A Prescription For
Harmony
Difference
in caste, colour and creed is a hard fact of life. In fact, this is a
deliberate design of Allah; "Among
His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of
your tongues and colours. In that surely are signs for those who possess
knowledge." (30:23)
"O mankind, We have created you from a male
and a female; and We have made you into tribes and sub-tribes that you may
recognize one another. Verily, the most honourable among you, in the sight of
Allah, is he who is the most righteous among you. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing,
All-Aware." (49:14)
Even
in matter of religion, He allowed man to follow his own dictate; hence the
existence of many religions at the same time. "And if thy Lord had enforced His will, surely, all who are on the
earth would have believed together. Wilt thou, then, force them to become
believers?" (10:,100) Variety is the spice of life. If people learn
to live together in harmony, despite differences, and create unity-in
diversity, a society becomes a bunch of variegated flowers. !f not, it will be
a hell on earth.
A
rapidly growing dissention is the most disturbing feature of national life in
Pakistan. The society is now badly split along religious, regional, ethnic,
linguistic, tribal and sectarian lines. The differences are played up to create
not a sense of insecurity, but to whip up frenzy, to encourage violence.
The
orgy being witnessed in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is just unbelievable. The
life of an unwary is always at risk. In the sanctuary of mosques, the
worshippers are mown down while prostrating before Allah. Infants in the lap of
their mothers are killed by stray bullets within the four walls of their
houses. This has given rise to problems which threaten the very integrity of
the country. In view of the gravity of the situation, the government has been
compelled to ban some religious organizations and warn others to behave.
The
existing situation only confirms what the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) said, "By Him in whose hand is my soul, the world
will not pass away till a day comes to mankind when the killer will not know
why he killed, or the one who is killed why he was killed." When asked how
that could be, he said, "There will be turmoil and the killer and the one
who is killed will go to Hell," (Muslim)
SUPPLICATIONS :
The
Holy Prophet (ﷺ) once made three supplications to Allah for
the ummah. He accepted two of
them but not the third one. There are various versions about the two accepted
but there is unanimity about the third one which was not granted. That was
about dissention among Muslims. This should put Muslims on notice that, devoid
of the Divine protection sought by the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) for them, they are now on their own.
The
current trouble in Pakistan boils down to "intolerance", a thing
Islam does not approve. Allah intensely hates that a partner be set up with Him
even so, there are many who do so, but they are not punished in the worldly
life only for this 'grievous sin. This is left to be settled on the Day of the
Judgment. So are other religious differences. It was the most outstanding,
perhaps the unique, example of religious tolerance when the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) allowed the delegation of Christians of Najran to pray
in their own way in his mosque, which was the venue of the meeting, and in his
very presence.
The
worst form of intolerance is persecution on religious grounds. Islam stands
against any such persecution and wants religion to be only for Allah (2:194). "There should be no compulsion in
religion, surely, right has become distinct from wrong." (2:257).
“Admonish, therefore, for thou art but an admonisher Thou hast no authority to
compel them” (99:22-23) “It is not thy responsibility to make them follow the
right path; but Allah guides whomsoever He pleases.” (2:273) “Say, 'O ye
disbelievers'! I worship not that which you worship: nor worship you what I
worship. And I am not going to worship that which you worship: Nor will you
worship what I worship. For you your religion, and for me my religion."
(109:2-7)
Persecution
often starts with reviling of the opponent. Allah does not allow reviling of
even inanimate things like idols commonly made of stone. “Revile not those whom they call upon beside
Allah, lest they, out of spite, revile Allah in their ignorance. Thus unto
everyone have, we caused their doing to seem fair. Then unto their lord is
their return: and He will inform them of what they used to do” (6:109).
GROUND FOR COOPERATION
Instead
of harping upon differences, one must look for a common ground for cooperation.
The first meeting point should be in humanity, the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) said. "Creation is the family of Allah, and the
most beloved of all creation to Allah is he who does good to Him family.” In.
his Farewell Pilgrimage sermon, the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) said.”0 men, what I say to you, you must listen and
remember. All Muslims are brethren to one another. All of you are equal. All
men, whatever nation or tribe they may belong to, and whatever station in life
they may hold, are equal.”
Once
a funeral procession passed by and the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) stood up as a mark of respect to the dead. Someone
pointed out that he was a Jew. His reply which is worthy of being written in
gold, .was, "Was he not a human being?” In order to discourage prejudice
that can arise from a variety of reason, the tribal pride being very
predominate at that time, the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Certainly Allah has removed from you
haughtiness and family pride of the days of ignorance. Now there are two-types
of people; believers and pious as opposed to rebellious and sinners. You are
the progeny of Adam and Adarn was made of clay. People should give up national
pride, because that is one of the coals of Hell. If not, Allah will treat them
no better than a black beetle found on a dunghill which pushes dirt and filth
with its nose”
It
is in the Qur'an “Say, 'O people of
the Book! come to a word equal between us and you that we worship none but
Allah and that we associate no partners with Him, and that some of us take not
others for lords beside 'Allah”(3:65) “And argue not with the People of the
book except with what is best; but argue not at all with such of them as are
unjust, and say, 'We believe in that which has been revealed to us and that which has been revealed to you; and
our God and your God is one; and to Him we submit” (29:47)
COMMON
GOALS:
Muslims
have, much more in common to prompt them to cooperate for the given objectives.
They believe in the same Allah, the same book and the same Prophet and are
destined to do good to everyone. “You
are the best people raised for the good of mankind; you enjoin what is good and
forbid evil and believe in Allah” (3:111) The Qur'anic advice is, “And help one
another is righteousness and piety' but help not one another in sin and
transgression. And fear Allah; surely, Allah is severe in punishmen” (5:3)
Life
is invaluable in Islam and it is more so if it is that of human beings. The
Holy Prophet (ﷺ) advised not to wish for death even in case
of terminal illness, suicide is strictly forbidden in Islam. “And kill not yourselves. Surely, Allah is
Merciful to you” (4:30) “Whosoever killed a person—unless
it be for killing a person or for creating disorder in the land it shall be as
if he had killed all mankind, and whoso gave life to one, it shall be as if he
had given life to all mankind” (5:33)
Clergy
is supposed to be the conscience of followers of a faith. As such, Muslim
clergy has a special responsibility in this regard. Unfortun-ately, the role of
some of them has been mostly negative and the main blame for fomenting
religious hatred in Pakistan, instead of tolerance, lies at his door. The Holy
Prophet (ﷺ) had foretold that in, the absence of
divines. “People will adopt the ignorant as their leaders and will ask them for
guidance, and they will render their opinion without knowledge. They will be
astray themselves and will led others astray.”
This
puts government on the spot. Protecting the life, property and honour the
citizens is the primary responsibility of the state. Maintaining law and order
is the first priority of any government worth the name. There have been many
high profile murders but their culprits have not been brought to book. The need
is to restore the fear of and respect for law. In this context, among other
things, the extremists religious fanatics and demagogues will have to be reined
in effectively.
Mere
banning an organization will not do, as the concerned person may operate under
a different name or even without any name at all. The real solution lies in the
Qur'anic prescription mentioned above, not to allow any one to revile other and
preach hatred. It is worth reminding that the rulers, as the shepherds of the
herd of their subjects are accountable to Allah for the safety and welfare of
every citizen.
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