Just One God: Muslim World

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Chapter-1: Doctrine of Takfir

The doctrine of Takfir; is being used in the modern era especially by terrorist groups like Daesh/ ISIS, Boko Haram & Talibans, in sanctioning violence against leaders and simple Muslims who are deemed insufficiently religious. Takfir is a pronouncement to declare any (non practicing Muslim), to be an unbeliever (Takfir), apostate, (Murtad) hence liable to be killed. It has become a central ideology of militant groups such as those in

Egypt

iraq

and across the world including so called ‘Taliban’, now also in

Afghanistan

and adjoining tribal areas of

Pakistan

. According to the ‘Oxford Dictionary of Islam’, doctrine of Takfir is claimed to be derived from the ideas of Sayyid Qutab, Maududi, Ibn Tymiyyah and Ibn Kathir. Mainstream Muslims and Islamic groups reject the pseudo concept of ‘Takfir’ as a doctrinal deviation [bid’at], heresy. Leaders such as Hassan al-Hudaybi (died,1977) and Yousf al–Qaradawi reject ‘Takfir’ as un-Islamic and marked by bigotry and zealotry. Such narrow mindedness has exacerbated the evil of sectarianism and the resulting intolerance among the masses has led to a dangerous trend towards sectarian militancy. Recently the Saudi scholars also condemned and strongly rejected the ‘Takfir’ doctrine.

Design of Creation:

Man as an animal has a humble origin. But he has been given the gift of certain faculties of receiving instruction (typified by Hearing) and of intellectual and spiritual insight (typified by Sight) according to Qur’an; “Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm in order to try him: so We gave him (the gifts) of Hearing and Sight”(Qura’n;76:2). His life has therefore a meaning: with a certain amount of free-will, he is to be vicegerent on earth (Qur’an;2:30). But he must be trained and tried, and that is the whole problem of human life. “Verily We have created Man into toil and struggle.”(Qura’n;90:4). Allah says: “I have not created jinns [invisible beings] and mankind except to worship (serve) Me. I require no sustenance from them, nor do I ask that they should feed Me. Surely it is Allah Who is the giver of all sustenance, the Lord of Power, the Invincible.” (Qur’an;51:56-58). To understand why human beings need to worship Allah, one must first understand what is meant by words ‘yabudun’ (worship, service) it is derived from word ‘abud’’ means ‘slave’ who surrenders to the command of his master. The English term ‘worship’ comes from the Old English “weorthscipe” meaning ‘honor.’ Consequently, worship is defined as ‘the performance of devotional acts in honor of a deity: According to this meaning, man is instructed to show gratitude to Allah by glorifying Him, In the Qur’an, Allah says; “Glorify the praises of your Lord”(Qur’an;2:185). Worshipping (serving) Allah does not mean that people spend their entire lives in constant seclusion and absolute meditation. The true service (worship) to Allah is to live in this world according to His commands, and not to run away from it. Worship (service) is to obey what He desires and refrain from what He forbids by his free moral will, a test or trial.

Thus the purpose of creation of humanity is to test the people during limited life span on earth and finally reward in hereafter. “Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial: to Us must ye return.”(Qura’n;21:35). If He wanted every one would have obeyed Him, like angels: “Have not yet the believers been satisfied that if God wanted, He would have certainly guided the whole of mankind?”(Qur’an;13:31). “if it had been His will He could indeed have guided you all."(Qur’an;6:149).” But God want to test the man, by granting him limited free moral will to choose between right and wrong. Apart from intellect, He also provided guidance thorough prophets and scriptures. Those who obey Him by choice, due to the ‘limited free moral will’ granted by God and live according to His guidance, will be rewarded and those who disobey, will be punished in hereafter: “Say "The Truth is from your Lord": let him who will believe and let him who will reject (it)- for the wrongdoers We have prepared a Fire..(Qur’an;18:29).“The One Who created death and life, so that He may put you to test, to find out which of you is best in deeds: He is the All-Mighty, the All-Forgiving.”(Qur’an;67:2). “Notwithstanding that no human being can ever attain to faith otherwise than by God’s leave, and (that) it is He who lays the loathsome evil (of disbelief) upon those who will not use their reason?”(Qur’an;10:100). “We shall surely test your steadfastness with fear and famine, with loss of property, life and produce. Give good news to those who endure with patience; who, when afflicted with calamity, say: “We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.” Such are the people on whom there are blessings and Mercy from Allah; and they are the ones that are rightly guided.”(Qur’an;2:155-157). “And if thy Lord willed, all who are in the earth would have believed together. Wouldst thou (Muhammad) compel men until they are believers?”(Qura’n;10:99). “And what is there to keep back men from believing now that Guidance has come to them nor from praying for forgiveness from their Lord but that (they ask that) the ways of the ancients be repeated with them or the Wrath be brought to them face to face?”(Qura’n;18:55).

Man Created Weak, Not to be Over Burdened:

It is possible that some believer (Muslim) neglects a duty (prescribe through Qur’an or Sunnah). If we treat this neglect or omission on the same basis as we treat addition, we are demanding that every Muslim should be perfect, a heavy burden. Allah says: “God wishes to lighten your burdens because humans have been created weak by nature” (Qur’an;4:28). “God does not burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear”(Qur’an;2:286, 6:152, 7:42 & 23:62). This further explains that God has classified the Muslims in to three broad categories i.e. the sinners, moderates and ideal Muslims: “We have given the Book as an inheritance to those of Our servants (Muslims) whom We have chosen, among them there are some who wrong their own souls, some follow a middle course and some, by Allah's leave, excel in good deeds; which is the supreme virtue.”(Qur’an;35:32). Further elaborated: “who are true to their trust and covenants, and who are diligent about their prayers (Salah). These are the heirs who will inherit paradise; and live therein forever.”(Qur’an;9:11). “We wrote this in The Zaboor (Psalms;37:29) after the reminder (Torah given to Moses): that as for the earth, My righteous servants shall inherit it.”(Qur’an;21:105).“So lose not heart nor fall into despair: for ye must gain mastery if ye are true in faith.”(Qur’an;3:139).

It is observed in a Muslim society that the majority of Muslims fall in to the 1^st category, followed by 2^nd and few in the last category of ideal pious Muslims. While we should always try to improve ourselves, perfection cannot be expected from anyone. Allah describes the believers with whom He is pleased as those who "avoid the cardinal of sins and gross indecencies, and are guilty of only small offence, surely for them your Lord will have abundant forgiveness…”(Qur’an53:32). In other words, the good believers who earn the pleasure of Allah commit minor sins. Proceeding further it may said that even a person who commits a grave sin may still earn the pleasure of Allah, if he works hard, perform good deeds and seeks His forgiveness. Allah says: “He has chosen you (Muslims) and has not laid upon you any hardship in the observance of your faith - the faith of your father Abraham”(Qur’an;22:78). “Thus have We made of you (Muslims) a community justly balanced (middle way)”(Qur’an;2:143)

No Coercion in Matters of Faith:

Duress in the matter of faith is incompatible with Islam. Even the Prophet (peace be upon him) was clearly told: “If then they (non believers) turn away We have not sent thee as a guard over them. Thy duty (O’ messenger of God) is but to convey (the Message).”(Qur’an;42:48, similarly at 22:49, 3:20, 4:80, 7:79, 93, 24:54 and many other places). Qur’an further elaborates: “Let there be no compulsion in religion: truth stands out Clear from error: Whoever rejects evil and believes In Allah hath grasped the Most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. and Allah hears and knows all things.”(Qur’an;2:256);“to you be your religion, and to me mine”. (Qur’an;109:6). Compulsion is irreconcilable with religion; because, firstly; religion depends upon faith and will, and these would be meaningless if induced by force. Secondly, Truth and Error have been so clearly shown up by the mercy of God that there should be no doubt in the minds of persons of goodwill as to the fundamentals of faith;. Thirdly, God's protection is continuous and His Plan is always to lead us from the depths of darkness into the clearest light. An insight to the concept of sin, crime, repentance, mercy and punishment will help to remove some of the misconceptions.

INDEX:

Chapter-3: Repentance and Mercy

Anyone who, at the end of any particular day in his life, examines what he/she may have said or done is bound to come to the conclusion that he has committed several sins. If the feeling of guilt lingers with us for a long while, and increases day after day, then life will acquire a very gloomy aspect. We will feel that we have no hope of salvation. Our sins can only increase and they will inevitably do away with our good deeds. But this is not how Islam views the whole issue of disobedience and sin.

Its outlook constantly embrace the prospect of forgiveness and reward due to His Mercy, Allah says:

“Your Lord has decreed mercy upon Himself. If anyone among you commits evil because of ignorance and thereafter repents and mends his ways; you will find Allah Forgiving, Merciful.”(Qur’an;6:54). “Surely Allah will never forgive the one who commits the sin of ascribing partners to Him and may forgive anyone else if He so pleases. Who so ascribes partners unto Allah has wandered far astray.”(Qur’an;4:116). “Say: "O my Servants (believers) who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful. Turn ye to your Lord (in repentance) and bow to His (Will) before the Penalty comes on you:” (Qur’an;39:53-54); “If anyone does evil or wrongs his own soul and then seeks Allah's forgiveness, he will find Allah Forgiving, Merciful.”(Qur’an;4:110). “However, the one who has repented in this life, and believed, and done good deeds may hope to be among those who will achieve salvation.”(Qur’an;28:67).

Even in the case of offences that carry mandatory punishment, Islam prefers that the offender follows the alternative course, which is to repent and make amends. The Prophet [peace be upon him] says: “If you do any of these offences and are duly punished for it in this life, the punishment atones for it. If you keep it between you and God, then it is up to God to either forgive or punish you on the Day of Resurrection.” This means that repentance is the key to what one should do after committing any sin. Repentance means acknowledgement of one’s error, genuine regret for having committed it and a firm resolve not to do it again. If one truly repents of one’s sins and prays to God for forgiveness, then God accepts one’s repentance He has promised that and God’s promises always come true.

It may be added here that if the sinful actions involves something due to other people, he should restore to them what is rightfully theirs. Thus a person who commits theft should combine his repentance with returning what he has stolen. A person who slanders another in front of a group of people should contact those people and put the record straight to them, speaking well of the person whom he had slandered.

Intercession of Prophet (pbuh) for Believers:

There is also a hadith related by Abu Hurairah and recorded by Ahmad and Muslim in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said; "Every prophet has a special supplication that is answered. Every prophet hastened to make his supplication, but I concealed mine and will use it for my nation on the Day of Resurrection. It will be granted--Allah willing--to whoever dies without associating any partners with Allah." Al-Bukhari also recorded that Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The person who will be the happiest due to my intercession is the one who says, 'There is no god but Allah' sincerely from his heart." [Extracted from Fiqah-us-Sunnah, volume.1, Number.77b].

Virtues Remove Evils:

Any good action or kind word, which we may do or say, will be credited to us. It will earn us a reward and the cumulative effect of our reward will erase at least a commensurate number of our sins. Moreover, a good is given a reward, which is equivalent to at least ten times its value. A sin or an act of disobedience is recorded at its simple value. Therefore, a small act of kindness erases a sin, which is ten times more serious. Allah says: “Indeed virtues remove evils..”(Qur’an;11:114 ); “Repel evil with good” (Qur’an;23:96, 13:22, 41:34).

Sincere Repentance:

It is again re-emphasized that Allah has left the door always open for repentance of one's sins. For a cardinal sin to be forgiven, a resolve is needed not to indulge in it again. He has also committed Himself to turn with forgiveness to anyone who genuinely turns to Him in repentance. Therefore, when we wrong ourselves by committing a sin, we should turn to Allah and declare our repentance and pray for forgiveness. If we are sincere and genuine, then Allah will undoubtedly forgive us. The mark of genuine repentance is the resolve not to repeat the offense. Even if one yields to temptation again and does the same offense another time, his first repentance is accepted as well as his second, if on both occasions he is honest and sincere and has really regretted committing the offense: “He knows what is in the heavens and on earth: and He knows what you conceal and what you reveal: yes Allah knows well the (secrets) of (all) hearts.”(Qur’an;64:4).

Islam recognizes that human beings, being as they are, may yield to temptation and commit sins. As long as they are not so hardened in sin that they do not bother about the offense at all, forgiveness is possible. Indeed, it is likely, provided that the offense is followed by genuine regret and a clear intention to refrain from doing it again. That concept allows Muslims to have the reassurance that forgiveness is always possible. Islam does not like its followers to go about with the specter of Divine punishment always hanging over their heads. Indeed, it prefers that they always have the prospect of being forgiven. There is another element, which ensures forgiveness. Allah describes His servants with certain qualities including refraining from cardinal sins. He threatens those who indulge in them with punishment, except one who turns to Allah in repentance, believes and does something good. Allah will change the evil deeds of such people into good ones. Allah is indeed much forgiving, merciful. Allah says: "avoid the cardinal of sins and gross indecencies, and are guilty of only small offence, surely for them your Lord will have abundant forgiveness…”(Qur’an;53:32). That Qur’anic verse shows us the way to forgiveness. It is easily achieved if we follow our bad deeds with good ones. The doors of repentance remain open until a person is in the final throes of death. Pharaoh just before drowning, cried out: "I believe that there is no god but Him in Whom the Children of Israel believe” but it was not accepted and his body made as a sign for the successive generations (Qur’an;10:90-92).

Sins, Crimes and Shari’a:

Most of the sins, especially related with the dealings with other human beings fall in to the category of crimes punishable though courts established under Shari’a (Islamic law), those which remain undiscovered will be punished hereafter. In Islamic society, the term law has a wider significance than it does in the modern secular West, because Islamic law includes both legal and moral imperatives. For the same reason, not all-Islamic laws can be stated as formal legal rules or enforced by the courts. Much of it like sin of backbiting (Qur’an;49:12) not greeting (Qur’an;24:27) etc depends on conscience alone.

Qur’an in verses 24:30-31, while explaining the required behavior of Muslims in mixed traffic and gatherings of males and females, ordains the believing men and women to lower their gaze, guard their modesty, and to (alway) turn to God in repentance for bliss. Violation of any one of the commandments mentioned these verses constitute a sin (punishable in hereafter), however since punishment has not been prescribed here so in legal terms; a Muslim man staring at women can not be punished in the court of law, though he is committing a sin. Since such violations are possible due to "man has been created weak" (Qur’an;4:28), the implication of the general call at the end of verse 24:31, to repentance is because no one is ever free of faults and temptations so much so that even the Prophet (pbuh) used to say, "Verily, I turn unto Him in repentance a hundred times every day" (Ibn Hanbal, Bukhari and Bayhaqi, all of them on the authority of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar).

While the state can not implement every aspect of Islam through force of law, in the religious matters, the scholars think that state has the responsibility of making arrangements to: 1) establish Salah (regular prayers) and 2) system of Zakah (obligatory charity), 3) enjoining right and forbidding evil, taking inference form Qur’an: “These are the people who, if We establish them (in power, authority) in the land, will establish Salah and pay Zakah, enjoin right and forbid evil; the final decision of all affairs is in the hands of Allah.”(Qur’an;22:41), “…but if they repent and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.”(Qur’an;9:5). Some scholars think that implementation in all other matters, should be left to the individuals through persuasion to enjoining good and forbidding evil.

The implementation methodology of injunctions could be deduced from guidance provided by Allah: “Make due allowance for man’s nature, and enjoin the doing of what is right (amr bil a’rif); and leave alone all those who choose to remain ignorant.”(Qur’an;7:199). While explaining this verse Muhammad Asad writes: “According to Zamakhshari, khudh-al-‘awf means: ‘Accept what comes easily to thee (or ‘what is willingly accorded to thee’) of doings and the nature of men, and make things easy (for them), without causing them undue hardship (khulf); and do not demand of them efforts that may be too difficult for them.’ This interpretation – which has been adopted many other classical commentators as well–is based on the identical explanation of the phrase khudh al ‘awf by ‘Abd Allah ibn az- Zubayr and his brother ‘Urwah (Bukhari), as well as by A’ishah and, in the next generation, by Hihsam ibn ‘Urwah and Mujahid (Reference; Tibri, Baghawai and Ibn Kathir). Thus, in accordance with the Qur’anic statements that “man has been created weak”(Qur’an;4:28) and that “God does not burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear”(Qur’an;2:286, 6:152, 7:42 & 23:62), the believer is admonished to make due allowance for human nature and not to be too harsh with those who err. [May be due to this aspect forgiveness from sin and exemption from Hadd was granted by Allah according to a Hadith: Narrated by AbuUmamah (Sahih Muslim Hadith, 1292)]. This admonition is the more remarkable as it follows immediately upon a discourse on the most unforgivable of all sins- the ascribing of divine powers or qualities to any one or anything but God.” It may also be kept in view that the man is also under trial :“Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial: to Us must ye return.”(Qura’n;21:35).

Use of force as being done by non state groups (Taliban), forcing the men to keep beard, women to cover face, not to attend schools and colleges etc is considered as deviation. It is the responsibility of the well established government in a Muslim society which is competent to execute punishments after fair trial according to Shari’a while taking care of all the requirements of justice. Similarly to the performing Hajj and many other rituals and religious obligations are left to the individual Muslims for which they is answerable to Allah. The Bible also emphasizes similar aspects: “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” (1 Peter; 3:10-13)

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