SPIRIT OF ISLAM FEBRUARY 2018

35 Spirit of Islam Issue 62 February 2018 POLITICAL POWER NOT AN OBJECTIVE Spiritual Individual Contrary to common belief, gaining political power is not the main objective of Muslims. This is a misconception. I N modern times, those nations who have understood this have achieved success even without havingpolitical power. Somehavebecome established and excelled in the field of education, while others have set up empires in industry, communications and finance. The last in the list of these non-governmental empires is that of information technology. This has given man the opportunity to keep his finger on the pulse of human activity at the international level. To accept that times have changed, it is important to understand the following reports which are enshrined in Sahih al-Bukhari . After the fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, political conflict ensued between Abdullah ibn Zubayr and the Umayyads. Abdullah ibn Umar, one of the senior-most Companions of the Prophet, held himself aloof from the battle. People approached him and by quoting a particular verse of the Quran about fighting, they asked him why he was not joining in the battle. Abdullah ibn Umar replied that fighting as mentioned in the Quran did not refer to political infighting, but rather to the religious coercive system, which had already been put an end to by the Companions of the Prophet. ( Fathul Bari ) From this we learn that the war against persecution was a war of limited duration and temporary in nature, meant to be engaged in only until its specific purpose had been served. Invoking the Quranic exhortation to do battle against persecution in order to validate acts of war, which had quite other aims, is highly improper. This verse could be cited only if the same state of affairs as existed at the time of its revelation, were to prevail once again. The Islamic method, being based totally on the principle of non-violence, makes it unlawful for believers to initiate hostilities. Except in cases where self- defence has become inevitable, the Quran in no circumstance gives permission for violence.