Adjectives Before “Muslims”

I wonder at the adjectives being used before “Muslims”. If we look at the meaning of “Muslim” and then add the adjectives we will notice the difference. For instance, let us see how it sounds when we say ‘those who have progressively surrendered’, those who have ‘moderately surrendered’, those who are ‘extremists in surrendering’ the ones who are ‘fanatics in surrendering’, the ones who have ‘liberally surrendered’, the ones who have ‘culturally surrendered’ and those who have ‘surrendered (to the Will of Allah)’ with their ‘Leftist or Rightist ideologies’. Exhausting all the adjectives we give a clear indication that our thoughts are incoherent and disjointed.

All the good and positive things that we connote while using the expressions like ‘moderate’, ‘progressive’ and ‘liberal’ etc are already included in “Muslim”. It doesn’t mean that the “Muslim” alone could not have meant or included all those positive and desirable traits without adding these adjectives before it. Islam has seamlessly blended spirit with matter leaving no difference between the two except in niyyah (intention). Islam is so considerate or moderate that an obligation like Salaah is reduced and joined if one is travelling. The obligations of Zakaah and Hajj are not the obligations if one is not capable of them. As regards ‘progressiveness’, Islam aims at leading the world and not merely following it. Imbibing the true spirit of Islam, Muslims should have been in the forefront leading everything good happening in the world.

Having said that, we cannot ignore the fact that the addition of certain adjectives, for instance ‘moderate’ and ‘progressive’, indicates that the ones using these adjectives want to distinguish themselves from the ‘extremists’ and the ‘retrogressive ones’ and they don’t want to be identified with them. This desire is genuine and must be respected. The only submission here is that we needed to stay with this problem a bit longer. We needed to ask ourselves whether “Muslim” is sufficient or not. And why or why not. Also, how many new adjectives we will need with the passage of time.

All those Muslims whom we are not happy with e.g. the ones who according to us have “liberally surrendered” should not be summarily rejected. We need to find out why aren’t we happy with them or they with us – if this is the case. (Why this “they” and “us” is yet another matter.) Is there any right lesson that we can learn from this right story? Is there anything negative here which we can turn into positive? Is there any problem here which we can turn into an opportunity? Are we absolving ourselves of a responsibility by categorizing some people with a certain name and leaving the things there? Let us ask all these questions to ourselves repeatedly.

Maybe the problem is with our unjustified division of life (al-hayaat) into the categories of ‘religious’ and ‘secular’ and the knowledge, too, in the same two painful categories. We have repeated it a million times and have drilled it deep in the heads of our children. Imagine each one of us having said it only 50 times in the life so far and then think about its total impact on the psyche of a whole nation and a people! Maybe we need to think about the whole issue once again.

We need to be extremely cautious in using adjectives before “Muslims”. We need to remain in the jurisdiction of human beings without encroaching in the domain of the Creator. And there is plenty of room for us to manoeuvre, I am sure. Instead of giving various adjectives to whomsoever we want we should instead develop a tradition and work for it diligently to present Islam in a rational manner which satisfies every curious and creative mind.