Filling
the Gap
Justice (Retd.) Salahuddin Ahmad
The
main cause of the downfall and degradation of the Muslims can be summed up in
one word "Hypocrisy”. It is the gap between profession and action. If we
want resurgence and renaissance, we must fill this gap at the earliest. Back to
the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) we must retrace our steps. This should be our slogan and
action.
The
first important step in this direction is to be honest to oneself. The society too
must perform its duty by approving the individual’s efforts in this direction,
The society should se behave as to demonstrate that it has no place for
hypocrites and dishonest people. The Imams of mosques, the real Alim, and men
of understanding can play a useful role in this direction. Mosques, Eid-gahs,
and religious gatherings like marriage and funerals, provide a good occasion for
projecting such ideas.
Even
now, village society is much better and there people who commit evil are boycotted.
Coming
to the Holy Qur'an in Sura AL-Imran V. 103, Allah says;
"And
hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you) and be
not divided among yourselves."
Again
in Sura Baqara; V. 143, All ah says; "Thus have We made of you an Ummah justly
balanced."
In
Sura Rum, verse 31 and 32, the injunction is;
"And be not among those who join gods with God,
those who split up their religion, and become (mere) sects, each party
rejoicing in that which is with itself." In Sura Anfal 5:46,
Allah says;
“And obey God and His
Apostle and fall into no disputes lest ye You lose heart and your power depart,”
Unity
is thus a key factor in the progress and development of the Unmah, internally as well as externally, We must in all
seriousness concentrate on unity in our own country, and first put our own house
in order. Unless we do this we will not be able to attract much attention from
elsewhere.
A
graceful and patient approach should be made to evolve unity. In this respect again
the Qur'anic advice should be usefully followed, that is, it should be done
through politeness, and good manners. The practical lesson of unity and brotherhood
as taught to us while saying prayers in the mosque and in the congregation, and
while performing Haj should be followed and demonstrated in thought and deed.
In Sura Al-Hujarat,
5:10, we are told;
"The
faithful are surely brothers; so restore friendship among your brothers and fear
Allah, you may haply be favoured.”
We
must learn to emphasise on points of agreement rather than difference. The difference
should be referred to the Holy Qur'an and the Holy prophet as advised by the Holy
Qur'an.
In
Sura (V) 5:59 Allah says:
"If
you differ in anything among yourselves refer to Allah and His Apostle (ﷺ) if you do believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is best
and most suitable for final determination.”
Vituperation
and foul language should be eschewed at all cost, and individuals and parties should
be given due respect.
As regards inter-Ummah relations it should be mutually agreed that all
disputes and differences should De resolved by dialogue and negotiation in a spirit
of understanding and goodwill, always keeping in view the aforesaid advice of the
Holy Qur'an. On no account should Muslims go to war with one another. Patience and
tolerance should be the keynote in inter-Ummah relation. If mutually agreed upon,
a world Muslim court may be established to resolve disputes.
Besides
the OIC I would suggest that the Muslim member states of the United Nations organisation
should get together and decide on a common appr-oach to problems that are
Drought for consideration before the U.N.O, always keeping in the forefront the
interests of Ummah as a whole. Only thus can the Ummah successfully meet the evil
intentions of powers directed against the Muslims and the Muslim states.
Equally
important and urgent for the Muslims is to follow faithfully and scrupulously
the Islamic injunctions that help develop man spiritually as well as material!
y. Not only the art of warfare, but most importantly, the art of maintaining
peace and tranquility in this disturbed world should be acquired and practised.
We
should pray to Allah for adding to and increasing our knowledge, for unless Allah
so wills no knowledge can be acquired.
Under
no circumstances should the Muslim lose faith in Allah and despair of His mercy.
History
is replete with instances, and the Holy Qur'an mentions many instances of accomplished
and powerful people decimated and destroyed.
In
the context of the threatened new world order of a particular brand, the
Muslims should renew faith in Allah and ask for His help. They should ponder on
verses 45-48 of Sura Al- Haj of
the Holy Qur'an
"How
many a habitation given to wickedness have We destroyed, whose roots tumbled down,
and now lie in ruins, how many a well lying idle and neglected and castles
lofty and well built; Do they not travel through the land, so that their hearts
and minds may thus learn wisdom — yet they ask thee to hasten punishment. But
God will not fail in His promise. And to how many population did I give respite
which were given to wrong doing: In the end I punish them. To Me is the destination
of all”.
(DAWN,
13th March 1992)
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