By Syed Jawed Anwar
IF you visited Madinah, you
could see an Ayah engraved on the mehrab (arch) of the
old Musallah where the Prophet was leading the Salah (prayer). It is inside Riyadhul Jannah (Garden of
Paradise); the area between the Sacred Chamber and the Pulpit
(Mimbar of the Masjid).
Following is the Ayah.
ÙƒÙنۡتÙÙ…Û¡ خَيۡرَ اÙÙ…Ù‘ÙŽØ©Ù Ø§ÙØ®Û¡Ø±Ùجَتۡ
Ù„ÙÙ„Ù†Ù‘ÙŽØ§Ø³Ù ØªÙŽØ§Û¡Ù…ÙØ±ÙÙˆÛ¡Ù†ÙŽ Ø¨ÙØ§Ù„ۡمَعۡرÙÙˆÛ¡Ù٠وَتَنۡهَوۡنَ عَن٠الۡمÙنۡكَرÙ
ÙˆÙŽØªÙØ¤Û¡Ù…ÙÙ†ÙÙˆÛ¡Ù†ÙŽ Ø¨ÙØ§Ù„لّٰهÙ​ؕ
Ye are the best of
peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is
wrong, and believing in Allah. (Quran;
Sura- Al-e Imran 3: 110).
That means “Amr Bil- Ma’roof wa Nahi
Unil Munkar†(Enjoining/ordering/guiding right and forbidding wrong) was the
motto of Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) ï·º and His
companions (r.). That was his vision and mission statement directly commanded
from Allah (blessed and exalted is He).
In Ayah 104 of the same Sura (3),
Allah said, “And
from among you there must be a party who invite people to all that is good and
enjoin the doing of all that is right and forbid the doing of all that is
wrong. It is they who will attain true success.â€
After
five Ayahs, Allah Himself chosen the “party†(organized by the last and final
Messenger of Allah ï·º) to perform this duty.
And
Allah has also revealed the mission statement of Islamic Jama’at (party). If
any party changes this mission, that is deviation from Quranic and prophetic
mission.
Late
Maulana Sadraduddin Islahi, a scholar of Islam and author of several books, has
written in his book “Islam and Ijtimaiat†(Urdu) that the purpose of Islamic
Organization has already been defined in Quran:
1. “You
are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right,
forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah.†(3:
110).
2. “Thus,
have We made of you an Ummat (a party, a group) justly balanced, that ye might
be witnesses over the nations.†(2:143)
3. “He has prescribed for you the DEEN (system of
life) which He enjoined upon Noah and which We revealed to you (O Muhammad),
and which We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus, commanding: “Establish
this DEEN and do not split up regarding it.†(42:13) [Please note that this Surah has been revealed in
Makkah to clarify the main objective of the Islamic movement]
“Hence,
the “Amr Bil Maroof wa Nahi Unal Munkar†(enjoining what is right and
forbidding what is wrong), Shahadat e- Haq (witness of truth), and “Iqamat e
Deen†(Establishment of DEEN) are three dimensions of one meaning and one
reality. It can’t be any other purpose for the Muslims to organize. That means
that Muslims are not allowed to organize on anything other than this purpose.â€
This message is not
Quran exclusive. The same message was revealed in TawrÄt (Torah), and Zabur
(Psalms) [Old Testaments], and Injeel (Gospel). The same message revealed in
all the books revealed earlier. The message of Abraham, David, Moses, Jesus,
and others were same. The list of good (Al-Maroof) and wrong (Al-Munkar) were
also always the same. We all know what are the goods that should prevail and
what are the wrongs that should be curtailed.
Now
come to a hadith [saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him)]:
Sa'eed al-Khudriؓ said, 'I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
say’,
“He who amongst you sees something
objectionable should change it with the help of his hand; and if he does not
have the strength to do it, then he should reject it with his tongue; and if he
does not have the strength to do it, then he should reject it in his heart —
and that is the least of faith.†[Muslim,
2/22-25; At-Tirmidhi, 9/18-19; Abu Dawud, 1128; An-Nasa'i’, 8/111; Ibn Majah,
4013.]
We are living in the era that “states†are
extremely powerful. They control almost every sphere of life. You can’t change
the evils of society by your own “hand†unless you are in power. But you have
liberty to say “no†and freedom to stand against evils. Here, you can organize
a party, condemn and issue statements, and peacefully mobilize the people
against wrongs.
We can stand on the second stair of “faith†by performing
this (mandatory) duty and can try our best (by outreaching and conveying the
message to others) to reach at the first stair. But unfortunately, we are not
doing it. All of us are either at the stage of “least of the faith†or have “no
faith.†We have compromised, adjusted,
accommodated, and happily living with the evils. Do we think we will not be
questioned and held accountable on the Day of Judgement?
Few Muslim organizations in North America who
were initially established on these principals have now changed their stance.
They are heavily influenced by secular, liberal, perverted forces, and
environment. They are accepting everything in the name of “multi-culturism,†“pluralism,†and “inclusivity†and adopting
policies to try to please Allah and Shaytan (inclusive) both. And it is
impossible to please both. They embraced “Dunya†at the cost of “Deen.†Fear
and timidity engulf individuals and organizations.
Islam is a movement; a peaceful, merciful, and nonviolent
resistance movement; to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, witness
the truth and establish DEEN of Allah. Nothing less, nothing more.
We need an Islamic movement here to establish
peace, justice, harmony, tranquility, and respect. We have to develop and
establish a society, a civilization in which human being could succeed in this
world and hereafter.
Islamic movement is a prophetic movement. It is
not new. Abraham stood against false gods. Lut (Lot) campaigned against
homosexuality and gender/sex perversion. Moses liberated his people from the
slavery of Pharaoh. Jesus tried his best to correct the people and liberate
from all kind of slavery. Muhammad ï·ºestablished
the DEEN to accomplish the same task.
Syed Jawed Anwar can be
reached at Jawed@SeerahWest.com