Download The concept of Ummah and its need

The concept of Ummah and its need
By: ABID ULLAH JAN
Published: Dec 17, 2004
Many Islamophobes suggest that the concept of Ummah (community) is “entirely an
invention” of the “neofundamentalists.” In his book, Globalised Islam: The Search for
a New Ummah, the French sociologist Oliver Roy notes: "'Neofundamentalism provides
an alternative group identity that does not impinge upon the individual life of the
believer, precisely because such a community is imagined and has no real social
basis."
To address issue, we need to understand the motive, which is to deny Muslims the
right to self rule.
In fact, the majority of Islamic injunctions apply to the Islamic Ummah rather than
the individual. The importance of society and laws governing social interaction in
Islam therefore becomes obvious. The governance of such a society requires Islam to
provide guidelines for the establishment of a just government and the running of the
State machinery. To deny Muslims this opportunity, the concept of Ummah becomes
the target of Islamophobes.
The broad lines of the civil, military, criminal, political and social legislation of Islam,
which are evident in hundreds of verses and in the numerous authentic sayings of
Muhammad (PBUH), are there for implementation. The rules of Islam require the
existence of a State with the authority to organize the myriad of relationships that
characterize the society and the resources for producing a favourable environment for
the Ummah to live their lives to fulfil the overall objective of human creation. These
values and principles and the spiritual aspect of governance were effectively
implemented in the lifetimes of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and the times of the
orthodox Caliphs, as well as some Muslim rulers who came after them.
The clear message of the Qur’an — a book that all Muslims, regardless of any
classification by the neo-mods and neo-cons, believe — puts three distinct
responsibilities on the shoulders of Muslims: individual responsibilities, responsibility
to bind the Ummah, and collective responsibilities as an Ummah. Muslims find
answers to all the above-mentioned questions in verses 102 to 104 of Chapter 3 of the
Qur’an. [1]
Binding substance for Ummah
Verse 3:103 of the Qur’an is a lesson for those who reject the concept and need of
Muslim Ummah. [2] Those who are fulfilling the requirement of verse 3:102 are told to
come together and become Bunyan Marsus (solid cemented structure). Teaming up
and organising is quite logical for achieving objectives that are beyond individual
capacity. Even for achieving morally negative objectives, people on the same
wavelength need to bind together and find allies. Organisation on mass scale is
definitely needed to spread the word of Allah —a basic obligation of Muslims. To erect
a Bunyan Marsus, each individual, like bricks in a wall, needs to harness perfectly his
potentials. Therefore, instructions for consolidating both individual components and
the organisation — the Ummah — follow each other in a logical sequence in verse
3:102 and 103 respectively. There is a reference to the Qur’an in the instruction to
“Hold fast to the rope of Allah.” [3]
Asmat means protection in Arabic and A’etisam (3:103) mean to embrace something
for self-protection — imagine the way a baby embraces her mother out of fear.
Therefore, the order is “Wa’tasimu,” to completely embrace the Qur’an — not
portions of it; jami’an — all together, and warns, “Wa la tafar-raqu” — and be not
divided amongst yourselves. According to Dr. Israr Ahmad this is a reference to the
Qur’an as to not divide among yourself over the Qur’an.
The concept of Ummah was an entirely new concept that superceded previous tribal
and family allegiances, although these tendencies kept coming back, particularly in
the case of the Ridda, or Revolt, which followed the death of Prophet (PBUH).
The Qur'an says, "You shall not find a people who believe in Allah and the latter day
befriending those who act in opposition to Allah and His Messenger, even though they
were their (own) fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their kinsfolk." [4]
Acceptance of and allegiance to the Ummah, based on obeying Allah and following His
Prophet, became one's primary allegiance. This means that the Ummah is not a
nation-state based on ethnicity or language. It is not surprising, then, that it left the
Arabs of the time somewhat bemused. Like the revelation with its uncompromising
statement of tawhid, the idea of a community, based on the same principle providing
core of political cohesion, was entirely alien to them. In fact, it was probably alien to
just about everyone of the time. Indeed, many ignored it in favour of 'asabiyya, or
tribal solidarity.
The Ummah is further delineated in the Qur'an where Allah says, "You are the best
Ummah brought forth to mankind - enjoining the good and forbidding the evil and
believing in Allah" (3:110), and "The believers, men and women, are protector-friends
of each other, enjoining the correct and forbidding the incorrect" (9:71).
The Covenant of Madina stipulated that the Muslims "Constitute one Ummah" and "All
believers shall rise as one man against whomsoever rebels or seeks to commit
injustice, aggression, wrong action or spread mutual enmity between the believers,
even though he be one of their sons. ... All believers are banded together to the
exclusion of other men." [5]
This, then, is the policy of the Muslims, and it is clearly a political as well as a
spiritual collective, the one being a logical consequence of the other. Being a Muslim
necessarily entails certain political consequences.
The neo-mods limit Islam to individuals and reject the idea of a collective Muslim
identity, such as the concept of Ummah. They call it one of the “most important
consequences of the enlightened tendency.” Since Islam is not considered a complete
code of life, freeing it up of its identity is considered as a step towards all cultures
and nations to “lay the foundation of collective identity” [6] and to the “acceptance
of a convergence with other religious traditions.” The neo-mods believe that only
such an amalgamation of Islam with other religions will enable Muslims to “co-exist as
equal citizens with non-Muslims.” [7] It does not seem to be an easy proposition for
the survival of Islam and its believers.
Although Muslims were never a single entity after the decline of the Umayyads, they
remained thoroughly connected and unified because of their common beliefs and lifestyle. In the beginning of 20th century, seeds of racial prejudice and nationalistic
chauvinism were planted to weaken that sense of brotherhood and winding up
Khilafah. At the end of 20th century, rancid notions of “fundamentalist,” and many
other kinds of Muslims replaced these seeds. Growing disharmony is a direct “benefit”
of planting such seeds.
The insanity of fratricide that we witnessed in Afghanistan and the Arab support to US
in turning Iraq upside down are examples of one of the manifestations of Divine
punishment that clearly warned Muslims of divisions and limiting Islam to a few rituals
[8] and kept on classifying Muslims into different groups. The Qur’an (6:159) has
warned Muslims against dividing their religion into different factions i.e.:
(a) making a distinction between one part of it and another, take the part which suits
them and reject the rest; or
(b) having religion one day of the week and the world the rest of the six days; or
(c) keeping "religion in its right place," as if it did not claim to govern the whole life;
make a sharp distinction between the secular and the religious; or
(d) showing a sectarian bias, seek differences in views, to break up the unity of Islam.
[9]
Chapter 30 of the Qur’an clearly condemns splitting into groups and inventing
disagreements. [10] Celebrated analysts, such as Daniel Pipes and Thomas Friedman,
chant words that the ears accept willingly and find pleasing: Freedom, democracy,
liberation and so on, but all they want from groups within Muslims is disunity of the
Ummah and worsening of its differences with repeated calls for a “war within
Islam.”
Collective responsibilities and strategy for the Ummah
After reading verses 3:102-104 from the Qur’an, [11] the question arises: what is the
purpose behind all these instructions for organisation, unity and the concept of
Ummah? The next verse provides three clear objectives for the Ummah: “invite to
good,” “enjoin what is right” and “forbid the wrong.” It is a masterstroke of
description in three clauses. “Invite to good” and “enjoin what is right” apparently
looks the same, but other verses of the Qur’an indicate that invitation to good is
actually invitation to the Qur’an. [12] Another difference is that attitude and ways to
“invitation” [13] are very different from “enjoining,” which come in the sense of
prescribing authoritatively or enforcing — one step ahead of simple invitation to Islam
(Dawah). [14]
The third objective is al-nahy 'an al-munkar, to “forbid the wrong.” The modern day
concepts of freedom have made us forget about this aspect of forbidding the wrong
altogether. Some Muslims consider themselves free based on the argument that there
is no compulsion in religion and we have the right to interpret, reinterpret and if
necessary invent in the light of human agency. Despite their much-vaunted
philosophy, the neo-mods have yet to come up with an answer to the clear orders
from Allah for both enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong at least nine times in
the Qur’an. [15] Furthermore, the Qur’an also provides the touchstones, the
permanents norms for evaluating as to what is good and what is wrong without any
doubts of relativity.
It shows that from the Qur’anic perspective, individually as well as collectively, it is
not permissible to see evil, have the means to forbid it and still avoid forbidding it
under the misconception that imposition of law through state is against the spirit of
Islam. Forbidding from bad is only possible if the state is empowered with law.
Imposing of this law for forbidding the wrong can never be against the spirit of Islam.
The rhetoric sounds nice that God wants free submission; “He wants his believers to
worship Him out of free choice, not for fear of some state.” However, a state —
Islamic or otherwise — cannot remain a state, if it does not have the power or will to
forbid what it defines as bad.
One of the main grievances of the neo-mods is that Allah’s sovereignty places limit on
human freedom and an Islamic State usurps freedom to practice religion according to
individual preference. Muqtedir Khan believes, “freedom comes first, and only faith
that is found in freedom has any meaning.” [16] He is right in the sense that he is
talking about the real faith point of view, which is in fact applicable in the Hereafter,
not in the state affairs. As far as an Islamic State is concerned, legal faith is valid.
Even a non-Muslim, pretending to be a Muslim for some ulterior motives in a Muslim
country, such as spying etc., shall be treated as Muslim for legal purpose unless
proved otherwise. The very same problem was with Khawarij. There are two different
aspects of Islam — Legal and Real — both need consideration in their right
perspective. However, this argument is not valid if it is challenging Muslims’ duty to
keep others away from indulging in sin. Muslims are not alone. Among others, the
Qur’an specifically mentions Banu-Israel for leaving aside the duty of forbidding from
wrong [17] and crossing the limits set by Allah for them. [18]
Enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong (al-amr bil-ma 'rouf wal-nahi an
al-munkar) is the most fundamental institution. In this regard, however, it is not that
people should only enjoy their freedom of expression, but it is also a legal obligation.
An Islamic society would not qualify as an Islamic society — the Qur’an says it
repeatedly — if it is not actively seeking to correct the improper and promote good.
Notes
[1] “O ye who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a
state of Islam. And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for
you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's
favour on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His
Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved
you from it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided. Let
there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is
right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones to attain felicity.” (Al-Qur’an
3:102-4.).
[2] “And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and
be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's favour on you;
for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye
became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from
it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided.” (Al-Qur’an
3:103).
[3] A hadith narrated by ‘Ali ibne abi Talib quotes Prophet Muhammad (PBUH ) in
Tirmizi wa Darmi: “The Qur’an is actually the rope of Allah.” A similar hadith is
reported by Abdullah bin Masud and Jubair ibne Muth’am in Tibrani Kabeer.
[4] Al-Qur'an 58:22.
[5] For English translation of Mithaq al-Madinah (The Covenant of Medina) see,
Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Medina, 1962 Ed. pp. 221-225.
[6] Snow, David. “Collective Identity and Expressive Forms,” paper is posted at the
eScholarship Repository, Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of California,
Irvine, Year 2001 Paper 01-07.
[7] The realization that Islam, properly understood, is not a system of social and
political regulation frees up space for cultures and nations—in the modern sense of
those words—to lay the foundations of collective identity. This opens the way, in turn,
to the acceptance of a convergence with other religious traditions and universalistic
moralities, beyond political and cultural boundaries and in more than formal terms. It
also] opens the way to a full respect for civic spheres in which Muslims can coexist as
equal citizens with non-Muslims. (Abdou Filali-Ansary, "The sources of enlightened
Muslim thought," Journal of Democracy Volume 14, Number 2 April 2003. Page 30-31).
[8] Allah says: “Say: He has the power that He should send on you a chastisement
from above you or from beneath your feet, or that He should throw you into
confusion, (making you) of different parties; and make some of you taste the fighting
of others. See how We repeat the communications that they may understand.” (AlQur’an 6:65).
[9] “Surely they who divided their religion into parts and became sects, you have no
concern with them; their affair is only with Allah, then He will inform them of what
they did.” (Al-Qur’an 6:159).
[10] “Turning to Him, and be careful of (your duty to) Him and keep up prayer and be
not of the polytheists.” (Al-Qur’an 30.31). “Of those who divided their religion and
became schematics, each sect exulting in its tenets.” (Al-Qur’an 30.32).
[11] “O ye who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a
state of Islam. And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for
you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's
favour on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His
Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved
you from it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided. Let
there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is
right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones to attain felicity.” (Al-Qur’an
3:102-104).
[12] Al-Qur’an 10: 57-58.
[13] Also described in 20:43-44 as: "Go, both of you, to Pharaoh, for he has indeed
transgressed all bounds; But speak to him mildly; perchance he may take warning or
fear (Allah)."
[14] “(They are) those who, if We establish them in the land, establish regular prayer
and give regular charity, enjoin the right and forbid wrong: with Allah rests the end
(and decision) of (all) affairs.” (Al-Qur’an 22:41).
[15] “Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining
what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones to attain felicity.” (AlQur’an 3:104).
“Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding
what is wrong, and believing in Allah. If only the People of the Book had faith, it were
best for them: among them are some who have faith, but most of them are perverted
transgressors.” (Al-Qur’an 3:110).
“Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good (to others) and the
giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes
you that you may be mindful.” (Al-Qur’an 16:90). “O my son! keep up prayer and
enjoin the good and forbid the evil, and bear patiently that which befalls you; surely
these acts require courage.” (Al-Qur’an 31:17).
“Those who follow the Messenger-Prophet, the Ummi, whom they find written down
with them in the Taurat and the Injeel (who) enjoins them good and forbids them
evil, and makes lawful to them the good things and makes unlawful to them impure
things, and removes from them their burden and the shackles which were upon them;
so (as for) those who believe in him and honour him and help him, and follow the light
which has been sent down with him, these it is that are the successful.” (Al-Qur’an
7:157).
“And (as for) the believing men and the believing women, they are guardians of each
other; they enjoin good and forbid evil and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, and
obey Allah and His Messenger; (as for) these, Allah will show mercy to them; surely
Allah is Mighty, Wise.” (Al-Qur’an 9:71).
“Had they gone forth with you, they would not have added to you aught save
corruption, and they would certainly have hurried about among you seeking (to sow)
dissension among you, and among you there are those who hearken for their sake; and
Allah knows the unjust.” (Al-Qur’an 9:47). “They who turn (to Allah), who serve
(Him), who praise (Him), who fast, who bow down, who prostrate themselves, who
enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, and who keep the limits of Allah; and give
good news to the believers.” (Al-Qur’an 9:112).
“Those who, should We establish them in the land, will keep up prayer and pay the
poor-rate and enjoin good and forbid evil; and Allah's is the end of affairs.” (Al-Qur’an
22:41).
[16] Khan, Muqtedir, “The Priority of Politics,” Boston Review, April/May 2003.
[17] “And you will see many of them striving with one another to hasten in sin and
exceeding the limits, and their eating of what is unlawfully acquired; certainly evil is
that which they do. Why do not the learned men and the doctors of law prohibit
them from their speaking of what is sinful and their eating of what is unlawfully
acquired? Certainly evil is that which they work.” (Al-Qur’an 5: 62-63).
[18] “Those who disbelieved from among the children of Israel were cursed by the
tongue of Dawood and Isa, son of Marium; this was because they disobeyed and used
to exceed the limit.” (Al-Qur’an 5:78).