Single Pages March 2009

The Muslim World

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

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® AL-SYED TOURS INTL. ORGANISERS OF HAJ, UMRA & ZIARATH TOURS Trin Trin : 9880088786, 9980786786 (off) : 22211379 - 22124008 (Res): 22270769 e-mail: [email protected] Head Office : GF-28, Hameed Shah Complex, Cubbonpet Main Road, Bangalore - 02. Regd. Office : Dar-Al-Syed No. 88/5, 1st Cross, Lalji Layout, Lakkasandra, Bangalore-30 By the grace of Almighty Allah and your duwa we have successfully completed our Hajj – 2008 programme. We had arranged direct flight, Hajis returned by AI 5508 safely on 11th January 2009. We are grateful, thankful to Hajis who have accompanied us. Alhamdulillah Hajis performed Hajj with calm and peace without any problem. Hajis had a wonderful and memorable experience with us. 1st Group stayed in DAR-AL-TOWHID Intercontinental at Makkah (5 Star Hotel) Pkt. 2 in a room, and in Madina MAWADDA AL-NOOR for 21 Days Rs.1,95,000/- only. 2nd Group RAWABI BOSTAN (4 Star Hotel) in Makkah and DAR-AL-HIJRA Intercontinental (5 Star Hotel) at Madina for 38 Days Rs.1,85,000/- only. Alhamdullilah as usual every Hajis received gifts by Al-Syed Tours Intl. like 10 liters of Zam Zam, Dates, Saudi Sim Card, Dry cleaning facility, 2 sets of Ehram, Ehram belt (for ladies 2 sets Ehram, 2 Dupatta), Janimaz, Air Pillow, Umbrella, Towels, Nail Cutter, Scissors, Dairy, Pen and with a set of 4 different sizes of bags etc. Our groups were accompanied with Ulmas and helped our Hajis to perform all rituals of haj perfectly.

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The Muslim World

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

AL-MADINA

2009

TOURS & TRAVELS

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HAJ

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Organisers of HAJ, UMRAH & ZIYARATH Tours Regd. Tour Operator by Ministry of External Affair (Haj Cell) New Delhi, The Ministry of Haj Saudi Arabia, Member of KSHOA Bangalore

Summer Umrah 2009 Booking started, conducted in the month of March, April & May 2009 Ramazan Umrah 2009 Booking started, will be conducted in 3 Groups in the month of August 2009 First 15 Days, Last 15 Days & Full Month. Hajj 2009 Also booking started for Hajj 2009 Insha Allah, we shall organise in 3 Groups For Further Information Contact: City Office. # 109, 3rd Floor, Millia Building, N.R. Road, Bangalore - 560 002. Phone: 22132066 / 88 # 172, 32nd Cross, 4th T. Block, Jayanagar, Opp. Rajiv Gandhi University, Bangalore - 560 041. Ph: 26639742, 26640365, 25976039 (R) 22440640. Cell: 9886178666, 9845403517. Saudi Cell: 050-8787480. Email: [email protected] / [email protected] Website: www.al-madinatours.com

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Alhamdulliah, We thank all our Hajis who performed Hajj with us and we are glad to wish them Hajj Mabrook. We had successful Hajj 2008 by the Grace of Almighty Allah. Insha Allah our 1st SUMMER UMRAH Group will depart in March 2009, 18 Days Package, BLR-JED-BLR Rs.65,000/2009 2nd Group will depart in April 2009 with Ziarath (Makkah, Madina, Baitul Muqqadus, Damascus, Jordan, Amman, Iraq) 2009 Booking started for Ramzan Umrah 2009 & Hajj 2009 For Details Contact: 9880225027 / 9844031915 / 9845413027 / 9886508292

The Muslim World

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

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ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

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Opinion

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

BY OMAR KHALIDI he world community has rightly regarded Pakistan and Bangladesh as examples of theocratic states practicing policies of harsh discrimination against Hindus and other minorities. Sri Lanka’s Singhala-centric policies have generated gross discrimination against its Tamil citizens. Beyond India’s South Asian neighbourhood, numerous Muslim states such as Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia follow unjust policies towards minorities of all kinds that are an affront to civilized values everywhere and at all times. India in contrast is seen as a shining example of a secular state. With the Republic Day just gone by, it is time to ask: But is India really a secular state? I do not think so. Political secularism may be defined as the separation of religious activities from those of the state, customarily referred to as “the separation of church and state” in the west. Secularism in theory then would mean that religion and state cannot occupy the same space. The state in its governmental capacity does not promote any religion or religious group, nor does it intervene in religious affairs. It cannot even be involved in interpretation or “reform” of any religion much less favour one over any other. This model of secularism may be characterized as maximum separation between state and religion except on manifest grounds of morality, health, and public order. Theoretical formulation, interpretation, and implementation of secularism have varied in several countries. In Indian context, the votaries of Hindutva equate it with appeasement of minorities, thus “pseudo-secularism.” Apologists of Indian secularism call it “religious equidistance, not non-involvement,” meaning that the Indian state is neutral between religions and religious communities. I demonstrate that in practice, Indian state actually privileges Hinduism over other religions and religious communities. The Indian state is in fact the defender of the dharma for the following five reasons. 1: Constitutional Discrimination: Article 25 (2) of the constitution calls for providing “social welfare and reform and throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of public character to all classes and sections of Hindus.” India’s constitution does not define who or what is a Hindu, but it defines followers of Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism as Hindus for purposes of Hindu temple entry. Article 25 (2) (b) (Explanation II) states: “the reference to Hindus shall be construed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh, Jain or Buddhist religion…” Isn’t this the concern

T

Why India is not a Secular State India is seen as a shining example of a secular state, but in reality the Indian state actually privileges Hinduism over other religions and religious communities. The Indian state is in fact the defender of the dharma for at least five reasons.

of Brahmin establishment to allow or disallow whoever they deem fit to enter a temple? Why should a secular state be concerned with the social welfare of only one religion? The motive of the constitution writers was obvious: to prevent the conversion of Dalits to Christianity or Islam, to “reform” Hinduism to make it palatable to the former untouchables. The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 applies to (a) any person who is a Hindu by religion in any of its forms and developments, including a Virashaiva, a Lingayat or follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana or Arya Samaj; (b) to any person who is a Buddhist, Jain or Sikh by religion, and (c) to any person domiciled in the territories who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion. In other words, legally there is no such thing as a Buddhist, Jain, or Sikh marriage, which is another attempt

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to deny other religions a distinctive identity and absorb them in the Hindu fold. The Office of the Registrar General that conducts the decennial census enumerates anyone who is not a Christian, Muslim or Parsi as Hindu, most particularly in tribal areas, in pursuance of a policy of Hindu by default to inflate the religious majority. Article 290A of the Constitution, which was added in 1956, provides for Kerala state funds to be paid for the upkeep of Hindu temples and shrines in the territories of former princely state of Tranvancore. What state but a denominational one would spend government funds to promote a particular religion. 2: Legislative Discrimination: Although freedom of religion is granted under the constitution’s Article 25 (1), a Congress government of Madhya Pradesh pioneered anticonversion legislation during the heyday of Nehru in 1954. Since then as many as 7 state legislatures (Arunachal, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal, Orissa, Rajasthan and Tripura) have passed laws severely restricting conversion from Hinduism to other religions while facilitating conversion to Hinduism. In 1982, when a few hundred Dalits embraced Islam in Meenakshipuram, the central government took measures to curb conversions. No less than Indira Gandhi characterized conversions as a threat to national security. Christian missions and churches have been under attack since decades, often with state complicity as demonstrated in AugustSeptember 2008 in Orissa and Karnataka. Hundreds of mosques are in illegal possession nationwide including in New Delhi, where scores are occupied by the central government. It was a Congress government that first locked up the Babri Mosque in 1949 by court order effectively converting it into a Hindu temple. What began under Nehru was successfully completed by Narasimha Rao in 1992 through the Mosque’s destruction under the very nose of army, paramilitary and police. It is ironic that the Indian state is ready to deploy army to flush out Sikh insurgents from Golden Temple and Muslim rebels from Charar-i Sharif, but not protect Babri Mosque from the Hindu mobs’ jack hammers. The states of Gujarat and UP spent government funds to rebuild the Somanatha Temple around the same time when Babri Mosque was locked up. It was President Rajendra Prasad who inaugurated the rebuilt temple in 1951 amidst official fanfare. 3: Employment Discrimination:Article 16 (2) of the constitution prohibits discrimination in public employment on religious grounds. Yet there are numerous examples of outright discrimination. Per Presidential orders of 1950 and 1956 the beneficiaries of Cont. on page 14

Registered Tour by Ministry of External Affairs, Haj Cell (New Delhi) & Ministry of Haj (Saudi Arabia) & Member of AIHUTOA, Mumbai. The Most Trustworthy Organisation of HAJ, UMRA & ZIARATH Tours, rendering its sincere service to Hajis since 1987. By the Grace of Almighty Allah we have successfully completed our Haj 2008 programme. Alhamdulillah, we are grateful and thankful for all our Hajis who accompanied and performed Haj with us. We are also thankful for their kind support and co-oporation which enabled us to serve Hajis better.

Booking started for Summer Umrah 2009, Insha Allah Packages will be in the month of April, May 2009. Also Booking started for Ramzan Umrah & Hajj 2009. Only limited seats available. Insha Allah Ramzan Umrah Departure will be on 22 nd August 2009 and Hajj 2009 Departure will be on 21 st October 2009 For others details & further information please contact:

No. 1/12, Naaz Complex, 3rd Cross, N.R. Road, Bangalore - 560 002. Ph.(O): 22227497, 22229097, 22229197, 41224497 Fax: 22234182. Mob : 98440 98497, 94483 78616, 99455 98497. Email: [email protected] / [email protected] Website: www.syedina.com

Editorial

The Importance of IntraMuslim Dialogue

H

istorically, there have been few efforts among Muslims to address and reform the ways in which the different Muslim sects, particularly Shias and Sunnis, consider and relate to each other. In part, this is because the tradition of ijtihad has been largely lost and Islamic thought has fallen prey to stagnation and rigid taqlid or blind conformity to past precedent. Had Muslim scholars cared to revisit much of their inherited intellectual tradition, we would have been spared some of the horrors of intra-Muslim, particularly Shia-Sunni, rivalries and conflicts that have, over the centuries, taken a terrible toll. In its origins, the Shia-Sunni split was a product of a particular political context and a particular political conflict, which should have been addressed and solved. However, this did not happen, and these differences were magnified by taking on a religious colour. No serious efforts were made to reduce or to put an end to these differences. Today, a fairly large number of socially conscious Shias and Sunnis are seriously interested in promoting Shia-Sunni dialogue and understanding. It must be admitted that Shia leaders are taking much more interest in this regard than their Sunni counterparts. The Iranian Government has even set up a special organization, called Al-Majma al-Alami Li’t Taqrib Bayn al-Mazahib al-Islamiya, for precisely this purpose, something that no government of any Sunni country has done. The only sensible and proper way to approach the question of Shia-Sunni relations and to seek to improve them is through dialogue. Such dialogue must be predicated on both groups working with each other on issues on which both of them are agreed, and on searching for points for discussion and exchange with regard to issues on which they differ. Shia-Sunni dialogue, it must be recognized, is indispensable for the project of wider Muslim unity, solidarity and ecumenism. Through this sort of dialogue both groups can benefit and learn from each other. And yet, throughout the centuries, this work of dialogue has been almost wholly neglected. It is necessary, therefore, to take up Shia-Sunni dialogue not just as a political necessity but also as a religious imperative. Both Shias and Sunnis believe in the same Quran, which exhorts believers to hold fast to the rope of God and not to split into sects. It is precisely because the issue of Shia-Sunni dialogue has not been seriously taken up by the Shia and Sunni religious leadership that imperialist forces inimical to Muslims and Islam have taken, and continue to take, advantage of these sectarian differences to weaken both of them. It is intriguing in this regard to note that while today various Islamic groups are talking so much about inter-religious dialogue— something that, of course, is very welcome—they continue to completely ignore the pressing need for intra-Muslim sectarian dialogue, such as between Sunnis and Shias and between the different sect-like groups among the Sunnis. It is urgent that socially conscious Shia and Sunni ulema seriously take up the issue of Shia-Sunni dialogue. In this they must be inspired by a genuine concern for the other. They must seek to understand each other. They must desist from heated polemics. They must also stop thinking that dialogue can only happen when the supposedly rival party gives up the views that the other party does not agree with. Obviously, no dialogue can at all happen if this is the case. It is also imperative that Shias and Sunnis refrain from promoting hatedriven propaganda against each other. Instead of seeking to discuss their differences in a serious and academic manner, often these are brought out into the streets by rabble-rousers who have a vested interest in stirring Shia-Sunni strife. This is precisely what has transformed Pakistan into a living hell of sectarian hatred and war. Such elements must be sought to be socially ostracized and marginalized. While talking about Shia-Sunni ecumenism, one must also raise the question about the possibility of Sunnis accepting the Shia Jafari school of Islamic jurisprudence or fiqh as a legitimate one, a fifth school in addition to the existing four schools followed by most Sunnis. The Jamia Al-Azhar, one of the largest and most influential madrasas in the Sunni world, recognizes the Jafari school, in addition to the Ibadi and Zaidi schools, as legitimately Islamic. Half a century or so ago, Shaikh Mahmud Shaltut, rector of Al-Azhar, had even

LETTERS

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

Bouquets and Brickbats

No Respite to Raw an Senas Rawan

West Bengal Madrasas

In the speech that Pramod Muthalik delivered at Udupi on 17 January, 2009, he referred to the Malegaon blasts as just a curtain raiser. He notoriously called out to Hindus to become militants, he brazenly urged Hindu women to give up the cooking ladle in favour of a bomb. The speech reminded me of the article of Bal Thackeray that urged Hindus to become suicide bombers. If stringent actions are not taken even this time, such demagogues will continue to lead ingenuous masses astray. If terrorism has to be exterminated root and branch, such Rawan Senas need to be identified that are carrying out their agendas in the name of Rama. Rawans like Muthalik and Bal Thackeray and others must be put behind the bars because no cost is dearer than the peace and security of the nation itself. Khan Yasir New Delhi. [email protected]

It is heartening to note, from your Feb 2009 issue, that Madrasas in west Bengal are catering to the educational requirements of even non Muslims. It is well known that madrasas are the most impoverished of all educational institutions in India. They offer low cost education, the beneficiaries of which will therefore be the underprivileged of the society. In the current scenario wherein Indian Muslims try to thrive on pleading, be it for subsidies, reservations or dole outs, the broadmindedness and the generosity of the Bengal Madrasas is indeed exemplary. They have shown that generosity need not be a prerogative of rich alone. This bigheartedness is akin to “Sakhawat-e-nafs” in Sufi parlance. A little deeper analysis will show that such harmony between majority and the minority communities has been possible because of the common medium of instructions, since in west Bengal the Lingua Franca of all religious groups is Bengali. Perhaps Kerala is another state from where we can hear of such enlightened Madrasas. In the rest of country where the Madrasas are Urdu-centric we will perpetually remain isolated. An easy way forward will be if the Urdu based madrasas start English medium sections atleast to cater to 10-20% of their students. It is not difficult to set up English version of “dars-e nizami” and its related modules as long as we have scholarly linguists like Yogender Sikand amongst us. Dr A Ahmed Bangalore

Azan is not ‘Disturbance’ This is with reference to the article, ‘ Manual for social harmony for Muslims, ‘ in the December 2008 issue of Islamic Voice. There are few good points in this. But the advise given on Azan and Qurbani is pathetic, How can Mr Siraj even think of these things? Has the writer turned a deaf ear to the religious hymns of Hindus and the church bells which goes on in the morning? Azan is a call for prayer and by no means, it is a disturbance or nuisance. If Muslims begin to do this, the day will come when the mosques will shut down because of our careless attitude and ideas to please other people. About cows, the price of beef has gone up because of consumption from all other communities and the leather export by which the government gets good revenue is generated from this skin. Without killing the animal you cannot make leather . I request the writer to gain knowledge about all things before writing about them. Syed Nooruddin Ahmed Mysore [email protected]

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Community Round Up

BJP leader Katiyar to visit Darul Uloom Faizabad: BJP national general secretary Vinay Katiyar, who had demanded a ban on Darul Uloom Deoband, will soon visit the seminary and address ulemas. The MP said he has received an invitation from Darul Uloom, which he had, earlier last month, alleged of having contacts with Pakistan-based terrorists organisations. Singing a different tune, Katiyar said there is no question of banning this “world-famed Islamic centre”. “We should be proud that we have Deoband like Islamic centre in India which gives religious direction to rest of the world,” Katiyar said. He claimed his earlier remarks on the seminary were guided by the report of the Second Administrative Reforms Committee, headed by Congress leader Veerappa Moily which “blamed this Islamic seminary of having contacts with terrorists organisations”. “It is not me but the Congress which is saying that Darul Uloom had links with terrorists organisations,” Katiyar told the media. “Now the Centre is left with only two options. First if this report is correct it must take action and ban the institution. If the report is wrong, Congress should immediately seek apology from the Muslim community and sack Moily and others involved in preparing the report,” he said. ■

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

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Sadhus of Ayodhya and Legislators of Sindh Assembly join for Peace Hundreds of Sadhus in Ayodhya lead by Mahant Bhavnaath Das, chief of the Hanumangarhi temple and ministers and legislators from the government and opposition parties in the Sindh Legislative Assembly in Karachi, Pakistan became one in signing the Joint Petition against terrorism and war. This Joint Signature Campaign by Citizens of India and Pakistan against terrorism, war posturing and to promote cooperation and peace between India and Pakistan was launched on 9th January 2009 simultaneously from 22 cities in India and 17 cities in Pakistan. Civil society organisations in both the countries are facilitating the Signature Campaign in hundreds of cities, towns and villages of India and Pakistan. Many prominent personalities, members of Parliament, editors of newspapers,

academicians, artists, scientists, social activists and others have endorsed the Petition that demands that both the governments of Pakistan and India should practise zero tolerance for religious extremism and terrorism, take appropriate actions to root out terror groups, set up joint action and investigation mechanism, desist from war posturing, address all issues through dialogue and cooperation, and follow all conventions of UN and SAARC against terrorism and for cooperation. The Petition also appeals to the media of both countries to propagate and strengthen positive attitudes for the resolution of all outstanding problems in the region. If you want to endorse as an individual, then sign and endorse the Petition online by clicking: www. petitiononline.com/indopak/petition.html ■

Child Welfare Award for Mukkam Orphanage

Islam not against yoga Deoband: Clerics at the highly revered seminary in Deoband town in Uttar Pradesh said that yoga was fine as long as no nonIslamic religious rituals were involved. “Islam does not prohibit anyone from practising yoga or any other kind of physical exercise. Only thing is that with what belief you are doing it? If you are doing it for health reasons, there is absolutely no problem in practising yoga or any other exercise,” said Qari Usman, an expert on Hadith at Darul Uloom. “In fact the Prophet had laid stress on people leading a healthy life. Historically there have been traditions of different kinds of exercises in Muslim civilizations,” added Usman, also a former pro-vice chancellor of the seminary that attracts thousands of students. Yoga guru Swami Ramdev has suggested that non-Hindus can chant Allah in place of Om while doing yoga. Qari Usman reacted to this: “Exercises are done for physical fitness, why include religious mantras?” Indonesia’s Ulema Council also known as MUI issued a ‘fatwa’ asking Muslims to stop practising yoga saying it included chanting of Hindu mantras. The Indonesian fatwa follows a similar ban imposed by Malaysia’s top Islamic body in November, 2008. ■

BY A STAFF WRITER New Delhi / Calicut: The Mukkam Muslim Orphanage (MMO) Committee has been given the National Award of Excellence in the field of Child Welfare for the year 2007-2008. The Award was presented to V. E. Moyi Haji, General Secretary of the MMO on February in New Delhi by Ms. Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the United Progressive alliance government at a function held under the aegis of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The award carries Rs. 3 lakh and a

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certificate. This is the second time the Orphanage has been adjudged the winner of the Child Welfare Award. It came their way in 1982 earlier. The Mukkam Muslim Orphanage is located at Mukkam, 30 kms from Calicut, and has 1,100 inmates, 427 boys and 685 girls. It was set up in 1956 with 22 orphans. The MMO today runs nearly half a dozen schools, a degree college, a couple of mosques, an Islamic cultural centre, an Industrial Training school and a working women’s hostel. More information could be had from: www.mmomukkam.org ■

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Community Round Up

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

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Crescent Engineering College, Chennai is now

B. S. Abdur Rahman University BY A STAFF WRITER Chennai: The B. S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Engineering College here has been conferred the status of deemed university by the HRD Ministry on the recommendation of the University Grants Commission. It is the first Muslim minority institution to be conferred the status of a university in the state of Tamil Nadu. It will be henceforth known as B. S. Abdur Rahman University. The Crescent Engineering College will be rechristened as B. S. Abdur Rahman Institute of Science and Technology. Mr. P. Kanniappan, former vice chancellor of the Alagappa University, Karaikudi has been appointed the first vice chancellor of the University. He will hold the post for three years. He is a professor of mathematics.

Best Export Award for Hind Agro Industries

Furniture Designers - Interior Decorators

BY A STAFF WRITER New Delhi: The Hind Agro Industries has bagged the Best Export Oriented Unit award for the fifth consecutive year. Hind exports processed meat to 45 different countries of the world especially in Africa, Europe and Russia. The Best Export Award was presented by the Union Minister for Commerce Mr. Kamalnath on February 4 in Delhi to managing director of the Industries Mr. Sirajuddin Qureshi. Hind exported meat and its products worth Rs. 500 crore during 2006-2007. The exports help nearly 1.75 lakh livestock farmers in Uttar Pradesh. It has set up an ultra modern meat processing plant in Aligarh. The meat is certified ‘Halal’ by authentic clerics at the plant after due inspection. ■

The B.S. Abdur Rahman Institute of Science and Technology has initiated the process of its disaffiliation from the Anna University of Technology following the conferment of the deemed University status. According to a spokesman from the BSA institutions in Chennai, the permission was received on December 16, 2008. The University has signed an MoU for tie-up with the Columbia University in the United States. The Crescent Engineering College was set up in 1984 at Vandaloor in Chennai by business tycoon B.S. Abdur Rahman. It was later named as B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Engineering College. The group also runs Crescent Residential Schools and several other institutions. ■

NOOR ALLAH PRODUCTIONS Two Days of Awareness and Awake ness Towards the journey of your life from Islamic perspective by DA’EE AHMED MOAIT A MESSAGE HAS TO BE HEARD THE CALL TO THE TRUTH! THE CALL OF ISLAM WE INVITE YOU! FOR ALL THOSE WHO FEEL IT’S A TIME FOR CHANGE, “INSIDE-OUT” We also request you to invite brothers and sisters of other faiths. All the Talks & Seminars are absolutely FREE for people of all faith. Saturday, 14th Feb 2009 Harmony, Happiness & Success 10.30 AM – 9.00 PM Sunday, 15th Feb 2009 Faith, Religion, Character, Manner v/s Diseases of Heart And its impact on society from Islamic perspective 10.30 AM – 9.00 PM Venue Details Dr. B R Ambedkar Bhavan Auditorium Millers Road, Vasanthnagar, Bangalore [Land Marks] Near Shivajinagar Cantonment Railway Station Next to Mahaveer Jain Hospital Register your names and help us make appropriate arrangements & reserve your seats. We highly recommend you to REGISTER with us for the convenience of all and those who register with have priority of sitting. For Discipline & Co ordination. Email: [email protected] Important Note: a) Please do not bring children under the age of 7, for the benefit of all and for the justice and mercy for the young. b) People who come in late will not be allowed to attend the ongoing session; you will have to wait for the next session to commence. [Session I: 10 30 AM-1:00; Session II: 2:45 PM – 5:00 PM; Session III: 7:00 – 9:00 PM]

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Community Round Up

Proposed “YATHEEM KHANA” at

Darul Uloom Sayeediya, Kaval Byrasandra, Bangalore - 32 Darul Uloom Sayeediya Trust has proposed to establish a Yatheem Khana in its new extension building being constructed at the site opposite its Madrasa, in its unique effort to help orphan children of our community with free boarding, lodging and education. Rooms are being constructed and donors are requested to assist. Construction of one room costs 1.5 lakhs. Please contribute in your name or in the names of your deceased relatives for one or more rooms as SAWAB-E-JARIA. Names of the donors will be displayed on the particular rooms built with their assistance. Date of inauguration will be announced shortly. . For further details please contact. Moulana Syed Abdur Rahim Sayeed Rashadi, Darul Uloom Sayeediya, Sayeed Nagar, Kaval Byrasandra, Bangalore - 560032.

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GULSHAN-E-SAYEED Urdu / English Monthly is a thought provoking magazine being published to promote Islamic teachings. It is a magazine for the young and old which every Muslim household needs today to retain its link with the religion. Please subscribe with Rs.300/for one year (or more ) and assist us in this service of spreading Islamic teachings. Cheques or drafts may please be drawn in favour of “GULSHAN-E-SAYEED”. Moulana Syed Abdur Rahim Sayeed Rashadi, Editor, Gulshan-e-Sayeed, Darul Uloom Sayeediya, Kaval Byrasandra, Bangalore -32 Mob.98451 77695

Community Round Up

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

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Why India is not a Secular State

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Cont. from page 9 Scheduled Castes’ reservation can only be Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists but not Christians and Muslims. If an SC changes religion after obtaining employment or admission to school, he or she must forfeit job and withdraw from school as has happened in numerous instances. But if the SC reverts to Hinduism, he or she can resume his/ her status as an SC as courts have ruled. Discrimination in Army: Right after 1947, Kashmir’s predominantly Hindu army was absorbed in the national army; whereas Hyderabad’s largely Muslim army was disbanded, rendering nearly 20,000 jobless. The Indian army’s infantry regiments are still based on religion (Sikh regiments), or ethnicity (Gorkha) or caste (Rajput) or region (Garhwal) in which members of other faiths, ethnicities, and regions are barred. While a bearded Sikh may become chief of the army staff as did Gen. J.J. Singh, a Muslim may not sport beard in any of the armed forces. Only Jhatka is served in army messes and langers forcing Muslims to become vegetarians. A Hanuman temple greets visitors upon entering virtually every cantonment in the nation, hinting non-Hindus that they don’t belong there. In their public addresses to the soldiers and officers, at least two army chiefs—Generals B.C. Joshi and Shankar Roy Chowdhury—have used references to Hindu scriptures to the exclusion of the Quran and the Bible. 4: Cultural Discrimination: There are numerous examples where Hindu culture is conflated with Indian culture. The ban on cow slaughter deprived thousands of butchers their livelihood even as it stole millions of poor their only source of inexpensive protein. Cow may be sacred to the upper castes, but not so to the Christians, Dalits, and Muslims. Food taboos of some higher castes do not end at beef. Beyond beef, eggs may not be sold publicly by court order as it offends some caste sensibilities. Nor can school children bring food of their choice if it offends Hindus. Official functions of the government whether at the central or state levels often commence with Hindu ceremonies of lighting lamps, breaking coconuts, and recitation of slokas. There is no disapproval to the fact that functions of central and state ministries of education begin with Sarasvati vandana . In September 1993, Air India took delivery of a Boeing 747 in Seattle, Washington where the Ramakrishna Mission performed a puja invoking Lord Ganesha. Ministers lay foundation stones of government buildings preceded by bhoomi puja ceremony as if the state belongs only to Hindus. In Vishakhapatnam, I witnessed a ship launch amid saffron-robed, ashen faced sadhus singing bhajans, a function nearly mistaken as a Hindu festival. In a trip to the United States in 1984, AP Chief Minister N.T. Ramarao found nothing objectionable in spending government funds for distributing medallions with Sri Venkateshwara’s image among potential investors in his state. A large stone image of a reclining Vishnu located at the entrance to the IGP’s headquarters in Bangalore is more fitting for a temple than a secular state’s police building. Almost every police thana in West Bengal has a Kali temple, none has a mosque in a state with nearly 30 percent Muslim population. Muslim police trainees in Andhra Pradesh, school children in Gujarat, Maharashtra and numerous other states have been forced to perform Surya namaskar against their will. Government school texts in Hindi and regional languages assume all pupils to be Hindu as the contents are soaked with idioms, phrases, signs, symbols, and icons of Hinduism to the exclusion of material from other religions and cultures. Textbooks of history and social studies are replete with gross distortions of Indian history of all eras, ancient, medieval and modern, in which Muslims and Christians are invariably the villains, traitors and foreigners. Until the advent of television in the 1980s, All India Radio was the main source of information and entertainment to middle classes. The governmentcontrolled AIR began its programs with Vande Mataram, Mangala dhwani, Vandana, and Hindu lyrics. Rarely did AIR broadcast anything pertaining to Christian or Muslim cultures. Like the AIR, during its heyday, seldom does Door Darshan show any serials of Muslim or Christian character. When it broadcasted serials of historical or literary figures—Tipu Sultan, Ghalib—they were caricatured into modern stock characters stripped of their distinctive cultural identity. 5: Religious Pogroms: Finally no modern, secular democracy other than India experienced multiple, state-sponsored pogroms—that of Sikhs in 1984 and of Muslims in 2002. In both instances, the highest in the Executive branch of the government justified the pogroms: Rajiv Gandhi when his mother was murdered; and Narendra Modi when the train burnt in Godhra. For all these five reasons, India is not a secular state. It is in fact the defender of Hindu dharma. ■

Muslim

perspectives

BY M. A. SIRAJ he Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) will be setting up five campuses in various regions of the country. These would come up at Bhopal, Calicut, Katihar (Bihar), Pune, and Murshidabad (West Bengal). The Human Resource Ministry of the Union government has sanctioned permission for the five regional extension centres in order to cater to the education of the Muslim minority. It has earmarked a sum of Rs. 4,000 crore for the new campuses during the 11th five-year plan. The AMU is a Central University as per its constitution and elects a Vice Chancellor every five years through its Court, a representative body of prominent Muslims and its alumni. The University now sees itself as a catalyst in promoting education among the Muslim minority. The University was so far mainly admitting students from educationally backward states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This was owing particularly to its geographical location in Aligarh. But under its new role, it has set up admission centres in Kolkata, Calicut, Bhopal and Pune and will be

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AMU to have 5 Campuses adding Lucknow and Hyderabad from the 2009 academic session. The current Vice Chancellor Dr. Abdul Azis has initiated several measures to enforce strict discipline in the campus which saw some unruly incidents in recent years. He is casting the net wide to recruit better talents and the University has begun advertising vacancies for teachers in non-Urdu and nonEnglish media too. The MAO College was upgraded into the Aligarh Muslim University in 1921 and became a Central University after Independence. Its campus on the northern side of the city of Aligarh has now 22 faculties, several institutes of higher learning and several edifices reflecting the Islamic architecture of India. Around one-third of the total 30,000 students are nonMuslims. The University has produced luminaries such as singer Talat Mahmood, film dialogue writer Dr. Rahi Masoom Raza, song writer Shaharyar, writer Qurratulain Hyder, Historian Irfan Habib, Geographer Mohammed Shafi and zoologist Shamim Jairajpuri,

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Dr. Manzoor Alam, to name a few. AMU’s history department has won universal laurels while its engineering college is all likely to be given an IIT status shortly. Advent of Vice Chancellor Dr. Abdul Azis, a Keralite raised a few heckles in the academic community. A disciplinarian Dr. Azis has enforced a strict code of discipline for teachers to remain on their seats between 8

Joshi and has been recommended for upgradation on par with the IITs. PURSE, a rating of centres for excellence in science and technology, has recognized our engineering college too as a centre of excellence. Our History Department is recognized as the most prestigious centre of excellence in the country since 1968. Even Arabic Department is

am and 4 pm. University estates are being streamlined and land mafia is being weeded out. Files are cleared speedily. No condonation of lack of attendance for students too has bruised a few egos. Last year, some goons set aflame the Vice Chancellor’s lodge. Dr. Azis, who was previously Vice Chancellor of Cochin University is a marine biologist holding a Ph.D and D.Sc in Aquatic Biology. At the helms in Aligarh for the last 21 months, he is the first non-Urdu speaking VC of the University. He spoke to Maqbool Ahmed Siraj. Excerpts: Q: How do you look atAMU’s standing among academic institutions today? A: The Aligarh Muslim University enjoys a fairly good standing among the universities in the nation. It is on 9th position among 300 Indian universities in matters of research publications. The AMU’s engineering college figures on 7 th position for funding during 10th Plan by Prof.

considered a centre of excellence. Q: AMU seems to have developed an ambitious plan to expand beyond its campus? Would it be in conformity with its Constitution which makes it a residential and Central University? A: The AMU stands out among central universities. The AMU Act recognises that it was established by Muslims of India and it carries a minority character along with secular character. The AMU Act as amended in 1981 reshaped its jurisdiction under clause 5(2)C which makes it mandatory for the University to promote educational and cultural advancement of Muslims in India. It could not be taken up during all these years. Now this historic initiative is being taken up. We will set up five extension centres in Calicut, Pune, Katihar (Bihar), Murshidabad (West Bengal) and Bhopal. Q: Education being generally looked after by the State Governments and Muslim educational backwardness

owing itself to deficiency at the primary level, do you think the AMU would be able to make a difference to the lot of school education? A: The AMU, Banares Hindu University and the Jamia Millia Islamiah at Delhi are the only Central Universities in the country that are allowed to run schools. At least one-third of the students in the AMU currently study under eight high schools being run in Aligarh. The model will be replicated in all five extension centres. This will address the issue to some extent. But we may be able to run teachers’ training programme for Urdu medium schools at the extension centres. Q: Any initiative to upgrade the general academic standards and environment of the University? A: Several measures have been taken recently. I have placed an academic rejuvenation agenda to guide 500 doctorates. Under this, 500 theses have to be submitted every year. This year we could produce 320. Classroom attendance has been enhanced to 75 per cent as condition for appearance in exams. Every teacher is being asked to produce at least one research paper. Nearly 1,000 papers have been submitted this year by teachers. 500 teachers will be required to bring research projects each worth Rs. 20 lakh every year from overseas. We have signed MoUs with universities like Georgia, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, Youngstown Town University and several others. A diploma course is being introduced on Islamic Banking and Finance from next year.■

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Saving Islam from its Self-Styled Saviours

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radical Islamists in Pakistan talk about unleashing a so-called jihad, extending out of Kashmir and to consume the whole of India. This is no longer limited to just fiery rhetoric alone, but, in fact, is also now accompanied by deadly terror attacks in different parts of India, which Pakistan-based radicals wrongly style as a jihad or even as the ghawzat ul-hind reportedly prophesied by the Prophet. Some aspects of the report about the ghazwat ul-hind deserve particular scrutiny. Firstly, as mentioned earlier, this report is mentioned only in the collection of al-Nasai from among the six collections of Hadith which most Sunnis regard, to varying degrees, as canonical. However, considering the merits or rewards of the ghazwat ul-hind that it talks about, it ought, one might think, to have been narrated by many more companions of the Prophet. But that, as it curiously happens, is not the case. Secondly, and this follows from above, it is possible that this hadith report is not genuine and that it might have been manufactured in the period of the

Ummayad Caliphs to suit and justify their own political purposes and expansionist deigns. On the other hand, if this hadith report is indeed genuine—which it might well be—in my view, the battle against India that it predicted was fulfilled in the early Islamic period itself, and is not something that will happen in the future. This, in fact, is the opinion of the majority of the ulema, qualified Islamic scholars. And this view accords with reason as well. It is quite likely that the ghazwat ul-hind that this report predicted took the form of the attack by an Arab Muslim force on Thana and Bharuch, in coastal western India, in the 15th year of the Islamic calendar in the reign of the Caliph Umar. Equally possibly, it could have been fulfilled in the form of the missionary efforts of some of the Prophet’s companions soon after, in the reign of the Caliphs Uthman and Ali, in Sindh and Gujarat. Some other ulema consider this hadith to have been fulfilled in the form of the attack and occupation of Sindh by Arab Muslims led by Muhammad bin Qasim in the 93rd year of the Islamic calendar, which then facilitated the spread of Islam in the country. This might well be the case, for the hadith report about the ghazwat ul-hind contained in the Masnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, a wellknown collection of Hadith Cont. on page 19

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by Abu Hurairah, a companion of the Prophet. According to him, the Prophet prophesied a battle against India. If he (Abu Hurairah) got the chance to participate in this battle, Abu Hurairah said, he would do so, sacrificing his wealth and life. If he died in this battle, he said, he would be counted among the exalted martyrs. According to another narration, related by the Prophet’s freed slave Thoban, the Prophet once declared that there were two groups among the Muslims whom God had saved from the fires of Hell. The first would be a group that invaded India. The other group would be those Muslims who accompanied Jesus (after he returned to the world). A similar narration is contained in the collections of Hadith by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Baihaqi and Tabrani. Because this hadith about the ghazwat ul-hind mentions India, and is marshalled by selfstyled Pakistan-based jihadists active in Kashmir, it marks the Kashmir conflict out as clearly distinct from other conflicts elsewhere in the world between Muslims and others. These selfstyled jihadists regularly invoke this hadith, trapping people in their net by claiming that if they were to die fighting the Indians in Kashmir they would be saved from hell and would earn a place in heaven. This claim, false though it is, is regularly and constantly repeated, as is evident from a host of Pakistani websites and periodicals. And it is on the basis of this reported hadith of the Prophet that ultra-

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between India and Pakistan over Kashmir has been lingering for more than half a century. A major hurdle in the resolution of this conflict is the self-styled jihadists based in Pakistan, who insist that the conflict over Kashmir is an Islamic jihad and that, therefore, war is the only solution. They claim that participation in this so-called jihad has become a duty binding on all Muslims, and some of them, most prominently the dreaded Lashkar-e Tayyeba, even go so far as to claim that the war in Kashmir is nothing but the ghazwat ul-hind, the ‘war against India’ which is mentioned in a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. By this they want to suggest that waging war against India is an Islamic duty, something prophesied by the Prophet Muhammad himself. What is the actual meaning and implication of the statement attributed to the Prophet regarding the ghazwat ul-hind, which the Pakistan-based selfstyled jihadists regularly refer to, and grossly misinterpret, in order to whip up anti-Indian sentiments and seek what they wrongly claim is Islamic sanction for their deadly terror attacks against India, in Kashmir and beyond? Before I discuss that, I must point out that the statement attributed to the Prophet regarding the ghazwat ul-hind is found in only one of the sihah sitta, the six collections of Hadith reports of the Sunni Muslims— in the collection by al-Nasai. This statement was narrated

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It is imperative, and extremely urgent for Muslim scholars, to take strict notice of, and stridently oppose the radical self-styled jihadists, who are distorting and misunderstanding Islamic teachings, following in the footsteps of the Khawarij of the past and spreading death and destruction in the name of Islam.

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BY MAULANA WARIS MAZHARI or almost two decades now, self-styled jihadist outfits based in Pakistan have been engaged in a war against India in Kashmir. This war of theirs has no sanction in Islam, which does not allow for proxy war, and that too one declared by non-state actors. It is an explicit violation of all Islamic principles. These outfits, which have considerable support inside Pakistan, see the conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir as a religious struggle, and they wrongly describe it as a jihad. They regard their role in Kashmir as but the first step in a grand, though completely fanciful, plan to annex India into Pakistan and convert it into what they style as dar- ul-islam, the Abode of Islam. But what they finally dream of establishing, or so they boast, is Muslim hegemony throughout the entire world. I have used the term ‘hegemony’ here deliberately, for radical Muslim groups in Pakistan and in the Arab world have been indelibly influenced and shaped by the hegemonic designs of European colonialism in the past and Western imperialism today, and, in some senses, are a reaction to this hegemonic project. They seek to counter Western political supremacy and replace it by what they conceive of as Islamic political supremacy. In my view, this approach is in sharp contradistinction to Islamic teachings. Today, as the case of the Pakistani self-styled jihadists so tragically illustrates, many of those who claim to be struggling in the cause of Islam themselves work against Islamic teachings by deliberately or otherwise misinterpreting them. This is the case with their misuse of the term jihad in the context of Kashmir in order to win mass support for themselves. The dispute

Muslims & Media

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

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“Muslim organisations have no planned media policy…” Kashif ul Huda Q: What made you set up Twocircles.net? What was your source of inspiration? A: I come from a working class family from Bihar. My father worked for one of the TATA companies in Jamshedpur. He was also involved in trade union activities, starting soon after the communal massacre in Jamshedpur in 1964. He was a major source of inspiration for me. From him I learned the need to work with the community but also that the ‘Muslimonly’ approach will not work, and that, instead, one needs to work with fellow Indian irrespective of faith. I graduated with a degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of California, San Diego. I have been involved in pharmaceutical research since then. It was after moving to the United States in 1995 that I got introduced to the Internet, and I was fascinated by this new media. In 1997 I started a website for Urdu poetry, which later blossomed into Urdustan.com. This site continues to be the oldest Urdu website on the Internet. After the genocidal attacks on Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, I felt that there was a desperate need to put all the information about Indian Muslims in one place. That led me to launch another website, IndianMuslims.info. I soon realized the need to bring Indian Muslim stories on a daily basis, and I didn’t see anyone else doing it. So, in 2006, with a budget of $1200 that we estimated to be enough for 6 months, we started the news service. In 2007 the news division was spun off under the name of TwoCircles.net, which now brings out, free of cost and freely accessible on the Internet, daily news and features updates on issues related to the Indian Muslims. Q: Why the name Twocircles? Why did you choose that name? A: It is inspired by a quote from Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, the great Indian Muslim freedom fighter. He once famously declared, ‘I belong to two circles of equal size, but which are not concentric. One is India, and the other is the Muslim world’. Q: What do you feel have been the achievements of Twocircles.net so far? And what are the major challenges before you? A: Our little effort is much appreciated by Indian Muslims because there was a pressing need for this sort of work. Our approach has been to take Indian Muslimfocused stories but to treat the subject in a very objective manner. Our approach in covering Indian Muslims news and issues has been positive as compared to the popular traditional approach of many

34 year-old Kashif ul-Huda runs Twocircles.net, the leading Indian Muslim news and features web site. In this interview with Yoginder Sikand he talks about his work and reflects on Indian Muslims and the media.

Muslims of mere BJP/RSS/ Israel bashing. While the so-called ‘mainstream’ media reports about Muslims only when something bad happens—some Imrana sort of issue, fatwas on controversial topics or a terror attack—TwoCircles.net has been able to cover stories of common Muslims and their achievements and problems. We are also trying to be inclusive in our approach by covering news from other marginalized sections such as women and Dalits. I have experience of creating websites and writing for the Internet media for the last 10 years, so that helped us in creating a website that gives a unique, media-rich experience over the Internet. Our stories are enhanced by slideshows, audios and videos to give a truly multi-media experience to visitors of our site. This is, in some sense, unique and very few other Indian news website come close in that regard. So I am happy not only about the quality of our journalism but also about the delivery of our content. Our major difficulty is of generating enough funds. Indian Muslims are a community of at least 150 million and they are spread all over India and so it is a challenge to get stories from each state. We don’t have enough people on the ground to cover as widely as we would like to. We are also not able to reach to vast majority of Indian Muslims—only a tiny fraction of them are connected to the Internet. Further, we are aware that most of our reports and stories relate to north India, and that we need to give more attention to other parts of the country. We are trying to address this issue. Recently, we appointed a reporter in Mumbai for western India. In a few

months, we hope to hire someone in south India to cover news from that region. Q: What impact do you think Twocircles.net has made in influencing discourses on and debates about Indian Muslims? A: A regular reader of Twocircles.net—whether Muslim or nonMuslim—will certainly be more informed about real Indian Muslim issues. He or she can easily sense that Aligarh Muslim University, Urdu, and Personal Laws are not the main topics of concern for the majority of Indian Muslims. He or she will also learn that there is immense diversity of language, culture, practices, and opinions among Indian Muslims. We receive several thousand visitors on our site every day. There are a large number of journalists and opinion makers that watch us on a regular basis, so we hope that by reaching out to them they are able to see various sides and nuances of stories related to Indian Muslims. Q: What do you have to say about the Indian Muslim media? Also, how do you look at the ways in which the Indian socalled ‘mainstream’ media depicts Muslims? A: I think the Urdu media in India has improved a lot in the last few years. However, the Indian Muslim media in English still remains lamentably very limited. It consists of just a very few magazines which, while they were a good idea ten or twenty years ago, have not kept pace with the time. Almost none of them do any field-based reporting, and most of them are simply a collection of opinion pieces. Furthermore, they simply react to the agenda set by the so-called ‘mainstream’ media. More than lack of

money and training, it is the lack of vision that is hampering the growth of the Indian Muslim media. As far as the so-called ‘mainstream’ media is concerned, there are indeed biases against Muslims and other marginalized communities, but I believe it has also to do with the nature of the corporate media. They are set up to maximize profits, so if they think a story is interesting or sensational and will sell well, they will broadcast or publish it without thinking too much about consequences or even checking facts. I don’t think they are driven by hate against Muslims, but, yes, these journalists need to be educated about Islam and Muslims. Some of them may personally be prejudiced against Muslims under the influence of the Hindutva-Sangh ideology, but I believe that the majority of Indians are free of this prejudice. Q: What you feel about how Indian Muslim organisations have sought to relate to or use the media to get their concerns and views across? A: Most Indian Muslim organizations still use fax and write their press releases in Urdu. So, not surprisingly, their views never even reach most media houses. Some have set up what they call media cells, but, basically, their only or major function seems to be to disseminate information about their organization’s activities. They also keep an eye on what media is reporting about Muslims and Islam, but, sadly, do little at all to seek to engage the media, whether by dialoguing with media persons, writing letters or organizing protests, if the need arises. So, I would say, these Muslim organizations have no well-planned media policy or even a basic understanding of how the modern media works. I can’t see any planned efforts being undertaken by Indian Muslim groups to develop and promote media relations. For that, they would first need to understand how the media functions and what the constraints and limitations it works under are. Only after that can they can start cultivating relationship with journalists. They need to understand that journalists are not going to be their enemy or friends or whatever—they are just doing their job and looking for stories. If you have compelling and interesting stories they would like to get an exclusive access to them. Even a simple letter writing campaign, if done in an organized and consistent way, can yield surprising results. Along with the national media, the local and vernacular press should also be part of any media policy of Muslim organisations. (Kashif can be reached at [email protected]) ■

Book Review

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

Commingling of Two Oceans: Majma ul-Bahrain Author’s name: Prince Muhammad Dara Shikoh Publisher: Hope India Publications, Gurgaon, India ([email protected]) Price: Rs. 250 REVIEWED BY YOGINDER SIKAND ufism, or Islamic mysticism, provides rich resources for developing theologies of interfaith dialogue and solidarity, an urgent necessity in today’s world where talk of a global ‘clash of civilisations’ threatens to become a frightening reality. In this regard, the works of numerous Indian Sufis is particularly significant because they lived and wrote in a multireligious context, addressing and attracting people of different faiths—Muslims, Hindus and others. Some of them developed understandings of Islam and other faiths that went beyond narrowly constructed communal boundaries, defying the empty and soulless ritualism that served to divide communities from each other. Of the various Indian Sufi treatises of this sort, perhaps the best-known work is the ‘Majma al-Bahrain’, or ‘The Commingling of the Two Oceans’, by Muhammad Dara Shikoh, eldest son of the great Mughal Emperor of India, Shah Jahan, and heir apparent to his throne. The ‘two oceans’ referred to in the title of

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the book denote Islamic Sufism, on the one hand, and the Vedantic thought as contained in the Upanishadic tests of the Hindu tradition. As the title suggests, Dara sought to argue that, essentially, the two were the same thing, although bearing different names. In this way, he sought to craft an innovative approach to inter-faith relations, and one that can provide interesting ideas for similar efforts in our own time. The English translation of this work has long been out of print, and Hope India Publications, an upcoming publisher based in Gurgaon, deserve our special thanks for bringing it out, and that, too, at a fairly affordable price. The Majma al-Bahrain is best understood in the context of Dara’s own life. Like any other Mughal prince, Dara’s early education was entrusted to ulema of high calibre, who taught him the holy Qur’an, Persian poetry and Sufi treatises. In his youth, Dara came into contact with numerous Muslim and Hindu mystics, some of whom exercised a profound influence on him. The most noted among

these was Miyan Mir, a Qadri Sufi of Lahore whose disciple he later became, and who is best remembered for having laid the foundation-stone of the Golden Temple of the Sikhs at Amritsar. . Dara’s close and friendly relations with Muslim and Hindu mystics led him to seek to explore what both systems of mysticism had in common. Accordingly, he set about learning Sanskrit and, with the help of the Pandits of Benaras, made a Persian translation of the Upanishads, which was later followed by his Persian renderings of the Gita and the Yoga Vasishta. Throughout this endeavour, his

Saving Islam from its Self-Styled Saviours Cont. from page 17 narratives attributed to the Prophet, mentions that the Muslim army that would attack India would be sent in the direction of Sindh and Hind. Thirdly, this hadith mentions only a single or particular battle (ghazwa), and not a series of continuing battles, unlike what the author of the article in the ‘Muhaddith’, referred to above, echoing the arguments of Pakistani self-styled jihadists, claims. Fourthly, one must raise the very pertinent question of how it is at possible that, in the face of the numerous attacks on India by Arab and other Muslims over the last one thousand years, the more than six hundred rule of Muslim dynasties that controlled most of India and the rapid spread of Islam in the country in the period when they ruled, any scope could be left to consider India a target of jihad in the future. Furthermore, today

India and Pakistan have diplomatic relations and are bound by treaty relations. Hence, the proxy war engaged in by Kashmir by powerful forces in Pakistan in the guise of a socalled jihad is nothing but deceit, which is a complete contravention of, indeed a revolt against, accepted Islamic teachings. Fifthly, it must be remembered that it would have been very easy for Muslim conquerors of India in the past, men like Mahmud of Ghazni, Shihabuddin Ghori, Timur, Nadir Shah and so on, to present the hadith about the ghazwat ul-hind and wield it as a weapon to justify their attacks on the country. The corrupt ulema associated with their courts could well have suggested this to them had they wished. However, no such mention is made about this in history books. In the eighteenth century, the

well-known Islamic scholar Shah Waliullah of Delhi invited the Afghan warlord Ahmad Shah Abdali to invade India and dispel the Marathas, which he accepted, but yet Shah Waliullah, too, did not use this hadith as a pretext for this. It is also pertinent to examine how some well-known contemporary Indian ulema look at this hadith report. Maulana Abdul Hamid Numani, a leading figure of the Jamiat ul-Ulema-i Hind, opines that this hadith was Cont. on page 25

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fundamental concern was the quest for the discovery of the Unity of God, or tauhid as it is known in Islam. Dara expresses this concern in his Persian translation of the Upanishads, the Sirr-i-Akbar (‘The Great Secret’) thus: And whereas I was impressed with a longing to behold the Gnostic doctrines of every sect and to hear their lofty expressions of monotheism and had cast my eyes upon many theological books and had been a follower thereof for many years, my passion for beholding the Unity [of God], which is a boundless ocean, increased every moment Thereafter, I began to ponder as to why the discussion of monotheism is so conspicuous in India and why the Indian mystics and theologians of ancient India do not disavow the Unity of God, nor do they find any fault with the Unitarians. Dara’s works are numerous, all in the Persian language, only some of which are readily available today. His writings fall into two broad categories. The first consists of books on Islamic Sufism and Muslim saints, and the other on the religious beliefs of the Hindus. Dara’s writings on Sufism show him to have been a devout, practising Muslim, albeit opposed to the soulless ritualism of many of his contemporary ‘ulema.

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Dara wrote extensively on the religious systems of the Hindus, following in the tradition of several Muslim mystics and scholars before him. In accordance with the teachings of the holy Qur’an, Dara saw the possibility of some religious figures of the Hindus having actually been prophets of God, and of certain Hindu scriptures as having been originally been divine revelations. Thus, for instance, in the Sirr-i-Akbar he claimed that a strong strain of monotheism may be discerned in the Vedas and opines that the monotheistic philosophy of the Upanishads may be ‘in conformity with the holy Qur’an and a commentary thereon’. The Majma-ul Bahrain is the most well-known of Dara’s several works on the religious sciences of the Hindus. Completed when he was fortytwo years old, this book is a pioneering attempt to build on the similarities between Islam and certain strands of Hindu monotheistic thought, and it is these two that the ‘two oceans’ in the book’s name refers to. He describes this treatise as ‘a collection of the truth and wisdom of two Truth-knowing groups’. It is, in terms of content, rather technical, focusing on Hindu terminology and their equivalents in Islamic Sufism, showing the close similarities between the two. The basic message that this book conveys is summed up in Dara’s own words thus: ‘Mysticism is equality’. And that claim remains as meaningful today as when Dara enunciated it. ■

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Life & Relationships

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

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“DISCO VER YOURSELF” “DISCOVER 3-DAY WORKSHOP ON

Personality Development through Self-intorspection (Based on Islamic Principles) The workshop aims to achieve empowerment through self Realisation

“Now we need a revolution, not for changing others, but to change ourselves” http://www.discoveryourself.org.za In the first day of the workshop your anger disappears and you enter into a state of peace and tranquility. You feel free and light and your view of life, people around you and the world transforms. The next day you get rid off the burden of the past and the constrains the past imposes on your view of life. You get access to live in the present and create a new future. You have the power, freedom and self-expression to take any challenge that life throws at you and life is no longer a burden. Your view of life alters. You create a new you, surrendering to the will of Allah. You purify your heart and truly get connected with Almighty Allah. Third day you witness a whole new world around you by demolitioning (fana) your ego. You see life as simple with Truth prevailing and Falsehood perishing. You experience, love, joy, peace, happiness, contentment and bliss, a gift Allah has given you to experience and share with others. Unless there is individual transformation there will be no Universal Transformation. Now we need a revolution, not for changing others, but to change ourselves

WORKSHOP IN SRI LANKA

DATES : 13,14 & 15th March 2009 Organised by: First Global Knowledge Centre Contact: Mr. Ikram Thowfeek Email: [email protected]

WORKSHOP IN ABU DHABI

DATES: 26, 27 & 28 MARCH 2009 Venue: ICC-Abu Dhabi (Main Hall) For details and Reg. Contact: 1. Abu Dhalbi: Mohd Yusuf: cell: 050 4436164 Email: [email protected] 2. Dubai: Majid Mukkaram: cell: 050 6536921 Email: [email protected]

WORKSHOP IN QATAR DATES : 9, 10 & 11 APRIL 2009 Organised by: First Global Knowledge Centre Contact: Mr. Hazim Hamza Cell: +974 5839051, Email: [email protected]

WORKSHOP IN SOUTH AFRICA

1. Cape Town : 17, 18, 19 APRIL 2009 For Details & Reg Contact: Mariam Parker : (021)-930 7495/ 084 5007786, [email protected] 2. Durban : 24, 25, 26 APRIL 2009 3. Durban : 1, 2,3 MAY 2009 For Details & Reg Contact: Dr. Abdul Rahim Gani: 084 886 2872, Minds Alive, Dr Anwar Jewa: 031-2661112/1113 Head Office: Pretoria Contact K.Kurtha: 0725881231/0825572153 Email: Mohamed Ebrahim Email: :[email protected]

Workshop Designed and Conducted by: A.W. Sadathullah Khan B.Sc, B.E (Mech), Editor, Islamic Voice, Cell: 0091-9845158996/ 0091 80 41126165 Email: [email protected]/ [email protected]

Life & Relationships

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

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Qur’an Speaks to You

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

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All are equal before Allah’s Law COMMENTARY BY SAYYID QUTB. TRANSLATED BY ADIL SALAHI Every religion revealed by Allah comprises three essential aspects: a faith which settles deep into the mind, a set of worship rituals and a law to regulate human life. The implementation of Allah’s law will always be met by opposition from people in authority, those who pursue their own interest or their vain desires and the deluded masses who may find the implementation of Allah’s law a heavy burden. Allah addresses His servants to whose care He entrusts the implementation of His law not to fear any human beings or their resistance, they should fear Allah alone. Allah also knows that some of those who are charged with the safekeeping and implementation of Allah’s law may find worldly temptations too strong to resist. As they realize that people with power or money and those who seek all types of pleasure oppose Allah’s legislation, they may flatter them in order to gain something of the riches and pleasures of this world. Professional clerics in all generations have yielded to such temptation as did some Jewish rabbis. Allah addresses all those saying to them: “Do not barter away My revelations for a paltry price.” This is the price they get in return for their silence or for their distortion of Allah’s revelations or for issuing doubtful rulings. Indeed, every price offered is paltry, even if it includes all that is in this world. How could it be described otherwise, when it is no more than a position, a salary, a title and a petty interest for which faith is bartered away and hell purchased? Nothing is more wicked than treachery by a person who is in a position of trust and nothing is more vile than the distortion of facts by a witness. Those who are given the title, “religious men” do commit such treachery and distortion. They remain idle when they are called upon to work for the implementation of Allah’s revelation and they lift words out of context in order to please those in power at the expense of Allah’s revelation. In a most decisive, definitive and general statement, Allah tells us: “Those who do not judge in accordance with what Allah has revealed are indeed disbelievers.” The generality of

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

“Indeed, We did reveal the Torah, containing guidance and light. By it did the prophets, who had surrendered themselves to Allah, judge among the Jews, and so did the divines and the rabbis; they gave judgment in accordance with what had been entrusted to their care of Allah’s scriptures and to which they themselves were witnesses. No, have no fear of men but fear Me; and do not barter away My revelations for a paltry price. Those who do not judge in accordance with what Allah has revealed are indeed disbelievers. In it (i.e. the Torah), We decreed for them a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and a (similar) retribution for wounds. But for [those who do not act] in accordance with what Allah has revealed are indeed wrongdoers.” (The Repast, “Al-Maidah”: 5: 44-45)

this statement makes it absolutely unrestricted to time or place. The ruling is definitive and applicable to everyone who does not judge according to Allah’s revelation, regardless of where and in what period he lives. The reason is the one we have already explained. A person whose judgment is at variance with Allah’s revelation denies the Godhood of Allah. A basic quality of Godhood is the authority to legislate. Whoever observes something other than Allah’s revelation in his judgment does not only reject a particular aspect of Allah’s Godhood but also claims for himself certain

qualities of Godhood. If that is not disbelief, I wonder what is. For what use is a verbal claim of being a believer or submitting to Allah, when action denies such a claim? Any argument about this definitive, decisive and general ruling is not more than an attempt to avoid facing the reality. To try to give this ruling a different interpretation is simply an attempt to lift words out of their context. Such arguments change nothing of Allah’s clear and definitive judgment. Having explained this basic rule in all divine faiths, the surah gives some examples of the law contained in the Torah which

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Allah had revealed so that on its basis, prophets, divines and rabbis judge among the Jews: “In it We decreed for them a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and a (similar) retribution for wounds.” These provisions outlined in the Torah have been retained in Islamic law as an integral part of it, since it is meant

to be the law of all mankind, till the end of time. It is true that these provisions may not be implemented except in the land of Islam, but this is only for practical reasons. Islamic authority cannot implement these provisions beyond the borders of the land of Islam. Whenever and wherever Muslim rulers can implement these laws, they are required to do so. Since Islamic law is a code for all mankind in all generations, one provision has been added to them under Islam. This is the one to which reference is made in the following Qur’anic statement: “But for him who forgoes it out of charity it will atone for some of his sins.” This was not included in the law of the Torah. Retaliation was inevitable. No one could waive it or forgo it. Hence no atonement of sins could be achieved through such a charitable gesture. A word on the concept of retaliation in punishment for injuries that may not go amiss. The basic principle which is established through this concept is that of equality of human beings and equality before the law. No law other than that of Allah acknowledges such an equality so as to make the punishment equal to the crime and to remove all considerations of class, position, lineage and race. It is a principle, which is amplified by its comprehensive application: “A life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, and ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and a (similar) retribution for wounds.” No distinction between rulers and ruled, or between one class and another. All are equal before Allah’s law, since they all descend from one Cont. on page 26

Hadith COMMENTARY BY ADIL SALAHI he Arabic term sadaqah (optional charity) is one of a few to which Islam gives a very broad meaning. It is often used interchangeably with zakah (obligatory alms). Indeed, it is the term used to refer to zakah in the Qur’anic verse that enumerates the classes of beneficiaries of zakah. But it is more general than zakah, because the latter denotes only that part of charitable donations that Muslims must pay as a duty. If they refrain from paying it, they incur a grave sin. Indeed, Abu Bakr, the first ruler of the Islamic state after the Prophet and the closest to the Prophet of all his Companions, went to war against Arab Bedouin tribes who declared that they would no longer pay zakah. He considered that a rebellion against Islam and the Muslim state. He stated unequivocally, “By Allah, I am going to fight those who differentiate between prayer and zakah.” Sadaqah, on the other hand, refers to all charitable donations, whether obligatory or voluntary. It is, however, more frequently used to refer to charitable donations that are given voluntarily. The meaning that immediately springs to mind when the term sadaqah is used is financial help given to a poor person, without any obligation on the part of the giver or any conditions imposed on the receiver. Anyone who is familiar with Islamic philosophy can easily appreciate the great value attached to sadaqah. This is further emphasized by the fact that Islam does not confine it to financial help. Kindly actions and good turns done by one person to another are considered in the same light. The term has acquired great significance and it has come to be used in ordinary speech

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bu Hurairah quoted the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying: A charity is due for every joint in each person on everyday the sun comes up: to act justly between two people is a charity; to help a man with his mount, lifting him onto it or hoisting up his belongings onto it, is a charity; a good word is a charity; and removing a harmful thing from the road is a charity. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

No End to Charitable Deeds by all people, whether educated or not, to refer to any good and kindly work. In hadiths, it is often mentioned in this light, especially with repeated encouragement by the Prophet to his followers to do what is good and helpful to others. But the Prophet did not confine his teachings to the encouragement to be good to others, but further

Prophet’s cousin: “Every kindly word is sadaqah; help rendered by a man to his brother is sadaqah; a drink of water given to someone is sadaqah; and the removal of harmful objects from the road is sadaqah” (Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Ibn Hibban, and authenticated by AlAlbani). The examples the Prophet

or help. They may be able to get and pay for any help they need, but when you come forward to help them, you earn the reward of having been charitable. A drink of water is considered by the Prophet a charity. This is highly significant because, according to Islam, water is one of the things to which all people have a share. Indeed, they can

stated that a good deed benefits those who do it. By doing it, they do themselves a good turn. It is their duty to give and the benefit is theirs for having done it. In this light, we may consider the following hadith that is reported by Ibn ‘Abbas, the

gave in this hadith of charitable work refer to physical actions rather than financial help. He first spoke of a kindly word. This is something strongly encouraged by Islam. What people say affects their relations and affects their standing in society. When people learn to use good words all the time and to refrain from using bad ones, they are loved by their companions and by all those who come in contact with them. The Prophet did not specify any sort of help that qualifies as charity, or sadaqah. Therefore, every type of help, whatever it may be, if given voluntarily and freely, is an act of charity. The recipients may not be in need of that sort of charity

claim their share at any time. If you are asked for some water, you have to give it because it cannot be your exclusive property. Nevertheless, when you see thirsty people and give them a drink, that is charity. The last example tells us something about the sort of social cooperation Islam promotes. When you see a harmful object on the road and you remove it, you are charitable. That harmful object may be no more than a banana peel thrown on the road by a careless person. It can be harmful because it may cause a pedestrian to slip. If you take it away so that it can cause no harm, you are charitable. It counts as a charity although the

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act is not aimed at a particular person. There are further examples of such charitable actions. The same hadith is rendered in a different and more authentic version, reported by Abu Hurairah who quotes the Prophet as saying: A charity is due for every joint in each person on every day the sun comes up: to act justly between two people is a charity; to help a man with his mount, lifting him onto it or hoisting up his belongings onto, it is a charity; a good word is a charity; and removing a harmful thing from the road is a charity. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) I have often said that the order in which examples are given in a hadith or in the Qur’an is significant. Keeping that in mind, the importance of maintaining justice between people becomes readily apparent. Muslims are supposed to be just all the time; that is their duty. By its fulfillment, they earn the reward of doing something for charity. If they have to struggle in order to maintain justice, then that charity becomes great. Their reward for it is proportionately greater. In the second example, the Prophet specifies one form of help. It is of the type that people may turn away from because they may appear to be serving another person. But the Prophet makes it clear that carrying someone else’s belongings and putting them on his mount is an act of charity. By citing this example, the Prophet implies that one must never hesitate to render help to his fellow Muslims regardless of the situation or how he may appear to others when he renders such help. Again, a kindly word is mentioned in this version of the hadith as an act of charity. What is then added is attending congregational prayers in the mosque. Every step counts as an act of charity. In another version of this hadith, the Prophet is quoted to have mentioned a different example of actions that count as charity: “To smile at your brother is a charity.” It is needless to say that a friendly smile works wonders in maintaining and strengthening good relations within the community. When you meet your brother with a cheerful face, you promote love, compassion, and kindness within your community. These are values which Islam always encourages. ■

Our Dialogue - By Adil Salahi

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

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Talking about Taqleed

Insurance and its various forms

Q: Is taqleed a valid practice? Does it mean that we can accept any ruling without question? A: Linguistically speaking, taqleed means “imitation, or following a particular practice”. In another sense, the word means “tradition”. We can see how the word came to acquire both senses, because a tradition means the following of a practice that has been approved as standard by a certain community. In Islamic law, or Fiqh, the word means adopting or following a particular view that is acceptable in a school of thought different from one’s own. Let us take a simple and clear example. According to the Shafie school of thought, any skin-to-skin contact between a man and a woman who can be married, or are married, invalidates ablution. The Hanafi school does not consider such contact to affect the validity of ablution. If a follower of the Shafie school shakes hands with a woman or hands something to his wife, touching her hand, he is required by his scholars to have a fresh ablution before he can pray. If on a certain occasion he finds this difficult, he may think of adopting the Hanafi view on that particular occasion. Can he do that? If he does, is his prayer without a fresh ablution valid? According to the Shafie school of thought, it is not, but according to the Hanafis, it is. Where does this leave him? Before answering this question, I would like to remind my readers that Imam Abu Haneefah, the first of the founders of the four schools of thought, did not sit to teach or issue any ruling until year 120 H, when he reached 40 years of age. This means that for 110 years after the Prophet’s death, none of the four Imams had uttered a single ruling. Indeed two of them had not been born yet. So, what was the status of Muslims who lived during this period lasting more than a century? I am simply asking this question to make it clear that following a particular school of thought is not essential. I have often stated that in practice very few people adhere to a single school of thought. A scholar who is well-versed in Islamic Fiqh will choose from each school the view he is most comfortable with, according to the evidence cited in support of that view. A layman follows a particular school only in the basics which we all learn in childhood. These apply only to daily acts of worship. On major matters, we refer the question to a scholar who does not need to know the school of thought the questioner belongs to. He should give him the answer that is easiest and supported by stronger and better evidence. Only a scholar who studied a school of thought in depth and decided to follow it diligently does so. Otherwise, we all follow what we learn from scholars who are required to give us the most suitable ruling in any question we put to them. Where does this leave us. It simply tells us that none of us practically follows a single school of thought. We all take some views from here and there, as suits us and as scholars tell us to do.■

Q: Could you please explain whether insurance is permissible or not. Various areas of modern life require insurance, particularly in areas where the law of the land makes it obligatory to have some forms of insurance, as in the case of driving a motorcar.

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A: Some scholars take a negative view of insurance, stating that it is contrary to Islamic law. They base their verdict on the fact that when you buy an insurance policy, you do not know what exactly you are getting in return for your money. There is no doubt that a transaction in which the buyer is not clear about the merchandise he is buying is not acceptable in Islam, except in cases where such ambiguity is too small or unavoidable. Thus, if someone says to you: will you buy this brief case with all its contents for 100 riyals, and you give him the money and take the brief case, the deal is forbidden in Islamic law. The reason for its prohibition is that you do not know the contents. They may be good books worth much more than what you are paying, or they may be blank notepads, or even a couple of old pencils that are worth next to nothing. However, in cases where the ambiguity is unavoidable, it is overlooked and the deal is acceptable. A good example is a deal where a person buys the produce of a tree. Normally, such a buyer has a good eye for what he is buying. He is experienced in estimating such produce and he looks at the tree carefully before making an offer or accepting an asking price. Scholars who give a verdict of prohibition on insurance say that only when insurance is a form of cooperation to mitigate adversity, it is permissible. Yet essentially insurance

is basically a form of such cooperation, but it involves companies that make profit out of it. Other scholars look differently at insurance and give a verdict of permissibility on almost all aspects of insurance, except where it involves usury. One of the leading authorities on Islamic law in the twentieth century, Mustafa Al-Zarqa, wrote a book on insurance, looking at all its aspects. When he tackled the question of ambiguity, he said that it is both too small and unavoidable. As such, it is overlooked. Many scholars now support his views, saying that insurance is permissible, or halal. The point these scholars make is that when you take out an insurance policy, you are buying a very real product, which is peace of mind. It is very important for going about life without worries about your commercial deals, illness, or being involved in a car accident. Should you meet such an adversity, you know that the insurance company will be paying out to reduce your burden, or compensate your loss in part or in full, according to the terms of your policy. This view is gaining ground, with more and more scholars supporting it. According to this view, all insurance is permissible, except where the policy in question involves usury. In evaluating this view, the late Sheikh Ali Al-Tantawi said: “This view is more accurate and better supported with sound evidence.” You cannot have a better judgment than this. ■

The Qur’an in translation Q: I read in your column that the reward for reading the Qur’an only applies to reading it in Arabic. Could you please explain your answer, and whether it means that we should not read the Qur’an in translation. A: Reading the Qur’an earns a generous reward mistakes. Besides, no writer can maintain the same from God, because the Qur’an is His own word degree of excellence throughout his writing career. which admits no distortion, editing, change or Every sentence and verse of the Qur’an is of modification. Therefore, reading it is an act of superior literary merit. How can a human being worship. Although each one of His words carries a achieve a similar excellence? When we speak of meaning, putting the meaning in a different the act of worship which is reading the Qur’an, we language is not the same. Anyone who fluently are referring to reading God’s word, as He revealed speaks more than one language is aware that it to His messenger, Prophet Muhammad . This words from two languages expressing the same means the Arabic text, not its translation. The action are not identical in sense and connotations. Prophet says that for each letter of the Qur’an we Therefore, when we read something in translation, read, we are credited with the reward of a good deed. we cannot say that it is identical to the original. This cannot apply to a translation. What this means The maximum that can be said for it is that it is an is that if you want to read the Qur’an as an act of worship, you have to read it in Arabic. Even if you approximation of the original. Because of the special style of the Qur’an, do not understand it, or you pronounce the words which is unlike any human form of literary with a heavy accent, you will still be rewarded for expression, an accurate translation cannot be your reading. Reading a translation of the Qur’an given. It is for this reason that competent in order to understand its meaning and know what translators have attempted to produce different God requires of us is a worthy act and will, God versions of translating God’s book. None of these willing, be rewarded. The reward is commensurate translations can be considered a mirror image of with the effort, time and money a person puts into the Arabic text revealed by God to Prophet such a learning exercise. Yet it is not the same as Muhammad (Pbuh). At times translators make reading the Qur’an in its original form. ■

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Women in Islam

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

BY ASGHAR ALI ENGINEER any of our ulema and theologians usually claim that Islam has given the highest position to women, but having said so they still treat women just as man’s property. By doing so they go against all Quranic positions on women and apply all their medieval values and juristic formulations to degrade women and make Islam a laughing stock. A recent case in point is the treatment being meted out to women by the Taliban in Swat. There is concrete evidence for what I am saying. I have long been fighting for women’s rights as given to them by the Quran, and have succeeded in convincing many Muslim women who thought that Islam was a source of oppression for them and hence their salvation lay only in secular laws. By quoting extensively from the Quran, I convinced them that Islam gives them an equal status with men. But some ulema keep negating all this by issuing fatwas to the contrary. Recently I came across two fatwas from the Darul Uloom Deoband, which is among the most respectable Islamic institutions and can even rival Al Azhar. One of their fatwas says that if a man takes a second wife and his first wife resents her husband’s decision and is not happy with the new wife, the second marriage stays valid. Thus, a man can take a second wife. Period. Another fatwa is about divorce. It says if a man types an SMS to his wife with the intention of divorcing her, but does not send the SMS for some reason even then divorce will take place simply because he typed the SMS with the intention of divorcing her. I really find this shocking beyond belief. Does it not amount to treating a woman as man’s property? I read one article by a respected scholar that when man unjustly divorces his wife Allah’s wrath descends on him and heavens above him begin to shake, Even then these ulema do not hesitate from issuing such fatwas. Which position is right? Why such glaring contradictions in the approach of our ulema? Can the two positions ever be reconciled? Our jurists and religious leaders need to answer these questions. The Quran never treats polygamy as a license for men to marry up to four wives, as many of the ulema will have you believe. There are strictest possible conditions and two verses on polygamy, 4:3 and 4:129, when read together, clearly imply that one should not take a second

M

Women, Ulema and Fatwas The traditional ulema, while performing another nikah, never ask why one wants to take another wife. wife as and when one likes. It should be only in the rarest of rare cases and that too under strict conditions. Justice is a must. And, then, how can a marriage without the consent of the first spouse be valid if justice is to be done? Pakistan’s law requiring the wife’s permission for a second marriage is fully justified. The traditional ulema only inquire about the number

25

of wives one has before performing another nikah, and never ask as to why a man wants to take another wife. The Quran on the other hand requires a thorough inquiry as to why one may be taking another wife to avoid injustice being done to the existing wife. It should never be permitted if no need to take a second wife is established. According to a proper reading of both the verses of the Quran on polygamy, it is as good as banned. For divorce, too, the Quran first of all requires an attempt at reconciliation between husband and wife. Along with the husband, the wife has also been given the right to appoint her own arbitrator and the two arbitrators together can decide after hearing both the parties whether divorce should take place or not. In most cases reconciliation can be effected. I think it is the most modern concept which all secular courts also resort to. Quranic formulations are quite compatible with the modern-day approach to marital disputes. But many of our ulema give more importance to a medieval interpretation by jurists over such formulations. It is important to note that the Quran, except in two verses, does not even use the words ‘husband’ and ‘wife’. Instead, it uses words like zawjain (couple), indicating a complete equality between the two. The words ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ imply that the husband has an authority over the wife and hence the Quran desists from using such terms. What is the way out? I think it is very important that those who are leading women’s movements should thoroughly acquaint themselves with the Quranic formulations and also obtain knowledge of factors like culture, feudal values, patriarchal social structure, etc., which contributed to the early formulations of the Sharia positions. The Quran is the word of Allah and binding on all. In the Sharia, on the other hand, there are many differences among scholars, and that is why so many schools of law exist among Muslims. I hope Muslim women will take the initiative and learn the Quran thoroughly well along with hadith literature, adopting an analytical approach towards the genuineness of the traditions and bringing about a change in Muslim women’s position. There seems to be no other way out. ¦ (The writer heads the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai). ■

Saving Islam from its Self-Styled Saviours Cont. from page 19 fulfilled at the time of the ‘Four Righteous Caliphs’ of the Sunnis, soon after the demise of the Prophet Muhammad, when several companions of the Prophet came to India, mainly in order to spread Islam. Mufti Sajid Qasmi, who teaches at the Dar ulUloom in Deoband, is also of the same opinion, although he believes that it might also refer to the invasion of Sindh by the Arabs

under Muhammad bin Qasim in the eighth century. On the other hand, Maulana Mufti Mushtaq Tijarvi of the Jamaat-i Islami Hind believes that it is possible that this hadith report is not genuine at all and that it might have been fabricated at the time of Muhammad bin Qasim’s invasion of Sindh in order to justify it. Whatever the case might be, the misuse by radical groups of this hadith report to spearhead war in Kashmir in the name of so-called

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jihad and to foment conflict between India and Pakistan is tragic, to say the least. It is nothing sort of a crime against God and the Prophet. It is imperative, and extremely urgent, for Muslim scholars, particularly the ulema, to take strict notice of, and stridently oppose the radical self-styled jihadists, who are distorting and misunderstanding Islamic teachings, following in the footsteps of the Khawarij of the past, and spreading death and destruction in the name of Islam. (Translated from Urdu by Yoginder Sikand) (The writer, a graduate of the Dar ul-Uloom at Deoband is the editor of the Delhi-based ‘Tarjuman Dar ul-Uloom’, the official organ of the Deoband Graduates’ Association. He can be reached at w.mazhari@ gmail.com) ■

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Soul Talk

ISLAMIC VOICE, March 2009

26

Nafs-e-Ammara or Carnal Soul of Man The carnal soul is required to be bridled to enable man to live in peace and happiness. BY DR. S. L. PEERAN he lower self or carnal soul akin to baser feelings in man, teaches man to commit folly and to repent in leisure. The holy Quran refers to this lower self or ego as “Nafs e ammara” in the following way: Verse 53 Sura Yusuf: “I do not exculpate myself. Lo! The Nafs e ammara (carnal, human) soul enjoins (teaches) unto evil. Save that whereon my Lord hath mercy. Lo! My Lord is Forgiving, Merciful” Verse 26 Sura 38: “Do not follow your low desires because they will lead you astray from the path of Allah.” As we are born, our senses and gratification of pleasures are linked to our food requirements and the pleasures derived there from. When these desires and requirements of a child’s daily needs are not fulfilled then the child cries and weeps and calls for its gratification. Thus the first basic instinct is in appeasing the hunger. The second most important requirement of a growing child is the protection and safety from all fears and dangers. The parents provide this security by securing warmth, comfort and protection from all harms, ill effects and injuries. These two needs of human beings, in as much as, requirements of food, shelter and seeking protection from every harm and fear are basic for the growth of a child till the child grows into a full human being. During this period of growth are associated several feelings which are inherent in the human being; like anger, jealousy, greed, likes, dislikes, hatred and laziness. While protecting one self, the harmful elements or those which portents to be of danger are required to be subdued constantly. That is how the

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dangerous elements are recognized as deleterious to the healthy growth of human child be it illness or any other such harmful feelings or elements in him. The need for constant protection for a child from parents is through the feelings of love and attachment. There is reciprocation and this grows constantly over the periods of growth and development. Any disruption or deprivation of love and attachment would be a cause for depression or ill feelings with many side effects. The negative feelings arising due to lack of love and affection are all associated with ‘Nafs e ammara’ or the lower self of man. A weaning from frustration, greed, sloth and slumber, anger and jealousy caused due to non-gratification of senses or otherwise are fundamental to the healthy growth of an individual. This is where the culture, education and light acquired through several ages of learning process helps in the normal healthy growth of an individual. The ‘Nafs e ammara’ or lower self remains raw in the early stages of growth and development of inner personality of man. Childish pranks, tantrums, adamancy, stubbornness, laziness, petty jealousies, quarrels, lack of understanding are all part of the ‘Nafs e Ammara’. There will hardly be any understanding or good feelings, higher knowledge or realization of higher consciousness or presence of Almighty Allah. ‘Nafs e ammara’ is the rudimentary stage of inner self or ego or carnal soul. It keeps demanding for satisfaction of its low desires, passions and for its constant gratification. Thus it is selfish and self centered. In ‘Nafs e ammara’ the intelligence is at its lowest ebb and has no part to play. Therefore there is the need of canon law, the Shariat, to regulate the

Salath Timings for Bangalore Month Date Mar. 01 03 05 07 09 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 !

End Sahri

Sun Rise

Mid-day

Asar Shafi

Asar Hanafi

Sun Set

Isha

5:24 5:23 5:22 5:21 5:20 5:19 5:18 5:16 5:15 5:14 5:12 5:11 5:10 5:08 5:07 5:07

6:36 6:35 6:34 6:32 6:31 6:30 6:29 6:27 6:26 6:24 6:24 6:22 6:21 6:19 6:18 6:17

12:32 12:32 12:32 12:31 12:31 12:30 12:30 12:29 12:28 12:28 12:27 12:27 12:26 12:25 12:25 12:24

3:53 3:53 3:52 3:51 3:51 3:50 3:49 3:48 3:47 3:46 3:45 3:44 3:43 3:42 3:41 3:40

4:50 4:50 4:50 4:50 4:49 4:49 4:49 4:49 4:48 4:48 4:48 4:47 4:47 4:46 4:46 4:45

6:28 6:29 6:29 6:29 6:29 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:31 6:31 6:31 6:31

7:39 7:40 7:40 7:40 7:40 7:40 7:41 7:41 7:41 7:41 7:41 7:41 7:42 7:42 7:42 7:42

The Latitude of Bangalore is 13o North and the Longitude is 77o 36' East. Late Dr. Syed Abdul Zahir M.S., Astronomer

HIJRI CALENDAR MARCH 2009

Rabi ul Awwal / Rabi us Sani 1430 SUN

1March 8 15 22

Rabi Ul Awwal

3 10 17 24 1

29 Rabi us Sani

TUE

MON

2 9 16 23 30

4 11 18 25 2

3 10 17 24 March

31

5 12 19 26 3

Rabi us Sani

THU

WED

4 11 18 25

6 13 20 27

5 12 19 26

7 14 21 28

SAT

FRI

6 13 20 27

8 15 22 29

7 14 21 28

9 16 23 30

‘Nafs e ammara’ to higher levels of consciousness, so that it is brought within the bounds of Allah (Hoodadullah). The ‘Nafs e ammara’ or carnal soul is required to be bridled to enable man to live in peace and happiness and to be a good citizen. For achieving goodness, for acquiring moral fear, for good behavior and for self realization; ‘Nafs e ammara’ is required to be kept under constant watch and control. Such a ‘Nafs e ammara’ which is subjected to the laws and commands of Allah is referred to as ‘Nafs e lawamma’ or ‘moral self’. All good feelings, compassion and mercy are associated with ‘Nafs e lawamma’. When the ‘Nafs e ammara’ is totally

annihilated the soul becomes a god imposed soul or ‘Nafs e mutmaenna’. It is at this stage that higher intelligence assumes importance for Allah’s realization. “As for such men as entertained the fear of standing before their Lord and controlled their soul from low desires, their abode will be paradise.” “Have you seen one who takes his passions as his deity? They are like beasts.” “He who purifies the soul is successful, and he who ruins it, is ruined.” [The writer is editor of ‘Sufi World’. He can be reached at [email protected]. Please visit http://www. internationsuficentre.org). ■

All are equal before Allah’s Law Cont. from page 22 single soul created by Allah. This great principle established by Allah’s law is the true and complete declaration of the birth of man when all human beings are considered equal, subject to the same law which rules on the basis of absolute equality. It is the first declaration of its kind. Human laws have lagged behind for tens of centuries before they began to aspire to rise to its level, but even then, their aspirations remained both partial and theoretical. As for practical application, they continued to lag behind. The Jews, in whose scriptures, the Torah, this great principle was established, deviated from it in their relations with other people. They used to say: “We are subject to no restrictions in relations with the Gentiles.” They also deviated from it in their own internal relations, as we have already explained when two Jewish tribes in Madinah, Quraithah and An-Nadheer established a system of blood money which gave the victorious twice as much as it gave the defeated. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought them back to the implementation of Allah’s law based on equality. He put them all on the same level. Apart from its being a declaration of the birth of man, retaliation on the basis of equality is a most effective deterrent which makes anyone who contemplates killing another or causing him bodily harm think twice before putting his thoughts into action. He knows that regardless of his position, family connections, class or race, he will be executed for killing and he will suffer the same bodily harm as he causes. If he cuts off the hand or the leg of another person, he will have his own hand or leg cut off; and if he destroys an eye, an ear, a nose or a tooth, a similar organ of his will be destroyed. But he may not hesitate that long when he realizes that all that could happen to him is a period of imprisonment, long as it may be. His own physical agony or handicap is so different from putting up with a period of punishment. Moreover, retaliation on the basis of equality is the sort of punishment which appeals to human nature. It quenches the desire for revenge which may be fueled by blind fury and it pacifies hearts and heals wounds. Some people may accept blood money while others insist on retaliation. Under Islam, divine legislation takes full account of human nature, as it has been done in the Torah. Having ensured the satisfactory punishment of retaliation, Islam appeals to the benevolent element in human nature to encourage charitable forbearance: “But for him who forgoes it out of charity, it will atone for some of his sins.” It is up to the next of kin of a person who has been killed or to the injured person himself in all cases of wounds and injuries to be charitable and to forgo retaliation. It is up to either person, out of his own free choice, to forgo his right to retaliation and to accept blood money in place of it, or to forgo both. If he does, Allah will forgive him some or all of his sins. It should be added, however, that even if such a person forgoes retaliation for blood money, the Muslim ruler may enforce a lesser punishment, as he deems fit, on the killer. ■

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Sachar Committee Report It says onus for improvement of Muslims is on themselves and on no one else. It is an essential need for all NGOs, organisations and concerned individuals. Pages 65, Price Rs. 25 including postage. Send M.O in favour of Islamic Voice, #3/1, Palmgrove Road, Victoria Layout, Bangalore - 560 047. Ph.: 25544483.

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