The Victory of Islam (Part 2)
The Young Islam, 1st July 1934 Issue (Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 3–4)
یٰۤاَیُّہَا الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا کُوۡنُوۡۤا اَنۡصَارَ اللّٰہِ کَمَا قَالَ عِیۡسَی ابۡنُ مَرۡیَمَ لِلۡحَوَارِیّٖنَ مَنۡ اَنۡصَارِیۡۤ اِلَی اللّٰہِ ؕ قَالَ الۡحَوَارِیُّوۡنَ نَحۡنُ اَنۡصَارُ اللّٰہ
“O you who believe, be helpers (in the cause) of Allah, as Jesus, son of Mary, said to his disciples: Who are my helpers in the cause of Allah? The disciples said: We are helpers (in the cause) of Allah” (The Holy Quran, 61:14).
The Ahmadiyya Movement stands today for the victorious march of Islam. It has propounded a method and demonstrated in practical life its miraculous results. The cause of Islam is dear to every Muslim heart. Why then is there so little response on the part of Muslims to rally round the cause? Among others, the one great obstacle is that the sentiments and emotions that a Muslim cherishes about Islam are utterly irreconcilable with the spirit of the movement. The spirit of Islam as understood today is diametrically opposed to the method of victory the movement has envisaged. In its first phase of rising, the victory of Islam, though not due either to sword or empires, has nevertheless been associated with them. This process continued for thirteen hundred years. Naturally, an average Muslim has come to regard these two as inseparable. It is therefore that he asks: Where is the sword that the Ahmadiyya Movement is wielding for Islam? What energy is it spending to build Islamic empires? If the answer is in the negative, then subconsciously he argues: Is the movement not a distinct departure from Islam of the past?
Purity and strength of heart coupled with an unquenchable thirst to sacrifice one’s all in the cause of truth are of the very essence of religion. The aim of a true religion has always been to develop the moral and spiritual traits in man. But the extent and form which such an evolution is to take depends entirely on the environment in which he is placed. Our spiritual teachers, the Prophets, have exhibited those traits of character that were expressly demanded by the age. Moses prescribes the cult of retaliation. Jesus enjoins humility and gentleness to the extreme. David is a mighty monarch leading armies and conquering empires. Buddha relinquishes his throne to find light in the jungles. According to Quran all of them are Muslims. With our Holy Prophet [Muhammad (pbuh)] the case is however different. Here we notice the apparent antagonism in the life of one and the same man. In Mecca he is like Jesus submitting and suffering. In Medina he behaves more like Moses displaying feats of valour and requiting evil. He certainly appears a Buddha while he receives the Divine Light in the cave of Mecca entirely cut off from worldly affairs. We see a David in him when he manages the most intricate affairs of his state.
The Quran has summed up all the pure teachings. Our Holy Prophet has shown in his life every trait of morality in its perfect form. This has been done so that the Muslims may find every kind of teaching available. In the life of the Holy Prophet a Muslim can find an example for each and every occasion he may be presented with. It follows therefore that the spirit of Jesus’ teachings is as much a part of Islam as that of Moses. Each one has its proper occasion. It is only the surrounding conditions that determine the form in which the spirit of Islam is to be displayed. Different physical ailments require varying and even antagonistic lines of treatment. Why so not in the moral and spiritual realm? If the requirements of one age are different from those of another, must one foolishly adhere to the same course? The ills and evils of each age require for their eradication some specific remedy. And the spiritual luminaries adopt the requisite line of attack. A perfect Muslim is one who has at his command all the moral and spiritual qualities in him. Like a wise general he mobilises one detachment or another according to as the opportunity demands. This is exactly what our Holy Prophet meant to convey when he said:
علماء امتی کا نبیاء بنی اسرائیل
Ulama ummati ka-anbiya Bani Israil
“The learned among my followers are like the Prophets of the Bani Israel.”
Here the Holy Prophet likens his own followers to prophets of the past. This means that a Muslim displays his qualities of heart according to requirements of the age he is living in. Hence for this reason he comes to resemble more with the prophet who manifested in him exclusively those traits of character.
It is true that for thirteen centuries Islam had to resist physical force which stood in its way. Had the mentality of the age remained unchanged we would not have required a change in the method of victory. Times however have altered. Mentalities have undergone a vital change. It is on this account that Islam has to employ other methods of conquest. It is quite true to assert that had our Holy Prophet lived in our age he would have invariably employed methods in conformity with the demands of this age. He is reported to have said:
“If I happen to confront the Anti-Christ I would conquer him by intellectual powers.”
Islam remains unchanged. We have the same Quran. All the fundamentals and details of the Shariat [Islamic law] stand unaltered. Even the actual forces that win and conquer are still the same as before. It is only the form of their external manifestation that has changed. The soul of Islam is the same; its expression however has altered. If for thirteen centuries the soul of Islam expressed itself on the lines of Moses in conformity with the Medinite period of our Holy Prophet, today it must assert itself in the spirit of Jesus in consonance with his Meccan period. We are all witnessing the appearance of the Anti-Christ. Is it then not in conformity with the prophecies of our Holy Prophet that the Messiah of Islam should appear? The Ahmadiyya Movement is no departure from Islam. It is the same old faith of the Arabian Prophet. The evils of the present age are however different. Modern mentality requires handling on different lines. The grandeur, the majesty, the power and the awe must now be replaced by a spirit of humility, sublimity, utility and beauty latent in Islam. Who has truly imbibed the spirit of the Ahmadiyya Movement? The man who has been convinced in his heart of hearts that Islam today requires for its conquest no building up of empires. Who has accepted in reality the Mujaddid of this century as the Promised Messiah? He who has demonstrated that a life of utter self-abnegation devoted persistently and truthfully to the cause of Islam is the requirement of the day. All are agreed that the Muslims of later days have been enjoined in the Quran in the words:
یٰۤاَیُّہَا الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا کُوۡنُوۡۤا اَنۡصَارَ اللّٰہِ کَمَا قَالَ عِیۡسَی ابۡنُ مَرۡیَمَ لِلۡحَوَارِیّٖنَ مَنۡ اَنۡصَارِیۡۤ اِلَی اللّٰہِ ؕ قَالَ الۡحَوَارِیُّوۡنَ نَحۡنُ اَنۡصَارُ اللّٰہ
“O you who believe, be helpers in the cause of Allah as Jesus said to his disciples: Who are my helpers in the cause of Allah” [The Holy Quran, 61:14].
But few are those who see the signs of the times and accept the Messiah of Islam to participate in the conquest. And very few indeed are those who imbibe the true spirit which is required today to win the world. Every kind of sacrifice is noble and requires a struggle within. But the struggle to overcome and mould one’s sentiments and emotions in submission to Allah’s will requires an extraordinary will and power of the soul. The victory of Islam in its second phase of rising is associated with the advent of the Promised Messiah. Will the Muslims accept his method and enhance the pace?