Obligations to God - The Third Duty - Establishing Islam

The Third Duty - Establishing Islam

Let us turn to the third and final duty - establishing Islam as a complete way of life.  Preaching the creed and ideas of Islam at a dogmatic level is one thing, but calling others to join together in establishing it as a practical reality is something completely different.  There is a world of difference between these two.  

Since Islam is a complete way of life, a point explicitly made in the Qur'an, its very existence is meaningless unless it is established as such and its limits enforced in regulating the collective affairs of the people.  

We take great pride in claiming that Islam represents a comprehensive code of conduct.  There is hardly a single Muslim who is not persuaded of the verity of this statement.  It is generally believed that Islam offers guidance in all walks of life.  At least, the readers of our writings are in general fully cognizant of these facts. 

However, it is intriguing that no practical steps are taken for enforcing it at the level of the state and civil authority.  We are prone to pay mere lip service to the comprehensive nature of our religion in the form of catch phrases or clichés meant for publicity or for earning praise.  In a sense, Islam is a religion only if its injunctions are enforced and its morality is established in society, otherwise, it represents at best a utopia, having nothing to do with ground realities.

 

Following the trend in describing Qur’anic terminologies for the other two duties, four Qur'anic terms bring out the Qur’anic injunctions of this third duty as well.  Of these, two terms come in Makki Surahs and two in Madani Surahs:

1. Supremacy of the Lord (Takbeer-e-Rabb) 

This is the first of the terms that has come in the Makki Qur’an.  The Qur’an says:

And make your Lord Supreme. (Al-Mudathir 74:3)

The Qur'anic expression employed in the above ayah literally means that God’s supremacy is established on earth.  It is not easy to grasp the gravity of this statement at a glance.  However, since humanity by and large does not recognize God’s Supereminence, the Qur'anic command is that He be recognized by humanity.  The command and authority (hukm) belongs only to Allah in the ultimate sense.  Iqbal draws attention to the same truth by asserting:

Sovereignty befits only that Irresistible Essence,

              He is the sole ruler, the rest are idols of Azar

Taken in this sense Allah’s grandeur is not recognized in the world presently. Humanity has usurped power and sovereignty and insists on enforcing its own will to regulate human interaction, exchange and governance, remaining oblivious of His greatness and true right as Sovereign.  

Everyone betrays this attitude.  Only in the call to prayer (adhan) can it be heard that indeed God is great, and perhaps as lip service in public meetings.  However, in reality we do not recognize and concede His greatness as a living force in our lives, which is clear by the fact that His will, as dictated to us in our Scriptures, is not enforced anywhere.  

In our public life and institutions we do not recognize Allah’s absolute sovereignty.  It is our duty as Muslims that all authority and power be vested in Him and His judgment accepted unquestioningly. Only a true Islamic system that protects the commands of God and ensures the morality, ethics, brotherhood, sisterhood, and code of conduct (taught by Islam, will signify in real terms Allah’s glory and greatness.

The first command sent down to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in the first revelation was to read in the name of his Lord.  In this first revelation, he was not asked to take the message of Islam to others or to establish Gods Glory in its entire splendor.  The emphasis was on reciting, a point illustrated by the opening ayaat of Surah Al-Alaq, which are also the very first ayaat of the Qur’an to be revealed:

Read in the name of your Lord and Cherisher Who created man, out of mere clot of congeal blood.  Recite and your Lord is most Bountiful. He Who taught the use of the pen and taught the man that he knew not.  (Al-‘Alaq  96:1-5).

Another set of ayaat that are also amongst the earliest revelations are of Surah AlMudathir.

In these ayaat, The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is addressed directly as:

O you wrapped up in a mantle.   Arise and warn the people, and make your Lord Supreme! (Al-Mudathir 74:1-3)

This address involves the very first command (not the first revelation) to the Prophet (SAW) to arise from his condition of meditation and begin his second obligation of taking the message to the people.  The second command comes in the very next ayah and it involves the third obligation of making his Lord Supreme (or establishing the religion as a concrete reality). Since Muhammad (SAW) is a messenger to all of humanity, he himself was obliged to respond to these commands by taking the message to all of humanity and establishing Islam over all peoples.  Those lying in slumber of negligence should be told clearly that it is not all about the life in this world, rather the real life has to begin after death – a life that is everlasting:  

And this life of the world is only an amusement and a play! Verily, the abode in the Hereafter is indeed the real living, if they only knew.   (Al-Ankabut  29:64)  

The Prophet (SAW) told mankind clearly that the real abode is the Hereafter. Likewise, he warned them against the approaching Day of Judgment, when everyone will stand before the Lord for reckoning:

Do they not think that they will be resurrected on a mighty day, a day when  (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds?  (Al-Mutaffifin 83:4-6)  

Human beings should not suffer from the delusion that the Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW)  warning is hollow. The Day of Judgment is an undeniable reality and on that Day the real winners and losers will be decided: 

The Day when He will assemble you (all) on the day of assembly, that will be the Day of mutual loss and gain. (At-Taghabun 64:9)

This warning of the Hereafter marked the starting point of the Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW)  call and struggle.  So if this was the starting point, what was the culminating point of his mission in this world?  His ultimate goal, the culminating point, was to instate Allah’s greatness beyond the level of hypothetical dogmatic assertions – as concrete reality.  It is for anybody to decide that in his Prophetic career of twenty-three years whether he accomplished this mission or not.  One is compelled to concede the fact that he did implement the commands of God and established His supremacy in toto within the Arabian Peninsula.

Let us not lose sight of the point that this duty of establishing Allah’s Supereminence on earth was entrusted to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) only when he had been elevated to the august office.  I make this point in particular in recognition of the stance of some Qur’anic scholars that the first five verses of the Surah Al-‘Alaq mark the beginning of his “Prophethood”, whereas the first seven verses of Surah Al-Mudaththir inaugurate his “Messengerhood”.  (Indeed only God knows best).

2. Establishing Islam (Iqamatud Deen)

This duty of establishing Islam is specifically mentioned in the Makkan Sura Al-Shoorah:  

That you establish the religion and make no divisions therein.  (Ash-Shoora 42:13)   

  The expression employed in the verse is especially used for making something stand upright.  When something is laying flat on the ground, then it makes sense to ask that it be made “upright”.  Whose responsibility is it to make something that has fallen down, stand upright?  Is it not the duty of those who profess to believe in the reality and truth of the matter? If Islam is already established as a system the believers are obliged to keep it in tact, keep it firmly upright.  If it is lying shattered on the ground, they are obliged to establish it.  The economy, social life, political system and all public institutions should be in accordance with the dictates of Islam and under Divine authority.  Only then it may be said that Islam is established. Otherwise, it should be clear that Divine revelation is not merely for recitation and praise.  It is clearly said in the Qur’an:  

Say: O people of the Book!  You have nothing unless you establish the Law of the Gospels and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord. (Al-Maidah 5:68) 

Once again, the same word ‘to establish’ occurs in the above ayah and even though it refers to the Jews and Christians, it nevertheless serves the purpose of an example for the Muslims, who are required to establish the commands of the Qur’an.  Since the Qur’an is a guide to human life in all its respects, it must be enforced as a collective system.  It is the responsibility of the Muslims to live in accordance with the Qur’anic teachings individually as well as collectively. These are the implications of the third duty.

3. Supereminence of Islam (Ad-deenu kulluhu lillah)

This term is of the Madinan period and comes in two Madinan Surahs  -  Al-Baqarah  and Al-Anfal:

And fight them on until there is no more tumult (or oppression) and the religion is Allah’s.   (Al-Baqarah 2:193) 

  This idea is extended further in the following ayah of Surah Al-Anfal: 

And fight them on until there is no more tumult (or oppression) and there prevail justice and faith in Allah alone.”   (Al-Anfal 8:39)   

The fragmentation of religion is forbidden, and this point can only be understood if the meaning of religion is understood in its complete and holistic capacity.  We might be offering Prayers, fasting, paying Zakah, performing Hajj and ‘Umrahs, but if the political system governing the country has no place for Islam, economic matters are decided without any reference to Islamic economic teachings, rather excuses are rapidly put forward to avoid implementation of Islam, it means that there is no Islam, since partial obedience is tantamount to disobedience.  

Having reservations in enforcing Islamic penal laws and declaring the segregation of the sexes as an unacceptable practice in modern times (rather prescribing to the equal social role of the sexes with no regard for female modesty ), is sheer hypocrisy, not Islam. 

We seem to be more concerned with appeasing a particular section of the society while having little or no regard for displeasing God and in the process incurring His wrath.  In this way, the Muslims of today have fragmented the Islamic teachings into segments; there are some teachings that we consider as essential and there are those teachings that are no longer applicable simply because they appear to be impractical, outdated, inconvenient, or simply embarrassing when viewed in terms of the current trends in society!  

How ironic is in that although Pakistan established the Shari`ah court on the one hand, certain matters such as Muslim family law were declared as beyond its jurisdiction.  This position was adopted notwithstanding the obvious fact that family laws have been legislated in detail in the Qur’an. These laws occur in several Qur’anic Surahs.  Even the British rulers did not dare temper with Islamic family laws, nor did they touch our personal law.                                                     

[ In Islam man and woman are equal on the basis of human dignity. Islam also considers them equal in their capacity to spiritually rise and attain God’s pleasure. But when it comes to their social role in this world, Islam has given them different responsibilities. ]

To our misfortune, Islamic family laws have been mutilated in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan at the hands of Muslims after the departure of the colonialists. After the imposition of martial law, these distorted un-Islamic laws were forcibly applied and strengthened with the passage of time.  It is deplorable that the Muslims have accomplished what was unthinkable even by the non-Muslims out of respect for our faith. This we did shortly after God gave us political freedom and sovereignty. 

It emerges clearly from the above-quoted extracts of Surahs Al-Baqarah and Al-Anfal that loyalty should wholly be for God.  This very point was emphasized in our discussion on the concept of worship (`ibadah) that it is an all-embracing activity covering every aspect of our lives.

4. Ascendancy of Islam (izharu deenil haqq `ala ad-deen kullihi)

The fourth term in this context appears in the following ayah of Surah Al-Saff,  which represents also the central subject matter of the whole Surah:

It is He, who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the true religion (Islam) to make it victorious over all way of life. (As-Saff  61:9)   

Same wordings (without any difference in the slightest) also appear in Sura At-Tawbah and Al-Fath.  In Surah Al-Tawbah and As-Saff, the ayah concludes with the words: “Though it may displease the Mushrikeen” while    in Surah Al-Fath it ends with: “And Allah suffices as a witness. ”  Although each of these endings carries great significance, the point to be made here is that the term (izharu deenil haqq) can be readily appreciated with reference to these three ayaat.

Source: Obligations to God (Book by Dr Israr Ahmad)

Obligations to God - The Second duty – Taking the Message of Islam to Others

The Second duty – Taking the Message of Islam to Others

Whereas our first obligation was at the individual and personal level, the second obligation has to do with reaching out to others.  As in the first case, the Qur’an uses several terms to describe this duty.  There are again four terms that are worthy of our special attention.

1. Preaching (tableegh)

This literally means taking the message to others.  Islam will reach far and wide only when it is taken far and wide by those who profess to believe in it.  God enjoined the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)  in the following manner:  

O Messenger!  Proclaim which has been sent to you from your Lord. (Al-Maida  5:67)   

Likewise, the Prophet (SAW) has instructed us to convey his message (even if it is a single ayah) to others:

And convey on my behalf, even if it is a single ayah.

On the occasion of his farewell pilgrimage he entrusted the responsibility of preaching to the Muslim community with the words:

Those present here should convey this message to those who are not here.

2. Calling others to Islam (da`wah). Da`wah means calling others to Islam.  God says:  

And who is better in speech than he who calls men to Allah and does righteous deeds and says I am one of the Muslims.  (Fussilat  41:33)

And in Surah An-Nahl:

Invite all to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in a way that is better.    (An-Nahl  16:125)

3. Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil (`amr bil ma`ruf wa nahi `anil munkar) 

Amr bil ma'ruf  wa  nahi ‘anil munkar  is a very important Qur’anic term and is performed at different levels.  If one has authority and power,  evil should forcibly be stopped, and if not then it should be spoken out against.  If there is fear that even speaking out against it might cause more harm than good, then the least that can be done is to detest it from the core of the heart. These levels of `amr bil ma`ruf wa nahi `anil munkar have clearly been described in a Hadith on the authority of Abi Sa'eed al Khudri which is cited by Muslim:

Whosoever among you observes some evil, it is his duty to stop it by his hand, if he is unable to do so, then with his tongue, and if he is unable to do even this, he should condemn it in his heart, but this represents the weakest degree of faith.  

In another hadith, the concluding words are that there is no faith beyond this point. What is meant is that if one witnesses evil, oppression, or clearly forbidden acts and it does not make him/her shake from inside even in the slightest, the person is devoid of the light of faith:

Such is the ruling by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself.  Who can dare deny his religious opinion or fatwa?

4. Being Witnesses unto Mankind (shahadah `ala an-naas) 

This fourth term most comprehensively describes the nature of our second religious obligation. It stands for being God’s witness over the people so that one may affirm and testify on the Day of Judgment that the duty of conveying the message to others and adequately representing the Divine commands had been duly performed.  In performing this duty one becomes representation of God’s messengers, since it was this very task that has been defined as the mission of the messengers themselves, a point clearly made in the following ayah: 

How then, when we brought from each people and we bring you as a witness against these people?  (An-Nisa  4:41) 

On the Day of Judgment, the Messenger will testify that he had preached the Divine message to them, thereby absolving him of any responsibility for the conduct of their actions in this world.  Let us reflect on this whether this testification by the Prophet (SAW) will be in favor of or against the Muslims.  By any measure of the yardstick, this testimony will be against us. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) will affirm in God’s court that he had faithfully conveyed divine message to the people.  It was, in turn, the responsibility of the people to preach it to others.  It is very clearly and forcefully stated in the following ayah that Muslims, who are raised as the “best community” for all of mankind, owe the responsibility of being the witnesses for all of humanity:

Thus we have made of you an Ummah, justly balanced, that you might be witnesses over all peoples, and the messenger a witness over you. (Al-Baqarah  2:143)

After personal submission, this testimony before all of mankind is the most important duty prescribed for the Muslims. We should grasp its natural base the consequents of our lives and the priorities we have chosen for ourselves while we claim to be members of this ummah and followers of Muhammad (SAW).  Had the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) not conveyed the Divine message, God would have taken him to task.  Since he has faithfully and effectively conveyed divine message he stands free of any burden of the deeds of those who claim to be his followers.  He left for his heavenly abode after entrusting this duty to the Muslim community.

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had been sent down as the messenger for the entire mankind, not just the Arabs.  This point comes very sharply at several places in the Qur'an.  For example, it is said in Surah As-Saba that he was sent as warner and bearer of glad tidings for the whole mankind.  In Surah Al –A’araf, it is declared that he is the Messenger for all peoples.  Almost the same point occurs in Surah Al-Anbiya, where he is spoken of as mercy unto all of the worlds.  If this task was his alone, then it does not make any sense that his life ended before his mission was complete.  The fact of the matter is that he entrusted this responsibility on the Muslim ummah (as pointed out earlier that on the occasion of the farewell pilgrimage he entrusted his duty to the whole Muslim community).  If this community of believers fails to deliver the goods, it will be condemned not only for its own failure, but also for the errors and failures of all of humanity.  Others will be perfectly justified in making the plea on the Day of Judgment that Muslims, though blessed with the final and complete Divine message, faith, shariah, and despite being members of the final Messenger's community, not only failed to convey this message to them but misrepresented the message altogether, thus making it unappealing and repulsive.

 

I shall be failing in my duty as a sincere adviser to you, if I do not caution you against forgetting the very purpose of our being bound together in the form of an ummah.  Oversight in this can lead to grave consequences on the Last Day.  Can any one give me a satisfactory reply to the question that during the final accountability when we are interrogated about our duty of shahadah `ala an-naas, what answer we will possibly have?  We happen to be members of the Prophet Muhammad's (SAW) community. We possess his teachings and the Qur'an, the very Word of God.  It goes without saying that we will not have any excuse or defense on this count. We will be certainly held responsible for our failure to convey the Divine message to others. Sadly, far from preaching Islamic faith and adequately representing it to others as a community, it is our misfortune and plight that we ourselves are unable to practice sound faith and character as individuals.  We are Muslims only by birth and in name only.  As Iqbal puts it:

You might be a Syed, Mirza, or Afghan

You might be all, but are you a Muslim?

Source: Obligations to God (Book by Dr Israr Ahmad)

Obligations to God - Pillars of Islam and Their Importance

Pillars of Islam and Their Importance

To recapitulate, our first and foremost duty is to practice our faith by accepting and fulfilling all of our obligations.  For this purpose, four terms are employed:  (1) Islam, (2) Obedience (ita`ah) (3) Abstinence (taqwa), and (4) Worship (`ibadah).  Of these, Worship (`ibadah) is the most Comprehensive term since it stands for total and unrelenting subservience to God out of His love.   We have also elucidated the perilous state of hypocrisy and that total submission as desired in Islam might not be as simple as is prevalent today in the popular imagination. However, God has been gracious to confer upon us four modes of worship, which if performed diligently can make the task easy.  It is reported on the authority of Abdullah ibn `Umar that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: 

“Islam is based upon five things, testifying that there is no god besides Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, establishing the Prayer, paying zakah, performing the pilgrimage and fasting the month of Ramadan.  On uttering the above creedal testimony, one enters the fold of Islam and remains in its fold by practically observing the other four tenets.  Together, these five have become to be commonly known as the “pillars of Islam”.  We inadvertently call the last four as `ibadaat, whereas these are actually the exercises that are to generate within us the spirit of `ibadah.   

The Qur'an does not use the term `ibadah for any of these modes of worship.  Rather, it reserves the term `ibadah for describing the holistic concept and attitude that has been presented earlier.

 

To summarize, worship signifies immense love for God and His subservience in our overall attitude, behavior and ambitions.  The above-mentioned modes of worship prepare the believer mentally for the fulfillment of such a life and help remove the obstructions in the path of faith and its practice.  Thus the divine directive for prayers is that one should suspend his/her worldly activities five times a day and stand before God to affirm:  “We worship only You and we seek assistance only from You.”  This affirmation renews our relationship with the Divine.  The Qur'an describes the wisdom and purpose of prayers by saying: “Offer prayers for remembering Me.”  By keeping the remembrance of God fresh in the minds of those who pray, it protects them from falling into forgetfulness and indifference. 

By the same token, zakah has been prescribed so that one should be purged from the love of wealth, which can be potentially fatal for one’s moral and spiritual health and the root cause of many evils.  Fasting has been prescribed so that one may develop a sense of taqwa or abstinence, enhancing the ability to avoid disobedience.  The human self is prone to weaknesses.  Fasting helps one to be protected from the unbridled desires of the self.  All the blessings accruing from these “modes of worship” appear in their combined form in the religious duty of Hajj. The Hajj includes prayer (the remembrance of God, the ihmram which has restrictions resembling fasting, and the expenses that are incurred resembling the zakah.  In summary, these four pillars of Islam have been prescribed not as the essence of the Islamic teachings, but as the basic edifice upon which the structure of Islam can be erected.  These pillars act as the ramparts for faith.  God has done us a great favor by giving us these methods for conditioning ourselves for His service.

Let us now turn attention to the second duty of conveying the message of Islam to others.

Source: Obligations to God (Book by Dr Israr Ahmad)

Obligations to God - Partial Obedience is Unacceptable

Partial Obedience is Unacceptable

It must be clear by now that Islam does not admit partial obedience, but demands complete submission.  Reference has already been made to ayah 208 of Surah al-Baqarah, which asks the believers to enter into the fold of Islam completely.  There is another Qur'anic ayah that brings home this point even more emphatically.  Although this ayah addresses the Jews, it should be borne in mind that God’s principles are not different for the Muslims.  The Qur'an projects the Jews as an example to show that if the Muslims behave in the same manner, their fate shall be no different.  The Qur'an says: 

Then do you believe in a part of the Scripture, and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in this life? And on the Day of Judgment they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment. For Allah is not unmindful of what you do.  (Al-Baqarah  2:85)

 The Jews stand cursed for their partial and selective obedience to God’s commands, an attitude of hypocrisy and duality of behavior that is unacceptable in Islam.  In contrast, God demands total and exclusive devotion.  The Qur'an emphatically condemns hypocrisy is the following ayah: 

Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depth of Hellfire. You will find no help for them. (An-Nisa  4:145) 

Those familiar with the contents of the Qur'an realize that God’s wrath is directed more against the hypocrites than against the unbelievers.  Another profound illustration of this is in the following ayah: 

O believers! Why do you say that which you do not. Most hateful it is with Allah that you do say that which you do not do (As-Saff 61:2-3)

In light of our reasoning thus far, it is easy to appreciate that entering into Islam is not necessarily a bed of roses, particularly in this world.  Perhaps this is why Allama Muhammad Iqbal has said:

When I proclaim that I am a Muslim, I shudder           For I am cognizant of the demands of faith

Source: Obligations to God (Book by Dr Israr Ahmad)