefab his living on the sea. A Muhammedan gave him a movement of the Quran to translate. The merchant serviceman knew nothing some the history of Faith but was fascinated in mensuration the Quran. When he over measure it, he brought it backmost to the Swayer and asked, "This Muhammed, was he a sailor?" He was impressed at how accurately the Quran describes a attack on a sea. When he was told, "No as a weigh of fact, Muhammed lived in the fly," that was sufficiency for him. He embraced Mohammedanism on the daub. He was so impressed with the Quran's description because he had been in a attack on the sea, and he knew that whoever had codified that statement had also been in a perforate on the sea. The statement of "a movement, over it a waving, over it clouds" was not what someone imagining a flutter on a sea to be equivalent would bed of how the Quran is not fastened to a definite abode and period. Sure, the technological ideas verbalized in it also do not seem to originate from the flee xiv centuries ago.
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Friday, April 5, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Well known reasons of praying.
For that justification, Muslims are required to submit their module to God cinque times a day by proposal to God and act with him. Prayers are a effectuation finished which a Muhammedan can sound to God regularly.
Praying has several benefits. One of the well-known reasons is that it allows fleshly utilise. All the prostrations that are performed in salaat reckon apiece separation of the body to act in a division practice in which it receives see. Praying three nowadays a day equates to instruct fin nowadays a day. All the requisite change takes lie which allows a symbolize to take the peculiar allot and stuff fixed.
koran online
Praying has several benefits. One of the well-known reasons is that it allows fleshly utilise. All the prostrations that are performed in salaat reckon apiece separation of the body to act in a division practice in which it receives see. Praying three nowadays a day equates to instruct fin nowadays a day. All the requisite change takes lie which allows a symbolize to take the peculiar allot and stuff fixed.
koran online
Monday, January 21, 2013
Why Eid is being celebrated?
Every tribe, people or race throughout the world celebrates a festival of one sort or another. Muslims also celebrate some festive occasions on some days of the year. But the festival of Eid is one that we are commanded to celebrate in festivity, joy and happiness by Allah Almighty Himself ! This in itself portrays its importance.
In Surah Yunus it is said:
“O mankind! There has come to you indeed an admonition from your Lord and a healing for what is in the hearts; and a guidance and a mercy for the believers. Say: In the grace of Allah and in His mercy, in that they should rejoice. It is better than (all the worldly wealth) that they amass.” (10:57-58).
This is the occasion Muslims have been enjoined by Allah (SWT) Himself to celebrate with happiness and joy. This occasion is called JASHN-E-NUZOOL-E-QURAN, i.e. EID-UL-FITR-DAY.
The Quran was first bestowed from on high in the month of Ramadaan as a guidance to man (2:185). Therefore the entire month of fasting is, in a way, a preparation for the celebration of this festival day called Eid. The question arises: what, after all, has Allah given us for which we are commanded to rejoice? The answer is given by the Quran itself that it (the Quran) makes man aware of his true status in this world. Allah says:
“Indeed there has come to you from Allah, a Light and a clear Book.” (5:15, 14:1).
Ponder for a moment what happens in the dark, and what happens to darkness when it is stabbed by light! In darkness, no object, article or a thing’s correct identity, position and location can be known; whereas in light every object’s true location and identity is before us. In darkness we mistakenly presume a rope to be a snake, and vice versa. But when light comes, we see the difference between a rope and a snake!
DARKNESS
Before the revelation of the Holy Quran, man was in utter darkness. He was ignorant of his exalted status in the universe, nor was he aware of the phenomena of nature. In short, he knew very little about the physical world and his own place in it. What kind of darkness was prevalent before the Divine revelation? It was the darkness of thought, of intellect, superstitions, and darkness of heart and mind. It was the darkness of being unacquainted with one’s own actual self. And the fact is that this darkness of being unaware of his own true position and dignity was the sum of all his darkness: it was the source and fountainhead of his darkness. Had man been aware of his own true self, then he would have eliminated all other darknesses. Thus the question arises as to what dignified position the Quran has given to man? If we seek a detailed answer to the question, then we have to go through the whole Quran. And this is not possible to accomplish within the confines of this short article. We shall touch briefly on a few aspects, but it will not be possible to understand them until it is not seen that before the revelation of the Quran, to what extent was man engulfed in darkness, and to what depth of degradation he had descended.
At the time of the revelation of the Quran, man had enslaved man. In some societies he was in abject bondage. The feudal lord was his god. Monasticism had completely stunted his intellect and senses. Capitalism was sucking the last drop of blood of the working classes like a leech. This was the state of “civilisation” at the time the Quran was revealed.
It declared that the mission of the Prophet Muhammad (S) was to destroy the chains in which mankind has been shackled (7:157). Of these chains, the very first was that of ignorance and superstition. Due to his lowly position, man was afraid of the natural forces. Menacingly dark clouds, eardrum and nerve-shattering thunder, lightning, and the roaring of mighty rivers instilled a terrible fear in his heart. Gale-force winds made him shudder. When he saw huge, sky-embracing mountains, he felt an unspeakable awe. He felt puny and helpless before these awesome powers of nature.
GODS OR GODDESSES
He came to realise that there is some inexplicable power behind each of these phenomena. In order to save and secure himself (in his own mind) from the wrath of such mighty powers, he could think of only one kind of escape: to take these forces as gods or goddesses and bow before them in worship. He would offer human sacrifices and other oblations to appease these angered deities. This is the position that man had established for himself against these physical forces.
The Quran came and addressed him:
“Seest thou not that Allah has made subservient to you all that is in the earth, and the ships gliding in the sea by His command? And He withholds the heaven from falling on the earth except with His permission. Surely Allah is Compassionate, Merciful to mankind.” (22:65, 45:12-13).
Everything is for man’s benefit. If you ponder for a moment, think and study the phenomena of nature, then your own standing vis-à-vis the universe will be made manifest to you. It will dawn upon you that you are not the subordinate, but the master of all things in the cosmos.
IMMUTABLE LAWS
These forces of nature are governed by predetermined laws made by Allah. These physical laws are unchangeable and permanent in their character and operation (33:62). There should thus be no doubt about the immutability of these laws. They can NEVER change suddenly and elude man’s control. Everything acts or happens according to these laws. Man has been given the faculty to understand and acquire the knowledge of these laws. The more he acquires the knowledge of these unchangeable laws of nature, the more they will unfold and continue to unfold as man progresses towards mastering them.
This was the mirror in which he was shown his true identity by Allah (SWT) through the Quran. Thus in one leap he became the Respected Master of all things that bowed down to him in submission. He gained ascendancy over the entire creation.
But the main, challenging obstacle in man’s forward march was the tyrannical subjugation of man by man. This cruel, pharaonic idea was so deeply ingrained in the human mind that he came to accept his serfdom as a natural norm and the right to be ruled by his dominating, enslaving masters – a sort of divine “birthright”! The Quran arrived and proclaimed that the right to exercise authority belongs only to Allah. He has enjoined that we should obey none but Him. Further the fundamental principle of Deen is that no human being – even though Allah may have given him a code of laws, a revelation (Nubuwwat), or the power to enforce it – has the right to say to others: “It is not meet for a mortal that Allah should give him the Book and the judgment and the prophethood, then he should say to men: Be my servants besides Allah’s; but (he would say): Be worshippers of the Lord because you teach the Book and because you study (it).” (3:78-79, 12:40).
It can thus be seen that by this one single declaration, the Quran has destroyed the shackles of all kinds of subjugation. It freed man from every mode and aspect of human slavery and entrenched him with Allah’s rule only.
SLAVERY OF MIND
The entire teaching of the Quran is the explanation of this one point alone. The obedience must be to the Laws of Allah only, and not of any man.; (12:40, 18:26). If he allows the rule of any other than Allah, it would be a negation of the very purpose of man’s creation.
The sadistic tyranny and domination by brute force could hold a man physically, but there was another kind of slavery that was far worse than the former. This was the slavery of mind and heart, controlled by the so-called “religious leaders”, priests, or “ulama”, the peers, saints and mystics who claimed to be intercessors between man and God. This class, vis-à-vis the pharaonic class, badly wanted to be loved, obeyed, revered and worshipped. They were in fact a god-head. The Holy Quran exposed their machinations and true colours to mankind: that in reality it is all an economic game these little tin gods play with the masses to hide the truth. They wish to live parasitically in luxury on the earnings of others and do nothing themselves. The fact is that the majority of them never earn an honest day’s living. (9:34, 43:23). They claim that they lead people to Allah’s path, but the truth is that they block people from treading the path of Allah. They themselves become gods and thus do not allow anyone to reach Allah, but stop them on the way. The reason is simple: if Muslims make Allah’s Quran their sole guide, then these pygmy tin gods would become redundant, irrelevant and non-existent!
The difference between secular and spiritual dominance is that the former disappears when a pharaoh, king or dictator dies, but the latter does not expire with the death of the dominance-seeker (wali, saint, sufi, etc.) Even from his grave he commands total obedience from the unthinking, gullible folk. In fact his stranglehold is powerful, his urge to dominate is overpowering. The living human is always in fear of the dead peer saheb’s “spiritual powers”. The peer’s brainwashing and magnetic “power” may be likened to the flame which proves irresistible to the moths who keep circling it until they burn themselves completely. Allah rebutted man’s fallacy and said to the living human:
“And they take besides Him gods who create naught, while they are themselves created, and they control for themselves no harm nor profit, and they control not death, nor life, nor raising to life.” (25:3, 27:65, 46:4-5).
The question is: why are you afraid of them, and why do you pin your hopes and aspirations on them for worldly gains? This is extreme and abject humiliation for a man to be afraid of a corpse lying in the grave, and accept him as the granter and guarantor of all his needs.
SALAAT AND ZAKAAT
One effective way of making a man subordinate to another was to deprive him of the means of sustenance by sheer brute force, thus placing him in total servitude. The Quran declared in unequivocal terms:
“Say: Come! I will recite what your Lord has forbidden to you: associate naught with Him and do good to parents and slay not your children for (fear of) poverty – We provide for you and for them – and draw not nigh to indecencies, open or secret, and kill not the soul which Allah has made sacred except in the course of justice. This He enjoins upon you that you may understand.” (6:152, 11:6, 17:31).
Through the agency of the Mu’mineen a system of government (Salaat) should be established which ensures an economic system (Zakaat) wherein every soul is guaranteed the basic necessities of life. No one will depend on another for his survival and no one will rule over the other.
These are the Quranic concepts and doctrines that gave man an honoured status and superiority over other creations. (17:70). Allah reminds mankind that if it safeguards itself from the pitfalls of wrong paths and evils and watches imbalances in society, then there are glad tidings for it from Him of a blissful life Here, and in the Hereafter. No fear, no constant torment and insecurity will be suffered by them. (2:37-38, 7:35, 10:62-64).
In this Quranic society, everyone- irrespective of race, colour or creed-will be equal in the eyes of the law and have an equal opportunity to develop his or her latent potentialities. There would be no favouritism, no partisanship, no nepotism. Whoever wishes to progress in life by toil and endeavour, will achieve his aim; and whoever, owing to his own ineptitude and lethargy lags behind in this temporal life, then that will be to his own detriment. (46:19, 99:7-8).
In this just society there will be no distinction made between a child born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and a boy born in a poor family. In a Quranic society there will be no such thing that the former gets the best education and every luxury, whereas the latter cannot even get a rudimentary education because of poverty. This worldly hierarchical class division was created by Brahminism (priestcraft) that kept a section of society in its iron clutches. The Quran made mankind free from all this, and on this very basis proclaimed that:
“CELEBRATE AND REJOICE ON RECEIVING THIS CHARTER OF FREEDOM.”
learn quran, read koran, learn koran
In Surah Yunus it is said:
“O mankind! There has come to you indeed an admonition from your Lord and a healing for what is in the hearts; and a guidance and a mercy for the believers. Say: In the grace of Allah and in His mercy, in that they should rejoice. It is better than (all the worldly wealth) that they amass.” (10:57-58).
This is the occasion Muslims have been enjoined by Allah (SWT) Himself to celebrate with happiness and joy. This occasion is called JASHN-E-NUZOOL-E-QURAN, i.e. EID-UL-FITR-DAY.
The Quran was first bestowed from on high in the month of Ramadaan as a guidance to man (2:185). Therefore the entire month of fasting is, in a way, a preparation for the celebration of this festival day called Eid. The question arises: what, after all, has Allah given us for which we are commanded to rejoice? The answer is given by the Quran itself that it (the Quran) makes man aware of his true status in this world. Allah says:
“Indeed there has come to you from Allah, a Light and a clear Book.” (5:15, 14:1).
Ponder for a moment what happens in the dark, and what happens to darkness when it is stabbed by light! In darkness, no object, article or a thing’s correct identity, position and location can be known; whereas in light every object’s true location and identity is before us. In darkness we mistakenly presume a rope to be a snake, and vice versa. But when light comes, we see the difference between a rope and a snake!
DARKNESS
Before the revelation of the Holy Quran, man was in utter darkness. He was ignorant of his exalted status in the universe, nor was he aware of the phenomena of nature. In short, he knew very little about the physical world and his own place in it. What kind of darkness was prevalent before the Divine revelation? It was the darkness of thought, of intellect, superstitions, and darkness of heart and mind. It was the darkness of being unacquainted with one’s own actual self. And the fact is that this darkness of being unaware of his own true position and dignity was the sum of all his darkness: it was the source and fountainhead of his darkness. Had man been aware of his own true self, then he would have eliminated all other darknesses. Thus the question arises as to what dignified position the Quran has given to man? If we seek a detailed answer to the question, then we have to go through the whole Quran. And this is not possible to accomplish within the confines of this short article. We shall touch briefly on a few aspects, but it will not be possible to understand them until it is not seen that before the revelation of the Quran, to what extent was man engulfed in darkness, and to what depth of degradation he had descended.
At the time of the revelation of the Quran, man had enslaved man. In some societies he was in abject bondage. The feudal lord was his god. Monasticism had completely stunted his intellect and senses. Capitalism was sucking the last drop of blood of the working classes like a leech. This was the state of “civilisation” at the time the Quran was revealed.
It declared that the mission of the Prophet Muhammad (S) was to destroy the chains in which mankind has been shackled (7:157). Of these chains, the very first was that of ignorance and superstition. Due to his lowly position, man was afraid of the natural forces. Menacingly dark clouds, eardrum and nerve-shattering thunder, lightning, and the roaring of mighty rivers instilled a terrible fear in his heart. Gale-force winds made him shudder. When he saw huge, sky-embracing mountains, he felt an unspeakable awe. He felt puny and helpless before these awesome powers of nature.
GODS OR GODDESSES
He came to realise that there is some inexplicable power behind each of these phenomena. In order to save and secure himself (in his own mind) from the wrath of such mighty powers, he could think of only one kind of escape: to take these forces as gods or goddesses and bow before them in worship. He would offer human sacrifices and other oblations to appease these angered deities. This is the position that man had established for himself against these physical forces.
The Quran came and addressed him:
“Seest thou not that Allah has made subservient to you all that is in the earth, and the ships gliding in the sea by His command? And He withholds the heaven from falling on the earth except with His permission. Surely Allah is Compassionate, Merciful to mankind.” (22:65, 45:12-13).
Everything is for man’s benefit. If you ponder for a moment, think and study the phenomena of nature, then your own standing vis-à-vis the universe will be made manifest to you. It will dawn upon you that you are not the subordinate, but the master of all things in the cosmos.
IMMUTABLE LAWS
These forces of nature are governed by predetermined laws made by Allah. These physical laws are unchangeable and permanent in their character and operation (33:62). There should thus be no doubt about the immutability of these laws. They can NEVER change suddenly and elude man’s control. Everything acts or happens according to these laws. Man has been given the faculty to understand and acquire the knowledge of these laws. The more he acquires the knowledge of these unchangeable laws of nature, the more they will unfold and continue to unfold as man progresses towards mastering them.
This was the mirror in which he was shown his true identity by Allah (SWT) through the Quran. Thus in one leap he became the Respected Master of all things that bowed down to him in submission. He gained ascendancy over the entire creation.
But the main, challenging obstacle in man’s forward march was the tyrannical subjugation of man by man. This cruel, pharaonic idea was so deeply ingrained in the human mind that he came to accept his serfdom as a natural norm and the right to be ruled by his dominating, enslaving masters – a sort of divine “birthright”! The Quran arrived and proclaimed that the right to exercise authority belongs only to Allah. He has enjoined that we should obey none but Him. Further the fundamental principle of Deen is that no human being – even though Allah may have given him a code of laws, a revelation (Nubuwwat), or the power to enforce it – has the right to say to others: “It is not meet for a mortal that Allah should give him the Book and the judgment and the prophethood, then he should say to men: Be my servants besides Allah’s; but (he would say): Be worshippers of the Lord because you teach the Book and because you study (it).” (3:78-79, 12:40).
It can thus be seen that by this one single declaration, the Quran has destroyed the shackles of all kinds of subjugation. It freed man from every mode and aspect of human slavery and entrenched him with Allah’s rule only.
SLAVERY OF MIND
The entire teaching of the Quran is the explanation of this one point alone. The obedience must be to the Laws of Allah only, and not of any man.; (12:40, 18:26). If he allows the rule of any other than Allah, it would be a negation of the very purpose of man’s creation.
The sadistic tyranny and domination by brute force could hold a man physically, but there was another kind of slavery that was far worse than the former. This was the slavery of mind and heart, controlled by the so-called “religious leaders”, priests, or “ulama”, the peers, saints and mystics who claimed to be intercessors between man and God. This class, vis-à-vis the pharaonic class, badly wanted to be loved, obeyed, revered and worshipped. They were in fact a god-head. The Holy Quran exposed their machinations and true colours to mankind: that in reality it is all an economic game these little tin gods play with the masses to hide the truth. They wish to live parasitically in luxury on the earnings of others and do nothing themselves. The fact is that the majority of them never earn an honest day’s living. (9:34, 43:23). They claim that they lead people to Allah’s path, but the truth is that they block people from treading the path of Allah. They themselves become gods and thus do not allow anyone to reach Allah, but stop them on the way. The reason is simple: if Muslims make Allah’s Quran their sole guide, then these pygmy tin gods would become redundant, irrelevant and non-existent!
The difference between secular and spiritual dominance is that the former disappears when a pharaoh, king or dictator dies, but the latter does not expire with the death of the dominance-seeker (wali, saint, sufi, etc.) Even from his grave he commands total obedience from the unthinking, gullible folk. In fact his stranglehold is powerful, his urge to dominate is overpowering. The living human is always in fear of the dead peer saheb’s “spiritual powers”. The peer’s brainwashing and magnetic “power” may be likened to the flame which proves irresistible to the moths who keep circling it until they burn themselves completely. Allah rebutted man’s fallacy and said to the living human:
“And they take besides Him gods who create naught, while they are themselves created, and they control for themselves no harm nor profit, and they control not death, nor life, nor raising to life.” (25:3, 27:65, 46:4-5).
The question is: why are you afraid of them, and why do you pin your hopes and aspirations on them for worldly gains? This is extreme and abject humiliation for a man to be afraid of a corpse lying in the grave, and accept him as the granter and guarantor of all his needs.
SALAAT AND ZAKAAT
One effective way of making a man subordinate to another was to deprive him of the means of sustenance by sheer brute force, thus placing him in total servitude. The Quran declared in unequivocal terms:
“Say: Come! I will recite what your Lord has forbidden to you: associate naught with Him and do good to parents and slay not your children for (fear of) poverty – We provide for you and for them – and draw not nigh to indecencies, open or secret, and kill not the soul which Allah has made sacred except in the course of justice. This He enjoins upon you that you may understand.” (6:152, 11:6, 17:31).
Through the agency of the Mu’mineen a system of government (Salaat) should be established which ensures an economic system (Zakaat) wherein every soul is guaranteed the basic necessities of life. No one will depend on another for his survival and no one will rule over the other.
These are the Quranic concepts and doctrines that gave man an honoured status and superiority over other creations. (17:70). Allah reminds mankind that if it safeguards itself from the pitfalls of wrong paths and evils and watches imbalances in society, then there are glad tidings for it from Him of a blissful life Here, and in the Hereafter. No fear, no constant torment and insecurity will be suffered by them. (2:37-38, 7:35, 10:62-64).
In this Quranic society, everyone- irrespective of race, colour or creed-will be equal in the eyes of the law and have an equal opportunity to develop his or her latent potentialities. There would be no favouritism, no partisanship, no nepotism. Whoever wishes to progress in life by toil and endeavour, will achieve his aim; and whoever, owing to his own ineptitude and lethargy lags behind in this temporal life, then that will be to his own detriment. (46:19, 99:7-8).
In this just society there will be no distinction made between a child born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and a boy born in a poor family. In a Quranic society there will be no such thing that the former gets the best education and every luxury, whereas the latter cannot even get a rudimentary education because of poverty. This worldly hierarchical class division was created by Brahminism (priestcraft) that kept a section of society in its iron clutches. The Quran made mankind free from all this, and on this very basis proclaimed that:
“CELEBRATE AND REJOICE ON RECEIVING THIS CHARTER OF FREEDOM.”
learn quran, read koran, learn koran
ILL Got legal or illegal Earnings
A typical Muslim, however unreligious-low morals, missing prayers and fasts, even drinking (alcohol) and fornicating-is sure to abstain from consuming pig's meat. Even the mere mention of the term is distasteful to him; just imagining it gives him shivers. In fact, consuming pig's meat has become synonymous with illicit gain of wealth.
But this attitude is restricted to swine. Muslims do not react with equal intensity to illicit earnings, despite God forbidding it, just as He forbade consumption of swine. A restaurant suspected of frying halal kebabs in pig's fat is very likely to be vandalized by an angry mob. But the same people think nothing of unfair, illicit means of making money. Is it not baffling? Even when some means of earning are deemed illegal by the state, people consider them just that-illegal-not illicit or forbidden (haraam). There may be some means of making money allowed by the state but deemed unfair by God. Let us have a look at the criterion of permitted (halal) and forbidden (haraam) means of earning as laid down by Allah.
Wrongful Earnings:
Two of the fundamental terms of the Quran are: haq (Right)-honest means of income, and baatel (Wrong) dishonest ways of making money. The ways of making money approved and disapproved by the Quran are halal (allowed) and haraam (forbidden, respectively. Al-Baqara, Chapter Two of the Quran, deals with Fasting in verses 183-187. Muslims the world over very honestly follow them but very conveniently, without any qualms whatsoever, ignore the very next verse (188): "And do not consume each other's wealth illicitly." The Quran cites illicit financial practices as one of the basic causes of the downfall of the Jews (4:161), going on to say: ".... And the transgressors among them had been promised a painful punishment.".
There are various illicit financial practices-cheating, fraud, bribery, stealing, embezzlement, hoarding, overpricing etc-but one mentioned specifically by the Quran often escapes our attention. And that is the one practiced by the clergy and the spiritual leaders: "O ye who are Convinced! Most of the (religious) scholars and mystics consume illicitly the public money and block the way to Allah" (9:34). Allama Shabbir Ahmed Usmani explains it thus: 'That is, (they) change and misinterpret God's word and religious rules for money. The masses, who have elevated them to godly status, accept as final whatever fallacies they present. Thus the priests and the mystics keep the masses entrapped in their web of deceit in order to safeguard their own vested social and financial interests. Obviously, if the public break free of the mesh and see the Truth, these men will have no more income. *
Hygienic (Good) and Unhygienic (Bad)
The Quran also refers to illicit earnings as tayyeb and khabees, respectively. They are worthy of a look in regards to the topic under discussion. One of the purposes of the Prophet's emergence is: "... and he will allow the constructive and forbid the destructive for them." (7:157). The khabees, the term used for pig's meat (5:3) is haram. Therefore, to a Muslim, pig's meat and illicit earnings are the same in kind. They are both forbidden with equal emphasis: "The illicit can never equal the licit, no matter how attractive the plentifulness of the illicit is." (5:100). The Quran presents several illustrations of the khabees (illicit) and tayyeb (licit). For example: "... and pay up the unprotected and lonely their dues; don't exchange the bad for the good; don't (confuse and) consume their wealth with yours; it is a great injustice and a crime." (4:2)
The term yateem is normally applied to an orphan but, basically, it refers to anyone who is on their own and feels lonely and left out. That is why Allama Shabbir Ahmed Usmani explains it thus: 'These instructions mention specifically a yateem, because of his desperation, he most deserves care and protection.** It is clear that the downtrodden must not be exploited; money made thus is khabees (haraam). Further, it said that such wealth is like consuming hellfire (4:10). It is absolutely forbidden (haraam).
Bribery
Top of the list of illicit means of making money, bribery appears to have been widely accepted as a necessary evil. The verse mentioned earlier in regards to Fasting (2:188) goes, in its entirety, like this: "And don't consume each other's wealth illicitly; and don't get it to the officials (as bribery) so that you can knowingly gain something from other's money in an improper way."
Is it not strange that, with such clear instructions from God, people abstain from pig's meat but think nothing of gulping down bribery?
The Business World
The practice of bribery may be restricted to specific sections of society, but the area flooded by illgotten money is the world of business-trade, buying and selling, factories, shops, etc. The Quran has laid down various rules of conduct in this regard. Take trade for example: "O those who are Convinced! Don't consume each other's money illicitly; social life necessitates buying and selling, so that it should be done in agreement of the parties involved; otherwise, it is just like killing others. God wishes to save you from it." (4:29)
The verse in point resolves the problem of trade. But actually the exact opposite happens. Shopkeepers unite and decide prices. If a prospective customer finds a price too high, he is told to try elsewhere. Failing to get a lower rate, he is forced to pay the price for the asking. That is obviously not 'in agreement' of the parties involved but the shopkeepers maintain, wrongfully of course, that that is the case! They obviously exemplify the verse: "Many go astray, as many find the right path by this (Quran)." (2:26) The shopkeeper, who insists on charging his quoted price and maintains that it does not impinge on the 'agreement' of the customer, does not himself feel the same way when the roles are reversed! That is why the Quran goes on to say: "Then whoever commits it, does it deliberately and wrongfully; the end of it will be hellfire, which is easy for God to do!" (4:30). As trading involves the manufacturers, stockist, wholesalers, retailers as well as consumers, 'fair trade' can only exist in a system which controls profits and prices.
Usury (Interest)
The Quran allows al-Bae' (trade) but forbids ar-Riba (interest) (2:275). Since I have dealt with riba in detail elsewhere, I shall point to a very simple form of it where a borrower is bound to pay interest to the lender. The Quran forbids it and allows repayment of the original sum only as it is not unfair to either of the parties (2:279). Thus, in allowing trade but forbidding interest, the underlying consideration is exploitation. Weighed against this principle, the currently prevalent trading practices, the entire economic system, and for that matter, almost every sphere of human life, features exploitation of men by fellow men.
The Balance
Tremendously important in the Quranic scheme of things, balance is the basis of the Universe: "God has formulated laws to keep a balance between stellar bodies. "God has formulated laws to keep a balance between stellar bodies. You should also crate a balanced society in which justice is done and nobody is wronged." (55:7-8-9). A just social system shall have the divine Balance with divine laws (57:25; 42:17), on Judgment Day, Man's deeds shall be weighed in the Balance so that "no one is wronged at all." (21:47)
With this principle of the Balance in mind, let us consider the world of commerce. Verses like 6:153 and 17:35 instruct to "keep your measurement fair and the balance correct." Obviously, it means that the buyer must get his money's worth. Individual traders will keep their measuring fair but the 'money's worth' shall be monitored under a central system of price and quality control. Over-pricing, misrepresentation of merchandise, poor quality etc, inevitably lead to a nation's ruin. Prophet Shoaib repeatedly told his people: "Keep your measurement fair and balanced; don't cheat people in merchandizing; don't spread chaos instead of order and fairness." (7:85), (11:84-85), (26:181).
Reward of Labour
The Question is of prime importance according to the Quran. If labour (work) is not fully (fairly) rewarded, it is haraam. That, precisely, was the Pharaoh's sinful system which Moses was commissioned to abolish so that "everyone gets the reward of their labour." (20:75) and "no one fears unfairness and exploitation." (20:12). This is impossible to achieve under the capitalistic system of economy where the rate of wages is determined by the investor/employer and the worker/labourer is forced by his destitution to accept it (just as the customer 'accepts' prices as mentioned earlier). Under the Quranic system of economy, the question of wages simply does not arise because the state assumes full responsibility of providing sustenance to all citizens. Before that ideal is achieved, the state must see that the worker is not exploited. If he is, the employer is making 'haraam' money.
The Evader
The Quran holds the worker equally responsible for fairness when it declares the basic principle: "Man is not entitled to anything except what he works for." (53:39) Those who shirk work earn haraam money.
At-Tatfeef (Short Measure)
One of the chapters of the Quran is titled at-Tatfeef (to measure short; to tie up a camel's feet to slow its walking pace). The Quran has decreed ruin for mutaffefeen-"those who take their dues in full from others; and measure less when they pay others." (83:1-2-3). This can also be taken in a social sense, i.e. the mutaffefeen short-measure people too and 'tie up their feet' so that they cannot devlop their potential in full. That is exploitation, too.
Embezzlement
Down to a single personal situation, the Quran wants individuals to be trustworthy: "Don't embezzle what has been entrusted to you." (8:27) It may apply not only to an item entrusted to someone for safe-keeping but also to officials such as treasurers or store-keepers.
Allowed and Good (Proper)
The Quran is very serious where legality of rizq (wealth) is concerned: "And consume whatever sustenance Allah has given you in a legal, proper manner, and thus observe Allah's laws of Whom you claim to be convinced of."(5:88) The 'proper use of the permitted needs an example. A goat is permitted (halal) but becomes forbidden (haraam) if not slaughtered under prescribed conditions. But, is a properly slaughtered but stolen goat halal? The Quran's answer is: No: "They ask you (O Prophet) What is allowed for them. Tell them that all things proper are allowed." (5:4)
Sustenance with Dignity
Summarizing the question of the proper and the allowed, the Quran says: O people! Consume from whatever is there on Earth in a proper and allowed manner; and don't follow the Devil (improper ways) as he is obviously your enemy." (2:68) This is referred to in 8:4 and 2:50 as 'the dignified sustenance.' Only such people who consume properly the permitted are dignified and are safe from ruin.
Greed
People resort to unfair and improper ways to amass wealth because they are driven by greed. The rat race is referred to by the Quran as at-takaasur (also the title of chapter 102): "The greedy race to amass wealth carries men to their graves." (102:1-2). The avarice for money drives one to obsession: "(just to gather money and keep counting it." (104:3); But no! this wealth will drive him to hellish destruction!" (104:4-5-6-7-8-9). Hoarding of illicitly earned money cannot save one from ruin." (02:11); Faced with ruin, the hoarder will be disappointed at the ineffectiveness of money, the false pride which caused the ruin (69:29) and left him entirely unsupported and without fiends (69:35). Men often adopt illegal and improper ways of acquiring wealth for the sake of their families and children. But such wealth is a source of trouble for you (8:28).
In a nutshell, the permitted (halal) sustenance is that which is acquired through fair and proper (tayyeb) means. It is the Right (haq). On the contrary, is the forbidden (haram). "Allah retains haq and eliminates baatel; Allah knows what is in your hearts (you cannot justify improper wealth no matter how hard you try)." (42:24). Improper earning is termed as ithm by the Quran (2:188). Ithm creates lethargy which causes one to fall behind. The Quran also forbids maisara (2:219) which not only refers to betting but also to any means of earning easy money. Such earning gives one wealth but creates 'acute lethargy' (2:219) which is more than the benefits of such money (2:219). A society adopting the Quranic philosophy of proper and improper, permitted and forbidden, halal and haraam wealth will have a permanent and sound footing.
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IDEOLOGY OF PAKISTAN description.
The history of mankind makes tragic reading. Down through the ages, we come across a series of sequences of the rise, growth, decline and fall, not only of nations but even of their civilisations and cultures. No doubt, man has all along shown a remarkable constructive genius, having attained many an awe-inspiring successes, despite occasional set-backs and natural catastrophes, but his constructive genius was always undermined by some inherent weakness underlying his ideas, or his way of life which ultimately brought about a disastrous end to his efforts. Nevertheless, there have been some notable exceptions in the series of sequences when the idea of universal welfare of mankind took practical shape, but the main characteristic in all those civilisations, always remained one of frustration. Man struggled hard to find some satisfactory solution to his problems, but failed. Human intellect, limited as it is helped him little, because it is not aware of any source of knowledge other than itself. There was only one guide left for mankind in this difficult quest; and that confidently proclaimed competency to lead them to their goal:"
The God that has created all the objects in the universe has also undertaken to make them aware of their goal and guide them towards it, (20:50)
The guidance, which comes directly from God, is known as "Revelation". It has all along been revealed to mankind through the agency of various Anbiya But, unfortunately, due to the ravages of time and human tampering with it, the text of the Scriptures, the message delivered by the pre-Islamic Anbiya, could not be preserved long in their original form. Eventually, about fourteen centuries ago, the complete and final version of that Guidance was revealed to mankind through Mohammed (P.B.U.H.), the last of the series of Anbiya. This version of the Divine Guidance is embodied exactly in its original form in the Quran.
2. The responsibility of the Nabi, to whom Divine Guidance was revealed, was not only to communicate his revelation to others, but also to establish an socio-economic order in the light of that Guidance. Our Rasul---Mohammed (P.B.U.H.) --established this order which fully recognized dignity of all human beings (17:70). The pursuit of individual interest was replaced by the ideal of the good of the humanity at large. Oppression and exploitation were abolished and justice and equity prevailed. The dependence of man and the subjugation of one over another were brought to an end. Every individual was assured the proper satisfaction of these needs. He, thereby, led a full life of satisfaction, peace and harmony. He did not owe obedience to any person or power, except the Divine Laws enshrined in the Quran. Briefly, that order completely put an end to the rule of man over man. In any form, and with it the evil of capitalism. This order was called Deen in the Quranic terminology.
3. This social order prevailed during the lifetime of Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) and for some time thereafter, when the forces of exploitation began to raise their first success with the establishment of Mulukiyyat-kingship--sustained by capitalism. To ensure their survival and consolidation, these forces availed themselves of the co-operation of men who appeared in the robes of piety and spoke in the name of God. They posed as the interpreters of God’s Will and thus distorted principles and tenets of Deen which no longer remained a living force in the society and were reduced to a set of soul-less beliefs, lifeless dogmas and realities of life. They framed rules and laws to suit the purpose of monarchy, and sought to keep the common man entangled in the labyrinth of these dogmas and rituals, and the exploiters, religious as well as temporal, were left free to maintain their stranglehold upon the defrauded masses/ This was the metamorphosis of Deen into Mazhab, which word, by the way, does not occur anywhere in the Quran. The Book of Allah, however, remained intact, since Allah has taken Himself, the responsibility of its preservation Himself, although it was never allowed to play any part in the practical life of the Muslims.
4. This state of affairs prevailed throughout the Muslim countries for centuries together where Mazhab was accepted as true Islam. We should, however, consider ourselves fortunate in as much as a voice was raised in our time and from our own country, to distinguish between Deen and Mazhab, and the Ummah was called upon to revive true Islam in the light of the Quran. This was the voice of Iqbal, the great thinker, and still greater scholar of the Quran. This, he said, was possible only if we had a piece of land in which a State was established purely on the lines indicated by the Quran, thereby wiping out completely the rule of man, in any form, be it capitalism or priestcraft. This scheme of his he pronounced in his Presidential Address of All-India Muslim League Session at Allahabad, in 1930. Such a State, he said:
Would mean security and peace for India resulting from an internal balance of power, and for Islam an opportunity to rid itself of the stamp that Arabian Imperialism was forced to give it, to mobilise its law, its education, its culture, and to bring them into closer contact with its own original spirit and with the spirit of modern times.
(Speeches and statements of Iqbal--P.15)
Two years later, while addressing the nation at the Annual Session of the All-India Muslim Conference at Lahore, on 21-31932, he said:
The possibilities of the faith you represent are not yet exhausted. It can still create a new world where the social rank of man is not determined by his caste or colour, or the amount of the dividend he earns, but by the kind of life he lives; where Capital cannot be allowed to accumulate so as to dominate the real producer of wealth. This superb ideal of your faith, however, needs emancipation from the medieval fancies of theologians and legists. Spiritually, we are living in a prison-house of thoughts and emotions which, during the course of centuries we have woven round ourselves. And be it further said to the same of us-- men of older generation-- that we have failed to equip the younger generation for the economic, political and even religious crises that the present age is likely to bring. The whole community needs a complete overhauling of its mentality in order that it may again become capable of feeling the urge of fresh desires and ideals.
(Ibid p.55)
This point, i.e. to get rid of the "manmade Islam" was so basic and important that he laid emphasis on it time and again. In his famous six (to be more accurate, seven) lectures, he elaborated the theme in the words of (the late) Grand Vizier of Turkey, Said Haleem Pasha, who had said:
During he course of history, the moral and social ideals of Islam have been gradually de-Islamised through the influence of local character, and pre-Islamic superstitions of Muslim nations. These ideals today are more Iranian, Turkish, or Arabian than Islamic. The pure brow of the principal of Tauheed (obedience to the Book of Allah alone) has received, more or less, an impress of heathenish and the universal and impersonal character of the ethical ideals of Islam has been lost through a process of localisation. The only alternative open to us then is to tear off from Islam the hard crust which has immobilised an essentially dynamic outlook on life, and to rediscover the original verities of freedom, equality and solidarity with a view to rebuild our moral, social and political ideals out of their original simplicity and universality.
(Iqbal: Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam --pp. 148-49)
This was the purpose to be achieved, for which Allama Iqbal had given the idea of acquiring a piece of land to establish therein a State which could be identified as a true Islamic State -- a State built on the foundations of Quran. This was to be a unique State amongst various States of the world.
5. One of the fundamental factors which makes an Islamic State unique amongst various States of the world, whatever their form of Government, is its principle of law making. As already stated, according to the Quran, all human beings are equal and worthy of equal respect and dignity. It necessarily follows, therefore, that no man has the right to exploit another man or to use him as a means in furthering his personal interests. If society were organized on this basis, there would be neither rulers nor the ruled; none would be permitted to compel others to obey him. Allah alone would be obeyed. Says the Quran:
It behemoth not a man that Allah should give him the Book of Law, power to judge, and even Nubuwwah, and he should say to his fellow beings to obey his orders rather than those of Allah.... (3:78).
The Quran forbids man to arrogate to himself the right to rule over other men: and yet it does not advocate a lawless, anarchical society. What it does is to lay down the principle that Allah alone has the right to rule over them (12:40) and none has the right to any share in it (18:26). Sovereignty belongs to Allah alone.
Allah, however, is the Abstract, Transcendental Reality. How can we obey Him if we cannot contact Him? The answer is by observing His Laws as given in His Book. This is why the Rasul was asked to declare:
Shall I seek other than Allah for Judge, when how it is who hath revealed unto you this Book fully explained (6:115).
This book was the criterion to decide whether a State was Islamic or UN-Islamic. Says the Quran:
Whose do not judge by what Allah hath revealed, they are indeed kafirs (5:44)
The laws, directives, principles and values given by the Quran are complete, final, eternal and UN-alterable. None, not even the entire Ummah has the authority to add to, subtract from or make any alteration therein. But it does not prescribe details thereof. With the exception of a very few laws, it demarcates the boundary lines of what is lawful and what is unlawful. These lines no one has the right to transgress: not even the entire community. Within these lines, the Islamic State is free to frame such byelaws, as the needs of the time require. These byelaws are, of course, subject to change and may be revised or even abrogated by the Ummah by mutual consultation (42:38), leaving the boundary lines untouched. This is where an Islamic State differs from the democracy, the people have unbridled power to frame any laws, whereas, the consultative machinery of the Ummah can frame sub-laws only within the boundary lines framed by the Quran. Iqbal has beautifully narrated this unique feature of the Islamic State. He says in his Lectures:
The ultimate spiritual basis of all life, as conceived by Islam, is eternal and reveals itself in variety and change. A society based on such a conception of Reality must reconcile in its life the categories of permanence and change; it must possess eternal principles to regulate its collective life; for the eternal gives us a foothold in the world of perpetual change. But eternal principles when they are understood to exclude all possibilities of change, which, according to Quran is one of the greatest sings of God, tend to immobilise what is essentially mobile in its nature.
(Reconstruction of Religious Though in Islam...P-149)
Iqbal has touched upon this very subtle, yet most important point with reference to political system of Islam, but it takes us far, far beyond political horizon. The fundamental principle of the reconciliation of the categories of permanence and change is not confined to the process of law making. It is the very essence of Islam and can be appreciated only when the Quranic concept of human life is thoroughly grasped. There are two concepts of human life -- materialistic and Quranic. The materialistic outlook of life treats man as any other animal, whose only function is to develop and enlarge his physical existence. It functions under physical laws and is disintegrated and gets extinct with death. It is subject to perpetual change: every moment millions and millions of cells, which constitute human body, are destroyed and replaced by fresh cells. This process of constant change continues till death overtakes him and he ceases to live. Since, according to this concept of life, there is nothing permanent in human life, it stands in need of no Permanent Values, no unchangeable principles, no immutable boundary lines, and therefore, no necessity for Divine Guidance.
According to Quranic concept of life, on the other hand, human body, no doubt develops, flourishes, and eventually disintegrates, under physical laws, but there is something else in man besides his body, that is, his Self or Personality, which is neither physical in its constitution nor is it subject to physical laws as such. It is endowed to every human child in like measure at his birth, but it is only in an undeveloped form. To develop it to its full maturity, and to give it a perfect and balanced shape is the goal of all human activities. Every act of his, performed in accordance with Permanent Values, contributes to its development, and whatever is done against these values, retards this process and weakens the Self. An act, it should be noted, includes thought, wish and desire, as well. The Self or Personality thus developed easily sustains the shock of death and survives the disintegration and dissolution of physical body, and goes on developing further, passing through more evolutionary stages, which we call the "Hereafter" or the life after death. The fact that, not only the actual deeds of a human being but his thoughts, wishes and desires as well, act upon human Personality is what is called the "Law of Retribution" which is as inexorable and immutable as the Laws of Nature.
It is the human personality, which takes decisions, but at the present level of existence, its decisions are implemented through physical body. For this purpose, it is essential that human body should also develop and be in a position to carry out the commands of the personality. For its development, the needs and requirements of human body will change from time to time, whereas human personality, while developing shall remain unchanged. The renowned Polish Thinker, Nicholas Bereave, has beautifully concentrated this in four words, by saying.
Personality is changelessness in change.
(Slavery and Freedom P-8)
The process of the development of human body and Personality can take place only in Islamic Social Order (Deen, as already explained). This order, generally called "Nizam-e-Rabubiyyah", provides to each and every individual means for the development of both. It will be seen that this system differs basically from all other systems.
6. Reverting to the principle of law-making, Iqbal examined critically what had been going on in our past history, and said that
The teaching of the Quran that life is a process of progressive creation necessitates that each generation, guided but unhampered by the work of its predecessors, should be permitted to solve its own problems.
(Lectures P-160)
It follows, therefore, that the general notion that the laws made by our earlier jurists and promulgated in the past are eternal and binding on all future generations is against the basic teachings of the Quran. This was thoroughly explained by Iqbal in his "Sixth lecture", entitled -- The principles of movement in the structure of Islam -- in which he says;
The question which is likely to confront Muslim countries in the near future is whether the Law of Islam is capable of evolution -- a question which will require great intellectual effort, and is sure to be answered in the affirmative; provided the world of Islam approaches it in the spirit of Omar -- the first critical and independent in Islam who, at the last moments of the Prophet, had the moral courage to utter these remarkable words: "The Book of God is sufficient for us". (P.154).
7. Iqbal accomplished his task and, handing over the torch to Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, passed away. The Quaid, during his struggle for the achievement of Pakistan, reiterated the main features of the proposed Islamic State, as enunciated by Iqbal. No doubt the British and the Hindus opposed tooth and nail the proposal for the establishment of a separate State for the Muslims, but its main opponents were the so-called "Nationalist Ulema" who were the custodians of Mazhab, as already explained. Plainly speaking, the struggle for Pakistan was, in reality; struggle between Deen and Mazhab. This struggle was started during the lifetime of Iqbal himself. For want of adequate space, it is not possible to quote extensively from the speeches and writings of Quaid-e-Azam, on the subject it would suffice if some of the more important points were cited.
It is generally said, that it was the narrow-mindedness of the Hindus and their maltreatment and fanatical prejudice toward the Muslims which compelled the latter to seek protection in a separate homeland, and thus the demand for Pakistan. This is not only distortion of history but also malicious propaganda. The genesis of Pakistan was explained by Iqbal in the Presidential Address at Allahabad in 1930. Pakistan Resolution was passed in the Annual Session of the All-India Muslim League, at Lahore, in 1940. Quaid-e-Azam said in his Presidential Address:
It is extremely difficult to appreciate why our Hindu friends fail to understand the real nature of Islam and Hinduism. They are not religions in the strict sense of the word, but are in fact, different and distinct social orders, and it is a dream that the Hindus and Muslims can ever evolve a common nationality, and this conception of one Indian nation has gone far beyond the limits and is the cause of most of your troubles and will lead India to destruction if we fail to revise our notions in time. The Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, Social customs, and literatures. The neither intermarries nor interdines together, and, indeed, they belong to two different civilisations, which are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions. Their aspects on life and of life are different.
(Speeches and writings of Mr. Jinnah, Vol. I, pp. 177-78).
In his speech at the Frontier Muslim League Conference on 21-11-1945 he said:
We have to fight a double-edged battle, one against the Hindu Congress and the other against British Imperialists, both of them being capitalists. The Muslims demand Pakistan where they could rule according to their own code of life and according to their own cultural growth, traditions, and Islamic Laws.
(Ibid. Vol. II, p.333).
In a message to N.W.F.P Muslim Students Federation, in April 1943, he said:
You have asked me to give you a message. What message can I give you? We have got the great message in the Quran for our guidance and enlightenment.
(Ibid.Vol. I, p.516).
In his Eid message to the nation in 1945, he said:
Every Musalman knows that the injections of the Quran are not confined to religious and moral duties. From the Atlantic to the Ganges", says Gibbon, "the Quran is acknowledged as the fundamental code, not only of theology but of civil and criminal jurisprudence, and the laws which regulate the actions and the property of mankind are regulated by the immutable sanctions of the Will of Allah". Everyone, except those who are ignorant, knows that the Quran is the general code of the Musalmans. A religious, social, civil, commercial, military, judicial, criminal penal code; it regulates everything from the ceremonies of religion to those of daily life; from the salvation of the soul to the health of the body; from morality to crime, from punishment here to that in he life to come and our Prophet (P.B.U.H.) has enjoined on us that every Musalman should possess a copy of the Quran and be his own priest. Therefore, Islam is not confined to the spiritual tenets and doctrines and rituals and ceremonies. It is a complete code regulating the whole Muslim Society in every department of life, collective and individually.
(Ibid, Vol. II, p.300).
In August 1941, Quaid-e-Azam went to Hyderabad (Deccan) and there gave and interview to the students of the Usmania University. The replies he gave to the questions asked by the students explain in a nutshell the genesis and the ideology of Pakistan in such a comprehensive way that, in my opinion, nothing further would be required to understand these basic foundations. Here are extracts from that interview:
Question:
What are the essential features of religion and a religious State?
Answer:
When I hear the word 'religion', my mind thinks at once, according to the English language and the British usage, of private relation between man and God. By I know fully well that according to Islam, the word is not restricted to the English connotation. I am neither a Maulvi nor a Mulla, nor do I claim knowledge of theology. But I have studied in my own way, the Holy Quran and Islamic tenets. This magnificent Book is full of guidance respecting all human life, whether spiritual or economic, political or social, leaving no aspect untouched.
Question:
What is the distinctive feature of Islamic State?
Answer:
There is a special feature of the Islamic State, which must not be overlooked. There, obedience is.... Due to God and God alone, which takes practical shape in the observance of the Quranic principles and commands. In Islam, obedience is due neither to a king, nor to a parliament, nor to any other organisation. It is the Quranic provisions, which determine the limits of our freedom and restrictions in political and social spheres. In other words, Islamic State is an agency for enforcement of Quranic principles and injunctions.
In a Broadcast talk to the people of the United States of America on Pakistan, recorded in February, 1948, i.e. in his capacity as Governor General of Pakistan, he said:
The Constitution of Pakistan has yet to be framed by the Pakistan Constituent Assembly. I do not know what the ultimate shape of this constitution is going to be, but I am sure that it will be of a democratic type, embodying the essential principles of Islam. Today, they are as applicable in actual life as they were 1,300 years ago. Islam and its idealism have taught us democracy. It has taught equality of man, justice and fairplay to everybody. We are the inheritors of these glorious traditions and are fully alive to our responsibilities and obligations as framer of future constitution of Pakistan. In any case, Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic State to be ruled by priests with a divine mission.
(Speeches as governor-general, p-65)
I have already explained what "democracy embodying the essential principles of Islam" means in practice: the ways and means for the implementation of the Quranic laws and principles to be framed by the Ummah by mutual consultation, within the immutable boundary lines determined by the Quran. This is what an Islamic State is permitted to do; beyond this it has no authority.
8. I have stated before that the Quran prescribes an socio-economic order, which is unique in its nature. I have so far dealt with its social aspect only. So far as its economic side is concerned, it is a vast subject and requires detailed discussion. It will not be doing justice to it if it is touched upon enpassant. I have written exhaustively on the subject and my self-contained book-Nizam-e-Rabubiyyat--discusses it in detail. Here, I will confine myself only to its basic principles.
The main object of an Islamic State is to provide the individual with full scope of self-development, which means development of his physical body as well as development of his personality. Its basic principles are that the individual is the focus of value and the society exists to enable the individual to develop and express himself to the full extent of his capacity. It lays primary stress on personal worth. A society based on these principles will be composed of free individuals, each enriching his life by working for the enrichment of all life, and each moving onwards by helping others to do the same. This society should be judged by the solutions it offers for the social and economic problems that confront all human groups.
According to the Quran, it is incumbent upon the Islamic society to provide for the basic necessities of each and all the members comprising it, and make suitable arrangements for the development of their human potentialities. Thereafter, it should extend the same facilities to other human beings and thus make this order universal. A society that fails in this responsibility does not deserve to be called Islamic, for, the society that is established in the name of Allah is bound to proclaim:
We will provide for you and your children (6/152).
It is paramountly clear from this that no society could discharge this responsibility unless, and until it has the various means of production under its control and the necessary resources at its disposal. It may be reiterated, and should in no case be lost sight of, that this society takes under its control means of production with a view to discharge its huge responsibility of providing necessities of life for all the members of the Society. If it fails to do so, it will have be a clear act of usurpation in that case.
So far as the members of this society are concerned, the principle underlying the growth and development of their personality is expressed thus: an individual should work hard, earn and produce as much as possible, keep what is basically and essentially necessary for his own upkeep, and hand over the rest to the Islamic State for meeting out the necessities of others in need, as is ordained in the Quran:
And they ask as what should they give (for the benefit of others)--Say:
"Whatever is surplus to your own requirements" (2/219)
And in this, their attitude should be such as to declare:
We desire from you neither reward any thanks. (76/9)
Here arises the question: What is the incentive motivated by which an individual should work, an continue to work, up to his full capacity, retain for himself only to the extent that fulfills his necessities, and hand over the rest to the society, for meeting out the necessities of others in need? Still further.
They prefer others before themselves although there be indigence among them (59/9).
Prof. Hawtrey has said that:
What differentiates economic systems from one another is the character of the motives they invoke to induce people to work.
(Quoted by E.H. Carr, in "The News Society" pp. 41-42)
The motives provided by the Quran are unique, i.e.
Human body develops by what the individual concerned takes, while his Personality develops by with he gives.
This constitutes the basic motive for the establishment of the Quranic Economic Order.
There will thus be no capitalism and no landlordism an Islamic State. Quaid-e-Azam made this abundantly clears during his struggle for the achievement of Pakistan. In his Presidential Address delivered at the Annual Session of the All-India Muslim League, Delhi, on April 24, 1943, he said:
Here, I should like to give a warning to the landlords and capitalists who have flourished at our expense by a system which is so vicious, which is so wicked and which makes them so selfish that it is difficult to reason with them. (Tremendous applause) The exploitation of the masses has gone into their blood. They have forgotten the lessons of Islam. Greed and Selfishness have made these people subordinate to the interests of others in order to fatten themselves. It is true we are not in power today. You go anywhere to the countryside. I have visited villages. There are millions and millions of our people who hardly get one meal a day. Is these civilisations this aim of Pakistan Cries of no, no) Do you visualise that millions have been exploited and cannot get one meal a day. If that is the Idea of Pakistan, I would not have it. (Cheers). If they are wise they will have to adjust themselves to the new modern conditions of life. If they won't, God helps them: we shall not help them. (Hear, hear renewed cheers and applause.)
(Speeches and writings of Jinnah, Vol. I, p-554).
The Ulema—Who Are They?
The Quran was revealed in the Arabic language, the expression of which is neither poetry nor prose, but has its own unique style and rhythm. It has rare beauty and grandeur; it is sublime. To translate such a language into another and retain its spirit, beauty, force, and depth is just not possible. An attempt can be made to translate a piece of literature, but when it comes to the Quran, which is a charter of human rights—a constitution—one has to be absolutely certain that the actual meaning is not lost during the course of translation. In addition, each language has its own phrases, idioms, and expressions that are specific for its culture and values. It is not possible to translate a concept that exists in one culture into a single word of another language that does not even recognize that concept. This can be illustrated by Persian and Urdu translations—they retain Arabic words like kafir, momin, mushrik, rahman, raheem, sabr, sawab, salat, zakat, etc. These words were in use before the advent of Islam and so the Arabs knew what they meant. It is of paramount importance for the reader to know the meanings of these words because they convey specific Quranic concepts and a simple English translation would either be in Biblical terms, or out rightly contradictory to the spirit of the message. Finally, because these words are used repeatedly in the Quran, we have provided a glossary to more efficiently explain the concepts in their original form.
This glossary is based on the following universally recognized dictionaries of the Arabic language at the time of the Prophet (PBUH):
Lane, Arabic—English lexicon
Lisan-al-Arab
Taj-ul-Urus
Muhit-ul-Muhit
Raghib, Mufridat-al-Quran
DIN—this word has been used in various contexts, among them being ascendancy, sovereignty, management, conduct of affairs, ruling power, mastership, ownership, exercise of power, code of law, constitution, law of requital, an order. The Quran has described Islam as Ad-Din, which is generally translated as religion. However, in the light of the above meanings, it should be clear that this is not only incorrect, but distorts and negates the very meaning of din. Islam is not a religion (madhab), and it has never been described as one in the Quran. Islam is a way of life, a system, a code of law. In the external universe Islam signifies the Divine Order that governs life and the movement of the entire universe. The whole purpose of the Quran is to establish a universal order based on the Divinely ordained values of life. This is ad-din.
MADHAB—literally means way or course. This word does not appear in the Quran and in Islamic fiqh it stands for “school of thought”. It is usually translated as religion, and since Islam is described as a religion in English, the word madhab has come into use for it in Urdu as well. This is a fundamental fallacy—it goes against the very essence of Islam, which is a din, not a madhab.
HAQQ (and BAATIL)—usually translated as truth or right. According to Lane, its primary significance is the state of being just, righteous, truthful, real or factual; established or confirmed so as to be undeniable. These meanings make it clear that haqq does not fall into the domain of ideas or thoughts; rather, it stands for constructive results of beliefs which manifest themselves in tangible form and are in harmony with the changing needs of the times. No belief or theory relating to this world can be described as haqq unless its truth is established by a positive manifestation of its constructive potential. These results are permanent and unchanging.
The antithesis of haqq is batil. This does not merely stand for ideas or actions with destructive potential, but includes all thinking and conduct that do not lead to positive results. As haqq means something that is real and true, batil refers to something that may be imaginary and/or false.
EIMAN—to be convinced, to accept, to rely on, or to have confidence in something. This is usually translated as belief or faith, which implies acceptance without proof or argument, and without reference to reason, thought, knowledge, or insight. Faith is generally regarded as the negation of knowledge and reason. It has been said about Kant that, “he found it necessary to deny knowledge in order to make room for faith.”
According to the Quran, however, Eiman is not just belief, it is, in fact, what Kant calls knowledge. Eiman is synonymous with conviction and it is based on reason and knowledge. The Quran does not recognize belief that involves blind acceptance. It is true that Islam does include acceptance of certain things that cannot be explained through sense perception, but there is no reason to assume that these things do not exist. In fact, our reason and thinking would compel us to recognize the existence of such things. Eiman, according to the Quran, signifies conviction based on full mental acceptance and intellectual satisfaction. It gives one a feeling of amn—inner contentment and peace (notice that these words have a common root). Thus, Eiman means to believe, admit, or accept something, to testify to its truthfulness, to have confidence in and to rely on that belief, and to bow in obedience.
There are five fundamental facts stated in the Quran that one must accept in order to be a Muslim: belief in 1) Allah, 2) the law of mukafat and the afterlife, 3) angels (malaika), 4) the revelations, and 5) the messengers. Belief in Allah means not only to profess obedience but also to show it through one’s actions. Belief in the law of mukafat means to have conviction that every action has an inescapable consequence or reward. Angels are not the winged creatures so popularly depicted, but heavenly forces that carry out the laws of Allah governing the universe. They figuratively bow to Allah since they follow His orders, and they “bow” to mankind because we are able to study, manipulate, and conquer them. Belief in the revelations and messengers implies not only believing in the historical details but also acknowledging that human intellect alone cannot safely reach the final destination of life; that guidance in the form of wahi delivered by the messengers is necessary to progress.
Therefore, a momin is one who has firm conviction and trust in the prevailing laws of the universe as well as the laws revealed through wahi. He/she accepts the truth in such a way that ensures his/her own peace and helps to safeguard the peace and security of humankind. Al-momin is indeed one of the characteristics of Allah.
KUFR—this is the negation of Eiman. It means to deny the truth, or to defy the laws of Allah. The root means to cover or conceal. Kufr means open denial, not hypocrisy. A kaafir has the decency to proclaim his/her beliefs, and so is not as damned as the hypocrite. The definition also includes concealing or withholding the means of subsistence that Allah has created for the good of all humankind, which are supposed to be freely available to everyone.
JAHANNAM—usually translated as hell, this word has been inadequately described in English terms. It is a Hebrew compound of the words ji and hinnum; meaning the valley of Hinnum. This was a famous valley situated in the south of Jerusalem where people were burned alive as a sacrifice to the idol Moloch. Jahannum, therefore, denotes a situation in which humanity is ruined. In Arabic, the word jaheem means to prevent; that is, its denotes a condition in which human evolution is prevented and life begins to stagnate instead of progressing. It is also a miser who prevents wealth from circulating. According to the Quran, life manifested itself in the human form after having gone through various stages of evolution. This is the final link in the evolution of life in this world. But life does not end with death; it continues beyond the dissolution of the physical body. The higher life that the developed personality is capable of living is called jannah. On the other hand, the not-so-developed personality thwarts its own future and lives in the infernal state of stagnation called jahannum.
Jannah and jahannum do not stand for places or localities; they denote different conditions of human life that have been described metaphorically. It should be clear that these conditions do not only relate to life in the hereafter—they have their beginnings in this world. A social order based upon Quranic foundations results in a heavenly situation: the necessities of life are available in excess and are secured in decent ways befitting human dignity. This brings true happiness and peace of mind. In contrast, a society based on laws other than Allah’s will invariably lead to misery and collapse as has been so abundantly illustrated throughout history.
RABB—usually translated in English as lord. This is actually opposite in meaning to the true essence of the word. Rabb means one who enables something to grow and develop, eventually fulfilling its potential; to bring something to perfection. Nothing in the universe starts out being perfect; everything is born with potential that, when actualized, enables that object to become what it was designed to be—including humans. We are endowed with manifold potentialities that enable us to rise to the highest point of human existence when fully developed. According to Arabic lexicons, Rabb means one who looks after something and beautifies it, keeps something in place, and continuously provides nourishment. The natural result of nourishment is greenery and growth; thus, evergreen trees (that maintain their greenery year round) are called al-ribbatu.
The process by which one fulfills his/her potential is called rububiyat. The Quran seeks to establish a social order under which the latent potential of every individual can be fully realized. This realization will include the sustenance and growth of one’s body as well as one’s mental and spiritual potential. This kind of social system is called the rububiyat order, and its establishment is the ultimate purpose of the deen of Islam.
TAQWA—the common English equivalent, piety, does not express the real meaning of the word. Deviation from the right path leads human beings to ruin; taqwa is the act of keeping them on the right path. Merely saving oneself from ruin is a negative virtue, and the Quran emphasizes the positive aspect of life. Therefore, taqwa means not only saving oneself from destructive forces, but also stabilizing one’s personality through preservation and enforcement of the laws of Allah—in other words, taking a step in the right direction. Waqa means to protect something from harm; in verse 2/24 Allah exhorts us to protect ourselves from the fire (fattaqun naar). A very illustrative example is of someone walking through a thorn bush. The thorns represent destructive forces that are ready to snag at the clothing of someone walking through. Those who have taqwa will save themselves from these thorns by gathering their clothes and walking carefully so that they do not get scratched by the thorns. Ittaqullah has been used numerous times in the Quran and means to follow and remain in harmony with the laws of Allah. In verse 5/2 it has been used as an antonym of udwan, or rebellion, disobedience.
Muttaqi (pl. muttaqeen) is a person who leads a life of taqwa, eschewing things that are injurious to their personalities and espousing the laws of Allah.
INTRODUCTION
The capacity to acquire knowledge makes human beings the most superior of creations. But what is knowledge? Who is entitled to be called a knowledgeable person (ulema)? What is the Quranic point of view on this? Before dealing with these fundamental questions, let us look at the historical perspective.
In the world of knowledge, the ancient Greek philosophers enjoyed a highly distinguished position. In fact, the history of humanity traces the beginning of knowledge and wisdom to ancient Greece. Socrates and Plato are the most prominent among the philosophers, and Socrates is considered the grandfather of all Greek philosophers. Plato, besides being Socrates’ student, is the founder of an entirely new school of thought.
For Socrates, human beings were the only object of study while the universe was of no consequence. Plato went one step further and denied the very existence of the universe. For him, the real world was the “world of ideas” and the material world was only a shadow of the real world. Since the perceivable world was not real, any knowledge gained from its study would also be unreal, and thus unreliable. Plato believed in the abstract only, and denied the concrete.
The Greek view of knowledge was mostly subjective, i.e., it belonged to human consciousness or the perceiving ego, and there was no objective test of the truth. There is no doubt that the ancient world produced some great philosophies at a time when human beings were comparatively primitive and governed more or less by suggestion. But we must not forget that these theories were the work of abstract thought, which cannot go beyond the systemization of vague religious beliefs and traditions, and they give us no insight into concrete situations of life.
MYSTICISM
This Platonic philosophy ultimately became the basis of Greek mysticism. Later on, the same philosophy took the form of Vadantic Theory (Hindu mysticism) in India. According to this philosophy, the world is nothing but an illusion (“maya”), or a dream dreamt by the god Brahma, or a drama (“leela”) being played out by the god Ishwar. Everything is a stage show, artificial and unreal. There is actually one Hindu god by the name of Nat Rajan, or the actor king.
This philosophy created a negative mental attitude towards the material world that caused many religious people to start despising it. Later on, this same philosophy found its way into Muslim thought, via Persian mysticism. Under its effect, the forward looking and progressive Muslim nation was brought to a miserable standstill.
The attitude of people towards the world before the revelation of the Quran was that this universe is unreal, an illusion, and any knowledge concerning it is presumption.
THE QURANIC CHALLENGE
The Quran challenged those speculative philosophies and demolished the very basis of Platonic theory:
“The creation of whatever is in the heights and depths of the universe and all that is in between is not without purpose. It is presumption on the part of Unbelievers who think the universe is not real. The result of denying such a great truth will be that all their efforts and achievements in life will end up in smoke.” (38:27)
The Quran uprooted the centuries old philosophy and brought to light the dehumanizing effects of this false concept. Here it is very important to note that those who believe the universe is not real and have a negative attitude towards it are referred to as Unbelievers by the Quran. It demarcates the Believers from the Unbelievers.
The Quran states that the negative attitude towards the material world brings hardship to human beings. Mysticism is the exemplar of such an attitude; instead of recognizing this world as a happy and vibrant place full of possibilities, mystics view it as a massive jailhouse in which inmates are serving time.
To reject the claim of those for whom the creation of the universe is merely a drama, the Quran says, “The creation of the heavens and the Earth and that which is between them is not a game.” (21/16) The creation is real. However, Allah does not expect these claims to be accepted without any scrutiny or investigation; on the contrary, these claims are based on reason and should be judged on the basis of discernment and insight. This is why “there are well explained facts for those who have knowledge.” (10/5)
THE QURANIC DEFINITION OF KNOWLEDGE
Now the next logical question arises: what is knowledge? The Quran says, “Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. The hearing and sight and the heart—all of them shall have to answer whether personal inquiry was made concerning the matter.” (17/36) The words hearing and seeing refer to human senses and the Arabic word heart is also used to mean the mind. The following example illustrates the point of this verse: you hear a gunshot. It is followed by a scream and moans of pain. When you go to see what happened you discover that your best friend has been shot and you are consumed with feelings of vengeance towards the shooter. In this situation your feelings are backed by your first hand knowledge of the events. On the other hand, if you do not hear a gunshot and you do not see your injured friend, but you are consumed with hate anyway for some person you think may have committed a crime, you are acting on hearsay and not knowledge because your senses and mind were not involved in arriving at the conclusion. Thus the Quran strikes at the Platonic philosophy once again. Plato said that knowledge gained through the senses is not reliable, whereas the Quran is saying that anything not verified by the senses and mind cannot be regarded as knowledge. This shows how valuable sense-perception is in Islam. The Quranic concept of knowledge is objective and the knowledge of the non-ego is superior to that of the ego. The revelation of the Quran marked the birth of inductive intellect. Inductive reason alone allows the human being to become master of his/her environment. Islam has created and fostered the spirit of critical observation of outer experience by divesting the forces of nature of that divine character with which the earlier culture had clothed them. The important thing to note is that the Quran, for purposes of knowledge, fixes its gaze on the concrete and finite. It is also abundantly clear that the birth of the method of observation and experimental science in Islam was due not to a compromise with Greek thought but to a prolonged intellectual warfare with it.
THOSE WHO DO NOT USE THEIR SENSES
In view of the importance given to human senses and the mind, the Quran declares in the clearest terms that people who do not use their senses and their minds are not living their lives on a human level. They are in fact living on an animalistic level and are admonished: “Many among human beings have adopted a lifestyle that will lead them to hell. They have a mind but do not use it to think and reflect. They have eyes but do not see. They have ears but cannot hear. They are not human beings and are even worse than animals. They are neglectful.” (7/179) This verse also indicates that knowledge is only that which can be explained by the senses and the mind. Intangible, abstract matters have nothing to do with the senses. Observation of natural phenomena and the study of the universe, experimentation to discover the laws of creation, maintenance, and workings of the components of the universe are the applications of sense-perception. In modern terminology this is called scientific knowledge. As the Quran states, the pursuit of such knowledge is the duty of all believers (momineen).
THE FOLLOWERS OF ALLH’S LAWS
The Quran emphasizes the observation and study of natural phenomena and the laws of the universe. “In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alteration of the night and day there are signs for people of understanding.” (3/189) These people are those who “whatever condition they are in, keep Allah’s laws in sight. They ponder the creation of the heavens and earth and after thorough observation and experiment, they declare on the basis of reason that O Sustainer! You did not create this universe in jest.” (3/190)
Here, as on other occasions, the Quran states something of paramount importance. It claims that nothing in the universe has been created without a purpose. There is nothing in the universe that is useless or that does not benefit mankind in some way. Lack of knowledge on the part of humans makes it seem as though there are pointless creations, and as a result of this ignorance all of mankind suffers. Thus, it is the duty of Muslims to substantiate this Quranic claim based on research and investigation. This is no easy task, and requires a vast network of laboratories and scientists and continuous research. However, people who make the effort will learn the laws that will enable them to conquer the forces of nature whereas those who do not will eventually lag behind and become weak and vulnerable.
SIGNS OF ALLAH
As mentioned above, it is the duty of the Muslim ummah to understand the laws of nature and utilize them for the benefit of mankind.
“There are signs for the believers in the heavens and the earth. In creation, and all the animals that He scattered on the earth are portents for the believers; and in the alteration of night and day and the sustenance sent down by the sky that revives the earth after its death, and in the change of winds are hints for those who have sense. These are the revelations we have presented to you in truth. For those who will reject, what other truth can convince them?” (45/3-6)
Allah has stated in unambiguous terms that belief in Him comes through the study of nature and its laws. If studying natural law does not lead one to believe in Allah, then nothing else can. This astounding declaration illustrates the importance of studying natural phenomena. Real belief based on reason can only be achieved through this method.
SEEING ALLAH
Saying that Allah “reveals Himself” through natural phenomena is not a flight of fancy. The Quran explains this as well as the goal of human life and the purpose of following the laws of Allah. Everyone wants to “meet” or “find” Allah. The Quran says, “Allah is He who raised the heavens without any visible support, firmly in charge of the central control. He has subjected the sun and moon (to His laws), each one runs its course for an appointed time. He regulates all affairs, explaining things in detail, that you may believe with certainty in meeting your Rabb.” (13/2) The Quran describes the setup of the universe and follows by saying that meeting with Allah is possible. It indicates that if you want Allah to reveal himself to you then you have to study the universe, scrutinize every object in it, and through observation and experiment, discover the laws governing this system. Thus all the mysteries of Nature will be unlocked one by one and you will gain insight into how Allah is sustaining this universe. This is what meeting and “seeing” Allah means. As far as the entity of Allah is concerned, He is beyond the comprehension of human minds, let alone sense-perception. Seeing or meeting Him does not refer to the physical sense, it means gaining knowledge of how the universe functions and is regulated by Him. It is clear that according to the Quran, only those who observe natural phenomena can know how Allah runs the universe. It is a long, arduous process which sometimes requires scaling the highest peaks of the Himalayas, diving to the bottomless depths of the Atlantic, bearing the scorching heat of the Saharan dessert, and doing research in the bone chilling cold of the North Pole. This kind of research is only carried out by those who are not satisfied with what they know at present; those who look beyond the horizon and strive for more knowledge. The Quran says, “Verily, in the alteration of the night and day, and in all that Allah has created, in the heavens and the earth are signs for those who are devoted believers (muttaqeen).” (10/6)
WHO ARE THE DEVOTED BELIEVERS (MUTTAQEEN)
The verse mentioned above describes the muttaqeen. It goes on to say, “Those who expect not the meeting with Us, but desire the life of this world and feel secure therein, and those who are neglectful of our revelations are doomed people because of their negligence.” (10/7) These verses offer a cause for the cyclical rise and fall of nations. Those who are satisfied with the status quo and do not strive for improvement and a better future are devoid of thought and action; they fall from grace and are left far behind in the struggle of life. In contrast, those nations that work hard to develop new inventions and make new discoveries surge far ahead. Because of their initiative and well directioned hard work, nature rewards them by revealing its hidden treasures.
A LIFE OF DEPRIVATION
“Those who disbelieve in Allah’s revelations and in their meeting with Him, such are deprived of the means of sustenance—an extreme penalty.” (29/23) In this verse, being deprived of the amenities of life is considered a great penalty. For example, rivers of petroleum flowed under the desserts of Arabia but the people were content with their meager existence. They did not have the will, desire, or the knowledge to find and utilize this hidden gift of nature. As a result they were dependant on others for even the most basic of necessities. Western nations made the effort to discover and start pumping the hidden petroleum, and as a result the people of the region benefited and became prosperous. Many countries have great potential, but their people are happy with the status quo and prefer whatever is easily available, so nothing motivates them to work harder. As a result they are always one step behind, and in many cases dependant on, other nations. On the other hand, there are European nations with very little land but with so much production capabilities that they not only provide for local needs but they even manage to export surplus food. This is due to the fact that they are perpetually laboring in accordance with the laws of nature in order to take advantage of its hidden treasures. It is a divine law that the livelihoods of those who eschew the laws of Allah continuously diminish (20/124). This law is universal and there are no exceptions. Muslims have been shunning this law for centuries; as if this were not enough, we also have not put our senses to proper use and have been thus divested of these faculties. We have fallen into the category of those people whose “hearts, ears, and eyes have become useless, and they do not take heed.” (16/108)
Some people think that “meeting Allah” means being accountable to Him for our deeds after our death. Though in the context of the above mentioned verses this meaning is not appropriate, the fact remains that in order to believe in a meeting with Allah, observation and study of natural phenomena is vital. Life after death and accountability for actions is an essential part of our belief.
PROOF
In the above paragraphs the Quran has explained that:
i) Knowledge is only that which can be verified by the human senses and mind,
ii) Use of the senses means to observe natural phenomena, study the laws of nature, carry out consistent research, and experience the revelation of Allah’s laws that run the universe and provide systematic sustenance, growth, and development.
Such practice is the hallmark of believers in general and the duty of muttaqeen in particular. This is zikr-o-fikr i-khudawandi, or following the laws of Allah. This behavior brings to light the hidden secrets of the universe and on the basis of knowledge we can say to our Rabb, “You did not create anything in vain.”
This is not all that must be done. Allah has stated that there is testimony to the truth of Quranic claims in the form of signs provided by Him in the universe. “We will show them our signs in the farthest regions of the earth, and in their own minds until it becomes manifest that this is the Truth.” (41/53) As an aside, when the entanglements of truth in the intricacies of time can be sorted out through human knowledge and effort, only then will these claims become manifest. In this verse the word anfus (internal world) is mentioned along with afaq (external world), which shows that science is not confined to the laws of physics but encompasses all the social sciences as well, the latter of which have to be developed by practical research. History, psychology, and sociology are important in this distinction. With the passage of time the physical and social sciences will continue to reveal and confirm the claims made by the Quran. This is obvious since the Quran is the book of Allah and He sees everything all the time. “Is it not enough that Allah oversees all things.” (41/53) Whatever He reveals about the universe and objects within it is based on fact and is not a presumption. “Say, the Quran was revealed by Him who knows the secrets of the heavens and the earth.” (25/6)
It will be fitting to mention a book named The Great Design. A questionnaire was sent to a large number of scholars around the world asking whether each one felt that the universe was functioning according to a definite system, or whether it came into being accidentally and is being governed similarly. The answers were compiled into the above-mentioned book without any review or editing. All of the scholars reached the same conclusion based on their individual fields of research: that this universe is functioning in accordance with an established order designed by an all-knowing creator. They appreciate the order and discipline of the system but being oblivious of the Quran, cannot correctly identify the entity that is running such a harmonious and efficient system. However, they are observing His great system of sustenance (Rabubuiyat) personally. With such a foundation it would be easy for these kind of scholars to discover the truthfulness of the Quran if someone presented it to them.
Maurice Bucaille, in his book The Bible, the Quran and Science, discusses various Quranic claims that are verified by modern scientific research.
People who have been unaware of these signs in the universe have their doubts about seeing proof of Allah. In fact they would not have to go very far to do so; the study of any object in the universe can provide evidence for the workings of Allah’s laws. The rabubiyat order is not tied to any one thing but encompasses the whole of the universe: “Indeed, are they in doubt concerning the meeting with Allah? It is He who controls all things.” (41/54)
WHO ARE SCHOLARS (THE ULEMA)
We have so far seen the Quranic definition of knowledge. By knowing this it is easy to figure out who, according to the Quran, is a knowledgeable person and what the term actually means. The Quran has even explained this fact so there is no confusion:
“Did you not ponder the rain that Allah caused to fall from the sky, with which we produce fruit of diverse colors; and among the mountains there are layers of red and white which differ in shade and type, some being dark in color. Similarly, humans and animals are of different colors and kinds. Among the followers of Allah and knowledgeable persons (ulema) are those who are awestruck by the greatness of Allah.” (35/27-28)
These two verses deal with different parts of the universe, different branches of nature, and different fields of science. Physics, botany, zoology, and the humanities are all touched upon. The knowledgeable persons are awestruck because their insight has convinced them of His power and Wisdom in controlling the universe perfectly. The Quran has referred to those people as ulema, and in modern terminology they are called scientists. These are the people who study nature and after observation and consistent experimentation, conquer the forces of nature. Allah has put the forces of nature under our control, but only those who know the laws can manipulate these forces. The only way to become one of the ulema is to acquire this knowledge.
THE ULEMA (MULLAHS)
After learning the Quranic definition of ulema, it is an interesting exercise to compare our current ulema with it. They do not know the fundamentals of natural sciences, and their knowledge is limited to theoretical discussions and verbal emendations. These discussions are mostly related to issues that have no bearing on the universe or the practical life of people. The curriculum of religious schools is spread over ten years during which students study logic, philosophy, rhetoric, grammar, literature, etc, most of which is outdated. They also learn about astronomy, geometry, and arithmetic, which are also outdated. It is curious to note that the study of the Quran is not included in the curriculum. A certain exegesis (Jilalain) is taught that consists of only synonyms of the Quranic words. In the last year of study an exegesis of the second chapter of the Quran is taught (Bazadi). This is the education upon completion of which they receive certification for becoming an aalim (knowledgeable person). Here is a case in point to illustrate just how much knowledge these people have:
When the use of loudspeakers was introduced in India before 1947, a fatwa was sought on their use for religious purposes. The president of the organization of ulema, Mufti Kafayat-ullah, wrote:
“The device, about which the opinion has been sought, has not been seen but it is heard that such a device, when it is placed in front of an orator and he speaks while facing it, the device absorbs the sound and then broadcasts it to such a distance that the sound would not reach even a quarter of the distance without the help of the device.” (Naqeeb, 10 Nov. 1941)
The Mufti then gave his verdict in favor of the use of loudspeakers. However, another aalim, Mufti Mohammad Shafee, a senior teacher in the religious academy of Deoband, published a verdict in a magazine in which the use of the devices for prayer was declared unlawful. He wrote that he did not know the nature of the device and how it worked. He sought information from the science teacher, Mr. Brij Nandan Lal of Alexander High School of Bhopal, and the teacher said, “Because of the use of electrical power I am hesitant to believe that the sound is original, and find it hard to deny it either because to prove otherwise is equally difficult.” After this “exhaustive research” and on the basis on conjecture from a non-Muslim, a Muslim aalim decided that it was the decree of Allah and His prophet to forbid the use of loudspeakers. This illustrates nicely how ignorant the ulema are in matters natural and modern science; it is ironic that they still retain the ability to issue verdicts (fatwas) on them, however. In Pakistan not only is the expression of personal opinions a target, but law making has fallen victim to the same ignorant judgments.
CLARIFICATION OF A MISUNDERSTANDING
From the various explanations so far it is evident that, according to the Quran, the Mumineen, Muttaqeen, those who abide by and keep Allah’s laws in sight, and those who have faith and long to “meet” with Allah, are people who study the universe and perform practical research on the objects therein as well as the forces of nature. The experience thus gained is called knowledge, and the Quran calls those who have this knowledge ulema.
At this point it comes to mind that European and North American nations are not Mumin and Muttaqi in the true sense of the words. While it is very important to acquire scientific knowledge, it is wrong to assume that just by doing so one can become a Mumin or Muttaqi. The critical factor is whether one uses the information according to the laws of Allah. So, there are two conditions in becoming a Mumin: to gain knowledge from nature, and to use it according to the injunctions of Allah. The Quran demands that “its system be accepted in its totality.” (2/208) A nation that does not meet both of these criteria cannot be Mumin, and since Muslims fail regarding the first condition, we cannot claim to be Mumin. In addition, if we do not have knowledge of the forces of nature, we will not be able to use them as Allah has advised in the Quran. In contrast, Western nations do not fulfill the second criterion; thus, on a practical level, Muslims and western non-Muslims are in the same position.
In order to use the forces of nature in accordance with Allah’s laws it is absolutely necessary to study the Quran because these laws are contained within it. Those who are firmly grounded in knowledge conduct affairs of the state according to Allah’s injunctions because they know “if any fail to judge by the light what Allah has revealed, they are no better than the unbelievers.” (5/44) As a result of rejecting the Quran, human society, in spite of its prosperity, turns its environment into a living hell. This progressive demise is evident in western culture. Despite all their scientific prowess they cannot find the right solution to human problems. Their senses and mind are not helping them, and about these kinds of nations the Quran says, “And we had firmly established them in prosperity and power. And we endowed them with hearing, sight, a heart, and intellect. But of no avail to them were their faculties when they went on rejecting the commandments of Allah, and they were encircled by that which they used to mock.” (46/26)
If Western nations use the forces as well as the rewards of nature in Allah’s cause, the hell through which all of humanity is suffering would be transformed into a much sought after paradise. Those who are satisfied with the status quo and do not act according to Allah’s law of Rububiyat live a damned life. In contrast, people who have firm belief in the word of Allah and work constructively within Allah’s system are on the right path and enjoy gardens of lush verdure. They are concerned for each other’s well being and recognize that the universe has not been created in vain. Such a society will continue to expand until it encompasses the whole of humanity, and at that time everyone will acknowledge that Allah’s system of universal sustenance is superlative.
CONCLUSION
If we Muslims want to shape our society according to the Quran, then we must become competent researchers and scientists in every field of knowledge. Through observation and experiment in both the internal world (anfus) and external world (afaq), the forces of nature can be harnessed and then the rewards amassed can be used and distributed according to the laws given in the Quran. Only people with these characteristics are qualified to be called ulema. If we continue to hold our current distorted view of knowledge in Islam, not only will meeting with Allah be impossible, but we will not even be included in the category of living nations.
This glossary is based on the following universally recognized dictionaries of the Arabic language at the time of the Prophet (PBUH):
Lane, Arabic—English lexicon
Lisan-al-Arab
Taj-ul-Urus
Muhit-ul-Muhit
Raghib, Mufridat-al-Quran
DIN—this word has been used in various contexts, among them being ascendancy, sovereignty, management, conduct of affairs, ruling power, mastership, ownership, exercise of power, code of law, constitution, law of requital, an order. The Quran has described Islam as Ad-Din, which is generally translated as religion. However, in the light of the above meanings, it should be clear that this is not only incorrect, but distorts and negates the very meaning of din. Islam is not a religion (madhab), and it has never been described as one in the Quran. Islam is a way of life, a system, a code of law. In the external universe Islam signifies the Divine Order that governs life and the movement of the entire universe. The whole purpose of the Quran is to establish a universal order based on the Divinely ordained values of life. This is ad-din.
MADHAB—literally means way or course. This word does not appear in the Quran and in Islamic fiqh it stands for “school of thought”. It is usually translated as religion, and since Islam is described as a religion in English, the word madhab has come into use for it in Urdu as well. This is a fundamental fallacy—it goes against the very essence of Islam, which is a din, not a madhab.
HAQQ (and BAATIL)—usually translated as truth or right. According to Lane, its primary significance is the state of being just, righteous, truthful, real or factual; established or confirmed so as to be undeniable. These meanings make it clear that haqq does not fall into the domain of ideas or thoughts; rather, it stands for constructive results of beliefs which manifest themselves in tangible form and are in harmony with the changing needs of the times. No belief or theory relating to this world can be described as haqq unless its truth is established by a positive manifestation of its constructive potential. These results are permanent and unchanging.
The antithesis of haqq is batil. This does not merely stand for ideas or actions with destructive potential, but includes all thinking and conduct that do not lead to positive results. As haqq means something that is real and true, batil refers to something that may be imaginary and/or false.
EIMAN—to be convinced, to accept, to rely on, or to have confidence in something. This is usually translated as belief or faith, which implies acceptance without proof or argument, and without reference to reason, thought, knowledge, or insight. Faith is generally regarded as the negation of knowledge and reason. It has been said about Kant that, “he found it necessary to deny knowledge in order to make room for faith.”
According to the Quran, however, Eiman is not just belief, it is, in fact, what Kant calls knowledge. Eiman is synonymous with conviction and it is based on reason and knowledge. The Quran does not recognize belief that involves blind acceptance. It is true that Islam does include acceptance of certain things that cannot be explained through sense perception, but there is no reason to assume that these things do not exist. In fact, our reason and thinking would compel us to recognize the existence of such things. Eiman, according to the Quran, signifies conviction based on full mental acceptance and intellectual satisfaction. It gives one a feeling of amn—inner contentment and peace (notice that these words have a common root). Thus, Eiman means to believe, admit, or accept something, to testify to its truthfulness, to have confidence in and to rely on that belief, and to bow in obedience.
There are five fundamental facts stated in the Quran that one must accept in order to be a Muslim: belief in 1) Allah, 2) the law of mukafat and the afterlife, 3) angels (malaika), 4) the revelations, and 5) the messengers. Belief in Allah means not only to profess obedience but also to show it through one’s actions. Belief in the law of mukafat means to have conviction that every action has an inescapable consequence or reward. Angels are not the winged creatures so popularly depicted, but heavenly forces that carry out the laws of Allah governing the universe. They figuratively bow to Allah since they follow His orders, and they “bow” to mankind because we are able to study, manipulate, and conquer them. Belief in the revelations and messengers implies not only believing in the historical details but also acknowledging that human intellect alone cannot safely reach the final destination of life; that guidance in the form of wahi delivered by the messengers is necessary to progress.
Therefore, a momin is one who has firm conviction and trust in the prevailing laws of the universe as well as the laws revealed through wahi. He/she accepts the truth in such a way that ensures his/her own peace and helps to safeguard the peace and security of humankind. Al-momin is indeed one of the characteristics of Allah.
KUFR—this is the negation of Eiman. It means to deny the truth, or to defy the laws of Allah. The root means to cover or conceal. Kufr means open denial, not hypocrisy. A kaafir has the decency to proclaim his/her beliefs, and so is not as damned as the hypocrite. The definition also includes concealing or withholding the means of subsistence that Allah has created for the good of all humankind, which are supposed to be freely available to everyone.
JAHANNAM—usually translated as hell, this word has been inadequately described in English terms. It is a Hebrew compound of the words ji and hinnum; meaning the valley of Hinnum. This was a famous valley situated in the south of Jerusalem where people were burned alive as a sacrifice to the idol Moloch. Jahannum, therefore, denotes a situation in which humanity is ruined. In Arabic, the word jaheem means to prevent; that is, its denotes a condition in which human evolution is prevented and life begins to stagnate instead of progressing. It is also a miser who prevents wealth from circulating. According to the Quran, life manifested itself in the human form after having gone through various stages of evolution. This is the final link in the evolution of life in this world. But life does not end with death; it continues beyond the dissolution of the physical body. The higher life that the developed personality is capable of living is called jannah. On the other hand, the not-so-developed personality thwarts its own future and lives in the infernal state of stagnation called jahannum.
Jannah and jahannum do not stand for places or localities; they denote different conditions of human life that have been described metaphorically. It should be clear that these conditions do not only relate to life in the hereafter—they have their beginnings in this world. A social order based upon Quranic foundations results in a heavenly situation: the necessities of life are available in excess and are secured in decent ways befitting human dignity. This brings true happiness and peace of mind. In contrast, a society based on laws other than Allah’s will invariably lead to misery and collapse as has been so abundantly illustrated throughout history.
RABB—usually translated in English as lord. This is actually opposite in meaning to the true essence of the word. Rabb means one who enables something to grow and develop, eventually fulfilling its potential; to bring something to perfection. Nothing in the universe starts out being perfect; everything is born with potential that, when actualized, enables that object to become what it was designed to be—including humans. We are endowed with manifold potentialities that enable us to rise to the highest point of human existence when fully developed. According to Arabic lexicons, Rabb means one who looks after something and beautifies it, keeps something in place, and continuously provides nourishment. The natural result of nourishment is greenery and growth; thus, evergreen trees (that maintain their greenery year round) are called al-ribbatu.
The process by which one fulfills his/her potential is called rububiyat. The Quran seeks to establish a social order under which the latent potential of every individual can be fully realized. This realization will include the sustenance and growth of one’s body as well as one’s mental and spiritual potential. This kind of social system is called the rububiyat order, and its establishment is the ultimate purpose of the deen of Islam.
TAQWA—the common English equivalent, piety, does not express the real meaning of the word. Deviation from the right path leads human beings to ruin; taqwa is the act of keeping them on the right path. Merely saving oneself from ruin is a negative virtue, and the Quran emphasizes the positive aspect of life. Therefore, taqwa means not only saving oneself from destructive forces, but also stabilizing one’s personality through preservation and enforcement of the laws of Allah—in other words, taking a step in the right direction. Waqa means to protect something from harm; in verse 2/24 Allah exhorts us to protect ourselves from the fire (fattaqun naar). A very illustrative example is of someone walking through a thorn bush. The thorns represent destructive forces that are ready to snag at the clothing of someone walking through. Those who have taqwa will save themselves from these thorns by gathering their clothes and walking carefully so that they do not get scratched by the thorns. Ittaqullah has been used numerous times in the Quran and means to follow and remain in harmony with the laws of Allah. In verse 5/2 it has been used as an antonym of udwan, or rebellion, disobedience.
Muttaqi (pl. muttaqeen) is a person who leads a life of taqwa, eschewing things that are injurious to their personalities and espousing the laws of Allah.
INTRODUCTION
The capacity to acquire knowledge makes human beings the most superior of creations. But what is knowledge? Who is entitled to be called a knowledgeable person (ulema)? What is the Quranic point of view on this? Before dealing with these fundamental questions, let us look at the historical perspective.
In the world of knowledge, the ancient Greek philosophers enjoyed a highly distinguished position. In fact, the history of humanity traces the beginning of knowledge and wisdom to ancient Greece. Socrates and Plato are the most prominent among the philosophers, and Socrates is considered the grandfather of all Greek philosophers. Plato, besides being Socrates’ student, is the founder of an entirely new school of thought.
For Socrates, human beings were the only object of study while the universe was of no consequence. Plato went one step further and denied the very existence of the universe. For him, the real world was the “world of ideas” and the material world was only a shadow of the real world. Since the perceivable world was not real, any knowledge gained from its study would also be unreal, and thus unreliable. Plato believed in the abstract only, and denied the concrete.
The Greek view of knowledge was mostly subjective, i.e., it belonged to human consciousness or the perceiving ego, and there was no objective test of the truth. There is no doubt that the ancient world produced some great philosophies at a time when human beings were comparatively primitive and governed more or less by suggestion. But we must not forget that these theories were the work of abstract thought, which cannot go beyond the systemization of vague religious beliefs and traditions, and they give us no insight into concrete situations of life.
MYSTICISM
This Platonic philosophy ultimately became the basis of Greek mysticism. Later on, the same philosophy took the form of Vadantic Theory (Hindu mysticism) in India. According to this philosophy, the world is nothing but an illusion (“maya”), or a dream dreamt by the god Brahma, or a drama (“leela”) being played out by the god Ishwar. Everything is a stage show, artificial and unreal. There is actually one Hindu god by the name of Nat Rajan, or the actor king.
This philosophy created a negative mental attitude towards the material world that caused many religious people to start despising it. Later on, this same philosophy found its way into Muslim thought, via Persian mysticism. Under its effect, the forward looking and progressive Muslim nation was brought to a miserable standstill.
The attitude of people towards the world before the revelation of the Quran was that this universe is unreal, an illusion, and any knowledge concerning it is presumption.
THE QURANIC CHALLENGE
The Quran challenged those speculative philosophies and demolished the very basis of Platonic theory:
“The creation of whatever is in the heights and depths of the universe and all that is in between is not without purpose. It is presumption on the part of Unbelievers who think the universe is not real. The result of denying such a great truth will be that all their efforts and achievements in life will end up in smoke.” (38:27)
The Quran uprooted the centuries old philosophy and brought to light the dehumanizing effects of this false concept. Here it is very important to note that those who believe the universe is not real and have a negative attitude towards it are referred to as Unbelievers by the Quran. It demarcates the Believers from the Unbelievers.
The Quran states that the negative attitude towards the material world brings hardship to human beings. Mysticism is the exemplar of such an attitude; instead of recognizing this world as a happy and vibrant place full of possibilities, mystics view it as a massive jailhouse in which inmates are serving time.
To reject the claim of those for whom the creation of the universe is merely a drama, the Quran says, “The creation of the heavens and the Earth and that which is between them is not a game.” (21/16) The creation is real. However, Allah does not expect these claims to be accepted without any scrutiny or investigation; on the contrary, these claims are based on reason and should be judged on the basis of discernment and insight. This is why “there are well explained facts for those who have knowledge.” (10/5)
THE QURANIC DEFINITION OF KNOWLEDGE
Now the next logical question arises: what is knowledge? The Quran says, “Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. The hearing and sight and the heart—all of them shall have to answer whether personal inquiry was made concerning the matter.” (17/36) The words hearing and seeing refer to human senses and the Arabic word heart is also used to mean the mind. The following example illustrates the point of this verse: you hear a gunshot. It is followed by a scream and moans of pain. When you go to see what happened you discover that your best friend has been shot and you are consumed with feelings of vengeance towards the shooter. In this situation your feelings are backed by your first hand knowledge of the events. On the other hand, if you do not hear a gunshot and you do not see your injured friend, but you are consumed with hate anyway for some person you think may have committed a crime, you are acting on hearsay and not knowledge because your senses and mind were not involved in arriving at the conclusion. Thus the Quran strikes at the Platonic philosophy once again. Plato said that knowledge gained through the senses is not reliable, whereas the Quran is saying that anything not verified by the senses and mind cannot be regarded as knowledge. This shows how valuable sense-perception is in Islam. The Quranic concept of knowledge is objective and the knowledge of the non-ego is superior to that of the ego. The revelation of the Quran marked the birth of inductive intellect. Inductive reason alone allows the human being to become master of his/her environment. Islam has created and fostered the spirit of critical observation of outer experience by divesting the forces of nature of that divine character with which the earlier culture had clothed them. The important thing to note is that the Quran, for purposes of knowledge, fixes its gaze on the concrete and finite. It is also abundantly clear that the birth of the method of observation and experimental science in Islam was due not to a compromise with Greek thought but to a prolonged intellectual warfare with it.
THOSE WHO DO NOT USE THEIR SENSES
In view of the importance given to human senses and the mind, the Quran declares in the clearest terms that people who do not use their senses and their minds are not living their lives on a human level. They are in fact living on an animalistic level and are admonished: “Many among human beings have adopted a lifestyle that will lead them to hell. They have a mind but do not use it to think and reflect. They have eyes but do not see. They have ears but cannot hear. They are not human beings and are even worse than animals. They are neglectful.” (7/179) This verse also indicates that knowledge is only that which can be explained by the senses and the mind. Intangible, abstract matters have nothing to do with the senses. Observation of natural phenomena and the study of the universe, experimentation to discover the laws of creation, maintenance, and workings of the components of the universe are the applications of sense-perception. In modern terminology this is called scientific knowledge. As the Quran states, the pursuit of such knowledge is the duty of all believers (momineen).
THE FOLLOWERS OF ALLH’S LAWS
The Quran emphasizes the observation and study of natural phenomena and the laws of the universe. “In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alteration of the night and day there are signs for people of understanding.” (3/189) These people are those who “whatever condition they are in, keep Allah’s laws in sight. They ponder the creation of the heavens and earth and after thorough observation and experiment, they declare on the basis of reason that O Sustainer! You did not create this universe in jest.” (3/190)
Here, as on other occasions, the Quran states something of paramount importance. It claims that nothing in the universe has been created without a purpose. There is nothing in the universe that is useless or that does not benefit mankind in some way. Lack of knowledge on the part of humans makes it seem as though there are pointless creations, and as a result of this ignorance all of mankind suffers. Thus, it is the duty of Muslims to substantiate this Quranic claim based on research and investigation. This is no easy task, and requires a vast network of laboratories and scientists and continuous research. However, people who make the effort will learn the laws that will enable them to conquer the forces of nature whereas those who do not will eventually lag behind and become weak and vulnerable.
SIGNS OF ALLAH
As mentioned above, it is the duty of the Muslim ummah to understand the laws of nature and utilize them for the benefit of mankind.
“There are signs for the believers in the heavens and the earth. In creation, and all the animals that He scattered on the earth are portents for the believers; and in the alteration of night and day and the sustenance sent down by the sky that revives the earth after its death, and in the change of winds are hints for those who have sense. These are the revelations we have presented to you in truth. For those who will reject, what other truth can convince them?” (45/3-6)
Allah has stated in unambiguous terms that belief in Him comes through the study of nature and its laws. If studying natural law does not lead one to believe in Allah, then nothing else can. This astounding declaration illustrates the importance of studying natural phenomena. Real belief based on reason can only be achieved through this method.
SEEING ALLAH
Saying that Allah “reveals Himself” through natural phenomena is not a flight of fancy. The Quran explains this as well as the goal of human life and the purpose of following the laws of Allah. Everyone wants to “meet” or “find” Allah. The Quran says, “Allah is He who raised the heavens without any visible support, firmly in charge of the central control. He has subjected the sun and moon (to His laws), each one runs its course for an appointed time. He regulates all affairs, explaining things in detail, that you may believe with certainty in meeting your Rabb.” (13/2) The Quran describes the setup of the universe and follows by saying that meeting with Allah is possible. It indicates that if you want Allah to reveal himself to you then you have to study the universe, scrutinize every object in it, and through observation and experiment, discover the laws governing this system. Thus all the mysteries of Nature will be unlocked one by one and you will gain insight into how Allah is sustaining this universe. This is what meeting and “seeing” Allah means. As far as the entity of Allah is concerned, He is beyond the comprehension of human minds, let alone sense-perception. Seeing or meeting Him does not refer to the physical sense, it means gaining knowledge of how the universe functions and is regulated by Him. It is clear that according to the Quran, only those who observe natural phenomena can know how Allah runs the universe. It is a long, arduous process which sometimes requires scaling the highest peaks of the Himalayas, diving to the bottomless depths of the Atlantic, bearing the scorching heat of the Saharan dessert, and doing research in the bone chilling cold of the North Pole. This kind of research is only carried out by those who are not satisfied with what they know at present; those who look beyond the horizon and strive for more knowledge. The Quran says, “Verily, in the alteration of the night and day, and in all that Allah has created, in the heavens and the earth are signs for those who are devoted believers (muttaqeen).” (10/6)
WHO ARE THE DEVOTED BELIEVERS (MUTTAQEEN)
The verse mentioned above describes the muttaqeen. It goes on to say, “Those who expect not the meeting with Us, but desire the life of this world and feel secure therein, and those who are neglectful of our revelations are doomed people because of their negligence.” (10/7) These verses offer a cause for the cyclical rise and fall of nations. Those who are satisfied with the status quo and do not strive for improvement and a better future are devoid of thought and action; they fall from grace and are left far behind in the struggle of life. In contrast, those nations that work hard to develop new inventions and make new discoveries surge far ahead. Because of their initiative and well directioned hard work, nature rewards them by revealing its hidden treasures.
A LIFE OF DEPRIVATION
“Those who disbelieve in Allah’s revelations and in their meeting with Him, such are deprived of the means of sustenance—an extreme penalty.” (29/23) In this verse, being deprived of the amenities of life is considered a great penalty. For example, rivers of petroleum flowed under the desserts of Arabia but the people were content with their meager existence. They did not have the will, desire, or the knowledge to find and utilize this hidden gift of nature. As a result they were dependant on others for even the most basic of necessities. Western nations made the effort to discover and start pumping the hidden petroleum, and as a result the people of the region benefited and became prosperous. Many countries have great potential, but their people are happy with the status quo and prefer whatever is easily available, so nothing motivates them to work harder. As a result they are always one step behind, and in many cases dependant on, other nations. On the other hand, there are European nations with very little land but with so much production capabilities that they not only provide for local needs but they even manage to export surplus food. This is due to the fact that they are perpetually laboring in accordance with the laws of nature in order to take advantage of its hidden treasures. It is a divine law that the livelihoods of those who eschew the laws of Allah continuously diminish (20/124). This law is universal and there are no exceptions. Muslims have been shunning this law for centuries; as if this were not enough, we also have not put our senses to proper use and have been thus divested of these faculties. We have fallen into the category of those people whose “hearts, ears, and eyes have become useless, and they do not take heed.” (16/108)
Some people think that “meeting Allah” means being accountable to Him for our deeds after our death. Though in the context of the above mentioned verses this meaning is not appropriate, the fact remains that in order to believe in a meeting with Allah, observation and study of natural phenomena is vital. Life after death and accountability for actions is an essential part of our belief.
PROOF
In the above paragraphs the Quran has explained that:
i) Knowledge is only that which can be verified by the human senses and mind,
ii) Use of the senses means to observe natural phenomena, study the laws of nature, carry out consistent research, and experience the revelation of Allah’s laws that run the universe and provide systematic sustenance, growth, and development.
Such practice is the hallmark of believers in general and the duty of muttaqeen in particular. This is zikr-o-fikr i-khudawandi, or following the laws of Allah. This behavior brings to light the hidden secrets of the universe and on the basis of knowledge we can say to our Rabb, “You did not create anything in vain.”
This is not all that must be done. Allah has stated that there is testimony to the truth of Quranic claims in the form of signs provided by Him in the universe. “We will show them our signs in the farthest regions of the earth, and in their own minds until it becomes manifest that this is the Truth.” (41/53) As an aside, when the entanglements of truth in the intricacies of time can be sorted out through human knowledge and effort, only then will these claims become manifest. In this verse the word anfus (internal world) is mentioned along with afaq (external world), which shows that science is not confined to the laws of physics but encompasses all the social sciences as well, the latter of which have to be developed by practical research. History, psychology, and sociology are important in this distinction. With the passage of time the physical and social sciences will continue to reveal and confirm the claims made by the Quran. This is obvious since the Quran is the book of Allah and He sees everything all the time. “Is it not enough that Allah oversees all things.” (41/53) Whatever He reveals about the universe and objects within it is based on fact and is not a presumption. “Say, the Quran was revealed by Him who knows the secrets of the heavens and the earth.” (25/6)
It will be fitting to mention a book named The Great Design. A questionnaire was sent to a large number of scholars around the world asking whether each one felt that the universe was functioning according to a definite system, or whether it came into being accidentally and is being governed similarly. The answers were compiled into the above-mentioned book without any review or editing. All of the scholars reached the same conclusion based on their individual fields of research: that this universe is functioning in accordance with an established order designed by an all-knowing creator. They appreciate the order and discipline of the system but being oblivious of the Quran, cannot correctly identify the entity that is running such a harmonious and efficient system. However, they are observing His great system of sustenance (Rabubuiyat) personally. With such a foundation it would be easy for these kind of scholars to discover the truthfulness of the Quran if someone presented it to them.
Maurice Bucaille, in his book The Bible, the Quran and Science, discusses various Quranic claims that are verified by modern scientific research.
People who have been unaware of these signs in the universe have their doubts about seeing proof of Allah. In fact they would not have to go very far to do so; the study of any object in the universe can provide evidence for the workings of Allah’s laws. The rabubiyat order is not tied to any one thing but encompasses the whole of the universe: “Indeed, are they in doubt concerning the meeting with Allah? It is He who controls all things.” (41/54)
WHO ARE SCHOLARS (THE ULEMA)
We have so far seen the Quranic definition of knowledge. By knowing this it is easy to figure out who, according to the Quran, is a knowledgeable person and what the term actually means. The Quran has even explained this fact so there is no confusion:
“Did you not ponder the rain that Allah caused to fall from the sky, with which we produce fruit of diverse colors; and among the mountains there are layers of red and white which differ in shade and type, some being dark in color. Similarly, humans and animals are of different colors and kinds. Among the followers of Allah and knowledgeable persons (ulema) are those who are awestruck by the greatness of Allah.” (35/27-28)
These two verses deal with different parts of the universe, different branches of nature, and different fields of science. Physics, botany, zoology, and the humanities are all touched upon. The knowledgeable persons are awestruck because their insight has convinced them of His power and Wisdom in controlling the universe perfectly. The Quran has referred to those people as ulema, and in modern terminology they are called scientists. These are the people who study nature and after observation and consistent experimentation, conquer the forces of nature. Allah has put the forces of nature under our control, but only those who know the laws can manipulate these forces. The only way to become one of the ulema is to acquire this knowledge.
THE ULEMA (MULLAHS)
After learning the Quranic definition of ulema, it is an interesting exercise to compare our current ulema with it. They do not know the fundamentals of natural sciences, and their knowledge is limited to theoretical discussions and verbal emendations. These discussions are mostly related to issues that have no bearing on the universe or the practical life of people. The curriculum of religious schools is spread over ten years during which students study logic, philosophy, rhetoric, grammar, literature, etc, most of which is outdated. They also learn about astronomy, geometry, and arithmetic, which are also outdated. It is curious to note that the study of the Quran is not included in the curriculum. A certain exegesis (Jilalain) is taught that consists of only synonyms of the Quranic words. In the last year of study an exegesis of the second chapter of the Quran is taught (Bazadi). This is the education upon completion of which they receive certification for becoming an aalim (knowledgeable person). Here is a case in point to illustrate just how much knowledge these people have:
When the use of loudspeakers was introduced in India before 1947, a fatwa was sought on their use for religious purposes. The president of the organization of ulema, Mufti Kafayat-ullah, wrote:
“The device, about which the opinion has been sought, has not been seen but it is heard that such a device, when it is placed in front of an orator and he speaks while facing it, the device absorbs the sound and then broadcasts it to such a distance that the sound would not reach even a quarter of the distance without the help of the device.” (Naqeeb, 10 Nov. 1941)
The Mufti then gave his verdict in favor of the use of loudspeakers. However, another aalim, Mufti Mohammad Shafee, a senior teacher in the religious academy of Deoband, published a verdict in a magazine in which the use of the devices for prayer was declared unlawful. He wrote that he did not know the nature of the device and how it worked. He sought information from the science teacher, Mr. Brij Nandan Lal of Alexander High School of Bhopal, and the teacher said, “Because of the use of electrical power I am hesitant to believe that the sound is original, and find it hard to deny it either because to prove otherwise is equally difficult.” After this “exhaustive research” and on the basis on conjecture from a non-Muslim, a Muslim aalim decided that it was the decree of Allah and His prophet to forbid the use of loudspeakers. This illustrates nicely how ignorant the ulema are in matters natural and modern science; it is ironic that they still retain the ability to issue verdicts (fatwas) on them, however. In Pakistan not only is the expression of personal opinions a target, but law making has fallen victim to the same ignorant judgments.
CLARIFICATION OF A MISUNDERSTANDING
From the various explanations so far it is evident that, according to the Quran, the Mumineen, Muttaqeen, those who abide by and keep Allah’s laws in sight, and those who have faith and long to “meet” with Allah, are people who study the universe and perform practical research on the objects therein as well as the forces of nature. The experience thus gained is called knowledge, and the Quran calls those who have this knowledge ulema.
At this point it comes to mind that European and North American nations are not Mumin and Muttaqi in the true sense of the words. While it is very important to acquire scientific knowledge, it is wrong to assume that just by doing so one can become a Mumin or Muttaqi. The critical factor is whether one uses the information according to the laws of Allah. So, there are two conditions in becoming a Mumin: to gain knowledge from nature, and to use it according to the injunctions of Allah. The Quran demands that “its system be accepted in its totality.” (2/208) A nation that does not meet both of these criteria cannot be Mumin, and since Muslims fail regarding the first condition, we cannot claim to be Mumin. In addition, if we do not have knowledge of the forces of nature, we will not be able to use them as Allah has advised in the Quran. In contrast, Western nations do not fulfill the second criterion; thus, on a practical level, Muslims and western non-Muslims are in the same position.
In order to use the forces of nature in accordance with Allah’s laws it is absolutely necessary to study the Quran because these laws are contained within it. Those who are firmly grounded in knowledge conduct affairs of the state according to Allah’s injunctions because they know “if any fail to judge by the light what Allah has revealed, they are no better than the unbelievers.” (5/44) As a result of rejecting the Quran, human society, in spite of its prosperity, turns its environment into a living hell. This progressive demise is evident in western culture. Despite all their scientific prowess they cannot find the right solution to human problems. Their senses and mind are not helping them, and about these kinds of nations the Quran says, “And we had firmly established them in prosperity and power. And we endowed them with hearing, sight, a heart, and intellect. But of no avail to them were their faculties when they went on rejecting the commandments of Allah, and they were encircled by that which they used to mock.” (46/26)
If Western nations use the forces as well as the rewards of nature in Allah’s cause, the hell through which all of humanity is suffering would be transformed into a much sought after paradise. Those who are satisfied with the status quo and do not act according to Allah’s law of Rububiyat live a damned life. In contrast, people who have firm belief in the word of Allah and work constructively within Allah’s system are on the right path and enjoy gardens of lush verdure. They are concerned for each other’s well being and recognize that the universe has not been created in vain. Such a society will continue to expand until it encompasses the whole of humanity, and at that time everyone will acknowledge that Allah’s system of universal sustenance is superlative.
CONCLUSION
If we Muslims want to shape our society according to the Quran, then we must become competent researchers and scientists in every field of knowledge. Through observation and experiment in both the internal world (anfus) and external world (afaq), the forces of nature can be harnessed and then the rewards amassed can be used and distributed according to the laws given in the Quran. Only people with these characteristics are qualified to be called ulema. If we continue to hold our current distorted view of knowledge in Islam, not only will meeting with Allah be impossible, but we will not even be included in the category of living nations.
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