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The struggle between THE TRUTH (Al-Haq - الحق) and FALSEHOOD (Baatil - باطل) has been going on throughout human history and will continue until eternity. Allama Iqbal expresses this Quranic reality thus:
The eternal struggle of Haq and Baatil has always existed
Between the Mustafa's (PBUH) light and Abi Lahab's fire
He further says:
Baatil changes its appearance and comes again in the world
Although the humankind is old but Laat and Manaat are young
How ironic that we believe we are practicing Islam by performing mechanical rituals under the guise of sharia law developed by our religionists in cahoots with the ruling and business elites. The evil trio - the new Pharaohs, the new Hamans, the new Qaroons - has divided the Ummah into different religious sects, into rich and poor, into different ethnicities, etc. which are clearly against the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH). In fact, the Prophet (PBUH) demolished these differences which were deeply entrenched at his time and transformed them into one holistic Ummah based on the Quranic command:
وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ
(17:70) - NOW, INDEED, We have conferred dignity on the children of Adam. [Asad]
Allah has granted equal dignity to all humankind. But later Muslims destroyed this and got themselves divided into different nationalities.
So says Allah, the All-powerful, All listening, All knowing that:
تِلْكَ اٰيٰتُ الْكِتٰبِ الْمُبِيْنِ
(28:2) - These are messages of a divine writ clear in itself and clearly showing the truth. [Asad]
These laws are from that code of life which is itself clear and illuminating.
The Quran is the first book which has described the stories of past nations as philosophy of history. This means that the Quran has described the result of past nations as cause-and-effects analysis. It says that whatever happened to those nations, it wasn't based on chance. Whatever the result happened, it was due to actions they carried out; and the result happened according to Allah's Law of Requital. The life and death of nations happen according to whether or not they were following the right path as given in the Quran.
The Quran says that Pharaoh had adopted an extremely rebellious attitude in his kingdom. In order to strengthen his position, he had divided his people into various factions. He was continuously weakening one of the factions (the Bani Israel). In this regard, his policy was to render ineffective all men of merit and fortitude by humiliating and subjugating them; and to honor and advance those who were devoid of these qualities. In this way he was creating unevenness among the nation's people and breaking their unity and strength. He was using the policy, which is called "divide and conquer" strategy as used commonly these days by Machiavellians ruling the world.
The Quran describes the story of Musa (PBUH):
اِنَّ فِرْعَوْنَ عَلَا فِي الْاَرْضِ وَجَعَلَ اَهْلَهَا شِيَعًا يَّسْتَضْعِفُ طَاۗىِٕفَةً مِّنْهُمْ يُذَ بِّحُ اَبْنَاۗءَهُمْ وَيَسْتَحْيٖ نِسَاۗءَهُمْ ۭ اِنَّهٗ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِيْنَ
(28:4) - Behold, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and divided its people into castes. One group of them he deemed utterly low; he would slaughter their sons and spare (only) their women: for, behold, he was one of those who spread corruption [on earth]. [Asad]
And this was not the strategy of Pharaoh alone. It was adopted by all dictators and kings (27:34). Pharaoh was one of them.
قَالَتْ إِنَّ الْمُلُوكَ إِذَا دَخَلُوا قَرْيَةً أَفْسَدُوهَا وَجَعَلُوا أَعِزَّةَ أَهْلِهَا أَذِلَّةً ۖ وَكَذَٰلِكَ يَفْعَلُونَ
(27:34) - Verily, whenever kings enter a country they corrupt it, and turn the noblest of its people into the most abject. And this is the way they [always] behave?
The Quran says:
وَنُرِيْدُ اَنْ نَّمُنَّ عَلَي الَّذِيْنَ اسْتُضْعِفُوْا فِي الْاَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ اَىِٕمَّةً وَّنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوٰرِثِيْنَ
(28:5) -- But it was Our will to bestow Our favour upon those [very people] who were deemed [so] utterly low in the land, and to make them forerunners in faith. and to make them heirs [to Pharaoh's glory], [Asad]
The Quran further explains:
وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِي الْاَرْضِ وَنُرِيَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامٰنَ وَجُنُوْدَهُمَا مِنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُوْا يَحْذَرُوْنَ
(28:6) - and to establish them securely on earth, and to let Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts experience through those [children of Israel] the very thing against which they sought to protect themselves. [Asad]
The Quran says:
مَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ اَنْ يُّؤْتِيَهُ اللّٰهُ الْكِتٰبَ وَالْحُكْمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ ثُمَّ يَقُوْلَ لِلنَّاسِ كُوْنُوْا عِبَادًا لِّيْ مِنْ دُوْنِ اللّٰهِ وَلٰكِنْ كُوْنُوْا رَبّٰـنِيّٖنَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تُعَلِّمُوْنَ الْكِتٰبَ وَبِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَدْرُسُوْنَ
(3:79) - It is not conceivable that a human being unto whom God had granted revelation, and sound judgment, and prophethood, should thereafter have said unto people, "Worship me beside God"; but rather [did he exhort them], "Become men of God by spreading the knowledge of the divine writ, and by your own deep study [thereof]." [Asad]
Allama Iqbal wrote a complete chapter about it in his book "Javed Nameh" when describing the eternal divine message of the Quran. Here are few verses here from this chapter.
Our assembly is deprived of Tauheed, our charge without leader
But the Quran is still there, its message is still there in its pages
It just needs its true message to be brought out loud and clear
Sky has many devotees to get its message out loud and clear
The Quran's message is eternal and not dependent on nations
Its message is not dependent on any particular place or time
Whether one cares or not, the Quran is eternally protected by Allah
It is not dependent on any country whether it be Rome or Syria
If Allah has taken away the Quran from us since we abandoned it
Then He will give it to some other nation who will not be like us
Muslims are engaged in only blind following or mere speculation
When I see them doing this, then my soul and body start trembling
I am afraid of the day when the Quran will be taken away from us
And another nation will benefit from its light leaving us in darkness
Unlike the British and the Hindus who were each united in their opposition to the idea of Pakistan, Muslims were not united in favor of Pakistan (as always-history bears ample testimony to this disunity amongst Muslims) even on this fundamental issue of extreme historical importance. Although a vast majority of Muslims supported the idea of Pakistan, many prominent Muslims, especially the Islamic scholars were against it and vehemently opposed its creation. Why did they oppose this idea while a vast majority of Muslims supported it? In order to understand this apparent paradox, we have to go to the very root of the question.
It was Allama Iqbal who for the first time gave the idea of Pakistan. He had a deep understanding of the Quran and devoted almost all his life propagating its pure message in his God-given unique style. He said:
"If you wish to live the life of a Muslim, then it is not possible except to live by the Quran." This couplet of Iqbal is a poetic rendering of verses (7:3) and (33:2) of the Quran.
Iqbal suggested this because of his deep understanding of Islam, its political process and its history. Iqbal suggests that Muslims have to guide their lives collectively and create a social order based on the Quran because:
"Allah who has created all the objects in the universe, has also undertaken to make them aware of their goal and guide them towards it" (20:50).
Allama Iqbal said:
"If the Mullah has freedom of prayer in India, then his ignorance leads him to believe that Islam is free as well."
"What a nation is and what the leadership of a nation is; how these poor Imams of two Raka'a can know?"
In an Eid message to the nation in 1945, Quaid-e-Azam said:
"Every Muslim knows that the injunctions of the Quran are not confined to religious and moral duties. Everyone except those who are ignorant, knows that the Quran is the general code of the Muslims. A religious, social, civil, commercial, military, judicial, criminal and penal code; it regulates everything from the ceremonies of religion to those of daily life; from the salvation of the soul to the health of the body; from the rights of all, to those of each individual; from morality to crime; from punishment here to that in the life to come, and our Prophet (S) has enjoined on us that every Muslim should possess a copy of the Holy Quran and be his own priest. Therefore, Islam is not confined to the spiritual tenets and doctrines and rituals and ceremonies. It is a complete code regulating the whole Muslim society in every department of life, collectively and individually."
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
(1:1) - All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds. [Asad]
The ancient library of Timbuktu
