The Essence of Religion
Human history pre-dates the advent of Islam by about twenty five thousand years. During this long period man made little progress in knowledge and science. True scientific progress was made only when Islam broke with the ancient system of royal absolutism, thus heralding the age of intellectual freedom.
It is a well-known fact that while intellectual progress is best made through the exchange of views, the system of determinism stalls this process altogether. This has been very well expressed by an American writer: ‘When all think alike, no one thinks very much.’
The fact is that the world of realities is unbounded in scope. But the mind of a single individual—particularly in isolation—has its limitations. It is only in a situation where there can be a frank exchange of views and free interaction without any official repression, that people can learn from one another and there can be a widespread increase in knowledge. Conversely, in an environment where people’s thinking is confined to a single constricted sphere, general knowledge will remain limited.
When people have full freedom to think and speak, differences of opinion will inevitably result. Each will criticize the other’s viewpoint. This process of criticism is an essential part of intellectual development. In this world the choice for us is not between uncritical acceptance. It is rather between criticism and mental stagnation. If curbs are placed on criticism, what results in reality is mental stagnation rather than a state of uncomplaining acceptance.
Where intellectual freedom contributes to the system of nature, intellectual constraints are an impediment.
WORSHIP
What God most earnestly desires from human beings is worship. The Qur’an says:
“I have not created jinn and mankind except to worship Me” (51:56).
There are numerous such verses in the Qur’an, which elaborate on how the Prophets were sent for this very purpose, that is, to warn or to remind man of this responsibility (16:36). This is so important a matter that if a man cannot find opportunities or worship in his own country, he is enjoined to leave it for some other place (4:97).
The dictionary defines worship as bowing before someone and humbling oneself. “The essence of worship is fearfulness and humility,” says Lisan al Arab (a book of Arabic Language). The dictionary meaning of the word is also its canonical meaning. Abu Hayyan says: “Prayer means humility: this is the consensus of religious scholars” (Al Bahr al Muhit, Vol. 1, p. 23). That is why the Qur’an uses the word “arrogance” as the antonym of worship. It says, "Those who are too arrogant to worship Me will verily enter Hell.” (40:60).
Although worship’s real connotations are humility and fearfulness, when the word is used in relation to God, it also includes the concept of love. Ibn Kathir writes: “According to the dictionary, worship stands for lowliness... In the Islamic Shari‘ah it is used to express a condition of extreme love coupled with extreme humbleness and apprehension.” (Tafsir al Qur’an, Vol. 1, p. 25) Iman Ibn Taimiyah says: “The word ‘Ubudiyah (adoring enslavement) expresses a mixture of extreme humility and extreme love.” (The Pamphlet on Ubudiyah, p.28) Hafiz Ibn Qayyem also writes. “There are two components of worship: extreme love and extreme humility” (Tafsir ibn Qayyem, p. 65).
The essence of worship then is to adopt an attitude of lowliness and humility before God. In the Qur’an, this is expressed by different words, such as Khashiyyah, Tadhurru, Ikhbat, Inabt, Khushu, Khudu and Qunut, etc. To worship God means utter prostration of oneself before Him. The Being before whom the act of worship is performed is no tyrant or tormentor but an extremely kind Being, to whom we owe limitless blessings. So this expression of lowliness before Him is tinged with love.
The relation of man to God is the relation of the humblest creature to an extremely beloved Being. At the very moment when man is shivering in awe of God, when his eyes fill with tears at the thought of Him, his best feelings are even then reserved for His Lord, and he draws closer to God in great expectation. Man, then, finds himself rapt in a love which is utterly agonizing. Though his humility in the presence of God is undoubtedly the result of fear, this fear is not of the kind produced by the sight of a fearful object. It is a feeling that no single word can properly convey. It is a mixed feeling of extreme hope and extreme apprehension, and man is never able to decide which of the two is to be preferred — hope or apprehension. It is a situation of love and fear in which man runs towards the very Being he fears, hoping to receive from Him His divine blessings. It is a state of agony, yet and at the same time a state of solace.
Thus we learn that prayer is basically a psychological experience rather than an external event.
‘O men, serve your Lord who has created you and those who have gone before you, so that you may guard yourselves against evil’ (2:21).
Worship, in terms of external expression, means bowing before the Sustainer, while in its inner aspect it stands for that deep realization of and strong attachment to God in which man is so involved that he can experience the presence of God. The Prophet has been reported as saying, “Pray to God as if you are seeing Him.” (Mishkat, The Chapter on Faith). According to this saying, the most sublime form of worship is that which the worshipper is so lost in thoughts of God that he finds himself very close to Him. His apprehension of the divine presence should be as keen as if God were actually visible. This state of psychological proximity is the most sublime achievement of prayer. All rites of worship are aimed at arriving at that state. The postures to be adopted in the performance of these rites are ordained by God Himself. Any who asserts that it is possible to pray to God independently of these God-ordained rites, is making a false claim. Without these rites, no one can become a worshipper, in the real sense of the word. Although man has a soul, which is not visible to us, it is also a fact that man cannot be conceived of in this world without a human body. Similarly, worship may be a psychological reality, but it cannot be conceived of without external, God-ordained religious rites.
Although the word ‘worship’ covers the entire Shari’ah, in the sense that it embraces whatever man does to follow God’s commandments and to seek His pleasure, it is his sentiment of adoring slavishness, which provides the stimulus for all of his actions. Yet basically and primarily, worship (Ibadah) denotes that particular act which takes place between man and God. While interaction between man and man is the demand of worship, interaction between man and God is worship in itself. When a man is saying in Salah he is directly engaged in the worship of God, he bows before the Almighty who has no equal. Whereas, when he obeys God’s commandments relating to moral and social dealings with his fellow men, he fulfills his human duties in relation to others. From the point of view of performance, these requirements are as obligatory as special acts of worship. But the difference in nature between the two must be kept in view, for otherwise the true concept of religion cannot be properly understood. While human duties are always contingent upon circumstances, religious duties are absolute.
Let us take an example to clarify the above statement. If, according to God’s law, it is the duty of a Muslim to distribute to certain entitled people whatever he receives in inheritance, this does not mean that everyone must strive to acquire property so that this religious obligation may be fulfilled. It means rather that if a Muslim should receive an inheritance — some property or wealth — his faith demands that he deal with it according to the commandment regarding inheritance. It is a duty that is obligatory only on having inherited something, far from it being incumbent on every individual in an absolute sense, as worship is.
This explanation of worship makes it clear that interconnection of love and fear of God is not just an “incentive” in practical life, but the actual goal that we must strive to achieve in this world. All our acts have one aim — to become the means to the psychological discovery that is known as ‘entering into a relationship with God’ and ‘reaching God.’ That is to say that the relation between God and man is not just an external intellectual supposition (e.g. if we repeat certain words and actions, God in heaven will be pleased with us) far and beyond this there is a direct link between God and man. This attitude of adorning slavishness, in its external form, is obedience to God’s commandments, but its inner reality means carrying man to the point where he can meet God, where he may whisper to his Lord, where he may cry and break down in His presence, where he may impatiently embrace Him, where he may feel that he is in prostration at the feet of his Creator. To find God thus in this life is the highest and most sublime reality of religion. The aim of all rites and commandments of religion is to raise man to this level. One who finds God thus in this world, will surely find Him in the next world; one who has failed to find Him on earth should not expect to find Him in the world hereafter.
What are the signs of having found this spiritual wealth? One of the signs is that man begins to receive God’s worldly benefits (20:131). In complying with God’s commandments, whatever you do is apparently a matter of your own choice: you may or may not obey them. But during the performance of these acts, or rites of worship, one experiences particular inner feelings, which are not a matter of one’s own choice.
One cannot produce them on one’s own. Then where do these inner feelings come from? These actually come from God. This is ‘food’ for the believer without which His spiritual personality could not survive. It is like the actual food, which Mary received directly from God when living in the care of the Prophet Zakariya (The Qur’an 3:37). When you observe a religious practice, you become aware of a special kind of feeling within you. This feeling is a reward from God for your good deeds. God does not give His best reward on credit! He gives it on cash payment. The believer receives it the very moment he makes himself worthy of it. When our Lord accepts any of our deeds, we surprisingly experience spiritual, may angelic, feelings within ourselves. This is the introduction to Paradise that God has promised to righteous believers. It is the fragrance of the Garden of Paradise, which believers find in this world. Although these inner feelings take the form of a spiritual anguish, they are more piquant by far than anything in this world. They cannot be savored as worldly delights are. Intuition tells us that these inner feelings are reflections of that superior, divine reward which is called Heaven. It is said, therefore, in the Qur’an that the Heaven to which the believers will enter in the Hereafter will be a “known food” (37:41) to them. It will not be a thing unknown, but a thing with which they were already acquainted in the life of the world:
“He will admit them to Paradise He has made known to them” (47:6)
According to Abu Sa‘eed Khudri, the Prophet once said: “The man who goes to Heaven will recognize his home even better than he recognized his house on earth” (Bukhari).
When men give charity “with their hearts filled with awe...” (Qur’an 23:61); when they are able to recite the Qur’an in such a way that their eyes are “filled with tears” (S: 86); when, while remembering God, they “forsake their beds to pray to their Lord in fear and hope” (Qur’an 32:16); when they experience such painful moments as realizing the truth of what is stated in the Qur’an in these words: “...and the love of God is stronger in the faithful” (2:165); when have the most sublime spiritual experiences; when some hidden truths are unveiled before them; when, with restless hearts and quivering lips, they call their Lord with such inspired words as had never before come to their lips, then they are actually receiving food from their Lord. They are tasting one of the many fruits that their Lord has reserved for them. In this world there fruits take the form of spiritual experiences; in the next world they will take the form of heavenly rewards. Then the faithful will feel that these are the very things of which they had been given a foretaste on earth: “Whenever they are given fruit to eat they will say: ‘This is what we were given before,’ for they shall be given the Like” (Qur’an 2:25).
What the blessed are going to receive in the life hereafter has already been introduced to them in the life they left behind. How foolish it would be if they were under the impression that in the next life they would be introduced to tastes, with which they had been previously unacquainted. Similarly, if in this life you have not previously passed through such phases of feeling yourself nearer to God than to all others, how can you expect proximity with God in the Hereafter? Surely, prayer deserves such a great reward as will bring a sense of relief to the worshippers. But this reward will be shared only by those who had known in the world such prayers as had been alluded to by the Prophet in these words: “I found the balm of my eyes in worship” (Nasai)
The Implication of Worship
What God desires of man, first and foremost, is that he displays humility in His presence. It is this attitude, which is called worship. But man has not been created in a vacuum; he has rather been placed in a world full of diverse circumstances. It is necessary that this spirit of worship should be evinced no matter what circumstances he faces in this world.
1. The first aspect of this relates to his own person. In the course of normal living, whenever he is faced with two options, one path leading to God and the other leading to self and false gods. His spirit of worship compels him at that point to renounce the latter path and take the one which is pointed out to him by God. This happens when he has surrendered his being in all respects, in the physical as well as the spiritual, before the God to whom he has already bowed psychologically. This manifestation of worship is relative to one’s own self, another name for which is submission. Occasions for such submission will occur at home, in the office, in the market, in parliament and in all other such places where the faithful may be faced with making a choice between godly and ungodly ways.
2. The second aspect of worship relates to the external world, that is, to non-Muslims. The precarious conditions of all those inhabitants of this world who have not yet established contact with their Lord, and, as a result, are drifting to a dangerous end in the hereafter, forces the believer to bring them to that path of worship which he has chosen for himself. It is this aspect of worship which manifests itself in relation to the common man. Another name for this duty of the believer is bearing witness to the truth or conveying the message of the Lord. The faithful are expected to obey the commandments of God so far as their own selves are concerned. And in relation to non-Muslims they are responsible for conveying the God’s message to them.
Now let us take the first manifestation of worship, i.e. submission. It can be divided into two major categories: the individual and collective (or social). Individual obedience means obeying God in those matters, which are related to the personal life of the faithful. It covers all those commandments which pertain to morals and dealings with men, like speaking the truth, keeping one’s promise, being honest and trustworthy, upholding justice and equality, being hospitable, giving full measure, paying everyone their due, being a well-wisher of all, in short, all those virtues which are related to man’s personal life and all those situations in which man must make his own ethical decisions. In all such cases, compliance with divine injunctions means submitting individually, surrendering to the will of God in his own personal affairs. A Muslim is not allowed to disobey God once he knows God’s commandments in relation to his personal life, and once he is in position to obey them.
“It is not for true believes — men or women — to take their choice in their affairs if Allah and this apostle decree otherwise. He that disobeys Allah and His Apostle strays for indeed” (33:36).
This individual obedience to God is an obligation on every believer. No man can ever be regarded as a worshipper in the eyes of God unless in his practical life he obeys the commandments of God, which have been imposed upon him in relation to all earthly matters. If “worship” in its spiritual connotation means submission of the inner self then in external respects man is required to make a complete surrender to God of his outward self (as opposed to his soul). In other words, man should mould his external life entirely on the pattern indicated by God. It is the duty of all believing men and all believing women to reject other inducements and to submit totally to God in all matters that they face in this life:
“O believers, submit all of you wholeheartedly, and do not walk in Satan’s footsteps; he is your sworn enemy“ (2:208).
The second category of commandments, for which we have chosen the title ‘Ita‘ah’ (submission), may be termed social commandments. These are commandments the obeying of which does not depend upon the will of an individual believers. These can be carried out only when the whole of society is willing to obey them. That is why God has always sent such commandments only when the believers had already established a political organization among themselves, and when they were in a position to enforce such social laws. Thus the social laws of the Shari’ah are addressed to any Muslim society, which is invested with authority, rather than to individuals who have no political power. We find in the history of the Israelites that so long as they were under the rule of the Copts of Egypt, they were not given the legal commandments, which appear in the Old Testament.
Only when they had left Egypt for the Sinai desert and acquired the status of an independent, authority-invested group, did God sent His laws to them (Exodus 15:25). Exactly the same course was adopted in Arabia. During the Meccan period, when the faithful a minority with no authority, only the basic part of the Shari’ah was revealed, for the establishment of which no political power was required. Every Muslim could adopt those laws in his life by his own personal decision. The rest of the Shari’ah continued to be revealed according to the circumstances. That is to say, detailed commandments regarding social life were given in Medina once the faithful had acquired temporal authority there.
The order in which these laws arrived shows that in ordinary circumstances the faithful are bound to follow only those Islamic laws which were revealed before the acquisition of social authority. The carrying out of the rest of the laws becomes obligatory only when the faithful can form the seat of government, and enforce these laws with authority. The revelation of the Shari’ah laws, in accordance with the gradual expansion of the Islamic field of activity, itself shows that these laws are not required in the absolute sense, but only in relation to circumstances. These are always determined in relation to the actual circumstances of the individual or group addressed. The truth is that social and political commandments are directed only at those groups of believers who are in a position to carry them out. Believers with a limited sphere of power are not required to enforce religious laws on a social or national level. The carrying out of orders meets a practical demand, and a demand can be made only of those who have already accepted its validity. This demand, moreover, will be in proportion to their practical ability to carry it out. One clear principle of the Shari‘ah is that “God does not charge a soul with more than it can bear” (2:286). That is to say, no one is entrusted with a responsibility, which is beyond his capacity to fulfill. To entrust responsibility to one who does not have the means to discharge it is not God’s way. Then how can believers be asked to obey laws, which they are not in a position to comply with.’ If, taking into account after all the details of religious laws, the claim is made that it is obligatory for believers to carry out and enforce these laws in all earthly circumstances, it will amount to saying, for example, that it is the responsibility of each and every Muslim to try to acquire all those financial assets on which Zakah has been fixed, so that he may carry out the duties in relation to Zakah.
All religious orders are equal in form, but their applicability is determined by circumstances. For instance, one order of the Qur’an is to “pray regularly”, another order is to ‘pay Zakah.’ Apparently both these orders are equal in importance just as both are in the imperative tense. But their relevance to different individuals is not always the same. The order to pray regularly is an absolute order which is obligatory on each and every believer, while the order regarding Zakah is conditional, that is, it is obligatory only when one possess enough wealth to come under the law of Zakah. That is, if a person possesses items taxable under Zakah law, this obligation to pay Zakah will be applicable to him in the absolute sense, just as the order to pray is obligatory for all. But a person who is not in possession of items taxable under Zakah is neither required to pay Zakah nor is he ordered to acquire taxable items so that he may be able to obey the law on Zakah. What is desirable is that the believer should be active in carrying out duties, which are of current relevance rather than engaging in such activities as well brings into existence a duty, which is not at that moment applicable to him. For instance, struggling to form an independent state (as in Kashmir) so that all state laws are enforced there.
We learn, therefore, that there are a number of religious duties that are not to be enforced in the absolute sense being applicable only in relation to circumstances. As the circle of believers goes on expanding, so also do the demands of religion. If there were only one single believer, only that part of religion would be obligatory upon him, which relates to his person. In this instance the sole object of divine commandments would be his own person. When the believers increase in numbers to one or several families, then this whole group will be the addressee of the divine commandments. And when a group of believers attain the status of an independent, autonomous society, then it becomes the duty of the whole society to fully carry out the commandments of God regarding social matters. Since such orders cannot be carried out without authority at the social level, whenever a society of believers is asked to carry out divine laws, it becomes incumbent upon the believers to select a political leader in order to carry out the divine laws governing social life under his leadership.
All Islamic commandments are the expression of some psychological truth. When faith is rooted in the heart, it reflects throughout the human psychology. Yet its external expression is in proportion to the opportunities made available by external circumstances. Interrelationships between believers are also of a similar nature. Though it is not possible to structure them in a hierarchical way, they may still be broadly divided into three main stages.
The first stage is that of religious instructions and exhortation. The crux of it is that every Muslim should have in his heart sincerity and well wishing for every other Muslim (Bukhari, Muslim). In the words of the Bible, he should become his brother’s keeper. (Genesis 4:9).
Jarir came to the Prophet. The latter said, “O, Jarir, extend your hand.” Jarir asked him why? The prophet said: “So that you may turn your face to God and be a well-wisher to every Muslim” (Kanzul Ummar, Vol. 1, p. 82).
That is, your attitude in social intercourse should be beneficial to your brother in both the present world and hereafter. And you should avoid any such act as could possibly lead to division and dissension and dissension among Muslims.
It is this act, which has been described in Qur’an in the Chapter 103, (revealed in Mecca) in these words: ‘Exhort one another to truth and patience.’ The spirit of worship, which manifests itself in one Muslim’s dealings with another, is described in the Qur’an as exhorting one another to truth and patience. Thus God has highlighted two important aspects of this demand made by faith. One aspect of this demand is our Lord! Do not condemn that we induce believers in Islam to opt for the courses of action, which God finds desirable. The other aspect is that we take recourse to unification so that we may have the strength to face any worldly hurdles, which come in the way of remaining firm in this material world on the will of God, and to remain steadfast in the way of God regardless of the difficulties.
The second stage is that of organization. That is, Muslims should not remain in scattered groups, but, to whatever degree it is possible, should establish discipline among themselves, and regulate social matters along the lines laid down by Moses, who, on reaching the Sinai desert, divided the Israelites into twelve tribes with a leader (Naqueeb) to every group. During the early Meccan days, this social organization existed around the person of the Prophet Dar-e-Arqam (the house of Arqam) being its center. The same system was adopted for the Ansar of Medina before the Emigration. At the time of the second oath of allegiance (623 A.D.), when 75 people of Medina (73 men and 2 women) came to the Prophet and accepted Islam, they were told by the Prophet to appoint twelve leaders over them (Al-Bidayah wa al Nihayah, Vol. 3, page 160). So they chose twelve responsible persons from among themselves, three belonged to the Aus tribe and nine to the Khazraj tribe. Then the prophet addressed them this: “You are the guardians of the believers of Medina” (Zarqani, Vol 1, p. 382). The leadership of Jafar, who was appointed leader of the emigrants to Abyssinia, was also of this nature (Seerat ibn Hisham). Similarly, whenever Muslims spread out from the cradle of Islam — Arabia — into the world, they tried to establish their social structures. In addition to leading an Islamic life and calling others to Islam, they gave basic importance to organization. This kind of systemization can be expected only where social control is already in existence and Muslims are able to perform their religious duties under one leader.
The last stage of Islamic organization is the formation of political set-up, which, in religious terminology, is called Nasb-e-Imamah, the appointment of Islamic Imam. The establishment of a political and social leader of Muslims is obligatory according to all schools of religious thought. This matter is so important that there is not a single book on religious law and creeds, which has not dealt with this issue.
It is specially stated in Sharh Al-Mawaqib and Aqaide Al-Nasaf that it is compulsory for Muslims to have an Imam.
With one minor exception, no group disagrees over this issue. Ibn Hazm writes:
All Sunnis, Murjea, Shia, and Khawarij (except nor extinct Najdat sect) agree on the obligatory nature of the Imamah” (Al Melal Wa Al Nehal).
The only difference of opinion lies on this matter is that the people of the Ahl-Al Sunnah Wa Al Jama’a group take this to be a canonical order, while some other groups such as Zaidiya and Mutazela, consider it necessary as a rational measure.
But, as mentioned above, the matter of appointing a political leader is relevant only in a Muslim society which has acquired an independent status as a social group and, as such, is in a positon to set up its own separate political organization. The question just does not arise of appointing a political leader over a diversity of believers. That is to say, this commandment is not absolute. It means simply that when a group of Muslims enjoying its own social organization, comes into existence, it is incumbent upon it to organize its social life on the foundations of religion and to appoint a political leader in order to lead an organized life under his leadership. Political leadership is a manifestation of the social authority of a definable group. Where no social authority exists, on what basis can one be ordained to carry out the commandment or Imamah?
The above statement has been made from the point of view of the feasibility of enforcing commandments. But there is an equally important requirement of Islam: the principle of gradualness to be observed when enforcing the commandments.
Viewed from this angle, a small Muslim minority, however religiously aware, is not required to launch a campaign for the enforcement of Islamic laws, whether a non-Muslim majority surround it, or faced by a preponderance of the kind of Muslims who are lacking in any proper Islamic awareness. In a Muslim society, which has degenerated into religious apathy, if not apostasy, such a campaign as a first step would be tantamount to a deviation from the Islamic method of gradualness.
The correct way to reform a Muslim society is to spread the basic teachings and initial commandments of religion far and wide as possible that Islam’s legal and social laws become generally acceptable. Only after this stage will the time be ripe for starting a movement for the enforcement of God’s commandments.
The importance of gradualness in enforcing commandments is stressed in a famous tradition of the Prophet’s wife ‘Aishah, according to which it was so essential in the eyes of God that, in many instances, He did not send the believers His commandments in their full and final form. On the contrary, most of the commandments were sent in installments. Where systemization was subsequently required, the principle of Naskh (abrogation) came into operation, (Qur’an 2:106 and 16:101) “by which certain verses of the Qur’an abrogate or modify others, which are then called mansukh (revoked). What is generally at issue is the modification of a universal meaning by a more specific one, a modification caused by an historic change of circumstances.... In this way, by naskh, the Qur’an accommodates itself to the relativities of the human situation” (Cyril Glassé, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, p. 298). According to Hudhaifah, it is not impermissible for anyone who is not conversant with this principle of Naskh to preach or to explain the verses of the Qur’an.
Witness to Truth
Our responsibility towards non-Muslims is to bring the truth to them in the form of the message of Islam. God’s message must reach all His creatures, so that no one may say that he was left in a state unawareness of the truth.
Spiritually, man has been put on his mettle in this world. The Qur’an says: “He created life and death that He might put you to the test and find out which of you acquired himself best. He is the Mighty, the Forgiving one” (67:2).
This is a very serious situation, for it means that man’s end in the hereafter will depend on his attitude in his worldly life, his end being either Heaven or eternal Hell. Owing to the seriousness of the situation, God made two special arrangements to warn mankind. First, He gave everyone the ability to discriminate between right and wrong. “And inspired it (man’s soul) with knowledge of sin and piety” (91:8).
This consciousness of Truth was instilled into man’s nature on the very first day of creation:
When your lord brought forth descendants from the loins of Adam’s children, and made them testify against themselves, (He said): ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They replied: ‘We bear witness that you are.’ This he did best you should say at the Day of Resurrection: ‘We had no knowledge of that? (7:172).
Then after this precautionary measure, He sent to mankind in a series of prophets, so that knowledge of Reality might be conveyed to every man by direct human action. These prophets were “messengers who brought good news to mankind and admonished them, so that they might have no plea against God after their coming” (4:165).
This chain of prophets started with the beginning of life. Adam was not only the first man but also the first prophet. In the seventh century A.D, God willed that the chain of Prophethood be terminated. Muhammad, on him be peace, was the last of God’s messengers. But so far as the delivering of God’s message is concerned, it is still as essential to do so as before. For this task now the followers of Muhammad (PBUH) have been chosen, as the Qur’an says, “He has chosen you... He has given you the name of Muslimah so that His Apostle may testify against you, and that you yourselves may testify against your fellow-men” (22:77). The final prophet has borne full in the footsteps of the Prophet, witness to the Truth, and now it is our responsibility to follow in testifying to the Truth to the nations of the world, until the Day of Judgment.
This is not a subsidiary task but the very raison d’être (of the Muslim Ummah). According to the Qur’an, the establishment of the Muhammad’s Prophethood rested in the eyes of God, on the fact that he scrupulously fulfilled his duty, i.e., he conveyed the message of God to his hearers. Had the prophet failed to perform this task, the duty of Prophethood would in essence have been left incomplete.
“Apostle, proclaim what is revealed to you from your Lord; if you do not, you will not have conveyed His message” (5:67).
This responsibility, which the Prophet bore, is also the responsibility of his followers (12:108).
Just as the establishment of Muhammad’s Prophethood rested on his conveying God’s guidance to the people, similarly the followers of Muhammad are entitled to be called Muslim Ummah (i.e. the Prophet’s party) only if they continue to pass on God’s message to posterity. So we shall deserve the title of being the Prophet’s Ummah only if we continue to perform his task, i.e. carry his message from generation to generation till the last Day. The fact that our end in the fold any religion other than Islam means risking hellfire and brimstone not only compels one to follow the true religion oneself, but also gives one the zeal to struggle to save other human beings from this danger. Ibn Abd Al-Bar relates that, according to Muawiyah Ibn Hida Qushairi, when the Prophet invited the latter to Islam, he also said:
“Why should I have held you by the waist to save you from the fire if not that my God will call me and will surely ask me, ‘Didst thou convey my message to my servants? Then I shall be able to say, ‘Yes, my God, I conveyed it to them.’ Listen, those of you who are present must convey this message to those who are absent.” (Al-Istiab)
The most important of the responsibility of the followers of Muhammad (on whom be peace), is to end all kinds of differences. Tabarani relates that according to Miswar bin Makhrama.
“The Prophet came to his companions and said, ‘God has sent me as blessing to all mankind. So you people — may God have mercy on you — fulfill this obligation on my behalf and do not have differences as did the followers of Jesus (on him be peace).”
Just as the Prophet was ordained by God for this purpose, likewise the Muslim Ummah (Community) has been ordained till doomsday to perform this duty. During the Caliphate of Umar Faruq () when Rabi ibn ‘Amir was sent as the representative of Islam to the court of the Iranian rulers, as follows: ‘the latter asked him why they (he and other Muslims) had come to their country? Rabi ibn ‘Amir replied: “God has sent us so that he may take away those whom He likes, from the worship of His creatures to the worship of the Creator; from the narrowness of the world to His vastness; from the tyranny of other religions to the justice of Islam. Thus God has sent us with His religion to His creatures, so that we may invite people to come to Him.” (Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah)
That this responsibility is a universal one, which does not stop at any geographical boundaries is illustrated by the author of Al-Bidayah, who quotes the answer No‘man bin Muqrin gave in the Court of Caesar to one of the latter’s questions:
“When Islam had spread in Arabia, our Prophet commanded us to go to the neighboring nations and invite them to justice, so we invite you to Islam. What is good has been described by this religion as good, and what is bad has been described by this religion as bad” (Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah).
This responsibility was quite clear to the companions of the Prophet. During the Caliphate of Umar Faruq, when ‘Amr ibn al-‘As invited the religious leaders of Egypt to enter the fold of Islam, he said: God has sent our Prophet with a message for mankind. He has fully carried out his responsibility, and has left behind an unambiguous example, according to which we have to convey the divine message to mankind” (Inb Jarir, Vol. 4, p. 227).
The first and foremost aim of sending Prophets into the world is to inform people of the message of Truth in public and in private (71:9).
It is a task of warning and conveying God’s message which has to be performed so that man may learn the scheme of creation of the Universe and its ultimate end; so that what is unseen may be known by the people before the arrival of that time, when the present world will come to an end, when the unseen will become the seen. In this regard it is our responsibility make people aware of the life hereafter in which human beings are the servants of one God and to warn them that all of them are bound to appear before Him to give an account of their deeds.
Political considerations may at certain times and in certain circumstances that Islam to non-Muslims as a better world system. But this would be inconsistent with theological considerations. If these were held to be the true approach to calling people to Islam, its success would be devoid of spiritual meaning. For if Islam were presented fundamentally in the form of a better world system, acceptance of Islam would appear to the addressee as simply a way of solving the problems of this world. That is to say, the aim of Islam would appear in their eyes to be something, which could save people from political and financial sufferings, whereas what the prophets actually came to do was deliver people from punishment in the next world. “He lets the spirit descend at His behest on those of His servants whom He chooses, that He may warn (them) of the day of Meeting” (40:15).
The final stage of this Da‘wah task, from the point of view of the Mad‘u (congregation) is his acceptance of the invitation and his molding of his life accordingly. But from the point of view of the Da‘i, the final stage of his task is his delivering the totality of his message to the people; his making the truth so plain to his listeners that there is no scope left anyone to demur. Thus the standard criterion for the fulfillment of Da‘wah work for the prophets was only this. They were not held responsible for anything further. All those nations who are mentioned in the Qur’an as having rejected the message of the prophets and as having incurred the punishment of God for their disobedience were those very nations to whom the prophet had particularly addressed himself.
Beyond carrying the message to them nothing further was attempted. That is why all the words used in the Qur’an for the order, to convey God’s message fully, are synonymous with information and warning. (Qur’an 15:94, 16:44, 21:109, 7:79, 7:35, 17:101, 29:51, 34:28, 3:193, 61:7, 5:67, 14:5).
Baihaqi relates that according to Mughira ibn Shuba, one day when the Prophet was explaining Islam to Abu Jahal, the latter said: “Muhammad, won’t you stop criticizing our Idols? What you want is that we testify to the fact that you have conveyed the message, so we do bear witness that you have conveyed it!”
The Prophet repeatedly asked his companions to bear witness to the fact that he had fully conveyed God’s message to them. Imam Ahmad relates that; according to Thalaba bin Ibad Al-Abdari, once when the Prophet stood up to give a speech he said, after praising God:
“O, people, I ask you on God’s oath to point out to me if I have fallen short, to any degree, in conveying God’s message to you.’ People stood up and said, ‘We testify that you have delivered God’s message to us. You have done full justice to the task as a well-wisher of your Ummah, and you have fulfilled your responsibility.”
The da‘i starts his Da‘wah work in this very spirit, keeping in view all the requirements of wisdom and well-wishing. He wants to convey his message to the people to the maximum possible extent. Afterwards, the outcome of this mission is not directly related to the work of Tabligh, but rather to the congregation for whose benefit this task of bearing witness (Shahadah), or Tabligh, has been performed. This is why we cannot determine what sets of circumstances will prevail after the da’wah work has been done. Neither can we hold any particular example to be the absolute model for bearing witness. The da‘i may breathe his last, having invited people to accept the Truth all his life, without achieving any positive result. There may also be a confrontation between the da‘i and Mad‘u (congregation), and the latter may, individually, or with the aid of some authority, contrive to destroy the da‘i’s movement. Another possibility is that God may create such circumstances as may help either the da‘i or his successors to acquire authority in the land. Then acquisition of authority may take various forms. It may be just political control; or the movement may receive such extensive support from the congregation that an organized society may come into existence on the basis of Islam. All the above results are probable, and instances of all of them are recorded in the long history of the Da’wah struggle of the Prophets. But they have not necessarily ensued on the application of a formula for bearing witness. The only valid form of bearing witness is communication of God’s message to the people in total honesty and sincerity (7:68) and in which will touch the heart (4:63). This conveying of the message has to be continued and, whatever the hurdles, which arise, they have to be faced. Whatever follows after then, will be the worldly results of the da‘wah struggle or, to put it another way, is the outcome of the history of Da’wah, which assumes different forms in different circumstances. Thus, all that is required of the preacher is that he should convey God’s message to the fullest possible extent and that he should continue to perform this duty all his life. Any further developments depend upon the invitee. It is obvious that such happenings cannot individually be foretold, nor does nature of the different responses those determine the completeness or incompleteness of the work of the da‘i.
The next important consideration is that, in the carrying out of da‘wah work, there is no need to present all aspects of the religion on a simple occasion to non-Muslims. The proper way is to start with the basic teachings of Islam. God, Prophethood, the Life Hereafter are the concepts which are first put to non-Muslim addressees. And these are matters, which have to be regularly explained to them from various angles. Effective logical explanation is resorted to solve any problems they may face in understanding these points and, when they have come to accept these concepts, they are taught the remainder of God’s ordinances for the faithful. In the tenth year of Hijrah, when the Prophet sent Mu‘adh ibn Jabal to Yemen to call people to Islam, he told Mu‘adh that he would meet a number of people of the Book, and that he should first explain to them the article of faith i.e., the concept of the oneness of God, and when they had accepted this, then he should gradually teach them how to say prayers and observe other canonical rites.
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas relates that the Prophet said to Mu’adh ibn Jabal, before sending him on a da‘wah mission to Yemen: ‘You are going to a nation who is people of the Book. When you reach there, first ask them to testify to the oneness of God and to Muhammad being His messenger. When they have accepted this, tell them further that God has ordained that they worship five times a day. After they have accepted this also, explain to them that God has made alms-giving obligatory on them and this Zakah will be taken from their rich and distributed among their poor. When they agree to that also, you should refrain from showing any interest in their most valued possessions.” That is why the prophets were inspired to give only basic teachings at the initial stage, so that they used to dwell on these teachings for long periods. Thereafter, such detailed instructions were revealed as were consistent with the prevailing circumstances. It has never happened that a prophet has introduced in the first stages of da‘wah work the whole social and cultural system to any community, and demanded that they establish an Islamic state immediately or enforce all Islamic laws in all spheres of life.
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