Islam's response to contemporary world problems (7)
In the previous instalment (number 6) we shed light on the instruments of competition: non-coercion and non-compulsion in matters of faith
Developing this theme further, God warns the Holy Founder of Islam (lpbD), in a clear way against upholding any idea of using force to attempt to reform society. His status as a reformer is made very clear in the following verse:
فَذَکِّرۡ ۟ؕ اِنَّمَاۤ اَنۡتَ مُذَکِّرٌ ﴿ؕ۲۲﴾ لَسۡتَ عَلَیۡہِمۡ بِمُصَۜیۡطِرٍ
"Warn them, therefore, for you are but an Admonisher; but you have no authority to compel them." (Q. 88: Al-Ghassiyyah: 22-23)
Developing the same theme further, the Prophet Muhammad (IpbD) is recalled:
فَاِنۡ اَعۡرَضُوۡا فَمَاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنٰکَ عَلَیۡہِمۡ حَفِیۡظًا ؕ اِنۡ عَلَیۡکَ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ
"But if they turn away, know that we have not sent you as their protector. Your duty is only to convey the Message. Let God make it effective". (Q. 42: Al-Shura: 49)
Even if strife arises in the process of propagating the new ideology and a violent reaction is generated, Islam strongly exhorts its faithful to show patience and perseverance and avoid conflict to the maximum extent possible. This is why, wherever a Muslim is enjoined to deliver the Message of Islam to the world within his reach, a precise code of conduct is laid down. Of the various verses relating to this point, we have selected a few to illustrate this point:
اُدۡعُ اِلٰی سَبِیۡلِ رَبِّکَ بِالۡحِکۡمَۃِ وَالۡمَوۡعِظَۃِ الۡحَسَنَۃِ وَجَادِلۡہُمۡ بِالَّتِیۡ ہِیَ اَحۡسَنُ ؕ اِنَّ رَبَّکَ ہُوَ اَعۡلَمُ بِمَنۡ ضَلَّ عَنۡ سَبِیۡلِہٖ وَہُوَ اَعۡلَمُ بِالۡمُہۡتَدِیۡنَ
"Summon them to the way of your Lord, with wisdom and the best exhortation, and converse with them in the best way. Verily, your Lord is well acquainted with him who has deviated from His way; and He also knows those who are rightly guided". (Q. 16: Al-Nahl: 126)
اِدۡفَعۡ بِالَّتِیۡ ہِیَ اَحۡسَنُ السَّیِّئَۃَ ؕ نَحۡنُ اَعۡلَمُ بِمَا یَصِفُوۡنَ
"Reject the bad with what is good. We know perfectly well all that they allege". (Q. 23: Al- Mu'minun: 97)
Here "Ahsan" means the best, the most attractive and beautiful.
In describing the code of conduct with which the believers are to deliver the Message, the Holy Quran makes the following comment:
وَالۡعَصۡرِ ۙ﴿۲﴾ اِنَّ الۡاِنۡسَانَ لَفِیۡ خُسۡرٍ ۙ﴿۳﴾ اِلَّا الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَعَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوۡا بِالۡحَقِّ ۬ۙ وَتَوَاصَوۡا بِالصَّبۡرِ
"We call as a witness the age in which man as a whole will be in a state of perdition, except those who believe and do good deeds and deliver the Truth honestly. They exhort to patience as they themselves exercise patience". (Q. 103: Al-Asr: 2-4)
Also:
ثُمَّ کَانَ مِنَ الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَتَوَاصَوۡا بِالصَّبۡرِ وَتَوَاصَوۡا بِالۡمَرۡحَمَۃِ
"He should act like those who believe and exhort one another to exercise patience as they themselves do so and exhort one another to be considerate and merciful to others as they themselves are considerate and merciful". (Q. 90: Al-Balad: 18)
Survival of the fittest
According to the Holy Quran, the survival and ultimate victory of a Message depends entirely on the potency of its arguments and not on the material force it can employ. The Holy Quran is very clear and specific on this issue. It states that even if the most powerful forces are used to annihilate Truth and support falsehood, such efforts will inevitably be frustrated and defeated. Reason will always prevail over the brute force of material weapons. For example, the Holy Quran states:
قَالَ الَّذِیۡنَ یَظُنُّوۡنَ اَنَّہُمۡ مُّلٰقُوا اللّٰہِ ۙ کَمۡ مِّنۡ فِئَۃٍ قَلِیۡلَۃٍ غَلَبَتۡ فِئَۃً کَثِیۡرَۃًۢ بِاِذۡنِ اللّٰہِ ؕ وَاللّٰہُ مَعَ الصّٰبِرِیۡنَ
"...But those who know with certainty that one day they will meet Allah will say: How many small groups triumphed over great masses by the command of Allah, and Allah is with the persevering ones". (Q. 2: Al-Baqarah: 250)
The concept of the supremacy of Islam has to be understood in the context of the divine command mentioned above.
Elsewhere in a verse of the Holy Quran it is stated:
رَضِیَ اللّٰہُ عَنۡہُمۡ وَرَضُوۡا عَنۡہُ ؕ اُولٰٓئِکَ حِزۡبُ اللّٰہِ ؕ اَلَاۤ اِنَّ حِزۡبَ اللّٰہِ ہُمُ الۡمُفۡلِحُوۡنَ
"...Allah is fully pleased with them and they are fully pleased with Him. They are of the party of Allah. Be aware that it is the party of Allah that will prosper". (Q. 58: Al-Mujadila: 23)
During the Battle of Badr (the first self-defence battle in the history of Islam), the power of the Meccan idolaters was confronted with a small number of Muslims, vastly outnumbered, out-gunned and out-equipped and forced to fight a self-defence battle for the preservation of their ideology and not for their own subsistence. Commenting on this, the Holy Quran states:
لِّیَہۡلِکَ مَنۡ ہَلَکَ عَنۡۢ بَیِّنَۃٍ وَّیَحۡیٰی مَنۡ حَیَّ عَنۡۢ بَیِّنَۃٍ
"...Let him perish who is condemned to perish by the verdict of manifest logic, and let him survive who deserves to survive by virtue of his manifest logic". (Q. 8: Al-Anfal: 43)
This is the universal principle that has played the most important role in the evolution of mankind. Survival of the fittest is the essence of this Message. In fact, it is the methodology of the evolution of life.
(lpbD) - Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
(To be continued in the next installment, elaborating on the theme of freedom of speech.)