Rejoinder to Allama Yusuf Banuri's Article “Pak-Bharat War” in the latest issue of "Al-Sharia" Urdu Monthly

By Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam 5 September 2024 Were Those Muslims in India Not Allowed Religious Freedom to Practice Islam—Be It Sunni or Shiite, Ahl-E-Hadisi, Deobandi or Barelwi? Did The Muslims Migrating to Pakistan Face the Political Crisis or Religious Extermination and Genocide? If So, Then How Come We Muslims in India Are Still the Second Largest Population After Indonesia? -------- “Alhamdulillah (all praise due to Almighty)! On the sacred day of September 6, 1965 (9th Jumada al-Awwal, 1385 Hijri), a new and sacred chapter was opened in the God-gifted country, Pakistan. It was the beginning of a new chapter in the book of national life in Pakistani history and an honour and glory for the nation. The Muhajir Qaum (migrating people) followed by the Mujahid Qaum (jihadist people) were like the light upon light (Noor-un-Ala Noor). Subhan Allah (glory be to Allah)! It was a great blessing from Allah Almighty which is worthy of a thousand thanks.” The above is an excerpt from an article tilted as “Pak-Bharat War” penned by Allama Yusuf Banuri, a prominent Pakistani Deobandi cleric, which has been reproduced in the latest issue of Al-Sharia Urdu monthly (September 2024). The article further says: “A new spirit was born in the nation of Pakistan to perform the duty of Jihad fi Sabeelillah and E’ala e Kalimatullah . The hearts of the enemies of Islam have been terrorized by the Pakistanis. They became the true Tafseer (interpretation) of the Qur’anic verse: Turhiboona Bihi Adu-Allah Va-Aduwakum (You shall cast fear and terror on the enemies of Allah as well on your enemies). If Muslims have complete trust and reliance on Allah, then Allah's unseen help will definitely come to them in a new way. Be it America or Russia, Britain or France, all these are the tyrannical powers of disbelief, expecting any good from them is pure folly and leads to worldly loss even before the end of time". At the very beginning of his article, Allama Banuri has misconstrued the two Islamic concepts juxtaposing them with his Pakistani patriotism: (1) Hijrat (Prophet Muhammad pbuh and his companions’ migration from Makkah to Madina) and (2) Jihad. First things first: Muslims in Makkah faced religious persecution, attempts at annihilation and extermination and social and economic boycotts by the Meccans. Consequently, they had to take shelter in Sha’ab Abi Talib for complete three years. During this period, all doors of humanitarian aid and support from outside were closed on them by the pagans of Makkah. All possible sanctions were imposed on them to the extent that if an outsider would want to help them out, he/she would also face the same economic boycott. In reality, no stone was left unturned in torturing and driving them out of their homeland—Makkah-tul-Mukarrama. Let alone worshipping publicly at the Ka’ba, they were not free to practice their faith within the four walls of their houses. This compelled them to undertake the migration termed in Islamic history as Hijrah. It was a ‘forced migration’ which implies that despite all the hardships, mistreatments and discriminations that Muslims faced in Makkah, they did not resort to violence but rather chose to leave their country in the path of God—Fi Sabeel Lillah. At the same time, they remained steadfast on their newfound faith for which they had to sacrifice their life, wealth and properties back home in Makkah. In Madina, they fostered an exemplary fraternity based on faith-inspired brotherhood and mutual trust and amicability (Muwakhaat) with no selfish and mundane worldly interests. Now compare this glaring historical example of Islamic Migration (Hijrah) to what has happened during the partition of India and Pakistan! Was it a free choice or a ‘forced migration’ when some Muslims motivated by the two-nation theory left their homes in India? Were those Muslims in India not allowed religious freedom to practice Islam—be it Sunni or Shiite, Ahl-e-Hadisi, Deobandi or Barelwi? Did the Muslims migrating to Pakistan face the political crisis or religious extermination and genocide? If so, then how come we Muslims in India are still the second largest population after Indonesia? Allama Al-Bannouri is no more now. But I hope his adherents, followers and sympathisers would have the courage of conviction to answer these questions. They should also give a serious thought on this dichotomy: While the Muhajir Qaum in Pakistan turned their lives more miserable and has not yet gained an equal and humane treatment, Muslims in Madina excelled and flourished. Ansar (Medinite Muslims) and Muhajirin, those who migrated from Makkah treated each other equally and fairly well. But in Pakistan, even today the Indian Muhajir Muslims are looked down upon and at times are humiliated and ridiculed. More to the point, the Prophetic Hijra of Muslims to Madina augured so well that they came back to their homeland as victorious during the Conquest of Makkah (Fath-e-Makkah). Thus, it proved to be a great boon for them, while the Mushrikin and pagans of Makkah who wished to exterminate Muslims saw the humiliating defeat and downfall within only five to ten years. As a result of their migration which exhibited great patience and perseverance, untiring struggle and forevearance, the holy Prophet (pbuh) achieved his kingdom not only in the entire Arab peninsula but also Rome and Persia. This was actually the ‘God-gifted kingdom’ (Mamlakat-e-Khudadad) which was bestowed upon the Prophet and his Companions after a long struggle and fight for their rights. But is this ennobling glory also a chapter and memory in the national life of Pakistani history? A country which is at war within and has been reduced to a perennial poverty and instability can never achieve an iota of the prophetic glory. Doomed by the divine wrath and misdeeds of its rulers, it is destructed by terrorism, sectarianism and all newfound Fitnahs in the name of Islam. In its core ideology, Pakistan was created as a state antithetical to Indian model of democracy, pluralism or secularism and as an alternative to the ideal concept of ‘Islamic state’. Soon after the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan, efforts were intensified by several Pak regimes and governments to create an ‘Islamic welfare state’. But all of them faltered—right from the first Pakistani regime to the government of Imran Khan who vociferously aspired to create a welfare Islamic state modelled on Misaq-e-Madina (the Prophet’s charter of Madina). But the Pakistani Ulema like Allama Syed Yusuf Banuri have lived in continued denial. In his article, he exhorts: “Pakistan should have faith and trust only in Allah Almighty and should struggle to stand on its own feet as soon as possible in every area of life, as per God's saying: “Prepare against them what you believers can of power and cavalry to deter Allah's enemies and your enemies as well as other enemies ...” (Al-Anfal: 60). Alllama Bannouri then quotes and misuses more verses form the Qur’an to buttress that the “Indian government [during the 1996 war] attacked Pakistan with full military strength and preparation without any previous declaration of war, and did not hesitate at all in its brutality and cruelty. But there was a ‘Divine Intervention’ which sided with the Pakistani establishment. Here’s one more Qur’anic verse he cited: “But it was Our Will to favour those who were oppressed in the land, making them models of faith as well as successors and to establish them in the land….” (Al-Qasas: 5) Misquoting and cherry-picking Qur’anic verses in order to legitimise and embolden the Pakistani army and its atrocities stands untenable and intellectually inaccurate in principle. Tellingly, Maulana Banuri has misquoted one war-time sword verse here, completely out of context. The above verse (Al-Anfal: 60) is famously known for a specific situation which arose in the times of the Prophet (pbuh). In his commentary on this verse, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan notes in his Urdu exegesis “Tazkirul Quran”: “Islam relies not on the use of force but on the demonstration of force to inspire awe in the enemy. That is why the believers were commanded to equip themselves with power so that the enemy might be demoralized and refrain from aggression. But those who spend their resources in strengthening Islam intellectually and materially will be rewarded many times over by their Lord. The secret of success in Islam does not lie in military confrontation but in the preaching of its principles—hence the command that whenever there is an offer of peace by the other party, it should be accepted, setting aside every doubt or suspicion, because doubt or suspicion is in any case an uncertain thing, but the benefit of a cease-fire is certain”. This implies us that the above verse can be understood in two contexts: time-specific and universal. Viewed as a war-time verse, it had a limited application in its own specific context which is no more now. But it has a deeper meaning in our times: the contemporary jihad cannot be waged by sword but with the power of pen and speech, and the Jihad carried out with the power of pen or writing is rewarded multiple times. When Islam and Qur'an are defended through the medium of writing literature or making insightful talks against the forces of disbelief, or agents of disinformation, distortion and interpolation, that too is included in Jihad as based on a clear and definitive textual authority of the Qur'an (Nass-e-Qur’ani). --- URL For Allama Banuri’s Article: https://www.banuri.edu.pk/bayyinat-detail/اک-بھارت-جنگ ----- A Regular Columnist with Newageislam.com, Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi is an Indo-Islamic scholar, Sufi poet and English-Arabic-Urdu-Hindi writer with a background in a leading Sufi Islamic seminary in India. He is currently serving as Head of International Affairs at Voice for Peace & Justice, Jammu & Kashmir. 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