Why is Islam The Only True Deen?
by G.A. Parwez
translated by Dr. Manzoor-ul-Haque
The one significant issue, which rises in most of
the minds and vexes the tender feelings of the heart, is that common moral
values are identical in all the religions (especially in the widely accepted
religions). All the religions assert not to tell a lie; not to steal; to be
honest; not to deprive others of their rights etc. Islam. Also proclaims the
same then what is that distinctive feature on the basis of which we assert: -
that Islam is the only true Deen;
that no other Deen is acceptable to God;
that salvation and auspiciousness is tied to Islam;
And therefore it is necessary that all followers
of religions should accept Islam.
The Significant Question
If the specificity, on the basis of which Islam
is entitled to make this claim, is the same values, then this privilege ought
to be extended to every religion of the world. This would not be a reasonable
attitude that the qualities on the basis of which we adjudge Islam as
Deen-Ul-Haq (the right Deen), are ignored in case of claim of other religions.
Brahmo-Samaji Religion.
This is undoubtedly a difficult question. As
mentioned above, this question springs up and causes confusion in the minds of
the people at large. . This is the same question which emerged in the frontiers
of knowledge at a time when the late Maulana Abu-ul-Kalam Azad wrote in his
exegesis of Sura Fateha, “Universal truths are equally found in all
the religions” therefore no one religion can claim superiority over others.
This proclamation was, in fact, an echo of that Brahmo-Samaji Movement which
had emerged earlier in Bengal. They summated
the good points of the (so called) heavenly books, developed a system of
education and projected it to the world with the contention that it comprises
all the common truths found in all the religions. Therefore to bring
consensus among all religions and to act in accordance with the truthfulness,
the only mechanism would be that all followers of religions should believe in
this system of education and make it the concept of their life. Such a common
education comprised these very moral values long before this Brahmo-Samaji
Movement. King Akber’s Deen-i-Ilahi was founded on this very concept; Its
exponent was Dara Shikoah in whose mysticism there was no difference between
Ram and Raheem; and the reflection of reality was equally found in the temple
and the mosque. The same phenomenon, in the form of Bhajans (religious hymns)
of Bhagat Kabeer and Kafees (Mustical Stanzas) of Shah Fareed and Sultan Bahu
echoes in every nook and corner.
No Need of Religion even!
This brings forth another important question: if
truth is the other name of theses moral values and acting in accordance with
them is the purpose of human life, then why is any religion needed?
Those, who are irreligious, and refute the very existence of God, also say the
same i.e. telling lie is very bad; truth ought to be spoken; living ought to be
honest; no one ought to be oppressed, so why to bring in the religion? It was
this concept which gave birth to the movement of Humanism in Europe
which projected itself with the assertion of “Religion without Revelation” in
the world. If the ultimate aim and climax of religion is these moral values and
the human life can reach its destiny through these values alone, then how can
the claim of Humanism be rejected?
Have you realized how significant is this
question and how imperative is it to give a satisfying answer to it? It is the
importunity of this significance and need that it must be thought out seriously
and understood with careful contemplation.
What Is Deen?
Basic misconception in this regard is that Deen
is thought to be no more than an ethical code. Deen is not the collection of a
few moral values; it is a comprehensive system of life covering all aspects of
human life. The moral values become operative within this system, or in other
words this system provides that sound base on which the edifice of these moral
values is established.
Did you ever ponder over this phenomenon that the
whole world says that telling a lie is bad; dishonesty is intensely
opprobrious; deception is very contemptible misdemeanor but in spite of all
this the whole world tell lies; corruption is rampant every where; cheating is
in full swing. The question is why is this all happening? In spite of
condemning and cursing all these things why has man taken to them? Considering
these acts the most detestable and opprobrious why is he not refraining from
them? Its reason is that either the people acknowledge these moral values just
as of formality or they have their foundation on emotions alone. They know
nothing as to why these values should be followed and why should they not be
violated. You ask a person to satisfy you as to why you should not tell a lie.
Going a little deeper than superficial talk, you would realize that he has no
reasonable reply to this question. With all the reason and rhyme at his
command, he would not be able to respond to the why of your question. He
will not be able to explain to you rationally what would you loose by telling
lies and which gain you would accrue by speaking the truth. And since man
adopts only that which gives him gain and abandons that which causes him loss,
therefore his acquiescence to this effect is either simply traditional or
imitation or the product of emotional inclinations. He neither develops insight
of these values nor rationally makes them the way of his life.
Deen provides those basic concepts, which
conspicuously bring forth the purpose and ultimate aim of human life. The
purpose of life defines the proper value of every thing and when these values
are identified it can very easily be understood which one is profit bearing and
which one is loss accruing; which one is higher and which one is lower on the
continuum of values.
From Desire to Action.
Deen, along with these basic concepts, provides
the practical system through which these theoretical values take the form of
reality and then the man within their concrete results sees of his own, how
gainful or harmful it is to act or not according to these values. Being
affected by this, his emotions and feelings follow the proper channel for their
own operation and since emotions are the impetus of actions, his life
synchronizes with these higher values. This is called the exaltation of
character and neatness of conduct.
Bear it in mind that human activities pass
through three phases: - namely a desire takes birth in your heart; this desire
awakes in the heart involuntarily, you have no reason, rhyme or rationale for
it; it relates purely to the emotions; then you present it to the intellect. If
your emotions are intense, your intellect thinks or the means to accomplish it
and provide justified reasons for it. But if your intellect overpowers your
emotions, it then makes comparison between gain and loss, and if it sees that
the gain to be accrued is greater it decides to accomplish the desire. Now your
desire transforms into your wish; then your will power comes in to play, and takes
practical steps to actualize your desire. In this phase, your WISH takes the
form of your WILL.
But the human intellect, even if not operating
under the command of emotions can maximally decide the gain or loss of that
person, it cannot decide whether the desire is fair or foul. In other words,
the human intellect can only inform the person concerned as to which thing is
profitable to him and which one will bring him loss. It can make no distinction
between good and evil. This distinction can only be possible in the presence of
values, and as narrated earlier, it is the concept of life that determines the
values.
Impact Of the concept of Life
How does the concept of life (right or wrong)
change the perspective of human vision and define the direction of his
activities, we need not to go anywhere far to understand it. Every one
complains today that falsehood; deception, cunningness, betrayal, corruption,
bribery, injustice, oppression, extortion and exploitation are prevailing in
the world. It looks as if, without any exception of zones or inhabitants, the
germs of these diseases have spread all over the globe like an epidemic. Did
you ever ponder over the cause thereof? Ills were also there in the days gone
by, but these were not so general and comprehensive. With a little pondering,
this reality will be established that its basic cause is the concept of life
which, in the 19th century, emerged in the West and due to the general and
global means of communication spread to ever nook and corner of the world. All
these ills/miseries are the product of this concept. This concept of life was
that the human life is only the physical life and laws governing the life and
the death at the animal level apply to man also. Survival of the fittest is the
immutable law of nature. According to this law, only the one wielding the
maximal scepter of authority and power has the right to live. How was this
authority and power acquired is no question. The poor and the weak and the
powerless can be allowed to live only to become victual of the powerful. Every
big fish devours the smaller one. Insects are born to be the food of the
sparrows and the sparrows consequently breathe only to be the prey of the
eagles. This is the law of nature, the constitution of life. It is according to
this law that the decisions on the life and death of individuals as well as
Nations are made. “ Might is right” is the exigency of justice. Lion is the
king of jungle, not the goat. If the lion eats the goat, the goat cannot make
complain that it is the victim of oppression.
The animals live by instincts which, though many
in number can generally be classified into three categories: Self-preservation,
Self-assertion and Self-procreation. When the human life is not valued higher
than that of the animal level, obviously every individual would work under
these very instincts, and then there would be no room for the moral values.
Nationalism.
According to the civilization raised on this
concept, national character would be regarded as highest character. Thinking
deeply you would realize that the national character is, also, the product of
animal instinct. Herd instinct is in the very nature of animals. Every animal
finds its preservation in living with its herd. This is the only urge on which
a nation comes into being and endures. Prosperity and well-being of one’s own
nation becomes the highest values for the individual; the greatest patriot
becomes the one who squeezes out the last drop of blood of other nations and
decorates the magnificent edifice of one’s own nation with the gaudiness of
this blood. For him, the question of being honest or dishonest or the question
of falsehood and truth does never arise. The one who starts giving mind to
these values cannot perform the affairs of the state. In the words of Walpole:
“No great country was ever saved by good men,
because good men will not go to the length that may be necessary to save a
nation.”
In this connection, what these patriots have to
say, the reproduction of the words of the reputed Italian thinker, Cavour are
sufficient. He says.
“If we did for ourselves what we do for our
country, what rascals we should be.”
Did you observe how a change in the concept of
life brings changes in the individual and collective life, and how does the
concept of life influence every walk of life? The reason that the moral
values are still being theoretically appreciated today is that the man has, up
till now, not been able to erase his sub-conscience free from the binding
effects of the past. If this concept pervaded any further into the next
few generations, even the concept of these values will be wiped off from his
mind and its verbal confession will also remain no more. Its signs and symptoms
have started surfacing right from now. Our younger generation ridicules
these values by calling them mere conservatism.
Islam provides such concepts on which the whole
edifice of human life is raised and where every aspect of life is embodiment of
higher values. These concepts are not found in any religion of the world leave
aside atheism (religious ness). These are only the characteristics of Islam,
which entitles it to become the system of life established on right lines and
surety to human achievement and prosperity. These concepts fall into the
following headings: -
Concept of God.
Relationship between God and Man.
Relationship between Man and Universe.
Relationship between Man and Man.
Relationship between Actions and their Consequences.
Concept of the ultimate object of life.
In the next pages, these concept will be
discussed briefly and it will be explained as to what is the nature of these
concepts in the well known religions (Hinduism, Judaism and Christianity) and
what type of concepts the Holy Quran reflects; and what scenario of human life
is established on these concepts. Be very clear that the comparative study of
religions is not my aim at present; I’ll only narrate the fundamental tenets
found on these concepts in these religions. This may also be clarified that our
belief is that proper and true teachings were revealed to all the messengers of
the Almighty God on their own turns but these teachings are now not found in
their pristine form in the so-called heavenly books available among the
followers of these religions. Whatever is described of these concepts will
therefore be based on the existing documents of these religions and not on that
pristine and real message which is not found now with any of them. The detail
of this resume will be found in the first chapter of my book in Urdu
Mairaj-e-Insaniat, in which, according to the researches of the followers of
these religions, it has been dealt with at length, wherein it has been
explained that according to researches of the followers of these religion the
pristine message of those religions is not found among any one of them now; but
since they lay down their existing message as the knowledge base of their
religions, the current teachings about these concepts will be projected. Except
this, there can be no other alternative left for us.
The
Concept of God.
The Concept of God in Hinduism.
Among the three religions (Hinduism, Judaism and
Christianity), Hinduism claims that it is the oldest religion in the world. The
proof of its antiquity is provided by its existing religious books where each
of its leaves bear testimony to the fact that these are the writings of that
age when human mind was in its infancy. The infantile mind can never perceive
the concept of an abstract reality in any shape other than its concrete form.
How could the mind of that age have established the pristine concept of the
personality of God? It transformed God on its own nature only with the
difference that man (for example) has two hands, God was conceived to have
eight, man has one head, God had ten; man can drink a cup of water, God can
pour in the whole ocean. Three basic gods are accepted among Hindus: Brahmo,
Shivji, and Vishnoo. They have their wives and children too; Shivji’s wife was
Parbatti and son is Gnesh whose body is of man and head of elephant; Brahma’s
daughter is Sarsooti. Earlier all these three were worshipped but now Brahma is
not worshipped.. It is in the Para’ns that once Shivji saw Brahma intending to
rape his daughter, there he stopped worship of Brahma (Hinduism by Govind
Das,P:104).
About the creation of the universe, the following
statement is found in the shivparana:
Shivji desired to create the world. He created
Brahma. Brahma splashed a handful of water in the water; there raised a bubble;
a man was horn out of this bubble. He said to Brahma: ‘O’ son! create the
world.’ Brahma said: “I am not your son, You are my son” There was a quarrel
between the two. Maha Dev (Shivji) thought that whom he had sent for creating
the world were quarrelling between themselves, then a heavenly ling (male
genital organ) was born out of the two; it ascended immediately into the
sky Both were surprised to see it.
Listen to what happened later on:
Both started thinking that the beginning and end
of ling should be found; the one who comes back first be the father and the one
who comes later be the son. Vishnoo in tortoise-shape started going down.
Brahma in swan-shape flew upward. Both continued their journey with lightning
speed for two thousand years but could not search the utmost limits of the
ling. Brahma thought: if wishnoo had com back with an inkling, l would have to
be his son. He was just thinking of it when a cow and a tree of kaitkee
descended. Brahma asked them: “Where do you live?” They said: “With the props
of that ling we have been travelling since thousands of years” Brahma asked
them whether or not ling had any extremity, they replied that it did not.
Brahma said: Come with me and stand witness
that the cow used to pour strain of milk on the head of ling and that the tree
used to shower flowers over it” They said: We’ll not bear false witness.” Then
Brahma said angrily: “I’ll turn you into ashes if you do not stand witness.”
Then both frighteningly said: “We’ll bear witness as you desire.” Then the
three went downwards.
Brahma asked Vishnoo whether or not he had
found out the utmost limits of ling. He replied in the negative. Brahma said:“
I have found our”; Vishnoo demanded: “Produce witness to this effect.” Then the
cow and the tree bore false witness. Upon this the ling imprecated the Kaitkee:
“You have told a lie. Your flower will never be used for offering either to me
or to any other God. Whoever offers you will be terminated”; it imprecated the
cow: “You will eat filth with the mouth through which you told a lie; no body
will worship your mouth but your tail will be worshipped; cursed Brahma: “Since
you have told a lie, you’ll never be worshipped” in the world”; it gave a
blessing to Vishnoo “You have spoken the truth, so you’ll be worshipped every
where”. Then both praised and eulogized the ling.
On hearing this appreciation and eulogy,
there appeared a countenance with long matted hair from the ling and said: “I
had sent you for generating creation, why did you indulge in wrangling?” Then
Maha Dev took out a ball of ashes from the hair and said: “Go and germinate
creation with it.”
(Ref: Satyareth Parkash-Sawami Daya Nand
PP. 272-273)
The concept of God is the most sublime idea. It
is now obvious that what would be the nature of the deeds of a nation
which has this idea of God in its sight,. Neither the mind of this nation can
be free from the superstition, nor can their actions be based on knowledge and
insight. God to whom they submit is never above the human countenance. Hence it
is written in the Athur Veda that at the time of worshipping God, the following
should be uttered:
“O’Swami Parmatma of the followers of Jain!
obeisance be to thy mouth; obeisance is to thy eyes; obeisance is to thy skin;
obeisance is to thy organs; pray is to thy belly; obeisance is to thy tongue;
obeisance is to thy face; obeisance is to thy teeth; obeisance is to the stench
of thy teeth.”
The Concept of God among the Jews.
After Hinduism, let us now turn to Judaism and
see what kind of concept of God is found there. Probably it was Locke who had
said:“If you tell me the kind of God any nation had proposed for its worship, I
would let you know the nature of civilization and culture of that nation.” A
critical appraisal of a Western researcher about the kind of concept that
emerges about God through the study of the conventional Torah would be
sufficient here. Joseph Whebs in his book “Is it God’s Words” writes that the
God of Torah appears to be splashing around with the blood, shed by the
numerous murderers. He is an assassin himself and a mischief monger, thief,
perfidious, sanguinely revengeful, merciless, chastiser of the sinful and the
innocent both, extremely dreadful and frightful, embodiment of oppression and
prejudice, arrogant, braggart, promise-breaker, concoct, and a willful liar.
(Ref: M’airaj-e-Insaniyyat, P.22)
According to Torah, God created man on His
own form. It is, now, evident that the God who has this kind of form, His
created nation would also have the same form, But it is not the nature of God,
it is the account of the conduct of that nation itself. After holding this type
of concept about, the God, what would be the fate of moral values with
that nation, does need no perspicuity and description of any kind.
Concept of God in Christianity
When we move on from Judaism to Christianity, the
enigma of concept of God there cannot be comprehended. The
following is the council of Trent’s theory of the basic belief of Christianity
on the acceptance of which one becomes a Christian: We believe in (1) God, the
powerful father who is the creator of the overt and the covert; and we believe
in (2) Lord Jesus, the son of God, who is the only son of His father; who was
born to the father i.e. the Lord before the whole of the universe
and who is immanent and absolute deity. Father and His essence (the son)
are one; it is through Him that all the things of the universe were created;
his descendence and transmigration became our salvation. He descended as a
human being, became victim to the sufferings, rose on the third day and
ascended to the sky and, now, will again return to the world to maintain
justice for the living and the dead.’
This was all about the belief of the Divinity of
the Christ. About his revered mother, Mary, the tenet of the sacred church is
that she is the most powerful near God; whatever she beseeches is bestowed to
her. She is the main spring of good for us because she implores from God. Since
she is the mother of God, He cannot reject her request, and since she is our
mother too, she cannot refuse our intercession....whatever, whatever
benedictions we make for our salvation are accepted.
(Ref: Shoula-i-Mastoor, P.129, Catholic SchoolBook, and P.158)
As such very recently the Council of the Pope has
decided that Mary be worshipped along with the Father, the son and the
Holy Spirit.
Concept of
the Holy Quran
After these concepts of God, now come to the Holy
Quran. It first of all, refuted all these concepts by saying :-
“Allah is far above and free from all the
concepts they attribute to Him from their own minds” ( Al-Quran 23/92)
Then it said So far as the personality of God is
concerned, you cannot conceive it, because you can only conceive the things,
which are perceptible to senses, and the self of God is an exception to this
phenomenon. Therefore.“Human eyes cannot perceive him, He can keep watch over
the eyes. He is very subtle and All-knowing.” Al-Quran 6/104) His personality
cannot be conceived with any example, because “He is analogous to
none”(Al-Quran 42/11)“ Neither He is himself the ;son of any one, nor anyone
else is His son”(Al-Quran 112/3) “Nor is any one else is equal in rank to
Him. He is altogether unique, incomparable and unprecedented.” Al-Quran 112/4)
You cannot know anything about His personality;
but a concept of God, more exalted, pure, dignified and elegant than the
concept which appears forth from his attributes He has described of His own, is
not possible.
Relationship
of God and Man.
The question is: What is the advantage of
believing in these attributes of God? One accepts that these are the
attributes of God and the other rejects. What impact does this acceptance and
rejection has on their lives? The Holy Quran answers this question. It says
that every human is a carrier of “Divine energy” which is called the human
personality. Every human personality is bestowed with the possibility of
progressively actualizing these attributes (within human limits). This is the
hue of God beyond which no other hue is more elegant. (Al-Quran 2/138)
That is why these attributes are the objective
standard for the nourishment of human personality It is this ideal to
which man wants to mould himself. This is the standard, which he strives to
come up to . Every moment, he measures his own self against this objective
standard and evaluates rationally the extent to which his personality has
developed and how far it still remain to be developed.
In addition to it, the Holy Quran also informs as
to which attribute operates at what occasion so that the likewise facet may
also operate in the like event on the part of the man. This also determines
man’s reaction in the face of external events and occurrences. Remember, as is
the upholding of the balanced attributes for the man a must, similarly the
emergence of that attribute most appropriate to that occurrence is imperative.
To let go with pity a merciless tyrant, who has no feeling of repentance or any
desire for rectification in his heart, is the worst form of tyranny on
the oppressed human beings; but to take revenge in a situation where remission
and forgiveness bring pleasant consequences is also equivalent to tyranny. The
bruise of muscles soothes slowly on massage but the fractured bones need tight
binding in wooden splints. This is called Jabbariyat-holding things firmly
together (The wooden splints which a surgeon uses are called Jaba’ir The
Holy Quran expounds in full length the attributes of God and the eventful
appearance and application their of, so that not only do these become objective
standard for gauging the development of an individual but also the foreteller
to the man for forming the type of reaction most appropriate to the kind of
events.
The Law of
God.
This brings forth-another significant reality.
The concept of God in religion is that of an autocrat king and a dictator whose
all decisions depend upon his own whims and where the law and rule have nothing
to do; if pleased he bestows robe of honour to a criminal; if annoyed He
sends the innocents to the gallows, Man can only save himself from His wrath by
keeping his deity pleased with himself in any way that he can; he makes
all possible efforts to seek His pleasure; makes offerings of gifts and
oblations and seeks the mediation of His favourites. Obedience to law does not
yield any gain to man, it only serves to attain pleasure of God. On the other side
of it, is Christianity where the concept of God is that of a tenderhearted
father; where rules and regulations have nothing to do; where the
mercy of God is the only basis of salvation.
The Holy Quran refuted this concept
and proclaimed that in spite of all His infinite powers and boundless
authority, God has prescribed rules and regulations for all the matters and
does every thing strictly in accordance with these laws. These laws are so
immutable that no mutations can occur in them.(Al-Quran 35/43) The meaning of
law is that every thing is tied to the chain of cause-and-effect’ i.e. if
you do this, its consequence will be such; if you act against, it will draw to
this end. It explained these laws to man; made him understand them fully, made
it clear to him that obeying this law will bring him this gain and acting
against will result in this loss. After narrating all this, left it to his
choice whether to follow this prescribed right road or to make tracks of his
own. “We have shown him the way; now who-so-ever wishes may accept it
and who-so-ever wishes may reject it,” (Al-Quran 76/3) If he follows the
right path, he will reap his own gain from it. We will not derive any benefit
out of it. If he adopts a wrong path, he will suffer his own loss; it will
not harm Us in any way(Al-Quran 12/286) That is why God does
not make any one acknowledge anything by compulsion and coercion. Whatever He
says, is as a piece of advice. After He revealed the Holy Quran he
asserted:“Say unto them, the truth has come from Your sustainer, now whoever
wishes, may accept it, whoever wills may reject it.” (Al-Quran 18/29) . It is
evident that when accepting or not accepting of any thing, is left to the
sweet-will of man, then if he is of sound mind, reason and intellect, he will
make his decision discerningly. Therefore, according to the Holy Quran,
belief is not a blind faith; it is the name of that mental and heart felt
conviction which man acquires rationally. That is why it has attributed this
conduct to the Momins.(believers) that: “They are the people to whom, even when
the ‘verses’ of their Sustainer are presented they droop not down
at them as if they were deaf and blind but accept them with intellect and
insight”(Al-Quran 25/73) It too is crystal clear when the consequences of
actions draw up in concurrence with rule and law, the question of being
absolved from them either byway of paying ransom or intercession does not
arise. If you put your finger in the fire and then you desire that the pain of
burning may transfer to some one else in stead of you, though on payment of
thousands of rupees, it will be impossible If you eat arsenic, you
cannot, even on the recommendation of the highest echelon of the society, be
protected from its ill effects. There is only one alternative and that is: You
take a recourse to that law of God in concurrence to which relief in burning
pain and protection against the harmful-effects of arsenic can be procured.
Suffering and repose accrue to the man according to the law of God as a result
of the natural consequences of his actions.“so that whoever is ruined is
ruined according to the law and whoever remains alive does so according to the
law (Al-Quran 8/42). Neither the innocent is chastised with the revenge
and wrath of an authoritative dictator, nor the criminal gets off scot free, on
ransom, atonement or intercession. That is why the humans have been told that
“On the day of manifestation of consequences no one would be able to help
anyone, nor shall any intercession be considered, nor shall any form of
compensation be accepted , neither shall they be succoured.”( Al-Quran 2/44).
Did you seer how did the Holy Quran transform the
religion to the discipline of Science by simply giving the concept of “Law-
making-cum-law-abiding God”? What are the characteristics of Science?---- In
science (1) every cause has its own specific effect and no one can cause any
kind of change and transformation in it, and (2) Science discovers the reality
such that longings, wishes, purposes, gains and feelings of nobody have any
impact on it. It is never influenced as such.
By virtue of the concept of God, the Holy Quran
represents that the human actions bring forth the consequences in the like
manner and the realities bear testimony to this effect in the same way: that is
why God proclaimed that,” this message of Ours is not poetry.” Somewhere
Coleridge has said: The Anti-thesis of Poetry is not prose but Science. The
Holy Quran is no poetry but Science.
In connection with God and Man Relationship, the
Holy Quran unravels another splendid reality. The laws of God, in the outer
universe, are operative on their own. Accordingly every thing remains operative
for the excellent performance of the duties assigned to it and the Universe, by
evolution, is progressively moving forward in its evolution. In the human
world, the laws of God are operative in the like manner with the exception that
their cosmic speed is very slow whereas the human age demands that the result
of actions may come to the forefront soon. If the human hands supports these
laws and become helpful to accomplish them . their results may emerge according
to the human count of time, place and circumstances. In this manner man becomes
a companion to God in the complete accomplishment of His programme. This
is the relation of God and Man of which not a glimpse is found in the religions
of the world. (Since I’ve elicited much on this point, I need not make any more
detailed discourse at present.)
Relationship
of Man and The Universe.
After the deliberations on the relationship of
God and the Man, there comes the question of the mutual relationship of the man
and the Universe. When the human mind was at its infancy he was not able to
comprehend the mystery of the forces of nature. He was afraid of them and
could think of only one way to be safe from their rage and that was to
implore humbly before them and appeal for their mercy. Hence the status
of the man of that age was that he joined his hands in supplication, as soon as
there was thunder of the clouds; he fell in prostration as as there was
lightning, he made obeisance to the sun as soon as it shone; he prostrated as
soon as there was an earthquake; he called a ravaging river as his
mother-goddess; he made the lion a God as soon as it roared. Hinduism is
a compendium of these gods and goddess and proselytizes their worship.
Relationship in Hinduism:
It is found in Yajar veda, “obeisance be
accepted by the snakes on the earth, even those which are either in
the air or in the sky; our prostration to the snakes of the paddy fields; our
bowing to those snakes also which are still in their burrows.” Our humble
kneeling to them even.”These were, at the least, living forces. They even bowed
to those inanimate things from which they apprehended any loss. Hence, there is
also found in Yajar Veda that this stanza ought to be recited: “ O’ye
rezor, thou bringeth happiness and are made of good iron; our obeisance to ye
be accepteth; please bring not trouble unto him the least”.
It is found written in the Ather Veda: “Our
prostration to the winter fever, even to the summer fever I bow down. My prayer
to the fever that comes daily, alternately and the third day.”
It is clear that in a religion where man accepts
this type of status for himself, the question of human dignity and honour does
never arise. There, if it is asserted “do not tell a lie;
speak-the-truth” will this unravel the mysteries of the universe and
solve the human problems ?
Relationship in Christianity:
Leaving this aside, now come to the other side
where the material things, their adornment and comfort is thought to be
most detestable and abominable; and where the mystery of human salvation
is only through the renunciation of the world and its vanities--- through the
relinquishment of desires and the abandonment of pleasures. The farther one
moves from the worldly affairs, the nearer one gets to the Deity. The teaching
of asceticism and monasticism was the sine qua non of Christianity. Saint
Benedict, transforming it into an organized institution, produced throngs
of monks and nuns. As such in his Theological Dictionary, Bucks
writes about the Monasticism in Egypt:“
In a short span of time, the whole East was filled with groups of the slothful
people who, setting aside the worldly affairs adopted a life of pain, distress,
misery and anguish so as to be close to God and the Divine environs.”
It brought the same result as this type of life
ought to bring. In this connection Buck writes: “But after some time their
lasciviousness became proverbial. Besides, they started inciting riots and
insurrections by exploiting the people at various places.”
A whole world was getting sick with these
ascetics.
The clinging beggars were seen roaming in every
street in the garb of hermits. All kind of vagrancy and cheating was their
habit .... These people used to commit the incidences of havoc pillage under
the veil of religious fanaticism.
(Progress of Religions Concepts. Vol. 3, P.240)
The people not committing such evil activities had
strange mode of life as well. The condition of great saints among
Christians was such that some swore not to take a bath in their whole life;
some stood in marsh throughout their life; some saw the secret of spiritual
development in fortifying in the enclosure of ordure; some lied down, life
long, in a dark closet --- This was all the result of self-abnegation and
self-renunciation in Christianity.
According To the Holy Quran:
The Holy Quran was revealed and it made this very
clear to man that your position in the universe is far above the forces of
nature. We (God) have well strung this all in the chains of law so that you may
put them to your use. “God is the one who has subordinated to you whatever is
there in the heights of the heavens and the depths of the earth” (Al-Quran
45/13). It told the manthat the position of man is that all the Malaika (forces
of nature) be subservient to him and the position of a Momin is that he, by
conquering these forces should utilize them for the benefits of the humanity.
In the concrete universe, God alone enjoys the status over and above that of
the man in concurrence of whose laws man ought to lead his life. Besides Him
nothing is superior to man. All the articles of worldly adornment and comfort
have been created for man; no one can declare these things abominable and
forbidden for him. “Ask them who is he who can forbid the adornments and
pleasant subsistence (rizq) which God has created for man?”(Al-Quran 7/32).
This status of the man and the relationship of
the man with the universe---You will never find anywhere else in the domain of
religions; there will either be bowing to or fleeing from the phenomena of
nature. Conquering them for the benefit of the human being is only found in the
Holy Quran.
Remember, when the Holy Quran ordains obedience
to the laws of God, these (laws) include both the physical and the moral laws.
Obeying the physical laws enables us to conquer the forces of nature (we obey
nature to command it) and obeying the moral laws integrates our personality. In
both these cases, obeying the laws promotes and augments our own power.
Amassed from the compulsion is the choice.
Mutual
Relationship of Man with Man.
In Hinduism:
After the relationship of man with the
universe, we are faced with the question of relationship of man with man.
Hinduism decided that the Brahmans were born from the head of Brahma, the
khashataris from the arms, the vaish from his legs, and the shoodra from his
feet. This is the eternal division which can neither be overthrown from the
system of the world, nor can men’s own endeavours change it. The
shoodra shall have to be untouchable all his life, his duty is to serve the
Hindus, the highest class. The child born to the Brahman family enjoys
the highest ranks and privileges from birth to death . The scope of his
privileges (according to Rig-Veda and Athar Veda) is:
“If a woman has 10 non-brahman husbands before
but if a Brahaman holds her hand, then he will be considered to be her husband
alone because Brahaman is the proprietor and husband of the females not
the Khashatari or the Vaish.
(Me’raj-e-Insaniyyat P.01)
This was the division of the humans inhabiting
within India.
The others residing out of India
was not even considered human; they were simply taken to be insects. Please
think of a religion which shackles its own followers with unbreakable fetters
of such class division and labels those outside its fold as the most
abominable and despicable; can the proselytization of ‘do not tell a lie
and do not steal’ bring any moral reformation?
In Judaism:
Among the Jews, the religion was confined to the
race of Bani-Israel. The one who is not born to the BaniIsrael, can never
be admitted to their Divine Religion. The Paradise was strictly
particularized for Bani Israel; all the non-Bani Israel are the fuel of the Hell.
They were fumed with the emotions of hatred and enmity against the people
outside their race; and this was all the consequence of the teachings of the
(conventional) Torah. They had one set of laws for the Jews and another for the
non-Bani Israel.
In Christianity:
It is generally accepted about Christianity that
it constitutes an eternal religion for the whole mankind. It makes no
discrimination between man and man. This is not the teaching of Christianity,
it is a later political expediency-oriented concept. That is why in the present
day Bible (Which remains in the process of change off and on), it is still
found written that when Jesus sent his followers for
proselytization, he ordered them not to go to the other nations, not to enter
into any of the cities of Samrees but go to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel.
(Mathew, Cahpter 10, Verses 5-6)
Do not give the consecrated to the dogs; and do
not lay your pearls before the pigs.
(Mathew, Chapter 7,verse 6)
The anathema of extreme nationalism that
you find in Europe is unconsciously the end
product of this teaching. They confined the religion to the four walls of
the church but the effects of the teaching of their race-worship are still
existent in their subconscious with the same intensity. They can never think of
the concept of universal mankind. That is why the moral principles they hold
for their own nation are different from those they hold for the other nations.
It is just like the Romans whose law about stealing was: ‘Stealing from a Roman
is a crime and stealing from a non-Roman is not !
According To the Holy Quran:
The Holy Quran on its revelation, smashed these
man-made fetters and declared openly that the humans of the whole
Universe are the branches of the same genealogy and the foliage of the same
tree. By birth, there is no discrimination between man and man. “God has
created all of you from a single life cell”. .(Al-Quran 4/1) Therefore, the
whole mankind constitutes a Universal brotherhood . “The whole mankind is one
community”; (Al-Quran 10/19) and every human being is worthy of equal respect
by birth. “We have created all human beings worthy of respect” (Al-Quran 17/70)
There is no superiority of the black to the white; of the white to the black,
of the Arab to the Non-Arab, of the Non-Arab to the Arab. In the world, there
is neither any Brahmin, nor any shoodra; neither the superior, nor the
inferior. So as are their ranks in the society, its measure of greatness is
their personal virtue and meritorious deeds. “And to all will be (assigned)
ranks according to their deeds.” (Al-Quran 46/19) and the most worthy of all
will be the one whose conduct will be the most pure of all and whose character,
the highest of all. “The God of the Holy Quran is equally the sustainer, the
Authority and the Allah of the whole humanity” ( Al-Quran 49/13) and “ His book
is a compendium of instructions for all” (Al-Quran 45/21); His Rasool
equally the Messenger for the whole humanity “Say, O mankind, I am
Allah’s Rasool sent to all of you.” (Al-Quran 7/158) The essence of its
teaching is: “Only that action or theory, which is beneficial to the whole of
humanity without any discrimination of colour race language country creed and nationality,
shall endure in the land (Al-Quran 13/17)
As said earlier the Western concept of life gave
the principle of “the survival of the fittest” i.e. only that which
is the strongest can endure. On the contrary, the Holy Quran puts forth the
principle, “the survival of the most beneficial” i.e. only that which is
most beneficial to the humanity can survive. Did you consider how
the various aspects of human life undergo transformation by just
changing the concept of life and how life-inspiring and balance-augmenting
changes occur in the world of humanity? This is the only concept of life by
which man can understand fully the “Why” of his strivings for the well being of
others. To gain immortality is the very desire of every human being, no one
likes to die, and he wants to live forever. The Holy Quran says that if
you want to live for ever, the only way is that you do the deeds which are most
beneficial for the mankind; giving preference to others over your own
self if their needs are more demanding than yours(Al-Quran 59/9) and
doing all this without any thought of personal gain. It says: “When the
Momineen perform the act of procuring supplies for the nourishment/development
of others they make it very clear to them that: “We do not desire any reward
from you, not even the gratitude instead thereof.” (Al-Quran 76/9)
Just think over it, with this concept of life in
view how the moral values constitute an integral part of life!
The practical consequences of the concept
of human equality is that it forms a society, wherein, leaving aside
someone becoming slave to others, no one even becomes subservient to any one
else---nor a dependent on any one else. This establishes a system in which all
the people while remaining within the limits of the laws of God decide the
affairs of their life by mutual consultation (Al-Quran 42/38)
The
Quranic Order
This provides a guarantee to every individual
that “We are responsible for (providing) your subsistence and the subsistence
of your children.” (Al-Quran 6/152) Please, solicit! Is there any need of
telling a lie or stealing or being corrupt in this order? The moral values
automatically become operative in it. No one holds the Divine rights in this
Order: neither the religious priest-hood, nor the autocrats, or the
capitalists. There is absolutely no concept of any such system in any of the
religions of the world.
Finality
of Nabuwwat:
With the concept of ‘Order’, the Holy Quran has
declared another sublime reality, which is the greatest revolution in the world
of religions. It expounded that the unchangeable principles required for the
guidance of the mankind have been given in the Holy Quran and the system of
their safeguard has also been provided. Within the purview of these principles,
the coming generations will solve their problems keeping themselves in line
with the exigencies of their time, so there is no need of any more Nabi( the
Divine Message). Hence the chapter of Nabuwwat is closed. Did you observe
how the End of Nabuwwat was the announcement of a grand revolution in the world
of religions! Along with it, this reality was also announced that having passed
through its infantile period, the human mind has now attained maturity. The man
is no more an infantile, it has grown up to be an adult, therefore, it needs no
one to lap it up any more. He would have now, to get up and move forward and
onward on his own. You must have seen how this creates self-confidence in man
and how he becomes able to traverse his path with dignity in the world.
Every religion of the world is waiting for the
arrival of some one who, on his coming, will make his religion prevail over
others. Refuting this concept, the Holy Quran made it clear that the Order of
life We have bestowed is capable of prevailing over all the systems of
life.(Al-Quran 9/33) All you have to do is, practically implement this ‘Order’,
it will overcome all the man-made systems of life; no other system will be able
to stand against this Order.
The Holy Quran while laying stress upon the moral
values enjoins strictly to establish this Order of life in which these values
automatically prevail.
The
Ultimate Goal of Human Life (Salvation)
After this, come to the question which is the
last word in this deliberation: What is the purpose and climax of all the
exertion and struggle of human life? This is a very significant and fundamental
question and will automatically clear up a great number of relevant
aspects.
In Hinduism:
Among all the religions of the world the
climax of the trials and endeavours of human life can be stated in a single
word: “Salvation.” What is the meaning of “Salvation? This warrants a
thorough understanding. It is evident that when some one is entangled in
a trouble and then gets rid of it, it is called salvation’ i.e. it is imperative
for salvation that first of all a person is necessarily caught in a calamity.
This is the very basic concept about man in the world of religion.
Religious belief in Hinduism is that every living being (animates whether
insects or animals and humans) comes in this world to complete one’s term of
punishment of the deeds one committed in one’s previous life. For
example, a person in his present birth is a human. If he did evil deeds,
he will become a rat in his next life, knowing absolutely nothing of which
crime it was made a rat. Now if the rat does good deeds ---- the rat will do
good deeds as if the animals, too, do good and bad deeds! ---- it will perhaps
be made a man in its next life; every human being is entangled in the whirlpool
of transmigration. The name of getting rid of this circumambulation is
“Salvation.” It looks obvious that this belief is either the produce of
superstition and/or the creation of the astuteness of those people who captured
the authority in the society by one way or the other and then desired this
authority to remain within their own families and that the other people may not
even think of acquiring this authority. Brahman and Khashatary were the ruling
class and vaish and shoodra, their servants. It was thought to be
possible that a vaish or a shoodra might think as to how could the
children of Brahman or khshatary be good enough for acquiring the right to rule
right from the inception of their birth and that they themselves befall in
their servitude thenceforth. Therefore this belief was coined that those born
in the family of a Brahman has done good deeds in their previous life and those
born in the vaish and shoodra committed evil deeds likewise. Hence this
division is effected in accordance with the nature of the deeds accomplished in
the previous life and is not the product of any trickery; so they shall have to
remain vaish and shoodra in this life; any how if they do good deeds
(i.e. would continuously go on serving the higher breed} they would be transformed
into Brahmans and Khashataries in their coming life. In this way these
subordinate classes were made satisfied with this tenet that this was all the
reward of their own doings. They were not oppressed, nor were they competent to
change this division within the present life.
Whatever is the motive behind this tenet, how
dreadful have been its human-inflaming result is crystal clear. Firstly, it
makes the man a mere helpless being; whatever he may do, he cannot bring any
change in his existing state and, thus, divides the society into such permanent
classes, which cannot be eliminated, and then what eventually is the purpose of
this exertion and struggle? --- Only to get salvation from the whirling of
Transmigration (the cycle of death and re-birth). How meaningless is the
purpose of the creation of man and the cosmos?.
According to Hindu Mysticism:
According to Hindu mysticism the soul
of man (Aatma) is a part of God (parmatma). It was separated from its source
and got entrapped in the marsh of matter and is lamenting for its escape from
it. The purpose of human life is that this soul, after getting salvation from
the world of matter, be re-united with its source. The methods to achieve this
are renunciation of the world. Did you reflect what is the end product of human
exertion and struggle according to this tenet --- the complete annihilation. It
means God having separated man from Himself caused him to be entangled in the
swamp of matter and told him. “Now, you go through the sufferings of hard labour
and distress so that you may attain salvation from this quagmire.” Just
think, according to this creed, what kind of concept about God Himself
emerges and what becomes the incentive for obedience to the moral values.
In Judaism:
With a slight difference the concept of
‘Salvation’ is the end product of human life in Judaism also. As has been
mentioned before, the basic belief of Jews is that the Bani Israel are
the favourite children of God, hence the only heirs of paradise; a people
not born to the family of Bani Israel have no entitlement for entry into
paradise. At that time, the tradition of circumcision was in vogue
exclusively in Bani Israeil, so their belief was that only the circumcised
would enter paradise and the uncircumcised would go into the hell.
According to Talmud:
Abraham would be sitting by the door of the Hell
in the world hereafter and would never allow any circumcised of the Bani
Israel to enter it. So far the dreadfully sinful of the Bani Israel are
concerned, he would cut the fore skin of the children who had died
uncircumcised and would stick this skin to the place of circumcision of those
from Bani Israel and hence, making them uncircumcised ,would send them to
Hell for a few days.
(Talmud , P.404 with Reference to Barqi-e-Toor,
P.166)
But their entry into Hell would merely be
the fulfillment of a formality. The blaze of the Hell would have no effect on
them. (Ibid.P.405) The reason for it, as written in “Jewish Encyclopedia”, is:
The blaze of the Hell would not be able to touch
the Israelite sinners because they would make confession of their sins by the
door of the Hell and hence would return to the Lord.
(Volume- V , P. 583)
Not only for the ‘salvation’ in the hereafter,
but also for the honour and exaltation in this world, the Jews hold this
belief:
Some get honour by virtue of the good deeds of
their forefathers and some by those of their coming generations.
(Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol VI, P.60)
According to the Encyclopedia of
Britannica:
The centre of the aspirations of the Jews was the
deeds of their forefathers, especially the creed that Abraham was their
ancestral grandfather.
Similarly in the Encyclopedia of Religions and
Ethics, it is written that.
In accordance with the belief of the Jews, all the
deeds of their forefathers would be collected at one place and then
divided among all the Bani Israel. In this way everyone will be entitled to
salvation and auspiciousness.
(Vol.11,P.144)
Just reflect! Does any question of obedience to
the moral values arise in the presence of these beliefs?
In Christianity:
The belief in Christianity is that every
child is born bearing the burden of the sin of its first parents (Adam
and Eve). Cleansing the ill effects of this sin from man is not possible in any
way. For this purpose, the Lord had mercy on man and sent his only son (Jesus
Christ) to the world to atone for this sin with his sacrifice on the crucifix.
Those who believe in the atonement of Jesus Christ would get salvation, those
who do not believe as such would enter Hell. For salvation there is
no question of one’s deeds. Therefore in a letter to Ephesians, Saint Paul writes:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and not of yourselves; it is God’s gift. It is not by works…”
(Ephesians 2/8-9)
He also wrote to the Romans:
“ For we come to the conclusion that a man is
justified by faith and not with the works of Law.”
Romans: (3/28).
In a letter to Galatians, this reality has been
described in these words:
“ Those who depend on the works of law live under
the curse, for it is written “cursed is everyone who does not abide by all that
is written in the book of law.” But that no one is made righteous in God’s
presence through the Law is evident, for “He who is righteous through faith
will live”. The law however does not rest on faith,…..Christ has ransomed us
from the curse of the law in as much as He became a curse for us.
(Galatians- 3/10-14)
Just think, with this belief, are the moral
actions left with any locus standi and contrarily the one who relies on the
deeds is considered cursed. According to this belief of Christianity the
distress the man gets entangled in is not the result of any of his crimes, but
a chastisement of the sin of his first parents in which that poor fellow
is implicated for no fault at all. The acquittal from this suffering is not
attained as a recompense of any good action on his part, but the
conviction on the belief on the atonement , which the Christ offered. So far
as the belief of the “original sin” being fallacious is concerned, the
scholars and researchers of Christianity are publicly declaring it to be a
false belief, for example, R. F. Johsnon writes in his book “Confucianism
and Modern China”,
The belief of the original sin, in fact, is the “original
dilemma” for which we are displeased with every kind of good and are inclined
to every type of evil.
For this belief, A.E.Taylor writes:
The belief is a refutation. I’ll welcome
any scientific and God calling towards religion which may ward us off to
believe in such a droll calumny of human nature.
(Mind- July 1912).
According to the Holy Quran:
This Scientific and inviting-to-God
Religion is Islam which pronounced that neither any human comes to this world
loaded with the sins of the previous birth, nor, is entangled in the
contamination of the first parent’s faltering. Every child in the world
is born with a clean slate and is worthy of respect. He has been bestowed with
potentials as realizable possibilities for leading a life higher than that of
the physical life at the animal level. The development of these potentialities
is the goal of the human life. If man develops the potentialities of the
physical life only, he gets the comforts and forces of the physical world but
never does it come to his lot the higher life at the human level, which the
Holy Quran denotes as the paradisiacal life.
“The one who seeks immediate gains of the
physical life alone, according to Our Law, which we have formulated with Our
Choice, We grant him with haste. But his (human) life is a life of crisis,
which he leads with disgrace and ignominy. But the one who, along with the
physical life develops the human life as well, he acquires the physical gains
and his personality also keeps evolving”. (Al-Quran 17/18)
“And the one who desires the pleasantries of the
future and puts forth efforts in proportion to what ought to be and believes in
the truth of the prescribed higher-order values of God, his endeavours are
recompensed in full.” (Al-Quran 17/19)
“We promote this group according to Our Law
and also that group and shower our bounties in proportion to their efforts and
actions. Always remembers, We have not built any dykes against our bounties for
any one.”( Al-Quran 17/20)
This development of the human personality can
take place in a system that is established on the foundations of PERMANENT
VALUES. This development is the other name of ‘the natural consequences of
actions.’ Good actions are those which promote stability and integration of the
human SELF, the evil are those which cause it to grow weak and disintegrate.
The result of each action draws up concomitantly on the human
personality. This is its ROLL OF CONDUCT, which in the words of the Holy Quran,
is hung around the neck of every one and opens up on the eve of
manifestation of results. The human personality developed on a set criterion,
will be able to pass through the next evolutionary stages of life.... This is
called the paradisiacal life in the hereafter. That, which does not come up to
that standard, will stop its development..... This is the life of Hell. The
Holy Quran has interpreted it as measures ( of good deeds) being heavier or
lighter
“so the one whose measure weighs
heavy will have a pleasing life and the one whose measure weighs lighter, abyss
will be his abode.” (Al-Quran101/6-9)
Have you observed that according to the Holy
Quran the purpose of life is not liberation from any suffering but to achieve a
higher position in life with proper development of the endowed potentialities and
reach a higher and exalted stage of life as compared to the existing one. The
Holy Quran has denoted it in terms of “achievement and success” and not
salvation. You must have also observed from this that a satisfying and an
elegant answer are obtained to the questions: ‘why should I abide by the moral
values? What benefit does it accrue to me and what loss do I undergo by
going against them. This is the only way on the basis of which man obeys these
values rationally and follows them with complete satisfaction of the mind and
the heart.
Ad-Deen:
You would have observed from the above
explanations that the Holy Quran does not only specify a few moral values but
also provides a comprehensive system of life raised on the basic concept
of God-man-Universe-Law of Requital and purpose of life. The name
of this comprehensive system is Ad-Deen and its practical implementation is
called Al-Islam. The moral values only produce their results under this system
and become rationally workable as well; besides, there is no other system
through which the purpose of such type can be realized. That is why it is said:
“ It is a fact that Ad-Deen (way of life)
acceptable to God is only Islam.” Al-Quran 3/18)Therefore,
“If any body wants to adopt any system other than
Islam, this system would not be accepted from him and he would eventually know
how big a loss he has suffered.” (Al-Quran 3/04)
Ad-Deen will be adopted in totality:
The concept of the system brings forth this
factor also that the results of its constituents can only be drawn up when it
is adopted in its totality. The example of the system is like the
doctor’s prescription. This prescription can only be effective if you use
it wholesomely in accordance with the directions of the doctor. Taking
one or two items of this prescription will not cure the ailment; but on
the contrary partial use of this prescription may induce harmful
effects. Hence the Holy Quran says :-
“Do you want to accept one part of this code of
laws and refute the other? Whoever from amongst you do this, its result would
be nothing except ignominy and disgrace in this world, and he will be returned
to the most grievous suffering on the Day of Judgement.”(Al-Quran 2/85)
The constituent parts of this prescription are
those characteristics of Allah which the Holy Quran terms as the “Balanced
Attributes” Asm’aul Husna--- Adopting some of these attributes and ignoring
others can be of no avail. Always bear this fact in mined that Reality is
an indivisible whole, it cannot be split up into its parts. The balanced
Attributes of Allah are various facets of Absolute Reality. REALITY is the name
of their sum-total. If some of these are separated, you cannot term these
segregated constituents alone as the parts of that REALITY. For instance, if
REALITY comprises one hundred aspects and you take up only ten, you cannot
claim that you have adopted one-tenth of the REALITY, therefore you would be
entitled to the proportional benefit. You cannot get one-tenth of healing by
taking one out of ten medicines written in the prescription; so the Holy Quran
says:
“And for Allah are all the Balance Attributes.
(These are the various facets of that Absolute Reality) so call Him by
all these facets and leave those people alone who deviate to one extreme in
(emulating a few of) His Attributes.”(Al-Quran 7/180)
You would observe that with the people, who
remain cut off from the Islamic System of life, the moral values on which
emphasis is laid, are those values which pertain to the tender and delicate
emotions of man, like sympathy; mercy; forgiveness; tolerance; humbleness;
soft-speaking, to be silent even if some one abuses; to offer other side if
some one gives a slap on one side of your check, to give over your waistcoat
yourself if some one takes away your coat; to love even your enemy
or go a bit further, feed the sparrows, the crows, to provide a drinking place
for cattle etc. Justice, prevention of oppression and exploitation;
preservation of universal human rights; a political system in which no one
is subservient to anyone; a social set up which is based on respect for
man; an economic order in which no one is dependent upon any one and
every one’s necessities of life are guaranteed without any undue labour and
ignominy; such a social contract in which every action progressively goes on
producing its own rightful result--- All these matters will have no moral
significance with these people.
Result of the Teachings of Christianity:
About Christianity, which is the biggest
upholder of the kind of moral values mentioned above,, go through the words of
a well-renowned Spanish professor. Dr. Falta De Cracia quoted by Brifault in
his renowned book “ The Making of Humanity.” He writes.
“ The notion of justice,” says the famous Spanish
Professor, “ is as entirely foreign to the spirit of Christianity as is that of
intellectual honesty. It lies wholly out side the field of its ethical
vision…. Christianity has offered comfort and consolation to men who suffered
under injustice, but of that injustice itself it has remained absolutely
incognizant. It has called upon the weary and heavy laden, upon the suffering
and the afflicted, it has proclaimed to them the law of lover, the duty of
mercy and forgiveness, the Fatherhood of God; but in that torrrent of religious
and ethical emotion which has impressed men as the summit of the sublime, and
been held to transcend all other ethical ideals, common justice, common honesty
have no place. The ideal Christian, the saint, is seen descending like an
angel from heaven amid the welter of human misery, among the victims of
ruthless oppression and injustice, bringing to them the comfort and consolation
of the Paraclete, of the Religion of Sorrow. But the cause of that misery
lies wholly outside the range of his consciousness; no glimmer of any notion of
right and wrong enters into his view of it. It is the established order
of things, the divinely appointed government of the world, the trial laid
upon sinners by divine ordinance. St. Vincent de Paul visits the living
hell of the French galleys; he proclaims the message of love and calls sinners
to repentance; but to the iniquity, which creates and maintains that hell, he
remains absolutely indifferent. He is appointed Grand-Almoner to His Most
Christian Majesty. The world might groan in misery under the despotism of
oppressors, men’s lives and men’s mind might be enslaved, crushed and
blighted; the spirit of Christianity would go forth and comfort them,
but it would never occur to it to redress a single one of those wrongs.
It has remained unconscious of them. To those wrongs, to men’s right to
be delivered from them, it was by nature completely blind. In respect to
justice, to right and wrong, the spirit of Christianity is not so much
immoral as amoral. The notion was as alien to it as was the notion of truth.
Included in its code was, it might be controversially alleged, an
old formula,’ the golden rule.’ A commonplace of most literature, which was
popular in the East from China
to Asia Minor; but that isolated precept was
never interpreted in the sense of justice. It meant forgiveness,
forbearing, kindness, but never mere justice, common equity; those virtues were
far too unemotional in aspect to appeal to the religious enthusiast. The
renunciation of life and all its ‘ vanities,’ the casing overboard of all
sordid cares for its maintenance, the suppression of desire, prodigal
almsgiving the consecration of a life the value of which had disappeared in his
eyes to charity and love, non-resistance, passive obedience, the turning of the
other check to an enemy, the whole riot of those hyperbolic ethical emotions
could fire the Christian consciousness, while it remained utterly unmoved by
every form of wrong, iniquity and injustice.”
The Case of Irreligionists:
This, in a nutshell, is the wholesomeness
of moral values upheld by the religionists. Now take the case of the people who
do neither believe in God, nor in the continuance of human personality, nor in
the revelation, nor in the life hereafter, but, on the contrary, stress upon
the moral values. Ask any one of them: “ When you say that (for example) the
poor should be helped; tell me, why should I help the poor?” You will
observe that they give you strange answers: Some will say, “Helping the poor is
a human obligation” ask them, “Sir, what do you mean by human obligation and
who is he who has imposed this obligation on me? You’ll observe they would have
no reasonable answer to these askings. Some will say that they ought to help
the poor for if they become poor in the coming days, some one else may help
them. Firstly, this reciprocity is of such a low caliber that you would never
call it a character of any high order; then also keep this factor in mind, ‘ If
the people become able to manage not to be in need of anyone at any time, how
would you prevail upon them to help the poor?” You will observe they will
out-rightly make an appeal to the human emotions; they will not be able to give
you any reasonable answer based on arguments. If you think a bit deep, you
would find that such feelings would be lying in their subconscious: that since
the society values these matters, therefore these ought to be done for
the sake of becoming respectable in the society; and/or some political motives
would be operative behind this phenomenon, such as hospitals, schools and
colleges of the missionaries or the non-violence of the Indian leader
Mahatama Gandhi (late); or it would have been the result of traditional and
inherited belief; and/or the weak nerves of the humans which have been termed
as virtuous emotions. You will observe that none of these can work as the basis
of the human character. So far as the question of national character is
concerned, it has been discussed in the beginning of this discourse. By appealing
to these emotions, you can get some one do good work provisionally but cannot
make this work to be a routine of his life; you cannot produce permanence
in it, while character is the very name of permanence and changlessness
in behaviour. The surety of this permanence can be nothing but the belief in
the true ‘concept of life.’ That is why the Holy Quran invites people who
are already the followers of religions, as well as those who acknowledge any
religion to profess Eiman, accept the concepts of life which are the
very essence of its ‘ Order.’ It says about them that:
“If these people profess eiman as you have,
then these people can follow the right path of life. If they repudiate, then
make it a point that these people are opposing the truth and the rightful; they
are not following that path.”( Al-Quran 2/137)
These are the very characteristics of Islam which
are found neither in any of the religions of the world, nor in the world of
thought and intellect. Therefore, there can be no true Deen (rightful way of
life) other than Islam.
Warning to the Muslims:
I want to give necessary
warning at this juncture. Our state of affairs at this stage is
that we become very happy when we say: our Deen is superior to all the
religions and then, sit back and believe that this makes us the best in the
comity of nations and (that if we are no good in this world, it makes no
difference, because this is only a transitory world and on its coming to an
end) we will be the one to inherit the paradise in the world hereafter; the
rest of the human beings will all enter the Hell.
Actions Make Life:
This is the biggest self-deception we are caught
in. (The Holy Quran tells us this was exactly what the Jews used to say; this
brought them to a state of life which is clear to the world today) Islam’s
being superior can only be useful to us when we ourselves attain superiority by
acting in accordance with it; leading a life of disgrace and objection,
and remaining puffed up on the superiority of Islam is nothing but a stupidity.
It is just like a person who consecutively propagates worldwide that he has a
tested prescription --- an elixir of life, a proved cure of all diseases
--- but for the cure of his own headache, he remains awfully busy
searching for such a medicine from others. Please tell me: “What benefit
can that prescription bring to such a person and his boasting of it can be of
what use to him? This on the contrary, would make him a laughing stock in the
world and no body would rightly admit his pretension. The foremost and basic
proof of this prescription having been tested over times would be the very
state of health of his family. Islam has presented the same proof of its
truthfulness and preference when the Holy Prophet told the antagonists of this
Deen that : (Al-Quran 6/136)
“You go on working according to your system; I
shall keep working according to my own; very soon it would be known to
whom does the success eventually belong. In this way my claim would come
true that Zalimeen (Oppressors) can never prosper;”(Al-Quran 6/136)
and the sayer of such sayings, first of
all, presented himself as a witness to the proof of the truthfulness of his
claim. When his opponents asked him: “What proof of it you have that you
are true in your claim: He answered in the words of Quran:
“I have dwelt amongst you all my life prior to
it. Can’t you adjudge from it whether such a life is of the truthful or a
liar?”(Al-Quran 10/10)
Remember, my respected and honoured comrades!
Only that person can present Islam to the world as the rightful way of life
(true Deen) who is, not only in the company of his friends but also in
the big crowd of his foes, able to project his life in proof of his
truthfulness and then no one has ever dared to oppose him. This is the only
right mechanism for proselytization of Islam.
‘The Quran Affirms What You Hold’:
Now, at the end I deem it necessary to do
away with one or two doubts which often emerge in the mind of the people in
this regard. The first is that the Holy Quran tells the followers of other
religions: ‘I affirm what you hold” i.e. the teachings you have, so the
question is when the Holy Quran itself professes the teachings of these
religions, how can it be asserted that the true teachings of God are found
exclusively in the Holy Quran and not with other religions:
The objection indeed carries weight and
merits necessary consideration. First of all see if it is the Holy Quran itself
which demands the followers of other religions to pin their faith upon
this claim, or do the Muslims present this assertion alone? The complete verse
containing this affirmation reads as follows :
“Profess belief in this (Book) which I have (now)
revealed (namely the Holy Quran) which affirms. What-thou-have’ and
lead not in repudiating it.” (Al-Quran 2/41)
It is clear that the Holy Quran itself urges upon
the followers of the religions to profess belief in it.
Secondly, there is explicit clarification in
various places of the Holy Quran that the followers of these religions had made
transpositions in their heavenly books; literal transposition ( Al-Quran 4/71)
and additions in them on their own ( Al-Quran 2/79); and intermingling
the truth with the falsehood ( Al-Quran 3/71); in this way numerous
contradictions had crept in these books ( Al-Quran 11/110). The followers of
these religions themselves stand in witness to these claim of the Holy
Quran. Hence not a single non-Muslim today can make a claim based
on reason that the book they present as heavenly is in its pristine and original
form i.e. the same book which was revealed to their prophet. You will find the
details of this resume in the first chapter of my book, ‘Mairaj-i-Insaniyyat’,
in which the history of the so-called heavenly books of all the religions has
been described. This makes it clear that:
“How can the Holy Quran stand witness to
the truthfulness of these books, the followers of which themselves do not call
them original and free from interpolation? And how, in spite of the
interpolation and additions to such an extent, some moral values are still
found in these books, the Holy Quran affirms these values but not the books in
their totality. The fact is that the meanings of Mussadaq ( the affirmer) here
are not the one that testifies the truthfulness,” its meanings are the one that
proves the truth contained in them ” The Holy Quran says: “The moral values you
hold are merely theoretical in nature. I give the system in which these values
will emerge as the true realities and this is my special feature;
for example, You also say the hungry should be fed and I too, you say this as a
mere sermon and advise and insist on giving alms to the people; how is the
hunger of the hungry cured with it, every one knows; I give such a practical
economics system in which no individual can remain hungry; in this way I prove
the truth of those moral values.”
The distinctive features of Islam are that with
its practical system all these moral values are realized as truths. This
is alone possible in Deen, not in “religion?” That is why Islam has been
termed as Ad-Deen (the way of life)--- and not religion, so its
comparison should be made with other systems of life, not with other religions.
The second Doubt:
The second question that raised is that there are
innumerable people to whom Islam has not reached yet; or (for example) a person
is born to a Hindu family and obeys very honestly his religion thinking it to
be truer, what is the fault of such a people due to which the avenues of
prosperity (success) and achievement be closed to him? This questions confuses
and perplexes many minds, therefore its thorough understanding is a must.
Had the matter of salvation and auspiciousness or
reward and punishment been merely emotional, it would have been
acceptable as to why a people who are not at fault be punished at all. But when
reward and punishment pertain to law, and success and achievement be the name
of the natural consequences of actions, the emotions cannot have any say in it,
for example the children of the village with no school will remain illiterate
and hence deprived of the benefits that the literate will get. This is the most
severe punishment these children are inflicted to, though they are not at
fault. How sympathetic you be to them, but the deficiency that has crept in by
being illiterate is the one that cannot be made up even by your sympathies and
subtle emotions. Here the question whose-fault-is-it does not arise. If a child
does not go to school for one year complete due to illness, you do not promote
him to the next class only on the pretext that he is not at fault. Only that
child would be promoted to the next class who has developed ability. According
to the Holy Quran, only that person would reach the next stage of life that has
developed the potentiality to traverse these stages.
The same principle will also be applicable to
those who, thinking their religions to be true, follow their religion all their
life in good faith. Some one’s eating of arsenic as medicine in good faith,
will not restrict its ill effects to him on the pretext that its eater had
taken it honestly as medicine. The arsenic will produce its effects
unequivocally whether some one has taken it advertantly or inadvertently. The
nation that worships fire and water (Agni and Indar) cannot gain control over
and run steam engines with this belief. It is clear that such a nation will
remain deprived of all benefits liable to be attained with the power of steam.
This deprivation of theirs is not a revengeful punishment inflicted on them by
any one else. It is the natural consequences of the their ignorance; which no
passion of sympathy can remove; it can only be possible if and when the nation
recourses to the law of Allah, harnesses the forces of nature and then makes
use of them for their benefit. According to the Holy Quran, this alone is the
law prescribed for success and achievement. Neither any body’s aspiration has a
play in it nor emotions. It has very clearly been proclaimed that
“The judgement will neither be made in accordance
with your wishes, nor with the wishes of the “ people of Book”( judgements will
be made according to Our Law)” (Al-Quran 4/123)
and that law is that whoever does wrong
shall suffer the consequence thereof.
And the law ought to be as such. If the law
starts following the wishes of the people, the system of the entire Universe
would go into chaos :
“If the truth starts following whims and
wishes (feelings) of the people, there would be chaos in the earth and the
heavens and whatever is there in between,” (Al-Quran 23/70)
God can alone be the One who is over and above
feelings. That is why the Holy Quran says about the nations which are ruined as
the result of their crimes that:
“Their Rabb sent – the Road- Roller of the Law of Requital; which leveled them
with the ground; and He feared not its consequences” Al-Quran 91/14-15)
He had no anxiety on their total
annihilation. He did never throb and palpitate on it, so much so that :
“neither the sky wept on them nor the earth .”
(Al-Quran 44/29)
But do not think that His Law has no provision
for recantation and revival and if some one committed a crime any time, he
became accursed forever. No, there is every opportunity of reforming after
repentance:
“Tell them: O’ My men, those of you who
have committed excess against themselves do not get disappointed from the
blessings of God. He will protect you from the harmful effects of all your
prevarication.” :(Al-Quran 39/35)
Its method is to do such good deeds, which put
away the loss done to you with your faltering, because :
“The harmful effects of deeds creating unevenness
can only be effaced by deeds creating beauty and consistency.”( Al-Quran
11/115)
Our
Responsibility:
Now the last thing is that there are people who
could not get the message of Islam. “Who is responsible for it? Obviously
its responsibility lies on us, the claimants of the inheritance of the Book. If
we are unable to shoulder our responsibility , the burden of wrong doings of
those whom we did not convey the message of Islam lies on our shoulders. That
is why the Holy Quran says that :
“They will carry their own burden as well as that
of others.” :( Al-Quran 29/13)
Today in the absence of the system based on truth
and righteousness, the nations of the world are committing inhuman
crimes. A part of its chastisement lies on our own shoulders and our present
condition is a clear proof of this phenomenon. God assigned to use the
duty of superintendence of the comity of nations. Leaving the watchfulness of
others aside, we are no longer capable of maintaining ours, therefore we today
are paying (the penalty) for it. Whenever there is a theft any where, it is the
sleepy guard that is always doomed forthwith, so we are suffering the
chastisement of this negligence and our claim that Islam enjoy superiority over
all other systems can not save us from this torment and will never save us till
we prove ourselves worthy of its superiority by acting on it.
At the end, I deem it necessary
to explain that whatever I have said in this treatise is neither desired to
offend followers of any religion, nor intended to despise (God forbid us) any
of the founders of these religions. So far as non-religious founders are
concerned, according to the Holy Quran, we have Eiman (conviction) that God
sent messengers to all the nations of the world. Out of them the Holy Quran has
mentioned a few by their respectable names and the rest of them have not been
mentioned by name. But whether the name of any one is given in the Holy Quran
or not, we pay respect to these Messengers from the core of our heart, so much
so that the confession of their Risalat (Divine Mission) is an integral part of
our Eiman. The Holy Quran says that the truthful teachings of God were
presented to them but later on these teachings were either reduced or added to;
now these pristine and original teachings are only preserved in the Holy Quran.
When we represent the reality that Islam is the only true Deen of
God, then its teachings would have to be invariably compared with that of other
religions and those found against the Holy Quran cannot be true from our point
of view. Whatever I have described about the teachings of other religions is
only in the perspective of this purpose. This reality should always be kept in
view that Islam does not want to prove itself better by speaking ill of others;
it represents its goodness rationally. and prevails upon others for its
acceptance rationally. The Holy Quran enjoins us. “Do not call names to the
idols of the polytheists”; it teaches to be respectful to the worthy - of -
respect personalities of the whole world, but, of course, it shows the fallacy
of teaching assigned to them. This should also be our mode of conduct.