MAULANA ABDUS SALAM ISLAHI, Assistant Secretary Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, delves deep into the crisis of the present world order and anticipates it to be replaced by the just and humane world order of Islam. In an interview with KAMRAN SHAHID ANSARI, he talks about the recent change in the Arab world and discusses the glad-tidings of the Messenger of Allah regarding the establishment of caliphate before the end of the world. Excerpts:
How do you see the present society in which we live? Do you anticipate it to be changed in the near future?
The whole setup of society today is in contradiction to the guidelines given by Allah. People have left the path of justice and truth and are treading the path that has led and is leading them to the path of destruction. In the Holy Qur’ān Allah says in Surah Rum:
Evil (sins and disobedience of Allah, etc.) has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned (by oppression and evil deeds, etc.) (30:41)
Another problem in the society today is that people are more and more inclined towards making others good and are oblivious of their own selves. However, the Qur’ān primarily lays emphasis on individuals.
As far as anticipating change is concerned we have to end up accepting that the kind of status quo that used to exist sometime back is now changing. People are now becoming more and more aware of the happenings around them and this is the reason why we see people running behind anyone who calls for change. Recently we have seen people inundating the places where anti-corruption dharnas were arranged. Such mass scale involvement of people shows that the winds of change are blowing and change is in the offing. Same can be said about the Arab Spring as well. However the reason why things are not getting materialised is because the methodology that people are seeking is wrong. We see people going to participate in anti-corruption campaign and coming back stealing money from others. People themselves do not know where to head for in this kind of situation.
Is there any similarity between the society today and the Makkan society at the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be to him)?
If we analyse the society today and the Makkan society, we see some very clear-cut similarities. The first and foremost similarity one can easily notice is the prevalence of Shirk all around. The Makkan society at that time was completely engulfed in Shirk and in the same way the clouds of Shirk are also hovering over the present society. Besides, the problems faced by humanity are same in both the societies. Only the technological advancements have changed the outer appearance of problems; however the nature of problems remains the same.
The second similarity is that at that time also peace-loving and justice-loving people were scattered and today also we witness the same case. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) collected and united all the justice-loving people together. Today also something like that needs to be done.
The third similarity one can observe is that the justice-loving people did not have the authority in the Makkan period and same is the case today, where we find good people out of the system.
The fourth similarity is that anyone who spoke the truth and tried to tread the path of justice was brutally tortured and here also we see the same fate of all those who have made truth and justice their scruples of life.
As you said that change is in the offing, however people are unable to materialise it because of wrong methodology. So then what can be the right methodology which will actually lead to change?
If the present situation and the situation at Makkah are similar, then we should reach out to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for its solution. The Messenger built the society on the concept of one God, one human (one prophet) and one system.
The first and foremost thing would be to instil the true concept of God in people’s minds. The true concept would lead to the true reverence which we all are required to have for the all-knowing Creator and Master of the worlds. The in-depth concept would make us realise that He is omnipresent and omniscient. Once we realise God, the next thing that comes to our minds is that what He wants from us, what we are supposed to do here, how we can earn His pleasure, how we can save ourselves from His wrath. Finally, it will lead to the concept of Akhirah which streamlines a person’s action and hence causes truth and justice to prevail in society.
One day, during the reign of Umar Ibn Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), a person came to meet him. He was informed that Umar had gone for some inspection. He wanted to meet him and went to look out for him and finally found him asleep under a tree with no one around. Seeing the ruler of the state in such a condition, he said: “Umar, you have done justice; that is why you are sleeping with such peaceful mind.” So it is the concept of Akhirah that keeps people on the right track and it is the fear of the grand accountability on the Day of Judgment that keeps people aloof from sins and crimes.
Another job that the Messenger did was that he awakened the dormant morality and ethics of people and established a society where people, who used to commit adultery and other unlawful activities, without anyone seeing them doing it, came running to him to confess the sin just because of the fear of Allah and the accountability of the Day of Judgment. So the key of methodology is the moral awakening of people.
We are witnessing the euro-zone crisis, falling rupee and other upheavals, how can Islam revive the economic policy? Kindly mention some basic economic principles which the Messenger taught.
The two economic systems that the modern world knows are capitalism and communism. Both these systems are contrary to the system brought by the Messenger of Allah and hence are incompatible. Communism is already dead and the present situation prevailing in the world does not augur well for capitalism as well, as we are witnessing recession and other economic crises. In both the systems the incentive to work more goes away, as in communism everything is state-owned and in capitalism there are actually only a few people taking control of everything.
However, in contrast to it, the Islamic economic system carries the incentive to work and has the provision of private ownership as well. It emphasises dealing justly while doing trade and commerce and has the policy of “La zarar, wala zirara fil Islam” (no one should do injustice and no one will be dealt with unjustly). Islam completely negates the concept of interest which is the backbone of the present economic system. The Qur’ān very clearly mentions that Allah has made trade legal and interest forbidden.
Islam emphasises equality and gives the concept of Sadaquat so that the wealth does not remain in the hands of a few. Islam emphasises continuous circulation of money instead of being stashed in banks or other places. Dealing justly in business and trade carries a lot of significance in Islam. It is reported that the Messenger of Allah said that the true and honest trader will be raised up in the category of prophets and siddiqeen on the Day of Judgment. In another saying it is said that the best walima (reception) is the one in which the poor are also invited and the worst walima is the one where no poor is invited. So the economic system of Islam leads to equality and betterment of all.
Throw some light on democracy. Is it compatible with Islam or not?
We all are aware of the famous couplet of Allama Iqbal defining democracy as a system which only depends on the numbers (bandon ko gina jaata hai). However there are some aspects of democracy which are actually good, but one thing must be noted that democracy came as a result of protests against monarchy. So anything that comes in reaction to anything would not always have all the good points. It should be noted that every individual has some interests and inclinations and when given authority he is bound to get inclined towards his interests. This is why we find that besides having a democratic system, in which people themselves elect their representatives to rule over them, we still have innumerable problems. So absolute democracy is not something which Islam offers, instead Islam offers Shoora (consultation). The core of Islamic system is that the only source of legislation is the Qur’ān and Sunnah. In the Islamic system people are not sovereign; it is Allah who is sovereign and all the legislation has to be done in accordance with the Qur’ān and Sunnah. However if there are certain issues which the Qur’ān and Sunnah do not speak of, then in that case Shoora can come up with a legislation.
Hence this distinguishes Shoora from democracy, as in democracy a law can be made by the will of the Parliament, whereas in Shoora nothing can be done repugnant to the commandments of Allah.
There is a hadith of the Messenger of Allah which mentions the five phases that will come to Muslims. The hadith ends with “summa takunu khilafat ala min hajin nabuwa” (then there will be caliphate on the way of prophethood). How do you see this hadith?
Ahadith like these are actually a kind of glad-tidings for us that no matter how hard or how tough the situation seems to be, but finally the truth will triumph over falsehood. We have to be prepared for the things waiting for us ahead. Some people confuse it and start to claim that the signs of the hour have arrived and the Doomsday is about to come. However we must ask ourselves: if the signs of hour have arrived, then should we die? Or should we stand up courageously to confront it?
The present situation, without any doubt, is very hopeful. The following couplet of Iqbal reiterates this positivism and hope:
Uth ke Ab Bazm-e-Jahan Ka Aur hi Andaaz Hai / Mashriq-O-Maghrib Main Tere Dor Ka Aghaz Hai
The present situation can be considered to be the darkness that engulfs the sun just before its rise (waise jaise subh-e sadiq se pehle subh-e kazib aati hai).
What has now become incumbent upon us? What is now required of us?
Allah has made us Daee (the one who invites) and our main duty is to deliver the message of Allah which is Allah’s amanah. We have to remove the prevalent misconceptions about Islam as Allah has chosen us as khair-e-ummah (the best of the community). Everyone who is in the fold of Islam has the duty to deliver the message of truth to the whole of human race. Here automatically the educated owe more responsibility. It is incumbent on educated youth to have a close watch on international politics and all the happenings in the world along with firm grip on the Seerah and other Islamic fields so as to come up with the Islamic solutions to the problems of humanity.