Dawat-i-Illallah: Muslims & The Truth
It is recorded that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) has stated that four categories of men and women stand excommunicated from the fold of Islam: those who lie, those who bear false witness, those who break a trust reposed in them, and those who commit adultery. All are guilty of crimes that the Quran includes in the term “falsehood”. And how do we believers of today fare in the light of this first criterion of Islam?
Consider how easily the Muslims now
lie; how often, how widely, both in private lives and in public dealings, all
the way from petty tradesmen to men in high office. To flatter is to lie, and Muslims now excel in
the flattery of their temporal superiors. To conceal the truth or to mask
honesty is to lie, and they get along so very well with every crank or crook of
a boss. They lie to gain some favour, as often people lie for fear of reprisal.
The result is a wild proliferation of falsehood: students cheating in
examinations; traders making money through profiteering and smuggling;
politicians making false promises; officials augmenting their income through
corruption; and so on. It is time to ponder over this malady which has
afflicted the Muslims and the world as a whole as a cancerous disease.
The salvation and saving of the individual’s
soul is perhaps a major concern of various religious systems. For some,
liberation of the individual soul (Moksha) from the unending cycle of
birth and rebirth (Karma or Dharma) is the ultimate objective of life.
For others cessation of pain (Dukhha) is the culmination of spiritual
journey (Nirvana). Islam, however, associates individual achievement with
the social responsibility one must observe, here and now.
This social responsibility is the
linked with the culture of thankfulness. Islam inculcates among the believer
and others, through a conscious and meaningful statement of fact made in Surah
Al-Fatiha, the first Surah (chapter) of the Qur’an. This is followed by
a rather longer, or the longest Surah of the Qur’an, that is to
say, Surah Al-Baqara. This Surah moves around the theme of universal social
responsibility, placed on mankind by its Creator, Allah (twt).
Surah Al-Baqara takes its name from
its Verse 68 which says: “Remember when Moses
said to his people, ‘God commands you to sacrifice a cow.’ They said, ‘Are you
making fun of us?’ He answered, ‘God forbid that I should be so ignorant.’” (Al-Baqara 2: 68). It consists of 287 verses.
Most of it was revealed in Madinah al-Munawwarah. It contains statements
on Aqidah (doctrines) as well as instructions on legal, social, economic,
political and personal matters.
Its teachings dealing with social responsibility,
however, dominate over other aspects. This social responsibility is not particular
[to the Muslims]. It is universal, ethical, and volitional.
No sooner a person requests Allah to
show the Right Path (Sirat Al-Mustaqim) and the true guidance (Hidayah),
the Qur’an responds by saying “Alif Lam Mim,
this is the Book of Allah, there is no doubt in it, it is a guidance for the
pious.” (Al-Baqara 2: 2-3). The statement “it is a guidance for
the pious” often confuses a person and one ponders that if a person that is
already pious why he needs guidance. A critical review of the later verse indicates
that since this Surah calls for a dialogue with the people of the Book
(especially with the Jews) this term refers primarily to those who were pious among
the Jews of Medina.
The Qur’anic revelations in Mecca
primarily addressed the Mushrikeen (polytheists) and, therefore,
arguments for Oneness and Uniqueness of Allah (twt) were developed. Now after
the Hijrah (migration) of the Holy Prophet to Medina, where a good
number of Jews lived, the universal message of Islam was addressed to them.
Those good souls of the Jews were approached who believed in matters of Ghayb
(i.e. The Invisible, which is beyond the perceivable of this physical temporal
world, the extra-empirical phenomenon,
e.g. existence of the All-Living Allah), observed
their prayers (Salat) and contribute their due and so on.
Calling to Islam, to the right guidance
(Hidayah) is a social responsibility. It is a precondition to success,
felicity and Allah’s bounty.
The first part of the Surah (Verse
1-21) informs a reader about the attitude of mind needed to benefit from the
Divine Book, the Qur’an. It refers to those who are sincere, who are convinced
that ultimate truth and true knowledge has its source in divine revelation (Wahy)
and reason, interaction or empirical experience alone can lead nowhere; only
the One Who is knowledgeable about the Ghayb can inform authentically
about it to others. Man with limited knowledge cannot claim access to the Ghayb,
except the Chosen One of God Almighty to whom Allah removes the veil and shows
some of the secrets with Him, for examples, events to occur in the future,
which forms part of the secrets of Allah, which He shares to His Messenger, or
Chosen Servant for the Reformation of the world and Islam, as a sign of his
truthfulness and to manifest the promise of God Almighty upon them, whether it
is a good news or the culmination of a warning into divine punishment.
Recognition of Allah’s transcendence
leads a person to Tawhid while recognition of His Messengers as the vehicles
through whom the message and guidance (Hidayah) is conveyed to the humanity makes
a person Muslim though he may or may not know this fact. When Prophet Moses
(as) declared “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God,
the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6: 4), according to the Qur’an all
Israelis who accepted Yahweh as their Lord and Prophet Moses (as) as a true
messenger became true Muslims; they in the early part of Al-Baqara, are called Muttaqin,
the Allah-conscious, the pious and virtuous.
The first seven verses of Al-Baqara,
after “Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim” talk about two categories of the
humans, one who consciously accept Allah as Source of knowledge and guidance
and the other who scornfully reject the truth by blocking their doors of
perception to the guidance from Allah. They act as if they are blinded. They
pretend by shying away from truth as if truth never existed for them. The Qur’an
calls this attitudinal problem as a disease in their hearts. But should such
persons be left to themselves or those who are conscious of guidance from Allah
should reach out to such persons?
The Qur’an is explicit on this count.
It puts the burden of social responsibility on those who have discovered the right
path and have received guidance from Allah.
Surah Al-Baqara essentially addresses
itself to the Jews and reminds them of the enormous responsibility Allah placed
on them to guide the rest of humanity to the ethical and just approach in life.
They however, reduced the universal truth and guidance to a tribal and ethnic
religion and thought that the covenant made between them and their Lord, made
them a chosen people who even when they violate the covenant must continue
receiving support from their Lord. He will always be on their side, because He cannot
go back on His covenant.
This Surah tells the Jews as well as
the Muslims, social responsibility is essentially ethical and not ethnic. Whosoever
fulfils it will be appointed leader of mankind. The Jews as long as they proved
capable of the trust (Amanah; Khilafah) led others. However, when they
tried to play tricks with Allah (twt) the leadership and social
responsibility both were transferred to the Muslims. It is in this context this
Surah refers to the incident of slaughtering of cow as an example of their
trying to outsmart Allah (twt). The change of direction of Qibla from Jerusalem
to Mecca also symbolizes this shift of leadership from the Jews to the Muslims.
The first part of this Surah makes it
clear that while the Jews understand Allah’s favour to them, yet they thought
that this favour will stay with them whether or not they follow Allah’s
commandments and guidance. They thought that this bond was inviolable but Allah
raised the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and perfected His Deen through
him and chose Islam and the true Muslims, those who will obey the covenant and
has promised them victory. Thus, the presence and love of Allah, His relation
with the true Muslims is subject to their fulfilment of their global social
responsibility, which also includes inviting the world to Allah. They have an
obligation to reach all the four corners of the world to present truth and
guidance through their own conduct and behaviour.
A careful study of these early verses
of the Surah Al-Baqara also offers some thoughts on why the Ummah today is
facing a serious intellectual, cultural, social, political, economic and legal
crisis. The Surah suggests, once a people abandon their social responsibility
they remain no longer leaders of mankind. They become consumers of
ideas, commodities, and systems.
Referring to this leadership role of
a progressive and developing Ummah these verses show that Jews when they
became consumers of ideas, they were removed from the leadership role of
humanity. Allah is never unjust. What was true for the Jews is also true for
the Muslims because they are now considered as the true guardians of the laws
of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all Israelite prophets, and generally all prophets
of Allah since the dawn of time. So, they should display the righteous nature
of Islam in them, because if not, they cease to be Muslims and belonging to the
Deen of Allah.
Thus, Surah Al-Baqara calls the Jews
to realize their fault and also invites Muslims to learn from the historic experience of the
children of Israel in Diaspora [so as not to repeat the same mistake which they
did]. Their social responsibility is not confined to Amr Bil Ma’ruf
[Encouraging Righteousness]. It includes realization of a just and ethical
world order.
Islam does not claim to be a monopoly
of the Muslims. The Qur’an is guidance (Hidayah) for the whole of humanity. Its
ethical principles are universal and not parochial and tribalistic (as Judaism
claimed to be an ethnocentric religion). Consequently, Muslims have an
obligation to present and convey Islam to others.
May Allah remove the veils of Kufr [disbelief] and Hypocrisy from the Muslim World and banish the Satan from the hearts of the Muslims so that they may once again see clearly and do not run away from their responsibilities as Muslims, and that they establish themselves on the truth and become models of virtue so that they [we] may guide the world to Allah. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
---Friday Sermon of 04 March 2022 ~30 Rajab 1443 AH delivered by Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba)