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Opinion
Islam at Crossroads: Who's to Blame?
by M. Rajaque Rahman
 It
has become almost fashionable for a Muslim to say 'Islam is in danger'.
The religion whose literal meaning is peace is today seen as the root
cause of terror and violence. The Muslim world cannot merely dismiss
this as a fallout of a grand conspiracy against Islam by people of other
faiths. It has failed to present the real essence of Islam and remained
a mute spectator to many atrocities against humanity committed in the
name cleansing the world of infidels.
This diffidence to stand up for Islam is mainly due to lack of clarity
among Muslims about what their religion truly stands for. The Muslim
world is heavily weighed down by its own blinkered interpretation of
what's permitted and forbidden in Islam. The most glaring
misinterpretation that has led to a distortion of the very essence of
Islam is its understanding of the expression 'La Ilaaha Illallaah',
which is the first principle of Islam. Literally translated, it means
'there is no god but God'.
However, generations of Muslims have been taught to interpret it as
'there is no god but Allah'. Thanks to this limiting interpretation,
Muslims are made to believe that there are many gods, but only Allah is
the right one. This understanding totally distorts Islam's real message
of tauhid (oneness of God).
A case in point is the recent statement of chairman of National Fatwa
Council of Malaysia Abdul Shukor Husin while passing a fatwa against
yoga. "Many Muslims fail to understand that yoga's ultimate aim is to be
one with a God of a different religion." When one has affirmed to 'La
Ilaaha Illallaah', how can a Muslim think of another "God of a
different religion".
If a Muslim thinks there are different Gods for different religions, he
is negating the essence of Islam and unwittingly subscribing to
polytheist beliefs. 'La Ilaaha Illallaah' establishes beyond
argument that there is only one God. However differently we may pray and
by whatever name we may call, it goes to that one source. Further, the
Quran clearly states that God can be invoked in different names. "Glory
be to God, beyond any associations. He is Allah, the Creator, the
Evolver, the Bestower of Form. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names."
[Al Hashr 59:22].
Despite the clear pointers in the Quran, orthodox mullahs still hold
that calling God by any other name than Allah amounts to associating a
partner with Him. The biggest casualty of this exclusivity of Allah has
been the concept of jihad, prompting innocent Muslims to believe that
fighting against 'infidels' who don't call God by Allah is an act worthy
for the Quranic promise of heaven for jihad. This amounts to challenging
Quran's command to invoke God by any names with a sense of reverence and
beauty.
This myopic interpretation of the concept of tauhid has had a
domino effect on other spheres of life. Take the case of recent
fatwas forbidding yoga for Muslims on the ground that yoga will
erode their faith in the religion.
As the Quran and Hadith have nothing specific that will make practice of
yoga haram, the ulemas based the ruling on their own fear of
supposedly 'Hindu' elements of yoga destroying the faith of a Muslim.
The best way to allay their fear is to look at the Hindu philosophy on
yoga and see how and where it contradicts the tenets of Islam.
Yoga simply means uniting with the Self. Maharishi Patanjali's Yoga
Sutras starts by calling itself an enunciation in union. The asanas,
the practice of which is the focal point of these fatwas, are
just one way of attaining that union. Is striving for such a union with
the Self against Islam? It cannot be. For, Prophet Mohammed has said,
"He who knows his own Self knows his Lord." Anything done in pursuit of
knowing the Lord will count as a meritorious act of following the
Prophet.
The best explanation of why yoga is not just permissible, but also
desirable for Muslims is to be found in the second sutra of the Yoga
Sutras. "Yogas Chitta Vritti Nirodhah." It means yoga is stopping
all the modulations of the mind. Ceasing all the outward activities of
the mind and reposing in Allah is the ultimate goal of Islam. So doing
yoga asanas as a means of attaining a thoughtless state will
qualify as the highest form of ibadat (prayer). Hence contrary to
the fatwas, yoga as a spiritual pursuit is very much permissible
in Islam.
It's universally proven that yoga brings peace of mind, and on that
count yoga is almost obligatory for Muslims. As Islam means peace, peace
of mind is a prerequisite for one to be truly following Allah's only
religion.
This leaves only one ground for orthodox mullahs to frown at yoga: that
yoga stems from polytheist beliefs of Hinduism. But when yoga means
union, how can it be linked to polytheist beliefs? In fact, yoga takes
one away from polytheism and leads to Advaita, which is in perfect
agreement with the doctrine of tauhid.
The time has come for ulemas to dispel this mistaken understanding of
the real essence of Islam. Else history will accuse them of doing a
great disservice to Islam and unwittingly leading innocent Muslims
towards polytheism.
(The author is a former business
journalist and now teaches yoga-based spiritual programmes of the Art of
Living. He can be contacted at rajaque@gmail.com)
IANS | August
15,
2009
Image under license with
Gettyimages.com
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