Part One: SEERAH (Biographical Sketch) CHAPTER

C:\Users\Admin\Dropbox\The Message - Material of Maulana\16. Books and Review\Apa's Books\Life And 78 One interesting example of this dates back to the British period, when paper currency replaced gold and silver coins. There lived in Delhi a great scholar by the name of Abdul Haq Haqqani. He was asked to issue a fatwa (religious edict) as to whether these paper notes were lawful or unlawful. He did not comply with this request, saying: “My fatwa will not gain currency, but paper notes will.” The truth is that no excuse justifies closing the door of Ijtihaad. According to a tradition recorded in Sahih Al-Bukhari: “The Prophet of Islam observed: One who exercised Ijtihaad and succeeded in reaching the right decision would be doubly rewarded, and if he failed to reach the right decision, he would also be rewarded for his sincere effort towards this end.” This tradition clearly and unconditionally encourages the process of Ijtihaad by saying that even when there is a chance of going wrong, it should be continued, the reason being that putting a stop to Ijtihaad brings about intellectual stagnation, and without doubt this is a greater evil than a wrong decision. A number of important issues have come up in modern times, but, without Ijtihaad Muslims have failed to receive proper guidance. This has resulted in great and irreparable losses. For instance, in modern times science has come to receive great importance. But Muslims have continued to keep away from it holding it to be something unIslamic. Similarly the political principle of democracy has been introduced to the world, but Muslims fail to understand its utility. In a similar way, secularism is a popular political philosophy in modern times. But Muslim scholars fail to understand its practical utility and that is why they have come to regard it as unlawful. On the issue of nationalism too, religious scholars have failed to adopt a correct stand. That is why Muslims are still confused about it. Nationhood in modern times is based on the homeland. That is to say, those who share a common land will have the same nationhood, whatever their religion and