This manifesto is, in fact, a declaration of war against the existing state of affairs. The objective behind its implementation is the manifestation of the actual truth so that the hollow concepts of law and politics, economics and sociology fashioned by the west be rendered meaningless.
Following are the details of this objective which are actually the changes that must be brought about in the affairs of our state.
At The Political Level
1. It should be very clearly written down in the constitution of our country that the Qur’an and Sunnah shall be the supreme law of state to which the parliament and constitution itself must submit.
2. For the interpretation of the Qur’an and Sunnah, a committee of competent religious scholars should be instituted by an electoral mandate of the parliament. This committee would be entrusted with the task of ascertaining the implications and purport of the Qur’an and Sunnah in the collective affairs of life. It would also be assigned to formulate the rules for legislation, and to determine the limits beyond which we, as Muslims, can never exceed. After this, the actual task of legislation should be done by the parliament itself keeping in view these ascertained implications, rules and limits.
The following two principles should be clearly spelled out in the basic code of this committee:
Firstly, all differences of opinion shall be resolved by a majority vote. Anyone, within or outside the committee, who disagrees with its final verdict will have all the freedom to rationally express his views, wherever he likes and in whatever form he chooses. However, any protest, evasion or refusal to obey it would be considered a criminal offence.
Secondly, the content of Islam is only that which is endorsed by the Qur’an and Sunnah, which also, incidentally, are the only two sources of it. Whoever considers this to be so, shall only be eligible for this committee.
3. It should be declared that the enforcement of Tauheed (monotheism), refutation of Shirk (associating others in the Being, Attributes or Rights of Allah), establishment of prayers and zakat, enjoining what is virtuous and forbidding what is evil are the primary objectives of the state.
4. The affairs of state should be run by the consultation of only those, who establish regular prayers, and if eligible, pay zakat to the Bayt‘ul-mal, and the only basis of their appointment in the Shu‘rah (parliament) should be their wisdom and piety, intellect and sagacity which distinguish them from others.
5. Those in authority (the ool-ul-amr) should be obligated that their standard of living must not exceed that of a common man.
6.(a) The centre of each administrative unit of the state should be its Jam‘i Mosque. Furthermore, the division of these administrative units should be such that one Jam‘i Mosque should suffice for the needs of one unit.
(b) Within each unit, all the administrative offices and courts should be instituted adjacent to this Jam‘i Mosque.
(c) The capital of the country together with each of the provincial capitals should have a single central Jam‘i Mosque.
(d) The address of the Friday prayers should only be delivered by the head of state, and only he should lead these prayers in the central Jam‘i Mosque of the capital. The provincial governors should be entrusted with this job in the central Jam‘i Mosques of the provinces, while the representatives of the government should perform this duty in the Jam‘i Mosques of the various administrative units.
(e) The Friday prayers should be prohibited in all mosques except these.
(f) These mosques should be managed and supervised by the government.
(g) Every religious scholar should be allowed to deliver a lecture or teach, train and instruct his followers according to his own views in any of these mosques.
7. In the general elections, the mode of proportionate representation should be adopted so that instead of an individual, a party presents itself to take charge of the affairs of state, and as a result of which the parties, on the basis of the trust and support bestowed on them by the public, are able to nominate their pious and competent members for the parliament.
8. In the parliament, the tradition should be established that instead of the party members voting only for their own party, they should vote for what they consider as right, abide by it and, in fact, take pride in it. Also, no one should not be allowed to forcibly convince them against something which they consider as correct.
9. After the general elections, the process of transfer of power to the newly elected representatives should be delayed by at least six months. During this interim period, all members of the parliament should undergo training in political affairs in an academy specifically instituted for this purpose---just as in the present set up, those selected for the civil services are given a training in administrative affairs for a certain period before they actually take charge of their duties.
10. The present set up of the Executive and the Judiciary should be extracted from its roots, and in its place a new system be implanted. Under this system, the whole country should be divided into small administrative units where all the problems of the general public should be dealt. The present gradations in the government should be finished, and these administrative units should be first directly linked with the provinces and then to the centre.
11. For prompt action against any excesses committed by the administration, an ombudsman invested with appropriate powers should be appointed.
12. If the citizens of an Islamic State refrain from every prohibited belief and deed, establish regular prayers and pay zakat, it is their right that:
Their lives should be safeguarded at all costs and they should not be compelled to put their lives in danger even for a very noble cause.
Their rightfully owned wealth and property should be protected.
No tax should be imposed on them.
Their honour and integrity should be given protection.
Even in extraordinary circumstances their personal freedom should not be curtailed totally or partially, until after an open court hearing, a court pronounces a verdict after they have been given a chance to plead.
They should not be forced to adopt any particular thought, opinion, view, occupation, dress or attitude.
No restriction should be imposed on them as regards forming an opinion is concerned as well as its presentation wherever and whenever they like.
No responsibility should be imposed on them against their wishes.
Every citizen rich or poor, high or low, strong or weak, ruler or ruled should be considered equal in the eyes of the law and no discrimination in this regard should be tolerated.
The state must grant each citizen the same social status irrespective of his colour, creed and rank which are given importance only in `uncivilized' societies.
The state must provide food, clothing, shelter, education, health facilities and all such basic necessities to every needy citizen.
The doors of the ool-ul-amr must always remain open without any restriction to the general public so that at any time and place they are able to reach them to present their grievances and petitions, and are also able to criticize them and to freely call them to account.
They should be provided unbiased justice in all circumstances.
13. Similarly, dealings with non-Muslim citizens who are Mu`aahids ie, those have come under an Islamic State on account of a treaty with it, should be according to the terms of the treaty concluded with them. The state should abide by these terms in all circumstances and should never violate them in the slightest way.
At The Economic Level
(1) All institutions which provide capital on loan should be completely abolished, and all Banks should be converted into various branches of the Public Treasury (the Bait-ul-Maal) where people can deposit their savings. These branches shall provide protection, exchange and other similar facilities. In return for this service, the deposited money will be invested by the government only in the public sector on industrial, commercial, agricultural and welfare projects with the pre-condition that without being given any profit on the original amount, the depositers would be returned their money whenever they demand it. This broad-based public sector shall be planned by the government keeping in view the collective requirement and welfare of all the people. It shall finance all projects which need huge investments as part of its basic obligation towards the public.
(2) The public sector so created shall not be run by the government. Leaving it in state ownership, its running and management shall be entrusted to the private sector by adopting either or both of the following two modes, depending upon the circumstances: (i) selling a certain quantity of shares to the private sector, (ii) imposing kharaj (tribute) on the party of the private sector which is entrusted with the job of management1. However, the government can keep certain ventures of public interest, like the ordinance factories or the mass media under its own management.
(3) Individuals in the private sector who intend to set up their own business shall be freely allowed to do so. They can pool their money to form a joint venture and employ other means to procure funds. Joint stock companies can also play their role in the set up. However, no financial institution shall be allowed to mediate and advance loans to them. Also, the only form of absentee partnership permitted would be one in which people can directly become shareholders in various projects of the private and public sector.
4. Every economic venture which leads to moral misconduct in the character of an individual, is a means of deceit or damage for the parties involved, or is a cause of accumulation of wealth in the society should be declared unlawful. Interest, insurance, gambling and hoarding should be prohibited, and the law of inheritance should be correctly enforced.
5. To run the machinery of the state, the government should be allowed to rely only on the income obtained from its lands, industries, mineral reserves, trade and zakat. In emergency situations, however, an appeal for money can be made by the government. Furthermore, no tax should be imposed on the people so that they are liberated from the shackles of this barbarity of the modern age.
Concerning zakat, however, six aspects must always remain in consideration:
(i) There is no basis in the Qur’an and Sunnah for the condition of making the recipient the owner of the money given to him (tamleek-i-zaatee) imposed by our jurists. Therefore, in our consideration, just as zakat can be given in the personal possession of an individual, it can also be spent on projects of public welfare.
(ii) Nothing except the means of production, personal items of daily use and a fixed statutory exemption called nisaab are exempt from zakat. It shall be levied annually on all sorts of wealth, all types of animals and all forms of production of every Muslim citizen. However, if a need arises, an Islamic State can give a relaxation on any item.
(iii) It should also be borne in mind that according to the various heads mentioned in the Qur’an, zakat is not merely for the poor and destitute, but under al-aamileena-`alaihaa, it can be used to pay the salaries of all government officials, under al-mu'allafat-i-quloobuhum, it can be spent to meet all political expenditures in the interest of Islam, under fee sabeelillaah, it can be expended on da`wah ventures and mosques, education and research, Haj and ‘Umrah facilities, Jihad and Qital, and public welfare projects like roads, bridges and hospitals, etc.
(iv) If the basis of the directive is kept in consideration, all forms of industrial produce, all forms of production based on various skills and all forms of rent on various items or buildings must be classified as produce and not as wealth; therefore, their rates and nisaab should be derived on the basis of the rates and nisaab specified by the Prophet (sws) for land produce.
(v) The rates of zakat in all forms of production should be fixed on the basis of the principle derived from the Prophet's directives. According to this principle, zakat on all items which are produced both by the interaction of labour and capital is 5%; on items which are produced such that the basic factor in producing them is either labour or capital, it is 10% and on items which are produced neither as a result of capital nor labour but are actually are a gift of God, it is 20%.
(vi) According to the above mentioned principle, zakat on rented houses, properties and other rented items should be 10% of the rent and if they are not rented out, it should be 2 1/2 % of their net value.
6. In every economic enterprise which results from the interaction of labour and capital, labour should be granted a share according to its participation. Those working on the lands should also be given wages and be entitled to all other facilities like the industrial workers.
7. It should be the responsibility of the state to provide everyone with the basic necessities of life which include food, shelter, clothing, education and medical treatment. Those in authority should always keep in mind God's promise about all means and resources that if people in their national capacity hold steadfast to His directives, He would bless them with tremendous prosperity and happiness.
8. All means and resources of development and progress should be divided into small units to get rid of the menace of large cities.
9. If in the means of production, the right of ownership results in injustice and usurpation, the state has all the authority to interfere and debar a person from this right, though, only after a court pronounces this verdict.
10. To keep money in circulation, people should be urged to spend it in the way of Allah, and to refrain from accumulating it.
At The Social Level
1. All the institutions of the state should help establish a society in which people should be honoured and respected on the basis of their wisdom and piety instead of their cast, creed, profession and social status.
2. The house should be regarded the center of activities for women, and they should be granted the necessary facilities to maintain this priority even in indispensable social and economic needs.
3. A husband should be accepted as the head of a family and he should always be granted the right to admonish his wife according to verse 34 of Surah Nisaa.
4. The tradition of obeying parents and treating them kindly, which is still widely acclaimed in our society, should be promoted and patronized in all circumstances.
5. Co-education should be completely abolished, and all women should be obligated to dress as honourable Muslim women do when they go out of their houses by wearing Jilbaabs (large cloaks).
6. The custom of Jahez (dowry) and Baaraat (marriage procession) should be gradually eliminated, and the tradition established that if at all there is to be some expenditure upon wedding ceremonies, the bridegroom's family must bear it.
7. A restriction should be imposed on the people, that if they desire intend to divorce their wives, they should do so according to the prescribed procedure mentioned in the Qur’an by administering the divorce sentence once only. However, if someone who is ignorant of this procedure, or due to his own foolishness administers three divorce sentences in succession, he should be punished, and such a case should be decided in the manner the Prophet (sws) had done so with Rukaana-Bin-Abdi-Yazeed.
8. Polygamy should be made conditional upon some moral or social need only, and the general concept about it being permissible in the absolute sense should be discouraged.
9. A complete end should be put to the injustices suffered by women, and they should be given all their divinely ordained rights in all affairs, specially in inheritance.
10. The daily routines of people should be organized in a manner that they gradually develop the habit of going to bed early at night and rising early in the morning so that the status occupied by the morning prayers and the morning Qur’anic recital is restored with all their glories.
11. Our national language and dress should be popularized and given patronage and all national traditions should be firmly established in the society. The Arabic language should be given the same status as the English language is given in present times.
12. It should be accepted that music, photography, painting and other branches of fine arts are in no way forbidden in the absolute sense, but it is their nature and use which in some situations must be forbidden. As such, their prohibition is no eternal law of the shar‘iah; however, in certain circumstances when they become a source of evil, a restriction can be imposed upon them by the government.
13. The every day offences committed by our media that include radio, films, television, newspapers and journals should be stopped.
Their first offence is that they seldom give any coverage to learned and accomplished women who have not only distinguished themselves in the fields of arts and science, but also as scholars of Islam. Instead, they present women as objects of lewd entertainment. This lecherous display is in complete disregard to the injunctions of the Qur’an, which specifically enjoins all Muslim women to cover their heads and chests, and to refrain from exhibiting themselves. Rather than setting examples of dignity and modesty, they sell their honour and integrity by furthering the shameless trends of a shameless culture.
Their second offence is that through their courtesy the stories of romance, which everywhere in the world had been confined to the subtleties of poetry and literature and whose recital and listening to was not disallowed in a specific age and situation even by the great Caliph ‘Umar, have now invaded the everyday atmosphere of our homes. Such is the nature of this invasion that the sanctity in the relationship of a mother and son, father and daughter, brother and sister upon which the poise and grace of a society so heavily depends is becoming an episode of the past. Due to the courtesy of our media, a stage has been reached in which our young men, like most women are seen perpetually involved in glamourizing themselves with the latest flares of fashion. The older lot, may not be very enthusiastic about their clothes and appearances, but show tremendous enthusiasm in shredding off any shame they might have originally had.
Their third offence is that they have promoted sports and other means of amusement to an unwholesome and unhealthy degree. Such is the nature of this patronization that our younger generation now regards actors and sportsmen as their ideals of life. While our scientists and technologists, scholars and thinkers do not even receive posthumous recognition for their achievements, these merry-makers are kept in the highest esteem. The bewitching manner in which they allure young minds by depicting the daily routines of these celebrities, effectively diverts them from the higher objectives of life, after which they can no longer be expected to become scholars, thinkers or indulge in other intellectual pursuits.
Their fourth offence is that specifically among them radio and television show complete disregard to the mandatory hours of worship in a day when nothing except prayers are permissible.
At The Educational Level
1. A unified system of education should be enforced in our country. Any diversity in nature, religious or non- religious, and medium, Urdu or English should be eliminated.
2. Only teachers who are self-righteous, staunch and practising Muslims besides being proficient in their fields should be selected.
3. Just as in the present system, the total period of education should be divided into three levels: primary, secondary and a higher level. The first of these should span over eight years, the second over four years while the last level should extend over five years.
4. At the primary level, only the Qur’an and the language trio of Arabic, Urdu and English along with mathematics and calligraphy should be taught. Initially, the students should be made just capable enough to read the Qur’an fluently and they should then be made to learn by heart the last group of the Qur’an (Surah Al-Mulk to Surah An-Naas). As soon as the students get acquainted with Arabic, the Qur’an should be studied with a specific stress over its meanings. By including the essential teachings of Islam in the Arabic reader and interweaving the Urdu reader with topics pertaining to general knowledge and the English reader with topics relating to science, the students should be imparted a comprehensive understanding of these languages, besides being enlightened with these branches of learning. They should be encouraged to read about subjects that interest them from the libraries. Furthermore, all modern educational aids should be extensively employed in all these pursuits, and the present way of loading the students with scores of text books should be discontinued.
5. The study of the Qur’an and languages should continue at the secondary level. Besides this, a few more subjects relating to the one in which a student wants to specialize at the higher level should be introduced. Just as in the present system, the students of medicine and engineering study certain science subjects at this level, the students of deeniyaat for example, would study pre-Islamic Arabic literature, grammar and rhetoric. This same mode should be adopted in the teaching of other subjects.
6. The higher level should only be reserved for specialization. This specialization can be in deeniyaat, medicine, engineering, sociology, physics, biology or any other subject the students choose. The existing mode of higher education should be completely terminated.
7. All topics in various books should begin with an elucidation of the Qur’anic point of view about these topics. Other details should be enlisted in coherence with this point of view so that the relationship between the knowledge obtained from the Qur’an and the knowledge acquired by means of rational inquiry and scientific observation is clear in the minds of the students.
8. Teaching should be made the most highly paid profession and teachers should be given more facilities than any other vocation. The fact that a person should have an aptitude towards teaching must be firmly emphasized in his selection.
9. The government should establish universities for religious education under its own management and supervision, and should urge our present religious educational institutions to revise and reorient their courses.
10. Scholars entrusted with the task of teaching in these universities should specifically be the ones, who only consider the Qur’an and Sunnah as the source and basis of Islam, and as far as possible practice what they preach.
11. These scholars should be allowed to form and express their opinions about various matters and issues of our religion, wherever and whenever they want to do so under the limits set by the Qur’an and Sunnah so that all distinguished scholars are provided with an opportunity to lecture here.
12. Only those students should be allowed admission in these universities who have passed their intermediate, just as in the present set up, the students of medicine and engineering are allowed admission only if they have cleared their intermediate examinations.
13. The total period of education in these universities should be five years. The Qur’an should be made the pivot around which the whole curriculum should revolve. Students should be reared with the notion that in the Qur’an rests the final authority, and it is the Qur’an which rules over every matter in our religion. With this beacon in their hands, they should be made to explore the various domains of knowledge and at every step seek its guidance. Everything accepted in our religion should be scrutinized under the light of this divine guidance. All basis of belief and faith should be directly derived from this word of God. Students should be made aware of the fact that even the works of great jurists like Abu Hanifa and Shafi, scholars of Hadith like Bukhari and Muslim, scholastics like Ash`ari and Maaturidi, Sufis like Junaid and Shibli must be weighed in the scales of this Meezan, and nothing can be accepted from them which is not in consonance with it.
14. Besides these mental pursuits, the characters of the students should be moulded, so that they profess a high calibre of moral conduct. They should be made to spend sometime everyday in the company of pious scholars. They should also be urged to pay special attention to the injunctions of the Qur’an and Hadith which pertain to character building and purification of the soul. They should be induced with the spirit of offering utmost support and co-operation in furthering the cause of Islam. They should be made conscious of the fact that after being enlightened with the true understanding of Islam, it is their responsibility to urge and exhort the ruling class of our country to follow and implement the teachings of Islam.
15. The existing way of obtaining higher education in Islamiyaat should be stopped, and the degrees given to the students who graduate from these universities should be equal in status to the M.B.B.S and the Engineering degrees.
At The Penal Level
1. All those criminals who take the law into their own hands, become a nuisance for the state, adopt immodesty and profligacy as a profession, become notorious for their ill ways and vulgarity, commit rape, become a threat to honourable people because of their immoral and dissolute practices, openly disgrace women due to their social status, cause destruction, are a source of terror and intimidation for the people, are guilty of killings, robbery, decoity and hijacking, or create a law and order situation for the government by committing other similar crimes should be severely dealt with. They should be administered the punishments of Taqteel2 crucifixion, chopping off limbs on alternate sides, and exile which are specifically prescribed for such criminals in verses 33-34 of Surah Maidah.
2. Other criminals who commit zina (fornication), Qazf (to falsely accuse chaste men or women of fornication), theft or are guilty of killing or wounding someone, but at the same time do not create a situation of law and order for the state, and do not take the law in their hands should be administered the prescribed punishments of stripes, chopping of hands, Qisaas and Deeyat.
3. In the case of Deeyat, it should be accepted and acclaimed that though it is an everlasting law which must be obeyed in all times, yet its quantity, nature and other related affairs have been left upon the customs and traditions of a society. Consequently, no eternal quantity of Deeyat has been fixed by Islam, nor has it obligated us in any manner to discriminate between a man or a woman, a free man or a slave and a Muslim or a non-Muslim in this matter.
4. Likewise, in the case of apostasy also, it should be recognized that the prescribed death sentence was specifically meant for the mushrikeen of Mecca ie, the people towards whom the Prophet (sws) was directly assigned. It, now, has no bearing whatsoever upon any person or nation. Hence, today if a Muslim becomes an apostate and is also not a source of nuisance for the state, he cannot be administered any punishment merely on the basis of apostasy.
5. The present erroneous concept about the testimony of women must be revised. In cases of Hudud, Tazirat, Qisas, Diyat, Financial matters, Marriage and Divorce and indeed in all such matters, it should be left upon the discretion of the judge whether he accepts someone as a witness or not. In this regard, there must be no discrimination between a man or a woman. If a woman testifies in a clear and definite manner, her testimony cannot be turned down simply on the basis that there is not another woman and man to testify alongside her. Similarly, if a man records an ambiguous and vague statement, it cannot be accepted merely on the grounds that a man has testified. If a court is satisfied by the statement of the witnesses and by the circumstantial evidences, it has all the authority to pronounce a case as proven, and if it is not satisfied, it has all the authority to reject it even if ten men have testified.
6. Similarly, it must be accepted that it is not necessary in cases of zina that four witness can only testify if they have seen the convicted man or woman in position of the criminal act. According to the Qur’an and Hadith, this is only required when a case has been filed on the basis of an accusation and the accused are chaste, virtuous, and morally sound, and about whom no one can even imagine that they can commit such a crime.
7. It should also be accepted that in all cases of Islamic law a crime legally stands proven not only by the testimony of the witnesses or by the confession of the criminals themselves but also by any circumstantial evidence. Hence in cases of zina, for example, medical examination, and in some other crimes the use of post mortem reports, finger prints and other similar aids, the extent of certitude obtained is no less than that obtained by the testimony of the witnesses or by the confession of a criminal himself.
8. Apart from the crimes whose punishments have been mentioned in the Qur’an, punishments in cases of other criminal offences should only be restricted to physical chastisement, exaction of fine, exile or house arresting a criminal. The inhuman punishment of confining a person behind bars should be completely abolished.
O
With this manifesto in our hands we declare war against the existing tide of time, and upon the present state of fairs. For their nature is diabolic, their fiber fiendish, their breed sinister and their constitution satanic. The very movement of reformation started in the west in 1405 AD has culminated in the creation of a civilization which is based on utter deception and total fraud---a civilization that has rejected any metaphysical explanation of this universe.
Our crusade will continue until the `Kingdom of God' is established on this earth. Now is the time for every believer to have a share in this blitz. For this will be an offensive launched by man against satan and his agents---an assault of truth against falsehood, an onslaught of faith against disbelief, an uprising of cognizance against ignorance. Let no one be mistaken about our ammunition. Rational reasoning is our only weapon, and the only help we are counting upon is the help of the Almighty. We invite every Muslim to join this upheaval against the forces of evil. Before Gog and Magog are let loose to herald the end of our first creation, and before the door of repentance is closed forever, let us deliver the final blow.
Muslims! come forward and march for the glory of Islam to the very front of this battlefield. What have you to lose except your lives, which one day you would do so anyway. A life in which the regrets of the past and fears of the future do not exist, awaits you. For once, rise to the call of the day!.
(Translated and Adapted from Ghamidi's "Burhaan")
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1.
This would be analogous with how Hadhrat Umar had dealt with the conquered
lands of Syria and Iraq. He had kept them in state ownership, but had left
them with their original owners, imposing a fixed tribute on them according
to their produce.
2. ie, to kill someone in an exemplary manner. This includes stoning to death