The Quran is a book of divine warning. The call of the Quran is to make man aware of the Creation Plan of God. This is the reason why all prophets were sent to the world. Nowhere in the divine revelation is it said that it should be kept on the shelves as if it were any other ordinary book. Rather, it is compulsory that it should reach the maximum number of people throughout the ages. If the Prophet had not performed the task of conveying the message of the Quran, his prophethood could have become doubtful in the eyes of God (5:67). For this reason, the Prophet carried out this task with the utmost earnestness, so that the message of the Quran could reach people everywhere. Even at the end, addressing the Prophet, God Himself said in the Quran: ‘...you may destroy yourself with grief if they do not believe in this message.’ (18:6)
The responsibility which formerly fell on the Prophet has now to be discharged by his adherents. The believers have to become the medium through which the message of the Quran may be delivered to the whole of humanity. The Muslims and especially the religious scholars (ulama) must prove themselves by becoming the well-wishers and guides of humanity. And they must do so with the utmost earnestness. Indeed, they need to involve themselves to such a degree that they should appear to be destroying themselves in their endeavour.
The conveying of the message of Truth to everyone, the responsibility of which has been placed on the Muslims, is not like an optional subject, which they may either take up or make some excuse to leave off. This is a responsibility of such a nature that it has to be discharged at all costs.
Just as no excuse was acceptable from the Prophet, similarly no excuse made by the followers of the Prophet will be heard and found acceptable by God. Even other religious acts and deeds will not be enough for the salvation of the believers if they have ignored the responsibility of conveying the message of Truth to all the people.
Thousands of men and women are dying every day without having had the message of God conveyed to them; without having had the opportunity to accept it, they have missed their chance of improving their lives in the Hereafter. In such a situation it is the grave responsibility of the believers to desist from making excuses and seriously take up the mission of proclaiming the divine truth.
Source: The Call of the Quran
The Muslim community has been called ‘The Middle Nation’ in the Quran in the following verse of the second chapter, which states: “We have made you a middle nation, so that you may act as witnesses for mankind, and the Messenger may be a witness for you.” (2:143)
This verse speaks of the role of Muslims as dayees. It explains that they have received the divine religion through God’s Messenger. Therefore, they now must communicate God’s message to every generation in every age. The word ‘witness’ (shahid) in this verse is equivalent to dayee.
It was the responsibility of the followers of Prophet Muhammad to pass on the truth they had received from the Prophet to others. The same responsibility devolved upon the ancient people of the Book. That is, making the message of God clear to people. (The Quran, 3:187)
Conveying God’s word to humanity, or the task of being a witness (shaahid), is neither something mysterious nor is it a matter of superiority. The Call to God is all a matter of responsibility, and without doubt, there is no responsibility more significant than this. The responsibility of the Prophet’s Ummah is far more than that of other communities. The Prophet of Islam is called the ‘seal of the Prophets’ in the Quran (33:40); therefore, no other Prophet will come after him. The followers of Prophet Muhammad have to fulfil their responsibility of conveying the divine message to their contemporaries in every age till Doomsday. It is the duty of every Muslim, and he has to perform it on a priority basis.
We should remember that conveying God’s message to humanity is to be done in a clear and understandable style to the addressees, which is retained in their minds or makes a lasting impression on their minds. In the modern era, we need to make Islam understandable to people in the language of today, i.e., modern, scientific idiom.
Only by fulfilling this dawah responsibility to our utmost can we be held eligible in God’s eyes to be called the ‘Middle Nation’.
Source: Calling People to God
Calling people to Islam is a divine mission, and is carried out to fulfil the divine scheme. (4: 165) It is, therefore, natural that God should assist in this endeavour. It is such a difficult task that not receiving divine help would be more surprising than receiving it.
The responsibility for carrying on the work of dawah after the Prophet rests with the Muslims. It is as his followers that they shall have to carry on what he accomplished in his lifetime. (22:78) With this extension of responsibility, it is only proper that there should be an extension of their rights also.
Source: Calling People to God
Who is the master of any given situation? One who is able to turn an unfavourable situation to good account. This is possible for anyone. One just has to control one’s feelings and be able to think in an unbiased manner. I once happened to meet a youth. He was greatly perturbed. Someone had badly treated him, because of which he was provoked. His anger reached such an extent that he sought to take revenge. I said: "Your problem is not without you, but it is within you." It means that someone wanted to provoke you and you got provoked. In other words, someone gave you a dictation and you accepted his dictation. I, thus, gave the youth a simple formula: "Don't allow anyone to dictate to you." There was a pause. After a moment, the youth replied: "I got your point. I have decided that I will not take dictation from anyone." After a few days, he was able to live a normal life.
Swami Vivekananda, a great soul of India who lived in the nineteenth century, was once put to the test by a friend of his. He invited him to his house and asked him to sit in a room where there was a table laden with books. These books were the ten sacred books of different religions, one on top of the other. The sacred book of the Christians, the Bible, was placed on the top, and the sacred book of the Hindus, the Gita, was placed at the bottom. Obviously, this arrangement was intended to provoke his guest. Pointing to the pile of books, the host asked Swamiji to give his comments. Swamiji just smiled and said: “The foundation is really good.”
This story gives a good example of how one can become the master of a situation. Basically, it requires us not to become provoked, even in a provocative situation. When you become provoked, your mind suffers a kind of paralysis; it cannot work properly, so you find yourself at the mercy of the situation. But, when you do not allow provocative situations to affect you, your mind can work at its full capacity. When the mind is free to work, it is like a super computer and can solve all problems.
Source: Living in Hope
People generally complain about others; but no one is stronger than you. No one can create problems for you. It is your own unwise or emotional actions that give others the scope to do mischief. So don’t complain. Always look to yourself, always review your own actions, and be ready at all times to re-assess your planning and then you will have no complaint against anyone.
There is a terse but meaningful saying: ‘Blame thyself.’ This means that in all situations you should not try to see others’ mistakes but identify and acknowledge your own mistakes. This is the simplest formula for a successful life.
Never say that this situation is favourable or that situation is unfavourable for you. It is you yourself and not the situation that can create a better future for you. So learn the art of situation management. Those who can manage situations successfully are bound to emerge as masters of their own destinies.
Almost all the great men were born in unfavourable conditions, but they took control of their circumstances and became super achievers.
Source: Living in Hope
Adjustment is a way of life. What is adjustment? To all intents and purposes, adjustment is a form of accommodating or palliative behaviour that you adopt – ostensibly towards someone else, while it is actually for your own benefit and your own peace of mind. The only realistic option for you is to adjust with other people. Here, adjustment means refraining from reacting, not trying to change others, not becoming negative, and not imagining issues to be insurmountable, but rather managing the situation with aplomb.
In every situation you have two options: either to adjust with others or remain at loggerheads with them. If you decide not to make any adjustments, that will only aggravate your problems. You will go on living in a state of tension, feel mentally disturbed and will waste your time and energy. But, if you opt for adjustment, you will be able instantly to relax mentally and will be able to save yourself from all kinds of negativity.
Adjustment gives you a chance to proceed with your own affairs. While the policy of being unaccommodating is bound to interfere with the smooth running of your life, either temporarily or permanently.
Source: Living in Hope
It is essential that man should have within his reach, a super formula for life’s management. Accountability to God provides man a super formula for managing life. Human beings enjoy freedom. They take decisions about their actions of their own free will. Managing life requires that man make himself consistently disciplined in his behaviour. And for the attainment of disciplined behaviour, it is essential for one to be convinced of the existence of a power far superior to himself, a Being who is aware of man’s activities at every moment; who can reward and punish man, and from whom it is impossible to escape.
There can be only one being of this nature and that is God. Belief in God functions at two levels at the same time. On the one hand, man finds in God a guardian who is aware of all his activities and who has unlimited power to chastise him. It is not possible for man to escape God’s chastisement. Belief in God compels man to steadfastly adopt a proper attitude in all situations, privately as well as publicly. Only then can he save himself from the wrath of God. Another point is that belief in God is a storehouse of limitless hope. Man can lead his life in this world with the conviction that if he incurs any loss because of treading the path of truth, or if he suffers from any other adversity, he will be able to endure it. For if he adheres to the path of truth, God will grant him a reward in the form of eternal Paradise, and there can be no reward greater than this.
Then man will bind himself to moral values and adhere to justice on his own, considering himself accountable to God. In this way he will be able to manage his life in this world, and become deserving of eternal bliss in the next life.
Source: Spirit of Islam, December 2017.
Why does despair take place? Despair is a result of lack of deep thinking. In my own experience, there are several instances which led me to despair. Today when I look back and think that whatever happened was best for me. Why does this happen? Because man has limitations and does not have knowledge of the future. When I think in retrospect, those situations that led me to despair turned out to be the points from which I gained greater success. The best solution is to keep faith in God and remember what Caliph Ali said: ‘Whatever happened, happened for the good.’
Source: Living in Hope
It is the honeybee’s culture to travel every day and reach places where flowers are available for it. The bee extracts nectar from the flower and returns to its abode. It does not care about anything else.
Where there are flowers, there are also other things like thorns, leaves, and stem. It simply extracts nectar from the flower and returns without objecting to the thorns. This behaviour of the honeybee gives a lesson to man in a symbolic manner: Live like the honeybee. Extract what is good for you and leave what is unwanted for you. Do not waste your time in complaining and protesting about it.
People generally get offended upon hearing criticism against them. This behaviour is quite against the scheme of nature. In doing so, they pay a heavy price. They deprive themselves of the “nectar” that is available for them in everything and every experience — a good lesson to be learnt and a wise advice you can forward. Every person’s environment has “nectar”. One should take the “nectar” and like the honeybee, ignore the “thorns”.
Living with a focused mind is very important for every man and woman. Only a focused mind is a developed mind. When you get offended or provoked, it means you have allowed another person to disrupt your focus and break your concentration. You should neither be offended nor get provoked. You should adopt the honeybee culture.
Source: Leading a Spiritual Life
The British historian Arnold Toynbee has rightly pointed out that nations must inevitably face challenges. But, there are two categories of challenges: either that which is so severely adverse as to be insuperable, or that which is – within limits – quite surmountable. The latter challenge can prove to be a stepping stone to further progress, but if the challenge is so enormous as to be of a crippling nature, it can reach unmanageable proportions and, it goes without saying, can have disastrous consequences.
As a rule, challenges fall into two categories – the tractable and the intractable. The former kind of challenge is a regular feature of nature’s functioning or is part of the scheme of things as laid down by the Creator. It is the way of nature to create such situations as will result in the kind of challenges which motivate people to strive to their utmost, thus unfolding their hidden potential.
Source: Living in Hope
Positive thinking is the other name for natural thinking. Positive thinking cannot be acquired from the external world. It is your inner nature that provides a reservoir of positive thought. Preserve your inborn nature and you will surely emerge as a positive thinker. Every human being is born with great potential. Allow your potential to unfold and you will become a positive thinker in the perfect sense of the word.
Source: The Ideology of Peace
It is greed for political power which has always been the cause of war throughout history. However, Islam laid down the principle that the system of government would be based on mutual consultation. This command is expressed in these words in the Quran: Amruhum shura baynahum. That is, “Their affairs are settled by mutual consultation.” (42:38) This means that in Islam, governance is not imposed from outside. Rather, it emerges from within society. It is not a matter of imposition by anyone. This has been expressed in a tradition attributed to the Prophet in these words: “As you are, so will be your rulers.” (Musnad al-Shihab al-Quda’i, Hadith no. 577)
The reason for wars in the name of political power has always been a person’s or group’s desire to establish their rule in society by removing their rivals from power. This leads to wars between the two parties. But when the principle adopted is that political rule is not a matter of imposition, but is rather something which emerges from within society, the reasons for war are automatically eliminated.
If anyone has any ideas about the course politics should take, he or she has only one option, and that is, to peacefully disseminate his or her ideas. Instead of attempting to impose one’s ideas upon others, one has to wait until society willingly accepts them. The enforcement of political ideas is not an option for anyone.
The Quran tells us: “whoever killed a human being – except as a punishment for murder or for spreading corruption in the land – shall be regarded as having killed all mankind.” (5:32)
Killing someone is a very heinous act. It is legitimate only if someone becomes a definite danger to social peace. To kill someone without genuine justification is tantamount to the slaughter of the whole of humanity, because such an action is a gross violation of respect for life, which, in turn, leads to the taking of human life becoming a seemingly easy affair.
From the Quranic verse quoted earlier, one can gauge the great importance that Islam gives to peace and security. Islam demands that if a single person is killed, the entire society must react as if it is not a single individual, but, rather, the whole of humanity, that has been slain.
Source: The Ideology of Peace
Formation of a rule or government is not the goal of Islam, and therefore Islam does not prescribe any absolute model. The main concern of Islam is to convey to people the creation plan of God.
When it comes to electing a government, Islam does not endorse a specific model. We can understand this by observing how the first four caliphs in early Muslim history were selected. The first caliph, Abu Bakr, was directly elected by the people of Madinah because the Prophet Muhammad had let Abu Bakr lead the congregational prayers during his lifetime. When his health was failing, Abu Bakr nominated Umar to be the second caliph after him. The third caliph, Uthman, was selected by a board of six senior Companions of the Prophet. It is not clear how Ali, the fourth caliph, was elected—whether through nomination or selection. So, from this we learn that, in the early history of Islam, four different models for selection of the caliph were adopted.
In later times, a dynasty got established. For example, King Sulaiman (ibn Abd al-Malik) had a son who was not too competent. So, when the King fell ill, he was advised by his guide (alim) to write a deed for his successor. The King wrote a deed in favour of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, who was the King’s distant relative. This paper was sealed and brought to Damascus after the king passed away. The King’s advisor first took an oath from all to agree to the deed of the King and then announced the name of their new King, who was Umar ibn Abdul Aziz. This was another model, in which the public was asked if they had faith in the King’s decision before the announcement of the name of the successor.
Islam, therefore, prescribes no single method. The matter is handled according to the situation and as per that which is acceptable to the contemporary majority.
The problem is not of ISIS, but of our literature and media. A negative mindset was fostered among the youth by the Ulama and by the literature on the political interpretation of Islam. ISIS simply availed of the opportunity to recruit these negative Muslim youth.
Some problems do not have a short-term solution as people so desire. The real solutions to such problems can be had through long-term effort—by discussions, intellectual development and spreading of the right literature. We should work on a long-term peaceful solution as short-term planning or violence cannot work, because every act of violence perpetrates revenge.
Source: The Age of Peace
The majority of the present Muslim world has disowned the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In fact, this so-called State is neither a state nor is it Islamic: it is not a state because the United Nations has not recognized it as such, and it is un-Islamic because the majority of Muslims have disowned its claims. In Islam there is no concept of an “Islamic State”. This term itself has been innovated, as this phenomenon was not found in the early period of Islam, which is considered to be the authentic period of Islam.
How did the ISIS come into existence? It is a known fact that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is a self-proclaimed caliph. It is said that the Prophet of Islam established a state in Madinah after the Hijrah, or emigration to Madinah. However, the Prophet never proclaimed that he was the khalifa of Madinah, or the ruler of Madinah. According to books of seerah (Prophet’s biography), people of Madinah themselves gave this position to the Prophet at the time of Hijrah. History tells us that when the Prophet, accompanied by his Companion Abu Bakr, reached Madinah after migrating from Makkah, the people of Madinah welcomed him with these words: Intalaqa amirayn muta’ayn. (Musnad Ahmad, hadith no. 12234) That is, “You are our leader. We are ready to obey you.” This is the way in which a state came into existence in Madinah at the time of the Prophet.
The political leader in Islam is decided not through appointment, but by election. There is a well-known verse in the Quran in this regard: “Their affairs are decided by mutual consultation.” (42:38). It means that political leaders in Islam are elected through the democratic process.
It is said that Madinah was the first Islamic state under the leadership of Prophet Muhammad himself. But, the Prophet or his Companions never called it “Islamic State of Madinah.” There was no such term used at the time. Practically speaking, it was Madinah Administration, rather than the Islamic State of Madinah.
If we read the Quran, we will not find any such commandment: Aqim dawlat al-islam. That is, ‘Establish an Islamic State.’ Why is a commandment of this kind lacking in the Quran? The reason for this is given in a tradition of the Prophet: Kama takunu kazalika yu‘ammaru ‘alaykum. (Bayhaqi, Sho’ab ul Iman: 9/492/7006) That is, “As you are, so shall be your rulers.” It means that according to the Islamic concept, government emerges from the society, it is not imposed on the society from outside.
After Prophet Muhammad, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (d. 634 AD) was the first political head in Islam. But, he was referred to as Khalifah al-Rasool (successor of the Prophet), or the successor of the Prophet, rather than khalifah al-muslimin. What was the method through which Abu Bakr reached this position? According to the history of early Islam, after the death of the Prophet, the Sahaba or Companions of the Prophet assembled in an open place called Saqifa Bani Saidah in Madinah. At this place all the people came together and open consultation took place between the Companions. Through the consensus of the Companions, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq became the head of the state of Madinah.
A self-proclaimed state or caliphate, such as ISIS, has no place in Islam, because it has no sanction in the Quran and the practice of the Prophet and his early companions. Such a state is totally against the Islamic spirit. According to the Quran and the Prophet’s practice, no person has the right to proclaim his sovereignty on his own. To declare someone as sovereign is solely people’s domain, and not that of any particular individual. The case of ISIS is certainly a case of illegal coup, rather than a lawful act of Islam.
Source: The Age of Peace
No, individuals or non-state actors cannot wage war. In Islam, war is not the duty of members of the general public, whether individuals or groups. Rather, it is the task of a properly established government. Individuals do not have the right to engage in war on their own. On the contrary, war can be declared only by an established government. It is permissible for the government to call upon the general public to assist it in a war, but members of the public do not have the right to declare war on their own.
The Quran lays down as a general commandment that in the face of threats or where there is the danger of an external attack, the public should not take any action on their own. On such occasions, the only thing to do is take the matter to what the Quran (4:83) refers to as ulul-amr, or those in authority—in other words, their rulers. And it is for the latter to decide on an appropriate response.
The same point is made in a tradition of the Prophet, that is, the rulers are like a shield. (Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith no. 2957) War is fought under their leadership, and they protect the people. This indicates that the planning and declaration of qital, or war, is entirely the prerogative of a properly established government. The general Muslim populace can, remaining under the leadership of their rulers and obeying their orders, play whatever role is required of them in this regard, but they cannot act independently.
From this Islamic principle it is clear that there is no scope in Islam for non-state actors to engage in war on their own, or what is generally called guerilla war. This is because a guerilla war is fought by independent non-state organizations, rather than by agencies of an established government.
The word jihad is derived from the root jahada, which means ‘to strive’ or ‘to struggle’. It denotes the exertion of oneself to the utmost, to the limits of one’s capacity, in some activity or for some purpose. Thus, the Quran says: “Strive for the cause of God as it behoves you to strive for it.” (22:78)
In the Arabic language the word jihad refers to making an all-out effort for something. Because fighting one’s enemies is also one form of such effort or striving, it is also referred to as a jihad, in an expanded sense. However, the actual Arabic word for this is qital, and not jihad.
Qital or fighting with one’s enemies is something that might happen by chance, and only occasionally. However, jihad is a continuous process that animates every day and night of the life of the true believer. It never ceases. This continuous jihad is the ceaseless effort a believer makes at every moment to abide by God’s will in every aspect of his life. Such a person does not let any negative elements affect his life, such as the desires of the self, the allure of gain and personal aggrandizement, the promptings of opportunism, the problems of the ego, the lust for wealth, and so on. Overcoming such things is the real jihad, and this is what jihad’s essential meaning is.
Source: The Prophet of Peace
The root cause of Muslim militancy is the political interpretation of Islam. According to this, it is Muslims’ bounden duty to establish the political system of Islam all over the world, even if it involves the use of force. This wrong interpretation was a result of distortion of Quranic teachings. For example, a verse says: “…So that men may conduct themselves with justice.” (57:25) This is an injunction to believers to adhere to justice. But this was changed to mean: ‘You have to implement justice in the world.’ This kind of misinterpretation has been done with several teachings of the Quran. The result was that Quranic teachings which are the subject of self-following have been turned into a subject of implementation on others by force.
When you take the above Quranic verse in this sense: ‘It is my duty to follow justice in my life’, it creates no problems at all. However, if you take the verse in this sense: ‘I have to enforce justice on others’, then it is bound to create rivalry. Because, there are already some people occupying the seat of power. Under the influence of this interpretation, you will make an attempt to unseat them in order to implement your so-called Islamic order. This would inevitably lead to conflict. If the first interpretation makes you see other people as your friends, the second interpretation causes you to consider others as your rivals.
Another example of this misinterpretation derives from a verse of the Quran, which says: In al-hukmu illa lillah. That is, “All power belongs to God alone.” (12:40) In this verse, hukm is used in the sense of the supernatural power of God as the Sustainer of the universe. However, some Muslim extremist thinkers misinterpreted it to mean political power. Furthermore, it is said that Muslims, as representatives of God, should establish God’s rule on earth. This assumption is wrong because it is based on a Quranic verse which has been taken out of context.
The real message of Islam was: ‘Be followers of Islam’, but because of the wrong interpretation it became: ‘Be soldiers of Islam.’ There is no Quranic verse that gives the directive to Muslims to establish an Islamic rule. Political rule is not an essential part of Islam, rather it is determined by circumstances. If Muslims are in majority in a society and are invested with authority, they can by the will of the people form political rule according to religious teachings. But if the majority in a society is not religious and does not want to be governed by religion, then Islam will accept the social will.
Source: The Prophet of Peace
Man’s greatest faculty is his ability to think rationally. Building a peaceful society requires the re-engineering of the mind. This task can be carried out only through education—more through informal education than formal education. By informal education, I mean gaining knowledge through the media, literature, seminars and conferences, dialogue and discussion, and so on.
Here, I am not just theorizing about peace: I have experimented with it in practice. The venue of this experiment was Kashmir. I have been working towards inculcating peaceful thinking among Kashmiris since 1968, and I am still continuing with my efforts. There has been a sea-change as a result of this movement, and now, in almost every house in Kashmir the peace-promoting literature of our mission is read.
In 2011 we organized a meeting of those Kashmiris who are acquainted with our ideas. On this occasion, someone representing a group of Kashmiris said in the course of conversation: ‘We have travelled a long way from October 1989 to October 2011. Formerly, we used to throw stones at the Indian army. Now, we present them with literature about peace.’
Kashmir, which after 1947 was continually engaged in militancy, has now almost become a peaceful state. If there is any news of attack or violence from Kashmir, it is not due to the local Kashmiris, but is the result rather of a proxy war conducted from outside.
The above example of bringing about ‘Peace through Education’ can be experienced everywhere. The most effective way of bringing about peace is only one—and that is, to educate people’s minds along peaceful lines.
The best way to bring about change in society is through education.
Source: The Ideology of Peace
