A few days ago, a meeting of the officials of the Inzaar organization was held. In this meeting, I submitted to my colleagues that I did not create this organization to promote the works of Abu Yahya. Therefore, this institution should work not for me but for the promotion of true faith and its fundamental requirement i.e. high morality in the society. We should work for values like reasonability, patience, positive thinking and not for any individual or personality. Whoever works for promotion of faith, morals and high values, you should spread that work ahead without any prejudice. Because the true commitment of a believer should be to Allah and His Messenger and not to any human being.
It is a fundamental tragedy of religious institutions and organizations that whatever may be written in their constitution, practical training is such that people actually revolve around a particular personality. When that personality dies, their literature and personalities adapted to it, take his place. This becomes the reason for the spread of strong prejudices and hatred among groups after a period of time.
This begins when a great scholar or preacher initiates some work. People get inspired by this scholar and his work and start gathering around him. These people do not just come by themselves but bring with them all kinds of practical and financial support. Now the interest of this personality, institution and organization is that those who have joined them, do not go anywhere else. These people are like a personal fiefdom of the person or institution that must be kept at all costs.
Now it becomes necessary to present one’s word as the ultimate right and one’s work as the only required work for religion. Not only this, but criticizing others by pointing out just their flaws and making them untrustworthy also becomes an essential part of this work. If another person succeeds in influencing some of our followers, he becomes an object of our reproach and wrath. He is then declared as fitnah (Mischief) and a campaign to destroy him starts.
Obviously all this is done in the name of religion and it is possible that they do all this sincerely, considering it a religious service. But in practice, it is a war of interests which soon becomes a war of prejudices. This attitude creates the worst atmosphere of sectarianism, hatred and terror in the society. Then what happens is exactly that, which is happening in our society in the name of religion.
But this is the wrong attitude. The fact is that in this world only the messengers of Allah have the right to dare to say, ‘من انصاری الی الل’ . That is, who are my supporters for the cause of Allāh. They can say this as their personalities are manifestations of the truth. Everyone else is an ordinary human being. They are fallible. Every opinion they have can be wrong and every understanding they have can be invalid.
They will certainly work in society, but cannot present their work and point of view as the final truth. They will preach their point of views, but will allow people full permission to read what others say and accept whatever they believe to be correct. They have the right to criticize a point of view, but in no way do they have the right to run a campaign against someone on the basis of accusations and slander, declaring them fitna. Undoubtedly, they have the right to rally people, but they do not have the right to treat them as their fiefdom and make them their mental slaves using any fair or unfair means.
This attitude is wrong, wrong, wrong in every way. If a scholar is doing this intentionally, he is the worst offender. Even if he is doing all this unknowingly, he is still committing a great sin. Because soon he will lose all his good deeds by believing prejudices to be true leading to running baseless propaganda campaigns against others. After which nothing will be left except the indignity and disgrace on the Day of Resurrection.
If ordinary people are deliberately becoming such mental slaves, they will face God’s displeasure instead of reward on the Day of Judgment. If they are doing it unknowingly, they will soon become part of some campaign of accusations and slander and come under the wrath of God. After which they will have nothing left on the Day of Resurrection except regret and humiliation.
Translated by Ali Zafar