The Islamic state would conduct its affairs by mutual consultation (shura) among all Muslims.[216]The means of consultation should suit the conditions of the particular time and place but must be free and impartial. While the government follows the sharia law, when it comes to a question about which no explicit injunction is to be found in the sharia, the matter is "settled by consensus among the Muslims."[215][216] Maududi favored giving the state exclusive right to the power of declaring jihad and ijtihad (establishing an Islamic law through "independent reasoning"), traditionally the domain of the ulama.[225]
Khutbat By Maududi Pdf Free 64
While no aspect of life was to be considered "personal and private"[213] and the danger of foreign influence and conspiracies was ever present, (nationalism, for example, was "a Western concept which divided the Muslim world and thus prolonged the supremacy of Western imperialist powers"[156]), there would also be personal freedom and no suspicion of government.Maududi's time spent in jail as a political prisoner led him to have a personal interest in individual rights, due process of law, and freedom of political expression.[226]Maududi stated:
For his votaries in the Jama'at, Maududi was not only a "revered scholar, politician, and thinker, but a hallowed Mujaddid."[5]Adding to his mystic was his survival of assassination attempts, while the Jama'at's enemies (Liaquat Ali Khan, Ghulam Muhammad, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Ayub Khan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto) "fell from grace" or were killed.[6] He had a powerful command of Urdu language which he insisted on using, in order to "free Muslims minds from the influence of English."[266]
The fifth question is: How are relations established between man and man, keeping in view their different status and positions? Man's relations with his family, his neighbours, friends, colleagues, subordinates, superiors, followers of his own civilization and those who differ from it? What are his rights upon others, and what are others' rights toward him? With what limits has he been restricted? What are the limits to his5/170Understanding Islamic Civilization freedom? Under this question come all the problems relating to moral and social life, law, politics, and international relations; and how a civilization manages family, society, and the government.
These verses of the Qur'an clearly show that man is not the owner of the things he finds in this world. He is not even the owner of his own body and all the powers he possesses. The real owner is God. Man is not free to use all these things according to his own wishes and desires. He has to use them according to the will and pleasure of God. He is the representative of God in this world and is bound to use all his powers according to the guidance of his Lord. If he neglects the guidance of God and acts on his own or follows powers other than God, then he will be considered a transgressor and a traitor.
The goal of seeking the pleasure of God has universality in it. A group, a nation, even the whole humanity can make it its goal. It is absolutely free from selfishness. Selfishness that causes division and conflict among people. It splits the whole humanity into groups, sections, and nations, and makes them fight against each other. It creates enmity among the individuals and groups. It sows seeds of jealousy, malice, and hatred in their hearts.
This method is applicable to all spheres of life as it can be applied to a part of life. In other words, if man does not have any goal for his life, then he would be free to do whatever he desires. He would not differentiate between good and bad. He would be free to fulfil his desires by any means he likes.
Religious "Iman" builds the character on a spiritual and moral basis. Here are a few examples of such bases. The first is faith in one or more gods with their particular attributes. The second are the books accepted as inspired books. The third are religious leaders whose precepts and examples become the basis of beliefs and actions. These above-mentioned are three bases on which human character can be built spiritually and morally. The question is how far these beliefs can prove successful. We can find the answer to this question by examining the beliefs through a religious point of view or through the purely worldly point of view. Put aside the religious point of view, examine purely through the worldly point of view, it will become obvious that the success of such beliefs depends on two conditions. The first condition is whether those dogmas that a religion demands that its followers believe are acceptable to reason. The second is whether a faith and its doctrines have the strength to build a moral system of a higher standard, and whether its ethics are so pure and clean that they can prepare people for success in their worldly life. The first condition (dogmas should be acceptable to reason) is a must because, if beliefs are merely a bundle of fiction, or more superstitious than rational, they will find a place only in the minds of ignorant people. But this net of superstition will be torn apart, as soon as humanity advances in reason, education, and scientific knowledge. Then the whole system of ethics and spirituality on which an edifice of individual and national character had been built will be shaken. In support of this thesis, we can produce evidence from the beliefs presented by polytheistic religions about their deities, gods, and religious leaders. Feats and stories fabricated around them are not acceptable to reason. History shows that the nations that believe in such fictitious beliefs lose the strength to advance or to play a dominant role in the world. The fictitious thoughts and beliefs create such a bad effect on their minds that their best skills become dull, they lose courage in their feats, intensity in their determination, vastness in their vision, enlightenment in their minds, valour in their hearts, and at last they fall into the abyss of everlasting disgrace, misfortune, slavery, and oppression. On the contrary, the developed nations, with the advancement of knowledge and wisdom, start losing faith in their deities and religious leaders. In the beginning, to keep their national system intact, they try to cling to their wrong beliefs, but gradually their repulsion to them becomes so intense that they totally abandon them. Only a small49/170Understanding Islamic Civilization group of spiritual leaders keep themselves attached to the fictitious beliefs, while the whole nation comes under the dominance of the other type of faith (Iman) which we may call "The worldly Faith" (Dunyavi-Iman). It is obvious that the second condition also is necessary. The influence of beliefs that are unable to prepare their followers for success in worldly life remains limited to the spiritual and ethical sphere of life, and does not reach the people's worldly life. The result of this appears in two ways: either the nation that is encumbered with fictitious beliefs will lose its ability to advance, or else its progress will be only for a short period. It is sure that such a nation will soon free itself from fictitious beliefs, then the "religious faith" (Dini-Iman) will vacate its place in favour of "worldly faith" (Dunyavi-Iman) and when the nation becomes very busy, its worldly life, its worldly type of ethics and spirituality will reject the influence of religious faith (Dini-Iman).
No doubt, these beliefs are beneficial to some extent in worldly life. We put aside the question, "what value have these beliefs on the scale of truth?" And even seeing the matter from purely worldly points of view, we can say that the benefits of these beliefs are neither real nor lasting. The glaring defect is that they have no element of spirituality and morality in them. The result of this is that when the hold of religion is loosened on society, the door of immorality opens widely. It is not within the jurisdiction of law to change the hearts of people and fill them with moral sense and to create a model of good behaviour; neither does the law have power to protect the morals in people's corporate life. The effectiveness of law and its circle of action are limited. Especially, man-made law is weaker because to loosen and tighten the grip of law is itself in the hands of the people. With the increase of the desire for freedom in action, the old moral bindings become unbearable and when the majority of people start opposing any of the moral bindings that seems a barrier in the way of freedom of action that is removed. This is the beginning of moral downfall. The moral downfall is the worst thing, whose fatal effects cannot be stopped by the authority of government, or abundance of wealth, or even by the vast resources of power, and not by knowledge either. It is like an evil, or the termite, which eats from inside and pulls down the whole structure. Besides all this, the evils of being nationalist are so obvious that there is no need of mentioning them in detail. Now they are not merely an object of speculation, they are observed clearly and in fact we are looking at them with our own open eyes. We see how a great civilization is about to fall because of these evils and the whole world is trembling with the fear of dire51/170Understanding Islamic Civilization consequences, which seem sure to become a reality in the future.
The Qur'an is the only book which corrected all these wrong and defective concepts. It is the Holy Book of the Qur'an, which glorified and sanctified the divinity (Uluhiyat). It is the Qur'an which showed us that none can take the place of divinity except that One Who is Independent, Absolute, Eternal, Everlasting, The Self-Subsisting, Support of All, Omnipotent, The Highest Master, Whose knowledge encompasses all, Whose mercy envelopes to all, Whose power is dominant on all, Whose wisdom is flawless, Whose justice free from all oppression, Who is the Life Giver, and Sustainer. All need His beneficence and care. To him all creatures will return. He is the only One, Who will take account of all, and only He has the power of giving reward or punishment. The Qur'an says that the attributes of God are not divisible and separable; so that they cannot be given totally or partially to different deities simultaneously; neither are these attributes circumscribed by time nor they are a passing phenomenon, so that they cannot be transferred from one deity to another in alternate periods. 2ff7e9595c
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