بسم
الله الرحمن الرحيم
ولا
حول ولا قوة الا بالله العلي العظيم
Having
recently shifted back to Pakistan, I have encountered a great but
disturbing change in the society. Since its inception, Pakistan has
been on a trajectory of modernization, cultural Westernization and
secularization. But in recent years, this trend has picked up its
pace exponentially. The entertainment industry and the widespread use
of social media in particular serve as the catalysts for a general
rejection of Islamic values. Alongside these two factors, there is
the active force of the state, which according to my thesis, is
consciously committed to curbing the influence of Islam, by means of
weakening the forces which campaign for Islamic values. I have
particularly noted that the Ulama have lost a great deal of
influence, and that it is the State which is penetrating its own
self-serving, modified version of Islam into the nation. Cunningly,
the project of secularization begins with a call to radically
increase female social mobility and challenge traditional gender
roles. Brazenly, and without so much as a peep from the
traditionalist Ulama and so-called Islamic political parties, the
Pakistani State has now recognized the legality of the existence of
the so-called “transgenders”. In Pakistan, these are basically
cross-dressing perverts who generally function as sex workers and
erotic dancers. In short, they are nothing but a morally destructive
presence in the country. But without digressing into too much detail
of various examples of how Pakistan has degenerated and is fast
catching up to the rest of the degenerate world, I must point out
that of course there is still a conservative, religious element
within the country though it is considerably demoralized. The
polarization between the inward religious society and the outward
looking, ascendant secular, liberal and irreligious society is
extremely pronounced now. In other words, there are two parallel
societies that are cohabiting this land whose values diametrically
oppose each other and who at heart loathe each other. This is best
illustrated in the two radically different schooling systems, i.e.,
the secular schools to which the majority of children are sent, and
the madaris (religious schools) where a considerable number of mostly
impoverished families send their boys to study. Sadly, the noble
objective of acquiring and imparting religious knowledge isn't the
intention of the vast majority of poor families who enroll their boys
in the madaris. On the contrary, they have no alternative due to the unaffordability for them of secular schools. But the problem lies in
the fact that these two parallel education systems are diametrically
opposed to each other, when in fact they should have been
complimentary. Take for example the uniform of the government and
private schools – European dress. At the very least, these schools
in the so-called “Islamic Republic” should have trained their
students to wear the traditional clothing of the Muslims, especially
the skullcap. Furthermore, the government and private schools are
increasingly gender integrated (secondary education, i.e., colleges
and universities even more so). The result is a completely different
mindset between the secular school graduate and the madrassa
graduate. There is also a conspiracy to prevent Islamic outreach and
missionary organisations from operating in public schools and
secondary educational institutions. And there is yet another
conspiracy to “mainstream” or “reform” the private networks
of madaris, which, despite their shortcomings, are the last bastion
of Islamic ideology in pretty much the whole world. Once the shell of
the madrassa has been cracked, the secular forces (which in reality
should be termed the satanic forces), will have succeeded in
overcoming their greatest obstacle to completing the project of
transforming Pakistan, the homeland of South Asian Muslims, into a
modern, liberal and secular nation state. Quite frankly, the Ulama,
who are meant to be the vanguard of the resistance to this demonic
project of secularization and liberalization, have utterly failed to
not only fully comprehend the threat, but devise a competent action
plan to effectively neutralise it. This is because, as is also my
thesis, the religious leadership of the Muslims is extremely corrupt
and hypocritical itself. The forces of secularity take full advantage
of their miserable condition. Fundamentally, the reason for the
failure to enact an action plan by the Islamic forces is internal
disunity and petty rivalries. I have often argued that the so-called
“Islamic” political parties like Mawdudi's Jamaate Islami, and
the Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam of Mawlana Fadlurrahman are not actually
sincere to the cause of Islam. The latter in particular acts without
any principle and is corrupt to the core. It is merely a vehicle to
enrich the Ulama who are its members as a class along the same lines
non-religious political parties function to enrich their
industrialist and feudalist leadership. The Mawlana has planned a
mammoth march to the capital Islamabad for the last day of October in
protest of the current government. However, this protest march, which
shall mobilize madrassa students to crowd the streets, is purely
political and has nothing of substance for the Islamic cause. The
Mawlana is simply protesting election results which he claims were
rigged because his party suffered a humiliating defeat and lost many
seats. As for the Jamaate Islami, its modernist ideology means it is
simply not equipped to both comprehend the real danger of the modern
nation state and the project of secularisation and to successfully
bring about a truly religious revolution in the hearts and minds of
the people. These political parties using the label of Islam are
nothing but bureaucratic institutions which lack any vision, charisma
and above all zeal for the cause of Islam.
Returning
to the bifurcation of Pakistani society, it is my message to the
faithful, lovers of Islam, that they begin to see themselves as
separate from the society they live in. Sure we are all Muslims. The
growing liberal segment of the population are confessionally Muslim
though they obviously cannot be described as true Believers.
Therefore, despite them being fellow Muslims who have religious
rights upon us such as having their greeting of salam replied to and
their funerals offered, etc., we must increasingly separate ourselves
from them for the purpose of maintaining the purity of our faith and
as a protest against their corruption. This principle can be derived
from the following Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu alayhi
wasallam):
مَثَلُ
الْجَلِيسِ الصَّالِحِ وَالْجَلِيسِ
السَّوْءِ كَمَثَلِ صَاحِبِ الْمِسْكِ،
وَكِيرِ الْحَدَّادِ، لاَ يَعْدَمُكَ
مِنْ صَاحِبِ الْمِسْكِ إِمَّا تَشْتَرِيهِ،
أَوْ تَجِدُ رِيحَهُ، وَكِيرُ الْحَدَّادِ
يُحْرِقُ بَدَنَكَ أَوْ ثَوْبَكَ أَوْ
تَجِدُ مِنْهُ رِيحًا خَبِيثَةً
“The
parable of a good companion (who sits with you) in comparison with a
bad one, is like that of the musk seller and the blacksmith's bellows
(or furnace); from the first you would either buy musk or enjoy its
good smell while the bellows would either burn your body or your
clothes, or you get a nasty smell thereof.”
Therefore,
the origin of this affair is to avoid association with those whose
association will result in harm to one's faith, even if they happen
to be professed Muslims. Surely, the religious-minded Muslim (who may
himself not be personally pious or strictly observant – but who
nevertheless admires the men of religion and sincerely loves Islam)
must strive to keep company and association with the Ulama, the
pious, the people of the mosque, etc. He should avoid those who don't
give off the vibe of religiosity. The religious forces by being
conscious of their distinction from the broader society will
therefore be more vocal, because the vocal minority is stronger than
the silent majority. As for the strategy to counter the state's
nefarious project, we must first cleanse our hearts of any love or
devotion to the state. Ironically, it is the religious forces of this
country that tend to be among the loudest in their unnecessary praise
of the state and particularly the institution of the military
establishment. We must educate our people about the ugly reality of
this state including the fact that the constitution is thoroughly
un-Islamic. The idea that Pakistan's constitution is a purely Islamic
document is a deceptive myth that must be debunked academically. The
very preamble of the constitution is cited as proof that it is
absolutely compliant to Islam: “Whereas sovereignty over the entire
Universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone” without carefully
considering the very next clause: “and the authority to be
exercised by the people of Pakistan within the limits prescribed by
Him is a sacred trust”. Did anyone bother to ask if Allah actually
authorized the people of Pakistan to exercise any authority even
“within the limits prescribed by Him”? In other words, the
preamble of the constitution has self-declared the people of Pakistan
as Allah's khilafa on the
Earth. In truth, the people of Pakistan are not deserving of such a
lofty position. Next, this preamble states: “Wherein the State
shall exercise its powers and authority through the chosen
representatives of the people;” Again, who authorized the people to
collectively exercise any power or authority, through the agency of
chosen representatives or otherwise? The people of Pakistan include
all kind of evil, corrupt, infidel, adulterous, wicked, and
polytheist elements. How can it be argued that Allah has either
authorized or is agreeable to the people of Pakistan exercising
authority in His Holy Name? The preamble of the constitution
enshrines democracy: “Wherein the principles of democracy...as
enunciated by Islam, shall be fully observed”, “Pakistan would be
a democratic State based on Islamic principles of social justice”,
“Dedicated to the preservation of democracy”. Firstly, Islam has
not “enunciated” democracy. Democracy is diametrically opposed to
the principles of Islam. Yes, Islam prescribes consultation but that
should never be confused with democracy, which literally means rule
of the people. The Islamic institution of shura (consultation) only
includes the qualified and pious individuals of the Muslim community,
not every Tom, Dick and Harry. The Islamic prescription for
government is meritocratic not democratic. The verse of the holy
Quran which is the basis for the principle of consultation clearly
states that they are those who consult “among themselves” (Sura
42:38), not that they consult with everyone. Thus even if one were to
argue that in Pakistan democracy is limited and the chosen
representatives of the people are not authorized to legislate
anything or authorize anything that is in clear violation of the
Shari'a, that is still insufficient for such a system to be declared
“Islamic”. In a democracy with universal suffrage, everyone is
entitled to vote and have his or her say, including the open sinner,
the wicked oppressor, the infidel, and those hypocrites who are bent
on extinguishing the Light of Allah. When even consulting with such
elements and soliciting their advice is not Islamic, how can it be
Islamic to give them the right to vote and elect representatives. And
more often than not the representatives are themselves corrupt,
sinful, and hypocritical. With perhaps only a handful of exceptions,
the entire Pakistani Parliament is full of individuals who are open
sinners and many of them are hypocrites who are actively working to
subvert the cause of Islam.
Now
one of the most outrageous articles of this contemptible constitution
which is only worthy of being toilet paper (after all holy words and
expressions have been cut out from it): “(1) Loyalty to the State
is the basic duty of every citizen. (2) Obedience to the Constitution
and law is the [inviolable] obligation of every citizen wherever he
may be and of every other person for the time being within Pakistan.”
Keep in mind loyalty to the State has not been defined. Does that
include loyalty in one's heart, or is disloyalty only understood as
disloyalty in action, not words or thoughts? The fact of the matter
is, a Muslim must only be obedient to someone in a position of
political authority over him (provided he is not commanded with
disobedience to Allah and His Apostle) but never commanded with
loyalty. This article in the constitution itself has made a
distinction between loyalty and obedience. Absolute loyalty is only
to Allah and His Apostle, not to any state or manmade, fallible
institution. Suppose the State of Pakistan becomes transgressive and
goes to war against another state that is innocent, is the Pakistani
citizen required to maintain loyalty to his transgressive state? Will
mere avoidance of public service that contributes to that
transgression be considered “disloyalty” according to this
constitutional article? As for obedience to the constitution being an
“inviolable” obligation of every citizen, since that has not been
qualified, it is nothing but an idolatrous statement and
proclamation. It is only obedience to Allah and His Apostle (sall
Allahu alayhi wasallam) that is an inviolable and sacred obligation.
In summary, the Pakistani constitution was cunningly written with
statements that apparently conform to Islamic principles such as
acknowledging the absolute sovereignty of Allah as stated in the
preamble, in order to give the false impression that this is a
document that is purely Islamic. But virtually every other article
and clause within this document is manifestly against Islam. The
problem is that mere acknowledgment of Allah's absolute sovereignty
is insufficient. The mechanism for interpreting the Will of Allah is
flawed and that is what effectively nullifies any Islamic aspect to
this ridiculous constitution.
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