Following are some of the issues that invite
urgent attention of those who would dare to reinterpret the prevailing
behaviors in the context of modern times without disturbing the soul and spirit
of those behaviors.
1. The
role of women in ‘Islamic society: It is to determine the extent of her
emancipation and empowerment to make her a useful and active citizen and
participant in nations’ social. political and economic life. Women work on
agricultural fields, road building construction projects, factories,
educational institutions, hospitals, banks, private business projects and
offices of all kinds. They participate in social and political activities. This
ground reality should be recognized and backed by religious sanction so that
women while doing so nurse no sense of guilt and pursue these activities as
legitimate careers duly endorsed by Islam. The concept of purdah for women
needs to be evaluated. The extremist believes that the ends of purdah are best
served by putting a woman in a burqa that hides her person from head to foot.
The best illustration of their point of view is provided by the students of
Jamia Hafsa of Lal Masjid fame whom the whole nation watched on television
shouting Jihadi slogans, waving bamboo sticks as show of strength. The more
diehard extremists will not rest at that. They would prefer to wrap up their
womenfolk in sheets of cloth to look like Egyptian mummies and have the feeling
that they are perhaps the only practicing Muslims around. Some of them,
however, are a bit liberal. They permit them to reveal their pair of eyes. This
kind of behaviour is nothing but expression of their deep seated prejudices
otherwise the spirit of purdah as ordained in the Holy Quran is that women will
wear dress that will not expose their feminine charms. A survey of the dresses
used by the Pakistani women in various regions of the country confirms that
nowhere the traditional apparels violate this divine commandment. It is a rural
dominated society where the women assist their men to plough, sow and harvest
agricultural fields in addition to looking after the family and performing many
other domestic functions. in urban areas too the lifestyle has undergone a
revolutionary change. Women have acquired education and professional skills and
are taking active part in social, economic and political life of the country.
In a number of cases they have also become providers of their families where
the men have defaulted in contravention to Allah’s command. Under these circumstances
the turqa as symbol of purdah has become irrelevant. Burqa may work both ways.
It may hide what is forbidden to reveal. It may also provide a cover up to
action which no one would dare to do out of burqa.. Being no more needed in
practical life, the burqa has gone out of use. This de facto state of affairs
could be recognized as a fit case for its reinterpretation under the provision
of Ijtihad.
2. Polygamy
is to end, leaving a window open for its rare permission at the highest level
under extra-ordinary compulsions as in times of war, for instance, when too
many men are lost and too many surviving woman are to be accommodated. Illness
of the wile or her failure to bear a child and such like excuses should not be
considered valid for second marriage.
3.To
evolve riba-free economic System. On what grounds, at one time, the Grand Mufti
of Al-Azhar of Egypt declared interest on postal savings as profit. Did he base
his fatwa on the distinction between ‘usury’ and loans for investment. Incomes
on usury are riba and income from investment loans are profits. Bank loans
given or taken for investment produce profits. Any payment made out of profits
would be profit and nothing else; hence permissible. However, where money is
used as stockin-trade and as a commodity its loaning is an act of usury
producing riba and is therefore forbidden. For example a bank proceeds on their
credit cards is riba because this activity is purest form of usury. The
traditional money-lender ‘used’ money to make money and hence it was called
usury. It involved the exploitation of the needy and was a pitiless system
therefore declared unIslamic. In international trade and investment activity,
if Pakistan continues to consider incomes accruing from it as usury then it
cannot legitimately participate in it. The ground reality has to be officially
recognized that it is undoubtedly pure and simple profit.
4. Population control through natural measures
should get religious sanction. Size of the family should be squeezed to stop
wild growth. Population getting out of hand leads to all kinds of social vices
exerting pressures on economic and educational facilities and miscellaneous
civic amenities. Quality of life suffers. Family size is to be such which
parents can easily handle, educate. groom and bring up their children as useful
citizens of an Islamic state.
5. Feudalism to be declared un-Islamic in every
form and manifestation to seal its fate for all times to come.
6. Jihad: How ‘Jihad’ is to be waged by a
traditional military power when faced with nuclear threat. Obviously frontal
confrontation would be stark suicide and total annihilation at the hands of the
enemy. Also all those conditions should be specified when an activity is not to
be considered as Jihad. This is to stop the Mullah to declare Jihad as per his
individualistic perception.
7. Zakat
being one of the fundamental pillars of Islam is a sensitive matter, it
involves money. Its collection and distribution by an un-Islamic set up known
for around corruption leads to its misappropriation. Bank depositors lack faith
in the system. They resent its deduction from their accounts by the government
for three reasons. One; it is violation of their amanat. Two: he is denied the
right of distribution of zakat as per his own priorities. Three; forcible
deductions are made out of deposits that include ‘riba’ in one form or the
other which disturbs the sanctity of zakat money. In an Islamic state, as per
above, the right of the depositor to distribute zakat in accordance with own
priorities has been recognized. In a riba-free system the depositors may pass
on the responsibility of collection and distribution of zakat on their behalf
to the government. Zakat is a rich ground for ‘Ijtihad’ because it can be used
to eliminate beggary altogether and poverty in general and also discover non-
conventional ways to put it to maximum use for which it is really meant.
8. Punishments for the crimes committed is an
important domain where application of ‘Ijtihad’ has also become due. Death
penalty is transcendental but the manner of awarding death is transient. Death
by stoning or flogging in the presence of public is no more practiced for
obvious reasons. Similarly amputation of hands and feet for the offence of
theft should be the maximum punishment to be awarded rarely by the court
because such an invalid person loses the option of reformation. Moreover he
joins the force of the beggars and becomes a burden on the society. Primarily
it would be the responsibility of the state to create such happy and prosperous
environment that no one thinks of indulging in theft or committing a crime that
may warrant any such punishment. With the passage of time, many more areas will
be identified for ‘Ijtihad.’ They will give progressive image to Pakistan as an
Islamic state. However, if punishments for their violation will neither be
available from the Quran nor Sunna nor the Islamized Penal Code, the same will
be arrived at through analogies. For example, punishment for drinking was not
given in the Quran or Sunnah. Hazrat Au argued since drunk resorts to wrong
accusations, he should be awarded 80 lashes because that was the laid down
punishment for the said offence. This shows how ‘Ijtihad’ should operate.
“Ijtihad is the ‘collective wisdom’ displayed by high profile Islamic Jurists”.
They are widely accepted scholars of not only Quran and Hadith but also of
temporal subjects like Economics, Philosophy, Psychology, Political Science,
World Constitutions, Sciences etc. They form Ijtihad Council.
9. Ijtihad
with reference to the Fine arts: There is no denying the fact that Islamic
system has to be enforced in truest from with strict reference to the
commandments of the Quran and Sunna keeping the doors of Ijtihad open. It shall
not be the corrupted version of Taliban or the semi-illiterate mullah who
interprets Islam as per their ethnic, cultural and primitive personal
prejudices. Islam is a religion of human nature which is a combination of both
positive and negative traits. The commandment is to suppress the darker side of
man’s self and highlight is brighter aspects. Application of the concept of
‘ljtihad’ on one of the most controversial manifestations of human life i.e.
the field of fine arts needs to be looked into. These arts are practiced by
individuals as per their Godly gifted talents. The term fine arts coves poetry,
music, dance, visual manifestations as movies shown on the TV screen and allied
gadgets and static displays in the form of paintings, pictures and photographs
etc. A poet must produce poetry and a singer must sing song. A dancer cannot
help dancing and a painter has an irresistible urge to paint and an architect
to plan building structures. At times in a sweeping verdict all forms of fine
arts are declared as repugnant to Islam. This is an extremist view not endorsed
by the true Islamic spirit. Islam is a middle of the road faith and shuns
extremism. Anything that conform to the positive and spiritual side of the human
nature should not be considered as un-Islamic. However, all those arts that
project lust. lewdness, base human passions and desires, Sexuality, carnality
and lechery etc that militate against the positive pure and spiritual side of
the human nature are undoubtedly un-Islamic and the mediums that project these
aspects of man’s nature are to be discarded as un-Islamic.
10. When
electronic media presents devotional music in praise of Almighty Allah and his
chosen people such as prophets and divines it may make use of classical tunes.
When these mediums are used to promote public awareness in ethics and morality
and general knowledge it should be considered as a teaching aid for the benefit
of the viewers. Furthermore, if the music presents purest forms of deep human
emotions that show reverence, dedication, love, faithfulness, allegiance, piety
godliness, meditation and spirituality and becomes transcendental then it
should not be considered un-Islamic. Similarly all other forms of fine arts
mentioned above should be evaluated as Islamic or otherwise on this very
touchstone.
11. The
pictures, paintings and images were once used as articles of worship in
pre-Islarnic days and in non-Islamic societies such as the followers of Hindu
faith in the modern world. That was the reason why they were ordered to be
shunned. However, today the Muslims of each and every sect all over the world
have absolutely no such disposition towards them. They make use of pictures and
images including movies and static photographs as historical record and as
documents of some events of the past. No daily newspaper is complete without
the support of pictures that help to make the connected news more expressive
and meaningful. Documentary record of an individual must bear his photograph to
become authentic. Photographs are to be pasted on official and nonofficial
applications such as passports, bio-datas for identification and examination
documents etc. The photograph of a criminal required by the law enforcing
authorities is widely circulated in the press and through handbills to make his
apprehension possible. Maintenance of the photographic record of the family is
to refresh the happier moments of the past and also to introduce some person
with some other persons who have never met each other. Like so many other
things photographs too have entered our lives as a matter of practical
necessity. As such it is pointless to enter into a debate whether they are
Islamic or otherwise.