THE CHARGE OF IMPERIALISM At this point, I must reiterate that Islam regards only that war as ‘Jihad’which is fought in the service of Allah—a war to fulfil the Will of God. When anIslamic government is founded at the conclusion of this war, the Muslims arecategorically barred from assuming the despotic powers which the old despots wielded upon the people. A Muslim does not fight and as a Muslim he must notfight to establish a personal rule and to turn the people of God into his owncreatures and to build a Paradise on earth for himself by expropriating the hardearnedwealth of the people. This is not a war to fulfil the Will of God, but a war to fulfil the will of devil; and Islam has no use for such a government. The ‘Jihad’ of Islam is a dry labour, devoid of pleasure. It is nothing but a sacrifice of life, wealth and carnal desires. When this ‘Jihad’ is crowned withvictory and an Islamic government is instituted, the responsibilities of an honestand truly Muslim head of State are so onerous that sleep during the night andeaseduring the day time both are denied to him. But as a reward for these titaniclabours he is not entitled to indulge in pleasures which power and authority maycall for and for the sake of which bids are usually made in the world for securinggovernments. A Muslim ruler is not a superior being, distinct from or any moreprivileged than the common man; he cannot sit on the throne of Exaltedness or Highness; he cannotcommand any one to prostrate before him; he cannot execute the slightest movewithout the sanction of Islamic law; he has no power to shield any of his relatives,friends or himself against the lawful claim of the most ordinary man in thecommunity; he cannot take even the most insignificant thing or even an inch ofland from any one else without justification and he is forbidden by law to drawhalf a penny more from the public exchequer as his salary than is necessary for aMuslim of average means to subsist. This God-conscious head of state cannotoccupy a magnificent palace, nor can he live with pomp and glory nor can heprocure means of pleasure and merriment. At all hours, he is seized with the fearthat one day he willbe severely called to account for every deed he commits inthis world and if it is found that he received a single penny as illicit gains, orsnatched away the smallest patch of land from any one by force, or displayed theslightest measure of pride or haughtiness, or practised tyranny or injustice in asingle instance or succumbed even for one moment before carnal pleasures, hewould be condemned to endure the most dreadful torture. The world has not seena greater fool than the man who truly loves to gain the world and yet is willing to carry the burden of state responsibility under Islamic law. The worldly position of a small shopkeeper is far better than the ruler of an Islamic State. He earns more during the day than the Caliph does and enjoys a sound sleep at night. The Caliph neither earns as much as he, nor enjoys peace during the night. This is the cardinal difference between the Islamic and un-Islamic system of government. In an un-Islamic State, the ruling classes establish themselves asdivine powers and exploit the means and resources of the country to their personalaggrandisement. In striking contrast to this, the governing class in an Islamic Stateserves without any thought of personal motives, and secures no greater personaladvantage for itself than is readily available to the common man. Compare thescale of salaries granted to civil service cadres under the government of Islamwith the incomes received on account of salaries by civil servants under modernimperialist governments or imperialist powers which were contemporary of theIslamic State, you will soon discover that there is an immeasurably vast differenceboth in spirit and nature of the worldly conquests of Islam and the world-widedominance of imperialism.In the Islamic State, the governors of Khurasan, Iraq, Syria and Egyptwere paid a lesser amount of money as salary than is drawn by a low-gradeInspector today. The first Caliph Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddique (may Allah bepleassed with him) ran the administration of such a vast empire on a salary of Rs100/- per mensem. Hadrat ‘Umar’s (may Allah pleased with him) emoluments didnot exceed Rs. 150/-per month, notwithstanding the fact that the coffers of theIslamic State were full with the wealth of the two empires of the known world. Although seemingly,imperialism conquers countries and so does Islam, yet between the two there is an elemental difference which is equal to the space between heaven and earth. Verse: Both fly in space, yet the world of the Eagle is far removed from the Crow’s. This, then, is the true meaning of ‘Jihad’, a term about which you haveheard much. If you ask me now where is that Islam, the Muslim Party and the‘Jihad’ whose ideology you have enunciated before us and why no trace of thesemay be discovered today among the Muslims of the world, I shall entreat you not to confront me with this question but ask it of those who have deflected theattention of the Muslims from their real mission to magical preparations liketalismans, incantations, superstitious rites and supererogatory offerings. Ask it ofthose who prescribed short-cuts to salvation, reform and the attainment of theobjective, so that all this may be obtained by no more striving or hard labour thanis necessary for telling the beads or propitiating a soul lying asleep in a grave. Askit of those who wrapped up the tenets, ideology and objectives of Islam andconsigned them to the dark corners and engaged the Muslim mind in the polemicsover the most insignificant things of Divine Faith or visits to the tombs or suchother minor issues with the consequence that the Muslim people lost all sense oftheir true identity, the objective of their creation and the real character of Islam? Ifthey fail to deliver a satisfactory answer,then put this question to the wealthy, the officials and the ruling authorities whoprofess faith in Qur’an and the divine ministry of the Holy Prophet (peace ofAllah be upon him), but believe that they owe to the Qur’anic injunctions and theguidance of the Holy Prophet (peace of Allah be upon him) nothing more thanholding assemblies for the recitations of the Qur’an from corner to corner andcalling meetings to celebrate the birth of the Prophet (peace of Allah be upon him)or sometimes praising God for the beauty of His verse (may God forgive them and us!). With regard to the enforcement of the Islamic law and the introduction of Islamic reforms in practical polity, these gentlemen deem themselves utterly freefrom any responsibility. For, as a matter of fact, the soul of these gentlemen isunprepared to accept the restraints and sustain the burden of duty imposed byIslam. They are suitors of a very easy salvation. International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations P. O. BOX 8631 SALIMIAH - KUWAIT.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 03:24:32 +0000
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