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REASEARCH
ON SOME QUR'ANIC VERSES ABOUT JIHAD & QITAAL
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Q.
1 (A):
The polytheists are called impure in the religious
scriptures of Islam and the Muslims are forbidden
from using or touching the things made or prepared
by them, and in an Islamic state they are considered
subordinate to Muslims or treated as second
class citizens, does it not amount to maltreatment
to the followers of other religions? Unfortunately
there is no reference of any Qur’anic
verse. Hence we assume that perhaps it refers
to Chapter 9 Verse 28.
Analysis
1 (A):
The charge here is vague, still we will consider
it. If indeed the Qur’anic injunctions
are such as stated above, then it needs no justification.
But when we go through the Qur’an, we
do not come across any such unreasonable proposition.
The Holy Qur’an is now the one and only
Original Book of the Creator of the Universe.
It has remained unpolluted since it was revealed
14 centuries ago. The language of the Qur’an
is also a living language. In the above verse
a word Mushrik (polytheist) is used. First,
we shall see what does it connote?
A
man who does not believe that his Creator is
The One and Only GOD. Instead of HIM, he worships
the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains,
trees, stones, humans, graves, animals and his
own self. The Qur’an refers to such human
beings as Mushrik (polytheist). Is it not strange
that man is willing to associate with the Supreme
Entity, such worthless things as stone, trees
animals etc? The real Master of this world got
HIS House built solely for HIS worship at Makkah,
which is in Saudi Arabia. Later the people interested
in polytheism, imported many idols made up of
stone and other worthless materials into this
Sacred House of The God and started worshipping
them also. Not being satisfied with it, they
began to worship the graves of their forefathers.
Ultimately the Master of this Universe sent
down HIS final Message and purged the House
of all false deities who had encroached upon.
Thereafter this Real Master Himself forbade,
in His Book, His creatures having diluted beliefs,
not to come near HIS House. The verse reads:
"O
you have attained to faith! Those who ascribe
divinity to aught beside ALLAH are nothing but
impure. So they shall not approach the Inviolable
House of Worship from this year onwards. ….”.
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In
Original, the word used is “najas”
which according to dictionaries means impure,
unclean, polluted in mindset. Evidently here
it does not imply the physical uncleanliness,
or untouchability of the sort that we have in
India. If any scholar here derives the meaning
of physical dirtiness, it is absolutely incorrect.
As a matter of fact, it is the spiritual or
ideological impurity that is referred to.
This
kind of spiritual impurity can be removed by
pronouncing a small testimonial, that is, ‘There
is no deity but ALLAH, Mohammed is HIS Messenger.’
Thus it can justifiably be said that the Creator
of this Universe has prescribed the small sentence
quoted above as a visa for the visitor of HIS
House. If a man faithfully affirms the belief
in One GOD and the prophet-hood of Muhammad
(p.b.u.h), he is entitled to visit the House
of his Master. No one can dare stop him. Apart
from that, why should one have any objection
if the Master sets certain conditions for a
visit to HIS House? It is for the visitor either
to abide by those conditions or pay no visit.
As
regards the charge that the polytheists are
impure (of course, ideologically), it does not
command the Muslims to take any action against
them, rather it directly asks the polytheists
not to come near the Sacred House.
a)
The Holy Qur’an nowhere forbids the Muslims
to use the things touched or prepared by the
non-Muslims. The injunction or command in the
above quoted verse is clear. Still if any one
attributes such baseless directives with the
teachings of the Qur’an, it is sheer ignorance.
Since centuries, Muslims have been living in
close proximity to the Hindus and other communities
in India. It has never been experienced or seen
in Muslim rule.
b)
The Holy Qur’an does not advocate an unequal
treatment for the non-Muslims. On the contrary
it recommends preferential treatment to the
non-Muslims in certain matters. Please refer
the verse 5/32 in which an equal treatment is
strongly recommended in respect of the sanctity
of a human life.
"…..
WE ordained that if anyone kills a human being,
unless it be in punishment for murder or for
spreading riot on earth, it shall be as though
he had killed all mankind; whereas if anyone
saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved
the lives of all mankind…”
For
preferential treatment we refer Chapter 9 Verse
29. We are discussing Jiziyah in article "Does
Qur'an teach communilism"? please refer there.
While the humanity is called a single race in
Chapter 49 Verse13:
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"O
mankind, WE have created you all out of a male and
a female, and have made you into nations and tribes,
so that you might come to know one another. Verily
the noblest of you in the sight of ALLAH is the
one who is most deeply conscious of HIM….”
Every
right-thinking person will accept that the Muslim
rulers in the past have often acted contrary to these
directives. And they got the divine punishment here
in this world, in the form of the ignominious downfall
of their kingdoms.
Let
us conclude that the Qur’an does not regard
any section of human society as physically impure.
It is their false faiths and thoughts that make them
Najas or impure according to his/her Creator.
So now onwards they should not come to visit HIS House
and should not treat it as a tourist place. Similarly
there is no injunction in the Qur’an directing
the believers not to use the things touched or made
by non-believers.
Q.1-B.
In the religious scriptures of Islam Kufr, Kafir
and Mushrik are used in derogatory sense
and it refers to the followers of Hindu Dharma as
inferior. Is it proper?
Analysis:
1-B.
Before jumping to any conclusion, let us examine the
facts first. The basic scripture which is the Holy
Qur’an the terms like Kufr, Kafir, Shirk, Mushrik,
are used. The Holy Book is not in a dead or ancient
language. It is today the mother tongue of millions
of people, regardless of Muslims or Non-Muslims. It
is the national language of many a countries in Middle
East and Africa. Moreover the language is a live language
since thousands of years. The Arabic has many distinctions
like having a root of only 3 alphabets for every verb.
This is not found in any language of the world. Nouns
also have the specific meanings based on its roots.
Different parts of speech have close association with
one another. Even a verb itself indicates its number,
gender and tense.
Unfortunately
we find, in later periods, Muslims of different areas,
races, culture and nations changed the implication
of the word Kafir and other such Qur’anic terms
to meet their political ends. Mostly present generation
Muslims also do harbor such belief. Many times they
misuse the words like Kufr, Kafir, Shirk, Mushrik,
Muslim in order to realize their socio-political ambitions.
But the fair-play demands that we refer to the original
source, the Holy Qur’an. If it is found there,
one can say that The Qur’an preaches hatred
for the people professing other faiths.
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