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REAL CRITERION OF ISLAM
Brethren-in-Islam ! Allah has stated in
His Holy Book : " Say ( O Muhammad ) my worship and my sacrifice and my living and my
dying are for Allah, Lord of the Worlds. He has no partner. This am I commanded, and I am
first to those who surrender ( unto Him )".(Al-Qur'an
7:163-164) The elucidation
of the above verse is contained in the following saying of the Holy Prophet: One whose
friendship and enmity is for the sake of Allah and whose giving and withholding is for the
sake of Allah, he has completed his Iman, i.e., he becomes a perfect Momin.
The verse I have quoted above indicates that what Islam demands is that a man should keep
his servitude, his living and his dying exclusively reserved for Allah and make nobody a
partner unto Him in this. That is to say, neither his servitude nor his living and dying
should be for any one other than Allah. The elucidation by the Prophet of this verse which
I have quoted to you indicates that the precise requirement of a man's friendship
and
enmity with others as well as his worldly dealing should be purely to seek the pleasure of
God. Without it Iman cannot become perfect, not to speak of access to higher grades
of spirituality. The deficiency in Iman will be in proportion to deficiency in this
matter. And when in this capacity a man wholly identifies himself with God, then only
his Iman
becomes perfect. Some people think that these qualities are needed only to reach higher
spiritual ranks, whereas these are not required to ensure Iman and Islam. That is
to say, in other words, that even without this requisite a man can be a Momin and a
Muslim. But this is a misconception which has arisen because of the fact that the people
in general do not differentiate between the legal Islam cognizable in temporal life and
the real Islam which is authentic in the sight of Allah.
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In the juristic and legal Islam, what is in the mind of a man is not
cognizable nor can it be perceived but only his verbal affirmation is noted as also the
fact whether or not he manifests within himself those essential signs which are necessary
to confirmation. If anybody affirms by word of mouth belief in Allah, His messenger, the
Qur'an, the Hereafter and other requirements of faith and then fulfils those necessary
conditions which provide a proof of affirmation by him, he will be admitted into the
Islamic fold and all dealings with him will be conducted as with a Muslim. But this
position is limited to temporal life and provides from the worldly point of view a legal
and cultural foundation on which is raised the Muslim society. Its outcome is no more than
that all those who on this affirmation are admitted into the Muslim society should be
accepted as Muslims. Nobody from among them should be called Kafir; everyone of them
should have legal, moral and social rights on others; they should have marital relations
among them; there should be distribution of inherited property, and other civil relations
should operate.
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However, the salvation of man and his judgment as a Muslim and a
Momin in the Hereafter, as well as his inclusion among the favoured slaves of Allah, are
matters which do not depend on this legal affirmation, but the real affirmation is the
affirmation by heart, and of wholly entrusting oneself to Allah with full volition.
Whatever is verbally affirmed in the world is meant for the Qadi of Shari’ah and for
the general people and the Muslims, because they can see the exterior only. But Allah
peers into a man's heart and his interior, and sizes up his Iman. Allah's criterion of
judging a man's position is whether his living, his dying, his loyalties, his obedience
and servitude, in short, his life's entire achievements, were meant for Allah only or for
some one else? If these were solely for Allah then he will be adjudged as a Muslim and a
Momin, and if these were for some one else, then such a person will neither be a Muslim
nor a Momin. Whoever falls short of this criterion, will, to the same extant, be lacking
in Iman and Islam, no matter he ma be reckoned among the lofty Muslims of this world and
may be holding any high status whatsoever. With Allah the only estimable thing is whether
or not you have spent in His way all that He has given you. If you have done this, you
will be granted privilege which is given to those who are loyal and render what is due in
the matter of servitude. And if you exempted anything from the sphere of servitude, then
your affirmation of being a Muslim, which implies that you have wholly dedicated your self
to Allah, will be a false claim which can hoodwink the world and beguile the Muslim
society into assimilating you and thereby granting you all the rights of Muslims in the
world, but God cannot be deceived to assign a place for you among His faithful. If you
will ponder over the difference between the legal Islam and the real Islam, which I have
explained to you, you will know that their results will be greatly different from each
other not only in the Hereafter but also in this world. Muslims of yore and today can be
divided into two categories.
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One kind of Muslims are those who, having affirmed faith in God and His
Messenger, accept Islam as their religion but treat this religion merely as a part
of a section of their whole life. To the extent of this part or section, there is expression of
attachment to Islam, profusion of ' Ibadat ', use of rosary and offering of
Salat,
remembrance of God, exercise of Puritanism in the matter of food and some social affairs,
and all the rest that can be called a religious attitude. But beyond this section, all the
other aspects of their life are exempted from Islam. If they show love, it would be for
Nafs or for self-benefit or for that country and nation or for some body else. If they
profess enmity or wage war that would also be for the sake of some worldly or selfish
interest. Their business, their wives and children, family, society and co-professionals---all these will be to a great extent exempt from religion and totally
based on worldly considerations. As a zamindar, as a trader, as a ruler, as a soldier, as
a professional,---in all spheres they will have an independent position which will have no
connection with their position as Muslims. Then such a type of people will combine and
collectively set cultural, educational and political institutions, which, due to their
being Muslim, may be partly influenced by them as such or may be related to them in some
way but actually these will have no connection with Islam.
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The second kind of Muslims are those who completely merge into Islam
their full personality and entire existence. All the positions they hold get submerged
into the position of a Muslim. Their roles as fathers, sons, husbands or wives,
businessmen, zamindars, labourers, employees, or professionals, should signify the
characteristics of a Muslim. Their sentiments, their desires, their ideologies, their
thoughts and opinions, their hatred and inclinations, their likes and dislikes, everything
is subservient to Islam. There is a complete sway of Islam on their heart and mind, on
their eyes and ears, on their stomach and private parts, on their hands and feet, on their
body and soul. Neither their love nor their enmity is detached from Islam. When they make
friendship or fight with anybody, it is purely for the sake of Islam. If they give
anything to anybody, it is because Islam requires it to be given. If they withhold
anything from anybody, it is also because Islam wants it to be withheld. And this attitude
or theirs is not limited to individuals only but their collective life also is based
entirely on this principle of Islam. Their entity is to evolve as a community on the basis
of Islam only and their entire collective behaviour is based on the precepts of Islam
only.
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The above two kinds of Muslims are in reality different from each other
even if from the legal standpoint both may be included in the Ummah and the word
"Muslim" may be applicable to both equally. There is no record of achievement
in
the Islamic history on the part of the first type of Muslims which may be worthy of
mention or meriting to be proud of. They have actually done no work which has left an
Islamic imprint on the pages of world history. The earth has never felt the weight of such
Muslims. In fact, Islam has suffered decay due to these people. As a result of
preponderance of such Muslims in the Muslim society, the control of life-system in the
world has passed into the hands of Kufr, while Muslims getting subjected to it,
contented themselves with the freedom to lead a limited religious life. God never desired
to have such Muslims. He did not send His prophets into this world nor did He reveal His
books to have such Muslims in the world. Due to the non-existence of such Muslims no
deficiency of any valuable asset was caused to fulfil which the need had arisen to send a
series of revelations and prophets. As a matter of fact, those Muslims who are desired by
God, and who did, and can do today, appreciable work from the Islamic point of view,
belong to the second category.
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This is not a matter peculiar to Islam alone. In fact, no followers of
any creed in the world have ever been able to raise aloft its standard when they gave a
subordinate position in their life to their faith and its tenets and adherence to its
principles, and isolated from their creed the purpose for which they should live and die.
You can see even today that the real and true followers of a creed are only those people
who are loyal to it with their heart and soul, who have merged not even their own life and
children. Every creed of the world wants such adherents and if any creed were to attain
domination in the world it can be through such followers only.
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However, there is a difference between Islam and other creeds. If the
other creeds demand from men this type of self-annihilation and dedication, these have
actually no right to extract such sacrifice. It is but an improper claim on man. As
against this, if Islam makes this demand it has a perfect right to do so, because none of
the things for which these creeds ask men to sacrifice themselves and their whole life and
personality is such as has a right to ask man to sacrifice themselves and their whole life
and personality is such as has a right to ask man to sacrifice anything for it. But the
God for Whom Islam demands this sacrifice is certainly entitled to ask for a complete
surrender of everything to Him because whatever is there in the heaven and the earth
belongs to Allah. In fact man himself belongs to Allah. Further, whatever man possesses
and whatever is within him, all belong to Allah. Therefore, it is in perfect consonance
with justice as well as reason that whatever belongs to Allah must be reserved for Him
only. Whatever sacrifice man makes for others or for his own benefit or to satisfy his
lust, is indeed a breach of trust unless it be with the permission of Allah. And whatever
sacrifice is made for Allah, is in reality a requital of what was due. But apart from this
aspect, there is a lesson to be learnt by Muslims from the practice of those people who
are sacrificing everything of theirs for the sake of their spurious creeds and false
deities of their Nafs and have demonstrated such fidelity as is unmatched in human
history. How strange it is that such a spirit of dedication and self-annihilation is
exhibited by men for a false object while not even a thousandth part of it is demonstrated
for truth.
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I would like all of us to test ourselves on the touchstone of Iman and
Islam as explained above in the Qur'anic verse and Hadith, and scrutinize our life in the
light of this criterion. If you assert that you have accepted Islam and affirmed faith in
it, you check up whether your living and dying are for the sake of God? Are your life and
intellect as well as the entire strength of your body and soul, and your time and efforts,
being devoted to the fulfilment of Allah's wish, and whether through you that work is
being accomplished which He wants to be executed by the Muslim Ummah? And, then, have you
reserved your obedience and service exclusively for God ? Have subservience to lust and
servitude to family, brotherhood, friends, society and government been completely
eliminated from your life? Have you made your likes and dislikes totally subservient to
the wish of Allah. Then you should see that if you love somebody, is it really for the
sake of Allah; if you hate somebody is that too for the sake of Allah, and that in this
hatred and love, no element of selfishness is involved. Again, you should see if your acts
of giving and withholding anything have also been done for the sake of God? Is it so that
whatever you are spending on your own self and giving to any other person is just because
that due has been fixed by God and that, by such giving, your objective is simply to gain
His pleasure? And similarly whatever you are withholding from anybody is also because God
has commanded you to do so and this restraint is actuated by your desire to secure God's
pleasure? If you find such sensibility within yourself you should thank God that He has
bestowed upon you the blessing of Iman in its fullness. And if in this respect you feel
any deficiency, you must give up all worries and only think out as to how to remove this
deficiency and how to concentrate all your efforts and energies on achieving this object
because on the removal of this deficiency, depends your well-being in this world as well
as salvation in the Hereafter. You may score any kind of success in this world but this
gain will not compensate you for the loss you will suffer due to this deficiency. But if
you make up for this deficiency, even if you gain nothing in this world, still you will
not be at a loss eventually. This criterion has been set not because you should test
others according to it and determine about their being Momin or hypocrite and Muslim or
Kafir, but in order that you should test your own self, and after detecting the deficiency
try to remove it before you reach the court of the Hereafter. You should not bother about
the opinion of any Mufti and Qadi of this world about yourself but should care for the
judgment of the Supreme Ruler and Knower of the seen and unseen. Do not be satisfied on
seeing your name here entered in the register of Muslims but be anxious to see in what
position your name is entered in the Register of God. It is no use if the whole world
gives you the certificates of Islam and Iman. The real success consists in your being
adjudged as Momin instead of hypocrite, obedient instead of disobedient and faithful
instead of unfaithful, by that God in Whose hands lies final decision.
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