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NIGHT OF PEACE:

EVEN as the world battles a virus that has gripped the human race in its tentacles,
Muslims observe the month of fasting with fervour and hope. Covid-19, in fact, should
be taken as an opportunity for those who pray, because they can now do so in isolation
and away from temptations of social gatherings. This is the time for deep introspection
and developing and strengthening one’s bonds with the Creator, with no one watching.

Ramazan is very special for Muslims for many reasons. It is one of the main ways God prescribes for
them to work towards developing piety and righteousness, the beautiful word ‘taqwa’ which has been
variously translated. “O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those
before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint” (2:183). It enables us to bring our nafs under control,
purify our physical system and, through prayer and Quran reading, cleanse our souls. Indeed, if we do
not control tendencies to anger, abuse, lying, cheating, committing other small or big sins, our fasts
will be merely acts of starvation.

One fact often missed by Muslims is that they had already accepted God as their Creator before
coming to this world. This life is a period during which they overcome their tribulations and control
their desires so as to return to their natural selves, fitrah. Ramazan is an amazing gift from God to His
servants, to be relished day to day, each day bringing more promise of fulfilment and reward. The
Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said: “Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramazan out
of sincere faith, and hoping to attain God’s rewards, all his past sins will be forgiven”(Bukhari and
Muslim). However, people who are ill or travelling or unable to fast for other reasons can also benefit
equally.

Ramazan is an amazing gift from God to His servants.

The main reason for the special place occupied by Ramazan in the hearts of Muslims is that the Quran
was first revealed during this month. This is stated in the Quran itself (2:185).

The night during which this revelation first came to the Prophet through angel Gabriel is the one
every practising Muslim aspires to search for and find. It is the blessed night during which every
matter is decreed (44:1-5). It is the night in which, through prayer, sins are forgiven, supplications are
accepted and mercy and blessings surround the persons engaged in prayer. It has been variously
called the Night of Power, Decree, Destiny (because people’s destinies are determined during this
night).

It is not only the power of God that is indicated, but the power of prayers of humans, who can take
their souls to heights of purity and obtain closeness to God. It is the power of the Quran, which when
recited with sincerity and understanding, lightens heavy hearts and shows the path to salvation in
dark times. It is the power of submission to God which calms the troubled mind and brings peace to
lives in conflict-ridden and chaotic times. It brings hope and continued desire to struggle for a better
future in this and the next world.
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“We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power: And what will explain to thee what
the night of power is? The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the
angels and the Spirit by Allah’s permission, on every errand: Peace!...This until the rise of morn!”
(97:1-5).

“This” is the night that is better than a thousand months. Whether we take this number to be in
human or heavenly terms, it is clear that sincere worship during this night would have considerable
worth in the eyes of God. This is when angels descend to do God’s merciful bidding. This is the night
of peace, consolation, warmth and compassion, bringing Muslims and the universe together into one
entity of creation by God, bound to Him by virtue of this connection and hence bound to each other,
called upon to establish peace and harmony, with each other and with nature. “If this night is peace,
then so is the revelation, that is, the Quran itself,” writes Juan Cole, in Muhammad, Prophet of Peace
amid Clash of Empires. The night and the Quran together form peace upon earth.

Through hadith, we learn that this night is to be found among the odd nights of the last 10 days of
Ramazan. According to Shias, it is most likely to be the 23rd and the Sunnis believe that it is the 27th.
It can benefit us if we seek this night, each night of the 10 days. Our purpose could be, in addition to
searching for the night when the revelation came, to also search for a personal night of power and
peace that serves as our guide for the year until the next Ramazan. We could thus find our own laylat
ul qadr, as we continue to search for the Laylat ul Qadr.

The writer is a freelance contributor, with an interest in religion.

JIHAD FOR IJTIHAD:

MANY non-Muslims in the West and Muslims who perpetrate violence to achieve their
aims equate jihad with holy war. The West expands it to imply terrorism. This
connotation is often used by the former to justify their deliberate or otherwise
(mis)understanding of Islam and to perpetuate their vilification of Muslims, and by the
latter to provide religious legitimacy to their wars and fanatical activities and to recruit
vulnerable youth.

To do this, one part of a Quranic verse is quoted out of context: “And slay them wherever ye catch
them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. …” (2:191). The complete verse and
the one preceding it clarify that the wars are to be fought only in self-defence and protection of
religious freedom and that not only should Muslims respond positively to peace efforts but also that
they should forgive the transgressors.

In fact, Muslims are instructed to deal with people of other religions with kindness and dignity (60:8).
Also, this fighting was ordered only against the Quraish when the Prophet (PBUH) had migrated to
Madina and after he had spent more than 13 years trying to convince the Quraish to leave their sinful
ways, having completed his arguments.

The word ‘jihad’ in its various forms is mentioned 41 times in the Quran. It comes from the root
letters of Arabic: ‘ja-ha-da’ and means struggle or effort. Three types of jihad are described: against
one’s own base desires and weaknesses; against the devil’s whispers and temptations and against an
enemy that has declared war. The first two are the ‘greater jihad’; the latter a lesser one. The first also
means struggle for justice and promotion of what is right.
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Ijtihad should explore differing opinions.

Another related but less known word is ‘ijtihad’ which has the same root alphabets and is based on the
same concept. Ijtihad means an extensive and hard struggle by persons (scholars in the traditional
sense) to undertake critical analysis and independent reasoning to arrive at Islamic decisions for
matters which are not mentioned or detailed in the Quran, including those that refer to situations that
may have changed over time. It was a regular practice and considered essential as Muslim societies
evolved and faced new challenges between the seventh and 12th centuries.

Scholars trained in various fields of Islamic discipline (jurisprudence, hadith, exegesis of Quran etc)
were called mujtahids. They spent years coming up with solutions to new situations, and debating
their findings. The process was mainly supported by the state. In the 12th century, Sunnis decided
that their four madhahib (Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafa’i and Maliki) were complete and the door on ijtihad
was closed, although recently, some scholars have reinitiated it. Shia scholars have been continuously
engaged in the process of rational reasoning and differ in the use of sources and process from Sunnis.

While ijtihad is understood to be a rigorous process that can only be carried out by trained scholars
who must produce hujjah (evidence or arguments) to support their decisions, ultimately it is a human
exercise, necessarily based on personal assessments and views.

With the closure of ijtihad for most Sunnis, critical thinking, analysis of new issues and relevance of
earlier religious decisions came almost to a stop. Over the centuries, religious schools for Sunnis
discouraged debate and came to be known for rote learning. At the same time, state support of
scholarship dwindled and, as a result, the number of mujtahids declined. Ossification of intellectual
analysis and discourse took root. Islamic scholarship also declined, with notable exceptions, including
Dr Fazlur Rahman, Hamiduddin Farahi, Khaled Abu El Fadl, Abdolkarim Soroush, Farid Esack and
Farhad Shafti.

Societies have changed drastically and it is essential that not only more scholars turn to both
extensive and intensive effort to perform ijtihad, especially on issues that trouble Muslims, such as
personal laws of marriage, divorce, inheritance, democracy and human freedom, inequity and
injustice, but that they should do so in a deeply critical and disciplined manner, and with neutrality. It
has become very common for scholars coming from the narrow curriculum of madressahs to develop
one set of opinions and claim that they are right. Ijtihad should explore and dissect differing opinions
and offer arguments in favour of the one being proposed as the better one.

The intellectual impoverishment in the Muslim world, promoted globally by literalistic and restrictive
interpretations of the Quran and hadith, can be overcome if more Muslims are honest in recognising
their failures and are ready to open their minds to new ways of thinking. As Omid Safi writes, “a
fundamental part of our struggle ... (jihad) to exorcise our inner demons and bring about justice in the
world at large should be to engage in a progressive and critical interpretation of Islam (ijtihad)”.

The writer is a freelance contributor with an interest in religion.

MUSLIM RESPONSE:

A GLOBAL virus outbreak of massive proportions has killed tens of thousands, infected
nearly a million and caused major changes to the way humans interact, travel, eat and
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live. The nearest similar disaster was the Spanish flu in 1918 that had infected 500m
people and killed about a quarter of the world’s population at that time.

To contain the spread of Covid-19, measures are being taken to isolate countries, consisting of travel
bans and restrictions on movement of people outside their homes. This means dire changes to daily
routines, including obtaining food, carrying out necessary work, providing health services and
undertaking social interactions.

One of the main actions of human beings is meeting religious obligations: to God and to the people.
The first is met through prayer, which, for Muslims, means congregational prayers on Fridays and
funerals, fasting, umrah and Haj. Christians visit churches; Hindus and Sikhs go to temples; and Jews
attend synagogues. Most countries have banned gatherings of more than three to five people, since
the virus spreads fast among those who are in close proximity to each other. Religious gatherings that
have people interacting with each other closely can be a major cause for the rapid spread of the virus.

Considering the deadly nature of the virus and the increasing number of infections and deaths, most
Muslim countries have suspended congregational prayers on Fridays, including Turkey and Lebanon,
Iraq and Egypt, Jordan and Malaysia. Saudi Arabia and several other states have declared fatwas to
this effect, no prayers are being held in Makkah and Madina, and Saudi Arabia is dissuading Muslims
from making Haj arrangements. These are extreme measures, but the danger to humanity is also
extreme.

Should Muslims disobey orders from the authorities?

It is understandable that many Muslims will feel an emotional pinch on being deprived of collective
prayer; many students of religious learning will be concerned over the distancing they must practise
from their teachers. Should Muslims disobey orders from the authorities and continue to gather in
large numbers for Friday and funeral prayers? After all, if one is to contract the illness, she or he will
do so as per God’s will. And who can question His will?

This is the sentiment of many Muslims, including many clerics, who seem to have ignored the writ of
the government in Pakistan. Hundreds of cases in Punjab have been traced to the holding of religious
gatherings, including spreading it to Gaza, and mosques up until recently were full of worshippers
sitting in close proximity to one another.

These violations are contrary to what we can understand from Islamic teachings. We find examples of
the Prophet (PBUH) excusing sick persons from attending Friday prayers (Al-Sunna al-Saghir: 241).
In times of plague, he advised people to neither travel to nor from the infected place (Sahih Bukhari:
5730).

During his time, health experts who could provide detailed information about the spread of infectious
diseases did not exist. He gave overall advice, taking guidance from the Quran that places human life
and its protection as the ultimate responsibility of human beings. Our lives and bodies belong to God
and we must do what we can to protect ourselves and others from potential harm. A primary principle
is that the possibility of harm takes precedence over potential benefit (2:219). Fear of potential harm
and the extent of the ability to deal with it are determinant factors in the rules of fiqh.
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The Prophet also asked people to make efforts for protection as best as they could: the rest would be
up to God. A famous hadith calls for tethering the camel, not leaving its protection to God.

The Quran reminds human souls of the time before existence, when all had witnessed to being His
servants. Islam’s core is to make humans aware of this meeting and our return to Him, to connect us
with God and with each other. We can contribute to this by avoiding the possibility of harm and
supporting each other during times of hardship. Refusing to stay away from gatherings is a deliberate
denial of the sanctity of life and health, and certain clerics are doing a disservice to themselves and
others if they insist on congregations.

The Muslim response to this global danger must be highlighted by all-out and collective action to
serving those who may be less fortunate in terms of access to food and other essentials. It may not be
enough to dole out charity. We need to share what we have with others who depend on daily earnings,
reaching out to them individually and in small groups so as not to violate the idea of physical
distancing. This is a challenge also to our religious clerics to carry out their duty, and call people to
show compassion and love, instead of engaging in unnecessary debates that encourage people to
ignore health warnings.

The writer is a freelance contributor with an interest in religion.

WOMEN’S WORK

IN her funny and groundbreaking book Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner? – A Story
of Women and Economics, Katrine Marçal explains how women’s work is grossly
undervalued and often ignored. An 18th-century Scottish philosopher, Adam Smith is
considered the father of modern economics and responsible for the spread of
capitalism across the world. One of his most famous quotes is, “It is not from the
benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but
from their regard to their own interest”. Marçal explains that Smith had forgotten to
add the most important factor responsible for bringing dinner to his table: his mother,
Margaret Douglas, widowed at 28, who never remarried and spent her life looking after
her son. Despite his total dependence upon her, Smith’s economic philosophy excludes
her altogether.

Over the centuries, a free-market economy with its dogma of self-interest has shaped our world. It has
brought about invasions, fought wars, created global powers and concentrated wealth in the hands of
a few. But almost all of this game-changing process is based on the perceived economic prowess of
men.

While a man’s work is valued and counted and the GDP of countries measured on this basis, women’s
work is invisible, although it is essential for the economy. It is taken for granted and remains
unmeasured. Women spend considerable time in care of children and relatives, as well as looking
after the home, even if they work outside. Men come home after work and relax. In Asia, women
spend four times the amount of unpaid work as men: an underestimated figure. The value of the
billions of hours spent on unpaid care work globally is about $10.8 trillion a year, or between one-
third and one-half of a country’s GDP.
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Of 189 economies assessed in 2018 by the UN, 104 have laws that restrict women from working in
specific jobs, and in 18 economies, husbands can prevent their wives from working. While women are
employed in informal and unpaid work, their labour force participation is far less than men. For the
same type of job, they are paid less. More women are illiterate than men, although women’s education
and subsequent involvement in economic work can boost a country’s GDP dramatically. Women are
more socially vulnerable and bear the brunt of poverty and lack of social services the most. Women’s
participation in the labour force increases economic productivity, as is evident from the economies of
East Asia where the gender gap is only 15 per cent. South Asia, which way behind in development, has
a gender gap of 50pc.

Smith’s economic philosophy excludes women.

When analysing the economic opportunities and systems in the country, questions about balancing a
career and home responsibilities are raised inevitably for women. It is the woman who must either
give up her job or work part-time in order to look after her home. It is also the woman who must cook,
clean, wipe the noses of her children, wash them and help them with their homework. Women are
deemed fit only for some careers, and their ultimate happiness lies in marriage and raising children.

Poor people tend to have large families. One oft-cited reason is that many children die and frequent
pregnancies are an ‘investment’ for the future (provided that most offspring are not girls). Even in
this, the woman suffers the burden of bearing and rearing children. Large families will result in
poorer health of the family as a whole — as well as of the mother in particular — and an increased
probability of uneducated families, poor productivity and loss of economic growth.

Many will argue that the order of the world is based on division of responsibilities for women and
men. Women are born to remain unseen and uncounted, sacrifice and tend to the men, while men
work outside, buy and sell and provide for the family. The fact is that differences of work based on
gender has led to increased inequalities and a deep rooted system of patriarchy that consistently bars
women from being able to make decisions that impact their lives, including about their physical
selves.

The results are for all to see: an increasingly divisive and unequal world in which a few people (men)
own as much wealth as the rest of the world. An economically and socially just and sustainable world
calls for a system that responds to human values, feelings and aspirations, focusing equally on
realising the potential within both women and men. Gender biases and prejudices need to be removed
from our minds and a reformed system needs to be put into place that deals with all work, whether
visible or invisible, done by woman or man, in a neutral and equal manner.

As Marçal says, both halves of economics need to be addressed. Adam Smith had mentioned only the
half that enables the animal to be slaughtered and marketed. He had forgotten the other half — his
mother cleaning the meat, cooking it and putting it on the table.

The writer is a freelance contributor.

While a man’s work is valued and counted and the GDP of countries measured on this basis, women’s
work is invisible, although it is essential for the economy. It is taken for granted and remains
unmeasured. Women spend considerable time in care of children and relatives, as well as looking
after the home, even if they work outside. Men come home after work and relax. In Asia, women
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spend four times the amount of unpaid work as men: an underestimated figure. The value of the
billions of hours spent on unpaid care work globally is about $10.8 trillion a year, or between one-
third and one-half of a country’s GDP.

OUR FLAWED ATTITUDE:

MUSLIMS throughout the world profess their faith through verbal declaration of the unity of God and
the prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). The message brought by the latter has become the
living Quran, a book covering all aspects of human life that can prepare one for the Day of Judgement.

As much as the Quran is a guide of ethical principles, it has been questionably interpreted by some to be a book
of laws. Only 80 of the 6,666 verses in the Quran are directly concerned with legal matters and even these are
addressed through an ethical lens.

The Quran is mainly concerned with truth, kindness and justice: “Allah commands justice, the doing of good,
and liberality to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion. …” (16:90). Justice
can only be established through a careful search for truth and the doing of good and being kind must be ensured
by mercy and compassion. Truth must be relentlessly pursued and demands made for proof. God further enjoins
Muslims to always speak “the right” (33:70); and avoid falsehoods and allegations against others.

If one does need to cast blame, it should be against oneself. Saying bad things about someone behind their back
is backbiting and is akin to eating the flesh of one’s brother; saying false things is an allegation and deserves the
most severe punishment.   

Vigilantism is a crime in Islam.

The world at large is facing the scourge of falsehoods, so often repeated and shared and so convincingly
communicated that it dons the guise of truth. As a consequence, at the global level, wars are fought, millions are
killed, countries face humanitarian crises and nations seethe with hatred for each other. At an individual level,
homes are destroyed, relationships falter and suspicions abound.

A particularly cancerous form of the spread of falsehoods is accusing someone of a sin or crime without clear
proof. Accusing others at a personal level is forbidden: “O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you
with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance
for what ye have done” (49:6).

False allegations, often based on vested interests, have created uncontrolled vigilantism in societies, especially
where the laws of the country are implemented poorly. God has decreed the worst punishment for all who
accuse falsely. The Prophet is reported to have said: “He who, in order to find fault, says something about a
person that was not there, Allah will throw such a person in hell till he tastes fully what he had fabricated”
(Tibrani).

False allegations are often made on religious grounds. The perpetrators are aware that these will most likely
give rise to angry sentiments of a by and large uneducated and unthinking populace and exploit this for their
nefarious purposes. Unfortunately, such allegations are also readily believed by mobs and give rise to unbridled
violence. Some of the most brutal cases of vigilantism in Pakistan were caused by mere accusations regarding a
social media post.
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Most countries have laws against libellous statements about religion and religious personalities. Except for four
countries, all others use punishments such as fines and imprisonment after carefully conducted trials with clear
proofs and evidence of the negative impacts.

Vigilantism is a crime in Islam. The Prophet forbade a man who asked what he should do if he witnessed
adultery by his wife and wished to deliver punishment. His sense of ‘honour’ was no justification for such
vigilantism (Sahih Muslim, 1498). Civilians meting out punishment for a perceived crime are themselves
criminals in the eyes of Islam. In fact, not only must a stringent process be followed to establish evidence,
judges must exercise restraint to keep their personal biases from creeping into their judgements and temper their
decisions with due consideration to mitigating circumstances. As the Prophet said: “It is better for the ‘imam to
err on the side of compassion than on the side of punishment” (Sunan Altirmidhi, Kitab al hudud, Vol 4, p 25).

The Quran is explicit in calling for mercy in all cases of crimes and states that the death sentence can only be
given in cases of deliberate and wilful murder and when a state of anarchy (fasad) is being created.

The main problem with some Muslim societies is that we have closed our minds to rationality and fairness and
to questioning our presuppositions and centuries-old beliefs. We have become hostage to anger and rage, ready
to cast aspersions on others and assign moral and religious codes based on our narrow views. We are more
concerned with how others behave than with our own attitudes. Our concepts of justice and truth have turned
into caricatures as we occupy ourselves with ideas of how the world should change, rather than making an effort
to introspect and change our own selves.

Correction: An earlier version of the article said 'man' instead of 'imam'. The error is regretted and has been
corrected.

KILLING BABIES:

THOUGH a recent headline in the Metro South section of this paper is seared in my memory, it has
perhaps skipped the radar of government departments and senior officials, for no one has yet expressed
distress or concern or ordered an inquiry.

In 2019, the Edhi Foundation found 375 newborn bodies buried in various parts of Karachi, most of them girls.
The Edhi spokesperson suggested two reasons for this: pregnancies out of wedlock, and the fact that many
people do not want girl children. These reasons seem to be enough and appropriate for deliberate murder of
little humans who have just come into the world.

Like many subjects related to reproduction, abortion is rarely discussed, either publicly or privately. That it is a
common practice, not only by qualified doctors and nurses in hospitals and clinics, but also by quacks and
midwives, as well as at homes using ways and means handed down by old women of families, is a well-known
fact.

There are no laws governing abortion, and according to the most commonly accepted version of Islamic
jurisprudence, abortion is allowed before the period of four months, provided that the physical or mental health
of the mother is in danger. Beyond this period, the foetus has grown a fully developed human brain and has a
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fully functioning nervous system: its killing would be murder if carried out for any other reason, although
pregnancy through rape or incest could be terminated under extenuating circumstances, as in Bosnia where
women were raped on a large scale by Serbian soldiers.

Undertaking abortion because the foetus is a girl or is conceived illegitimately is pure murder. Yet, there is
never any hue and cry, let alone action taken to apprehend culprits — or even to try and curb this prevailing
social mindset. In the aforementioned case, 375 bodies were found; many more are probably still underground.
A similar situation exists in other cities too. In 2017, 345 girl bodies were found in Islamabad. It is a reminder
of the callousness of society that is immune to crimes against children, and against female children in particular,
that no one has stepped forward to discuss strategies to address this issue. Foeticide and infanticide continues
with impunity, and research suggests that even in cases of babies conceived out of marriage, girls are more
frequently and readily killed than boys.

Favouring boys over girls is not a new phenomenon. It exists in all developing countries and is widespread in
China and India, as well as in Pakistan and in some Central Asian and African countries. The male to female
sex ratio is skewed in such countries, attributed mainly to the killing of female foetuses (made convenient
through the use of ultrasound imaging) and newborns, and neglect of girl children.

Favouring boys over girls is not a new phenomenon.

Girls, for example, are usually given less and low quality food in homes. In one heart-wrenching case from rural
Sindh some years ago, a girl is reported to have asked her mother if she could have an egg just as it was being
fed to her brother. She refused to eat the usual daal that was her staple food. The mother declined, and upon her
insistence, told her to take poison instead. The child obeyed, drank either weed killer or detergent, and died.
While her response was drastic, there are millions of homes where similar treatment is meted out to girls — and
most of them think of taking their own lives to escape the daily discrimination and humiliation.

Socioeconomic and cultural conditions are cited as the main reasons for female foeticide, including a low value
accorded to girls by parents and extended family members. They are deemed as being less able to earn and thus
an economic burden, because they must be given a dowry at the time of their marriage, as is customary.
Mothers are more accepting of having their girl children killed because a woman’s husband and in-laws may
divorce her, believing that she’s responsible for bearing a girl. The medical fact of the sex of the baby being
determined by the man is still unknown.

Such ideas and cultural practices will take multiple generations to eradicate, and a well-thought-out strategy
needs to be put into practice at various levels. The potential of girls to contribute economically and socially to
society as equal human beings must be reinforced through role models and awareness-raising programmes.
These are very long-term measures. Meanwhile, female foeticide can be reduced through training of medical
practitioners to counsel the people who come for abortion and by clamping down on illegal abortion clinics.
People need to understand that foeticide is a crime and they should be encouraged to report such incidents.
More centres to take care of unwanted babies need to be set up and, notwithstanding the morality of out-of-
wedlock pregnancies, the public must see children as innocent as those born of sanctioned marriage.

THE ‘COLOUR’ OF GOD:

THE Quran is a book of great wisdom. It is also a book of unsurpassable beauty, eloquence and majesty,
unparalleled in its brevity and the vastness of meaning. Every verse is a sea in itself and a human would
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have to delve in its depths to unearth even a small fraction of the pearls it has to offer to the discerning
mind.

The first surah of the Quran, Al Fateha, which comprises seven short lines, is said to be one fourth of the book
in its meaning, influence and power. Each word encompasses boundless richness, pondering over which will
bring a Muslim closer to the spirituality of Islam. It begins with gratitude to the one God whose mercy and
compassion knows no bounds and who is the Lord of the Day of Retribution; we worship none but Him. We
turn to Him for help, and we pray to Him for guidance, to put us on the way of those who took the right path,
and whom He rewarded; not those who went astray and were recipients of His wrath.

What does the sentence “we worship none but Him” here mean? Is this a reference to the five daily prayers,
fasting, Haj and zakat, obligations that all Muslims are familiar with and which many perform almost
mechanically?

The sentence is structured by negating all other worship, except that which is directed towards Him. This means
that any form of submission to anyone or anything else would be unacceptable to God.

It is a rainbow of all the qualities and attributes that God possesses.

Such submission may range from formal worship of deities to blind following and beliefs in statements that
may be made by self-claimed religious men and that do not possess a rational basis in the Quran.

Equally, such submission could mean giving in to our desires, whims, wishes, temptations, even though we are
aware that these are likely to veer us away from the right path.

Dr Farhad Shafti, an Iranian Quran scholar, proposes a beautiful explanation of the real meaning of exclusive
worship in this verse and elsewhere in the Quran. He suggests that the best definition of this worship is given in
verse 2:138. “(Our religion is) the Baptism of Allah. And who can baptise better than Allah. And it is He Whom
we worship” (2:138).

This is the translation of Yusuf Ali, who uses the word religion as the meaning of “sabagha” here. However, the
word actually means “colour” or “dye”. In other words, the verse would mean “our colour is the colour of God,
and who can dye (colour) better than God...”

The dyeing would mean the purification that God causes in our souls as a result of His mercy whenever we
make a sincere effort to be dyed in His ‘colour’. Another related explanation of “sabagha” is the primordial
nature (fitrah) of human beings, which they possess just as a cloth bears its original colour. This original colour
would be the faith of Hazrat Ibrahim who was focused on and answerable only to His Creator.

The colour of God is not a physical or visual phenomenon. It is a rainbow of all the qualities and attributes that
God possesses and would like to see reflected, in His proclaimed vicegerent on earth. The fitrah of human
beings is built on kindness, mercy, honesty, piety and compassion towards the rest of God’s creation and this is
the colour they must constantly strive to be dyed in and revert to. The worship is aimed at making the effort and
being desirous of adopting this colour. God ‘dyes’ Muslims and all humans too, in His colour, provided we
make ourselves ready and available to Him by making sincere efforts to take the right path.

The last verse of Surah Fateha is a heartfelt prayer, an imploration to God to not include us among those who
went astray. This means that many people in the past adopted what was right, but either deliberately or through
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ignorance, left their fitrah and adulterated their faith with superstitions, ambiguous and irrational beliefs and
illogical rituals. When the latter assume large proportions, they take on strong hues that destroy the original
colour and distort the purity of one’s soul.

Despite Islam’s acceptance and tolerance of all other creeds, Muslims at times denounce others’ beliefs.
However, they must think about whether a person who is a non-Muslim but has adopted the above qualities as
best as s/he can, is more eligible for the colour of God, or is a Muslim who has made no such efforts to adopt
this colour more so?

The colour of God knows no distinction, because God has promised it to all of His creations, subject to their
ability to earn it.

BEAUTY OF THE QURAN:

ALLOWING our senses to open up to the majesty of the universe, we are struck with its beauty and
grandeur.

The activity of humankind in pursuit of livelihoods during the day and its coexistence with other species, the
silence and comfort of the night as darkness engulfs the world; the companionable sounds of birds with the
change of seasons and the rustling of leaves as they swing in the wind; the rows of farms and the colour of fruit,
cereal and vegetables that have been sown; the water bodies that provide the lifeline for all living beings; the
hills and mountain peaks covered in snow in winter that melts and runs down as fresh water, are but a few signs
of the inherent beauty of this world.

In the galaxies, the Quran mentions seven skies, each with its own earth and the lowest sky has been graced
with “lamps”: the sun, moon and stars. Each is set in its orbit and revolves within it according to a set of
principles. While almost all surahs depict the beauty of God’s creation, it is perhaps Surah Rahman that
provides a magnificent picture of the favours of the Most Merciful.

Immersing oneself in Quranic verses brings a sense of peace and tranquillity.

According to a hadith, “God is beautiful and loves beauty” (Al-Mujam Al Ausat, 6902). As per the
contemporary scholar Khaled Abu El Fadl, what is a temporary sign of God’s beauty shall perish, but His
perennial beauty is eternal (Quran 55:26-27).

What can be a more beautiful manifestation of God’s beauty than the book, revealed to the Prophet (PBUH) to
show the people of Makkah and to others the path to beauty, ie the path to God? A miracle in itself, it is beauty
encapsulated in the highest of books, revealed to God’s beloved Prophet.

The creation of humans is upon a basic nature or fitra: an instinctive, intuitive understanding of the differences
between right and wrong and a desire for justice. When this is developed and man’s arrogance and Satan’s
temptations are controlled, humans demonstrate higher and higher levels of beauty.

The Quran entails us to do ihsan (the best in morality), command the ma’ruf (that which is right) and forbid the
munkar (wrong deeds). In each of these commands, the Quran instils the spirit of beauty of our souls. It asks us
to be on the side of justice and speak the truth, even if it goes against us and our families.
 13

One of the most beautiful gifts of God to humans only is that of rationality and intellect. By using these
qualities and honing them constantly, we gradually become conscious of the beauty of the Quran. Strange as it
may sound in an era when intellectual reasoning is anathema to Muslims, this is what God has enjoined humans
to exercise. “He has taught him speech (and intelligence)” (55:4).

Even for Muslims who do not understand Arabic, the rhythm of the words is evident as they flow into each
other, as waves of the sea, or as springs meeting at a point and then expanding into a larger spring. There is a
melody, even without the qirah, that strikes at the chords of the heart. Immersing oneself in the verses brings a
sense of peace and tranquillity, not to be found anywhere else.

As one begins to understand the structure of its surahs, its coherence, its links to the stages of the Prophet’s life,
how some verses are contextual and refer only to those times, and how some are universal and need to be
understood with reference to each other, one begins to decipher the meaning of the Sharia being the righteous
and beauteous way. Every word of the book holds deeper meanings which are revealed to the discerning heart
and mind, again and again.

How beautiful is the verse describing wives and husbands as garments for each other; having being created for
love and companionship!

In one single word, protection, confidence, care, warmth and strength have been combined to produce the raison
d’être for marriage. Yet, how many people would quote this, instead of insisting upon the juristic interpretation
of husbands being managers of wives?

Islamic jurists sought to interpret the verses of the Quran through existing communal and cultural practices.
Once these laws were established, they seemed to be set in stone.

Muslims no longer think, seek the truth or deliberate upon the words of the Quran. Fadl suggests that in our
rituals of worship, we often use the political, legal and cultural aspects of religion, while ignoring the ethical,
the moral and, by extension, the beautiful.

Weighed down by our biases, arrogance, hatred, we forget mercy and compassion. We forget our search for the
beautiful; we forget our search for God.

SPIRIT OF SACRIFICE:

THOUSANDS of years ago, our religious father Hazrat Ibrahim, driven by his love and submission to
God, laid his beloved son Hazrat Ismail on the ground to sacrifice him.

This was the supreme sacrifice, attempting to give up the person he loved best in this world, for what he
believed to be the command of his Creator. God, pleased by this obedience, sent a ram to be sacrificed instead
and declared Hazrat Ibrahim His friend (Khalilullah).

In remembrance of this sacrifice, this ritual was made a part of Haj. Animals, brought up with love and care,
would be sacrificed for God, as a token of submission to the command of God.
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It is a demonstration of ‘Islam’ (submission) and our readiness to lay down everything we hold dear, to do what
God commands us. It is our promise to sacrifice our desires, our wishes, our aims and our worldly freedom, to
do what God would have us do: to be upright and side with justice and goodness.

Over the years, the spirit of submission to God and sacrificing our selfish desires has morphed, in many cases,
into a show of wealth, lack of consideration to sacrificial animals and the overconsumption of meat. Buying the
highest-priced animal is often viewed as a matter of pride and shown off not only in the neighbourhood, but also
in the social media.

Are we ready to love God so much as to be prepared to relinquish the pleasures of this life?

Sellers inject their innocent cattle with drugs to swell up their bodies so that they can obtain higher prices.
Unwittingly, buyers may be conned into buying sick animals.

A common demonstration of apathy to animals is to slaughter them in front of other animals. A crowd gathers
around to watch, even as young men doubling up as butchers lay their blunt knives on the animals, without
knowledge of where to slaughter while inflicting least pain.

Instead of being merciful and kind to animals that depend upon us, we are unfeeling towards them.

How many of us ponder over the incident that we pay homage to, and which person amongst us would dare to
imagine what Hazrat Ibrahim went through as he prepared for this sacrifice? How should, then, these thoughts
reflect over our manner of fulfilling this ritual?

In everyday lives, sacrifice means giving up what our nafs is egging us on to do — something that we are aware
is not right, yet we are attracted towards it because it will give us momentary pleasure. Giving it up and turning
to God is the spirit of sacrifice. Are we ready to love God so much as to be prepared to relinquish the pleasures
of this life? Can we inculcate this spirit as we think of Eidul Azha?

The Prophet (PBUH) was known for his kindness to animals. He forbade cruel procedures of branding animals,
or cutting pieces of flesh from living ones. For slaughter, he instructed that animals be given water to drink,
knives be sharpened away from them, beasts not be slaughtered in front of other animals and the process be
quick.

So kind was the Prophet and his companions to animals that it is believed that abused animals will testify
against their oppressors on the Day of Judgement.

A common sight during Eidul Azha is that of streets red with blood and swarms of flies and crows hovering
over offal. This is easily preventable, but only if the spirit of sacrifice is within us.

A religious ritual conducted while causing harm to others produces results opposite to what is desired.

All animals are creations of God. He has made some of them for the service of humans: as food and
nourishment and others as a means to transport goods. Others are part of nature, contributing to its beauty and
grandeur.

Every species has a role to play in the circle of life. Humans do not have any right to be cruel to animals, just as
they cannot be cruel to other humans. They can, however, for the sake of consuming their meat, kill animals
 15

under certain conditions. These conditions have been prescribed in the Quran. These are hunger and specific
sacrifice.

Sacrifice is not a fardh (essential) for those who are not performing Haj. If we really wish to remember Hazrat
Ibrahim’s sacrifice, we can do a quiet sacrifice, observing humane procedures, and further avoid the flow of
blood and offal into the streets. We can also give money for sacrifice elsewhere, with the meat distributed
among those who cannot afford it.

The purpose of sacrifice is for God to accept our desire to submit to Him. Neither blood nor flesh reaches Him
(22:37); it is only the good intent of believers that He would entertain.

SELF-PURIFICATION:

THE core of the Islamic faith is purification of the self (tazkiyah nafs), which means that human beings must
keep both their bodies and souls clean, since one affects the other directly. A pious person is not one who keeps
himself dirty and unkempt, unaware of his surroundings, dress and bodily needs. In fact, cleanliness and the
concept of purity of both body and nafs has been ingrained in the Muslim psyche, through instructions of the
Quran and ahadith of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his practices (Sunnah).

According to scholar Amin Ehsan Islahi, the ultimate objective of religion and Sharia and the real purpose of
sending prophets was performing and teaching tazkiyah. It is within the nature (fitrah) of humans that they must
keep themselves physically clean, and in Islam, this cleanliness takes the form of a) ritual washing or ablutions
at the time of prayer; b) keeping the body, clothing and surroundings clean and c) removing any dirt or grime
from the body.

Bodily cleanliness is so significant in Islam that washing or rubbing with clean stone or dust (tayammum) is
compulsory for prayers if no water is available. The Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said: “Allah is pure
and likes purity; He is clean and likes cleanliness; He is generous and likes generosity; He is hospitable and
loves hospitality, so clean your courtyards.” (Tirmidhi).

We must take practical steps to purify ourselves.

But while dirt and grime is visible and easily removed, it is less obvious for one to observe the spots on one’s
nafs. The word is used in the Quran in the meaning of desires, attributes, feelings, emotions leading to actions.
These exist also within beasts, such as anger, carnal desire, hunger and thirst.

When human beings submit to their desires without putting any limits or boundaries, they are using their nafs-i-
ammarra. God has given humans the capacity to do wrong and commit sins as well as to distinguish between
right and wrong and correct themselves. As it is stated in the Quran: “By the soul, and the proportion and order
given to it; And its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right — Truly he succeeds that purifies it, And he fails
that corrupts it!” (91:7-10).

When one realises that one has committed a sin and regrets and repents, his nafs begins to purify itself and
evolves into the nafs-i-lawammah. The third and the most desired type of nafs is the nafs-ul-mutmainnah which
is the state reached at which the person and God are satisfied. The Quran says: “(To the righteous soul will be
 16

said:) ‘O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction! ‘Come back thou to thy Lord — well pleased (thyself),
and well-pleasing unto Him!” (89:27-28)

The evolution of the nafs from one of ammara to mutmainnah is the process of tazkiyah and is entirely within
the power of human beings. One should first determine one’s own weaknesses and strengths to assess where the
inclinations for sins begin. It is important to recognise that there are several actions or feelings that may be
harbingers of sin.

There are many things that we consider as a way of life, and do not think twice about their relevance to sin or
purification. Eating heavy and late dinners especially at wedding receptions is a common feature of society:
think of how difficult it becomes to wake up for fajr the morning after, let alone the waste of food which is
strictly forbidden.

We post scandalous stories and comments about other people on social media and delight in reading these
without any proof. Every day, we face incidents of traffic violations on the road. As shopkeepers, accountants,
traders, business owners, agriculturists, professionals etc, we spend most of our waking hours in trying to come
up with ideas to make a quick buck, even at the cost of the rights of others.

We spend endless hours in gossip, not only wasting precious time but also casting aspersions on others and
making allegations about other people about whom we know little.

If we are conscious of the temporary nature of our existence and believe that we are answerable to God, we
must think of undertaking some practical steps towards our tazkiyah. This may involve not only daily prayers
and fasting, but also reading the Quran with understanding, contemplating our daily errors at the end of each
day and repenting, restraining ourselves from negative emotions and adopting a kind and compassionate attitude
towards every living being on earth.

Essentially, this also means a simple lifestyle, using resources only to the extent that we need and giving as
much as we can to others. How dirty our nafs would be otherwise!

MODESTY IN MEN:

AN interview of young Middle Eastern men was uploaded on Facebook some months
ago, with the aim to assess their views on their wives and sisters. It was tragic but not
surprising to hear that they were willing to kill them if they ever ventured out of their
homes to earn a living. A girl who posted her traumatic experience of being harassed on
the road in front of her brother was trolled: Why was she out anyway?

These are but two examples of the widespread misogyny and controlling behaviour among many
Muslim men, as well as their misguided belief that they have the right to determine what a woman
should or should not do or wear. Literature, sermons and instructions from Muslim men to women,
about their need to wear the veil and observe modesty as defined by them, can be found in abundance.

It might surprise people to know that modesty and shyness are basic requirements for men and
women equally. “Modesty (haya) is part of faith” (Al Bukhari). This sense of haya is to be
demonstrated in dress, speech and action. In fact, it must be as evident or more, in privacy as in
 17

public, because it is important to be modest in front of God. If one believes that modesty is the best
approach to reduce fahashi (obscenity) and to establish a ‘moral’ society, then it is incumbent upon all
members, regardless of gender or age.

For some reason, the burden of modesty seems to fall upon women. Not only are they required to be
strict with themselves, they are also bound to obey demands of the larger society, especially of the
men around them. Women are restricted to the most horrific cage-like garments, within walls and
refused permission to breathe fresh air — all in the name of modesty.

The Quran gives instructions to men first to be modest.

The Quran gives instructions to men first to be modest: “Say to the believing men that they should
lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well
acquainted with all that they do” (24:30). A complete code of interactions with women and prevention
of sexual harassment is encapsulated within this verse. Not to stare at women, regardless of what they
are wearing or how attractive they are; guarding their private parts so that there is no question of
sexual assaults; attempting to achieve more taqwa, fearing their own desires and God. It is only later
that God gives a similar injunction to women.

Note that nowhere does God enjoin men to enforce laws related to modesty upon women or to restrict
them in any way. In fact, as per the Quran, each person is responsible for her/his own deeds and shall
be accountable to God. The Quran does, however, ask people to invite others towards good deeds and
avoid evil, but equally it demands self-correction first. Once, when the Prophet (PBUH) was with a
companion, a beautiful woman came to him with some complaint. The companion stared at the
woman and the Prophet turned his face away from her; he did not ask the woman to cover her face.

As with general ethics in other walks of life, Muslim societies have suffered decay and decadence in
men-women relations. This ranges from fiqh and personal laws to practices detrimental to the well-
being of women and their social and economic status. Patriarchy has taken away or reduced decision-
making powers from women. Within this environment, many men (and even women) concentrate on
the behaviour of women.

In many homes, modesty and respect towards women would be taught to boys, but girls are restricted
at every stage. Girls are trained to ‘save’ themselves from the predatory eyes of men, yet boys are not
taught to be less predatory, although they do become self-appointed ‘moral police’. Stories of sexual
harassment even in holy places are plenty and these acts are committed by men who would otherwise
seek pure, veiled and well-hidden women as their wives. Books written to train people for Haj ask
women to stay away from places reserved for men, but no men are required to keep a distance.
Despite the lack of space for women, men are found to be ensconced in Masjid-i-Nabavi; women are
scuttled away even from the Ka’aba and told to remain within the small enclosures reserved for them
in Makkah.

Instead of promoting traditions rooted in gender bias, prejudices and wrong interpretations of Islamic
teachings, as many are wont to do, our fingers should point to perpetrators of harassment and not the
victims. It is time that the focus of societal development and moral training shifts towards boys and
men, without which our moral uplift will remain a dream.

The writer is a freelance contributor with an interest in religion.

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CONNECTING WITH GOD:

THERE is always a sense of uncertainty, unease and a disturbance within the human soul. Even the most
diehard atheists — those who believe that this life is all that there is — would admit to themselves, when
alone, a sense of doubt and questions over the “whence” of the universe.

Believers, on the other hand, often develop a concept of God in their minds, perhaps a higher being who is the
Creator of all things, human and otherwise. Depending upon their understanding and practices which with they
grow up within their religious lives, they find ways to “connect” with God.

Many believers, however, still try to find proofs of God’s existence and use these proofs to convince
nonbelievers. Many, particularly in the West, have misconceptions about how Muslims view God.

According to Dr Fazlur Rahman, God in the Quran is both majestic and merciful. The two attributes are two
sides of the same Creator, upon who is dependant the entire universe. There is no need to identify (and the
Quran does not produce) proofs of God’s existence for humans.

The Quran reminds humans to reflect, think, ponder over the signs.

The latter should “find” God in the signs that are abundant in the universe and within humans. It is fruitless to
enter into discourse about proofs related to God, because the Quran reminds humans to reflect, think, ponder
over the signs.

It is this reflection over the signs of the world, or nature and their internal selves that humans must find the link
to: “Verily in this is a Message for any that has a heart and understanding or who gives ear and earnestly
witnesses (the truth)” (50:37).

The main connection with God, therefore, is developed through understanding, realising and appreciating nature
and its source. The reminder to this is the Quran which came to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

This reminder needs to be studied critically, along with the context and conditions that existed while the
revelation was ongoing. This can be found in any authentic biography of the Prophet (PBUH).

Connecting with God depends considerably on what a person conceives Him to be. With His infiniteness,
omnipresence and omnipotence, it is absolutely impossible for any human to comprehend God or even a very
small element of His Spirit. Even prophets were not able to do so, even though they were the purest and most
spiritual of humans. They were constantly engaged in prayer and worship to seek His guidance and forgiveness.

Many of us see God as a ‘father figure’, punishing us when we commit evil and rewarding us when we do good.
The reality of God is unknown, because He alone knows Himself. Yet, each of us makes efforts to connect with
Him in our own individual way and He has promised to listen to us: “…For We are nearer to him than (his)
jugular vein” (50:16).

Our doubts about who He is and why He allows injustice to be committed in the world might be reduced if we
think that we cannot ever understand His wisdom and limitlessness and that we must only do what we can and
should. This is to serve Him, serve His creations, spread goodness and avoid/suppress chaos.
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In a simplistic mode, connecting with God would mean praying, fasting, paying zakat, performing Haj, being
kind to others and avoiding the major sins. Since humans are considered to be the best of God’s creations (the
only ones with choice), we should try to go a few steps further.

Fazlur Rahman sums it up beautifully. Serving God means developing our higher potentials and purifying our
soul, according to the “command” (amr) of God, by exercising our right to choose, and to use nature in this
process. “God, Who in His outgoing mercy brought nature and man into being, in His unbroken sustained
mercy, has endowed man with the necessary cognition and volition to create knowledge and use it to realise his
just and fair ends.

This is the most critical test for humans: whether they use this knowledge and power for good or for evil, for
success or loss, or for reforming the earth or corrupting it (as the Quran constantly puts it)?” (Fazlur Rahman,
Major Themes of the Quran).

If we try to develop such a connection, we would come to consider God as our total and only support, which no
one and nothing can take away from us. The name As Samad as an attribute of God means a rock against which
no force can have any power. Our attachment to this rock can be developed through consistent efforts in
reaching out to Him, even as we fall and stumble, make mistakes and commit sins.

We must hang on to this connection — “the rope to God” — without ever losing hope. We must search for the
ultimate truth, trying to find it through purifying ourselves, instead of looking to prove it.

The writer is a freelance researcher in peace and security issues.

A NEW APPROACH:

MANY attempts have been made to establish and hold peace, reconcile and heal wounds during and after
conflicts. During conflicts — as between occupied Kashmir and India, or Palestine and Israel — civil
society groups as well as official ones have been active in promoting dialogue. Various websites and social
media groups inviting Indian and Pakistanis to share their stories of Partition, or memories of erstwhile
East Pakistan, are active, as are Jewish and Palestinian, Bosnian and Serbian groups. These are not
mediation processes, but they provide virtual platforms for sharing of stories and experiences. Mediation
experts are also playing their role to bring together individuals from countries previously engaged in
bloody wars and assist them to interact and listen to each other.

The war in Afghanistan has just been over and a fragile peace process is in the making. So far, the role of civil
society is limited. The wars in Yemen, Syria and the UN declared genocide of the Rohingya continue, although
their intensity has reduced. The time to rebuild an almost destroyed Middle East from its ashes will come soon.
The situation in India-held Kashmir is a grave one and needs all possible efforts at all levels to bring India to the
dialogue table. This seems to be only a dream, unfortunately, considering recent events.

The role of the mediator and peace builder is critical.

Post-conflict stages of peace building and maintenance are often left to people themselves. It takes only a few
years to come to all-out war: returning to peace and then building it thread by thread is a decades-long process.
All sides, especially the perceived victim and the perpetrator have their stories to tell and their views to
 20

communicate. It is important for both sides to listen to each other’s stories and come to a mutual understanding
of the conflict.

The role of the mediator and peace builder is critical. One of the main tools they should be able to use is of
facilitating stories to be told, as it is “widely accepted that mediation is a storytelling process...”. People often
tend to see others as being responsible for inflicting pain upon them. The storytelling process enables a
deflection of this responsibility and assists each party to see different ways of looking at specific events.

This approach builds upon the theory that any one account of what has happened does not cancel another’s
account and is not truer than that of the other. Any account can never be completely objective and is influenced
by the opinions and views one holds. This is why mediation and peace building is so essential. In the
storytelling approach, the mediator acts as a third party, providing a space for stories with different perspectives
to be told and heard with patience and, ultimately, understanding.

A new approach to mediation, called the ‘narrative approach’ is based on storytelling. This approach to
mediation adopts a healing style, instead of a ‘what do I get out of it’ one for the parties. It is, therefore, more
useful for people who have been affected, rather than politicians or diplomats who must emerge from the
mediation process with some tangible gains.

In this approach, mediators emphasise increasing mutual understanding and overcoming societal prejudices.
People talk with each other while the mediator keeps everyone engaged, maintains a non-threatening
environment and attempts to probe deeper into underlying issues.

The parties pass through three phases: engagement; unpacking the conflict story, which may be based on one-
sided assumptions; and the building up of other possibilities. These stages often overlap. The environment in
which mediation is held is important, as are factors such as who is involved, what they say, and how they say it.
As stories are told, the mediator invites the parties to think of the conflict outside of themselves and view it as a
third party. They are able to face all the issues and tyranny of the conflict together. The conflict can even be
given a name, as if it has a life and identity of its own.

The stage is now set for a joint story of the conflict which does not blame one or the other. The mediator probes
and explores statements by each party, obviously emotional and often emanating from power dynamics. There
are experiences that have not been discussed before because they were not prominent enough for the dominant
discourse earlier. Stories that have been coloured by political, social or emotional perceptions need to be
discovered and seen through a new lens.

Narrative mediation has yet to be used at Track I level or by mediation teams. Scholars suggest that the absence
of emotional aspects of mediation — one of the underpinnings of storytelling — could have been a factor in
persistence of long-term conflicts despite formal settlement, as in Northern Ireland, Cyprus and Georgia. It will
be worth developing he capacity of mediators and adopting the narrative approach in mediation for peace
building.

CULTURE AND RELIGION:

OFTENTIMES so many traditions and cultural practices get absorbed into religion that
people tend to replace the latter with the former. The lines between the two become
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blurred and over time, basic tenets of faith are forgotten and replaced with customs
and traditions.

Migration of peoples to other countries causes absorption of local values and customs and these can
seep into religion. During his lectures in Madras in the 1930s, the great Quran scholar, Mohammed
Marmaduke Pickthall, talking about the pathetic situation of Muslims and especially women in India,
claimed that the system of purdah came neither from Islam nor from Arabia. It was a cultural system
adopted from Zoroastrians, Persians and Christian Byzantines. Its implementation differed (and still
does), depending on the class and economic status of the women.

Pickthall goes on to say that Indian Muslims adopted the idea of women’s subjugation to the man in
marriage from other cultures. Marriage in Islam is a social contract with equal say by the partners.
Many scholars now argue that it is based on equality with equal rights, although the man had financial
responsibility, relevant for those times.

Women had the right to choose and sometimes even initiate proposals. Now, women’s choice is not
only disregarded but often punished with death. Although an issue of culture, in the minds of many
Muslims, this is religiously sanctioned — an erroneous concept.

Local traditions should not replace basic beliefs and be seen as part of faith.

Another cultural practice that has become accepted as part of religion is the declaration of pious
individuals as saints and the giving up of children to shrines.

There have been many pious Muslims who have spent their lives in search of the truth and praying to
God, but neither the Quran nor the Sunnah present any injunction for their treatment as saints. The
system of pirs and shrine-keepers is based on the cultures of converts in Iraq and Syria, developed
further through the influence and amalgamation of local cultures in India. Pious people should be
venerated and even emulated in some cases, but they should not be worshipped, as the case appears
to be in some countries.

Both religion and culture are closely related and influence each other. Many practices used by
Muslims in the subcontinent differ from those in the Middle East and elsewhere because of how
Muslims accepted traditions that existed in the region. There is no harm in this, as long as they do not
replace basic beliefs and get absorbed as essentials of religion. As an example, getting orphans from a
mosque to recite verses from the Holy Quran upon the demise of a person is deemed part of religion.
It has no such status.

Anything that is added as a part of Islam is called innovation or bidah. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) is
reported to have said: “The most evil matters are those that are newly invented (in the religion), for
every newly invented matter is an innovation. Every innovation is misguidance and every
misguidance is in the Hellfire” (Sunan Al Nasa 1578).

Consider the matter of women observing iddah when widowed or divorced. This period of 90 days-
plus was meant to determine pregnancy, during the times when no other means was possible.
 22

Many families in the subcontinent adopted the practice of restraining the movement of women and
refusing visits of any man. No religious precedent exists for this. Such a practice also comes from the
cloistering of women in the old Hindu system.

An even stranger tradition is that in some families upon the death of a man his women relatives are
not allowed to see his face. The dead body becomes a na mehram. There are even cases when the
husband has not been allowed to view his dead wife’s face because the marriage stood annulled!

In case of marriage, culture has introduced a caste and biradari system which is abhorrent to Islam.
This is so prevalent that society in the subcontinent, in particular, relies on cousin marriages, even in
cases when the couples are completely unsuited, mostly to keep inheritance within the family. This
could be one of the reasons why societies in which such marriages abound rarely flourish in intellect
and creativity. Family planning is frowned upon as un-Islamic, but multiple marriages, a practice
allowed under certain conditions, are seen to be a man’s right.

Such distortions and regressive practices are hugely detrimental but have gained much acceptance
and legitimacy. Culture should develop with time, but once it gets amalgamated into religion, the
practices become fossilised. Sifting simple religious acts from traditions that should be given up
becomes impossible, with rational thought and debate being a major casualty. Instead of the Quran,
unverified ahadith and rote learners are adopted as religious guides.

The writer is a freelance contributor with an interest in religion.

RAISING CHILDREN:

AS society loses its ethical and moral foundations, the younger generations seem to be growing up in a
vacuum. Yet, almost every Muslim house spends so much time and effort to teach the Quran, by rote,
and the salat, to its children. If only these rituals could be accompanied with the core teachings of Islam
we might stand a chance of raising better human beings.

Raising children properly is a sacred obligation for Muslims, but one that is sadly neglected by most. Islam
considers children given to parents in trust, to be cared for physically, intellectually and spiritually. Parents
must cater to their development needs in each of these three ways, regardless of whether the child is a girl or a
boy. The Prophet (PBUH) has said; “Fear Allah and treat your children fairly” (Bukhari, 2447; Muslim, 1623).

Both sons and daughters must have the opportunity to be nourished well, given a good education, and exposed
to an environment in which they can find and develop their creative niche. This also means that Muslim
children should be taught Arabic so that they understand the Quran and the salat, and both worldly and religious
education should proceed in parallel. They should be encouraged to ask questions, be curious and exposed to
reasoning and logical ways of thinking so that they can understand their faith better.

Morals should be ingrained in a child’s personality.

Islamic morals and ethics should be ingrained in a child’s personality. The root of this lies in love, forbearance,
politeness and caring for others. A child who is a true Muslim is the greatest blessing God can bestow upon one,
both in this and the world hereafter. The Quran tells us of the spontaneous gratitude of Abraham, when he and
 23

his wife were granted children in old age; “Praise to Allah, who has granted to me in old age Ishmael and Isaac.
Indeed, my Lord is the Hearer of supplication” (14:39).

The Quran entails Muslims to take great care of their children, wisely and with caution. It says; “Your wealth
and your children are but a trial, and Allah has with Him a great reward” (64:15).

Children should grow up to understand their obligations, and the rights they must fulfil towards God, and
towards their fellow human beings. The first is accomplished by a proper understanding and implementation of
ibada’at, or worship of the one God, and the second through being respectful, caring, kind and supportive to
parents, relatives, the elderly, the poor, travellers, orphans, the disadvantaged and all those who may be in need
of help.

The first comes under huquq Allah, and the second is the huququl ibad. On the Day of Judgment, we will all be
questioned on our performance against meeting our obligations in these areas, and how well we were able to
train our children in the same.

Muslim children should be taught to differentiate between Islam, and the wrong concepts and practices of some
Muslims. They are too easily led to believe in people such as ‘caliph’ Baghdadi and organisations such as the
so-called Islamic State and Taliban. A society that sees no contradiction in praying five times a day, and
supporting killing of Muslims and non-Muslims in the name of Islam raises generations as fodder for militant
armies.

Children must be taught the necessary skills to earn their livelihoods through halal means. They must know
what is forbidden, why and what is acceptable. It is not enough to ask them to accept. It is important to explain
the reasons and let them arrive at their own conclusions.

Muslim children should be exposed to Muslim role models. They should read authentic biographies of the
Prophet, as well as those of the Companions and other Muslim personalities, scholars and scientists. They
should read about other prophets — Jesus, Moses, Noah, Solomon, David, Joseph, Lut, amongst others —
mentioned in the Quran.

Children react to their environment very quickly. If they live with noise, anger and intolerance, they will
develop these traits more quickly than adults. Parents must ensure that children are provided an anger- and
violence-free environment, a loving atmosphere, where mistakes can be talked about but not punished.
However, controlled discipline is also necessary.

The mother and father should be seen to be a united duo to the children, and be loving and affectionate. The
Prophet was known for his love towards children. Once he kissed his grandson while Al-Aqra ibn Habis Al-
Tamim was sitting with him. Al-Aqra said, “I have 10 children and have never kissed them.” The Prophet said,
“Whoever is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully” (Bukhari). He often shortened prayers
whenever a child started crying (Bukhari).

When we die, no one can come to our rescue, except the prayers of a child who is pious and God-fearing.

The writer is a freelance contributor with an interest in religion.

DIVINE PUNISHMENT:
 24

A COMMON belief among many Muslims is that disasters are a manifestation of the wrath of God due to
our wayward ways and negligence of religious duties.

These could be natural or manmade disasters: earthquakes; floods; heatwaves, drought and extreme cold, wars
etc. Such a belief is entrenched within our psyche, ahadith are quoted to support it. We often fail to recognise
our own hand in the making of these disasters and their impacts. Our fatalistic tendencies are reinforced and we
end up blaming society and various groups for their misdeeds for such events.

The Quran says: “...nor would We visit with Our Wrath until We had sent a messenger (to give warning)”
(17:15). Throughout humankind’s history, messengers have been sent to their specific communities to warn
people and guide them to the right path, whenever they strayed towards evil acts and persisted with the latter.

After years of calling them to return to put their belief in one God and the Hereafter and adopt an honest and
compassionate lifestyle, God decided whether or not the time had come to separate the deniers of truth from the
believers. This was the stage of conclusive arguments and clarification (Itemam al Hujja).

We often fail to recognise our own hand in the making of disasters.

Once this was done, God sent His punishment, either in the form of natural events, as in the case of Hazrat Lut’s
people, upon whom was sent a storm of stones like baked clay; Hazrat Shuaib, whose people were all destroyed
by a terrible earthquake, and Hazrat Nuh, who had preached for several hundred years, but to no avail. His
people were destroyed by a flood after he had sailed away in an ark built by him. In the case of Hazrat Musa,
Pharaoh and his army were destroyed when they drowned at sea. In each of these and other examples, God had
separated the good people and saved them, while the rest were wiped off from the face of the earth.

In the case of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), God separated all disbelievers after a very long process of giving
time and allowance to the Quraish and the wrongdoers among the Jews and Christians of that time. They were
then killed in wars at the hands of the Muslims. This action was only meant for that time, when a prophet was
present among the people and he had made all efforts to guide his people to the right path.

Itemam al Hujja and subsequent actions were relevant only for the times of the prophets. Since Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) is the last messenger and no one shall come after him, this process of God’s collective
punishment in this world has come to an end. An individual may still believe that a disaster that has befallen
one in life might be a consequence of something he or she may have done to displease God, but that is his or her
personal belief and he or she must try and atone for this through penance and compensating for the wrong that
has been done.

However, this is not a universal fact and is not valid for children and innocent people. It would, therefore, be
completely wrong on someone’s part to witness another’s misfortune and consider it as a sign of displeasure of
God.

Disasters occur in this world due to natural, scientific reasons; most often, they are a result of man’s activities.
The melting of glaciers, floods, landslides, the impact of tsunamis and earthquakes and wars are all
consequences of either global warming or lack of appropriate preventive or corrective measures by humans.

According to Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, God allows these disasters to occur to remind human beings of the truth
of collective death and the end of the world. Death occurs everywhere all the time, but it is only mass
 25

destruction that helps those who are living to realise that they all must leave the world some time and that they,
too, are in line and can go anytime. They should try and do some good while they are alive and have the ability
to act, lest it becomes too late.

This does not negate the fact that people must pray, individually and collectively, for those who have suffered
and for the safety of those whose lives and property was saved.

Disasters that cause collective harm are also challenges from God, to take appropriate action and to also express
regrets. In compassion and concern, the heart calls out to the Creator with sincerity and He has promised to
listen. At the same time, rationality should not become a casualty and all measures should be taken at
individual, community and national levels for the prevention of and protection against disasters.

For example, it is good to pray for deliverance from disasters. It is also important to ensure the protection of
trees to avoid soil erosion; harvest rainwater when it does rain and take steps for disaster risk reduction and
management.

OUR FLAWED ATTITUDE:

MUSLIMS throughout the world profess their faith through verbal declaration of the unity of God and
the prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). The message brought by the latter has become the
living Quran, a book covering all aspects of human life that can prepare one for the Day of Judgement.

As much as the Quran is a guide of ethical principles, it has been questionably interpreted by some to be a book
of laws. Only 80 of the 6,666 verses in the Quran are directly concerned with legal matters and even these are
addressed through an ethical lens.

The Quran is mainly concerned with truth, kindness and justice: “Allah commands justice, the doing of good,
and liberality to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion. …” (16:90). Justice
can only be established through a careful search for truth and the doing of good and being kind must be ensured
by mercy and compassion. Truth must be relentlessly pursued and demands made for proof. God further enjoins
Muslims to always speak “the right” (33:70); and avoid falsehoods and allegations against others.

If one does need to cast blame, it should be against oneself. Saying bad things about someone behind their back
is backbiting and is akin to eating the flesh of one’s brother; saying false things is an allegation and deserves the
most severe punishment.   

Vigilantism is a crime in Islam.

The world at large is facing the scourge of falsehoods, so often repeated and shared and so convincingly
communicated that it dons the guise of truth. As a consequence, at the global level, wars are fought, millions are
killed, countries face humanitarian crises and nations seethe with hatred for each other. At an individual level,
homes are destroyed, relationships falter and suspicions abound.

A particularly cancerous form of the spread of falsehoods is accusing someone of a sin or crime without clear
proof. Accusing others at a personal level is forbidden: “O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you
 26

with any news, ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance
for what ye have done” (49:6).

False allegations, often based on vested interests, have created uncontrolled vigilantism in societies, especially
where the laws of the country are implemented poorly. God has decreed the worst punishment for all who
accuse falsely. The Prophet is reported to have said: “He who, in order to find fault, says something about a
person that was not there, Allah will throw such a person in hell till he tastes fully what he had fabricated”
(Tibrani).

False allegations are often made on religious grounds. The perpetrators are aware that these will most likely
give rise to angry sentiments of a by and large uneducated and unthinking populace and exploit this for their
nefarious purposes. Unfortunately, such allegations are also readily believed by mobs and give rise to unbridled
violence. Some of the most brutal cases of vigilantism in Pakistan were caused by mere accusations regarding a
social media post.

Most countries have laws against libellous statements about religion and religious personalities. Except for four
countries, all others use punishments such as fines and imprisonment after carefully conducted trials with clear
proofs and evidence of the negative impacts.

Vigilantism is a crime in Islam. The Prophet forbade a man who asked what he should do if he witnessed
adultery by his wife and wished to deliver punishment. His sense of ‘honour’ was no justification for such
vigilantism (Sahih Muslim, 1498). Civilians meting out punishment for a perceived crime are themselves
criminals in the eyes of Islam. In fact, not only must a stringent process be followed to establish evidence,
judges must exercise restraint to keep their personal biases from creeping into their judgements and temper their
decisions with due consideration to mitigating circumstances. As the Prophet said: “It is better for the ‘imam to
err on the side of compassion than on the side of punishment” (Sunan Altirmidhi, Kitab al hudud, Vol 4, p 25).

The Quran is explicit in calling for mercy in all cases of crimes and states that the death sentence can only be
given in cases of deliberate and wilful murder and when a state of anarchy (fasad) is being created.

The main problem with some Muslim societies is that we have closed our minds to rationality and fairness and
to questioning our presuppositions and centuries-old beliefs. We have become hostage to anger and rage, ready
to cast aspersions on others and assign moral and religious codes based on our narrow views. We are more
concerned with how others behave than with our own attitudes. Our concepts of justice and truth have turned
into caricatures as we occupy ourselves with ideas of how the world should change, rather than making an effort
to introspect and change our own selves.

LAND RIGHTS IN ISLAM:

IN Islam, everything, including the being of man, is owned by God. Land and its plentiful provisions
belong to Him, but have been given to man to keep in trust, to be used wisely for his own benefit and that
of the larger community.
 27

For example the Quran says: “To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is on the earth and what is
between them and what is under the soil” (20:6), while it also observes that “It is He who made the earth tame
for you — so walk among its slopes and eat of His provision — and to Him is the resurrection” (67:15).

To promote entrepreneurship and human creativity, Islam has encouraged private holdings of such resources
that may be in excess, and are not held at the cost of people’s welfare.

The Quran does not lay out specific instructions on how land may be distributed, but it does spell out the
principles clearly for a fair and just system to be developed in an Islamic society.

The ‘jagirdars’ see land as their exclusive right.

Over the centuries, Muslims have used their abilities to judge right from wrong, and to develop land
measurement and planning, usage and taxation systems that deter exploitation by a few. Division of state lands
among farmers is a standard Islamic practice.

Caliph Umar refused to divide land conquered through victories among soldiers for fear of its concentration in a
few hands. Most of the land was kept with the state, and used as a commons.

Islam does not allow ownership, as in exclusive use by a few, but gives trusteeship under defined terms. Those
who have been given this trust have huge responsibilities to others in terms of their well-being. If landholders
do not fulfil these obligations, the state is fully within its rights to take back the land and use it for the larger
economic benefit, under the principle of public interest (maslaha).

Private trusteeship is allowed and indeed protected in the Sharia, but only if it does not create injustice, hunger
and poverty in society.

Islam lays particular emphasis on social justice, the word ‘justice’ having been mentioned in the Holy Quran the
third most frequently after ‘God’ and ‘knowledge’. Muslims are urged to ensure balance, fairness, kindness and
truth in their dealings, reflecting on God’s qualities of adl (justice) and qist (equity).

Both the Quran and hadith forbid taking over the property of others through unlawful means by the individual
or by the state.

Islam holds a strict yardstick for rulers to follow. They must ensure a socially just, economically equitable and
fair society, with land distributed amongst citizens in such a way that they are not exploited by a few. They
must also develop legal and transparent systems of private trusteeship that may not be susceptible to fraud or
forced takeover.

As data shows, both poverty and inequity are high in Pakistan, the former defined as a composite of lack of
education, nutrition, health and basic social services.

These conditions are especially prominent in the rural areas, where the often subhuman conditions of landless
farmers and those with very small landholdings are directly related to the pattern of land ownership. Much
agricultural land is held by a few feudal families while peasants who do own land are often denied access to
water for irrigation.
 28

With the socio-economic situation clearly showing that the current landholding pattern is a major factor
contributing to increasing hunger and deprivation in the country, a judgement by the Shariat Appellate Bench,
declaring land reforms un-Islamic, is difficult to comprehend. It is clear that several instances when the state
should be able to intervene were not considered. Contextual reasoning and ijtehad that Islam has always urged
Muslim intelligentsia to practise, were sacrificed for literal interpretation.

A most significant fact has been left out of the debate. The land distribution system existing in Pakistan today is
evidently un-Islamic as it negates the basic principles of justice and equity for the majority. Eminent scholar
Javed Ahmed Ghamidi points out that much of the land in pre-Partition India had been handed over by the
British to individuals, although most Muslim societies had been using land as common goods. The result was
that the jagirdars began to see land as their exclusive right.

If there is a case for what is Islamic or not in terms of land rights, it is whether land distribution pre- and post-
1947 was legal and fair.

This should be relatively easy to prove, without affecting the Islamic tenet of protecting legally purchased
property.

This would pave the way to reduce the alarming levels of income disparity, hunger and poverty, and contribute
to ensuring land rights according to Islamic principles.

DECAY AND DARKNESS

DURING the times of Jesus, scholars of the Torah would hide parts of it from the masses in order to keep them
deliberately ignorant of the teachings contained in it and used its rulings selectively within society, so as to
favour the rich and powerful people against those who were less privileged. They perhaps appeared to have the
well-being of the people close to their hearts, but still played upon their feelings to their own advantage. Jesus
gave severe warnings of hell to them.

The Quraish before the advent of Islam were no different. History tells us that they were divided on the basis of
class and wealth. There were the elite, who were political and religious leaders, oppressing the majority — the
poor, the downtrodden. Because of the imbalance of power, the latter could easily be swayed into submitting
and believing what the former would ask them to. They converted the House of God into a worship place of
idols that catered to all tribes of Arabia, and they earned both income and status by being custodians of the
Ka’aba, using this unique position for their personal and tribal interests.

Islam’s primary message being one of submission to one God was no different from that of Christianity,
Judaism or any faith calling people to worship a single Being and doing good deeds in preparation for life after
death.

Much ails Muslim countries today.

The Prophet (PBUH) provided an example of how Muslims could live in harmony with people of other faiths,
with love, acceptance and justice. Subsequently, Muslims demonstrated how their belief in God could give
strength to a rational mind, and great scientists, philosophers and mathematicians were born.
 29

The light of knowledge spread out from the Muslim world. Much of the technology of today has its origins in
the inventions and discoveries of Muslims between the 9th and 13th centuries. Muslims were free: they were
free to think, free to debate and free to use the rational powers bestowed upon humans by God. One of the main
aspects of Islamic thought that is distinct from other faiths was that there was no formal clergy. There were
scholars who argued academically and could certainly influence the common people. But their role was to
educate people, not to rule them. The responsibility of belief depended on the individual and there was no
coercion in religion.

Today, almost complete intellectual decay, ostentatiousness and misuse of religion to incite violence and spread
chaos is rampant in many Muslim countries. A common feature is repression on the part of ‘religious’ men.
When people begin to rely upon those they perceive to be scholars to interpret their religious beliefs for them, a
master-servant relationship is born where the one in control can cause one’s belief and hence one’s emotions to
swerve in any direction.

This approach, complemented by national and international power plays, has brought Muslims to the state that
they currently find themselves in across the world, especially in countries that not only repress their own people
but form alliances with states hostile to Islam to gain political power. A Muslim alliance minus a major Muslim
country claims to fight terrorism, which in itself was nurtured by many of its members.

Countries that call themselves Islamic, having provided the institution of the state the doubtful and unnecessary
legitimacy of being ‘Muslim’, are probably the worst examples of religious repression and control. While in
some countries clerics have assumed the formal garb of being in power and government, others are increasingly
controlled, albeit indirectly, by men of various factions and groups, all claiming to be saviours of Islam.
Wielding the instrument of rhetoric and their ability to mobilise half literates, these individuals roam freely and
have the power to negotiate agreements with governments on their own terms.

Their sway over some people has reached a point where all they have to say is that the sanctity of their faith is
in danger, and thousands come out to cause havoc and bring the lives of millions to a standstill. This is when the
religion they profess to believe in says very clearly: “… The punishment of those who ... strive with might and
main for mischief through the land ... their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the
Hereafter” (5:33).

Much of the fasaad around us is a result of political manipulation and desire for power. This arises from the
feigned or deliberate distortion of God’s word. Equally, there are many who follow their leaders blindly and
believe in the oft irrational, misguided and distorted versions of what love of religion really means. They have
not read what the Quran says: “Hold to forgiveness; command what is right; But turn away from the ignorant”
(7:199).

THE SINNER WIN:

WE are all inclined to sinning, even though we know that it is wrong. In monotheistic religions, sinning is
assumed to be natural for humans, but while Christianity believes in the original sin, Islam considers
every person to be born innocent of sin and upon the natural fitrah. It is the external environment and
Satan’s temptations that drive humans to sin.
 30

In the Quran, lying, cheating, backbiting, eating pork, consuming alcohol are among the lesser sins, while
murder, adultery, usurping rights of orphans, usury, falsely accusing others of adultery and associating partners
with God are major sins.

Have we reflected upon what sin is and why Islam has clarified that humans are naturally capable of
understanding the difference between being righteous and sinful? The Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said:
“Sin is that which disturbs your heart and which you do not want people to know about” (Muslim 2553). It
causes uneasiness inside one’s breast and one would like to keep it hidden. It produces a sense of guilt, which,
in a person who is God-conscious, would lead to repentance and efforts to never commit it again. Sincere
repentance after sinning brings one closer to the Creator.

A useful explanation of sin, derived from the Quran, is given by Dr Farhad Shafti, a Quran scholar and teacher.
A sin is what one would do against one’s natural self: an act that reduces one’s status as a human being and that
degrades one’s soul. God has declared humankind as His vicegerent on earth: He takes pride in his creations,
but humans continue to commit actions that go against the requirement of such a role. They dishonour
themselves and disrespect the trust placed in them by God.

We oppress and hurt our fellow beings, oppressing our own souls in the process.

Having been blessed with the capacity of differentiating between good and bad, we do often choose the latter,
overcome by our weaknesses. Sinning thus against ourselves, we belittle our worth, dignity, aspiration towards
transcendence and spirituality. While sinning a few times is natural, committing the same deed again and again
renders repentance meaningless.

Most of our sins are against our fellow human beings. We oppress and hurt them in various ways, oppressing
our souls as well as the collective society. Our sins take on a multiplier effect. Bringing down this darkness on
our own souls is what is so eloquently described in the Quran: “… It strikes and destroys the harvest of men
who have wronged their own souls. ...” (3:117). The first prayer in the world was by Hazrat Adam and Eve:
They said: “Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: if thou forgive us not and bestow not upon us Thy
Mercy, we shall certainly be lost” (7:23). The same prayer was recited by Hazrat Younus when he left his
people without instructions from God, and Hazrat Musa when he had inadvertently killed a man.

Each time we commit a sin, our souls lose some purity. Only repentance can remove this darkness, but repeated
sinning will only increase it until the soul is no longer capable of being redeemed. This is what the Quran means
by “the screen over their hearts” (6:25).

Why do we then sin? The Quran says that it is because we forget and ignore God. Prophets and revelations were
sent by God to remind people of Him and give guidance, so that “man could decipher the primordial writing on
his heart more clearly and with greater conviction” (Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes of the Quran). If humans
forget God, they give in to whims and desires which God has warned against and corrupt their souls. The
consciousness of God leads to taqwa, a barrier against sin.

The sins of a person are not visited upon others. If one sins, one corrupts one’s own soul and if one does good,
one benefits one’s own soul. No other being shall either be punished or rewarded for the actions of others. God
hides the sins of people unless they make them public themselves or they come to light due to other reasons.

Confusion exists between the concept of sin in religion, which is forbidden by God and is repulsive to the fitrah,
and crime, which is a legal concept. The two are not necessarily synonymous, although many sins are crimes
 31

and vice versa. Crimes may go unpunished in this world but unrepentant sinners must face justice in God’s
court.

The best time to buttress ourselves against sin is the month of Ramazan, which is fast approaching. During this
month, by the spiritual force of fasting and prayer, we can keep satanic temptations at bay. We clean our bodies
by consuming less, our souls by keeping guard over our behaviour and establishing a connection with God
through frequent and intense worship. This is the period to restock.

THOUGHTS OF HAJ:

THE pilgrimage to Makkah, a much-desired goal in life for most Muslims, had always seemed a distant
probability. It was surprising then that when a sudden decision was made to perform Haj this year, I
agreed without any trepidation.

The first six days in Makkah were peaceful. The next few days spent in Madina, mostly at the Masjid-i-Nabavi,
the initial structure of which was laid by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), are a treasured memory and showed
Islam in all its diversity. People from literally every country in the world stood up for each of the five daily
prayers, but several had different ways of performing these.

The Quran was available in several languages, including in Braille. Particularly visible were both young and old
hajis from Central Asian countries. It was both touching and a lesson in humility to watch a young woman from
Dagestan and an older one from Indonesia communicate using sign language.

People visit the holy places to find solace, seek absolution, peace and strength. Everyone finds something or the
other, and returns with a passion for another trip.

We had our first exposure to the single-minded ferocity of crowds during the first tawaf. Televised pictures
show a sea of humankind moving in almost rhythmic and circular waves. As you move towards the Maqam-i-
Ibrahim or try to get a closer look at or touch the Hajr-i-Aswad, you will be pushed and pulled in all directions
unless you can maintain your feet on the ground.

With bruised arms and an almost ruptured kidney, I was able to recognise groups from certain countries and
steered away from them during later tawafs.

Perhaps the most painful experience was the failed trip to the Riaz-ul-Jannah in the Masjid-i-Nabavi, located
next to the resting place of the Prophet. The graves of Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar are located next to
that of the Prophet, while the Riaz-ul-Jannah, as its name suggests, is said to be one of the gardens in heaven.

I expected a quiet place of dignity, silence and contemplation, where people would stand in reverence, with
bowed heads, recite the salaam and slowly walk away. What one found instead was mayhem, physical fights
between overzealous pilgrims who wanted to get ahead and poorly equipped volunteers who beseeched the
unruly crowd to remember where they were.

Women chanted loudly and pushed with all their might. Was this the behaviour of people who revered and
loved their benefactor? Could the authorities not have helped by posting signs requesting silence, putting
 32

barriers for some sort of queues, or by posting more and better trained women instead of just two to manage
hundreds of people?

Also, one had not realised how the sanitation system and lack of facilities would put pressure on our frail human
physique. The Saudi government needs to be lauded for its monumental efforts each year to facilitate the
increasing number of pilgrims. But it may be even more important to pay attention to the quality of facilities.

The camps at Mina were crowded, badly planned with inadequate sanitation services, made worse by extremely
poor civic sense and lack of communal spirit among the pilgrims. For the three nights, we survived on sips of
water and a few biscuits. People ate and threw garbage everywhere, and not even once were the toilets, the bins
or the pathways cleaned.

We spent the compulsory few hours each day in Mina standing or sitting outside, or walking along the streets
away from the camps. Outside, people sat, slept and ate alongside piles of rubbish.

South Asians in general and Pakistanis in particular demonstrated their worst attributes in two aspects. One was
their almost total disregard for cleanliness of any sort. The other was complete lack of discipline in making lines
and queuing up for food, tokens or getting on or down from a bus.

Haj, it seemed, has also become an accomplishment, to be attached to names, displayed in homes and bragged
about in public. Many, if not all, were busy taking videos and photographs of each other in various poses,
including in extending their hands for dua. It was a social and religious symbol of piety, and pictures had to be
taken to prove this.

The books we were provided with before departure contained strictures for women not to mingle with groups of
men and to keep to themselves. However, nowhere did we find any instructions telling men how to behave
towards women. All training sessions were conducted by men, and issues related specifically to women were
addressed in detail by them.

Despite the number of women exceeding that of men, the facilities for women were less adequate, poorer in
quality, particularly in the way of toilets, washing and ablution places, prayer areas and arrangements to hear
and participate in duas.

Makkah, Madina, but most of all the Kaaba are magical places. Haj itself is a magical experience. To gain from
it as much as possible, one needs to be considerate, quiet, clean and have an environment that facilitates dignity.

Haj organisers and would-be hajis would do well to undertake training in communal living, proper behaviour in
mosques and sacred places, cleanliness and waiting for their turns, and above all, consideration for others.
Perhaps we can then hope for the spirit of Haj and Islam to be revived.

The writer is a freelance contributor.

ACCOUNTABLE RULE:

THE Objectives Resolution passed in 1949 by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan

made Islam the religion of the Pakistani state. Further, it is mandatory for all
governments to pass laws that are not repugnant to religious injunctions. This has been
 33

a cause of much debate and, probably, of the increasing power of religious groups who
bring people out on the streets any time they figure that their version of Sharia has
been violated.

Few recognise that states do not possess religions and there is no shared understanding of the Sharia
among any two Muslims, let alone the diverse sects in the country.

As scholars argue about beards and hijabs, polygamy and slavery and domestic violence, little
attention is paid to the level of accountability each member of society has towards the people she or
he serves. Everyone has rights and obligations that must be fulfilled if basic Islamic values are to be
followed. Without this, no number of religious rituals can be accepted by God.

Above all, rulers who have been given the responsibility to look after the socioeconomic development
of a nation carry the responsibility of the greatest accountability to the people they serve.

The Quran considers corruption one of the worst abuses against society.

As stated in the Quran: “And O My people, give full measure and weight in justice and do not deprive
the people of their due and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption” (11:85).

The Quran considers corruption and wrongdoing to be one of the worst abuses against society. The
higher the status of the person committing such actions, the more severe the accountability. There are
rulers who have justified almost every benefit they accrue either because of their position or because
of what they consider their personal creativity. Islam encourages development of personal wealth,
they claim. If they are rich and prosperous, their religion and God gives them blessings. What they fail
to realise is that the Quran warns against the hoarding of wealth, especially if other people are
suffering from poverty, lack of education and basic facilities.

Hazrat Sulaiman, one of the greatest kings of all time, had control over a vast empire. His wealth and
power spread over a vast area, but his people enjoyed the benefits of this development. A ruler who
enjoys the best of comfort and luxury while the people he is supposed to be governing suffer hunger,
death and oppression will have much to answer for in the court of God.

As stated in the hadith: “Any man whom Allah has given the authority of ruling some people and he
does not look after them in an honest manner, will never feel even the smell of Paradise” (Sahih
Muslim — Volume 9, Book 89, Number 264).

One of the best Muslim rulers was the second caliph of Islam, Hazrat Umar, who set in place a system
of governance that forms the basis of what we call good governance today. He established a special
department for the investigation of complaints against government officials. Complaints could be
made against any of his officers without fear of repercussions, and nepotism and bribery were
unknown.

None of his officials were allowed to benefit from any business dealings whilst being in a position of
power. They were eligible only for their salaries. A governor, Al Harith ibn K’ab ibn Wahb, was found
to have extra money beyond his salary and Umar inquired about this. Al Harith replied that he had
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some money which he used for trading. Hazrat Umar said: “By Allah, we did not send you to engage in
trade!” and took away the profits from him.

Hazrat Umar walked the streets of Madina to see if any of his people were in need. One night, he
found a woman boiling water with stones in a pan, hoping that her hungry children would be lulled
into thinking that food would be ready soon and fall asleep. Not knowing that the man inquiring after
their welfare was their emir, she complained bitterly about him.

He returned on foot, carrying bags of grain on his own back, refusing to pass on the burden to his
companion. He vowed to feel the weight for being negligent towards his people. Compare this to the
responses of our governments to the deaths of children in Thar.

People who have authority in a state are either the government officials or religious scholars who can
move people for or against any situation. If these two are upright, so will be the people; if they are
corrupt, the whole society will be corrupt. We have only to look at ourselves and around us to observe
the contamination of our collective and individual souls which we justify by saying that our leaders
are doing the same. If we are not to be damned, we must do something about this collectively.

MUSLIM DISCOURSE:

THE wealth and pomp of several Muslim monarchies notwithstanding, the world of Islam is in tatters.
Torn by internal strife, lack of focus on starving millions and controlled by greed as well as external
powers, Muslim governments are in a state of disarray.

Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran have reached such levels that they are waging proxy wars
against each other in Syria and Yemen. Iranian pilgrims were not able to perform Haj last year. The
wars have created major humanitarian crises, producing famine, poverty and millions of refugees
with nowhere to go.

These political games are aimed at grabbing power and space within the region, and politics and
religion are being exploited to the detriment of civilians. Divides have been created amongst an
already polarised Muslim world. Sectarian feelings are worked up on social and mainstream media,
where pictures of atrocities allegedly committed by one or the other party are posted.

There is a need to reverse the narrative used by extremists.

In Pakistan, each year, hundreds of ‘firebrand’ clerics are banned from entering the more ‘sensitive’
areas of the country during Muharram. Members of minority sects are regularly and brutally attacked,
ostensibly by the Pakistani Taliban or their splinter groups, but also by others. The pulpit is often
used to spread hatred.
 35

Centuries of textualist interpretations of the Quran, belief in questionable ahadith and tribal and
patriarchal customs have created a troubling rhetoric, comprised of social and religious demands by
self-righteous clerics.

Pakistan’s policies of the 1980s led to the mushrooming of brutal fanatics who have used Islam for
wanton killing. Recognition of this fact and the rise of internal terrorism led to Operation Zarb-i-Azb.
What is now needed, more than ever, is a ‘zarb-i-fikr’, a term so aptly coined by Javed Ahmed
Ghamidi for reversing the narrative used by extremists and their supporters. I am using this term here
in its wider sense.

The Muslim world, its scholars and leaders who are seriously concerned about the rapid deterioration
of Muslim politics and society, must find alternative routes of thought and create platforms of open
discourse and debate. This must happen at local, country, regional and global levels. The objectives
would include development of tolerant and pluralistic societies, as Muslim societies should be, but
equally to take measures for technological and economic progress through inclusiveness, education
and social cohesion.

The approach to this could include analysis of what is going wrong and acceptance of responsibility,
without emphasis on Western ‘conspiracies’.

Countries — Pakistan in particular — could begin to accept differences of religious opinion and clamp
down on those who oppose freedom of expression, not the other way around. Too many instances in
the distant and near past indicate that succeeding governments have either supported or buckled
under the pressure exercised by groups that would have Pakistanis live under fear and terror.

A scholar of the calibre of Fazlur Rahman had to leave the country in the 1960s because of his ground-
breaking work on the Quran. Many Muslims who would like to hold discussions on religious matters
cannot do so for fear of being branded ‘apostates’ or ‘blasphemers’. In contemporary times, laws on
domestic violence and patriarchal killing are either resisted or toned down. The recent bill in Sindh on
criminalising forced conversions, which follows the Islamic spirit, is being touted as ‘un-Islamic’.
Laws have been based on questionable interpretations and implemented for personal gains against
unsuspecting innocents.

Today, the message of Islam, which called for rational thought and deliberation, discussion and a free
and open mind and freedom of choice, must be reiterated. The individual must be free to follow any
religion or sect of her/his choice and the state must turn its attention to the welfare of people,
providing health and education and intervening only where the weak and the innocent are oppressed.

Scholars need to come together and discuss exactly what they are bickering about and whether their
stances are aligned with Islamic teachings. Muslims should be free to discuss what the Sharia means
to their individual and collective lives and which form of it may or may not be relevant.

The thousands of ‘alims’ churned out by madressahs must be monitored for what they learn and
subsequently do. Khutbas in mosques need to be carefully assessed and any vitriolic content removed.
Institutions such as the Council of Islamic Ideology that have been blamed for promoting misogyny
and restricted intellectual growth must be done away with. These measures must have the protection
of laws with teeth. Research should be encouraged in matters related to Islam and joint research with
other countries should be carried out. An Islamic renaissance is essential.
 36

The writer is a freelance contributor with an interest in religion.

RETURNING TO GOD:

ONE of the saddest moments in life is seeing a loved one dying. Until then, we delude ourselves, although we
read, hear and even see others pass away. Nothing, however, prepares us for our own mortality like the death of
the person whom we hold most dear.

Death is the utmost mystery of life: the puzzle that remains unsolved, that is shrouded in conjecture and myths
and that has captured the imagination of philosophers, scholars, scientists, authors, poets and fiction writers
throughout the centuries.

Death is inevitable, and the fear of it is inherent in the human heart.

Death is a return to our Creator. A return signifies going back to where we came from: in short, our real home.

However painful his life may be, and however worthless he might believe himself to be, a person will never
agree to die, except in a state of extreme emotion, as is witnessed in the case of suicide. Death is perceived as
the annihilation of life — a life that provides a person with a sense of being.

The Quran suggests something entirely different. Life is made up of two phases: one is transitory and short, to
be spent in this world; the other is eternal and in a world unknown to anyone who lives. Death is not destruction
but the passage of the whole living being, including body and soul, from one phase to the other, the duration of
the former varying from individual to individual. “Every soul shall have a taste of death” (3:185).

Every living person is in a waiting room and may be called to die at any time. The room is full of entertaining
games and sights that keep the inhabitants occupied, to the extent of being unaware of the ultimate call.

All of us are witness to others passing through the exit, in a one-way route. We are shocked momentarily and
spend some time thinking of our own journey and where it might take us. Then we forget about it.

We spend our waiting time engrossed in various activities, depending upon our whims and desires. If we have
paid heed to advice on what to expect outside the door, we may attempt to prepare ourselves, or we may decide
that this waiting room is all that there is and we will never come to life again. In reality, this waiting time begins
from the moment of our birth. As the English churchman and historian Thomas Fuller puts it, “the first breath is
the beginning of death”.

Death is a return to our Creator. A return signifies going back to where we came from: in short, our real home.
“To Allah We belong, and to Him is our return” (2:156). Our stay in this world is a mere journey, to be lived
briefly, but with constant reminders of our origin. Returning to God is returning home, and we will find that it
was our stay in this world that was strange. Our real and natural abode is the one promised to us when we have
exited to the afterlife. When our dear ones depart, we grieve over their loss and we miss them in our daily lives.
But it is important to realise that we shall soon be united with them, hopefully under circumstances where no
pain or worries would trouble us.

The Quran also likens death to sleep wherein the soul is taken by God and returned (when a person wakes up)
but not when death has been decreed. “It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death; and those that die not
 37

(He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death, He keeps back (from returning
to life), but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed....” (39:42)

There is an intermediary phase between death and the Day of Judgement. This is the aalam-i-burzakh, when the
souls of dead humans exist, unknown to the physical world.

The best and worst of people are rewarded or punished immediately after death but others must wait for
questioning on the Day of Judgement.

If death is a must, as all of us know, and if we are brought back to life after dying, as believers believe, why do
we not take steps to prepare for an eternal existence that may be full of joy and not one that is doomed to
punishment?

What is it that covers our souls with sins and which prevents us from repenting, even when we realise our
errors? We mouth platitudes and clichés of religious piety, invoking God, swearing upon our integrity and good
faith and intentions, yet we remain false in action. We have limited time before the final trumpet is sounded, for
none of us will have any leeway in purgatory or later. The time to correct our ways is now.

ng minorities to second-rate status. A modern state can be a monarchy, autocracy or democracy. If the
majority has declared a state to be Christian, Hindu or Muslim, this is unacceptable to Islamic justice.

Islam requires governance by the majority. If Muslims are elected, they have the right to govern,
provided true democratic principles are followed. This is indeed what the Quaid had envisaged, with
everyone having equal rights. The majority has no power to own the state. It is the collective —
including non-Muslims — to whom Pakistan belongs.

The role of the ulema is to educate and communicate, not to implement Sharia by force. Islam will be
manifest only through the people’s behaviour as they absorb its essence. In an Islamic democratic
state, people would have the right to full information and freedom of expression; leaders would be
chosen freely, and not on the basis of coercion, bribery and deception; representatives would be free
from fear, greed or vested interests, and the decisions of the majority would be implemented.

This is the narrative that requires attention from both government and civil society if we are to
counter the evils of extremism and rampant discrimination. Unfortunately, we have given the state
the name of Islam, but we are an un-Islamic society.

The writer is a freelance contributor with an interest in religion.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2015

WOMEN PEACE MEDIATORS:

IN a world of widespread conflicts, wars and political upheavals, the need for individuals and groups who
can play their role of peace builders, negotiators and mediators is more urgent than ever before. A large
war infrastructure has been built, through the manufacture and sales of arms and ammunition. The
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countries that have experienced war on a large scale have now grown into major exporters of war
weapons. They call for peace among nations on the one hand, and promote cultures based on phobias and
mistrust on the other.

In this situation, it is imperative that a peace ‘infrastructure’ be created and sustained. This can comprise of
peace communities and networks, both women and men, who interact across ethnic, political and social divides
to bring people together in dialogue and debate, provide assistance in listening more effectively and in
resolution of valid disputes.

The UN Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, adopted in October 2000, calls for the increased and
consistent role of women in the prevention of conflict and in peace building, negotiating settlements and
mediation as well as in handling post-conflict issues. Of the 193 member states of the UN, 185 have adopted
this resolution.

Almost two decades later, research data shows that women constituted two per cent of mediators, 8pc of
negotiators and 5pc of witnesses in all major peace processes between 1990 and 2017. Of 1,500 peace and
political agreements, only 25 discussed the role of women in their implementation. A very small number use
gender-sensitive language or possess gender inclusive aspects. Studies also show that involvement of women
results in more durable peace and there are greater chances (35pc) of implementation.

The peace settlement that excludes women is less than half as effective, and possibly even distortive.

The dichotomy in the effort to ensure participation of women in peace mediation is based on the assumptions
that conflicts can be managed and peace achieved while half the population that has been probably one of the
most affected groups is left out of decision-making and that women can, at best, address women-related (read
soft) issues.

Many governments hesitate to involve women because the latter can see the wider picture; they bring to the
debate issues that affect both sides and not just that of their own government. This is, in fact, what mediation is
about. Intuitively and with their ability for empathy, women understand the ‘other’ point of view. They can
create an environment whereby issues can be discussed openly, analysed, options found, pros and cons for all
parties assessed and the most preferred for all agreed upon. As peace builders, they are most effective in
reconciliation and collective healing processes. As one woman diplomat put it, empathy is within the DNA of
women.

Unfortunately, we continue to see the consequences of absence of women in the political, economic and social
scene: they do not usually make conflicts or start wars, yet they are utilised as tools of war, suffer rape and are
used as sex slaves. They suffer physically, mentally and emotionally, not only during the times of conflict but
also afterward. Their access to resources and health and education services reduces drastically, as has been
shown in Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Kashmir and northwest Pakistan.

Incidences of child marriages, selling of girl children and human trafficking increase. But the points of view of
women are rarely taken into consideration when the warring parties come to the negotiating table to talk peace
and rehabilitation. The peace settlement that excludes women is less than half as effective, and possibly even
distortive.

Equally, involving women so that a box on the gender-sensitive checklist can be ticked off, or to bring in only a
gender-sensitive perspective means that their role is only a supplementary one and can be ignored if and when
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deemed convenient. There is the underlying assumption that women cannot have the wide-ranging skills
necessary for higher levels of mediation.

A look at some examples where women have played an active role shows just how wrong this assumption is.
When both women and men are provided equal training and opportunities, their level of interest and
commitment determines how far they can go in their chosen fields. Today, there are women, although in small
numbers, who are working as mediators within communities, between communities and the corporate sector,
across political parties and between state and non state actors.

Noting the slow responses to action, the UN has been re-emphasising the clauses of the resolution. Since 2017,
there has been increased support for networks of women mediators, including in Africa, the Mediterranean and
Nordic regions and across the Commonwealth. Members are women who have been working in areas of
conflict in various capacities and at various levels and come together for peer-to-peer learning, provision of
expertise, strategic advocacy, participation in peace processes and mediation at various levels. Many of them
have experience of Track II (at civil society level, supported by states), Tracks 4 and 5 (research and education)
and some in Track I (at state level) mediation.

As they build up their expertise further, it is important for UN agencies involved in peace building and
mediation and states to interact and collaborate with these networks and use their members’ expertise. There are
already efforts to involve women in the peace talks between the Afghan Taliban, Afghanistan, the US and
Pakistan. These need to be implemented and sustained substantively. Similar processes need to be followed in
the Middle East and South Asia, particularly if and when dialogue opens between India, Pakistan and Kashmir.
The continuing coldness between Pakistan and Bangladesh might gain from a reconciliation process initiated by
women. Within countries too, ethnic and political strife may benefit by including women with an understanding
of issues in multi-group dialogues.

BLESSING FROM GOD:

A BLESSING that is sent to us every year is the special opportunity to purify our hearts and bodies, make an
effort to atone for our sins and give thanks to our Creator. While our entire lives should be spent towards this
goal, it is this particular time of the year that has been declared as the most suitable by God.

According to Amin Ehsan Islahi, just as in the material world, there are seasons for specific crops to be sown
and harvested and if these seasons are lost, no other time can compensate for them, the spiritual world too has
defined periods of time when the spirituality of humans can benefit the most.

For Muslims, this is the month of Ramazan. No other day or night can be quite as effective for repentance of
sins, cleansing one’s soul, doing good and achieving calmness of spirit.

A superficial look at what Ramazan means would be to define it as abstaining from eating, drinking and
conjugal relations from daybreak to sundown. This form of fasting had been practised for thousands of years by
humans, mainly as a symbol of regret for having committed a wrong.

Fasting is meant to nurture the values of austerity & compassion.

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It was also common in pre-Islamic Arabia. If this were all, this would be mere starvation and this is not what
God has desired. It does no good if humans deprive themselves of basic needs merely to observe a ritual. And
yet, this is what many of us end up doing during this month.

The first gift given by God to humans is that of rationality. He then gave us His Books and messengers to guide
us so that we may navigate the tough terrain of this world by understanding His message by using this
rationality.

It was in Ramazan that the Quran was revealed, a Book that He has called Furqan — that which distinguishes
between truth and falsehood. Ramazan helps us to appreciate and understand this great revelation. God’s
instructions to us to refrain from fulfilling our basic needs for certain hours of the day are meant to assist us in
developing piety and a deeper realisation of what the Quran means for us in this life and for the next.

The main aspects of fasting during Ramazan include submission to God, by whose orders we refuse to eat or
drink even if we wish to. This curbing of our natural desires should bring home the realisation that we are under
His control and submit to Him for something as simple and instinctive as feeding our physical selves. If we are
submitting to Him, we must also place restrictions upon our anger, hatred, greed, profiteering, cruelty, etc, in
short, any wrongdoing that we will be answerable for when we face Him in the afterlife.

Our belief in the next world and in the fact that while there may be no justice here, everyone shall obtain full
justice in the Court of God must be reinforced. Submission to any command from God is useless without
believing that every act of ours will have to be accounted for.

In the Muslim sense of the term, fasting means practising patience and putting restrictions upon actions that are
normally carried out to please our senses. Keeping guard over our thoughts and actions every moment even
while our physical energies are depleted during fasting is what strengthens our spirituality and perseverance.

Even if goaded, we should tell ourselves and others that we are fasting and hence will not respond to any
negative stimulation. Our time during the blessed days and nights is to be spent in prayer, reading the Quran
with understanding and repentance for our sins, rather than wasting it in watching mindless television and
sleeping off our hunger.

To fast is also to experience hunger and thirst, the state millions like us face every day. This experience over 30
days is meant to nurture in us the values of austerity and simplicity in our lives, compassion and love of giving
and using resources sustainably.

Unfortunately, at the break of fast, we go into an orgy of eating and drinking, and buying consumer goods. It is
true that giving is highest during Ramazan but equally, we indulge ourselves excessively. This period is
expected to inculcate a deeper morality for the rest of the year and beyond.

Each year, Ramazan is gifted to us and it is up to us to make use of it as best we can. Who knows if we will be
alive or able to sow at least some of the seeds next year which could be harvested after our deaths?

ETERNAL MESSAGE:

THE birthday of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), who was born in 570 AD, in the month of
Rabiul Awwal, is being celebrated. Many Muslims are celebrating this event with
 41

fervour, through gatherings and processions. Buildings have been lit up in green and
decorated in green flags. Sweets will be distributed. The Prophet himself fasted on the
day to thank God for His blessings.

Today, the day has evolved into a festive occasion, to commemorate the birth of the man who
communicated the final word of God through the kindest and most compassionate manner to the
worst of his enemies.

The Holy Prophet is the source of faith for Muslims, having brought to them God’s words contained in
the Quran. He explained the meaning of God’s message and provided religious content where
necessary. The message from God revolves around worshipping Him and living this life with justice,
peace and good words and by doing good deeds. The Prophet demonstrated its implementation
through his personal example. He was love personified, and especially so towards those who had hurt
him. He embraced diversity and was mindful of the opinions of others. He spoke softly and by his
demeanour alone, was successful in bringing people towards the religion of Islam. As the Quran says:
“...Repel (Evil) with what is better: Then will he between whom and thee was hatred become as it were
thy friend and intimate!” (41:34)

The Prophet (PBUH) embraced diversity and was mindful of others’ opinions.

The Prophet of Islam sought to settle all disputes, whether individual or collective, through mediation
and dialogue. His way was to listen to all the parties concerned and then come to a decision on the
basis of equity and fairness. The battles he fought were mostly started by his enemies because, as per
God’s instructions, he was asked not to fight unless the others did. In every battle he fought, he gave
instructions for the elders, women, children and all non-combatants as well as the natural resources
to be protected.

The Prophet’s kindness and fair treatment of prisoners of war is exemplary and is quoted even by his
detractors. Captives who were wealthy were let go after payment of an amount and those who were
poor were asked to teach the children of Muslims in lieu of payment. This was the respect with which
people who worshipped idols and who had confronted him on the battlefield were treated. They were
fed fresh dates and bread while Muslim soldiers ate stale food.

During the early stages of prophethood, some idolaters had accepted Islam but remained insincere.
He would still listen to each one of them and deal with them with love and kindness. The Quran
testifies to his compassion: “...Wert thou severe or harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from
about thee: so pass over (their faults), and ask for (Allah’s) forgiveness for them; and consult them in
affairs (of moment). ...” (3:159).

When, years later, he entered Makkah as a victor, having conquered his land without a single drop of
blood being shed, he declared a general amnesty for all who had tortured, starved and killed his
companions and forced him to migrate in extreme penury.

While Muslims profess their deep love for him and are ready to die in his name, one must ask if their
love extends to emulating him in their approach to life and behaviour towards their fellow beings.
Consider the horror being perpetrated in Yemen. Bombs are exploding everywhere and are targeting
even small children, and the region is prevented from receiving aid. Yemen is in the grip of a famine
 42

of massive proportions. It is, undeniably, a crime against Islam. These are the wars of today’s Muslim
world, when the worst affected are the ill and the young.

One of the worst crimes against the Prophet is the incitement of hatred and violence in his name,
seeking revenge for petty personal reasons, hurling false accusations and acting as vigilantes. His
sanctity is being misused as a tool with which to oppress vulnerable people, destroying their means of
livelihood. Innocent victims suffer abuses and are hounded without being given a fair chance to be
heard. The Prophet had instructed his followers never to taunt, abuse or curse anyone. He was never
unkind to anyone, even as he was pelted with animal entrails while praying, when trash was thrown in
front of his house every day and attempts were made to kill him. On his part, he forgave every act that
was carried out against his person and property and was kind to his tormentors. His soft-hearted
approach was such that the Quran, at one point, had to instruct him to deal severely with the deniers
of faith.

It is time to ponder upon the sincerity of our professed love for him, demonstrated through our
rituals, even as many behave in a manner that is exactly the opposite of his message of universal
mercy.

SEED OF IGNORANCE:

MANY Muslims around the world have been conditioned to believe that they are the preferred ones of God.
The rest of the people are ‘infidels’, and, as such, are to be destroyed or ostracised one way or another. This
belief has been extended to Muslims of different sects, with disastrous consequences.

In Pakistan, Abdul Sattar Edhi, one of the greatest humanitarians the world has known, became the target of
similar propaganda. Such toxic beliefs have moved Muslims away from attending to their own moral failings
and need for correction, and focusing on slogans and practices that are opposite of the Islamic spirit of
tolerance, peace and compassion. They forget that diversity in all forms is part of God’s plan on earth. And
more importantly, others might be worthier of God’s blessings.

For example in the Holy Quran it is stated: “If it had been thy Lord’s will, they would all have believed — all
who are on earth! Wilt thou then compel mankind, against their will, to believe!” (10:99).

Few Muslims would ponder over why they indulge in hollow and showy acts that are meant to declare their
piety but are anathema to Islam and the Prophet (PBUH), and simultaneously, they pour hatred over others who
they deem to be different. Surely, love of the Prophet would entail emulating his actions and not whipping up
emotions against others. Unfortunately, a favourite pastime of some Muslims is to brand others as non-
believers.

People today are quick to brand others as non-believers.

‘Kufr’, in Arabic, means denial. It also means ingratitude, among other things. In the Quran, it has been used
with a particular connotation — the denial by the Quresh of the Prophet and his teachings. The word was used
solely for the contemporaries of the Prophet. These people, despite being called to the message of Islam over
many years, continued to deny the truth. Except for the last group of the Quresh who insisted on denial, the
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Quran has not called any non-Muslim group kafirun. In ‘Surah Rum’, the Byzantines are mentioned as such,
and not as kafirun. Similarly ‘Surah F’il’ mentions Abraha as the “man of elephants”, not as a kafir.

It is also commonly but disastrously believed that the Quran instructs Muslims to kill all those they deem to be
kafir. For example, there is the injunction in 9:12, “But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and taunt
you for your Faith, fight ye the chiefs of Unfaith: for their oaths are nothing to them: that thus they may be
restrained”. It is in fact a call to fight those kafirun not because they were kafir, but because they were
aggressors and had renounced their promise of peace.

People today, unfortunately many religious scholars included, are quick to brand non-Muslims and other
Muslim sects as kafir. The common Muslim, (mis)guided by those he follows, believes that followers of all
other religions are deniers of his particular brand of faith and hence, in the name of Islam, it is incumbent upon
him to abuse and hate them, whether in speech or action.

In addition, several scholars have been free with their fatwas, calling groups which would call themselves
Muslims but differ from them in some beliefs and practices as kafir. Few people are aware of the fact that Islam
has no place for such fatwas, just as it does not recognise organised clergy and the latter’s dominion over
politics. How is it possible for anyone to look into the heart of another person, and decide who is a better
follower of faith? Is there a measuring instrument which can determine the level and purity of faith?

Anyone who does not follow Islam may be a non-Muslim, but cannot be declared a kafir. All individuals on
God’s earth are humans, and everyone has a right to live the life God has given, with weaknesses, difficulties or
blessings. If we, as Muslims, believe that we have true faith, all that God has made us responsible for is to
spread the message of Islam in peace and communicate and educate others in a loving manner, giving logical
arguments, attempting to emulate the Prophet when he used to call upon the hardened leaders of the Quresh.

By giving ourselves the authority of calling another group ‘kafir’, and, in addition, ‘wajibul qatal’ (liable to be
killed), we commit triple sins. We take upon ourselves the authority that rests with God alone — that of
determining who is a better believer. This is shirk in itself, a sin of the highest order. Secondly, we abuse, or
worse, incite killers or kill another human being and thirdly, we demonstrate an attribute disliked by God,
arrogance, by believing that we are better than others.

Perhaps we need to ponder over the following hadith: “No one who has the weight of a seed of arrogance in his
heart will enter Paradise” (Sahih Muslim 91).

‘SIGNATURE’ OF GOD:

“WHEN I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in
obeisance unto him” (15:29). This is one of the mutashabihat verses of the Quran about the creation of
Hazrat Adam, the reality of which is known only to God, but it implies the breathing of a spirit from
Him, making humans unique to all other creations.

There are many features that are common between beasts and man — hunger, thirst, the desire for
reproduction. There are emotions that animals may not experience such as greed, jealousy, pride,
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envy, arrogance. If humans overcome these, they could attain higher forms of purification and piety
by developing further the qualities that have already been ingrained within their souls.

The 99 names of God are based on His attributes and actions and they are either mentioned or
indicated in the Quran. The over-encompassing name is Allah. These names exemplify a Being who is
eternal, all-knowing, omnipotent and omnipresent. Of the 99, there are a few which could be
developed within humans at a much lower level and only as a likeness.

The names of God are brilliantly explained in Al Ghazali’s Al-Maqsad Al Asna, which was written in
the 5th century Hijri. A small selection here demonstrates links between God’s attributes and human
potential for spirituality.

The 99 names of God are based on His attributes.

Ar-Rehman is one whose mercy is all-inclusive and who bestows it upon those who deserve it and
those who do not. He fulfils the needs of all. He is the Compassionate, but without the feeling of
empathy. Humans have an element of this characteristic when they feel pity for those who have
strayed from the true path and view such people with mercy without censuring them.

Ar-Rahim is also derived from mercy but it is less specific. Humans may possess a part of this when
they help their fellow beings who are poor and needy. In fact, this is the oft-repeated requirement for
the pious in the Quran. Such a person feels for others, shares in their pain and is empathetic.

Al-Ghaffar is one who makes visible what is noble and dignified and hides what is dirty and
dishonourable. God hides the sins of humans in this world and will not punish them in the next,
provided one repents. Imagine how exposed we would all be if our hidden thoughts, feelings and
desires become evident to others. God has shrouded our shortcomings from others. In the next world
too, our sins would not be visible provided God forgives them because we were faithful and were
constantly asking for forgiveness.

If one must speak of others, it must only be in good terms; otherwise it is best to remain silent. The
Prophet (PBUH) said: “The one who veils the imperfections of a believer (others), his imperfections
will God cover on the Day of Resurrection” (Bukhari).

Al-Lateef is God’s complete knowledge of benefits, their subtleties and His way of providing them
with gentleness. It is the combination of His boundless kindness for His creations, His trust in
humans by making them His vicegerents on earth and provision of blessings that are beyond their
needs. Humans can benefit from this attribute by always being gentle towards others without any
aspect of harshness or aggression and without imposing their own wishes upon them. Rather than
preach, humans should practise piety themselves.

Al-Haleem; the one who observes how His commands and guidance are violated continuously and His
blessings negated: yet, He refrains from revenge and anger, even though He is all-powerful. This is a
quality that we, as humans, need to develop — the patience to listen to the most obdurate, to people
who may abuse us, without responding in the same vein; in fact, being kind to them even if they do
not deserve our kindness.
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Al-Wadud is the loving one, who desires that humans benefit for their own sake, who does good and
who praises them. While God wants humans to have honour and He wishes to favour them, He does
so without the pain that accompanies the human form of love. If humans were to try to emulate this
quality, they would desire for others what they want for themselves. No feeling of hatred, anger, doing
harm or resentment should be allowed to overcome our love for humanity.

Al-Haqq; God is the only Being who is real and the absolute truth. Humans are true only in their
relation to God and only if they believe in God’s absolute truth and their own non-reality.

Humans are, by Divine design, meant to come closer to God through consistent effort to think deeply
about His attributes and adopt aspects of the same to some extent. Indeed, man is the signature of
God in this world.

The writer is a freelance contributor with an interest in religion.

THE NARROW GATE:

FOR many of us, the world often becomes a place for merriment or sadness, depending
on the events we experience. We wonder at the apparent contradictions, are stricken by
the injustices and pain that surround us, which sometimes touch our own lives. Why
could the world not be a better place? Why are moments of happiness so fleeting, and
our trials and tribulations seemingly unending?

In all divine religions, this world is a place of trial for humankind, and thus necessarily unjust.
Looking around the universe, the presence of a Creator seems to be the only possibility, and His
justice as real and given. To compensate for the injustice here, a day will come when justice will be
meted out, every human being will be required to give an account of his deeds and shall be rewarded
or punished accordingly. God tests mankind in their mettle and their belief in Him, through both
comfort and suffering.

A life of prosperity and wealth is easy in this world, but can lead to destruction in the Hereafter,
unless one is careful, constantly kind and charitable to his fellow beings and thankful to God. Jesus
urged his followers to enter by the “narrow gate” even though it was difficult to pass through and
there would be few who would be able to do so.

In all divine religions, this world is a place of trial.

According to the Quran: “But he did not surmount the steep path. And what have you understood
what this steep path is?”(90:11-12).

God tries mankind in several ways, including taking him through both good and testing times. It
depends on the attitude that man takes towards his circumstances, and how he responds. He could
adopt the quality of sabr, simultaneously making efforts to overcome his difficulties, or, in times of
prosperity, being grateful to God and sharing his bounties. The other way is to despair and complain,
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to display arrogance, in the belief that the goods that have come a man’s way are signs of his
superiority.

By nature, man tends to forget God when things are going well, and wail about his poor fortunes when
faced with difficult circumstances.

Men of power and authority are under greater tests, if they only knew it. Their responsibilities
towards their fellows (huqooqul ibad) — countrymen, the poor and the needy, orphans, neighbours —
are far in excess of what would be required of an ordinary person. The privileged class is bound under
Islam to follow simplicity in their personal lives; ensure justice to all, regardless of race, creed, colour,
status or gender; give equal treatment to all citizens; provide education, food and health services;
ensure freedom of expression and to practice religion, and protection from fraud, violence or attack
on property or honour.

Indeed, from this perspective, God is testing the Muslim rulers in this world, including in Pakistan,
severely. The apparent state of the citizenry shows that the former are either unaware of this, or
believe that they will be protected from the repercussions. The gap between the rulers and the ruled
has continued to widen, due to the misdeeds of both groups, leading to unrest, violence and
backwardness in Muslim countries.

At several places in the Quran, and in ahadith, it is stated that whatever the crimes committed by
humans against each other, both the victim and the victimiser shall be brought face to face on the Day
of Judgment and the latter shall be asked to answer for his actions. Any good that he may have done
shall be added to the deeds of the oppressed. The oppressor shall be further punished according to the
severity of his crimes. It is strange that many who claim belief deprive poor people of their rights,
their property and assets and submit them to torture. When in positions of public responsibility, they
evade their duties and allow suffering.

The already oppressed are often hit hardest by calamities. While the patience and fortitude with which
they meet their misfortunes will be rewarded by God, once again, those who were in a position to help
them or to prevent their suffering will be tested. The one who is suffering should know that God is
fully aware of what he is going through, and that every sorrow shall be rewarded multifold in the
Hereafter, provided he is following a path of submission to God.

Sometimes, the troubles we face are a consequence of our own actions, and we must deliberate on this
before we begin to complain. Khaled Abou El Fadl, Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law has
said, “There is a blessing in calamity that the wise man should not ignore, for it erases sins, gives one
the opportunity to attain the reward for patience, dispels negligence, reminds one of blessings at the
time of health, calls one to repent and encourages one to give charity.”

LESSER CREATION?

A NOTICE on the door of a travel agency office in Doha, Qatar said: “Women are not
allowed entry.” Seeing this, I was reminded of the bygone times when, in the
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subcontinent, boards asking ‘dogs and Indians’ to keep out of European establishments
were reportedly put up.

Women in Pakistan, too, are often considered beings that are not to be seen, heard or spoken to. They
often face discrimination and segregation at many stages of their lives, and must either grin and bear
it, or give in, adopting the stereotyped roles that men (as well as a large number of women) decide are
best for them.

They are deemed to be inferior beings who can be patronised or ignored at best, but more often
repressed, at home and in public. Instead of building strength of character and reinforcing mutual
respect between genders, society tends to blame women.

Islam does not forbid women from going to the mosque.

Religious sermons focusing on the ‘desirable’ behaviour of women are common in homes, on TV and
in social gatherings. ‘Maulanas’ despair over the independence ‘they’ have given to women, deriding
efforts to grant them equal rights.

Social media abounds in sayings, many related to women and what they should, or should not, do.
Claims are made that women shall go to hell in larger numbers than men. One of the most commonly
practised behaviours in our society is of the closing of mosques to women, or banishing them to unlit,
stifling, small spaces where they can hardly fit.

The gender apartheid, taken to such extremes in parts of the Arab world, has reached alarming levels.

In short, a woman’s personal, intellectual and collective space is constantly obstructed through
demands that have little to do with the morality that Islam has ingrained in us.

A look at the Quran and an analysis of some related ahadith would explain how Muslims have, in
practice, distorted the teachings of this great religion. In the words of the scholar Tariq Ramadan: “it
is not Islam that has a problem with women. However, it is true that many Muslim men have
problems with women”.

Men and women are born from the same spirit, contrary to the commonly held belief that Eve was
created from the rib of Adam. The Holy Quran says: “O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you
from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women.
And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an
Observer (4:1).”

Each must respond to the same requirement from God, to reflect, learn and ponder, and do good
deeds. People forget that while both are different in the way each perceives the world, both have the
same needs, aspirations, responsibility for self and society, and desire for fulfilment. Both need
physical and intellectual space to grow as individuals and as groups of the collective. Each is an
independent individual, with freedom of choice and accountability to God.

The Quran also says: “...Never will I allow to be lost the work of [any] worker among you, whether
male or female; you are of one another (3:195).”
 48

Only those beings, be they men or women, would be higher in status who are better in piety and
goodness. There is nothing in the Quran which implies that a woman is less intelligent or less moral
than a man.

The instances when women have been instrumental in creating chaos on earth (fasad fil ard) are few
and far between. The reported hadith quoted about the large number of women in hell, relates to an
occasion when the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was advising a group of women who were in the habit of
frequent cursing in those days.

The Quran does not forbid women from going to the mosque. It has not said so, and it was never a
practice during the days of either the Prophet or the caliphs, for women not to attend ‘mixed’
gatherings.

It is not a religious requirement for women to wear the hijab, or to cover their heads. Women can
perform Haj or umrah without male relatives, if the environment is safe.

The Quran asks for observing decency and modesty in dress and interactions, never crossing the
boundaries that are laid out. This must be observed by both genders.

Islam is a universal faith, at the individual and collective levels. It has given broad guidelines to
people to reflect on, and develop into systems and practices, according to the changing norms of
society. Just as democracy would be the best form of Islamic governance, respecting and garnering
the immense potential of women as equal citizens would be the mark of a true Islamic society.

MISSING KNOWLEDGE:

The raw material used for the creation of mankind was mire. The only distinguishing
feature of man is his ability to choose between right and wrong, based on his intuitive
and deductive knowledge. God has provided man with basic understanding and tools to
access knowledge. It is a part of His spirit that has been breathed into man to impart a
conscience and the urge for the truth.

Knowledge is an understanding of whatever reality we are exposed to, and is affected by human error,
bias and prejudice. Mankind can have knowledge of only those aspects that God chooses to expose. A
human being’s innate desire to know the truth has led him to question what he observes. He has been
helped partly through God’s guidance, in the form of divine revelations and messengers, and partly
through God’s injunctions to seek the truth. “…Of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to
you, (O men!)” (17:85). Human knowledge is not the absolute truth, and we must delve deeper
through research, experimentation and reflection in order to get nearer to the truth.

No other scripture has given as much importance to knowledge as the Quran. Ayahs 11, 12 and 13 of
Surah Nahl mention the three levels of attaining knowledge: listening and remembering; using one’s
powers of reasoning; and deep reflection and insight. The word has been mentioned 161 times in the
Book. “…Allah will rise up, to (suitable) ranks (and degrees), those of you who believe and who have
been granted (mystic) Knowledge. …” (58:11)
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The Prophet (PBUH) is reported to have said: “If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge,
Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise…. The learned are the heirs of the
Prophets, and the Prophets leave neither dinar nor dirham (money), leaving only knowledge…” (Abu
Dawud)

Reasons abound for the decline in the pursuit of knowledge.

Between the 8th and 13th centuries, Muslim scientists made tremendous leaps in science.
Mohammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, whose discovery of the algorithm forms the basis of computer
science, is known as the father of algebra.

In addition to being a reputed jurist and philosopher, Ibn Rushd made huge contributions to the
diagnosis and cure of diseases; Abu Bakr al-Razi was a great physician; Ibn Zuhr was a famous
surgeon and physician; Ibn Khaldun is one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology
and economics; Abu Nasr Mohammad al-Farabi was a philosopher, musician and sociologist; Ibn
Sina’s contributions ranged from medicine, psychology and pharmacology to geology, physics,
astronomy, chemistry and philosophy. The list goes on.

According to a report some years ago, Muslim countries had nine scientists, engineers, and
technicians per 1,000 people, compared to a world average of 41. Of 1,800 universities, only 312 had
scholars who published journal articles. Forty-six Muslim countries contributed just 1pc of the world’s
scientific literature.

Most Muslim countries are, apparently, only known for desalination, falconry, and camel
reproduction. In short, in the words of Bernard Lewis, “the civilisation that had produced cities,
libraries, and observatories and opened itself to the world had now regressed and become closed,
resentful, violent, and hostile to discourse and innovation”.

There are many reasons, including geopolitical ones, for this decline in the pursuit of knowledge. One
was that scientific advancements had not been institutionalised in the Muslim world. Another was the
rapidly growing influence of religious elements that feared that science would open doors to
questioning the dogma that they had established. Science soon became anathema, and independent
thought something that was a crime. Rational thinking and logic were seen to be contradictory to
religious teachings that declared God’s will to be behind all events in the world, with no human
control.

Islamic law faced the same fate. Afraid of dissent and loss of power, further debate was banned from
the 12th century onwards, and the gates of ijtehad were mostly closed. Muslims could no longer think
and question: they could only follow laws made by religious authorities. Even Ibn Sina was declared a
heretic. In contemporary times in Pakistan, many dissenting voices have been forced into exile or
killed. Examples include Fazlur Rahman, Dr Mohammed Faruq, Dr Shakeel Auj and Javed Ahmed
Ghamidi.

Without freedom of expression, the ability to query and debate without fear, creativity and innovation
do not prosper. The pursuit of knowledge requires investment of effort and resources. Where the
state, its institutions and individuals are repressive, secretive and inward-looking, whether in
religious, philosophical or scientific matters, human development stagnates. It is ironic that the
 50

followers of a faith that could take human potential to the heights of intellectual and spiritual
development are now mired in the depths of ignorance. The barriers to knowledge are none other
than those who claim to be Islam’s custodians: the rulers and the clergy.

The writer is a freelance contributor with an interest in religion.

POWER OF PRAYER:

FROM time immemorial, humankind has felt the urge to pray to its Creator. Prayer has taken several
forms, such as worship of the Almighty, expression of subservience, praying for deliverance from
hardships and asking for His blessings.

The rituals of prayer have been established and historical evidence shows that prostration, bowing
and clasping of the hands were the most commonly used forms.

Prayer and its timings have been a core element of all religions. The prayer of the Jews and the
Christians is mentioned in the Bible.

When Hazrat Ibrahim set up his son, Hazrat Ismail, in a place near Makkah, he prayed: “O our Lord! I
have made some of my offspring to dwell in a valley without cultivation, by Thy Sacred House; in
order, O our Lord, that they may establish regular Prayer. ...” (14:37). All prophets have prayed and
called their people to prayer. The Quran mentions prayer frequently.

Prayer becomes for the soul what food is for the human body.

Since the revelation of the Quran, Surah-i-Fateha, which is said to be as valuable as one fourth of the
Quran, was made compulsory. When prayer was made the most important tenet of Islam, it was no
stranger to anyone, including the mushrikin, or polytheists.

Prayer in Islam is meant to offer several gains to humankind. Prayer rids one of depression, anxiety,
irritation and insecurity, in fact, all the negative emotions.

This means developing a peaceful inner self, one that is able to deal with one’s own problems and the
external world with tranquillity. A Muslim is in complete submission to the Creator while in prayer.

The prayer connects one directly with God and should create feelings of connectedness too, with His
other creations. This, in turn, should produce piety and purification of the soul, aversion to lewd acts,
wrong temptations and a strong sense of ethics and moral behaviour towards others.

In the holy Quran it is stated: “Recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book and
establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah
is greater. And Allah knows that which you do.” (29:45).

And, of course, it is a means of invoking Allah at times of pain and trouble: “O you who have believed,
seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient” (2:153).
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Many people question the need for such prayers, suggesting that silent meditation would be much
more useful in developing links with God: why the five daily prayers; why the rituals and some of the
words to be spoken in Arabic?

The answer lies in logic and reasoning. The times coincide with movements within the universe: at
dawn; midday; early evening; dusk and when the night falls. Each of these implies a certain type of
activity for humans, during which the latter must spend time in remembering God.

The rituals are simple but effective forms of worship implying submission and the giving up of one’s
ego to one’s Creator and Master.

They are also a great unifying factor: wherever Muslims live, they pray in the same form, with minor
differences.

The verses from the Quran, too, create this uniformity and emphasise the significance of the book in
prayer.

The rest of the prayer may be performed in one’s own language. The Prophet (PBUH) is reported to
have said: “Worship Allah as though you see Him, and though you do not see Him, you know that He
sees you” (Bukhari; Muslim).

Although formal prayer is five times daily, both the Quran and ahadith are replete with supplications
for almost every occasion of one’s life. Praying to God does not need a specific event to occur. One can
pray while sitting, standing, walking, driving, in any language.

The Muslim prayer — if performed with devotion and continuity — becomes for the soul what food is
for the human body. One feels an urge for the prayer time to come and gives attention and love to its
preparation through performing ablutions. The latter is symbolic of both the physical and spiritual
cleanliness that is required when appearing before Him. Prayer is the only form of worship for which
there is no alternative.

God answers all prayers performed with sincerity and devotion, but the timings and format of the
answer could be different. Sometimes, the answer is kept in abeyance, to be addressed in the next life.

Even if one feels one’s calls to the Almighty are going unaddressed, one should continue to pray,
increasing supplications and concentration and by improving one’s deeds in life.

It is only by depth, continuity and focus that the power of prayer may be unleashed.

THE Quran says: “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah,
and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things” (33:40).

The Prophet (PBUH) received the Quran over a period of 23 years and communicated the same to his
people amidst oppression and tyranny. His companions bore physical and emotional brutalities and
were forced out of their homes in Makkah to migrate to Madina. Here, upon receiving instructions
from God, the Prophet fought several battles with the Quraysh, finally returning to Makkah to
perform Haj at the same Kaaba from which he and his companions had been banished.
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His leadership qualities during times of war and peace were extraordinary. He is proclaimed as one of
the greatest strategists and has influenced the lives of countless people all over the world. For military
and public decisions, he always consulted his companions and took their advice based on consensus.

Unlike other prophets, including Jesus and Moses, details of his personal life are relatively better
known. His words and actions have been transmitted through generations of Muslims, documented
by muhaddithin and compiled in books of ahadith. When asked about what the Prophet was like,
Hazrat Ayesha said that he was the Quran personified.

The Prophet (PBUH) was the Quran personified.

The Quran says: “...For Allah hath indeed sent down to you a Message, — a Messenger, who rehearses
to you the Signs of Allah containing clear explanations, that he may lead forth those who believe and
do righteous deeds from the depths of Darkness into Light. ...” (65:10-11). The Quran, in fact, is the
truest biography of the Prophet.

Among Muslims and objective non-Muslims, there is no argument on what he stood for: truth,
integrity and the rights of the weak and oppressed. French writer Alphonse de Lamartine said: “As
regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man
greater than he?” According to author Reverend Bosworth Smith, “…He was Caesar and Pope in one;
but he was Pope without the Pope’s pretensions and Caesar without the legions of Caesar. Without a
standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue, if ever any man had
the right to say that he ruled by a right Divine, it was Mohammad; for he had all the power without its
instruments and without its supports”.

But it is American writer Washington Irving who describes his person best: “He was sober and
abstemious in his diet, and a rigorous observer of fasts. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and
poor, the powerful and the weak, with equity, and was beloved by the common people for the
affability with which he received them, and listened to their complaints ... in the time of his greatest
power he maintained the same simplicity of manners and appearance as in the days of his adversity.
… he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonial of respect were shown to him.”
Karen Armstrong describes him as a man of mercy and a reformer.

The Prophet was born on a Monday, which is why he fasted on this day. He treated women and men
equally. He spent much of his time either in prayer or listening to and advising others. He loved
children and helped his wives in housework. As it is reported in ahadith, “He used to keep himself
busy serving his family and when it was the time for prayer he would go for it” (Bukhari).

In every walk of life and in every role which he played — as leader, husband, father, relative, friend —
his example is the best example. He married, had a family and lived and worked as a trader among his
people. He faced personal problems, poverty, hunger and the harshest of conditions. He treated his
enemies with great patience, showed them mercy and ensured that prisoners of war were taken care
of. He instructed people to be kind to all living beings and use resources wisely. His wisdom was
second to none.

Muslims around the world love the Prophet and consider his sunnah as binding upon them. They
need to ponder whether this desire to emulate him should be reflected in honesty, kindness and
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compassion, or in processions, rhetorical speeches and slogans. Indeed, would our Prophet not be
displeased were he to know that our legislators had decided to travel on state expense to Madina for
his birthday celebrations, and simultaneously given themselves a hefty pay raise, while poor labourers
toil for years to make ends meet?

The personal legacy of the Prophet — selflessness, simplicity and love of fellow beings — has been
forgotten amidst hypocrisy in the race for power and wealth.