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Sharia
Last updated 2009-09-03
All aspects of a Muslim's life are governed by Sharia. Sharia law comes from a combination of sources including the Qur'an, the sayings of the prophet and the rulings of Islamic scholars.
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Introduction
The philosophy of Sharia
A personal view of Sharia
Further reading
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Introduction
Sharia
Sharia law comes from a combination of sources including the Qur'an ©
Sharia is a now a familiar term to Muslims and non-Muslims. It can often be heard in news stories about politics, crime, feminism, terrorism and civilisation.
All aspects of a Muslim's life are governed by Sharia. Sharia law comes from a combination of sources including the Qur'an (the Muslim holy book), the Hadith (sayings and conduct of the prophet Muhammad) and fatwas (the rulings of Islamic scholars).
Many people, including Muslims, misunderstand Sharia. It's often associated with the amputation of limbs, death by stoning, lashes and other medieval punishments. Because of this, it is sometimes thought of as draconian. Some people in the West view Sharia as archaic and unfair social ideas that are imposed upon people who live in Sharia-controlled countires.
Many Muslims, however, hold a different view. In the Islamic tradition Sharia is seen as something that nurtures humanity. They see the Sharia not in the light of something primitive but as something divinely revealed. In a society where social problems are endemic, Sharia frees humanity to realise its individual potential.
Sharia in the UK
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, gave his comments on implementing Sharia in the UK in a Radio 4 interview.
A discussion of Sharia
Dr Usama Hasan is the imam of the Tawhid Mosque and an advisor to the London Sharia Council. Faisal Aqtab is a barrister and head of the Hijaz College Islamic University. Dr Haleh Afshar is Professor in Politics at York University.
They discuss the Muslim vision of Islamic law, the source and interpretation of Sharia, punishments and the status of women.
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The philosophy of Sharia
The philosophy of Sharia - the Clear Path
In this section, Faraz Rabbani explains that there is a comprehensive Islamic philosophy underpining Sharia.
For each We have appointed a divine law and a traced-out way. Had God willed, He could have made you one community. But that He may try you by that which He has given you. So vie one with another in good works. Unto God you will all return, and He will then inform you of that wherein you differ.
Qur'an, 5:48
For Muslims, life did not begin at birth, but a long time before that. Before even the creation of the first man. It began when God created the souls of everyone who would ever exist and asked them, "Am I not your Lord?" They all replied, "Yea."
God decreed for each soul a time on earth so that He might try them. Then, after the completion of their appointed terms, He would judge them and send them to their eternal destinations: either one of endless bliss, or one of everlasting grief.
This life, then, is a journey that presents to its wayfarers many paths. Only one of these paths is clear and straight. This path is the Sharia.
Divine guidance
The Great Mosque in Damascus, Syria ©
In Arabic, Sharia means "the clear, well-trodden path to water". Islamically, it is used to refer to the matters of religion that God has legislated for His servants. The linguistic meaning of Sharia reverberates in its technical usage: just as water is vital to human life, so the clarity and uprightness of Sharia is the means of life for souls and minds.
Throughout history, God has sent messengers to people all over the world, to guide them to the straight path that would lead them to happiness in this world and the one to follow. All messengers taught the same message about belief (the Qur'an teaches that all messengers called people to the worship of the One God), but the specific prescriptions of the divine laws regulating people's lives varied according to the needs of his people and time.
The Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was the final messenger and his Sharia represents the ultimate manifestation of the divine mercy.
"Today I have perfected your way of life (din) for you, and completed My favour upon you, and have chosen Islam as your way of life." (Qur'an, 5:3) The Prophet himself was told that, "We have only sent you are a mercy for all creation." (Qur'an, 21:179)
Legal rulings
The Sharia regulates all human actions and puts them into five categories: obligatory, recommended, permitted, disliked or forbidden.
Obligatory actions must be performed and when performed with good intentions are rewarded. The opposite is forbidden action. Recommended action is that which should be done and the opposite is disliked action. Permitted action is that which is neither encouraged nor discouraged. Most human actions fall in this last category.
The ultimate worth of actions is based on intention and sincerity, as mentioned by the Prophet, who said, "Actions are by intentions, and one shall only get that which one intended."
Life under the Sharia
The Sharia sets out rules of conduct for women and men ©
The Sharia covers all aspects of human life. Classical Sharia manuals are often divided into four parts: laws relating to personal acts of worship, laws relating to commercial dealings, laws relating to marriage and divorce, and penal laws.
Legal philosophy
God sent prophets and books to humanity to show them the way to happiness in this life, and success in the hereafter. This is encapsulated in the believer's prayer, stated in the Qur'an, "Our Lord, give us good in this life and good in the next, and save us from the punishment of the Fire." (2:201)
The legal philosophers of Islam, such as Ghazali, Shatibi, and Shah Wali Allah explain that the aim of Sharia is to promote human welfare. This is evident in the Qur'an, and teachings of the Prophet.
The scholars explain that the welfare of humans is based on the fulfillment of necessities, needs, and comforts.
Necessities
Necessities are matters that worldly and religious life depend upon. Their omission leads to unbearable hardship in this life, or punishment in the next. There are five necessities: preservation of religion, life, intellect, lineage, and wealth. These ensure individual and social welfare in this life and the hereafter.
The Sharia protects these necessities in two ways: firstly by ensuring their establishment and then by preserving them.
To ensure the establishment of religion, God Most High has made belief and worship obligatory. To ensure its preservation, the rulings relating to the obligation of learning and conveying the religion were legislated.
To ensure the preservation of human life, God Most high legislated for marriage, healthy eating and living, and forbid the taking of life and laid down punishments for doing so.
God has permitted that sound intellect and knowledge be promoted, and forbidden that which corrupts or weakens it, such as alcohol and drugs. He has also imposed preventative punishments in order that people stay away from them, because a sound intellect is the basis of the moral responsibility that humans were given.
Marriage was legislated for the preservation of lineage, and sex outside marriage was forbidden. Punitive laws were put in placed in order to ensure the preservation of lineage and the continuation of human life.
God has made it obligatory to support oneself and those one is responsible for, and placed laws to regulate the commerce and transactions between people, in order to ensure fair dealing, economic justice, and to prevent oppression and dispute.
Needs and comforts
Needs and comforts are things people seek in order to ensure a good life, and avoid hardship, even though they are not essential. The spirit of the Sharia with regards to needs and comforts is summed up in the Qur'an, "He has not placed any hardship for you in religion," (22:87) And, "God does not seek to place a burden on you, but that He purify you and perfect His grace upon you, that you may give thanks." (5:6)
Therefore, everything that ensures human happiness, within the spirit of Divine Guidance, is permitted in the Sharia.
Sources of the Sharia
A girl studying the Qur'an ©
The primary sources of the Sharia are the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet Muhammad.
The Qur'an
The Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet gradually, over 23 years. The essence of its message is to establish the oneness of God and the spiritual and moral need of man for God. This need is fulfilled through worship and submission, and has ultimate consequences in the Hereafter.
The Qur'an is the word of God. Because of its inimitable style and eloquence, and, above all, the guidance and legal provisions it came with, it ensures the worldly and next-worldly welfare of humanity.
God Most High said, "Verily, this Qur'an guides to that which is best, and gives glad tidings to the believers who do good that theirs will be a great reward." (Qur'an, 17:9) And, "There has come unto you light from God and a clear Book, whereby God guides those who seek His good pleasure unto paths of peace. He brings them out of darkness unto light by His decree, and guides them unto a straight path." (Qur'an, 5:15)
The Prophetic example (Sunna)
The Prophet's role was expounded in the Qur'an, "We have revealed the Remembrance [Qur'an] to you that you may explain to people that which was revealed for them." (16:44)
This explanation was through the Prophet's words, actions, and example. Following the guidance and the example of the Prophet was made obligatory, "O you who believe, obey God and obey the Messenger," (4: 59) and, "Verily, in the Messenger of God you have a beautiful example for those who seek God and the Last Day, and remember God much." The Prophet himself instructed, "I have left two things with you which if you hold on to, you shall not be misguided: the Book of God and my example." [Reported by Hakim and Malik]
Derived sources
There are two agreed-upon derived sources of Sharia: scholarly consensus (ijma') and legal analogy (qiyas).
Scholarly consensus
The basis for scholarly consensus being a source of law is the Qur'anic command to resolve matters by consultation, as God stated, "Those who answer the call of their Lord, established prayer, and whose affairs are by consultation." (42:38) Scholarly consensus is defined as being the agreement of all Muslim scholars at the level of juristic reasoning (ijtihad) in one age on a given legal ruling. Given the condition that all such scholars have to agree to the ruling, its scope is limited to matters that are clear according to the Qur'an and Prophetic example, upon which such consensus must necessarily be based. When established, though, scholarly consensus is decisive proof.
Legal analogy (Qiyas)
Legal analogy is a powerful tool to derive rulings for new matters. For example, drugs have been deemed impermissible, through legal analogy from the prohibition of alcohol that is established in the Qur'an. Such a ruling is based on the common underlying effective cause of intoxication.
Legal analogy and its various tools enables the jurists to understand the underlying reasons and causes for the rulings of the Qur'an and Prophetic example (sunna). This helps when dealing with ever-changing human situations and allows for new rulings to be applied most suitably and consistently.
Beyond ritualism
Hassan II Mosque, Morocco ©
The ultimate aim of those who submit to the Sharia is to express their slavehood to their Creator. But the Sharia does bring benefit in this world too.
This way has been indicated in a Divine statement conveyed by the Prophet.
My servant approaches Me with nothing more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him, and My servant keeps drawing nearer to Me with voluntary works until I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he seizes, and his foot with which he walks. If he asks Me, I will surely give to him, and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely protect him.
Prophet Muhammad, reported by Bukhari
If the legal dimension of the Sharia gives Islam its form, the spiritual dimension is its substance. The spiritual life of Islam, and its goal, was outlined in the Divine statement (mentioned above).
The Prophet explained spiritual excellence as being, "To worship God as though you see Him, and if you see Him not, [know that] He nevertheless sees you.
The spiritual life of Islam is a means to a realization of faith and a perfection of practice. It is to seek the water that the Sharia is the clear path to, water that gives life to minds and souls longing for meaning.
It is this spiritual life, at its various levels, that attracts Muslims to their religion, its way of life, and to the rulings of the Sharia.
And those who believe are overflowing in their love of God.
Qur'an 2:165
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A personal view of Sharia
A personal view of Sharia
In this section Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood, a British Muslim, addresses some common questions about Sharia.
These are the author's views and not the views of the BBC nor a definitive treatment of the topic. This is a controversial area and no personal view can provide a definitive analysis of the subject; other people may approach it differently and hold different views and interpretations.
How did Sharia start?
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) laid down the laws - some of them were direct commands stated in the revelation of the Qur'an; other laws grew up based on the Prophet's own example and the various rulings he gave to cases that occurred during his lifetime. These secondary laws are based on what's called the Sunnah - the Prophet's words, example, and way of life.
So, all the laws of Sharia are based primarily on Qur'an and then on Sunnah, and after that, if there was no information in those two sources, judges were free to use their intelligence to make analogies. As in most legal systems, cases could then be referred to by later judges.
What, nowadays, is the authoritative source of Sharia?
Just the same as outlined above. What is important, however, is that judges are highly educated in Islamic law and jurisprudence, and this is an area where some damage was done during the colonial periods when Islamic schools of law were closed down with a great loss of knowledge and expertise which is only now being repaired slowly. The problem is that it is all too easy for an individual judge to make some pronouncement or invoke some penalty without full knowledge of the background of Sharia and the spirit behind the various laws and penalties.
What are the basic principles of Sharia?
These are to see the will of God done on earth as it is in Heaven (as in the Christian Lord's Prayer). How can we possibly know this will? By study of the revealed scriptures and by choosing talented, intelligent and far-sighted merciful people of excellent character as our judges. The whole principle of God's will is to bring about compassion, kindness, generosity, justice, fair play, tolerance, and care in general, as opposed to tyranny, cruelty, selfishness, exploitation etc. All the rules of Sharia are towards those ends.
The usual criticisms of Sharia - that it is so cruel as regards execution, flogging and cutting off hands - totally ignore all the extenuating circumstances that would lead to these penalties not being applied. They are known as hadd penalties (pl. hudud), the extreme limit of the penalty. Thus, if a person was sentenced to having a hand cut off, he or she should not be sent to prison and/or be fined as well. People who regard these practices as cruel will never be persuaded otherwise, so Muslims usually leave that aside. Their point is that the cutting of the hand for theft is a very powerful deterrent - Muslims care less for the callous and continual thief than they do for the poor souls who are mugged and robbed and hurt by the thieves.
The Middle East is certainly not full of one-handed people - as any traveller would tell you. What we have lost here is the horror of dishonour that true Muslims still have. They would do anything rather than offend Allah, and they of course believe that Allah sees every single thing that is done - there are no secrets. Even if you get away with something on earth, it has been seen and recorded and you will have to face judgement for it eventually, and the people hurt by your action will be recompensed. Of course, if you do not believe in God, or a judgement, or a life to come, the whole system is quite meaningless to you. In Sharia law, if a thief could prove that he/she only stole because of need, then the Muslim society would be held at fault and made to supply that need, and there would be no hand-cutting. Most thieves would think twice before risking a hand on mugging an old lady for her handbag!
Adultery
In the west, adultery has become so commonplace because of sexual freedoms - all the emphasis these days seems to be on finding sexual satisfaction; in Muslim societies, there is far less emphasis on sex - it is usually regarded as a weakness that can lead to all sorts of trouble. Family is far more important; the notion of a million unborn children per year being aborted, and single mothers, is abhorrent in Islam.
Murder
Sharia law for murder allows the death penalty, but is kinder than western law in one respect - after judicial judgement has been made, appeals are then allowed to the family of the murdered victims, and they are begged to be merciful. In Islam, it is always regarded as the height of mercy to forgive a murderer, even though one may have the right to take his/her life in reprisal.
The form of execution is not specified in Islam - i.e. it is not usually a stoning. Beheading used to be regarded as the quickest and most merciful way (as in Roman law, and the French guillotine); these days other methods may find approval. There are apparently far fewer executions in most Muslim countries than in the USA, for example. The penalty for adultery is open to debate. Most scholars will insist that the penalty as laid down in the Qur'an was 100 lashes, and there were various rules for regulating how lashes were to be given too. Other scholars maintain that the old penalty for adultery as laid down by the previous prophets was stoning (as in the Old Testament). By New Testament times, the prophet Jesus had the famous case where a guilty woman was forgiven and sent away, told only to sin no more.
In some Muslim societies, judges and populaces might stone out of mistaken belief that this was what Islam required. In fact, Islam made it virtually impossible - to be sentenced to death for adultery, the couple had to be actually witnessed performing the physical act by four people who were in a position to identify both parties without doubt; this virtually ruled out the penalty, since adultery is taken for granted as a secret act and something not done in public.
Is Sharia the same in all countries?
I'm afraid I do not know the answer to this, but certainly the principles are exactly the same in whatever country they are applied.
Individual rights vs needs of society?
Basically in Islam the needs of society always come first, with the proviso that injustices should always be able to be taken to judges who are not corrupt. The old Arab system allowed any person, no matter how humble, to take his/her case to the highest in the land personally. Islam brings a very strong sense of justice, and care of the oppressed and exploited.
Does Sharia make life easier or harder for the ordinary Muslim?
Much easier for those who strive to live the correct life pleasing to God and in kindness and peace with the neighbour; much harder for the one who is selfish, callous, cruel, exploitative, dishonest etc. There is virtually no sympathy for such people - unless they really are mentally ill, in which case they are not regarded as culpable in Sharia. All those before the age of puberty, or not of sound mind, are not regarded as culpable.
Why has Sharia become a synonym for cruelty and lack of compassion?
I think through two things - ignorance of the reality of Sharia law, and much publicised cases where Muslims in positions of authority have been very poor Muslims, if not non-Muslims in Muslim disguise. For example, 100 years ago we had stories of awful Turkish sultans, and people being rushed to blocks to have their hands cut off etc. The media picks out certain cases and blows them up to make a big drama of them - they might pick on one particular murderer on death row in the USA and rouse everyone's feelings, but totally ignore all the others due to be executed that day!
A case like the Nigerian woman in danger of being stoned for adultery is a case in point. She might have been stoned by irate villagers, but on being taken into custody and judged by Sharia law she gets the opportunity to appeal and explain etc. In her case, if it is true that she was raped, she most certainly would not be sentenced to death. What interests me is who were the rotten people who brought the case against her anyway?
Incidentally the correct Islamic method of stoning according to Sharia was similar to that advised by the Pharisees at the time of Jesus - the person was held fast in a fixed position, and a stone or rock that it took two men to lift (i.e. was heavier than one man could lift alone) was to be dropped to crush the head - it was not someone tied to a post and rocks hurled at them, although this has been done in some cultures. The point was that if someone really had to be executed, it was to be done swiftly, with as little torture as possible, and usually publicly so that no vindictive person could do further nasty things behind the scenes and get away with it.
Sharia should promote gender equality. In fact, the natural Islamic tendency is to always consider women as the weaker sex in need of care and protection, and come down hard on the men who allow their womenfolk to get into difficulties.
Dress
Sharia does not require women to wear a burqa. There are all sorts of items of dress which are worn by Muslim women, and these vary all over the world. Burqas belong to particular areas of the world, where they are considered normal dress. In other parts of the world the dress is totally different. The rule of dress for women is modesty, the word hijab implies 'covered'.
Some Muslim women feel that they should cover everything from neck to ankle, and neck to wrist. Others also include a head veil (this is the most controversial bit, and millions of Muslim women choose to wear it, or alternatively choose not to wear it - and there is much disagreement between the types!), and finally some choose to cover even their faces, although there is no Islamic text requiring this extreme. My own preference is a long black dress and a white headscarf - I have never worn a burqa in my life. Incidentally, when men try to enforce Muslim dress on women, this is forbidden - no aspect of our faith is to be done by coercion. It is up to the woman what she chooses to do - some choose full hijab and their men hate it!
Forced and arranged marriages
In Sharia Law any marriage that is forced or false in any way is null and void. It is not a proper marriage. This is a problem that seems to plague Muslim women from India/Pakistan/Bangladesh and nowhere else in the Islamic world - and it also applies to Hindus and some Sikhs from those areas too.
Forced marriage is totally forbidden in Islam. False marriage is too - for example, some of our teenage girls are sent back to Pakistan for a holiday when they are about 15, and sign things they do not understand, and then find out later that they have been 'married' even if it has not been consummated. UK lawyers are getting far better at studying Sharia these days, in order to protect these girls from this particular culture.
Forced marriage is not at all the same thing as arranged marriage. Muslims from many countries have a system of arranged marriages, in which the spouses may not have seen each other before marriage, but it always has to be with their free consent. The Prophet himself advised prospective spouses to at least 'look' at each other, until they could see what it was that made them wish to marry that person as opposed to any other. Women forced into marriage, or seeking divorce for general reasons, have the same sort of grounds in Sharia as in the west - cruelty, mental cruelty, adultery, abandonment, etc. They may even request a divorce for no specific reason whatever, so long as they agree to pay back the mahr (marriage payment) made to them by their husband if the husband does not wish to let them go but are obliged to.
Men having many wives?
Men and women can have as many spouses as they can fit into a lifetime; but this is not generally approved. Women are requested to have only one husband at a time (there is evidence that wealthy Arab women were polyandrous before the coming of Islam - certainly wealthy men were polygynous), and men are limited to four at one time, whereas previously there had been no limit, and a wealthy and generous man was expected to cater for as many women as he could afford (in the absence of a welfare state).
Allah sent the proviso that no Muslim was ever to deliberately cause hurt or harm to another Muslim, so a man might not take extra womenfolk into his home if it would cause upset and distress (it was recommended when there were lots of widows after warfare, if the women were willing to be generous to bereft 'sisters'). Also, if a man could not provide equal treatment of his wives - equal food, clothing, money, living quarters, time spent with - he was refused permission for polygamy.
Equal sexual activity was not ruled on, however. Some wives had no sexual relationship with their husbands at all after a while, or if they came into the household as widows of relatives. Don't forget that most widows also came with their children. When the Prophet married the widow Sawdah he took on six of her children, and with Umm Salamah another four, for example.
Sharia and food
The rules are those of haram (banned) and halal (allowed). All vegetable, fruit, grain and seafood is halal. Meat is halal providing it has been killed in the kindest possible way by a sharp instrument that pierces and kills swiftly (sharp knife, bullet, sword), and the appropriate prayers are said at its death (or at the time of eating if one is not certain).
Muslims may not eat any food that has been sacrificed to idols (e.g. Hindu meat), but kosher is fine. They may not eat any pork product or flesh with blood undrained from it; the most extreme Muslims will not touch anything that has animal fat included - even a biscuit - in case it is pork lard or gelatine from an animal not killed in the halal manner. If Muslims eat haram food without realising it is haram (i.e. some butchers 'fake' their halal tickets), they are not held to blame, but judged by their intention. In cases of necessity, Muslims may eat anything available, even pork, rather than suffer hardship. Alcohol is haram.
The Prophet's wife Aishah
No-one is absolutely certain of her age when she married the Prophet, but it could have been as young as 6; some scholars believe she was ten years older. However, the majority go for the age of 6. The marriage that took place then was an agreement on paper, there was no physical relationship until Aishah reached puberty - but this in itself could have been at around 9 or 10 years old. That is not an unusual age for menstruation to start in hot climates, and once a girl is capable of producing a child she is regarded as technically a woman. Sex for children under 16 is forbidden by law in the UK at the moment, but this has not always been the case and it is nonsense to suppose that there is no sexual activity amongst children under 16 in this country. No-one is able to stop them and if the girls get pregnant they frequently have abortions.
In Muslim countries it is considered far better to get youngsters married as soon as they show inclinations to have sex - then they can have it honourably, as much as they like, and the children born are not illegitimate. Many Muslim countries in fact do try to keep to the age of about 16 for marriage (as is the legal age in the UK), and prefer not to marry off their girls too young. Some societies expect marriages to be life-partnerships, but in others divorces are frequent if things do not work out and girls choose other husbands. In the Prophet's day, the normal age for boys to marry was about 15 and girls between 13-15, although some girls preferred to defer the role until their twenties if they had their own money. Don't forget, there was virtually no contraception and marriage implied having a baby every two years or so. The used to feed babies as long as possible to avoid too frequent pregnancy. As far as I know, the Virgin Mary was around 12-13 when she had baby Jesus, and she was living with her husband in one of these non-physical arrangements. The Prophet was certainly not a paedophile! He did not marry his first wife until she was 40, and he had no other wife until she died at the age of 65; then his second wife was in her 40s, to help him out while he was a single parent!
In countries where Sharia law is enforced, how are specific punishments decided on and who makes these decisions?
The specific punishments are decided on by the lawyers of the land, many of whom have been educated and trained in the west!
Would many Muslims in Britain be in favour of Sharia law being implemented here?
I think many Muslims in the UK would be in favour of Sharia law being implemented here, but true Sharia law is only really possible in a Muslim society, not in a non-Muslim or mixed society. Flogging for public drunkenness, for example, might make some of our louts and cruel men folk think twice before acting as they do, and thinking nothing of it.
I once left my expensive camera on a wall in Egypt and it was gone when I returned for it - no big surprise. What was a surprise is that someone in that village found out where my coach had gone next and took the trouble to travel nearly 100 miles to find me and return the camera - they had picked it up for safe-keeping and did not want any of their summer tourists (it is hard for Egypt to get tourists in August!) to think there was a thief in their village! I was also very impressed by the way people just left shop tills and went off to mid-day prayers, trusting that no-one would steal their money or stock.
I don't think lawyers in the UK would ever bring back the death sentence, but many people here think that they should. Personally, I could never bring a case against a man seeking his death for adultery, and I would not be willing to put even the worst of criminals to death myself. I feel the electric chair is far more barbaric than stoning. Incidentally the correct Islamic method of stoning according to Sharia was similar to that advised by the Pharisees at the time of Jesus - the person was held fast in a fixed position, and a stone or rock that it took two men to lift (i.e. was heavier than one man could lift alone) was to be dropped to crush the head - it was not someone tied to a post and rocks hurled at them, although this has been done in some cultures. The point was that if someone really had to be executed, it was to be done swiftly, with as little torture as possible, and usually publicly so that no vindictive person could do further nasty things behind the scenes and get away with it. People gathering at executions were often those who had come to pray for and support the person being executed and not just ghoulish onlookers. I would feel just the same about witnessing such an execution as I felt about hanging when it was done here. I prayed all night before the execution of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hung in the UK.
What areas of law do Muslims in Britain think are mishandled by British state law?
I think Muslims generally are shocked by the general lack of respect and discipline here, especially if they are immigrants and not born here. They are particularly shocked by lack of discipline in schools and the difficulties faced by so many teachers in getting children to behave in class and actually learn.
They are shocked by the appalling rates of theft, drunkenness, drug addiction, sex outside marriage, abortions, rape of children and old ladies, homosexuality - especially when it is being put forward as quite normal and an acceptable alternative sexual lifestyle; homosexuals in positions of authority (from teachers to MPs).
They are also shocked by the general lack of respect for those in authority, and older people in general. In Muslim homes, children would probably be expected not to smoke in front of parents, not to sit down or start eating before them.
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Further reading
Further reading
Islam: A Sacred Law: What Every Muslim Should Know About the Shariah, Feisal Abdul Rauf, Kazi Pubns. ISBN: 0939660709
Teach Yourself Islam (Teach Yourself), Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood, pub. Teach Yourself. ISBN: 0340859687
Islamic Sharia and the Muslims, M.S. Siddiqui, Kazi Publications. ISBN: 0686639057
Woman in Islamic Shariah, Maulana Khan, Goodword Books. ISBN: 8185063761
World of Fatwas: Shariah in Action, Arun Shourie, Sharad Saxena (illustrator), pub. ASA. ISBN: 8190019953
Bibliography for 'The philosophy of Sharia - the clear path'
Al-Madkhal li Dirasat al-Shariah al-Islamiyya (Abd al-Karim Zaydan)
Usul al-Fiqh al-Islami (Wahba Zuhayli)
Al-Muwafaqat (Shatibi)
Hujjat Allah al-Baligha (Wali Allah al-Dahlawi)
Reliance of the Traveller (tr Nuh Keller)
Al-Tahrir (Ibn al-Humam)
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Find out more
Sharia-compliant mortgage
Rowan Williams
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See also
Interfaith calendar
Salah calculator
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Ethics
Around the BBC
BBC News - Inside a Sharia court
BBC News - Sharia takes hold
BBC News - The many faces of Sharia
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Guardian - Sharia law
Poll reveals 40% of Muslims want sharia law in UK
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Minhaz Merchant
TOI
To turn a metaphor around,what can't be endured must be cured.Trust is the key curative ingredient in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's nuanced strategy of structured re-engagement with Pakistan.And yet the meetings between home minister P Chidambaram and external affairs minister S M Krishna with their Pakistani counterparts on June 26 and July 15 respectively mark a fundamental shift in the balance of diplomatic power between India and Pakistan.
Pakistan's decades-long attempt to acquire parity with India is over.Despite the Pakistani army's braggadocio,its deployment of over 1,00,000 troops in the recently renamed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region (formerly known as the North West Frontier Province) has significantly weakened both its fighting capabilities on the LoC and its morale.The economic disparity between the two countries is growing.India's GDP is now nearly 10 times Pakistan's.Power shortages are crippling industry and everyday life in Pakistan.The entire country generates a mere 11,800 MW of electricity per day on average (Maharashtra alone generates more) and faces a daily shortfall of nearly 4,000 MW.
While the inevitably long drawn out appeal process against the death sentence given to Mohammed Ajmal Kasab will continue to cause public disquiet in India,the arrest of failed New York bomber Faisal Shahzad has seriously weakened Pakistan's ability to run with the Taliban hares and hunt with the American hounds.Washington has woken up.
The prime minister's strategy of re-engaging Pakistan couldn't be better timed for three other reasons.One,the eighteenth constitutional amendment has given Pakistan's National Assembly greater parliamentary power than it has had since the time of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in the early 1970s.General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani may still be the power behind the throne but on the throne sits a significantly empowered prime minister.
Two,ISI-created terror groups in north Waziristan led by Sirajuddin Haqqani are being relentlessly pursued by the US following the interrogation of Shahzad.Washington is forcing Islamabad to dismember Pakistan's strategic terror assets designed by Rawalpindi GHQ to remote control a Talibanised Afghanistan after the Americans leave.That strategy now lies in tatters.
Three,India's conventional military strength is being quietly burnished.The Indian navy has already commissioned an advanced stealth ship (INS Shivalik) and two more stealths (INS Satpura and INS Sahyadri) are expected to enter service next year.The navy has begun a two-year sea trial of INS Arihant,its first indigenously built ATV nuclear submarine,and will have a fleet of six by 2020.A nuclear-tipped supersonic cruise missile,BrahMos,is under classified development and will join the Agni-III whose range is 5,000 km.The navy's aircraft carrier (INS Vikramaditya ) and nuclear submarines,supplemented by land-based and air-fired missiles,form a deadly triad of offensive military capability.
The prime minister is a pacifist but knows that to win the peace you must first possess the means to win a war.He now has those means and they immeasurably strengthen his negotiating position.But while talks with Pakistan are necessary,they must serve one clear purpose: a permanent end to state-sponsored terrorism by Pakistan.From this will emerge a modus vivendi on Kashmir and water,closer economic cooperation,stronger trade ties,easier travel and more people-to-people contact.
The Indian home minister's mandate at the SAARC home ministers' summit beginning in Islamabad on June 26 is to carry the prime minister's dual strategy forward.The first part of that strategy is to narrow the trust deficit with Pakistan's civilian government through purposeful re-engagement between the two countries' home and foreign ministers.The second part of the strategy is to assess whether the Pakistani army's adversarial mindset has changed significantly.
The influence of General Kayani,whose tenure ends on November 29 and may not be extended,is waning as Pakistani civil society,a reinvigorated judiciary and the democratically elected government reassert themselves.Washington no longer trusts him,especially after Shahzad's handlers were traced back to the ISI.New economic and geopolitical realities have shrunk the ambitions of even the hawks within the ISI who have long made a profitable living out of Pakistan's adversarial relationship with India.
Chidambaram's iron fist may be clothed in velvet as he meets Pakistan's leaders in Islamabad this weekend but he will leave them in no doubt about India's intent: peace is a prize to be won for the entire subcontinent.It is a prize necessary for India to pursue its expanding global agenda without being distracted by a renegade neighbour.And it is necessary for Pakistan so that it can extricate itself from decades of misguided military adventurism and statesponsored terrorism that have cost so many innocent lives.
Talking to,and trusting,Pakistan is vital for long-term peace in the subcontinent.But peace,like any other prize worth winning,carries collateral obligations.It is,for instance,the constitutional obligation of a government to protect its citizens and,in the event of a terrorist attack against them,bring the perpetrators to book.The prime minister,as his government re-engages Pakistan across a raft of issues,must honour that principal obligation by ensuring that terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim are brought swiftly to justice.
Minhaz Merchant
TOI
To turn a metaphor around,what can't be endured must be cured.Trust is the key curative ingredient in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's nuanced strategy of structured re-engagement with Pakistan.And yet the meetings between home minister P Chidambaram and external affairs minister S M Krishna with their Pakistani counterparts on June 26 and July 15 respectively mark a fundamental shift in the balance of diplomatic power between India and Pakistan.
Pakistan's decades-long attempt to acquire parity with India is over.Despite the Pakistani army's braggadocio,its deployment of over 1,00,000 troops in the recently renamed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region (formerly known as the North West Frontier Province) has significantly weakened both its fighting capabilities on the LoC and its morale.The economic disparity between the two countries is growing.India's GDP is now nearly 10 times Pakistan's.Power shortages are crippling industry and everyday life in Pakistan.The entire country generates a mere 11,800 MW of electricity per day on average (Maharashtra alone generates more) and faces a daily shortfall of nearly 4,000 MW.
While the inevitably long drawn out appeal process against the death sentence given to Mohammed Ajmal Kasab will continue to cause public disquiet in India,the arrest of failed New York bomber Faisal Shahzad has seriously weakened Pakistan's ability to run with the Taliban hares and hunt with the American hounds.Washington has woken up.
The prime minister's strategy of re-engaging Pakistan couldn't be better timed for three other reasons.One,the eighteenth constitutional amendment has given Pakistan's National Assembly greater parliamentary power than it has had since the time of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in the early 1970s.General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani may still be the power behind the throne but on the throne sits a significantly empowered prime minister.
Two,ISI-created terror groups in north Waziristan led by Sirajuddin Haqqani are being relentlessly pursued by the US following the interrogation of Shahzad.Washington is forcing Islamabad to dismember Pakistan's strategic terror assets designed by Rawalpindi GHQ to remote control a Talibanised Afghanistan after the Americans leave.That strategy now lies in tatters.
Three,India's conventional military strength is being quietly burnished.The Indian navy has already commissioned an advanced stealth ship (INS Shivalik) and two more stealths (INS Satpura and INS Sahyadri) are expected to enter service next year.The navy has begun a two-year sea trial of INS Arihant,its first indigenously built ATV nuclear submarine,and will have a fleet of six by 2020.A nuclear-tipped supersonic cruise missile,BrahMos,is under classified development and will join the Agni-III whose range is 5,000 km.The navy's aircraft carrier (INS Vikramaditya ) and nuclear submarines,supplemented by land-based and air-fired missiles,form a deadly triad of offensive military capability.
The prime minister is a pacifist but knows that to win the peace you must first possess the means to win a war.He now has those means and they immeasurably strengthen his negotiating position.But while talks with Pakistan are necessary,they must serve one clear purpose: a permanent end to state-sponsored terrorism by Pakistan.From this will emerge a modus vivendi on Kashmir and water,closer economic cooperation,stronger trade ties,easier travel and more people-to-people contact.
The Indian home minister's mandate at the SAARC home ministers' summit beginning in Islamabad on June 26 is to carry the prime minister's dual strategy forward.The first part of that strategy is to narrow the trust deficit with Pakistan's civilian government through purposeful re-engagement between the two countries' home and foreign ministers.The second part of the strategy is to assess whether the Pakistani army's adversarial mindset has changed significantly.
The influence of General Kayani,whose tenure ends on November 29 and may not be extended,is waning as Pakistani civil society,a reinvigorated judiciary and the democratically elected government reassert themselves.Washington no longer trusts him,especially after Shahzad's handlers were traced back to the ISI.New economic and geopolitical realities have shrunk the ambitions of even the hawks within the ISI who have long made a profitable living out of Pakistan's adversarial relationship with India.
Chidambaram's iron fist may be clothed in velvet as he meets Pakistan's leaders in Islamabad this weekend but he will leave them in no doubt about India's intent: peace is a prize to be won for the entire subcontinent.It is a prize necessary for India to pursue its expanding global agenda without being distracted by a renegade neighbour.And it is necessary for Pakistan so that it can extricate itself from decades of misguided military adventurism and statesponsored terrorism that have cost so many innocent lives.
Talking to,and trusting,Pakistan is vital for long-term peace in the subcontinent.But peace,like any other prize worth winning,carries collateral obligations.It is,for instance,the constitutional obligation of a government to protect its citizens and,in the event of a terrorist attack against them,bring the perpetrators to book.The prime minister,as his government re-engages Pakistan across a raft of issues,must honour that principal obligation by ensuring that terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim are brought swiftly to justice.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Aarzoo
Khud kuch khud se khud ki baten
Anginat yaar karte hain…
Dil kuch dil se dil ki batein
Besabab Beqarar karti hain…
Sapne mere duniya meri
Soch bhi khwahish bhi
Har pal…pal pal …
Sapnon se apne sawal karte hain…
Beqarari besabab nahin intezar yaar
Pyaase pyaas ke paani ki chahat karte hain….
Aarzoo ki tamanna wa tamanna ki aarzooo
Deedar-e-yaar chaah chahat ki hai …
-shuja
Anginat yaar karte hain…
Dil kuch dil se dil ki batein
Besabab Beqarar karti hain…
Sapne mere duniya meri
Soch bhi khwahish bhi
Har pal…pal pal …
Sapnon se apne sawal karte hain…
Beqarari besabab nahin intezar yaar
Pyaase pyaas ke paani ki chahat karte hain….
Aarzoo ki tamanna wa tamanna ki aarzooo
Deedar-e-yaar chaah chahat ki hai …
-shuja
The Pakistan Solution : an answer to Jinnah!
India Wins Freedom
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Maulana Azad's statement on Muslim issues in India
April 15, 1946
... on 15 April 1946, I issued a statement dealing with the demands of Muslims and other minorities. Now that the division of India is a fact and ten years have passed, I again look at the statement and find that everything I had then said has come to happen. As this statement contains my considered views on the solution of the Indian problem, I feel I should quote it in full. This is what I then said, and would still say:
I have considered from every possible point of view the scheme of Pakistan as formulated by the Muslim League. As an Indian I have examined its implications for the future of India as a whole. As a Muslim I have examined its likely effects upon the fortunes of Muslims of India.
Considering the scheme in all its aspects I have come to the conclusion that it is harmful not only for India as a whole but for Muslims in particular. And in fact it creates more problems than it solves.
I must confess that the very term Pakistan goes against my grain. It suggests that some portions of the world are pure while others are impure. Such a division of territories into pure and impure is un-Islamic and is more in keeping with orthodox Brahmanism which divides men and countries into holy and unholy - a division which is a repudiation of the very spirit of Islam. Islam recognises no such division and the prophet says, 'God has made the whole world a mosque for me.'
Further, it seems that the scheme of Pakistan is a symbol of defeatism and has been built up on the analogy of the Jewish demand for a national home. It is a confession that Indian Muslims cannot hold their own in India as a whole and would be content to withdraw to a corner specially reserved for them.
One can sympathise with the aspiration of the Jews for such a national home, as they are scattered all over the world and cannot in any region have any effective voice in the administration. The conditions of Indian Muslims is quite otherwise. Over 90 million in number, they are in quantity and quality a sufficiently important element in Indian life to Influence decisively all questions of administration and policy. Nature has further helped them by concentrating them in certain areas.
In such a context, the demand for Pakistan loses all force. As a Muslim, I for one am not prepared for a moment to give up my right to treat the whole of India as my domain and to share in the shaping of its political and economic life. To me it seems a sure sign of cowardice to give up what is my patrimony and content myself with a mere fragment of it.
As is well known, Mr Jinnah's Pakistan scheme is based on his two nation theory. His thesis is that India contains many nationalities based on religious differences. Of them the two major nations, the Hindus and Muslims, must as separate nations have separate states. When Dr Edward Thompson once pointed out to Mr Jinnah that Hindus and Muslims live side by side in thousands of Indian towns, villages and hamlets, Mr Jinnah replied that this in no way affected their separate nationality. Two nations according to Mr Jinnah confront one another in every hamlet, village and town, and he, therefore, desires that they should be separated into two states.
I am prepared to overlook all other aspects of the problem and judge it from the point of view of Muslim interests alone. I shall go still further and say that if it can be shown that the scheme of Pakistan can in any way benefit Muslims I would be prepared to accept it myself and also to work for its acceptance by others. But the truth is that even If I examine the scheme from the point of view of the communal interests of the Muslims themselves, I am forced to the conclusion that it can in no way benefit them or allay their legitimate fears.
Let us consider dispassionately the consequences which will follow if we give effect to the Pakistan scheme. India will be divided into two States, one with a majority of Muslims and the other of Hindus. In the Hindustan State there will remain three and a half crores of Muslims scattered in small minorities all over the land. With 17 per cent in U.P, 12 per cent in Bihar and 9 per cent in Madras, they will be weaker than they are today in the Hindu majority provinces. They have had their homelands in these regions for almost a thousand years and built up well known centres of Muslim culture and civilisation there.
They will awaken overnight and discover that they have become alien and foreigners. Backward industrially, educationally and economically, they will be left to the mercies to what would become an unadulterated Hindu raj.
On the other hand, their position within the Pakistan State will be vulnerable and weak. Nowhere in Pakistan will their majority be comparable to the Hindu majority in the Hindustan States.
In fact, their majority will be so slight that it will be offset by the economical, educational and political lead enjoyed by non-Muslims in these areas. Even if this were not so and Pakistan were overwhelmingly Muslim in population, it still could hardly solve the problem of Muslims in Hindustan.
Two states confronting one another, offer no solution of the problem of one another's minorities, but only lead to retribution and reprisals by introducing a system of mutual hostages. The scheme of Pakistan therefore solves no problem for the Muslims. It cannot safeguard their rights where they are in a minority nor as citizens of Pakistan secure them a position in Indian or world affairs which they would enjoy as citizens of a major State like the Indian Union.
It may be argued that if Pakistan is so much against the interests of the Muslims themselves, why should such a large section of Muslims be swept away by its lure? The answer is to be found in the attitude of certain communal extremists among the Hindus. When the Muslim League began to speak of Pakistan, they read into the scheme a sinister pan-Islamic conspiracy and began to oppose it out of fear that it foreshadowed a combination of Indian Muslim with trans-Indian Muslims States.
The opposition acted as an incentive to the adherents of the League. With simple though untenable logic they argued that if Hindus were so opposed to Pakistan, surely it must be of benefit to Muslims. An atmosphere of emotional frenzy was created which made reasonable appraisement impossible and swept away, especially the younger and more impressionable among the Muslims. I have, however, no doubt that when the present frenzy has died down and the question can be considered dispassionately, those who now support Pakistan will themselves repudiate it as harmful for Muslim Interests.
The formula which I have succeeded in making the Congress accept secures whatever merit the Pakistan scheme contains while all its defects and drawbacks are avoided. The basis of Pakistan is the fear of interference by the Centre in Muslim majority areas as the Hindus will be in a majority in the Centre. The Congress meets this fear by granting full autonomy to the provincial units and vesting all residuary power in the provinces. It also has provided for two lists of Central subjects, one compulsory and one optional, so that if any provincial unit so wants, it can administer all subjects itself except a minimum delegated to the Centre. The Congress scheme therefore ensures that Muslim majority provinces are internally free to develop as they will, but can at the same time influence the Centre on all issues which affect India as a whole.
The situation in India is such that all attempts to establish a centralised and unitary government are bound to fail. Equally doomed to failure is the attempt to divide India into two States. After considering all aspects of the question, I have come to the conclusion that the only solution can be on the lines embodied in the Congress formula which allows room for development both to the provinces and to India as a whole. The Congress formula meets the fear of the Muslim majority areas to allay which the scheme of Pakistan was formed. On the other hand, it avoids the defects of the Pakistan scheme which would bring the Muslims where they are in a minority under a purely Hindu government.
I am one of those who considers the present chapter of communal bitterness and differences as a transient phase in Indian life. I firmly hold that they will disappear when India assumes the responsibility of her own destiny. I am reminded of a saying of Mr Gladstone that the best cure for a man's fear of the water was to throw him into it. Similarly India must assume responsibilities and administer her own affairs before fears and suspicions can be fully allayed.
When India attains her destiny, she will forget the chapter of communal suspicion and conflict and face the problems of modern life from a modern point of view. Differences will no doubt persist, but they will be economic, not communal. Opposition among political parties will continue, but it will be based, not on religion but on economic and political issues. Class and not community will be the basis of future alignments, and policies will be shaped accordingly.
If It be argued that this is only a faith which events may not justify would say that in any case the nine crores of Muslims constitute a factor which nobody can ignore and whatever the circumstances they are strong enough to safeguard their own destiny.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Maulana Azad's statement on Muslim issues in India
April 15, 1946
... on 15 April 1946, I issued a statement dealing with the demands of Muslims and other minorities. Now that the division of India is a fact and ten years have passed, I again look at the statement and find that everything I had then said has come to happen. As this statement contains my considered views on the solution of the Indian problem, I feel I should quote it in full. This is what I then said, and would still say:
I have considered from every possible point of view the scheme of Pakistan as formulated by the Muslim League. As an Indian I have examined its implications for the future of India as a whole. As a Muslim I have examined its likely effects upon the fortunes of Muslims of India.
Considering the scheme in all its aspects I have come to the conclusion that it is harmful not only for India as a whole but for Muslims in particular. And in fact it creates more problems than it solves.
I must confess that the very term Pakistan goes against my grain. It suggests that some portions of the world are pure while others are impure. Such a division of territories into pure and impure is un-Islamic and is more in keeping with orthodox Brahmanism which divides men and countries into holy and unholy - a division which is a repudiation of the very spirit of Islam. Islam recognises no such division and the prophet says, 'God has made the whole world a mosque for me.'
Further, it seems that the scheme of Pakistan is a symbol of defeatism and has been built up on the analogy of the Jewish demand for a national home. It is a confession that Indian Muslims cannot hold their own in India as a whole and would be content to withdraw to a corner specially reserved for them.
One can sympathise with the aspiration of the Jews for such a national home, as they are scattered all over the world and cannot in any region have any effective voice in the administration. The conditions of Indian Muslims is quite otherwise. Over 90 million in number, they are in quantity and quality a sufficiently important element in Indian life to Influence decisively all questions of administration and policy. Nature has further helped them by concentrating them in certain areas.
In such a context, the demand for Pakistan loses all force. As a Muslim, I for one am not prepared for a moment to give up my right to treat the whole of India as my domain and to share in the shaping of its political and economic life. To me it seems a sure sign of cowardice to give up what is my patrimony and content myself with a mere fragment of it.
As is well known, Mr Jinnah's Pakistan scheme is based on his two nation theory. His thesis is that India contains many nationalities based on religious differences. Of them the two major nations, the Hindus and Muslims, must as separate nations have separate states. When Dr Edward Thompson once pointed out to Mr Jinnah that Hindus and Muslims live side by side in thousands of Indian towns, villages and hamlets, Mr Jinnah replied that this in no way affected their separate nationality. Two nations according to Mr Jinnah confront one another in every hamlet, village and town, and he, therefore, desires that they should be separated into two states.
I am prepared to overlook all other aspects of the problem and judge it from the point of view of Muslim interests alone. I shall go still further and say that if it can be shown that the scheme of Pakistan can in any way benefit Muslims I would be prepared to accept it myself and also to work for its acceptance by others. But the truth is that even If I examine the scheme from the point of view of the communal interests of the Muslims themselves, I am forced to the conclusion that it can in no way benefit them or allay their legitimate fears.
Let us consider dispassionately the consequences which will follow if we give effect to the Pakistan scheme. India will be divided into two States, one with a majority of Muslims and the other of Hindus. In the Hindustan State there will remain three and a half crores of Muslims scattered in small minorities all over the land. With 17 per cent in U.P, 12 per cent in Bihar and 9 per cent in Madras, they will be weaker than they are today in the Hindu majority provinces. They have had their homelands in these regions for almost a thousand years and built up well known centres of Muslim culture and civilisation there.
They will awaken overnight and discover that they have become alien and foreigners. Backward industrially, educationally and economically, they will be left to the mercies to what would become an unadulterated Hindu raj.
On the other hand, their position within the Pakistan State will be vulnerable and weak. Nowhere in Pakistan will their majority be comparable to the Hindu majority in the Hindustan States.
In fact, their majority will be so slight that it will be offset by the economical, educational and political lead enjoyed by non-Muslims in these areas. Even if this were not so and Pakistan were overwhelmingly Muslim in population, it still could hardly solve the problem of Muslims in Hindustan.
Two states confronting one another, offer no solution of the problem of one another's minorities, but only lead to retribution and reprisals by introducing a system of mutual hostages. The scheme of Pakistan therefore solves no problem for the Muslims. It cannot safeguard their rights where they are in a minority nor as citizens of Pakistan secure them a position in Indian or world affairs which they would enjoy as citizens of a major State like the Indian Union.
It may be argued that if Pakistan is so much against the interests of the Muslims themselves, why should such a large section of Muslims be swept away by its lure? The answer is to be found in the attitude of certain communal extremists among the Hindus. When the Muslim League began to speak of Pakistan, they read into the scheme a sinister pan-Islamic conspiracy and began to oppose it out of fear that it foreshadowed a combination of Indian Muslim with trans-Indian Muslims States.
The opposition acted as an incentive to the adherents of the League. With simple though untenable logic they argued that if Hindus were so opposed to Pakistan, surely it must be of benefit to Muslims. An atmosphere of emotional frenzy was created which made reasonable appraisement impossible and swept away, especially the younger and more impressionable among the Muslims. I have, however, no doubt that when the present frenzy has died down and the question can be considered dispassionately, those who now support Pakistan will themselves repudiate it as harmful for Muslim Interests.
The formula which I have succeeded in making the Congress accept secures whatever merit the Pakistan scheme contains while all its defects and drawbacks are avoided. The basis of Pakistan is the fear of interference by the Centre in Muslim majority areas as the Hindus will be in a majority in the Centre. The Congress meets this fear by granting full autonomy to the provincial units and vesting all residuary power in the provinces. It also has provided for two lists of Central subjects, one compulsory and one optional, so that if any provincial unit so wants, it can administer all subjects itself except a minimum delegated to the Centre. The Congress scheme therefore ensures that Muslim majority provinces are internally free to develop as they will, but can at the same time influence the Centre on all issues which affect India as a whole.
The situation in India is such that all attempts to establish a centralised and unitary government are bound to fail. Equally doomed to failure is the attempt to divide India into two States. After considering all aspects of the question, I have come to the conclusion that the only solution can be on the lines embodied in the Congress formula which allows room for development both to the provinces and to India as a whole. The Congress formula meets the fear of the Muslim majority areas to allay which the scheme of Pakistan was formed. On the other hand, it avoids the defects of the Pakistan scheme which would bring the Muslims where they are in a minority under a purely Hindu government.
I am one of those who considers the present chapter of communal bitterness and differences as a transient phase in Indian life. I firmly hold that they will disappear when India assumes the responsibility of her own destiny. I am reminded of a saying of Mr Gladstone that the best cure for a man's fear of the water was to throw him into it. Similarly India must assume responsibilities and administer her own affairs before fears and suspicions can be fully allayed.
When India attains her destiny, she will forget the chapter of communal suspicion and conflict and face the problems of modern life from a modern point of view. Differences will no doubt persist, but they will be economic, not communal. Opposition among political parties will continue, but it will be based, not on religion but on economic and political issues. Class and not community will be the basis of future alignments, and policies will be shaped accordingly.
If It be argued that this is only a faith which events may not justify would say that in any case the nine crores of Muslims constitute a factor which nobody can ignore and whatever the circumstances they are strong enough to safeguard their own destiny.
Monday, April 12, 2010
hadeeth of the day for 12April10
Bukhari :: Book 1 :: Volume 4 :: Hadith 246
Narrated Hudhaifa:
Whenever the Prophet got up at night, he used to clean his mouth with Siwak.
Narrated Hudhaifa:
Whenever the Prophet got up at night, he used to clean his mouth with Siwak.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
the circle
The Circle of Justice
Fakhr-i Mudabbir wrote in the thirteenth century:
A king cannot survive without soldiers. And soldiers cannot
live without salaries. Salaries come from the revenue collected
from peasants. But peasants can pay revenue only when they
are prosperous and happy. This happens when the king
promotes justice and honest governance.
Fakhr-i Mudabbir wrote in the thirteenth century:
A king cannot survive without soldiers. And soldiers cannot
live without salaries. Salaries come from the revenue collected
from peasants. But peasants can pay revenue only when they
are prosperous and happy. This happens when the king
promotes justice and honest governance.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT defined!
POLITICALLY INCORRECT
The cry goes up — Sonia, tussi God hai!
SHOBHAA DE
I was away in not-so-distant Dubai when Sonia’s Bill was pushed through with a voice vote. I say ‘Sonia’s Bill’ because it will eventually be known as that. Had Madam not bulldozed the Women’s Reservation Bill during thisdramatic session, chances are another twelve years may have passed and our daughters would have been agitating for it somewhere down the line. Mind you, i have never been pro-reservations, believing, perhaps a little too idealistically, that focusing on educating our women en masse was a smarter route to take than reserving seats for a few in Parliament. Slower, for sure. But infinitely more worthwhile, if we are talking about a level playing field. Subsidies and quotas lead to a mindset that seeks concessions and favours. I loathe the idea of handouts. Women don’t need patronage. They need opportunities. And those can only come if we empower them via education. Sorry to make this a boring, single-point mantra. But one has only to travel just a little outside our teeming cities to understand how desperately disenfranchised and ‘other’ women are… and how hopeless it all appears … yes, despite the historic Bill and the magic it promises to unleash, abracadabra ishstyle.
I don’t want to ruin the party and behave like a wet blanket while the euphoria continues. But the truth is, we still have a majority of women who don’t have the foggiest idea that their lives are about to be transformed, thanks to India’s fairy godmother, Sonia. The intentions of Team Sonia are great. But hello! Someone obviously forgot to tell the men about this startling development.
The same day as the Bill made its uneasy passage through the Rajya Sabha, i read a story about a man in Orissa who refused to take his wife (a mother of five) back after her three-day trip to Delhi, where she’d gone to receive a very special award. She is a highly successful mushroom farmer whose name was recommended by government officials. She shared the honour with a hundred other farmers from across India. According to reports, her labourer-husband doubted her character after the trip and remains adamant about his decision not to take her back. As for the award-winner, she is bewildered and apologetic, insisting she had sought her husband’s permission to go to Delhi for the ceremony. Her mushroom cultivation will have to be on hold, till the poor woman sorts out this nonsense with her obstinate husband. What sort of message does that send out to their children?
I was on a panel discussion at the Dubai Literature Festival last week, during which this tricky issue (the Women’s Reservation Bill) was raised by the men on the panel. When i spoke up about the grim, ground realities and the sorry plight of our women, author and co-panelist William Dalrymple chortled and said he was surprised to note my comment since he’d only met ‘extraordinarily ballsy’ women in India! Wow! Lucky him. But which women was he talking about? Those divinely groomed ladies dotting Delhi’s salons? Mumbai’s soignee memsaabs? Kolkata’s coiffed mashimas? Chennai’s Kanjeevaramclad maamis? Or Bangalore’s foxy babes? Sure. If one restricts progress to urban women professionals, the story looks pretty awesome. Mr Dalrymple is spot-on to label this tribe and describe us (of course, i include myself) as ‘ballsy’. So we are. But this isn’t about just us, is it, Willy? And Soniaji? And it certainly isn’t about the path-breaking MPs who will make up those numbers and hit that percentage in Parliament as and when. We are the well-heeled, well-groomed, supremely privileged few. We’ve always had it good. When was the last time we sought our husbands’ ‘permission’ for anything? Or went without a meal? But yes, there are those even amongst us who put up with beatings, verbal and physical abuse and a lot else. But those are the choices we make. And eventually live with. This Bill has little or no relevance to our pampered lives. Ironically, this makes it all the more important. No more tokenism, ladies.
Soniaji was uncharacteristically candid when she asked Lalu about his wife and pointed out to the Neanderthal man that he himself was the father of seven daughters (an entire mithai box). Why would he, of all people, oppose the Bill?? Because he is Lalu. A politician first, a husband and father next. This is what we are going to be up against, no matter if that person is a desi politico or a celebrated British author.
I wonder about the award-winning farmer from Orissa. What will happen to her from this point on, will she say “to hell with you” to the man who is questioning her character and go back to her mushrooms? Will her children be taken away from her? Will she be ostracized by her community… other villagers? Will she lapse into depression, stop farming and beg her husband’s forgiveness? Will a modern-day version of ‘vanvaas’ and an agni pareeksha be forced on her?
Will someone please tell this woman she is supposed to be ‘ballsy’?
Has anything changed since Valmiki wrote the Ramayana?
You tell me…
insaankhan:
Every development succeeds when each angle of the issue is taken care. Hence political empowerment must happen as it will ignite the other empowerment raised by Shobhaji!
The cry goes up — Sonia, tussi God hai!
SHOBHAA DE
I was away in not-so-distant Dubai when Sonia’s Bill was pushed through with a voice vote. I say ‘Sonia’s Bill’ because it will eventually be known as that. Had Madam not bulldozed the Women’s Reservation Bill during thisdramatic session, chances are another twelve years may have passed and our daughters would have been agitating for it somewhere down the line. Mind you, i have never been pro-reservations, believing, perhaps a little too idealistically, that focusing on educating our women en masse was a smarter route to take than reserving seats for a few in Parliament. Slower, for sure. But infinitely more worthwhile, if we are talking about a level playing field. Subsidies and quotas lead to a mindset that seeks concessions and favours. I loathe the idea of handouts. Women don’t need patronage. They need opportunities. And those can only come if we empower them via education. Sorry to make this a boring, single-point mantra. But one has only to travel just a little outside our teeming cities to understand how desperately disenfranchised and ‘other’ women are… and how hopeless it all appears … yes, despite the historic Bill and the magic it promises to unleash, abracadabra ishstyle.
I don’t want to ruin the party and behave like a wet blanket while the euphoria continues. But the truth is, we still have a majority of women who don’t have the foggiest idea that their lives are about to be transformed, thanks to India’s fairy godmother, Sonia. The intentions of Team Sonia are great. But hello! Someone obviously forgot to tell the men about this startling development.
The same day as the Bill made its uneasy passage through the Rajya Sabha, i read a story about a man in Orissa who refused to take his wife (a mother of five) back after her three-day trip to Delhi, where she’d gone to receive a very special award. She is a highly successful mushroom farmer whose name was recommended by government officials. She shared the honour with a hundred other farmers from across India. According to reports, her labourer-husband doubted her character after the trip and remains adamant about his decision not to take her back. As for the award-winner, she is bewildered and apologetic, insisting she had sought her husband’s permission to go to Delhi for the ceremony. Her mushroom cultivation will have to be on hold, till the poor woman sorts out this nonsense with her obstinate husband. What sort of message does that send out to their children?
I was on a panel discussion at the Dubai Literature Festival last week, during which this tricky issue (the Women’s Reservation Bill) was raised by the men on the panel. When i spoke up about the grim, ground realities and the sorry plight of our women, author and co-panelist William Dalrymple chortled and said he was surprised to note my comment since he’d only met ‘extraordinarily ballsy’ women in India! Wow! Lucky him. But which women was he talking about? Those divinely groomed ladies dotting Delhi’s salons? Mumbai’s soignee memsaabs? Kolkata’s coiffed mashimas? Chennai’s Kanjeevaramclad maamis? Or Bangalore’s foxy babes? Sure. If one restricts progress to urban women professionals, the story looks pretty awesome. Mr Dalrymple is spot-on to label this tribe and describe us (of course, i include myself) as ‘ballsy’. So we are. But this isn’t about just us, is it, Willy? And Soniaji? And it certainly isn’t about the path-breaking MPs who will make up those numbers and hit that percentage in Parliament as and when. We are the well-heeled, well-groomed, supremely privileged few. We’ve always had it good. When was the last time we sought our husbands’ ‘permission’ for anything? Or went without a meal? But yes, there are those even amongst us who put up with beatings, verbal and physical abuse and a lot else. But those are the choices we make. And eventually live with. This Bill has little or no relevance to our pampered lives. Ironically, this makes it all the more important. No more tokenism, ladies.
Soniaji was uncharacteristically candid when she asked Lalu about his wife and pointed out to the Neanderthal man that he himself was the father of seven daughters (an entire mithai box). Why would he, of all people, oppose the Bill?? Because he is Lalu. A politician first, a husband and father next. This is what we are going to be up against, no matter if that person is a desi politico or a celebrated British author.
I wonder about the award-winning farmer from Orissa. What will happen to her from this point on, will she say “to hell with you” to the man who is questioning her character and go back to her mushrooms? Will her children be taken away from her? Will she be ostracized by her community… other villagers? Will she lapse into depression, stop farming and beg her husband’s forgiveness? Will a modern-day version of ‘vanvaas’ and an agni pareeksha be forced on her?
Will someone please tell this woman she is supposed to be ‘ballsy’?
Has anything changed since Valmiki wrote the Ramayana?
You tell me…
insaankhan:
Every development succeeds when each angle of the issue is taken care. Hence political empowerment must happen as it will ignite the other empowerment raised by Shobhaji!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
TERRORISM- MONEY is what MATTERS!
Terrorism
by Shakil Abdullah
Terrorism is generally defined as killing of civilians for political reasons. Dr Azzam Tamimi, Senior Lecturer, Markfield Institute of Higher Education, writes: “A straightforward definition of terrorism has been: ‘the use of force [or violence] to advocate a political cause’.”
It is to be emphasized that terrorism against the innocent civilians, whether through aggression or suicidal means, is under no circumstances permissible in Islam. Islam encourages the oppressed people to struggle for their liberation and it commands other Muslims to help those who are oppressed and suffering, but Islam does not allow, under any circumstance, terrorism against non-combatants and innocent people.
Islam has not only forbidden terror and violence, but also abhors even the slightest imposition of any idea on another human being. Allah Almighty says: “Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah hears and knows all things.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 256) He Almighty also says: “So remind, you need only to remind. You cannot compel them to believe.” (Al-Ghashiyah 88: 22)
Some people who say they are acting in the name of religion may misunderstand their religion or practice it wrongly. For this reason, it is a mistake to form any idea of that religion from the activities of these people. The best way to understand Islam is through its holy source, the Qur'an; and the model of morality in the Qur’an is completely different from the image of it formed in the minds of some Westerners or some bigot Muslims. The Qur'an is based on the concepts of morality, love, compassion, mercy, modesty, self-sacrifice, tolerance and peace, and a Muslim who truly lives according to these moral precepts is highly refined, thoughtful, tolerant, trustworthy and accommodating. To those around him he gives love, respect, peace of mind and a sense of the joy of life.
Islam is a Religion of Peace & Well-Being:
The word Islam has the same meaning as "peace" in Arabic. Islam is a religion that came down to offer humanity a life filled with the peace and well-being in which Allah's eternal mercy and compassion is manifested in the world. Allah invites all people to accept the moral teachings of the Qur'an as a model whereby mercy, compassion, tolerance and peace may be experienced in the world. In verse 208 of Surat Al-Baqarah, this command is given: “You who believe! Enter absolutely into peace (Islam). Do not follow in the footsteps of Satan. He is an outright enemy to you.” As we see in this verse, people will experience well-being and happiness by living according to the moral teaching of the Qur'an.
Allah Condemns Mischief:
Allah has commanded humanity to avoid evil; He has forbidden immorality, rebellion, cruelty, aggressiveness, murder and bloodshed. Those who do not obey this command of Allah are walking in the steps of Satan, as the Qur’an says in the verse above, and have adopted an attitude that Allah has clearly declared unlawful. Of the many verses that bear on this subject, here are only two: “But as for those who break Allah's contract after it has been agreed and sever what Allah has commanded to be joined, and cause corruption in the earth, the curse will be upon them. They will have the Evil Abode.” (Ar-Ra'd 13: 25)
He Almighty also says: “Seek the abode of the hereafter with what Allah has given you, without forgetting your portion of the world. And do good as Allah has been good to you. And do not seek to cause mischief on earth. Allah does not love mischief makers.” (Al-Qasas 28: 77)
As we can see, Allah has forbidden every kind of mischievous acts in Islam including terrorism and violence, and condemned those who commit such deeds. A Muslim lends beauty to the world and improves it.
Islam Defends Tolerance and Freedom of Speech:
Islam is a religion, which fosters freedom of life, ideas and thought. It has forbidden tension and conflict among people, calumny, suspicion and even having negative thoughts about another individual. To force anyone to believe in a religion or to practice it is against the spirit and essence of Islam. Because it is necessary that faith be accepted with free will and conscience. Of course, Muslims may urge one another to keep the moral precepts taught in the Qur'an, but they never use compulsion. In any case, an individual cannot be induced to the practice of religion by either threat or offering him a worldly privilege.
Allah has Commanded Tolerance and Forgiveness:
In Surat Al-A'raf, verse 199, the phrase “practice forgiveness”, expresses the concept of forgiveness and tolerance which is one of the basic principles of Islam.
When we look at Islamic history, we can see clearly how Muslims established this important precept of the moral teaching of the Qur'an in their social life. At every point in their advance, Muslims destroyed unlawful practices and created a free and tolerant environment. In the areas of religion, language and culture, they made it possible for people totally opposite to each other to live under the same roof in freedom and peace, thereby giving to those subject to them the advantages of knowledge, wealth and position.
Likewise, one of the most important reasons that the large and widespread Ottoman Empire was able to sustain its existence for so many centuries was that its way of life was directed by the tolerance and understanding brought by Islam. For centuries, their tolerance and compassion have characterized Muslims. In every period of time they have been the most just and merciful of people. All ethnic groups within this multi-national community freely practiced the religions they have followed for years and enjoyed every opportunity to live in their own cultures and worship in their own way. Indeed, the particular tolerance of Muslims, when practiced as commanded in the Qur'an, can alone bring peace and well-being to the whole world. The Qur'an refers to this particular kind of tolerance: “The good deed and the evil deed are not alike. Repel the evil deed with one which is better, then lo! he, between whom and thee there was enmity (will become) as though he was a bosom friend.” (Fussilat 41: 34)
All this shows that the moral teaching offered to humanity by Islam is one that will bring peace, happiness and justice to the world. The barbarism that is happening in the world today under the name of "Islamic Terrorism" is completely removed from the moral teachings of the Qur'an; it is the work of ignorant, bigoted people, criminals who have nothing to do with religion. The solution which will be applied against these individuals and groups who are trying to commit their deeds of savagery under the guise of Islam, will be the instruction of people in the true moral teaching of Islam.
Three Basic Principles of Islam that Goes Counter to Terrorism:
Eminent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi states:
“No doubt, aggression against innocent people is a grave sin and a heinous crime, irrespective of the victim's religion, country, or race. No one is permitted to commit such crime, for Allah, Most High, abhors aggression. Unlike Judaism, Islam does not hold a double-standard policy in safeguarding human rights.”
Following, I would like to highlight some relevant Islamic principles based on the Glorious Qur'an and Sunnah:
1. Islam Forbids Aggression against Innocent People
Islam does not permit aggression against innocent people, whether the aggression is against life, property, or honor, and this ruling applies to everyone, regardless of post, status and prestige. In Islam, as the state’s subject is addressed with Islamic teachings, so is the ruler or caliph; he is not allowed to violate people's rights, lives, honor, property, etc.
In the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared the principle that people's lives, property, and honor are inviolable until the Day of Judgment. This ruling is not restricted to Muslims; rather, it includes non-Muslims who are not fighting Muslims. Even in case of war, Islam does not permit killing those who are not involved in fighting, such as women, children, the aged, and the monks who confine themselves to worship only.
This shouldn’t raise any wonder, for Islam is a religion that prohibits aggression even against animals. Ibn `Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, quote the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as saying: "A woman (was made to) enter (Hell) Fire because of a cat which she tied, neither giving it food nor setting it free to eat from the vermin of the earth." (Reported by Al-Bukhari)
If such is Islamic ruling concerning aggressive acts against animals, then, with greater reason, the punishment is bond to be severe when human being happens to be the victim of aggression, torture and terrorism.
2. Individual Responsibility
In Islam, every one is held accountable for his own acts, not others'. No one bears the consequences of others' faults, even his close relatives. This is the ultimate form of justice, clarified in the Glorious Qur'an, as Allah, Most High, says, “Or hath he not had news of what is in the books of Moses and Abraham who fulfilled (the commandments): That no laden one shall bear another's load.” (An-Najm 53: 36-38)
Therefore, it’s very painful to see some people ¨who are Muslims by name¨ launching aggression against innocent people and taking them as scapegoats for any disagreement they have with the state’s authority!! What is the crime of the common people then?! Murder is one of heinous crimes completely abhorred in Islam, to the extent that some Muslim scholars hold the opinion that the repentance of the murderer will not be accepted by Allah, Most High. In this context, we recall the Glorious Qur'anic verse that reads, “ if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people.” (Al-Ma'idah 5: 32)
3. Ends do not Justify Means
In Islam, the notion “End justifies the means” has no place at all. It is not allowed to attain good aims through evil means, and, therefore, alms collected from unlawful avenues are not halal (lawful). In this context, the Messenger of Allah, (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Surely, Allah is Good and never accepts but what is good."
Thus, in Shari`ah, with all its sources, “the Glorious Qur'an, the Sunnah, consensus of Muslim jurists”, aggression and violation of human rights are completely forbidden. On this issue, Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, President of the Fiqh Council of North America, adds:
“The Islamic position as regards non-Muslims is that they should recognize Allah’s Oneness and Prophet Muhammad as Allah’s Final Prophet. They should accept Islam to live happily and successfully in this world and to be saved in the Hereafter. It is Muslims’ duty to give them this message clearly, but without any coercion or intolerance. If others accept this message it is good for them, but if they do not accept, Muslims should still treat them with kindness and gentleness and leave the final judgment to Allah.”
In our enthusiasm for da`wah, we should not be intolerant and aggressive towards others. However, in our politeness and civility we should also not give up our mission and message. We should not be intimidated to become quiet and we should not feel shy to tell the truth.
Jihad: Its difference from terrorism:
Terrorism is not Jihad, it is Fasad (mischief). It is against the teachings of Islam. There are some people who use their twisted arguments to justify terrorism for their causes, but it has no justification: Allah says: “When it is said to them: 'Make not mischief on the earth,' they say: 'Why, we only want to correct things.' Indeed they are the mischief doers, but they realize (it) not.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 11-12)
The word Jihad does not mean “Holy War”. It means “struggle” or “striving”. The word for war in the Qur’an is “Harb” or “Qital”. Jihad means serious and sincere struggle on the personal as well as on the social level. It is a struggle to do good and to remove injustice, oppression and evil from the society. This struggle should be spiritual as well as social, economic and political. Jihad is to work hard to do right things. In the Qur’an this word is used in its different forms 33 times. It often comes with other Qur’anic concepts such as faith, repentance, righteous deeds and migration.
Jihad is to protect one’s faith and one’s human rights. Jihad is not a war always although it can take the form of war. Islam is the religion of peace, but it does not mean that Islam accepts oppression. Islam teaches that one should do one’s utmost to eliminate tension and conflict. Islam promotes non-violent means to bring change and reform. Actually, Islam urges that one should eliminate evil through peaceful means without the use of force as much as possible. In Islamic history from the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) until now, Muslims most of the time resisted oppression and struggled for liberation in non-violent and peaceful manners.
Islam teaches proper ethics in the situation of war also. The war is permissible in Islam, but only when other peaceful means such as dialogue, negotiations and treaties fail. It is a last resort and should be avoided as much as possible. Its purpose is not to convert people by force, or to colonize people or to acquire land or wealth or for self-glory. Its purpose is basically: defense of life, property, land, honor and freedom for oneself as well as defense of others from injustice and oppression.
Basic rules of war in Islam are:
Be strong so that your enemy fear you and should not attack you.
Do not begin the hostilities. Work for peace as much as possible.
Fight only those who fight, no collective punishment; non-combatants should not be harmed. Weapons of mass destruction should not be used.
Stop hostilities as soon as the other party is inclined to peace.
Observe the treaties and agreements as long as the enemy observes them.
Allah says very clearly: “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not do aggression, for Allah loves not the aggressors.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 190)
“The prohibited month, for the prohibited month, and so for all things prohibited, there is the law of equality. If then any one transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him. But fear Allah, and know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 194)
Islam wants to establish a world order where all human beings - Muslims and non-Muslims - can live with justice in peace, harmony and good will. It gives its followers full guidelines to find peace in their personal and social lives, but it also tells them how to extend the good will on the basis of human relations towards others. Muslims worked under these principles for centuries. People of many faiths lived with them and among them. Islamic societies were known for their tolerance, generosity and humanity.
In our modern society where we are living in a global village, where non-Muslims are living with Muslims in the Muslim countries and Muslims are living with non-Muslims in countries where non-Muslims constitute a majority, it is our duty to bring better understanding among ourselves, work for peace and justice for all people and cooperate with each other in matters of goodness and virtue in order to stop all terrorism, aggression and violence against the innocent people. This is our Jihad today.
Source:
Question-answer from Islam Online:
1. “What does Islam say about terrorism and the fight for religion?”, http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503544604
2. “Aggression Against Innocent People”, http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503544414
3. “Jihad: Its True Meaning and Purpose”, http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?cid=1119503544490&pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar%2FFatwaE%2FPrintFatwaE
4. http://www.islamonline.net/English/views/2001/10/article14.shtml
Supplementary Reading:
1. “What does the term "Jihad" mean to you as Muslims?”, source: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503543554
2. “What is Terrorism and What is Not?”, Azzam Tamimi, source: http://www.islamonline.net/English/views/2001/10/article14.shtml
3. “Condemned By Terrorism”, Ramzy Baroud, source: http://www.islamonline.net/English/Views/2002/11/article12.shtml
4. “Terrorism is not a Muslim monopoly”, Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, source:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1794203.cms
Contributor: Shakil Abdullah, in cooperation with Shah Abdul Hannan, Advisor of Witness-Pioneer International. He is a Shura Member of Witness-Pioneer and can be reached at shakil_abdullah@yahoo.com
by Shakil Abdullah
Terrorism is generally defined as killing of civilians for political reasons. Dr Azzam Tamimi, Senior Lecturer, Markfield Institute of Higher Education, writes: “A straightforward definition of terrorism has been: ‘the use of force [or violence] to advocate a political cause’.”
It is to be emphasized that terrorism against the innocent civilians, whether through aggression or suicidal means, is under no circumstances permissible in Islam. Islam encourages the oppressed people to struggle for their liberation and it commands other Muslims to help those who are oppressed and suffering, but Islam does not allow, under any circumstance, terrorism against non-combatants and innocent people.
Islam has not only forbidden terror and violence, but also abhors even the slightest imposition of any idea on another human being. Allah Almighty says: “Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah hears and knows all things.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 256) He Almighty also says: “So remind, you need only to remind. You cannot compel them to believe.” (Al-Ghashiyah 88: 22)
Some people who say they are acting in the name of religion may misunderstand their religion or practice it wrongly. For this reason, it is a mistake to form any idea of that religion from the activities of these people. The best way to understand Islam is through its holy source, the Qur'an; and the model of morality in the Qur’an is completely different from the image of it formed in the minds of some Westerners or some bigot Muslims. The Qur'an is based on the concepts of morality, love, compassion, mercy, modesty, self-sacrifice, tolerance and peace, and a Muslim who truly lives according to these moral precepts is highly refined, thoughtful, tolerant, trustworthy and accommodating. To those around him he gives love, respect, peace of mind and a sense of the joy of life.
Islam is a Religion of Peace & Well-Being:
The word Islam has the same meaning as "peace" in Arabic. Islam is a religion that came down to offer humanity a life filled with the peace and well-being in which Allah's eternal mercy and compassion is manifested in the world. Allah invites all people to accept the moral teachings of the Qur'an as a model whereby mercy, compassion, tolerance and peace may be experienced in the world. In verse 208 of Surat Al-Baqarah, this command is given: “You who believe! Enter absolutely into peace (Islam). Do not follow in the footsteps of Satan. He is an outright enemy to you.” As we see in this verse, people will experience well-being and happiness by living according to the moral teaching of the Qur'an.
Allah Condemns Mischief:
Allah has commanded humanity to avoid evil; He has forbidden immorality, rebellion, cruelty, aggressiveness, murder and bloodshed. Those who do not obey this command of Allah are walking in the steps of Satan, as the Qur’an says in the verse above, and have adopted an attitude that Allah has clearly declared unlawful. Of the many verses that bear on this subject, here are only two: “But as for those who break Allah's contract after it has been agreed and sever what Allah has commanded to be joined, and cause corruption in the earth, the curse will be upon them. They will have the Evil Abode.” (Ar-Ra'd 13: 25)
He Almighty also says: “Seek the abode of the hereafter with what Allah has given you, without forgetting your portion of the world. And do good as Allah has been good to you. And do not seek to cause mischief on earth. Allah does not love mischief makers.” (Al-Qasas 28: 77)
As we can see, Allah has forbidden every kind of mischievous acts in Islam including terrorism and violence, and condemned those who commit such deeds. A Muslim lends beauty to the world and improves it.
Islam Defends Tolerance and Freedom of Speech:
Islam is a religion, which fosters freedom of life, ideas and thought. It has forbidden tension and conflict among people, calumny, suspicion and even having negative thoughts about another individual. To force anyone to believe in a religion or to practice it is against the spirit and essence of Islam. Because it is necessary that faith be accepted with free will and conscience. Of course, Muslims may urge one another to keep the moral precepts taught in the Qur'an, but they never use compulsion. In any case, an individual cannot be induced to the practice of religion by either threat or offering him a worldly privilege.
Allah has Commanded Tolerance and Forgiveness:
In Surat Al-A'raf, verse 199, the phrase “practice forgiveness”, expresses the concept of forgiveness and tolerance which is one of the basic principles of Islam.
When we look at Islamic history, we can see clearly how Muslims established this important precept of the moral teaching of the Qur'an in their social life. At every point in their advance, Muslims destroyed unlawful practices and created a free and tolerant environment. In the areas of religion, language and culture, they made it possible for people totally opposite to each other to live under the same roof in freedom and peace, thereby giving to those subject to them the advantages of knowledge, wealth and position.
Likewise, one of the most important reasons that the large and widespread Ottoman Empire was able to sustain its existence for so many centuries was that its way of life was directed by the tolerance and understanding brought by Islam. For centuries, their tolerance and compassion have characterized Muslims. In every period of time they have been the most just and merciful of people. All ethnic groups within this multi-national community freely practiced the religions they have followed for years and enjoyed every opportunity to live in their own cultures and worship in their own way. Indeed, the particular tolerance of Muslims, when practiced as commanded in the Qur'an, can alone bring peace and well-being to the whole world. The Qur'an refers to this particular kind of tolerance: “The good deed and the evil deed are not alike. Repel the evil deed with one which is better, then lo! he, between whom and thee there was enmity (will become) as though he was a bosom friend.” (Fussilat 41: 34)
All this shows that the moral teaching offered to humanity by Islam is one that will bring peace, happiness and justice to the world. The barbarism that is happening in the world today under the name of "Islamic Terrorism" is completely removed from the moral teachings of the Qur'an; it is the work of ignorant, bigoted people, criminals who have nothing to do with religion. The solution which will be applied against these individuals and groups who are trying to commit their deeds of savagery under the guise of Islam, will be the instruction of people in the true moral teaching of Islam.
Three Basic Principles of Islam that Goes Counter to Terrorism:
Eminent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi states:
“No doubt, aggression against innocent people is a grave sin and a heinous crime, irrespective of the victim's religion, country, or race. No one is permitted to commit such crime, for Allah, Most High, abhors aggression. Unlike Judaism, Islam does not hold a double-standard policy in safeguarding human rights.”
Following, I would like to highlight some relevant Islamic principles based on the Glorious Qur'an and Sunnah:
1. Islam Forbids Aggression against Innocent People
Islam does not permit aggression against innocent people, whether the aggression is against life, property, or honor, and this ruling applies to everyone, regardless of post, status and prestige. In Islam, as the state’s subject is addressed with Islamic teachings, so is the ruler or caliph; he is not allowed to violate people's rights, lives, honor, property, etc.
In the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared the principle that people's lives, property, and honor are inviolable until the Day of Judgment. This ruling is not restricted to Muslims; rather, it includes non-Muslims who are not fighting Muslims. Even in case of war, Islam does not permit killing those who are not involved in fighting, such as women, children, the aged, and the monks who confine themselves to worship only.
This shouldn’t raise any wonder, for Islam is a religion that prohibits aggression even against animals. Ibn `Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, quote the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as saying: "A woman (was made to) enter (Hell) Fire because of a cat which she tied, neither giving it food nor setting it free to eat from the vermin of the earth." (Reported by Al-Bukhari)
If such is Islamic ruling concerning aggressive acts against animals, then, with greater reason, the punishment is bond to be severe when human being happens to be the victim of aggression, torture and terrorism.
2. Individual Responsibility
In Islam, every one is held accountable for his own acts, not others'. No one bears the consequences of others' faults, even his close relatives. This is the ultimate form of justice, clarified in the Glorious Qur'an, as Allah, Most High, says, “Or hath he not had news of what is in the books of Moses and Abraham who fulfilled (the commandments): That no laden one shall bear another's load.” (An-Najm 53: 36-38)
Therefore, it’s very painful to see some people ¨who are Muslims by name¨ launching aggression against innocent people and taking them as scapegoats for any disagreement they have with the state’s authority!! What is the crime of the common people then?! Murder is one of heinous crimes completely abhorred in Islam, to the extent that some Muslim scholars hold the opinion that the repentance of the murderer will not be accepted by Allah, Most High. In this context, we recall the Glorious Qur'anic verse that reads, “ if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people.” (Al-Ma'idah 5: 32)
3. Ends do not Justify Means
In Islam, the notion “End justifies the means” has no place at all. It is not allowed to attain good aims through evil means, and, therefore, alms collected from unlawful avenues are not halal (lawful). In this context, the Messenger of Allah, (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Surely, Allah is Good and never accepts but what is good."
Thus, in Shari`ah, with all its sources, “the Glorious Qur'an, the Sunnah, consensus of Muslim jurists”, aggression and violation of human rights are completely forbidden. On this issue, Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, President of the Fiqh Council of North America, adds:
“The Islamic position as regards non-Muslims is that they should recognize Allah’s Oneness and Prophet Muhammad as Allah’s Final Prophet. They should accept Islam to live happily and successfully in this world and to be saved in the Hereafter. It is Muslims’ duty to give them this message clearly, but without any coercion or intolerance. If others accept this message it is good for them, but if they do not accept, Muslims should still treat them with kindness and gentleness and leave the final judgment to Allah.”
In our enthusiasm for da`wah, we should not be intolerant and aggressive towards others. However, in our politeness and civility we should also not give up our mission and message. We should not be intimidated to become quiet and we should not feel shy to tell the truth.
Jihad: Its difference from terrorism:
Terrorism is not Jihad, it is Fasad (mischief). It is against the teachings of Islam. There are some people who use their twisted arguments to justify terrorism for their causes, but it has no justification: Allah says: “When it is said to them: 'Make not mischief on the earth,' they say: 'Why, we only want to correct things.' Indeed they are the mischief doers, but they realize (it) not.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 11-12)
The word Jihad does not mean “Holy War”. It means “struggle” or “striving”. The word for war in the Qur’an is “Harb” or “Qital”. Jihad means serious and sincere struggle on the personal as well as on the social level. It is a struggle to do good and to remove injustice, oppression and evil from the society. This struggle should be spiritual as well as social, economic and political. Jihad is to work hard to do right things. In the Qur’an this word is used in its different forms 33 times. It often comes with other Qur’anic concepts such as faith, repentance, righteous deeds and migration.
Jihad is to protect one’s faith and one’s human rights. Jihad is not a war always although it can take the form of war. Islam is the religion of peace, but it does not mean that Islam accepts oppression. Islam teaches that one should do one’s utmost to eliminate tension and conflict. Islam promotes non-violent means to bring change and reform. Actually, Islam urges that one should eliminate evil through peaceful means without the use of force as much as possible. In Islamic history from the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) until now, Muslims most of the time resisted oppression and struggled for liberation in non-violent and peaceful manners.
Islam teaches proper ethics in the situation of war also. The war is permissible in Islam, but only when other peaceful means such as dialogue, negotiations and treaties fail. It is a last resort and should be avoided as much as possible. Its purpose is not to convert people by force, or to colonize people or to acquire land or wealth or for self-glory. Its purpose is basically: defense of life, property, land, honor and freedom for oneself as well as defense of others from injustice and oppression.
Basic rules of war in Islam are:
Be strong so that your enemy fear you and should not attack you.
Do not begin the hostilities. Work for peace as much as possible.
Fight only those who fight, no collective punishment; non-combatants should not be harmed. Weapons of mass destruction should not be used.
Stop hostilities as soon as the other party is inclined to peace.
Observe the treaties and agreements as long as the enemy observes them.
Allah says very clearly: “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not do aggression, for Allah loves not the aggressors.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 190)
“The prohibited month, for the prohibited month, and so for all things prohibited, there is the law of equality. If then any one transgresses the prohibition against you, transgress ye likewise against him. But fear Allah, and know that Allah is with those who restrain themselves.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 194)
Islam wants to establish a world order where all human beings - Muslims and non-Muslims - can live with justice in peace, harmony and good will. It gives its followers full guidelines to find peace in their personal and social lives, but it also tells them how to extend the good will on the basis of human relations towards others. Muslims worked under these principles for centuries. People of many faiths lived with them and among them. Islamic societies were known for their tolerance, generosity and humanity.
In our modern society where we are living in a global village, where non-Muslims are living with Muslims in the Muslim countries and Muslims are living with non-Muslims in countries where non-Muslims constitute a majority, it is our duty to bring better understanding among ourselves, work for peace and justice for all people and cooperate with each other in matters of goodness and virtue in order to stop all terrorism, aggression and violence against the innocent people. This is our Jihad today.
Source:
Question-answer from Islam Online:
1. “What does Islam say about terrorism and the fight for religion?”, http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503544604
2. “Aggression Against Innocent People”, http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503544414
3. “Jihad: Its True Meaning and Purpose”, http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?cid=1119503544490&pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar%2FFatwaE%2FPrintFatwaE
4. http://www.islamonline.net/English/views/2001/10/article14.shtml
Supplementary Reading:
1. “What does the term "Jihad" mean to you as Muslims?”, source: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503543554
2. “What is Terrorism and What is Not?”, Azzam Tamimi, source: http://www.islamonline.net/English/views/2001/10/article14.shtml
3. “Condemned By Terrorism”, Ramzy Baroud, source: http://www.islamonline.net/English/Views/2002/11/article12.shtml
4. “Terrorism is not a Muslim monopoly”, Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, source:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1794203.cms
Contributor: Shakil Abdullah, in cooperation with Shah Abdul Hannan, Advisor of Witness-Pioneer International. He is a Shura Member of Witness-Pioneer and can be reached at shakil_abdullah@yahoo.com
Monday, February 15, 2010
ENCOUNTERS
Offered Dhuhr(Afternoon) prayer...came out of the Masjid...straightened a flipped slipper...i dont like them upside down..
And as i was about to reach home i saw a man coming out of his car and then i see this electric energy going away from me as this girl child (kid) ran out from the car and to her house...
I told the father:
'Don't let that excitement die'.. he was Perplexed..he got nothing..So I repeated, "Don't let that thing in her die coz when she goes to school she will be burdened by the weight of books and peers..Please don't let her excitement die..and I added Inshallah...
Now the father got me and replied ...
"INshallah!"
I will make the change happen coz I am the CHANGE!
barakullah Feek!
And as i was about to reach home i saw a man coming out of his car and then i see this electric energy going away from me as this girl child (kid) ran out from the car and to her house...
I told the father:
'Don't let that excitement die'.. he was Perplexed..he got nothing..So I repeated, "Don't let that thing in her die coz when she goes to school she will be burdened by the weight of books and peers..Please don't let her excitement die..and I added Inshallah...
Now the father got me and replied ...
"INshallah!"
I will make the change happen coz I am the CHANGE!
barakullah Feek!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
MAY PEACE AND LOVE BE YOURS!
Waqt ke is Bahaao mein hum raftar dhoondte hain
Koi aansu bhata hai, hum bulandi ke asar dhoondte hain
Dub jaane.... kat jaane ka Hme darr nahin
Pankhon se kahan hum to hauslon se udaan bharte hain....
Kisi shayar ki Kalam se nikle ye kalaam nahin
Ek bahadur(shuja) ke jigar se nikle ye iraade boltehain!
..::insaankhan::..
At times of suffering and tribulation it is one's attitude that changes the suffering path(safar) into a path (safar) of oppurtunity and bringsin tremendous courage to live the life one has always dreamt of. One neither fears to fall or loose as one is led by an unshakable belief on one's power to mould one's own DESTINY!
LOTS OF LOVE AND loads of prayer !
Koi aansu bhata hai, hum bulandi ke asar dhoondte hain
Dub jaane.... kat jaane ka Hme darr nahin
Pankhon se kahan hum to hauslon se udaan bharte hain....
Kisi shayar ki Kalam se nikle ye kalaam nahin
Ek bahadur(shuja) ke jigar se nikle ye iraade boltehain!
..::insaankhan::..
At times of suffering and tribulation it is one's attitude that changes the suffering path(safar) into a path (safar) of oppurtunity and bringsin tremendous courage to live the life one has always dreamt of. One neither fears to fall or loose as one is led by an unshakable belief on one's power to mould one's own DESTINY!
LOTS OF LOVE AND loads of prayer !
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Main khud ke liye karoon to kyun khushi mili nahin mujhe, jo aap par maroon to ZINDAGI mili mujhe!
It is but Selflessness that is the best form of Selfishness. A selfless person attains all that a man desires by being so. He attains compassion, sincerity, humility, modesty, contentment and what not! It is amazing to know that things in Life were not always as they look in the mirror that we have developed in time. The image could be illusive and so will the result. I have thus known that if I need to win, I must first admire what is to loose and what is that i am trying to win! I must love my loss and victory equally .. I have learnt that the self had become too much on me when I was chasing my win, my LIFE, my victory, My goals and my Passion but I have learnt with time and through God's mercy that Life is more about OURS rather than mine and US rather than me.
It is lovely to know that I live not just to survive or fight for existence but I LIVE, I LOVE and I am for the WORLD! Everything that I have got in my life from physical, social and economical possessions , I know I must share it with those who deserve it because nothing is totally/completely MINE as God has given it to me so that I can pass it.
I have thus made it sure that whatever knowledge I gain, it must pass on! Whatever material property I acquire it must not only shade me from rain or sun but i must make sure that i help others who need me to make their own!
And that's LIFE ..thats something I LOVE...I AM IN LOVE WITH LIFE....I AM IN LOVE WITH GOD...I AM IN LOVE WITH YOU ALL...
lots of love!
It is lovely to know that I live not just to survive or fight for existence but I LIVE, I LOVE and I am for the WORLD! Everything that I have got in my life from physical, social and economical possessions , I know I must share it with those who deserve it because nothing is totally/completely MINE as God has given it to me so that I can pass it.
I have thus made it sure that whatever knowledge I gain, it must pass on! Whatever material property I acquire it must not only shade me from rain or sun but i must make sure that i help others who need me to make their own!
And that's LIFE ..thats something I LOVE...I AM IN LOVE WITH LIFE....I AM IN LOVE WITH GOD...I AM IN LOVE WITH YOU ALL...
lots of love!
TECHNO CRAZY?
A HEART THEORY ?
Allah is compassionate and loves compassion in all things.
- The Prophet Muhammad
A very interesting dialogue or conversation that I had yesterday with one of my dearest friend led me to propose something I claimed to be a Heart theory. He insisted to tell me what it actually is and if I can direct him to some website, book or a video that he can analyse what I was talking about. I so dearly wished to tell him that he knows about it and it is everywhere but just that I knew he would't take it for its face value. Most of the times, grand things when presented in a simple manner aren't welcomed. So I thought of presenting it to my friend in the grandest of manner that he would think is sufficient to believe in and give a similar welcome to his heart.The very point is that I am sure my friend would believe/believes in what I would say, he actually didn't want to hear it, the various aspects which I now present.
Now what kind of theory was/am I talking about? Is it something alien? And to introduce such a philosophy I would quote the lines of a wonderful ophthalmologist(surgeon) Dr. Aravind at ted.com, "When we grow in spiritual consciousness,there is no exploitation ...It is ourselves we are helping,it is ourselves we are healing."
It was told to me by the dear friend that there is a website called www.ted.com and that it brings in some great work, speeches and technological innovations on one platform for free. So, I went to the website and I was amazed to see invaluable stuffs lined up at one place and then I started watching some videos. The first video that I came up was about an Indian genius Pavan Mistry who was talking about the sixth sense that he had developed in the form of a gadget/device that can help us relate our physical world with that of the digital one. Now as I was watching, it somehow came to my mind that are we really using our five senses to think about having a sixth or do we really need such a thing? it was just an innocent query that i had. What I would stress at this point is that I love technology and am too engrossed to say that I do not and I know i will fail if I say so. So why do I say that do we need such technologies? why did my heart at the very first place query about it?
As Dr. Aravinda rightly says that when one does it for others it is one's own self that gets benefitted. But such a circumstance or thought process that leads to such spiritual awakening is not limited to an innovation or a technological development. Such developments acts as a tool or an enabling medium but are not 'THE ONLY SOLUTION' or 'THE ONLY THING at the least! It is very important to note that for Life to exist on this planet there exists an infinite number of balanced circumstances. And even with all these circumstances available we see Lives that are not ready to live or exist, lives that are either destroyed by their own self or by the other external factors.
So what is 'THE THING' or 'THE NECESSITY' ?It is but the WILL to live , the WILL to let others live and the WILL to provide equal opportunity to everyone around. It is also termed as the Golden rule of confucius "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself" and The Charter of Compassion followed by ted.com adopts the same.Now if there is a will to treat every other being as EQUAL then the mean or the methodology involved to create such a situation can be many with multitude of possibilities. But when we tend to over depend on the means and forget that it is the very WILL that is important to initiate anything or let any change occur, then we are certainly led astray. And now If I agree that technology is important and that the HEART theory is adopted by the people at ted.com, then what is the reason for such skepticism?
That is the next important question that my friend might ask me after reading the above. Now, when we look into the history of mankind we have seen that kingdoms, republics and democracies have all in their pursuit of power crushed the weak and somber. Such an injustice led to a revolution and such revolution toppled the authoritative rule to create another republic or democracy so that it can rule and crush the poor and the tiny through its policies and doctrines. Amidst all this what is seen to SHINE is not the means or methods that led to revolution, political or technological, but the WIll of the people and the NEED of the day.
The question series will come with what is the NEED of the day? The need of the day is quite universal all across the globe; it is to provide equal opportunities of food, clothing, shelter, housing and all basic amenities needed for a healthy and prosperous life to all. But, until the Capitalist tendency of amassing and concentrating the wealth in the hands of greedy by fooling the needy exists such equality will cease to exist. And all such wonderful technological innovation will and cannot reach the needy to accomplish their desired purposes.
I would quote Mr. Hope Mr. Change Mr. We Can Mr. Barack Obama "
You know, there's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit -- the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes; to see the world through the eyes of those who are different from us -- the child who's hungry, the steelworker who's been laid-off, the family who lost the entire life they built together when the storm came to town. When you think like this -- when you choose to broaden your ambit of concern and empathize with the plight of others, whether they are close friends or distant strangers -- it becomes harder not to act; harder not to help."
Another take on this. To really understand what my heart's query is, I again queried about the usefulness of such developments in the past and their effectiveness to us the users. I see that with technological developments our tasks have become easier and less burdensome. It has made the world a much smaller place and has allowed me to connect with my family members residing on a very distant point from my dwelling point in the geographical map with quite an ease. I am no technology hater , I stress again! But I do see my young friends getting lost into these technologically advanced gadgets, i do see my young kids getting older in a much young age. I can see the kids losing on their innocence and getting smarter with their blogs and xbox or nintendo games. I see my friends glued all long on their laptops and ignore the beautiful sunshine or the cool evening breeze. I do see my friends ignoring their culture, their religious ethos, their basic discipline as all of them at once would say IMPATIENCE is the word of the day. From where I see Impatience it leads to anger which leads to grief and it in turns leads to misery and gradually it leads to the FALL!
So to conclude:
1) It is the Golden rule that is important; means can vary.
2)If one is led by point 1 then one can do wonders, the opposite leads to the FALL.
3) Technology is wonderful only if we know its USAGE, its disadvantage and its availability to the masses.
True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.- Martin Luther King Jr.
A religious man is a person who holds God and man in one thought at one time, at all times, who suffers harm done to others, whose greatest passion is compassion, whose greatest strength is love and defiance of despair - Abraham joshua
A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. - Albert Einstein
PS: i have not written anything new and that i am sure that poeple at ted.com would agree with it. I just wanted to re emphasize what my HEART spoke to me and thats my HEART theory.
Allah is compassionate and loves compassion in all things.
- The Prophet Muhammad
A very interesting dialogue or conversation that I had yesterday with one of my dearest friend led me to propose something I claimed to be a Heart theory. He insisted to tell me what it actually is and if I can direct him to some website, book or a video that he can analyse what I was talking about. I so dearly wished to tell him that he knows about it and it is everywhere but just that I knew he would't take it for its face value. Most of the times, grand things when presented in a simple manner aren't welcomed. So I thought of presenting it to my friend in the grandest of manner that he would think is sufficient to believe in and give a similar welcome to his heart.The very point is that I am sure my friend would believe/believes in what I would say, he actually didn't want to hear it, the various aspects which I now present.
Now what kind of theory was/am I talking about? Is it something alien? And to introduce such a philosophy I would quote the lines of a wonderful ophthalmologist(surgeon) Dr. Aravind at ted.com, "When we grow in spiritual consciousness,there is no exploitation ...It is ourselves we are helping,it is ourselves we are healing."
It was told to me by the dear friend that there is a website called www.ted.com and that it brings in some great work, speeches and technological innovations on one platform for free. So, I went to the website and I was amazed to see invaluable stuffs lined up at one place and then I started watching some videos. The first video that I came up was about an Indian genius Pavan Mistry who was talking about the sixth sense that he had developed in the form of a gadget/device that can help us relate our physical world with that of the digital one. Now as I was watching, it somehow came to my mind that are we really using our five senses to think about having a sixth or do we really need such a thing? it was just an innocent query that i had. What I would stress at this point is that I love technology and am too engrossed to say that I do not and I know i will fail if I say so. So why do I say that do we need such technologies? why did my heart at the very first place query about it?
As Dr. Aravinda rightly says that when one does it for others it is one's own self that gets benefitted. But such a circumstance or thought process that leads to such spiritual awakening is not limited to an innovation or a technological development. Such developments acts as a tool or an enabling medium but are not 'THE ONLY SOLUTION' or 'THE ONLY THING at the least! It is very important to note that for Life to exist on this planet there exists an infinite number of balanced circumstances. And even with all these circumstances available we see Lives that are not ready to live or exist, lives that are either destroyed by their own self or by the other external factors.
So what is 'THE THING' or 'THE NECESSITY' ?It is but the WILL to live , the WILL to let others live and the WILL to provide equal opportunity to everyone around. It is also termed as the Golden rule of confucius "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself" and The Charter of Compassion followed by ted.com adopts the same.Now if there is a will to treat every other being as EQUAL then the mean or the methodology involved to create such a situation can be many with multitude of possibilities. But when we tend to over depend on the means and forget that it is the very WILL that is important to initiate anything or let any change occur, then we are certainly led astray. And now If I agree that technology is important and that the HEART theory is adopted by the people at ted.com, then what is the reason for such skepticism?
That is the next important question that my friend might ask me after reading the above. Now, when we look into the history of mankind we have seen that kingdoms, republics and democracies have all in their pursuit of power crushed the weak and somber. Such an injustice led to a revolution and such revolution toppled the authoritative rule to create another republic or democracy so that it can rule and crush the poor and the tiny through its policies and doctrines. Amidst all this what is seen to SHINE is not the means or methods that led to revolution, political or technological, but the WIll of the people and the NEED of the day.
The question series will come with what is the NEED of the day? The need of the day is quite universal all across the globe; it is to provide equal opportunities of food, clothing, shelter, housing and all basic amenities needed for a healthy and prosperous life to all. But, until the Capitalist tendency of amassing and concentrating the wealth in the hands of greedy by fooling the needy exists such equality will cease to exist. And all such wonderful technological innovation will and cannot reach the needy to accomplish their desired purposes.
I would quote Mr. Hope Mr. Change Mr. We Can Mr. Barack Obama "
You know, there's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit -- the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes; to see the world through the eyes of those who are different from us -- the child who's hungry, the steelworker who's been laid-off, the family who lost the entire life they built together when the storm came to town. When you think like this -- when you choose to broaden your ambit of concern and empathize with the plight of others, whether they are close friends or distant strangers -- it becomes harder not to act; harder not to help."
Another take on this. To really understand what my heart's query is, I again queried about the usefulness of such developments in the past and their effectiveness to us the users. I see that with technological developments our tasks have become easier and less burdensome. It has made the world a much smaller place and has allowed me to connect with my family members residing on a very distant point from my dwelling point in the geographical map with quite an ease. I am no technology hater , I stress again! But I do see my young friends getting lost into these technologically advanced gadgets, i do see my young kids getting older in a much young age. I can see the kids losing on their innocence and getting smarter with their blogs and xbox or nintendo games. I see my friends glued all long on their laptops and ignore the beautiful sunshine or the cool evening breeze. I do see my friends ignoring their culture, their religious ethos, their basic discipline as all of them at once would say IMPATIENCE is the word of the day. From where I see Impatience it leads to anger which leads to grief and it in turns leads to misery and gradually it leads to the FALL!
So to conclude:
1) It is the Golden rule that is important; means can vary.
2)If one is led by point 1 then one can do wonders, the opposite leads to the FALL.
3) Technology is wonderful only if we know its USAGE, its disadvantage and its availability to the masses.
True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.- Martin Luther King Jr.
A religious man is a person who holds God and man in one thought at one time, at all times, who suffers harm done to others, whose greatest passion is compassion, whose greatest strength is love and defiance of despair - Abraham joshua
A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. - Albert Einstein
PS: i have not written anything new and that i am sure that poeple at ted.com would agree with it. I just wanted to re emphasize what my HEART spoke to me and thats my HEART theory.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Purpose of Education
MAY ALLAHZ PEACE N BLESSING BE AUPON YOU!
The real difficulty is that people have no idea of what education truly is. We assess the value of education in the same manner as we assess the value of land or of shares in the stock-exchange market. We want to provide only such education as would enable the student to earn more. We hardly give any thought to the improvement of the character of the educated. The girls, we say, do not have to earn; so why should they be educated? As long as such ideas persist there is no hope of our ever knowing the true value of education. (M. K. Gandhi True Education on the NCTE site)
The real difficulty is that people have no idea of what education truly is. We assess the value of education in the same manner as we assess the value of land or of shares in the stock-exchange market. We want to provide only such education as would enable the student to earn more. We hardly give any thought to the improvement of the character of the educated. The girls, we say, do not have to earn; so why should they be educated? As long as such ideas persist there is no hope of our ever knowing the true value of education. (M. K. Gandhi True Education on the NCTE site)
Monday, January 18, 2010
Shukr-e-Karam
Oh my lord! How shall I thank thee,
what shall I thank thee for;
For making me the most beautiful among the creatures;
oR giving me the perfect skeleton to withstand my structure;
For giving me every needful for the time, i am alive;
Or giving me the senses to think and thrive;
For every minute of air I inhale;
Or every minute of Life I scale.
For the beauty to the nature that you endowed;
Or the wonderful balance that has been stored.
Oh my lord! How shall I thank thee,
what shall I thank thee for;
By Loving the species around the space;
Or Hating them coz they take my place.
By beleiving in oneness of your Reality;
Or Fighting for the differnce of Clarity.
By living in peace and solidarity;
Or creating rifts manipulating substantiality.
By believing in your powers to help my soul;
Or worrying the situations leading the role.
Oh my lord! how shall I thank thee;
what shall I thank thee for!
what shall I thank thee for;
For making me the most beautiful among the creatures;
oR giving me the perfect skeleton to withstand my structure;
For giving me every needful for the time, i am alive;
Or giving me the senses to think and thrive;
For every minute of air I inhale;
Or every minute of Life I scale.
For the beauty to the nature that you endowed;
Or the wonderful balance that has been stored.
Oh my lord! How shall I thank thee,
what shall I thank thee for;
By Loving the species around the space;
Or Hating them coz they take my place.
By beleiving in oneness of your Reality;
Or Fighting for the differnce of Clarity.
By living in peace and solidarity;
Or creating rifts manipulating substantiality.
By believing in your powers to help my soul;
Or worrying the situations leading the role.
Oh my lord! how shall I thank thee;
what shall I thank thee for!
My Love for Allah and its Fruit!
It is really WONDERFUL ( i wish i had a better word to express my Heart) to realise/know/experience that SUPERIORITY of Life is not decided by one's BIRTH or STATUS one enjoys in this world; it is indeed 'DECIDED' by TAQWA: the Fear/Respect to abide by Allah's guidance purely for His pleasure as Every soul shall taste DEATH.
It is so exciting that ONE will meet one's Lord after servin Him and Obeying his Commands...
"I AM SO EXCITED"
It is so exciting that ONE will meet one's Lord after servin Him and Obeying his Commands...
"I AM SO EXCITED"
Friday, January 8, 2010
Ayyiuhal Muslimoon
"...Wa YuQimussalaata Wa yutuzzaQata Wa Dhalika Dinul Qayyimah"
To establish regular prayer; and to practice regular charity; and that is the Religion Right and Straight.
At a time when Muslims all over the world have been looked upon as fundamentalists and religious fanatics, it is critical for us to introspect and have a reality check. It is worthless to blame the Americans, European’s or more specifically the Jews and the Christians(The people from the Book) or be it Hindus as it was worthless to blame Abu Sufiyan and the likes of Abu jahl for the miseries that they inflicted upon the beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his followers. It is indeed a painful sight when one looks upon the crying child and helpless mother attacked by an armed personnel in Iraq, Iran, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Palestine, Chechnya, Pakistan, Bangladesh and most recently the Uyghur’s in China.
The water finds it difficult to stay in the eyes as the tears flow down and the heart burns with ache and anger alike. The very basic reaction follows with a hatred against the oppressors and their faith. But the tears dry up and the anger fades away as we enter into our daily routine with few Jihadists blowing up the oppressors and innocent lives with an aim of revenge and a promise of Jannah.
It is however so critical to examine that all of us whether the helpless mother , the children who get killed, we the viewers and the Jihadists belong to one group that calls itself a Muslim. Yes we call ourselves Muslims! And I would thus like to express my feelings on this very issue where we the Muslims find ourselves trapped in this world where we are helpless against the evil intentions of Jews, Christians and every other satanic force. I have read people who justify Jihad by saying that it is but an obligation for a MUSLIM to show resistance against an existing ‘zulm’ or injustice and oppression. Should anyone or I agree or not will depend on the very fact that we must introspect whether we are practicing Muslims.
Are we a practicing Muslim?
A Muslim is a person who surrenders his will to that of Allah (s.w.t) and performs the regular obligations i.e. of Prayer, Charity etc. taking cues from the life of Prophet.
• But when a person is too busy in the glitter and glamour of the world,
• when a person is ready to cheat and fake zillion times in a day and the night (A Muslim never as he know that he cant cheat Allah (s.w.t))
• when a person has lost the value of his own tongue; of his promises and spoken obligations(A Muslim is true to his words)
• where lies have become a part of people’s life (as it is easier to lie than to follow a Muslims way; Straight path!),
• where men have become larger than Allah (s.w.t) as one bows down to other who could fulfill their vain desires and wishes(La ilaha IllAllah)
• where one’s belief in Allah (s.w.t) has weakened, our Duas belittled (A Muslims has a strong Iman, in the power of Allah (s.w.t) to help his soul)
• One has become so impatient that one crosses all lines to solve one’s problems(A Muslim sticks to Siratal Mustaqeem and Patience is his attribute),
• Our hearts have become so hard that they cant give a smile without a reason(We are so busy in our pursuits that Smiles are forgotten or faked),
• where we cant offer a hug without a profit(The material world and its glitter has blinded us and so our hearts),
• where everything is done for a show( A Muslim does everything for the Sake of Allah (s.w.t)),
• where pride and pomp is the only purpose of living; (A Muslim is down to earth; full of HUMILITY)
It can go on and on!
A muslim sister/brother has an obligation not just towards his family but towards his neighbour and his relatives and hence the relatives if poor, the neighbours if needy must be helped. But do we help our relatives? Do we help our neighbours? where has our Innocence gone? Why have we become so hard hearted? The list of question is unending as the list of complaints.
The very point of concern is: Are we really doing what it takes to be a Muslim? I have indeed met Muslims in my life who generate warmth that of a mother and who spend in the path of Allah (s.w.t) without any pomp and show. Charity is their life and learning and spreading Islam their Mission. And when asked they would reply with a similar answer that “Allah (s.w.t) has been kind" . Their answers and the simplicity in their tones would melt hearts. This is the reason why Islam is spreading like a fire in jungle and Jews and Christians (Our sisters/sister/brothers from the book) do get worried. I don't see a point of raising guns and firing bullets when things can be solved by the message that ISLAM carries, by the purity that it contains, by the simple answers that Islam has for the otherwise complex Life.
So, do you mean to say that if I am practising Muslim, I have a license to kill non Muslims?Is Jihad about killing people?
I won’t get into explaining the word Jihad as most of the people know this due to its popularity. But I would stress that to A Muslim the Jihad with its varying definition and branches converges to a point where it is defined as "A Struggle by a person who surrenders to the will of Allah (s.w.t) to abide by his orders all his life amidst all provocations from satan"
What can we do?
The basic problem that we face is that we are excessively engrossed in our life and have forgotten the real purpose we have set our foot upon earth. A muslim must know clearly that his mission in this world is nothing but glorifcation of the one and only Supreme Lord Allah (s.w.t) by obeying his orders. So, a practising muslim must consider every sister/brother in Islam as a part of the family and should always care and show concern for another muslim sister/brother. Our earnings are not just ours but for our larger family whose obligation is certainly on us. Most of the answers about how to help a sister/brother will be easily answered by a pious heart, so have a clean heart.
Acquiring knowledge is an obligation for every single Muslim. So teaching and spreading knowledge is amongst the best of services to mankind.Thus it is very important to find the real enemy and uproot it from the ground. The problems that we face is of Identity crisis and it must be resolved if we are to progress and lead a peaceful as well as meaningful life.
*It is so critical to understand that we as a Muslim just need to become MUSLIM by definition; isn't that Simple? It is but surrendering to the will of Allah (s.w.t) and not of the WORLD*
Love to all sister/brothers. Jazakallahkhair!
"...Wa YuQimussalaata Wa yutuzzaQata Wa Dhalika Dinul Qayyimah"
To establish regular prayer; and to practice regular charity; and that is the Religion Right and Straight.
At a time when Muslims all over the world have been looked upon as fundamentalists and religious fanatics, it is critical for us to introspect and have a reality check. It is worthless to blame the Americans, European’s or more specifically the Jews and the Christians(The people from the Book) or be it Hindus as it was worthless to blame Abu Sufiyan and the likes of Abu jahl for the miseries that they inflicted upon the beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his followers. It is indeed a painful sight when one looks upon the crying child and helpless mother attacked by an armed personnel in Iraq, Iran, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Palestine, Chechnya, Pakistan, Bangladesh and most recently the Uyghur’s in China.
The water finds it difficult to stay in the eyes as the tears flow down and the heart burns with ache and anger alike. The very basic reaction follows with a hatred against the oppressors and their faith. But the tears dry up and the anger fades away as we enter into our daily routine with few Jihadists blowing up the oppressors and innocent lives with an aim of revenge and a promise of Jannah.
It is however so critical to examine that all of us whether the helpless mother , the children who get killed, we the viewers and the Jihadists belong to one group that calls itself a Muslim. Yes we call ourselves Muslims! And I would thus like to express my feelings on this very issue where we the Muslims find ourselves trapped in this world where we are helpless against the evil intentions of Jews, Christians and every other satanic force. I have read people who justify Jihad by saying that it is but an obligation for a MUSLIM to show resistance against an existing ‘zulm’ or injustice and oppression. Should anyone or I agree or not will depend on the very fact that we must introspect whether we are practicing Muslims.
Are we a practicing Muslim?
A Muslim is a person who surrenders his will to that of Allah (s.w.t) and performs the regular obligations i.e. of Prayer, Charity etc. taking cues from the life of Prophet.
• But when a person is too busy in the glitter and glamour of the world,
• when a person is ready to cheat and fake zillion times in a day and the night (A Muslim never as he know that he cant cheat Allah (s.w.t))
• when a person has lost the value of his own tongue; of his promises and spoken obligations(A Muslim is true to his words)
• where lies have become a part of people’s life (as it is easier to lie than to follow a Muslims way; Straight path!),
• where men have become larger than Allah (s.w.t) as one bows down to other who could fulfill their vain desires and wishes(La ilaha IllAllah)
• where one’s belief in Allah (s.w.t) has weakened, our Duas belittled (A Muslims has a strong Iman, in the power of Allah (s.w.t) to help his soul)
• One has become so impatient that one crosses all lines to solve one’s problems(A Muslim sticks to Siratal Mustaqeem and Patience is his attribute),
• Our hearts have become so hard that they cant give a smile without a reason(We are so busy in our pursuits that Smiles are forgotten or faked),
• where we cant offer a hug without a profit(The material world and its glitter has blinded us and so our hearts),
• where everything is done for a show( A Muslim does everything for the Sake of Allah (s.w.t)),
• where pride and pomp is the only purpose of living; (A Muslim is down to earth; full of HUMILITY)
It can go on and on!
A muslim sister/brother has an obligation not just towards his family but towards his neighbour and his relatives and hence the relatives if poor, the neighbours if needy must be helped. But do we help our relatives? Do we help our neighbours? where has our Innocence gone? Why have we become so hard hearted? The list of question is unending as the list of complaints.
The very point of concern is: Are we really doing what it takes to be a Muslim? I have indeed met Muslims in my life who generate warmth that of a mother and who spend in the path of Allah (s.w.t) without any pomp and show. Charity is their life and learning and spreading Islam their Mission. And when asked they would reply with a similar answer that “Allah (s.w.t) has been kind" . Their answers and the simplicity in their tones would melt hearts. This is the reason why Islam is spreading like a fire in jungle and Jews and Christians (Our sisters/sister/brothers from the book) do get worried. I don't see a point of raising guns and firing bullets when things can be solved by the message that ISLAM carries, by the purity that it contains, by the simple answers that Islam has for the otherwise complex Life.
So, do you mean to say that if I am practising Muslim, I have a license to kill non Muslims?Is Jihad about killing people?
I won’t get into explaining the word Jihad as most of the people know this due to its popularity. But I would stress that to A Muslim the Jihad with its varying definition and branches converges to a point where it is defined as "A Struggle by a person who surrenders to the will of Allah (s.w.t) to abide by his orders all his life amidst all provocations from satan"
What can we do?
The basic problem that we face is that we are excessively engrossed in our life and have forgotten the real purpose we have set our foot upon earth. A muslim must know clearly that his mission in this world is nothing but glorifcation of the one and only Supreme Lord Allah (s.w.t) by obeying his orders. So, a practising muslim must consider every sister/brother in Islam as a part of the family and should always care and show concern for another muslim sister/brother. Our earnings are not just ours but for our larger family whose obligation is certainly on us. Most of the answers about how to help a sister/brother will be easily answered by a pious heart, so have a clean heart.
Acquiring knowledge is an obligation for every single Muslim. So teaching and spreading knowledge is amongst the best of services to mankind.Thus it is very important to find the real enemy and uproot it from the ground. The problems that we face is of Identity crisis and it must be resolved if we are to progress and lead a peaceful as well as meaningful life.
*It is so critical to understand that we as a Muslim just need to become MUSLIM by definition; isn't that Simple? It is but surrendering to the will of Allah (s.w.t) and not of the WORLD*
Love to all sister/brothers. Jazakallahkhair!
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