The Case for Religion

We see that a tendency to follow religion is gradually fading from our society. To what extent have religious scholars in our society contributed to the drifting away of people from religion? What should be the response of religious scholars in propagating religion? What mistakes have they committed in the past?

Satan is always at work. All the things that we dread: rising disunity, change in behaviour of the people, appearance of so many religious sects, spread of evil – and we say: “Would that God Almighty save us from this situation.” It would have been great. But perhaps it is an essential need for the test that Allah has prepared for us. The reason is that if all these troubles exist, only then will we be able to show what our attitude is regarding right and wrong. Man has to find his way through this disunity and has to look for light in this darkness. In a test like this he has to make the right decisions for himself. So I feel that if you see it from this angle, you need not fear.

When I see this universe, the first question that comes to me is that on what principle has it been created? Has it been made on the principle of justice? Or on the principle of fairness? Or on the principle of blessings? The Quran says “No”. It says that it is made on the principle of a “test”. There is no doubt that it is a complete world if we see it from this aspect. In our own lives, we are put to a test of knowledge, of reason, of understanding, of everything.

Despite all this there is no doubt that there is great contribution by religious scholars in the training of the Muslim nation. And the truth is that contribution is expected from two classes of the people.

It is either the contribution of the leaders and the rulers, as they pay their role in forming the nation, or that of the scholars or intellectuals. The rest of the people are only followers. So the contribution of scholars, especially religious scholars, has been great for the Jews, it has been great for the Christians, and it has not ended to date for them, and the contribution of the scholars with the Muslims has remained extraordinary. Whenever they noted that the leaders had failed to fulfil their responsibilities they pointed this out to the people. This is how they tried to reform them, tried to correct their flaws and shortcomings and tried to correct gaps in their knowledge.

In this aspect, the sacrifices of the scholars and the way they delivered the message have remained a very bright chapter of our history. But for the past two hundred years a tragedy has occurred for Muslims. Once the Muslim nation was a super power in the world. Muslims were running the world and they faced certain challenges. Here is when in the past few centuries Muslims have, due to their own doings, earned the punishment of Allah in the same way as did the Israelites. Consequently, Allah has subjugated them to the rule of the enemies, one after the other.

Muslims then needed to seriously consider this subjugation, analyze it, determine their shortcomings, and see what they should do to correct themselves. The Qur’ān itself offers great guidance on this issue too. However, our scholars were accustomed to the part of guidance provided by the Qur’ān that was valid for the times of power, strength and glory. So they were not able to adjust themselves for such a changed situation.

What message did the scholars have for Muslims at this point? Earlier power and glory were established, there was a powerful government present. Frequently Muslims behaved like superpowers. So all was easy for the scholars.

In this changed situation, however, they had never had any experience to study the part of the Qur’ān that would guide them when they are facing loss of both intellectual, spiritual and material power and glory. This had never been a part of their study. How could it be discussed as there was no need to? Such situations had been faced and tackled by the prophets of God who had already departed.

Consequently the Muslims reacted negatively. Their emotional response and the desire to regain their glory were two things which when combined managed to produce an unbalanced mental view. The approach the Muslims adopted in this situation has turned out to be wrong. As a result of this approach, violence rose among Muslims, extremism increased, impatience became rampant and to obtain political ascendancy became their sole aim. They stopped realizing their responsibilities, and many leaders too invited people to this goal to achieve their political interests and become the rulers.

It is obvious that the law of God would not allow the realization of this goal. The Qur’ān clearly states that it was not achievable that way. When it could not be achieved Muslims suffered frustration. In the first phase of frustration the leadership often controls its effects. However, in the second phase only such type of leaders arise that we see among us today —those who tie bombs to themselves. This is the problem now with our Muslim nation. Now a major difficulty has been created for those people who understand such situations and attempt to guide people. The reason is that what they say is no longer attractive to many people despite the fact that it is based on the Qur’ān.

I would not be exaggerating in saying that the present leaders are inviting people to something that has not been mentioned in the Qur’ān at more than a few places, but what the Muslims should do in this situation has been mentioned in the Book thousands of times. But no one seems to understand this point. This is precisely the problem.

(Translated from the Urdu transcript by Tariq Mahmood Hashmi)