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TOUCHSTONE OF FAITH
Brethren-in-Islam !
I had explained to you in my lecture last Friday that according to the
Qur'an there are men who go astray in three ways. One is to leave aside the law of God and
become slave of corporal desires. The second is to give preference to family customs and
ways of life of forefathers over the law of God. The third is to ignore the system
enunciated by God and His messenger and follow the ways of fellow-beings who either be big
personalities of their own nation or dominant nations of the world.
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The real definition of a Muslim is that he should be immune from
these three ailments. That person alone is a Muslim who sincerely believes that the
teaching of God and His messenger is Absolute Truth, and that whatever is against it is
false, and that whatever is good for man in this world and in the Hereafter is all
contained in the teaching of God and His messenger. One who has complete faith in these
verities always seeks guidance at every step in his life from the relevant injunction of
God and His messenger, and on knowing the injunction submits to it. Having done that, he
will never bother if his mind felt uneasy about it, or his family members upbraided him,
or the worldly type of people opposed him, because in each case he will clearly reply:
" I am God's slave not yours; I have affirmed faith in His messenger, not in
you."
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If, contrary to this, a person says: " May this be the injunction
of God and His messenger, my mind does not accept it because I consider it harmful. So I
shall put aside the directions of God and His messenger and act according to my own
opinion". Obviously the heart of such a person is bereft of faith. He is not a Momin
but a hypocrite because while he verbally asserts that he is a servant of God and a
follower of His messenger, in reality he is a slave of his own self and a follower of his
own opinion.
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Similarly, if a person says that whatever may be the injunctions of God
and His Prophet, how can a certain custom be given up when it is practised from his
forefather's time or how can a usage be discontinued which has been in vogue for long in
his family and kith and kin. Such a person too will be reckoned among the hypocrites,
though he might have grown on his forehead any size of knob due to profuse prostration in
endless prayers and might have made his face very religious looking because the actual
reality of Deen has not permeated his heart. Deen does not consist of Ruku’,
Sajdah,
Fasting and Hajj nor is it found in the face and dress of a man. In fact Deen means
obedience to God and His messenger. One who refuses to obey God and His messenger in
conducting his affairs, his heart is in reality devoid of Deen. His Salat, his fasting and
his religious appearance is nothing but a fraud.
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Similarly if a person, not caring for the Book of God and His
messenger's directions, urges that certain custom be adopted because it is prevalent among
Englishmen, and a particular thing be accepted because another nation is making progress
because of it, and a certain point be conceded because a big person is advocating it, then
such a person should guard himself against losing his faith. This type of talk is
irreconcilable to Iman. If you are a Muslim and want to remain a Muslim, then throw
overboard every suggestion which is contrary to the injunctions of God and His messenger.
Should you be unable to do this, it does not believe you to claim adherence to Islam. To
assert verbally that you believe in God and His messenger but to set aside their
injunctions in the affairs of your life in favour of other people's dictum, is neither
Iman nor Islam. In fact it is downright hypocrisy. Allah has clearly stated in the
twenty-fourth chapter of the Qur'an:- " Verily We have sent down revelations and
explained them. Allah guideth whom He will unto a straight path. And they say: We believe
in Allah and the messenger and we obey, then after that a faction of them turn away. Such
are not believers. And when they appeal unto Allah and His messenger to judge between
them. Lo ! a faction of them are averse. But if right had been with them they would have
come unto him willingly. Is there in their hearts a disease or have they doubts, or fear
they lest Allah and His messenger should wrong them in judgment. Nay, but such are evil
doers. The saying of (all true) believers, when they appeal unto Allah and His messenger
to judge between them is only that they say: We hear and we obey. And such are the
fortunate. He who obeyeth Allah and His messenger, and feareth Allah and keepeth duty
(unto Him) : such indeed are the successful. " (24:46-52). Ponder over the definition
of Iman set forth in the above verses. Real Iman consists in dedicating oneself to the
Book of God and directions of His messenger. Whatever order is received from there, must
be implicitly obeyed and nothing against it should be listened to, may it come from one's
own mind or from the family members or from the worldly people. Only that person is Momin
and Muslim who develops this state of mind. And whoever is devoid of it is not more than a
hypocrite.
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You must have heard how rampant was drinking of wine in Arabia. Women
and men, young and old, were fond of it. In fact they were used to it. They chanted songs
in his praise and were mad after it. You know this fact also that it is difficult to give
up drinking after getting addicted to it. A drunkard would rather give his life than stop
drinking. If he does not get wine his condition becomes worse than that of a sick person.
But have you heard what happened when the prohibition order was given through the
Qur'an?
On hearing this commandment those very Arabs who shed their life on wine broke its
containers with their own hands. Wine was flowing in the lanes of Medina like rain-water.
In one gathering some people were engaged in drinking as they heard the voice of the
announcer on behalf of the Prophet ( peace be upon him) that wine was prohibited, their
hands suddenly stopped where they were. Those who had the cup close to their lips removed
it at once and did not allow a drop to reach their throats. This is called obedience to
Allah and His messenger.
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You know what a severe punishment Islam has prescribed for
adultery--one hundred stripes on the naked back, the very thought of which makes a person
shudder. And if a married man is involved, his punishment is stoning to death. A man
trembles to hear the very name of such a horrible punishment. But have you heard what was
the condition of those who had Iman in their hearts? A man had committed adultery. There
was no witness. There was nobody to drag him to the court, nor was there anyone to make a
report to the police. There was only Iman in his heart which admonished him: " Now
that you have satisfied your lust contravening the Law of God, get ready to undergo the
punishment prescribed by God for it". So this person presented himself of his own
accord before the Holy Prophet ( peace be upon him ) and said : " O Prophet of Allah
I have committed adultery. Please award me punishment". On hearing this the Prophet
turned aside his face but that man shifted towards him and repeated his request. The
Prophet again turned aside his head and this man again came before him and made the same
request for the third time. This is Iman. It is easy for one who has Iman in his heart to
be punished with a hundred stripes on his naked back, or even get stoned to death, but it
is difficult for him to go before God as a disobedient servant.
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You also know that in this world nobody is dearer to man than his
relatives. Particularly, father, brother and son are so dear that a man endures to
sacrifice everything for them. But you just think of the battles of Badr and Uhud and see
who went to fight against who? The father was in the Muslim army and the son in the army
of Kafirs, or the son was on this side and the father was on the opposite side. One
brother was on this front and the second brother on the other front. The nearest relatives
confronted each other and fought as if they were strangers. And this spirit was not worked
up for the sake of money or land, nor was it aroused by personal enmity, but they fought
against their own flesh and blood simply because they had the grit to sacrifice their
father, son, brother and their whole family for the sake of God and His messenger.
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You also know that Islam demolished practically all the old customs
which were prevalent in Arabia. The biggest evil of all was idol-worship which had
been in
vogue for hundreds of years. Islam ordained to give up this evil as well as wine,
adultery, gambling, theft and dacoity which were generally rampant in Arabia. Women used
to go about openly in Arabia. Islam ordered them to observe pardah. No share was given to
women in inheritance. Islam decreed that they must get a share in it. Adopted children
were given the position of real children. Islam rejected this equation and sanctified
marriage with adopted son's divorced wife. In short, no old custom was left undiminished
by Islam. But do you know what was the attitude of those who had affirmed faith in God and
His messenger? These believers broke with their own hands all those idols which they and
their forefathers had prostrated for centuries and offered sacrifices at their altars.
They renounced all those family customs which were coming down for centuries, at once. On
receiving the commandment of God they crushed under their feet those objects which they
held sacred, while, contrariwise they sanctified those things which they had previously
regarded as detestable. Those objects which were considered pure for centuries became
suddenly impure and vice versa. All those practices which during the days of Kufr were
sources of benefit or relish were given up in the wake of God's commandment. All
injunctions of Islam entailing stress and strain were gladly accepted. This is what means
Iman and this is what is called Islam. If the people of Arabia had at that time
said:" We do not accept that thing because it is harmful to us and we cannot give up
the other thing as it is beneficial to us, and that we shall certainly do that particular
thing since it is coming from out forefathers, while we like certain things of the Romans
and certain practices of the Iranians which are pleasing to us, in short, if they had in
this way rejected each and every thing of Islam, you can imagine there would have been no
Muslim today in the world.
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Brethren ! It is stated in the Qur'an : "
You will not attain unto piety until you sacrifice for God all that is dear to you."
( 3:92 ). This verse is the essence of Islam and Iman. The real grandeur of Islam lies in
this very principle that whatever is dear to you must be sacrificed for the sake of God.
You notice that in all the affairs of your life God's commandment beckons you towards one
direction while your own self goads you towards another direction. God commands you to do
a certain deed but Nafs dissuades you by saying that it will cause trouble and loss. God
forbids you from a certain act while Nafs instigates that it is highly delicious and of
great benefit. One side is God's pleasure and pitted against it is a whole world of
gratification. In short, man confronts at every step two paths in life. One is the path of
Islam and the other of Kufr and hypocrisy. One who discards everything of this world and
bows to the commandment of God is the person who has adopted the path of Islam. And one
who sets aside God's commandment and fulfils the desires of his heart and temptations of
the world is the person who has taken to the path of Kufr or hypocrisy.
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The condition of the people today is that they gladly accept whatever
is convenient in Islam but when a real confrontation arises between Islam and
Kufr, they
quickly change their direction. This weakness is found even among some great claimants
to
Islam. They will shout Islam, Islam; their tongues will be dried up in extolling Islam;
they will also do some ostentatious work for it, but if they are told: " Let us
enforce on ourselves the law of Islam which you are praising so much," they will at
once say: " There is this difficulty and that obstruction in it; better leave it for
the time being". What they mean is that Islam is a beautiful toy, display it on the
cupboard and sing its praises from a distance but avoid even its name about enforcing it as
a law to govern ourselves, our family members and relatives and to regulate matters of
business and other affairs of life. This is the condition of our religious people these
days. The less we talk of the worldly people the better. It is the result of such an
attitude that neither Salat is now effectual nor fasting nor Recital-recital nor the outward
adherence to Shari'ah. The reason is that when the spirit is gone, what miracle can a
soulless body perform ?
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