Qur’anic injunction - Action Agenda for the Muslim Ummah

Qur’anic injunction

A very important point must be clearly appreciated and understood by all of us at this juncture. Absence of Islamic political power at the state level does not imply that the Qur’anic injunction of amr bil-ma’roof has no scope or relevance for Muslims. Each individual Muslim who wields power over some persons in his home, factory, office, or business establishment, is under obligation to act upon this injunction. He or she must enforce religious and moral commandments upon his or her subordinates and dependents. If need be, even force or moderate punishment may be resorted to in this regard. No true Muslim can absolve himself of this obligation of amr bil-ma’roof (of course, within the sphere of his/her authority) on the pretext that this duty can be discharged only by the Muslim political leadership of the State. 

Complete and total observance of Islamic law and morality, no doubt, is possible only when a change or revolution in favor of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s (SAW) Sunnah is brought about by the Islamic revivalist movement in the country’s leadership. This all-important point was very clearly realized and forcefully presented by late Maulana Sayyid Abul A’la Maududi — one of the chief influential writers and leaders of the contemporary Islamic resurgence. I shall here quote a long relevant passage from his Tehreek-e-Islami ki Akhlaqi Bunyadain rendered into English by Khurram Murad. These lines will put into bold relief the difference between da’wah and amr bil-ma’roofi

The objective of the Islamic movement, in this world, is revolution in leadership. A leadership that has rebelled against God and His guidance and is responsible for the suffering of mankind has to be replaced by a leadership that is God-conscious, righteous and committed to following Divine guidance. Striving to achieve this noble purpose, we believe, will secure God’s favor in this world and in the next. It is regrettable that both Muslims and non-Muslims have tended to lose sight of the significance of this revolution. Muslims all too often consider it necessary only from the point of view of political expediency, and have no appreciation of its central place in their religion. 

Non-Muslims, partly from prejudice and partly from lack of information, do not understand that ungodly leadership is at the root of the evils afflicting humanity, and that it is essential for human well-being that the affairs of the world should be directed by moral and God-fearing people. Whenever corruption is let loose in the world, whenever injustice is done, whenever tyranny or oppression exists, whenever poison flows in the veins of human culture, economic life, and politics, whatever misuse of resources and human knowledge for destruction instead of welfare and enlightenment there may be, the reason is bad leadership. 

There is no lack of good and high-minded people in society; the problem is that power is concentrated in the hands of people immersed in materialism and ungodliness. To change this situation it is not enough to preach sermons, exhort people to obey and worship God or to invite them to adopt high moral standards. Rather it is necessary for morally-just people to search each other out and strive to achieve enough collective power to wrest control of society from the morally corrupt. What is needed to change the centre of power and authority is effort. The revolution requires a coming together of the righteous in a common cause. (The Islamic Movement Dynamics of Values, Power and Change; Edited by Khurram Murad)

After having understood the first two objectives for which the Muslim Ummah should earnestly work for and the subtle but crucial difference between them, let us now move on to discuss at length the third one as delineated by the ayah — viz., nahee anil-munkar or forbidding people from all that is morally bad and evil. Unfortunately, a large majority of religiously devout and noble people remain unmoved at the sight of evil deeds and morally wrong actions. They just remain complacent or unconcerned while people are engaged in un-Islamic activities. They think that only inviting them to good and virtuous actions through advice and sermon is enough and something worth doing. The truth, on the other hand, is that I can at least cite nine such places from the Qur’an where inviting or calling people to good and forbidding and stopping them from evil have been mentioned jointly. They have been mentioned together so constantly that it seems as if the two are integral aspects of one single activity or two parts of one organic whole. Or else, one is, as it were, concomitant to the other. For example, in Surah Luqman, among the advice given by Luqman to his son, we read:

0 my dear son! Be constant in prayer, and enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and bear in patience whatever (ill) may befall thee. (Luqman 31:17)

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

to be continued....

amr bil-ma’roof - Enjoining Right - Action Agenda for the Muslim Ummah

Objective Aim

While the first objective or aim of the Ummah’s missionary work is specifically with respect to the Qur’an, the second one is quite general and broad. It includes advising, admonishing, preaching, and exhorting people to all that is morally right and virtuous. However, the literal meaning of the Arabic verb amr is definitely more, and stronger, than just advising or preaching sermons; it additionally implies commanding and implementing with force. Thus amr is quite a wide expression. Starting from moralizing it goes right up to the bringing about of a revolution in political leadership so that corrupt and ungodly people are forced to be righteous and follow Divine guidance.

Another difference between da’wah and amr is that the former (i.e., preaching and exhorting) is never undertaken in an authoritative manner. On the contrary, it is always performed in a warm and heart-moving manner. In da’wah one pleads and even requests people most humbly to uphold goodness and probity. The da’ee (i.e., one who performs the da’wah) is always on the look out for an appropriate moment when he can approach people in a receptive mood. He even requests them in the name of God to order their lives according to the dictates of Islam. His role is both of an evangelist (i.e., one who gives glad tidings on moral actions) and of a warner of the torments of hell¬fire. He is always very polite and never harsh, aggressive, or authoritative. This indeed is the attitude which members of the Tableeghi Jama’at have adopted for the past several decades for their missionary activities.

In da’wah, one speaks from the depth of ones heart and strikes a cord in the interlocutor’s heart as the preacher is definitely taken as a well-wisher. This difference amply shows why calling people to goodness has been mentioned by the Qur’an as distinct and separate from “enjoining what is morally right.” The mild and polite manner to be adopted in da’wah was required of Prophet Musa (AS) and Prophet Haroon (AS) when the two messengers were ordered by Allah (SWT) to go to the Pharaoh. We read in Surah Taha the following ayaat:

Go forth (then), you and your brother, with My messages, and never tire of remembering Me. Go forth, both of you, unto Pharaoh, for verily he has transgressed all bounds of equity! But speak unto him in a mild manner, so that he might bethink himself or (at least) be filled with apprehension (Taha 42:44)

Thus amr bil-ma’roof is a step higher than mere da’wah ilal-khair or preaching and, as such, it calls for a different methodology and approach. The word amr literally means to order, dictate, or enforce on the basis of authority. This necessitates, at the societal or state level, a change or revolutions in the whole power structure so that the morally good and right is implemented and enforced with the authority of governmental institutions. Supporting evidence for this is also provided by the fact that the expression amr bil-ma’roof was first used in Surah Al-Hajj when the Prophet (SAW) and his Companions (RAA) were obliquely given the glad tiding of political power. English translation of ayah 41 of this Surah reads:

(They are) those who, if we establish them in the land, organize regular prayer and give regular charity, enjoin the right and forbid wrong.. . (Al-Hajj 22:41)

Soon after the revelation of this Surah, the foundations of an Islamic state were laid in Medinah, and the Prophet (SAW) began to enforce the laws of Shari’ah and religious practices in the capacity of a political ruler. However, it may be noted that full and total authority in the Arabian peninsula was achieved only after the conquest of Makkah, some ten years latter.

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

to be continued....

Calling & Enjoining - Action Agenda for the Muslim Ummah

Calling and Enjoining

First of all, let us discuss the first two objectives and goals of the real and hard-core Muslim Ummah’s struggle. The Islamic summons have, by and large, been understood by Muslims to be in general call to Iman and A’mal Saleh (righteous action) in conformity with the guidance of Revelation, summoning people to God and inviting them to follow His and His Messenger’s dictates. But the crucial question that must be asked here is:

Do the Qur’anic injunctions “calling and inviting people to all that is good” and “enjoining the doing of all that is right” mean one and the same action? We, however, cannot think for a minute that Almighty Allah (SWT) has used synonymous expressions in the same ayah for pointless repetition. They certainly mean and imply different performances or levels and intensity of operations. da’wah ilal-khair and amr bil-ma’roof are obviously semantically distinct expressions and thus connote different types of activities. Most probably, da’wah ilal-khair means calling and inviting people to the Qur’an, as according to the Holy Qur’an the highest khair (i.e., good) is the Qur’an itself. To substantiate this the following ayaat of Surah Yunus can be cited:

O mankind! There has come unto you an Admonition (or an Exhortation) from your Lord, and a Healing for the diseases in your hearts, and for those who believe a Guidance and a Mercy. Say: In this bounty of Allah and in His Mercy, therein let them rejoice; it is better than all (the worldly wealth) that they may amass! (Yunus 10: 57,58)

These two ayaat clearly tell us how majestically Qur’an describes its own magnificence. Those who do wrong have a disease in their hearts, which causes their spirits to suffocate. Allah (SWT) in His Mercy declares His Will (i.e., the Qur’an) to them which should direct their lives and provide a healing for their spiritual malaise. If they accept faith, the remedy acts; they find themselves in right guidance and receive Allah’s forgiveness and mercy. Surely this guidance — the Qur’an — is far better a gift than material gains, wealth, or possessions. Therefore, according to this ayah, the referent of khair is Qur’an itself, something far superior to what worldly people hoard. To be sure, worldly possessions and wealth have also been termed as khair by the Qur’an. For example, an ayah of Surah Al-Aadiyaat reads:

… for, verily, to the love of wealth (khair) is he most ardently devoted. (A1-Aadiyaat 100:8)

This, of course, refers to a natural inclination and disposition of man. Yet, we are told in very dear and categorical terms that the Divine gift bestowed upon us in the form of the Qur’an is in reality far better than material riches and belongings. So da’wah ilal-khair (that is to say, inviting and calling people to goodness) is, in fact, exhorting men to study and act upon the teachings of the Qur’an.

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

to be continued....

Ummah within Ummah - Action Agenda for the Muslim Ummah

Ummah within Ummah

Some readers may wonder as to what an Ummah within the Ummah means. I am sure you must be familiar with the expressions of “a state within a state” and “a party within a party.” For instance, those among you who have read about the freedom struggle of the Indian subcontinent know very well that the Indian National Congress was a big political party and there was a forward block of it within the Congress that consisted of rather more revolutionary members. The forward block stood for more radical strategy as compared with the ordinary political policies approved by the Congress. Despite their membership and loyalty to the Indian Congress, they constituted a separate group under the leadership of Subhash Chandra Bose.

Similarly, since in the contemporary context the universal Muslim Ummah has been reduced to the level of an abstract concept, its reification is needed in the form of a smaller group (from among the larger Ummah) consisting of such Muslims as have fulfilled, to the maximum possible degree, the requirements and demands made in ayah 102 of the Surah with respect to the individual behavior and practice of a true Muslim. They attain the driving force of Taqwa in their hearts and meticulously observe the commandments of the Holy Prophet (SAW). Moreover, in compliance, to a fair degree, with the imperatives of the next ayah, they hold fast to the Qur’an for guidance even in minor details of their lives, and unite and join together as comrades in order to make up an ideological group. Ayah 104 of Surah Aal-e-Imran enlightens us about the three aims and objectives this collectivity of God-conscious and motivated Muslims is to work for:

1. Calling and inviting people to all that is good and noble.
2. Enjoining and dictating the doing of all that is right and virtuous.
3. Forbidding the doing of all that is wrong and immoral.

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

to be continued....