The Quran
says to the Believers: “Remain steadfast and advocate
steadfastness to others and join together to implement the laws of God; fear Him that you
may succeed.” (3:200)
Many
individuals come together to make a community. An Islamic life is to live as a community.
To stay dispersed and to pursue ones own advantages and self-interest is not the life of
the Muslim, who has submitted to God.
The
question now arises: how can different individuals become one single community? How can
separate Muslims be woven into the single fabric of an Islamic community?
We may
look at the pivotal point and make clear the direction towards it.
Have you
ever seen a football match? Or course you have. On each side there are 11 players
positioned around one half of the pitch. Some are at the back, some at the front and
others in the center. Others are at the left and right and one can be seen standing alone
behind them all. They are all spread out as if they have no connection with one another.
The ball
is placed in the center and a whistle is blown. The previously dispersed players start
running very fast. A strange commotion takes place. Now we can see a game taking shape and
in this bustle we observe a unique phenomenon. The player who is nearest to the ball makes
every effort to direct it towards on specific target. It never happens that a player from
one team kicks the ball in one direction and another player from the same team tries to
kick it to the opposite direction.
The point
to which all players of the same side aim the ball is known as their Goal. And goal mean
aspiration, ambition, intent or purpose. The goal is a point, which is in sight of them
all, something that they collectively cherish and wish to achieve. The players are eleven
but their aim is one. All the individual players who have one goal are known as a team.
Likewise
if all the individuals of a society who have one purpose and a common aspiration, then
they can be known as a Community. But individuals can only become a community if they all
have ONE goal and ONE ambition. Of members of any society do not have one goal they cannot
be a community; if different individuals have different goals they cannot be a community
either.
People of
a nation of even different countries may have things in common but unless they share the
same values, they cannot truly be a united community either.
However,
for Muslims, God has defined their goal. He has said in Ali-Imran 3:103 “Hold fast to the rope of God, and
do not be divided…” This is
the goal for all Muslims, which will unite everyone and bring all individuals together to
become one community. Of some individuals lose their grasp and clutch at straws their
goals become distinctly separate; divisions will arise and sects will be created.
This rope
of God, holding onto which Muslims become one community, is none other than the Holy Quran
– Gods criterion for mankind. This is the Goal, which every Muslim should be looking
at. This is the pinnacle, which every Muslim should aim for. This is the goal, which will
give Muslims the unity they need.
Eleven
players in the soccer field have one goal and theses players are called a team. The
opposing players have a separate goal and belong to a different team. Have you noted how
all the players in one field have become two distinct factions? This is due to having
different Goals. In these times a community’s goal is called ideology. This means
that Muslims become a community on the basis of an ideology. They all have the same
ideology.
As I have
said before, this is what I called unity. If their ideology is different from each other’s
then it is Shirk or
division. This is why God says, “Muslims take care! Do not become disbelievers
after having believed. Do now be of those people who created sects within their social
system and themselves became a sect and every sect became satisfied that only they had the
truth.” (30:32)
Have you noted how the Quran has
pointed out a single goal, and any aim other than a single community is condemned as shirk
or an unacceptable division in unity? This is because only on forming a united community
cans Muslims prosper.
When different sects have different
goals, they will not be able to come together. They are not the community of the Ummah the
Quran speaks of. Their unity is broken. In place of unity there is division. The goal for
Muslims is the Quran. It is a book in which there are no discrepancies. Only by following
the Quran alone can the Muslims become one, undivided community. This is our ideology and
it is for this purpose that Pakistan was created.
You may ask why was it necessary to
crate Pakistan for this? We have the Quran with us before we stayed with Hindustan
(India). This is true. But the we could not implement the teachings of the Quran, which is
the code of life. It is the book of law as mentioned earlier, in which God has given us
permanent values so we can live our lives according to it. But we could not live according
to the principles contained in it until we had our own land and our own government.
It is for this reason we campaigned
for the creation of Pakistan, so that we could, in our own sovereign state,
constitutionalist the Permanent Values enshrined in the Quran. Only under these conditions
could the laws be implemented by we could mould our lives. The Quran makes proper
distinction between the believers and the unbelievers. Muslims who are those who establish
a government according to the Quran and those do not do so are Disbelievers or Kaafirs.
God clearly says in the Quran: “Those who do not rule according tot eh Quran are
Kaafirs.” (5:44).
“Muslim” means Believer and
“Kufaar” means Disbeliever or rejecter. Those who believe that the Quran is a
goal or ideology and establish a government according to it are Muslims. And those who do
not believe that the Quran is a goal or an ideology and do not establish a government
according to it are not Muslims and are Kaafireen or rejecters.
From this it is clear that
individuals do not become a community until they have ONE goal or ONE ideology as their
aim. Those who believe in the Quranic ideology are Muslims and with this common aim become
a united community. What it means to keep the Quran as your goal is that a government
should be established to it. This is why Muslims campaigned for Pakistan and this is why
they achieved it. But after securing it we forgot our ideology, our goal. It is obvious
that when people forget their aims, they can only live as individuals, never as a
community.
In other words we can say that, after
the creation of Pakistan, Pakistanis never became a united community, we never lived a
life of unity. We never came to a field as a team and we never played as a team. No player
ever new what his goal was. For this reason one player kicked the ball in one direction
and and another player in a completely different direction, yet both were supposed to
belong to the same team! This is why in the game of life we have never one a single match.
But even now it is not too late. The land is still ours.
And, thank God, it is still in a safe condition. Our ideology, the Quran, is still with us
and thank God, it is too in its protected condition as when first revealed. The only we
need is to make it the goal of our government and then we can become an undivided
community and love our lives as TRUE Muslims in an Islamic state.
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