Other Works by Muhammad Asad: ‘THE MESSAGE OF THE QUR'AN ‘THE ROAD TO MECCA ISLAM AT THE CROSSROADS SAHIH AL-BUKHARI: THE EARLY YEARS ‘OF ISLAM ‘THE PRINCIPLES OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT IN ISLAM THIS LAW OF OURS And Other Essays By Muhammad Asad Isaac BOoK Trust KUALA LUMPUR. 200CONTENTS FOREWORD ty Pola Hamidn Asad ‘THIS LAW OF OURS 1. PROLEGOMENA I, ATIME OF CHANGE IIL, TALKING OF MUSLIM REVIVAL IV, WHOSE ISTHE FAULT? WV. ANEW APPROACH ‘iL THE BASIS OF OUR CIVILISATION Vil ISLAMIC CIVILISATION AND ISLAMICLAW IIL DISCUSSING A PROPOSITION WHAT DO WE MEAN BY PAKISTAN? ‘LOOKING AT OURSELVES ‘THE UNIOUENESS OF PAKISTAN [EVASION AND SELP-DECEPTION ‘THE CHOICE BEFORE Us (OUR MORAL STATURE (CALLING ALL MUSLIMS ‘THE ENCOUNTER OF ISLAM AND THE WEST ISLAM AND THE SPIRIT OF OUR TIMES. ‘THE ANSWERS OF ISLAM 1, THE ATTTTUDE OF RELIGIONS TOWARDS. ONE ANOTHER IIL, RELIGION AND HUMANITARIANISM IN; RELIGION AND SOCIETY JERUSALEM: The Open Cisy {A VISION OF JERUSALEM ‘THE MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF "THE HURAH ‘THE MESSAGE OF THE QUR'AN sandFOREWORD ‘Wen onthe ist day of November 1952, I moved into my hus ‘band's apartment n New York and began my new ie with that ‘entaoeéinary man, earned, almost immediatly, of his primary ‘aul, which he ha atid with him from is cradle ad wl prob- ably cary tothe pave: otal ack of ant. Now, vanity icon. sidered abe afau™and whes taken tothe exreme, even 35 {in our Muslim eligi a well ain most ofthe lhe great reiions ‘ofthe world: and You may well ask, “How can yu cise the ‘man you married, and with whom you have collaborated is his ‘work throughout the hir)-thee years of yourife with him, and ‘whose relgon and points of view you share bth intellectually and ‘motional: how can you etc him fr possessing a quaity in ‘nich you should ake pide?” And my welktboupt-ot answers {hi albeit en enconveniona! one: T am consined through my ‘experiences of people and of ie self tht one lost arab {en at one's own valuation, so to speak, and thus the man of ‘vanity is wvaly taken much mor seriou than the man without it simply because normal, unthinking people do take a person at his face value, And in a writer, in parla, this vite might be & fat My very fst experience inthis reparé was this, Only a week alter our marrage, my new husband, Muhammad ABad, was requested by Dr Schuyler Wallace, Difctor, I believe, of sone thing clled “The School of Oriental Affair (1 donot remember ‘the exc tite) in New York, t give along talk about Islam andthe ‘then curent problems ofthe Middle East and the Musi word in ‘ener, and afterwards to answer the avid (or 50 he hoped) questions of the audience, comprised mostly of post-graduate ‘laent of iteration stairs.This Law of Ours and Other Esse “The day before, I shyly broached the queton of my husbands text, ort lest ab outline of hi fext, aad my strange new ie ‘at's response was, "Italo ready.” Tapent the whole dy in {i—my fit witnessing of «public adress by my hisband— ‘nervously evating some "news" Five minates before lsvng 0" {partment he suddenly jotted Jowa afew handwiten notes on 8 Salling card and tld me that that was i "And sowe arrived at the packed audenc all and took my set in the trot row, ot out of slFimportance but because but brand insisted tha he alway ked to have aig face before hi to whom he could rcv address word, andmine aris wie tnd companion—seemed 1o him to be the most appropriate one Dr. Wallace opened the meting and then turned ove 10 Muhammad fad, who forbwith spoke enthusisially and ‘cogently to his very sophisticated audience, and even forgot Feler to hi socalled “notes The talk was fesived with ovation nd, even more importantly. flowed by series of ver) nteiget ‘Gestion; and many pleasant and wmblating hours pase sy. “Tis notin Wel an important anecdote, but only my expla: ‘ation of why 1 personaly consider my husbands total lack of ‘vanity fault Natrally be leftnaweten “sept no even atape- Tecording of this and so many other talks made before lve, rao tnd tlevsion aeiences. This was the habit of hin ie ‘An almost dene! station ooxared in 1959 or 190, when my Inusband vas davted to adress The Royal Insute of Inter ‘atonal Aas ia London, chaiedby Sir Arold Toynbee, onthe ‘Principles undecying the idea ofa Ila Sate, And unfrte ‘atl, this ime Twas notable to accompany him from Genes, there we were then ving, to London and ao {havens notion of ‘what he ab, lthough [ai recive echoes of fom the peat Sit ‘Arnold's swell othe appreciation oft. And soon ad ifn Fortunately, eventually weat though some of hit old papers and uncarthed what I baie to be tluale contribution to ‘Mastin eigios and polical thought, but he ester par of hem ‘ad simply been discarded by him. What Thave managed io salvage Tam presenting herewith in book form. Tor the record”, a kind of sample of the conssteny of this mass! Mashm' ows down {he yeas. Andi would request the reader to ake nate—before and after reading each of thee esayy-of the date nd year when bey Foreword sere written or spoken—and then to cousder them against the ime in which they ae now being published eieve that he and She wil be struck, as Ihave been not only bythe extraordinary ‘inlies and timelessness of these thoughts and predictions, but ‘dbo by ther great conistency. In fat, they constitute something Tea “proof the intleetal "face of Muhammad Asad over ‘ore than fort) years of his long life. And woud like to share it tity Masia brethren wherever they ma) be Lisbon 1986, Poa Hains Asan NOTE; Ate panages ofthe Hoty Garin quted i his book are ake from Maar Asis wok, The Mee of he Quon, pbb > Dural Anda, GbratarTHIS LAW OF OURS AUTHOR'S NOTE ‘Tux rnsts propounded on these pagesis based on several esas ‘community arto the scope andthe practical inplcations of amie Taw “The fist impetus towards such a, “monologue” came 10 me ducing the Second World War, whendeesuse of my then ‘Austrian ctizenship—1 found myself an involuntary “gust of the Goverment of India fom September 1, 1939, 0 August 14,145, ‘Throughout those years {was the oly Musi in an internment ‘camp peopled by some thee thousand Germans, Auslans and Taiaor-both Nazis apd ant-Nazi a wel as Fasc and ante Fscote—al of them coed baker eler fom a over Asta fat tk or sily ak. We Masha, i ssems, ze pea att at Siting ow donot mean oy hat li wish ermine he writen ord wes, oterwite I woul not be wi tae nes, Ta and dscns ate abs cesta oer © ‘Say the exiting Sntson of our thot andi eban a coe tscnnent of he poems wih nich we ae confronted. Aad they are partculrynceasry a or common, nich cana be try Ilan nis cect thi cara, Quan charcee {on ofthe uma: "Ther ral nl ates of sommon som ern conlation (hi) among themslves" (rah 235) ‘But consultation alone stone cannot lead anywhere: might eed us somewhere that toa pew rey of amie {Colca ri ap thew fam, he sah 3 ‘ely sro proposition. fr ony very few Masia to take this Law of ous senousy: namely, x praca scheme ‘hicconfers an ogtion on so abandon ou soil mays and {o work fora thorogh reconstruction a our commona i _temtiayreenin it amore hap tual pine lone for anes he ve counterpart pe Eales of conduct, pital pics lend themselves t ost conten interpetaons, and tart arty ft or Seti) eondions. A types example of thc Be found in {Christan which coment ull wth preschng belts and ‘moral without bothering about heir anomie into a de tte socal scheme: anda tfemsing conten with beng a 8 Companinent to vxoeconome state of fa that ha nt the remotes connec with Christan thc, Bet, une Che tani Iam doc no conten elt with merely demanding acer thn pinta ade tht could beste toa mamner of cult fly soca and economic setings, Dut ln te teers ‘ceping tom cheme of practi wel. Whi the frame ‘ork of ths scheme, which isle sarah, Inaba ts ove ‘Newson poyes n definition of sca good ands ov Pattern of socal reltions. nthe means, therefore, that concep rowed from another cilaaon ad snotier sallook one tecome dominate shaping of Msn soe they dpeve 16 Talking of Mastin Revive [slam ofits funtion at society shaping power; andi the measure tnt which we willingly submit to such ouside infunces, we imply “hat sim has no el cant that unetion, "And thsi he Herel four problem. Inthe conscious and sub- conscious rendnesofso many four brothers and sisters always to State the socal politcal and econome forms of the West—even ‘thin the context of endeavours aiming at the reestablishment of realy Islamic polity lies set, involuntary implication tht Islam has no real imo being a socety-shaping power Nataly So: forfour views a to ow man shoal arrange his fae re ‘erve fom sourees other than Im, we imply deny to Islam finy ight to dictate oor scheme oflif, The most one does concede {Olam in such cve (ad the most tha, act, being conceded {oitin many contemporary Muslim communities) is to provide & {tof spinal muse which may secompany our practical ende ‘Suchan aude evidently ass with the fundamental oneepts of lim, which is nothing short of defiite programe of ie ‘Reduced tothe sate ofa mete spiritual backdrop, deprived of ts primary function to determine oar behaviour andthe practical Forms ou society Becomes s meaingess word: Somuch ‘foul be cleat to tayone who haste ghtst acquaintance with principles, Ids aot, however, scem tobe cleat tomaty of our “Nateligentsia” who, bocanse of thes more upo-date edison, ‘re mos influential or most ocd in present-day Muslin soit. ‘They do mot seem to realise that, i the human cootext, Iam Stands and fle wth te abit 0 shape ou society and direct our civ Owing tothe unwilingnes on the pat of mot of ur ‘ender to admit thi obious toh, lami esation (meaning the cvsation in which the vharTch wa once the fundamental, {fiding clement as become entre sory, 90 matter how this ‘thet Masi country progressing inthe curent sense ofthe ‘for or how tach emtioal tachment o slam there til exis {mong the Muslim muse. For, of al the people who love to bask ithe fan hope ofan inipending revival of Islam, hardly any. ‘ody looks upon Tami Law, the shar'ah, with al far-eaching npletions, as 2 serous socio-political proposition for today {nt tomorrow (gute apart fom the Tac thatthe views 38 (0 What the shah atally and aims at are excemely onfsed). Many among us talk gibly of “Mustim core” ”This Law of Ours ‘meaning, probably, the cltire ofthe “Abbasid period, oF of Misti Spain, oof Mapa! India—and nope wo comer the soci ealog ofthe shea, on whch then varus expressions ‘tour culture wer, in he lat exo, sed. Ando oveook ts ‘sential basso samc ciilntion snd at the same te fo rete {he pact erietaton of Mulins towards Westen conc ve itn the conte ofr mig an Tsamisaion sa Sen ofthe cata revival amounts, whether we ie itor moto Intietel dabonesy, ‘As Ihave already meaioned there sn denying the fat hat the Masi hae ely acquied many eduestion od tesa faces which hey not posse yesterday ut fo speak inthis context of an "same swakenng i set premerae,For ‘ether we re contemplating the spel soil change or ne Base ptt! asovaton in simon sl Makin count, find that even inthe few ones where the shrfah i tor once ‘senin~fomaly ecogased arth lw fhe ad many an nin iin nd coon vce uf el rap) len invanay { comespondingsaepad of te genuine fonmsof iam eae oe is irelvan inthis connection to consider whether the tr tues an in many posto onic ta sn pnt a ble to present them dey othe conten msn sys "pest can reinterpret sod harmon them ach a cote, impose most faker ation to, an Soper Inpostio on, he ogi! Law ‘And 0 for the common man, the shar'sh becomes « remote fs. The lement of consoines he eet retenee by ver Matin, of what the Law fam pliers suplsiedy thera formulas, Sea eooperatonsdeaitaed nee coy ‘ent. The este "mora ab ses at ai sa tratsformed into an aumaton of cao and eeoney notions Asa esl al eeatine impulses wan te sy dee % Islamic Citation and Islamic Law oe nt SE as vem stot ata re steel on meee tm eos sister era naa i eh anna Eitan pereeanes ty dierent ies cea hefty SS ee metiecionenattae eat sin Sab ty etn a Seger cana ae as such is ready for dissolution. myer ay oat hp qed emer amrasa seen eget pec cere Siieeonguan ete aaa ctl Lvs ali tha slost ently se a the oie hve ben ut =D thine fact ht for centres atk one toe pemrs of amic Lam. hes mo ca es ame practic tate for nea a towed Yur i a oan bn een pes rom bowing OU ‘Bastiat he Law o slam elVIII. DISCUSSING A PROPOSITION Ar sis stage somebody i bound to protest against my eon slusons, He might say "You are over‘hasy in your penta ins, Admiting that the present day‘lama have not done ch to bring the averape Musi into direct contact wth the penne ‘teachings of sam, these teaching ar sill pen to everyone who ‘may be interested, We have the Qur'an snd the autbeae Tr tions of our Prophet, and besides, voluminous books have been ‘ten on the shart'ah and on gh But this, peel. isthe point which I wish o make, Too many books hive been writen onthe shar ah ad on fighso many fact that the real, genuine sharfah propounded by the Ourtn and exempiedby the Apostle of God har been ete obscured, !nd the conept of fgh has beens twisted tha it snow regard {38 ar of the shah isl. How often have you decided fr yours Sell onthe simple evidence ofthe Qurin and the Sunnah whet the Law of Iam says on this or that problem? Did you not rather, 10. secondary soure, oa pon mom You to bein the know”, to dei that pon for you And diet tat Person refer in his answer to another secondary souree—-namel. {0 the writings of a fagih who lived and wrote emi ag8 and who, ins turn, ied onthe verdicts (or what he regarded verdicts) given by one of the grea imams of the Weary severations"? “That,” my interlocutor wil sy, “is unwvoidable. You cannot expect the average Masi know the Law o lam through po. sonal insight nd you cannot demand ohm, ithe, that he sould ‘xeric his Own jd inthe formulation of shar laws for this ‘would lead only to onfuson and toa dstupton of the unt fl ‘mic Law. Some sor of reliance onthe had of the pres, 1d 8 Discasng a Poposiion nen st op sy ey a roe a Sa ee ah ait dane eer Shetwerhs rman. pine Das ane Vine og neat Se.B8 Sever ine nope comentonaly ated oh Peas ieee oe ot creme anlar see mgr cog cea amit Se Serna aes ene sae otras me arenes eae sees s il) fc ws ia na tl gm it ‘tetany ae nos of tytn ee, tng o Sex, pombe timo etertee ee crea eau cmock tere age feb eepie inre germertrmaies eeeenssrcane tere ie Robs oe enenrrecieeet eee ache eels Peron cece eevee Seems smpeette ee Se et alee eee eat a coeeipanincietomess feces ir cee gt fie ates ateeni rete ‘with ened nan wc nfs te er Koy seen cae eee en reece iene beer Seen ere Se herein eee rthenat certo ere tay Taree mire ech hneemia ei fat een rh ce cis keno et + Li, the most ignorant of rests” (tl aria) 8This Law of Owe ‘ans ved but, one theese shu ‘another [learned man).”* a ee hel, a scholar regarded as wastwor se ion ot anning i rey sated by 2 poet sit in this manner (hiadha) that God and Hi ted this partie tget™ Nat Oo and His Abs Mabammad ‘Ai os 8 i Hem, AL Mabel, Cairo 1347 AHL, Vo. « IX, THE COMPANIONS AND THE LAW {sutat1 ow aa the reader to follow me trough a short historical seview of the concept ofthe shar'ah—which erally meas, “the ‘way 10 watering-place” (rom which men and animals derive the ‘lemeat indispensable to ie), In religous terminology it denotes ‘the Right Way marked out in the commandments of God and His ‘Apostle: the Law of Ilan. The term shirt ("Law-Giver") i ‘Sppled to God and, after Him, othe rophet— fry because it ‘wus through the Prophet that God revesied to us the urn, ‘which she founaiabead of allavs and, secondly, because asthe ‘bearer of divin revelation the Prophet was best ited, and there- fore divinely authorised, to explain the Quan laws td to how ‘show they are tobe applied to problems of practical if, There- {ore the Oursn commands the Prophet ol hi followers “Say {0 Muammad): If you love God, flow me, {and] God wil love you and forgive you yout sis: for God ls mache Torgsing, + dispenser of race (sarah 331. ‘But spart fom ioterpeting matters expresly laid down in the ‘Qur'n,the Prophet was ordained to supplement them by furter fnjunctios whic, i piven in terms of command or probibiion and authenteted beyond any posi of doubt, areas binding ‘Ona Muslim asthe laws enunciated inthe Qur'an: and so we aie ata definition of the Prophets Sunnah as the Second Source of te ‘hasta ‘Te might be useful at this stage to sate early what we mean by ‘eter Sunnah nthe context of shar lepton “Although i goes without saying that everything which the Apostle of God dd, commanded or consented 1 comes unde the general heading of “Sunnah” int wider tense--namely, is ay aThis Low of Owe tife—we must neve los sight ofthe fc hat may of hi actons {nd sayings were prmped by specie season or cumstances, nd woe intended by his bag on flower at time and inal tations. moog auch epei acos aya ‘may dcr (0) purely persona maloaos aig om te Frophcrs inddesl~abet mos cutsuning snd exe ‘umannes and (command or prohibition meant by him fe {at on for sparta group of people or para amet In toy, Hone, when I spsk he tnd ae fog of the Frophers Suns in conaeion wt chr tn, 1 plo © injncos whch werunmistaal convey hin ss alo ‘times anata ager ofthe community scl and curl de ‘elopnent “The Companions, ving they dn the isp shadow of the Propet, were naturally sware ofthe intentions ofthe Law Gives ey not only ow the he hr ah wa ly dws the Two Sources of lm—the Qurtn an the Suna s, tha eying tat oad rope indo ah Continent unequivocal expres, led na (ma), ett Tw Source Suh njuncton rey Scio ad et ‘erynunre ot able to mote tas one lepreaion’ar a ater Of fa the do aot requ ay interpretation, being bot ‘cievdent en itcomtaied a te eanag For ihe mao the Quran andthe Sunah dente te nencton (pes) Contained in the pin (0h) wording f these wares” (Lain Siara, a, nat) Eta Wiliam Lae, wwe pon Are Engi teary iin eatrey bed on he cal Masi letcographer, summarises and dacs the erm nat inl (0 the Gurdn andthe Sunnah we statemem pain expt, Alte ot made manifest by God and His Aponte) an Preston, ora pase, ora sentence, ndcting parla mes. {ig oot abating eny neta «eat or enorme Indated by the mans. or pli, meaning of word ofthe ‘Guctn and ofthe Sunnah (Las Leon, Vol. Vlp. 298. "Te reader soul note the pibiogs eversecuring ss coceoncch ofthe na being condone y “pn (A) freon whch haves parse meaning, 00 aig “ter tan tat njncons the Quran orth Seah sch ar 0 uneqpvocal ta a vergece of pions Decne Ingo ‘The Companions andthe Law Thus, whenever the Companions were in ned o egal ling, thay fst looked for a chresponding nat inuneton 0 (he Borer tnd they sold fad no ea ference 10 he pt car tat in queton, they sured for enighenment 10 he Tee note af them auogsed to hime the eh 19 EN ahr shoes pine deton, La Sed jective though proves mst neces lead gsc ears be Compenions mere evermindil ofthe Qu? anc IBjnaton,ityou donee om ay mater, fer 0 God ad the sa ouah 18), othe uth and te Suna One eerie mater nat peed i the nay of eiter the Qa erg Propet’ Sunnah were considered tobe only dre re tiie te Law, and wre therfore repded as te eiimate a el Gnu independent essing), Te vals prt dul eabnng con oo he Companions vie ‘Shltte pss shor authority that 10 t,he gated uch Sr gos morally binding only onthe person expose for ‘Simon atmemonton hoe who weresubert tobe ath Sth no uly sar law could Be derived by means a Soor ws there sy awd to erie avs insach way fr dae tat ha bee mean tobe shar aw wat enmtak- Shiva! dowm an uch in then fhe Quin ro he Sa JP tad ofthe Companion and th Probe neaivocalP sees cit a tex itatd in the famous, wellatbesicated cia ot rach bn aba on hr appintment a Governor of the Yemen “he Prophet ested him: “How wit thou dee the aes bat “te bough before the for odgment)™ Mari repli TR See scoring othe Book of Goa—And if ho id eke conning iat para mater] inthe Book of Tare Scars eect sccordng othe Suash of Gods eerie an thou fa pothing (bout nthe Sanaa of Ae patch tne rped hid, hall exerebe Ge est (ahi ro) witout tbe lest hesitation” Fe ates Prophet slapped hi chest nd ui "raed be Tee fs end te pesenger of Gods Mesenger © ‘eae te tater?" (Abo aed, Timid. Ins, of course, obvious thatthe Prope’ approval of his Come pnia’s commonsense id no imply his sanction of Mo'adh's s eee eee eae‘This Law of Ours tucure, a8 " ture, a8 yet non-eristent legal judgments aftr of “adtion {othe laws already stipulated such nthe naz ofthe Our and the Sunnah. Asa matter of fat threo the lightest evidence fhe Prophets eer vig tte that he eh uments of ‘ny of his Companions would or ould be lay nding on people ‘outside that Companion’s governmental jurisdiction (as was the ‘ase with Muti ba Jabal) As the Prophet wel knew, his Com [anions wotld nota al imes be of ne apd the tne option ou ‘mates: indeed, being bot human. they were bound to hold ‘arious, sometimes quite contradictory views on problems not id Gown in terms of law inthe clear wording of ether ofthe Two Sour, Bat since none of them ever arogated to the els of his om ‘opinions any legal weight i the shar sense, thei dilerenecs of ‘pinion didnot reste any confusion they were i fat ested 3s Something apart fom the body ofthe shar a such X. ANEW DEVELOPMENT “TuernoerEx pence of hough payed bythe Companions of the Prope mth regard to problems ot ad own in hema of “ihe ofthe Two Sourssbeyan fo appear o later generations 38 fn eal beyond their each To some extent his may have Deen ‘cto the exraordinary venetaton in which the Companions had tien held. “What was good enough for the Friends of the Prophet” reasoned ome ofthe later sholts, "is Yoo mach for ‘Oo Butts was ao the ony reason The ter generations knew perfetly well thatthe Companion had believed it tobe the righ nd dy of every Mim to at according to the dates of is feason alonin ater ot explicitly reputed by alas: 9 he {indenting of eure, tat one had tobe aude In his reason Ing bythe spit ofthe Two Sources. But whereas the Companions Jha ie ife-cvampl ofthe Propet and therofore the direct rin- tivet solution of most oftheir problems—before their eyes. for ‘hove wh followed them the suaton was becoming more and ‘ore dite. Not only was the distance from the ropes ime ‘ead ioteasing, bot nko the sal suture ofthe Maslin ‘Nord was apa rowing wider and more complicated id not pres simple any more to confine ar Jrsditon vo the md ltbe Two Sources and to relegate all matters not exp dealt ‘th therein othe detetion of india Jadgment fr, Wit the ‘api politcal nd economic expansion ofthe amc Common- ‘el sock outstanding mates had grown immensely in nomber nd mportance, and were constantly growiag. 1a adiion to this, Imuny curl influence om the new conquered territories het as Neo Paton plsophy, Graeco-Roman conceptions of ate and government, Christan and probaly aso Indian myst ‘Sam, Byzantine and iran methods of administration, and 50PES eee pe Pee Ee eee rere eee This Law of Ours forth—werebeponing to make themselves felt throughout Mim society: A sul corruption was repiag nt the eel system ad {he ideology as a whole. Jurccal had no longer topped bere ‘he unshakable nat of the Quran and the Sunnah bts fostered 6) lunserapalous rulers and a varity of vested interests, began to undermine the Two Soures by means of elaborate enusty, by ‘wising shar injunction ot of thir context, and by giving wb tray interpretation even tolaws hich by virtue ofthe dea and cpict wording, had "particular mening, not admiting any ‘ther than Fearing lest the fe of the Mastin be estranged from tu Isa and lowe its homogeneous quality ina sea of nultform, contac ‘ory legal opinions, most of the great lama ofthe fist wo cen {ures AHL. begun to feel the need fra legal system which would cover alaspets of private and soil fea horoughly as possble ‘nd would atthe same time closely fllow the sprit sam, Now the nays statutes ofthe Two Sources te, st me tnow,stely luted in aumber and do not provide for al lps contingencies. (Inthe couse of out investigation it wil be shown that the Law Giver never tended those states 1. provide forall con Iingencies) Faced wath tbe very actual dager to the unity of Mosim thought, the great solr of the Peiod began to eae the cleatystpuated (ns) orinances ofthe Lam, by analogy and ‘deduction. to cases and contingencies not originaly covered by i In other words, they set thecmselves othe ts of soppementing ‘he ordianees ofthe Divine Law by a adn corsa sore Sting of rulings desved from the Quin und the Suansh by means of deduction. In sl, thi was an admirable endeavour ‘nd, tlsinga they dd all avenses of contemporary thowgh nd Keeping athe sme time as close a wat humanly pole tothe spint ofthe Two Sourees, thse grea land’ sucteded in tem ‘ing the food of non-tsamic infuses which mee heat 0 tndermine the unanimity ofthe Muslin outlook. for, by means of ‘hose jihad deductions the Muslim community was enabled 10 finds way in egal matters not ncded inthe body of the ara 1 such, and became thus largely independent of foreign, now amiciegal concep The tentative rulings obcined by deductive methods wer in he ‘begining ew in umber, and were confined othe most portant problems of law. But gradually, ith the ndvent of new eigencis “ (A New Development area ee ania ite ere ee eae eee eee te eer ase cea pao mien nro errr mete as ae a tera ae Prelate ter one on eee pica! Belews career wartteneey ric: theese meet ee ok pope peeenttrrernr| soe ie arse oma Sani ners adres Sh eee eee satura Geemmeneatets Sayin Ub ahs cit yeh Sabet rca ence ae sates eer eee ees see rece eas ie aie sume cane ent ne Sovcena acer eeaaereeiees aericmeniee antennae So See arenenrenieees crite ee re ae ae Sao paanaeenicnatans Neaneseeeae inner Se ea nies apenas ter cagem iets sete ciate ea tatae Seberang eee eee eae Seana eer ee Sepa oenretceen neameiress see eae eis areas mamas ”a This Law of Ours tas with repr tls Wich are nor al down in nat terms nd, veppnedy, tive tobe "eb by meses of Shag From el timer Masi rte aware of tenses of nd dng dele rules acorn to which their deducve rezoning ‘ould proceed sn tain olga valuc- Obi, the itl to ‘be applied in deciding any pata case not sovered y mga ‘ould ber aalogy, formal or subtail, with 8 poi of aw ‘ear sate nth nao eter ofthe To Sore and 0, eden by analogy—termed gps came tobe commonly ‘Spted aa eptinate method of ensbshing lve ees where ‘ouch analogy was orteoming, some of he eps tok recourse {operon option (ry) at wh ey sted ater econ shpat team he Grn ane uh Now the Gur an the afd tere are naumeabe pas expesion the mesning of which no ak lea nd ea ‘cel mttaer ntenent tnt dcr Inthe leg net onthe pat of Godan is Propet, xh fomunkant pages ovcey rogue an intepreooat {Posy the exeron of subjective reasoning. But since every human being, howeserIerod and however pis, ible 12 omit msi, sme of he set schol mane ht mim Sid! roy {on opinion not backed by the selevem tot of ‘iter oth Two Source cold ever be renuded hava eat fore, The tame ergumcn apr abo the poi of giar (ic, aneal, bata reariged oem ofa or ace when {he opinion of one shar srs tint pins of analogy wth + {Si lutte inthe na fon bbe he Two Soares may ‘ot essary appr ar alogois in anoter cola ed ‘oer Thon the opponents fhe png of ry among he {ty echotratbutd lyfe, nthe et ance, ony to st odiances sn, rth, othe oboe of lenderto0d" (afham)tndstins,aparent Inthe Prophet's Sum, st Now these mu ar ob applied to acl cses. Consequently ‘many ofthe cry hous came to rely on ahaha te limite mater om whch dee pom oft at expt formal totes inthe nto the Te Source Suwa the poston, {or cramp of im Abad ibe Hana: node to roi he ‘wot forall legal quetons be compile shag compen iio hadi the famous Murad Geduce to wring, fr hs Issue, by his som "Abs Alli) bot the very extent this “6 (A New Development cotlesioncomprsing, together with is sapplemens, seal So em aakes i andestandale that many of he ahdoh wastes tain are history weak. Afar more impora— ees temely tical -complnion the immortal Sahih of MCSbunhae another great opponent ofthe ra)prnile, fo eeP Ry th amst equal vauale Sotho hs conterporay ees bai Hojjaj and other ealectons of eer mest Never- Mia Ere wih the enormous amon of material tthe ds Tita the aha alhedh-as they are called n diction Om ‘a ar’. who amted theepl vay of rest eis et opintan cold not entirely dpe with deductions Perri ar (hich, a already mend sbut specie orm rr ae in therendeavour dew alla opinions within the Sib Othe shart they mere ten ompelied o const ie Sica analopes between some ofthe actual ces Before them Sad te occasional direction (often expres in ery general ‘Stns gen bythe Propet to his Companions. “ot riiant exponent ote ayaool mas undoubtedly Tonos Abt Halt. I the ral schoot of thought which goes TRUE name (ond which drives, often mistakenly alt auth 1 tthe mame) egal opinions arerequety suborina- aPhovme pancleof tan (vocal or moral preference) ia ‘ihe test condone and usages prevalent heme mec of ee mponance, Ver sar pts concep he price of duh ooking for whats most beneBaa', the ind situa andthe communi) adopted with special isaence bythe dls scot oftmought whet serving the interests ofthe Uromah ay visaived the tine in queston. "ha the upd fhe ra pinpeknefly wll that annual may oeaonaly er whe endeavouring 1 aaa tand eo merpet he Lav-Giverssuppoedintentons ado ey sede gute loa, tat the psn of sich eros Bde ready reduced if age number of eraed men speed “Bom parculr interpretation or deducon. Tay he consensus Petascale temed nt=eae 9 be ecg ss 8 Jer mens of “easing doubt pins of a: "In ral fate ths metiod asim Malic ibn Ans, the fount af the Bij scoot offi Resting onthe supposition (Gate wes end wages prevalent at Medina inhi time (he Seen conury AL) efeed the itude of the Companions »Pree eee eee ee os eee eee This Law of Ours ‘ote faihly than could have been pose anywhere elie, he made the md (comers of opinion) ofthe lened an pos men ofthat ly the corestone at his legal eds. With the apd ‘extension ofthis principle tall oher eee of learning, nem ca of figh wae asere in ‘Now the ind ofthe Companions, whenever historical estab lished, had always ben regarded bythe Musins s lepally binding in the fl seme of these words. But sometimes it happened hat several of the Companions had interpreted one andthe same mater it in the domin af lw or of thesigy-in diferent trays: andthe scholars of later ceases, aiming they did 3 conclusive and unversally-binding structure of lw in all mater. Tei obliged to "rmonie” such confcing views by diverse ‘ental processes an stempt which, by el fen led to new ‘Confit opinon: forthe partic proces of "harmonisation ‘Suggested by one schol did oti every ence recommend iso ‘other scholars, In order to overcame ths ificy, the pine of ‘main earlier times implying the conseasus of al scholare-ws ‘radually limited to the contensus of He scholars of a paral period: fay arbitrary procedure. But even this was not enough {overcome the siffclies alluded to: simpy because ve hap pened, and never could happen, tha al earned men of any one Desod were agreed upon athe pints under consideration, Cons: ‘queiy a further Iatitude was given fo the concept of maby Sefning it asthe consensus of the maior af the lerned men of 2 particular period. Some lepsts went even beyond thi and ‘ecard that nt only the consensus of schol, but abo the con Sensis, over sullen Tong span of time, of linge groupe of ‘commen people coasitates leali-binding Gnd” A. laring example ofthis peculiar concept of vox popu adopted by Inter Muslims is the jstiieation, on the grounds ofa So-called pops {arma of the worship of sans andthe tombs in many Masti ‘counties. Although thi practic iin conic wit llth ue con ‘eps of lslam, it fen maintained tht i cannot possibly be ‘fon since most ofthe Masime accept "This absurd development was theresa of» complete minindr standing ofthe Prophet's saying, "Never wil God make all my Community agree ona wrong course” (Trmidh) Many scholae ‘onclded fom ths hadith that whatever the community—or at least majoiy within it—agrecs upon mut be the sigh ous * A New Development However it does ot ei ny spect rion tse ta is tonsa sentry unas The Propbe's ying nate, Su ot ponte He meanest what ei, mel hat no Ine nol fess prac wrong ous: ay tee wuld ‘Sinaia or rope uong them sho woud dare wih he {ringenes an wold nt onan te ah couse, maj so msjonty Ife bedr a mind tha ia ts proper conto, does stand aed ntouch pon probly aid down In une {cal tems iter othe Two Sources bt rele ol 10 omnis ear ne tach uneglocl rings orcomig. we fd that yond te pero ofthe Compan the bata fm does ot ‘mh singe stance fs eal fr iter the sense fan {scemertaong a ri slr rcven among those of Plrtclar prods Apart fom the stmoxphre of hts ute Ty in which tis concep peseveres sme of he mos cusand ins lane stare, He Abra fon Hani, Ded on Kha Ite acm, an Tc hn Tapmyyah a Tb 3-Oayyin (0 name nly some ofthe greatest of them) holy contested the har va ‘Giyorany Yn thtsowver ty in tony s mulation of Inada yonjny sancsed merely beaut was (or ould te backed by sher mmbers But pits of ths opposition — which aid not case for gle moment throughout the lst thie tree comune principle of as amie by the Imai of Main eit a having lea ore “us rom the tr fourt etary AHL onwars, the oi int dno between te ne orianes ofthe Sarah on the ne hand, andthe want rns of lesmed Gbad (of every ‘renpton). one oer tanto oe hse ay or he ‘rin tov of Masia “lyn wel ssh onary ron of ‘ugh ca soy. th Law was enetordh concete by them {somes combination of the na rdnances pu 9 elation Etched though duction. Ort putt more prevelinstend the ongnal Two Sores or rots (a) tthe Law—the {Gurin and te Somahctbe Mains were peta ih four ‘Sos: Quan, Snnab fn nd gp and onl 2 sal ie ‘iy of scholars contac oppose th arr aden Bot netsstndng he msn of hs nor oppstion wand bacon sty sound peal pounds Acrding © propel cans rand ae neces sub stThis baw of Ours tne, and cana rsa in aayhig bat pinion, No. human piston whatever mental process obtained-can lim 10 bjt vay, snus aifiren minds requendy ave te. {erent conclisions about oe and he same meter Not eey op tom rguded ss concave by one scolar need appear ealy ‘onvicingto another baa, or even oa dest layman So ta the ine ofthe Companions and so ths remuied vet Ste: with he oe dierent atthe Composing in he inet simulating presence ofthe Ago of Cod, were fly aware of the relay of human hoop proses, meters ‘mon fhe Maslin scholar after the sono trcentary Al ‘vrlooked this pout complete, They weston and on, “el Ing" ew, supposedly shar! ins by meame of eye. re, Sin hf. iy ad seve the metho thao that out of he ompratnly al, compas by of the Law ai ad presented ial ote Companion re ose hat tate fh hua a sonoma se. inbretthe labore fhe ery est eae ran smayided ioe of legal conepo~s0 ping sd so many Sided inded, that m he course ne Became impo or {he average Mi to find hs way Brough the labo those omplicted mental procoscs and fo obtains fschand trap ofthe sarah, oe what now covesionaliy goes by tis tame The fey became il peters soon a ono pure) lel prosems, qin elf etered the oram ne ‘Shape ofthe theologea!penophy cle kalam: for hs em ‘lepine so abstr rd comps puterned on Neo Psonic ‘Philsphy, became ery frat! eld af convey. We ee a best erty of opis ctging vera peat ats of polens for ance, whether the Quran wos etenaly coauen th God and, therlore, “created wheter ma atl by {Godatte moment ois reveaton tothe Prophet wether allen Iyessins im the Ouran Grelaing those whch omen se ‘eos tale shuld be ken nthe eal soe ‘hater hey are accesible to erpeston aes sane Stoo of thought claimed th ight of monary imlespeaon is tem dent he aay att fui ceo Pe" at mid ch be Or ey ‘mpm futher“ yeas ft. t 2 ‘A New Development ve in mates which—at non sense aks ovi—cut S00 Satpedla heerlen tag vost otal ‘Riise man tes ference of pinion wee ote ough an aot int comprehensible titers, an ed'0 a i eo ras se cosincting one anther saeear and Moin soy offers many age moet of reat penceton, reating fom ferences in the Bld of Tite pine tp lth eal power oe es a ein none we te oa mhconcemed 1 eto fh our atenion mater. We hase sr nese in huge anon of abject ening Om see Sot devlomest of gh and when subj ements ar ec tele cn psy remain none Peer, vets he tars eenty A the ‘noi hr often depreing spectae f gel andthe Sa dacon rena, bows, ice of in. co ee mare and tore eysalied, and tn, 1B sutined schoo of hough, eld. madhah (a6, aR) came int pominene. Apart om te fateahng rattan si between Suan nd Sri Ming 8 2 Sate gyno means confined oso laymen” 0 ‘ime a thee fad nae Den ony ow sol ough in Siu diner inatero ac here have ben many moe sane ar know dy only the istrin spy st eetNgs of cen slr omehow appealed fo a westr i soso cople wrest ews ofthe slat ho 90t dsr ape werent course fine lene © Sean eepae, the rennnng.fow (ian, MAIR, Rese Hamat) sol, he erences were tp Dy ep Sen dou an agement ob he eal poe) oreo rate ea eon. we ein noun re eed nega (rt). Tis wo 28 ‘Sn tat ine tend lies cn te 2 Suny to stein te carl wo a Me sa uy vis onaind, and mata, at vt Day he uopre of a ving twp a mato elo and oe sXI. IMITATION OF THOUGHT ‘Wamaresen thon tsi omnon al mdi wi Saeed pel eeingsemrecbomshemes Stoe Sire comeing ae ars meant emt ee itn af ay Somme ie fen is'nt of mon me ean dw mona cesangoercnancey Sasa ‘Siveculaacte fect cpavanind carrera Soleaas sical sass emeiemnee areas tilSetm oeated eyo user Corea as Sica ptm eto he Lace ae Sinton ore serene ree te ence se Soper magic cone pte Ont pope ices uid we mace fase nay Paeenetn see tbo racy one lak ‘al opons of hot of he pat who ae repted lo poses Serpe pec! mathe haere eno ee Sin hear wre po ped Bectoineria terry ytemehes ‘This is how it has come about that fa o ee pre mn of Muslims have been pacing aghd (Mealy, "yarlaning™, ‘eye in ery ter han Mites apron’ oupig race shut Soe imverei int [pee ie a non 8) es ‘Witting and electing whichsso unanbiuoua seed nthe Ouran Reverie pt ty of ap ano s Imation of Thought ‘woman to form opinions on the basis of mountain of tet Tama atta grown fa 10 lrg fo layman's comprebension dane pa penta acceptance of gid 52 Kind of “clips ob ae aa is nocwstanding te vehement rejection o 8, ess sore of the most bilan minds ins Fe oa he hor of am, many scholars have vO on al he pile andthe pace of lind tal ond aan rey anther confmabon o that prophetic uterane. Hei we God make all my community agree 08 8 WORE New pete east es doen to our own day, some of HE Sees scolr of slam have denounced the procteof ald w Pee Sppoed tothe spit ofthe Own andthe Suna sold nk OPP fr this connecton ames Uke AF-Hasan aba Mpunhda, Dad. iow "Al aah Too tazm. AbSuwaye ‘Bun sein or Riz, Tbe Taya, ton Onyim af swan, Faeae ie recent times, Shah Wall Ath of Delhi, Mubammad RAD a Wahl of Najd, Mubarmad in “AR ash Shawkin Nhownad ibn "AR aeSanox, Ismail Shabd, and thei Masa sccesors of later days, Jamal a-Din aFAfghinl and SidhsmmnadAbduh. Alot these men, ari many lesser luminases TERME them. strove apsns! gland forthe re-sabishment of Moja wes apa poston. Thei view as been defined Paes joka tanner by Yon a-Oayyim, and I can do no beter Thad cqute hs words, He bens his argument withthe Qu ra Sibenever God and His Apostle have decided a mote, iis ree eevingman or woman to fll another cous of sf rare uneh sae): ts, every clear ordnance of the te and the Sunnah i etemaly binding on every Musim, But beyond tha: ‘soothe is eedom of hoe regarding the views of anybody he’ atten where the Law-Givers command not se cad therefore tis permissible, bu not obligatOf0 Choe’ ayy ebe's conchsions.-.. Whoever refuses to (suc ndvidvalconelsion cannot be said 0 Be guy of ‘esbedlence o God and His Apost... Nobody hos the ht ‘eerake aris ide BY side wth the Law of the Prophet. mad any pemon aver at conclusions Or establishes cea, ‘ict neg ot his own understanding and iaterpetation (of sThis Law of Out ‘the Two Sources), the community nt bound o flow him." None is en, he endenours of hs inependen thinkers met ith onyimited sczess. Toncine towards eae of oo ihe courses but human and gid is etal ease than i ‘hd, for it comfortably evades individ responsibility for one's ‘on dongs and places it burden onthe ouders of one ot ‘Shother af the Great Old Meno he pst. “The Masi communty cannot pty be Hamed for his deve pment for, ia the face ofthe extrorcina) mutase and som ety th ns and problens owsays supposed tobe involved {nthe sarah, the "common many be eeued I he shins Baek fm the ask of forming his om Sason m vey case that sues To know thatthe Gur a the Suna ae together, onsite the mingprigat al Isamiresoning one tung —bal tobe able to cmsrct independent, ut ofthese souees om ‘lee legalsptem covering alae ies quite another. Aga {nd agi, te average Most whoiseagero deve sown, pat ttl eoncisons fom the Two Source tumbler over the vy immensity ofthe scope aeibed othe shar a nd snc he hi sits ota sehoar of high ant he oie wy ly oly on ‘hat the scholars el im, without being abi to vei thelr Ro ingsin cach and every case. Thus, wheter he acops he pice tind orn heory—rejecs he vital forced depend ‘nsome sor of ald prs" ht in he oe obged to ace ‘ome learned mans sy The kared mann queston alwys theintermediat teacher nd fora rcp fay inclevan whether that intermediary cms to profound the views ‘fy say, Imm AbG Hana, orto base his oncson dee ‘nthe Two Souree: nite abe the yan as le unable {Ovens teachers aim. Comequent the diference betneen the layman who “accep” and one who “je” the prince af ing becomes ver sale-so sabe that tan hardy be eed ‘irene ara Inthe purely intclectul Sl, he principle andthe practice of ‘agin wich the Mos corauty har ben ven oped ‘he way toa mos deplorable evelopment amey, that ling wo ship of suthores whch has cveruinceperaded Matin oe) Abu "Abd Alb sMahammad ibn Osim ‘Meta, Co 160 ABE NOI p Imitation of Thought tnd was dened to have such paralysing eet on Msi cal ‘ent pat centres, Siar the “Father of he Ch {an Cre, we have in Msi itory that ge i nso cleat) ‘utned) group ofeamed men known a ancl alte “Cary pour geeravon’"whom he Maine have Ben aught to egal aimon fll. By ging them common desig: tason the son hs bee res tha heiriews mee moe or Tee sdntea ut nothing cul be farther rom he rath. Among ‘how great and louse, who cen have rendered mont al 2 svc te ou ofa Karan, th exe the deepen aierencs of oon nsmoxt al esos of ipo fice For every oe of eect scan ofa ed ree, inthe ight of sown understanding, concusione a othe Law ‘Givers tins with opt tothe mora nd practi behav of thease Those oacusons were often contradictory for, ve repeat sesedthey were conditioned by the advil orn ef tow dv nels ad bythe soe esvonmeat {odin piso noon ofthe ow mer. But mont Oe ‘Solar late eestor amos drowned in te oceanic wih {orth igh otal bad ined nthe couse of afew {anes reste refed tose the ie Dound gait iberent a tmune thought, They set thmcier to the tsk ofa ail "rmonaton” of the ideas exprewed by the at asa {aif and made unguesioningrlaneson the utborty into ‘osteo acl, Sins the, he overnelg majors cf Matis have bee racing, sa belving nh oxi of ‘ngs an even cholr oho by vite ofthe ang ae na ‘tonto fach independent opinion i he domain fhe Lam, Towadays death rrr for themes he ght o had ony ‘r suction of minor Stal thin the famenork‘f oe Se ‘Stotor fhe eased madhah. Locks in baba ogi, Mos ite and socal ie fl tom the fourth century Ar onwa no comple sta “ation, Religious concepts Zmed fo be soncened they were Simpy isken over na erconyped form fom generation 9 Ene. oe, Whatever evr of thought onc or another ofthe al rst raul might have committed was ungoesoningy ncoror Stein th strstr of sonvensonl fh and arly 4 door as Ie ope for tr comecons To thesis of common pce ths musthavebeen ery convent Butt slmotinompehen sThis Law of Ours slew any ‘ancl aveindle i i ony fd Inti doer otcem hte Sounds heme ones feat hve “arty gonrton” of Main slas ip hoe Bec, nr tne apt bn oth los ef equ ose ch wold hve at th nos nt oly al er an ‘Resch spear wad been lee ge rant wel Bae nn, ee mont of Sn Si pytloga anda experint po ech sete ‘Unde te ipa fh pio gl ct ote arb of veoeaon fst sy he tng ami eases fray ite otha etna he ite ores Ih a the jae rpc wih erty Mose ot thse gata ahteow men ofthe px nt ade ee of and on xe fo cll es pre of egy todnw nny oer clinton tas woul rey ae ist inperune oregon ferme ging cement oso We: bt miami cnton, which td oe bul on rane ceo denne of cen be racton a lous ough ae bond We Seen te Yo ‘spirit of life, ai er XII. A VOICE FROM NINE HUNDRED YEARS AGO "Tunnranex should not suppose tat the views propounded by me {ean unheardofimovatin in Musim legal thought. As me Bave Slready sen, they were had by the Prophe's Companions them ‘dives ts wales by their immediate wucessors and, ter them, by ‘Some of the greatest scholars of lrh—and pariury by the man ‘who is justly rpatded ae one ofthe tte or four most riliant Thies which the Malin word as ever produced: Aba Muba- ‘had ibn Hazm of Condon (36-456 AHL). To the word at age Me ‘Pimown asthe founder ofthe sence of Comparative Religion, ‘which he expounded in his fundamental work called Ki aed! [itMiel war Na) (°On the Dicrminaion between Relies ‘Commute and Set) 9 work that ushered in an entirely ne rain the study of religions. But here we are concerned with other spect is erestive ntl, namely, with is merous ‘rings on ih and the sr hn which he atacked the conven ‘ont eat pevaing i is tme and endeavoured fre the con Ceptof the Divine Law from the subjective elements that had {nuded ino ao tha might Be rstred to the purity and com pociness which ital ponerse tthe time ofthe Companions. thing coud be more istrative with regard to the problem that tre are dscssng than the flowing passages from the Ttrodue- To toi grt work, A-Muhal {snot pemisible, in matters of eligous law dl), to resort to deductons by soalogy (ga) of 10 personal opinions (Geofor there m0 doubt that God has commanded us fo {ete al probes to His Divine We and tothe Sunzah of His ‘Apostle whenever disagreement aes [an also to sarah 2‘This Law of Ours 459} and whoever teers such 2 problem to gator tt ra'y offends against God's command, ..- [For] God has sid, ‘No single thing have We neglected in Ou decree [strah 6:38), and ‘so that thou (0 Muammad] might make leat uno ‘mankind alsa han ever been thus bestowed upon hem from on ih’ rah 16:4 and [finaly] He said, "Today vel per {ed your religious aw for you’ sarah 3 and ll this imps an ‘ter rejection of giv and ray. For, even the upholdes of ‘ghas and ray do not deny that snot permissible to resort to ‘hve methods in caes where there exit + nat injncton. On {the other hand, God Himself ha testified tha nothing hasbeen comited ia the nature, that the Apostle of God has ler ‘Shown to men what has bees made nag o them: and, aly, that the religious law had indeed been completed [in the Prophet's litetme): and thus its establshed thatthe nat ord ‘ances comprise the religious Iw in its entirety ftir #0, {heres 0 eed for anybody to reso to dedscton by analogy ‘orto personal opinions, be they his own or somebody eh’ “And ow let us as those who favour gis [i har mat ters ‘Do you maintain that each and every deduction arved a by means of gis corrector ate there corect as Wella ‘wrong dedoctons” Its obviously impossible to answer, "Each fd every giv corect'—for we know that those whe resort. {to ginas fequently contract and efte each othe: ad itis posible tat in a question sto what harm (probed) and ‘what 16 Aula! (allowed) « Yes and No could be equally Valid... "But if te answer i, "No—some of the aia ‘editions are corret an some of them wrong.” I shoul ke them to et us know by what citron a sound gjds could be ‘cerned from an unsound one: But they have nothing 1 SHOW byway ofsuchaerteion Now, there eno citerion whereby ‘could be once and forall exabshed what sort of gins vould be Fegarded as sound and what as uasound, the whole of this method sands selcondemned a being based on an untenable ‘aim. How could God have demanded of that we should resort to deductions by analogy—and have omited to show us eherzn wo apply analogy, aad how to apply, and what sn. dards shoul be? Sich demand would be nconcehale for, God doesnot burden any human being with ore than hes ble to bea" [oirah 2:26) o A Voie rom Nine Hundred Years Ago veers oct re a es oop eter ae cieceepilea tne tea nines: Se neatsttt eaten tite aime Spe cheiret attire dances Serra ele al enor seh cis ea ah wat gears sare reagan aerate bea ae Picante mecaeaneae {iran isuterty wrong? away which God has not permitted uso ecu poco cee eo ey eer aie ence icastareianenie See peered Saeco se ee eee ace tens eee mae el Soran geo meena eee Cree cai eee sealer haa ee pet ererperenrs + Tho Ham, op, ol spp 6 a aXIII, CREATIVE ACCEPTANCE Ix oxDER to make llam’s “soci! contact” practicable in our times aswell, we must—ike the ero ollower ofthe Prophet fives ourcives emily ofthe thoupht habe of our decadent past tnd lear, once mote, 10 ook upoa the orginal shar oh he ‘samples conceptial bass of a programme offered tous by God Himself for acceptance or rejection ‘But no aceptance ofthe shar ah can be truly sound ules itis a omsious, creative acceptance. There can be a0 question of “social contract” unless we understand, resi and in etl what ‘th lauses ofthat contact are: thats unless the whol contacting community undersandeit “The Quin propounded an chica teaching and a Law: and the Prophet, acing under Divine inspiration, exemplified both and give them a concrete aspect and othe complet shah slam ‘ras ushered into existence with the words "Toy T have perfec” {ed your religious lw fr you..." (urah $3). “Thus the work the Law Giver was completed, But the concep- tions which we—the commanity--form of the material ofeed ‘ein the legal aod moral teaching of Ilan, andthe practical we thick we make of those conceptions ate ou” contibulion towars Islamictife Wihout such a comtabution rom ws, the "samc pro: ‘yamie” most remain asllbor proposition. In short, we need ow guia, ‘We irequenty heat the objection that hddsataryasitmay ‘be intimes of vigorous cra fei dangerous in ines of Sec ‘because it might give nie Yo further diferencee of though an {even 10 a breaking-up ofthe remnants of Musi sid: but | ‘must cones that I cansot conceive of ler objection. It be ‘eveand is tre—that the opposite of jin, namely tld, a . Creative Acceptance tas been responsible for th petsfaction of Mustim thought and, ‘consequently forthe drying-ap ofall on cultral wait, then tis ‘obvious that nothing buts reestablishment of lepimate Jihad fan eure our les To objet toon the grounds of out present ‘decay is ke objecting tothe administration of amin toa person fufferng from seurvy ot becrbet or anyother disease cxued by luck of vitamins. Any medical man wil ll you that sucha patient ‘an be saved only hes given the vitamins in which his bodys de ‘cent; but our profesional sermonier seem tobe sayg, "Lets ‘wat ual he recovers from sere, and then we shall consider an [Miminstation of vitamins.” This sheer aonsense and we should tot be ari of exposing 38 Sich. Our patent—the world of Tolam-argeny aed the vitamin of hdd we ese to hep him alive, we must give ttohim: but athe same time we must take ‘are not tive him an overdre—which meas, in pain words, that we must apply oo had wabin the bounds eaty demarca- tediby the Two Soares of Islam and, urthe, that me must not ‘sppy it 0 the sarah proper, which i Divine i is origin and therefore beyond any moras hdd ery strange,” you wil ay. "You want ws wo exercise ou it ad ti the sae breath you silt that should ao be exee- ‘Ged in the sphere ofthe sha’ ah such! Where, the, shall we ner t?™ "And now it my tur to ask: “Would it not be advisable fst 0 make vp our minds, once and forall, 0 hat the shar ah realy ‘Weannot be doubted that the Companions ofthe Prophet ooked ‘upon the obserance of the shar'ah as the indviste, guiding principe ins Most’ fe. We have already seen that whenever ‘ey ould not finda naserdinance laminating a partic point of law in ether the Qur'an or the Seana, they exered thelr Common sense in order o reach eal decison which would con- {orm the spt ofthe Law; but they never commited the misake ‘of rogatdng their own shad as being valid for everybody and for sles. On the understanding that the Law isl was precise ‘Sbvious, they denied figh witha person's ability wo ete is Imtligence sa matters where n0 shar! provsion was avaable In admit the poss of legitimate diferences of opinion—a posabilty amply arated even inthe east history of Slam— the Companions made acer distinction between the Eternal Law 6This Law of Owe of sam, the sarah, andl ime-boand legislation bated on nd Vidal deductions fom the Two Sources. they sve sonsered {iin ts context, the id so ony inthe eno sn apcenent ‘n't ptr cure of acon, ad mo ine seme a wo mht ‘ould be a fort them the Lm, beng sed on nase, msl ‘iden sad unutocl nd therefore eqared no mtertatons ‘0nd no iano rym hor, no had fy ad. "Now it would be'a mba to Reeves many nom Min cxsentatsn mould lite ur f0 blew ths sph of the CCompasion® conception an Jfon ofthe sarah mas dc to Some supposed "navet" in ther oun stn an eal ome ofthe patina simply of thes decom fe oti from the more sophia counts stand them Norther clert tude in jarical mater was bse onthe Fe: Shatin hatte ass and orn silat inthe mus of the Two Sores had never eta none te cove al posible oe Selaon and completes of hums ie, and that, aero, he Sharfah as such conc, ort an open fo every maar, ‘anemind Incontast ow sel-appointed susan of aml 1 nowas they have een fling efor cenuiertat the {har ch fa to compen tobe secemble 0 4 aya unde Sanding On th oter han, however, thre abundant evidence {hat the Law-Grer mended ito be sxe to eey belners iret understanding iasrch si epost the Peony 09 thin the btiever ie mont be conscuyband Phere he ompleiy now, abd for enor pasty iotent conven tonal consp fhe shark mat smo be esl into an Play. This my Propotion Nmber One Bul such simple obviously ipowsble a long as the sarah suposed to compre, bss the net ednanes of {he Two Sources, reat numberof ter regains dered by ‘aroun shou trough hod hough in which ters come Brsed yas (deduction by anloy) ry (sbjesne opinion), Eraan (mort or social preteens), sl (nirenc a (Consens of opinion), and several ber methods of dedutve reasoning Therefore the ret of jhad though, even of the {Beats Muslim scholars, ceaot be nites ss ng Somponents {the shar cde: which sy Proposition Naber foo. ‘However, an anplieaton ofthe may onioances hough de ‘adi hough oravoidable log swe sme thatthe Law o Creative Acceptance Giver meant the shar'ah to cover every imaginable action and ‘contingency, and not merely the specific actions and contingencies ‘early oulined inthe gay ofthe Two Sources. Therefore, we ‘rebound to conclude that the above sumption seroneous, and thatthe sharah was never meant to ever anything beyond what hasbeen spulted i the seta, clear-cut nay ornances ofthe (urn and the Sonaah- Reduced ro plan fem, this amounts to the statement that the sope commonly ascribed tothe sarah 5 {arin exces ofthe spe imtendedforitby the Lav-Giver and his 'Simy Proposition Number Thre. ‘Arevolutionay opinion, yu willsay? In asense its. TM isrevol onary ino far st rand Counter tthe wee f cence ut ‘ther tt revolutionary tall Ison the contrary, a ery ‘rthodor and anclentopnion-so ancient indeed, ha amps [ckwards ove the st thovtad years or 0, beyond he conserve tm of the self-appointed "guaran of ou ath, beyond even ‘he ently generation f Islami chlars—back tthe time which swe reir atthe mos lvious, most uly Islamic the time ofthe Prophets Companions the une ofthe Prophet himsl Titan opinion dictated by humility an opinion which fuses to believe thatthe Law-Giver could have omitted to tate deaty and ‘ambiguous of lam, whatever He tended to be ly “in opinion which refuses to Debeve that God Almighty and Fis [pore intended th sara slam tobe ast of pul, tbe Inborously solved by means of a variety of deductions and inferences: an opinion, in short, based on the concept thatthe ‘har, intended a twa oe the tera “Muslim if, could not have buen made dependent on exertions of {he fale human intellect: and that, therefore, the nat od ances of the Ouria and the Suanah--compastivly fw 2 hey [fe—constitue the sum-otl of the sharan ts tve aod eternalEg EES eggs EEE EEE XIV. SUMMING UP ‘Berons WE comier he fl impication of this digi, as have repeatedly shown, 0 new nding at allt wane ie question that must have troubled the reader since began fad these ages: Tit iste that the shart consis ony ofthe ne ordinances ofthe Quran the Sanna, bow di happen that any of he ‘eat scholars ofthe “eal generations most of whom posesed Telly st as intellect-encnded is ene fr beyond ihe is ich we now can fo i ad potted had in ts varus forms sa leptimate means of extslshing shel? It woul be rdclous o sppose that thxe “ery generations vere less aware f the intetons of the Law-Giver than we [Butwas Ihave said before most Beat ln mind the peal times in which they ve: the mer when Aristotelian metaphysis, Goosicom, Manichacam, este Neo Patni and God Koows hatter phlosophies cred thi fll impact on the you ‘ori of fam and contended for supremacy over the Muslet Inind; when Byzantno-Roman Law, encountered in Syria and ‘North Afnca,thretened to ifuene sod snermine the thought ‘t Mosin fugoh’s when dew noors and ew findings thy ates, piss and astonamy were pening unenpectedsvenucs ‘metaphysical speculation wih, nm, essay went pint the metaphysical statements of the Qurta and ofthe Aposte of God, when Chrisian mystic, ntelectually enriched y seu Sion fom Iran and Inca, imperceptibly crcred the al of Masi thought and began to trow thy veil over the esa lear teachings of he Arabian Prophet, What wonder. then hat ‘thse great scholars of Ts endeavoured to abs legal system which would embrace Muslin Hein is eniety and thes ca Summing Up safer it gin al thowe undesirable ifvnses? They knew ha. the mas ordinances ofthe Two Soutees are med in ther pur pov nsuraly so, becuse they were ever ftended to provide Mote than te base La of elam--pertung. and demanding. he fncrese of our thd as % means of establishing, ondet the Shadow of this Eternal Law, 3 emporal law whieh could grow ‘hangs an develop in accordance wit he neods of he time and the Bowth of mans experience. Thus. the had ofthe great ‘cholare of ur past wat m0 only lepimate ut sry. They fought forthe rlgiows and ealtral eontnaity of am: and 10 = lange exten, they succeeded If hey commuted mistake, 1 was ‘only in belcing and only ey ew of them believed) hatte Softer ed could remain ai foal ies wo ome and. a. Thave pointed ut before, even hat mistake was exible onthe ‘ound of teu knowledge of human peeoly atthe ies fm question, Hi our fall, aot this, tat we have remained ‘iti wth thei inns fe uly thousand years; dat we have ‘Topped inking fr ourstves and that we have come orepardthe igh scat evolve in the pata being art of he shar ah se ‘Now such an atte conics with he already-mentiond fn mental statement in the Qu "Tday have {perfected your felgious law for you" (drah 5:3)—for the statement cleat “Shoe that whatever as meant oe a sharlaw had been made ‘hvious as such inthe Quen andthe Prophet's Sunnah inhi Ieime, Consguety, whatever aid downs aw neither ofthe “Two Sources no pen to odidualdsretion; and, correspond: ingly, ahateverieopen to one's discretion cannot be regarded ‘har lew. On the bess ofthis princi, we mst conclde thatthe independent reasoning any person bow the Prophet may pit Inatlrefer only to something which ot expt pers, ad ‘down a terms of Divine Law that sa ten Ten to no more than the evolution of temporal, amendabe Maslin Law subord- Inated to the shar'ah and open tothe community's section —to ‘be asepted or reece asthe ese maybe. A long. as we rein ‘Conscious of the fact that fh can provide ony a temporal ‘hangesble egslation i addon to the unchangeable Law of Islam, the shartah our endeavours i this respect ae not only legitimate butstonpy recommended by the Prope imsell, Tey Sevinbrie, the pe” which believer's own sprit and wil mst 140 te guidance fered to usin the Two Sours. aThis Law of Ours In questions of bli, this hdd “plas” to the shart Law must be regarded ns 8 mater of personal conscience. Tn ote ‘ocd, while Musi vst, ihe wishes to bea Most ip more {han name accep the shar ah as binding. he may—ife sable {do so—supplement ths fundamental mininur by conclusions and ‘Sedgciione of is own, of follow another persons deductions in so fara they apart him coneincing. The same spies tothe ‘of learned men, shih nothing but groups and, thereto open to question and change. In matters fleting out Social ations and our communal ep lations on the aher hand, “personal consence ceases tobe 3 Je- ‘Seve factor of acceptance. For its guite pombl to conte of fnsances where a roup-desison for example. legal desion rived a bythe community's choen representatives becomes binding on every member of the communty ifespective of ‘nother he wholeheartedly appcoves of or not simply because ‘he umiy of communal decision and action a paramount demand fof islam But even then sucha decision can be binding only inthe ‘Seo of being temporal and therefore smendable) ls abd aot i any shor sence The shor factor enters ou acceptance of ‘Somnunal decisions only i far as we ate obliged, bythe com tmand of God and Hs Aposle. 10 respect the will of the ommniyprovided of couse, that it does not go against the {aw o sm ssh "Ae ave pointed oat eewnere, there exists a overriding need fora codienton of he rue Islamic Laws and I have suggested 3 ‘method by which his objective might be achieved." Without sch Cdifextion, the. Msims must forever remain confused. and ‘eeply dived in thir views ato how the spiro am ould be traulated ito the practi terms of soto poitieal Me. Bet once Itsondinances recoded the sher'ah wlemerge 2 vey sll ‘code of laws; an Beene of the clearness apd enesenss of their + See Muhammad Awl The Princip of Se and Government i am {ur sbAnta, ibaa pp. Ho lshold Sbornik the reevanprsge were wen the cote of ease oe ‘Shun akin, sd fave, heros bee ested o mateo pune concern and mans socal Behaviour Howes. the ‘hod sgzeed by me may, Uber. eal wel De apie 1 8 ‘cing sha Flaws Deatngom nda tes ad beat vel Summing Up language, these awa will not regi for their understanding any extansous gidance-so that every itligent Msi, be he 2 Scholar ora layman, wl be i position to nd ut for hmselt ‘what the Law of nam says about this that problem. reed fom ‘the many ayers ofall hough whihhave utero obscured is Juminoos clarity, te sarah lope agin assume He hal poston as the unchangeable. eternal constitution of Islam, the Sedrock on which to bald oar communal exstence. Angin spite of the unchangeable character of epulaton. Ht will te con deve vo gdity in ou Socal and imtaictual We: fori mendes tote no more than a framework of belt aod behavoue, leaving the greatest posite sope forthe unfolding of man's God-given ens ‘Thee iso other way octal and spiritual recovery ofthe Maslin aah. Samp talking about the need for eth” of faith i not mach beter than bragging about or glosous pas and ‘tolling the greatness of our predecesors. Ou faith cannot be oem unless we understand what imps abd 19 what practi foals it wl ed still ot dou the least good i we re pity Sure hat the socio-economic programme of Iam bette hat {hat of socialism, communi, apts, com, and God knows ‘what otter sm” wish the West has proce for ito god oF 4s ova undoing. We ought rather tobe shown, in unmistakable ‘erm, wht allenative proposals the sarah makes frou sat Ite, what its re conepe of soca), what views pus forward ith regard to individual property and the communal goo, labour 8nd production, capital and prof, employer and employee, the Stteand the inva; what ts practical measiresar forthe pe ‘ention of man's explataton by man: fora abolion of ignorance tnd poverty; for obtaining ood, clothing and sheer for every ‘man, woman and chil, ‘Now I do not meant sy that these material tings of le ae ‘aan’ sole concer; certainly the ate nt For tiselon of ours oul not be God's Menage 1 man ft foremort goal were not ‘man's romth towards God: but our hoes and oe sul are 0 n= {ertwined that we cannot achieve the ultimate well-being the one ‘without aking the other Tully into aecount. Specowssermoniing Shout "ith" and "sserice” and "surcnder to God's Will ‘annot lead tothe exablshment of tre Ils on earth unless we fe shown how to gain faith through a Better insight ito God's LeThis Law of Ours plan, how wo elevate our spit by ing a phteous le, and howto Surrender ouseves to God by doing His Will individuals and ‘Scommaniy, so that we miht realy become "the bes community that hat ever been rough forth othe goo of mankind (srah vio (Our way to that exalted sata hasbeen shown to a inthe sharFakbat, ss we now seas, the wha can never become ‘leatveulessit becomes an open book for every nea us. less ‘and un our leaders andthe scholars wo suppoeely adie them-—can clarify the difrence between the real shar oh and ‘what nowadays erroneously goes by that mame, po truly Islamic Polity can come into being, a all ur efots at achieving it, and Sit the peatap longings within the hears of so many mone of Muslne ate doomed to frstation and biter delusonmet WHAT DO WE MEAN BY PAKISTAN? (Ped in Arafat, aoe, May 1987) Looking at Ourselves Sowe rie ago—in the February iso of Arafat posed the ‘question, Do we really wast Islam?” It wasnt jut a tetorical ‘Question meant or my eades'ecaton, but one which we must ‘Ehually ask ourselves andthe time has come when everyone of us Imus facet squarely, examine al tmplistons wih egardt0 our prevent and our future, and summon the moral courage to answer frthan honest Yes or an equaly honest No. As thogs stad present innumerable Musi sy Yes with hei lps and No with {heir actions: that the frequently talk of la and ast, ith tll the mars of deep set comsicion, that tithe best possible way ‘of lie—the only way of Me, inded, which could sve mankind {om ts mad rush towards sel anniation-~and that, therefore, it isthe only goa worth striving for whiten thet personal concerns land inthe aocal behavowr they drift farther and farther away from Islam. At no time in or moder history was thete 50 much {alk of Islam asin contemporary Inia: and at po tie was there les effort onthe part ofthe Mushns to shape their individual ives thd their communal far in accordance withthe pe of slam, ‘Some of you wil ethap, a this unctre, be moved to protest sqainst ny aertion and wil pont othe peat enthusiasm which the Pakistan tea hae created among the Muslims ofthis sub ‘content. You wil sy-—and ight so—that the Muslims of Inia Ihave a st awakened from thei politcal torpor and have achieved ‘restr unanimity of purpose than ever before; that they have ‘become fly cons of having separate cra ident based fn tel being Mua; tht the foremost stogan of the Pakistan ‘movement is lt aha i Allah; that they are imbued with the nee ee What do we mean by Pakistan? ‘este a etait political forms in which the Mali world-iew, Maslin eis and Muslim socal concepts ould fin thi fl x pression: and you wil ak me, ina somewhat aggrieved oie, ‘whether I count all this fr nothing fom the lami ot of view? ‘Asa matter of ft, do not "count al his for nth” Tenant it for very muchinded. Ido belive (and have Deleved for sbout outcen years) that there no fut or lm in Ini tl Pak stan Becomes reali: and tht if becomes reality here, it might ring about apiritual evolution nthe whole Muslim work) by proving tha itis posible to establish an ideologies, Islamic polty in er times no les than it was possible thiten hundred Sears ago. But ask yourslver: Are all leaders of the Pakistan ‘movement, and the iteligentsia which forms ie speathead, quite Seriousin thei avowals that slam, and nothing bu Islam, provides {he ukimat inspiration oftheir staple? Ave he really aware of what implies when they say “The objective of Pakistan if {kai Alok? Do we all mean the same when we tlk and dream of Pakistan?” “These re big questions—o big that they stand ot far shove te present turmoil ar even above the nda suterings wich 50 ‘many Muslim men and women inthis country are now undergoing foran anser to these questions wll decide whether those sulle. ings heralds new vito of the fture—a complete vindeaton [alam at a "practi propastion”-or merely ammproverent, 0) meats ofa naonal Masim state, of oar commons econo Tope the reader wil forgive me s 1 quote myself. Inthe February 1947 number of Arfar(p 166) [rote “The Pkitn movement. cam Become the starting pinto 8 ‘no namic development ihe Mois resine and cominue Tealsag when Pian acheved—that eal Mo a ‘ican of tha suovement does mot const in our dressing {aig oslaming dfn fom the ober abba fe oun, or inthe gevanes which we may have apis the ommanitis, or even nthe Jente fo provide mate enor tics sn mor elboweroom "pple whey ser {ie ornare hemsee Mains att oh fecation sto be found only nthe Moni’ Snte wo cosh a ly Iams pity nother word, Yo tasatethe tenets of n Looking ourselves Islam into terms of practical ite.” “This, n shor my conception of Pakistan; and o not thik that Tam far wrong in asiing that tthe conception of many oer Mostns aswel, Of many! but not ofa; and hot even of most of them. For by far he larger prt of ou inteligentsia do nts to ‘Sauder Pakistan in thi ight To them, means no more and 10 les than a way to freeing the Muslin of Tela fom Hind dom ration, andthe exabishment ofa policalstractre in which the “Musi community Would fing is “place inthe sun inthe eco ‘om sese Iam comesinto the picture only insofar asithsppens to be the religion of the people concered—jst as Cathobeism fame ito the piste in the Irkh stupa for independence [Because it hppened to be the religion of most Iishmen. And jest ‘rsh Cathoicnn was, inthe last analyse, merely an adtonal fRature—an emotional accompaniment, at it were—of Tesh ‘atonal, so the Iam slogans of the Pakistan movement ae in danger of Becoming, to many Moslns, merely an emotional ‘companinent to their" stuggle for" communal "sel ‘eterminton” “Top t bunt, many ofour bothers and sisters donot seem to cae forthe spntaa, lla objectives of Pakistan, and permit ‘themselves to be cared way by sentiments not far emoved from rationals: sd ths expecially tue of many Muslims edvested ‘on Western lines. Ther Indifference to Iam as religion has lprown considerably in the pas decades: the duis which the ‘harFah imposes on many have mosly become some to them, thoy are unable fo think otherwise tha in Wester patterts of though, ands they do not belive i their hears that the word's ‘Sei andpoieal problems ae capable of beng subordinated 0 purely religious considerations Hence, their approach to Iam foverned by contention rather than ideology ad amounts, at testo fatly “clara” ntret in tet communis storia ons. To sich a mentality, he cy fr Pakistani ust another ‘ational ey on he ines of “Epp fr the Eayptans” or "Czecho- Slovakia forthe Cuechoslovaks" namely, # demand for self ‘determination onthe part ofa group of people who have certain ‘conoml interest and certain clara tats common one of ‘hose cultural tite being inthis cate, our community's sominal ference to Tam, Jost that, No more, and no kes. Ba , e What do we mean by Poison? ‘Now this, you wil admit i very poor view of Pakistan view, ‘moreover, which doesnot 3 justice to the Islamic enthusiasm at ‘present so markedly if ehaoiallydplayed by the overwhelm fg mates of our common people. While many of our socalled Inteligensia are intersted in sla only ins a as ts nto tele ‘rag for pol selt determination, the common people most ‘obviously desire self-determination forthe sake of Islam a such bt, being inarticulate in thei desire, and, asa rue ignorant ofthe seat achievement, they nateralydependon the lige for leadership. The spetuat quality ofthat leadership wl, ul ‘mately, desde the quality ofthe Musi’ struggle for Pakistan fh form which Pakistan el wil sume ‘The Uniqueness of Pakistan ‘As ta the Men wt Sond ib Pin tone ‘tenis ootedin ther tnt sing Ua thy ae a og {St community and have a sich every sgh on aonomens politcal exstenc. In ther wore they fel and Know that ther lmmanal existence nota with ter communi based on ‘acl afiies or onthe consciousness ocala raion Bld n Seunon, bat calyexchanelyon the fect of thei common ‘Serene tobe ology lan and erfore they must jst) thei commanlextene by erecting asoco pic sue {ure in which that Sology—the sarah would Become the Ieee of ter atonood a andnta notte nda pbm o Mai mio. el historic purpose ofthe Pakistan movement In 20 {erat here wl alway sels son Malin noice a Pitan $5 welas Musou minorities in the resol Ind Palit canot be {Sito she the minors problem ins emey. Bu ths pre ‘ely «pnt which we~and our opponets—woul Go wel Yo Snidertand the pobiem of mines, however importants all Considerations of ad's pol tre fal tendon {ly respon forthe Faistan move bt ater a in deat atcompaniment othe moneren sas objective te éstabishment of an amie pty which ot eon) ould Come to practical ution. Only ths an we understand wy the ‘sin fs, Bombay or Madr course cana expect ‘hat he provinces wold become pat of Pakistan are mach ™ The Uniqueness of Poison intrested nits easton ae ae the Maslims ofthe Punjab o of Bengal. They are interested i Pakistan ot because they hope to ome within ts orbit in ertoral sense bt Because they fel a8 lntenaly a ther betiven inthe so-aled "Musi major’ provinces, hat the bith of an lame poly in Pakistan Would vin {feae the cai that Islam a prota propostion, and that the “Moslns--Decaue oftheir being Masms™are ation unto them ‘elves, leapecng of ther geographical location And i non ‘Muslin objec o thi clam on the pounds that aowhere ele in ‘he world—not even inthe vest ofthe Muslim work-—does any _roupof people nowadays sspieto separate nationhood by vitue ‘ti velgious bet lone, we are ented to newer them: "In ‘hat cave, we ate unigue, So what? So what? Should we concede to others the right fo decide what should and what should nt const our atlonbod? Should we beashamed ofthe fet that oor pots seas are entirely diferent from the preent-day ideals of the Tutks, the Egyptians, the ‘Afghans, the Syrians or the Iranians? Should we nt athe, derive pe from te thought that we slo among al the Msi peoples re now ding the way back othe concept ofthe ual enane ‘ed by the Greatest Man? Tor, in ths eapect, the Pakistan movement & tly unique among all he polite! mass movements now evident anywhere in ‘he Mus word. No doubt inthe vas territories tht goby this ‘nie there are any other lovers of Islam besides ws: im almost {hery Mosim country there are seless people who endeavoa? 10 [ropngate the Prope’ teachings and frase the moral evel of the community: but Bower i the mosern worl except inthe Pakistan movement, har a-hole ‘Musi nation set out on ‘he march twats iam, No mass moverent anywhere else nthe Maslin word owes its rai to asm, slamie inspiration onthe part ofthe peoples nor has any of he exiting Muslim states simi- Ler objctive in iw Some of thse states, ike Turkey and Iran, fe explicit ant Islami a theie governmental ams, and openly ‘esa that Iam shouldbe eliminated from politics and rom the people's soci. But even thse Musi states in wb eigion sl being elued—in varying depress «spa ueasue, ‘Se "Tsai only ino fara ia the religion pofesed bythe Imajoiy of thei inbabitante wile thee polieal alms are not tealy governed by Islami consderaons but, rather, by what the 8‘What do me mean by Paks? rulers or ruling cases conceive as “national intrest in exactly the sense in whic national interests are conceived inthe West It is, therefore, impossible to expect of such politcal organisations ‘whether they be autocrat Kingdoms like Saud Arabior Afghani san, republics tke Syria, or consttotona monatehies ike Esypt land 1rg—any clear impetus in the econ of Islam. This does ‘ot, ofcourse, mean thal the people or eve the rulers of thse ‘outs ae iniferen to Islam such: meant 0 more and no es than that thei attachment to Islam —genuine in any cates ‘as, fr various historical estos, 9 direst relation tothe forms of ‘heir stats andthe ams of thelr overnments. 1 the Pakistan movereat on the oter ang, there undoubt- ‘ly enss such det coanetion between the people's atach- ‘ment to Islam and their political aims. Rather move than that! te pratcal sucess of this movement is excusvely due to. oot people's passionate, ax yet inarticulate, dese to have a tate ‘which the forms and objectives of government would be deter” ‘ined bythe ideological mporaves of lama sae, tat ‘hich slam woul note just eligious an etal be of be people concerned, but the very goal and purpoue of tte: formation. And it goes witout saying that un achievement of sch Ime stte~the rt inthe modern work! oad revohatonse ‘Maslin politcal hough everywhere, and would probably inspite ‘other Mislim peopesto strive toward sna nd ast might teams apres ap ami eon n many par of he wrt Tis, hus, quite legitimate to say thatthe Pakistan movement contains rest pombe fran Islamic revival ad a far as Tan See, ters almost the ony hope of uch arene word thats ‘ply sipping away trom the Wels of lar, But the hope ast fed only olong ar ur leader, nd the masses with them, Leep the tue objective of Pakistan in view, sid do ot viel 0 the temp {ation to regard theit movemeat as just another of the many natona” movements so fashionable ta the present day Misti worda danger which, I betive every mine. do ot mean 2 uionalism based on acl ines, ar we seit elsewhere (or such 1 tendency Is impossible amoag indian Msims who, a8 com ‘munity, are composed of mas averse acl elements): butther ie ‘nacute danger of the Pakistan movement beng deco fom ‘ideological course by laying too much stress on "cultaral™ ‘ationalism-—ona community of interests asing aot so much from % Evasion and Self Deception 1 sommon ideology a from the desire to preserve certain cultural tats, soil Mabie and custo and, st but not east, a safeguard the economic development of proup of people who hapen to be “huts” only by vue ofthe bth, Nobody an dub tha he tural tations andthe immediate economic roqiements Of the Muslin community are extremely important in ov planting the Maslin fture on Ist lins, But thi juste pon: they should never be viewed independently of our desloge goal—he balding of or fore on Ile nes. It sppear, however, thatthe majority of ou intelligentsia are stout comant jut thie mistake. When hey talk of Pakistan, they ‘often convey the inprsson thatthe "actual interests of the “Maslin world could be viewed independently of what i deseribed asthe “purely ideological” interests of slam; other words that 15 posible to be a good Pakistani without being primary itereste in Ista asthe basi realty in one's own andi the com> ‘munity’ ie hope tht my readers wil agree with me that such an abirary ‘division betwoen “Muslin” and “samo” Interests sheer non Sense [lam sna just one among several characteristics of Mastin ‘communal existence, but is only historical cause and jstieaton nto consider Mun interests a something apart rom falar Tike considering a lvig Being a vorsthing apart from theft of itelife Dut however nonserseal uch an ate may appea 0 thinking perio, there no going round theft hat most people (Got excluding most of our nein) ae inthe habit of never thinking tal Evasion and Self-Deception How many of ou leader, and ournteligenti in general ave nla polity in view when they appeal to the Muslims t0 close {hel ranks and 10 vcsfice their all, necessary, forthe achieve tment of Pakistan? Is it oot, rather, tue tata ale they are far tore concered with the movement's negntve sspect—the im possibility, for the Mesims, to attain oa "plac ia the sun” under ‘on:Msi domination than wih its positive aspect out dete to build our socio polical existence items of ala ad for the SSke of slam? Ist mot te hat to many educated Muslims, and to Some of out leaders s well, Islam means no more than 2 accaWhar do we mean by Pakistan? \weaponin thei community's struggle wth now: Muslims: no goal for ts own sake, but an argument: nota genuine hope, Dut 3 Hogan rit sor not re that may our protagonist ae fa ‘more concerned with obtaining more polical power and mote ‘onomic amenities or oily Masi commun than wth on- ‘erg tht oily Masi oes into an Ii omy? do not wah obelitle what out leaders have done for, In some respects their achievement reat and deserves the highest ‘rise. They have suceeded in rousing the dormant strength ofthe ‘Community and in ringing abou sense of unt never before wit ‘nemed inthe modern Musi world. This mich every sensible ‘pessoa will ead admit. But what] blame some of ou leaders for [Ethoicapparent nal to riz tothe spinal greatness payed ‘bythe Mim masts in this decive hour of hte destiny, and de- ‘erate to gue tone mass towards the ideal which i fond ‘mentally responsible for ther present upheaval. To put it into mpl word our leaders do otaeem fo make arrows attempt © ‘how tat slam the paramount objxtive ofthe stvgge. They ‘4, no dob, alk about slam whenever they ie a sttement ot ‘arose a public gathering bt thei relerente oi at always the fare tense, and hardly ever an atemp is made to bring the ‘community's present mode of ie and thought into grate oree- tment with the peinpls of Islam. This, Believe, fa ery grest fmision. We should not forget that the ature iy invariably, 2 hid ofthe present: that to say, the manner of our if oda i bound to influence the quality of our tomorrow Ifthe meaning of rstrogale for Pakistani tu) tobe found i he words la daha {alah oar present behaviour must be atestimony of our coming ‘eater and neater fo this eal tha i, of bosoming better Mie ims not ony in our word, but nour ations as wel TE shouldbe our leader duty t tel thee followers that they mit Become beter Muslims oday i ode to be wort of Pak ‘an tomorrow: osead of which hey mel assute us that we shall ‘besome etter Musine “ar son a Pakistan i acheved "This cay aesrance wil got do. Tt i seledeeeptive inthe extreme. If we do not som te seed of Itami now, when ot fnthusinam inate Aging pth, there no earthly reason to expec hat we wil suddenly be eansormed ito beter Musins ‘then the stg over and our plial autonomy secued Team almost ear some fou eters say: "Brother, you ae f09 ® Evasion and Sel Deception esimistio—orpethaps lite it too apprehensive, Almost every ‘ne of ws desires a rl Islamic if Oy it would be impolti to Innit on thi delight now. In our rank here ae many people ‘who ender the most valuable ervies to our political use but ~ ‘wing oa wrong upbiaging—do ao cate too much fr religion land if we sees the seis side of our struggle from the very ‘begining, those valuable workers might cool down in thei ca, Jndsobe los tooarcaure. We donot wan tole them: we cannot “Mord tolose them: andso we are Obie to poxtpone our work or the people's religious uli until attr me have won sate of out ‘own At present we mst concentrate all ou energies on the shor. {erm objective before use fceing ofthe Muslins fom non. ‘Muslim demination—and not disipate them on purely religious ‘considerations. Ive ins, a his Stage, too loudly on ou ong {erm objectie—the deepening of Isarie conscoustes in the ‘Maslis andthe creation ofa rly Islamic polty—we might not ‘nly estange many of our Westernied Brothers apd inter from ‘ur cause, bat also sprease the apprehensions of the on Masi ‘ores who ve inthe ares of Pakistan. "Now I personaly belive thatthe above reasoning sexeemely fallacious apd intellectually dishonest. Let us consider the two ‘Points mentioned therein oe by one, beginning with he second 'As forthe apprehensions which our nsstence om a samc fe sight casi among the non-Muslim minorities, I should ike you 19 St yourelven: What that makes non Muslin 0 tery an {agonistic othe Mea of Pakistan? Obviously, fear of what they have derived the least bene othe ey font of out et ‘ce: the achingsf slam. And how ca we ope tobe wary of ‘tly namic Pasian, how en we hope to ahave such Pak ‘end we'd ot mat hee ent oe fo a mora hs? How can we hope toate at equal sei rte lone a te oly sore of ite equty"the love and far of Got “iat hm ar bet? Ta Lam reno nme 1 these auesons. Unless the Malis radial prove alr m tnd ml sonar and tne 1 fou the arms of rah as ee phy mat, hc of Paton nd ols ts spt porpot days nau poi a ‘he moder toy ot lm Tae “At have aren sai, the Masi sates itnctvely reac the Islamic purport of Pakistan, and geninly dese aa of Mis in whch laa Ala weld become the Sarg polt ‘tthe communis developmen. But they are iarbaat and Sethe ou Te tn wy nai Irndenipandof tea” one kt essen of sce ome tha the supreme text of the present day Maslin Jeadenip wilt is blty-ornabiy—o ea he emmy so ony he purely pic! and economic but a athe or sphere! the ablity—or inabity—io convince he Masins that Gos dest change he conditon fs pope unles ty cunse thc iner selves (ira 311): wich ears more and as tian that «comment pola and enone sats canoe fe Testing improved sles fe commit asa bok proven moral CALLING ALL MUSLIMS AUTHOR'S NOTE Tr rortowina sien a onda we nee by me we Laka ie Fest ofthe Goverment of Paks in the [ood 17 eet er te separation ofa ‘Sow Teter every a oe wok {Sot now tows acompues y countess lings ook onl (amoung to fos, on th tc, of aout «ion BRE oat as mae mation of Moin om His aa weet se ander te moet apaling coon: maine Sn he journey tom Eat Pasay Deth and ther pro nd, 20 tings othe Mui ftopecs-compringhunieds of {hocanis ef men, women tnd ebieen—eere almost inde ‘he They anv by tam, utes backers and on ot th ely much of th longings they cou cry by bend and wear nabeencrny wound andi every wa ule {Sion the ght fo Pia, T msl have wt of ‘Ship received whee tancad of Masi women aig a GRY (et Porat) all of thom stripped of her ating Decl aaked Tra ime wap oes arora Fo clothing nd medal vapor are commodity nthe Pokus of hose sonny aye—had Yo be upc by dy or by ip te mary thousands toner pes, ih safe man radii to the neces of coping with ood of dette selec: ine Gaeroment of Pasta, ose called pont ‘Shae pone, dil nots yet pone he neces) experience io “SSnimron; Moreover, soy bef th ctl pron, te sex Seaton’ Goverumeat of nda (Sade by Pant awe Nek) fad moved amon a Mas ayant tom Not »Coling ot Musing oe er ™ ‘eft with no more than ope battalion of the Baluch. Regincat Siuarenmnigae wes romig a troopenncations nn See es ere ‘pzeily a West Pune Lavlewes tecae the aero ths Seem eateanetae ‘omly-borm sat of Paan a lpitmat nes ocean ae ‘ewtedoement sl mane fora nd evping st ies. But over ubove everything there was fear—someth = previously unknow: ation = ee : lw become West Pan ear es font iv aoe ey superior Indian forces. es Soares eee Seraierne eee pert eines ‘aus nic went aah fo the here one nan sie Seem reno ee ene i a aaince offer a further forthe ie fe fre docmestaon eid tier thea ieorec tary mae Musuiv wen and women: You though whote scrifes and su aie i hsin tof Pais bs ben eevedsyOu whose {ernest dared a the tebe calamity which has befallen eu nese dys; you whoxe Reais weep in SOHTON, 30 OU sare with anger, brothers and sister in slam all of you Nn et oud sume of Mesias: permit metospeak10 yous {his hoor of your supreme tal ie ot fy my name andthe nature ofthe work Lam snap tetra, but many thousands of you who are now stein WC kave probaly never heard of my existence, not speak of omega fed ne porape asking themslis in| wonderment re mcnh bar hs an oars, with te intenton seems, Boeing aamcet" To such of my Boteen Thou! 587 Tey Ak ot adeosing you by vi of any pei “ight” a (cation am speaking to you sone of he many milion who SeRmee nae me mors fa Who AA ate te greatest trate TeeerEd co mankind, and that everyone who believes in these ‘vets joy bound to eontibate hs er best vowards the wel Taree ie others who share tis belief and, through them, (aot ste welfare ofall anking, In other word, iy voice 0 rarer roe of amb servant of Iam wh et dat in i sect gurexience noone ha the ight to ep aot rom soc Sr isin response to thical fami ty that have take a, yee Topeak to you on some ofthe tremendous mora 1p ems nich wil eid he futre ofthe allah ad of Pakistan, te must not deceive oureves, Every one of ws should size a he utr of the mil and of Pakistan hangs now nthe Peace! We have watered a grevous political defeat in the fest z.—UlUmUtCUCUre Cling ot Musine hours of our existence as an independent sate; we have sufered a {temendou los of ie and propery; our economic sructure hes ‘ben thrown out of gear; we have to cope wth refugee problem ‘on ascale never before witesed by the word. Al ths, bowever, should not make ws despondent. Other nations and communities have, in the inital sages of their existence, sulfeed sly lihment ofthe Muslim Sate of Pakistan could not and did not ‘mean oppression of non Muslin, and tha, onthe conta ever) ‘ne of our eizeas, whether Moslim or nor-Mslim, could always ‘count onthe protection which acivlsed stat isbound to accord Sloya cizens, and which, i paris, Ini hax enjoined ono ‘th unmistahable intense, ‘Nevertheless, the non-Muslim world did not take Lindl 1 our sms and endeavours. Thoogh nobody in hs senses would have freamt of denying the right of freedom and slf-determiation To, ‘ay the Ir, o the Poles, or the Chinese that very ight Was ap 9sCling al Mustins eat deemed too good fr ws Mins, Ishl tg aw into {te esos of tis sina; ut alfa know hatin oe al ine af out existe there ma 0 sympathy for women the ‘ot Muslim nations. Our desperate struggle for ndependence wa Uvanded by mos of eu eras “vencuomay" and sce underabi. Frcgn newoapers ss wel ay on Mies oa pein this country described ou oa of aks an “pobea sem 4 Srping sberage ing at 20 mote ten te Schicvement ofmore goverment fost andre economia tas oh Musi communiy inns haa aaa cept ouives ely bevel that Palisa ws oteamale ‘oral good propostion, or that we meuldbe able towaie, Tey Wei nth end, win twas nat oan support om te ee ‘So ror et owen oft se _and now that we have won Pakistan and embarked on the great ad- Vee fun an Mar Ste a oes ef rina ave eniet le on used a deroy wat wean aches Fox, aas lend been pointed out byour lenders hc oe level here shard any oom for doubt that he eg saton hich Pakistan now esl ot thereat an ceenal ou break of communal pesions. The sce commited ey as ‘ople aco the borer, he sor of eran tt hs co ested the Manim population of Eas Punjab and ot Dele art and patel of lever deve nd rts exec pan Ec pea ht oar ope he ofl eo he vs For one hing they wiht shitinae once ad foal Nui lent i he wen fe Pa wh tne en hee lot athe time of prin; and secondly they ngs fo teaterch cles forthe ne ato Paiste boa ie ‘impose or usto spend ny ofourenrpeson canst deavour. Quite abo. nese bo oe permed o sory sce and order forthe achievement of our dream, Our opponee ‘iho down usin weer af ontuson they wis eee ae owes on oor pr imposible by deying hunts fies ‘Sn of Masts beyond ourbrdey by upruing hee whe ‘te, by foding ws with mulins of deste telecine ‘reaing up the econome oundations of our exstenee scan ‘by making it utterly impossible for us to look beyond the immedi si dando nen ge prsentand 0 sparc ade a ams Sate tits ey a 9% Calling ol Maine “These are te fste—and one of you cold have remained wn suction fie uthonmiinnt eens ‘That cvery one of ou must ow perfec wel Butt sk you, Sto vor nto mand ouphou, the whol milah 4y Important, avery rave question. Ae we, the Yrs and dangers ‘thu, going tow bears snp boca th dds agant sare SO reat Ate, he hope afte generations of Msn, ping to Reta the rs wih Alig God bas laced upon ou shot ‘Gun Are neato ply the peo ou adversaries by eesing the confusion or mila ering ur uf shreds by Ting the work four cone leaders throuph exci res, Al of muna cooperation, lave a pet personal reds} "hit our extern eats are mont ihou atl in oder ies adhe Sanger which we ae fae are certains ‘Peso han anything we bad thowght posible. But shold nou his ‘ey tc aspen the fing that God has elected sf 3 Sestny whch s witout paral i modem times, and at, pet Sper means wo oar someting fret than We had though pose? story teaches ws thatthe way o reins, 0 happines and to sito, aha and rocky way, nha the hand whch hammers ihe oted dot sf teedom bound teed before thse dors inp ope Indeed, in natn en achievement realy Wor inp tan ever te obaned wahoo sulferng, sa bod, and tea i mas becuse of that Mubsrimado rab (eae and {iting be opon im) and the tle band of tis fal Com anions wore called upon to ser esl persecution at Msc, ‘fn betas this ht they were bund from the coun af Tbe br; bat was not their suring rowned nthe end bythe Iho glorios of acvement the wordy ever een? THs we ‘ould vay remember For, though or endesvous and all hat ‘Tein chev cso be any comperson ith thet endes Yours nd th ashevement ty feral, the example at has Tne hsm fous to sive, cary foueon cents ter {he jah owas simi enh estabsment of a8 amie Sein which he word lhe UPAIh would rig supreme ‘Andis perags oly ecase ofthe pene ofr goal tat we ‘Genow ated a beat preset of lod abd safecing hao thy oer sation had to Ser in ou ine, s hat we abt be Stenthend ad pure forthe ftre hes befor ”Salas SECS aling at Satins Let us, therefore, draw ew courage, new hope andmeost sane determina om al ho ee gr tatee no ‘appening tua lt stm ur yes fons te dant izon on which God's Quran promi oslo writen a Iter fp and poy: "You sre Dod to fe hgh iyo ae fst (rah 3:13). you are faiths, ay. Mas ‘othersand sisters, ithe key your future. nN ‘Axvsoov witotres to analyte the prevailing mood of our peonle In'hese days ruck bythe deup note of pessimism, not 42 ‘despondeacy, which init expression ea complet ack of socal ‘operation among the people themselves, and in thee bit, ‘limos vicious erica of the actbies oftheir poverament. That ‘ur situation is feu beyond words, nobody can deny; but, at the same time, nobody can deny tat salvation can come only ‘through a grin, purposeful coordination ofall our effortsin the ser ‘ee of our commen cause. Cris ofthe government by the ‘eople iinet a healthy expensin of democracy, onthe ‘ther hand, obstructive crc thing bt a dena of demo acy; and isin bstacive cro that ros of out people ae row indulging They sum to have forgotten a what extoordinary ‘reomstances th fst Masiim Government has come into Being they seem to hae forgtten thatthe en who ae now at the hel. ‘of our aus have never had any breathing space sce they as- ‘uaed power, but have had fom the very Bening to cope with ‘iteales of mapntide seldom encountered thoughout the Fistor of nations Even afar more expenenced povernment hap furs would have found a similar tak almost beyond human ‘Srengh an there eno denying the fact tat our government has fever had an opportunity to gai administrative experience. How ould have been otherwise? For several generations the Maslin. tlle has bev deed any effective say ne national fats. The ‘Government of the county was an aien goverment the makers ‘tits plcy weteslwaye Denton Keping sl veal sources of power {in ther own hands, and slowly prevented our own people fom ‘Shy sharing in that power A moments ool election wll el you that the ert of government can be leert ony through actual eer *Se Caling at Mastins ing the anton of government ve satiety og spn of Ane, andino other vay and canbe kart aly teehee of tit and errs and tbmequent improvements eve eek ear sllering far beyond anything that ether nations have uf {ered in moder ines, “And its ths sy tends, har should i you now with x pide greater than you have been dreaming fn happier da: the pe ‘tbeing the soldiers of God and the builds of the Hobse a am. 10 vl | wave now had the proilege of addressing you on several oc ‘ations on rome ofthe moral problems connected with the exta- ‘ordinary suation inwhichthe manoeuvres four adversaries ave placed the new-born Stat of Pakistan. And now wish tosayafew ‘ons about the ce dais which have devaved onus Masts ‘hth te atainment of our independence, but which, Iam afraid, {re being gromly neglected by most of ws. Lam not going to speak ‘ete of dates and activities which properly fall within the cope of fovernment: forthe men who today weld authority in ou Sate ext beeve, ae of the needs and ificalies ofthe our. My ‘rors are diese othe Murim pub to all those numbers then and women who purse the more humble avecations of fe Und have, ae role, nothing 10 do wath high-level plital de ‘Gsions But the times through which we are passing are fraught ‘vithso great danger fr out ure that none of s asthe right to ‘Soncern himself with hor her private affairs onl. Ln fact, no avo- ‘nton no ide or business no employment, bowever bumble can femaio anyone's private concem under the impact ofthe treme ‘dus tagedy which now weighing so heal on our commun Tsome way or other, every one of us has been deeply affected by {he preset frm ands the reactions ofevery one of wv in ‘aryng degrees, a deft Dearing on ovr soc! and poll fr Tunes. A god deal ofthe activites which i normal ames would Ine bee regarded as Belonging to the sphere of private ie have ‘how come fo play,comatively, great ele in the drama called The Birth of Pakistan fri the behavior ofthe many ord- rnaty men and women, ater than any specie act of government ‘rich wl ltimaely shape ou future Ite behave wel, Pakistan Wilsurvive its present ordeal and wil become the cones of anew mCaling ot Msins hope forthe whole Muslin worl andi we behave badly, Pakistan wlsoon become a by-word for ute endeavour, a iter memory With which the non Maslin wold wil taunt the followers of he ‘Quran wherever they lve ‘We, the Matis of Pakistan, are now undergoing most severe test of ou soil character: and nothing sould make us forget hat ‘community's socal haracter ino mor than the suntan ‘vidal charatere—the sam-totl ofall the goalies, good nd bad, ofthe indivi! men and women who compre the com ‘munity. The manner in which we aquit ourselves of his test wil ‘decide wheter we, as 2 community, are worthy of independence ‘One ofthe most depressing aspects ofthe svery to which the ‘Maslin mila nhs country has been subjected for so longtime swat the ordinary mans and womam’s dependence, in lmot every Irak of lie, om directives sued bythe Government. We bardiy ‘ve ale any socal poblem—of, for that mater, any practi ‘work of publi importance—withotBstlooking upto the Govern- ‘ent for gracious intatve; and whe tat native was forthcom- {ng, we blandly relied on the Government to calcu for us what line of action to take. In those times we Gi not rile that 8 ‘nation's welfare and. progres cannot be made dependent on [fovernmentl acon slopes nor, asa matter of at, ad ou then Fors the least intention wo make sale thi Our hamity was ‘ery welcome to them. What they wanted was oul over a docile tas of soles slaves, always ready to obey the slightest behest. {hom above, unable fo make any decisions oftheir ova, and not ven posesing awl of tyr own. In order to ahiee this nd—50 fesemary from ovr ruler" pot of vew-they devised for us 22 ‘cdocatonal system in which all independence of thought would be Sled fom the very fst stages of ones schoo! Mofo, scoring {fo Macaulay, such system was the Best means of obtaining sut tle cers forthe fice ofthe Eat Inia Company and, bees, of training obedient subjects similar view governed almost ll {he branches of the ei service fom the days of the Eat Indi {Company down 1o very recent years. The alien Government did ‘ot want ciervants~that i, evant ofthe publ: hey Wanted ‘only servant ofthe Government, uained to obey the rulers com ‘ands without any consideration of thelr own nation's welfare ‘ot astonishing, therefore, that inthe imes of which Iam speaking 12 Cling at Musins the very word “publ” sumed asomewhatcontemptus meat ite Wh the Coversmen meant tints country was tite {besa twas meant kia thei Ova. Ther, the word “pubic” Sgmnjmons with te somo the inattants of the unty all how mes and women a whose ame andor whose ‘Sach poverament enero fonction bat inthis county tsa rr wu: any ce met set oe mote mus cmb people who had merely fallow ‘Sennundh ef he Goverment whiter deaon te tr ‘Sts ead tem, obvious hat sch stem was oon Beste tie dma anne of any cep Sr i sopemison te psn, by th people ofa rest meas re berm om Seige ta sabjece ATi i epacy of our pst that we ave contend with nou day Wehave oid ofthe wen ovement, andhave placed rene of out ovn-—inen wh Belong to, men who hve ‘itd nd whose intrest ar theme ors, Neverthe ish emendous change doesn pt eam o have peta Instn consdouses of our common. Most of stil exest teed ued of souls slaves. Though we have won npn {Ence most afestttve hati the Goverment aloe tat ‘ipo forthe running othe ste, an hot te ornare ‘ee eant and shouldnt do ating nies he is expel or dered dome ‘Do jou nk thst sis wrong atte of mind sa the bot pany Stour present euler? Bow you thnk that 1 wal nal Ser oscil importance or esd rm "above" equivalent tog hat lk ot yt ie fon ndepedence an Seimoeray? "mat goverment by ery aan meh ¢cFpeople ho have ele to power. eh certain insane aneon to fl, kaso eatin certain oles a Tipe of acon and to submit them to the poops approval ‘that ove the peopl to eoperato: bat, on he tes ha Sano con proper wns poplar copes forth rf pe sock sooperaion fo he concn goverment th Fortes trst and foro ve dt. That cooperation mist b Tectonic people's tse to eadcte a honest, leon epton al anvbocel pocios rom the community Wie 13Caling at Mtns ‘otherwise thee canbe no pat in demanding from the government ‘at tshould function properly. After sla goverment Goes not ons merely of fem minstersand secretaries ita at machin ry composed of thousands of persons, al of them belonging tthe ‘er commit which they are supposed to administer, the om ‘munity as whole ise ours, fled to he frm with and dsbonesty, i has no righ 10 expect efciencyof admin ‘eative machinery: fo no machinery canbe effin Hits cos sd hes eof faulty mater. 'Nomaton ean prosper uns the men and women of whom itis ‘composed apply tothe own behaviour he same high standards Of social morality as they demand ofthe ofr of their goverment {or tis your fathers, your sos and your bothery in word iis ‘Younelves—who ae responsible fo the counts administration. uu vit [Last nigh —ppeaiedo you not to expect in each and every case lead from the Government, but to atlemp orseies, ice Mus. lms should Jo, a reform of our own affairs wherever fossibe Many of you, istening to my advice, wil probably have wondered ‘what Iwas divingat Afterall one might tpuc ithe main unc tion of any government o give tothe people lead alates ‘eraining te communal He frit sony through the instrument fry ora highly organised, suthorttive ody that concerted ation canbe produced ‘Now this, my rend, s pests tra in x far asthe polis of the state, economie reconstruction, pub safety and snl mat ‘ers ateconcemed, There are, howevet. besides such matters which must always be abject to govetnment native many ‘ther specs and problems of our communal existence where the intve mus and can come any fromthe people themsees and th foremost ofthese problems the evoltion ofa Ge spit ‘within the commun ‘By cive spirit we mean, sly the eelig among the people shat ‘hey ate an organic community, the members of which Rave ll the ‘main inteesis offi common; and, secondly, the people's read es 10 uphold those interests forthe sake of the coetnon po, fnd to defend them agnns any encroachment by slish interes ‘on the par of indvidal members ofthe community of outside ‘powers Now the existence of such avi prt certainly does ot ‘pend on any goveramentl action, No government nthe Work! ‘an make the communty under it author publespted by mete administrative commands or even a rgorous poe action for, asin ll matters ofthe spits nations csi, aso, snot ‘amenable tothe dats of oes sr the people themselves, usPee ee eee ea et ee eee eee eee at ating at Musing ‘nd iom the people lone, thatthe moral inet mus come: hat ‘moral impetus which ils nation mith nquenchae tir fore {orl achievement, an enbls tt acieve mht ts hsting for In the lst resort, the moral quality of » goverment—of any aoveramentis conditioned by the moral aly ofthe people ‘thom it gover: fr iti the peopl themilves who prguce the Petonoe ofthe great adminisae machinery which we deserte “government” therefore, aot quite resonable to expet of our Govern: ‘men that should ead usin he direction of sami nega apd solidarisy—whie that integrity and solidarity are absent our own beaviou Tam notin the leas suggeting that ou mila relly depraved (On the contrary, the amount of suring which our people have wring undergone and are stil undergoing for the sake of tei ‘eas the eves of our people's bod which ae Bowing fr 90 ‘ther reaton than our Bbet in the eth fl ae i Aah and ‘ur burning deste 19 arrange our lives in accordance with this brit our hopes fora better futre, our retnese fo eat any arden of pi and sorrow that may be necessary forthe achive” ‘ment of ur goa: altar shows that the eat othe lo ‘ound, and that the presen conison and chaos may i ality be ‘aly the bit-pang ofa new if, With al hi, however, we mst realaeand i ishigh time for uso reaine—that lor stings ‘il bein vin ha all our hopes wil be frsatd, that all xr Teter in the great wore lake dala wil remain an erp bout uns we produce now, among oureves, and rom among. ures, that spiil and social iterity which s the Bas and inneemosi core ofall vs spi that inter wibout which no natin can ren alive, and witout wich the Muslin mish wl never be abe to Brave the hurricane tit fe now swceping "Asi onl very feof us stem o fel that compton almays vice that at this tine i ean unforgable aia before God. nthe urna, Only very ew ous apply fo themselves and bet Felaves the dictum that honesty in out day-to-day dealings ways necesry~and that at this imei aimost the sole con tion of ost survival. ‘Oni few, very ew ols remember these words ofthe Propet “the tgs of he hypoctite are threefold When he speak, he 6 ating ot Mstins ‘ater ies when he makes promis, he breaks it; and when bei trased, he betrays the st “Can we honesty claim that we, who cal ourselves Mosims, ave remained fre ofthese ins? two, ater tue that al wc e's blackened by them? ‘Most of us el lest each other di and hourly. Mast of us break thei poles ae eal they make them. And most of 5 eta the ml'strat every tp. Numberlss are the so-called ‘Muslin who offer and asept besa 2 matter ofcourse who ‘arialy eve preference to thelr personal frends and relatives Inenever there any opportunity fr soil advancement ot pe Sonal gain; who do bot miad robbing the State in a howd ‘rayenthat same State for which so many of our brothers abd ‘Sno have lid dow their ves; who do tot ad, for instance, {eting move ation card for themselves than they a entitled 1 tle hundreds of thowsands of Muslin men, women and children {Me starving: who do ot min buying or sling cloth inthe Black Imarketwithot bubering about fhe misery of those who are ting naked for want of tioned cloth; who always ty wget undue ‘Shantages rom the fat that a coarn of heirs o a brother ila fappensto be an ofcer of the Government in shor, wb are pre Patedtosellheir own honor an het mula’s happiness in oer To stsy their personal greed, fears and ambitions “This st ofr degrading vcs long, Duby no means exhaus- tive, One could go on and oe for hours enumerating the fangs ‘tic have 0 conspesoul blackened the fae of the milla But ‘honor hk it acca o produce a complete ist here and ao — Simply Because you, my brothers and sates in am, know ull tellhow deep we have snk To not meant say that al of ws are {uly ofthe sins to whieh have ast alluded. But there a doubt ‘hatmany ofr, perhips mos of us, ae pultyofthem. And soTong Se we are gy of the Sins which the Prophet has described {i characte of hypotite, we ive no righ © repad our- ‘ive Muslin A Matin he who snes the fear of Godin is eat and tee, by follwing the wayeof slam, to fei pts sstre”and not merely he who happens to ave been born in {Misi house and bears Musi name. Uses, therefore, tke make an honest stem to eradicate such sin fom ou Imit and to condemn those who commit them. we cannot it fuse demand of any government to make Pakistan an Islamic m7PPE rete eee eee tae te eee ee ere ee Caling ot Musins State: for a state can be Islamic onl if the ives of only if theives of ts people are Tiseryoaand forms oslo wshunbe oer a, 10 sake out ve ay nani Yo re Hone and mgt ma than fe sl nd nto permite whom ne same of slam by deracing desing on anions Ie sxe I onder etn th tar hapring ato evn wom ending wes eee hee Code pon isl wioon some ie “Sccucome om Oe es toys cr." And itmay iw sel a near x tal he eating te eo sh he Bai which teow or por nts wed wa teen tse {norgetble ride fo mand to ur cn ao we co ste They nec oh enema tine a tine so ish wb tata their own children: oe castes *Do you see thee Dulng sound ou? They have eo out he ta ve weet rake nea fest ordeal. Do sou se thee fcr whet prove te $hes for our day an? The power ode the nasi e ink the ec go und es rede meres those ho came elon: Da you tae hoc ce Your day eat? Tay hve Geen igied the ed roe smart el 0h ou mig etd ta ane reme na THE ENCOUNTER OF ISLAM AND THE WEST AS SEEN BY THE MUSLIMS (Rata Bemis, Swizetan. 19) Most eoucarto Muslims have always been concious of the Intene hstoverelauonip between te world of Islam and that of the Oecident. For mort « milleniom those contacts exeried powerful inflence onthe sien politcal history and is alta development-ao mich so that tha poica aspect n particu far hs to tht day remained arely responsible for the angle of tison from which Westerners lok atthe Msi world and ts Problems. On the other hand, ia contat to those millennial Favences which Islam has radiated towards tbe Occdent, we find thatthe opposite carents—at st ay, he Ocsden' nee ‘n he pola social and cultural destinies of he Islamic worid— Besar to take effec at a mich ter de: a a matter of fat, Faly becomes cident othe historia before the lst decades of the ighcenth ad the beginning ofthe einetcenth en However, ts finding shold not be misundersiond, it goes vithout sspng that the inamerable, centuries long ware Con Tics between the Most East and the West which a fist ed to 8 ‘api expansion of Muslin ral over lage areas of Europe, and {en gredually, to a forile withdrawal of the Muslims from oat the whole ofthe European continent, were bound to play ltd indeed have played—an important role inthe shaping of ‘Muslim poieal hiory But however strange this might appear the casuel observer, al thowe developments were until feces Timited tothe team of mere power poles, and id not dieetly touch upon the inner destinies ofthe word of Islam-—s0 much so that even te views which mos ofthe Muslims held about Chris u9The Encounter of Iam andthe West ni and th Christan word a uch remuned unfit bythe ‘ecal polal antral forme and ss prevang the Oe Sent, ita nl about te mia ofthe necator at Etiopean though and Europea ination backed byte ec eats rapi growth in industrial power andthe realing mtary ‘ccnp ee ent canon onthe Mwy o {hiking dts, n tar, probaly et french changes a the domain of Moni cites ies otros ae Sal drecton and sap cna a Jobe pedis with eaeng, {opronching eit ‘Burwithaltns. ts obviowsthat for morethana thousand years te Occidental was unable to ge anything poi tothe writ Ina, For oner a milennin the Masing mre the "ers an the Ocidenals mainly the ese nie cal sms of {ese words: at sen history was oly very short whe g0namey at the beguning of he deta indus ert the course of ing” which once owed from the Mei wold towards Europe reversed ts deco ly so that nowadays we find the Ocideat sts active andthe Moin worl tt pve ed, The question aso wether this everied couse may or Pay ‘ot be ested by Masins as postive sven sec od Galuralsens allows, of courte fora vay of answers Alfouph {he many impale i the Rl of saenes and technology whieh {West has in recat ties rans othe amie mod ane doubly rested nthe liters material ponents oe shold or forget ht pinay, mt of sch mpc owed te oa to Western efforts ta pla dominton of Mas comets and snc those lor were in many canes ues thy con fered upon the Musing nt ony eae ned era _sartags but a0 s host fcr spttaldadvantspen The most important of thee dnadvanaps obvi, theo siderable weakening of etl selstrane which mods So ceary evident hao al ofthe Msn work. And it 8 ths lsened scleaburnnce sitting te Ove) Prototype has ed oa weakening of he eile Peli con ‘tons of many ected Msi ar wells tthe pow pe ilar, nostic tendon a tn enpense of he grandis oncep of namic other hood. Bt whatever may be one judgment ofthis development whether oe welcomes the ont pak of Oadetleduenes 0 ‘The Encounter of am ond the West toto the word of Iam a postive, desiable phenomenon, or ‘thee on tear the gradual wearing the Muss cu Jatnenyasalss oot ely for hme bt ete, ora Kinds culture asa whole whatever may be ones nse fo his {rt important aston, he fact remain at ne conscousess ‘tthe Musi dh sopec o¢ Eas West relatos har oly mhin the lst eontuy and a falthat fs, history speaking. in oor present me asumed te character ofa presing reality demand: Tiyan mediate reason ths content thing Moi is pri srk by the aimost genca “Wester conviction that «western ofthe iam worlt—that srenncation of i hereditary cal forms anda complete x pombe an approximation ofits concepts nd way ifthe othe Wests th onl etabl or ven posse devon f Mim development. Ths Western comic {lon obvious on two ae presuppositions fist ht the Wenern ode of pt edo eee) Wa othe Mami ones; and, secon that the tenets sla Sik were unetund and cannot thetfore, fer anything pos Ue forthe tere: consequent the Sone they ove the et Stile ld over ter sory, the beet wou forthe Mosims Temetves as wel a forthe word at large. (Tis, bythe wm pln the jblnt approval, throughout he Ossie of Ka ‘Nonar's so reform of Turkey iw aexoraance wh Westra fortes ands relegation of Iam the wimos background of tory) pos without sying that no belving Malina 10, no pean ho cots aderes the sae wore a {eases i athe imate totam possibly cept the above {Bentonee Westen view as ava proposition. But een 80, me Mtn are acd with so pregnant queso I beter deeper CnetstaningStwoen te worl of Im andthe Oxcient as Say destale? And. ssonly, how coal such an snerstanding ebrovght about” “Ooviosy tere is only one sensible answer othe fs ofthese question! there canbe no Jobe tat attr understanding be- {heen the two alta cies ndeed mos esate the iret the ee worl and he wor’ tre: Aron ae Tenseand many of our contemporaries have aed el {Piha the bite conte of pporing tendencies nowadays pre aGece ee egn EEL egg ECE gn CEE ‘he Encounter of am andthe West vallng throughout the word is nota mere confit of economic nd Social systems superficially labelled “capitalist” an “comin ‘ist but, nts depest reality, a struggle Between basi concepts ‘ouching upon the goal ad value of human le el, we begin to comprehend tat soco-conomie mearues wl eve, by theme ‘ves, enable uso save ms reedom and dignity fom the frees ‘ofthe stark, soulless materialism which trestens oovermhcln os ll, Whether we are Muslims or Cvstans or Jen, we are Downd to Saccumb inthis stage unless we are tbe o bring forth, fom Within each of our existing weit, the stength otoncive and ‘mata tral spinal, egos patterns of thought and feeling Uthich alone could withstand the onaught of materia, Should, then, in these circumstances, concous Christians dele them selves into thinking that ia this desperate strugele aginst the mets of materi, they could with impunity forgo he great Fches of religious faith which inspires the couse milions of rople adhering Islam? s obvious hat inscado feling joy over hypothetical oral ‘weakening of religous faith nthe Moti world nea of jb Sly welcoming ever ig othe educated Muslims exrangement ftom Itam as “progress consious Christiane ought separd schan estrangement abd such weakening ar threat ttl nn religious and eutral det: for, what sin balance today sat Justis or that dogma of Cristiani, not ust thio that tenet of Islam, but man's petal freedom ar such--hs ih to bebeve in the existence of Go and 1 shape aman life ia conformity with Wis belie, Looked a rom this point of view, the interests ofthe ‘conscious Christian an the conscious Masi are not merely pata Jel bat, rather, identical; and a lose eallaboration betwee thee to great modes of fith i not merely dstable but, rather, com [ulsory and everything thats compulsory i the seme of Ding Fogel, inner necosiy mut always be pose and atanabe “And o-ve aie atthe second, mich more fit prt of our ‘question How could a bewer mutual understanding sods se 33 postibe a collaboration betwee these two sce of fath and cl {ure be brought abot? “The main bstace onthe way tomas thi goal canbe expressed in ewo words mutual dss. The overwbeling majority of Mus lms dsuust she Occdent because during the st two Centres ‘hy have witnessed countless Wester encroachments onthe fee mm The Encounter of lam and he West cf Muti cous; and becase—athough the so-called fanaa ing pani sem expece to pesursol Westra Powe! pl Matar cat ierson cam be acieved ony tog pana Tey ean ots ony trough Rey sac of Bld: er cane Wester pol hing there bei Itemet jenn he teed and seletrmmation of 5 he I ee ihe Cech and the sleeterminaon of he aeeaes Sa ny, because he mental ste of ox Ot aaa rnadewed ty an ast ne rej ain te ‘hn face such» peje so dexpy sted that te Oe ‘iv temas are len unaware of Tri ecm, ue that any cements of Mani citre—in i Seton or ksromante spear il eng Fae the mogera West However the West ad. hamartoma KBr’ Posy at areca spender ofthe Atamtra cannot. or te Soci comet pt he nde peed Mania fin Propet whch eo be encountered a ll West "eNientes norco gmay he fot tt so many Went, setermaniiy eae loss sro superston, empty 4 ‘Sort ac, and sm ob 10 the proien f 18 et is tnrtre no soresing tat mas hiking to ime nl ier srr an or lO msde vse iam ave raha hanged ret ea tthe Oxide sme 2 new, posite rlatonsip sun tm won or. uni canon aie sich aps Uetbetipon nebo of matt ctem wells of atl arrest tal ngs, And te canner uae nea etre of xrpenig rious conscious a0 Saeed and ightyees ayaa! sake ena ry amar developmen win Msi soy ily abled "ona" “tc pots must be coed if we are to achieve a ache tars amine rapprocement between Ou 40 Cm ‘Mons and esc Ouse nour ae pal, assed ehlopeay by fate songer of he tw cer ar forthe Orden oak he te ona he sed pa eta nox however, spear strange osha many Ossie aEEece eevee Qu The Encounter ofa andthe West tas nd ida to overcame their data of the Must world fd to take that necessary “fret sep" Their iy sees not ‘merely from tei historical memory of the centuries of wars be ‘ween Mains and Christians, which secustomed the latter to regard the wort of Islam as an “hereditary enemy” and, mor ‘over, to identity the Masti’ ancient treat to Europe wth Islam. ‘se Ths erroneous idntieation not surprising fone Deas 0 ‘ind thatthe birth of Islamic studies in sbdievl Earope was largely an outcome of Chistian mistonay effort, ad tht the end ofthe eighteenth century te only European ADIs were ‘missionaries who regarded ita their sated duty o refute pole Cally the “archcbereia” teaching of the Arabian Prophet. The ‘sul of such efforts the srangsy ditred image of slam and {shor which we encounter, ths very day, popular Western ‘ought and erature “A glaring instance ofthis dstotion, among innumerable others, 'sthe Western notion of had the Msi holy wat. In the thik ‘not amon every Ocsdenal this word conjures up th pect of 2Taatcal war against anything tha i ot Islamio-andy pat Taya volent attempt a conversion of ron-Muslime tothe faith of isam. But que wrespecive ofthe fact that he fable of fore ‘ble conversion to slam by means of "bre and sword” hs lly been abandoned by all fespecable istorany im Europe. and ‘America and been exposed by them a being alcous invention, ‘he Mosims have a most weghty argument against this notion i tir own Holy Book, the Quri—aamely. the fundamental Stim, "There shall be no coercion inmates of fit (rh 5258) On the stength of th exteorcl prohibition al Islamic juste Yuan’, without a single eeeption, bold that foreble Conversion s under all tcumstanes mall and voi, aod that any tempt at coeteng a non-believer o accept the faith of sam i iievous sins andthe Prophet himself stressed on more thin one ox ftsion hat» Musi who does coma this snaematial ceases tobe Masi [As far a the concept of hdd eli concerned, the Quin ete it most early a defen war and excuse sich, ‘The elevant Quranic laws ate exp “Permian [toh] is vento those guns whom wating. wrongly waged-—and, very, God his indeed the power to na ‘he Encounter of lam and he West succour hem hse who have ben dive fom hel oe ieee ara to other ene than ying eer Goat rr God ad ented poe deed ‘Remsces sgsn neater, all omer and cache {Mepeetogues and mosquer—in al of whch Gos mame waectytemollck mould surely have been. destroyed Gira 230-40, hse mx be Or tae dwn ay fa ene, aaa a mmc, etches tod Ta, aie ‘Badan eth the Mass re Obed defend rats an teal andres eon ut abo be = ssw pons ve among hem. ode? ot ee am ert ian 0a an She warThe Oven sy spin Gx case against thse who age wae asin 00 Teme esr mats vey God des 0 esr careh 21) mies See tat hem unl here more opr caste sete to Ga alone: bt hey deat, he al Ds, TREE ae Seapine thse nh wi 30 wr (ror) oe esha a aha aoe i a co wells Serive fom the ve aha, Seems ones eiahetan acest ce a th ee aor Seep ges hcg tence ete Fr ao ntti crt en psae The Encounter of am and the West fcnt ter fath nd ht on more tam one cate id startffesvewarsin the nae of sam. Bh. have the Ch Sree ees fs the stn of Christendom tee fal of wars and lene th toy of the Mi word. nat era thse ae oe ene Gio ect they refined 1 map Catan he tortures: arnings of “heretics” performed by the | ice Sees eae ‘e Masi would not deam of ong Jens Crt or ten Pepe wa emis ns Moat ot the Cian Ose an the mo of ham nner ne liffer, iti clear that the ethical and moral fs = ‘Chany are om many pits cnet rl Bus onde to mak psi oto thee alta undentnging sd {0 bid up, in togetherness. an llectv olga to theo dsroyng fro he meal wri whe eee ‘expect that the Christian Oceident should cease to ithe bithera Den dog erent sanded our ond eon co At liberty is something valuable. it must be recognised oe for Hungary o Cxchosoali mast be gt ad js or Alera 126 ‘he Encounter of iam and he West, well ad ifthe Taian struggle for nition Rison oko or te nincteenth century—was good and laudable, the me day Arab efforts ats nation of ir counties mus esr comidered good and nuasble. Alina is igh time for {he Oseiden to show ts good wil towards the amie word. “rhe may, of cours, not be easy sit sounds, Afr cents cof prejudices and ake imapes, most Occidental may fd it ex. eeesesGattto free themselves from their ol, dary URetaled misconceptions and to look upon Islam with the ‘Meclecaacarcsiness which, asthe faith ofat eas 60 milion of Finan Being, iceniny deverves. On the oter hand, the Mas Tims themselves mast become fll conscious ofthe fact that unt va tho have done very hie to make the teachings OTs fly ‘Rina tothe West A nem, cogent presentation of lam ‘nl thinkers and waters indispensable for amutual under Tanding tween the two words fal: fo, the decogy of fa Canse any apt which sno prior clear ointlectally a> ‘ealing toa Christian. Thus, for instance, Ila fe fom the Feaee of “originals” and therefore aso fom the nee of ehiedon an conceived in the teachings of Chrisianity—wbereas inte later hee two concepts are the basis for all thie! consider ‘how. Als, in conta! to Christy, he tenes of slam ae not Fated vo problems of bel and morality but embrace the entire Pas Conlon llits aspecsprtual es well s physical. i ‘pelt an well soils much so that all problems of man's Shin and body of poli and economies, of morality and aes ‘Bekele tut incgated within the word sew of sam andthe faith ofa Musi iti ve may sound strange ta Cristian, because for hi he conptat fit” touches ony pom the relations between man SBE Go and upon man's moral ttades and thus, sa appears {Shim ts too worl and far im excess of what the Osiental ‘Gun understands ty the fr “relipon”. Hence, she moral ‘hay of he Msi fo ring the nla premises of Islam ce rfote understanding of te Chritins jest aitisthe moral ‘Sty of she Chrstans to approach the problems of the Islamic Sealine same spr of osice and fara 4 they aPprO¥, Th demand for, tei wn soncets. As soon these require mathe bre nin th the above aia was deere 3988, {IT shout hve eu ore Ageia ane Is ldeendeee wa‘The Encouguerof liam andthe West ‘Bem alld, oth the Chins fale hat the etic otok hich ne a the Mass wil fully ret reigions hold i ISLAM AND THE SPIRIT OF OUR TIMES Ratio Reomsse, Stern, 1960) {Tr cay hardly be denied that what maybe described as “the spirit ‘of our tines” is more or less antagonist vo all truly rious thinking-with th esl that ial eligious commune andl ats ofthe world mess faith is percepuyTosing is este ‘over to shape human society and to give teal meaning to etical {oslsand valuation. The general retest of religous ath andcon- ‘ition cannot be simpy "ete by a eferene tothe fact that in all counties of the so-called “ree world” more and more ‘hurches and mosques are beng bil every ear anda he num bers ofthe parcpans in pblc relies sence tendo increase rather than dcrese. Such statistical arguments ae nl very con: Vining. They prove nothing moce than thatthe people of urine ‘re becoming inteasingly conscious of hes moral an social pe ‘lsity and are longing for new sprtualduecves. This phenom ‘non cannot by any means be regarded a8 sign that he raditional ‘elipions as such are growing in strength fo the imple reason ‘nly a tiny majority of ose regular vistors to churches 3 ‘mosques afe realy wiling to allow their relpous convictions to ‘rea decisive inhuence over thes personal nd public actions, oF ‘on their views sto how human society shouldbe arranged, or what ‘ical goals man ought fo pursue in his practical endeavours. “Anyone who approactes the questions of the present-day role of ‘elon witha mocsam of tle honesty mo act at lee nd Je people nowadays ae prepared to concose o raditonal eos ‘teaching thei one-time right o give deton and shape to soci ie {ewe to guide man'sindvidual thought and many of wae be {ning to suspect that ths phenomenon ulsnately responsible or {he moral, poital and even the economic confusion of our times. 129{stam and he Spirit of our Tres Before proceding further on the bass of this insight 1 would ike to discus the question oto what the religion of sae has ‘offer tothe people of our tne—to hove people who endeavour {ind a new spntual orientation within the chaos that threatens ‘evour so many ofthe ethical east which me hve Been seus. tomedin the pat. Itmast, of coun bestressedthat Lam cone ing tht problem fom the pin of view of Muslim: that to 3), ‘on the basis ofthe covichon that the teachings of Ilm—-nbih ‘verge in So many tespecs trom the belies eld by most ‘Westerners represent aid uth and oferthe best formulation ‘ofthis tah, At the same time, however, Tam fully awate that the Isiamic way tothe truth may appear wnaceptable to people of ‘other fats: ands I hal confine myself soley to a satement of thesprtual expectation which we Mosims—o at lest he tk ing ones among usconnect wih out faith, None the les, itseems tovme tat sucha statement shuld be weleome not merely to 8 ‘thinking Maslin, but also toa thinking Christian: or, after al the religious teachings ofboth go back tone and the sume spititual “aneesry"—the Abraham tation—and, therefore it more ‘han probable that by beter understanding the premises of the ‘other's faith, each of ws can schove a beter understanding and 8 ‘deeper appreciation of his own ath, ‘Speaking, therefore rom te Islami pin of view. aed onthe ‘ass ofthe historical experenesof the Mastin world, Twouldlike ‘start withthe assertion that he decay of religious feng our time har no inner connection whatever withthe propesr of modern tence, 90 many of our contemporaries seem to believe. What. ‘ever the more naive among them may imagine, and whatever be the word-ow of thio that enti tieabundgpatabl fc that the matural scenes have not ben abe to disprove te exsence ‘conscious, eeative Wil beind and above the observable or cal- ‘able phenomena ofthe universe. On the contrary, not few of the most outstanding physics of ur days have adit tha he Weight oftheir own scale ndings forces them to conlade that {the Brith estronomer James Jeans ha so suc expresed it, the existence of God isa mathemtcl necessity” ‘But ifthe desay of religious convictions, so glaring obvious owas, hing do with tetra ens, wh Be, TW seems to me that the “cause” for which we ae looking i 10 ata and he Sprit of our Ties se mya en cainamene ees Cia iter taser aceon soe bya seam ae a et ora and spl posttest, Ti Satcher ers ev hemereinaiomasee eens rte shegs oes Shs at naomi [ite ttn eccttee iach cr aiaenaymanccrs Spenialenngiteencine eters cence enema Serene aromas affairs; but ‘his same failure hus become very cles) sed sary hateningy evident in the word of Islam. In oer to undersian® im re ttn ee “eon cata otiee erasing pits Sua oer ee Seema cheeses ors akan ony sty ae aS cena ogame ry Sage aa saa poet the orlimpratves owl that nn Seoram ater ne imine ue ene iene rom ren See ae arate slice nineteen oe sbay an walain hssptenot ony Des aae | ee ‘sar and he Sprit our Tes positive isnt bat even endowed wth the quality ofan ethics postulate that sto say, man aot merely allowed oma the fl Fest possble use this God-given ie on earth, bat duty-bound to strive for it Consequently, the Quis explicitly reject every form of semorifeation and exaggerated ascetic and the Prophet Mukammad summed up, as were, this Quran teach: ing is famous saying, "There i no word-denial (ohbanyyah lit, "monkishness") ia Islam.” Withoat doubt, both the Ourtn and the authentisyings ofthe Prophet are fll of admonitions not {0 aseribe undue importance to our earthly fe and alway to femain concious that this ie Is no ore than the iat ge of human existence: but precisely Because it the stand there fore the formatve—stage, man enjoined outlets postive, legitimate poses tothe fal an hast Become ell worthy ‘ofthe bis which awalls the righteous in theif to come, Hence, Mast saware that he does at ofend against tre faith feat ‘She™fdspestre, with moderation snd diy, in the beau things ofthe word of mater: for a the mords of the Prophet ‘Mahamaad, “God loves to see on his worshippers signs of His race." And because God ha created the human being as man and ‘Noman, sevual eis not regarded ata “neceseary evi” but ater {sa divine it tobe partaken of and cherished within logit Timi, that i 0 Sa, within mariage: and so, for every adult “Musi man and woman marrige i raised to the tats ofa def rte elpiousrexommendation ‘On the basi of hese Badings we can easly understand why itis ‘that ia the Islami world-view not the asetc sit ae such te: fated asthe deal type of human being, but, rather,» peta to ‘thom all his inborn tneleetual and spiritual quale ade by Side'with wordy enerpes and bites™aehieve thelr lest ex: pression not ony i saintly thouphs and feelings bu aio nso, utward deed in shor al that we nowadsp ile nthe con ‘expt of « “wellrounded personality" All authentic Traditions ‘Sow us thatthe Prophet Mubammé was such a personaly. An imtense Goskconsciousnessundeied al ht esd and ddan fone the ess, he participated fully in the wos event within, oF Touching upon, his environment. He spent many da in sper eropator fasting and whol nights nsotary payer—and none he tess he was endowed wih gentle sense of bumour which ine ‘variably caused his flowers" Neat to open up to im, He was 1m Islam and he Spirit of our Tomes subline thik, sivas ble to convey deep mystica esto those ‘tho hod the abt 0 gam themand at he sme time he was Thiet nj a laband td father, the spe, nite ples “rsorfimy ie. Hewes spacial statesman, av incomparable, {contest leader of his community im peace and in wer—and tone he les be ned hombly and in sel mpoed poverty, inays ‘omc of th fc tha real eral mening fla mas Seieurender to God “And thsi beome obvious tht nan enlogy Hk the Mamie cone here canbe no diving Between th apisitoa™ and the Sweoryapere-end therefore ano no divine between inns ith ted his pent if nthe facings of am, hse feo anpect of annie are ally interwoven so fully tata epee of one of them mon wnavoidBy Tend to # eet of he tern sth nded, that has happened ne as few ene {ines of Masti Hatory. Heenre most of ou retigous leaders ve fled to atend 1 their pinta sk, ane, to ule the Commun tthe procter of Heo wel, and instead ave ‘Sntned hemslvs to considerations of mere rial ad esha fp, the Masims have gradually Tos thelr esti icp Ampersand, ths, al ura and socal creat, However Stange may sound to now Mastin er, the cane fhe tle {tated abo, teafre, spinal decadence ofthe ene Most ‘orld not ote found a spponelyoverwbeiming "wor {ss ofthe Mstm peoples baton the contrary, nthe suficin enor etre sens fs ones te tof their egos ede fire whic reste 0 ‘rtualallention of te Mos fh om te Mastin ey. Tnevderto pap thi npstive developmen fl one must best in mind that | have ae stressedIs fers fom al ther relons in mt eset pot, According is teachin ‘Beveatyorhuman fe annor be cided ao seperate "ate nd spite” rea flo; hrefore, hat a, conta {o or relpons, demand of man sSdhaton 10 € a Hs ewire ‘ents he word las ot confined poems of a ‘idul ath andl moray ba aes al aspects of scl Meas well Heer the Prophet Seared that ston a etgtl ‘een ath which end othe nding tha res ath fetncedinsightcous actioned, in pari, cil tons Snot pony ave any tal val. And i pecs ths al ryIslam and the Sprit of our Times embracing, ideological pealanty of Islam which fakes it clear ‘why the Mista world was bound o decline assoon ts religous Tenders ceased to tisk creatively about thos fandapentals of Ia ‘me ideology and, thus, to lead the community effectively inthe Practical, soil aspects of ile. On the other and, as soon as we begin to understand this hitrial eauso—the most important ause~of the obvious, centuries-old Mastin decin, we Begin 10 fealte that a spina, cltral and sociopolitical fevial ofthe ‘Muslin world mon intimately connected with and depends upon {he possibly ofthe Muslims guning anew, ect ingight—that {say cea insight into the prstne teachings of Toa, And, {5 thappens, every day more and more Mushims are becoming nei of he fc tht the pining of sich an insight nowadays ‘hei principe, unavoidable tsk, Te aio to th, more and more Maslin of ou time else ‘hat he innermost goal of te Imus Fad cons in enabling man to ive in spstual an social security aswell asin insectal and ysl dignity, and thy realise oo, that this goal can only be Feached though socal cooperation. Its obvious that sich 2 oo ‘operation presupposes the exitence of generally acxpted lepa ‘ete: ot thir pesely,enplaine wy te concep cf Canon aw-eae shar splays so pea a ole wihin the ideology of Islam. The Qur'an and the hstocalyauthetcated teachings of {ts Prophet provide a coactte body of laws concerned with the be ‘havior ofthe nial a wl ar wth the mata relation of he Individuals within the society. This body of laws touches upon ‘human fe in all its aspects, 1 reltes to problems of man's 3 ‘woman's peroal actions aswel tothe siete ofthe soe) ‘hae to principles of education and to sexual behavio 0 econ ‘ic aswel sf ci ahs and duties; to ci aw and 0 ei hal. And tis noteworthy thatall these muliform problems are ‘eat with bythe shar ah of Ii fom the viewpoint of he nats Tala oftne-Sound developmen! to whic al rman concer are fubjec a premise which Sass practical expression Inthe pine ‘Spl of ithad the ight to indiidualjgment nthe pplication ‘of legal injunction and thus inthe great cls which di- Tnguises Islamic Law and makes it applicable to all stages of ‘mans social development. 'At arendy mentioned, i the socalled “worldiges” of Inim-that emphasis on the postive value of at's Me on slam and the Spot of our Tomes cant—shichiferenins most tig fiom all he ober $ratrcisonsHowevers ne shoud nt evetok the fc hat ‘SSpue al raves on the bmprtance of manki's meal and soe et cig lan poste tat the endeavours lating SEtismon telabject oapittal vention b pect cer 2e"Govnuay sucha atta nt ony uses he socal ant ‘Semone draiom so earctere fora, ta fy ‘Senapnds tote hopes of he preety Musi tense. ‘Xierfemurchot wet stagnation apd tity they ar beeing. AS sin to understand tat al has mck mote offer han ‘tere pra consolation; and any ofthe ave already become Tete tthe poshty tha praia! appcaon of I to Scat prolews might coal ther commanty—and paps the ‘Sof mankind wit them to nd a) ou ofthe contusion i ‘Schell user sosy the sof sue hiking Ma ie oy ining nami oncpton ofthe teaching of slr ‘hos rel aerate othe code matin which nowadays thretens to inunaate the whole word cee that he ponsty of such an ntetectul ad spiral seth ofthe Mai commu cold havea eat. postive si ‘esos not nly forte moro lam bu a forthe Christi ‘tain mutal labors an nterchange teen na Jools sod roup, wheter postive or others. we Si ety poi da ydy; ada of liu infucnes Sen Sneed sina tat senha weakening “pnt conto iin on et epous community ver SMeaaby, ma ound imperepe way, 2 cnesponding IMnucne na other and portal the more cst ated ‘Mgouy communities. Thi tfcnce no ust conned the ‘fost thelony butter, touches spon he pce othe con fing crstnce or om-exens of alec! aston 38 ich, asTHE ANSWERS OF ISLAM (tte in Geman in the 196 by Sezresey Veg, Manic) AUTHOR'S NOTE, ‘TweroLtowinaanewer toaseres of pertinent questions are the ‘aul of questionnaire posed by the wellknown German pub Iiher GechardSeeaeany, in collaboration wih the Bavarian Broad- ‘ting Corporation (Bayercher Runafunk), to several selected ‘epresentaivesof he great word eeligions. My own contribution, ‘Comprising snswers from the Islamic poat of view, wan #0: ‘equentyrebroadeat ia several Maslin and. nom Mslim ‘ountiet and ally published in book frm, together with the Sowers of the oterpartspant, under the tie Die Anbwort dr Relgonen, which estilo print, Lam grate to Me. Seczesay fr Permison to reproduce here my owa answers, which have ane [ed into English. Fy1. MAN AND THE UNIVERSE. (Q) How would you describe the relationship between our word ‘and ou realty on the one side and hat oher, supernatural iy to Thich al religions refer? I dat which we can perce and describe ‘ura linited, sensual approachable aspect of one al-embracng r= ity, oF hat “our” and hat “other” world are ee dif ferent categories of existence? (A) Winhin the Islamic conception of realty the question ot its ‘ivision into “natural” and "supernatural" citegorie doce sie, Everything that i and happens or, conceivably, could be or Iappen ss result of God's creative acti and, therefore, not nly “natural inthe innermost sense af titer, ut aso bons {o one and the same, conceptually integrated tealy. Cea spect ofthis multraceed,comples rely ate directly open 0 human insight and compeehonsion apd re, therefore, refered (0 in the Ouran asthe "observable sphere of Being” al at “hahddah), wil tain oer ofits aspect tema temporary of ven permanently beyond the reach of human pesepion tnd belong, acondingly. to the "non-obereabe sere” (alam al _hayb). Some aspecs a ha ater sphere or category wil reves themsever to man's perception snd understanding atthe next Sage of Bs exitence™that iin his fe ater death—wherees fter aspects ae destined to remain forever within the exchve ‘Knowledge of God. Wiha ths, however, Doth hese spheres of Being—those which are «prion perceptible by man aswell shoo ‘whic are temporasy of permanently non perceptible—are ut ‘parts one and the sme ely which ows rm Go for, she ‘Our states, Hef "the SeltSubssent Fount ofa Being” (a ‘gayyim). Hence, « Masi is never tempted to visualise the con ‘Man andthe Universe ‘cept of “realy in dusite sense, Moreover, since the entire {enching ofthe Qurén aime at an unceasing deepening of man's ‘onsousnest anda constant widening of hs spctual experienc, the boundary lines between that whichis prio observable and ‘hat wich kes yond mars perception ary no means to fina ‘ven inthis presen if andi sor his reason that we Muslims Go ‘ot admit of ny qualitative or even conceptual sepraionof “our” ‘eal rom that apse of existence which snot pea to cur seses ‘orisbeyond the potential lms ofour uodestanding: forsale Sky one and incite 2 (0) Does the “other realty become in any wy apparent within “our realy? What pobltesare open oman 0 lear anything aout tha iso say, whether etal and what might be is ‘haracteris? What roe may be acribed this context 10 reve tions, sacred books, and to religious radons in general Are there miraces—tot 1, happenings which the “other rely revel nel hough a uspenaton ofthe laws and condition prev Tenran “our realy? (A) As T have alieady explained in my answer othe preceding treson, Ila dose not concewe of "realty ina dualistic sense Uhtceathereacern nal of a nisi unity: namely, x many layered and: muti faceted cevelation of God's creative. Will Hence, fore Muss thre ino question of another” realty ln amithess to “ous we iffereatnte only betwen the percep {ible andthe non-peroepible specs of oe and these total ‘Onsne other hand. may sometimes happe tat one of athe those aspect of reality whieh ae normally beyond human percep ton eves ise oa persons searching intellect and perhaps even to isor er senses aber though a personal, satu cope fsin a more geneal and usually more ending manner. a 2 ‘sult syaemat research, be india ar collec fo, 2 fod deal of what is normally unknown tous need et always Fema unknowable. This pps i particular, to ov copiion Go's unceasing cestivenessia bh the conte ad the asta ‘pects ofthe universe. This creative activity & deseibed in the ‘Goran a5 "God's ay (unnar ANd): and encompasses al that inconcived ofa "the laws of ate It follows therefore 19‘The Answers ofan that many of those facts of reality which, at ist ght, are un Known to us may become accesible to human understanding My ‘ery of eystematic abseretion of varius eatural phenomena and {study oftheir mutual elation: nother words, bymeans of sce tie research. And because, as Ihave alvead mentioned, slam Sime at scomious widening and deepening of man's coasciou tes, the Ourin steses again and again the importance of oUF uy of rues one othe foremost ws tarde a deeper under Standing of God's creative acy through which He reveal 08 His Being. Both the Quen andthe subeate teachings of the ‘Apostle of God ae full of admonitions in this espect and hesen ties an explanation of the Maustins' emendous achievements shring the early centuries of Islam, in the domain of natura SSiencs andthe development of truly siete methodology. mus, however be horse in mind that sient etearh lone cannot posi une tous all spect of rely fo. the endless vers and mutual intertwining ofthe factor response for that reality paces many of ts aps far beyond the ait of empl research and scene definition, Within ths citepory te cat gory of what beyond the reach of science a5 such and theefore Sedacoverable through ie methods the doin of ths Wich plays so dominant role aman ie and sonsequen Ineeparabl from what we dese teal Hence tmonde 10 Provide for us the necesary guidance i the Held of ethical Naluations—a guidance which scence cantot voucsafe 10 ws ‘God unveis tous the meaning of Good and Evil hough what termed “reveation”: that the dest msg to etal teh nd their itercelatonsgrnied by Go to certain excep and aceptionaly-recepive personales described a "pophets” AS the Quen repeatedly sree, no human group ox community Gin the wider sens af these terms) has ever Det left without sch 4 Prophets autance; and th rinsipe of oil otinaty the {vine act of revelation represents ne of he funds Qu ae ‘AS reqatd the question of miracles, one mus lua emembet thatthe uranic expression duh sigies nt only amas” in ‘he seme of» happening which goes beyond os. prin outside the sual (orusallyobsereale) couse natural phenomena, but ‘alo synonymous with "spn and “menage” in te abtact Senses of hase ers ad the lst named of these meanings he 10 Man ond the Universe ‘one whichis by far the most equenty met wih inthe Qur'an ‘Thos, what commonly dssibed x2 "miracle consti, in fac, an wousua divine message expressing olen sa a syboic tmannet—sptual th which mould otBerwise have femaines dea from man's intellect But even such extraordinary miaco- lous messages cannot be reatded as "supernatural fr the simple ‘eazon that the s-aled "Ls of nate are only a perceptible ‘manifestation of "God's way (aunnar Aah) in tespect of His Creation and, consequently (s already mentioned, everthing {at exis or happens, or could concevaly exist of happen, is ‘natura in te ionemost sense of this word, iespetve of ‘shether a conoom othe ordinary (or "ess" course of events ‘or ges beyond And since, as # rue, such anusual mesapes ‘each us through one or another of those specially gifted, God ‘hoten personalities spoken fn His revelaon as His messengers ‘prophets the popu mind atbuts to the ater the bit) 9 “perform mires" misconception which the Quan removes bythe words: "Mirace (aya) ate the power of God alone” Ie, "are only with God] (strat 6100) 3 (Q) Does sini research lay amy sgnican role in man's cog riton of he “other ely? Must the statemens of religion bet ‘cco wth scent iadings, ors such on accord irelevan? Does ‘eligon come fos ow” ony athe pont wher al sien expla Paton of eum tuhs reaches the en of ts posenalities? (A) As forthe ole o iene suc, must be sessed that al Scientific research-~that isto say, systematic observation of nat ‘alphenomend andastady oftheir intr-tltions iso unos sg fiance in the world-view of Islam, for it enables ws 10 Comprehend beter abd better the fact that all creation is Based ‘po efnte divine plan, and is thus apt to strengthen anid ‘deepen our cniton of God's existence and omnipotence ince ‘iscternalativiyundereal realty the teachings of slam at bute guaity of lines fo every research and endeavour aiming stabetterunerstnding of he world around us and within us. The Prophet Mubammad si, "Suing aller knowledge sa sacred ‘uty rida) for every Nusim man ad woman” and, "I any ‘body goes on his way ia search of knowledge, God will make cary 1The Antwers of Ilan {or him the way to Paradis”; and, “the superinyof the learned ‘etson over mere worshipper slike the superiority ofthe moon ‘na night when is fal oer [the igh ofall he sats. ‘Since, a4 we kao al reality 2 God-reted nity, it follows ‘hat every scent nding winch i obecvely proved to Beta ‘must eo ipso coincide with every uly cious tenet touching upon {he mature of the universe. As fa the Quan concord, tis fer conedence hetween is statements and all sich siete findings sare proven beyond all postlityof doubt canbe lus ‘tated by many examples. To mention enya few, I would ike allude hare wo the doctie of evalauonrtered to nthe Our ‘aps and again: the biological evolution of ail organs (Gnluding the eromth of the human embryo ia smothers wom) {at wel asthe solo historical elution of human communes 4nd vsaons; oF 0 the innumerable Quranic references £0 the ‘easing movement of ll cles Bodies star, planets, slat Systems and plases~and the mutual interdependence oftheir ‘ott or tothe principle of cause and eect which-as the Our epeatelystatesundeties the beng andthe growth ofall that cx To brit ican safely besa that Islam sand has always been fre ofthat “conic between faith nd sense” bi wes often encounter in othe lgions for he sip reason hn Im de ‘ot admit ofthe exstenee ofa coat Between religion and Me 5such, butrather recognises the fae that alate ety Snaseparble clement fife tse "These obseratins are, I Believe, suicient to ccumscibe the tole wivch rene plays the overall concept of slam. However, ‘te should not overlook avery portant pont: lthough scence ‘wot qualia to make us progressively comprehend something of {he world sound us and a hee within, meter able nor ‘alld upon o pronounce a judgment regarding the spiral got of IRuman ie and th o provide us ith etal guidance, Ia exer ‘words, the problem of ethical valutione—the problem of Good {nd Evi asl tthe question a fo how man shoul Hehave and les solely witha the realm a elglon, iene 90 mare than one ofthe instruments which mansaelect heat it spol nore to finds better and beter ovemation within the obersabe i ‘verse; and religion—in the Islamic sense ofthis word—must snd 1 Man andthe Universe os us his instrument inorder to guide man towards a better and better spiritual and socal exstence (Q)_ What role does emeorion ply in man’s endeavour to approach he “other realy"? Arelove of aur ar and eat. 10, of Donance fora reisiour comprehension ofthe univers? (A) As Ihave already stated, the Islamic conception does no ‘mit of any “otber” eality—that ia supernatural category fnistence in a hypothetical contrast—or even an anithesis0 {hove sector of the univers which ae a prior perceptible os For us, there sony one realty. Oat comprehension of canbe widened and deepened by means of a concis itellestia ‘lont—for instance. emplnical research" oF maheratia ‘aleulation—as well as though an inttive perception of he ne links between etaia phenomena which st plance appear to be ‘ntirely unconnected, Man hss undoubtedly the post to ai ‘ch itive ashes of inset by way of loving observation o ‘atural phenomena on which the Our’ so emphatically insists: {he alteration of day and ight the course of he winds. the se’ ebb ad Mow, the wale harmony of sell ott, the srowth a ‘new leaf ona tece, the many-ided ingenious formation of human {bd animal bodies, the amazing creation of 4 new living en ‘hrough the mating of male and female, the gradual development ‘ofthe embryo ins mother’ body. the immense creative abc ‘ofthe human mind ante redom of choc which reason vouch Safes oi And ite reaton, in patcular, which s pointed out ‘coundess Qu ani statements and admonitions athe proper may that may leod us to cognton of whats trac and. Rene, to ft Ads we ae incessantly clled upon to make the best ponuble se of our intelectual pacts, to think, to observe Gods ve {reaton and to meditate upon the ini oe: and. fil. te ‘Seavour to comprehend our awn motivations a well hose of our Tellow-beings, The whole ofthe lame doctrine tls. were. “"Think-~and you reason wil guide yuo lth instea of Ing s. a some other religions do, “Gai athand through your {ath you will arive a a comprehension ofthe ath Ths di ference of approach arses tom the fact that te opus ruts ‘which the Ouran speaks have nothing in common with the usThe Answers of sam, ‘mysteries nd highly involved and often ncomprebiensble dogmas “deriving so many other Felgions on the contary, the Quanse teaching alrays open fo the human ming, respective of whether fe approaches i through systematic reasoning or through in {ution Te gocs without saying that the later is often asain ‘ith emotion, which frequently mane iael—leginaely an {it and poet. However, we ae indecly warned by the Quran ‘otto allow emation to Become a kind of etiestl “etch” ‘ur search after religious cognition: fr, in order otto be sl ‘ecepive, emotion must be res of copnition abd not be con- sidered’ way to s (Q) Can the “other reality” be know by way of mystica! ‘experiences? Or can such a knowledge be atained through med ‘ation? ls itconceivabl that man's desing int th depths of som ‘Selfmay revel o him much more than amere derstanding of the Dsycholgia factors responsible forthe shaping of his personaly ‘ant hs character? (A) The Ours makes it clear that our comprehension of reality an certainly be deepened and widened by what we dscibe 3 "mystical experience in other words, through an tative pit ‘talcontact withthe Divine and, hence, with those ths which are either open to our sl perception nor can be aly grasped by ane Inia thinking I this respect there is hardly any ference be twee, the ews of Ilan andthe of other reat religions al of them appear tobe unanimous about the possibilty of mya spi {wal experiences and cognitions. Seeing, however tat in every Singlesestance sucha posts depends onthe paral capbi- tiesofthe individual concerned swell aon the extemely viable ‘actors responsible for his psjbologel “preparation, the teach Ingo slam is ver reticent x regards the methods by which spn ‘ual contact with the Absolute could be brovpht shout and ‘majtained. On on point only does slam provide us with 20 ex: Blt, albeit negate statement: i forbid ll manner of asic eitssonifcation and worlretuncntion, and denies the postr Uiity of such practices basing man close to God. “There no ‘monastic wori-enuncation (banyan slam, the Prophet ‘Muhammad taught ws, denying thereby all spitual virtue 1 vel Man ond the Universe ntary cellscy: and all schools of Islamic thought regard this teaching tan nvoiable principe of fae for inthe [tame wold- ‘ow al espinal st wells physical, Intelectal as well as ensual—is Godled an, therefore essentially postive; and in the framework of sch worldsew, every act ofselfmortbcation ‘ssynonynous with a denial of God's pif and thus, by impleaton, ‘of His plan of creation 6 (@) Can she “other realty” be described by mean ofthe etegories. land conepts of ar reaiy? Does the conceprof "God reall imply eben ina sons iar to our defintion of “person, or ‘only ecyphe for something thats beyond al description? Which of the eplns stutemont are tobe derstood teal, and whioh Imus be regarded or metsphorcl, allegra smile r myhcl? (A) Since thote aspects or sectors of tealty which are beyond bhuman perception are eo jaa outside all human experience, ok tows that they cant be cucumscribed by categories nd concepts ‘esuling ftom human experience. For this fea the Our Sates explily in sdrah 37: "In ths [vine we) are messages ‘ha are clear Ia andy themselves (4 muon) 25 well as ‘thes that are allegorical (ruushabiha) "On close study ofthe ‘Qur'in becomes obvious hata of teachings and statements Felting to mans ethical, oral and social behavior belong the ‘atgory of "messages that ate clear in and by themselves, where tall teerencs to those aspects of reality which ie beyond the ‘each of human perception and imagination and ae, therefore, ‘oud to man's cognitive experince are of necesiy expressed in fnallegoccel manner and must be understood by usin this sense. ‘To ths ler category belong, for instance, ll references to God tnd is “attributes theatre of the beng or powers desrbod ‘Stangele, mas eafter death, the Day of Jodpment, Paradise {nf Hel and 20.00. However i eens to me that te above- “oted Gur ani statement cannot be propel) understood unless ‘ne aries wn comprehension of th ature ad function of alle- gory” assch, A tre alegry—in contrast toa mere pictorial pari Brae of thoughts or ese which could be equally wel or pers ven better expressed in dee termes invariably meant 10 ‘Sonvey ina figurative manner something which, because ofits MsThe Answers of lam ‘many layered complexity cam never be expres in he form of ‘rect statement and ean, therefore, be grasped ony inttvely that sto say only a8 metaporial images ever eres ‘etalledpropostions This ehaacertie of a tue allegory hols ‘00d, in paul, ofthe Islamic concept of God whoa the ‘Qurtin says “sublimely exalted above anything that men msy ‘evise by Way of definition” (aah 6:10) Tes press for this reason that Godan never be icunseribed and imited, ait were by the concept of "person inthe humaniysemani sense ofthis ‘een In ore to expres this impossbity, God speaks ot Himself {nthe Quran often none andthe stmesentence—ae "We land "He" while the tenses ofthe respective verbs constanly vary between preset, past and future. In lew ofthe high precision 50 harcterstc fie Arabiclanguage-and expel the language ‘fhe Quran—this Rowing-opeter of the person pronouns 33 tenses scquires an extraordinary significance: imps a power Inet statment hat God exssin absolute ify and mel nessandcan never be mapined deseribed or even concep cumscrbed. 2 (2) ts man a product of he natural developmen of il lving beings ‘such ferent frm the animal word only ne sete which “animals ore ciferent from plants, or does he belong fo a ctegory ‘hick may be described as “supra-nature”? (A) According tothe linguistic definition provided by the Arabic Tanguage—and therefore also by the Islamic doctine, which ‘expressed in that language—iman is an “animal” inthe setae of ‘teuncally belonging to that group of living Deings which te endowed with the faculties of sensation, perception and move: ‘ment, swell sp the seaseof being dependent on phyogs ‘neds and functions more ose resembling those of her aoa ‘eins. But there sone element whieh ciffereaes maa Dac ‘fom aloe animals: his atonal conaciounets—tht i, hi ab Sty to form concepts and to bring them together in countess om biations by means of meatal process which canbe srected and ‘vided by hs wll This uniqueness of human ature brought ut ‘it great cat inthe Qu aie parable (appearing inthe second ‘Sirah of Adam athe angels: and particularly s0 because is ra Mar ond the Universe vious fom the context thatthe name “Adam” ccumcribes ‘mankind usa whole. Ta that parable God proves othe angel that ‘Adam sin one respect atlas superior to them by virtue of his ity ove names” al things, wheres the angels cannot do this. AT Arabi slope spree tn thatthe tr name” Cm) Tngaisically denotes "an expression which fs meant 1 convey the oowedpe of any objet, coneete or abtac. by ercumsenbing itsubstanoe ore haretritcs isch aways diferente ftom other objects: in bre, here sonymous with "on cept" Consequently. the ability to give names to things” is 3 metaphor for man's bora felt of lal definition and concep tal thinking Andi this faculty alone which enables main ‘ontast to al ther ving beings 0 visualise a prot the conse ‘quence ois own activi) and, ths, ever situation Lo are at {Teonacousehoie between the vious poses open to his ‘epaiding an action or an tutu, Ts freedom of chowcepresup- ‘poses, of couse, a certain messure of fe will—that lative Independence of purely anima nstinets and urges and therefore dso moral responsibty Its in these twin basi, natal ators of hit extence that man's niguenes and true nur Becomes fll spparen. 5 (0) 1 shar whick we regard as mans “soul” an ety separate or Seperate fram hs body ri all that we crumseib y ths em ‘nua function and expresion of speci physiological process? (A) The Qur'an never refers to man's “soul” i the tense ofan ty separate fom hit biological existence The Arabic word haf olten (and iaadeguatels) tansated 36 “soul oe “sie ‘denotes not only the M-etence active in all enste begs bu sth the india! deny of every such being With erence to ‘nan, dis tem usally signifies "person" oa “self the sense ‘ofthe integral unity of being which we desribe as the “buman personaly" in ther words, the man-sded combination of the oncete, phys orpanism together sith its mental ales, Character temperament and forth pls that nefnale “some: ‘hing which endows the body with if, and which sometimes fefeeed to inthe Quran as rh as well (although i the Our ane ‘sage this ater term mos often Synonymous not so mach with “wThe Anawert of Ilan “spc” as wth “inspiration and, more patclaly, vine ins ration"). But whichever term we use the nner feltionehip Be {ween hs fe principle andthe man o animal body & beyond ‘he reach of our pereption. With all his, however, mat be ‘noted that Islam doesnot envisage an factual or potential conflict ‘between man’s body aed sul, atmech ai only through an fmteracton ofthese two elements thatthe human personality comes into being and persists (Q) 1s the human personaly immoral 0” does ts supposed cont ‘uty afer deat consist ony na farther development, n 8 eh Stage, ofthe elements and processes responsible formas existence? 1s posible 1 answer the question ato whether the individual ‘numa being as aeady ested. In whacer form i may have ‘been before hs bin an, accordingly, how me are 1 understand ‘is contind exten oer bodily death? (A) Nowhere in the Quan do we find any allusion to man's im ‘moraity”. God alone immortal an eterna, wheres all Hin ct. tions, in acordance with His Wi, but eanstoy, bound to pats Say scone o ter None the les the Ouro speaks pain and Spain fa continuation of ie ter deth—that of the fact that. {he death the body satan end of oman enone but athe, the Beginning fa new stage of indetesminate duration, This new begining is described in the Qa 25 "renarection'oamely 8 resurrection ofthe entire aman “personaly inthe sense alladed ‘oin my answer othe preceding question. Ks of cure, ros lle fo us to tate or evento mapine with what Kind of organi tha resurrected. personality wil be endowed. All Quranic ‘eferences to ou eater death are expressed in allegories thi = Unsvoidabl forthe simple eason tha the ae conveyed tou by ‘means of human language apd are, therefore, formulated onthe basis of cons arn from human experiences gine inthis ur present lle However, one spect of our Ife afer what is called "death is conta, and with peat ses, referred tn the Quran: the uninterrupted continuation of indvidual con Seiowmes. In this respect there isnot the least beak between Ian's exstence before and after bodily death However sch out ological organism may change on tesrrecton {and gute i Siac reuse se CECE cre nen eRe Ua ESSE (Man and the Universe dependent ofthe gueion sto wheter that point hee wlbe Sing he "bop eran the seme of our preset sretces the Gur dacresrepetey that etry oa of Molancd to couine st poor and 0 cary overs Sonstousnese”ad th the oral reaposbty for hs past ‘tow swell the new form of exitece. Ths contnton Steorscowmes wil tat age be sompanied by an immense ‘ering of ur acy of prrpion ab ens wil sina [Jeoinacan for fling of espoay for that ne Stee death nh cones Obra tenet soc tma's happiness or sufering i the new phase of hs We ‘botnel as Paradis and Hell a meaning which pos ar ‘Zon and above the sonvensoral coaeps of “reward” or “Pusch mosel, ns codon afte esurestin reveals ieee nave consequrner fh ior ong aions ates due he Mephse preceding deaan ori, prostssne developmen, abet onan incomparably bighe vel Einpstenitene Actowheterahsnew stg fies fa ‘her al ay poly bese wohuman evelopment sa question ‘Thc om aower ol ater vig aed new pital ss ‘nresecion 0 (Q) Whereinstobe sought in's salvation? Inthe highest posible (lveopment and perfection of his matua predsposinon aswell Inthe best pose fufment ofthe sks moral enjoined upon him ‘by hs hme and environment, or ima concentration on such of is tiles and vires a may cause han to come into contac withthe ‘herrea and prepare hin for? eit predominantly important that one should alway endeavour to find out how other regions ‘deine mas ny to salvation, oF i it more important wo behave Throughout onc ein accordance mith he eel demands of his ‘own eligon alone? (A) Before answerig the above question, may mention Wo fun- {imental Islamic principles connected withthe problem of "sa ‘ation, Fis te concep of origina sa” inte Cristi sense ‘Semel alien slam andi, moreover, category rejected by ‘te teacge: for, man accountable only fr his owe behavout hdot forte sins of his orebea—or, inthe aft repeated words “0The Answers of Ilan ‘tthe Qurin; No human being is called upon to bear another's Burden” (ah 6:16; abo 1713, 35:18, 9:7 and 338). For {hi remon mans “sation” cannot. pons) depend on “vicarious atonementmat the cise in Cain order 0 fe himselt rom an allegedly “inherited moral tam. Secondly, Ina denies exist the extnce of sa tra conic betwee boy and pint conflict which in tbe Crisan doctrine eto beat iherootof he socalled “orignal sin—but pars tone to ‘specs ofthe human personaly = Godwiled and, therefore, ‘qual poste asparable element of mans nature. Tis, his “ahation doe no presuppse a renunciation or reeton fhe legitimate urges ofthe body but abe, thei seboison to the ‘Seman ofthe spt and the hates of sons "Asaooa are conse theve wo premiser—ihe ejection ofthe rinse of “orginal andthe ena of an bor confi be {een body andspt—we realise hatin sam the concep l= ‘ton can have only oe meaning Yusion of pt dfs, ‘housht and action, incination and actual behavior into a har tmonious unity of being dsingised by what ne deci moral equity” (ad) of “righcousnss" (rarely, sans ihteusnes before God and hime (consign the Semout air bow ei oh vad Wo fully to develop bis own God-given, postive quale), and viehcouses towards one's ellowsmen (expresed in con ant endeavour to elp hem in thet moral evelopment toa fared ther mp ano mr fora teudy igre hei Social contin). He or she who fle these demands stain 0 Savation nthe apie seme: For ths stat am oes ot brat any eset vale to Tah alone ues ads oan 2 companied by, righteous action swell I follows, therfore that itis the imermowt purpose ofthe abc cl faith to enable tafe cyan pray awl nny nd Socal ina moral equitable manne, Inoter word, a cogiion ‘frelgous ats isin sam not am endintelDut ates a 4890 ‘whats ethically good and pote in tise and comequenty. appines inthe ie to come (Q) What sgneance have suffering and happiness for mn’ pir 150 ‘Man and the Universe ‘ual improvement? Should he endeavour to achive a happy if for ‘mse ond for other, pater ecepng confi and sfferngs ‘sich ve unavoudable owing tothe inrinsic imperfection of the Ruma condiion-or should en order t test end pu) hs own Self. if not aim at deliberately creating stations which rebound to se oufring at est not toy f prevent hem o,f they already tt nots yo do avy with hem? (A) Hl beat in mind tht the term "Islam" leally denotes ‘surrender, namely, one's sefsurrender 10 God, we are bound to rele that i the elamic world-view both hapines and Sutferng must have a dest bearing om the problem of man sth fal development To accep hapines with gratitude a an unex pesied it from God and not at 8 Kind of reward for our Presumed righteousness a well fo do our best to make our ‘ow-humans share this or happiness and wo bear allsufering ‘without complaint as something Godse, as well as todo out ‘esto spre others sir sfering: these two demands the ‘tial outlook of slam reves self most tne. Man has un- ‘oubiedly 2 moral right to aim at happiness—bot never atthe fxpense of oer and Be has the moral duty to strive in uoord Shee with is bet abit, fora removal ofthe conflicts and an alle ation of the suffering to which mankind i always exposed [Because of ir weaknesses and imperfection as well as beeae of aural ctewmstances beyond all human conto. This moral day trees from the uranic doctrine that both our individual and Sock ite ae always capable of improvement, providing that we “pdesour to atone our behaviour tothe pose fcutes which ‘God tas bestowed on oar minds and our bodies: and this s the {etn why Islam s0 emphatically rejects al self-mortfation and ‘wordenunciaton snd why itso sharply condemasal pasty in the face of other people's suteing in bret, whenever cannot be Svoked sufering must be borne with patience; and whenever becomes absolutely ncesay tha {nintivigual bool safer for the ake ofthe community, be mes ‘ingly take this suffering upon himself: but never ihe supposed ‘or allowed to sok out sullenng forte sake of mere suffering 2 (©) Does the history of mankind show an rea developmen in th 1stThe Anamert of Ion sense of progres? Can we sere any growth in humanity and wisdom sd y side with scenic and echnologcal progress? (A) At study of history shows ue—and a the Qur'ta clesly pois out-mankind doesnot daply any collective proses nthe Feaim of ethical wisdow—for he simple reason tht "manking” buts multiplication fndvidal lng and ot spt eny as sch, All saci progresisstrilycoaiaed tothe sper of emp ‘alkoowede. It iobvious that he sum-totl of mani’ tive, empically achieved Knowledge expressed in scene, technology and organisation is eadly growing because le ‘mentsarecasly communicable andcan, therefore be accumulated ‘inthe thinking, and feproduced inthe doing, of an united ‘umber of ndviduak The situation i however ently different ‘sth regatd to progres inthe spits and ethical sense ofthese ‘eons: such a proges always depends onthe felng and he wll ot ach invidul, and is elment can neither be dre transit {ed by one person to anothor not secmelted isch away 10 ‘esult in mankin's collective “posession”. We can, of cous, i ‘ividualy benefit by the sprtal experiences of ther nda ifand when these experiences are communicated ts: nd ths fac is the reason why mos ofthe sired seriptres, cluding he (Ouran, so often refer tothe spit insights of thoes extraord tary personalities described a "prophets" But one should never forget that such a possibity of one inividals dering a spit benefit from another person's experiences consists slly in the Iyuence which the later may ve on the former and tot Gizec!rensfrence of those experiences. In other words, the ‘houghis or felngs expressed by Godelected men ike Abraham, Moses, Jesus or Muanimad can eersnly ac as 1 powert impulse on our own feeling and studes, but canot automat ‘ally, an were, bring forth sia felings oe attades in out Selves Andine the pra experiences of one person can never be ansfeeed to anaher person, they canot be elective {sed anda sth case wi element of empiric! knowledge—in the cous of ime augmented and improved they can but verve at means of guidance for other individuals Andhusit sth we can Speak ofspiritul and ethical progress alvays ony with reference ‘ndiidual naman Beings, nd never "mankind a & whole Il, THE ATTITUDE OF RELIGIONS TOWARDS ONE ANOTHER B (©) Bo the fandameteldocrines ofl reions contain rus? ‘isc relgions more ov tut, orcn ony one re Whereas ‘Mh hr ae fae? there frnc ereen"elgion and “ih (A) The histor coninnton of and nner connection between {he varous forms and pes of dine revelation one ofthe most Important tomes in flame docne According fo te Our, asin he nr tne gt or popes fom wn Srey singe community or altel enity—meseagers wi rented one ad th sae ase tut: namely, ht here only ac Go in whose cin no oer being hae ay even he ost tne, shar, and haan pone Hi fo al is ‘Clon and'consiou endesours Many of thxe propels ae tenons in the Qu by name; Dut te ae als tod that be ‘ich there eben cunt wel Among hose un ples whose names te sivenn the Gua Sitch prophttsforemow among tem Abraham, Mess nd Jesusraf ten of se by side wit he Prophet Sfubannad ‘tosencs of her teachings was aay dente aso ean De Sanit a of hem rolimed one athe sume faith However, ‘God tele inthe Gurdn: "For everyone of ou fie. forever) ‘mcf your communis have We apie afer] vine tn and an open road” rah 48. "The scaning of ths statement i his: Abou the eternal teu prenhed ty all of God's mesenger ha va een the Sc hee message ileed in emp ofthe Body of ls 0 {Enc throug each of hem, lestng to every community a fee 153‘The Anawers of lla open road”) as regards its way of Mead thisin view ingerigenccs of time and ofthe wag of sca develop tment chractersing each of thote communes or sven Fnaly, however mankind a such reached sae of intellectual prepatation which enabled itv comprehend snd to accep sun ‘ers system of divine ws which could be vad for all umes and Under af crmstances: and this, combined with the undeniable fact hat none of the earlier sacred serptres as remained fe of ‘considerable nd often deliberate alterations, asthe reason for the revelation ofthe Quran. Because of the wives, timeless pplabty of Ws teachings the Qur'an represents the sami of allivne revelation and, thus, the most peeec way o mans pie {wal and soc flment and because the text ofthe divine mest {age promulgated through Muhammad has never been and never ‘i be altered, he isthe lst or, a the Ouran esribes him, the seal” of al prophets. This unguenes of the Ourin an ofthe person who proclaimed it does not, however, contait the fet {hac eetin eternal verles do endute nearer eevedled religions and that, consequat, thee sincere followers can be regarded as ightous" in the Quan sense of this term aswell provided ‘hat they believe in God's taneendentl oneness nd nguenet, ‘fully conscious oftheir esponsibility to Him, and reall ive in Sccordance with these tenets. To make thik pot aboltely cle, ‘he Qur'an repeatedly Says ‘Veiy those who have tained to uth in this divin weit] as wells thon who follow the Jewish faith, ands Chins, nd ‘he Ssblane—all who believe in God and the Last Day and do ‘ightous deeds—shall have thelr reward with sei Sustalner, fand no fear need they have, and neither shall they give" (sarah 262, “ (Q) Does he cognition of the verity of areigion depend on then lectus or mol maturity ofan individual ax such? Is ares ‘comprehension of word and if always dependent on he parca ‘character, the particular teligence and the parcalar gree of ‘ontclouinets ofthe person concerned posuby the xe manner in whih various popular religions are but miro ofthe character ‘and the simaton ofthe sci) in which hey have come int Being? 156 ‘The Aiud of Religions Towards One Another (ris ere a religion which could be regarded s wali and rae for ‘a people, a altmes? (A) As have pointed oon my aswer to the question preceding thes on, tbe Ouran renga the bei in Go's transcendental ‘eens and uniguenes athe only ue and inthe religious seme Septic faith and the same Qur'an sess again and asin {hat cognition ofthis fundamental ut Is pen to every matte, Inentlly sound human being. Now t oes without ying thatthe {Taj and manner which an intelectual simple person conceives ‘G's ing most fern many respect from th conception of Pilosopher, But povided that both are equally sincere, he dit Ferenc between ther conceptions consis, eset, only in = {erence between two depres of comelouness and knowledge ‘In hs nothing to do withthe question aso whether the faith of ‘ier ofthese wo person i genuine and complete The believing ‘hlosopher i, cous, ins positon to support his intellectual perception of God's oneness and almihtinews by his far-eacing Enowiedge of nator ecarences, of history and of Puan psy halogy of the may in wbich human sees are formed, 0 0 ‘nr but the same olds good, on hs owe level ofthe “simple”, {educated beiever, even thowgh be may not have» comparable {mellecual apperase a his pes fr, though his wor-vew ‘inevitably marower thi that of pilospher, teed note less “ruc in the subjective tense of this erm. And so it can e said ‘hat the faith both of» piloopher and of an entirely uneducated person stains to completeness and vai as soon a ether of ‘hom able to conned his artical perception of reality with hit ‘Somrtion ofthe existence ofthe One God, in whose vty none ‘i nothing bess share. Conversely, without such a cognition, fai whatever its formslaon can be considered tre i the ‘Quran see of hs word 6 (0) Uf theres religion which maybe said o contin and expres the ulimate rath, how desi happen that not all human beings ceri os oon a they become acquainted ih i? (A) Although there are many religions, there exists only on ‘gious truth the existence ofthe One and Only God, who agai fin again reveals His Being tor His perceptible creation and 15Phe Amower of am mote explicly, through the instrament of His chosen mess- ‘nger, the prophets. The fact that not all Aman beings can be OF “re wiling accept this tthe to varius use, One of thers isthe unwilingnes of so many people wo sarenderthemseves the idea ofthe Absolute an, ence, 1 submit their ow ins © ‘tical and moral imperatives which often cont with what such people regard as dry “advantageous” to ther on mate ot Soci interest. Another, more prevalent suuse my be found i ‘eta infuences to which these people were exposed com thelr ‘er cildheod: fr sastance, im early “inherited religious doo tries which had loog ago stayed fom the fondamental tut of God's oneness and uniqueness and now force their adherents 1 trope about ina labyrinth of enigmatic dogmas and mysteries Which are. by their very nature. Beyond mas etl! grep nd cannot, therefore, aba sais scaring mind. Noge the les, such slo teachings exert a Kind of mortage taction on poople who had grown up under thei infence and have never neountered anoterseligtor ropostion ao much so tha thy ‘Cannot now approach any felis problem independently of what ‘hey had come to sega 3 he tath daring ther childhood snd adolescence. And, Beall, jst a there are people who ave no “ear” formas, there ate sch as have aver experienced any we {o search fter spinal trihs, and have aways ks the mseles ‘mere mater, "pratcal” concerns; and of such people the Ouran sas "Te parade of those who ate Benton denying theta shat of the beat which ears the shepherd's cy, adhesin nothing but the sound ofa voice anda call* Dea are they, and du, nd blind fo they do not ose thee reaeon (sarah 2.171, 16 (Q) How can we explain the rise win every single religion, of Sarious, often widely divergent tendencies and schools of ought? What significance has he existence ofthese diferent tendencies with ‘gard 19 the particular ein’ cam represen he ulate ral? For a tea asaion ofthe ih eligi pase ee render ‘Roe ee Mihm As The Meg of eu 8 ne ‘The Atitudeof Religions Towards One Another (A) Diteen individ reusntly approtch one andthe sane pecblem in fren aes and conequemy aie a mot © IES dvergnt answer Tho, however, doer notte leas al dats aeons amo epetent the ttre single reson that every uth ha many facets. The Quan "God gies fics “hac guided" the tetever uno the wut about whieh by Ha Kee they bad dsnpreed™ (rh 2:23); and the Propet Mubimmad i reported to have si “The dierent of open finong the lensed wabinycommanty ace [2 sign of God] The above-qoted Quranic statement with is exp reference to "God lave” "perminon" a Nell ab the—abvows ‘plant saying ofthe Propet, seth fact hat the der Si cident in all aman hooghpoctns an ene outer Sv tmnoidable phenomenon, and that without sch ies tma'sinlletel proses would Be inconeenabe For his esen Alone, for so sere mo ologialopning in sam for thevoncepofasthueh in tbesnse ofan stoned system ‘Of auterative”neprtation of ho hat point of ocine Sh, comegeenty, inal the story oa thet as ever been omc wen inde thinking Sbow and eshinking eo ll problu hns ceed tbe Iving efor trl tative [Shon And so has come bout tat thee are number of ‘choos of thoupt i amy, bt provide that sch “soos” or {Endencs av bid soley onthe Quen andthe auton 5)- Ines he Prope, thy ate leptimte rom he octal pot Se Sader cemer_conted one token ay fade tet poporton of the Fath (0) Con mas region predentin and spt das bee seta taps cence of ono ote o he Ror felons, oh nd el omer regi probes Teeny a an of oe xing rego? nd en ble rch of gin protons preconao for becnah sonora jaar (A) tna certain sxe hs queson a be sore bythe mean pate vary tema Lier at nod dents sl asThe Answers of tlm surrender” and, in the deeper sense, “man’s selfsurender 10 Goa" As soon as we become fly sate that God ests, and thereupon surrender ourselves to Him both in ur fith and ou tudes, we Taft he meaning of ou ie. Certain exceptional fied individuals are sometimes abl to atan to sich #sprual. ‘nd intelleetualfllment through persona intuition lon; the far eater majority of human beings, however, cannot achieve this Sithot external hep: and sich elp i offered to them in the Shape of ine revelation the revelation pant 6 Gos prop fe Ths twoeld fact of ntti and revelation empresa i luseated inthe famous allegorical try Hayy bie Yagzan ("The Living som of The Wide-Awake”) composed inthe 12 entry by ‘the Arab philosopher Ton Tufayl In his search for situal perfec: tin, the Biol mareator that romant tory ison an apa “nty uninhibited island and encouter aman who ha ved here Blane since hit eres culdhood cat of rom al intercourse with ‘ther tuman beings. This man--Hyy bin Vageln—fhas gr3do- fy us oimatecomact wit ature and with 0 otra than the inna, uncorrupted powers of his ntele,arved at the highest level of thinking and perception, end thus achieved an iasght into God'senstence He fas passed through al degree of tiie coe tition and has now reached 9 stage were the wnivere lest Understandable to him as an etidence of God's creatvenes ann ‘the end he finds that hs ovn plowply—arived at without prop sor diet divine evelation—i inal essentials dea wth that lam wich bis new-found frend, the narrator, profes, Some ine ate, after is etn to inhabited regions abd this 0 human society. Hayy bin Vagean reales that his own way of ie and thought was quite exceptional and that forthe overheing majority of human beings the guidance offered by the Quin and the Prophet Mobammid she way tothe trath: for in the Me of ‘ost people, faith can only be awakened and maitained by def ‘te divine statements and laws, by moral admonition, and by the ‘ilegory of reward and punishment inthe eto come. But what ‘ver the way, the goal and mus alvays femain—the same man's selfsurender to God. 1 (0) Should religious community aways im at maintaining its 18 ‘The Atiude of Religions Towards One Another soca and pote piegs,or should forgo al claim 0 pri Tegner ch onde, ted oat he fast of eon Mi config il tom fcc corepondng othe number fia elev? (A) The Qurin sy: "Ther shal be 9 coercion inmates of {St rah 220) This empha posta ips. that thescceplanscat lam yan nda mt be bse on thai ‘duaface chic, econ al sami jr (gab. whout {ip ctecpion, bol that force comeson under al ou Stic ull and vow ad that, moreover, ay atemp! toring 2 ton vero wep he thf Ma gwen (Wh by the way dpowesf be widespread fly that am ples before the nunbelevrs te erate of "amerson or the Seo”: aay ta the Sos ommonty mom hs no ih Sthounerertundemine either te socal pacar the eigen Theatr feedom ofthe non Mes mioeies ving tu, ortdepn them of i cc ig These pres ave ‘en nst ear impreed bythe Propet Mubanmad upon his foowers wt eon that he ou one there ba tps spot och flame ospodence ete othe pote the Seine ths of aon minors, Hower! nein Tam thee mo spar Setwoen mundane” anew Spheres ie: cams fw ete ig opie the Dass ie egal sytem nal counts whch ate exe or ina {ent maori inabed by Monime-and t,o course, othe ‘Promo that he gaye of nam comprises cp al noses {iy provsnns forthe protecon of ton Msi ins » (0) Istcomcevabe that nme e could arive not merey a di logue and a mutual anabus ofthe various religious syste, bul ratberatenapproination and lina fusion ofl oes ‘pwisuch an apprximation lado he victory of one partial ligion ond the dgppearance of all the cer? What are the indications nhs rept nthe cont of today's station? (A) From the samic point of view, a alogu between the mono theistic relion is any most desirable inasmach sit might lea toa mutual understanding and, therefore, approtimation—oe 9The Anse of Ila the bass of those principles of ath which ae common ol of ‘The Ouran is qute expt on this poi: “Say: 0 followers of [ese] revelations (ah! ait): Come unt at ene which we and you bold commen ha we sal ‘wotship nove but God, and that we shall ot ascribe divinity 10 ‘aught beside Him, and hat we shall not take human begs [ht “one anothe| for our lords beside Go” (sah 3:68), ‘A doctrinal agreement on this basis woul, 35 we Musi see it, {iS he essential demand of al tr faith and thus enable man Kind better to ret the freer of ater materialism which lerespecive of whether they come. trom the Eas or the ‘Wertthreaten to destroy ina spit and, ultimately, the etic ‘word. Seeing thatthe Quran forbids sin severe term 0 show the least drespectf0 the person or the memory of any of the cater prophet, we Muslin naturally expect our noa-Muslin frends to adope 4 similar atade with regard to oor Prophet ‘Muluramad; and if they do nt Sind pons to recognise him = 2 prophet (as me ecopise the prophthood of Abraham, Moses {nd Jesus and all the other sacred personalities of the Bibl), hey ‘hou at eset ret he aame wih lhe rexpet which obviously {ue toa human being ofsodeepa God consciousness andso total selfsurender to God a our Prophet undoubtedly was. As soon 38 ‘Wiscommon sens demand of oes fllled, the three great mon ‘these relipons wil automatically come much corer 10 One Spother.Itmst, however, always be borne in ming that we Mu Tims can never los sight ofthe undementlpieple of lam the peated inthe Ourin, and why is copnion bas been made the ‘dina supreme posiaate in His nal message to man ‘By declaring and vepeatedly stessing His Own oneness and unigucnes, God confers threfol bene wpon mae: He endows ‘im with spiritual dignity and freedom and gives him the conviction that all ceation, and therefore human ites wel not an ut come of play of tind ores buthas definite mein 1 The Meszage ofthe Quran site purpo—a cognition which ens man ote at peace wi 1s om destiny and tus, with Go. Fusthemmore, man mae ‘ale that there aera contradiction een fhe ps fn the spsitual specs o sown ead so he ened achieve peace wir himsell And, hy hes made uly that tie sone and nett or sod fncon wie ake epson sper sts da or ner ‘oc joie must bea ebecton, bower pl and inaogusteo the abolte, wamecndenal Juste icon nthe coec Goats uniqueness of wisdom. And, Say, even min eur ‘ual les we ae called upon to keep sat belace oreo ziromes, rejecting oth Ikestounch and nage desl, we ae reminded that inorder beac our ie too, mast be saberdaaed to the prncple of usr and ui just balance etneen what etd ecesay tome ‘Std whatisdueto ters andthe eshown nya ‘ning to abiding peace with hi felon men “This trectld message of ath and enemas peace wih Sod, peace within imslfand peas wih ssc eros iseummarised, tween ths word the Gur “Thus have We willed you to be acommuniy of the mide way, ‘© thot you might best witness othe trath ele all mand, tsa Aponte mp er we ot ete ou” aah 9s