The Political Freedom of Self Under Islamic Regulations - Essay Example

Your Islam and Political Freedom of Human Being “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires”(Nelson Mandela). Giving up your freedom is spiritual suicide combined with paralysis of your physical potential that is essential to achieve any goal and purpose in life. Most of us sabotage ourselves by being doubtful of our desire for freedom and its assumed consequences. That being said, one may question the very idea of freedom. It is indeed one of the most talked about idea in last few decades by great philosophers like, David Miller, Isian Berlin, John Stuart Mill, Milton Friedman, and Sayyid Qutb. In this research paper, I’ll analyze the idea and conception of one’s political freedom in Islam, and how we can achieve it. In the beginning, I’ll quote Qur’anic verses that have particularly emphasized freedom and then, I’ll discuss al nafs (self) and its freedom in Quran. I’ll also examine the extent of man’s freedom in his actions and its political application. In addition, I’ll explore how a complete surrender to Allah’s will and message brings freedom for self. Moreover, I’ll thoroughly explain Qutb’s investigation on how complete surrender to Allah’s will brings freedom and end enslavement of other humans or systems. Additionally, I’ll explain Isaiah Berlin’s ideas of freedom and his critique of “positive freedom” in an effort to identify their relevance with Qutb’s. Lastly, I’ll explore the idea of jihad (struggle in the way of Allah or struggle against unbeliever) as Qutb refers it as a universal declaration of freedom and the way it is established. Semantically, freedom can mean a variety of things, but in this paper freedom shall be understood within the realms of Islam and within the two concept of freedom as explained by Isaiah Berlin. These two concepts are negative freedom, and positive freedom. Negative freedom is centered on the lack of restraints and constraint in carrying out actions, whereas positive freedom is the complete opposite. In positive freedom, one is restrained or allowed to act in a certain way on the basis of moral code. Muslims are free to act as they want as they can take their own decisions (determinism and mon). They are responsible for their actions; therefore, they need to purify their actions and self. In an effort to purify the inner self, they follow the regulations set by Islam. Jihad Asghar constitute three stages of self, and practicing it guarantees that a Muslim reaches his higher self. After reaching his higher self, it is certain that he will find his individual political freedom. After this stage, in an effort to rescue people from enslavement and to make them follow divine law, thus freedom, Qutb compels them to follow sharia and offensive form of jihad. I completely disagree with him because he also tries to enforce his ideas on others, and it is also a form of enslavement. It is a perception that when someone takes a wrong action, it’s not he or she doing the deed, but it is the devil that did the wrong. However, such perception is against Islamic teachings. A considerable group in Islam believes that Allah decides on their behalf and that they are not free to make any decision on their own. They attribute everything with Allah, for instance, if they don’t offer prayer, they say only Allah can make us pray and if we are not praying, it is also from Allah. When they fail, they say, Allah wanted us to fail and if he wants us to succeed, we will. This particular group believes that whether someone is good or bad, truthful or deceitful, oppressor or victim, it is all from Allah, and we as human being has no fault in any given problem. The fact is that this belief was induced in peoples’ mind by theists in efforts to preserve monotheism. They came up with the idea because they believed if people are informed about their freedom to take action, they will consider that Allah has no role in this part of the world. With that information, humans will be able to do whatever they want, and monotheism completely denies the role of human action in any event. In order to fit their needs, they also misunderstood and misinterpreted some verses of the Holy Qur’an. However, this belief is absolutely against divine wisdom (hikmah) and divine justice. If this was the case, Allah wouldn’t have sent prophets to invite people towards religion, divine commands, and good deeds. Proponent of such belief must think clear and understand the role of divine commands for punishment and rewards on the basis of human action. In addition to enforcement of monotheism, negative intensions and political interests of some cruel Umayyad and Abbasids rulers also facilitated the emergence of this belief in Islamic culture. They spread such ideas and facilitated their believers in order to serve their own desires and benefits. They gave common people an impression that their powers are from Allah, since no one can interfere with Allah’s decision, they were not allowed to protest or object on their rulers’ actions. Another very prominent example of such rulers in Islamic history is Yazid’s. People were urged to believe that if Ahlul-bayt (people of Prophet Muhammad’s family) were not made rulers, it is because Allah wanted them not to rule, and Allah wanted Yazid to be the ruler, therefore, no one is allowed to object. After the martyr of Imam Husain, Ubayd Allah, who was the commander of Kufa(the ignorant people) made member of Ahl-al-bayt his prisoners. He announced in the great mosque of Kufa that all praise if for Allah who succeeded the right one and made the leader of believers (referring to Yazid) and his people to kill the son of liar and liar himself. After taking them to his palace, Ubayd Allah said to Zaynab(a.s) in his address that all praise is for Allah who destroyed your respect and killed your family which is a prove that you are liars. After that Zaynab (a.s) addressed and crushed his allegations. Then, he looked at the fourth Imam, Sajjad (a.s) and asked who he was, some of them answered, he was Ali, the son of Husain. Ubayd Allah said isn’t it Allah who killed Ali, the son of Husain? Imam said, I had a brother who was also called Ali, the son of Husain, and people killed him. Ubayd Allah replied that no, Allah executed him. However, when Imam rejected Ubayd Allah’s claim, he became angry and ordered to execute him as well, but then Zaynab(a.s) said, son of Yizad you have killed all men of my family, if you want to kill him, you have to kill me with him. In this incident, it is very clear that these despotic rulers tried to attribute everything with Allah in an effort to conceal their cruel faces. They hid behind Allah’s will and committed heinous crimes against humanity. There were also some ignorant Muslims among their subject who took advantage of it and concealed their actions through determinism and tried to attribute them from Allah. All praise is definitely for Allah, due to sacrifice of Imam Husain (a.s) and his family; we have true and pure Islam. It is evident that monotheism does not insist on following determinism at all. Quran clearly describes the existence of monotheism, and it is mandatory for every Muslim to believe in monotheism in this particular way. However, some people misinterpret this verse and say that Allah has given the authority to rule to these despotic rulers. We must be aware that Allah has two (generative and legislative) kinds of will (iradah). Generative will refers to the kind that is required for everything. If there is something and not the other, it is because Allah’s will. There is nothing in this world that is autonomous, Allah is behind everything. For instance, if the weather is hot or cold or I’m alive, it is because Allah wanted it to be like that. Every single event or action needs His will to happen. Does it imply that Allah is satisfied with all of human action? Though Allah has allowed them to take their actions, He has given them a choice to go one way or the other. He has granted human beings will free will to choose, here comes the other type of divine will which is called legislative will. It refers to the goodness or badness, the right and wrong. He commands human beings to do the right thing (morally) and stay away from wrongdoings. It means all the good actions of humans are done in compliance of his will while all the bad actions are done against his commands. To make this point more clear, let’s consider the example of Imam Husain (a.s) again. One may question that weather Imam Husain (a.s) was killed because of Allah’s will or not. The answer to this question is both yes, and no. As we have discussed, it is yes for generative will and no for legislative will. Nothing can be done with Allah’s will according to generative will, but does not imply that He is please with everything that is being done by human beings. From this particular point, people misunderstand His verses which lead to determinism. An everyday life example for this is, let’s say a father gives his son some money and ask him to buy only good stuff, such as, books. The son is not determined to buy; he makes the purchase because his father decided that he would. However, if he buys cigarettes or let’s say a knife to kill someone, can he argue that it was his father’s decision that made him do this? Thus, the above Qur’anic verse is referring to Allah’s generative will. It does not imply that Allah is in any way pleased with the rulers like Pharaoh or Yazid. The following verse narrates the idea of free will very clearly. Allah says in Quran, “Surely we have created man from a small life-germ uniting (itself): We mean to try him so We have made him hearing, seeing. Surely We have shown him the way: he may be thankful or unthankful” (76-2, 3). Now, it is evident that Allah has shown us the way to act, given us choice to act in way or the other, be thankful or unthankful. We can thank him, not only by saying him thanks, but by using his blessings in the manner that he told us. In another verse, He says, “It is naught but a reminder for the nations, for him among you who pleases to go straight And you donor will, unless God wills, the Lord of all Beings” (81:27-29). The glorious Qur’an is for the guidance of those who want to act according to Allah’s will and walk on the straight path. They are free in their decisions, they will have to take one step and Allah helps them. It is important to remember that their decision is not Allah’s generative will that enabled them to act. In another verse, the doctrine of free will is narrated as, “Most surely there is a reminder in this for him who has a head or he gives ear with a present mind” (50-37). The process of becoming faithful is neither physical nor chemical process; rather it is a spiritual one. It does not ask for material things, but your attention and consciousness. It is quite in agreement with the human nature since we are limited in our actions. Human beings just like other organisms are controlled by certain natural fundamentals needs, such as, water and food for the continuation of life. Similarly, the submission that occurs logically from nature, human beings must be submissive to the laws and customs of their countries, dwellings, villages and the society. Naturally, life subjects people to certain specified limits, and this means that everything moves about to a certain intended objective, and since such submission to the social system is naturally necessary for order maintenance, submission to the Islamic codes is important to the societal peace. The seven Islamic codes as contained in the Quran dictate upon the Muslim to live within a given guiding principles. However, Reilly claims that Islam through the holy book of Qur’an actually restricts freedom, and closes in on people’s physical, rational and intellectual growth. Obviously in the world of mankind, there are always two sides of the coin and that whatever an individual prefers will be opposed by the other, and that whereas one individual may deem Islam through the Quran in light of the aforementioned, the other may view that perception as greatly untruthful, false and evil presumption. In fact, in their considered opinion, they will perceive Islam as a religion that does not suppress people’s capabilities; rather it encourages their rational, intellectual and physical development (15). The Qur’an makes an open call for people to think and reflect, in a way that human beings can contemplate. They are asked to do it so that, they develop their minds and criticize people who purposefully ignore to observe and consider their use of reason. Some people believe that not only human bodies are given birth and formed by natural laws, but also human thoughts and behaviors and no one decides that on their own. These proponents of determinism argue about the effects of climate, food, environment, inheritance, and medicine. They refer to medicine that can make a person happy or sad. They believe that if a person’s father is an artist or painter, the person will also become painter or artist. Though this point of view is partly true, but it is not absolute. It is true that natural forces influence human behavior or actions, but it is still a person’s choice to do one thing or the other. Eternal factors may facilitate or impede the decision making in one way or the other, but human being is still free to choose. For example, if someone’s parents are illiterate, he does not have to be the same. If his parents are wrongdoers, his chances of doing the right thing are not any less. History has witnessed many good people amongst bad people and vice versa, for instance, Noah’s son. Noah (a.s) was the prophet of Allah, but his son chose to be wrongdoer and disobedient of Allah’s commands. When Noah (a.s) built the ship and called all people to come with him, his son refused and went to the mountain top instead, he assumed that water won’t reach on such height. No doubt, Islam wants parents to pay great attention to children’s upbringing during and after birth. Parents are obliged to train, feed, and educate their kids, but their influences are not decisive, thus the free will is preserved for every single human being. After granting human beings with their free will to act, Islam teaches us to reach our higher self by following its teachings and regulations. In Qur’an, Allah says, “He has succeeded who purifies the soul, and he has failed who corrupts the soul” (Ash-Shams 91:9-10). In the holy book of Quran, the Holy Prophet is quoted as saying to his compatriots that they have returned from a small struggle (Jihad Asghar) to the huge struggle (Jihad Akbar), when asked what the big struggle was; he replied that the big struggle was one against the nafs. To fight for the nafs, the holy books calls for the faithful to fast and conquer the nafs from lust. In the holy books of the Quran, the nafs is covered in three distinguishable stages which include: an-nafs-al -’ammarah, an-afs al-luwwamah and an-nafs al-mutmainnah. The first stage is the primitive stage and incites human beings to evil, and is connected to the complete absence of obstacles, barriers and constraints. An individual enjoys negative freedom to that limit that certain actions are available to the individual in this negative perspective. European colonization of Africa can be linked to this limitlessness in one’s freedom, as they could do anything they wanted as long it appealed to their individual senses. Sura al-Qiyama mentions the an-nafs al-luwwamah as the self-accusing nafs, and it is the stage in which the conscience is awake and the naf accuses the self to listening to one’s ego, and as a result the individual repents asks for forgiveness. The soul and the mind contemplate every action that the individual performs, and the two parts of the body are in some form of agreement and aids an individual to aspire to perfection. In Islam the mind helps people in the thought process, which is different from the soul which is the self. At least in western philosophical concept of freedom; this stage in the nafs is intricately linked to positive freedom, and positive freedom is the possibility of acting in a way that one takes control of their life and the individual identifies their most important purpose (Berlin, 145). Sura al Fajir mentions the third stage of the nafs, the an-nafs al-mutmainnah as the nafs at peace, and it is the ideal stage that a Muslim individual must aspire to attain. On such a level, an individual has a firm grasps in the faith and leaves behind all the negative energy that one had collected in the other stages of the nafs. In this stage, the self becomes beyond tranquil as it attains the maximum peace attainable, and this stage such individuals gave forsaken all materialism and earthly problems and are content with the will of Allah. A free human being strengthens the whole society and its take on injustice. Sharia is the Islamic regulation holds justice, and freedom for humanity. Isaiah Berlin states, “I wish to be free to live as my rational will (my ‘real self’) commands, but so must others be. How am I to avoid collisions with their wills? Where is the frontier that lies between my rationality determined rights and the identical rights of others? I want more, and they want more, but there is a fixed quantity of the goods. Should I be given the free will, what is with others?” According to Sayyid Qutb, true freedom of human beings lies in the following of Islamic moral and legal law, called Sharia. He argues that whoever deviates from the ways that Allah told us, will relapse in the state of jahiliyyah- the state of ignorance of truth and guidance from Allah. He attributes jahiliyyah as a state of enslavement, despotism, and human authority (Milestones 11-19). Qutb believes that Shaira defines the attributes of Muslims and most importantly, it shapes their identity throughout the world. He encouraged Muslims to engage in lifelong study of Qur’an, his own commentary is specifically designed to enhance this study. Qutb advocated that Sharia is the combination of freedom, justice, humanity, and divinity in a single system. Following Shaira means obey and worship only one Allah. Sharia followers must not worship anything but Allah, and they must not obey anyone but Allah. And if someone does serve some other entity, he is not the follower even if he says that he is (Milestones 60). Qutb believes that Islam approves of the worship of Allah alone, however, false leaders and their legislation methods have seized the true sense of sovereignty, and consequently, it led man to erroneously worship false God and un-Islamic laws. Qutb explicitly claims that the outset of the idea of freedom goes with Sharia. He believes that complete freedom means total submission and surrender to only Allah’s will and command (Milestone 82). According to Qutb, everyone’s ultimate freedom lies in total submission to Allah and following his commands as mentioned in Qur’an and Sunnah-teaching of Prophet Muhammad. True system of Islamic regulation makes a society in which every human being has complete freedom and rights to live with full dignity. By saying that, Qutb implies that other societies with lords and other legislative laws are slaves of the system. They have neither true freedom nor dignity for each and every individual. Those who are disbelievers and disobedient of divine law oppress their own selves. It is clearly mentioned in Qur’anic verse in which Allah says, “Surely he is very unjust, very ignorant” (33:72). These two attributes of these people are quite explicitly emphasized. In Arabic language, there is difference in the word “ilm” and “alam”. A zalim is someone who commits sin, even if it is for one time, while zalam is considered to be the extreme form of zalim, it refers to someone who commits sins and unjust actions more frequently. Similarly, jahul is exaggerated version of jahil that refers to someone who is extremely ignorant and completely unwise. Human beings are inclined to be ignorant and becoming unjust. It doesn’t only apply to someone else’s actions, but our own as well. We must remember Qur’anic verse that says, “Every person who breaks divine laws has oppressed himself” (95:61). Let’s take an example here, if someone does not offer prayers or does not observe fast, he is being unjust to himself. When someone oppresses or humiliates some other human being, he is doing it to himself before anyone else. In other words, committing a sin or mistreating some other human being is like drinking poisoned water to quench your thrust. Thrust here refers to oppressor’s urge, interest, or idea that is making him do the wrong action. His wrongdoing and misbehavior will consequently damage his divine purity given by Allah. In this way, he impedes his own progress towards perfect self and freedom. “Even the most individualistic among them came at some point to ask themselves whether a rational life not only for the individual, but also for society, was possible, and if so, how it was to be achieved”. It is a sad fact that several extremist human beings who believed in Islam saw the benefit of humanity and forced them work for a perfect land. On the other hand, Allah Himself has explicitly stated at many instances that there will be disbelievers. He does not expect everyone to believe despite all the blessings, instructions, and commands as He is aware of the ignorant hearts and minds. If we start following Qur’an literally, Allah’s instructions will not be justified; we have to be more open and conscious for the meaning and interpretations without personal interests and biases, otherwise there is no point of these instructions. Even if people don’t have complete freedom of making choices and they are given certain “right choices”, they are free to follow or not. The Quran asserts that to attain the penultimate freedom of self, one must acquire two things: knowledge and purification of the higher self. The higher self is the self that people identify with as a fabrication of personal ego. The freedom of self is at the last stage of the nafs, and the process of tazkiyah is indeed the last stage to the individual seeking the ultimate freedom of self. To be completely free means to conquer emotions such as anger, hunger, hatred, selfishness, arrogance, prejudice; fear amongst others. Conquering them implies that acting in a way that is not influenced by these emotions, and then only it signals the arrival of the freedom of self. Works Cited Baum, Bruce D, and Robert Nichols. Isaiah Berlin and the Politics of Freedom: "two Concepts of Liberty" 50 Years Later. New York, NY: Routledge, 2013. Print. Berlin, Isaiah. Two Concepts of Liberty. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958. Print. Livius. “The Great Flood: The story from the Quran.” Livius.livius.org. Web. Accessed 11 Dec.2014. Oliver, Haneef. Sacred Freedom: Western Liberalist Ideologies in the Light of Islam. Rochester, NY: WestPoint Pub, 2005. Print Steiner, Rudolf, and Michael Wilson. The Philosophy of Freedom: The Basis for a Modern World Conception. , 2012. Internet resource. Reilly, Robert R. The Closing of the Muslim Mind: How Intellectual Suicide Created the Modern Islamist Crisis. Wilmington, Del: ISI Books, 2010. Print. Wingo, Ajume. "A Free Person as a Maker of Surprises.". 1 Mar. 2014. Speech Read More