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

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

Preface

After qualifying in the Central Superior Services Examination held in India in October, 1944, I joined the Indian Audit & Accounts Service on 7th November 1945, against the only permanent vacancy which was being filed up that year as a result of the above examination. On opting for Pakistan I was posted as Assistant Accountant General in the office of the A.G.P.R., Karachi which I joined on 30th July, 1947. Thereafter I served in various capacities in the Audit Department both in East and West Pakistan. Broadly speaking, my service career was divided between the Audit Department and several public sector corporations in the proportion of about 25 years in the former and 15 years in the latter. Among public sector corporations, I served in the National Investment Trust, the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works, the National Insurance Corporation, and finally the State Life Insurance Corporation from where I retired on 4th June, 1985.

Apart from my professional interest in the subject of audit, both governmental and commercial, I have devoted a great deal of my time, thinking and studying the role and proper application of Islam in the world of today. Looking back at my life, I find that the reasons for my particular interest in this subject are fairly clear. My interest in Islam was aroused to a great extent by my frequent reading of the translation and commentary of the Holy Quran by Allama Yousuf Ali, in my college and university days. This interest was further developed by the fact that I chose History as my major subject in the university, and had the benefit of studying this subject under some extraordinarily capable teachers of History in the Allahbad University, from where I did my M.A. in 1944.

As to why I started writing articles, I think the basic reason is an urge to communicate with one’s fellow men. In fact without this urge and a genuine pleasure in putting one’s thoughts on paper, it is not possible to undertake this type of work. I may add that in my opinion, all successful literary endeavour is based on a synthesis of various Ideas secured form a variety of sources and the skill lies in selecting and blending them in such a way as to meet the current demands of society. Really original thinking or a very original idea is extremely rare and only very exceptional people have been able to develop truly original lines of thinking. In my case, I am quite clear that the thoughts which I have presented are a synthesis of ideas I have gathered from multifarious sources during the course of my life.

Let me begin by pointing out that one important aspect of Islam is its emphasis on an individual’s personal responsibility for all his actions. As a corollary it becomes incumbent on every Muslim to try to develop his understanding of the basic values and principles of Islam without falling in the morass of blind "taqlid". This is why the Holy Quran has laid so much emphasis on thinking and pondering over the signs of nature as well as the Ayats of the Holy Quran.

In the articles included in this collection, the two articles to which I would draw special attention are "Moral Re-armament" and "Ways to reform the Ummah". The importance of these two articles lies in the fact that they outline a specific course of action and invite the reader to move in the matter if he agrees with the line of argument. The hypocrisy involved in saying one thing and doing just the opposite, is rampant in Pakistan. This is responsible for much of the mess in which we are today and a re-commitment to basic moral values is one of the first steps for getting out of this mess. All other efforts for improvement will not produce any results unless the people are prepared to change themselves and begin to practice what they preach, cultivate self-discipline and self-control, and try to live up to the high ideals of justice and tolerance which Islam has propounded.

Apart from these two articles, the other article also present one or other aspect of the essence of Islam relying mostly on the verses of the Holy Quran but some also touching upon the history of the Muslim ummah and the process of its decline over the centuries. The principal purpose of writing these articles however is an invitation to all persons who believe they are Muslims to ponder over what has gone wrong with the Muslim Ummah and what is the role and responsibility of individual Muslims of today for this unfortunate situation. Once it is realised that God has created man to be his vicegerent on earth it becomes impossible to take shelter behind any alibi’s for individual Muslims who would be reading these articles, not to stir out of their inertia & indifference and take concrete steps, however small for the reform of the Muslim Ummah. If even half the readers of these articles develop this consciousness the purpose of writing these articles would have been served. I can’t do better than end with the famous words of Edmond Burke, the 18th century English political philosopher who said that "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for the good men to do nothing."

Finally I have great pleasure in placing on record the help I have received from my wife Atiya in writing these articles.

Nasim A. Jafarey

Karachi, July 1997

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1. Theory & Practice of Islamic Socialism

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