Khayaalaat Ka Ek Murattab Nezaam

My most respected and beloved ustaaz, Maulana Muhammad ‘Inayatullah Asad Subhani Saheb, is among the eminent ‘Ulama. Studying and teaching Qur’an is his passion. In Jami‘atul Falah we waited for him for many years before he returned from Saudi Arabia to teach us. What I admire the most in him is the fact that he writes what he thinks is right. And he does so fearlessly. He is the symbol of a very good teacher who has special relationship with his students – beyond the classrooms. He has been an inspiration for many among us. When a situation was created in Jami‘atul Falah because of which he had to leave – due to holding a different view on certain issues – we were not happy.

I came across a write-up of Maulana ‘Inayatullahi Subhani Saheb in the monthly Rafeequ-e-Manzil of January 2010 (pages 7-10). It addresses the cadre of Jamaa‘at-e-Islami Hind in an eloquent and passionate manner. The subtitles like “Jamaa‘at-e-Islami ka nasb al-‘ain, nasb al-‘ain ka matlab and nasb al-‘ain kay taqaazey captured the attention.

There isn’t much problem till here. The problem begins when we contrast the above write-up with the interview of Professor Siddique Hassan (http://www.ummid.com/news/November/30.11.2009/a_vision_for_muslim_empowerment.htm). I wonder why did Professor Hasan “travel extensively to gain an understanding of the social conditions and problems of Muslims in different parts of the country”? He should have known it before travelling. But more importantly, the situation wasn’t any better in 1941. It, however, did not make the Jamaa‘at focus on the empowerment of Muslims at that time. Why is it doing so now? Has the focus shifted now? Has the nasb al-‘ain of iqaamat-e-Deen become less important now? If so, why?

If we put VISION 2016 of Professor Siddique Hassan in action what will we do with the write-up of Muhtaram Maulana ‘Inayatuulah Subhani Saheb and what will we do if we reverse the order? How will we become “strangers” and “empowered”, both at the same time? How could iqaamat-e-Deen “which is as obligatory as Salaah and Zakaah” be reconciled with the “social and economic empowerment of the community” – in the understood sense of these terms? How we will reconcile the “socially-engaged understanding of our faith” as described by Professor Siddique Hasan with the not-so-engaging write-up of Maulana ‘Inayatullah Saheb. The Jamaa‘at should also explain why iqaamat-e-Deen is not a “Social Service” for which it required to establish a separate department.

How will we reconcile the idealism of the former with the pragmatism of the latter? How will we save the cadre of Jamaa‘at-e-Islami (and also SIO) from being torn between the two pieces and from the predicament of not really figuring out what they actually need to do? How will we not accept “koi bhi doosaraa nezaam” and will do our best to come to the mainstream of ek doosaraa nezaam – both at the same time? How we will reconcile the ‘Urdu’ of Maulana ‘Inayatullah Subhani Saheb with the ‘English’ of Professor Siddique Hasan? Are the readers of Rafeeq-e-Manzil expected to read the interview of Professor Siddique Hasan and vice versa?

Will the Jamaa‘at-e-Islami Hind work on the “empowerment” of some people on the one hand and it will work for iqaamat-e-deen on the other - simultaneously? Will it work on these two fronts at the same time without realizing the fact that they will be opposing each other? In short, how will the exclusivism of the first piece be reconciled with the desire of inclusion and appreciation of egalitarianism in the second?

The two pieces are a grim reminder of the “rigid dualism between the ‘ulama and modern-educated Muslims, so characteristic of most of north India”. The two pieces remind that there is an urgent need of cross-fertilization between the ‘traditionally’ and the ‘modern’ educated. Our religious scholarship is by and large divorced from reality. The situations like the above add to the confusion. Confusion leads to the dissipation of our energies and resources – material and human.

When I hear the argument that there is no harm if the Jamaa‘at-e-Islami Hind has evolved and adjusted according to the changing times and then I contrast it with the write-up of Maulana ‘Inayatullah Subhani Saheb I wonder if the Jamaa‘at has really evolved and adjusted. I also wonder which direction we are moving into with the deep-rooted self-contradictions. We are not moving in any direction as we are utterly confused.

What is the purpose behind all the submissions made above? The purpose is to move to the second stage of the Aligarh Movement in India i.e. critical and scientific thinking which may help us develop the whole picture or a coherent body of ideas – khayaalaat ka ek murattab nezaam. Which may help us master all the sciences of the world and become founders of many more. Which may help us regain the glorious status which the Muslims had in the past and which we lament for not having now without taking the analyses to the logical conclusions. It is not the opposition of Jamaa‘at-e-Islami or madrasaas. It is merely a search for the whole picture and the coherence in all the aspects of our collective life

I would suggest that the learned and thoughtful members of the Jamaa‘at-e-Islami Hind review its foundations thoroughly and give it a new direction. A direction more in line with the direction given by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as outlined in the VISION: The students coming out of our Colleges and Universities should have Qur’an in the right hand, most modern scientific and technological advancements in the left hand and the crown of Laa Ilaah on the forehead. So that the Muslims regain the same glorious status of founders and promoters of science and technology as they did during the ascendance of their civilization.

The Jamaa‘at-e-Islami Hind should realize that the model suggested by Maulana Syed Abul A‘ala Maududi is not workable now. Iqaamat-e-Deen and hukoomat-e-ilaahiyyah in the conventional sense are not tenable any longer. In the changing situations when the individual is getting more and more empowered let us focus on the all important agenda of education having clearly described objectives behind it and in a holistic manner. We should realize the fact that many beautiful objectives which we want to achieve otherwise will actually be achieved by the right kind of education.

The Jamaa‘at should seriously think about it and should not wait for many more decades as it normally does. Let us not waste more time only to realize much later that we should have done so much earlier. The Jamaa‘at should evaluate its priorities keeping the future needs in view. It should give serious thought to the fact that with every passing day it is going farther and farther away from iqaamat-e-Deen and hukoomat-e-ilaahiyyah as it perceived it. I don’t know how I could put it more clearly.