Dueling Fatwas- reply to Plato

Submitted by Fazal Habib Curmally (Pakistan), Oct 17, 2010 at 02:18

Greetings Plato,

I am replying to you point by point as you do. I think you have done what you did because of a certain insecurity. However, here goes

Akbar did what he did because he needed support for the throne he sat on. Sher Shah Suri and the Afghans were in command then as Sher Shah Suri had chased out Humayun, Akbar's father out of India into Iran.. Humayun returned to reclaim his throne with the help of one of the Safavid Shahs in Iran who gave him an army to retake his lands. Akbar continued to face the Afghan challenge so he decided to mobilise and bring about an Indian army. That meant bringing in the indigenous Hindu population. This is why he married Jodha Bai and bring about a syncreticism of Hindu and Muslim thought. This was the basis of the Indian Muslim Revivalist though that started with Mujadid Alif Thani.

About wearing a ring with the word Prabhu inscribed on it.Dara Shikoh's younger brother Aurangzeb had him put to death. This is history. Aurangzeb moved on to purify Islam in India because the syncreticism that started with Akbar had given cause to a sufism or Islamic mysticism to go overboard. The death of a foremost mystic Sarmad is a case in point. This led to the rediscvery and reinterpretation of Islam in India. A king tried to change it and failed. His sons and grandsons did not agree with what he had done. I'm sorry I cannot give a value judgment that you require because it has happened and there is no way I can change it.

Which Muslim woman can dress as she please, you say. Haven't you seen Muslim women in India and the way they dress? My Grandmother, Mother, Wife, Daugheter and Daughter in law her mother and Grandmother my cousins their wives and nieces have always dressed as they chose. The Burqa is on its way out in Pakistan. Did you know that ? Islam never prescribed the Burqa it prescribed modesty.

About Jazya, it is a Quranic prescription. The Muslims in India, Afghanistan and some parts of central Asia, follow the most liberal of all Islamic schools of law , the Hanafi school, realized they could not kill all the idol worshippers in the Kingdom, to they turned a blind eye to it but did not encourage it and levied additional taxes on idolators. That again is history and you or I can't change it.

Having Read RadhaKrishnan's translations of the Upanishads I maintain they are great. I will not compare the Quran e Karim which incidentally is a divine revelation with the Upanishads as I will not compare the Bible with the Upanishads. It is not good manners to say anything contrary about any one's beliefs or their religious books. Our way of prayer is the way the Prophet prayed and we emulate it. I am unable to pray and make prostrations as prescribed, so a chair is given to me to sit and pray in the Mosque. When I was in the USA, I was also given a chair at one place to pray, and permitted to sit separately and pray in another. So what is the point you are tying to make?

Yes we have legislated equality or women. You forget the First Wife of the prophet( peace be upon him) was a Trader and had her caravans going all over Arabia and Palestine and probably into parts of what is now Turkey and Iran. It might pay for you to differentiate between religion and social customs. Should you do that, it would be much easier for you to understand the questions you raise.

Plato, you cannot deny that Sati exists even today in India. I cannot say for sure whether this is a religious prescription or a social custom but is known to exist, and therefore I seek an answer from you to enlighten myself on the matter. In much the same way female circumcision does exist even today in certain parts of Egypt and surrounding areas. But this is not prescribed in the Quran e Karim. Try and understand that the example and the reference a reader gave, was a Hadith. We have the Sunnah which is a compilation of the actions of the prophet ( peace be upon him) and the Hadith which are the sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The hadith that was given as an example was from Medina where the Prophet (may peace be upon him) sought refuge from the persecution in his home town of Mecca. In Medina there were pagans, Jews and Christian living side by side. My question was and remains was the woman a Muslim? The hadith does not say anything about her religious affiliations. However, like Rajam or stoning to death, is not mentioned in the Quran e Karim it was a custom that was adopted under the Second Righteous caliph Umar Farooq. So there is always an element of social customs in the prctice of religion in any given area. Take for example our Tasbih or prayer beads consist of 99 beads whereas when I was in Ghana, I got a local tasbih that had a hundred beads. Tasbihs should have 99 beads because of thrn 99 names of Allah (swt). This is another example of local customs.

Unfortunately, we have had religious fanatics amongst us. They have turned militant. The Pakistani Army took them on and gave them what for. They are scattered today but they exist. In much the same way, you have the Rashtrya Savak Sangh and other extremist bodies in India. Can you deny that even today you are practicing Shuddi and Sangathan? Can you deny that laws laid down regarding caste have caused the caste system to cease to exist? After all, the system of castes were prescribed in the Manu Smirti weren't they? The Buddhists and the the World at large went haywire when the statues at Bamyan were desecrated. Didn't you read the newspapers or watch tv? What was done by the Taliban was wrong.because they didn't destroy statues but hit out at a religion. This is intolerance. In much the same way Ms Sonia Gandhi was not permitted to become the Prime Minister despite the fact she was the head of the Indian Congress party for the simple reason that she was a foreigner and was not Indian born. Can you deny that? As for the Kaaba being blown up, threats of this nature have been made before and we shall see what will happen if such a thing is tried.

Have we asked you to prove Hinduism requires proof of its greatness? Islam is proof in itself and the fact that there are over 1.25 Billion Muslims in the world is also proof of that. Who are you to ask for proof? Have you asked Christians or Jews to give proof that their religion is worthy of respect.? Be careful of what you say.

In the USA there have been cases of burning the Quran e Karim wiping themselves on pages of the Quran e Karim after defecating. You should read the CAIR site for examples.

Yes my country has seen blood shed and intolerance of the worst type. You forget we have been a front line state for 30 years and counting. The damage done to the Pakistani social fabric is enormous. As long as our borders are destabilized, we will be this way. But this does not explain the Jammu and Kashmir killings and the Naxalite movement. What is your excuse? Neither country has forgotten or forgiven partition . Perhaps India which claims to be shining could give Pakistan it's share of the assets along with the interest accrued thereon. It was Pandit Jawahirlal Nehru held back Pakistan's share of assets in India.

I am sad that I have had to say what I have said. I have tried to be gentle. Knowledge is not meant to hurt anyone but is to be used for betterment of this world. Do you agree?

With Regards

With Regards

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