Strange Mujahid

‘Islam came to this world as a Stranger, and soon it will return to how it began (its concepts will appear strange to people), so give good news (of success) to the strangers (who appear strange to others on behalf of their Islam)’. [Hadith, Mishkat]

I consider Hamid Mir to be a rightist and pro-Islam. That is why I was very surprised when on 18^th September 2013, Capital Talk, when one of his guests identified another of his guests as a former Mujahid from the Afghan Jihad, Hamid Mir took a shocked pause…as if, it is uncivilized to be a Mujahid…as if, it is a crime to be a Mujahid…as if, it is strange to be a Mujahid. Then he finally brushed it off by saying, ‘Chalen, wo tho maazi ki baath ho gae na…’ I sincerely hope he did not mean what he appeared to mean. For our Prophet Muhammed Pbuh said, ‘One who dies without ever participating in Jihad, or at least having the deep desire to do so, will die the death of a Munafiq (Hypocrite Muslim).’

There was a time in this nation, that the birth of a boy was celebrated, not because he would grow up to be the breadwinner of the family, but that he would become a protector of the Muslim nation. There was a time in this nation, that a girl was impressed by a boy, not because of his salary slip and sleek car, but because of his bravery and valor in the battleground. There was a time in this nation, that mothers preferred their sons to serve the nation and religion than to spend their lives serving them only. They knew that Jannah lay under the feet of the mother but they also knew that Jannah lay under the shade of swords as well. It was a consideration of the need of the hour. Who needed her son more? A mother or a nation?

In the times of the Holy Prophet Pbuh, there was no standing army as such. I am not saying that a formal army should not exist. It may, according to the need of the time, but the society structure that Prophet Muhammed Pnuh built was more brilliant. In there, every Muslim man was a soldier, a Mujahid. When the need of the hour arose, a relevant number of Muslim men themselves volunteered to fight the war, to do Jihad. If the number did not amount sufficient, a call for more was given, such that in the Expedition of Tabuk, other than the hypocrites, only three Muslim men stayed back from Jihad and they were severely reprimanded for it upon return. Every soldier personally pitched in for weapons, chivalry and ride. The rest of the society was also asked to contribute. Look at the fine management of resources and handling of financial aspects of war. Look at the brilliance of multitasking within the society such the same human resource is being used in peace times and war times. They did not have to pay saIaries to troops when there was no war, for they were absorbed back into the society. I have personally never been against the huge amount of national budget spent on the army in Pakistan, because as a Muslim I honor every penny spent on defence, but the seculars often criticize it. Perhaps they would like to borrow some ideology from Islam and promote the training of all of our men and women for war and combat, for in Islam, women, senior citizens and children are backup reinforcements when the male army runs short. Cool, ya? Or am I being an extremist and promoting terrorism? Well, as of today, Israel has adopted this strategy and it is one of the reasons why they stand so strong today despite being small in number.

Yet, a worst calamity that has hit the Muslim nation today is a further ideological misconception. Despite repetitive warnings in the Holy Quran to not develop deep friendships and alliances with the Jews and Christians, the ‘designated’ soldiers of the Muslim world today are being ordered to fight their so-called war-on-terror against Muslims. These Muslims are ‘volunteer’ soldiers of the Muslim world who have risen to combat the onslaught of the Jews and Christians upon Muslim lands, resources and ideology.  Consequently, sometimes the designated Muslim soldiers and the volunteer Muslim soldiers come face to face with each other and combat each other and kill each other and incur collateral damage on each other. Then, who is the Shaheed here?

Some analogue the given situation to the Battle of Jamal that took place between Syedna Ali RA and Syedna Ayesha RA. What? Relax! There is no harm in mapping any situation to the situations of the Prophets and Companions of the Prophet Pbuh, for that is the very reason why they came into this world; to guide mankind in given situations by their words and actions. So regarding the battle that took place between Syedna Ali RA and Syedna Ayesha RA; I do not think this analogue is valid here. Not because I do not consider the Taliban worthy of it but because I do not consider the agenda of the secular forces worthy of it. Syedna Ali RA and Syedna Ayesha RA were both fighting for the protection of Islam but with a different approach in mind each, while in our scenario, one is fighting for Allah Almighty while the other is fighting for America.

Almost everyone was really offended when Maulana Fazl-ur-Rahman said that even a dog will be considered a Shaheed if killed by the Americans. I, for once, agree with him. People said that ‘Shaheed’ is such a holy concept and term and no matter what, how can anybody associate it with an animal? I say, think again. What does the world think about us? What do the American think about us despite the fact that we dance to their ‘Do More’. In the days following 9/11, while the Americans were still reeling from their surprise of the fact that Musharraf had agreed to just about everything that had been put up to Pakistan, their media printed a cartoon which showed the Pakistanis as dogs, fetching Islamic activists and handing them over to America for a nice, juicy, dollary bone each. This is the impression that we carry even to them and yet we call ourselves Shaheed when we die serving them.    

Moreover, it is strange that the secular Muslim world no longer uses the term Jihad in association with their designated soldiers and they no longer use the word Mujahideen for their designated soldiers but are happy to use the term Shaheed for their designated soldiers. Why? Shaheed is a term coined by Islam to honor someone who has sacrificed his life to strengthen or defend Islam and Muslims, not Jews and Christians and their agenda.

Then, who is a Shaheed? The designated Muslim soldiers fighting on the agenda of America and its allies, or the volunteer Muslim soldiers fighting the onslaught of America and its allies? I see the heartfelt speeches of Mujahideen, burning with passion and purpose, trying to awaken a burping nation, and I see the news clips of our soldiers wearing badges and stars, shaking hands with American generals and awarding them medals for God-knows-what. Friends of both, the designated Muslim soldier and the volunteer Muslim soldier, claim them to be Shaheed when they die. Then by derivation, both of them must be a Mujahid each. But surely, one of them is a strange Mujahid.