WHAT IS ISLAM PART 2

The only references for muslims as far as belief and how to handle every
aspect of their lives are the Qur'an and Sunnah of the Prophet (may the peace and
blessing of Allah be upon him)
Abdul Rahman Abdul Khaliq, in his book, "The General Prescripts of Belief in
The Qur'an and Sunnah" wrote:

"The Sunnah is equivalent to the Book of Allah (SWT). We as muslims must
believe in them equally and regard their ordinances as being of equal weight since
they are both from Allah (SWT). The sole difference between them is that
Allah (SWT) made imcumbent on us the recitation of the words of the Qur'an as an
act of worship, but not those of the Sunnah. The Sunnah does not contradict the
Qur'an , as they are both from one source"

Allah the Exalted says of prophet Muhammad (SAS)  in the Qur'an:

"And he does not speak from his own desires; it is a revelation which has
been revealed to him."
(Soorah An-Najm. 53:3)

 "We have sent down to you the Book in truth that you may judge between men
by that which Allah shows you, so be not a pleader for the traitors"
(Soorah An-Nisaa: 4:105)

"And if you are in doubt about what we have revealed ( the Qur'an) to our
worshipper (Muhammad) then produce a chapter like it, and call your witnesses
(supporters and helpers) besides God if you are truthful. And if you do not do
it, then fear the fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones. It has been prepared
for disbelievers. And give good news (O Muhammad) to those who believe and do
good deeds, that for them are gardens (Paradise) in which rivers flow"
Soorah Al -Baqara 2: 23-25)

Therefore, when muslims discuss, explain or relay anything about the
religion, our references are the Qur'an and sunnah, which are the direct words of
Allah as relayed to the prophet Muhammad (SAS) through the angel Gibril (Alaihi
salaam) during the course of 23 years, and they are the only sources of
authority for this religion.

Likewise, learned scholars in Islam are only people who have studied the
Qur'an in detail and consequently what they relay should never be based on their
own opinions or derived from phylosophysing or their own personal
interpretations, whims or desires to please themselves or other men. Like the Prophet of
Allah, they relay what they find in the Books of Allah (SWT). Allah (SWT) also
tells us in the Qur'an that he created Al-alamin ( i.e, mankind, Jinns and all
creation) for no other reason than to worship him alone and no other, and he
gave them the blueprint to do so and how to do it by revelations through his
prophets.

"I have only created jinns and men, that they may worship me"
(Soorah Adh-Dhaariyaat 51:56)

"And did you then think that We had created you in jest ( without any
purpose), and that you would not be returned to Us ( in the hereafter)? So, God is
exalted, the True King, None has the right to be worshipped but Him"
(Soorah Al-mu'minun 23: 115-116)

"And we did not send any messenger before you (O Muhammad)but we inspired him
(saying) La ilaha illa Ana ( none has the right to be worshipped but I
(Allah) so worship me (alone and none else)
(Soorah Al-Anbiyaa 21:25)

Therefore, when muslims discuss or give explanations about the religion, we
never speak with our own authority. We do not label anyone with any words that
the Qur'an did not label them with, and we intend no malice, but we merely
state what was revealed as the Prophet stated what was given to him.

To pick up from where we left off last week, we will continue with Pakistan
born Abul Ala mawdudi's book ( Islamic Way of Life) based on a radio talk he
gave in 1948 on the definition of Islam.

Bismillah. Wasalatu wasalaam, ala Rasulill kareem, wa Allah Alihi, wa
sahbihi, minastanabi Sunnahti eela yamideen. (May the peace and blessing of Allah be
upon the Prophet, his household and his companions, and whoever follows his
Sunnah until the day of judgement)

IMAN( FAITH): ITS NATURE AND CHARACTER

We have discussed  ( in part 1 ) those basic postulates of Islam which, on
the one hand, revealed God's plan for providing guidance to man in this world
and, on the other, defined the nature, position and status of man in it.

Now, let us study the foundations on which the Qur'an wants to develop man's
relationship with Allah and the concept of life which naturally follows from
that relationship. The Qur'an deals with this problem on many an occasion but
the entire concept of life envisaged by it is epitomized in the following
verse:

"God hath purchased of the Believers. Their persons and their goods; For
theirs(in return) Is the Garden(of Paradise) They fight in His Cause, And slay and
are slain: A promise binding on Him In Truth, through the Law, The Gospel,
and the Qur'an: And who is more faithful To his Covenant than God? Then rejoice
in the bargain Which ye have concluded That is the achievement supreme."
(Al-Qur'an, IX:111)

In the above verse the nature of the relationship which comes into existence
between man and God because of Iman(the act of reposing faith in Allah) has
been called a "bargain". This means that Iman in Allah is not a mere
metaphysical concept; it is the nature of a contract by which man barters his life and
his belongings with Allah in exchange for Paradise in the life Hereafter. God so
to say, purchases a believer's life and property and promises, by way of
price, the award of Paradise in the life after death. The concept of bargain has
important implications and we should, therefore, first of all clearly
understand its nature and meaning. The fact of the matter is that each and every thing
in this world belongs to Allah. He is the real owner of them all. As such,
man's life and riches, which are part of this world, also belong to Him, because
it is He Who created them and it is He Who has assigned them to each man for
his use.

Looking at the problem from this angle; the question of any sale or purchase
does not arise at all. God is the real owner; there is no question of His
purchasing what is already His: Man is not their real owner; he has no title to
sell them. But there is one thing which has been conferred on man, and which now
belongs fully to him, and that is his free will, the freedom of choice of
following or not following the path of Allah. As man has been endowed with free
will in this respect, he is free to acknowledge or not to acknowledge the
reality of things. Although this freedom of will and choice that man possesses,
does not automatically make him the real owner of all the energies and resources
on which he has command, nor does he acquire the title to utilize them in any
way he likes, nor does his acknowledgement of reality or refusal to do so in
any way affects reality as such, yet it does mean that he is free to
acknowledge the sovereignty of God and His overlordship on his own life and belongings
or refuse himself free from all obligations to the Lord and may think that he
enjoys full rights and powers over all that he has, and thus, may use them
according to his own wishes unfettered by any higher command.

It is here that the question of bargain comes in. This bargain does not mean
that God is purchasing something which belongs to man. Its real nature is
this: All creation belongs to God but He has bestowed certain things on man to be
used by him as a trust from God. And man has been given freedom to honestly
fulfill the trust or if he so likes, to betray it or misuse it. Now, God demands
that man should willingly and voluntarily(and not under duress or compulsion)
acknowledge those things as His which really belongs to Him and man should
use them as a trust from God and not as something his own to be used as he
pleases. Thus, a man who voluntarily renounces the freedom even to refuse God's
supremacy and instead acknowledges His sovereignty, so to say, "sells" his
"autonomy"(which too is a gift from God and not something which man has acquired of
his own) to God, and gets in return God's promise of eternal bliss that is
Paradise. A man who makes such a bargain is a "Mumin(Believer) and Iman(Belief)
is the Islamic name for this contract; while the one who chooses not to enter
into this contract, or after making such a contract adopts a behavior in
contravention thereof amounting to its gross breach, is one who has followed the
course of the devil.

Thus Allah says:
"Say if it be that your fathers, Your sons, your brothers, Your mates, or
your kindred; The wealth that you have gained; The commerce in which you fear a
decline: or the dwellings in which you delight Are dearer to you than God, Or
His apostle, of the striving In His cause; then wait until Allah brings about
His Decision And God Guides not the rebellious."
(Al-Qur'an, IX:24)

The attempt to avoid or abrogate this contract can lead to Kufr(total
disbelief). Such is the nature and the contract. Now let us briefly study its various
aspects and stipulations.

1. God has put us to serious trial on two counts:

(a). He has left man free, but even after giving him that freedom He wishes
to see whether or not man realizes his true position; whether he remains honest
and steadfast and maintains loyalty and allegiance to the Lord, or loses his
head and revolts against his own Creator; whether he behaves like a noble
soul, or tramples under foot all values of decency and starts playing fantastic
tricks.

(b). He wants to see whether man is prepared to have such confidence in God
as to offer his life and wealth in return for what is a promise, that is to
materialize in the next world and whether he is prepared to surrender his
autonomy and all the charms that go with it, in exchange for a promise about the
future.

2. It is an accepted principle of Islamic law that Iman consists of adherence
to a certain set of doctrines and whosoever reposes faith in those doctrines
becomes a Mumin. No one has a right to denounce such a man as a non-believer
or drive him out of the fold of the Ummah (Islamic Community), save when there
is explicit proof of falsity or of renunciation of the belief. This is the
legal aspect of the problem. But in the eyes of the Lord, only that Iman is
valuable which consists in complete surrender of one's will and choice to the Will
of Allah. It is state of thought and action wherein man submits himself fully
to Allah, renouncing all claim to his own supremacy. It is something that
comes from the heart. It is an attitude of the mind and prepares man for a certain
course of action.

 If man recites Kalima*, enters into the contract and even offers his prayers
and performs other acts of worship, but in his heart he regards himself as
the owner and the sovereign dispenser of his physical and mental powers and of
his moral and material resources, uses them to his own liking and upholds his
freedom of will, then, however much the people may look upon him as Mumin
(believer), in the eyes of God he will be a non-believer, for he has, in fact, not
really entered into the bargain which according to the Qur'an is the essence
of Iman (belief).

If a man does not use his powers and resources in the way God has prescribed
for him and instead uses them in pursuits which God has prohibited, it clearly
shows that either he has not pledged his life and property to Allah, or even
after pledging them to Him, he falsifies the pledge by his conduct.

 * Kalima is a statement of the profession of faith and one enters the fold
of Islam by(pronouncing it). The Kalima is: "There is no god but Allah, and
Muhammad is His servant and Prophet. In Arabic it reads: Ash hadu An La Ilaha
Ilallah wa As hadu Anna Mohammadan wa Rasuluhu.

3. This nature of Iman makes the Islamic way of life distinct from, nay, the
very opposite of, the non-Islamic way of life. A Muslim, who has real faith in
Allah, makes every aspect of his subservience to the Will of Allah. His
entire life is one of obedience and surrender and he never behaves in an arrogant
or an autonomous way, save in a moment of forgetfulness. And after such a lapse
as soon as he becomes conscious of it, he again re-addresses himself to his
Lord and repents his error.

Similarly, a group of people or a society which consists of true Muslims can
never break away from the Law of their Lord. Its political order, its social
organization, its culture, its economic policy, its legal system and its
international strategy must all be in tuned with the Code of Guidance revealed by
Allah and must, in no way, contravene it. And if ever, through error or
omission, any contravention is committed, they must, on realizing this, correct this
immediately and return forthwith to the state of subservience to the Law of
God. It is the way of the non-believers to feel free from God's Guidance and to
behave as one's own master. Whoever adopts such a policy, even though he may
bear a name similar to that of a Muslim, is treading the satanic path and is
following the way of the non-believers.

4. The Will of God, which it is obligatory upon man to follow, is the one
which God Himself has revealed for man's guidance. The Will of God is not to be
determined by man himself. God has Himself enunciated it clearly and there is
no ambiguity about it. Therefore, if a person or society is honest and
steadfast in its contract with Allah, it must scrupulously fashion its entire life in
accordance with the Book of God and the Sunnah(practical example) of the
Prophet(peace be upon him). A little reflection will show that these aspects and
stipulations are logically implicit in the bargain and it is also clear from the
above discussion why the payment of the "price" has been postponed to the
life after death.

Paradise is not the reward for the mere profession of the bargain, it is the
reward for the faithful execution of the contract. Unless the contract is
fully executed and the actual life-behavior of the "vendor" complies with the
terms of the contract he does not become entitled to the reward. Thus, the final
act of the "sale" is concluded only at the last moment of the vendor's life,
and as such, it is natural that the reward should be given to him in the Life
Hereafter. There is another significant point which emerges from the study of
the verse quoted above (Al-Qur'an, IX:24) when it is read with reference to its
context. In the verses preceding it, reference has been made to the people who
professed Iman and promised a life of obedience, but when the hour of trial
came, they proved unequal to the task. Some neglected the call of the hour and
betrayed the cause. Others, played tricks of hypocrisy and refused to
sacrifice their lives and riches in the cause of Allah.

The Qur'an, after exposing these people and criticizing their insincerity
makes it clear that Iman is a contract, a from of pledge between man and God. It
does not consist of a mere profession of belief in Allah. It is an
acknowledgment of the fact that Allah alone is our Sovereign Lord and Ruler and that
everything that man has, including his life, belongs to Him and must be used in
accordance with His directives. If a Muslim adopts a contrary course he is
insincere in his profession of faith. True believers are only those who have really
sold their lives and all that they possessed to God and who followed His
dictates in all fields of activity. They stake their all in obedience to the
Commands of the Lord, and do not deviate even an inch from the path of loyalty to
God. Such only are the true believers.

THE PLAN OF LIFE

This discussion makes it clear that Islam begins with laying down the proper
lines on which man's relationship with the Lord is to be reared; his entire
individual and social life is an exercise in developing and strengthening this
relationship. Iman, the starting point of our religion, consists in the
acceptance of this relationship by man's intellect and will. Thus, Islam is actual
submission, the way of surrender to the Will of God on all aspects of life and
behavior. Now, we are in a position to cast a glance over the plan of life
which Islam envisages. This plan, the code of conduct, is known as the Shariah.*

* "To follow this code of conduct is the truest and the most consistent
attitude for mankind. It sets standards for the orderly behavior of man both
individually and collectively and in respect of the biggest as well as the smallest
task he may have to face. Having once accepted the philosophy of life
enunciated by "The Book" and "The Messenger" as the embodiment of Reality, one has no
justification for not obeying God's revealed Guidance in the sphere of one's
choice also, This, for a host of reasons, is the most rational approach for man
to follow.

Firstly, the powers and the organs through which our freewill functions, are
gifts from God and not the result of our own efforts.
Secondly, the independence of choice itself has been delegated to us by God
and not won by us through our personal endeavor.
Thirdly, all those things in which our free-will operates are not only the
property but also the creation of God.
Fourthly, the territory in which we exercise our independence and freedom is
also the territory of God.
Fifthly, the harmonization of human life with the universe dictates the
necessity of there being one Sovereign and a common Source of Law for both the
spheres of human activity-the voluntary and the involuntary, or, in other words
the moral and the physical.
The separation of these two spheres into water-tight compartments leads to
the creation of an irreconcilable conflict which finally lands not only the
individual but also the nation and the entire humanity in endless trouble and
disaster". (Islamic Law and Constitution, Lahore, 1960, p.49.)

Inshallah, in part 3, we will move into Shariah, what it is, and what it
entails.
May Allah's guidance and mercy descend upon us. Ameen

Jabou N.Joh

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