FROM MAULANA’S DESK
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, born in 1925, in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, is an Islamic spiritual scholar who is well-versed in both classical Islamic learning and modern disciplines. The mission of his life has been the establishment of worldwide peace. He has received the Padma Bhushan, the Demiurgus Peace International Award and Sayyidina Imam Al Hassan Peace award for promoting peace in Muslim societies. He has been called ’Islam’s spiritual ambassador to the world’ and is recognized as one of its most influential Muslims . His books have been translated into sixteen languages and are part of university curricula in six countries. He is the founder of the Centre for Peace and Spirituality based in New Delhi.
EMBRACING ISLAM ‘IN TOTALITY’
WHAT is Islam? To put it quite simply, Islam is the way to become a good and upright person. When one becomes good in the real sense of the word, one is good to oneself, to one’s family, to one’s society, and to all humankind.
The world around us is a perfect world. From atoms to galaxies, everything acts so perfectly that we can predict their behaviour. This is because everything in nature obeys the law of God. Likewise, when man obeys the law of God, he becomes as perfect as he ought to be. He develops a predictable nature, like everything else in the world. Islam means submission to God. The Quran tells us that submission to God is the only religion for both man and the universe:
“Do they seek a religion other than the religion of God, when everything in the heavens and the earth has submitted to Him, willingly or unwillingly? To Him they shall all return.” (3: 83)
Thus, Islam means living in harmony with nature, as one ought to, face to face with reality. Man has not created himself; he has been created by God. To live in accordance with reality, then, is to acknowledge the greatness of God and show appreciation of His favours. The emotions of love and fear are inherent in man. He wants something to rely upon, something to focus his efforts on. If he leads his life in accordance with reality, he will focus all his attention on God alone. For besides Him, all things are creatures; nothing besides Him has any real power.
The entire human race, past and present, is progeny of Adam. A life in accordance with reality then will be one of kindness to others, as if one were dealing with one’s own brothers and sisters.
Everyone has been endowed with a conscience which favours justice and despises injustice and cruelty. Life in accordance with reality, then, is one of kindness and justice.
Death is bound to strike one day. It will deprive everyone of their worldly possessions. One who lives in accordance with reality will look at the ups and downs of life as transitory and insignificant. He will regard everybody as God’s servants, irrespective of worldly status.
When one comes upon the truth, one might be disposed to reject it. But one should remember that one day everyone will have to accept truth and falsehood for what they are. One should willingly accept today what one will be forced to accept tomorrow.
The position Islam occupies in relation to our lives should be an integral, not a supplementary one:
“We take on God’s own dye. Who has a better dye than God’s? We worship Him alone.” (2: 138)
Here is an example to illustrate this point. When a stone is dropped in water, it descends to the bottom and settles there. It is in the water but separate from it. On the other hand, if a dye is put into the same glass, the dye and water combine. The water is not separate from the dye. Both have intermingled in such a way that no one can detect any difference between the two.
The relationship between Islam and a true believer should be like that of dye and water, not of stone and water. Islam should not be just an accessory to a Muslim’s life; it should merge with his whole being; as the Quran says, Islam should be entered into ‘in its totality’. (2: 208)
When a person adopts Islam in this manner, it becomes the throb of his heart as it permeates his emotions. It enters his thoughts, moulding his intellect in its own fashion. It becomes the eye with which he sees, the tongue with which he speaks, the hands and feet with which he performs his daily functions. It takes possession of a person, to the exclusion of everything else. His every statement bears the stamp of Islam and his every action becomes dyed in Islamic colours.
If Islam is like a stone in water in a person’s life, it is not Islam at all. Faith should be absorbed in a person like dye is dissolved in water. Just as the emotions of love and hate are felt by the whole body, so, when one adopts Islam in the real sense of the word, it becomes an issue affecting one’s whole existence. The Muslim and Islam become inseparably attached to one another.
By way of introduction to the Islamic way of life, some sayings of the Prophet Muhammad are mentioned here:
“Let him who believes in God and the Last Day either speak good or keep silent; and let him who believes in God and the Last Day honour his neighbour; and let him who believes in God and the Last Day be generous to his guest.”
“Fear God wherever you are, and follow up a bad deed with a good one and it will wipe it out, and behave well towards people.” “Righteousness is good-naturedness, and evil is what wavers in your soul that you would not like people to find out about you.” “None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
A man came to the Prophet and said: “Messenger of God, tell me something which, if I do it, will win me the love of both God and men.” The Prophet said, “If you renounce the world, God will love you; and if you renounce what people possess, they will love you.”
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
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