The following is a selection from the diary of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. January 1, 1986

Today Advocate Daniyal Latifi came to my office (Nizamuddin, New Delhi). During our conversation, I found out some very interesting legal anecdotes. He said that even the best of lawyers cannot manipulate an honest witness, provided he says only what he has seen without adding or deleting a single word. He reported some incidents in this regard.

Then he told a funny incident. A UK court decided to hand death sentence to a criminal. The words of the court were: He shall be hanged. When the magistrate saw the verdict, he said, “I can’t hang him. The verdict only says that he should be hanged, but it is not said how. Now I am not sure whether I should hang him from neck or feet.” Such incidents took place in courts of different countries. So the words of the law were made more comprehensive. I asked Mr Daniyal to write this incident in my diary.

I gifted him an audio cassette of my Urdu Book Jadeed Imkanat. The same evening, he telephoned me saying he had heard the cassette twice and liked it. I also presented to him my latest Urdu book Hal Yahan Hai.

January 2, 1986
Abu al-Tayyib Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Mutanabbi (d. 965) is a famous Arabic poet. His verses are famous for wisdom and philosophy of life. I met an elder in Delhi today. I said to him that a thriving nation possesses the quality of acknowledgement, and a nation on the decline lacks this quality of acknowledgement. I gave some examples in this regard. He listened silently. He then read a couplet of al-Mutanabbi:

If you honour a gentleman, you will make him your servant, And if you honour a degenerate man, he will rebel against you January 4, 1986 A Muslim leader came to Delhi and met me. He had prepared a memorandum in English. He gave me a copy of it. He wanted to present this memorandum to the Indian Prime Minister. The memorandum mentioned the economic backwardness of Muslims. The government was then asked to provide special concessions to Muslims until they become equal to the majority community in the economic field.

I already knew the leader. I knew he had his own business and rented houses. These earned him at least 10,000 rupees per month. On the other hand, his brother barely earned five hundred rupees a month. I said to the leader, “Your brother is way behind you in terms of making his livelihood. Therefore, you should keep giving half of your income to your brother every month until he becomes economically equal to you.”

When he heard this, he started laughing. With a heavy heart, I said: I am surprised that you cannot offer the same concession to your own brother that you are asking the Hindu Prime Minister to offer.

What the Muslim leadership is unaware of today is that this world is not a world of concessions but a world of competition. The one who searches for concessions can find nothing for himself in this world. We must not entangle Muslims in the above kinds of false slogans, but tell them that they are living in the world of competition. Here you can gain something only when you prove your ability. If you cannot prove your ability, you will not find anything here.

January 5, 1986
Mr Shah Wasif Imam came to Delhi for some work. He came to my office (Nizamuddin, New Delhi) to meet me today. He has been studying Al-Risala monthly (Urdu version of Spirit of Islam) for two years. He is also a distributor of both Urdu and English magazines. I gave him two Urdu books “Haqeeqat ki Talash” and “Hal Yahan Hai”.

I asked him what his learnings from Al-Risala were. His reply in his own words is reproduced here:

“Before I was introduced to Al-Risala, I would see a city, I would think about its glory and the people who created it. After reading Al-Risala, I am lost in the greatness of the Creator who gifted human beings with the ability to build such awe-inspiring cities.” He added, “Earlier I thought I was Shah Wasif Imam. Now I think I am a servant of God.”

It is the grace of God that there are thousands of people today within whom this kind of thinking has been created after reading Al-Risala. May God spread the voice of Al-Risala further and make arrangements to convey it to the world through every language!

We receive letters almost every day and meet people who express similar sentiments. Muslim leaders, however, have not yet given importance to the voice of Al-Risala. In contrast, leaders of other faiths have appreciated the message of Al-Risala. This turn of events is no surprise. This is always the case with the unadulterated and pure call towards the truth.

January 6, 1986
A Muslim elder came to meet me. As he sat down, he said: “The judgement given by the Court of India concerning the provision of a divorced woman is an aggressive interference in the Islamic jurisprudence. Why don’t you write against it.” He was referring to the case of Shah Bano Begum v. Muhammad Ahmad Khan.

I asked him to first correct his sentence. This sentence is not correct as per my knowledge. The real thing that has happened is that a Muslim woman (Shah Bano Begum) went to an Indian court. She claimed that she should be given maintenance from her husband under one specific law of the country. The court accepted the claim of the Muslim woman after hearing the matter in detail and ruled that the defendant should pay her Rs 180 per month as per her demand.

You cannot call it the aggression of the court, because the aggressor is the one who takes the initiative. Here, the court did not take any action on its own in the matter. And it could not take any action in this regard of itself. If there is aggression in this case, it is from the Muslim woman. It was the Muslim woman (Shah Bano Begum) who went to court herself and presented the case. It was she who asked the court to get her the said money under the law of the country.

The fact is that in this case, calling the court aggressive is to blame others for your mistake. If you are pained to see Islamic law being interfered with, then reform Muslim men and Muslim women. Train them not to take their disputes to court. When the hypocrites of Madinah took their disputes to the Court of the Jews, the Quran accused these hypocrites, not the Jewish courts.

THE greatest proof of the existence of God is the existence of man himself. It is just as far-fetched to believe in a being like man as it is to believe in a being of the nature of God. If we believe in man, then there is nothing to stop us from believing in God.

The Quran tells us that God breathed His spirit into man (15: 29). This means that the attributes of God are manifested, in mortal form, in man. Existence, life, knowledge, power, determination and freewill are all attributes that are found in complete form in God. Essentially, these are all divine qualities. God has not given man a share in His attributes, but He has created man in His own image; that is, He has made man’s being a reflection of God’s power. Man cannot, in any way, be said to be a part of God, but he is certainly living proof of God’s existence. The very same qualities that make God what He is, also constitute man. In God these qualities are invisible and infinite; in man they are visible and finite. In order to find God, then, man has only to examine his own being.

Man has a separate existence of his own. He is able to see, hear and speak; he thinks and makes plans; he acts on his own initiative; he converts basic matter into the various forms of advanced machinery; he operates spaceships by remote control. He is a conscious being, fully aware of his own existence. All these attributes, which man possesses in limited form, are present in unlimited and perfect form in God.

The difference between man and God is that man is a part of creation, whereas God is the Creator. Man owes his existence to God, but God owes His existence to no other. Man is finite, God is infinite. Man’s power is an illusion, whereas God’s is a reality

The difference between man and God is that man is a part of creation, whereas God is the Creator. Man owes his existence to God, but God owes His existence to no other. Man is finite, God is infinite. Man’s power is an illusion, whereas God’s is a reality. Man is mortal, God is immortal. Everything man possesses has been given to him, but that which is God’s is His very own; none has bestowed it on Him.

To accept man’s existence is to accept the existence of one totally unlike God, and yet uncannily like Him; it is to accept the existence of a mini-God, so to speak. What is there then to stop us from believing in a great God? To believe in God is to confirm one’s own existence. If one believes in oneself, there is no reason why one should not believe in God. For man, to accept his own existence is to accept the existence of God, even if he claims to be an unbeliever.

To deny the existence of God is to deny one’s own existence. How strange, then, that there are many who claim to disbelieve in God, but no one who would go so far as to disbelieve in his own self.

We often talk of peace in the context of war. But this is a very narrow and restricted notion of peace. Peace is deeply linked with the entirety of human life. Peace is a complete ideology in itself. Peace is the only religion for both—man and the universe. It is the master-key that opens the doors to every success. Peace creates a favourable atmosphere for success in every endeavour. Without peace, no positive action—small or big—is possible.

A SOLUTION-ORIENTED APPROACH

PROBABLY the most important event of the year 1988 was the inception of a new spirit of accommodation between the USSR and the USA. Time magazine (May 30, 1988) aptly termed it a ‘grand compromise.’

Reckoned as superpowers, the USSR and the USA were rivals of 70 years standing, with a long history of repeated confrontations. The media of both blocs, in keeping up a steady flow of reciprocal condemnation, played a significant role in aggravating the situation. After this marathon of accusation and counteraccusation, both powers— miraculously—began to talk of peace. Instead of relentlessly pursuing the arms race, they started at last giving their much-needed attention to what appeared to be fruitful negotiations on the de-escalation of international tensions.

A Soviet official described this new policy as ‘solution-oriented’. Where, hitherto, each bloc had been out to paint the iniquities of the other in the blackest of hues, both were now glossing them over in their new fervour of finding solutions to mutual problems.

This thaw, which took place in the long-standing cold war between the USSR and the USA, has a great lesson in it for other nations. Surely, if the policy of headlong confrontation has become such a costly procedure that even the superpowers can no longer afford it, it should be obvious that the smaller nations are even less well-equipped to pursue so ultimately destructive a course.

Towards Realism
While Nikita Khrushchev was First Secretary of the Central Communist Party of the USSR (1958-1964), he made known his, and his countrymen’s feelings towards the capitalist world when he uttered his now wellknown threat: “We will bury you.” (Hindustan Times, June 28, 1988) In the same vein, American President Ronald Reagan dubbed the Soviet Union an ‘evil empire’ and American officials boasted that they would push the Soviet Union into the sea. However, in spite of these periodic, aggressive face-offs, and after 70 years of socialist revolution, the countries of both blocs at last saw a change of outlook as an overwhelming imperative, and American leaders began visiting Moscow for negotiations. Ronald Reagan himself visited Moscow from June 28 to July 2, 1988, despite his previous view that such a visit was out of the question. Before his visit, he went on record as saying that US relations with Moscow “must be guided by realism”. (Hindustan Times, May 26, 1988)

If the policy of headlong confrontation has become such a costly procedure that even the superpowers can no longer afford it, it should be obvious that the smaller nations are even less well-equipped to pursue so ultimately destructive a course.

The arms race had been going on between the two countries for decades. While both countries had been going all out to make the deadliest weapons in history with the avowed intention of destroying one another, today they are themselves placing curbs upon their own manufacture and acquisition of weapons, and are even destroying certain categories of weapons which are already major items in their respective stockpiles. The Times of India of August 3, 1988 reported that the Soviet Union destroyed four shorter range missiles, OTR-22, at the test range in Saryozek, 200 km north-west of Alma Ata. The dismantling was carried out in accordance with the INF treaty signed between Mr Mikhail Gorbachev and President Reagan. The missiles were destroyed in the presence of a US inspection team. Representatives from various countries, including India, and other international nongovernment organization were also present. The Soviets planned to dismantle 1752 deployed and stored missiles, having a range of 500 km to 5500 km, in three years. The US planned to eliminate 859 such missiles.

Change of Heart
We do not have to go far to find the reason for this dramatic change in the superpowers’ policy. It is simply that in their attempt to gain the upper hand in all that has to do with arms supremacy, they had— wittingly or unwittingly—allowed the progress of their respective countries to come to a standstill. After a relentless weapons race, which a fear-ridden, blame-oriented psychology had prolonged for half a century, they came to the conclusion, when all is said and done, that the continued adoption of such a course could produce only negative results. It finally dawned on them that, in attempting to destroy the ‘enemy’, they had brought their own countries to the very brink of annihilation.

A Reversal of Policy
It is ironic that the USA’s insistence on arms superiority caused it to fall behind its old, conquered enemy, Japan, in the economic field. In 1988, the US was the world’s largest debtor with a net foreign debt of $400 billion, while Japan was the world’s largest creditor, with a net foreign investment of $240 billion. That year, Japan had budgeted for $10 billion as foreign aid, displacing the US as the world’s most generous donor. The American dollar, which once reigned supreme in the economic world no longer enjoyed that position. Economists began asking, “Can America maintain its superpower status?”

After a relentless weapons race, the US and the USSR came to the conclusion that, in attempting to destroy the ‘enemy’, they had brought their own countries to the very brink of annihilation.

In an interview (Times of India, August 9, 1988) Mr Henry Kissinger observed that “the fundamental new fact will be the emergence of new power centres. China and India will become more powerful. Japan is daily growing stronger…. so the United States will have to adjust to having other countries that in the past it had a tendency to ignore, pursue more active policies.”

The 19th All-Union Conference of the Communist Party, held in the last week of June, 1988, in Moscow, was attended by 5000 delegates from all over the Soviet Union. On this occasion, the Soviet Prime Minister, Mikhail Gorbachev made a three and a half hour speech, which has been ably summarized by Mr Quentin Peel, a journalist who not only heard the speeches of the Soviet leaders, but also had meetings with them. Peel says, “The message seemed plain enough, the party would have to renounce its stifling role in the administration and economy of the country. Power and privilege would have to be curbed, and science and initiative given their head if the Soviet Union were to compete with the rest of the world, let alone be a superpower.” (Times of India, July 5, 1988)

Perestroika
Repeated failures to achieve, or even identify such production targets as would satisfy the requirements of the many peoples who make up the Soviet Union compelled Mr Gorbachev to bow to economic realities. Setting aside notions of socialistic superiority, (the Soviets considered themselves superior to others because of their socialistic set-up) he launched a campaign to change the prevailing system in the USSR. The keynotes of this policy are glasnost and perestroika, Russian words which mean respectively ‘openness’ and ‘restructuring’. Mr Gorbachev goes into the practical details of this policy in a book which has been published in English under the title of Perestroika: New Thinking for Our Country and the World.

This new movement brought about changes in the Socialist structure of the USSR, which could only be described as revolutionary. Its basic policy included everything from religious freedom to the development of friendly relations with the Soviets’ traditional arch enemy, the USA. This trend of thawing of strained relationships between age-old opponents, agreements for disarmament and settling for diplomatic solutions of international disputes is quite heartening. Roy Gutman’s account, originally published in the Los Angeles Times—Washington Post News Service, and relayed to Indian readers by the Hindustan Times (January 16, 1988) is entitled ‘Kremlin, White House Now Realistic’ (p.20).

This report reveals just how historic had been the shift in US-Soviet relations. New thinking having emerged in both countries, the Kremlin and the White House have both become more open-minded about each other’s affairs.

The extent to which attitudes softened is illustrated by Mr Bessmertnykh, a veteran diplomat who served 12 years in the United States. In an interview with Newsday he said that the American administration had been fond of making such statements as: ‘We shall draw the line, we shall go to the source, we shall stop the advance of Communism.’ “But now,” said Mr Bessmertnykh, “people have realized that the world has changed. You can’t do it any more that way. It’s impossible. Now both sides are becoming realistic. Their team and our team are both solution-oriented.”

Conclusion
This change in the relationship between the USSR and America has been of incalculable importance. The dropping of the policy of confrontation as being untenable from all points of view—moral, social, religious, economic, political—is one of the best lessons modern history has to give to humankind.

If the passing of unfavourable judgements on, and eternally remaining at loggerheads with the ‘enemy’ have ultimately been recognized as utterly futile pursuits by the world’s two superpowers, is it not the most basic common sense for the less developed countries to try to improve the general tenor of their relations with disaffected nations who could, with a more rational approach, be won over as friends?

Wisdom, in today’s global context, lies in being constructive, rather than in constantly plotting the downfall of others.

Wisdom, in today’s global context, lies in being constructive, rather than in constantly plotting the downfall of others. Raising a great hue and cry over issues which could be peaceably resolved at the negotiating table means the squandering of precious time and energy, which would be better devoted to bringing about national uplift.

It is high time we scrapped all blame-oriented policies, whether internal or international, in favour of solution-oriented policies. Herein lies the secret of success and progress.

THE ruling on prayer in the Quran is described in these words: Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours. (4: 103)

It means that a believer should not only offer the daily five prayers at their appointed times, but also perform other tasks on time. A Muslim is one who has included punctuality in his life, who performs every chore on time just as he performs prayer at its appointed time.

Punctuality is not a simple matter. Punctuality is related to the discipline of life. A responsible person should perform every task with discipline and punctuality. Punctuality means not just organizing your time, it has a social aspect as well. Man is a social being. When a man systematically does his work, he cooperates with others to do their work systematically without any obstacles.

Punctuality is a sign of a responsible person. A responsible person cannot afford to be forgetful of time.

Punctuality is closely related to wellwishing for fellow human beings. Punctuality is a sign of a responsible person. A responsible person cannot afford to be forgetful of time. The fact is that when you waste time, it is no simple matter, but it is a dual error. It means you are wasting the time of others along with your time. The importance of time is so great that it is dangerous to underemphasize it.

WHEN it comes to religion, today’s Muslim youth lives in confusion. This is because answers to their questions are provided to them in a traditional way, that is, religious guidance is provided to them based on the principle of “dos and don’ts”. Such a response does not address the minds of today’s youth. This has practically taken the youth of today away from religion. And the number of people who have drifted away from religion is increasing day by day.

The Quran says: Speak to them in such terms as will address their minds. (4: 63) According to this Quranic guidance, there may be different styles of address. The style and idiom of the address will be governed by the kind of addressees. The addressees will be studied first, and then according to their mindset, a style that appeals to them will be adopted.

One must adopt a style that makes religious beliefs understandable to people on the basis of reason in the present Age of Reason. One must not employ the method of “dos and don’ts”.

This verse of the Quran means one needs to couch his words in such a manner that addresses the minds of the youth. Dayees (those who call people to God) must prepare themselves according to the need of the time so that they can speak in the language that would address the mind of the addressees. An address that does not have this attribute is an address that does not fulfil the demands of the times.

The present age is called the Age of Reason. To address the modern mind, it is necessary that whatever needs to be said should be reasonbased. It means one must adopt a style that makes religious beliefs understandable to people on the basis of reason in the present Age of Reason. One must not employ the method of “dos and don’ts”. Instead, religious beliefs should be presented in the light of rational arguments. This is the age of reason-based understanding and explanation. No other style can be effective for today’s human beings.

ONE of the special features of speech or writing is that it contains clarity. Experience shows that the least found quality in a piece of speech or writing is clarity. Many people can be found who speak or write quite academically, but there will be very few who will display the quality of clarity in their discourse.

The clarity in discourse has one condition. The condition is that the speaker or writer should know the difference between relevant and irrelevant. He should have developed the quality of clarity in his thought before starting to speak or write. A person who develops clarity in his thoughts in advance will find the virtue of clarity in his words, otherwise, this quality will elude him. For example, you go on to write an article on the end of the Ottoman Caliphate of Turkey, and the only reason for its end you find is this: Kamal Ataturk declared the abolishment of the Ottoman Caliphate after becoming commander in 1921.

The clarity in a discourse becomes manifest when the speaker or writer makes his point by separating the relevant and irrelevant components of a topic from each other.

But this is not the whole picture. In fact, before this declaration of abolishment, the concept of the nation-state had gained universal acceptance throughout the world. Under its influence, Arab countries under the Ottoman Caliphate had started a movement of Arab nationalism in a powerful manner.

Then, in 1922, when Kamal Ataturk (1881-1938) abolished the Ottoman Caliphate, it was an announcement of an incident, not a cause of the event itself. In such a situation, if a writer or speaker attributes the abolishment of the Caliphate to Kamal Ataturk only, this will mean that his discourse lacks clarity.

The clarity in a discourse becomes manifest when the speaker or writer makes his point by separating the relevant and irrelevant components of a topic from each other.

Dr Rafique Anjum (b. 1962) is a well-known linguist, poet, a Doctor of Medicine and a Doctor of Philosophy. He is a multifaceted litterateur who has earned recognition from beyond borders for his creative, analytical, and critical literary works. Dr Anjum is now working as Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies and Coordinator of Centre for Research in Gojri, Pahari & Kashmiri Languages in the school of Islamic Studies & Languages at BGSB University Rajouri. He has extensively written on the various subjects of his expertise. His most recent book, titled “Revisiting Islam: The Reformist Thought of Wahiduddin Khan”, is reviewd here by Khalid Hussain Mir. He is a Doctoral Fellow of Islamic Studies at the Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University Rajouri, Jammu & Kashmir. He can be reached at khalid6484@bgsbu.ac.in.

The book is divided into seven main chapters. It begins with a foreword by Prof Akhtar ul Wasey, followed by the introduction which provides the gist of the reformative thought and admirable scholarship of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan.

The book “attempts to classify and summarize the Religious Thought of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, expressed in his over 200 works on the different aspects and themes of Islam”. Below is presented a summary of each chapter.

Chapter 1: “Revival and reform in Islam: An overview”
The author has presented an overview of the ‘History of Revival and Reform in Islam’ and an account of the response of various revivalists to modern challenges and changes. The author while highlighting the challenges facing by the Muslim world quotes Shireen T. Hunter, who said that “Historically, reform movements in the Islamic World have emerged in response to two challenges or in combination of them: 1) external threats especially foreign conquest; and 2) departure from moral and religious observance, often followed by a period of overall decline of Muslim societies”.

According to Dr Anjum, “The revelation of the Quran, as embodied in the figure of the Prophet, intervened to mend, resolve, and reform that disorder which was prevalent in the society” and “the concept of reform in Islam therefore means that reform in the sense of application of Islam in society, revitalizing the Muslim community and making an endeavour to return into the path of Islam afresh”.

Chapter 2: “Islamic Thought in India in Early 20th Century”
In this chapter the author has detailed the background of Islamic political and intellectual thought of the early 20th century and the approaches and efforts of Indian Muslim scholars like Sir Syed, Mohammad Iqbal, Shibli Nomani, Maulana Maududi, Ali Miyan Nadwi, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan and others

A number of reformist movements emerged in these times to cope with the challenges, especially those coming from outsiders. The majority of the reformists advocated a policy of isolation and noncooperation, especially with western educational institutions, western language, ideas and values, to preserve Islamic culture and heritage under nonMuslim rule. The ‘Call for return to Quran’ by Maulana Azad made Muslims more comfortable in a pluralistic society. On the other hand, Muslim modernists like Sir Syed advocated for Ijtihad to seek ways to respond to the situation. They advocated for internal reform and selective adaptation of western education, ideas and technology. However, the general condition at the time was that “Muslims had lost their ground in polity, services and education which made them powerless and demoralized”, the author writes.

Chapter 3: “Biographical Survey of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan”
This chapter deals with the life, literary career, and the contributions of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. The author has highlighted the Maulana’s affiliations with different movements and his presentation of Islam in a modern scientific idiom as a response to contemporary issues faced by Indian Muslims. The Maulana highly regarded the contribution of Muslims to the development of education and educational institutions. According to the author, the Maulana believed that “The credit of democratising education goes to Islam” and “It was Islam that delivered the knowledge from restricted spheres and gave a concept of mass education to the world history”. The author has further presented a detailed sketch of the Maulana’s works, which are almost 200 in number, including his commentary on the Quran. Among his notable works are God Arises, The Vision of Islam, Islam and Socialism, Commentary of the Quran, Muhammad: The Prophet for All Humanity.

Chapter 4: “Contemporaries of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan”
In this chapter the author has given a brief account of some prominent contemporaries of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, like Badiuzzaman Nursi, Maulana Maududi, Ali Miyan Nadwi, Fazlur Rahman and others, to understand the Maulana’s thought in light of convergence and divergence with his contemporaries.

According to the author, “Maulana Wahiduddin Khan like his contemporaries is in favour of reform in Madrasa education including need for changes in curricula, bringing Hadith to forefront and relegating outdated Ilm-e-Kalam”.

Chapter 5: “Contribution of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan to Modern Islamic Thought”
This chapter deals with the major themes in the Maulana’s writings and gives a detailed introduction to some of his selected works related to Islamic Thought.

The major themes of the Maulana’s works, according to the author, are “Scientific Theology, Peace and Dawah, Islam in the Contemporary world, Revival and Reform in Islam, Islamic Studies: Need for Ijtihad, Indian Muslims, Woman in Islam and Spirituality & Philosophy of life”. For his Peace Theory, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan was awarded with a number of prestigious awards, both in India and abroad, including the “Demiurgus Peace International Award”, “National Amity Award” and “Padma Bhushan”.

His writings aim “to present Islam as a comprehensive world view and the only ideology that can fill the vacuum of future world and his concern about the importance of Ijtihad (independent reasoning) is much considerable as he stresses for the reinterpretation of primary texts and reapplication of Quranic principles to find answers to modern challenges”.

Chapter 6: “Critique of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan”
There remain always possibilities of contradiction in a scholar’s views on some aspects. In this chapter, the author has dealt with criticism of the Maulana’s views by different scholars around the globe. The author presents the views of the Maulana’s opponents and then provides the counter arguments of the Maulana. At the end, a fair assessment of both the viewpoints has been attempted.

The author has highlighted the Maulana’s view about those who narrowly make criticisms on the basic notions of Islam in particular and on Muslims in general. The author mentions the Maulana as saying in this regard: “It is essential that Muslims be judged in the light of Islamic ideals; Islam should not be judged in the light of what Muslims do in the name of Islam”.

Chapter 7: In this concluding part of the book, Dr. Anjum has made a summary of the entire discussion so far.
According to the author, “Maulana Wahiduddin Khan has divided the Muslim response movements to western dominance in four categories: independence movements, conservative movements, revivalist movements and reconstruction or positivism.” The author further says, “Maulana Wahiduddin Khan analyzed the causes of Muslim decline and could very well visualize the future situation” and “He has made monumental efforts to resolve a universal and profound dilemma: ‘the conflict between science and religion’.”

Dr. Anjum in his book has adapted a balanced approach and has truthfully presented Maulana’s thought as reflected in his works, which makes his research worthy and deserving of appreciation. I have gone through this work a couple of times and I hope the work will be definitely beneficial and an updated source of information for scholars of social sciences as well.

WAKI IBN AL-JARRAH (745-812) was one of the greatest scholars of Hadith (a record of the sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad) literature of his time. He was an extremely pious person. Caliph Haroon al-Rasheed offered him the position of Qazi, i.e., a judge, but he refused. He dedicated all his life to collecting and compiling of Hadith. He set out for Makkah from his native city Kufa to perform Hajj. He died during the journey.

One of his contemporaries, while talking highly of Waki ibn al-Jarrah, said, “I saw Waki. He didn’t have any book with him. He was a Hafiz of Hadith.” (Al-Tahdhib by ibn Hajar, vol. 11 p. 119) A Hafiz of Hadith is a person who has memorized a great number of Hadith reports.

Ignac Goldziher (d. 1921) was a Hungarian scholar of Islam. Mentioning this statement, he writes that Imam Waki did not use books and paper, he only listened to the Hadith reports and then narrated them. Goldziher meant to say that Hadith reports were unreliable as they were based on oral tradition, not on written record. By this argument, Goldziher casts doubt over the veracity of Hadith reports. It is because in comparison to written record, memory is indeed an unreliable source.

To form an honest and true opinion about someone, we need to be unbiased and we should take into account things in totality

However, this way of reporting by Goldziher appears to be incorrect when we see in the same book that Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780-855) used to advise his disciples: You must read books of Imam Waki. (alTahdhib, Vol. 11 p. 126) If Waki had not written books, why would Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal have given such advice?

Some of the books of Imam Waki are:
Kitab-ul-Zuhd
Tafsir al-Quran

The events from the life of Waki ibn al-Jarrah show that his memory was exceptionally good. Though he would write down and record the Hadith reports, he would often narrate them from his memory. Looking at the events of Imam Waki in totality, the fact that he would narrate Hadith reports from memory does not cast any suspicion over the veracity of his narrations. Goldziher overlooked other relevant facts from the life of Imam Waki and emphasized on just one aspect of it. This aspect was enough to convince him that the present collection of Hadith literature is doubtful, and this collection cannot be entirely relied. To form an honest and true opinion about someone, we need to be unbiased and we should take into account things in totality.

UNDER the biographical note of Qazi Abu Yusuf (738-798), noted historian Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (1002-1077) in his book Tarikhe-Baghdad (History of Baghdad) writes a first-person account of Abu Yusuf: My father Abraham ibn Habib died. My mother put me to serve a washerman. I would often skip going to the washerman and went to attend the academic discourse of Imam Abu Hanifa (699-767).

I studied Hadith and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) there. Whenever mother came to know about my discursions, she would grab my hands and pulled me to the washerman. When this became frequent, my mother was greatly aggrieved.

She met Imam Abu Hanifa and said, “You are the sole reason my son is getting spoilt. He is an orphan boy. He doesn’t possess anything. I make my ends meet by working on a spinning wheel. I wish my son could learn something practical so that he might earn his bread and butter.” Imam Abu Hanifa said to my mother, “The knowledge he is acquiring will earn him pistachio faloodah (porridge).” My mother went back saying, “It seems that old age has diminished your intellect.”

The profound truths are discerned by a person who surpasses visible phenomena. Distant objects can be seen only when our gaze is diverted from the objects near and apparent.

Imam Abu Yusuf says, “Imam Abu Hanifa helped me financially and I continued to learn from teaching classes. I became so well-grounded in Islamic jurisprudence that the Abbasid government appointed me to the position of Qazi. Now I began to sit in the company of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid (763-809). I would partake of food with him. One day, I was offered pistachio porridge. Harun alRashid asked me to eat it. I asked: O leader of the faithful, what is it? He replied, “This is a pistachio porridge.” Upon hearing this, I started laughing. The Caliph asked, “Why do you laugh?” I related to him my story from beginning to end.

The story surprised Harun al-Rashid greatly. He said, “I swear by the life I possess, knowledge elevates a person and benefits him in this world and in the Hereafter. May God bless Abu Hanifa, he could see with the eyes of his intellect those things that others failed to see with the eyes on their heads.”

God has blessed human beings with two beautiful eyes with which they see all things. However, man sees only external things with the help of these eyes. To see things which are hidden and internal, man needs another set of eyes. This is the eye of reason or intellect. Looking at things using just the eyes on one’s head is akin to looking at the lid of a machine without understanding the parts of the machine.

Such a superficial vision is just fractionally better than not seeing. The old woman could only see his boy to be a good apprentice to the washerman in the future because she used only her physical eyes. The same young man was seen by another person who possessed the eyes of the intellect as one who would counsel kings.

How can one attain this eye of the intellect? The answer is very simple. To develop this eye, a person needs to rise above the superficial observation. The facts lie behind the visible phenomena. Therefore, the profound truths are discerned by a person who surpasses visible phenomena. Distant objects can be seen only when our gaze is diverted from the objects near and apparent. Similarly, profound truths are seen when we rise above the superficialities. The one who is lost in the visible form of the objects cannot look at their inner value.

An Incentive, not a Drawback

ALTHOUGH his beginnings were humble, Albert Einstein succeeded in revolutionizing 20th century science. Born on March 14, 1879 in the German city of Ulm, Einstein grew up and was educated in nearby Rotterdam. He was not, as many might expect, a “Teacher’s Pet.” He had been no infant prodigy; indeed, he was so late in learning to speak that his parents feared he was a dullard. (Reader’s Digest, March 2020) An ordinary son of an ordinary father, he showed no signs of having even average abilities in his childhood. He was even once expelled from school because his teacher feared that his poor academic performance coupled with his endless shenanigans might have a bad influence on other pupils.

On completion of his school studies, he failed his entrance examinations at the Swiss Federal Polytechnical School in Zurich. It was only on his second attempt, after due preparation, that he met with success.

Up to the age of twenty, Einstein showed no exceptional potential. In fact, ‘Albert was a lazy dog,’ was how a teacher once described him. Later, by dint of sheer hard work, he rose to such heights as no other modern scientist has been able to surpass. He was one of the greatest scientists the world has ever known. His biographer writes: “We may take heart that it is not necessary to be a good student to become Einstein.”

Einstein’s first scientific book was published when he was 26 years of age, after which his fame spread far and wide. He led a simple life, ate simple food, but often worked late into the night. A hefty financial reward was put on his head for severe criticism of Nazi regime of Germany. At one stage, he was offered the presidentship of Israel, but he declined. He believed, in fact, that politics was the cancer of humanity.

Countless instances have been recorded in history which show that to achieve greatness, it is not necessary to be born great. A man can rise to greatness from the most obscure of beginnings, provided he is willing to strive for it. It is worth remembering that those who have to put up a struggle in the face of severe difficulties are more likely to develop in estimable ways, because adversity calls forth their hidden potential. It throws down a challenge which the aspirant to greatness must accept, failing which, he will sink into oblivion, if not actually perish. Where the comforts and convenience of prosperity will cause him to become sluggish and unenterprising, the whiplash of adversity will drive him into purposeful action. In short, it will bring out the best in him. As Sir Francis Bacon observes in his essay, ‘Of Adversity’: “Prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue.”

In the realm of God’s creation, there are no limits to the humanly possible. Having had an undistinguished start in life should never, therefore, be a cause for despair. The ordinary circumstances of life —if we could but realize it—are the stepping stones to success. But before we launch ourselves on this path, we would do well to listen to Sir Francis Bacon’s final words of caution and consolation: “Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes, and adversity is not without comforts and hopes.”

Mr Navdeep Kapur is a senior member of the CPS International, New Delhi. He had been associated with Maulana Wahiduddin Khan and CPS Mission from the very beginning. He plays a critical role in the functioning of CPS. His tireless efforts for this cause make the mission stronger day by day. He chooses to remain in the background even while accomplishing very important tasks for the CPS mission. Interacting with him reminds us of the spirit of the Companions of Prophet who were so focused on God’s work that they wished to be forgotten and unknown in this world for the sake of God

Will you please enlighten our readers with some details about your formative years?

I was born in a Punjabi business family that migrated from Lahore, Pakistan after the partition. My family had lost their entire wealth which was to the tune of hundred crores at that time. They still were very humble and positive towards life. I never heard my family members complain. They started their publishing business again after settling down in Delhi. We were never forced to do anything and were encouraged in whatever we wanted to do as long as we never hurt or humiliated anyone. Our mother was instrumental in making us morally strong. She devoted her life to our upbringing and wellbeing. Our parents never made us feel for want of money. Though we lived in a joint family with our cousins, all the children were treated the same. We never knew the difference between our father and our uncle. In fact, my uncle was instrumental in my becoming a sportsperson. He encouraged me and the other family children to excel in whatever they wanted to do.

Ours was a close-knit family which always believed in doing good deeds and working hard. In fact, my father used to always say ‘work is worship’ and wanted all the family members including the ladies to work in the family business. My aim in life was to excel in the sport which I had chosen as a career. I was not interested in joining the family business which had expanded by sheer hard work of my father, brother, and uncles. I had decided to leave for Germany for higher studies after graduating from college. And I had told my father that although I am going to do a course in printing technology, I will not come back as I wanted to pursue my career in professional tennis. But God had other plans. My father passed away in May 1982 just prior to my completing my graduation. In fact, my final examinations had started. So, I had no option but to get totally involved in the family business immediately upon graduation.

When did your spiritual journey start?

I was not a spiritual person but believed in One God from the very beginning. After joining the family business, I was completely involved in it. Such was my conditioning in business that when Naghma and I got married in 1985, I even got her engaged in business, though she never had any business background. I think my spiritual journey started in 2002 when my sister-in-law passed away at the age of 52 due to cancer. She was the healthiest person in our family who had never taken any medication in her life. In fact, she did not even know what a headache was. She passed away after an illness of nine months in which we tried every treatment which money could buy. I remember that some of her medicines were even imported from other countries. This made me realize that money had no power and that is when I started asking questions. This incident also made me think about the purpose of life.

Before this, purpose of life for me meant working hard in my business. When I thought that my sister-in-law had dedicated her entire life to the family business, and just as the business had got established, God took her away. Then I felt that there had to be more to life. Then I fervently started looking for answers pertaining to life.

What did you think of religion before you met Maulana Wahiduddin Khan?

I was never spiritual as I never got answers to many of my questions. My family used to call me a nastik (unbeliever) as I used to always doubt the existence of so many gods. I used to ask a lot of logical questions as I had a logical mind. But I never got any answers. All people used to say, this is the way it has always been, so accept it. This never addressed my mind, and hence I lost interest in religion or spirituality. After marriage, I had the opportunity of meeting some religious scholars. After interacting with them I found their answers to be unconvincing. I also found out that what they spoke and how they acted did not match. So, I told Naghma that from now onwards I will never meet any other religious scholar as none is able to give me logical answers to my questions. Religion was the last thing on my mind before I met Maulana. I always believed in doing good deeds and working hard to achieve success in business.

How were you introduced to Maulana? Kindly describe your first meeting.

It was Naghma who first heard about Maulana Wahiduddin Khan and when she tried to contact him for her centre as a speaker, he asked her to first attend his Sunday Lecture and see if what he spoke addressed her mind. When Naghma asked me whether I would like to accompany her, I replied, “Not another Maulana.” So, she went alone for the first class. She has a habit of writing down everything. So, she took notes of the entire class. When she came back, she asked me whether I would be interested in listening to what Maulana said. I very reluctantly agreed. And she read out the lecture to me, which was on the Creation Plan of God. On hearing that lecture, I immediately said, “This man thinks like me. And I will go with you to the next class.” And this is how my journey with Maulana started.

I still remember that the first time we met Maulana he asked both Naghma and me to tell him something about ourselves. After giving us a patient hearing he said, “You must change 1% while you must make 99% of the changes.” Naghma who was not looking at Maulana directly thought that she is the one who has to change 1% but then he said, “Ma’am,I am addressing you. You need to make 99% of the changes because Islam that you have received is through culture and tradition. You must unlearn this Islam, then you have to make a renewed effort to understand what Islam is. As of now, the only correct thing about Islam that you know is the concept of God.” Then, turning to me, Maulana said, “You need to change your concept of God, otherwise, you are on true nature.”

From the beginning, I never missed a class come what may. I used to look forward to every lecture. His lectures addressed my mind and I got answers to all my questions when he explained the Creation Plan of God.

How did Maulana influence your thinking?

Maulana made things very simple and explained the purpose of life so beautifully that my entire goals in life changed. My focus was now on attaining Paradise in the Hereafter, rather than trying to make paradise in this world. Maulana realized that I had a logical mind but used to do things in a hurry which often resulted in my making mistakes in taking the correct decision. He made me realize that I have to change this habit and take my time to think logically before taking a decision. Overall, Maulana has been a very positive influence in my life. He addressed my mind. It was only after coming to the CPS that I received answers to questions regarding spirituality and religion.

What inspired you to devote yourself wholly to the mission?

Once when asked by Naghma why your message is not being taken to the world when people really need this guidance, Maulana replied, “Who is stopping you? You do this work.” This is when we decided to dedicate ourselves to the mission, and started supporting Dr Saniyasnain Khan, Farida Aapa and the CPS members in the mission. This was the starting point of our association with CPS International, the NGO founded by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan.

Maulana advised me that from now on you have become ‘one man, two missions’ as it will be difficult for you to be one man one mission. The two missions being, my livelihood and thereafter, all time should be devoted to the mission as it is a case of reward and punishment for each one of us. And this being a testing ground, we cannot afford to waste our time in any other activities. He always said that you should fulfil your duties as a good son, brother, and husband, but make sure that you do not waste your time in worldly matters. My association with Maulana lasted for a period of 17 years in which he really changed me, not only as a person but also taught me the purpose of my life. My faith in God and the teachings of Maulana about Islam were getting stronger by the day.

Maulana’s central teaching was about being connected to God. Kindly share with us the most inspiring teaching of Maulana which helped you in this connection.

Maulana made things very simple. He believed in mind-based spirituality. In this connection, he always used to say look around and you will find God’s signs everywhere. All you have to do is contemplate on those signs and discover the Creator, God and His magnanimity. Seeing the creation, one can discover and remember the Creator, God Almighty. Everything in the universe seems to convey a divine message. I feel each creation of God is in itself a full industry. Take a tree for an example. You will learn that despite humans creating so much pollution, a tree still provides us with fresh air. It does not complain, nor does it react. But keeps on doing its work quietly. This is how God wants us humans to live our life without any complaint and be a giver, rather than a receiver.

How has your companionship with your wife helped in your journey of God-realization?

Maulana always used to say that husband and wife are a part of a whole. That means that each is equal in all respects but performs different roles. This one teaching of Maulana changed our lives and we became intellectual partners to each other. Each appreciates the others’ role and guides the other wherever necessary. Guided by Maulana, we have intellectual exchanges. We have a beautiful garden in front of our home. Our interactions during our walks in it become a source of discovering God.

What is your understanding of the CPS mission?

I have seen this mission grow under the guidance of Maulana. Our mission is to take the word of God to all humankind in a contemporary style. I truly believe that this is God’s mission and each person in this mission has been picked by God Almighty to perform a specific role. Maulana’s role was to provide the ideology of the mission of explaining Islam as it is in the modern, scientific idiom so that it addresses the mind of the modern man. It is now our duty to translate all his works from Urdu to English and other languages and develop a website where all this material can be easily accessible to all. So, we should first understand our role and perform it till our last breath. I pray to God to unite us with Maulana in Paradise.

What are the tasks you are shouldering post-Maulana Saheb’s demise?

My role as defined by Maulana is to protect the mission administratively and support each department whenever required. I am directly involved in the legal, administrative, and financial aspects of the mission. I work with the other CPS Team members in taking care of these aspects of the mission.

CPS movement is spreading very fast across the world with its peaceful ideology of Islam. What is the reason behind its success in addressing the minds of people of all faiths, especially youth?

With God’s grace, CPS has become a movement. Today people are looking for a logical explanation of religion. Since nobody can see God, people have different questions about Him. Maulana has logically explained the existence of God through examples of nature and science. Here I want to mention that the book The Seeker’s Guide has answered most of these questions. The answers in this book in particular address the modern mind and give the rational explanation of religion that everyone is looking for. When CPS members worldwide present this to people, it is as if their nature gets addressed.

What is your message to the members of CPS?

My only message to CPS members is that I believe that this is God’s mission, and we have an opportunity to be a part of this. Although Maulana is no longer with us physically, he has prepared a complete repository of wisdom in the form of literature and multimedia material demonstrating the relevance of Islam in the modern age. He has trained us to take this material to the world.

Now we have to just stand for God, completely relying on Him and discover and perform the role God has given to us. I have seen that God’s guidance comes to people who are actively involved in this mission. Maulana told us that this mission is standing on dua, i.e. supplication. So, we all must do a lot of dua while doing the work of the mission. As Maulana said, either become one man one mission or at least, one man two missions as our eternal life depends on what we do on this earth. And as Maulana used to say this mission is an opportunity for us. And we should dedicate our lives to take this message of God to all humankind.

The Quran Explorer for Kids

Goodword is an award-winning publishing company with a splendid range of Islamic Books in many languages. It offers innovative products for children, including Quran stories, moral stories, craft and activity books, gift packs, Islamic games, Arabic and Islamic readers for home and school.

Dear kids,
Time will fly by with this amazing book of stories and activities. The Quran Explorer for Kids is an exciting new way to learn about the Quran. Along with stories, prayers and teachings, this book is also packed with crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, mazes, colouring activities, spot the differences and much more. Some of the features of the book are:
• Quran reference for each story and prayer
• Bright and colourful illustrations
• More than eighty stories
• Exciting activities

The book is authored by Dr Saniyasnain Khan. He is an award-winning author and also recognized as one of the world’s most influential Muslims.

Here, we reproduce a selection from the book along with an activity.
Name of the Book: The Quran Explorer for Kids
Author: Saniyasnain Khan
ISBN: 978-81-7898-860-3
Page: 180
Binding: Hardbound
Availability: www.goodwordbooks.com

The Power to Perform Miracles

Allah gave the Prophet Isa power to perform miracles. So, when he grew up, he performed many miracles with the leave of Allah. He made little birds of clay and made them fly like real birds. He made a blind man see again. He restored a dead man to life. It was Allah who helped Isa to perform all these miracles.

Allah loved him and looked after him. The Prophet Isa had many disciples. They went everywhere with the Prophet Isa. They travelled from village to village and from town to town.

The Quran says: “Such was Isa, son of Maryam.” He was a great prophet and he taught people how to love Allah.

Let’s Remember
The Prophet Isa or Jesus was a messenger and a prophet of Allah. His birth was miraculous and he did many miracles with the leave of Allah. The Prophet Isa was a messenger of Allah and his every action was the command of Allah.

Let us pray “Praise be to Allah, who has created the heavens and the earth and brought into being darkness and light. (Al-An’am 6: 1)

Name of the Book: The True Face of Islam
Author: Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
(compiled and edited by Raamish Siddiqui)
Published by: Harper Element, NOIDA
First Published: 2015
Pages : 222
ISBN: 978-93-6177-592-8
Reviewed by: Suleiman Khan

Over time, religious traditions come to be understood in multiple ways by those who claim to be their followers. This explains the proliferation of sects within every such tradition, each claiming to be the religion’s sole authentic representative. This interpretive diversity is not always simply a harmless intellectual phenomenon. Sometimes, it can be marshaled to fuel sectarian antagonisms, which can even take violent forms—as has happened down the centuries.

Like many other religions, Islam has been and continues to be, interpreted in diverse ways. Different Muslim sects and ideologues claim that their understandings of Islam represent the ‘true face’ of the faith. As there is no living human authority that can conclusively judge between these conflicting claims in a manner acceptable to all sides, one can only say, as traditional Muslim scholars wisely used to, that ‘God knows best’. This does not mean hopeless relativism, though. One could contend that interpretations of religion that reflect God’s attributes such as love, justice, wisdom, compassion and generosity, are truer than others, in that they reflect vital truths about God and goodness.

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, the well-known New Delhi-based Islamic scholar, has for decades been engaged in promoting an understanding of Islam that reflects these values—an interpretation of the faith that is rooted in love, compassion, and commitment to universal peace and harmony. In this engaging book—a collection of 38 short essays on various aspects of Islam—the Maulana deals with numerous issues that are central to discussions about Islam today, issues such as Islamic teachings about relations between Muslims and people of other faiths, religious pluralism, madrasas and ‘modernization’, religious freedom and freedom of speech, Islam and politics, and Islamic norms about gender.

There are also chapters on Sufism, the spiritual goal, the purpose of knowledge, and the role of Muslims in India. Much of the book is devoted to countering the claims of Islamist extremists on issues related to war and peace and the concept of jihad. The Maulana insists that terrorism, including the violence engaged in by self-styled jihadists, has no sanction at all in Islam and that it does not reflect the true Islamic understanding of jihad. In addition to rebutting, on the basis of Islamic arguments, the radicals’ hate-driven discourses about Islam, the Maulana highlights valuable Islamic scriptural teachings about peace and inter-community harmony.

One issue on which a reader can differ with Maulana is his understanding of the relationship between human beings and nature. In a chapter on Muslims and scientific education, he speaks of monotheism leading its adherents to look at nature not as something to be worshipped, but, rather, as ‘a thing to be exploited’, something ‘to be conquered’, an ‘object’ of ‘conquest’. This differs markedly from how many ecologicallysensitive religious scholars, monotheists among them (including several Muslims), perceive nature. To them—and rightly so—nature is a gift from God, not a thing to be worshipped, but, still, something to be respected, to be taken good care of by man and to be wisely and kindly harnessed. This reflects the understanding that man is God’s vicegerent on earth, charged with the responsibility of managing nature in the most caring, loving and responsible way—a vision of the mannature relationship that starkly contrasts with the belief that nature is something that man must conquer and exploit. This latter belief is a major factor for the environmental crisis that besets the world today.

Overall, however, this book excels as a valuable resource for an understanding of Islam that is rooted in the sources of the faith—the Quran and the practice of the Prophet Muhammad—and that is of considerable relevance in the contemporary context.

From The Scriptures

The Quran is the book of God. It has been preserved in its entirety since its revelation to the Prophet of Islam between CE 610 and 632. It is a book that brings glad tidings to humankind, along with divine admonition, and stresses the importance of man’s discovery of the Truth on a spiritual and intellectual level.
Translated from Arabic and commentary by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

It is God who has subjected the sea to you so that you may sail thereon by His command, and so that you may seek His bounty, and so that you may be grateful. He has subjected whatever is in heaven and on the earth to you; it is all from Him. In that are signs for those who ponder. (45: 12-13)

God has made water subject to such natural laws that large ships may sail back and forth across deep oceans and safely reach their destinations. Such is the case with the entire universe. The universe has been created in such a way that it is completely subservient to man’s interests. Man may harness its resources in whatever manner he likes. It is thanks to the serviceability of this world that it has been possible for man to develop glorious civilizations.

We assume that the existing structure of the universe is unique and that it has taken its final shape. Yet it could have been created in a variety of other ways. What is truly miraculous is that, out of all the possible alternatives, it has taken a form which is useful to humankind. This is a sign of God which, if given deep consideration, will demonstrate a glorious lesson.

Tell the believers to ignore those who do not believe in the coming of the days of God. He will requite people for what they have done. Whoever does what is just and right, does so for his own good; and whoever does evil, does so to his own detriment, and you shall all return to your Lord. (45: 14-15)

Those who do not firmly believe that the Day of Judgement is going to dawn on them, venture to oppress others. They harass the preacher of Truth in every possible way. At that time feelings of revenge may develop in the heart of the preacher, but he should be forgiving towards his addressees. He should concentrate all his attention on the work of his mission and leave the matter of dealing with others’ evil deeds in the hands of God.

The value of the preacher’s efforts is not assessed on the basis of the number of persons he has influenced and brought on to the path of Truth. The value of his performance in the eyes of God depends upon the extent to which he remained steadfastly dedicated to the Truth; and to what degree he himself exemplified the behaviour expected of him.

The remedy for ignorance is asking questions. (Prophet Muhammad) The spirit of enquiry is the hallmark of an open society and the above saying of the Prophet aptly illustrates this principle. A culture of curiosity and open-mindedness will foster development in any society by motivating its members to learn enthusiastically and enrich their knowledge. This is because awareness of one’s ignorance is half of knowledge, as it becomes a stepping-stone to seeking and finding answers. A questioning mind is like a flowing river that is replenished with fresh thoughts and ideas and continues on its journey.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Why should man accept God as His Creator and Sustainer?

Man is a creature who cannot survive on his own. At all times he requires many types of support to maintain his existence in this world: an earth whose gravity keeps him upon its surface; an atmosphere to provide him with a constant supply of oxygen; a sun, which unfailingly gives him heat and light; an abundance of water, without which no human life is possible; a variety of foods to give him continual nourishment.

God, therefore, as the Creator of man, and of all the other things in the heavens and on earth, has made lavish provision of all these innumerable other things for man’s existence in this world. Indeed, God has brought into existence the entire universe and everything is under His constant surveillance. That is why the only proper course for man is to accept God as his Creator, Sustainer and Lord, without associating anyone or anything in His godhead. But since God is not visible, it sometimes happens that man comes to attach importance to something visible and perhaps tangible and then accords to it the status of divinity. A creature or a thing, comes, partly or wholly, to be regarded as the Creator’s equal and is sometimes even given the name of God.

This is where man falls into serious errors. For the Prophet’s call to man is to accord the status of greatness to God alone. Any thing or creature seated on the pedestal of divinity must therefore be unseated and divested of this status of greatness. It is only fitting, and in the true nature of things, that man should worship God alone, without associating any other object with Him.

Explain reformed behaviour and corrupt behaviour of man on this earth.

Human activity was initially designed by God to create no excessive clamour. Here God has arranged for breathing in fresh air, so man must not indulge in activities which may pollute the atmosphere. The birds and animals flourish in their separate spheres, so man should remain in his own sphere, instead of encroaching on those of other creatures. Since everything is functioning in a planned way, man should, moreover, refrain from adopting any such emotional, hasty course as will lead to social disruption.

All the things of this world are functioning in complete coordination with one another, so man must also lead his life in harmony with others, wishing them well and seeking what is profitable for his brethren. The benefits of such a world are manifold.

There are only two possible kinds of behaviour for men on this earth created by God. Reformed behaviour is the conscious following of the perfect order already established by God in the universe. As opposed to this, corrupt behavour is deviation from that order and the adoption of a self-made system. But the latter course ill befits God’s creatures, for the earth has already been reformed by God. This had not been left for man to do. Man has only to follow the path of nature and build his society on the same pattern. This reformed earth of God is not only the best place for human habitation, but it is also the best model for human conduct.