Review of Relisions · 2020-01-13 · 2 Review of Religions: Oct/Nov 2001 Much has already been and continues to be written about the 11th September terrorist attack in America. By

The object of this publication, produced by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, is toeducate, enlighten and inform its readers on religious, social, economic and political issueswith particular emphasis on Islam.

EDITORIAL BOARD

Chairman: Rafiq Hayat

Basit Ahmad, Sarah Waseem,Fauzia Bajwa, Fareed Ahmad,Fazal Ahmad, Mansoor Saqi,

Bockarie Tommy Kallon, Navida Shahid, Mahmood Hanif,

Tanveer Khokhar,Mansoora Hyder-Muneeb,

Saleem Ahmad Malik.

Chairman of the Management Board:

Naseer Qamar

Special Contributor:Amatul-Hadi Ahmad

Design and TypesettingTanveer Khokhar

Shaukia Mir

PublisherAl Shirkatul Islamiyyah

DistributionMuhammad Hanif,

Amatul M. Chaudry, M.D. Shams

Editorial ............................................... 2

Comment .............................................. 3Abdul Ghany Jehangeer Khan – UK

Jihad...................................................... 5Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as)

Islamic Perspective – Part II ............. 25Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad

Fasting................................................... 32Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

The Jinn................................................ 44Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad

Business, Corporation andGovernance Models in theIslamic Economic System.................... 49Hashim Ahmed – Hartlepool, UK

Views expressed in thispublication are not necessarilythe views of the A h m a d i y y aMuslim Community

CONTENTS – Oct/Nov 2001, Vol.96, No.10/11

ISSN No. 0034-6721

© Islamic Publications, 2000

All correspondence should beforwarded directly to:

The EditorReview of Religions

The London Mosque16 Gressenhall RoadLondon, SW18 5QL

United Kingdom

(Photo: Yousuh AhmadiyyaMosque – Arizona, USA)

Review of Religions: Oct/Nov 20012

Much has already been and continues to be writtenabout the 11th September terrorist attack inAmerica. By the time we go to print, opinions wouldhave changed at about the same dynamic pace assubsequent events unfold before the world. A sthings stand today, it is quite obvious that we are inthe throes of a spiral and that whatever emergesfrom it would be a changed world. Lest we bemisunderstood, let us make it quite clear that wecondemn this heinous act. No matter whocommitted it, it was a monstrous act of evil that tookthe cycle of violence to a different level.

Meanwhile, while the world grapples with adefinition of terrorism, there are some signs that theWestern media has begun to at last understand thatthe teachings of Islam do not promote violence andterrorism. The words ‘Islamic terrorism’ a n d‘Islamic Jihad’ have begun to be challenged bymany learned people and have begun to beunderstood as completely different words.

Ahundred years before the September terrorist strikein America, the Founder of this magazine and theAhmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadhrat MirzaGhulam A h m a d( a s ) of Qadian, told Muslims that theirill-conceived concept of Jihad as a holy war againstthe infidels was incorrect. Hadhrat Mirza GhulamA h m a d( a s ) who claimed that he was the PromisedMessiah and the Reformer of the Age explained thatkilling some innocent lady and her mother waiting ata railway station was no Jihad, However, hiscontemporaries declared him a heretic and ad i s b e l i e v e r. These clerics awaited a bloody Messiahwho would march Muslim armies against the Jewsand Christians and engage in a war. These clerics thenwent around and taught their followers that theFounder of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam haddenied Jihad and was thus a non-Muslim. A c c o r d i n gto them, without Jihad, Islam could not spread.

Nonetheless, the Ahmadiyya Community stuck toits principles. The community was ostracised by thefollowers of these misguided clerics and became avictim of their violence. Armed gunmen invadedAhmadiyya mosques in Pakistan and mercilesslymassacred those who had assembled to observe theirobligatory prayers, not once but several times.

Neither the media nor the politicians in the East orWest batted an eyelid.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim community had put almostall its resources to publishing translations of theHoly Qur’an into many languages and sentmissionaries to various countries to spread themessage of Islam. By winning the hearts of theworld towards the inner beauty of Islam, it hadbegun to find new members. Soon these effortsbegan to pay rich dividends and conversions beganto take place at a dynamic pace. Just last year alone,more than eighty million new members embracedthe community’s teachings of Islam. Eighty millionis no small number. No other religious group hasthis level of conversion. This conversion took placewithout the sword. The clerics on the other handcould render no explanation for this dynamic growthto their followers. The Messiah had returned andhad won the hearts of the Christians and Jewswithout shedding a drop of blood.

Today, those same followers who followed theirMedieval-minded clerics blindly have begun tounderstand that giving currency to the use of forcecannot bring about the spread of Islam. T h eterrorising of bystanders and the killing of innocentpeople cannot be Jihad no matter how noble thecause. Suicidal acts designed to cause the maximumloss of life amongst non-combatants is unjustifiedand cannot be tossed into the lap of a religion, leastof all a universal religion such as Islam.

What Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) and hissuccessors continuously warned against has todayestablished itself as a sad and bloody reality.However, there is a ray of hope. All those who havecontributed to the atmosphere of violence, betrayaland their personal rigid interpretations of doctrineshould stop asking for belligerent action in the nameof faith and get back to the roots of their faith whichpromote peace and tolerance. The US-led reactionto this evil and their response to other evils willdetermine whether justice prevails or this cycle ispromoted to a further level or halted once for all.

One can only hope.

Editorial

Review of Religions: Oct/Nov 2001 3

There is no place for terrorism in IslamThe terrorist attack on the World TradeCentre and the Pentagon has beencommitted by people calling themselvesMuslims. Despite the fact that U.S.President George W. Bush and the BritishPrime Minister Tony Blair clearly stated thatIslam was not responsible for this viciousattack on innocent civilians, there is nodoubt that a large number of people in theworld have always thought that terrorismforms an integral part of the Islamicreligion; and the attack on America has onlyreinforced their doubts.

There is no place for terrorism in Islam.Suicide bombings are a flagrantcontradiction of the Qur'anic injunctions:‘And kill not your own selves. Surely Allahis Merciful to you.’(Chapter 4, part of verse30) ‘And do not cast your own selves intoruin’ (Chapter 2, part of verse 196). Islamstrictly forbids the killing of innocentpeople: ‘No hostility is allowed exceptagainst the aggressors.’ (Chapter 2, part ofverse 194). These three verses alone ares u fficient to prevent any Muslim fromcrashing aeroplanes into any building, orfrom sending suicide bombers to blow upinnocent men, women and children.

In every part of the world there areextremists who try and justify their cause inthe name of religion. Catholics andProtestants regularly make the headlines inthe West. Hindu fundamentalists often comeunder the spotlight in the East. But publicopinion rarely condemns their respectivereligions for the crimes they commit in the

name of those religions. It is mostunfortunate for Islam that every timemadmen commit violence in the name ofIslam, the religion of Islam is blamed by theworld. The cry of Jihad is sadly sowidespread throughout the Muslim worldtoday that it is now commonly understoodby non-Muslims to mean the violencepracticed by Muslims against humanity.

It is time for the world to understand the truenature of Islamic Jihad. The Holy Founderof Islam, the Prophet Muhammad (maypeace and blessings of God be upon him)defined the most sublime Jihad as thestruggle of man to overcome evil withinhimself. The lesser Jihad is the struggle tocombat evil around oneself. This secondform of Jihad is what is erroneously called‘Holy War’ by the media today. In Islam,Muslims are forbidden from becomingaggressors. They are permitted only todefend themselves after they have beenunjustly treated by others: ‘Permission tofight is given to those against whom war ismade, because they have been wronged.’(Chapter 22, part of verse 40). Thus, inIslam, only defensive wars are permitted. InIslam, every effort is made to protect thepeace of not only the Muslims, but also thefollowers of other faiths: ‘And if Allah didnot defend some men by means of others,there would surely have been pulled downmonasteries, churches, synagogues andmosques wherein the name of God is oftremembered.’ (Part of verse 41, chapter 22).So Muslims are expected to go to the extentof fighting in order to protect Christianmonasteries and churches, Jewish

Notes and Comments

Notes and Comments


synagogues and Muslim mosques.

Even in defensive wars, the instructions ofthe Prophet Muhammad (may peace andblessings of God be upon him) are clear:‘You will meet those who remember God intheir houses of worship. Have no disputewith them, and give no trouble to them. Inthe enemy country, do not kill any women orchildren, nor the blind, nor the old. Do notpull down any tree; nor pull down anybuilding.’ (quoted in Halbiyyah, Vol. 3). Sothe only Jihad permitted in Islam is the warof the oppressed against the oppressor, thewar waged to protect peace of all peopleirrespective of their religion or creed.

The Holy Qur’an clearly declares that if theenemy expels the Muslims from theirhomes and forcefully prevents them fromfreely practising their religion, then theMuslims can take up arms to defendthemselves and to protect freedom ofconscience: ‘Permission to fight is given tothose against whom war is made...thosewho have been driven out from their homesunjustly, only because they said: “Allah isour Lord”...’ (Parts of verses 40 and 41,chapter 22). So how can any true Muslimin the world claim that the violence ofterrorists is Jihad? Theirs is a political war.

It is no surprise that the Taleban aresupporting people who stand accused ofterrorism. They are rigid extremists whocall themselves Muslims, but who have notthe slightest regard for Qur’anic teachingsor for the human decency contained in theHoly Book of Islam. In Islam, it isforbidden to even make fun of the gods ofother faiths, and no one can force another toabandon his faith: ‘And if Allah had

enforced His will, they would not have setup gods with Him. And We have not madethee a keeper over them nor art thou overthem a guardian. And revile not those whomthey call upon beside Allah, lest they, out ofspite, revile Allah in their ignorance...’(Chapter 6, verses 108 and 109).

Many people of the Muslim world todaychose to follow a clergy whose idea is rigidand often extreme. The irreligious ideas ofthese extremists have often led Muslims tofall into the trap of terrorism all over themodern world of Islam. To find the trueIslam today, one has to go to the writings ofHadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) of India,whose community, the Ahmadiyya MuslimJama’at, stands alone in the world today inpropounding the actual teachings of theHoly Prophet Muhammad (may peace andblessings of God be upon him) and therebyshowing that Islam truly is the religion ofpeace. Muslims around the globe would bewell advised to learn their basics from theAhmadiyya understanding of Islam, if theysincerely want to be freed from the evil ofterrorism and extremism.

Abdul Ghany Jehangeer Khan – UK


The philosophy and true nature ofjihad is a complex matter and adelicate issue, the lack of under-standing of which has caused peopleof this age and the middle ages to fallinto serious error. To our greatshame, we have to admit that as aresult of these dangerous errors, wehave allowed opponents (of Islam)an opportunity to raise tellingobjections against a religion as pureand as holy as Islam which is amirror of the laws near to nature andwhich discloses the greatness of theliving God. One should be aware thatthe word jihad is derived from theword juhd — which means to striveand hence is used metaphorically forreligious wars. It seems that the wordYu d d h a which is commonly usedamongst Hindus to mean war, is inreality a corruption of the wordjihad. Since Arabic is the mother ofall languages, out of which all othersemerged, it would be reasonable tosay that the word Yuddha which inSanskrit means war, is in actual fact

the same as Juhd or jihad. Later, theletter jim was replaced by Ya andwith some further alteration wasspoken with a tashdid.

Now we would like to answer thequestion of why Islam needed jihadand what jihad is. It is quite clearthat from its very birth, Islam facedgreat difficulties and all nationsbecame its enemy. Now it is quite acommonplace fact that when aprophet or messenger is sent fromGod, his followers appear to peopleto be promising, truthful, righteousand progressive in the eyes of others.As a result, the existing nations andreligious groups necessarily begin tobear a kind of jealousy and enmitywithin their hearts against them. Thisfeeling is particularly expressed bythe religious experts and leaders,since the existence of this by thereligious experts and leaders, sincethe existence of this ‘man of God’leads to an alteration in their revenueand dignity. Their pupils and

Jihad From the writings of the Promised Messiah(as), this article was written in 1900. A copy of thetranslation was held by the India Office Library, London, but has been missing for sometime. The translation produced below is found in the book A Study of Hadhrat Mirza GhulamAhmad’s Exposition of Jihad printed in 1993 by Islam International Publications Ltd.

Translated by Tayyba Seema Ahmed

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disciples begin to free themselvesfrom their snare as they observe inthat person all the virtues of faith,morality and knowledge with whichhe has been endowed by God.C o n s e q u e n t l y, those possess-ingsense and discrimination begin tounderstand that the afore-mentionedscholars no longer command therespect that was once accorded tothem arising out of their educationaldistinction, piety and abstinence.Hence, exalted titles such as Najm-ul-Umma, Shams-ul Umma,Sheikh-ul-Mashaikh and so forth nolonger befit them. Therefore peopleof sense shun these scholars as theydo not want to lose their faith.

Due to the losses faced by the groupof religious scholars and specialists,they have necessarily always beenjealous of prophets and messengersof God. The reason for this is thatduring the period of the prophets(anbiya) and messengers of God,their flaws became exposed, since inactual fact they are wanting anddeficient and possess littlespirituality within them. T h e i renmity towards the prophets of Godand the righteous arises simply outof their own selfishness, and it isentirely due to this selfishness thatthey devise plans to injure them.

Indeed, in many instances, theyactually sense that they have comeunder the wrath of God, by unjustlyharming a pure-hearted man of God.Their guilty conscience tells themthat the bad deeds that theycontinually practise against therighteous are sinful, but still thefierce fire of their blazing jealousykeeps dragging them deeper into thepits of their enmity.

It was these very reasons which inthe time of the Prophet not only keptthe scholars of the pagans, Jews andChristians from accepting the truth,but also caused them to beextremely hostile. Hence theybecame obsessed with the issue ofhow to wipe out Islam from the faceof the earth, and because in the earlyperiod of Islam there were so fewMuslim, their opponents, out of anaturally inherent pride, which theyfostered in their hearts and minds,considered themselves superior innumbers and rank, and showedsevere enmity towards the Prophet'scompanions. They did not want thisheavenly plant to take firm root inthe earth, and they in fact foughttooth and nail to destroy theserighteous people. Their paramountfear was that this religion mightbecome firmly established and that


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its progress would in turn becomethe seed of destruction for theirnation and religion. Out of this fear.which became terribly imprintedupon their hearts, they instigatedextremely vicious and cruel acts andproceeded to murder numerousMuslims in an horrific manner.

For a lengthy period of time,spanning thirteen years, their waysremained unchanged and manypeople faithful to God, the pride ofhumanity, were cut to pieces by theirswords. Their orphaned children andpoor helpless women wereslaughtered in the streets, yet despitethis, God commanded Muslimsabsolutely not to retaliate againstevil. A c c o r d i n g l y, those chosenrighteous people so behaved. Whilstthe streets ran red with their bloodthey did not utter a sound. Theywere slaughtered like animals, yetthey did not protest. God’s pure andHoly Prophet, upon whom theheavens and earth shower theirblessings, was stoned on so manyoccasions, and yet even whilst hewas stained with blood, that uprightmountain of truth tolerated all thismaltreatment with love and an openheart. Because of these meek andhumble manners and humility themischief of his adversaries

increased daily since they perceivedthis holy congregation to be theirprey.

Then God Almighty, who desiresnot that cruelty and oppressionremain unlimited on this earth, tookthought of his oppressed creaturesand his rage was inflamed againstthe wicked. He then spoke throughthe Holy Qur’an to his poor afflictedpeople and informed them, ‘I amwatching everything that ishappening to you and henceforth Igive you permission to retaliate. Iam God the Almighty and I will notallow your oppressors to escapewithout punishment’. It was thiscommandment that in other wordscame to be known as jihad. The verywording of this commandment,which is still preserved in theQur’an today reads as follows:

Permission to fight is given to

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those against whom war ismade, because they have beenwronged, and Allah indeed haspower to help them. Those whohave been driven out from theirhomes unjustly..(Al-Hajj: Vs.40-41)

That is, God heard the cries for helpfrom the victims of cruelty whowere being slaughtered and unjustlymade homeless.

They were given permission to fightfor the defence of their rights. Godis Omnipotent and aids suchvictims. However, this order wasonly intended for a limited period oftime and was not everlasting. It wasapplicable to that time whenconverts to Islam were beingslaughtered like goats and sheep.But sadly, after the time of the HolyProphet, (peace be upon him) andthe Khilafat, people committed verygrave errors in trying to understandthe philosophy of jihad, the essenceof which is explained in the abovequoted verse. Hence the slaughter ofGod's people was wrongly con-sidered to be a mark of religiousvirtue.

It is a strange coincidence thatChristians erred with respect to the

rights of God and Muslims to therights of man, that is to say, in theChristian faith, by making a humbleman God, the rights of the Almightyand Everlasting were violated, Hewho has no equal on earth or in theheavens. In the same vein, Muslims,by unjustly wielding the swordagainst human beings, violated therights of man, and called this jihad.In other words, the Christianspursued one pathway of violatingrights and the Muslims another. It isan unfortunate aspect of this periodthat both faiths view their ownviolation of rights to be preferable,to the extent that each and everygroup is advocating its own doctrineas being the more favourableviolation of rights. Each considersthat its own belief provides the solepath to heaven. Whilst the sin ofviolating God's rights is greater thanall of this, it is not my intention atthis point to discuss this dangerousact of which the Christians are guiltybut to make Muslims aware of thecontinuing violations that they arecommitting in relation to man.

We must remember that the mannerin which today’s Muslim scholarscalled the maulvis, understand andpreach jihad to the public is in noway correct. The only outcome of


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their passionate and inflammatorysermons is to turn the commonpeople, with their savage instincts,into wild beasts and to deprive themof all the virtues of humanity, andsuch was the result. I have no doubtthat the sins committed through allthe murders of these ignorantpeople, being driven by their baserselves unaware of the reason why inearly Islamic times fighting wasn e c e s s a r y, will fall upon theshoulders of the maulvis who teachthese principles in a veiled fashion,from which tragic acts of bloodshedensue. When these maulvis comeface to face with the rulers of thetime, they greet them with suchhumility that it is almost as if theyare willing to prostrate themselvesbefore them. However, when theysit amongst their own audience, theyrepeatedly proclaim that thiscountry is dar-al-harb (‘abode ofw a r’), and the people shouldmaintain within their hearts theobligation of jihad. Only a few menare not of this type. The vastmajority of them adhere so stronglyto this doctrine of j i h a d, whichentirely contradicts the teachings ofthe Holy Qur’an and Hadith, to suchan extent that they apply the label ofdajjal to anyone who objects to thedoctrine of j i h a d. They advocate

that such a person should be killed.This is the fatwa under the sentenceof which I have been for aconsiderable period of time. Someof the maulvis of this country havegiven to me the label of dajjal andkafir (infidel), and fearless of thelaw of the British Government, haveprinted a fatwa against me statingthat this man should be killed andthat to loot his belongings even toabduct his womenfolk is a mostcommendable action. What is thereasoning for this? It was because Iam the Promised Messiah, that Ipreach against their interpretation ofj i h a d and totally disprove theirconcept of the ‘bloody mahdi’ and‘bloody Messiah’ for whom theywait with great anticipation,believing that his advent will beaccompanied by bloodshed andplunder, this is the target of theirrage and hostility. However, theymust remember that the doctrine ofjihad which they possess withintheir hearts is completely incorrectand represents the first step towardsthe demise of human compassion.

They are in complete error tosuppose that since jihad wasconsidered lawful in the early daysof Islam, then why should it beunlawful now. To this I have two

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answers. Firstly, this whole conceptis far removed from the truth. Underno circumstances did our HolyProphet(sa) raise the sword againstanyone unless they raised the swordfirst and mercilessly killed innocentmen, chaste women and children insuch an agonising manner that evenupon hearing such accounts today,one feels great sorrow and grief.Secondly, if one accepts that thereexisted in Islam a doctrine of jihadas advocated by these maulvis, thenit must be stated that this is nolonger valid in this day and age. Thisis because it is written that when thePromised Messiah makes himselfmanifest there will be an end of thejihad of the sword and religiouswars, as the Promised Messiah willnot wield the sword or any otherearthly weapon in his hand. Prayerwill be his weapon and conviction of

belief will be his sword. He will laythe foundation of peace and willmake the goat and lion drink fromthe same waterhole. This age will beone of peace, gentleness and humansympathy. How regrettable it is thatthese people do not reflect thatthirteen hundred years have passedsince the words yadda ul-Harbissued from the mouth of the HolyP r o p h e t( s a ) in regard to PromisedMessiah. It meant that when thePromised Messiah comes he willbring an end to wars. The verse ofthe Holy Qur’an points in the samedirection (Al-Muhammad v.5). Thatis to say, fight until the advent of thePromised Messiah. This is Yadda ul-Harb, Consult the Sahih Bukhariwhich is deemed to be the mostauthentic book after the HolyQur’an, read it carefully, and youwill find the same point.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES DID OUR HOLY PROPHET(SA) RAISE

THE SWORD AGAINST ANYONE UNLESS THEY RAISED THE SWORD

F I R S T A N D M E R C I L E S S LY K I L L E D I N N O C E N T M E N, C H A S T E

WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN SUCH AN AGONISING MANNER THAT

EVEN UPON HEARING SUCH ACCOUNTS TODAY, ONE FEELS

GREAT SORROW AND GRIEF. SECONDLY, IF ONE ACCEPTS THAT

THERE EXISTED IN ISLAM A DOCTRINE OF JIHAD AS ADVOCATED

BY THESE MAULVIS, THEN IT MUST BE STATED THAT THIS IS NO

LONGER VALID IN THIS DAY AND AGE.


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I address all Muslim scholars andmaulvis, listen to what I say, I speakthe absolute truth when I say thatthis is not the time for jihad. Do notdisobey God’s Holy Prophet(sa). ThePromised Messiah that was awaitedhas arrived and he orders thathenceforth religious wars whichentail warfare by the sword andresult in killing and bloodshed areprohibited. Therefore, not to refrainfrom causing bloodshed but tocontinue to preach in this vein is notthe way of Islam. W h o s o e v e rbelieves in me will not only refrainfrom this preaching but will alsocondemn this custom and willrealise that this practice is evil andone which will incur God’s wrath.

At this point it also saddens me tohave to write that, on the one hand,the ignorant maulvis have concealedthe true meaning of jihad from thecommon people and have contrivedplans to teach the public how toplunder, fight and murder humanbeings, all under the banner of jihad.On the other hand, the [Christian)]priests have carried on in a similarm a n n e r. They have publishedthousands of tracts and notices inUrdu, Pushto and so forth, and havedistributed them all over Hindustan,the Punjab and the Frontier

territories, saying that Islam wasspread by the sword and that towield the sword is Islam. The resultof all this was that the commonpeople on seeing these twotestimonies of jihad, namely that ofthe maulvis and that of the priests,went further in their bestial passion.In my view, it is also the duty of ourgracious government to put a stop tothe dangerous fabrication of thesepriests which results in unrest andrebellion within the country. It isimpossible that the people of Islamwill leave their faith as a result ofthese improper fabrications by thepriests. In fact this kind of preachingwill ultimately serve as a perpetualreminder to the masses of the issueof jihad and continually arouse theirdormant passions.

Now that the Promised Messiah hascome, it is the duty of every Muslimto abstain from jihad. If I had notcome, then perhaps this mis-understanding could have beenexcused; but now that I have come,and you have seen the day that waspromised, those who use the swordin the name of religion, have nojustification before God Almighty.Whosoever has eyes, reads theHadith and studies the Holy Qur’an,can easily understand that this

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practice of jihad which has beenadopted by many barbaric people ofthe present time is not Islamic jihad.These are in fact illicit actions basedupon the passions of the lower selfand upon a crude desire for paradisewhich has spread amongst Muslims.

As I have just stated, in his time, ourHoly Prophet( s a ) set a precedentwhereby he never raised the sword,but rather, suffered a long time at thehands of the kafirs (infidels) anddisplayed a patience that not everyman is capable of. Similarly, hiscompanions firmly abided by thisprinciple, as they were ordered tosuffer and be patient, and so theybelieved with great faith andpatience. They were trampled underfoot yet did not utter a sound. Theirchildren were torn to pieces beforetheir very eyes. They were torturedto death through fire and water, butthey refrained from responding to allthis evil as though they wereinnocent young children.

Can there be any example in historywhere any prophet or his followersexercised this level of restraintwhilst possessing the ability toretaliate, and yet listened to God’scommand and showed suchmeekness and refrained from

combat as they did? Who has anyproof that in this world there existsanother group that, despite beingbrave, united, well-armed, able tofight and possessing all the qualitiesof bravery and manliness, avoidedany kind of retaliation against ablood-thirsty enemy for thirteenyears?

The patience shown by our mostbeloved Lord and Master and hiscompanions was not due to theirpowerlessness. In fact, the devotedcompanions who showed suchrestraint in this time of patience hadthe same hands and arms that theyused after the command to performj i h a d and frequently a thousandyoung men defeated one hundredthousand veteran soldiers of theenemy. This took place to show thepeople that the patience exercised inMecca by the Muslims in face oftheir enemies’shedding of blood didnot arise out of cowardice andweakness, but was the result of theirsurrender to God’s command andhence they were prepared to beslaughtered like goats and sheep.Without doubt such patience isbeyond human power. Even if onestudies the history of the wholeworld and all the prophets, onecannot find such an abundance of


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virtues in any other community or inthe followers of any other prophet.If we listen to stories about patiencefrom the past, then immediately itcrosses one’s mind that theconditions of the time indicate thatthe reason for this patience was inactual fact cowardice or lack ofpower to retaliate. But for a groupwhich actually possessed militaryskill, who were brave and stouthearted, and then, for such pain to beinflicted upon them, for theirchildren to be slaughtered, for themto be wounded by spears and yet stillnot retaliate against this evil, this isthe heroic quality that was exercisedin a perfect fashion by the HolyProphet(sa) and his companions for aperiod of thirteen yearscontinuously. This kind of patiencewhich continually involved facingsuch trials and tribulations andspanned the long period of thirteenyears is indeed unique. Whosoeverdoubts this should come forth andgive us an example of anotherinstance of such patience fromrighteous people of the past.

At this point it is worthremembering that during this periodof oppression inflicted upon hiscompanions, our Prophet(sa) did notinstruct them with any plan to save

themselves arising out of his ownreasoning, but in fact persistentlystated that they should bear all theirsufferings with patience. If anyonesuggested some form of retaliation,he restrained them and said, ‘I havebeen ordered to exercise patience’.Thus the Holy Prophet(sa) insistedupon patience until the command toretaliate came down from heaven.Try and find an instance ofcomparable fortitude amongst thepeople of former or latter days. If itis possible, find such an exampleamongst the people of Moses(as) orthe apostles of Jesus( a s ) and thenimpart your findings to me.

In short, when Muslims have suchan example of patience, avoidanceof evil and noble conduct beforethem of which the whole world isproud, then what kind of ignorance,misfortune and evil practice is itwhich has now led to a completeabandonment of this example? MayGod guide these ignorant maulviswho have greatly deceived the herd-like populace with such views andpreach that such practices providethe key to paradise, a view thatclearly is oppressive, cruel andtransgresses all human morals. Canit possibly be a pious act that when,for instance, a person, who is

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walking in a bazaar minding his ownbusiness and with whom we have solittle connection that we do not evenknow his name nor he ours, and yetwe, with the intention of killing him,should take out a pistol and fire it athim? Can this be a pious act? If so,then wild animals have surpassedhuman beings in their religiouscapacity!

God be praised! How righteousthose people were who so retainedthe spirit of the prophets withinthem that when God ordered them inMecca not to fight evil and toexercise patience even if hacked topieces, they obeyed this commandlike suckling infants and hencebecame as weak and humble as ifthey had no strength in their handsnor power in their arms. Some werekilled in such a manner that twocamels were made to stand in oneplace, then the victims' legs weretied, one to each camel and then thecamels were made to run in oppositedirections. They were immediatelytorn apart, in the same way as acarrot or a radish is split open. Butalas, the Muslims and particularlythe maulvis have ignored theseincidents and now think that thewhole world is for them to hunt. Justas a hunter stalking a deer in a forest

quietly moves towards it and at theright moment fires his gun at it, soare many maulvis. They have notread even one word on the subject ofhuman compassion. According tothem in fact, the killing of aninnocent person without reason bymeans of a pistol or rifle is deemedto be Islamic. Where are thosepeople, who, like the companions ofthe Holy Prophet ( s a ) will toleratesuch torture and remain patient? HasGod commanded us, that withoutreason or proof of an offence, weshould, catch a stranger off his guardand cut him to pieces with a knife orshoot him? Can such a religion befrom God, which advocates thatguiltless, innocent creatures of Godshould be killed without beingpreached to and that from this youwill enter paradise? How sad andshameful that a person with whomwe have no previous enmity andwith whom we are in fact not evenacquainted, who is purchasing itemsat a shop for his children or isengaged in some other lawfulactivity should be attacked, and thatwe without reason or cause, byfiring a gun at him have made hiswife a widow and his childrenorphans and have made his houseone of mourning. In which Hadith orverse of the Qur’an is this behaviour


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prescribed? Can any maulvi reply tothis? Upon hearing the word jihadthese ignorant people have used it asan excuse to fulfil their basepurposes. Or perhaps they aresimply inclined towards bloodshedthrough sheer madness.

To reiterate my earlier point, in thetime of our Holy Prophet(sa), Islamonly raised the sword whencommanded to do so by God. It didso only after so many Muslims hadbeen sent to the grave by the swordsof the unbelievers. Finally God’swrath was roused to desire that thosewho killed by the sword shouldthemselves perish by the sword.God is most gracious, kind andextremely tolerant, but ultimatelyHe is wrathful for the sake of Hisfaithful followers. I am astonishedthat in an age when no one killsMuslims for their religious beliefs,then by what command do they killinnocent people? Why do theirmaulvis not restrain these peoplewho through their misguided actionsbring the name of Islam intodisrepute?

Can any one calculate what anuntroubled existence the Muslimshave under this BritishGovernment? There must be many

people alive today who witnessedsomething of the period of Sikh rule.Let them inform you of the state ofIslam and the Muslims under theirrule. An important practice of theIslamic faith is the call to prayer, yeteven this was considered to be in thenature of a criminal act. No oneeven dared to call the azan in a loudvoice, for if they did they faced thelances and spears of the Sikhs. Now,did God act wrongly in freeing theMuslims from the uncalled-forinterference of the Sikhs anddelivering them to the sanctuarygranted by the British Government?One might say that it was with thearrival of the British Governmentthat the Muslims of the Punjab weregranted the blessings of Islam anew.Since a good deed demands a gooddeed in return, we should not justreject this favour bestowed upon usin the place of the Sikh rule by Godafter thousands of prayers.

At this time I especially advise myJama’at who accept that I am thePromised Messiah, that they shouldalways refrain from these impurepractices. God has sent me as thePromised Messiah and has cloakedme with the robe of the Messiah, theson of Mary. Hence, for this reason,I advise you to refrain from evil, to

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perform the duty of sympathy to allhuman beings and to respect theirrights. Purify your hearts frommalice and spite. Thus will youbecome like the Angels.

What a filthy and unholy religion itis that does not teach humanity!What an unholy path it is that isfilled with the thorns of base malice!So, those of you who follow me, donot be like this. Think what you gainfrom religion. Is it that perpetualharming of others should becomeyour second nature? NO! In factreligion is to try and attain the lifewhich is the nature of God and thathas not been attained by anyone, norwill it ever be, unless God’s attrib-utes enter man. For God's sake havemercy on mankind so that heavenhas mercy on you. Come, I willteach you a way that will make yourlight outshine all other lights. This isthe path that shuns all base evils,jealously and advocates sympathy tomankind and requires one to becomecompletely immersed in God andthus to attain the height of spiritualpurity. This is the way that leads tomiracles and results in prayer beinganswered and causes Angels todescend for one's aid. But thiscannot be achieved in one day. Keepstriving relentlessly until your soul

becomes pure. Learn a lesson fromthe washerman, who first boils hisclothes in a cauldron and continuesto do so until the effects of the firecauses all the dirt and filth toseparate from the clothes. Then heawakes in the morning, goes to thewater and soaks his clothes in waterand repeatedly beats them againstthe stones. Only then does the dirtthat was in the clothes and hadbecome part of the clothes, thenaltogether leave the clothes. T h eclothes become as white as theywere when they were brand new.This is the way in which the humansoul becomes white. Your wholesalvation is dependent on thiscleanliness. God draws attention tothis in the Holy Qu’ran (Al-Shams:10)

That is to say, the soul that achievessalvation is the one which iscleansed of all filth and impurities.See, I have come to you with anorder: Henceforth the j i h a d of thesword is at an end, but the j i h a d o fcleansing souls remains. These arenot my words but this is the Will ofGod. Recall that Hadith in SahihBukhari which refers to thePromised Messiah, yadda-ul harb.


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that is to say, when the Messiahcomes he will bring an end toreligious wars. Thus I order allthose who have entered my army tostop dwelling on these thoughts; topurify their hearts; to excelthemselves in human kindness; tobe sympathetic to the afflicted; tospread peace throughout the land,so that their faith will spread inturn. Do not wonder how this willhappen. For just as God, in meetingphysical needs, without the meansof common intervention, has usedelements and all things of the earthin the inventions of the present ageand has made trains that far outrunhorses, similarly, God, without thehelp of human hands, will now useHis Angels to fulfil spiritual needs.May great heavenly signs be mademanifest and many splendourscreated which will open people’seyes. Ultimately people willunderstand that it was a grave errorto elevate human beings and otherobjects besides God to the status ofGod. Continue to watch patientlybecause God is more mindful of Hisunity than you are, spend your timein prayer lest you be written downas amongst those who aredisobedient. O you who yearn andthirst for righteousness, listen, forthese are the days you were

promised in the beginning. Godwill not protract these episodes.Just as the lamp on top of a minaretspreads its light far and wide, orjust as lightening that flashes in onepart, of the sky illuminates all parts,so will it be in those days. In orderto fulfil the prophecy that theproclamation of the Messiah, likethe light of the tall minaret, willspread to the four corners of theearth, every tool has been providedon earth. The railways, thetelegraph system, the steamships,the excellent postal service andeasy means of travel have all beenset in motion. All this has beenbrought into existence in order tofulfil the prophecy that the light ofthe Promised Messiah’s messagewill reach each and every corner ofthe earth like lightening. T h eminaret of the Messiah mentionedin the Hadith actually refers to thelight and proclamation of thePromised Messiah which willspread as does the call and lightfrom a high minaret. Hence therailways, the telegraph system, thesteamships, the postal service andother means of facilitatingpreaching and the facilitation oftravel are all special signs of thetime of the Messiah, as mentionedby most of the prophets and as is

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stated in the Holy Qur’an. ( A l -Taqvid: V.5)

That is to say, the time of thecommon call which signifies thetime of the Promised Messiah willbe one when camels will becomeobsolete. Thus a time will comewhen a new means of travel willcome into being, removing the needfor camels. It is also mentioned inHadith:

that is, in that time camels will berendered useless(1). This sign wasnot given for the time of any otherprophet. So be thankful to God thatpreparations are under way to spreadthe light across the sky. In the earththere is a ferment of earthlyblessings, that is to say, in travel andat rest and in everything else, youare experiencing such a case thatwas denied to your forefathers. It isas if the world has become new. Outof season fruit can be bought all atthe same time. A six months journeycan be completed in a few days.News from a thousand miles awaycan be received in a moment.Machines and contrivances exist for

the facilitation of every task, and ifyou wish, you can travel on boardtrains as if relaxing in a summerhouse. Since such a miraculousrevolution has taken place in theearth Almighty God desires that awondrous revolution should alsotake place in the heavens. Both ofthese are the very signs that wereindicated as a revelation in my bookB a r a h i n - e - A h m a d i y y a, which waswritten twenty years ago. This is asfollows:

(Al-Anabiya: V.31)

That is to say, the heavens and theearth are both bound together like aknot, the secrets of which arehidden. In the time of the PromisedMessiah we have witnessed theunravelling of the previously hiddensecrets contained in the heavens andearth.(2)

Finally let it be remembered thatalthough I have written in detail onthis subject in this pamphlet, theexisting practice current among theMuslims of attacking those who areof other religions and which they


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call jihad is not the jihad of Islamiclaw but is plainly against the law ofGod and His Prophet and is a gravesin. Yet since among some Muslimnations there is an ancient custom ofadhering to this practice, it istherefore not possible for them, toeasily abandon this practice. It is infact highly possible that theybecome mortal enemies of anyonewho offers such advice and theymay wish to kill that person, fired bythe zeal of a ghazi for the faith. I canthink of one solution and that is ifHis Majesty the Amir(3) of the landof Kabul, who has an influence overthe tribes of the Afghans perhapsunmatched by past Amirs, shouldgather the best known ulema andarrange a meeting to discuss the truenature of jihad. Then through theulema the public should becautioned as to their misconduct. Infact the ulema of this country shouldcompile a few pamphlets in Pushtoand then have them published andmade available to the ordinarypublic. No doubt this type of actionwill have a great effect on the peopleand the passion that the maulvisinstill amongst the common peoplewill gradually lessen, and no doubtit will be a grave misfortune for thesubjects of the Amir if he does notbring this point of essential

importance to their attention. Theultimate result for that governmentwhich remains silent over thesemaulvis’ fatwas will be disquiet andtrouble, because nowadays it is thehabit of these maulvis and mullahsto give the label of unbeliever to anindividual or a group over minorreligious differences. Eventually thesame fatwas of jihad that are issuedagainst the unbelievers are issuedagainst themselves. In the light ofthis the Amir Sahib himself cannotremain safe from these fatwas. It ispossible that these maulvis may atany time cast out the Amir Sahibfrom the circle of Islam by takingoffence over some trivial issue, andthen he too will be the subject ofthose very same f a t w a s of jihadwhich he had caused to be issued.against the unbelievers. T h o s epeople who possess the power intheir hands of labelling a person abeliever or unbeliever and thenissuing fatwas of jihad against them,are without doubt a dangerous groupof whom the King himself shouldnot remain unworried. Wi t h o u tdoubt these people are the fountainof rebellion faced by everygovernment. The poor commonpeople are under the power of themaulvis who hold the key to theirhearts and can turn them whichever

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way they choose and at any momentcan raise a tumult.

So it is not sinful for the commonpeople to be freed from their dutiesand for them to have the true natureof jihad gently explained to them. Inno way does Islam teach thatMuslims should behave like robbersand bandits and use jihad as anexcuse to fulfil their innermost basedesires; for since the ordinary publicare aware that Islam does not permitthe carrying out of jihad without theorder of a King, there is a dangerthat those people who are not awareof the reality of the situation maypresume that all these actions resultfrom the command of the Amir. It istherefore the essential duty of theAmir that he should as far aspossible try his utmost to put a stopto these wrongful fatwas. In thisway the King will exonerate himselfas clearly as the shining sun and hewill be blessed with a heavenlyreward. After observing the dutiesowed by creatures [to God], there isno greater pious act than that ofreleasing the oppressed from theswords of their aggressors. Since itis mostly Afghans who committhese acts and wield the sword withthe intention of becoming ghazis,and there are many of them in Amir

Sahib’s country, for this reason Godhas given Amir Sahib theopportunity to leave this greatreform in the record of his Amirship.He should try his utmost to free theAfghan people from these barbaricpractices which have given Islam abad name. Failing this, since this isthe time of the Promised Messiah,God will without doubt provide suchmeans as to make the earth, whichwas full of tyranny and bloodshed,to be filled instead with justice,peace and reconciliation. Blessedare the Amirs and Kings who playsome part in this.

After writing all this, I wouldparticularly like to submit a requestto my gracious government.Although I am aware that thisgovernment is wise and intelligent,even so it is my duty to put forwardany pious suggestions that come tomind which are beneficial to thegovernment and the commonpeople. What I wish to say is that, inmy opinion, it is an actual andcertain fact that the barbaricpractices which exist amongst theFrontier Afghans and which dailyresult in the killing of some innocentperson or other, are due to tworeasons, as I have already stated:


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1. Those maulvis who believe aspart of their faith that as a result ofkilling non-Muslims and especiallyChristians, they will attain a greatmerit and great heavenly blessingswhich cannot be attained fromprayer, from Hajj, from Zakat orfrom any other good action. I amwell aware that these peoplecontinually preach to the public insecret. If they listen to such sermonsday in day out, then their hearts,which are little different from thoseof animals, become deeply affected.They become like beasts of prey andnot even a shred of mercy remainswithin them. Consequently theycause such bloodshed as to makeone shudder. The Frontier andAfghan territories are full of the typeof maulvis who regularly preach inthis way. I am indeed of the opinionthat the Punjab and Hindustan arenot free of these kind of maulvise i t h e r. If our noble governmentaccepts that all the maulvis of thiscountry are guiltless and free of thisline of thinking, then I suggest thatthey think again.

I am of the opinion that the majorityof the ignorant and short-temperedcommon mullahs of the mosques arenot free of these evil thoughts. Iftheir opinions were in accordance

with God’s Holy Book, then I wouldconsider them helpless, because to acertain extent man is indeed helplessin matters of faith. I speak nothingbut the truth when I say that just asthey forget what they owe thegovernment and are thus just thegovernment’s hidden enemies, in thesame way they are also culpable anddisobedient to God. For I haveexplained in detail that in no waydoes God’s word teach us to spill theblood of innocent people like this,and whosoever shares this opinionhas turned his back on Islam.

2. In my opinion, the second causeof these criminal acts of bloodshedwhich are carried out under thepretext of becoming a ghazi, is thosepriests who have continuallyemphasised beyond all limits thatjihad is compulsory in Islam andthat to kill other communities is partof the Muslim faith and is a mostmeritorious act. I believe that thepeople of the Frontier were not evenaware of the issue of jihad untilreminded of it by the priests. Theproof that I have in support of thiscontention is that there were few orindeed, one might say, no incidentsof this kind until the publishing ofthe newspapers, magazines andbooks by the priests. In fact when

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the rule of the Sikhs was lifted fromthis country and the BritishGovernment replaced them,ordinary Muslims including thepeople of the Frontier were verypleased with this change. W h e nReverend Pfander published hisbook Mizan-ul-Haq(4) in 1849 in thePunjab, Hindustan, and borderterritories, not only did he useoffensive language to attack Islamand the Prophet of Islam(sa), but healso spread the rumour that in Islam,the killing of non-Muslims is notonly lawful but is also a mostmeritorious act. On hearing this thebeasts of the Frontier who have noknowledge whatsoever of theirreligion, suddenly awake and cometo believe that their religionadvocates that the killing of non-Muslims is a meritorious act. Afterdeep thought I have realised thatmost of the incidents on the Frontierand the turbulent hostility which hasbeen created among the people ofthe Frontier is due to the books ofthose priests in which they haveused excessively harsh language andcontinually reminded people ofj i h a d. Ultimately after the greatpublicity received by Mizan-ul-Haqand its poisonous effect, ourGovernment had to pass Act No.XXHI of 1867, in order to check the

g h a z i-like ideas of the Frontierpeople. This act was printed for sixFrontier tribes and there were greathopes that as a result the incidentswould thereby come to an end. Butsadly thereafter the violent andfilthy books and writings of Rev.I m a d - u d - D i n( 5 ) of Amritsar andsome other foul-mouthed priests,did great damage to internal goodwill and reconciliation. Similarlybooks by other priests, which weneed not consider in detail, did noless in sowing the seeds of enmity inthe hearts of the people. Thus thesepeople proved to be a great obstaclefor our noble government in itsattempts at reconciliation. It was ahighly commendable act of thegovernment not to forbid Muslimsto write in reply to these books. TheMuslim reply to these harsh bookswas rather bitter, but even so it wasa striking testimony to the nature ofthe government. The disturbancesthat they expected as a result ofthese defamatory books completelyfailed to materialise due to the well-intentioned and fair manner adoptedby the government. Thus, althoughwe have to state with regret that themaulvis of Islam in pursuing thewrong meaning of jihad taught thetribes of the Frontier to redden theirswords with the blood of honourable


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officers of the British Government,and in this way have unjustlyharmed our beneficent government,yet at the same time, I regret that themullahs of Europe, ie. the priests,inflamed the passions of theignorant as a result of their harshand unjust writings. By raisingobjections against jihad a thousandtimes, they instilled the notionamongst the barbaric Muslims thattheir religion advocates that jihad isan act which provides an immediatepathway to paradise. If these priestsdid not harbour any ill intentionswithin their hearts, then they shouldhave realised the truth for them-selves and compared the jihad ofMoses(as) and Joshua to the jihad ofour Holy Prophet( s a ) and thenremained silent.

If we suppose, for example, that the causeof instigating this passion amongst thepublic belongs solely to the Muslimmaulvis, then our sense of justicecompels us to affirm that the writings ofthe priests in which the Muslims are seenin a suspicious light, play a part in thisseditious behaviour. It is regrettable thatsome foolish people sit to one side aftercarrying out a mischievous act and theBritish Government is left to face thed i fficulties. In my opinion, the best wayto dispel these difficulties is to adopt the

example of the present OttomanGovernment. This is that, for anexperimental period of a few years, everygroup should be strictly forbidden to usevicious language, be it explicit or implicit,in their writings or in their sermonsagainst another religion. However it ispermissible to talk of the beauty of one’sreligion as much as one likes. In this wayfresh seeds of enmity will cease to besown, old issues will be forgotten andpeople will instead be inclined towardsmutual love and reconciliation. When thebarbaric people of the Frontier see thefriendship and harmony between thenations, then they too will becomeimpressed, and in turn will show as muchsympathy to Christians as a Muslim doesto his brother.

A second suggestion is that thosemaulvis of the Punjab andHindustan who oppose the issue ofjihad should write tracts about it.Then having translated them intoPushto, they should have themdistributed amongst the Frontiertribes. Without doubt this will havegreat repercussions. But, a conditionfor all these tasks is that they shouldbe carried out with an honest heartand enthusiasm and not withhypocrisy.

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References

1. [Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s note:] Ihave written repeatedly that thePromised Messiah is not theProphet of the Israelites but hascome with his nature anddisposition. Since in the Torahour Prophet (peace be upon him)has been declared to be similarto Moses, it was necessary thatthere should be a Messiah at theend of Muhammad's era just asthere was at the end of that ofMoses.

2. [Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s note:] Isit not true that in this day and agethe knots of the earth have beenunravelled and thousands of newtruths, special things and deviceshave been made manifest? Sowhy should heavenly knotsremain tied? Regarding theheavenly knots, previousProphets also prophesied thatwomen and children will obtainGod's divine message and thatwill be the time of the PromisedMessiah.

3. The Amir of the Afghans at thistime was still Abdur Rahman(1881-1901). He was placed onthe throne after the second

Afghan war (1878-80) and wasrecognised as the Amir of Kabulon the sole condition of havingno political relations with anyforeign power except the British.

4. Mizan-ul-Haq (The Balance ofTruth) was written by Rev. KarlGottlieb Pfander (1803-65). Thiswas his first book on Islam andChristianity. A greater part of thebook deals with the proofs of theintegrity and inspiration of theBible whilst attacking theinspiration of the Qur'an and theProphet Muhammad's (peace beupon him) claim to prophethood.

5. Rev. Imad-ud-Din was one of themany priests who publishedextensively during this period.As a former Muslim, Imad-ud-Din had a familiarity with Islamand was thus consideredparticularly threatening.


Questioner: Why is there so much fighting inIslamic countries?

Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad: It is the fate of every religion that withthe passage of time its followersbecome responsible for creating agreat deal of conflict and strife withinthat religion. You will yourself be ableto understand that during the twoworld wars; for instance, it was theChristians who were fighting againstChristians. Such conflict among thefollowers of a religion is theconsequence of moving away fromthe original teachings of a religion.When the followers of a religionbecome distanced from the originalteachings of their religion, they forgettheir original beliefs and truepractices. Jesus for instance taughtthat if someone slaps you on onecheek, you should offer the other.This, however, is not what happens in

the Christian world of today. Ifsomeone ‘slaps’ another person onone cheek, it is likely to be followedby a vengeance that is harsher andmuch more severe than the originalact. This is a sign of decadence, a signthat the followers have becomedistanced from the original teaching.The same is the case in the Muslimworld. Muslims, too, are goingthrough a period of decadence, havingignored the original teachings ofIslam; they have become distancedfrom the true essence of Islam.C o n s e q u e n t l y, there are numerousinternal conflicts where one sectopposes another. The ongoing tensionbetween the Shi’a and the Sunni sectsis but one example. There are manyother instances where Muslims arewaging a war against other Muslims,and one sect is opposing another. Thisis a sign of the decline of the beliefsand practices of Muslims [as theyhave become distanced from the true

Islamic Perspective – Part IIHadhrat Mirza TahirAhmad, the Fourth Head of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam,from time to time offers to people of all nationalities, faiths and beliefs the opportunityof raising questions and issues that are of interest to them. Presented below are answersto questions that were raised in a session held in Mannheim, Germany, on 25 August2001 and in a previous session held in London. (The first two questions were raised inthe session held in Germany and the final question was raised in a previous sessionheld in London).

Compiled by Amatul Hadi Ahmad

Islamic Perspective – Part II


values and principles of Islam].

Question: What are the differences between theAhmadiyya Muslims and the otherMuslim sects?

Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad: There are many aspects that unite usin faith and in belief with the non-Ahmadi Muslims which are basicallythe fundamentals of Islam that webelieve in one God, we believe in theMessengers, we believe in the Books,we believe in the hereafter and so on.These are the uniting beliefs of all theMuslims of the world. However, thereare some who differentiate and createa difference between them and us as ifwe do not belong to the same faith.

The first difference which theChristians can understand well isabout the personality of Jesus Christ,(peace be upon him). We do notbelieve Jesus(as) to be a literal son ofGod. We believe that the term ‘son ofGod’ has been used in relation to himas a term of endearment and he wasbut a creation of God. The firstd i fference, therefore, is about theentity or the nature of Jesus Christ(as).Although all Muslims generallybelieve that Jesus was not the son ofGod, however, they attribute to himsome characteristics that are beyondthe physical reality of a human being.

They believe that he has gone up tothe heavens alive and is still livingthere, in the fourth heaven, awaitinghis physical return to this earth. LikeChristians they believe he has gone upto the heaven alive but their beliefsbecome slightly different from theChristians in that the Muslims believethat he will return to earth but thistime he will be a Muslim and willbelieve in the Imam Mahdi who willhave appeared before him. Hence, thedifferences between the Muslims andthe Christians are rather confused butstill the Muslim concept of JesusChrist is very different from that ofthe Christians.

According to the Ahmadiyya point ofview, however, many references are tobe found in the Ahadith (i.e. thetraditions of the Holy Prophet (peaceand blessings of Allah be upon him)regarding the nature of the secondadvent of Jesus Christ (peace be uponhim). According to these traditionsJesus(as) during his second advent issupposed to perform certain dutieswhich are, in fact, a metaphoricrepresentation but the non-AhmadiMuslims generally believe these to beliteral. For instance, it is said thatduring his second advent, Jesus wouldkill the swine. Non-Ahmadi Muslimsbelieve that this is not a metaphoricalstatement made by the Holy Prophet(peach be upon him), but that it was a



27

literal statement that was going to befulfilled literally. Their belief thentakes on a form which implies that assoon as Jesus(as) descends back ontothis earth, after two thousand years,instead of reforming the Muslims ofthe time, he would instead go into thewilderness to seek out and slaughterall the swine. He will continue in thissearch of swine from country tocountry. How long will all this take –Allah knows better – but, according tothe beliefs of the Muslims, he willmake a full circuit of the earth,seeking out all the swine andslaughtering them. All this isobviously so absurd that humannature revolts against such a concept.However, such is the mind of theMullah that they take literally whatthe Holy Prophet ( s a ) meant to bemetaphorical. By the killing of swine,the Holy Prophet(sa) only meant thenature of some people whichresembles that of boars and swine. Itwas not actual swine that were to be‘killed’ by Jesus during his secondadvent, it was his campaign againstthe swine-like nature of some peoplethat was being referred to by themetaphor.

The Holy Prophet(sa), further statedthat Jesus ( a s ), during his secondadvent, would then turn to breakingthe cross that had once broken hisb o d y. [The non-Ahmadi Muslims

here believe that] to carry out thistask, Jesus would once again travel allaround the world in search of all thecrosses possessed by people – be theyin buildings or worn by people aroundtheir necks – Jesus(as) was to literallybreak all the crosses. Just consider theenormity of such an endless task – nosooner would one cross be destroyed,the Christians could go on to make anew one! However, this is allabsolutely absurd and the humanmind rejects it as stupid but the mindof the Mullah accepts it as reality andthat is the difference between the non-Ahmadis and the Ahmadi Muslimswho believe that by the ‘breaking ofthe cross’ is meant only that Jesus(as)

during his second advent will presentsuch a strong argument against the‘cross’ that he will break the ‘cross’not literally but metaphorically.

However, having performed this duty,regardless of the time it takes, Jesus(as)

will, according to this belief, return tothe Muslims but before he can turn tothe issue of their reform, there is stillone further matter to be attended to.According to some traditions of theHoly Prophet( s a ), it is stated thatduring his second advent Jesus ( a s )

would marry and have progeny fromthat marriage and the non-AhmadiMuslims interpret this literally andbelieve that Jesus Christ(as), who bythis time would be nearly two



thousand years old, would marry andtake a virgin girl to be his wife. [Aninteresting question arises here as towho would give his daughter inmarriage to such an ancient man –perhaps some Mullah would!] andonce he is married, his wife wouldbear his children. Once again,o b v i o u s l y, this is also a very absurdunderstanding of the prophecy of theHoly Prophet Muhammad( s a ) but theMullahs, believe in such aninterpretation and their story endswith Jesus( s a ) having a new life onearth, being married and havingmany children. This, however, is anabsurd understanding of the saying ofthe Holy Prophet of Islam( s a ).

This Hadith or tradition of the HolyP r o p h e t( s a ) needs to be understood inits metaphorical form. Here, the HolyP r o p h e t( s a ) is referring to the ‘Jesus’who in his second advent wouldmetaphorically resemble thehistorical Jesus Christ. It is thisperson who would marry and haveprogeny as did Mirza GhulamA h m a d( a s ) of Qadian who claimed tobe the second advent of Jesus and hemarried and had progeny while theactual Jesus [of Nazareth] is notreported as having married and didnot have any progeny.

Questioner: How did the idea of the physicalascent of Jesus enter the Muslimideology?

Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad: The idea of physical ascent of Jesus(as)

infiltrated the Muslim world verygradually. It was about three hundredyears after the Holy Prophet ofI s l a m( s a ) that it penetrated Muslimthinking. As to why it infiltratedMuslim thinking is a very importantquestion that needs to be carefullyaddressed. The Holy Prophet ofIslam(sa) had prophesied that, sometime in the future, Jesus Christ( a s )

would ‘descend’ although he did notmention from where he woulddescend. He never stated that this‘descent’ would be from As-Sama,that is from the heavens, but he didstate that Jesus(as) would ‘descend’.The Holy Qur’an states, regarding theHoly Prophet( s a ) himself that he‘descended’. The Holy Prophet ofIslam(sa) is the only Prophet who hasbeen referred to in the Holy Qur’anas having ‘descended’. The HolyProphet was, therefore, fullysupported by Qur’anic usage of theterm, to refer to the future ‘descent’ofJesus Christ(as). Hence, his statementto the effect that there would be noProphet between him and the time of‘ d e s c e n t ’ of ‘Jesus Christ’. It wasbecause the word ‘Jesus Christ’was a



29

personal name indicating thehistorical Jesus who had lived manycenturies ago, that gradually theMuslim scholars came to believe thatif Jesus Christ is mentioned by name,it had to be the one who appeared (inNazareth) among the followers ofMoses(as), that it had to be the personof Jesus Christ. Consequently, thisidea became so entrenched in theirbeliefs that gradually it became partof their doctrine. Moreover, in orderto justify the notion of the ‘descent’ofJesus Christ(as), they also began toclaim that Jesus Christ(as) must alsohave ascended physically [up toheaven], their argument being that hecould not descend unless he hadascended in the first instance. Theyaccepted his ascension up to heavenbut in the process completelyoverlooked the fact that nowhere inthe Holy Qur’an has it beenmentioned that Jesus Christ(as) wasraised bodily to heaven. The onlyreference that can be found in theHoly Qur’an that is similar to this isthe following verse that states:

On the contrary, Allah exalted himto Himself (Ch.4: v.159)

That is to say God did the rafa’a ofJesus Christ to Himself. We, theAhmadis, point out that themisinterpretation of this verse does

not in any way help the cause of theMuslim scholars who believe in thephysical ascent of Jesus(as) because thequestion then arises as to where wasGod when He raised Jesus ( a s ) t oHimself? Was not God present whereJesus(as) was physically? Does Godnot occupy the entire universe? WasGod not present above Jesus(as), belowJesus(as), to the right of him and to theleft of him? It is a fact that no bodycan move physically to God as God isnot a physical body and bodies canonly move in the direction of bodies.This is an inviolable law – it is asgood today as it ever was. You can trythe experiment yourself – that whichis a body cannot move towards aspirit. A body can only move in thedirect of a body. Hence, theinterpretation given to the above verseby Muslim scholars, that God liftedJesus(as) physically to Himself, wouldindicate that God was not presentwhere Jesus(as) was prior to his ascent,that God was somewhere in theheavens, in mid-universe. This wouldhave to be the result of their argumentbecause if God had lifted Jesus(as) toHimself, God should have continuedlifting him to the boundaries of theheavens. However, according to theMuslim clerics, Jesus ( a s ) was leftsomewhere in the middle of theheavens as if God occupies only thatspace! They do not understandbecause they are prejudiced. T h e y



want to prove a point in which theyalready have an entrenched belief.

According to the Holy Qur’an, theword ‘Nuzool‘ or ‘descent’ does notindicate a physical descent and theword ‘rafa’a’ does not indicatephysical ascent. These are the twowords that are causing confusion inthe argument. These are, in fact,Arabic words and as such their usageshould be understood in accordancewith the Arabic lexicon. The word‘rafa’a’ , or ascent in the direction ofGod, when used in the Holy Qur’an,does not imply a physical ascenttowards God. Neither has it been usedby the Holy Prophet( s a ) in hisstatements regarding this subject,with the implication of physicalascent. The greatest ‘rafa’a’ was theascent of the Holy Prophet(sa) himself.However, it was not a physical ascentbut a spiritual one.

These are all aspects that need to beconsidered further in greater detail butunfortunately the shortage of time intoday’s venue does not permit this.However, I hope the questioner willunderstand this issue from our pointof view that these ideas infiltratedMuslim thought not in the first fewcenturies of Islam but later on. Theprocess of infiltration was furtherhelped by the Muslims who hadconverted from Christianity. We also

believe that there was a deliberateattempt on the part of the hypocrites,that is those people who becameMuslims but in fact wanted to destroyIslamic values from within. T h i scombination of factors put theMuslim scholars onto a path thatcould never reach a resolution.Unfortunately, this is what we findeven today.

The fact is that Jesus Christ(as) neverascended physically, hence, he wouldnever return by descendingphysically. To whose advantage – tothe advantage of the clerics who rulethe world of Islam as despots anddemagogues. Unless Jesus(as) returns,their authority cannot be snatchedaway from them and because such aJesus would never descend so theywill continue to enjoy their despoticrule of the world of Islam as they aredoing today. Although these issues areperipheral to this question, they needto be pointed out. Consider foryourself the fact that the ascent ofJ e s u s( a s ) has no meaning. Prior toJ e s u s( a s ), God did not adopt themethod of physical ascent to maintainthe spiritual community. It has neverbeen the case prior to Jesus(as) that aperson was raised, ascending bodily,and then descending according to thewishes of the people of the time. Howcan such an event occur now when ithas never occurred before?



31

However, [to explain this issue morefully] we can quote the exampleElijah. The earlier scriptures state thatElijah would one day descend bodily.The scriptures are very clear aboutthis. Elijah is assumed to haveascended bodily to heaven and it isclearly prophesied that Elijah woulddescend on the same fiery chariotupon which he ascended. All theChristians would support thisprophecy and that it is clearly statedin the scriptures. However, whenJesus(as) claimed to be from God, thepeople around him asked him aboutElijah. How could they believe in theso-called Christ until Elijah returned?Was their demand right or wrong? Itwas absolutely right. Elijah mustdescend before the advent of Christand they, quite rightly, asked where hewas. In response, Jesus(as) pointed toJohn the Baptist(as). He told the peoplethat John the Baptist( a s ) was theawaited Elijah whether they wished tobelieve this or not. Hence, the issuehas been resolved once and for all. IfHadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahibof Qadian (as) is right in his claim thathe is the spiritual manifestation ofJesus then Jesus(as) is right [in hisinterpretation of earlier scripturesregarding Elijah]. If Hadhrat MirzaGhulam Ahmad Sahib of Qadian(as) iswrong, then Jesus(as) is wrong. Theyare both responding to the samesituation! I don’t know why the

Muslim clerics seem unable tounderstand this? How can they rejectHadhrat Mirza Ghulam A h m a dS a h i b( a s ) and accept Jesus Christ( a s )

who had issued the verdict that peopleregarding whom there is a truthfulprophecy regarding their ‘descent’back to this world at some laterperiod, would appear again but neverin the form of a physical descent. Theclaim of such a prophecy is fulfilledin the form of another person who isborn among the people of that time.The names of the parents of such aperson are different from the names ofthe person whose manifestation herepresents – even his own name isdifferent from the earlier person, yetsuch a person fulfills the prophecy. Itis true that the prophecy of the HolyP r o p h e t( s a ), regarding the futureMessiah, stated that it was ‘Jesus sonof Mary’ who would ‘descend’, andthis is no different from the earlierprophecy regarding the ‘descent’ ofElijah. Hence, it is this similaritybetween the two prophecies and theirclaims that prove that the Ahmadiyyainterpretation is correct.


O ye who believe! Fasting isp rescribed for you as it wasprescribed for those before you,so that you may becomerighteous. The prescribed fastingis for a fixed number of days, butwhoso among you is sick or is ona journey shall fast the samenumber of other days; and forthose who are able to fast onlywith great difficulty is anexpiation - the feeding of a poorman. And whoso performs agood work with willingobedience, it is better for him.And fasting is good for you, ifyou only knew. The month ofRamadhan is that in which theQ u r’an was sent down as aguidance for mankind with clearp roofs of guidance anddiscrimination. There f o rewhosoever of you is present athome in this month, let him fasttherein. But whoso is sick or ison a journey shall fast the samenumber of other days. A l l a h

desires to give you facility anddesires not hardship for you, andthat you may complete thenumber, and that you may exaltAllah for His having guided you,and that you may be grateful.And when my servants ask theeabout me: I am near. I answerthe prayer of the supplicantwhen he prays to me. So theyshould hearken to me andbelieve in me, that they mayfollow the right way.(Ch.2: vs.184-187)

The idea of the fast has beeninculcated in all religious disciplineswhich are based on revelation,though strict conformity to theordinances relating thereto is nolonger insisted upon. Indeed, withinsome disciplines the fast has beenreduced to a purely symbolicobservance. In Islam the ordinancesrelating to the fast are clearly statedand defined and to the degree oftheir applicability they are strictly

FastingThis month, Muslims will embark on a month of fasting, abstaining from food anddrink during daylight hours for a period of thirty days. The holy month of Ramadhanholds great significance in the Muslim calendar. The following essay was firstpublished in the book ‘Islamic Worship’by Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan.


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observed. A tendency towardsgreater rigidity is sometimesencountered and has to be checkedand countered through exposition ofthe true purpose of the fast and ofthe meaning of the regulations andtheir spirit.

Subject to the permissibleexemptions, the observance of thefast is obligatory upon every adultMuslim during the month ofRamadhan, the ninth month in thelunar calendar current in Islam. Asthe lunar year is shorter by abouteleven days than the solar year,Ramadhan rotates through the yearand seasons, arriving eleven daysearlier every year. Thus in every partof the earth it progresses throughevery season in turn. In the tropics,when Ramadhan falls in the summerseason, not only are days longerthan in the winter but the fast entailsadditional hardship on account ofthe heat, as normal occupations andpursuits have to be carried on and inthe intense heat and dryness a severedegree of thirst may have to beendured through several hours eachday. The fast is, however, in nosense a penance. It is a physical,moral and spiritual discipline, andthe object is the promotion ofrighteousness and security against

evil. Through the experience of thefast the worshipper is impelled toexalt Allah for His having providedguidance to mankind.

Outside Ramadhan, a voluntary fastmay be observed at any time, excepton the two festival days. The HolyProphet(sa) often observed a fast onMonday and Thursday; but he didnot approve of a voluntary fast beingobserved on a Friday.

A fast is prescribed as an expiationor as an alternative penalty inrespect of certain crimes or defaults,but in those cases also the object isthe promotion of physical, moraland spiritual values. For instance, ifa person on Pilgrimage to the Houseof Allah is unable to offer thesacrifice of an animal as prescribed,he should observe the fast for threedays during the course of thePilgrimage and for seven days afterreturning home, making up tenaltogether (Ch.2,v.197). T h eexpiation of an oath is a fast forthree days (Ch.5,v.90). The alter-native penalty for killing gamewhile on Pilgrimage is a fast for thenumber of days corresponding to thenumber of animals killed. T h ealternative penalty for manslaughteris a fast for two consecutive months

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(Ch.4, v.93) and the same is thepenalty for Z i h a r, a frivolousdeclaration by a husband thathenceforth consorting with his wifewould amount to consorting with hism o t h e r, a hateful method ofpronouncing a divorce, practised inpre-Islamic days, abolished by Islam(Ch.58: v.5).

A vow of silence (Ch.19, v. 11 )during a certain period has also beendescribed as a fast (Ch.19: v.27).

The observation of a fast, whetherobligatory or voluntary, or by wayof expiation or as a penalty, issubject to the same regulations. Theperiod of the daily fast extends fromthe first flush of dawn, normallyabout an hour and a quarter beforesunrise, till after sunset. During thisperiod neither food nor drink, norany kind of nourishment may passthrough the lips of a person who isobserving the fast. Nor should anydrug or other substance beswallowed or injected into thesystem. The fast may, however, bediscontinued in case of emergencyand should be terminated if theperson observing the fast becomessick. Nor should there be anyconsorting between husband andwife or any approach to it. The fast

must not be continued beyondsunset, even if nothing isimmediately available for termi-nating the fast save a few drops ofwater, a pinch of salt or sugar, a bitof stale bread, or a dried date, etc.

If during the fast, food or drinkshould be swallowed in completeforgetfulness of the fast, that wouldnot vitiate the fast and the fastshould be completed till nightfall.Should, however, something beswallowed through carelessness,even involuntarily, the fast isvitiated and cannot be continued.

It is customary and is considereddesirable that a light breakfastshould be taken immediately beforethe commencement of the fast. Thebreaking of the fast after sunsetshould not be made an occasion forgorging oneself with food and drink.This would be in contravention ofthe spirit of the fast and would be adeparture from the example of theHoly Prophet( s a ) which must beadhered to. It could also proveharmful to health.

The month of Ramadhan is a periodof intensive training in beneficentvalues. Abstention from food anddrink and conjugal relations for a


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certain number of hours each daythrough a month is a valuableexercise in endurance andsteadfastness. But that is only theouter shell, as it were, of the fast. Yeteven this has a great socialsignificance. It brings home to thewell-to-do sector of society themeaning of hunger and thirst.Privation ceases, in their case also,to be a mere expression andbecomes an experience shared incommon with all. T h econsciousness that a large number oftheir fellow beings have to gohungry most of the time issharpened and there is a greatereagerness to share with them thebounties that Allah has, of HisGrace, bestowed on them.

The true purpose of Ramadhan, asof all forms of Islamic worship, is todraw people closer to Allah. Thoughnormal pursuits and occupations are

carried on as usual, the emphasis onmoral and spiritual values andconcentration on them areintensified, and everything issubordinated to the main purpose.The hearing, the sight, the tongue,the mind are all under strictercontrol. For instance, not only vaintalk, but much talk is eschewed, sothat there should be greaterconcentration on remembrance ofAllah and reflection upon Hisattributes.

The Holy Prophet (sa) said:

‘He who abstains from food anddrink during the period of thefast but does not restrain himselffrom uttering a falsehood starveshimself to no purpose.’

It is related of him that duringRamadhan his own concern for thecare of the poor, the needy, the sick

THE MONTH OF RAMADHAN IS A PERIOD OF INTENSIVE TRAINING IN

B E N E F I C E N T VA L U E S. A B S T E N T I O N F R O M F O O D A N D D R I N K A N D

CONJUGAL RELATIONS FOR A CERTAIN NUMBER OF HOURS EACH DAY

THROUGH A MONTH IS A VALUABLE EXERCISE IN ENDURANCE AND

STEADFASTNESS. BUT THAT IS ONLY THE OUTER SHELL, AS IT WERE, OF

THE FAST. YET EVEN THIS HAS A GREAT SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE. IT BRINGS

HOME TO THE WELL-TO-DO SECTOR OF SOCIETY THE MEANING OF

HUNGER AND THIRST.

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and the orphan was intensifiedmanifold, and that his charity knewno limit.

The study of the Qur’an andreflection over the Divine Signsrecited therein takes up the greaterpart of the time that can be garneredby reducing the other demands uponit to a minimum. Divines andscholars carry on discourses on theQ u r’an throughout the month.Voluntary prayer during the latterpart of the night is deemedobligatory during Ramadhan, butmay be offered individually or incongregation. For the convenienceof those who may find it difficult toproceed to the mosque at that hourto take part in the service, acongregational service is held afterI s h a (the Evening Service). W h e t h e rheld after I s h a or before F a j r, ( t h emorning prayer) the follow-uppassage after the Fatiha assumesconsiderable proportions. T h eservice comprises eight r a k a ’ a s ,o ffered in four units of two r a k a ’ a seach, and is led by an Imam who is aH a f i z , that is, one who has learnt thewhole Qur’an by heart. During thisservice the recitation from theQ u r’an is made in sequence and therecitation of the whole of the Qur’ a nis completed during Ramadhan. T h i s

entails the recitation of approx-imately one twenty-eighth of theQ u r’an in the course of the dailyservice, one-eighth of that portionbeing recited as the follow-uppassage after the Fatiha in eachr a k a ’ a . The Imam, of course, recitesfrom memory and the congregationfollows the recitation with rapta t t e n t i o n .

That is another unique feature ofIslam. No less than seventy times isthe Scripture of Islam referred to inthe Revelation itself by the nameQur’an. The word means that whichis repeatedly read, recited,proclaimed. It is the only scripturewhich is in its entirety expressed inthe words of the revelation. It is thusthe only one which is literally theWord of God. Its very name is aprophecy that it will be widely andrepeatedly read, recited andproclaimed. Its text, in the words ofthe revelation, is preserved intactand in its proper sequence in thememories of millions of its devoteesfrom generation to generation.Hundreds of millions read and reciteportions of it in prayer services andotherwise in the course of the dayand night around the globe. DuringRamadhan the number is greatlyaugmented. Numberless people read


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it through by themselves during thatmonth. Others hear it interpretedand expounded. A much larg e rnumber hear it recited frombeginning to end in the course of theservice just described. All this in thevery words of the revelation inwhich it was sent down close uponfourteen hundred years ago! That initself is a matchless Divine Sign andTestimony.

During the last ten days ofRamadhan, many people go intoretreat, as it were, in a mosque anddevote the whole of their time, notoccupied by the obligatory andvoluntary services, to the study ofthe Qur’an and the remembrance ofAllah. This period of completedevotion of a worshipper’s time tothe exercise of the purely spiritualvalues, is the culmination of thephysical, moral and spiritualdiscipline instituted by Islam. Tocarry such a discipline further wouldbe a sort of asceticism ormonasticism which is not approvedof in Islam.

Complete abstention from food anddrink during the period of the fastdoes not constitute so great ahardship for a Muslim as adherentsof other disciplines may be disposed

to imagine. Muslim children arebrought up in an atmosphere ofrespect for and devotion to thevalues indicated by the faith. Veryearly they begin to exhibit aneagerness to practise them. Parentshave often to restrain young childrenfrom observing the fast. They aretrained into endurance of the rigoursof the fast through a gradual processspread over many number of years.A child of twelve or thirteen may bepermitted to observe the fast onthree or four day intervals duringone Ramadhan. The following yearhe may be permitted to increase thenumber to eight or ten. In the thirdyear he may be content with fastingon alternate days. In the fourth yearhe would be ready to assume the fullobligation.

Another very helpful factor isfurnished by the dietary regulationsof Islam. In the matter of food theprohibitions are: blood, the flesh ofan animal that dies of itself and isnot slaughtered for food, the flesh ofswine and the flesh of an animal onwhich the name of any other thanAllah has been invoked, meaningthereby sacrifices made to idols orother gods and offerings made tosaints or to any being other thanAllah. The first three categories are

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prohibited because they are harmfulfor the body, and that which isharmful for the body is necessarilyharmful for the spirit. The lastprohibition relates to somethingwhich is manifestly harmful morallyand spiritually inasmuch as itinvolves association of others withAllah.

A relaxation is made in the case of aperson who is driven by necessityand to whom no other means ofsustenance and nourishment is, forthe time being, available. Such a onemay partake of a prohibited articleof food, consuming only as much ashe may consider necessary for hisimmediate need. In such an instancepriority is given to the need ofmaintaining and sustaining life, asagainst the possibility of such harm,if any, as might result from theconsumption of a minimum quantityof the forbidden article (Ch.2, v.174)

Liquor and all intoxicants areforbidden. It is recognised that somepeople may derive some pleasure oradvantage from the use of liquor orother prohibited article, but it ispointed out that the harm resultingfrom their use is far greater than anypleasure or advantage that might bederived from them (Ch.2,v. 2 2 0 ) .

The prohibition, however, is clearand absolute.

O ye who believe, liquor,gambling, idols and diviningarrows are only an abominationof Satan’s handiwork. So shuneach of them that you mayprosper. Satan’s design is only top romote enmity and hatre dbetween you through liquor andgambling and to keep you backfrom the remembrance of Allahand from Salat. Will you not thendesist?(Ch.5, vs.91-92)

It needs to be remembered that inthe matter of any pleasure oradvantage to be derived from liquoror any other intoxicant, and theharm that may result from their use,it is not only an individual or a classthat has to be considered; society asa whole must be taken into account.

It may well be that the harmresulting to an individual or to anumber of individuals may not beovertly manifested, but there is nodenying that society as a wholesuffers grave harm from the use ofliquor and other intoxicants. T h epurpose of the Qur’an is not only tofurnish guidance for the individual,


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but to furnish guidance to theindividual as a member of societyand, indeed, to mankind as a whole.These are the prohibitions, but notall that is permissible may be usedas food and drink in allcircumstances. Of that which ispermissible only that may be used asfood and drink which is clean andwholesome (Ch.2, v.168). This has arelative aspect also. Articles of foodand drink over a wide range may bewholesome for a healthy adult butthey may not all be wholesome for achild or for an invalid. But even thatwhich is permissible and is cleanand wholesome may be partaken ofonly in moderation.

Children of Adam, look to youradornment at every time andplace of worship, and eat anddrink but be not immoderate;surely, He loves not those whoare immoderate. (Ch.7, v.32)

Within these limitations there isneither harm nor sin in eating anddrinking of the good things providedby Allah out of His bounty, so longas the objective is that life may besustained and health promoted forthe purpose of carrying out Allah’swill through firm faith in the

guidance that He has sent down andaction in conformity therewith.

There is no harm for those whobelieve and work righteousnessin respect of that which they eat,p rovided they are mindful oftheir duty to Allah and believeand work righteousness, againare mindful of their duty to Allahand have firm faith, and yetagain are mindful of their duty toAllah and carry it out to theutmost. Allah loves those whoc a rry out their duty to theutmost.(Ch.5: v.94)

Here, then, is a gradation which iselastic and yet takes full account ofthe immediate as well as theultimate purpose of food and drink.That which is harmful on the wholeis forbidden altogether, except in thecase of extreme necessity, when thepreservation of human life must takeprecedence even at the risk of some,possibly only temporary, harm. Theexemption or relaxation in such asituation is only in respect of theminimum quantity that woulds u ffice for the immediate need.Under this restriction the possibilityof harm would be slight, and oncethe immediate need has been met the

Fasting


prohibition would continue tooperate. Of that which is permissibleonly that which is clean andwholesome may be consumed asfood and drink, but only inmoderation. That again is a relativematter to be determined withreference to the requirements ofeach individual and class. Finally,not only the immediate purpose offood and drink, but also the ultimatepurpose, namely, the promotion ofthe moral and spiritual values mustbe kept in view.

It will thus be appreciated that aMuslim’s freedom in respect of foodand drink, as indeed in respect of allmatters, is controlled by beneficentregulation, and is disciplined.During Ramadhan the regulationand discipline become stricter inorder to intensify the effort for theachievement of the ultimatepurpose. That which is forbidden asbeing harmful, whether in the matterof food and drink or in respect ofany other activity, is to be abstainedfrom at all times. In the month ofRamadhan there is to be abstentionduring the period of the fast evenfrom that which is lawful andpermissible; food and drink whichsustain life, and marital intercoursewhich promotes the continuance of

the species; the purpose being to winthe pleasure of Allah. It also has asymbolic aspect. By observing thefast the worshipper makes a pledgeor covenant that if in the course ofcarrying out his duty of completesubmission to the will of Allah heshould be called upon to put his lifein jeopardy or to sacrifice theinterests of his progeny, he wouldnot hesitate to do so. Such adiscipline practised through a wholemonth every year should ensure thatthe participant would, during theremaining eleven months of the yearprogressively achieve greater andgreater adherence to moral andspiritual values.

It must never be overlooked that thewhole purpose of fasting, whetherobligatory, as during the month ofRamadhan, or voluntary, as at othertimes, is to promote righteousness,which means the progressivecultivation of spiritual values. Thesame applies when the fast isobserved as an expiation or apenalty. The spiritual recompense ofproper observation of the fast is highindeed. The Holy Prophet ( s a ) h a ssaid:

‘There are appropriate spiritualrewards for all worship and


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righteous action; the ultimatereward of the person whoobserves the fast solely forwinning the pleasure of Allah isAllah Himself.’

The month of Ramadhan is one ofthe months of the lunar calendar. Itbegins with the appearance of thenew moon and ends with theappearance of the new moon. Assoon as the new moon of Ramadhanis sighted a joyous surge ofanticipation inspires the hearts ofyoung and old. The season of closercommunion with the MostGracious, Ever Merciful, MostCompassionate, Most Forg i v i n gLord of the worlds. Originator,C r e a t o r, Fashioner and Maker,Master of the Day of Judgment hasopened and we have been accordedonce more, by His Grace, the goodfortune of witnessing it and theprivilege of striving to enrichourselves through the continuousopportunities it provides of seekingthe pleasure of Allah. All praise toAllah for His unending bounties!Greetings and felicitations areexchanged all round. All is bustleand solemn preparation. Mosquesbegin to fill with eager worshippersfor the M a g h r i b service, to befollowed after a brief interval by

‘Isha and then Taravih during theeight r a k a ’ a s of which thecongregation is privileged to listento the recitation of the Holy Bookfrom the very beginning to the endin proper sequence, evening afterevening till by the end of the monththe whole Qur’an has been recited.The greater part of the night ispassed in supplication and in praise,glorification and remembrance ofAllah. Those who prefer to offer theeight raka’as of voluntary prayerduring the latter part of the nightrather than in the evening as Taravihoccupy themselves with it as thetime approaches for a light breakfastin the solemn pre-dawn hour. TheMuezzin’s call to prayer with its firstAllah-o-Akbar (Allah is Great) is thesignal for the commencement of thefast and preparation for the Fajrprayer.

Thereafter the normal daily routineis followed with a heightenedconsciousness of the duty owed toAllah and to His creatures, one’sfellow beings. Praise, glorificationand remembrance of Allah for, as itwere, the infra-structure of allactivity and greater attention isdirected towards caring for the poor,the needy, the widowed, the orphan,the sick, the distressed, the

Fasting


n e i g h b o u r, the wayfarer, etc.Courses on the Holy Qur’an aregiven in mosques and seminaries.Towards the close of the day theheart experiences a glow ofgratitude to the Divine that HisGrace has enabled one to approachthe end of the fast having spent thenight and the day in striving toconduct oneself in conformity to Hiswill.

The Muezzin’s call to prayer for theMaghrib Salat is the signalannouncing the end of the fast,which is terminated with a mouthfulof water, a cup of tea, a dried date ortwo, or even a pinch of salt shouldnothing else be immediatelyavailable and with the supplication:

Allah, for Thy sake I observedthe fast, putting my trust in Thee,and I have ended it with whichThou has provided. Thirst isquenched and the arteries arere f reshed and I look for myrecompense to Thee, if Thoushouldst so will. I beg of TheeAllah, of Thy mercy thatencompasseth all things, thatThou may be pleased to forgiveme my sins.

The Maghrib prayer follows within

a few minutes and thereafter theevening meal is partaken of. It isconsidered very meritorious toinvite others, but more particularlythe poor, the needy, the orphan to thebreaking of the fast and the eveningmeal. These two need not to be,h o w e v e r, separate occasions. Asimple meal may be taken at thetime of breaking of the fast, thuspreceding the Maghrib prayer. Anelaborate meal designed as acompensation for the period ofabstention is not only contrary to thespirit of the fast but tends also toupset the digestion. In this, andindeed in certain other respects, thespirit of the fast is not respected andobserved as strictly in certain partsof the Muslim world as could bewished. There is, however, generaleagerness to do so as the benefits tobe derived therefrom are patent.

The I s h a service and Ta r a v i hcomplete the rhythm and tempo oflife during Ramadhan. When themonth begins to approach its end thegeneral mood is one of pensivenesswhich promotes eagerness to takefull advantage of all remaining daysto make up for any shortcomingsand fallings off during the earlierperiods. Numberless peopleexperience closer communion with


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their Maker and Creator during thisblessed month, the intensity andfrequency of which continue toincrease as the month progresses.

The fast terminates with theappearance of the new moon. Thenew moon may be visible aftersunset of the twenty-ninth day of thefast, but if not the fast must becontinued the next day, thus makinga total of thirty days during themonth. It may be that on the thirtiethevening visibility may be very poordue to atmospheric conditions, andthe moon may not be visible. Thatwould make no difference andRamadhan would terminate atsunset on that day, as it is recognisedthat a lunar month cannot extendbeyond thirty days. The same rulegoverns the commencement of themonth.

The day following the last day ofRamadhan, determined as above, isobserved as the festival of thetermination of the fast. It is one ofthose occasions when even avoluntary fast may not be observed.In conformity with the spirit ofIslam, the only celebrationprescribed for the festival is anadditional service during theforenoon comprising two r a k a ’ a s

and an address by the Imam. Theservice may be held in one of thebigger mosques of a large city, but inview of the large numbers involvedis generally held in the open. It iscustomary, following the example ofthe Holy Prophetsa, to take a lightbreakfast after sunrise before settingout for the service, and also to varythe route home on returning fromthe service.

The festive character of the occasionis proclaimed through exchange ofvisits, feeding the poor, visiting thesick and glorification of Allah andcelebrating His praise inthankfulness to Him for theguidance provided by Him,particularly with regard to all thatpertains to the observance of the fastand for having enabled those uponwhom the fast was obligatory toobserve it duly.


Prepare now to undertake a journey upon the wings of scientific vision intothe ancient past to explore the nature and identity of the jinn. The Qur’anicconcept of jinn has been briefly discussed before in ‘Life in the Perspectiveof Qur’anic Revelations’. The Arabic lexicon mentions the following as thepossible meanings of the word jinn. It literally means anything which has theconnotation of concealment, invisibility, seclusion and remoteness. It alsohas the connotation of thick shades and dark shadows. That is why the word‘jannah’ (from the same root word) is employed by the Qur’an to denoteparadise, which would be full of thick, heavily shaded gardens. The wordjinn is also applicable to snakes which habitually remain hidden fromcommon view and live a life secluded from other animals in rock crevicesand earthen holes. It is also applied to women who observe segregation andto such chieftains as keep their distance from the common people. Theinhabitants of remote, inaccessible mountains are likewise referred to as jinn.Hence, anything which lies beyond the reach of common sight or is invisibleto the unaided naked eye, could well be described by this word.

This proposition is fully endorsed by a tradition of the Holy Prophet(sa) inwhich he strongly admonishes people not to use dried up lumps of dung orbones of dead animals for cleaning themselves after attending to the call ofnature because they are food for the jinn. As we use toilet paper now, at thattime people used lumps of earth, stones or any dry article close at hand toclean themselves. We can safely infer therefore, that what he referred to asjinn was nothing other than some invisible organisms, which feed on rottingbones, dung etc. Remember that the concept of bacteria and viruses was notyet born. No man had even the vaguest idea about the existence of suchinvisible tiny creatures. Amazingly it is to these that the Holy Prophet(sa)

referred. The Arabic language could offer him no better, more appropriate

The Jinnby Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad

This is an extract taken from the book Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truthwritten by the author.


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expression than the word jinn.

Another important observation made by the Qur’an is in relation to thecreation of jinn. They are described as having been born out of blasts of fire(from the cosmos).

And the Jinn We created before that (the creation of man) from blasts of fire (iiaris-samiim).1

(Ch.15: v.28)

Here the adjective used to describe the nature of the particular fire fromwhich the jinn were created is Samiim, which means a blazing fire or a blastthat has no smoke2. We find a similar statement in another Qur’anic verse:

And the Jinn He created from the flame of fire.3

(Ch.55: v.16)

Having established that the word jinn applies here to some type of bacterialorganisms, let us again turn our attention to the verses quoted above thatspeak of the jinn as having been created out of fire. The prime candidates forthe application of these verses seem to be such minute organisms as drew theenergy for their existence directly from hot blazes of lightning – Samum –and cosmic radiation.

Dickerson inadvertently agrees with the Qur’anic view when he observesthat the most ancient organisms:

‘....would have lived on the energy of lightning and ultraviolet radiation...’4

This scenario of cosmic radiation is not specifically mentioned in the work

The Jinn


of other scientists in their search for the pre-biotic organisms. But they toohave corroborated the idea that whatever organisms existed before bioticevolution must have drawn their energy directly from heat. Of all thecategories of bacteria classified as the most ancient only 'prokaryotes' and'eukaryotes' were mentioned by previous generations of scientists. However,that conclusion proved to be a hastily drawn one, according to Karl R. Woeseand his colleagues. They observed:

‘Simply because there are two types of cells at the microscopic level itdoes not follow that there must be only two types at the molecular level.’5

For the benefit of the lay reader the difference between the two bacteria,known as the prokaryotes and eukaryotes, is explained in terms as simple aspossible. It relates to the presence or absence of a nucleus in them. Theprokaryote type of bacteria, despite having a well-defined cell membrane,have no distinct nucleus. The eukaryotes on the other hand, possess well-defined and well-developed nuclei occupying the centre of each cell.

It was considered that these were the only two ancient forms of bacteriawhich gave birth to others and evolved into organisms which could bereferred to as the ancestors of life. However, Woese published the findingsof his pioneer research in Scientific American, June 1981, claiming thatarchaebacteria, could be rightly considered as the earliest form of organisms.He and his colleagues informed the scientific community that they were athird distinct line which preceded all others. Thus it is they who should beentitled as the most ancient ancestors of life. Woese and his collaboratorscontinued to pour strong evidence into this discovery and as the ice began tothaw, according to Woese:

‘Although a few biologists still dispute our interpretation, the idea thatarchaebacteria represent a separate grouping at the highest level isbecoming generally accepted.’6

Again he writes:


The Jinn

47

‘This implies that the methanogens are as old as or older than any otherbacterial group.’6

According to The Hutchinson Dictionary of Science :

‘... the archaebacteria are related to the earliest life forms, whichappeared about 4 billion years ago, when there was little oxygen in theEarth's atmosphere.’7

But the author of Genetics a Molecular Approach states:

‘Since 1977 more and more differences between archaebacteria and otherprokaryotes have been found, so much so that microbiologists nowfavour the term archaea, to emphasize that these organisms are distinctfrom bacteria.’8

The organisms referred to as jinn in the Qur’an seem to fit the abovedescription. But, though scientists unanimously describe these bacteria aspossessing the potential of drawing their energy from heat, they are notmentioned as having been originally created directly by the cosmic rays andblasts of lightning by any scientist other than Dickerson. The rest however,continue to unveil more mysteries with further research.

‘... in undersea vents, hot springs, the Dead Sea, and salt pans, and haveeven adapted to refuse tips.’9

On the issue of antiquity, though Woese and his colleagues have no doubtthat the archaebacteria are the prime claimants. According to some scientiststhey may have evolved from some unknown parenthood simultaneously.

But these are issues which fall outside the domain of this exercise. Whetherthe other bacteria evolved out of them or not is irrelevant to the discussion.The relevant point is that all forms of most ancient bacteria draw their energydirectly from heat. This is a tribute of no small magnitude to the Qur’anicdeclaration made over fourteen hundred years ago:

The Jinn


And the Jinn We created before that from blasts of fire (naris-samum).10

(Ch.15: v.28)

According to the accepted scientific studies, direct heat from fire had to playa vital role in the creation and maintenance of pre-biotic organisms. This, infact was the only mode of transfer of energy for the consumption oforganised forms of existence during this era. As they multiplied during theiruninterrupted proliferation lasting over billions of years, their death musthave polluted the oceans while they decayed and fermented turning theoceans into the primordial soup. This will be discussed at greater length inthe following chapter.

References

1. Translation of Ch.15:v.28 by the author.

2. LANE, E.W. (1984) Arabic-English Lexicon. Islamic Text Society, William &Norgate, Cambridge.

3. Translation of Ch.55:v.16 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

4. DICKERSON, R.E. (September 1978) Chemical Evolution and the Origin of Life.Scientific American, p.80.

5. WOESE, C.R. (June, 1981), ‘Archaebacteria’, Scientific American, p.104.

6. WOESE, C.R. (June, 1981), ‘Archaebacteria’, Scientific American, p.114.

7. The Hutchinson Dictionary of Science, (1993) Helicon Publishing Ltd. Oxford. p.37.

8. BROWN, T.A. (1992) Genetics A Molecular Approach. Chapman & Hall. London,p.245

9. The Hutchinson Dictionary of Science. (1993) Helicon Publishing Ltd. Oxford. p.37.

10. Translation of Ch.15:v.28 by the author.


Why an example of any presentMuslim Country cannot be a modelMany Muslim countries today,u n f o r t u n a t e l y, have forgotten theteachings of Islam. They have lost thespirit of Islam. All faculties andaspects of life have been affected dueto ignorance in understanding the truemeaning of Islam. As such mattersrelating to economics and commerceare no exception. Therefore it is nouse to present an Islamic country as amodel for economics nor for thatmatter can we present their governingpractices of business as a model forcorporate governance. On the otherhand all Muslim nations of today aregood examples for constructivecriticism from the point of view of thephilosophy of the teachings of Islam.The most prominent reason for theabove fact, sadly to say, is that themajority of Muslim nations are unjustand it is known that injusticeautomatically breeds corruption anddistortion to any kind of jurispru-

dence. Instead of equality ineconomic terms as called for byIslam, there is inequality prevailing inall aspects of life. A privileged orruling class, often placing itself abovethe law, devours the social, economicand political fabric of society. Allahsays in the Holy Qur’an;

Verily Allah commands you tomake over the trusts to thoseentitled to them, and that, whenyou judge between men, judgewith justice. And surely excellentis that with which A l l a hadmonishes you! Allah is A l lHearing and All Seeing.(Ch. 4: verse 59)

Islam, it must be kept in mind,establishes its system of jurisprudenceby winning hearts through love,convincing minds by arguments andpreaching. The concept of Islam beingspread through force or beingestablished by force is a totally false

Business, Corporation andGovernance Models in the IslamicEconomic SystemThis is an edited version of an article that first appeared in the Khuddam Professionals’Journal August 2001, Volume 1.

By Hashim Ahmed – Hartlepool

Islamic Economic System


and foolish idea. Thus, when we seecountries enforce religion author-itatively an ugly picture is presented,totally unrelated to the spirit of Islam.Allah decrees in the Holy Qur’an;

There should be no compulsion inreligion. Surely, right has becomedistinct from wrong; so whosoeverrefuses to be led by those whotransgress, and believes in Allah,has surely grasped a stro n ghandle, which knows no breaking.And Allah is All Hearing, A l lKnowing. (Ch. 2; verse 257)

No religion may be implemented byforce, yet, in a number of countries,Islam is associated with compulsionin one form or another. Islam is beingused as a tool to fulfil the worldlydesires and motives of the ruling classor those clerics who seek worldlypower. The system practised in mostIslamic countries is totally in contrastto what Islam teaches. The principlesof economics, which the Islamicsystem stands for, have not been fullyimplemented and are mostly ignoredby Muslim countries generally.Therefore naturally the economicenvironment is developing in anopposite way to a true Islamic system.Hence in the world of today there isnot a model which may be presentedas an example for an Islamic

economic system or a model forcorporate governance.

Modelling of an Islamic EconomicSystemThe only choice we are left with is togo back to the roots of the teachingsof Islam and on the basis of these trueteachings a model may be projectedwhich is in compliance with the truespirit of Islam.

Islam prohibits interest (Riba) in anyform, which is clearly expressed inthe Holy Qur’an;

Those who devour interest do notrise except as rises one whomSatan has smitten with insanity.That is because they say, ‘Tradealso is like interest’whereas Allahhas made trade lawful and interestunlawful. So he to whom anadmonition comes from his Lordand he desists, then will thatwhich he received in the past behis; and his affair rests with Allah.And those who revert to it, theyare the inmates of the Fire; thereinthey shall abide.(Ch. 2; Verse 276)

Allah further says in the Holy Qur’anwith regards to interest;

O ye who believe! Fear Allah andgive up what remains of interest, if



51

you are truly believers.(Ch. 2; Verse 279)

These injunctions automaticallyeliminate the possibility for financialinstitutions to exist in the form andkind that they do at the present time.Moreover on the capital saved withindividuals over and above theirconsumable needs, is levied an annualcapital tax (‘Zakat’). For Zakat, theobligatory alms, Allah has stated inthe Holy Qur’an;

Surely, those who believe and dogood deeds, and observe Prayerand pay the Zakat, shall have theirreward from their Lord, and nofear shall come on them nor shallthey grieve. (Ch. 2; Verse 278)

Under these circumstances individ-uals have only two alternatives, eitherto employ their money in personalbusinesses or to pool their resourcesto establish small or big businessenterprises. Injunctions about‘interest’ and ‘zakat’ in this matterhelp to create capital to turn thewheels of economy. This will promotejoint ventures, partnerships, andformation of small companies or largepublic share holdings. Whatever maybe the structure of the business, it willbe run strictly on the basis of ‘profitand loss sharing’, without any debt

financing. Lending to the business inevery case would be through equitysharing and thus sharing profit andloss. Now this would not only requirethe lender to be very cautious whilechoosing who to finance, but it willalso require a high standard ofhonesty and integrity on the part ofthe entrepreneur in need of financing.The market will work to eliminate thedishonest ingredients; staying afloatwill be the honest ones and the oneswho have earned the reputation ofgoodwill. This exactly was the case inthe days of the Holy Prophet(sa), and itcarried on for a few centuries afterhim among the Muslims.

Hadhrat Imam Abu Hanifa(ra) was oneof the most highly revered jurists inIslam; his system of jurisprudence isfollowed by the largest number ofMuslims today. He was also an astutebusinessman. People used to throwmoney at him, some would leavepouches full of money at hisdoorsteps with the message, ‘ForGod’s sake employ it and let us sharethe profit’(1). This is but only oneexample and there are many more.

So business enterprises which comeinto being under the influence of theIslamic economic system may haveany structure, whether corporations,partnerships or whatever, for trade



and commercial activities. Accordingto Islam they will all be legitimateoperations (Holy Qur’an, Ch. 2; verse276). The basic difference betweenthe western concept of such businessentities and the Islamic concept isthat in Islam they do not need to beidentified as limited or unlimited, asthe company does not borrow, all itsfunds being financed by equityparticipation.

Advantages of Islamic BusinessEnterprise over the Western StyleCorporationsEquity sharing being the only form ofraising finance also has a social aswell as an overall economicadvantage. For instance, thewesternised business, raising financeson an interest basis, must keep payinginterest during recession periods evenif the business is making huge losses.Such adverse situations provide themwith very short breathing period tosurvive under difficult circumstances.The only choice left is to declarethemselves bankrupt, which hurts thewhole society and economy. Howeverin an Islamic business entity under thesame circumstances when theproduction or business activity has tobe lowered due to the crisis, then thelender (equity sharer) will also haveto share the burden of it. The lenderwill not be paid anything or may haveto bear the loss of his/her equity. But

such companies in turn are providedwith much greater breathing periods.Like those animals that in order toconserve energy when the source ofthe energy has decreased, hibernateduring winter periods. Likewise theIslamic system provides thepossibility of hibernation while thewestern capitalist system has noprovision for this. An example of thisregard was the lorry drivers’ strike inFrance, during November 1996.German lorries unwillingly also hadto be stranded in France for days.After only eleven days of businesscrisis, German transport companiescame under tremendous pressures.Boyes (from Bonn, Germany) in TheTi m e s article (29/11/96) reported,‘Many small German transportcompanies say they face bankruptcyas a result of the strike’(2). Here it isinteresting to note that only elevendays loss of revenue pushed into crisissituation the small transporters whohad taken loans on an interest basis tofinance their businesses. T h i sexample strongly endorses the aboveargument.

B o r rowing ‘Structure ’ F ro mHistoryThe forms of business entities aspractised in the historical Islamic erawere developments of pre-Islamicpractices of the Arabs, generated outof their historic culture and traditions.



53

After the advent of Islam, the HolyProphet(sa) did not abolish or prohibitthese entities. Therefore the A r a bMuslims adopted them as part ofIslamic business practices. But it mustbe kept in mind that Islam withoutbeing mechanistic provides the spiritin which to carry out businesses.Therefore it is important tounderstand the concept; then with thetrue spirit of Islam it may be practisedunder whatever name.

Two major forms of business will bediscussed. Besides these forms ofenterprise, there are many otherbusiness activities undertaken in anIslamic system but they do not relatedirectly to the subject of thisdissertation. Namely, some of themare ‘Murabaha’ (trade financing),‘Ijara’(lease of hire), ‘Ijara wa iqtana’(hire-purchase), etc. It is necessarynot to fixate upon the names anddescriptions of Islamic businessentities, but to understand the conceptof these practices. The driving forcebehind all is the Islamic ‘Sharia’(law), which provides the guidelinesfor understanding these concepts.Two of the main ingredients of thisconcept are, proportional sharing ofprofit or loss and completeelimination of interest in any form ordisguise.

1. Mudaraba The origin of Mudaraba is in trade.Trade historically has been thefoundation stone of doing business.Other Arabic terms used to designateMudaraba’are Qirad, and Muqarada.The terms are interchangeable with noessential difference or connotation.When Arab Muslims started tradingwith the west, the same businessactivity adopted by the west wasnamed ‘Commenda’ o r‘Commendam’. Mudaraba is derivedfrom the expression making a journey(al-darbfil-ard ; ‘strike on ground’meaning walking on the ground or totravel for the purpose of trade). It is anarrangement where investors entrustcapital to agents who trade with it andthe profit is divided usually equally orat a ‘pre-agreed’ basis between theagent (al-mudarib) and the investor.In the case of loss the agent is notliable and the whole loss is borne bythe investor. The Holy ProphetMuhammad(sa), before his claim toprophethood, traded and also acted asagent in such arrangements. In hiscase the investment was provided byHadhrat Khadija( r a ), who uponreceiving reports of the HolyProphet’s(sa) honesty and high moraldealings from her servant, made amarriage proposal to him and becamehis wife.

Investors may select agents or agents



may select investors, it could be eitherway, depending on the reputation ofthe agent or desire of the investor.Both parties may impose conditionswhich can be negotiated but have tobe agreed upon before the signing ofthe contract. For instance

Hadhrat Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib(Holy Prophet’s(sa) uncle) narrates thatwhen he used to give property incommendam, he stipulated on therecipient not to travel with theproperty by sea, nor to cross a valleyor purchase with it live animals and ifhe did he would be held liable(3).Hadhrat A b b a s(ra) also obtained theHoly Prophet’s( s a ) approval forimposing conditions upon his agentsto whom he entrusted his money(4).

1. Application of Mudaraba inPresent Day BusinessApplying this concept in the presentday, ‘al-mudarib’ or agent will be themanager or management, whileinvestors will be the owners ofentrusted or invested capital. As suchwe can see that the separation ofownership or management was notinitiated with the creation of ‘jointstock’ companies in the 19th century.Muslims and prior to them the Arabsof sixth and seventh century A.D.,were already familiar with suchbusiness arrangements. Although theinvestor had the provision of applying

conditions relating to the use of hisfunds, the agents usually enjoyedcomplete freedom under normaltrading circumstances from anyliability for the capital in the event ofpartial or total loss(4). This naturallyelevated individuals, such as HadhratAbu Hanifa(ra), who were known fortheir high level of integrity andhonesty and morals on the businessscene to take the role of ‘mudarib’.

2. ‘Musharaka’/ ‘Mufawada’/ ‘Inan’.(Equity Participation or Partnership)‘Musharaka’ is a partnership formedto carry out some specific project. SoMusharaka would be for a limitedduration. If it is a perpetualpartnership till partners agree to part,then it is know as ‘Mufawada’ or‘Inan’. Mufawada connotes a generalmandate of partnership that is anarrangement in which each partyconfers upon his colleagues fullauthority to dispose their joint capitalin any manner intended to benefittheir association( 4 ). Profit isdistributed (or loss is shared) amongthe partners in proportion torespective capital contribution.Providers of capital are entitled toparticipate in management but notnecessarily to do so.



55

The Role of the Bank in the IslamicEconomic SystemIn the present age one of thechallenges in practising of Mudarabawould be bringing together ofinvestors (financiers) and agents.Islam does not approve of the of thestock market concept as practised inthe present day, which, althoughacting as an efficient way to bringprovider and user of capital together,also bears numerous negativepractices which are against the basicteachings of Islam. Such anti-Islamicpractices include short selling ofstock, margin trading, futures tradingand of course the borrowing of moneyon interest for the purpose of shortterm trading. The solution is a middlefinancial body, which can play acombined role of Al-mudarab (agent)as well as the investor. Therefore a‘bank’, in an Islamic perspective.Banks may invest in Mudarabas orM u s h a r a k a s. M u s h a r a k a f i n a n c i n gfrom a banking point of view issomewhat akin to equity financing ofthe western financial system.

The Holy Prophet(sa) even before hisclaim to being a prophet was knownamong the Arabs as Amin, due to hisexceptional honesty and truthfulness.Because of his reputed integrity andh o n e s t y, people would leave theirbelongings (money and goods) in his

custody when leaving for a journeyand also otherwise, with the right todemand the same from him at anytime in the future. They would alwaysget their property (Amana) back in thesame condition as and when theydesired. So Amin is the highest praiseof complementing an extremelyhonest person who would keep moneyor goods in his deposit and return itback, as and when demanded, in thesame condition.

Banks in an Islamic system exist on anon-interest basis. They perform thefunction of Amin as well as that of theinvestors. This may be explained withthe help of the following simplestructure; the Bank in a true Islamiceconomy would consist of depositorsand investors,

A - DepositorsDepositors would typically be thepeople using the bank to collect theirsalaries/incomes etc., but needingsuch deposits for consumable needswithin one year.

B - InvestorsIndividuals with surplus capitalwilling to invest in the hope ofmaking profit above the rate of Zakat.The initial capital provider who startsthe bank will also be categorised withthe investors without any differenceor distinction as far as investors’



privilege is concerned. T h einvestment could be on the basis ofp e r p e t u i t y, fixed long/medium/shortterm.

ServicesBesides providing general servicesthe bank will advance and invest itsliabilities (equities) in the followingtwo manners:

(i) Q a rd - e - H a s a n (loan withoutinterest to individuals for exigenciesand emergencies, in the Persian formof the Arabic expression). This is aloan available for the needy forexigencies and emergencies. T h eborrower is obliged to repay thelender the principal sum borrowed onthe loan. It is left to the discretion ofthe borrower to reward the lender forhis loan by paying any sum over andabove the amount of the principal.

(ii) Investments in non-financialfirms.These investments will purely befinanced out of investment funds atthe disposal of the bank from ‘B-Investors’. The investment basiscould be Mudaraba, Musharaka orM u f a w a d a. Whatever the type ofinvestment the bank will always be astable shareholder if not 100% owner.Moreover these investments will needto be matched with the bank’sinvestors in respect of perpetuity,

fixed long/medium/short term stock.

Profit or Loss SharingThe accumulated effect of profitsand/or losses out of the diffused anddispersed investment will provide anet periodical figure of a ‘profit’ or‘loss’. After adjustment ofadministrative costs and operationalexpenses of the bank, this figure if ofloss will be equally shared by the ‘B-investors’, thus reducing the value oftheir respective capital invested by asame ratio of loss. The profit likewisewill be proportionally distributedamong all the investors, thusincreasing the value of their capitalinvestment in the same ratio. Thisdistribution will typically take placea f t e r a l - m u d a r a b ( t h eagents/management) of the bank gettheir share of the profit, on the basisof pre-agreed contract.

Appropriation of ProfitThe dividend will be the actual shareof net profit earned by the investors. Itmay either be paid in cash orinvestment shares, depending uponthe desire of every individuali n v e s t o r, or as per contractualagreement. Under no circumstancesthe bank or any other business underthe Islamic system would be allowedretain appropriate profits, except forthe individual investors willing oragreeing to do so. Under which



57

circumstances they would be issuedrespective proportional investmentshares in the enterprise. A m o n ginvestors there could be no classes. AsIslam believes in equality of rights,the only difference can be in theirrespective proportion of investment.

The Bank in other Institutional RolesThe Islamic system is opposed to theconcepts of institutional investors insome forms as exist in westernfinancial markets today, such asinsurance companies, pension fundsand mutual funds. This is mainly dueto interest bearing undertakings.However an Islamic alternative is Al-Takaful, the difference is that it is nota separate business entity but is partof an Islamic bank. Takaful whichmeans mutual support is the basis ofthe concept of solidarity amongMuslims.

The Islamic banks act as managementcompanies. The participants payinstallments. The bank invests theaccumulated funds in its usualinvestment operations. The profit andprincipal is used to provide coverageto its participants for contingenciesand material losses. After settling allclaims and making adjustments foradministrative costs andm a n a g e m e n t ’s share, the policy-holders are entitled to a share inprofit. However if not enough

revenue is collected to meet theclaims made during the year, thepolicy-holders are called upon to paythe differences. This scheme, besidesits material benefits, is able to achievesolidarity and co-operation under thecondition of contract.

Banks and Corporate GovernanceThe Islamic economic system ensureswider distribution of wealth. It putsbarriers in the way of its amassing inthe hands of a few and seeks the socialand economic welfare of all thepopulation of the world.

Once this is achieved the positionwould be that the capital would bewidely divided in fractions among amajor portion of the worldpopulation. In order to have resort toit, a middle body will have to beformed, with means, knowledge andbetter information to invest this vastlydistributed capital into the maine c o n o m y. It will first collect thiscapital, and then invest it intoproductive activities. This body, asalready discussed, would be bothMudarib for the people from whom itwill collect this capital and will alsobe an ‘investor’ for the Mudarib in theproduction sector. This would resultin the creation of many banks buttheir existence and success willdepend upon the same principle of‘integrity and honesty’. They would



provide a source of stableshareholders and their interests wouldbe long term.

A n y h o w, the banks in Islam, inwhatever form or under whichevertitle they exist, will be playing acentral role in the business activitiesand corporate governance. In thisrespect an Islamic system thusenvisioned could be closer to Germanor Japanese systems. As far as non-financial firms are concerned, forthem banks will remain the mostconvenient and major source fromwhere to raise finances. T h edifferences being that unlike Germanor Japanese banks the investment willnot be divided into the category ofdebt and equity. It will all be equity,even one day investment will beequity participation when sharing therisk of loss or benefit of profit. Theinterest factor, in any form will becompletely negated. Interest is theprimary factor, which makes theinstitutions capitalist, or it can be saidthat it makes these tools of capitalism.The concept of Germany’suniversalbank will apply to Islamicbanks but, in a broader sense ascompared to the German concept.

The present situation from thecorporate governance viewpoint in‘ b a n k - c l i e n t s ’ relationships andpractices in Islamic banks is quite

explicitly portrayed by Wilson:

‘Many family businesses inMuslim countries are reluctant toseek public quotations as theyf e a r, probably correctly, thatfamily control might be lost.Often, finance for expansion issacrificed and business remainssmall because of such worries.There is clearly a venture-capitalgap which the Islamic banks couldhelp meet through “Mudaraba”financing; under thesearrangements where a separatecompany is set up by the bank andits clients, there is no risk of theclient losing control of his originalbusiness. Indeed, “Mudaraba”finance seems the ideal financialvehicle in such circumstances.Even under “Musharaka”arrangements, however, anIslamic bank is merely interestedin obtaining a return not incompany control’(5).

This is quite true and it happens, as allIslamic banks formed up until nowhave been from the regions whichpreviously had been under British rule(following its system of banking) orare influenced by the A m e r i c a nsystem of banking. In both thesecases, the banks traditionally play avery passive role as far as thegovernance issue is concerned. The



59

relationships with clients are typicallyat arms length. Banks of Pakistan,Dubai Islamic Bank (U.A.E.), FaisalIslamic Bank (S.A.), Al Rayan, AlSharif, Al Misr (Egypt), NationalBank of Abu Dhabi (U.A.E.), A lBaraka Islamic Investment Bank(S.A.), Kuwait Finance House(Kuwait) are only some of the presentIslamic Institutions as an example.H o w e v e r, as it was noted earlier,investors entrusting their capital maybound ‘Mudarab’ ( a g e n t / m a n a g e r )with conditions. This was A r a bpractice, prior to the advent of Islamand continued amongst the Muslimswith the approval of the HolyProphet(sa). This definitely opens upthe way for investors to interfere inthe governance of the firm, whereownership and management havebeen separated. Therefore, it is notpossible to agree entirely withWi l s o n ’s argument [5, pg.13] that‘Mudaraba’ only signifies a sleepingpartnership from the bank’s(investors) point of view; it may ormay not.

The Role of the Stock Market in theIslamic Economic SystemIt has been discussed how the bankswill play the role of stableshareholders. This does not eliminatethe possibility of stock marketoperation or development. Islam doesnot forbid any form or shape of

business activity unless it falls outsidethe sphere of Islamic ‘Sharia’. Fromthat viewpoint some activities of thepresent day stock market willcertainly be prohibited. However, anymeans of bringing the user andprovider of capital together (whetherthrough stock markets, banks, mutualpartnerships, etc.) are all legitimate aslong as they follow the injunctions ofIslamic economic system.

It must be accepted that the generalspeed of loading or unloading stockswill not be as quick as in westernstock markets. The speed of operationof today’s stock market is a directresult of speculative activity. There isa developed and thriving class ofspeculator, inventing exotic tools toplay the ‘game of hazard’. Any typeof gambling is prohibited in Islam. AnIslamic business can never becomesubject to speculation. This leavesonly the serious lenders and serioususers of funds in the market, almostface to face with each other. TheIslamic system promotes the idea oflong term stable shareholders, whichleads to diminished velocity of sharetransfers. This might not promise a‘market liquidity’, but it can certainlyprevent events such as the October1997 stock market crash fromhappening. The research and studysuggest that the very reason for thecrash was speed and so called



sophistication of the market (T h eEconomist, 1987).

Stock Market and CorporateGovernanceAnother thing that cannot be allowedin an Islamic stock market is thediscrimination of shares. A S t o c kmarket operating under Islamic ruleswill not be permitted to differentiatebetween investors through variousclasses of shares. All investors musthave rights on the basis of “one share,one vote”, with every one havingidentical rights, no preference, nodistinctions, no ‘A’ or ‘B’class shares.The reputation in terms of ‘honestyand integrity’ of a particular agent(Mudarab), i.e. managing executive,will be the underlying strength of anylisted or unlisted company’s shares.

Moreover the significance of thestock market will also depend uponthe traditional practice of anyparticular business market; forinstance in Germany, joint stockcompanies cater only for 20% of allbusiness turnover and out of theseonly one-fifth are listed on the stockmarket. So if the USA, for example,follows Islamic Sharia then the‘Glass-Stegal’ Act will certainly goout the window. In fact according toBusiness Week (2/12/96), ‘The 1933Glass Stegal Act inhibits banks frombuying brokers (equity in non-

financial firms) and vice-versa. Butby Christmas the federal reserveboard is expected to enact a rulechange that would make it mucheasier for commercial banks toacquire even the largest brokeragefirms.’(6) Change is already underwayin the USA in that respect. Havingexperienced problems in corporategovernance and having tried toimprove board effectiveness byputting institutions in the shoes ofstable shareholders, the USA has feltthe need to change regulations andallow banks to play the role of stableshareholders (as in the German orJapanese systems). This is done so asto improve the ‘long-termism’phenomenon and thus give a boost totheir declining competitiveness.Nonetheless under the presentcircumstances it is only a temporarysolution as far as Islam is concerned.

CreditorsAny form of business credit whichdoes not provide time for hibernation(discussed earlier) for the businessenterprise is not in Islam. Therefore inthe case of the creditors, it is obviousthat major fixed interest loan creditorscannot exist. All long term financingmust therefore be of equitysharing/partnership type. This wouldnaturally create in the creditor a widerconcern for the business than that ofrepayments alone. Credits will not be



61

advanced to one who is not expectedto repay except as an act of charity(7)

which Islam encourages.

In the absence of the interest factorthe worth of the credit period isextinguished only the loss ofopportunity cost may be recovered,which may be included by the lenderwhile quoting his price. A delay inrepayment due to unforeseen criseswould not mean that the borrowerwould have to pay back more thanalready agreed in the contract. Along-term credit will be considered asa form of equity sharing/partnership.In case of insolvency of the borrower,creditor will get his respective sharefrom the insolvency proceeds. If at thetime of agreement, the creditor andborrower agree that the credit will notbe an equity participation then, ofcourse, in the event of insolvency thecreditors must first be paid in full andafter that if any proceeds are left, theywill be proportionally distributedamong investors.

Model of Corporate Governance inIslamIt must be remembered that Islamseeks the welfare of the communityand to ensure the achievement of thiswelfare, it puts the responsibility bothon the investors (lenders) andmanagement (borrower) equally. Aneconomic unit in Islam cannot be a

separate legal entity. However, thisdoes not threaten the uninvestedproperty of the owner (borrower andlender jointly), as there is no threat ofrecourse for outstanding debts withaccumulation of interest in case ofliquidation. This is so because Islamrequires the lender to participate inthe risk of the business and equally totake a share in the profit or loss of theventure. Individuals may borrowupon the strength of their personalcredibility, to invest in a venture, butthen it will be that individuals’ ownresponsibility to repay his lendersirrespective of performance of theunderlying business venture.

Earlier, an effort was made to proposethe structure and prominent outlinesof an Islamic model of business,corporations and governance.Considering the above in line with theguidance of the Holy Qur’an, theissues about, ‘executive-salaries’, ‘therole of directors’, ‘hostile take-overactivities’, etc. become trivial matters,which will be automatically takencare of by the system, which prohibitssome of the prevalent practices of thecurrent western system. Practiceswhich hurt the welfare of mankind ingeneral are against the Islamic.

Islam is the flag bearer of solidarityamong mankind; it seeks to unite thewhole human race without difference



and discrimination on the grounds ofrace, nation, clan, class, family etc. Itwants to see the whole of mankindlinked together like rings in a chain,with everything retaining itso r i g i n a l i t y, individual identity ofculture, traditions, habits, dress andcolours, but together representing onesoul, one spirit. The same would bethe case in the matter of corporategovernance. The Japanese system of‘keiretsu’ and ‘Zaibatsu’ will exist,but it will not be fortified exclusivelyfor themselves, for it will be open,and all nations will be welcomed toparticipate in it for the cause ofmutual benefit. Germans will havetheir supervisory board but it will notfunction solely to protect themanagement from going astray, and itwill certainly care for the interest ofminority shareholders. The Chinesemay have their family enterprises, butoutside family employees will bemade to feel as part of the family. TheFrench will have their ‘dirigisite’system but it will not exist only tostrengthen the ‘ruling class’,nationalism or the role of PDG (chiefexecutive). It will ensure the welfareof every individual who is part of thecorporation or society. Anglo-saxonsmay have their ‘market based system’but the presence of stableshareholders will ensure eliminationof destabilising practices. Italiancapitalists will prefer to share their

power and wealth, not only providingrights and voice to the minorityshareholders, but ensuring theprosperity and development of thelower classes. The likes of Potanin inRussia will not be working to amasswealth and power for their class, butall irrespective of their classes will beinvite to have their long due andrightful share in it.

It is beyond the scope and capacity ofthis article to go into the mechanisticdetails of drawing a universal modelof corporate governance. The guidinginjunction of the Islamic economicsystem will deliver a model withlasting solutions to the problemsconcerning corporate governanceencountered in any models of theworld. The new discovered modelsdriven by the spirit of Islam maydiffer in appearances, according torespective diversities in culture andtraditions of different regions, butnonetheless they will be like differentpearls joined by a single string.

Bibliography1. Hadhrat Mirza Tahir A h m a d ,

Investment, Interest & Islam ,Transcribed by Amtul HadiAhmad, in Review of Religions,London, February 1994.

2. R. Boyes, ‘Bitter German



63

Drivers Forced to wait in thecold’, The Ti m e s, London,22/11/96, p.13.

3. S. H. Homoud, Islamic Banking,Published by A r a b i a nInformation, London, 1985.

4. A. L. Udovith, Partnership andP rofit in Medieval Islam .Published by PrincetonUniversity Press, USA, 1990.

5. R. Wilson et al, (Edited byRodney Wilson), I s l a m i cFinancial Markets, Published byRoutledge , U.K., 1990.

6. A. Rea, L.N. Spiro and P.Galnska, ‘Bankers get set to gofor Brokers’, Article in BusinessWeek, 2/12/96.

7. T. Gambling and R.A. A b d e lKarim, Business and AccountingEthics in Islam, Published byMansell, London, 1991.

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