Let the Quran Speak for Itself By Saif Shahin, NewAgeIslam.

com Text and Context: Quran and Contemporary Challenges By Arif Mohammed Khan Rupa & Co. Pp 306, Rs395/IS ISLAM inherently violent? Are Muslims in India and the world over condemned b y their faith to remain steeped in illiteracy, intolerance and radicalism? Or ca n they meet the modern world, the world of democracy, womens rights and multicult uralism, on its own terms? Arif Mohammed Khan thinks they can. And in Text and Context: Quran and Contempor ary Challenges, a collection of his newspaper and magazine articles published ov er the past decade or so, this rare scholar-politician tells us why. As the name suggests, the essays here tackle a host of issues that have beset In dian Muslims in particular and the global ummah in general in recent years from a Quranic perspective. What is more, Khan takes care to provide the contexts in which many of these iss ues arose, as well as the contexts in which the Quranic injunctions he refers to were revealedshowing how critical contextualisation is for a proper understandin g of such issues and injunctions. Take, for instance, the issue of triple talaq. Those who use Quranic verses to jus tify a divorce by three pronouncements at one go rarely tell you that Prophet Mu hammad, when informed about someone, who had done so, stood up in anger and said : You are making sport of the Book of God. Or, that Caliph Umar had such people wh ipped! Another common practice is to call some people kafir, or non-believer, and declare war upon them. Khan says the practice started at a meeting of Deoband clerics i n 1945 after one group split from Jamiatul Ulema to support the Muslim League. A perusal of the minutes of the meeting, writes Khan, shows that ideologically both groups held similar views and their dispute were confined to the question wheth er their interests would be served better in a united India or in Pakistan. Abuse of ayats To justify his political and self-serving decision to support the Muslim League, Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani resorted to the misuse of religion, declaring all non-Muslims as one group of kafirs and all Muslims as united against them. Today, of course, its not just non-Muslims who are thus damned; the clergy of vir tually every Muslim sect calls all other sects kafirs who must be annihilated in the name of Islam. Where does the Quran stand on this issue? Khan writes: The Quran, unlike the cler gy, acknowledges that all people have been recipients of divine guidance and use s the term kafir for individuals and groups who deny the truth and arrogantly indu lge in persecution and mischief. The Quran does not use the term Kafir to descri be any religious denomination or community. Khan goes on to challenge Islamist exclusivism and violence-mongering as a relig ious cause by enunciating Qurans emphasis on restraint and thoughtful action. The Quran, he says, has more than two dozen verses highlighting the importance of t he virtue of moderation and strongly denouncing extremist behaviour in religion and other matters. In addition, the Quran has more than 500 verses exhorting believers to reflect a nd contemplate. The Prophet, Khan says, is believed to have declared that an hou rs reflection is better than worshipping God for seventy years. The teachings of Islam and the prophetic exhortations had created an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of subjects hitherto unknown, writes Khan. Islam made no dis tinction between religious and natural sciences. On the contrary, it made a dist inction between knowledge and ignorance It was this aspect of Islam that made Muslims purveyors of science and philosoph y; intellectual adventurers who took Eastern knowledge to Europe and helped ushe

r in the Renaissance. Route to reform Text and Context relies heavily on the works of Indian Muslim reformers like Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad to make its case for modernising th e Muslim milieu and inter-community harmony. It quotes Sir Syed as saying at an Amritsar college: The College is indeed for na tional education. And by nation, I do not mean one community, I mean both Hindus and Muslims. They both should study in this institution and learn good manners. We may describe ourselves as Hindus and Muslims, but foreigners call us Indians . Maulana Azad went a step further, and said in 1923: These thousand years of our j oint life have moulded us into a common nationality. This cannot be done artific ially. Nature does her fashioning through her hidden processes in the course of centuries. The cast has now been moulded and destiny has her seal upon it. Wheth er we like it or not, we now have become an Indian nation, united and indivisibl e. Azad was proved wrong in calling the nation indivisible a quarter century later. B ut six decades hence, Islamic Pakistans abject failure as a state and its transform ation into something redolent of the pre-Islamic Jahiliya period, an age of trib al wars and utter lawlessnessin contrast with plural Indias rise as a global power where Muslims live largely in peace with non-Muslimsshows that his thinking was right. Both Sir Syed and Maulana Azad were criticised by clerics for their supposedly an ti-Islamic teachings and actions. History repeats itself, and people like Khan fa ce the same charge today for trying to represent Islam as tolerant and forward-l ooking rather than bellicose and bigoted. That is because it is such bellicosity and bigotry that give rise to Islamophobi a, which in turn leads to discrimination and attacks on Muslims in India and wor ldwide, creates a sense of victimisation in the community and builds the grounds on which Muslim leaders and Muslim sympathetic parties can ply their trade. Khan had to resign as a Union minister in 1986 when the Congress government, pan dering to the Muslim clergy, overturned a Supreme Court judgement in the momento us Shah Bano case. It was a moment of weakness whose ill effects are still being felt by Indian Muslims. The self-serving clergy will remain what it has always been, but Muslims can cha nge by turning their back on it as they embark on a difficult road illuminated b y the text of the Quranin its proper context. URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamBooksAndDocuments_1.aspx?ArticleID=4872

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COMMENTS 6/21/2011 5:27:34 PM Mubashir 98:6 Verily, those who are bent on denying the Truth, be they among the People o f the Scripture or the idol worshipers under any guise, will abide in Hell. They (who see the Truth and then deny it) are the worst of all created beings. How about: 2:62 Surely the believers and the Jews, Nazareans and the Sabians, whoever belie ves in God and the Last Day, and whosoever does right, shall have his reward wit h his Lord and will neither have fear nor regret. So, is there a contradiction? Or is there a better translation/explanation? And then: 5:48 And unto thee [O Prophet] have We vouchsafed this divine writ, setting fort h the truth, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains of earlier rev elations and determining what is true therein. Judge, then, between the follower s of earlier revelation in accordance with what God has bestowed from on high, a nd do not follow their errant views, forsaking the truth that has come unto thee

. Unto every one of you have We appointed a [different] law and way of life. And if God had so willed, He could surely have made you all one single community: b ut [He willed it otherwise] in order to test you by means of what He has vouchsa fed unto, you. Vie, then, with one another in doing good works! Unto God you all must return; and then He will make you truly understand all that on which you w ere wont to differ. Comments please. And remember, before you start, Allah says there is no contradi ction in His Message. Thanks!

6/21/2011 12:26:42 PM Anwar @Saif Shahin I as a Muslim and all Muslims believe that Quran is the word of Allah (subhaneta lah) received as wahi to prophet Mohammad (pbuh) through angel jibrael with time ly revelations for 23 years. "And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our ser vant, then produce a Surah like there unto; and call your witnesses or helpers ( if there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true. " [Surah2. verse 23] "O mankind, we have created you from male and female and have made you into natio ns and tribes, that you may know one another. Indeed the most noblest of you wit h Allah is the one who has the most piety." [Surah al-Hujuraat 49:13] "Say: "If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backe d up each other with help and support." [Qur an 17:88] The life of this world is alluring to those who reject faith, and they scoff at those who believe. But the righteous will be above them on the Day of Resurrecti on; for Allah bestows His abundance without measures on whom He will. ( Quran 2: 212) Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from Error; whoev er rejects Evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hol d, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.( Quran 2:256) Say: O ye that reject Faith! (1) I worship not that which ye worship, (2) Nor wi ll ye worship that which I worship. (3) And I will not worship that which ye hav e been wont to worship, (4) Nor will ye worship that which I worship. (5) To you be your Way, and to me mine. (6) .( Quran 109:1-6) Fighting is prescribed for you and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dis like a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for yo u. But Allah knoweth and ye know not. (216) They ask thee concerning fighting in the Prohibited Month. Say: "Fighting therein is a grave (offence); but graver i s it in the sight of Allah to prevent access to the path of Allah, to deny Him, to prevent access to the Sacred Mosque, and drive out its members. Tumult and op pression are worse than slaughter. Nor will they cease fighting you until they t urn you back from your faith if they can. And if any of you turn back from their faith and die in unbelief, their works will bear no fruit in this life and in t he Hereafter; they will be Companions of the Fire and will abide therein..( Qura n 2:216-217) We should respect each other religions feelings. The categorization of religion of Islam as a fountain of intolerance, radicalism due to ignorance and aberratio n of its followers without introspecting their position and efforts for society which Allah have provided to them. The fighting should be avoided and there shou ld be tolerance but substitute to tumult and oppression by aggressors.

6/21/2011 10:26:02 AM Bhandari P.S. My comment may be different from the text or from the comments on it. Before I s

tart writing I salute Professor Mashooq Ali Khan Sahib my Professor of History F rom 1001 A.D. to Modern History that is from the First Ivasion of Mahmud Ghaznav i Till Modern Times. He once said Why do you say that Muslims killed Hindus only? It may be true that in the beginning Hindus were mostly the victims. But then it became Foreign Mu slim Invaders versus Muslim Kings of India and the public including the Muslims. Whole sale slaughter in Delhi by Nadir Shah did not spare Muslims. He looted Mu slim Emperor and married his daughters without consent. Abdli Completed the loo t. One General of Abdali was a Hindu. Hindus and Sikhs were at very high posts including Member of Majlis in Afghanist an during the days of Shah. There were Holidays for Hindu festivals. I have a Hindu Friend who fought in Afghan Army.There are Hindus and Sikhs living peacefu lly in Iran even today. It all depends on the interpreter. Some one will interpret as Shakespeare Says : Even a Devil can cite Scripture. Others do not Break the Rule but Bend the Rule for Common Good. There is an Italian Rule : Common Good is the highest law. So is the Holy Quran which stands for the Highest good of Human beings. Any Interpr etation which is against this Highest Law of Common Good is contrary to the Holy Quran. This is my humble opinion and I am not a Religious Scholar. I beg apolo gy if it is contrary to the Interptretation of Religious Scholars.

6/21/2011 4:31:34 AM Saif Shahin Anyone who believes in the Quran as the word of Allah, as I suppose Mr. Anwar an d many other readers of NewAgeIslam.com do, will perhaps agree with these two po ints: (a) It is nave to expect everyone to agree with what any one person says or write s, for even the Quran has been unable to bring about such unity of belief in 14 centuries. Hence, every interpretation of the Quran, or of what Islam means, wil l always have some believers and some disbelievers. (b) Perhaps Allah doesnt want everyone to have one way of looking at Islam. He, b eing all powerful, could have made it so if He wanted to. Also, when the Quran c alls for ijtihad, for people to reflect upon their faith, it is in full knowledg e of the fact that this may lead to as many interpretations of Islam as there ar e Muslims. In this light, I do not expect everyone to agree with what I have written, or wi th what Arif Mohammed Khan has written about the Quran and Islam in general. But the whole point is to allow for such pluralism of belief, to let different peop le have their own way of looking at Islamwithout resorting to violence, without k illing people who dont agree with a particular interpretation. That is what the Quran repeatedly warns against, through ayats like Lakum deenaku m waleya deen (for you your faith, for me mine) and by saying that prophets have been sent to every community. Liberalism isnt one particular way of looking at Islam, it is allowing everyone t o have their own way. I may be a hardcore Deobandi Muslim myselfbut if I respect a Berelvis approach to Islam, or a Hindu, Christian or Jews approach to the concep t of God or how to pray, knowing that the Quran allows and even encourages such differences, I will be a liberal too. I think that is what it truly means to be a Muslimalthough, of course, you may di

sagree!

6/20/2011 2:02:31 PM Ghulam Mohiyuddin This is the kind of article that I like to see in NewAgeIslam. It is true to wha t I assume to be the mission of this site, namely promoting and advocating liber alism, tolerance, pluralism and learning.