Islam in Subcontinent
Background & Synopsis of Islam
Islam is the Deen of harmony and peace that provides us with a comprehensive code of conduct. In the glorious Qur'an, Allah the Almighty declares it to be the best religion and the only one that is right for its adherents. Islam has been around as long as humans have existed.
From Adam (AS) to Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the last of the Prophets, Islam is the one and only Deen. It comes directly from Allah the Mighty, who revealed it to us through the Angel Jibra'el (AS) from heaven (Arsh-e-Azeem). It was never a human doctrine or school of thought that the Prophets of Islam were not permitted to modify it in any way.
Even though it is commonly held that various books and booklets (Sahifas) about various Islamic prophets, such as Prophet David (Dawood AS), Prophet Moses (Moosa AS), and Prophet Jesus Christ (Essa AS), were revealed, these books were thought to be distinct from one another.
However, this is not true because the only book that has been revealed by multiple Islamic prophets, including the final Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), is the same as all of the divinely revealed books.
The revealed books and booklets all contain the same fundamental commandments, such as the concept of the Day of Judgment, the Oneness of Allah the Almighty, fair and honest interactions in everyday social life, prayer, fasting, and charity, among others.
The commandments and certain conditions may have undergone minor revisions from time to time for a variety of reasons, including the development of human societies over time. From the first Prophet Adam (AS) to the last Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), Allah, the All-Powerful, has only chosen Islam as the one and only religion to follow.
On the other hand, those Jewish scholars attempted to mislead Muslims by arguing that different books were revealed by different Prophets, propagating different religions. There is no evidence to support this argument, which goes against the Great Qur'an's teachings and understandings. In order to dispel any misunderstandings, I want to make it clear that the Old Testament and New Testament (Torah, Zaboor, and Injeel) are just different names for the same book.
The Qur'an, on the other hand, is known by many different names, including Furqa'n and other names that are even mentioned within it. However, other than the glorious Qur'an, no other revelations should be followed because they no longer exist in their original form due to changes made by Christian and Jewish scholars and man-made temperaments.
What is the Significance and Importance of the Glorious Qur’an?
The Qur'an is the divine revelation from Allah, the All-Powerful. It was revealed to Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the last Prophet of Islam, over a period of approximately 23 and a half years. It was preached by the last Muslim prophet in its original, unaltered form, with not a single letter changed by His own will.
As a result, the Qur'an is the only and final book of obligations and commands established by the creator of the universe and humanity. Everything in the universe belongs solely to Allah, who controls everything from the tiniest of things to the largest of things.
Allah, the All-Powerful, is the only one who can exercise authority over others—not even the prophets. All praise and glory belong to Him alone. Therefore, there are no doubts or objections regarding the Qur'an. Allah, the All-Powerful, has pledged to preserve and safeguard the glorious Qur'an until the very end of this finite existence. As a result, no one—not even the Prophet PBUH—can challenge any of its obligations and commands.
The Qur'an is known as the "complete code of life" because it is the only book that addresses all major life spending rules and regulations, including scientific knowledge, social and economic life, human and animal rights, inheritance laws, women's rights, education, and the afterlife.
On the other hand, on the occasion of the Last Sermon, which was a religious address that was delivered by the last Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), on the Mount of Arafat and during His first and only Haj, which is a pilgrimage, He stated categorically that the revelation of the Glorious Qur'an has completed your Deen (Religion) Islam today.
The Qur'an will continue to be your guide from this point forward (even after the death of the last Muslim prophet), as the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, stated emphatically. As a result, there should be no longer any doubt that the Qur'an's complete revelation left Islam incomplete. It is abundantly clear from the aforementioned key facts that the Qur'an is the ultimate source for comprehending Islam in its authentic form.
The Qur'an is the final and ultimate source of faith for Muslims, and no genuine Muslim can have any doubts about any of its verdicts, commands, explanations, or interpretations of events that have occurred in the past. Simply put, Muslims can only rely on the Qur'an as their primary source of information.
The Qur'an is the divine revelation from Allah, the All-Powerful. It was revealed to Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the last Prophet of Islam, over a period of approximately 23 and a half years. It was preached by the last Muslim prophet in its original, unaltered form, with not a single letter changed by His own will.
As a result, the Qur'an is the only and final book of obligations and commands established by the creator of the universe and humanity. Everything in the universe belongs solely to Allah, who controls everything from the tiniest of things to the largest of things. Allah, the All-Powerful, is the only one who can exercise authority over others—not even the prophets. All praise and glory belong to Him alone.
Therefore, there are no doubts or objections regarding the Qur'an. Allah, the All-Powerful, has pledged to preserve and safeguard the glorious Qur'an until the very end of this finite existence. As a result, no one—not even the Prophet PBUH—can challenge any of its obligations and commands.
The Qur'an is known as the "complete code of life" because it is the only book that addresses all major life spending rules and regulations, including scientific knowledge, social and economic life, human and animal rights, inheritance laws, women's rights, education, and the afterlife.
On the other hand, on the occasion of the Last Sermon, which was a religious address that was delivered by the last Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), on the Mount of Arafat and during His first and only Haj, which is a pilgrimage, He stated categorically that the revelation of the Glorious Qur'an has completed your Deen (Religion) Islam today.
The Qur'an will continue to be your guide from this point forward (even after the death of the last Muslim prophet), as the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, stated emphatically. As a result, there should be no longer any doubt that the Qur'an's complete revelation left Islam incomplete. It is abundantly clear from the aforementioned key facts that the Qur'an is the ultimate source for comprehending Islam in its authentic form.
The Qur'an is the final and ultimate source of faith for Muslims, and no genuine Muslim can have any doubts about any of its verdicts, commands, explanations, or interpretations of events that have occurred in the past. Simply put, Muslims can only rely on the Qur'an as their primary source of information.
Is Islam incomplete without Hadith & Sunnah of the Prophets of Islam?
Let's examine the literal meanings of the aforementioned terms, Hadith and Sunnah, before proceeding. Hadith, in its most literal sense, refers to the "Sayings of the last Prophet of Islam Muhammad" (Peace Be Upon Him), whereas Sunnah refers to specific acts and customs practiced by various Islamic prophets.
The Sunnahs of the Prophet Ibrahim (AS) includes things like circumcision, Nikah, which is a marriage between an adult man and woman, and the slaughtering of animals during the biggest Eid of Islam, Eid-ul-Adha.
However, Hadith and Sunnah are actually human schools of thought and doctrines that are only attributed to Islam's prophets because they are not divine revelations. However, because they are not divine revelations and because the final Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), did not command any of His companions to write down His "Sayings," we are unable to claim that Hadith and Sunnah are an essential component of Islam or that Islam would not be complete without them.
In this regard, there are a plethora of additional reasons that appeal to our intelligence. Here are a few of the most prevalent explanations I'd like to share with you. First of all, Hadiths have only been written about five to six hundred years after the Last Prophet of Islam passed away. What about Muslims who lived before or after this time?
Because they did not read the hadith books, were they not true Muslims? Why didn't any of the four Muslims known as Khalifas—Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman, and Ali—have a Hadith book published? Instead, during their time as Khilafat, they burned such writings, claiming that they would cause division, rift, and chaos among Muslims. Hadith can be found in a variety of books, such as Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sahih Abu Dawood, and Sahih Tirmizi, among others.
It is interesting to note that the number of Hadiths mentioned in each of these books varies. Many genuine doubts and questions arise due to the fact that there is no consensus regarding the number of hadiths and the reason there are multiple books of hadith rather than just one, which I leave here in accordance with your intelligence, wisdom, and common sense.
Second, Allah the Great commands Muslims in the glorious Qur'an to cling to Islam and avoid division; however, Hadith books assert that there will be 73 divisions (Firqahs) among Muslims and that only one will enter paradise (Jannah). This clearly conflicts with the obligation and commandment issued by Allah, the All-Powerful in the glorious Qur'an.
As a result, my understanding is that the Hadith and Sunnah are human doctrines with a lot of room for error. Based on the arguments presented above, I do not consider Hadith to be an essential component of Islam (Faith) at this point; rather, in its context, it is comparable to worldly knowledge; however, one can read and even follow them for the purpose of comprehending and broadening concepts.
Therefore, comparing Hadiths to the Qur'an and claiming that Hadiths are equivalent to the Qur'an is not an intelligent or sensible strategy for comprehending Islam.
Concept of Sects (Firqah) in Islam
The glorious Qur'an makes this point abundantly clear as Allah; The Almighty refers to Muslims only and opposes all forms of discrimination and division among them. A Muslim is only someone who believes in Islam completely. Islam does not have a concept of Shia Muslims or Sunny Muslims.
In fact, the Qur'an strongly condemns all forms of discrimination against Muslims; rather, it emphasizes the concept of a single and distinct Ummah (Nation), which encompasses all Muslims worldwide regardless of differences based on caste, color, creed, or language. However, it is extremely regrettable that Muslims are not only divided on the basis of sectarianism but also hate and even kill one another.
Examples of this kind abound in the Subcontinent, particularly in Pakistan. A well-educated Muslim and a fundamentalist Muslim will never refer to themselves as Shia or Sunni. As a result, I consider myself a Muslim and do not accept the concepts of Shia or Sunni Muslims, such as Deoband, Barelvi, and Ahle-Hadith, among others because it is against the Quran.
Fiqah (Law and Jurisprudence) in Islam; Whether Reality or a Myth
Law and jurisprudence, or Fiqah, are very closely related to the idea of sects. In this regard, there are four distinct but well-known schools of thought:
Hanafi Fiqah, Shafai Fiqah, Maliki Fiqah, and Fiqah-e-Jafari. Imam Hanifa, Imam Shafai, Imam Malik, and Imam Jafar are thought to have created these four schools of thought (Fiqah), which is why they are named after them. In point of fact, each of the four leaders of Islam was both a student and a teacher of the others; however, if you read each of their schools of thought separately, you will discover that they strongly disagree with one another.
My concern is whether any one of them was right or whether all of them were wrong. You can decide how to respond to it. Similarly, there are a lot of things in these schools of thought that directly contradict the Qur'an's commands and obligations when read. Take for instance divorce (Talaq).
When compared to the teachings of the Fiqah, the teachings of the Qur'an are quite distinct. That is to say, the Qur'an does not contain any notion of triple Talaq, or divorce. Additionally, the Muslim Ummah has been subjected to discrimination as a result of Fiqah. It divided the Muslim Ummah and stoked animosity among them. After all, the Prophet of Islam never started teachings of this kind.
How much do Subcontinent Muslims understand Islam?
It is a common belief that Muhammad Bin Qasim conquered Sindh between the years 711 and 712 AD, which is why Sindh is known as the "gateway" to Islam in South Asia. Since then, Islam has been practiced in this region for 14 centuries, and between 600 and 650 million Muslims currently live in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Now, if you look at their level of faith, you'll see that, rather than not responding to being a single Ummah (Nation), they hate each other.
Here, religious extremism, sectarian discrimination, the so-called and fabricated concept of Syed Caste (superiors from other Muslims), and tomb and grave worship are very common. In a similar vein, we have a temperament that is short but not rigid, and we discriminate against one another based on things like race, color, wealth, language, family, and so on. Even on occasion, we don't hesitate to independently incorporate new Bid'ah into Islam.
If you look at Pakistan, you'll see that it is a country with a large Muslim population—98% of the population is Muslim—but you'll also find every kind of evil there, like racism, double-crossing, and hatred based on language, race, caste, and region, among other things. How do we trade, how honest are we as businesspeople and public servants, and how many pure products do we sell? Do we accurately weigh and measure things? My inquiry to you is straightforward: What kind of Muslims are we and what kind of Islam do we practice?
Conclusion
Peace, harmony, love, affection, care, honesty, and trustworthiness are the core values of Islam. It not only unites us and teaches us to support one another in times of need, but it also strongly rejects all forms of discrimination based on caste, colour, or creed. According to the glorious Qur'an, Allah, the All-Powerful, the best Muslim (believer) among you is the one from whom other Muslims (believers) benefit.
Despite the fact that we claim to be Muslims today, we are dishonest in our social, moral, political, and religious interactions, cheating, deceiving, and even killing one another for personal gain. Do we oppose injustice and oppression? Do we assist and support those who are poor and in need?
Do we despise corrupt people and corruption itself? As a result, we must seriously consider who we are as Muslims and what we do as Muslims. How well do we understand Islam and how closely do we actually practice it in our daily lives?
Written by Raja Bahar Khan Soomro
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