'Jihad' in the times of Political Crossfire
The Vice Prime Minister (VPM) and Minister of Housing
and Lands, Showkutally Soodhun caused much harm against the honour and values
of Islam when he used unacceptable (wrong) words during an Eid-ul-Fitr
dinner/ celebration at Flacq on Tuesday 18 July 2017. He used such words which
dirtied the teachings of Islam and his behaviour was not at all like how a true
Muslim should act. And he dared to say this in an assembly which was supposed
to advocate the values of
Islam but on the contrary, what happened? With the words which he pronounced
there, despite being surrounded by several Mawlanas, he committed a
blunder through the bad language which he used against the Leader of the
Opposition Xavier-Luc Duval. And no one at that time deemed it necessary to
stop him.
This scandal was triggered first in the
Parliament in the Private Notice Question (PNQ) on the subject of the Communiqué
(Release) which he himself issued, taking upon himself to break all ties with
Qatar (to boycott Qatar) in favour of Saudi Arabia. And the VPM Soodhun was
really hurt that the Leader of the Opposition had insulted King Salman. So,
during a dinner to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr in Flacq, he made the following
declaration (concerning that which transpired in the Parliament): “Had my bodyguard given me a revolver (gun), I would have
killed Xavier Duval in Parliament. I would have killed him… Anyway this is what
is called Jihad. Because, I have good relations with Saudi Arabia.”
In his stupidity, VPM Soodhun gave a death
threat to the Leader of the Opposition and linked the whole thing to Islam by
using the word Jihad, and he thus
started a scandal, a controversy for which he (VPM Soodhun) is the culprit. He
was the one to issue the release against Qatar when it was verily not his role/
work to do so. If there was a need to issue a release, if any, on the subject,
then it was the role of the Prime Minister or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
do so. So, VPM Soodhun acted wrongfully when he issued the Communiqué on 06
June 2017 and after committing this blunder, he used the platform of an Eid
party/ celebration to issue a death threat and he used the word Jihad.
The words he used was an incitement to racial
hatred.
Mauritius is a rainbow country which shelters several cultures and
religions, and all religions live in harmony, with each one respecting the
religions of others. But with this skidding of Soodhun with the words he used,
this caused a controversy which is being inflamed day after day. Because of a
chap like Soodhun, it is Islam which is being targeted (and wounded). The
Religion of Islam with its excellent teachings is a religion which preaches
peace (and not the use of swords) and peaceful living so that others may
acquire peace through your (i.e. the Muslims') peaceful behaviour.
The Leader of the Opposition accused VPM
Showkutally Soodhun that he violated the article 288 of the penal code and he
denounced the false accusations which VPM Soodhun put on him (Xavier Duval). He
denounced the words which VPM Soodhun wrongly attributed to him, denying that which
he never said against Saudi Arabia and the Muslim faith. So, the Leader of the
Opposition filed a complaint against VPM Soodhun under the Prevention of
Terrorism Act. He lodged this complaint after VPM Soodhun issued the death
threat against him. If VPM Soodhun has used the word Jihad without knowing its meaning, why use it then? Does he really know the meaning of Jihad? All this scandal came as a means to allow people in their ignorance to speak against Jihad, and thus to speak also indirectly against Islam. Some are saying that Jihad means violence, killing, blood shedding, etc. It is really sad that (regarding this case) there is no Mawlana who has been able to give the true meaning of Jihad.
Excesses in the name of Islam
So you see, when you establish innovations in
Islam, where all this would lead you! Where have these people learnt to
organise Eid Parties or Diners and politicising the whole event by inviting
politicians? More than a month has passed since Eid-ul-Fitr; they are
still organising Eid parties?
Did Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) use to organise/
celebrate all these? What lessons have we learnt in the month of Ramadan? And I
talked about this during Ramadan and even after Ramadan, that Ramadan is a
blessed month wherein you take a great spiritual bath and do all the actions
which Allah (swt) has told you to so, and all these are acts of worship. And
after a month of Ramadan, after the end of fasting, Allah (swt) is pleased with
you and gives you a day to rejoice, and this is what we call Eid.
Eid-ul-Fitr is a
one day celebration and the next day (after Eid), one has the right to
accomplish his/ her voluntary fasts (or for those who missed some fasts, to
replace them). And this is a month of training also for it helps you to prepare
yourselves in respect of the accomplishment of good deeds for the remaining
eleven months to come after the Ramadan. And one of its good teachings is that
you need to be a good human being, honest and not quarrelsome. Had Ramadan not
taught us that whenever a person comes to seek quarrel with us, we need to tell
him that we are fasting? As Muslim, it is a really deplorable thing which the
VPM Soodhun had done. On top of that, just after Ramadan, during the
organisation of a party on the theme of Eid-ul-Fitr, this party was
politicised and thus wronging the very notion of Eid-ul-Fitr which is
very sacred for us, Muslims. After a month of fasting, wherein we made all
kinds of sacrifices only for the cause of Allah (swt) and indeed Eid-ul-Fitr
is for those who have made such sacrifices for the cause of Allah during the
blessed and sacred month of Ramadan, as a sign of obedience to Him, our
Creator, and it is for such people that Allah has given such a Rejoicing Day (Eid-ul-Fitr).
So, see what the politicians along with the
Mullahs are doing with our Eid-ul-Fitr celebration. Hear what kind of
language Soodhun has used after the blessed month (of Ramadan). Indeed Allah
has given the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr
to the Muttaqeen (those who have the fear of Allah in their hearts) as a
day of contentment, and it is most unfortunate that this Eid-ul-Fitr
party - in name only - has become a stage for the VPM Soodhun to trampled
(hurt) the teachings of Islam and the practices of our beloved Hazrat Muhammad
(pbuh). In this celebration made more than one month after that sacred
festival, he should have given the right example for all Muslims. Not only him,
but all of us, Muslims.
Our conduct influences public perception
We should be role models for the world and continue to
do the good acts we used to do during the month of Ramadan. We should not
threaten or use words such as Jihad
and revolver as means to threaten someone, anyone.
Is this the lesson that you have learnt in the
month of Ramadhan? Moreover, all the Mullahs and Muslims who were listening to
him that night, could they not have stopped him when he used such foul words
against the Leader of the Opposition? And they (i.e. these kinds of Mullahs and
Muslims) shall voice out that it is them who are true Muslims despite the fact
that they are supporting or lending a deaf ear and blind eye to all wrongs
which are being added to Islam. Now, with this controversy on Jihad, they are not defending Islam and
the true nature of Jihad like they
deserve, and now the media as well as many Mauritians are causing much upheaval
against the very notion of Jihad, and
racial hatred has penetrated the hearts of many against the Muslims.
On the other hand, it is most unfortunate to
see the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association of Mauritius holding, they also, an Eid
Party on Monday 17 July 2017, inviting politicians to address the audience.
Much money have been spent for this event, and what is not at all good is that
this platform has been used to invite politicians and other guests and
broadcasting a film on the fifth caliph. Is this the philosophy of Eid-ul-Fitr? And on top of that, with all the Ahmadis who live in Mauritius, every time it is the same faces, families who are seen and taken as important members of the Jamaat. The poor people, the common people - the other Chanda contributors - are not to be seen. Ahmadiyya of Mauritius has also lost the Nur (light) of Allah. And moreover, there is no Pardah when a woman, the Speaker of the National Assembly had been invited and placed amidst all men. I do not condemn inviting women for spiritual functions, but women should be with women. There is a Sadr (chief) for the women. So the Ahmadi women should have been there, in Pardah to receive their high profiled female guest (or any woman for that matter!). It is not in vain that Allah (swt) has raised another Jamaat and raised His chosen servant.
So, as the chosen servant of Allah of this era,
it is my duty to give well detailed explanations on the word Jihad which the extremists have spoilt
and dirtied.
The true conception of 'Jihad'
The term Jihad is derived
from Jahada which means making intense efforts or struggle to
the ultimate limit. Jihad, as it appears in the Holy Quran, and not as
per what the VPM Soodhun or the terrorists or ignorant people in the world
would like to make you believe, is in three (3) categories:
1) Jihad-i-Akbar (The Greatest Jihad
which exists)..
2) Jihad-i-Kabir (the Great Jihad)
3) Jihad-i-Saghir or Jihad-i-Asghar
(the lesser Jihad).
1) Jihad-i-Akbar, is the tireless
struggle against oneself, against one’s evil tendencies and inclinations,
against our nafs (ego/ passions). This is the greatest battle or Jihad which exists and which we have the
duty to do every day of our lives. And in this greatest battle/ struggle, we
aim to come out of our animalistic state, the savage or anti-gregarious state
and we progress to the state of becoming truly humane/ human, imbibed with true
moral values as well as spirituality.
2) Jihad-i-Kabir, is the battle or
mostly duty which we have as a Muslim to propagate the message of Islam, the
message of truth around us. We need to recall the admonition of Allah from the
Holy Quran, in which Allah says: “There should
be no compulsion in religion” (Al-Baqara, 2: 257).
Our duty as Muslims is to spread the message of
peace with peace and tranquillity of heart. And it is forbidden for us to use
coercion or armaments to force people to recognise or accept that there is only
One God (Allah) and to enter the fold of Islam, despite the fact that we know
that Islam is the best religion and way of life which Allah has established for
us so that we may succeed in accomplishing the greatest Jihad which exists, i.e. the Jihad
against our own nafs. We need to pass through the stage of Jihad-i-Akbar with success so that we
may come to an honourable position/ level and with peace and help from Allah,
we may call people to Allah, to Islam, i.e. calling them to submit themselves
completely to Allah.
3) Jihad-i-Saghir or Jihad-i-Asghar
is the minor/ lesser Jihad, , and it mainly concerns the State. And here
I need to stress that this Jihad is
such a Jihad, a battle or struggle
which we do, even if we have to take up arms, but only, and I repeat ONLY, to
defend ourselves whenever the enemy comes to attack us. It is then, and
then only that we have the permission from Allah and His Messenger, Hazrat
Muhammad (pbuh) to defend ourselves. Anyway, this type of Jihad is what the other non-Islamic governments coin as a defensive
war, or self-defence. And Jihad-i-Saghir is such a Jihad which we do to protect our lives and honour as a Muslim, and
as protectors of the religion of Islam, only when the enemy comes with the
intention to finish Islam. This kind of Jihad
is thus only a defensive battle and not an offensive one.
Jihad-i-Saghir does
not mean to attack your other Muslim or even non-Muslim brothers so as to take
over their mundane status/ positions in the world, their wealth and mundane
powers which they have. It does not mean to kill to acquire lands and kingdoms.
We establish the Jihad-i-Saghir ONLY for the cause of Allah, to preserve
the identity and presence of Islam in the world. And this Jihad can be done even without arms.
If it happens that someone
comes to kill you only because you are a Muslim, then if you do not have a
revolver/ gun, then with your good words and with the will of Allah and your duahs
(supplications to Allah), that person can have a sudden change of heart and he
stops causing you harm, and he can even become Muslim. A most appropriate
example of this truth is what transpired during the times of Hazrat Muhammad
(pbuh) at the beginning of Islam when Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, who was a fierce
enemy of Islam, took his sword to come and kill the Prophet of Allah (pbuh).
But along the way, he learnt that his sister and brother-in-law had accepted
Islam. He thus changed his route and came to confront his sister and
brother-in-law at their home. It was with great fury and armed with his sword
that he went to meet his sister and brother-in-law but when he came at their
place he heard the recitation of the Surah Taha (Chapter 20 of the Holy Quran).
At first, he began to fight with his sister and
brother-in-law but when he hurt his sister (and saw blood on her), he regretted
his action and he asked to read the divine revelations which they were
reciting. But his sister asked him to go purify himself first before he touched
the words of Allah. He went to purify himself and then read the verses of the
Surah Taha. Afterwards he went to meet the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) but
instead of killing him like he planned to, his heart which once was filled with
hatred against Islam finally gave way to Islam and he became Muslim. And
afterwards he learnt that Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) had prayed for either him or
Abu Jahl - two great enemies of Islam - to become Muslim. With duah
(prayer/ supplications to Allah), what was impossible to achieve became
possible by the grace of Allah. A great enemy of Islam became after this
incident one of the greatest protectors of Islam, he became the second caliph
of Islam, and till today we call him (respectfully) as Hazrat Umar Al-Farooq
(i.e. The Distinguisher between truth and falsehood).
Follow the example of the greatest of prophets
who ever existed, our beloved prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). He did not wage
any Jihad for his own cause or family
feeling. He waged all wars, in all their forms which exist only for the
pleasure of Allah and solely under divine instructions so as to protect the
honour, identity and presence of Islam in Arabia and the world.
Even when the enemies provoked the death of his
own daughter - Zaynab [and grand-child], he did not extract any personal
revenge, but he showed instead worth being a perfect human being and prophet,
by always making the dignity and honour of Allah as his first priority, and he
thus forgave the assassin of his daughter [and grand-child]. All his
actions were based on the preservation of the religion by excellence of Allah,
so as to change the hearts of those people, and so that they recognize the grandeur
of Allah. Of course, he did not have the power to change the hearts of people,
but it is Allah Who helped him a lot. Thus, when he made the necessary efforts,
Allah also put in the weight of His power (and breath) in this humble effort of
his and changed those barbarous hearts and enabled them to become Muslims. Likewise,
through divine help, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) succeeded in teaching people how to
make the Jihad-i-Akbar, Jihad-i-Kabir and Jihad-i-Saghir in
all spheres of all lives.
This is briefly the true explanation on Jihad which lots of Muslims remain
unaware about. I hope that this explanation can help our members, my dear
disciples in the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam, and our other Muslim brothers and
sisters throughout the world, as well as the non-Muslims who really want to
know about the true meaning of Jihad.
Jihad is not a word, which when heard, is to be feared. On the contrary,
Jihad is a beautiful term which
represents our legal battle (not an illegal one) to spread peace in the world (like
in the times of the Promised Messiah (as) when he proclaimed that the Jihad he
has come to wage is with the Pen, with his solid arguments in favour of Islam),
to spread the true Islam, the Sahih al Islam. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
---Friday Sermon of 28 July 2017(04 Dhul Qaddah 1438 AH) delivered by Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim (atba) of Mauritius.
