Auron ka hai Payaam aur, mera Payaam aur hai, / Ishq key dardmand ka tarz-e-kalaam aur hai! (Iqbal)
You know what I say at every opportunity I get, right? Every Aayat of the Qur’ān is a miracle? It is a proof about the fact that this Qur’ān is and can only be from God. But listen to the Qur’ān on the subject of proportionality and tell me how much clearer it can possibly get. And who, if not Allah, can conceivably promulgate a formula like this for the human species that he created and let lose on earth? And that too 1400 years ago, on this earth?
These are the same humans about whom the angels had argued that they would cause mischief and corruption on earth and shed bloods? Yes, that is right. The Qur’ān does use the plural “bloods”? The Qur’ān says, Dimaa’, which is plural, instead of Dam, which is singular for blood.
The first of the two Aayats I have in mind is: Qaatiloo fee sabeelillahil-ladheena yuqatiloonakum wa laa ta’tadoo. Paraphrase: Fight those who fight you, but do not commit aggression or excess and observe limits. And the second Aayat is: Wa in ‘aaqabtum fa-‘aaqiboo bi-mithli maa ‘ooqibtum bihi. Paraphrase: And if you were to punish, do so in proportion to the wrong that was done to you.
How can human minds come up with a formula like that? And how can human temperaments, steeped in greed, deceit, arrogance and selfishness as they are, accept such a foolproof recipe for universal peace and justice? And that too 1400 years ago, on this earth, and among some of the most barbaric and bloodthirsty people in the world.
And here is a combined paraphrase of the two Aayats I just quoted:
1. Fight in the path of God those who fight you but do not commit excess or cross the bounds.
2. And if you were to inflict harm on some people in response to the harm they did to you, then make sure it is proportional to the harm to which you yourselves were subjected by them.
Which part of which one of these two Aayats requires a commentary or an explanation? And where is extremism in all this? In fact, have you ever seen a more iron-clad teaching or guarantee against extremism anywhere in any culture, tradition or political document of any kind?
ASSOCIATING ISLAM WITH EXTREMISM
Therefore, associating Islam with extremism is as foolish as practicing extremism in the name of Islam. There are no ifs or buts about the utter foolishness and falsehood of either one of them. Yet, why do some people associate Islam with extremism? Answers are not hard to find. Some people do it because they don’t know better. And there are two reasons for their ignorance. One, Muslims never bothered to communicate the right picture of Islam to them. Or did an extremely poor job of it. Two, because these other folks themselves never bothered to find out the real facts about Islam. There is a third reason too: Muslims, no matter what they may or may not preach, are in many ways such awful role models and such poor practical examples of much of what Islam really stands for. This in turn affects Muslim credibility in general. So, what should the Muslims do to remedy the situation? At least two things:
That means Muslims need to do a better job of informing people about the real teachings of Islam. At the same time, Muslims must also do a better job of putting into practice what they say they believe in. Another thing Muslims need to do is learn more about Islam and understand its teachings better, which brings me to the fourth thing Muslims need to do. Understand much better than they do now the world in which they live, for, without a proper understanding of the world, it is not possible to either understand Islam or to practice it properly and effectively.
MIXING TRUTH WITH FALSEHOOD
Some other people associate Islam with extremism, not out of ignorance or misunderstanding, but with full knowledge and understanding of what they are doing. They know what they are saying is wrong but they go ahead and say it anyway.
That is because their purpose is propaganda – turning truth into falsehood and falsehood into truth.
Qur’ān defines this diabolical game of propaganda that some people, nations, groups, organisations and institutions play in a most amazing and insightful manner. Hear the Qur’ān say it: Lima talbisoonal haqqa bil baatili and taktumoonal haqqa wa antum ta’alamoon. Paraphrase: Why do you mix truth with falsehood and cover up the truth – knowingly?
So, there you have it. How I wish some of us Muslims had gone to school and learned not only about what we think is Islam but also about how Allah’s world works. For, without knowing how the world works you can neither know Islam nor practice it.
In Allah’s real world these folks know only too well what they do. And that is to give Islam a bad name deliberately. And they don’t much care how they do it. I mean many of the folks who associate Islam with extremism.
That means in general these people are motivated by considerations of political, religious, personal and economic gain for themselves and for their respective groups. And they are out to paint Islam and Muslims in the worst colours so that they can take political, economic, religious, personal and military advantage of them.
To many of these people, giving Islam – and Muslims – a bad name is simply a means of pursuing political, military, religious, personal and economic power, wealth and influence. Such people don’t care for truth and they are not bothered by morality, honesty or integrity. And they have no qualms or inhibitions about tarnishing and defiling the good name of Islam – and Muslims – using any means at their disposal.
To them all that matters is to win and they don’t care how they do it.
Muslims need to expose this evil propaganda and continue to present Islam to the world in the most proper and positive manner. Just as the Qur’ān requires them to do: Wa jaadilhoom billatee hiya ahsan – counter them with a better strategy and a more effective and superior and nicer set of techniques.
A BIT OF CONTEXT
Let me provide a bit of context to the Aayats of proportionality that makes them even more poignant. Don’t forget, the first addressees of this miraculous message of proportionality were the free, fearless and independent tribes of Arabia who lived a life of anything but proportionality. When someone bothered them, they bothered those people who bothered them and their entire tribe many times over. When someone killed one of theirs, they killed a hundred of the other side. Unending revenge was their way of life. Incessant and ongoing retaliation was the fuel that fired their life.
Listen to what one of their poets had to say on the subject – knowing of course what a critical role poets and poetry often played in their lives and culture: A-laa laa yajhalan ahadun ‘alainaa. Fa-najhala faowqa jahlil jaahileena. Paraphrase: Don’t let anyone behave arrogantly toward us, lest we behave even more arrogantly than all the arrogant people in the world.
What a wild, free – pure – and indomitable people these pre-Islamic Arabian tribes were! It was this raw material of utter indomitability that Islam took and converted into the soft, gentle and yet immensely tough and powerful dynamo that changed the world and at the same time set new standards of fairness, compassion and equality for humanity. Standards that the rest of the world is to this day struggling to rival or emulate.
There is more context to these Aayats of proportionality. The early Muslims who were being told to observe moderation and proportionality while defending themselves were the same people who had been subjected to the worst atrocities, brutalities and excesses by their enemies continually for more than 13 years.
During this entire period of persecution, the Muslims were repeatedly told not to resist or take any defensive action. They were told to simply accept their persecution at the hands of their enemies and have faith and patience. The Muslims were told to take the enemy onslaught on the chin and not retaliate or defend themselves – or flinch.
What a superhuman test of human endurance and greatness this was. And what an amazing training this was in discipline, self-control and dedication to their mission and to the supreme code of conduct the fulfilment of that mission would require from them in the future.
The responsibility of changing a greedy and selfish world into a more just, compassionate, fair and noble one would require nothing less. It is these same people who were now being given permission to fight back in self-defence. And it is these same people whose hands were still being tied with the warning that they should observe proportionality even when defending themselves after a sustained persecution of 13 long years.
Now that adds a whole new dimension to the concept of proportionality. And to the notion of Allah’s boundaries – Hudoodullah. After knowing and realizing all this, what would anyone say who has any sense of fairness, decency and integrity except perhaps: Thank you Islam, for, thy name is moderation, compassion and proportionality!
As for extremism, it has absolutely, positively nothing to do with Islam. Not in so-called “religious” matters such as prayer, fasting or pilgrimage. Not in so-called “secular” matters such as war, business or politics. In fact, whatever it is you think, say or do, if it is extreme, it is not Islam? Got a better deal, anyone? Allahu Akbar!
[Write to the author at [email protected]. Also visit www.IslamicSolutions.Com and Listen to Pasha Hour International.]