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| A Muslim Spiritual Response
to the Attacks of September 11th In the Name of ALLAH, Most Compassionate,
Most Merciful and peace and blessings
be upon the Beloved Messenger of ALLAH, Muhammad
al-Amin, and the grace of ALLAH upon
his companions, and family, and all those who follow his example “We have not sent you save as a mercy to
the worlds” THE GOOD DEED AND THE EVIL DEED ARE NOT
ALIKE The claims of conscience are not to be denied The Qur’an speaks often of good and evil:
Sometimes it speaks of khayr and sharr, sometimes of hasanah and sa’iah.
All of these words reflect upon one another; all of them carry weight.
When Allah describes the moral responsibility of Muslims toward other
human beings, He tells us that Muslims are obligated to enjoin the ma`ruf
and forbid the munkar. These terms have particular implications. Ma`ruf, usually translated as “the
good,” means that which is generally recognized to be good, or right, or
kind, or appropriate. Munkar, usually translated as “the evil,” means
that which people broadly acknowledge to be bad. The mission to enjoin the
ma`ruf and forbid the munkar, with which we are charged, is therefore not
the imposition of a particular set of rules and regulations: it is not
about instituting “Islamic law.” Rather it is an appeal to the common
conscience of humanity, for the Muslim community was intended to be
exemplary, and the exemplary must be clearly recognizable to all. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) said that if a matter requires elaborate justifications, it is better
not to pursue it. This principle has relevance to every circumstance in
which rationalization attempts to silence conscience. To bring clarity to
one such circumstance is now of pressing importance. For any argument that
attempts to define civilians as acceptable targets in war, despite
explicit rulings of the Holy Prophet and Hadrat Abu Bakr to the contrary,
requires exactly such elaborate justifications and should be immediately
suspect. Furthermore it is obvious that any action causing horror and
repulsion in the vast majority of people must be munkar. Therefore it is
the responsibility of Muslims clearly to reject it. Resistance to oppression must be distinguishable from oppression It is well-known and deeply regrettable
that the government of the United States is often an instrument for the
oppression of Muslims, and indeed for the subjection of many other of the
world’s peoples. While resistance to oppression is essentially
permissible, often admirable, and sometimes obligatory, the fundamental
striving of Islam is not to crush the enemy, but to win him over. Thus
while struggle may be inevitable, it is incumbent upon Muslims to fight
with less violence and more generosity and self-restraint than the
opposition chooses to employ. That is the meaning and impact of the
chivalry and knightly honor for which Muslim warriors were originally
famous. It is through this principle that those who first carried the
message of Islam won the respect of the world. The good deed (hasanah) and the evil deed (sa’iah)
are not alike. Repel evil with that which is better, then he between whom
and you there was enmity will become like an intimate friend. (Surah Ha
Mim, 34) To reject injustice committed by fellow Muslims is to take the side of their souls To enjoin what conscience rejects and
forbid what conscience embraces is injustice. Having suffered from
injustice does not license anyone to commit injustice. “Help your fellow
Muslim, whether oppressor or oppressed,” said the Holy Prophet. “We
know how to help the oppressed,” the Companions said, “but how are we
to help the oppressor?” “Your help to him,” said the Messenger of
God, “is to prevent him from oppressing.” O you who believe! Be staunch in justice,
witnesses for Allah, even though it be against yourselves or parents or
kindred, whether a rich man or a poor man, for Allah is nearer unto both.
So follow not passion lest you lapse (from truth), and if you lapse or
fall away, Allah is Aware of what you do. (Surah Nisa’, 135) O you who believe! Be steadfast witnesses
for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you, that you
deal not justly. Deal justly, that is nearer to reverence. Show reverence
toward Allah: Allah is Aware of what ye do. (Surah Ma’idah, 8) If we permit our fellow Muslims to commit
oppression we are failing in our responsibility to them, as well as
failing in our responsibility to the creation, and may be answerable
before God for our silence. Indeed, it is possible that the low condition
in which the Muslims find themselves is, in part, the direct result of
such silence. We should not tolerate tyranny, in anyone, toward
anyone...even on the part of the oppressed. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
stated that Allah Exalted and Glorious, said: My servants, I have made
oppression unlawful for Me and unlawful for you, so do not commit
oppression against one another. (Muslim 6246; from Abu Dharr) The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
said: Be on your guard against committing oppression, for oppression is a
darkness on the Day of Resurrection, and be on your guard against
petty-mindedness, for petty-mindedness destroyed those who were before
you, as it incited them to shed blood and make lawful what was unlawful
for them. (Muslim 6248; from Jabir b. `Abdullah) Retaliation is bound by the strictest of limits The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
said: When two persons indulge in hurling (abuses) upon one another, it
would be the first one who would be the sinner—so long as the oppressed
does not transgress the limits. (Muslim 6263; from Abu Hurayrah) Those who would allow themselves to engage
in unjust acts generally defend those acts as retaliations. Retaliation,
or qisas, is permissible in Islam—although the Qur’an instructs us on
many occasions that forbearance and forgiveness, grounded in trust in God,
are far better. Yet if a person chooses the lower course, the rules for
pursuing it are clear. Qisas is an exact response in kind. Whoever breaks
parity in retaliation has transgressed the limits. This is true even in
the case of struggles against oppression. While Allah has given explicit
permission to the persecuted to fight in order to defend themselves and to
establish the free practice of religion, He has also demanded a clear
discrimination between the innocent in the guilty. These it was who disbelieved and debarred
you from the Inviolable Place of Worship, and debarred the offering from
reaching its goal. And if it had not been for believing men and believing
women, whom ye know not--lest ye should tread them under foot and thus
incur guilt for them unknowingly; that Allah might bring into His mercy
whom He will--If (the believers and the disbelievers) had been clearly
separated We verily had punished those of them who disbelieved with
painful punishment. (Surah Fat-h, 25) Who believes and who disbelieves is not
known with certainty to anyone but Allah. Yet one may take it for granted
that in any large gathering of people in a modern city there are likely to
be at least a few faithful, and perhaps a great many: Muslims; People of
the Book; unclassifiable others “who believe in Allah and the Last Day
and do good deeds.” For each of those many whose lives are taken bi-la
haqq, without right, enormous guilt is incurred. From accumulating such
guilt, Allah Himself has attempted to shield the Muslims. Willfully to
abandon this protection is to earn His wrath in this world and the next. Even in an ongoing armed struggle with a
declared and dangerous enemy, no step across this boundary may be taken.
In a situation of ambiguity, when acts of oppression have been mixed with
others of generosity and simple ignorance of Islam is widespread, how much
greater is the crime of the transgressor. The violent are our responsibility When terrible crimes are committed by a
member of one’s community, shame can be overwhelming. It then becomes
tempting to deny that the acts are crimes, or else to deny that whoever
committed them is part of the community. If we bring ourselves to accept
that murder is murder, we would like to believe that the murderer cannot
be a Muslim. Regrettably, we cannot take this course. The Holy Prophet
strongly disapproved the attribution of kufr to anyone who professed
Islam, no matter how superficial the profession, and we respect his
generosity of spirit as fundamental to the welfare of the ummah. Transgression is disconnection However we affirm that no one can commit a
crime in a state of faith. Consequently, though we cannot say that an
oppressor is not a believer, we can certainly say that he is not acting
like a believer, and that his actions must be fully disassociated from
Islam. He has let go of “the firm hand-hold, that never
breaks”—insha’Allah, only for awhile. The Messenger of Allah said, "When a
servant of Allah commits illegal sexual intercourse, he is not a believer
at the time of committing it; and if he steals, he is not a believer at
the time of stealing; and if he drinks an alcoholic drink, he is not a
believer at the time of drinking it; and he is not a believer when he
commits a murder." `Ikrimah said: I asked Ibn `Abbas, "How is
faith taken away from him?" He said, Like this," by clasping his
hands and then separating them, and added, "But if he repents, faith
returns to him like this," by clasping his hands again. (Bukhari
8.800b; `Ikrimah from Ibn `Abbas) Hearts are unknowable: behavior is
observable Those who allow themselves to engage in unjust acts may name themselves strugglers against unbelief, but one who has let go his hold on the foundation of faith is in no position to attack others for their lack of it. An accusation of kufr, of willfully obscuring God, has formed the basis of many tyrannical acts, both large and small. Yet those who are quickest to accuse other people of kufr are generally those who have the least notion of how a kafir actually behaves. Therefore, as a public service, we are attaching a straightforward delineation, made by consolidating the relevant ayats. May Allah forgive the compiler for errors and oversights: we have left out references to the fate of the kafir and clung to a simple description. The meaning of jihad It is incumbent upon us as Muslims to
support the oppressed, whoever they may be, and to protect the worship of
God, however it may be practiced. To those against whom war is made,
permission is given because they are wronged, and verily Allah is most
powerful for their aid. Those who have been expelled from their homes in
defiance of right (for no cause) except that they say "Our Lord is
Allah." Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another
there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches,
synagogues, and mosques in which the name of Allah is commemorated in
abundant measure. Allah will certainly aid those who aid His cause; for
verily Allah is Full of Strength, Exalted in Power. (Surah Hajj, 39-40) And And why should ye not fight in the cause of
Allah and of those who being weak are ill-treated? Men, women, and
children whose cry is: "Our Lord! rescue us from this town whose
people are oppressors; and raise for us from Thee one who will protect;
and raise for us from Thee one who will help!"
(Surah Nisa’, 75) But Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight
you but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors. (Surah
Baqarah, 190) Muslims cannot afford ever to forget that
jihad means struggle, not “holy war”: it is about risk, sacrifice, and
strategy for the common good, it is not about violence. Yes, it has
sometimes meant warfare--but only when that could be undertaken with the
Prophet’s nobility and honor, and only when no alternative could exist. With jihad, violence is not the point. Ours
is the struggle of love against hate, of justice against injustice, and in
the midst of all the madness Muslims must take our stand on that. Nowhere
in Qur’an or hadith do we read that the end justifies the means. To
believe such a thing is a form of shirk, of assigning partners to Allah,
and jihad cannot be practiced with the morals of mushrikin. If we have
confused the ma`ruf and the munkar, or permitted their confusion, and if
our repentance is not accepted, we will have lost our cause. If we mistake
our motivation and values, attributing false righteousness to ourselves,
we will have lost our cause. The first of people against whom judgment
will be pronounced on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died a
martyr. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favors and
he will recognize them. [ The Almighty] will say: And what did you do
about them? He will say: I fought for you until I died a martyr. He will
say: You have lied: you only fought that it might be said: He is
courageous. And so it has been said. Then he will be dragged on his face
into Hellfire. (hadith qudsi) May the Sustainer of the Universe forgive
and preserve us. May the true struggle continue.“ In Allah alone let the
believers put their trust.” Allah says: What army can save you except the
Compassionate? (Surah Mulk, 20) And Allah knows best.
Copyright ©2001 Muslim Peace Fellowship.
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