The Prophet's
Methodology of Revolutionary Training (Tarbiyyah)
I
had delineated 4 topics for the aspect of training. Firstly the revolutionary
ideology should be ingrained and kept in mind at all times. The origin and
source of the revolutionary thinking of the Prophet (SAW) was the Holy Quran
and it will be for any cause modeled on the Prophet's endeavour. Keep
reading the Holy Quran so that the revolutionary ideology is kept constantly in
mind. Have collective discussions for this purpose and organize these sessions.
Sit together, read the Holy Quran, learn and teach it. This will keep your
thought fresh and vibrant.
Secondly,
the principle of 'listen and obey' should be inculcated and entrenched in minds
— the greatest test of which was the command that even if you are hacked to
pieces you will not raise your hand. You see, if a person knows that these
people are going to kill me, he is bound to kill a few people in his
desperation before he himself gets killed. If you corner a cat and it realizes
that it cannot escape it will pounce at your face. But here one was not allowed
to raise one's hands even in self-defense. Burning coals were laid before
Hazrat Khabab (RAA) and he was told to take off his shirt and lie down on them.
He lay down. The skin on his back was scorched. When the fat of his skin
started melting, it cooled off the coals. A person who knows that these people
are going to burn me alive, he will definitely kill a few of his adversaries or
at least try to do so. But this was not allowed. I believe there could be no
greater example of 'listen and obey' than this.
Thirdly,
sacrifice everything for the sake of Allah. People have made sacrifices for the
sake of worldly revolutions. The Communist Revolution would not have come about
if people had not laid down their lives and had not endured hardships. Other
people cannot even think of how easy it is for a Muslim to lay down his life in
the cause of Allah as he believes in the hereafter and for him the true life is
that of the hereafter. Hence, what kind of a loss does he face if he sacrifices
everything for the sake of Allah? What he believes is that he will be rewarded
many times over in the hereafter; 700 times over or 1000 times over hence he
will not at all suffer a loss. The more staunchly a person believes in the
hereafter the more he will invest himself in the cause. Who would be more
unwise than the person if he deposits all his savings in a bank? The bank will,
at the most, give him a 10-15% profit on his savings but Allah's bank is open
and gives him an increase of 700% . So what is the point of scrimping and
saving here. As Jesus Christ said, "Do not save in this world, here the
worm destroys your savings, there are thefts and dacoities. Save in the Heavens
where no worm can gnaw and destroy your wealth, where there is no theft or
dacoity. And I tell you the truth wherever your assets and possessions are that
is where your heart will be". If you have accumulated worldly goods that
is where your heart will be entangled. There will be nothing but remorse and
regret when the angels would come to take away your soul. It has been narrated
in a Hadith that the angels will take away the souls from non-believing
materialist persons as if removing pieces of meat with skewers. If your savings
have been placed in Allah's bank, your heart will dwell there. When the angel
of death arrives there will be a smile on your face.
I
tell you the condition of a mo'min
at
the time of his death.
He
is all smiles.
If
you have deposited as savings billions of rupees in a Swiss bank account and
you are ordered to leave the country, will you feel any remorse? But if you
have not saved anything abroad and you know no one, and then you are ordered to
leave, you will definitely feel perplexed and extremely disturbed. It is
precisely this unflinching faith in the hereafter that is beyond comprehension
for a large majority of people in this day and age and they are amazed to see
Muslims ready to die for their faith. They have seen this strength and courage
in Chechnya, Kashmir, Palestine and Afghanistan. These are all signs of a
strong belief in the hereafter.
When
Maulana Maudoodi was given death sentence in early 1950s in connection with
anti-Qadiani movement in Punjab, I was Nazim-e-A'ala of the Islamic Students
Organization. I had published a poem on the title page of "A'zm" — a
weekly Urdu organ of the Organization — and had sent it to Maulana in the jail.
The
time has come that Nature is going to reward us for our efforts. Darkness of
night is indicating that it is about to dawn now. But there are few tests,
still there are signs of devastations. Do not retreat as our fate is testing us.
Do not be aggrieved of the troubles and sorrows. The dawn of life is sparkling
through these darknesses. O Raees! tell the wise people not to recede of the
trials as they are in fact the cause of our success.
These
verses were from the pen of Raees Amrohvi — ('Raees' literally means leader) I
presented them to the Ameer (Leader) of Jamat-i-Islami, a group of wise and
enlightened Muslims (with a slight pun with reference to the last verse).
Spiritual
training retains an important place in the process of revolutionary training as
exemplified so strongly by the Prophet (SAW). The first and foremost source of
developing spirituality — the Holy Quran — was interiorized in the hearts, with
which they were illumined and alongside this they were trained to defend
themselves against the self-conceit of baser human passions. Sleep is very dear
to us, the companions (RAA) of the Prophet (SAW) were trained and commanded to
stay awake for the sake of Allah (SWT) and to thoroughly assimilate the Holy
Quran during night prayers of Tahajjud:
O
thou wrapped up in thy raiment! Stand (to prayer) by night, but not all night —
A half thereof, or a little less. Or a little more — and recite the Quran in
slow, measured rhythmic tones. Soon shall We send down to thee a weighty
Message. Truly the vigil of the night is most potent for governing (the soul),
and most suitable for (framing) the Word (of Prayer and Praise).
(Al-Muzzammil
73:1-6)
The
Quran is by and of itself Noor (light) pure and simple and as such it has the
power to remove the darkness of mind and illumine the heart. And the night's
vigil is extremely effective in crushing the baser demands of human nature. The
third thing that helps in the purification of self is the spending of material
wealth as God wishes you to do. Hence this is the process or methodology of the
Prophet's revolutionary training. Later on in our mystical orders the
training and purification of self have been modified to a great extent. They
devised their own ways of Divine contemplations and remembrance of Allah. I am
not talking about these but of the Prophetic way. I have mentioned and
explained the constituents that formed the basis of the revolutionary training
that the Prophet (SAW) made his companions to undergo and adhere to.
To be continued ....
