بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
والصلاة والسلام على رسوله الكريم
وعلى آله واصحابه اجمعين
والعاقبة للمتقين
Continuing from the previous entry, here I shall examine in depth the
ideology and program of the Tanzimi Islami founded by Dr. Israr Ahmad (d.
2010). Like the HT, Tanzimi Islami is dedicated to establishing a Khilafa. But
it has a more balanced and moderate approach than the HT or Mawdudi’s Jama’ati
Islami. According to Dr. Israr Ahmad, the Tanzimi Islami considers spiritual
rectification and reformation as an essential prerequisite for the members of
its organization in order to better prepare and arm them for the struggle of
establishing a Khilafa. In his book The Call of Tanzeem-e-Islami, Dr.
Israr Ahmad outlines his ideology and objectives regarding the issue of the
Khilafa. He quotes the Quran:
أَنْ أَقِيمُوا الدِّينَ
That you are to
establish the Din
(Sura 42:13)
In Dr. Israr Ahmad’s interpretation, the order to establish the Din
means establishment of the Islamic state, the Khilafa. However, both the
context and the classical understanding of this Ayah point to the fact that it
means the Believers are commanded to establish Tawhid, the worship of Allah
alone. This is why the Ayah states that it is the same order that was given to
the previous Apostles of Allah mentioned therein: Noah, Abraham, Moses and
Jesus. Furthermore, after ordering that the Din be established and that there
be no division therein, Allah says that this is a matter that is an enormity
for the mushrikin. Hence the context reveals that ’’establish the Din’’ means
establishing of Tawhid, the worship of Allah alone. It should also be kept in
mind that none of the prophets mentioned by name in the Ayah (Noah, Abraham,
Moses and Jesus) ever succeeded in establishing a state or polity with temporal
authority. As I’ve said, this is the classical interpretation of the Ayah by
the exegetes, for example, as found in the Tafsir al-Jalalayn:
{ شَرَعَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلِدِينِ مَا وَصَّىٰ بِهِ نُوحاً } هو أوّل أنبياء
الشريعة { وَٱلَّذِى أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ وَمَا وَصَّيْنَا بِهِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَىٰ
وَعِيسَىٰ أَنْ أَقِيمُواْ ٱلدّينَ وَلاَ تَتَفَرَّقُواْ فِيهِ } هذا هو المشروع الموصى
به، والموحى إلى محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو التوحيد { كَبُرَ } عظم { عَلَى ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ
مَا تَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَيْهِ } من التوحيد { ٱللَّهُ يَجْتَبِى إِلَيْهِ } إلى التوحيد
{ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِى إِلَيْهِ مَن يُنِيبُ } يُقْبِلُ إلى طاعته
In the initial pages of Dr. Israr Ahmad’s book, he reveals the strong
influence of Iqbal and Mawdudi on his mind. While Iqbal awakened within him a
sense of Muslim nationhood and the desire for a restoration of Muslim power and
dominion, it was Mawdudi who ’’filled in the details left bare by by Iqbal’s
general outline’’ (p. 11). Dr. Israr absorbed into his own psyche and ideology
the novel re-interpretation and re-definition of the terms Ilah, Ibada and Din.
It is the redefining of these terms which forms the basis of Mawdudian thought
and separates it from the orthodox understanding and approach to Islam. Although
clearly influenced by Mawdudi and having formerly been a member of the Jama’ati
Islami’s student wing, Dr. Israr’s break with the JI is significant in that it
reveals a major flaw with the latter. The JI, under the direction of Mawdudi,
entered into mainstream, electoral politics, but till this day has never
succeeded in forming a government. Dr. Israr, however, rejected participation
in the system, noting that it is rigged to maintain the power of the feudalists
and capitalists. It seems, then, that his organization seeks to bring about the
establishment of the Din, as it understands it, by working outside the system,
at a grassroots level, thereby not having to compromise its core values, unlike
the JI which has entirely immersed itself in the dirty game of electoral
politics, thereby sapping its initial dynamism and appeal. Nevertheless, the
Tanzimi Islami, which Dr. Israr founded in 1975, has been even less successful
in gaining support of the masses or bringing about an Islamic state than the
JI. Having a talent for explaining the Quran, many Muslims simply tuned in to
hear Dr. Israr’s discourses on the Scripture, but never really showed any
interest or willingness to go further and join Dr. Israr in launching a dynamic
movement to establish the Din. His ’’movement’’, therefore, remained restricted
to lectures, discourses and discussions, and has never been able to reach the
next critical step of its own agenda. I therefore coldly conclude that the
Tanzim has been a failure. It certainly did not acquire the help or blessing of
Allah Most High in attaining its stated objective, or even coming close to
that. It is not even particularly successful in being a simple educational and
religious organization, judging by the increasing lack of followers and
enthusiasm among its current members. And since the death of Dr. Israr, the
Tanzim has lost the only individual it had who exhibited at least some charisma
and name recognition.
Next, Dr. Israr falsely claims that the divine punishments that the
Muslims have had to face in modern times, specifically what happened and is
continuing to happen in places like Bosnia, Chechnya, Kashmir, Afghanistan,
etc., is due to their failure to strive for and establish the Islamic state: ’’put
bluntly, we are being punished by the Heavens because we have failed to fulfill
the duty of establishing Islam on earth’’ (p. 15). As I have explained previously, Muslims are not obligated to establish the Khilafa or Islamic state,
as these are in fact divine favors and compensation for the righteousness of
the Muslims. In other words, it is the prerogative of Allah Himself to
establish for us the Khilafa. Our duty is to worship Allah alone and be
righteous, observing all His commandments and strictly avoiding His
prohibitions. According to the Ayat al-Istikhlaf, Allah has promised to
establish the Believers in the land as He established those who came before
them on the condition that they have faith, perform good deeds, worship Him,
not associate any partner with Him, establish the Salat, pay the Zakat and obey
the Apostle Muhammad – peace be upon him (Sura 24: 55-56). Therefore, the cause
for the present humiliation and degradation of the Muslims, undoubtedly a
divine punishment, is our spiritual and moral corruption, and our failure to
fulfil the conditions that have preceded as outlined in the Ayat al-Istikhlaf.
To be continued إن شاء الله
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