Updated: Monday August 11, 2014/AlEthnien
Shawwal 15, 1435/Somavara
Sravana 20, 1936, at 09:58:07 AM
Islamic Ideology
by G.
A. Parwez
- Idea
of
Before Partition, we asserted
that the Muslims of the sub-continent had their distinct culture and way of
life and needed a separate homeland where they could live and develop according
to their own Ideology. The demand was conceded and
- Idea
ignored.
But what thereafter? Pakistanis
forgot completely that their State was created to give shape to their own
Ideology. During the struggle for
- Constituent
Assembly.
We had a Constituent Assembly
from the day
- Constitution.
Years rolled on, one after
another, without producing a constitution. Every one talked of Islamic
Ideology. We were engrossed in following alien ways bequeathed by the past. It
took nine long years for the Constituent Assembly to give the country a
constitution, a constitution of many compromises which adorned itself with the
dignified name of “Islamic” but in fact had little to do with the fundamentals
of Islam, except in their breach. The diseased constitution of 1956 met the
fate it richly deserved and was abrogated in October 1958.
- Meaning
of Ideology.
The question before us is “What
is Islamic Ideology”?
Ideology is, as you know, a
philosophical term meaning the ‘Science of Ideas’. ‘Idea’ is again a subtle and
very comprehensive term. It is unnecessary for our present purpose to go into
the details of the term. Suffice it to say that ‘Idea’ means a basic concept,
and that the basic concepts on which any ‘system’ is built constitutes its ‘Ideology’.
Since Ideology pre-supposes the existence of a system, the question arises
whether Islam is a ‘system’.
- Mazhab
and Deen.
Yes, Islam is a system. Islam is
not a ‘religion’ in the ordinary sense of the word. Religion is the
English equivalent for the Arabic word Mazhah, which does not occur even
once in the whole of the Holy Quran. The Quran has, instead, used the word Addeen
for Islam, which means a particular way of life.
- Man-made
God.
The basic idea of Mazhah (religion)
is that God, the god created by human imagination, is sitting somewhere away
from the universe. He is like a king or a dictator. If someone incurs the king’s
wrath, he is doomed and is subjected to all kinds of afflictions. The only way
out is to humor the king by reciting his praises, flattering him, making
offerings to him, seeking the intervention of those near about him, and so on.
The moment the king is brought round, all the troubles vanish and are replaced
by munificence, rich gifts, awards of honor, inclusion among the king’s
trustworthies, and so on. Since the god created by man’s imagination is on the
pattern of a king, the devotees of the god try to propitiate him by ‘means’
similar to those adopted for humoring a king. The ‘means’ so adopted are given
the name of religious ceremonies or rituals.
According to this conception of
God, man does not require to lead a gregarious or collective life. His
relationship with his God is essentially an individual and private affair. In
lonely seclusion he seeks through worship God’s forgiveness and bounties, and
having done that, proceeds according to his sweet will, to engage in matters
material and mundane. He is a religious person.
Religion in this sense came
about at an early stage in human development when man was still ignorant of the
“how and why” of the working of the universe or the threatening forces of
nature lightning, clouds, floods, fire, disease, etc. and quite unable to hold
his own against them. In that stage man trembled at the sight of everything
more powerful than himself and in trying to appease it, made obeisance in
complete surrender and submission.
- Revealed
Cod.
As I have already said, religion
is based on a conception of God which is the creation of man’s own imagination.
There is another conception of God which has been vouchsafed to man through
Revelation. According to the revealed conception, God is a Being who controls
the entire universe and moves it on to its final destiny in accordance
with certain inviolable laws. According to these laws, everything in the
universe from its initial stage, grows, develops, and, in time, attains its
full stature, like the seed which grows gradually into a huge tree. Man is no
exception. There are God’s inviolable laws which govern man’s development also.
According to the revealed conception of God and that conception of God alone
can be true which He has given Himself the relationship between man and God
comes about through the laws which He has designed for man’s development. To
understand the Essence of God; and to know what He is, is beyond the scope of
human intellect. What we can understand, however, are His laws which pertain to
our development. The laws have been preserved in the Holy Quran. Those who
follow them develop and go ahead: those who contravene them are deprived of
growth like the seed which happens to be buried under hard soil.
- Rule
of Law.
A person living alone by himself
needs no rules or regulations to guide his conduct. Rules become necessary when
people live together. Far away from habitation in a jungle, it makes little
difference whether one keeps to the right or to the left. In a city, however,
it does make a difference because if the rule of the road is violated, untoward
consequences follow forthwith. The revealed laws help mankind as a whole to
live together amicably and peacefully. People living together, not as they
please, but according to some law, become an organized society, bound together
by a system or an order. The order, which the Holy Quran envisages, is termed Addeen,
that is, a system for living collectively according to the revealed laws of
Allah.
- Kalema-e-Tayyiba.
I may add here that the Quranic
term for the principle according to which one should lead his life is Kalema
qualified with the word tayyib. The meaning of tayyib generally
is pleasant. but when used to qualify a tree, it refers to a tree which bears
exquisitely fine fruit. Says the Holy Quran:
“Kalerna-e-tayvib is like
a shajare tavvib, the roots of which hold the soil deep and firm, whose
branches spread out in the sky high and wide and which bears fruit perpetually
in conformity with God’s laws” (14/24).
Islamic Ideology, therefore,
consists of never-changing principles or concepts of life capable of evolving,
unhampered by the limitation of Time and Space, a universal social order for
the good of humanity at large.
- Human
co-operation.
The comparison of Islamic
Ideology with a tree has another noteworthy aspect. To ensure its
growth, a seed should be healthy and capable of taking root, growing,
blossoming and bearing fruit. Then, it is necessary that it should be
taken care of in matters like preparation of soil, manuring, watering,
supplying heat and light, protecting it against seasonal changes and ravages of
insects and animals. The Holy Quran points to this aspect in its own inimitable
way. It says that the healthy concept of life Ideology or kaIema-e-tayyiba revealed
by God has the capacity to rise high towards Him, that is, it can attain
the heights which He has destined for it. But it cannot rise high by
itself: it is man’s co-operation which helps it rise. In Quranic parlance,
Ideology makes up what we call Faith (Eemaan) and the means to give the
Ideology a practical shape are termed A ‘maal-e-Saaleha. It follows,
therefore, the Kalema-e-tayyiba or Ideology forms the objective of the
Islamic Order and A’maale Saaleha constitute the programme for attaining
the objective. In the present context you can say that Ideology provides the ‘Objectives
Resolution’ of an Islamic State, its ‘Constitution’ gives political form to the
Resolution and its laws prescribe the programme for helping the people attain
their destiny.
·
12. Two concepts of life
Material concept.
There are two concepts of life.
One is that man like other animals, is nothing but his physical body which
lives according to the physical laws of nature and, after a time, according to
the same laws, its mechanism ceases to function, bringing about its death with
which the individual concerned comes to a final end. This is the mechanistic
concept of life, and the social order which is based thereon aims at catering
for the physical well-being of the people living within the State. The better
the provision for the individual needs in abundance and with ease, the better
the State.
This concept, in the view of the
Holy Quran, degrades man to the animal level and is Kufr.
“And those who reject (the
Quranic concept of life) avail of material things and eat and drink as do the
animals, their abode is hell (whose fire reduces the dignity of man to ashes)”
(47/12).
·
Quranic concept of life.
According to the other concept of
life, man is something more than his physical body; he has, besides a
physical body, a Personality or Self, which no one else in the animal
world possesses. Human Personality is neither the outcome of material evolution
nor is subject to physical laws. Every babe on birth gets Personality as a gift
from God, whether born in a king’s palace or beggar’s hut, in the house of a
Brahmin or an out-cast, or of Muslim or non-Muslim parents. The gift is,
however, not in a developed form, but in a potential form with realizable possibilities.
For the development of human Personality there are God-given laws, as there are
laws for the growth of man’s body. If Personality develops according to its
laws, it begins to manifest, within human limits what are, in their highest and
limitless form, called Divine Attributes. A developed Personality does not
disintegrate with the death of man’s body, but lives on and on through further
evolutionary stages of life. The purpose of man’s life is the development of
his Personality.
- Spiritual
advancement.
Gentlemen, you may be wondering
that there is nothing new about what I have said. It is the same old story of ‘spiritual
advancement’ narrated by sponsors of say Hinduism or Christianity. No, it is
not the same thing; the two are entirely different. The sponsors of ‘spiritual
advancement’ to whatever religion they may belong, believe:
- that man’s
body, nay the whole material world, is a hurdle in the way of spiritual
advancement and must be cleared before any advance is possible;
- that, for
spiritual advancement man should discard the world, kill desires, hate and
cast away material easements; and
- that,
therefore, it is essential that man should live individually, in
seclusion, and, in order to get near God, should get away farther and
farther from fellow-men.
- Development
of Personality.
The Holy Quran, on the other
hand, says that for the development of human Personality man should:
- gain
control over the forces of the physical world and keep open his
achievements, according to the laws of God, for the good and well-being of
mankind at large;
- should
have all that is required to maintain life, since, without the egg-shell
the embryo can never develop into a chicken; and
- should
lead a corporate life and establish a social order in which the physical
needs of each and every individual shall be fully met and he shall have
full opportunity and means for the development of his Personality.
- Islamic
State.
A social order
functioning in this manner becomes an Islamic State, which makes itself
responsible. I repeat responsible, to see that every
citizen is provided equitably with the basic needs of life as well as the means
and opportunities for the development of his Personality.
- State
not an end in itself.
According to the Holy Quran,
State is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end, the end being the
development of man’s Personality, which it is impossible to achieve
except in an independent country. Therefore, the justification for the
establishment of an Islamic State, nay, for its very existence, is that it
makes itself responsible for the development of every citizen, his
Personality as well as his body. The State which fails to fulfil this
responsibility cannot be called an Islamic State.
- Relationship
between individual and State.
The foregoing may lead one to
conclude that in the Quranic Social Order responsibilities, one and all,
devolve on the State, leaving little or nothing for the individual to do. Let
us consider the point for a while. A glance at the history of man s social life
is enough to show that from the very beginning the one problem which has
baffled man has been that of the relationship between the State and the
individual. Man has devised several social orders in which, when stress was
laid on society or State, the individuality of the people went by the board,
and when individuality received consideration, the State got disintegrated. The
Holy Quran has given a social order in which both get stronger and firmer day
by day, man’s individuality in integration and the State in cohesion and
solidarity. The secret of Quranic Social Order lies in the unique relationship
between the individual and the State which the Holy Quran has expounded. A few
introductory remarks seem necessary to get a thorough grasp of the Quranic
idea.
- Obedience
to God only.
The Holy Quran has declared in
unequivocal terms that an individual, a society or a State has no right to
claim obedience from any person, since obedience is due to God and God only.
But we cannot see God nor have we ever heard His voice. How can then one obey
Him? The answer is that obedience is not to God personally but to the laws He
has revealed in the Quran. For securing obedience to law, however, it is
necessary to have some properly constituted Enforcing Agency. The agency for
enforcing God’s laws is the Islamic State and obedience to God means, in
practice, obedience to the State which enforces His laws.
- Fulfillment
of God’s responsibilities.
But says God to the Islamic State
since you take obedience from the people in My name, you should give them what
I have promised to give, that is, fulfil the responsibilities which I have
assumed in respect of mankind. If you fail to fulfil the responsibilities to
people, you lose your right to their obedience. The two go together. Therefore,
in the Quranic Social Order, the relationship between the individual and the
State is a two-sided affair the individual obeys the laws of God through the
Agency of the State and the State honors the promises God has made to man.
·
Contract between individual and
State.
The relationship comes about
through a mutual contract which the Holy Quran mentions in brief but very
comprehensive terms. Says the Quran:
“Allah has bought horn the
believers their lives and what they have of material things so that He may give
them Jannah” (9/111).
The meaning of the verse is that
the people entrust their lives and property to the State which undertakes to
enforce the laws of God, and, in return, the State gives them Jannah. You
know that there is a Jannah which is to come after a man’s death, but
the Holy Quran uses the term Jannah also for the Social Order
established here, on this earth, in which every individual is assured, and he
is actually provided, all that is required for the development of his body and
his Personality, and is free from want, anxiety and fear. According to the
contract referred to above, therefore, the individual in offering obedience to
the laws of God surrenders, without any compensation, his life and property to
the Islamic State, and in return the State assumes full responsibility for
providing him the basic necessities of physical life and all the means required
for the development of his Personality. By this arrangement, the individual.
even after surrendering his life and property to the State, preserves his
Individuality or Self, nay helps it develop and gain in strength day by day,
and on the other hand, the State gets established on firm and solid
grounds. The laws of God through their observance by the individual as well as
the State, ensure both the above objects.
·
Means of production.
It is obvious that the State will
be unable to discharge its huge responsibilities unless the sources of
sustenance and means of production are placed under its control. There is
nothing startling about it. After the people surrender willfully their lives
and all else to the State, the question of individuals owning anything ceases
to exist. The means of production pass on quietly to the control of the State
to enable it to fulfil its responsibilities of providing the people with the
necessities of life and means for development of their Personality. But
mind you, by this control over means of production the Islamic State does not
become at par with a
- Inviolable
Principles.
There are, as stated above, laws
governing the growth of the human body and laws for the development of his
Personality. The Holy Quran calls the latter laws Kalemaat Uliah and
says they are inviolable. Kalemaat is the plural of kalema, a
term which, as already stated, the Quran uses for Ideology. Therefore, Kalemaat
UIlah would mean the concepts of life which. taken together, make up
Islamic Ideology and admit of no change. In the words of the Holy Quran:
“The Kaleima revealed by
the Nourisher has been made complete in truth and justice. There is none who
can change His concepts” (6 116).
In other words Islamic concepts
of life (ideology) are complete as well as unchangeable. They constitute Inviolable
Principles or Permanent Values and it is through observing them that
the development and integration of human Personality comes about. Since the
provision of the means of’ this development is the essential responsibility of
the Islamic State, its entire activity will be guided throughout by the
God-given Inviolable Principles or Permanent Values. Observance of Permanent
Values results, in the life of an individual, in showing up, within human
limits, Divine attributes. For instance, God is Aleem (all knowing) and Khabeer
(fully informed). A developing Personality will imbibe these qualities as
far as may be possible within human limits, and become Aleeni and Khabeer
within the sphere of human activities. Similarly, in consonance with God’s
attributes of Robubiyyat and Razzaqiyyat a developing Personality
must cherish the feeling for helping others in their development and in giving
them preference over itself. The criterion for judging whether a Personality is
or is not developing, is the extent to which it manifests those attributes,
limited of course to man’s restricted sphere.
- State
symbol of Divine Attributes.
Similarly when a State bases
itself and its programme on Permanent Values it will manifest Divine Attributes
much more prominently than an individual. The distinguishing feature of an
Islamic State is that, within due limits, it brings out a manifestation of
Divine attributes here, there and everywhere throughout its activities. It
means that
- the
administration in an Islamic State is conducted on the basis of Permanent
Values:
- The State
becomes a symbol of Divine Attributes guaranteeing fulfillment of God’s
promises: and
- that the
individual is busy always striving hard to imbibe in himself through the
Islamic Society, Divine attributes as best as he can.
There is little difficulty in
determining whether a State is or is not Islamic, since the Holy Quran has
dealt at great length with Permanent Values as well as Divine Attributes.
·
Final position.
The final position in a
nutshell is:
- that
Islamic Ideology is another name for Permanent Values or Inviolable
Principles elaborated in the Holy Quran;
- that an
Islamic State is established for the sole purpose of introducing Permanent
Values in life;
- that the
first and foremost duty of an Islamic State is to provide means for the
growth and development of the human body as well as Personality; and
- that a
State is known to be Islamic from its being a symbol of Divine Attributes
detailed in the holy Quran.
Let us now take up some of the
Quranic Permanent Values.
- Respect
man as man.
Every human being, solely on
account of his being a human being, deserves to he respected.
Says the Holy Quran:
“And verily we have made children
of Adam deserving of respect” (17/70).
The verse makes no distinction
between black and white, poor and opulent, believer and unbeliever, caste or
creed, but is of general application embracing one and all of the human
species.
What distinguishes man from other
animals is the gift which every child gets at birth from God, namely human
Personality, The respect is, in fact, due to human Personality, the basic
characteristic of which is freedom and it is every soul’s freedom that has to
be recognized and honored.
·
Humanity is one.
Says the Holy Quran:
“The whole of humanity is one
entity” (2/213).
What militates against the
oneness of mankind is its division into groups tribe, party, sect, nation on
the men-made basis of distinctive interests as opposed to the general interest
of all.
But it is the good of all which
has the capacity to endure. In the words of the Holy Quran:
“That which benefits humanity as
a whole, endures on this earth. (13/17).
To bring about universal
brotherhood of man mere expressions of good-will, amity and tolerance won’t do;
it requires a dynamic social order, built on the basis of Permanent Values to
realize it. And the first and the foremost objective which the Quranic
Social Order or an Islamic State has in view, is the interest of the entire
humanity and moulding it into one in-divisible whole.
·
Human freedom.
No individual shall enforce his
will on another; all will obey voluntarily the revealed laws of Allah through
the agency of an Islamic State which undertakes to enforce those laws.
Says the Holy Quran:
“No one whom Allah has given a
code of law and authority to enforce the law and whom He has favored with
Revelation. shall tell people ‘Obey me’ and not Allah, but will say that
through obedience to the Book, which you read and study. You should help
nourish one another.” (3:78)
Free is he who hasn’t to toe
another’s line but obeys, out of his own free will, laws of Allah and such of
man-made laws as conform to those laws.
·
Co-operation.
Man shall live a life of
cooperation with fellow men and not a secluded life.
The Quranic injunction is
“Co-operate in what will add to
life’s richness and help safeguard God’s laws, and co-operate not in slackening
or going beyond those laws” (5/2).
Co-operation will, however, be in
matters which help man’s development. Willing cooperation by one helps him
integrate his Personality; working under duress disintegrates it. Unhealthy
social order not only condones duress but encourages it by applying the lever
of want. Islamic Social Order, on the other hand, makes itself responsible to
see that no citizen is stranded by non-fulfillment of wants and is thereby
exposed to duress.
·
Justice.
The Holy Book says:
“Verily Allah ordains justice”
(16/90).
Honoring of Rights is justice.
Take what is your due and nothing more: give with full measure what is due to
others: where there are more than one contestant, every one of them should get
his due and nothing less. Justice gives confidence and security. Every citizen
has a right to be provided with work, basic necessities of life and means of
development of his Personality. Islamic Social Order assumes the three-fold
responsibility and discharges it, as best as it can, with due regard to the
inviolable principle of justice.
·
Restoring disturbed proportions.
The Quran ordains:
“Verily Allah ordains justice and
restoration of disturbed proportions’ (16/90)
Ehsaan is derived from husn
which is beauty or proportion. In nature there is beauty and proportion
everywhere: so it behooves man that his own self as well as things round about
him should not be lop-sided. Proportion might be disturbed here and there.
Islamic Social Order cannot stand disturbance and tries to restore proportion
without delay in accordance with the Inviolable Principle of Ehsaan. Old
age, illness, accident, additions to family, etc., strain .the family income.
Unless the deficiency is made good in time suffering must follow. By assuming
the responsibility for supplying the basic needs of citizens an Islamic State
is always prepared to make up the deficiency and to restore the disturbed
equilibrium in the life of the family concerned. The reaction of the State is
equally prompt if and when similar disturbances of proportion might occur in
national affairs.
·
Consultation.
The Holy Quran says:
“And they determine their affairs
by mutual consultation” (42:38).
That is, consultation at all
levels, in petty affairs concerning individuals or in matters of national or
international importance.
Islamic Social Order is
essentially democratic with the rider that discussions shall always respect the
Quranic fundamentals and never infringes them.
The Holy Quran concerns itself
mainly with broad principles of life and very little with detailed
instructions. The underlying plan is, as explained by the Holy Book itself,
that Muslims in all ages and inhabiting different parts of the world, should be
free, within the ambit of the Quranic fundamentals, to determine details to
suit their particular circumstances.
Islamic State accepts Quranic
principles as its basis and keeping them in view, frames by the method of
consultation and discussion, whatever laws are needed to meet new situations as
they develop from time to time in different ages and localities. Present day
democratic legislatures are bound solely and wholly by the rule of the
majority, which is liable to change with every change in the political
atmosphere. Islamic legislatures, on the other hand, stand on the bed-rock of
Inviolable Quranic Principles and from that firm pedestal set themselves
whole-heartedly to the task of framing laws for serving the best interests of
the people.
·
Pooling of surpluses.
Pooling of individual surpluses
for the good of all is a Permanent Value. The Quranic injunction is:
“And keep open what is surplus to
needs for us in the way of Allah” (2/195)
Infaaq is derived from nafq
which means a tunnel or a covered passage with both ends open. Wealth comes
in at one end, stays inside while it is being used to provide needs of the
earner, but through the other end the surplus remains available for use for
collective purposes.
Varying capacities for work
result in bigger or smaller incomes, leaving deficiencies here and surpluses
there. Man-made social orders feel unconcerned or helpless and leave the
situation to seek its own adjustment. The result is misery for many and luxury
for a few, the latter trying always to perpetuate and even enhance the
disparity. Islamic Social Order, on the other hand, tackles the situation
boldly and rationally, pools the surpluses and uses them to bring about social
equilibrium.
·
Islamic State.
Says the Holy Quran:
“You are a dynamic society drawn
out for the good of mankind, you enforce the recognized (lawful) and prohibit
the unrecognized (unlawful) and have faith in (the laws of) Allah - (3/109).
The existence among mankind of a
people who will, subject to the Inviolable Principles of the Holy Quran,
champion freedom of individual will, enforce respect for law, and stop unlawful
activities with a stern hand, is one of the Inviolable Principles.
Brotherhood of the human race is
a charming idea. But it cannot be achieved by verbal professions of high
sounding slogans, in the name of tolerance and religious amity. The effective
method for establishing universal brotherhood of man is that a social order
should be created on the basis of universal principles, that it should adopt
those principles in practical life and that it should then become a living
nucleus for gathering people around and realizing the dream of oneness of
humanity. This dynamic social nucleus will generate centrifugal forces out of
freedom of will and its achievements. It will recognize no criterion for merit
other than what an individual actually is.
I have cited before you, very
briefly indeed, some of the permanent Values given by the Holy Quran. They
should, I hope, help you form an idea of where and how far the Holy Book would
take humanity in its evolutionary progress.
The considerations set forth
before you lead to the following three-fold conclusion:
1. Islamic Ideology connotes the sum total of Permanent Values or
Inviolable Principles which have been preserved in their complete and final
form in the Holy Quran.
2. Islamic State is a state which adopts Quranic Permanent Values as its
ideal.
3. Islamic Constitution is the document which proclaims the above ideal
and details the plan according to which the edifice of the State will rise
solid and firm on the basis of Quranic Inviolable Principles.
Posted on August 11, 2014
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