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)