Analysing Muslims’ downfall (I)

By Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Qadri



In our formal and informal debates and discussions on the plight of Muslims, there is always an unmistakable reference to the glorious past. In a way, past characterized by the real and supposed heroics and achievements has become a reference point and identity for the Muslims. Such is the level and depth of despondency currently ruling the roost among different strata of the Muslims that they derive their sense of worth from the past allowing it to define their present.
Today the Muslim world presents a classic picture of a house divided against itself. There are more divisions in their ranks today than was the case in the past. Rather than allowing religion to define their collective identity, Muslims have allowed sectarian, lingual, ethnic, and racial parameters to define them. Little wonder if the binding force amongst them is on the decline. Another reason which explains their present-day predicaments and is responsible for sharp divides in the Muslim world is the de-linking of religious knowledge from the secular sciences. When the Muslims were the masters of the all they surveyed in the good old days, there was no split between religious and secular sciences and both were taught at the seminaries or Madaris. The word ‘Madrussa’ referred to an educational institution contrary to what it is used to mean today. The reason why the Muslims held the sway over large continents is discernible from just this example.
During the reign of Mamoon-ur-Rashid, the Muslim empire established a grand think tank known as Dar-ul-Hikma for translation of Greek philosophy into the Arabic language for the consumption of the Arab readers. The ideas used to be modified in the light of the Holy Quran and Hadith. Such a forum presented an opportunity for sharing of ideas and exchange of views. There was no division between the religious and the secular, which defined the Muslim political thought. The experts of the Holy Quran and Hadith were also the experts of modern sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, and sociology etc. At a time when the European world was mired in darkness, Spain under Muslims was a bright star on the horizon of the world civilization. The Arabian Peninsula was known for fighting and bloodshed amongst antagonist tribes before the advent of Islam. With the arrival of Islam came emancipation of a people previously bound in shackles of exploitation.
Through Islam they entered into an unbreakable relationship of brotherhood and rendered disparate people into an irresistible and unified force. This is because of the deep and penetrating influence of Islam on the Arab psyche, culture, and ethos, that former Bedouins of Arab turned out to be the masters of one-third of the known world in a short span of three decades. Such was the overwhelming power of the Muslims that the contemporary mighty Persian and the great Roman empires chose to submit themselves before the new-found Muslim glory and prowess. In the words of Ibrahim Madkour: “In any society, culture is the offspring of many factors: human potential, creative consciousness, intellectual and spiritual vitality, real achievement and progress and freedom, among others.” Early eighth century A.D. showed that the Arab society was set for extraordinary cultural achievements unknown to the civilized world hitherto. Blessed with creative activity generated by the advent of Islam, the Arab consciousness registered phenomenal progress in various fields.
The Muslims laid the foundations of a glorious civilization in Spain which still embellishes the pages of medieval history. In the words of Philip K. Hitti: “Muslim Spain wrote one of the brightest chapters in the history of medieval Europe.” The Arabs founded astronomy during the early period of the Abbasid Caliphate. During the middle of the 10th century A.D. the Muslim rulers of Spain patronised astronomical studies in particular. Khwarizmi had written a valuable treatise on astronomy and compiled his tables (Zij) which after two centuries were revised by a Spanish astronomer Al-Majriti which was later on translated into Latin by Adelard of Bath. This remarkable work laid the foundation-stone upon which was raised the edifice of later astronomical pursuits both in the East and the West. Moreover, it replaced all earlier tables of the Greek and Indian astronomers. Al-Zarqali (Azrachel: 1029-1087 A.D.) was a renowned Spanish astronomer. Jabar Ibni Aflah was another illustrious Spanish astronomer of the 12th century, whose famous book “Kitab ul Hayat” (Book of Astronomy) was later on translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona. In the words of Philip K.Hitti: “Finally it was through Spanish channels that the Latin West found its oriental inspiration in astronomy and astrology. The leading Muslim astronomical works were translated in Spain into Latin, and the Alfonsine tables compiled under the aegis of Alfonso X in the 13th century were but a development of Arab astronomy.”
The Arabs in Spain revolutionized the field of agriculture and developed it on an unprecedented scale. According to K. Jamil Ahmed: “Hardly any country of medieval times enjoyed greater agricultural prosperity than Muslim Spain.” The Spanish Muslims made great strides in the field of Botany and developed horticulture to a high degree of perfection. According to G. Sarton: “Al Ghafiqi was the greatest expert of his time on samples. His description of the plants was the most precise ever made in Islam; he gave the names of each in Arabic, Latin and Berber.” Medicine was another area which interested the Spanish Arabs a great deal and they took to its study very assiduously. In the words of Hitti: “Most of the Spanish Arab physicians were physicians by avocation and something else by vocation.” The credit for greatest achievements in medieval surgery goes to Az-Zaharawi of Moorish Spain. This is an area, which was almost a neglected field with the Muslim physicians who did not pay much attention to it. As in the words of K. Jamil Ahmad: “It was translated into several European languages and the famous French surgeon Guy de Chauliac benefited from one of its Latin translations.” (To be concluded)

United States Institute of Peace (USIP)

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Lecture by: Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri

Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri spoke on the issue in the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in November 2010. Here we present the summary of his lecture to our readers.
The extremists and terrorists have hijacked certain terms and expressions that suit their purpose. The word Jihad is the most exploited one. They misinterpret these words to radicalize the Muslim youth in particular, and other Muslims in general. They also supply radical and extremist meanings to some of the verses of the Qur’an and traditions of the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him). They take them out of context, and misuse and misapply them. So those who are influenced by them parrot some verses and traditions for frequent use and employ words like Jihad, martyrdom, Khilafa, of Islam, Dar al-Harb, Dar al-Islam to assure the people of their deep affinity to Islam. And by putting these terms together, they have developed an ideology declaring it true Islam claiming that it originates from the texts of the Qur’an and the texts of the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him). But in truth, this is the ideology of terrorists and extremists and has absolutely no link or relation with Islam and Islamic teachings and the classical interpretations of Islamic authorities. So the crux of our talk is that this concept is totally a wrong accusation against Islam.
When the word Jihad is uttered or heard, the image of fighting and killing automatically comes to mind because that is what they do and call it Jihad; their wrong actions and wrong interpretations supply this word the same meanings. This causes disrepute to Islam and distorts its identity. It must, therefore, be made clear that the term ‘jihad’ does not denote or connote any kind of fighting, combating, torturing or killing. On the contrary, it means extreme exertion, effort, and struggle for a good cause.
There are, in total, 36 verses of the Holy Qur’an, where the word ‘jihad and its derivatives such as jahada, jaahada, yujahid or yujahiduna have been used, including the commandment of jihad. Out of these 36 verses, 31 verses have absolutely no mention of fighting anywhere, neither in the text nor context. There are three ways of deriving the meaning or significance of a particular command in a verse. You understand certain commandment, teaching or prohibition either from the text of a verse, or its context, or historical context—what were the circumstances when this commandment was revealed, on what date, in which year, and the particular situation, and what was the historical background of the text, context or historical background in which 31 verses out of 36 do not make any direct or indirect mention of the commandments of jihad, not even the defensive war, or a fair or lawful war. There is absolutely no mention of fighting or combating.
I would like to explain one thing before moving ahead. Keep in mind that there is not a single verse in the Holy Qur’an, from the first chapter to the last, which contains, in the text of the same verse, two commandments, jihad and qital, together. The word qital means fighting and combating. As for ‘jihad’, it is used in a broad perspective. So jihad and qital (fighting) have never been used even in a single text anywhere in the Holy Qur’an. Meanwhile, according to the Qur’an, jihad does not necessarily mean fighting even for self-defence; it does not necessarily mean it. Unfortunately, this term has been hijacked by the radicals, the extremists and terrorists, and they have applied it wrongly for their own criminal and terrorist activities of mass killing.
Now, after giving the description of 31 verses, which do not mention fighting at all, I now explain the remaining five verses out of 36. These five verses do not contain any reference to fighting and using the word ‘jihad’ in the text, but there is a reference to lawful fighting, defensive war, and just and lawful war of defense. This is mentioned just in the context of five verses. I am very specific. Now we come to the chapter nine, Sura al-Tawba of the Holy Qur’an. There are only two places in this chapter containing the five verses where there is a contextual reference to the lawful fighting using the word ‘jihad’.
The next very important aspect in this regard is that when qital, the lawful fighting, was allowed for self-defense, the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) had spent 13 years of his life in Mecca. This period was full of cruelty, violence, militancy, terrorism, killing and persecution against the Muslims. They were a very weak minority, but in spite of all these injustices and atrocities, patience was the command of the Qur’an, and the Muslims were not allowed, including the Prophet of Islam and His companions, to take up arms against cruelty, oppression and aggression. There was no self-defense and no resistance against torture, brutality, cruelty and tyranny; it was a rock-solid display of patience for long 13 years. It was after his migration to Medina when the verses about lawful defensive fighting were revealed. In Mecca, taking up arms was prohibited. Standing up for your own defence as a matter of resistance against oppression was prohibited. There was no permission for self defense even at that particular time when the verses of jihad were there. I would just quote the reference for your further studies. The verses revealed in the Holy Qur’an in Meccan time are: al-Furqan, verse 52, al-‘Ankabut, verse 6, al-‘Ankabut, verse 8, al-‘Ankabut, verse 69 and Luqman, verse 15. I just quote as a reference one or two of them. The Holy Qur’an says:

وَمَن جَـٰهَدَ فَإِنَّمَا يُجَـٰهِدُ لِنَفْسِهِ.

And whoever strives hard (for the cause of Truth) strives for his own (benefit). (al-‘Ankabut, 29:6)
It is stated:

وَجَـٰهِدْهُم بِهِ جِهَادًا كَبِيرًا.

And launch a large-scale struggle against them by means of (logic and preaching of the Qur’an). (al-Furqan, 26:52)
You should perform great jihad. So major jihad or great jihad was the command of Almighty God in Mecca, when Muslims were not allowed to take up arms and stand up in self-defense; they were not allowed to resist against the oppression. Even then the commandments of great jihad were there in Mecca. This is sufficient evidence to establish that jihad does not necessarily include even the war of defense. Although it is included in the broader term of jihad, yet it does not necessarily mean that. Jihad was revealed much earlier than the command of the permission of war in self-defense. So if this is the case, then we have to understand what jihad means. When this is a commandment revealed in Meccan period where resistance against oppression was prohibited— that you are not allowed to raise the arms, then what was the meaning of jihad in Qur’an? The same meanings continue to date.

Kinds of jihad

As for meaning of Jihad, it has five dimensions.
The first meaning of the greatest of jihad actions connote spiritual dimension. It is known as jihad bi al-Nafs—your struggle for self-purification. It is a fight against the evil desires of your lower self, to purify your inner self, to make one a good moral and ethical personality who could work for the sake of Allah, get rid of arrogance, greed, lies, aggression, aggressive attitude, negative propensities and who could work for the betterment of human society and purify his inner self too. This is purely spiritual dimension, which has no link with arms.
The second dimension of its meaning is academic and intellectual. On intellectual plane, it is ijtihad; and mujtahid is a scholar, a great jurist, an expert of juristic sciences who can derive and deduct legal values and meanings from the bases, and can apply it in accordance with the changes and newly emerging situation of modern time. So in this dimension of jihad, mujtahid is he who connects the old with the new, and the past with the future through academic, intellectual and juristic efforts. Purely an academic and juristic work is jihad bi al-‘Ilm and jihad bi al-Fiqh.
The third one is the social dimension and this is jihad bi al-‘Aml. This can be political. This can be social. This can be cultural. This can be educational and, in a way, this is for the social reforms of society, to purify society of social evils, and to eradicate corruption. This deals with all kinds of evil attitudes individually at first level and collectively at this third level. So the work for social and political reforms, democratic struggle, political struggle, and peaceful struggle comes within the range or ambit of jihad bi al-Qawl, i.e., al-amr bi al-ma‘ruf wa al-nahy ‘an al-munkar to promote the good and to abstain from evil. This is social dimension.
The fourth dimension is jihad bi al-Mal. It is financial dimension of the word ‘jihad’ and concept jihad. This is just an act of charity and Qur’an has emphasized particularly in two areas of jihad. The first jihad bi al-Nafs, the purification of lower self, the spiritual one and the second is socio-economic and financial jihad. The Holy Qur’an has emphasized these two and there is a full-fledged chapter of the Holy Qur’an, which explains this concept and it is said that even negation of act of charity is negation of Din, the total sum of Din. It is spending money to remove economic misery of the poor, spending your own economic resources to provide ease to eliminate the poverty from the society. This is exactly the work, which is done by the charitable organizations, western countries, the Muslim countries, by the UN whatever, to help humanity and take it out of the financial crises. It is the struggle for the equal distribution of wealth and the provision of all facilities and the privileges of life as human beings. This is jihad. So the Qur’an says:

أَرَءَيْتَ ٱلَّذِى يُكَذِّبُ بِٱلدِّينِ. فَذَالِكَ ٱلَّذِى يَدُعُّ ٱلْيَتِيمَ. وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ ٱلْمِسْكِينِ.

Have you seen him who denies the Din (Religion)? So he is the one who pushes away the orphan (i.e., rejects the needs of the orphans and deprives them of their right), And does not promote the cause of feeding the poor (i.e., does not strive to end the economic exploitation of the poor and the needy). (al-Ma‘un, 107:1-3)
Those people who do not work for their economic betterment and welfare are the people who are the nullifiers of the faith. So this act of charity is jihad bil-Mal. This is one of the best jihads.
And the fifth dimension is the defensive dimension. This relates to the defensive war when you are attacked. Then there is a war of self-defense, and a defensive war. As a student of law and as a humble student of international law, I can say and declare this fact with full confidence as far as my studies throughout my life are concerned that I have not seen a minor difference between a lawful war or jihad and a war which is known as qital. According to Islam and the definitions and the conditions given by the UN charter, it is exactly the same concept and same definition with same conditions; there is no difference. The only difference is the term or the word ‘jihad’ or ‘qital’ is used in Arabic language and we say just wars and lawful wars derived from the time of Aristotle till today’s UN charter. Throughout the history, the concept of just wars and lawful wars has existed continuously in every era. This is the defensive dimension of jihad.
When the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) migrated to Medina, two verses were revealed in order to provide the permission of lawful war in self-defense. The first was revealed in the first year of migration. So these are the two verses where the commandments of fighting are available. There are further clauses and two basic articles, which provide the permission of fighting i.e. one is in Sura al-Hajj, verse no. 39; the words are:  أُذِنَ لِلَّذِينَ يُقَـٰتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُواْ.. It is stated that now the permission is granted to pick up the arms to fight against those who have already imposed war on you because you have been wronged and because an act of aggression has been committed against you. So, today the permission is given to you to fight a war for your self-defense. This is the first verse. Look at the words udhina, permission is granted, lilladhina only to those, yuqatiluna against whose aggression and war has already been imposed; bi annahum zulimu, because they have faced an act of aggression, militancy, terrorism, killing, and the act of attack has been already committed on them. So now they can resist the attackers for their self defense. This is the foundational article of jihad meaning of qital. I mean self-defense. This has nothing to do with the four meanings I have already explained.

War is the right of state

This is very interesting point which I have elaborated here. Very few scholars would have mentioned it. When the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) was in Mecca, there was no Islamic state there. Nobody was allowed to take up arms for an armed conflict. When he migrated to Medina, Islamic state came into existence. He was the head of the state elected through the constitution. He established an alliance with the Jewish tribe, and with their support, he was selected and appointed as the head of the state and promulgated the first constitution of Medina. Since the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) was the head of state, rising against the oppression was allowed and the defensive war was permitted because the state was already there. So this difference between Mecca and Medina explains the fact that, in any case, if it is a defensive war, no person, no organization and no community can take up arms individually. None of them is allowed to launch a defensive war.
War is a privilege and a prerogative or a lawful right of a state. No organization and no person has any authority or privilege to start a war and declare its terrorist acts as jihad. Since it was not done by the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) and his Companions, how can it be legalized or considered legitimate for an organization that exists nowadays and claim its criminal and terrorist activities as jihad. It is totally against the teachings, practice and the conduct of the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him).
The second verse, which is the foundation of second article, was revealed. This foundational article of jihad means qital. The word ‘qital’ has been used as lawful, just and defensive war in Sura al-Baqara, the Medinan chapter verse 190. The words are: wa qatilu. Sometimes people take a few words from the verse, and sometime they take the verse out of the context and use specific words for their own meanings. They may be Muslims or some of the western scholars and orientalists who do not have full grasp and comprehensive command on the subject. So the Qur’an says:

وَقَـٰتِلُواْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقَـٰتِلُونَكُمْ وَلَا تَعْتَدُوۤاْ‌ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُعْتَدِينَ.

This is the second foundation. This was revealed in 7th year of migration. It means that twenty years had already passed after the promulgation of Islam, and the commencement of the revelation of the Qur’an—13 years of Meccan and 7 years of Medinan period. 20 years had passed when the command of defensive war was revealed. At that time, only three years were left of Holy Prophet’s life. When the treaty of peace was breached by the Meccans, only as a result of the breach of treaty of peace, treaty of Hudaybiyya, which was a ten year no war agreement. The no war pact for ten years was done and signed by the Meccans and Medinans. The Meccans breached that treaty of peace within one year. This was the historical background when the war for defense was allowed for the Muslims, and whenever there was a war of defense, it was fought by the state. It was between states. The word ‘in the way of Allah’ is misused and misinterpreted and exploited; where it is said  فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ, in the way of Allah, it means for a just cause, and not for expansionist objectives. You may fight with those  ٱلَّذِينَ يُقَـٰتِلُونَكُمْ, who are already fighting against you and imposed war on you. So fight in defense.  وَلَا تَعْتَدُوۤاْ —and even in war of defense, you are not allowed to transgress the limits, for transgression is prohibited. Transgression means that even in the event of war, in the battlefield, you cannot kill women. This is categorically narrated in Bukhari, Muslim and dozens of other books of Hadith. These references can be found in my book Fatwa on Suicide Bombings and Terrorism. So you cannot kill women during war; you cannot kill children, kids, the priests, pastors, bishops, and religious leaders of the Jewish or Christian or other faiths. You cannot kill farmers, agriculturists and growers. You can't kill the business community because they are lynchpin of economy, and provide livelihood to society. You can’t kill traders, diplomats and ambassadors. They are categorical injunction of Holy Prophet, not only in one single book but in hundreds of books and hadith reports. The classical literature is full of these references and the same was the practice of the rightly guided caliphs. You cannot demolish the churches and houses; and you cannot burn houses. You cannot kill animals except for need of food even during war in the land of your enemy. You can't attack the civilian people. You can't attack non- combatants. These are the rules of the lawful war, and lawful jihad. All classical authorities whether Hanafis, Malikies, Shafi‘ies, or Hanbalies or Ja‘faries, enjoy consensus on this point during the history of 1400 years. So no one is allowed to attack the non-combatants even in war. You are not allowed to kill the non- combatant, and civilians who belong to a state or country against which you are fighting and they are fighting against you.
So there is neither any justification nor approval for suicide bombings or killing civilian population, terrorist attacks on civilian population, on embassies, and kidnapping them and killing them. All these acts are criminal acts, anti-Islamic and anti-Qur’anic acts, but unfortunately, the extremists and terrorists have hijacked the Islamic teachings. They create news and news shape minds. Then views on the news make a mindset. So concluding this aspect, fighting in self-defense or fighting against aggression and persecution is very important. That is lawful fighting in defense and should be in just proportion  وَلَا تَعْتَدُوۤا. You cannot transgress limits. There should be a just proportionality and a moral conduct of war, as I mentioned some of the things. The categorical letters and instructions were issued in written form by the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) and by the Caliphs that these things are prohibited. Fighting for the restoration of peace and harmony is what constitutes a just war. And in spite of war, truces and treaties of peace are to be honored. According to the Qur’an and Sunna, the Muslims were neither allowed then nor today to break or to breach the truces and treaties of peace in any case. These were the main conditions.

Verse of the Sword

And now a very important thing— there is another confusion which is normally and frequently used by the terrorists, the extremist people—they quote a verse from Sura al-Tawba, chapter 9, verse 5. The same verse has created some confusion in the minds of some western authors and writers too. This is  آيَةُ السَّيْف, the verse of sword. There are references from 70 to 120 verses that ban taking up arms in Meccan period when the permission of self-defense was accorded. The extremist people, the terrorist people and some of the western writers who are again confused and have no clarity on the subject, say that this verse of Sura al-Tawba, verse 5 آيَةُ السَّيْف repealed all verses which were revealed for self defense and that this enjoined just to kill the non-Muslims.
The terrorists exploit the meaning of this verse, take it out of context, and misinterpret it. So I want to clarify this misunderstanding from both the sides, the Muslims and the western side. I am analyzing this verse of sword. This is verse number 5 chapter 9. So we have to be very clear that we can't segregate or isolate a particular verse, taking it out of the context and then interpreting it in its physic situation. We have to try to understand every single verse in full context of the Qur’an and in the historical background in which it was revealed. So this is a verse in chapter 9 known as Sura al-Bara’a and Sura al-Toba. This is a chapter of renunciation, absolution and this was revealed in 9th year of Hijra. That’s why they say this is the last verse and this has repealed all verses of peace and commandments of treaties and commandments of self defense. This is the biggest misunderstanding. The terrorist are using this verse, which is the biggest silly argument used by them. This whole chapter of war was revealed in 9th year of migration and its first word is that the treaty of peace which was signed in Hudayibiyya in the 6th year of Hijrah and the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) went there with 1400 Companions and was not allowed to enter Mecca.
This situation concluded on a treaty of peace, a truce. So there was a specific condition, a written article in that treaty that neither Mecca nor Medina would attack each other nor their allies and none of these two states would be allowed to help any ally in order to attack Medina or attack the ally of Medina. In the same way, Medina would not be allowed to help their allies to attack any ally of Mecca. So this was the comprehensive treaty for ten years. What happened soon after this treaty? There was Banu Bakr, a very big tribe, among the allies of Meccans and there was a big tribe Banu Khuza‘a, it was the ally of Medinans. So Banu Bakr attacked the Banu Khuza‘a and committed a great act of killing and massacre and the Meccans provided them with arms, money and physically participated in this attack and killing. So the Meccans breached the treaty of peace by this attack and a collective act of killing of the tribe Banu Khuza‘a. So the treaty of Hudaybiyya stood nullified and came to naught as a result. This chapter 9 was revealed in this historical context to announce, till this time that the breach of treaty was committed by the Meccans.
The Qur’an is declaring annulment or renunciation that treaty of peace which was done in Hudaybiyya under which both sides were bound and held responsible not to war against each other or against their allies now  بَرَأَةٌ مِّنَ اللهِ وَرَسُوْلِهِ,. God and His Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) are announcing that the treaty has been cancelled and there is no liability on both sides. This is an announcement of no liability remaining after the breach has taken place by the Meccans. This was the whole Sura.
The next verse is important  وَأَذَانٌ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ. Then God commanded the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) since the treaty has been breached so there should be no warfare unless it should be properly and publically announced. So second verse and third verse include the public announcement of the breach of the treaty and both parties have come out of their responsibilities because the Meccans breached the treaty. Second verse is  وَأَذَانٌ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ, so it is announced that the treaty is no more in existence. It is stated that those who have breached the treaty and still there are some tribes who were allies of Meccans, they have not yet breached their allies. So Qur’an says:

إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ عَـٰهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ.

So the treaty of peace would remain intact for the tribes who are peace-loving and have not participated in the breach. Medina will honour the treaty with them. This was the third article. Then forth article was that only those Meccans and allies who initiated war against Medina and Medinan allies have particularly breached the treaty, so this renunciation and annulment of treaty would affect only their position. They would no more be under guarantee because they have breached a pact. In verse number 4 and 5 that ultimatum was given even after breach of trust that we will not fight against you in spite of your breach; four month ultimatum was given  فَإِذَا ٱنسَلَخَ ٱلْأَشْهُرُ ٱلْحُرُمُ and in Qur’an it comes  مِنْهَا اَرْبَعَةٌ اَحْرُم four months were given to them as ultimatum. Those who abuse human rights and violate the treaties of peace, ultimatum of four months was given and stated that we are giving you the period of four months so that you may return to peace. You may restore peace and revise your policy. If the treaty of peace is restored and policy of peace is again made, these four months are given for peace making. Even after four months, if you don’t revise the policy, still you prepare attacking us. Then this verse number 5, the verse of sword, revealed: then you are allowed to fight them in self-defense. Some people among the terrorists think and there is some misunderstanding in the west as well. They think that this verse repealed all verses communicated before. This is wrong. This verse did not repeal any verse. This verse just repealed the treaties which were already breached by the Meccans. All commandments of the Qur’an remain intact and this is reported by ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Abbas. So does al-Dahhak b. Mihsan. ‘Ali b. Talha say the same thing. They say that this verse of sword elaborates that you cannot take up sword against those people who have not breached the treaty of peace.
So it was still for those who are peace loving countries and are not going to attack you; you cannot fight them in your defense. Again if there is a war going on and a state of war is restored even during warfare, it is said: if any person kills a non-combatant belonging to a state which is fighting you, and if that non-combatant comes to you, you are under obligation to provide peace and security to him. Verse number 6, immediately after the first verse 5, said that you are under the obligation to provide security and safety to all non-combatants. So this is an explicit Qur’anic commandment to provide safety and security to all non-combatants. And up to verse 12, it is again instructed to fight against those who commit aggression on you, fight you, impose war on you except those people who, as per their agreement of peace, don't fight. This is the verse no 12 of the same chapter. So this was an analysis of the whole subject of the verse known as the verse of sword.

Division of Abodes

One last point— the terrorists and extremists declare the whole world as Dar al-Harb. They say that we are under obligation to fight them irrespective of whether they are Muslims or non-Mulims. This is against the Qur’an and Sunna. The basic relationship between the Muslim countries and non-Muslim countries is not the relationship of war, it is the relationship of neutrality. The Muslim countries are neutral countries. These are known as Dar al-Hiyad,  دار الحياد, relationship of  اَلْمُحَايِدَة, neutrality. If they fight, you they become a part of war directly; if they enter into a treaty of peace, they become Dar al-‘Ahad  دار العهد; if they establish friendly relationship with you and conclude an agreement of conciliation, they become Dar al-Salm  دار السلم, the abode of conciliation. Because of a multinational treaty through UN, every state, and every single member of the UN has entered into a multinational international treaty of peace. The UN has become the treaty maker and peace maker for the whole world. So every single country, Muslim or non-Muslim, is bound by the UN charter. So all countries of the world have become Dar al-‘Ahad  دار العهد under the UN and the injunctions of the Qur’an and Sunnah and Islam of Dar al-‘Ahad are the same as Dar al-Isalm. All jurists such as Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Tahawi, Imam Sarakhsi, Imam Kasani and Hanbali and Shafi and Malki scholars even Imam Shafi agreed to this idea that the word  دار الاسلام does not mean the land of Islam. This is wrong translation. Dar al-Islam means the abode of peace.
In every county where people live their free lives and enjoy the security of life, property, wealth, religion, culture, getting benefit of freedom everywhere, those countries are Dar al-Islam. It means countries of peace. So neither any individual nor any organization has a right to declare any act as jihad or wage war. Secondly, the whole world under the UN according to the injunctions of the Qur’an and the Sunna of the Holy Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) has become Dar al-‘Ahad similar to Dar al-Islam. So nobody has the right to fight against anyone unless the UN decides or the state decides as a defensive war, a matter between states and these are the things or collective resistance against an aggression. So these are the basic concepts which were misunderstood, misinterpreted and hijacked by the terrorists. We need to be clear about these concepts. I have tried to convey my message of peace and counter-terrorism and clarification of the concept of Islam and reclaiming the terms from the terrorists in respect to Islam. I hope Almighty God will help us understand one and another more and more. Thank You.

Indonesian Islamic Banking Outlook to 2013

by: RNCOS E-Services Pvt. Ltd.

With the global financial crisis raising doubts over the world's conventional financial system, the banking industry in Indonesia stands to benefit from the global downturn and expects to continue rapid growth in the coming years. The financial crisis is having no negative impact on the development of Islamic banking in the country. So far, Islamic banks have not showed any weakening of their performance and we expect both assets and lending would grow at a CAGR of over 50% between 2009 and 2013. This optimistic view is based on its very nature (avoid involvement of interest rates), extremely low penetration and a healthy growth in lending over the past two years.

While it makes sense for global financial institutions to continue growth, exploit the opportunities offered by the Islamic banking market despite the financial crisis, and keep themselves regularly updated against the status of Islamic banking market in some of the emergent countries, it is worthwhile to keep eyes on developments in Islamic banking markets. Keeping the same fact in mind, RNCOS decided to research on one of the fastest growing Islamic banking destinations - Indonesia - and launched a report, "Indonesian Islamic Banking Outlook to 2013”.

The report gives an extensive research and in-depth analysis on the Islamic banking market in Indonesia and helps clients to analyze the opportunities being opened by it. Based on this analysis, the report gives a forecast of the market intended as a rough guide to the direction in which the market is likely to move. The report provides 4-year industry forecast (2009-2013) on various key banking performance indicators, including:

- Islamic banking assets

- Islamic bank financing

- Islamic bank deposits

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Russia and Islam

The Protohistory (Ninth to Twelfth Centuries): -

Russia’s position on the eastern flank of Europe has often been compared to that of Spain on the western side. Both are seen as bulwarks of Christendom facing the hostile world of Islam, of civilization facing ‘barbary’. Russia exhausted herself in a heroic struggle of several centuries, but this sacrifice was not to be in vain, for Europe was saved and could go on to develop its brilliant civilization well protected by the Russians. The price of this voluntary sacrifice was heavy, since in order to survive and finally to overcome the ‘Asia barbarians’, Muscovy was obliged to adopt their ways, such as tyranny, despotism, serfdom and lack of liberty. Such is the picture that is painted in nearly all Russian and Soviet historical works. Far-fetched as it is, there are deep reasons for defending this absurd concept. According to the Russians, ‘they have suffered more than any other people’ and have ‘played the role of protectors and saviours’, a kind of St George killing the Asiatic dragon and rescuing the European princess. This exclusive position ‘gives the Russians certain messianic rights’, in particular the right to assume the leadership over their lesser European brothers and to ‘civilize’ the world Asiatics.

The reality is of course far from this Manichaean approach to history. When the ancestors of the Russians first came into contact with Asia in the ninth century they were the ‘Barbarians’, not the highly civilized Muslims.

In the early tenth century, the borderline between ‘Civilization’ and ‘Barbary’ followed more or less exactly the frontier which today separates the Slavic ‘European’ people of the USSR from the area populated largely by Muslims: Middle and Lower Volga, North Caucasian mountains, Derbent, Syr Daria. However, ‘Barbary’ at this time was represented by the ‘Europeans’, ancestors of the Russians. (There are those who believe that the position has altered little over time.)

For the Muslims, the ‘Rus’ were wild and primitive natives, purveyors of rare blond slaves and such precious raw materials as fur and ivory. But they were dangerous neighbors and their plundering expeditions (912 and 941-4 raids in the Caspian Sea, the destruction of the Khazar Empire in 945 and 985 expedition against Bulghar) were described in gruesome detail by early Muslim chroniclers.

During 942-4 the ‘Rus’ devastated all Muslim Transcaucasia. Berdea, the most prosperous city of Azerbaijan, was completely destroyed and its inhabitants slaughtered. According to Ibn Hawkal, from the 1,200 5 remained. In 1850, a Russian historian, Grigor’ev, wrote”

When anarchy, fanaticism and barbarity were disputing the domination of Europe, the Khazar Empire was a center of law, order and religious tolerance, a refuge for all those who were persecuted for their belief. It was like a brilliant meteor over the dark horizon of Europe.

In the tenth century, when Russians were still mostly pagans, Islam had already penetrated Eastern Transcaucasia and Daghestan. It had conquered the whole of Turkestan south of Syr Darya and the King of Bulghar in the far north had adopted the religion of the Prophet, Except for the Bulghar Kingdom, all these territories had long been settled with highly developed urban societies going back to the second millennium BC. Even the nomadic Turks of the Caspian steppes – the Khazars – whose feudal nobility had adopted Judaism as their official religion, had attained a higher level of political and cultural development than the ancestors of the Russians, their vassals in the eighth and early ninth centuries.

During the eleventh and twelfth centuries political and cultural equilibrium was established between the sedentary Kievian Rus, Christianized and civilized by Byzantium and the nomadic Qypchaqs (Polovtsy) – heirs to the Khazars who ruled over the Steppe territories between the Dniepr and the Aral Sea.

Contrary to the commonly accepted but totally misleading version put forward by Russian historians, relations between sedentary Russians and nomadic Turks were not limited only to plundering expeditions and punitive counter-expeditions, but included wide cultural and diplomatic exchanges between partners who treated each other as equals. Moreover, during this period Turkic princesses often married Kievian princes. (It is a well known historical fact that the vassal seeks the hand of his suzerain’s daughter.) This happy period ended with the Mongol invasion, but not before a considerable number of Turkic, Iranian and even Arabic words synonymous with advanced societies were borrowed and have become so thoroughly Russified as to make it nearly impossible to recognize their Asiatic origins: chugun, bulat, topor, sablia, saray, bumaga, khram, terem, yazyk, ochag, cherdak, loshad’, chemodan, bogatyr, magazin, karandash, karaul, etc. In contrast, Slavic vocabulary made no impression on Turkic languages – at least until the nineteenth century.

In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the equilibrium which existed between the sedentary Kievian civilization and the steppe nomads in the Black Sea-Caspian Sea area could be likened to an outwardly similar situation between the sedentary Irano-Turkic and nomadic Turko-Mongol worlds along the line of Syr Daria. To draw any sort of parallel would, however, be wrong. In Central Asia, Bukhara of the Samanids and Empire of the Seljuqs were the great centers of world culture at that time and the defense line on Syr Daria marked the border between civilization and Barbary. There could be no borrowing of Mongol-Turkic or Manchu words from the Qara Khitay by the Persians or the Seljuqs and a Samanid king or a Khwarezm shah would never dream of marrying the daughter of a nomad chieftain roaming the Mongolian outback.

One element only was common to both: lack of any religious problem. This stemmed from the nomads’ tolerance towards religious matters and willingness to drop their ancestral Shamanism for the more enlightened Islam in Turkestan and Christianity in the West.

Islamic Ideology

 by: Ahmed Parvez

The question before us is "What is Islamic Ideology"? To me Ideology is a philosophical term meaning the ‘Science of Ideas’. Idea is again a subtle and very comprehensive term. It is unnecessary for our present purpose to go into the details of the term. But generally this means a basic concept or the basic concepts on which any ‘system’ is built constitutes its ‘Ideology’. Since Ideology pre supposes the existence of a system, the question arises whether Islam is a system?

Yes, Islam is a system. Islam is not like other conventional religions, in other words Religion is the English equivalent for the Arabic word Mazhah which does not occur even once in the whole of the Holy Quran. The Quran has used the word Ad deen for Islam which means a particular way of life. The Holy Quran points to this aspect in its own inimitable way. It says that the healthy concept of life Ideology or kaIema-e-tayyiba revealed by Quran which has the capacity to rise high towards God Almighty. In Quran’s dialect Ideology makes up what we call Faith (Imaan) and the means to give the Ideology a practical shape are termed Righteous Actions from humans. Ideology forms the objective of the Islamic Order and positive actions constitute the program for attaining the objectives of Islamic System. In the present context you can say that Ideology provides the ‘Objectives Resolution’ of an Islamic State, its constitution gives political form to the resolution and its laws prescribe the program for helping the people attain their destiny.

The final position in a nutshell is;Islamic Ideology is another name for Permanent Values or unbreakable Principles elaborated in the Holy Quran that an Islamic State is established for the sole purpose of introducing Permanent Values in life that the first and foremost duty of an Islamic State is to provide means for the growth and development of the human body as well as human personality.

The considerations set forth before you lead to the following three-fold conclusion:

1. Islamic Ideology connotes the sum total of Permanent Values or Inviolable Principles which have been preserved in their complete and final form in the Holy Quran.

2. Islamic State is a state which adopts Quranic Permanent Values as its ideal.

3. Islamic Constitution is the document which proclaims the above ideal and details the plan according to which the structure of the State will rise solid and firm on the basis of Quranic Principles.

We Muslims & Islam

by: Ahmad Parvez


Islam is a divine message from Allah Almighty for the entire humankind. The structures (Pillars) that would support the building of Islam would have to be strong, purposeful, powerful and pragmatic. This is because that Islam is not a dogma, but imaging for how long? How long will we continue to follow the paths that have leaded us collectively to absolutely nowhere? Except to immobility, stagnation, divisions, fragmentation, fighting amongst ourselves and to the absolute ruin of generations of the people that Allah Almighty created to lead Mankind to the promised land.


For God sake it is about time that Muslims took stock of their lot and realized that there is no such thing as they. For they never change. It is we who will have to change. In the words of Dr. Allama Iqbal " O! Muslims if you desire to live your life as a Momin (believer), you have no choice except to make the Quran your guiding light". We will have to cleanse our minds of the Religion (Mazhab) of Islam and return to the Deen-ul-Haq. We will have to follow the revelation given unto us by our Rabb, and follow not as friends and protectors other than Him (Quran 7:3). We will therefore, have to disregard all other books written by men and seek guidance only from the Book sent down to us in truth, that we may establish the rule between men, as guided by Allah Almighty (Quran 4:105).


We will have to demand from our respective Muslim Governments that they fulfill the promise that Allah Almighty has made to us. As Allah Almighty has said, they lose the right to our obedience. We will have to demand what is rightfully ours, the benefits of the system of Rabubiyyat (nourishment and development) which are manifest when the Salat and Zakat is established. Dear readers the responsibility is ours. May Allah Almighty grant us the wisdom, courage and the strength to claim that which is ours by right?

The Positive Impact of Islam on Europe

 by: Jim Fry

Ottoman Empire started conquering Europe in 14th century and by 15th century had most of Eastern Europe under its kingdom. Although traces of Islam have been found a long before Ottoman Empire but Islam flourished appropriately when Ottoman Empire ruled Europe. Historians are of the point of view that Islam laid the foundation of modern Europe and it is it fact the reality. History has noticed Europe dominating the world in the past centuries through its knowledge and power but if we study early invention of mathematics, physics and astronomy, not surprisingly; all the credit goes to Muslim world of seience. Muslim mathematicians worked in every field of mathematics such as Al-Jabir founded algebra. Galileo and Newton, the great scientists of their time, would never have been able to formulate the modern theories of mathematics and physics without the basic and important tools invented by Muslim scientists.

Plato and Aristotle laid the institution of classical writing and texts in ancient Europe but these sculptures were lost in the history and were almost doomed during the Dark Age. It was again Muslims who acted as the caretakers of those important writings and preserved them. Even some of that work was present only in Arabic. Ibne-Rushd, a Muslim, known as Averroes in Europe, had a major name in this regard.

European explorers are famous for their voyages and explorations but it was only made possible by the accurate maps produced by the Muslim mapmakers. These maps paved the way for European explorers to discover new worlds in minimum time span.

This is only the tiny amount of donation made by Islam to Europe directly or indirectly. According to global news, there are about 53 million Muslims in Europe. Islam has become the fastest growing religion in Europe and all over the world, there has been establishment of new mosques all over Europe and even non-Muslims are visiting these mosques. The rate of conversion to Islam shot in the recent years especially after 9/11 attacks when Muslims were accused of it. It was the time when non-Muslims especially Christians were more interested to find out about Islam, Qura'an and the teachings of Holy Prophet (PBUH). Although Islam was manipulated to be the religion of extremism and terrorism but when these individuals studied Islam, their views changed and they found Islam to be the complete code of life and the best religion of the world. So they adopted it after their vast researches. The Muslim immigrants from the Muslim world to Europe living there for decades are clear symbols of peace loving Muslim culture.

Today media, in Europe especially, talks alot about the the disrespect given to women in Islam, but in fact, this is not true. Islam is the only religion that has raised the prestige of women from one of the poorly humiliated creature, in Western culture, to that of a respectful being possessing equal rights to man. Under the wrong ideological concept of child marriage by the non-Muslims, the Muslims have been criticized by the western media but in fact there is no concept of child marriage in Islam and such incidents are purely restricted to few old customed tribes.

As many historians have revealed Islam to be the past of modern Europe we believe that it would be the future of the European world as well.

The Changing World

(Sat May 7th, 2011, by LaMont Campbell)

The events over the last month inspired me to write this article.  Dictatorships have been toppled, major terrorist have been apprehended and eliminated. The people have demanded a more conscious approach to how our leaders utilize our resources. Companies now demand that patrons need to be treated with respect and dignity.  The old ideas and tired, worn out strategies that e made the rich, richer and the poor, poorer are no longer accepted.  The universe has spoken!   The bottom line is now based on the people that sustain businesses, not the amount of money made.  Those ways create greed, not sharing.  No longer will character, value and ethics be based on your income.
It is universal law, which teaches we all come from the same matter and share specifics that make us all human.  Sharing not only the same world, but also the same universe, we share the same responsibility for making it better.    More and more momentum gathers as the energy of life opens our minds and hearts to compassion, love, and the understanding of life itself.  For every moment that someone gets this, another seed of goodness is planted.  The fruits of that planting sow another person that understands the importance of making it a better world.  What was relevant yesterday is just not relevant today. We all share the same responsibility to make this a better world, why should it be controlled by just a few?
The universal Law of One connects us all, on conscious and unconscious levels.  We are all part of the energy of God.  It is the goal of God to move life forward (momentum), creating more energy.  So in living harmoniously, we each increase the forwardness and intensify God's goal.  More people are starting to see this manifestation and the world is becoming more harmonious.  The key to making it a better world is harmony. Everyday, we experience or read about phenomenal feats of changes, that a few years ago, we would have never imagined happening.  We still have a long way to go to change the world we live in, to a harmonious place for everyone, but momentum is gaining and getting stronger.
The universe is comprised of energy.  Energy is everything we do and don't do.  It exist of you are aware of it or not.  More people are becoming aware of this energy, which is the reason we are experiencing some many wonderful events happening throughout the world.  People are choosing to align and harmonize themselves to values, ethics and deeds that reflect the essence of what God intended this world to be. When we do these things in a conscious and intentional way goodness flows and we learn to treat others with the respect, dignity and value that everyone seeks and deserves.  The universe is changing for the good, intentionally be a part of this change and you will change your life and your world.
About the Author:
LaMont Campbell born St. Louis, MO has sought to mentor and motivate the underserved communities throughout the St.Louis metropolitan area for the last 5 years.  Founder of Stl Empowerment Group Inc, formed to assist the disempowered by offering assistance from building empowerment through linking with Social Services organization that serves the particular needs of individuals and groups.

Terrorism a constant issue?

Thu May 5th, 2011, by Nikita Verma)


For different people, it is a different call. Indians give a quick response on idealism, family values, culture and traditions. One thing more triggers a quick response from them that is Pakistan. Pakistan news has always been critically observed and tracked. India News is always full of claims and blames these two countries throw over each other. India's External Affairs are of interest for world news forums. After all, it was India and Pakistan from where the concept of religion infused terrorism started. That hit the world very hard in later years. Earlier, one of the Super Powers was supporting Pakistan. Now, Pakistan has made the same super Power suspicious of activities like giving refuge to most wanted fugitive terrorist.

The Story began when……..
India and Pakistan were born out of one single country. It was result of the politics played by East India Company before it released independence orders of these two countries in Aug 1947. The rift drawn then is now getting broader, demanding more and more hatred as the time is passing. Two wars, increased hidden attacks (like one in Kargil), bombing one place or the others, attack on Parliament, Hotel Taj etc. are just few of those incidents. India news just couldn't stop broadcasting them again and again. Obviously Pakistan News denied any such assistance in such projects. This Cat Mouse chase has filled the news space for quite a long time.

Fear reciprocates hatred!
It seems that World News can't take much of these two countries, even with interests and issues they come with. Various countries adopted different methods to keep a check on Muslim activists countries including Pakistan. One of them is resisting Asians altogether even Indians due to the fear of Indian Muslims. This bias is acceptable if we remember the Twin Tower and Pentagon attack on 9/11 claiming thousands of lives in America. Still, dealing with resistance is not an option to make situations better. It certainly demands a great plan (diplomatically strong) with all the world leaders on consensus. It is required to make world a more peaceful place because prospects of World War III does not look good.

Imaginations don't hurt
India News and Pakistan News do not look good together. They even look mirror images of each other as the two countries already are. It is in under the layers of time if this animosity can ever be resolved. But every good-hearted and peace-loving citizen from both places would like to witness that day. The idea is very much appealing even if it is just a wild imagination to many. We can try to make world a peaceful place to live with World news stating- "India and Pakistan are finally in peace". What an idea Sir ji!

Faith Is Not Just a Word - It Is a Code To Live By

(Sun Apr 24th, 2011, by Jim Fargiano)


At some point all people are going to be challenged. You may have been on a life path that seemed to offer no hope and was filled with a pattern of dysfunction. In the end, the choices to whether or not you want to move forward lies in the hands that cup you. What I refer to here is that the power of meditation and prayer opens many doors for you. It allows you to see that the vices that you have held onto were false comforts, and now what you are really looking to do is feel passion and love grow and continue to well up inside of you. Your angels see each of you as pieces of perfection in the highest sense. We want all of you to know that no matter what brought you to these words, or what brought you to the path that you are on, if you are uncomfortable with it, changing it is quite simple.
One of the biggest lessons I can share with you is that many people think they have to control each and every aspect of their physical existence. While you need to be aware of what is going on, to try to control it and control everyone around you, is counterproductive to the passage of love and light that is sent. Envision a torch blazing with a golden flame. If you pass it from one to another you are symbolically giving some passionate love from the Highest Power. With it also comes a greater acceptance and a great amount of tolerance for the right to have differences of opinion from one person to the next.
I am certain that even these words given tonight will be looked at and deciphered in many different ways. This is all part of human nature. What I ask mostly is that you at least trust that the reason you are here is to have your minds expanded to a new frontier. Young or old, black or white, American or foreign, Christian, Muslim or Jewish you are all seen as adored children of the Creator. There is no separation on the side of Light. It is only those of you who encounter people with different attitudes that will abandon the principles I have been speaking about. To live by the light and the Golden Rule is very simple. When you are speaking in harsh tones to someone, you might as well expect to get it back in numerous ways. When you speak in loving hushes, a boatload of opportunities will begin to work its way down the river of love and light that flows before you.
I want to add just one more thing. It is not lost on any of your loved ones in spirit, or any of the higher level spirits, that many of you are struggling. We want you to understand deeply that abundance is preferred over deprivation. There is no satisfaction in struggling. We do not get it (deprivation) from the side of spirit, and we do not wish it in the physical realm. With an infinite Universe, you are not taking away someone else's riches when you open your heart, mind and attitude towards accepting it for yourself. We want all of you to feel as though you are draped in beads of gems and in a light that bounces and plays with each of you. In other words, try to envision threads of energy swirling around you, wrapping you as though you are being hugged. Another way to see it would be to know that even though you might feel like you are being spun into a cocoon, what awaits you in the future is the beautiful transformation of a butterfly. It is where your wings will take flight and your heart will resonate to a deep, deep level of love.
We have given you much to think about and I only hope that you have faith that the words spoken are meant to help you, to guide you, and to lead you to your path of happiness. May the lessons shower around each and every one of you. These are The Spoken Words of Spirit.
Jim Fargiano can be reached on Facebook and Twitter, but most easily through his website at: http://www.Jimfargiano.com. He is a widely recognized leader in spirituality and posts messages he receives from the other side almost everyday. Short quotes will be on the fan page for The Spoken Words of Spirit on Facebook, as well as on his home page. Longer messages can be read at http://www.jimfargiano.blogspot.com. If you are serious about improving your outlook on life, then take advantage of the opportunities Jim provides.
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