II. The Purpose, The Duty
and The promise
1. Allah’s Religion and
the Code for Muhammad (PBUH)
The word for religion in Arabic is ‘Deen’*. Maulaana
Maudoodi gave it a patently novel definition and interpretation. Religion is
always one and the same. For example, he says that the Deen of all the
prophets were the same. The Deen of Noah was the same as that of Abraham,
Moses, Jesus, Shu`aib, Hud and Muhammad etc. But Shari`ah is not so. By Shaiah
is meant way or path and mode. Shari`ahs differ according to the time and clime
in which these were revealed to the prophets. Modes of prayers and observance
of fast can be seen as different among the prophets; so also injunctions about
Halaal (Pure, Permissible) and Haraam (Impure, Forbidden), rules of cleanliness
and codes of marriage, divorce and inheritance. He says, “The key difference
between Din and Shari`ah is this: while Din always was, has been, and still is
one and the same, many shari’ahs were revealed. Some were subsequently
cancelled or changed, but without changing the Din. The Din of Nuh was the same
as that of Ibrahim, Musa, `Isa, shua`ayb, Hud, Salih and Muhammad, peace be
upon them, but their Shari`ahs varied from each other to some extent.” (1).
While Din is Islam, the precise injunctions, regulations and details of
following it differ. On the appearance of Muhammad, all the previous shari`ahs
were abrogated and he being the last messenger, the Shari`ah revealed to him by
Allah remains forever.
2. The preparatory
training
Traditionally Muslims
believed that rituals (Ibadaat) like Prayer (Salaath), Fasting (Sawm), Almsgiving
(Zakat) and Pilgrimage (Hajj) were intended to purify them. Many Muslims even
now consider that these rituals will help them become ethically better. The
spiritual height thus attained, they are sure, will enable them to face their
God, the Almighty, on the Day of Judgment with confidence. Not so with Maulaana
Maudoodi. Let him say: “Just as governments train their armies, police forces
and civil services before employing them to do their job, so does Islam, the
Din given by Allah. It first trains all those who volunteer for service to God
before allowing them to undertake Jihad and establish God’s rule on earth.” (2).
Instead of telling us that it is his interpretation, he says, “so does Islam”.
It is to be pointed out here that one will be on the safe side if one takes
care to be a bit skeptical wherever he uses such assertions. Many Islamic
scholars rejected his definitions. He himself complains that they characterized
him as Kharijite and Mu’tazalite – the groups diverged from Islam even in its
early days of expansion because of their extremism.(3)
It is quite funny to notice
that Maulaana Maudoodi himself admits that nobody or nowhere in the annals of
Islam has his ideas ever been preached. The poor Muslims have been continuing
with prayers and other rites without ever being told that there must be some
greater purpose to be aimed at. In his view, Jihad is the greater purpose for which
a Muslim ought to have been trained through ‘ ibadaat. Our Maulaana finally
awakens the Muslims to a truth which the common run of Muslims never knew; the
learned ulema through out generations were not aware. Devout might have been
the Muslims, but they were in lethargy due to misunderstanding. Nobody
explained to them that Allah wanted every Muslim to be trained without arms in
the form of ‘ibaadaath. Having acquired the secret of Jihad, suddenly all his
rituals imbibe a new meaning and aim. Lo and behold, now we have what can be
called Islamist Jehadis in the world, thanks to our Maulaana! He exhorts: “For
a long time, brothers, you have been performing the various acts of worship
without giving any thought to the ultimate purpose behind them. Never did you
prepare yourself for that purpose. But now, I say, you must understand that a
heart devoid of any intention to undertake Jihad will find all ritual worship
empty of meaning. Nor will those acts bring you any nearer to your God.” (4)
3. Coercion and not education is the remedy
In Maulaanaa Maudoodi’s dispensation, preaching as a
vocation is dismissed as a thankless job. Capturing power is what is essential
and obligatory. Everything else is subsidiary. Look at the government. It is in
a mutilated shape. Corruption is rampant. Drinking, gambling, indecent attire,
exploitative financial dealings all exist because power is vested in wrong
hands. So long as power remains in other people’s hands, working as a mere
preacher is of no use. Instruments of coercion like the police and army is
essential to bring order and harmony. You might say Rationality is an essential
characteristic of human species. But, having no use for it, the Islamists start
from muscular training. They don’t believe in the capability of human beings to
reach moral and ethical standards making use of the capacity to reason. Let us
hear the prognosis from him: “Corrupt rule is the root of all the evils you
find in the world. Governments have access to power and resources; they frame
laws; they control administration, they possess the instruments of coercion
like the police and army. Evils exist and flourish in the life of society
because governments themselves either spread them or condone them. Obviously
the power required to make anything prevail lies with governments.” (5). Gone
are the days of mysterious divine interventions when the devout painfully
sought the almighty’s grace. Through our Maulaana, Islamists are now empowered
to take law in their own hands and be the ultimate power of coercion. By
default, governments are out of gear. It is only proper for the good guys to
topple or smash what is not to their taste. Preaching doesn’t pay. The argument
goes like this: “If people are free to commit adultery, no amount of sermons
will stop them. But if governments forbid adultery, people will find it easier
to give up this evil practice. Similarly, it is not enough to preach sermons
against drinking, gambling, usury, bribery, pornography and morally corrupting education
if the overall environment of the surrounding society encourages or at least
condones these things. Power, however, can do much to eradicate them.” (6). Any
person having some idea about spiritual or ethical quest will find it
astonishing that here is a movement launched in the name of a religion that
insists on the necessity to capture power and tirelessly dissuades its
adherents from educating the deviants. He adds: “So, I say to you: if you really
want to root out corruption now so wide spread on God’s earth, stand up and
fight against corrupt rule; take power and use it on God’s behalf. It is
useless to think you can change things by preaching alone.” (7). It is easy to
deduce from the above statements of the Maulaana that the Jama at e Islami
activists cannot be deterred from rebellious vandalism by rational arguments.
4. Every Din wants power
Many of the religious as well
as most of the secular consider religion to be a private affair – a relation
between a person and his God or any of the manifestations of God, if there is
one. Other concepts like Democracy, Monarchy, Colonialism etc. are purely
secular concepts with which a modern man will not relate his religious faith.
But not so with our Maulaana!
He tells us that Democracy is
a Deen (religion). It is the Deen of the masses. Are not the common people of a
country considered sovereign if the country is designated as a democracy?
Sovereignty belongs to Allah. Whoever usurps Allah’s sovereignty is committing
the Sin of Shirk (= ascribing equality or partnership to Allah). Shirk is the
greatest of sins. Allah will never condone the attempt to show Him in a
position that suggests He is lesser in His Might. What about the Shariah? In a
democracy laws are framed by the people. This, in Maudoodi’s parlance, is like
the following: the common people in a democracy will be governed by the Shariah which has been
framed by the ones who are ignorant of Allah’s Shariah. The people in a
democracy owe and affirm their allegiance to the shariah which they themselves
have created. They obey and serve the authorities created by the democratic
process. What is the plight of Allah’s Deen in such a country? Is it not
obvious that in a democracy there is no place for a despot or a monarch? So
also, in a country which is governed making use of rules created by Muslims who
have no concern for Allah’s Shari ‘ah or non-Muslims, there is no place for
Islam at all. On Allah’s earth how do you dare to hoist your own flags
representing ignorance of Allah’s Laws?
In sum: “Din, therefore,
actually means the same thing as state and government; Shari ‘ah is the law of
that state and government; and ‘Ibadah amounts to following and complying with
that law. Whenever you accept someone as your ruler and submit to his orders,
you have entered that person’s Din. If you accept Allah is your ruler, you have
entered Allah’s Din; if your ruler is some particular nation, you have entered
that nation’s Din; and if it is your own nation or your people, then you have
entered the people’s Din. To whatever you submit yourselves, you have entered
its Din; and you are performing the ‘Ibadah of the one whose laws you are
following.”(8)
This astonishing maneuver in
creating patently new definition is very important for an understanding of
Political Islam. The social system of Islam in itself is totalitarian. The way
how Maulaana Moudoodi manipulates various elements of it to suit his purpose
has to be studied if the democratic forces fighting against Islamo-fascists
have to make their success certain.
It is interesting to note
that he cannot conceive of a ‘Deen’ without a government. He insists that you
have to capture power in order to establish your Deen. He says, “Whether it is
popular sovereignty or monarchy, communism or Islam, or any other Din, it must
govern to establish itself. A Din without power to govern is just like a
building which exists in the mind only. But it is the building which actually exists,
in which you actually live, that is important. Through its door you go in,
through its door you come out. Its roof is above you, its walls surround you.
You arrange your living pattern according to its shape and facilities.” (9)
The conclusion is pretty
clear. Every Deen needs its idiosyncratic government. It may be the Deen of the
masses which you call democracy or of the kings which has been known as
monarchy or of the communists which they call that of the proletariat or of God
– without its specific government you cannot establish any one of these. The
purpose of a Deen implies that nothing other than its ‘Ibadah and Shari ‘ah (services
and rules) should be enforced. In a democracy, the Jama at e Islami activist
expects that any threat to the democratic State and Government would be crushed
by the government to enforce its rule of law. If the government does not strictly
impose its laws so as to maintain its avowed ideology, it means a lack of faith
in the democratic system by the concerned entity. Since, according to the
Islamist, this being Allah’s earth, he is not ready to compromise with anything
less than Allah’s State, Sovereignty and Governance.
5. Governmnt of the
Islamist, for the Islamist and by the Islamist
The offer of Maulaana
Maudoodi to the follower is a government in the name of Allah and for Allah.
Since Allah will not have a physical presence, nobody can complain or appeal
for justice in case of wrong doing by the Islamist authorities. Since there are
many Muslim communities and organizations which reject or condemn the Islamist
interpretation, the rule imposed by Jama
at e Islami will be that of an active
minority which has captured power in order to bring about the state and
government of their desire making use of the coercive powers of which alone
they can impart the great teachings of Islam as understood by Maulaana Maudoodi.
Hence what is on offer is a rule of the Islamist, for the Islamist and by the
Islamist. No wonder they are against democratic governments and always resort
to violence even when peaceful means are available before them. By now we are
clearly made to understand that prayer by a Jama at e Islami activist is
qualitatively different from the prayer of another Muslim who is not an adherent
of Maudoodism. We are clearly told that any other interpretation save theirs
will not be tolerated. If this is the case of other Muslims, there is no doubt
that other religious minorities will also have to face the terror Allah strikes
through His Jama at e Islami emissaries.
They want to make sure that
they take the army, police, judiciary, tax authorities and all such executives
who have coercive power at their disposal in tow. Such a situation is congenial
to bring the subject people to the ‘right path’. Look how pleasantly he
describes the situation: “Imagine in what a happy state God’s creation will be
where the army, police, judiciary, tax authorities and all other government
functionaries are God-fearing and consider themselves accountable to Him in the
Hereafter, where all government policies and laws are formulated on the basis
of Divine guidance, where unjust actions have no place, where evil is quickly
rectified by a government constantly ready to promote virtue with all its power
and resources.
Such a government will
quickly be able to reform the people………………………..” (10).
Their dream is not that of an enlightened
majority establishing a democratic government which rules according to the wish
of all the people including its minorities according to democratic principles,
but capturing the state power to put up a coercive government machinery so as
to begin the work of spreading Islamic teachings. By Islamic teachings ,it is
implied , ‘as understood by Maulaana Maudoodi’ and not any other brand of
Islam. They are sure that people will be ‘reformed’ under their regime.
Maulaana candidly wonders: “I doubt that more than a handful of people in a
thousand will display such great obstinacy as to reject the truth of Islam in
preference to Kufr. Who will choose a thorn as against a flower?” (11)
* Both spellings, Deen and Din refer to the word for
religion.
(1) p129, Fundamentals of Islam. 2008 (February) edition.
(2) p 291, ibid.
(3) p 306, ibid.
(4) p 293, ibid.
(5) p 286, ibid
(6) p 288, ibid.
(7) p 288, ibid.
(8) pp 295- 296, ibid.
(9) p 297, ibid.
(10) pp 292 – 293, ibid.
(11) p 293, ibid.
