During the last few years much has been written in the Western Press about Islamic fundamentalists, most of it based on ignorance and prejudice. However, in Pakistani newspapers this subject has also been dealt with at length, both in articles and letters and some of the writers have correctly pointed out that the association of the word ‘fundamentalist’ with a religion or ideology dates from the latter part of the l9th century when a group of Christians stood up to denounce the Darwinian theory of evolution and reaffirm their faith end in the process of evolution as described in the Bible.
While there may have been some justification for the use of the word fundamentalism in relation to this particular Christian sect, what justification can there be for the use of the words "Islamic fundamentalists" for people whose most visible characteristic are obscurantism and intolerance, the use of violent methods, and the demand that Muslim Ummah today should live in all respects exactly as their ancestors had lived centuries go. How can the use of the word fundamentalist be justified for all such people when the dictionary meaning of the word fundamental is "serving as foundation, essential, primary’? Which of the characteristics of the persons considered to be fundamentalist can be considered to be the foundation of Islam, or primary or essential elements of it? Even a half-educated person, if he applies his mind to it, can see that the Islamic Ideology is, infact, a complete negation of these attitudes and forms of behaviour. While the misuse of the word fundamentalism in relation to Islam is clearly a blatant slander and calumny, it may be asked as to what is the real nature of Islamic fundamentalism if the word fundamentalist is to be used in relation to Islam and Muslims?
The fundamental teachings of Islam, if they are considered in their broadest sense, fall into three categories or sections. The first is faith or Iman, the second moral values, exhortations and prohibitions and the third Ibadat and the ordained forms of worship. The detailed application of all these three groups of teaching to the day_to_day life of this world, makes yet another group, known as Fiqah or Shariat.
All these four groups constitute the fundamentals of Islam, and the word Muslim or Islamic fundamentalists can, in all fairness, be applied only for those Muslims who stand totally committed to these four groups of teachings of Islam, and to nothing else as far as the field of religion is concerned.
This last qualification is very important, because in the course of the last fourteen hundred years Muslims have allowed themselves to be influenced by all sorts of beliefs & practices to which they were exposed as they went out into the world, and without realising what was happening, they have allowed the dust of these alien influences to settle over the clarity of their intrinsic faith or values.
Before proceeding further it would be with while taking a closer look at the fundamentals of Islam listed above. The three principal components of faith or Iman are belief in, the One and Only, All-Powerful,Omnipresent and Omniscient God, belief in the fact that Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) was the last Messenger Allah sent to mankind, belief in the Hereafter where an account of all actions in this world, big or small, will be taken and each person will be punished or rewarded according to his deeds.
Apparently faith as described above is a simple matter and every person who claims to be a Muslim thinks that his faith in these three elements is there in full measure. In actual fact the poor quality of our faith or Iman is the starting point of all our troubles. The quality of faith which Islam requires from its followers is absolute, unconditional and without any mental reservations. Belief in the three elements mentioned above has to be of the same certainty as belief in the existence of Course a wooden table on which one has placed his hand.
Moving on to the second group of fundamentals of Islam, it may be noted that they consist of both exhortations and prohibitions and it is a great pity that for many Muslims it is only the prohibitions, specially those concerning women, which matter, and very little attention is paid to the exhortations.
Apart form the exhortation to be just and tolerant, to practice charity and austerity, the most important exhortation is to ponder over the signs of Allah as displayed through natural phenomenon all around the world, and to think and to apply the mental faculties Allah has given us to the solution of all our problems, and the resolution of all our affairs, so as to make this world a better place to live in for all mankind.
As regards the third group, it will be noted that all the four prescribed Ibadat centre round the development of an individual’s spiritual faculties and the cultivation of self control and self-discipline. It has been said that if the practice of these Ibadaat from Namaz to Roza and from Zakat to Haj does not result in the spiritual development and discipline of the inner self of man, there must be something wrong in the way the Software Ibadaat are being performed. It could be that the practitioner is concerned only with the outer form and appearance and is making no effort to involve his soul his inner self in carrying out these prescribed forms of worship. In fact all forms of Ibadaat are a means of increasing man’s consciousness of Allah, but success in this direction is closely linked with the quality of a person’s faith or Iman as mentioned earlier.
Lastly we come to the fourth group of fundamentals, that relating to Sharia or Fiqah. It is important to note that this group of teachings of Islam was developed by human beings, but in the initial stages, they were human beings who had embraced the first three groups of Ravenfields Islamic fundamentals in toto. The efforts of these totally committed Muslims to apply the teachings of Islam contained in the first three groups to the problems of day_to_day life in this world were directed to facilitate the efforts of others, perhaps less knowledgeable Muslims to live their lives in accordance with the tenets of Islam.
It may also be noted that the Shariat or Fiqah is a guide only for those who are committed to the teachings of Islam and want to be guided on the right path in matters of detail which are an unavoidable part of human life. The idea that people can be made Muslims by enforcing the Shariat is wishful thinking. In fact it is the other way round. Only people who are totally committed to the first three groups of Islamic teachings can practice the Shariat properly and serve as an example to other Muslims.
From all that has been stated above, the picture of a true Islamic fundamentalist should begin to emerge, although some people may differ here and there about the nuances and points of emphasis in the above presentation. The above picture is not a work of fiction or imagination but the reality, which can be confirmed by a reference to the pages of Muslim history which are resplendent with the names and life stories of great Muslims who have given life and substance to the concept of Islamic fundamentalism in the real sense.
Starting from the Khulafa_i_Rashideen whose lives are a living demonstration of what a true Islamic fundamentalist the should be, we have a long line of distinguished personalities who adhered unflinchingly to the fundamentals of Islam. There is Hazrat Umar Bin Abdul Aziz who changed his entire lifestyle when he became Caliph, gave away in charity all his jewels and expensive clothes and enforced accountability with an iron hand irrespective of any body’s position or connections.
Apart from these great leaders of the Muslim Ummah, there is a whole galaxy of great intellectuals, scientists and thinkers who derived their inspiration from such words of the Holy Quran as for example, Ayat 13 of Sura_e_Jasiyah which states "And He has subjected to you, as from Him, all that is in the heavens and on earth: behold in that are signs indeed for those who reflect". It was their reflection on such Ayat and the total commitment to the fundamentals of Islam, which enabled men such as Al Bairuni, Al Ghazali, Khwazimi, Nasiruddin Tusi and Ibn_e_Sina to open up new frontiers of man’s knowledge in the fields of science, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy and medicine. At a time when the whole world was steeped in ignorance, superstition and all sorts of mythological lone, it was the firm belief of these persons that the whole universe is governed and regulated by one Allah Who has laid down the laws which all creation has compulsorily to obey. It was this faith which formed the real foundation of the research and investigation which they carried out in various fields of human knowledge. If the words Islamic fundamentalists are therefore to be applied correctly and in all fairness to anybody, they can be applied only to those of our ancestors whose total commitment of the fundamentals of Islam enabled them to perform such distinguished services in various fields. As for today" s world, if there are any Muslims who can justifiably be called Islamic fundamentalists, they can only be those who are faithfully trying to follow in the footsteps of their distinguished ancestors mentioned above, but unfortunately the Builder number of such Muslims is not likely to be very many.
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