Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, born in 1925, in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, is an Islamic spiritual scholar who is well-versed in both classical Islamic learning and modern disciplines. The mission of his life has been the establishment of worldwide peace. He has received the Padma Bhushan, the Demiurgus Peace International Award and Sayyidina Imam Al Hassan Peace award for promoting peace in Muslim societies. He has been called ’Islam’s spiritual ambassador to the world’ and is recognized as one of its most influential Muslims . His books have been translated into sixteen languages and are part of university curricula in six countries. He is the founder of the Centre for Peace and Spirituality based in New Delhi.

 

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THE GREATEST GIFT

AN online American magazine, International Policy Digest, in its November 2019 post, labelled India as the ‘Suicide Capital of Asia’. This was in response to a WHO report which stated that India had the highest suicide rate in the South Asian region in 2016. This alarming report indicates a dismal state of mental stress and despair around us. Be it the suicide of Café Coffee Day founder, VG Siddhartha or the recent suicide of the television actor Kushal Punjabi, these increasing incidents point to an underlying issue, which needs immediate attention and redressal.

The journey of man’s life begins on a high note, but soon he finds himself amidst adversities that test his hope quotient. As these tribulations and challenges intensify, man tends to lose his positive frame of mind and gets entangled in a downward spiral of misery. In some extreme cases, this may lead to suicide. A WHO report published in 2018 confirms that ‘globally, more than 300 million people of all ages suffer from depression’.

The question to ask is: How can one remain positive amidst the ordeals of life and cope with the resulting stress? The answer is simple. We need to learn to decondition our mind and to view life as an experiential opportunity where both success and failure are transient means to enhance our development potential.

This process of learning does not mean that man will be able to avail all the opportunities to the fullest. He may avail some and forego others. A wise man is one who can learn to live with what is possible, instead of living with the stress of seeking what is not possible.

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A wise man is one who can learn to live with what is possible, instead of living with the stress of seeking what is not possible.

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A person who wants to put an end to his life does so assuming that his life is worthless. His myopic vision does not allow him to see the opportunities that are available around him. In fact, there have been cases where saved suicide victims ended up becoming extraordinary achievers. There was one such example where a person consumed poison and tried to kill himself because he was under great financial burden. Fortunately, the neighbours got to know and medical aid arrived just in time and saved him. The shock of almost losing his life transformed him into a completely different person. He strove with all his might and developed a refreshing enthusiasm for life. He later went on to establish a successful business enterprise.

The lesson is that if initially man meets with failure, he must not lose hope. Instead, he should look at this as an experience. Later, as opportunities open up, these very experiences will help him realize his potential. The only precondition being that he should remain positive. One who lives with the remorse of lost opportunities will miss the opportunity to avail new prospects. It is a vicious cycle.

In the nine decades of my life I have met with various moments of despair and crisis. The one thing that has held me afloat through all of this is the belief that life is precious; it is not to be squandered away. Let this understanding mark a fresh start for us to look at life as the greatest opportunity offered to us. Let us avail it to the fullest and make it truly count!

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
editor@thespiritofislam.org
Follow Maulana at http://www.speakingtree.in (The Times of India)

Prof. Farida Khanam is an author, editor, translator, public speaker and former professor of Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Among her books are ‘A Simple Guide to Sufism’ and ‘A Study of World’s Major Religions’. She has translated into English many books authored by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Currently the chairperson of CPS International, she is a regular contributor of articles to various publications. Prof. Khanam has edited Maulana’s English translation of the Quran and has also translated his Urdu commentary of the Quran into English. She can be reached at hub@thespiritofislam.org

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PARADISE LIES AT THE FEET OF THE MOTHER

The Prophet of Islam said, “Paradise lies at the feet of the mother.” THE above Hadith is generally understood in a way that is totally opposite to its actual meaning. It is taken as a Hadith which talks about the high position accorded to a mother. This is not the right approach.

In all its teachings, Islam places the onus on the individual to fulfil one’s duties, irrespective of what others do. The Prophet laid the foundation of a duty-conscious society.

Another Hadith of the Prophet says:
A believer should be duty-conscious, and as far as his rights are concerned, he should ask of them from God. (Sahih al-Bukhari) Based on this principle, the Hadith about Paradise lying at the feet of a mother is addressed to the mother more than to the children. It emphasizes the importance of the role of a mother in the life of her children.

Children are constantly in the company of their mother. In the initial period of their life, they are watching her the most and following her ways. They are exposed to her way of thinking in their day-to-day life. As the children follow the path she is treading, a mother should be highly conscious of the path she walks on The path to Paradise is a path which is of hard work, learning, discipline, positivity and virtue. Such understanding puts the entire weight on the fact that a mother’s role in the grooming of a child towards a good life is crucial. This Hadith is a serious call to mothers to put themselves on the path to making themselves eligible personalities for God’s Paradise as the children tend to follow them.

Prof. Farida Khanam
hub@thespiritofislam.org

Emulate Nature to Realize God

NATURE may be likened to a laboratory as it shows abundant examples of conversion. The sun is one such laboratory of nature, where atomic reactions between elements get converted into immense heat and light. Cows convert the grass they eat into milk. Trees take in water, minerals and gases, and convert them into oxygen, blossoms and fruits.

These instances of conversion are flawless and perfect. God requires man to undergo the same process of conversion as the sun, the trees and the cows. But there is one subtle difference: in other cases, this conversion is an instinctive process, whereas in man it is a conscious one. Conversion occurs on a material plane in all other things, whereas in man it occurs on a spiritual plane.

We are mere observers of nature, but we should do more than just observe. The Creator of the universe requires us to see His reflection in the mirror of His creation. Facts may enter our minds as information, but we should convert this information into realization of God. When we are successful in this world, we should attribute our success exclusively to God. When we fail, we should, through our failure, see how helpless man is. When we have cause for complaint against anyone, our inner mechanism should convert resentment into forgiveness and pardon.

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The Creator of the universe requires us to see His reflection in the mirror of His creation. Facts may enter our minds as information, but we should convert this information into God-realization

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A patch of land which converts earth into trees is a fertile one. On the other hand, land which fails to do this is barren. So is the case with man. Whoever is able to awaken his inner mechanism in such a way that it begins to convert everyday experiences into transcendent realizations is a true believer. One whose inner mechanism is unable to do this is one who is yet to believe. The former can look forward to Heaven when he comes before God, whereas the latter is doomed to eternal perdition.

A Child’s Schoolroom

THIS is the story of my mother—a mother whose nobility of character, under the severest of strains, is an example worth sharing with the readers. The way in which she came through certain ordeals in life is a clear proof that, within the limits prescribed by Islam, women can be positively constructive not only within their own domestic sphere, but also much further afield. They can indeed be a powerful and beneficial influence upon others.

The daughter of Khuda Bux, my mother was born towards the end of the nineteenth century in the town of Sanjarpur (Azamgarh, U.P., India), and was given the name of Zaibun Nisa. When she passed away in Delhi on the 8th of October, 1985, she was about 100 years of age. The type of education she had, permitted her to read only the Quran and a little Urdu. She was a religious woman in the fullest sense of the word. Never did she tell a lie or act in a way which could be described as unethical. She was punctual in her prayers and fasting and had performed Hajj. Spending her entire life in hijab, she was a woman of fine, upstanding character and unbending principle. She was the wife of the biggest landlord in that part of the country, with lands spread over several villages. On a routine visit to his farm in Newada, her husband suffered a paralytic stroke, fell unconscious and had to be carried home on a bedstead. There could be no words of final parting, for he passed away the next day without having regained consciousness. Quite suddenly, she found herself a widow. She was a mother to three sons and two daughters. The daughters, being older, were then not even in their teens. Both her daughters died during her lifetime.

The death of our father at that time was a great blow, not only because we had lost a loving parent but also because of the treatment we received at the hands of certain members of our joint family. After my father’s death, these relatives took over the management of the entire family property. My grandfather, under the joint family system, was the person who had actually been entrusted with the management of the farm. But he was so honest that he would not take a single penny more than what was actually required to meet the barest of necessities. After his death, those who then took charge of the farm exceeded all limits of injustice in their treatment of us. From being landowners of some substance, we suddenly found ourselves landless. There was no easy way out of our problems.

Our family home had been very commodious, but after father’s death, we found ourselves in a disused, half-ruined stable. We lacked even the basic necessities of life, and were unable even to find enough money to buy food. At this juncture, people began to advise our mother to remarry or return to her parents’ home, or go to court to recover the land which was lawfully hers. But she refused to follow any of this advice. The brave woman that she was, she resolved to face up to those circumstances on her own. This decision was backed up by just two things: faith in God and hard work.

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Whatever my mother did, she did in the true spirit of Islam. Instead of turning to man, she turned to God. Instead of thinking in terms of the world, she focused her attention on the Hereafter.

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Although her parents owned a vast tract of land, 20 acres of which had been willed to her by her father, she never demanded her share of the land, nor did she seek any help from the members of her family. She depended upon God alone; her sturdy independence was a shining example to us all. She would get up early every morning, say the prescribed prayers and then work right through the day without once stopping to rest. When she went to bed, it was always late and only after having said the Isha prayer. The tasks on which she spent her entire day included looking after poultry, goats, etc. In this way, I too found the opportunity to graze the goats, a sunnah (practice) of the prophets.

In addition to this work, she voluntarily stitched clothes for people in the neighbourhood. Although she did not accept any money for this, her neighbours would send her grain and other comestibles in return. This work was by no means easy for her, because it was done in the days before sewing machines had become popular, i.e. she did it entirely by hand. She also managed to keep a buffalo, and in our broad, open courtyard, she grew vegetables and planted fruit trees, like papaya and banana, which gave us a good yield. In those early days of penury, a woman passerby once remarked, “I see you have kittens to look after.” We did indeed look like scraggy little kittens in those days, and if my mother had not made such extraordinary sacrifices in order to look after us, our fate might well have been no better than the little, stray, motherless kittens one sees wasting away in the streets.

My eyes are witness to my mother’s total commitment over a prolonged period to our proper upbringing. But it would really take a whole book to do justice to her. How straitened were the circumstances in which we were living in those days can be judged by my not even having one paisa to buy a small piece of rubber for a catapult I was making. Hearing of this, one of our acquaintances kindly gave me the money for it. It was galling to think that once having been the biggest landowning family in the area, we had now come to such a sorry pass.

To be quite honest, after our father’s death we had not even the smallest pittance to call our own. The hardships my mother faced at that time are now barely imaginable. It is greatly to her credit that she bore up as well as any man. And from within the confines of the four walls of her home—such as it was—she contrived to influence the external world. She gained the upper hand over her circumstances where such circumstances might well have proved too overwhelming. The most remarkable feature of her attainments is that she succeeded in achieving, within the limits set for her by Islam, all those objectives for which it is now considered necessary to make women emerge from the Islamic fold, in the process, divesting themselves of their essentially feminine virtues.

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She encouraged us to turn our eyes away from what had been denied us and, instead, to give our full attention to that which we still enjoyed, namely, our God-given existence.

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Whatever she did, she did in the true spirit of Islam. Instead of turning to man, she turned to God. Instead of thinking in terms of the world, she focused her attention on the Hereafter. All her actions were perfectly in consonance with traditional religious thinking. She had received no such higher education as would have led her to consider the philosophical implications of the course she took. But now, her strivings, seen through the eyes of a scholar, appear as the manifestations of human greatness. Even if she had left her home in quest of such higher education as would have fitted her for a post in some secular organization, she could not have done any better for us than she did. Even to imagine her taking such a course of action is quite meaningless.

Her sacrifices made it possible for her not only to give us a satisfactory upbringing but also to demonstrate what the Islamic bent of mind— positive thinking and a realistic approach—is capable of achieving. My brothers and I were greatly influenced by the example she set. In fact, this was the greatest gift that she could have bestowed upon us. In giving us this awareness of the virtues of Islam, she fulfilled the duties of both father and mother.

I can still recall that after my father’s death, a maternal uncle used to pay us frequent visits. A great expert in legal matters, he insisted that my mother should file a suit to recover the land which had been willed to her by her father but which relatives by marriage were unwilling to relinquish. He assured her that all she had to do was to append her signature to the legal documents relevant to her claim on the land and that he would do whatever else was required. He promised her that she would soon have control of all the land of which she was the rightful owner. He continued to pay her visits over a long period of time and went on in the same vein each time, but my mother refused to allow herself to be persuaded by him.

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We studiously ignored the injustice of our immediate environment and endeavoured to pursue a morally correct course of action in the broader spectrum of the outside world.

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Being deprived of the property from our father’s side to which we were legally entitled did of course become a source of great provocation, and we increasingly felt the urge to fight for our rights. Ultimately, it was through the intervention of others that we were given some tracts of land, but this hardly improved our situation, for, human nature being what it is, it was all the arid and unproductive land which fell to our lot. This niggardly treatment had the effect of making us want to plunge into the fray to fight with the other party, but my mother staunchly adhered to her policy of patience, often admonishing us to exercise greater self-control. On such occasions she would recite to us this line of poetry:

Patience is the Price of Eternal Paradise.

Our family circumstances which, it appeared, could be improved only by resorting to litigation, were certainly such as to lead us all into negative thinking. Litigation meant a number of families all being drawn into the quarrel, with the inevitable series of unpleasant confrontations. It could even mean the loss of valuable lives, for such situations often bring out the most baneful characteristics in all of us. Had our mother not chosen to adopt the only attitude which could be considered positive under the circumstances, we might, at that early formative stage, have fallen prey to unreasoning destructiveness. Each of us would have become permanently tainted by hatred and the desire for revenge.

It was really her single-mindedness in remaining patient that altered the entire course of our lives. She taught us that it would be wrong to fight against those who deprived us of our rights, and inculcated in us the belief that the only course for us to adopt was to improve our lot in life by dint of sheer hard work. She encouraged us to turn our eyes away from what had been denied us and, instead, to give our full attention to that which we still enjoyed, namely, our God-given existence. George Herbert spoke the truth when he said, ‘One good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters’.

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Undeniably, it is the grace of God which has saved me from an ill-fated existence and caused me to become a medium of expression of the truth.

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Today, my evaluation of this attitude is a rational, conscious process, but in our youth, our positive mental adaptation to negative circumstances was, as it were, an unconscious process stimulated by my mother’s training.

This capacity for detachment having become a permanent trait in all of us, we were able to steer clear of confrontations, and chose instead a course of action which should be free of disputes. We three brothers may all have followed different paths, but our basic attitude remained unaltered. That is to say, we studiously ignored the injustice of our immediate environment and endeavoured to pursue a morally correct course of action in the broader spectrum of the outside world. If we were deprived by man, we would seek from God.

My elder brother went into business when he grew up, “emigrating” to the town of Azamgarh in 1944. At the outset, he had a long, hard struggle, for he never borrowed and never accepted credit. Only after 40 years of strenuous effort did he attain the position of Chairman of the Light & Company Ltd., an Allahabad firm which produced electrical goods. From being considered the least important member of our very large family after father’s death he became its most respected member. He even succeeded in having his share of the family lands restored to him by having the property re-divided in a just manner. The most noteworthy feature of this redistribution is that he caused it to come about without once resorting to litigation.

My younger brother, who opted for scientific studies, received his degree in engineering from the Banaras Hindu University. He later entered the Department of Technical Education run by the Government of Uttar Pradesh, from which he retired as Deputy Director. By virtue of his hard work, faultless character and principled life, he commanded the respect of his whole department.

As for myself, I was interested in religious education, having been initially educated in an Arabic school. I later worked hard to learn the English language and made a thorough study of whatever academic literature available to me in English. Now, by the grace of God, I am able to work in a positive and constructive manner, as I am sure the readers of my works will confirm.

One special aspect of my work—the call to Muslims to rise above negative thinking and become more positive in their approach—has found an effective vehicle for my mission in the Al-Risala monthly, an Urdu magazine which I started in 1976, and Spirit of Islam monthly started in 1984 (under a different name). This mission has, by the grace of God, assumed the form of a powerful movement all over the world. I frequently receive oral or written comments from academic circles which acknowledge that these magazines mark the first Islamic movement in modern times which has attempted to steer Muslims resolutely away from negative activities and set their feet on the path of positivism.

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We must never underestimate the role of woman as mother. It is perhaps her greatest role in human affairs.

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I acknowledge all those who have been good enough to encourage me; but the real credit for my achievements must go by rights to that devoted woman called Zaibun Nisa. In this material world of ours, if there is anyone who may be fittingly called the initial founder of this modern, constructive movement, it is certainly my mother. She had never heard of “Women’s Lib,” being very far removed in space, time and culture from such activities, but it is worthy of note that she needed none of the philosophizing of the women’s liberationists to be able to perform what she regarded as her bounden duty in the eyes of God. Whereas my brothers and I set about our tasks in life in a reasoned, conscious manner, for her it was all a matter of instinct, prayer and faith.

I know more than one of my own relatives who, having lost their mother at an early age, became destructive in outlook. We must never underestimate the role of woman as mother. It is perhaps her greatest role in human affairs. In Islamic history, there have been numerous examples of the strong and decisive influence of mothers upon their families. A notable example is Maryam Makani, mother of the Emperor Akbar. When Akbar was harsh in his treatment of Shaikh Abdun Nabi, a great religious scholar of his time, she convinced him of the error he was making and persuaded him to stop what amounted to persecution.

I cannot but imagine that if I had been deprived of my mother in early childhood, or if I had the kind of mother who kept urging me to consider some people as foes and to fight them, my life would have taken an entirely different, and downward, course. Undeniably, it is the grace of God which has saved me from an ill-fated existence and caused me to become a medium of expression of the truth. But in this world of cause and effect, the human purveyor of God’s will was a lady, a mother, a homemaker—one who was Islamic to her very fingertips.

A Misplaced Quest

FOR several decades now, scientists have been carrying out an extraordinary kind of research—listening for life in space. SETI or The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other planets. In 2015, the noted theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking had announced a 100 million dollar hunt for alien life that would comprise of a 10-year international search effort for intelligent civilizations beyond our solar system.

Mr. Hawking said at the same conference, “We believe that life arose spontaneously on Earth, so in an infinite universe there must be other occurrences of life.” Space flights, therefore, also aim, among other things, at contacting those forms of life. Such an assumption has led to the conviction that an extraterrestrial civilization exists. In addition to space flights, huge antennas have been set up in the USA and other developed countries. These antennae are called radio ears. They serve to send and receive signals from outer space. Extremely sensitive instruments have also been installed to be able to receive the expected signals.

It appears that the modern theory of evolution has given rise to this quest. The explanations furnished to prove the evolutionary concept of life presuppose the existence of life forms in some parts of outer space resembling the life forms on earth.

The cell is the fundamental unit of life, and the DNA of a single-celled animal contains enough information to fill a volume of an encyclopedia while the information in the RNA and the rest of the cell can fill an entire library. All that information has to be in the right order for the cell to function. Carl Sagan, one of the founders of SETI said, “A single message from outer space would prove there was intelligent life on other planets,” but an entire library of information inside the most simple cell doesn’t prove that intelligence put it there?

The existence of life and consciousness is a unique and exceptional phenomenon in the whole universe. Since this consciousness could never have come into being by itself, it necessarily involves, therefore, the existence in space of life and consciousness on a greater plane— the source of life on earth. In this way, modern science clearly indicates the possibility of a Creator.

Yet, man’s existence is being sought to be explained away in terms simply of there being some life forms in space—forms resembling ours but not necessarily superior, just another form of civilization and not a Lord and a Creator. Whereas the truth of the matter is that the existence of a living man is evidence of a living God.

Desire Versus Fulfillment

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was a renowned English poet. In one of his poems, To a Skylark, he writes:

Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.

IT is a matter of common observation that most people seem to be fascinated with tragic stories and poetry more than happy ones. The most popular novels are tragedies, not comedies. Those songwriters and singers receive greater recognition who write and sing soulful, sentimental melodies. What is the reason for this peculiarity?

Why are sentimental melodies and tragic stories more successful in stirring the human heart to profound emotions?

It is because every individual practically lives with a sense of loss and deprivation. Tragic stories and songs strike a chord in the heart. One can relate personally with them. This psychology then becomes second nature. A person with such a psychology doubts the occurrence of a happy event. In comparison, news of misery appears closer to the truth.

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Humans have been given an infinite sense of pleasure, but the culmination of their delight is placed only in the next world, after death.

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Analyzing this matter deeply, man appears to be a pleasure-seeking being. Man is an exceptional creature within an incredibly vast universe. Man is the only creature who has a sense of pleasure. It is a unique characteristic of a human being that he feels and enjoys a variety of pleasures. There are countless creatures in the vast universe, but the privilege of enjoying pleasure is found only in humans. Man gains pleasure from the acts of thinking, watching, listening, touching, speaking, eating and drinking. The simple act of walking bare feet on a lush green lawn gives one an incomparable joy.

But there is a strange contradiction here. Human beings possess the sense of pleasure at the highest level, but it is not possible for them to enjoy this fully in this world. In Kashmir, there is a mountain river in Pahalgam formed by springs released by melting snow of the mountains. It contains pure water. When I first arrived in Pahalgam and saw the clear water of the river there, I could not hold myself from drinking it. I filled a glass of water from the flowing river. It was more delicious than any other drink. I gulped down one glass after another until I had enjoyed six glasses of water.

Even after the sixth glass, my appetite for water had not quenched, but I could not drink any more. Now my head started to ache. The pain was so severe that I had to return immediately to Srinagar. A Kashmiri businessman in Srinagar had arranged for my evening meal there. Many people were invited to the occasion. When I got there, I was in such severe pain that I could not partake in the meal, but went to another room and lay down.

This is the case with all the pleasures of the world. Man earns wealth, gains power, marries according to his choice, builds a magnificent home for himself and hoards items of luxury. But when he has done all this he realizes that there is a barrier between him and all these pleasures. He cannot enjoy any of the pleasures he desires. All those things intended to please man fail to offer him lasting contentment and joy.

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The human desire for pleasure is infinite. But man possesses limited capacity to enjoy pleasures. This limitation of man acts as a barrier between him and the pleasures.

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The human desire for pleasure is infinite. But man possesses limited capacity to enjoy pleasure. This limitation of man acts as a barrier between him and the pleasures. Even after receiving everything, he continues to feel a kind of loss. The physical weakness of man, the end of adolescence, illness, old age, accidents and finally death are constantly neutralizing his wishes. Despite having all the articles of pleasure at his disposal, when man seeks to relish them, he finds that all his energy is exhausted even before his desire is fulfilled. He is like a spent force.

Further study of this contradiction reveals that it is not, in fact, a contradiction, but, rather a consequence of the difference of order. The difference is that under the system of nature, it is destined for human beings to have only a preliminary introduction to their desired pleasures in this pre-death period. They are meant to truly and completely fulfill these delights only in the post-death period. This order or arrangement is not random. It is part of nature itself. It is found in the whole system of nature. Human beings can succeed in this world only if they follow the same principle. No success in this world is exempt from this principle.

In agriculture, sowing is followed by the harvest. You can enjoy the fruits only after you have sowed them. Iron is first subjected to melting and then made into steel. So is the case with everything else in the world. Everything goes through its initial phase, and then reaches its peak. There is no exception to this principle of nature.

This is the case with human beings also. Humans have been given an infinite sense of pleasure, but the culmination of their delight is placed only in the next world, after death. In the present world, man discovers the ability to seek pleasure, and in the next world he will receive all that is required according to the limits of his discovery of pleasure. Feelings of pleasure can be experienced in the life before death, but truly relishing them is only in the post-death phase of life.

According to His creation plan, the Creator of the universe has only given man an introduction to all conceivable pleasures in this world. In this way, He is sending a message to man that if you want to be eternally and completely satisfied with these pleasures, then you must prove yourself worthy of them.

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Human beings possess the sense of pleasure at the highest level, but it is not possible for them to enjoy this fully in this world.

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How can man prove himself worthy of everlasting pleasure? The answer is that man should make himself a pure soul. He should purify himself of all negative emotions. He should make every effort to protect himself from all corrupt emotions, such as greed, selfishness, envy, misconduct, lying, anger, revenge, violence and hatred. He should develop within himself a superior human personality which is a completely positive personality. This positive and elevated personality will make him capable of living in the neighbourhood of God.

The life of a human being is divided into two stages: the pre-death stage, and the post-death stage. A relatively short portion of this phase of life is placed in the pre-death period, and a much longer, in fact eternal, portion in the post-death period. If the period before death is seen as the whole life of a man, it certainly appears as tragedy. But if the human story is seen including the eternal post-death period, it will present a thoroughly satisfying end.

According to this creation plan of God, man stands at a critical juncture. He is at a point where he has to choose one of two possible outcomes: using the opportunities of the present world according to the plan of nature and proving worthy to live in eternal bliss, or living a life of neglect in the present world and losing eternal enjoyment in the afterlife.

The Prime of Life

ACCORDING to a teaching of the Prophet that appears in several books of Hadith, the Prophet said that on the Day of Judgement every person will be questioned about some issues, one of these being how one spent their youth. Youth is said to be the best part of a person’s life. That is why one will be questioned specially about it.

What is youth? It is another name for the age of good health. If you have good health, you have everything. If you don’t have good health, you have nothing. If you lose your health, it’s like losing everything.

Good health is truly something to be very grateful for. Imagine a world where every person is deprived of good health. It would be like a vast hospital where there is no doctor or nurse and no health facilities. Such a world would be a completely intolerable place to live in.

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Young age is a very precious part of our lives. At this stage of life, we have much to give to others. It can also become something to be very grateful for if we spend this period of our life in the right way

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In our youth, we have great strength and energy. That is why most people at that age don’t really think they face very difficult problems. What the Hadith referred to above, means is whether in this very precious part of our lives we thanked God for this gift of youth or not. Were we arrogant, or were we modest? Did we live as non-problem people, or did we cause problems to others? Were we a source of goodness for others, or did we do them harm?

Youth is a very precious part of our lives. At this stage of life, we have much to give to others. It can also become something to be very grateful for if we spend this period of our life in the right way.

God Vs Creation

WHEN famous American athlete Carl Lewis won the gold in the long jump at the Los Angeles Olympics 1984 he was so overwhelmed with gratitude for his victory that he could not resist paying homage to the track he had run on.

The urge to identify and acknowledge one’s benefactor and the longing to shower him with one’s feelings of deep gratitude is inherent in human nature. This is common to all: to rich and poor, young and old. According to psychiatrists, this emotion is not only the deepest of all emotions but is also so interwoven in human nature that it is inseparable from it. It was only natural for Carl Lewis to stoop down and kiss the track to acknowledge his victory.

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The urge to identify and acknowledge one’s benefactor and the longing to shower him with one’s feelings of deep gratitude is inherent in human nature.

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This is the urge, in fact, to find God, the creator of man, and bow before Him. This urge is ingrained in man in order that he should be able to recognize and worship his Maker. Man, however, digresses from the path of nature. And so, the recognition and submission which is actually due to God are given instead to His creation.

Man feels inclined to adopt someone or something as his ‘God’, since the true deity remains invisible to the naked eye. It is a human failing that man takes more readily to visible or tangible objects. Thus, the devotion due to God alone is offered to someone or something else. The true focus of one’s emotions is man’s ultimate benefactor, his one and only Creator. Recognizing God as the supreme benefactor is true reverence, whereas showing veneration for something or someone other than God is a misplaced allegiance. Man must pass the test of discerning the invisible God from the innumerable visible creations of God.

Believers, remember God often, glorify Him
morning and evening. It is He who sends blessings
to you as do His angels. (The Quran)

A Cultural Manifestation

BURQA or purdah is generally looked upon as an integral part of Islam, but this is not really so. In reality, the burqa is a part of Muslim culture and not a part of Islamic teaching. There is a great difference between the practices of Muslims and the teachings of Islam. If it is claimed that the wearing of the burqa is a part of Quranic teachings, then this is not true. The source of Islamic teachings is the Quran and Sunnah (practices of the Prophet) and not Muslim culture. Muslim culture is a social phenomenon, while the Quran is the Book of God as revealed to the Prophet of Islam.

According to linguistic history, the word burqa was in use in Arabia before the advent of Islam in the first quarter of the seventh century. At that time, the word burqa meant a piece of clothing that was used as a protection, especially in winters. The well-known Arabic dictionary Lisan al-Arab gives us two examples of its use during the pre-Islamic period: the first, as a cover for animals during the winter season, and the second, as a covering or chaadar, like a shawl, for women. Although the word burqa existed in Arabic vocabulary at that time, the Quran did not use this word for women’s purdah.

History shows that the present veil or burqa first came into vogue in Persia. When Islam entered Persia, a complete civilization was already in existence there. Many things were introduced into Muslim society from the Persian culture. Originating from the preIslamic Persian times, burqa from the Iranian culture was adopted by Muslims. Gradually, it became a part of Muslim culture.

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In reality, Islam talks about adopting simplicity and modesty. In terms of outfit, the Shariah prescribes women to cover their body with clothing which is not tight-fitting and not meant to attract others.

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These days, many Muslims use the term hijab as equivalent to burqa, but the word hijab is not used in the Quran in this sense. Hijab literally means ‘curtain’. Hijab is used in the Quran seven times, but not in the sense that is prevalent among the Muslims today. Rather, it is used in its literal sense of ‘curtain’.

Regarding women’s purdah, two words have been used in the Quran: jilbab (33: 59) and khimar (24: 31). But again, these words are not used in their present connotation. It is a fact that both words have a similar meaning, that is, chaadar or dupatta, that is, something which covers the body of a woman and not her face. So, it is very clear that the present burqa and hijab are not Quranic terms; both are part of Muslim culture and not part of Quranic commandments. The concept of hijab as understood in the popular sense today has emerged from Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence).

In reality, Islam talks about adopting simplicity and modesty. In terms of outfit, the Shariah prescribes that women cover their body with clothing which is not tight-fitting and not meant to attract others.

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There is a great difference between the practices of Muslims and the teachings of Islam. If it is claimed that the wearing of the burqa is a part of Quranic teachings, then this is not true.

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It is noteworthy that the well-known Arab scholar Sheikh Muhammad Nasiruddin alAlbani clearly endorses the above-mentioned position of the Shariah in his book on this subject, Jilbab al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah fil Kitab was Sunnah (The Veil of Muslim Woman in the Light of the Quran and Sunnah). He goes on to say that it is clear from the Quran, the Hadith and the practice of the Companions and the Tabiun (Companions of the Prophet’s Companions) that whenever a woman steps out of her home, she should cover herself completely so as not to show any part of her body except the face and the hands.

There is a tree beside my house. I call it the ‘Spiritual Tree’. I derive spiritual inspiration from it. A tree is an evergrowing being that was initially a seed possessing the potential of becoming a full-grown tree. A seed takes food from the universe around it and then grows into a tree. The same is true with spirituality, the desire for which is intrinsic to, and an integral part of, the very nature of every human being. To realize this spirituality, man must derive spiritual food from the universe around him. A tree converts carbon-dioxide into oxygen; a spiritual person is one who can take positive lessons from negative situations. From this perspective, a tree is an embodiment of a spiritual personality. —Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

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THE SPIRITUAL LOSS CAUSED BY GREED

GREED is a person’s greatest weakness. Everyone feels that whatever they possess is not enough. Everyone wants more and more. No one is satisfied with what they have. Psychology of this nature is destructive. The greatest loss it inflicts is that one is deprived of the blessings of special prayer to God. If an individual lives in a state of gratitude, that is, if he feels that whatever is required for leading his life in this world has been given to him by God, this will become a great point of reference for the following prayer which will be uttered from the depths of his heart: “O God, You have given me everything in the world.” (14: 34). Now, I want the same in the world Hereafter as You have promised in Your Book: “Therein you shall have all that your souls desire, and therein you shall have all that you ask for.” (41: 31)

A prayer said in gratitude is a high form of prayer. Such a prayer comes from one’s heart, with deep feelings. Such a prayer is the result of a prepared mind. Such a prayer represents one’s entire existence.

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A prayer said in gratitude is a high form of prayer. Such a prayer comes from one’s heart, with deep feelings.

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In such prayer the choice of words is secondary. What is of prime importance is the internal feelings which stir up one’s heart and mind. In such a prayer words are just symbolic. Such a prayer comes out of one’s lips only when one comes so close to God that no distance remains between man and his Creator.

Natural and Impartial

“Childless couples tend to have higher divorce rates than couples with children”. So says the Encyclopaedia Britannica on the basis of data collected in western countries. A western divorce court judge confirms that “every little youngster born to a couple is an added assurance that their marriage will never be dissolved in a divorce court.”

IN spite of these apparently favourable psychological factors and natural attachments of parents and children, the rising incidence of divorce is a new and observable phenomenon of the modern world. One of the highest contributing factors for this is the ease with which women can now make a living. On this, the Encyclopaedia Britannica says:

“Industrialization has made it easier for women to support themselves, whether they are single, married, divorced, or widowed. In this connection, it is interesting to note that the Great Depression of the 1930s stopped the rise in the number of divorces in the United States for a time”.

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Divorce should be sought only under unavoidable circumstances. The Prophet spoke of it as being the most unpleasant of all the lawful things in the eyes of God.

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While marriage is the rule of life and divorce only an exception, the latter must also be accepted as a reality. Indeed, there are commandments to deal accordingly, with such cases in both divine and human laws. The authentic representation of divine law now exists in the form of the Quran, it having been preserved in its entirety by God, and, therefore, free from all human interpolations. In the Quran and the Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet), there are various commandments regarding divorce, the main point being that divorce should be sought only under unavoidable circumstances. The Prophet spoke of it as being the most unpleasant of all the lawful things in the eyes of God and said that when it does take place, it should be done in an atmosphere of goodwill. In no way should one harbour ill-will against the other.

The Meaning of ‘Provision’
In Islamic jurisprudence, the material arrangements which a man makes for his divorced spouse is termed ‘divorce provision’. There is a consensus among Muslim scholars that this provision in no way a means of lifelong maintenance, there being absolutely no basis for this in the divine scriptures. The concept of maintenance for life is, in fact, a product of modern civilization. It was never at any time enshrined in divine laws, either in Islam, Judaism or Christianity. In material terms, ‘provision’ simply takes the form of a gift handed over by the man on parting, so that the woman’s immediate needs may be catered for, and in all cases, this is to be commensurate with his means.

But the Quran makes it explicit that the parting must above all be humane, and that justice must be done: “Make fair provision for them, the affluent according to his means and the straitened according to his means; this is binding on righteous men.” (2: 236)

If divorce takes place before the settling of the dower (a sum of money which the groom hands over to the bride at the time of marriage, which is a token of his willing acceptance of the responsibility of bearing all necessary expenses of his wife) and the consummation of the marriage, even then the man must give the woman money or goods as a gesture of goodwill. The Quran is also quite explicit on this: “Believers, if you marry believing women, and divorce them before the marriage is consummated, you are not required to observe a waiting period: make provision for them and release them in an honourable way.” (33: 49)

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The concept of maintenance for life is, in fact, a product of modern civilization. It was never at any time enshrined in divine laws, either in Islam, Judaism or Christianity.

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This “waiting period” actually applies to a woman who has been married for some time and who may, subsequent to the divorce, discover that she is pregnant. This statutory waiting period of three months makes her position clear, and then the man is required to pay her additional compensation if she is expecting his child. But again, there is no question of maintenance for life, for the Quran seeks a natural solution to all human problems. It would, therefore, be wholly against the spirit of the Quran for a woman to be entitled to lifelong maintenance from the very man with whom she could not coexist. Such a ruling will surely create a negative mentality in society. The Quran again has the answer: “If they decide to separate, God will compensate both out of His own abundance: God is bountiful and wise.” (4: 130). The munificence of God refers to the vast provision which God has made for His servants in this world.

In various ways, God helps such distressed people. For example, when a woman is divorced, it is but natural that the sympathy of all her blood relations should be aroused. And, as a result, without any pressure being put on them, they are willing to help and look after her. Besides, a new will-power is awakened in such a woman and she sets about exploiting her hidden potentialities, thus solving her problems independently. Furthermore, previous experiences having left her wiser and more careful, she feels better equipped to enter into another marital relationship with greater success.

After Divorce
The question that arises immediately after divorce is of ways and means to meet one’s necessary expenses. One answer is to resort to the Islamic law of inheritance. If women were to be given their due share according to Islamic law, there would be no question of woman becoming destitute. But, sad to say, the majority of Muslim women fail to get their due share of inheritance from their deceased fathers and husbands as stipulated by Islamic Law. If this could happen, this would be more than enough to meet such emergencies.

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If women were to be given their due share according to Islamic law, there would be no question of woman becoming destitute.

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However, Islam has not just left women’s financial problems to the vagaries of inheritance, because parents are not invariably in possession of property which can be divided among their children. Further arrangements have been made under the maintenance law, but this has no connection with the law of divorce. The answer to this question must be sought therefore in the Islamic law of maintenance. The following is a brief description of some of its aspects:

1. In case the divorced woman is childless or the children are not earning, according to Islamic law the responsibility for her maintenance falls on her father. That is, her situation will be the same as it was before marriage.

To quote from Fath al-Qadeer (a standard book on Islamic law): “The father is responsible for bearing the expenses of his daughter till her marriage, in the event of her having no money. The father has no right to force her to earn, even if she is able to. When the girl is divorced and the waiting period is over, her father shall again have to bear her expenses.”

2. If the divorced woman has a son who is an earning member of the family, the responsibility for her maintenance falls entirely upon him. “All that rightfully belongs to a wife will be the duty of the son to provide, that is, food, drink, clothes, house and even servants, if possible.”

3. In the case of father being deceased and where even her children are unable to earn, her nearest relatives, such as brothers or uncles, are responsible for her upkeep. In the absence of even this third form, the Islamic Shariah holds the State Treasury responsible for bearing her expenses. She will be entitled to receive the money for her necessities.

Because of the number of provisions made under Islamic law for women, it has never been the case in Islamic history that Muslim divorced women have been cast adrift, helpless, with no one to look after them. The late writer Khushwant Singh remarked that we do not hear of Muslim women committing suicide or being tortured, which is a proof that Islam has already given them adequate liberty and has made enough provision for them to be supported in times of emergencies.

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Because of the number of provisions made under Islamic law for women, it has never been the case in Islamic history that Muslim divorced women have been cast adrift, helpless, with no one to look after them.

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A new dimension has been added to the issue since the women of the present age can leave their homes to work, and are therefore not entirely dependent on men as they used to be in the past. There is no need then to make laws in order to provide for them. They can now look after themselves. They receive equal pay. Only in exceptional cases they may need to be looked after. Ways and means of doing so can generally be worked out quite satisfactorily on a personal level.

The Problem of Modern Civilization
The modern civilization has been beset by many problems, many of which are more artificial than real. In many things modern civilization has adopted unnatural ways, thus giving rise to unnatural problems. The matter has further been worsened by attempts to solve them unnaturally. Problems have thus gone on increasing, instead of decreasing. The problem of divorce is one of them. The initial stimulus of the women’s lib movement was not wrong, but its leaders did not care to define its limits. In a bid to create a free society, their efforts culminated in the creation of a permissive society. Affairs between men and women knew no limits, and this had the effect of weakening the marriage bond. Men and women were no more husbands and wives. In the words of the Prophet, they became sensual, pleasure-seeking people. This, state of affairs was given a boost by industrialization, as a woman could easily procure an independent livelihood for herself. This had never before been possible. Because of this, a large number of social problems have emerged, one of them being greatly increased rates of divorce.

The philosophers who wanted to check divorce, advocated legal curbs on men, which would legally bind them to provide maintenance to the wife after divorce. This maintenance sum was fixed according to living standards, so that in most cases, divorce meant that the man had to part with a fair amount of his hard-earned money for the rest of his life.

One victim of this unnatural state of affairs was Bertrand Russell (d. 1970), one of the most intelligent and outstanding intellectuals of his time. Soon after his marriage, he discovered that his wife no longer inspired any feelings of love in him. Although realizing this incompatibility, he did not seek an immediate separation. In spite of severe mental torture, he tried to bear with this situation for many years. He refers to this period as one of “darkest despair”. Finally, he had to separate and remarry, but he was not satisfied even with the second match, and he married for the third time. Two divorces were a costly bargain. According to English law, the amount of alimony and maintenance he had to pay his wives upset him greatly. He writes in his Autobiography:

“ … the financial burden was heavy and rather disturbing: I had given £ 10,000/- of my Nobel Prize cheque for a little more than £ 11,000/- to my third wife, and I was now paying alimony to her and to my second wife as well as paying for the education of my younger son. Added to this, there were heavy expenses in connection with my elder son’s illness; and the income taxes which for many years he had neglected to pay now fell to me to pay.” (Bertrand Russell, Autobiography, Unwin Paperbacks (London) 1978).

Such a law had been passed in order to ensure justice for women who had to resort to divorce. But when people began to realize that divorce inevitably led one into financial straits, the marriage bond began to be dispensed with altogether. Men and women simply started to live together without going through the formality of a marriage ceremony. Now more than fifty percent of the younger generation [in some countries] prefers to live in the unmarried state.

It was only natural that a reaction should have set in against a law which so patently disfavoured men and brought corruption, perversion and all kinds of misery in its wake. Children—even new-born babies— were the greatest sufferers.

Now take the situation prevailing in communities in which the extreme difficulty of divorce acts as a deterrent. Obviously, this was a bid to reform, but this has served only to aggravate the matter. The ancient Indian religious reformers had held separation as being illegal. They even prohibited women from remarrying so that they would be left with no incentive to seek divorce. The laws were made in such a way that once marriage ceremonies were finalized, neither could a man divorce his wife, nor was it possible for a woman to remarry after leaving her former husband.

But such reformations have been generally detrimental to individuals of the society. When a man and a woman are unable to continue to live with each other, the whole of their lives is passed in great bitterness because of there being no provision for remarriage. They are doomed to continue to live a tormented life alongside partners with whom they have nothing in common.

Khushwant Singh wrote in detail about Manu, who was his cousin. He narrated her ordeal in his With Malice towards One and All column (12 October 1985). Manu had a flourishing business selling ready-made garments in Los Angeles. As she did not want to marry a foreigner, she decided to come to India to find a husband and return with him to the States. She found her husband in a tall, handsome, powerfully-built man who was anxious to go abroad.

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Separation is strongly advised against in the case of minor provocations. It is meant only as a last resort, when it has become truly unavoidable. We are commanded by God to be tolerant and forgiving.

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The marriage took place with all pomp and splendour in a five-star hotel. It took her some months to arrange for her husband’s visa, during which time she maintained him and paid for his passage. The marriage was a disaster. The man turned out to be an alcoholic, prone to violence and averse to doing any work. Manu sought her parent’s consent to wind up her business, divorce her husband and return to India. Her parents travelled to America and tried to persuade her not to be hasty. A few days after her mother returned to Delhi, Manu’s husband strangled her and dumped her body in a deserted spot. He collected all he could in the house and was planning to flee the United States when the police caught up with him. He was eventually jailed on charges of murder.

It is obvious that Manu was not careless in selecting her partner. She travelled from America to find a suitable match in her birthplace. But all that glitters is not gold. Our human limitations make it impossible for us to understand every facet of a person’s character before entering into a relationship with them. The question arises if, after such revelations, should one feel forced to respect a marriage bond even at the cost of one’s life?

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The provisions of Islam are thus a great blessing to couples who realize only too late that they have erred in making their choice of a partner. Islam provides for them the convenience to separate amicably, in a spirit of goodwill.

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When society considers separation taboo or the laws on this show no leniency, the only alternatives left for such incompatible couples are either to commit suicide or to waste away the whole of their lives in “darkest despair”. Even when one dares to surmount the hurdle of divorce, it is very difficult to get remarried in societies where divorcees are looked down upon. One can at best marry someone beneath one’s social status. But in Islam remarriage is not a taboo. The Prophet himself married a widow. The provisions of Islam are thus a great blessing to couples who realize only too late that they have erred in making their choice of a partner. Islam provides for them the convenience to separate amicably, in a spirit of goodwill.

Just think of the couples wasting away the whole of their lives in mental torment only because the conditions of separation and its consequences are hard to meet. It is as unnatural as anything can be. Islam is a religion of nature. That is why such a situation has not developed in Muslim communities because Islamic law on marriage and divorce provides for all, or almost all, eventualities. For example, when a woman wishes to divorce her husband, she has to put her case before a religious scholar, or a body of religious scholars. This facility is available to her in all the great madrasas or Islamic seminaries in India. They then give consideration to her circumstances in the light of the Quran and the Hadith, and, if they find that there are reasonable grounds for separation, they decide in her favour. The reason that the woman must have scholars to act on her behalf is that women are more emotional than men—as has been proved by scientific research— and it is to prevent hasty and ill-considered divorces taking place that she is thus advised. If we seldom hear of Muslim women committing suicide or being murdered by their in-laws, it is because they have an alternative—separation.

Separation, of course, is strongly advised against in the case of minor provocations. Are we not commanded by God to be tolerant and forgiving? It is meant only as a last resort, when it has become truly unavoidable.

Islamic law is thus fair to both husband and wife, unlike occidental law, which places an undue burden on the man.

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.

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PEACE—A POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR

PEACE is a product of a positive mental attitude, while violence is the result of negative thinking. Peace is the natural state of society; violence is an unnatural state. Peace is as much in accordance with nature’s plan as violence is against it. When peaceful conditions prevail in a society, activities take place in their proper form. But if the atmosphere of peace is disturbed, the normal functioning of society is disrupted.

This law applies to man as well as to the whole universe. According to the scheme of nature, peace is the only secret for smooth functioning in human society as well as in the rest of the universe. Peace, therefore, is such a basic requirement of man that it is crucial to maintain it in all situations. Without peace there can be neither development nor progress. No excuse whatsoever justifies the use of violence in individual or national life. Regardless of how unfavourable circumstances might be, an environment of peace is indispensable. We must maintain peace unilaterally, for nothing that we desire can be achieved without it. If we fail to establish peace, we must face destruction in every field of life. The option for us is not between peace and no peace, but, rather, between peace and annihilation. Without peace, there is no hope for the survival of humankind.

What disturbs the peaceful plan of nature is mainly traceable to the fact that people have become excessively materialistic. It is this thinking that leads to the exploitation of nature, resulting in the disturbance of nature’s peaceful plan. If people opted for a path of moderation, they would soon discover that, if earlier they were comfortable physically, now they are comfortable spiritually. And without doubt, spiritual comfort is far better than material comfort.

The perpetrator of violence—be he a Hitler or a common man—invariably suffers from remorse, while the peacemaker derives great satisfaction from his efforts. If one were to think of the end result one would never indulge in violence. One should bear in mind that peace is in consonance with humanity, whereas violence means descent to the animal level.

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The perpetrator of violence invariably suffers from remorse, while the peacemaker derives great satisfaction from his efforts. If one were to think of the end result, one would never indulge in violence.

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Peaceful revolution is the outcome of peaceful thinking. Peaceful minds make for a peaceful world. Man is born in peace. Man must die in peace. Peace—man’s birthright—is God’s greatest blessing for human beings.

Peace is the only religion for both man and the universe. In a peaceful environment all good things are possible, whereas in the absence of peace, we cannot achieve anything of a positive nature, either as individuals or as a community, at a national level or at the international level.

Virtues of Frugality

THERE is a general tendency in those who earn money to believe that it is their own property. They feel that they can spend their money as they please without any restrictions from anyone or anything. This tendency was also prevalent in Arab society at the time of the Prophet. With this background, the Quran in chapter Al-A’raf (The Heights) gives this general guidance:

O Children of Adam, dress yourself properly whenever you are at worship: and eat and drink but exceed not the bounds: God does not love those who exceed the bounds. (7: 31)

Spending your money is not simply a matter of choice. There are other aspects to be considered. For example, if you spend your money on unhealthy food or drink, it will destroy your physical fitness. You will cause your health and your activities in life to deteriorate. Money has two different aspects—positive and negative. Positive expenditure of money is undoubtedly beneficial, but negative expenditure of money is harmful.

Money is a great source of distraction, and it is this distraction that is referred to in the Quran as israf (prodigality and extravagance). Israf literally means going beyond all limits. When one indulges in extravagance, it will soon become a habit and one will go beyond limits in other matters also. And that will prove to be disastrous.

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Spending money is like sowing a seed. If the seed brings you a good harvest, only then it is well worth sowing, otherwise it is better not to sow it at all.

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Money can be a great asset for the earner. It can help him to live a better life. But when he fails to differentiate between positive expenditure and negative expenditure it shows that he has become a slave of his desires, spending his money on such things that have no real benefit in life.

Spending money is like sowing a seed. If the seed brings you a good harvest, only then it is well worth sowing. Otherwise, it is better not to sow it at all.

The Right Perspective

A CRUCIAL mistake brought defeat upon the Muslims in the Battle of Uhud (AD 625). When the tide of battle turned against them, most of the army dispersed, but Prophet Muhammad clung determinedly to his position. Fifteen people, following his example, remained firm in the barrage of arrows and swords that was descending upon them. At this time one of the opponents Abdullah Ibn Qumayya, threw a stone at the Prophet. Mas’ab Ibn Umair, a Companion of the Prophet, moved to counter this attack. In the duel that ensued, Mas’ab Ibn Umair was slain. Abdullah Ibn Qumayya thought that he had killed the Prophet, and returned to his army shouting: “Muhammad has been slain; Mohammad has been slain.”

This news had a shattering effect on the Muslims, even those who had forsaken their positions. Abdullah Ibn Abbas has given a lengthy account of the course of events, which has been recorded in Sahih Al-Bukhari (a compilation of Prophetic teachings). Here is a part of his account:

“Some hypocrites said: ‘If Muhammad has been killed, then you might as well revert to your former religion.’ But Anis ibn Nadhr said: ‘If Muhammad has been killed, his Lord has not been killed.” (Tafseer Al-Mazhari, an Arabic commentary of the Quran).

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Some people portray the Prophet Muhammad in his capacity as a conqueror. Others know him in his capacity as a preacher of the faith—one who called humankind to God. The true believer is one who knows him in his latter capacity

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According to another account, related by Ibn Kathir, one of the Ansar (people of Madinah) said: “If Muhammad has been killed, then he has communicated his message; now is the time to strive for your faith.” The following verse of the Quran was revealed with regard to this incident:

“Muhammad is only a messenger. Messengers have passed away before him. If he should die, or be killed, will you turn back on your heels? Those who turn on their heels do not harm the Lord in the least. God will reward the grateful” (3: 144).

Some people know the Prophet Muhammad in his capacity as a conqueror. Others know him in his capacity as a preacher of the faith— one who called humankind to God. The true believer is one who knows him in his latter capacity, for it is historians, not believers, who portray him as a conqueror.

It will not be out of place to discuss the reasons for portraying the Prophet as a conqueror which is a total misrepresentation of the facts. The Muslim biographers, because of a lack of objective understanding of the Prophet’s life, misrepresented the facts by ignoring the prevailing tribal customs and culture of the time. Due to the prevailing culture the Prophet and his Companions were forced to engage themselves in defensive battles for a short while. This was falsely construed as forming the major events of the Prophet’s life. This is far from the truth. The true personality of the Prophet as a peaceloving and modest person appeared to many of his biographers as deficient in some way or the other. This image of the Prophet appeared to them as falling short of the standards of leaders of other peoples of the time, who were great conquerors and warriors. Hence these biographers tried to present an image of their Prophet as a warrior, which, in their eyes was a superior image.

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Quran addresses the individual and it is a book of wisdom. The prophet to whom this Quran was revealed could not have preached anything else but God’s message of spirituality and peace.

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On the other hand, non-Muslim biographers of the Prophet have adopted a different approach. These people have largely ignored the main events of the Prophet’s life choosing to focus on a few, exceptional incidents that they have used as a basis of a picture of the Prophet’s life, that portrays him as a warrior prophet. A true believer follows the pristine teachings from the Quran and the life of the Prophet, whose only goal was to call people towards God. Quran addresses the individual and it is a book of wisdom. The prophet to whom this Quran was revealed could not have preached anything else but God’s message of spirituality and peace. A believer is a missionary in the truest sense. He is a well-wisher of humanity. He desires to establish peace in the society at all cost.

Passing the Buck

THE Prophet of Islam and his Companions suffered defeat twice, at the Battle of Uhud (AD 625) and at the Battle of Hunayn (AD 630). On the occasion of Uhud, they suffered total defeat, and at Hunayn they suffered partial defeat.

Their opponents were the aggressors, and the Muslims were the defenders. This was the case of justice coming face to face with injustice. But the Quran, reviewing both events, said nothing against the opposite party but gave advice to the Muslims, pointing out their weakness. In the case of Uhud, the Quran pointed out the lack of unity in their fold. This is what the Quran said:

“And God made good His promise to you when by His leave you were about to destroy your foes, but then your courage failed you and you disagreed among yourselves (concerning the Prophet’s direction) and disobeyed it, after He had brought you within sight of what you wished for.” (3: 152)

In the case of the Battle of Hunayn, the Quran pointed out the sense of pride among the Muslims. Referring to this battle, the Quran says: “Indeed, God has helped you on many occasions. On the day of Hunayn, when you took pride in your great numbers, they proved of no avail to you—for the earth, despite all its vastness, became (too) narrow for you and you turned back, in retreat.” (9: 25)

According to Quranic teachings, if you face any kind of undesirable experience from another person or group, you should not try to protest against others or register your complaint against them. You should rather try to find out your own weakness, your own vulnerability that gave the other party the opportunity to overcome you. The only right thing to do in such a situation is to engage in introspection in order to discover your own weakness and then to reassess your own planning.

War is Now Obsolete

HUMAN history appears to be a long story of wars, one after another. Prior to the 20th century, war might have been regarded as a necessity of the times. But from the 20th century onwards, following a veritable revolution in human affairs, war has become totally unnecessary. War has now become a complete anachronism. All that for the sake of which in the past people would go to war can now be obtained without war, and in a much better way. Compared to the violent means that were used in ancient times, modern, peaceful means are much more effective and result-oriented.

Why did so many wars happen in ancient times? The reason for this was ambitious people could not see before them any way other than waging war against others to obtain their objectives. They went to war because it seemed to them that they had no alternative to war in order to secure their goals.

In ancient times there were two things in particular that made war seem necessary and unavoidable for those who chose to go to war. The first of these was family-based monarchical rule. The second was the agriculture-based or land-based economy. In ancient times, monarchy based on family rule carried on for centuries. In line with this system, for a politically-ambitious person to satisfy his desire for political power the only way that seemed possible was to kill the ruling monarch or to depose him and to capture his throne and then put himself in his place. In this way, one family succeeded another as monarchs, in a chain that extended over many thousands of years.

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Because of Industrial Revolution, today innumerable new economic means and opportunities have become available, utilizing which a person can make great economic progress.

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In the modern age, major revolutions took place because of which family-based monarchical rule came to an end and across the world a system of democratic governance was established, at least in theory. Political rulers now began being chosen through periodic elections. In this way, every person now got the opportunity to obtain an outlet for his political ambitions. For everyone it now became possible that, using peaceful means, they could obtain a position of political power, for a limited term.

Another very significant change occurred in the economic sphere. For thousands of years, almost the entire economy was dependent on agriculture. In other words, it was a land-based economy. Those who owned land were considered wealthy and powerful, while those who were landless were considered poor and powerless. Further, under the ancient political system, the monarch and those whom he had granted land-grants to were considered to be the actual owners of the land.

In such a situation, for a person with great economic ambitions, there seemed to be only one way to satisfy his desires—and that was to fight with the owners of the land and grab their land. In this regard a person who had no land had just two choices—either to remain content with being landless or to fight against the owners of the land and try to grab their land.

In the modern age, a major development completely transformed this situation, and that is what is called the Industrial Revolution. Because of this revolution, today innumerable new economic means and opportunities have become available, utilizing which a person can make great economic progress. Even without becoming a landowner he can become economically wealthy.

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The world has come to realize the inefficacy of war to obtain the desired objective. In this age, talking about war has become anachronistic and obsolete. This is an age of peace.

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This change is so massive and significant that it can, without any exaggeration, be called an ‘economic explosion’. It has completely transformed the entire political and economic scenario. Things that earlier seemed impossible have now become completely possible. Things that earlier appeared merely imaginary have now become a practical reality. The age of political and economic monopoly has come to a complete and final end.

After this revolutionary change, there is now no excuse left for anyone to go to war. A person or group or country can now obtain their economic or political objectives by availing of the vastly expanded opportunities that have now been made possible, using peaceful means alone. In such a situation, there is no need for war at all. War and violence would now only indicate a complete lack of awareness of the ample possibilities that are today available for obtaining one’s objectives using peaceful means alone. Today, war has been rendered utterly ineffective and useless in terms of producing any positive results.

The recent standoff between the US and Iran in the wake of the US strike on Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani offers a great lesson. In both countries, the sentiments of the public flared to wreak vengeance on each other. A destructive war seemed inevitable. It was at this most critical juncture that better sense prevailed on both sides. Knowing full well the calamitous consequences of modern-day war, the Heads of both countries unequivocally declared that they do not want to wage war. The US President said, “The fact that we have this great military and equipment… does not mean we have to use it. We do not want to use it.” (TIME January 20, 2020) This episode is ample proof that the age of war is over. The world has come to realize the inefficacy of war to obtain the desired objective. In this age, talking about war has become anachronistic and obsolete. This is an age of peace. Let’s embark on our journey to spread the message of peace. Through peaceful movements, every objective can be attained.

No Accident

THE Quran reminds us: “Every human being is bound to taste death.” (3: 185). Our death has been decided by God. We are brought to life by God’s decision. Likewise, death, too, happens because God wills it so.

Unlike what many people believe, death is not an accident. Rather, it is a test. If you think of death as an accident, it leads you to be miserable. On the other hand, if you accept death as a test, you can be fired with a new determination. You will think to yourself, “Till now, I was being tested through life. Now my examination will happen through death. My success in this lies in my seeing it as an examination, and I should do my best to do well in this examination.”

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We need to be realistic on the question of death. We need to accept death as an undeniable fact. We need to take death as a means to learn appropriate lessons, not as something to regret or mourn about.

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None of us die at the wrong time, at a time we were not meant to. Everyone who is born into this world has been born in order to go through an examination. For each of us, a certain period of time has been decreed for this examination. Once this period is over, the angel of death arrives to take our souls and convey us to the world of the Hereafter.

We need to be realistic—to face the reality as it is—on the question of death. We need to accept death as an undeniable fact. We need to take death as a means to learn appropriate lessons, not as something to regret or mourn about.

The Prophet said that death demolishes all desires (Musnad Ahmad). This means if someone has understood the reality of death, he will become exceedingly serious. He makes the world to come after death his goal, instead of this world. His life becomes entirely focused on the Hereafter.

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 AD 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

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Those who take protectors other than God can be compared to the spider which builds itself a cobweb, but the frailest of all structures is the house of the spider, if they but knew it. God surely knows what they invoke besides Him. He is the Mighty, the Wise One. Such are the comparisons We make for people, but only those understand them who have knowledge. God has created the heavens and the earth for a purpose; surely in this there is a sign for true believers. (29: 41-44)

It is shown here that one who sees a spider’s web and learns a lesson about reality from it is a learned person in the true sense. This clearly demonstrates who are the truly learned in the eyes of God. They are not those who have become expert in bookish discourses, but, rather, individuals who are capable of imbibing the sound advice conveyed through God’s signs scattered throughout His world and whose minds are capable of magnifying small events into great lessons. When this learning reaches the final stage of ma‘rifah or ‘knowledge with intense realization of God,’ then it is called by its other name: faith or iman.

Recite what has been revealed to you of the book, and pray regularly. Surely prayer restrains one from indecency and evil, and remembrance of God is greater. God has knowledge of all your actions. (29: 45)

‘Recite what has been revealed to you of the book’, here means ‘the propagation of the revelation’ i.e. reciting the Quran before people and making them aware of the will of God. This work of propagation is a task calling for great patience. To perform this work well, one has to be the well-wisher of one’s opponents. One has to ignore their excesses. One has to look at one’s addressees as one’s invitees, even if they are rivals and opponents.

Just as prayer restrains a man from evil in everyday life, similarly, it saves a missionary from unmissionary-like behaviour. Only that person can become preacher of God’s message whose heart is full of God’s remembrance and who bows down before God in all sincerity.

Prayer, or salaat, restrains the human being from committing evil. If a man bows down or prostrates himself (performs ruku‘ and sajdah) before God in all earnestness, he develops a sense of responsibility and humility. The character which forms in a man as a result of this makes him do that which he should do and desist from that which he should not do.

When a man attains perfect knowledge through intense realization of God, or ma‘rifah, the result is that the thought of God permeates his very existence. This is what is meant by remembrance of God (dhikr). This spring of God’s remembrance, or dhikr, wells up and flows through his body and soul. Reaching this height of spirituality, man begins uttering noble words in praise of God, and this is undoubtedly the highest form of prayer or worship.

Your Questions Answered

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.

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What is the mission of Islam?

The Islamic mission is the tazkiya (purification) of the individual. The target is that every person should discover God, develop spiritually and be devoid of malice in his heart.

Why is the spirit of Islam being lost in Muslims?

The degeneration that we see in present Muslims had been predicted by the Prophet. According to a Hadith:
A time will come when nothing except the name of Islam will remain [among Muslims] and nothing except the words of the Quran will remain [among Muslims]. (Shuab al-Iman, al-Bayhaqi) This is not surprising because every community undergoes degeneration, and Muslims are no exception to this principle.

This degeneration does not set in in the first generation, but in the generations that follow. This is why reformers are required to suggest what work needs to be done to revive degenerated people. To regain the spirit of Islam, we need to identify the right reformers from the wrong ones.

How can we revive the Islamic spirit among Muslims?

Muslims should be able to revive the Islamic spirit by reading the Quran in a language they can understand. During one of my travels, I met a Muslim who used to carry a pocket Arabic Quran and used to keep reading it as and when he got some time. Upon enquiry he told me that he had been doing this for fourteen years. I asked him what he thought was the gist of the Quran. He said that he read the Quran for receiving heavenly reward and not to derive meaning by studying it.

This is generally the case of those who read or recite the Quran. The true spirit of Islam would be inculcated in Muslims if they read the Quran so that they understand its meaning and follow its import.

Is there any reward for the mere recitation of the Quran?

The giving of reward is entirely upon God, but mere recitation of the Quran is not the right way to seek reward. No Companion of the Prophet believed in this concept. You must either understand Arabic or read the Quran along with the translation so that you can understand the Quran, follow its teachings and become deserving of rewards. Time and again you emphasize the difference between Islam and Muslims. Kindly give a simple understanding of this difference.

Islam is the name of an ideology of life given by the Quran. It means ‘to submit’. An adherent of Islam is expected to imbibe the tenets of this ideology and lead life in accordance with its principles. The word ‘Muslim’ translates to ‘one who submits’.

However, given the freedom a person enjoys, one may sometimes follow the principles of Islam and at other times may simply follow one’s desires. Therefore, it must be understood that Islam and Muslims are different. The actions of Muslims must be judged in the light of Islamic teachings, but Islam must never be judged on the basis of actions of Muslims.