[Bahujan-forum] Resolving the Kashmir Conflict: An Alternate 'Islamic' Approach
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Kashmir Dawah Meet (4th & 5th February, 2011)
DAY 1: Inaugural Address: Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Dawah work is nothing but sharing your realization with others so that they, too, can benefit from it. A dai has only two occupations – to become a shahid (witness) himself and to do dawah work with others, who aremadus or invitees of the divine message. When man discovers God, he is transformed into a new person. It is the tempest of discovery that transforms man and fills him with the desire to spread the message of God through dawah.
I once met a person in Kashmir and told him about the importance of doing dawah work. He replied saying that Kashmir had only a relatively small population, and claimed that, therefore, the Kashmiri Muslims lacked the opportunity of doing dawah work. I told him that his perception was contrary to facts. The number of army personnel stationed in Kashmir, the tourists who flock there and the annual Amarnath yatra pilgrims put together runs into millions—they are all madus for a committed dai. If the Kashmiri Muslims understood this, they could easily use this great dawah opportunity.
It is important to understand that lamenting the supposed lack of dawah opportunities is a matter of perception, which is dispelled as soon as man realizes the importance of dawah work. Mir Syed Ali Hamadani, also called Shah-e Hamadan, who was one of the first Muslim missionaries in Kashmir, well exemplified this.The Kashmiris should aim to revive the dawah mission of Shah-e Hamadan. Shah-e Hamadan lived in Iran during Timur's reign and migrated to Kashmir when he incurred Timur's wrath. Once in Kashmir, Shah-e Hamadan did not waste his efforts in opening a front against Timur. Instead, he focused on doing dawahwork among the Kashmiris. He could do this precisely because he ignored the problems that he faced and, instead, availed of the immense dawah opportunities that were open to him. In this way, he gave the gift of God's guidance to Kashmir.
In his dawah mission, Shah-e Hamadan faced great odds but he chose non-confrontation to the ultimate extent so that he could work peacefully. In this, he followed the sunnat-e-rasool or tradition of the Prophet, working silently and exemplifying the principle that positive results are always obtained from non-confrontational efforts.
According to a hadith report contained in the Sahih Muslim, the non-confrontational approach yields that which a confrontational approach does not yield. In other words, God grants to the non-confrontational method what He does not grant to the confrontational method. As the Quran says, Reconciliation is the best(4:128).
Shah-e Hamadan is a great example of the non-confrontational approach. Shah-e Hamadan is not an example for the Kashmiri Muslims alone but, rather, for the Muslims worldwide. His example teaches one to stop obsessing with complaints and, instead, to discover a universe of opportunities that always exists. For example, the moment you consider the army in Kashmir to be your madu, instead of as an enemy, you are reminded of a dai's responsibility. According to ahadith, the Prophet Muhammad said that if God grants guidance to a single person through someone, it is better than all things on which the sun rises. This suggests the importance of dawah. It must be understood that changing one's point of view about a situation changes one's very thought process of man. Viewing a person negatively makes him appear as a problem while viewing someone positively makes him appear as an opportunity.
In order to do undivided dawah work, man must give up all non-dawah activities. Let me illustrate this with the help of an anecdote. I once got a call from a person who complained that his father scolded him because he did not perform well in his exams. I asked him if he had friends, and he said he did. So, I told him that he should leave his friends if they were a source of distraction. The same applies to dawah work. We must keep away from all sources of distraction – this is the rightful price of doing dawah work.
Dawah work – 'Lending' a 'helping hand' to God
It is important to realize that dawah work is the only work that is tantamount to 'lending a helping hand' to God. Nothing else – be it prayer or pilgrimage – has that status. Since it is a task which is seen as desirable by God Himself and is performed by servants of God, it is therefore called 'helping God' or Ansarullah.
Let me explain in more detail the importance of dawahwork. God created man in order to test him. He, therefore, desires that man is made aware of His Creation Plan so that he can plan his life accordingly. However, neither God nor angles will manifest themselves to convey the Truth to man because in that case it will no longer remain a test. It, therefore, rests upon believers to engage in dawah, to convey the message of Truth to their fellow human beings.
According to the Quran, dawah work is to be performed so that mankind may have no excuse or argument against God, and so that they cannot say that they were ignorant of the Creation Plan of God. In the test that is life, God wants this work to be given special priority. This is a divine mission which is required to be carried out by men on behalf of God. They will, therefore, be rewarded for it by God in the hereafter.
I once met an envoy of a government officer who was jubilant with his post. His thrill was palpable. Similar is the case of a dai, the only difference being the magnitude of thrill that a dai experiences while transmitting the message of God to others.
Being rewarded for helping God by engaging in dawahis no simple thing. Imagine the scenario when, in the presence of entire mankind on doomsday, God shall ask those who transmitted His message to step out so that He may reward them! The thrill of that moment is unimaginable! It is this reward that awaits the dai. Once a dai understands this, no barrier can stand in his or her path.
Dawah work as a pre-condition to paradise
I once met a forest officer in Kashmir who was a devout Muslim. He told me that he was not always like that but that a single incident had transformed him. Being a forest officer, he used to return late from work, and every day would bring home something for his child's entertainment. When one day he returned home empty- handed, his annoyed child cried, "Why are you here when you have not got anything for me?" This statement struck him profoundly. The analogy that his mind drew was that if on the Day of Judgment God were to ask him, "What have you got?" and he had no reply, what would become of him? To such a man God would say that since he did nothing to help Him, He had nothing for him!
In this age of multimedia, dawah work can be performed with much ease. If we don't perform dawahwork even now, we will be speechless before God. In earlier times, man had to memorize the Quran in order to spread it to others. This is not the case today. Multimedia changed it all. Moreover, English became the most widely spoken language. And, added to this, is people's growing curiosity to know the other 'versions'of Truth. The spirit of enquiry has paved way for a culture of openness. People want to understand everything. Every person is ready in advance. There are thus so many opportunities for dawah. The Prophet Muhammad is no more, but his mission is still alive. The present-day Muslims are at the muqam-e-nubuvat or the position of Prophet. However, we will qualify as hisummat only if we work towards the fulfillment of his mission
May God save us from shame on the Day of Judgment!
DAY 2: Key Note Address: Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
At a seminar that was once organized by a group of Muslims, many top-ranking clergymen and business persons had been invited. The topic for discussion was "The problems of present-day Muslims." Every one of the speakers spoke of negative occurrences and protests, and complaints formed the core of the discussion. One of the speakers remarked, "We are under siege", and it seemed that he echoed the emotions of all those in the hall. I was deeply upset by this line of thought because such a mindset is a matter of grave concern.
It ought to be realized that despite their relentless efforts since the last two hundred years, the Muslims have failed to come out of this sense of 'siege'. Hence, it becomes critical to examine why, despite the magnitude of their sacrifices, the protests that Muslims have been engaging in have produced no fruit. This can be understood by reflecting upon the history of Jews. The turn of events as the Jews underwent degeneration has been described in the Bible in detail.
The Bible says, You will sow but you will not reap. It means while the seed will be sown and actions will be done, its benefits or good results will not be reaped. The story of the sacrifices of the Muslims, entailing and inviting much destruction, is a reminder of this history of Jews. This is not a simple thing because a hadith, contained in the Musnad Ahmad, announced that Muslims would follow in the exact footsteps of the Jews, so much so that if the Jews enter into a hole, so would the Muslims.
This example does not only pertain to the Jews and Muslims. Every society faces degeneration in its later period. The problems of the present-day Muslims are an outcome of the phenomena of their degeneration. Despite a history of Muslim sacrifices, ranging from Palestine to Kashmir, there has been no positive result. It is thus now time to re-assess and revise this approach because such futile actions cannot be continued. Continuing an action after its negative reaction has become manifest is un-Islamic. And, it is only the first mistake which is pardoned, but repeating the same mistake over and over again is unpardonable.
Correct line of thinking
The example of the companions of the Prophet exemplifies the right approach to follow during difficult times. Upon facing a difficult situation, they used to analyse their action in the light of the deen. They used to ponder on which right practice they had left or ignored because of which they were forced to face a difficult situation. The present-day Muslims must also adopt this approach. They would then realize that while they are doing everything from namaz, zakat to hajj, the only thing that is missing is dawah work.
According to the Quran,
God made a covenant with those who were given the Book to make it known to people and not conceal it. But they cast it behind their backs and bartered it for a paltry price. What an evil bargain they made! (3:187)
The Jews pledged before God that they would spread His word to their fellow human beings. But they did not honour their pledge and, instead, chose what was less valuable instead. That is, they let people die in ignorance and did not make them aware of the Plan of God. In doing so, they broke their promise and dishonoured their duty to God to spread the message of His Plan. Instead, they started to accumulate material wealth in the name of religion.
This is precisely the case of the present-day Muslims. They fight for their lands or their communal pride and wrongly call it 'Jihad'. In the name of Islam they do community-work or social work, but this is for fellow Muslims alone. Barring dawah work, they do all other tasks. This is the real reason because of which Muslims have fallen in the pathetic situation that they find themselves in.
What is Dawah work?
Dawah work aims at making man aware of the Creation Plan of God. It does not aim at establishing communal pride. God set the example of dawah work at the beginning of man's history by making the first man, Adam, a prophet. Dawah began with the first man and will continue till the end of the world.
Three Periods of Dawah Work
From the point of view of dawah work, the history of mankind can be divided into the following three phases:
1. Phase of Prophets (anbiya)
2. Phase of the Companions (ashaab-e rasool)
3. Phase of Brothers of the Prophet (ikhwan-e rasool)
When God assigned man the responsibility of doingdawah work, He took it upon Himself to help those who lend Him a helping hand. For example, when the Government deploys a forest official, a gun is assigned to him for his protection. Similarly, when God gave this responsibility to prophets, He also gave them His help. According to the Quran, when Moses and Aaron were about to go to Pharaoh to tell him to mend his ways, God said "Do not fear; I am with you both, I hear and I see."(20:46). These words continue to echo in the universe. Moses was a single person while the kingdom of Pharaoh was bigger than present-day Egypt. Yet, God commanded Moses to go to Pharaoh and engage in dawah work. And God promised Moses that He was with him. The same Pharaoh who had killed his wife and others when they adopted Islam did not harm Moses. Moses was given a staff as a miracle, which when thrown on the ground turned into a gigantic serpent. Such miracles were given to the prophets as an additional aid. According to a hadith report that the truly faithful who engage in dawah receive help from God.
As dawah work entered its next phase, God sought a revolution. While God had given miracles to the earlier prophets, he did not give any such miracle to the Prophet Muhammad. Instead, the Prophet was givennusrat or glad tidings. He got an unprecedented team of sahaba or Companions, individuals who brought about an intellectual revolution in the world. This team of individuals, who were away from the conditioning of 'sophisticated' 'civilization', possessed superior qualities. They remained steadfastly committed to the truth—an act that demanded great sacrifice. According to the Quran, people of Paradise will be on the seat of truth. The God-conscious will find themselves in gardens and rivers, in the seats of truth with an all-powerful sovereign. (54:55)
In the first phase, therefore, the prophets were given miracles so that people could listen to them. In the second phase, the Prophet Muhammad was given a team of truthful people so that the work of dawah work could be carried on. Then, over time, degeneration set in.
A verse in the Quran reads:
Believers! if you succor God, He will succor you and make your footsteps firm (47:7)
This verse pertains also to dawah work.
A report contained in the Sahih al-Bukhari says that only three generations are worth emulating. (That is to say the Prophet, his Companions and the Companions of the Companions.) After this, there is only degeneration. According to another hadith report, in the Sahih Muslim, Islam was a stranger at the time of its advent and it would again become so in the latter days.
The Ikhwan are the second coming, as it were, of the Sahaba. A long period in history elapsed since the time of the Companions of the Prophet and then the phase of ikhwan-e-rasool began. In order to support the Ikhwan, God changed the course of history. He brought about the age of communication. It is said that the Companions were over 125,000 in number. But, today so many people are not required; the focus can therefore be on quality instead of quantity.
Earlier, there was no religious freedom. People were persecuted when they said God is One. Now, we are living in the era of religious freedom, the printing press, globalization, increased interaction and multimedia. During the time when Shah-e Hamdaan was in Kashmir, only Kashmiris resided there. Today, Kashmir has become Greater Kashmir in terms of the access it has to the entire world. People of several nationalities and cultures visit Kashmir. That is to say, the madu comes to you on his or her own. All you need is to avail the opportunities that you have. I am convinced that before the doom strikes, the Ikhwan will spread the word of God to the entire humankind.
Unfortunately, people have set wrong priorities. A tradition in the Sahih al-Bukhari talks about this mistaken mindset clearly. Some Muslims approached Abdullah ibn Umar and asked him why he did not participate in the Jihad. He replied, "This is not Jihad." They retorted saying it was a jihad against fitna. He replied, "We had finished fitna. This is fasad."
According to another tradition, again in the Sahih al-Bukhari, God will support His religion even through non religious people. This has come to pass as it was the secular people – scientists and thinkers – whose contributions threw open opportunities and brought about the new age. Science developed by such people paved the way for innumerable discoveries and useful inventions. In this way, God facilitated the creation of a parallel secular civilization, which stands to support the mission of the ikhwan-e rasool. This mission of dawahseeks to take the word of God to each and every household, which can be done now through these new scientific inventions. Muslims erroneously think that this mission aims at 'Islamizing' all, but this is not correct. Instead, it seeks to make mankind aware of the Creation Plan of God.
Each one of us must therefore discover our role and detach ourselves from all distractions so that dawahbecomes our singular focus. May God give us the wisdom to understand His Plan!
DAY 2: Q&A: Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Q1: What are the usool (rules) for a dai? Can he who has not read Quran and Hadith do dawahwork?
A: There is only one condition for doing dawah work, and that is one must yearn to do it. When a woman turns into a mother, she does not ask how she should take care of her child. The yearning in her heart for the child tells her everything. A true dai is devoid of negativity and has the same yearning for his madu like a mother has for her child. Another important aspect to consider is that with dawah comes the need for dua.
Of the two ways of doing dawah work, one is that you are an alim and can address the minds of people by interacting with them. The second option in this age of printing press and multimedia is to disseminate the readily available suitable literature. The Companions used to memorize the Quran as there was no printing press at that time. So, the method was engaging indawah by reading out the Quran so that others could listen to it. Today, the method is to present copies of the Quran to others.
Q2: If secular people provided progress to the world, what is the contribution of religious people?
A: The biggest contribution of Muslims is that after the era of the Companions they acted as the guardians of the Word of God. While they completely dispensed with the concept of dawah work, they nonetheless preserved the Quran and the Hadith.
Q3: Secular people boast of the progress that the world has made. They say that religion has given nothing.
A: This is not correct. The biggest contribution of Muslims is that they ensured the preservation of the Quran, the only revealed book that has remained preserved till date. The Muslims till today follow what Dr. Maurice Baucaille referred to as "the double checking system."
Let me cite an example to clarify my point. According to a recent report, an old manuscript of the Bible was found where in the verse "Do not commit adultery" the word "not" got dropped. Because there was no double checking system, it could not be tracked.
Contrary to this, the text in the Quran underwent a double checking system – it was memorized and handwritten. Following the advent of the printing press, a copy was prepared and a team of numerous ulema was formed who checked the text to the extent of assessing every comma and full-stop. This final copy was then printed. Muslims in the later period largely gave updawah work but they ensured the preservation of the Quran. If this one task were not performed, all progress would have come to naught.
Q4: People are not willing to read your magazineAl Risala in Kashmir. What should be done?
A: When you were first approached, you must not have been willing yourself. How did your mindset change? It is a long process of interacting with people so that their minds are re-engineered and they can see the futility of all courses of action other than dawah work. People are unaware of this and so they remain engaged in result-less activities. This is what I call 'Engaging in non-Islam in the name of Islam.' It must always be borne in mind that in order to save yourself from hellfire, you will have to first save others from going to hell. This underlines the importance of dawah.
Q5: In order to develop the love and concern for doing dawah work, is marifat or gnosis required?
A: Without marifat, what will you do dawah work for?Marifat is pre-dawah. Marifat is the discovery of God, and dawah work is nothing but passing on this discovery to others.
Q6: If someone was involved in dawah work and then got out of it, how should he repent for it?
A: Muslims stand at the point of muqam-e-nubuvat(position of the Prophet) and must carry out kar-e-nubuvat (work of the Prophet). If a person has left doing dawah work, he must seek forgiveness from God and resume it. Failing to do so, this person would put himself at grave risk because on the Day of Judgment, the Prophet Muhammad would cast him out of hisummat for leaving dawah work, and then he would stand alone and abandoned.
Q7: You spoke about "besieged" mentality of Muslims. What is the roadmap of your Centre for Peace and Spirituality to solve the problem of present-day Muslims?
A: Dawah work is the panacea for all problems. It is worthwhile to note that the endless sacrifices of Muslims have not yielded any positive result. In Kashmir, for example, while the sacrifices for the last two decades have been result-less, and have produced only interminable violence, Shah-e Hamadan's peaceful work of dawah was highly result-oriented.
Q8: It is alleged that you advocate Advaitavaad or non-dualism. Please comment.
A: I openly refute the concept of Advaitvaad. Time and again, I have written against the monistic concept of God, which advocates that everything in this universe is a reflection of God. In my view, it is completely invalid. According to me, Tauheed or monotheism provides the correct representation of Godhead - God as an entity is totally distinct from man.
Q9: Many times we refrain from giving Islamic books to people, thinking that we might be viewed as 'radicals'. What are your views on this?
A: Your thinking is based on a false supposition. People take the books with great pleasure and interest.
Q10: What is the difference between Dawah andIslah? Sometimes, these are used synonymously?
A: Dawah entails spreading the message of God to non-Muslims. Islah is to reform or rectify the Muslims. Neither of them can be done without wisdom. The dai, like he who engages in islah, must remain cognizant of the capacity of the addressee. Dawah work can begin only from a common ground, and so we need to focus on what we share in common with others.
I once visited a dargah where people were prostrating themselves before the grave. I went to the caretakers and spoke against the practice. They gestured to the wall and asked me to look behind. Two large wooden sticks were kept against the wall and they said that my answer would be given in the language of the sticks! I then realized that dawah work cannot be done without understanding the mind of the addressee and developing a common ground to begin with.
Q11: Should Kashmiris devote as much attention to dawah as they do to politics?
A: In Islam items of individual belief become compulsory for you as soon as you adopt the faith. However, as a responsible member of a society, one must read the situation first. In the case of one's self one must be an idealist, but in social matters one must adopt pragmatism.
Q12: How should those who want to become eligible to be called Ikhwan de-condition themselves? And what is most important in this connection?
A: The only method is introspection, to think against one's self, to critique one's self. You have to search within and find negative items that infest your mind. For example, my family was negative about one of my uncles and so was I. But, as I thought about it, I realized that he was my benefactor because being of a religious mindset, he had sponsored my madrassa education. I had forgotten this and was negative about him. Upon remembering his favour, I sought repentance from God for harbouring negative emotions for my benefactor.
Q13: What are the priorities of dawah work in today's times?
A: Dawah is done as per the madu and requires thinking and acuity so that one can address and reach his or her heart. Let me illustrate this with a personal example. I once participated in a Christian conference, where I reiterated the following words of the Christ: "Love your enemy." This established a rapport between me and the audience at once, following which I presented before them verses of the Quran. In other words, a dai must speak in such a way as to address the heart of the madu.
Q14: To minimize the effect of the political interpretation of Islam, dawah work may not suffice. There must be a revolution. Will it not be a deviation from dawah work?
A: Dawah alone is the answer to the problem that has emerged due to the erroneous political interpretation of Islam. Nothing else needs to be done or else it will become a rukoon or deviation. The Prophet and his Companions only did dawah work and adopted no other approach.
Q15: It is alleged that you and your fellow mission workers even allow the disrespect or behurmati of Quran to happen while giving the Quran to non-believers. Please comment.
A: The term behurmati was never used in the time of the Prophet or his Companions. The introduction of this term is an innovation in the religion, inspired by Satan so that he can stop dawah work. I can challenge anyone who believes to the contrary, because this term cannot be validated from the Quran and Hadith.
Q16: What is the role of women in dawah work, and how can they contribute in it?
A: Women have a huge role in the dawah mission. In fact, our principle, in conformity with the spirit of the age, is: Ladies First. Unfortunately, the clerics have never used this opportunity.
Q17: If there is such immense reward for dawahwork, how could the ulema ignore it?
A: Every person needs to understand what God wants. One does not qualify to be a part of the ummat-e muhammadi unless one does dawah work. Those who ignore dawah will be answerable for not doing dawah work before God.
DAY 2: Concluding Remarks: Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
This evening, I was sitting alone and it struck me that Kashmir is on the verge of a dawah explosion. It is the law of nature that a 'minus' always leads to a 'plus'. And that is what might happen in Kashmir now. Once, a person attempted suicide by eating poison, but he got medical attention on time and the doctor saved his life. This man, who was so dejected that he wanted to finish his life, grew manifold and became a hero later. This example clarifies that it is only after "zero point" that a new emergence takes place.
Medina's example
In Islamic history, Medina was the place where dawahexplosion took place. That is why the Caliph Umar proposed that the event of the Prophet's hijrat to Medina should be chosen to mark the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Similarly, in the present context, Kashmir is where everything went haywire—individuals and the wider society. It is at this bottom-most point that re-thinking emerges. Kashmiris have fully experienced violent extremism. And now it is but natural that they would want to take a U-turn so that peace can be restored.
A battle called Jung- e-Baus became the turning point in the history of Medina. In this battle, many men from Medina lost their lives. After this, the inhabitants of Medina realized that fighting was miserably result-less and that peace alone was the rightful alternative. Hazrat Ayesha noted that this event became a blessing in disguise for them. The Prophet had deputed two men in Medina who used to recite the Quran, and gradually people were so drawn to its peaceful teachings that Islam practically reached every household in the town. This miraculous turn of events became possible because the people in Medina had experienced the futility of the violent course of action and had become mentally prepared to discover a peaceful course of action. So, when they came to know about the message of peace through the Quran, they adopted the Islamic way of life.
The Kashmiris would understand this better than anyone else. The following instance exemplifies this issue very nicely. I know a man who is engaged in dawah activities in Kashmir. He distributes the Quran amongst the army men and tourists. Once, he said something which moved me greatly. At that moment he represented to me the future of Kashmir, saying, 'Till now we used to pelt stones on others, but now I have decided to present them with copies of the Quran instead.'
This is today's 'Kashmiriyat' and the spirit of present-day Kashmir. The previous so-called 'Kashmiriyat' which was based on communalism has been buried. Now, the new 'Kashmiriyat' has taken birth, which must have a single point agenda—dawah work, the model for which exists in the form of Shah-e Hamadan's mission.
I would like to share some of my experiences with reference to Kashmir. In 1989, months before militancy began, I visited Kashmir, where I addressed a group of people in the Tagore Hall. I narrated to the audience an incident that took place while the Prophet Muhammad was in the mosque at Medina. A Bedouin came and urinated inside the mosque. This enraged the Companions present beyond measure, and they wanted to beat him. The Prophet stopped them and asked them to identify the spot and clean it with water. The Bedouin returned to his tribe and narrated the entire course of events to his people and said "By God! Muhammad did not rebuke me, By God! Muhammad did not beat me."
This statement reflects how the Bedouin man's conscience was so moved, and through him, that of his whole tribe, by the Prophet's response. The inference I drew from this instance was that while the Prophet asked his Companions to clean the mosque by splashing a bucket of water, and in this way appealed to the conscience of the Bedouin without rudely rebuking him, the Kashmiris wanted to spill blood in order to have their demands met. Naturally, they must know that they are bound to fail. Today, what I said then has come to pass.
Man has two faculties-ego and conscience. While interacting with another person, we usually have two options–either to hit the other person's ego and make him an enemy, or to appeal to his conscience and make him a friend. The Prophet appealed to the conscience of people and so they became his friends. The Kashmiris, on the other hand, targeted the ego of those they perceived as their enemies and so everyone became their enemies. Because of this, their social system fell apart, and thousands of their youth got killed.
This shock treatment is actually a blessing in disguise for the Kashmiris. The pledge of that dai whom I mentioned earlier, who distributes copies of the Quran to tourists and army-men stationed in Kashmir, actually marks the beginning of Kashmir taking a new turn.
The Mughal ruler Babar famously remarked about Kashmir, 'If there is paradise on Earth, it is here, it is here!' I think he was wrong. What he should have said was that Kashmir can provide an introduction to paradise on Earth. The Quran clearly says that this world is only a prototype of paradise. This means that if Kashmir had to introduce paradise to world, the Kashmiris did just the reverse – of hating the world, of being violent, of turning their backs on dawah.
Satan promised to God that he would mislead mankind, and added that most humans would be ungrateful to God. When God created Adam and asked the angels and jinns to prostrate before Adam, Satan refused to do so. Unfortunately, the present-day Muslims have become engulfed in this thinking which has no basis in the Quran and Hadith. Kashmiris for example, had everything – food, amenities, a good climate, tourism, trade – they only had to adjust with the Indian army being stationed there. But they did not and so they had to pay its price. In the words of a Kashmiri, "Before militancy, even if we sat with stones, we could sell them. Today, I can't even sell my apples."
After militancy
Militancy became a blessing in disguise for Kashmir. God demonstrated that extremism yields nothing and that returning to peace is the only solution. The conditions in Kashmir are, therefore, most suited for adawah explosion to take place. All that is required is the right line of action.
Dawah can flourish only in peaceful conditions. There can be no dawah without peace. Therefore, a daiyearns for peace. It is in times of peace that man has the right frame of mind to remember God; in times of war he only remembers his enemy. Peace arouses love; violence arouses hatred. Peace leads to construction; violence leads to destruction. Therefore, peace and dawah go hand-in-hand. In Kashmir, therefore, lies a big hope of repeating what happened at Medina when by making the Medinans experience a war, God turned them into dayees. The present-day Muslims are unaware of Islam. They fight for establishing their communal pride, to occupy land, or to kill a supposed enemy—and they term this violence as "Jihad." In fact, however, none of these reasons is a concern of God. The sole concern of God is that His creation gets an introduction of Him, which is whatdawah is about. This was the mission given to all prophets, and, unlike the present-day Muslims, none of them fought for land or communal pride.
The Prophet Muhammad sent Hazrat Ali on a mission to a tribe. In those days, skirmishes were frequent so the Prophet advised Ali that if he killed someone he would get nothing. But if a single person received guidance because of him, it was better than all upon which the sun rises. God wants that man acknowledge Him, man's Creator, and lead himself and others to paradise. Because the present-day Muslims are fighting for causes that are not the concern of God, they do not receive His succour.
Extremism is inspired by Satan and those who become extremists are actually following Satan. Such people are not in the party of paradise. The dwellers of paradise will comprise of people who lead a God-oriented life, have peace in their hearts and are bereft of negativity and extremism. According to the Quran, paradise will be a treasure of discoveries. In this world, man is being trained so that he may qualify to be a part of such a civilization. This is because discoveries are a source of unending enjoyment.
Most unfortunate are those Muslims who harbour hatred in their hearts for others, as in doing so they are rendering themselves unfit for paradise. Paradise is not for those who see enemies around them; it is for those who see angels around them. To become a member of the divine civilization, man must shed all negativity and imbibe love. An example of the prevailing Satanic psyche within Muslims is their hatred for the Jews. They no longer emulate the example of their Prophet, who had stood up in respect upon seeing the funeral procession of a Jew. His Companions objected saying it was the funeral procession of a Jew, but, in reply, the Prophet said, "Was he not a human being?" This was the thinking of the Prophet.
Man must know the Creation Plan of God so as to know his past, present and future. It is the need of the hour to revive dawah work among the Muslims. As I mentioned, the situation in Kashmir is just ripe for this to happen. This is because the Kashmiris have tasted violence and know its futility. It is time now to end the mentality of "We-They," or "Us versus Them" and inculcate, in its place, the spirit of "We-We."
It is a matter of grave concern because each one of us has to die and appear before God. There is no escape from this fate. How will you be answerable before God? God wanted you to shower flowers but you showered stones instead and went against the scheme of God. All across the world today, Muslims hate non-Muslims and there is no exception to this rule. Such people will not be worthy of standing before God.
A true dai is one who is devoid of enmity, hatred and extremism. For him no one is a "kafir", every one is an "insaan", a fellow human being. It is such a person who becomes desirable in the eyes of God and qualifies for paradise. God will make him enter His neighbourhood and open the treasures of His world for him.
Man must therefore pray to God so that he adheres to the right path. Man cannot do anything by his decision alone. Receiving God's succour is imperative. Therefore dawah work must be accompanied by dua.
May God accept all of us for His blessings and give us a place in His paradise!
Ameen
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Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.
--The Buddha
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