The ideological of genesis of Pakistan was based on a religious theology which is put to a litmus test time and again. No matter where we meander in this discussion the argument always skims down to the fact, that perhaps it is the only state in the recent history which was created in the name of ‘Islam’: a religious theology. Ironically this is the very notion that makes the self-righteous right-winged Mullah euphoric; to roister their religiosity, cleansing souls, strengthening larynx and vitalizing their Imaan against the ‘diabolic’. And why shouldn’t they when the precocious Chaudhary Rehmat Ali came up with such an astute name as PAKISTAN: literally meaning the ‘LAND OF PURE’ leaving no room whatsoever for those less than ‘pure’ or God forbid the ‘UN-pure.
Though logically speaking the very name of this land, works in favor of the righteous, still there is this overtly optimistic faction that thinks that it’s ‘A land created for the minorities, by Muslims’. Almost like ‘…the government of the minorities, by the Muslims, for the minorities?’ Black-comedy-of-errors aside, this might actually make sense as ‘Muslims’ of the united Indian subcontinent were once a minority. But then it must be comforting to take an about-turn when you are at the other side of the field now.
Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the man who made it all happen, however, seems to belong to a different school. His oft-quoted lines seem to establish a fine balance between the “State” and “Religion” and also among the so called “Minorities” and the “Pious” majority.
“You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed”.
In another address at Chittagong on March 26th 1948 he said:
‘…Pakistan should be based on sure foundations of ‘social justice’ and ‘Islamic Socialism’ which emphasizes equality and brotherhood of man.”
He further states:
“Now you have to stand guard over the development and maintenance of Islamic democracy, Islamic social justice and equality of man in your own native soil”
He used the term “Islamic Socialism” here: ‘Islam’ being a complete code of life is not in want of any other epithets according to Muslim belief. Yet Jinnah who led the Muslims of subcontinent to a revolutionary renaissance must have used it for a reason. His spoke with a foresight reaching out to the future generations, even if taken horizontally, his words oscillate somewhere between a receding past and an impending future; Hence the use of the term which was essentially Marxian and Bolshevists.
Dr. Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal the second most important character in the creation of Pakistan, however down right rejected the Bolshevik Socialism, chiefly disagreeing with the atheist clause of the same. To quote Dr. Javed Iqbal on this subject “…according to Iqbal the Russain experiment with Socialism was based on ‘La’ (negation of God) and if ‘illa'(affirmation of God) could be added to it, the experiment could have been acceptable to him.”
In one of his letters to Khwaja Ghulamus Saiyyedain (17th Oct. 1936) he writes “…As for Socialism, Islam itself is a kind of Socialism, from which Muslim society has so far not derived the benefits that it has in”.
Dr. Iqbal (RA) was everything a typical self-righteous-overbearing Mullah is not. Hence his famous slogan: “Mullah keeazza’anaur, meriazza’anaur” says it all.
His religiosity was deeply rooted to the extent of ‘Wijdaan’ (intuition), something that is only acceptable in the Sufi realm and is violently opposed by the Mullah faction. However Iqbal’s knowledge of religion was equally grounded. He was a trained philosopher, a theologian, and an authority in religious knowledge.
He was a seer who would lead you on to find your own version of truth. He was deemed a ‘rebel’ or even a ‘heretic’ by the same self-righteous, who seem to have got better at doing this in time. Here’s how Dr. Iqbal (RA) leads you on: to sift and weigh the ‘system’ you believe in.
“1. What are the historical forces, the operation of which evoked as a necessary consequence the phenomenon of a particular system?
2. Why should a particular religious system be produced by a particular people?
3. What is the real significance of a religious system in the history of the people who produced it, and in the history of mankind as a whole?
4. Are there any geographical causes which determine the original locality of the religion?
5. How far does it reveal the inmost soul of a people, their social, moral, and political aspirations?
6. What transformation, if any, has it worked in them?
7. How far has it contributed towards the realization of the ultimate purpose revealed in the history of Man? ”
(Islam as an Ethical and a Political Ideal By: Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s)
Iqbal’s seven points open portals to new dimensions, dimensions of questioning one’s ‘faith’ before pouncing onto others, of peace and acceptance and of eclectic diversity of God’s creation. As he concluded in the same lecture:
“The truth is that Islam is essentially a Religion of Peace. All forms of political and social disturbances are condemned by the Qur’an in the most uncompromising terms”.
Published in Daily Times, November 5th 2018.