by
Dr. Israr Ahmad
[At-Touba & As-Saff]
Markazi Anjuman
Khuddam-ul-Qur'an Lahore (Pakistan)
Free E Books:
www.iqbalkalmati.blogspot.com
The Prophet's Strategy for Islamic Revolution
By
DR. ISRAR AHMAD
Translated by
Ms. Bir Gul Khan Bangash
Revised by
Dr. Absar Ahmad
Lahore
Markazi Anjuman
Khuddam-ul-Quran
2008
Name
in Urdu : Rasool e inqilab (s) ka tareeki intekhab
Name
in English : The Prophet's Strategy for Islamic Revolution
First
Edition March 2008 - 2200 copies
Printed
in Shirkat Printing Press, Lahore
Published
by:
Markazi
Anjuman Khuddam-uI-Quran, Lahore
36-K,
Model Town, Lahore-54700
Phone:042-5869501-3
Fax:5834000
E-mail:
anj uman@tanzeem.org
Website:
www.tanzeem.org
No rights reserved. The Anjuman does not reserve to itself any copyright for the publication of this tract. It may be published by any person who happens to be inspired by the same purpose as the author
Price
: Rs. 80/-
Dr Israr Ahmad was
born in 1932 in Hisar (India), graduated from King Edward Medical College
(Lahore) in 1952 and received his Master in Islamic Studies from The University
of Karachi in 1965. He actively participated in the independence movement and
was deeply affected by the thoughts of Maulana Mahmood Hassan, Allama Muhammad
Iqbal. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Maulana Abul Ala Mawdudi. He gave up his
medical practice in 1971 in order to devote the best of his time and abilities
in service of Islam and its revival. As result of his efforts, the Markazi
Anjuman Khudam-ul-Qur'an Lahore was established in 1972. Tanzeem-e-lslami was
founded in 1975, and Tehreek-e-Khilafat Pakistan was launched in 1991.
The
Sole Aim Before
The
Markazi Anjuman Khuddam-ul-Qur'an Lahore
Is
to Disseminate and Propagate the Knowledge and Wisdom of
The Holy Qur'an
(The
Foundation-Head of Faith and Enlightenment)
On a
Vast Scale and at the Highest Intellectual Level
So
as to Achieve
The Revitalization of Faith
Among
the Muslims in General and their Intelligentsia in Particular
With
the Ultimate Objective of Bringing About an
Islamic Renaissance
And
Ushering in, for the Second Time in History, the Blessed Era
in
Which the True Islamic Way of Life Reigned Supreme
CONTENTS
·
Foreword
·
Introduction
·
Lexical & Connotative meaning of
the word Revolution
·
The only example of a Complete Revolution:
The Revolution of the Prophet (SAW)
·
Pre-requisites and stages of the
Revolutionary Process
1. Revolutionary Ideology
2. Organization
3. Training
4. Passive Resistance
5. Active Resistance
6. Armed Conflict
7. Outward Expansion of the Revolution
·
The Holy Prophet's Concept of
Revolution
1. Man's Vicegerency rather than
Sovereignty
2. Trusteeship instead of Ownership
3. Complete Social Equality
·
The Islamic Organization and its
Fundamentals
·
The Holy Prophet's Methodology of
Revolutionary Training (Tarbiyyah)
·
The Stage of Passive Resistance in the
Revolutionary Struggle of the Prophet (SAW)
·
The Stage of Challenge and Active
Resistance in the Revolutionary Struggle of the Prophet (SAW)
·
The Preliminary Measures taken by the Prophet
(SAW) in Madina
·
Eight Expeditions before the Battle of
Badr
·
The Sixth Stage of Holy Prophet's
Revolution: Armed Conflict
·
The Extension and Export of the
Revolution
·
The Application of Methodology of
Prophet's Revolution Today
·
Nature of Active Resistance Measures
to be taken in the Present Time
·
The Most Important Need of the Time
The Prophet's Strategy for Islamic Revolution
"He it is Who hath sent
His Messenger with the guidance and the Religion of Truth, that He may cause it
to prevail over all religions."
(At-Tauba 9:33 ; Al-
Fatah 48: 28 ; As-Saff 61:9)
"And We have not sent
thee (O Muhammad) save as a bringer of good tidings and a warner unto all mankind;
but most of mankind know not."
(As-Saba 34:28)
"Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have an example
for him who looketh unto Allah and the Last Day, and remembereth Allah
much."
(Al-Ahzab 33:21)
FOREWORD
It
is an irony of history that quite in line with ancient times, in the
present-day dominant mindset the secular and religious worlds/ spheres are kept
apart and thus operate under markedly different rules. The secular world adhere
to the paradigm of power, in which domination and control are intrinsic values
and effectiveness serves as an overarching criterion. "The end justifies
the means" is the guiding principle of the secular world. The religions
domain is, on the other hand, thought to be a world of sheer spirituality and
utter goodness, one completely divorced from the secular world. Religious
people are expected to eschew secular injustice and corruption, avoid politics
and remain aloof from the state, instead of confronting and overcoming such
developments. One is almost compelled to believe that "The City of
God" and the 'city of man' can never intersect.
These
two worlds were brought into a remarkable harmony for the first time under the
principles of Islam. It was in the state of Madina and Rightly Guided Caliphate
that we first encounter a clearer example of polity where metaphysical beliefs
and universally proclaimed moral values formed the criterion of political
judgment and dispensation. Political leaders and statesmen were required to
recognize not only the value of efficiency, but also the values of justice,
dignity, equality and freedom. This important transformation was observed by no
less a philosopher than HEGEL (1770-1831 C.E), a leading European philosopher
of history. In his 'Philosophy of History (New York: Dove Publications, 1956
p-109)', Hegel recognized that the unity between the secular and the spiritual
took place in Islamic society and civilization long before it did so in the
modern West:
We
must therefore regard [the reconciliation between the secular and spiritual] as
commencing rather in the enormous contrast between the spiritual, religious
principles, and the barbarian Real World. For spirit as the consciousness of an
inner world is, at the commencement, itself still in an abstract form. All that
is secular is consequently given over to rudeness and capricious violence. The
Mohammedan principle, the enlightenment of the oriental world, is the first to
contravene this barbarism and caprice. We find it developing itself later and
more rapidly than Christianity; for the latter needed eight centuries to grow
up into a political form.
The
modern West followed the example of the historical Islamic world in demanding
that holders of political power operate under a set of religio-moral rules.
However this harmonization of the secular and the religious was done only
nationally. The international realm was free to operate under the dynamics of
power politics and secular rudeness that resulted in senseless violence and
death of over 80 million in two world wars. Regrettably, contemporary Muslim
societies have exceeded all others in decoupling the secular and the religious
and now find themselves entangled in a crisis of legitimacy. It is particularly
so in the case of Pakistan. Even more alarming is that this decoupling has
reached deep into some religiously inspired movements too.
But
let us not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by pessimism, and let us not give
up hope. A number of scholars and writers in the 20 th Century made it crystal
clear that Islam is a "Deen" and not merely a "religion" in
the ordinary sense of the word. A religion, as commonly understood, is only a
collection of metaphysical beliefs, rituals of worship and social customs and
ceremonies. Deen, on the other hand, is a complete code of life that embraces
all aspects of human existence, both individual and collective. It
significantly affects and shapes the social, economic, and political spheres of
collective life. According to Dr. Israr Ahmad, Deen, by its very nature demands
its domination and ascendancy in society. If it is not dominant, it becomes
relegated to the position of powerless "religion".
Dr.
Israr Ahmad firmly believes on the basis of Quran and Prophetic Sunnah that one
cannot lead a pious life at the cost of social justice nor establish social justice
by denying loving, serving and worshiping Allah. Piety without social justice
as enunciated by Islamic teachings and practiced by the Prophet and the Rightly
Guided Caliphs is an empty word and social justice without God-centered piety
and religiosity (i.e. taqwa) a meaningless word. Hence, what distinguishes
Islam from such secular ideologies such as liberalism and Marxism that espouse
the cause of social justice is that in Islam the notion of virtue and piety is
constitutive of social justice and social justice an expression and outward
manifestation of piety.
Dr.
Israr Ahmad has very convincingly shown in his corpus that Islamic values
should be related not only to individual consciousness but also to a
community's collective experience and establishment of the just socio-politico-economic
system of Islam. For this colossal change he employs the word 'revolution',
which in its most complete form was first brought out by the Prophet (SAW). The
theme of the present publication is the methodology, strategy or operational
model of the obligation of "Iqama al-Deen" — or in other words
establishing the supremacy of Islam at the global level. The author's study is
based on the Quran and seerah of the Prophet (SAW). In particular he takes the
life-struggle of the Prophet to be paradigmatic and bases his analysis and
characterization of all stages involved in attaining the victory and supremacy
of Islam from his seerah. The only surefire and unfailing strategy for Islamic
ascendancy and revolutionary change must involve the revitalization of Iman
through the Quran, and the launching of an Islamic movement on the basis of the
dynamism thus leashed, and then proceeding forward according to the
well-defined stages with possibly maximum preparation.
Many
Islamists contend that the way to establish Islam is through taking part in the
elections. If the majority of Muslims vote for us, we can come into power and
we can then change system through reforms in education, law, media and other
social institutions. So simple, yet so deceptive. Nor can rabble-rousing lead
to radical change in the socio-political structure of a society. Unfortunately
Jamat-i-Islami of Pakistan has refused to learn from its experience of half
century long electoral politics. With regard to the last phase of the
revolutionary/ reformist process we find in the present socio-political
conditions guidance in the non-violent non-cooperation mass movement that was
launched, for example by Gandhi and it goes without saying that it shook the
foundations of the British Raj. Secondly, more recently, the popular uprising
against the Shah of Iran provides us with more evidence of the feasibility of
this approach. While suppression and violence from the established order is
inevitable, the unilateral pacifism and non-violence on the part of the seekers
of change soon succeeds in converting the silent majority, further facilitating
the eventual revolution. This is precisely what Dr. Israr Ahmad believes to be
the realistic alternative to an armed conflict in today's world for
establishing the Islamic public order in a country. It is pertinent to recall
Gandhi here when he said, "Without a direct action expression of it,
non-violence, to my mind, is meaningless".
According
to an Arabic proverb, true greatness and superiority is that which even an
enemy acknowledges. M. N. Roy, a Bengali Hindu and member of the International
Communist Organization once said: "There is no doubt that the greatest
revolution in the history of mankind was brought about by Muhammad (SAW)"
Dr.
Michael H. Hart, an American Christian and author of the book "THE
100" 'A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History' considers
human life to be divided into two distinct and separate spheres. One sphere is
that of religion, morals and spirituality whereas the other sphere is that of
culture, civilization, politics and sociology. According to his judgment, the
only person extremely successful in both these spheres in the history of
mankind is the Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
Even
H.G. Wells, a Christian historian and a vehement critic of Islam, was compelled
to admit in his famous 'History of the World', after referring to the Last
Sermon of the Prophet (SAW) that "Even though there have been a lot of
sermons given on human fraternity, equality and freedom and we find a lot of
such sermons by Jesus of Nazareth yet we have no option but to accept that it
was only Muhammad (SAW) who for the first time in the entire history of mankind
was able to found a society on the basis of the principles outlined in his
sermons". Hence even the testimonies of the enemies of Islam and the
Prophet prove that the greatest revolution in the history of mankind was that
brought about by the Prophet of Islam Muhammad (SAW).
If
we compare the Revolution of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) with the French
Revolution and the Russian Revolution it becomes evident that the French
Revolution succeeded in changing only the political system and the Russian
Revolution changed only the economic system. But the Revolution of the Prophet (SAW)
changed everything — religion, beliefs, rituals, the political system, the
economic system and the entire social fabric.
As a
matter of historical fact, the most comprehensive and all-encompassing
revolution is the one brought about by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). What this
revolution was, why and how it was brought about? In order to give a
comprehensive, logical and succinct answer to these questions a lecture was
delivered by the founder of Tanzeem-e-Islami Dr. Israr Ahmad. He addressed a
large gathering on the topic "The Prophets Method of Revolution" on
the 16th of May, 2004 at the Alhamra Hall in Lahore. The English version of
this lecture is being presented in the form of a booklet. The translation
necessarily reflects the orality of the discourse meant not exclusively for the
highly educated audience.
Dr.
Israr Ahmad had delivered a series of 11 lectures in 1984-85 at the Masjid
Darussalam, Bagh-i-Jinnah, Lahore on the strategy and method of the prophetic
revolution. A voluminous book based on these lectures in Urdu entitled
'Manhaj-e-Inqilab-e-Nabawi' (The methodology of the Holy Prophet's Revolution)
has been published and it has gone into many editions. The present booklet may
be taken as a comprehensive summary of the above mentioned book.
The
booklet was rendered into English by Ms. Bir Gul Khan Bangash. But it has been
thoroughly revised and made more faithful to the original ideas of the speaker.
It is a humble effort to inspire and awaken — for together we can make a
difference in these troubled times.
Think about it!
Dr. Absar Ahmad
Nazim English Section
Quran Academy, Lahore.
To be continued ....
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