ISLAM VERSUS OPPORTUNISM

ISLAM VERSUS OPPORTUNISM

1987 11 November 18-19 ISLAM VERSUS OPPORTUNISM (399) Any apprehensions should be set aside as having been Inspired by some falsehood or by some distortion of the truth arising from the superficial quality of human vision.

There is a saying of Ali to which we should all give serious consideration : “Whenever people abandon some aspect of their Faith in order to improve their worldly position, they will find themselves exposed by God to even greater adversity.”

This applies to nations as to individuals, it holds in all walks of life, and it covers all matters, great and small. Such guidelines, to be found in both the book of God and in the Sunnah of the Prophet should be religiously adhered to by Muslims as a matter of personal duty. Any apprehensions they may have about them should be set aside as having been inspired by some falsehood or by some distortion of the truth arising from the superficial quality of human vision.

There is one very important example which bears out the truth of Ali’s saying, i.e. the communal riots which take place all too frequently in India, one of the rival communities being Muslims. Now, clear guidance on such issues is readily available to Muslims in the Quran and Sunnah, namely, that one should turn away from involvement in rioting; one should not allow oneself to be provoked, no matter what the provocation. Yet when such obviously practical guidelines are laid down before Muslims, they find themselves unable to put them into practice, because they are so preoccupied by self-contrived considerations. Their main obsession is that if they do not retaliate, the other community will take courage from their inaction, and feel free to make even more mischief than before.

For the last fifty years Indian Muslims have been following this path, which is of their own making, and the outcome has repeatedly underscored the truth of Ali’s words. Having abandoned the teachings of their religion in favour of sectarian considerations, they are forced, time and time again, to endure riots, which are becoming increasingly savage and more and more destructive of the community interests which they seek to preserve.

God has always known which is the best course fur us to adopt – one which will certainly bring us no harm – and He has revealed this course to mankind through His Prophet. If we place our trust in God and His Prophet, we shall certainly achieve the greatest moral triumphs. Following any other course, no matter how seemingly advantageous, is a breach of this trust and can only lead us to ultimate ruin.