Conclusion - Action Agenda for the Muslim Ummah

Conclusion 

The most significant point of the hadith should be kept very dearly in mind. The Holy Prophet (SAW) has enjoined upon all Muslims to struggle against evils, in particular those perpetrated and supported by the so-called Muslim rulers and heads of governments in Muslim countries. Since they control the print and electronic media and other influential agencies, they can very effectively promote un-Islamic ideas and practices in the society. In the hadith, the Prophet (SAW) has explicitly mentioned the gradual decline of religious and moral fervor particularly in persons at the helm of communal affairs, and has commanded the true believers to reform and correct them. 

Similarly, religious scholars and spiritual leaders are also covered by this category as they too influence the populace through their teachings and example. And if they go wrong, misconceptions and false notions may spread very widely. 

As already explained above, this hadith behoves all committed and true Muslims to mobilize their resources to the full and employ all the variegated forms of protest and non-violent agitation — rights of which are guaranteed to them by the democratic set-up — to struggle against the evil-mongers and anti-Islam agents. A recourse here to the technicalities of Khuruj (i.e., revolt or uprising against the established political authority) is simply besides the point and pure (and idle!) scholastic academicism that kills the dynamism and religious activism required for Islamic revival.

Source: Three-Point Action Agenda for the Muslim Ummah (Book by Dr.Israr Ahmad)

to be continued....

Grain of Imaan - Action Agenda for the Muslim Ummah

Grain of Imaan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Three-Point Action Agenda for the Muslim Ummah (Book by Dr.Israr Ahmad)

to be continued....

Forbidding evil - Action Agenda for the Muslim Ummah

Forbidding evil

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Three-Point Action Agenda for the Muslim Ummah (Book by Dr.Israr Ahmad)

to be continued....