VEIL OF INTERPRETATION OVER ISLAM

relegated to the background—for instance, concern for the larger humanity, missionary work, and patience. Missionary work—that is conveying the message of Islam peacefully—is the greatest mission of the Muslim community for, although prophethood came to an end with Prophet Muhammad, the mission of the Prophet has not yet come to an end. The mission continues through the followers of the Prophet as a matter of religious duty. It would be no exaggeration to say that without the performance of this duty, the very credibility of being the Muslim community would become doubtful. Strangely, indeed, missionary work found no place in the literature of the centuries after the Prophet Muhammad. Neither has it been mentioned anywhere in the Muslim agenda of today. The classical commentaries of the Quran also fail to give any prominence to missionary work as a concept. In books of sayings of the Prophet too, we find chapters on all subjects except missionary work. The same is true of Islamic jurisprudence in whose texts we do not find a chapter on missionary work. According to the Quran, the exercise of patience is a deed, which makes man eligible for the highest reward (8: 46); the patient man will be rewarded “beyond measure” (39: 10). But the interpretation that gained popularity in later times was that the injunction of patience had been abrogated and replaced by jihad (in the sense of fighting). Thus, one who studies these books gathers the impression, that consciously or unconsciously, patience might have been important in the past, but nowadays it has lost its relevance. Now jihad and not sabr is of foremost importance. So, the ensuing result of the attitude of Muslims is that whenever someone presents the real Islam, it appears alien to them. o One great loss created by these additions to the original Islam was the shift in emphasis. Some important teachings of Islam were relegated to the background—for instance, concern for the larger humanity, missionary work, and patience.