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AN IDEOLOGY FOR THE WORLD The heed given the individual by Islam is beautifully emphasized by the Qoranic statement of God's decree long before the message of Moha mad: "On that account We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone slew a peron -un less it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people. Any if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole peopl; ". (5:35) But such a strong statem nt should not remain a mere Moral theory .For you might not directy kill someone, but you contribute to his death taking a negative attitude, while you could have done something to save him. It is to revolt against this unconcerqed attitude towards human suffering that the Red Cross cafne into being. It is to extend a helping hand to him who needs it -in peace or in war - that made the foundation upop which the Red Cross arose. Although the practical applications of this policy as carried out by the Red Cross are ?ften described as voluntary services, this does not mean at we have the option to take them or leave them. Islam see them as obligatory, not only morally, but even legally. ..for some fourteen centuries ago Umar ibn al-Khattab the second Caliph, decreed that if a man in a community died out of need, that community were forced to pay the dia (money ransom for killing) as if they had killed him. The balance between the one and the many is assured in Islam by emphasising that the one is the component unit of the whole society. Just as a building cannot be strong if made out of bricks which are individually weak, the community cannot be happy unless its indivudals are. In Islam it is not the case of individual versus society. Fraternity and love are the cement which binds people together, so that they are using the words of the Prophet- "to one another like (parts of) building, each part strengthening the others". Another syaing likens them in their mutual compassion and sympathy, to the members of the body, if one falls ill, the remainder will suffer". And Islam could find the perfect formula to maintain this balance by merging together that which is one's rights and that which is one's duties. The right to be educated - secured by Islamic law -is coupled with the duty to learn. "Seeking knowledge is a duty upon every muslim: man or woman"... as the Prophet says. The right to express an opinion involves the duty to speak out, and one has not the right to remain silent, for the Prophet said: " He who remains silent about truth is a dumb devil". The right of political opposition and honest cnticlsm of authontIes is also a duty .I In his inau~ural speech, Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, pleeded : "If I do right support me. If do wrong correct me". To ensure the free will of people obedient to no dictates other than a conscience "not enslaved" as Lossier put it, Islam allows no obedience but to God. The Prophet clearly instructed: "There is no obedience if it entails disobedience to God". It was in response to this teaching that the first Caliph declared: "Obey me as long as I obey God. If I disobey Him, then you owe me no obedience". The interpretation of what comprises obedience or disobedience to God, is not monopolised by any person or group, for in Islam there is no clergy or divine rights or any form of mediation between man and God. Much of what is offered by the Red Cross might be included in the provisions of the modern welfare state. Yet these should not supplant the noble efforts that depict the warmth of the human heart and the flame of love and charity that glows therein. State services are liable to be taken for granted and as a matter of routine, in which case they will answer material needs but will fail to emphasise the real spirit of love and concern that binds man to man. Islam established the welfare state from the outset. ..so much so that the caliph Umar ibn Abdel-Aziz would say "If a mule stumbled as it walked (far away) in Iraq, I would consider myself responsible for it before God on the day of reckoning, why had I not paved the road for it". Yet this degree of state responsibility never lured people into dependence on the state to satisfy the needs of the needy. Indeed Islam has seen to it that the individual is geared at all times to an attitude 'of offering service whenver the chance lent itself. The Prophet classifies faith (Iman) into a multitude of grades. ..but one of which is, to merely "remove dirt from the road that people use". Even meeting people "with a smiling face is a charity", according to the teachings of the Prophet. "The best of the people is the best to the people", is one of his traditions. But charitable actions should not stop at the individual level. People should join forces in the cause of good, for the Qoran clearly states: "Help ye one anotether in righteousness and piety. But help ye not one antother in sin and rancour". Even that negation of help in sin and rancour, is not a passive attitude by merely withholding help from the wrong doer . An inspiring tradition of the Prophet says: "Help your brother whether he does injustice or suffers injustice". His surprised companions asked: "We help him if he suffers injustice, but how come if he is unjust"" ..To which the Prophet answered "Prevent him from being unjust ...for this is the help he needs". Islam's influence on human behaviour is based at the deepest level on the clear demonstration of the role of man on earth. In Islam God is the creator and He is the owner of all that He has created. ..including man. Man should claim no ownership, even of himself. What man conventionally considers he owns, he is 'only entrusted with. Encourageing people to be charitable,' God addresses them saying: "Spend out of God's sustenance that He gave you". But God's plan for man is to make him His agent or viceregent on earth "And God said to the angels : I am making a viceregent on earth". (2:30) It follows that the agent should act only in a way that is acceptable to the True Owner. "Priviate ownership" is sanctified by Islam to such an extent that if a man is killed in defence of his property he is considered to be a martyr (Prophet's tradition). Yet if he uses his property in ways contrary to God's commands he should be rebuked or punished or if necessary denied ownership. A muslim would therefore appraise an his deeds on the light of their compliance with God's wish. "It is not for a faithful man or woman, if God and His prophet have decreed an issue, to make a choice of their own". (33:36) The muslim regards himself as God's instrument in what he thinks and in what he does. It is this concept that motivates people to conquer the call of greed, creed, anger, emotion or a "cant care less' attitude. In peace, just as it is in war, what we refer to as "The Spirit of the Red Cross" seems in Islam to be a "built in" mechanism. When confrontation between man and man reaches its climax in the state of war, this built-in mechanism operates intrinisically as if the "Spirit of the Red Cross" is already a component of the army. Perhaps the following quotation from the message of Umar ibn al-Khattab to the leader Sa ad ibn abi-Waqqas is illustrative: "1 command you as well as your soldiers to fear God in all circumstances for the fear of God is your best annament and your best planning. I command you all to be more cautious from wrong-doing than you are from your enemy. ..for the sins of an army are more deleterious to it than its enemy. God verily helps muslims to victory on account of the disobedience of their enemy to Him. ..otherwise we should have been defeated, for we are' neither their match in number nor in equipment. If we were equally disobedient they would win by their superior strength. Dont just say our enemies are more evil than us... for God may punish an evil people by means of others who are more evil". The appropriate description to such an army is indeed "an army with a conscience". In this ever shrinking planet that we live on, where it has become virtually impossible for any group of people to turn their back to what happens outside their door steps and live comfortably in isolation, the human family is in dire need - more than at any other time -to rally around this Spirit, in Fellowship. At a time when science at the acme of its progress has produced weapons enough to destroy our globe several times over, and when the materialistic wave in the East, West, North and South puts a curtain between the heart of man and the heart of his fellow man. ..whether expressed in the Spirit of Islam or the Spirit of the Red Cross. ..all must join forces and step forward with all possible measures to alleviate human suffering, be these measures preventive or curative. For, as far as we can conceive, there is no other way to secure remedy to our ailment, light in our darkness or hope in our despair . Men
of North and South and East and West, |
