By Muhammad Yunus, New Age Islam
19 November 2015
(Joint Author), Essential Message of Islam, Amana Publications, USA, 2009
The Shamelessness Of Ulema Of Islam In Bearing With The Penultimate Blasphemy By ISIS Brutes Without A Thunderous Global Protest Is As Despicable As, In Urdu Diction ‘Chullu Bhar Pani May Doob Marna’ (Deserving Of Drowning In A Fistful Of Water)
This article comes at the heel of November 13 Paris massacre in which 129 innocent people were killed including 80 in a single venue – Bataclan Concert Hall – with terrorists shouting the battle cry of Allah u Akbar. Even otherwise, practically all ISIS brutal executions of civilians and captives is conducted under the flag or banner proclaiming the Shahada.
It also comes as a sequel to a series of articles by this author referenced below calling upon the Muslim Ulema globally and specifically the Custodian of the Sacred Mosques and the Rector of al-Azhar al Sharif to issue a corporate/ collective fatwa declaring ISIS and its affiliates as Kharijites who are deemed to have lost their claim to the faith of Islam based on the precedent left by Caliph Ali: he had outlawed the Muhakkimas who, like ISIS were profound in Islamic rituals and entertained an obsessive conviction to kill any dissidents; he declared them Kharijites.
It is conceivable that the terrorist who risks death any moment while spraying shots and hurling grenades at a crowd or awaiting the moment of his explosive suicide, shouts out the Shahadah to earn divine forgiveness by dying with Allah’s name at his lips. The gravity of the crime apart, the conviction of the terrorist to indemnify himself against any divine punishment and to earn divine reward by doing something which is most vehemently forbidden by the Qur’an (which forbids killing of even one innocent person – 5:32) speaks of the distortion and dissonance of Islamic thoughts of the terror outfits of this era.
Allah is praised as the Most Kind and Most Merciful at the beginning of 113out of 114 Suras of the Qur’an and once in the text of the Sura Tauba – in all 114 times. The Qur’an further declares that Allah has prescribed Mercy for Himself (6:54) and His Mercy encompasses everything (7:156). Hence, to take Allah’s name while doing something most unkind, most merciless and devilish - killing innocent people en-masse in public places, including mosques, churches, schools, cafes, restaurants and other public places (a concert hall in Paris massacre) in the most barbaric way defies the limits of sin or crime. Therefore, mere condemnation of the crime or call for re-education of a fellow Muslim terrorist as often suggested by Muslim Ulema and scholars stands immeasurably forbearing and lenient.
As a perceptive Muslim, whenever this writer sees the banner of Shahada wielded or displayed by ISIS brutes at their live beheadings, he is filled with unspeakable disgust, not only for the false religious coloring of this crime but also for the absence of any thunderous protest by Muslim Ulema against such titanic blasphemy. This led him to open his mind in his recent comment to a related article in which he paralleled their silence with a height of shamelessness that is captured in the Urdu idiom “Chullu Bhar Pani May Dub Kar Marna" [To drown oneself in a handful of water]–ref: Ungodly Activities in the name of God by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, November 17.
May God forgive me if I have exceeded limits, for to my mind there can be no greater profanation of the name of Allah than to pronounce it loud while killing innocent people in the most brutal and gruesome manner. It is reminiscent of offering human sacrifice to idols in the pre-Islamic Arabia when the pagan Arabs who also believed in Allah must be shouting Allah u Akbar while striking a merciless blow at their victims' necks.
I wonder, whether I am oversensitive to the profanation of God, or the Muslim Ulema shamelessly insensitive about it – whether I have lost my emotional balance or the Ulema their spiritual sanctity - God knows best.
As for my part I have made repeated calls based on historical precedent left by Caliph Ali to outlaw the ISIS and its likes that could halt their recruitment process and forestall radicalization of disillusioned Muslim youths, ignorant of the antipathy of the Qur’an against any form of terrorism. And that is all that I can do at a personal level.
In sum terrorism in the name of Islam is an ideological cancer that has allowed the devil to dominate the terrorist mind. So all his heinous crimes are inspired by devil (Shaytan), and his xenophobic delusions lead him to confusing it with Allah – the Most Kind and the Most Merciful. Their call, while perpetrating terror should more fittingly be ‘Shaytan the Great’ (May God forgive me for coining this expression) and not ‘God the Great.’ It is these people who commit a sin perhaps more grave than shirk – they say Allah in place of Shaytan in their xenophobic mania that has exceeded all limits – though God alone knows why the Muslim Ulema are not protesting against this inordinately unholy swap though the heaven breaks lose over their heads when a cartoon, or malicious report or publication demonizing the Prophet appears in the media.
Ref:
7. Countering Violent Extremism – Muslim Ulama And Custodians Of Faith Must Avert A Potential Holocaust
Muhammad Yunus, a Chemical Engineering graduate from Indian Institute of Technology, and a retired corporate executive has been engaged in an in-depth study of the Qur’an since early 90’s, focusing on its core message. He has co-authored the referred exegetic work, which received the approval of al-Azhar al-Sharif, Cairo in 2002, and following restructuring and refinement was endorsed and authenticated by Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl of UCLA, and published by Amana Publications, Maryland, USA, 2009.
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