Glimpses of Certain Aspects of Islam by Nasim.A.Jafarey

Glimpses of Certain Aspects of Islam by Nasim.A.Jafarey

13. Ways to Reform the Ummah

This is sequel to the article entitled "Faith and Righteous Action" which appeared in Dawn on 17th November 1990. In that article an attempt was made to identify the principal elements of the way of life ordained by Allah in the form of Islam, and the extent to which the Muslim Ummah has moved away from it without even realizing the degree of their deviation.

It is obvious that it will not be easy Ravenfields to correct this deviation but, among a people who day in and day out claim to be Muslims (as we in Pakistan do), an attempt has to be made to consider what can be done to change the course of the Muslim Ummah. These changes need not necessarily be made through a revolutionary process. They can be brought about gradually but systematically through small but persistent steps, one at a time.

Before proceeding further it needs to be reiterated, that the effort to guide the Ummah towards the path of righteousness is not a matter of choice, but is a very important duty of all Muslims who are educated and have had an opportunity to study and understand the basic principles of Islam.

Nothing can be clearer in this context than words contained in Ayat 104 of Surah Al_lmran, which states ""Let Software there arise out of you a band end of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. They are the ones to receive felicity" The directive contained in this Ayat is reiterated in another way when the Quran relates the story of the fisherman who violated Builder the Sabbath, in Surah "Araaf (Ayat 163 to 165). The crux of this story is that those who Course warned the transgressors did so ‘to discharge their duty’ to Allah, and with the hope that perchance they may fear Him And the story goes on to say that when gOd’s punishment came not only the transgressors but also those who had kept quiet without doing anything to prevent the transgression were destroyed. Only those who had warned the transgressors and taken steps to stop the transgression were saved.

The first concrete step which needs to be considered for correcting the course of the Muslim Ummah is the revival of absolute faith in the Day of Judgement and the process of accountability, described in so many ways in almost every Surah in the Quran. Monotheism or belief in one Supreme God was there in the world even before the coming of Islam but the emphasis on accountability for all human beings and the reiteration of the certainty of the Day of Judgement had never been done in such clear and precise fashion before the coming of Islam. And it is the loss or diminution of belief in the certainty of the Day of Judgement which among other things is one of the most important factors responsible for the present deviation of the Muslim Ummah. What can be clearer in this context than Ayat 6 to 8 of Surah ‘Zilzal’ which states as follows:

"On that Day will men proceed in companies sorted out, to be shown the deeds that they had done. Then shall anyone who has done an atom’s weight of good will see it! And anyone who has done an atomÕs weight of evil will see it" and the last two Ayat of Surah ‘Chashiya’ which says "for to us will be their return; then it will be for us to call them to account."

The crux of the matter then is this, what can be done to raise the consciousness of the Muslim Ummah with regard to the Day of Judgement. Once it is agreed that the intensity of belief in Qiyamat is one of the key factors which can bring us back to the right course, many ideas can be developed in this direction not by any one person but all the caring and knowledgeable members of the Muslim Ummah. An obvious suggestion in this context can be emphasis on all Ayat of the Quran dealing with accountability and the Day of Judgement, through the media and hoardings etc. which are being used for religious publicity but where the choice of Quranic Ayat does not seem to have a clear direction.

The next concrete step which needs to be considered is universal education. The Quran speaks repeatedly of the need for knowledge and understanding to be able to look closely at the signs of Allah and to appreciate the finer points of the Divine Message. There are also many authentic and well known Traditions which emphasise the supreme importance of education for Muslims. At the same time concrete evidence of the necessity of knowledge and education can be seen in the astonishing manner in which the Muslim Ummah blazed a trail of glory in all fields of human endeavour during the first three or four hundred years of its history. This was the period in which the Middle East, Central Asia and Spain were clustered with schools, libraries and centres of learning.

It would be futile to deny any connection between the Muslim Ummah’s progress during these centuries and their devotion to the cause of education. In any case proper education is necessary for developing the capacity to think and the capacity to synthesise which are so essential for a proper understanding of the Quran. The close link between the Ummah's progress and a systematic regimen of universal education has got to be recognised if we want to get out of the mire of degeneration in which we have fallen.

Another stumbling block in the path of the Muslims and a major cause of its degeneration is the so_called ‘notional’ closing of the door of Ijtihad sometime round about the eleventh or twelfth century. All Muslims believe that the message of Islam is for all times. That is perhaps why the Quran has not given details of any systems and procedures which human beings would need in their day-to-day life. These details of systems and procedures political, social or economic have to be worked out on the basis of the moral values and broad ideas contained in the Quran, by the Muslims themselves. This they started doing from the earliest days through the devices of Ijtihad and Ijma which continued to be in use for many centuries.

Unfortunately this most valuable arrangement was discontinued on the basis of the totally defective premise that all religious matters requiring settlement had been decided once for all and there was no need for any further discussion. On the one hand, this conferred the status of infallibility on past fatwas, which amounted to shirk, and on the other, totally ignored the need for finding religious solutions to new situations. A few instances of such new situations demanding reconciliation are space travel, family laws, working women, the true nature of Riba and the proper utilisation of Zakat funds. In order to fulfil the true spirit of Islam the two devices of Ijtihad & Ijma have to be fully institutionalised, and although this would be a difficult task it is by no means impossible if the best brains of the Muslim Ummah make a sincere effort to fulfil this most important task.

There is much talk of Islam and Islamic reform in Pakistan today. Every day the newspapers carry at least one or two headlines touching on this subject. In all speeches delivered, whether by leaders of religious or secular parties, the spoken commitment to Islam is much emphasised but this is done only in vague terms, without spelling out any concrete steps needed to correct the present course of the Muslim Ummah.

The three suggestions made in this article to bring back the Muslim Ummah on the right course are by no means the last word on the subject but they point out the direction in which we need to move to achieve our objective of stepping forward on the correct path ordained for us by Allah. Once it is fully accepted that we need to take concrete the steps to get back on the correct course from which we have deviated so badly, numerous suggestions for achieving our objective should be forthcoming from educated and concerned members of the Muslim Ummah, and that would be the beginning of the Muslim ummah’s march towards salvation.

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14. Qura’anic Viewpoint about Charity and Austerity

Index

Home Page

Preface

1. Theory & Practice of Islamic Socialism

2. Islamic Economic System

3. Islamic Financing

4. Quranic Commandments about Justice

5. The Quranic View-point about Tolerance

6. Interest on Production Loans : A case for Ijtihad

7. Moral Re-armament