Mohd Usama
(Guest Lecturer)
Department
of Islamic Studies
Jamia
Millia Islamia-New Delhi-25
Contact
No. +91-9911319959
Email:
usama9911@gmail.com
Introduction
Unity is a prerequisite for development of a
community or nation. Consensus of ideas and opinion is vital for achieving the
targets and goals for any planning.
Muslim
community does know and often discuss about the value and importance of unity
among Muslims around the world. Islam also declares all believers as brothers,
as Allah SWT says:
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ1.
“The believers are but brothers, so
make reconciliation between your brothers and fear Allah that you may receive
mercy”.
The word “brotherhood,” means “a faith-based
community that includes both men and women as brothers and sisters in religion”.
Allah said in the Quran:
وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ ۚ
يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ
وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَيُطِيعُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ
سَيَرْحَمُهُمُ اللَّهُ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ2.
“The believing men and believing women are
allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and
establish prayer and give charity and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will
have mercy upon them, for Allah is Almighty and Wise.
Quran is full of teachings about
unity of Ummah, the Muslim community. There are many verses in the Holy Quran
which give the lessons of unity i.e.
وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا
وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ
قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا3.
“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 favor 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”.
Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) always
strived for the unity of Ummah and described Muslims as brothers for one
another. Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:
الْمُسْلِمُونَ كَرَجُلٍ وَاحِدٍ إِنْ اشْتَكَى عَيْنُهُ اشْتَكَى
كُلُّهُ وَإِنْ اشْتَكَى رَأْسُهُ اشْتَكَى كُلُّهُ4.
“The Muslims are like a single man.
If the eye is afflicted, then the whole body is afflicted. If the head is
afflicted, then the whole body is afflicted”.
These above verses and Hadith are sufficient
to explain the Importance of unity of the Ummah. But unfortunately, Muslim
Ummah has been divided into groups since the assassination of Hazrat Usman RA
and until now the division of Ummah into various religious and political group
is continuing. This split and division in the community has caused a rift and resulted
in decline of Ummah in all fields.
Today the situation is more serious
than ever. Infighting among Muslims is a major and undeniable problem. Today
Muslims are facing problems on all fronts, religious, economical, also
political. The basic reasons for their plight are problems like sectarian
hatred, prejudices of caste and creed, lust for power, intolerance and many
other materialistic interests. All of these issues have resulted in serious
damage to the Muslim community, which has deprived them of their honor, dignity
and power.
Therefore, this issue has always been a matter of discussion
and many Muslim scholars and leaders have tried to highlight the problem and
proposed strategies to get the Ummah its golden days back. Syed Abul A’ala Maududi
is one of them who paid a serious attention to this problem and wrote
extensively on this topic.
Brief introduction of Syed Abul A’ala
Maududi (1903-1979)
Syed Abul A’ala Maududi was born in
1903 AD at Aurangabad, Deccan, India. He was tutored at home by his father
himself instead of attending a formal School. Syed Maududi was taught Quran,
Hadith, Islamic Jurisprudence, Urdu, Persian and Arabic by a private tutor at
home. His education at home spans over 11 years. Maududi’s father paid special
attention to his character building and brought him up, in line with principles
of Quran and Sunnah. For formal education Syed Maududi was admitted to class
VIII directly in Madrasa Furqania, Aurangabad. He also passed the examination
of Molvi (Metric), and got admission in Molvi Alim (Intermediate).
After his father’s death brought
young Maududi to reckon with the Economic realities of life. As he was a gifted
penman, in 1918 he chose Journalism as his profession, and edited the papers “Madeena”
(Bijnour, Uttar Pradesh), “Taj” (Jabalpur, Madhya
Pradesh)
and mouthpiece of Jamiat Ulma Hind— “Al-Jamiah” from Dehli.
Syed Maududi, worried with the
worsening condition of Muslim Ummah decided to setup Jamaat-e-Islami. On his call
Islamists from all over the country gathered on 26th August 1941 at Lahore and Jamaat-e-Islami
was founded. Total 75 participants of the founding congregation, elected Syed
Maududi as first Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind unanimously.
Syed
Maududi died on 22 September 1979 at the age of 74, in a US Hospital. His
funeral prayers were led by Allama Yusaf Al Qaradawi, ex Vice Chancellor of
Qatar University, at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan. His funeral was
attended by Muhammad
Zia-ul-Haq, former President of Pakistan, and other
dignitaries besides thousands of mourners.5
Syed Abul A’ala
Maudui was a great scholar and has written more than hundred books on various
topics. Among his work, few internationally renowned books are:
·
Al Jihad Fil Islam
·
The Veil (Purdha)
·
The Understandings(Tafhimaat)
·
Tafheemul Quran
·
Towards Understanding Islam
·
Purdah & the Status of Women in Islam
·
The Islamic Law and Constitution
·
Let us be Muslims
·
The Islamic Way of Life
·
The Meaning of The Qur'an
·
A Short History of the Revivalist Movement in
Islam
·
Human Rights in Islam
·
Four Basic Qur'anic Terms
·
The Process of Islamic Revolution
·
Unity of the Muslim World
·
The Moral Foundations of the Islamic Movement
·
Economic system of Islam
·
The Road to Peace and Salvation
·
The Qadiani Problem
·
The Question of Dress
·
The Rights of Non-Muslims in Islamic State
Thoughts
of Maududi on Muslim Unity
Syed
Abul A’ala Maududi was very enthusiastic and optimistic to see all the Muslims
united. He was against sectarianism and the culture of Takfiriat among Muslims.
He highlighted the teachings of Islam on unity and Muslim brotherhood. His
struggle for unity continued till his last breath. Opposition from intellectuals,
misconceptions and allegations from near and dear ones and hostile social environment
never stopped him from his dream of unity of ummah. He continued to hold the
flag of unity and call Muslims to gather under the shadow of it.
Syed Maududi
has laid much emphasis on the topic of unity in his writings, such as basics of
Muslim unity, necessity, problems, obstacles, ideology, standards and essential
principles of Muslim unity. He was very much focused on this verse of Holy
Quran:
يَآ
اَيُّـهَا النَّاسُ اِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِّنْ ذَكَرٍ وَّاُنْثٰى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ
شُعُوْبًا وَّقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوْا ۚ اِنَّ اَكْـرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللّـٰهِ
اَتْقَاكُمْ ۚ اِنَّ اللّـٰهَ عَلِيْـمٌ خَبِيْـرٌ 6.
“Human beings, we created you all from a male and a female, and
made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another. Verily the
noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most God fearing of you. Surely
Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.”
He explained three
basic principles of unity in the light of this verse:
1.
All
human beings have the same origin i.e. all of us belong to the same father and
mother i.e. Adam and Eve SAW Thus, ethnic and racial entities that exist today
are branches of the same family, their ultimate parents being the same.
2.
That
it was natural for mankind to become divided, despite their common origin, into
diverse national and tribal entities. While this diversity is quite natural, it
does not provide any justification for a certain group to claim any inherent
superiority over others; to consider some on these grounds as superior and
others as inferior, some as noble and other as ignoble. Considerations of color,
race, or nationality do not warrant people to regard themselves as superior to
others. God created such diversities to foster greater cooperation and to
enable these different entities to become mutually introduced.
3.
There
is only one basis for considering one as better than the other and that is on account
of their moral excellence.7
There would be no unity if some
common points have not been decided. This rule is also applied for the unity of
Muslim Ummah. The question is that, what would be those common points for
uniting Ummah. Maulana Maududi discussed those points in his writings.
Without
establishing a common platform for Muslim societies, the idea of Muslim unity cannot
be practical. The common basis that possibly can unite the Muslims together are
the common values and thought, shared belief of monotheism, common culture, the
idea of universal brotherhood.
He is reported to have said: “What binds the
Islamic countries and all the Muslims of the world together is the common
belief, principles, traits of culture and morality8. Moreover, religion
is not the only common factor among them but they are also attached together in
their common culture and civilization.9 He was of opinion that the
concept of the one Ummah must remain intact for Muslims to progress maintain
their own identity.10 He also maintained that the concept of universal
brotherhood of Muslims that Islam had created among them must always remain a
living force.11
Maududi also discussed the reasons for
divergence of Muslim Ummah.
Professor Mohammad Amanullah has quoted him
saying in his article about disunity of Muslim Ummah:
“The
reasons he identifies for Muslims disunity are
doctrine of nationalism, interference of the super powers, intellectual and
cultural influence of the West, oblivion of Muslim brotherhood, racial and
ethnic pride and prejudice, demise of absolute loyalty to Islam, division
between religious and political leadership, conflicts among various religious
camps, and absence of concerted efforts and collective strategy to save the
Ummah.” 12
There is a
golden saying of Maududi about unity that the unity of Islamic world cannot be
conceived of without Islamic Culture. He has further discussed this in
Tafheem-ul-Quran in relation to the explanation of Surah Ruum: 14 in Tafhim:
“Islam says that the real thing which joins men together or
divides them is the belief and morality. Those who believe and build the system
of life on divine guidance are one community, whether they belong to any race,
any country and any region.”13
Conclusion
Syed Abul A’ala
Maududi lived for about 76 years and devoted his life for the cause and
promotion of Islam and its revival in the present-day-world. The Muslims of the
20th century lost their noble identity, self-respect, dignity and
unity. He played an active role in cultivating the feeling of unity and dignity
among the Muslims by his work and speeches. It is high time that some action is
taken for unity of Muslim Ummah. We Muslims need to further work on the path
enlightened by him and adopt these principles in our lives.
May Allah
change the situation of this Ummah for better and we get our respect, dignity
and strength back.
References:
1. Al Quran, Al-Hujurat
49:10
2.
Al Quran, Al-Tawbah
9:71
3.
Al Quran, Al-i-Imran 3:103
4.
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:2586
6.
الحجرات:13
7.
Maududi,
Syed Abul A’ala, towards understanding the Quran, Abridged version of Tafhim
al-Quran, (India, New Delhi, MMI Publisher, 1st published, 2011),
P.P 1065-1066
8.
Maududi, Selected Speeches, p. 51.
9.
Maududi, Unity of the Muslim World, p. 21.
10.
Maududi, Unity of the Muslim World, p. 14.
11.
Maududi, Unity of the Muslim World, p. 14.
12. Muhammad Amanullah, “Understanding the Problems and Prospects of
the Muslim Unityan Analysis of Mawdūdī’s Views”, Journal of Islam In Asia, Spl. Issue, No.2,
June 2011, pp.422-423.
