UMMAH-NESS
Islamic Brotherhood
(This is the text of a speech delivered by Maulana Mohammad Yousuf three days before his death, on 30 March 1965, at Rawalpindi, Pakistan)
“Listen! I am not feeling well. I have not been able to sleep the whole night. But I find it necessary to speak. Those who pay heed to the will of God and do good works will be rewarded by him. Those who do not will suffer the consequences of their wrongdoing.
“The Prophet and his companions took great pains to establish the Ummah (the community of believers). The enemies have always attempted to divide them. Muslims fall a prey to their manoeuvring and have often remained severely at odds with one another. There was a time when they were united and by virtue of their unity, they out-weighed the whole world, in spite of the fact that they were only a few lakhs in number. There were no brick houses, no brick mosques, there was no means of even lighting up the Masjid-e-Nabavi (the Prophet’s mosque). It was as late as the ninth year of Hijra that the Prophet’s mosque was lighted by Tamim Dari, who had accepted Islam in that year. By this time, almost the whole of Arabia had entered the fold of Islam. Various nations, various languages, various tribes had come together to form a single united whole. Only then was the mosque lighted up. The divine light brought by the Prophet had spread not only over Arabia, but all around it as well. In whatever direction this faithful little band of followers proceeded, people fell at their feet. This Ummah was established only after a great sacrifice of the interests of family, party, nation, country, language and so on. Even family affairs were not given prime importance because everything had literally been subordinated to the will of God and His prophets. Ummah can be formed only when all relations and acquaintances take on secondary importance. When Muslims were one community, the murder of even one Muslim was enough to shake all of them. Now the killings of hundreds and thousands of them goes unnoticed.
“Ummah is not the name of a group belonging to one nation or one place but is formed rather of people of various lands and climes joined together into one whole. Those who consider a particular nation or a particular people as their own are guilty of destroying the Ummah by breaking it up into separate entities. The efforts of the Prophet and his companions towards unity are then rendered null and void. It is Muslims themselves who have done the Ummah to death. It was only later that others played their part. If Muslims were to unite once again, no power in the world could harm them. Even atom bombs and rockets could not vanquish them. But if national and racial prejudices are allowed to creep in, then even arms and armies cannot save us.
“Muslims are being subjected to oppression throughout the world because they are disunited. Feeling overwhelmed by the horror of the whole thing, my heart is ready to break. As you know, we have plunged ourselves into the plight we are in because we are divided. People have almost forgotten the difficulties the Prophet faced in bringing Ummah into being. For a community to lay claim to the divine succour, worship and the imparting of religious knowledge are not by themselves sufficient. Take the case of Abu Muljim, the murderer of the fourth Caliph. When people in a fit of anger rushed to avenge the murder by cutting his tongue off, he said ‘Do whatever you will, but spare my tongue to enable me to utter God’s name till my last breath.’ Yet the Prophet had foretold that Ali’s murderer would be one of the most hard-hearted and one of the most wretched members of his community. And so far as imparting religious knowledge is concerned, Abul Fazl and Faizi, the Emperor Akbar’s courtiers, were so competent and well-versed that they could perform the feat of writing a complete commentary of the Holy Quran without using those letters of the alphabet which have points. But they were the very ones who led Akbar astray and perverted the religion itself. How then can worship and religious learning alone suffice to elicit the divine succour?
“The great warriors Shah Ismail Shaheed and Syed Ahmed Shaheed and their followers were, by all accounts, true believers. When they reached the frontier in Afghanistan in order to establish Islamic rule, the local people acknowledged them as their leaders, but Satan was close by to turn them against the newcomers. ‘How can you allow the outsiders to have the upper hand in your affairs?’ he whispered into their ears. The people succumbed to the temptation of Satan and revolted against them, putting many to death and expelling the rest from the country. Thus they broke the unity on purely regional grounds. God then placed them under the yoke of the English as a punishment.
“Remember! The words, ‘my nation, my region, and my people’ all lead to disunity, and God disapproves of this more than anything else.
“Ummah can be formed only when all its groups fully dedicate themselves to the task, ignoring all the differences between them. Remember that it is social evil that causes disunity. When one person wrongs another, subjects him to oppression or humiliates him, disunity is close at hand.
“I tell you that worship alone is not sufficient to keep the Ummah intact. Its unity entails reforming our ways vis-à-vis those we come in contact with, paying them their dues, according them proper respect, and sacrificing our own interests in favour of community interests. Consider how the Prophet and his companions endured the unendurable for the sake of uniting people together around one goal.
“During the caliphate of Umar, an enormous sum in booty and tax was collected and brought to him. A meeting was held to decide on the method of distribution. It was at a time when Ummah had been established and all were united. People from various tribes participated in the meeting. They arrived at the decision that the following system should be adopted. The tribe to which the prophet belonged was to receive the highest share, next would come Abu Bakr’s tribe and then Umar’s. In this manner Umar’s tribe came third on the list. This proposal was put before Umar, but he did not agree to this. He said, ‘We owe everything to the Prophet, so we should let him establish the criterion. Those related to him should first receive the greatest share, and then other tribes should be classed according to their relationship with his tribe.’ By this standard, Umar’s tribe lagged far behind, and was entitled to receive a much smaller share in comparison. It was such selfless people as these who had brought the Ummah together.
“It is incumbent upon us to remain united whatever the cost. The Prophet is reported to have said: ‘On the day of Judgement a certain person would be brought before God to be judged, and although he had performed all forms of worship in the world, he would stand condemned. He would wonder what it was that he was being punished for. He would be told that it was due to such words of his as had caused friction in Ummah that he had been brought to this state. Afterwards another person would be brought, who had worshipped God far less in comparison to the former person. But he would be amply rewarded. In astonishment, he would ask: ‘For which of my deeds have I been rewarded so generously.’ He would be told that on some occasion he had done something or spoken some words, which had helped to bring the community together, and that it was his good words that had brought him all the reward.
“The tongue indeed plays a large part in connecting or splitting asunder a community. If the tongue can utter such words as create disharmony in a community, the tongue can as well utter such words as unite the hearts of people who were formerly antagonistic to one another. It is, therefore, necessary to keep our tongues in check. One should always bear in mind that God listens to every word we utter; this awareness alone can act as a constraint.
“Two Medinan tribes, the Aus and Khazraj, were torn with civil and tribal feuds and dissensions and, as a result, had been severely at odds with one another for centuries. By virtue of their acceptance of Islam they had united in a peerless brotherhood. On seeing this, the Jews plotted against them in order to provoke them into clashing once again. At a gathering where people from both tribes were present, a conspirator recited provocative verses with the intention of arousing their negative emotions. The plot succeeded. Both the groups first engaged in heated exchanges, then fell to shedding the blood of their brethren. When the Prophet was informed, he rushed to the spot and asked them, “Would you shed the blood of your brethren while I am alive?” Then he made a brief but poignant and moving speech before them. Both sides realized that they had simply played into the hands of Satan. They embraced one another and wept at having been led astray. It was on this occassion that this verse was revealed:
“Ye, who believe, fear God as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam” (The Quran, 3:102).
“When man keeps God constantly in his thoughts, he will always fear Him and try to follow Him in every detail. Satan will then never find a chance to tempt him to evil ways, and the community will be spared friction.
“‘And hold fast, all together, by the rope which God (stretches out for you) and be not divided among yourselves and remember with gratitude God’s favour on you. For ye were enemies and He joined your hearts, in love so that by His grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of fire and He saved you from it.’ (The Quran, 3:103)
“‘Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. They are the ones to attain felicity.’ (The Quran 3:104)
“The ideal Muslim community is one that is united, strong and prosperous; it encourages all that is good; enjoins what is right; and forbids what is wrong.
Be not like those who are divided amongst themselves, and fall into disputation after receiving clear signs: for them is a dreadful penalty.” (The Quran, 3:105)
“In Islam great emphasis is laid on unity. All the forms of worship are aimed at bringing people together, while bad deeds divide one from another the faces of those who are guilty of the heinous crime of dividing people shall appear black on the day of judgement.
‘‘‘On the Day when some faces will be (lit up with) white, and some faces will be (in the gloom of) black. To those whose faces will be black, will be said: Did you reject faith after accepting it? Taste then the penalty for rejecting faith. But those whose faces will be (lit with) white they will be (in the light of) God’s mercy: therein to dwell (forever).’ (The Quran, 3:106-107).
“All these verses were revealed at the point when the Jews had succeeded in their attempt to cause a rift between members of the Ansar (the Medinan new converts). The latter were momentarily influenced by their insinuations. Civil war and friction in the Muslim community has been likened to unbelief. Those guilty of it will be liable to severe chastisement in the next world. The only way to counteract such attempts on the part of the enemies, is to continue towards the goal of bringing people together in the mosques, to organize religious meetings and discussions aimed at strengthening one in one’s faith and making one conscious of one’s duties of spreading the message among the ignorant. Constant remembrance of God alone can help us to resist Satanic temptations. If we always remembered the fact that God is watching over us every moment, we would be cautious of our words and deeds. If we are to achieve unity we must win over our enemies, however strong they may be. The moment we become disunited, others will hold sway over us.
“The Quran strongly condemns all those things that create misunderstanding between the people.
“’Secret counsels are only inspired by the Evil one, in order that he may cause grief to the believers; but he cannot harm them in the least, except as God permits.’ (The Quran, 58:10)
“The believers are brethren. Make peace among your brethren and fear God, so that you may be shown mercy.
“‘Believers, let no man mock another man, who may perhaps be better than himself. Let no woman mock another woman, who may perhaps be better than herself. Do not defame one another, nor call one another by nick-names. It is an evil thing to be called by a bad name after embracing the true faith. Those that do not respect are wrong doers.’ (The Quran, 49:11)
“‘Believers, avoid most of suspicion, for in some cases suspicion is a crime. Do not spy on one another, nor back-bite one another.’ (The Quran, 49:12)
“The collective community of Islam should be supreme over groups or nations. It would be expected to act justly and to try through compromise to avoid quarrels, for peace is better than fighting.
“The enforcement of Muslim Brotherhood is the greatest social ideal of Islam. On it was based the Prophet’s sermon on his last pilgrimage, and Islam cannot be completely realized until this ideal is achieved.
“Mutual ridicule ceases to be amusing when there is arrogance or selfishness or malice behind it. We may laugh with people, to share in the happiness of life: We must never laugh at people in contempt or ridicule. In many things they may be better than ourselves. In our mission we exhort people to learn the virtues of modesty, and when they come to possess them, surely, they will succeed in both the worlds.
“Defamation may consist in speaking ill of others by spoken or written words, or in acting in such a way as to suggest the culpability of some person whom we are not in a position to judge. All these things ill-accord with the serious purpose which Muslims should have in life.
“Most kinds of suspicions are baseless and are to be avoided, and some are crimes in themselves, for they do cruel injustice to innocent men and women. Spying, or inquiring too curiously into people’s affairs means either idle curiosity, and is therefore futile, or suspicion carried a stage further, which almost amounts to sin. Slandering others falls into the same category. If slander is baseless it can range from being purely mischievous, to being poisoned with malice, in which case it is a sin added to sin.
“We must accord due respect to Muslims. This can take place only when we step down to the lowly position of a slave of God.
“If we learn the lessons of true humility when we know consciously that we are not worthy of being honoured while others are, then can we rest assured that unity is secured.
“We have to make sacrifices of our interests in this path. Power rests in the hands of God, not in the hands of mortals. When we fully submit ourselves to Him, He grants a share of it, if He so wills. And if we rebel against Him, He can take away even what we already possess, just as He did with the rebellious Jews who called themselves the chosen people of God. God does not judge people by relationships. It is our deeds alone which matter.
“My friends, exert with all your might in this cause of bringing unity to our people, through faith and self reform. This community should become one which worships God as is proper and is humble towards its fellowmen, which gives respect to others, is obedient to God, and whose members’ lives are imbued with truth and justice. Even if people in only one small place fully devote themselves to the spreading of this message, it will in time become the order of the day.
“It is high time that we formed groups to visit various places and did our best to serve this cause. In this way by the grace of God, nothing could come in the way of spreading the message.”
