Ideological Differences Cannot Be Termed Islamic Contradictions
By Jeelani Khan Alig
(Translated from Urdu by New Age Islam Edit Bureau)
07 December 2018
There is no contradiction in Islam. No matter Muslims have several schools of thought (Maslak), all schools unanimously believe in the Quran, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and five fundamental pillars (arkaan) of Islam. Therefore there is no question of contradiction. Surely various schools of thought differ from one another; however this difference can’t be termed contradiction of Islam. Another misunderstanding is related to Jihad and Terrorism. Terrorism has nothing to do with Islam, whereas Jihad has utmost importance in Islam as it is second name of giving life. These ideas were expressed today by the prominent clerics Kalbe Jawad and Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali.
Both the religious leaders discussed several issues in the third session of a three-day program held in Natak Academy Gomti Nagar organized by Dainik Jagran Group. During this session anchored by Shakeel Shamsi, editor of ‘Inquilab’ Urdu newspaper, Maulana Kalbe Jawad and Maulana Firangi Mahali beautifully explained the differences between Jihad and Terrorism in the light of Quran and Hadith, addressing a number of intellectuals coming from Delhi and many other places.
Maulana Kalbe Jawad said there are two main sects of Islam: Shia and Sunni. Their differences are on a few points; but this difference cannot be called Islamic contradiction. Presenting a very beautiful interpretation of Jihad, he said Jihad plays a pivotal role in Islam, which has been repeatedly mentioned by the Prophet (peace be upon him). According to the Prophet, he said, jihad is the name of giving life, and not that of taking life. He said Jihad aims at eliminating darkness and lighting up the world.
Explaining Jihad with reference to history, Maulana Khalid Rasheed said, “Indian Ulema issued fatwa of Jihad against Britishers occupying the country. As a result, millions of religious leaders and followers peddled this idea of Jihad to fight for the freedom of India and thus most of them attained the rank of martyrdom.” He said this was true Jihad as Islamic Jihad is the name of giving such sacrifices.
This way both the leaders openly discussed terrorism, expressing their concern over the current troubling situation that the anti-Islamic people link the word “terrorism” with Islam and Muslims, for institutionalizing certain conspiracies, while terrorism has no place in Islam.
Maulana Kalbe Jawad said, “Islam talks about giving life. Islam does not permit anyone to pluck any leaf without any special necessity. How can it then justify permissibility of slaying human life?”
“We should not be ashamed of being called ‘Jihadis’, provided we perform Jihad mentioned by Quran and the Prophet (peace be upon him). Not a single Alim (religious cleric) has ever justified terrorism. Media has played a negative role in this case, as it connects the attacks perpetrated by Muslims with Islam and Muslims, but does not mention the religion and belief in those incidents where the invaders are non-Muslims”, Maulana Khalid Firangi Mahalli said.
During the question-answer session, some of the audience asked question about Ram Mandir and the national anthem. Answering the first question, Maulana Khalid Rasheed explained that Indian Muslim is fully ready to accept decision of Supreme Court. So why is there matter of concern? He said, “We too have our faith [aastha] and emotions but why are they not taken into consideration and why do the people not talk about them? Is it against the Constitution to believe the decision of the Supreme Court?”
Discussing the matter of ‘Love-Jihad’, Maulana Khalid said, “In many parts of the country, Muslim girls are being coaxed into changing their religion. But instead of preventing this sort of conversion, efforts are being made to propagate it. Some people even justify and consider it necessary”.
In reply to the question related to the national anthem, the program anchor Mr. Shakeel Shamsi clearly said, “We are accused of not singing the national anthem in our Muslim institutions; which is absolutely baseless. The truth is that I myself have grown up singing this national anthem in my school”.
URL of the Urdu Article: http://www.newageislam.com/urdu-section/jilani-khan-alig/ideological-differences-cannot-be-termed-islamic-contradictions--d/117063
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