The Application of
Methodology of Prophet’s Revolution Today
With
the passage of time and the politico-cultural developments the conditions
within the Muslim Ummah too have changed vastly. Hence, the greatest challenge
facing us today is whether we need to follow the Prophet's methodology of
revolution without any change or do we need to modify slightly the methodology
according to current conditions. In my opinion, the first five stages mentioned
above require no change at all. Our revolutionary ideology today too is based
on the concept of Tauheed or the Unity of Allah (SWT) and we still need to
propagate the call of true Islamic belief and invite people towards the Holy
Quran. It is quite wrong to assume that professing Islamic articles of faith
ipso facto makes us true believers (mo'min). This is so because Islam is one thing
and true faith is another. We are Muslims because we were born to Muslim
parents. However we have to cultivate with effort faith in our hearts and minds
ourselves. Faith (with conviction) in Tauheed, in the Hereafter, and in
Prophethood is our first and foremost prerequisite.
The
Prophet's instrument for bringing about the Islamic revolution was the
Holy Quran. Even today it is the Holy Quran that is our instrument for such
revolutionary struggle. Hence, the call of "back to the Holy Quran"
should be spread far and wide. In my opinion, the Holy Quran is like a magnet
that attracts the righteous people towards itself. It has no effect on people
whose natures have been perverted. As you know, a magnet attracts only pieces
of iron and not wood. Therefore there is an urgent need to spread the message
of the Holy Quran throughout the society. By the grace of God, I have been
taking active part in the process of propagating the message of the Holy Quran
for the last forty years in Lahore and throughout the country and also in many
countries outside Pakistan. My Quranic discourses on TV, Quranic study circles
and Quran Conferences became regular features across the country. I was also
given the title of "Qawwal (re-repeater) of the Holy Quran" which I
accepted happily and took as a compliment. The most important thing is what has
been described by a poet in a Persian couplet thus!
We
have forgotten everything that we had
learnt
except that we are re-repeating the
words
of our friend.
This
was partly exemplified in my own case in so far as whatever I had formally
studied at medical college I have almost unlearnt. I was a doctor of medicine
but I gave up medical practice. Yes, the Quran is the word of a Friend, the
word of Allah (SWT) which I am propagating and calling people to. Nevertheless,
this necessarily is the first step. Next, those people who are attracted to
this magnet should be organized on the basis of Baiy'ah (pledge) exemplified by the Prophet (SAW) and
left as a tradition to be followed by us. The basis of the organization should
not be on the pattern of foreign or western system. Nor should the Ameer be
appointed for two or three years. Moreover the appointment of Ameer is not to
be done on the basis of voting; rather the person who calls you to the teaching
of the Holy Book and to the struggle for its implementation at individual and
collective level automatically becomes the leader and Ameer of the party. All
those who agree with his views and methodology should join hands with him through
undertaking a pledge (Baiy'ah) for obeying all his instructions within the
perimeters of Islamic Shariah. The members will definitely give Ameer their
opinion, but they will unconditionally follow his final decision and judgment.
All members forming a group or well-knit party on this basis will then undergo
rigorous ideological and moral training. The axis of this training will be the
Holy Quran which they will thoroughly assimilate. In addition to obligatory
prayers and other religious duties, they will be encouraged to perform
supererogatory prayers after mid-night (Tahajjud). They should be instructed to
spend from their material wealth and to struggle against their materialistic
desires. Generosity (giving away money) is a penance for hypocrisy, and this
should be promoted to the maximum degree.
Alongside
this, the stage of Passive Resistance also begins. The question however arises
'What form will Passive Resistance take today?' We are not a threat for the
Government at present. In the small town of Makkah with a population of a few
thousand even fifty to one hundred people seemed a threat. But now for example
in Pakistan in a population of 150 million what threat do two to four thousand
people pose? Hence at this point neither the Government nor the system will
impeach them. Assuredly their test will start when they start practicing the
Shariah. They will have to stop taking bribes and put an end to all illegal
income. And due to this their own family members will become their opponents
for the simple fact that they were having lavish and sumptuous meals before and
now they will have to get along with simple ones. In Surah Taghabun (Verse-14)
Allah Almighty says: 'O Believers! From amongst your wives and your children
are (some that are) your enemies, so beware of them.' If you enforce veil
(pardah) as demanded by the Shariah, in your house your entire community will
socially boycott you. Hence this is the stage of Passive Resistance that we are
enduring now. But may Allah (SWT) bring about a time when thousands of
committed members come out with the demand for Islamic Order and the Government
feels threatened and sees them as a danger for the system. It will be then that
various punishments will be inflicted and people will be imprisoned and
tortured physically.
In
the present day and age conditions have in fact changed to the extent that
Ijtihad (to exert with a view to form an independent judgment) will have to be
done for the last stage of revolution i.e. Armed Conflict. In the Prophet's time we had the Muslims on one side and the Non-believers on the
other, and no hesitation could there be in killing a combating disbeliever.
Whereas today the situation is that there are Muslims on both sides. Whatever
our leaders might think and do, they nevertheless claim to be Muslims. Bhutto,
Benazir, Zia-ul-Haq, Nawaz Sharif and Pervez Musharraf are all Muslims.
Secondly in the Prophet's time superiority in power was mainly in terms of
the number of combatants. If there were 313 volunteers siding with the Prophet (SAW),
there were 1,000 in the camp of disbelievers. Both the disbelievers and the
Muslims were without a fully trained and equipped army. Neither was it as if
the disbelievers had tanks, cannons, missiles and bombs and the Mujahideen had
only swords. The contingent of the Prophet's army comprised of two horses
and that of the disbelievers had one hundred horses. Hence there was definitely
a marked difference in terms of number but no essential difference in terms of
type of armament.
Due
to the social and political evolution that we have achieved today, it is
possible that the government can be changed without fighting and military armed
intervention. Today it is believed that state and government are two different
entities. The citizens are supposed to be loyal to the state not to the
government. Changing of government is citizen's right. However, fourteen
centuries ago the social evolution had not evolved to this level, therefore
concepts of state and government were inseparable.
Now there are two ways to change a government. One is through elections and the other is through agitation and mass movement. We cannot change the system of government through elections no matter how transparent and fair the electoral process might be. Rather we can only change the party that rules. Election results only reflect the power bases deeply entrenched in the society. If the system is feudal the feudal lords will be replaced and if the system is capitalistic only another capitalist will come. It is only in cities and educated urban areas that changes manifest themselves. For example, in Karachi sometimes the position of the Jamat-i-Islami has an upper hand and at other times the MQM is leading because there are no feudal lords or tribal leaders in cities. But in our rural area feudal system and capitalistic system is very strong. Will the feudal lords and capitalists, who come into power through the electoral process, ever eradicate feudalism and capitalism? In fact in this manner they would be cutting off the branch on which they are sitting. Therefore elections help in running a system, not changing it. For example in America there are two political parties: Republicans and Democrats. Both of them do not differ at all about the premises of the system but both of them claim that we can run the system in a better way, our taxation policy, our health policy, or our emigration policy is better. There are two parties in Britain: the Conservative and the Labour. Again there is no conflict between the two as regards the system currently in practice in Britain. If there were Communists residing in America they would speak out against the system. The protests in Seattle and Washington against economic globalization indicate that there is a Communist element there. But naturally they would not choose the way of electoral power politics because there is absolutely no chance of their success through this.
Now there are two ways to change a government. One is through elections and the other is through agitation and mass movement. We cannot change the system of government through elections no matter how transparent and fair the electoral process might be. Rather we can only change the party that rules. Election results only reflect the power bases deeply entrenched in the society. If the system is feudal the feudal lords will be replaced and if the system is capitalistic only another capitalist will come. It is only in cities and educated urban areas that changes manifest themselves. For example, in Karachi sometimes the position of the Jamat-i-Islami has an upper hand and at other times the MQM is leading because there are no feudal lords or tribal leaders in cities. But in our rural area feudal system and capitalistic system is very strong. Will the feudal lords and capitalists, who come into power through the electoral process, ever eradicate feudalism and capitalism? In fact in this manner they would be cutting off the branch on which they are sitting. Therefore elections help in running a system, not changing it. For example in America there are two political parties: Republicans and Democrats. Both of them do not differ at all about the premises of the system but both of them claim that we can run the system in a better way, our taxation policy, our health policy, or our emigration policy is better. There are two parties in Britain: the Conservative and the Labour. Again there is no conflict between the two as regards the system currently in practice in Britain. If there were Communists residing in America they would speak out against the system. The protests in Seattle and Washington against economic globalization indicate that there is a Communist element there. But naturally they would not choose the way of electoral power politics because there is absolutely no chance of their success through this.
To be continued ....
