8. IDOLATRY
The notion of Idolatry
is seldom understood, even by Muslims. Why, for instance, should idolatry be
regarded as the worst of all evils, greater than say, murder or even the mass
killing in war? Even in the Old Testament the very first and highest
commandment is against idolatry. But the Western World has abandoned the Ten
Commandments. Though they retain those against murder and theft, these are
regarded as crimes against a person or the State, not against Nature or God,
and even then politically justifiable. The social, international and the
planetary condition, therefore, shows continuing conflict and chaos. Islam
restored the idea of Divine Commandments on the grounds that morality and order
depend not only on self-interest and social organisation, but on psychological
factors, on the nature of existence and the awareness of it - that they should
be based on objective factors not subjective opinions and human whims.
It is a
fundamental fact about existence that our arising, functioning and development
depend on the materials, forces and laws of the Universe, that we interact with
and are dependent on them, and that our welfare and development depends on how
we behave, think and adjust to reality. The recognition of this fact, in
thought, motivation and action, is denoted by the word ‘Islam’,
surrender to Allah. The Islamic way of life which this leads to is called
‘Din’, that which we owe to Allah because He has given us Life.
This requires us to live by the standards, Furqan , which have been set for us
by Allah. That is, the nature of existence itself determines the rules of
interaction.
If the
exclusive submission to Allah is the supreme good then non-submission to Allah is
the supreme evil. If life has no purpose, either or both objectively and
subjectively, or the purpose is not served then life is worthless. Even if
there is a subjective purpose it must have some objective justification. If
there is no truth, then anything can happen. If there is truth, then unless we
conform to it, we will suffer and be destroyed.
The word
Idolatry implies three things
(a) that it is not Allah who is worshipped, adored or
served.
(b) that something else, which by definition is less than
Allah is worshipped or served instead.
(c) that
this is due to ignorance, stupidity or mistakes.
Islam uses
three notions for this:-
1. Kufr - Disbelief, ingratitude, refusal
to admit ones debts and obligations.
2. Shirk - Associating partners, someone
or something else with Allah as god. The worship, submission to or serving
something else besides Allah. This could have three forms
(a) the worship of some object, person etc.
(b) polytheism, the worship of more than one god.
(c) notions
where a godhead consisting of more than one god are implied such as the
trinity.
3. Tughyan - arrogance, infidelity,
rebellion or disloyalty to Allah.
Morality,
self-restraint in accordance with a purpose in life, is based on accepting
Allah. No self-restraint or morality can exist unless something other than
oneself is recognised as an authority over us. It is, of course, possible to
recognise the State, the Society, the Nation or Humanity as a whole as the
supreme arbiter of what is good or evil. And, indeed, this is the position
taken up by Humanitarianism. But humanity, too, is only a part of the whole of
Life, of the Biosphere. This is part only of the planet Earth, which is only a
small part of the whole Universe. And the Universe may only be one among many.
Humanitarianism is clearly much too restricted. Nor does it answer the question
why anyone should accept Humanity as the source of morality. There is no
justification for accepting the values advanced by one person or group rather
than some other person or group. All the different conflicting value systems
would be as good or bad as any other.
The Islamic
answer is:-
“That is
because Allah, He is the truth, and that whereon they call instead of Him, it
is the False, and because Allah, He is the High, the Great.” 22:62
“Allah, He is
truth. Lo! He quickens the dead..” 22:6
“Whosoever goes
right, it is only for the good of his own soul that he goes right, and
whosoever errs, errs only to its hurt.” 17:15
“If He will He
can remove you and cause what He will to follow after you, even as he raised
you from the seed of other folk.” 6:134
Allah is
Reality. We have to recognise reality for our own good. It is not possible to
flout the truth without harming oneself. We have a built in need not to harm
ourselves but to seek self-fulfilment. The forces which operate in us do not
exist only in us, but in the whole Universe and we are dependant on them.
“And the soul
and Him who perfected it and inspired it with conscience of what is wrong for
it and what is right for it. He indeed is successful who causes it to grow, and
he indeed is a failure who stunts it.” 91:8-10
We are part
of humanity and the rest of the world, and dependant on it. The welfare of
humanity becomes our welfare, and vice versa. This is not only true physically,
but also socially and psychologically. We cannot harm anyone without at the
same time harming that in ourselves which we have in common with all and which
allows us to adjust and cooperate with others.
It should
be observed that idolatry is not a crime or error committed against other
individuals or against society but against ones own soul. It does not injure
Allah at all, as the Quran points out. It carries its own punishment directly.
Muslim communities have often in the past and even in recent times persecuted,
threatened and even murdered what they considered to be heretics and
blasphemers. It is particularly dangerous when their judgement of what is
heresy and blasphemy is based on conjecture, misunderstanding, ignorance and
unreasoning emotionalism. But this is not what the Quran recommends. Idolatry
is a crime which a person commits against himself. He punishes himself by it.
“Proofs have
come unto you from your Lord, so whosoever sees, it is for his own good, and
whoso is blind is blind to his own hurt. And I am not a keeper over you... Had
Allah willed, they had not been idolaters. We have not set thee as a keeper
over them, nor art thou responsible for them.” 6: 105 and 108
Nature of Idolatry:-
Idolatry consists
of the worship, service, submission, self-subjection, self-subordination,
self-identification or attachment to anything which is not Allah. It,
therefore, limits the individual mentally, emotionally and physically. It
causes an imbalance in the individual because it places emphasis on something
lesser at the expense of something greater.
Sources of Idolatry:-
Mistaking
means for ends, techniques for goals, appearances and forms for the essence,
the letter for the spirit, the vessel for the contents, parts for the whole are
the ways to idolatry.
Forms of Idolatry:-
The idol
could be an object, construction, person, group, idea, ideology, principle,
illusion, fantasy, superstition, an institution, organisation, methodology,
career, profession, firm or company.
Systems
such Science or Logic are gods to some people, Art to others, technology to
others still. Capitalism, Socialism, Communism or Democracy may become such
idols.
It could be
obsession, addiction, fascination, ambition, fixation.
It could be
a person himself, his own ego, his lust, avarice or greed, his intellect, body,
abilities, position, wealth, power or prestige.
It could be
an image or idea a person has created of Allah in his own mind. It could be the
appendages, emblems, instruments, rosaries, formulae of his own religion. The
Quran, the Prophet, the Priesthood, the Mosque, the Kaaba, the Flag, Dogmas and
Rituals can all become idols. Islam itself, the word or idea can be an idol.
The fact is that these are means to an end, techniques, not ends in themselves.
Only Allah alone is to be worshipped. Fanaticism is one form of idolatry since
it consists of emotional attachment and even identification with some formula
or idea, a threat to which is regarded as a threat to oneself. In fact, of course
nothing can injure a person who has a true faith. A person with true faith
would pity those whom he regarded as being misled and would be compelled by
compassion to try to guide them or where this was not possible, simple ignore
them. The particular feature of fanaticism is that it leads the individual to
commit, in the name of religion, the very acts forbidden by the religion. It is
a self-contradiction. Instead of raising the individual to a higher level it
reduces him to a lower level where his reason is suspended and where his
control is lost.
Consequences of Idolatry:-
A human
being should be an integrated individual. That is, he should have a single
centre of coordination and control. If he is not then he cannot be said to be
an individual. He will be in a state of disintegration having several much more
limited parts between which there will be conflict. There will be nothing in
him which can arrive at a comprehensive world view or from which control over
himself can be exerted. He is much more under the control of external forces.
Much of his suffering can be attributed to inner contradictions. Since a great
number of partial views are possible, then partial development also leads to
social conflicts between people. The psychological development of a person
depends on the existence within him of a focal point around which external and
inner experiences can be organised.
The Spirit
in man should be free. Idolatry imprisons it and renders it impotent. The
sources of his creativity, initiative and responsibility become repressed.
Consciousness, conscience and will become inactive. Man is reduced to a
machine, although a sophisticated one. Like a computer he is programmed by his
environment. He can be, and is, programmed and controlled by others. The government,
the media of information, propagandists of all kinds control him. But the
controllers are not free either. They, too are controlled by others. The whole
Society, therefore, behaves like a purposeless robot. Though it has no purpose
of its own, it may still serve the purposes of the planet as other animals do.
The programming has nothing whatever to do with his own welfare. This is why
human beings often, and probably almost always, act against their own real
interests. Thus, to be free of Idolatry is to be fully free, to attain
liberation.
The Cause of Idolatry:-
Loss of
contact with the inner self leads to the feeling of emptiness and
non-existence. Most fear and anxiety derives from this. It is the main reason
why people seek something to which they can attach themselves and which will
give them some feeling of significance, love and security. Whereas, in fact
this source of significance controls them and reduces them to a status of a
thing, a slave, yet it is difficult to give up because of the significance it
bestows on the person. Instead, then, of giving up the idol, they rationalise
or hide its true nature from themselves. They refuse to admit that it is an
idol.
Prevention of Idolatry:-
The only
way the effects of idolatry can be reversed is by replacing the Idol with
Allah.
Some people
claim that they do not wish to subordinate themselves to anything, not even
God. This causes them to fall victim to idols made by themselves or others. In
the nature of things it is impossible to exist without recognising something as
supreme, because man is obviously only a small part of the Universe and
dependant on his surroundings. There is no such thing as Atheism and Islam does
not recognise it. It is merely a verbal device used to deny some particular
idea of God in favour of some other idea which a person may not himself be
conscious of, but his behaviour is certainly governed by it.
The nearest
thing to complete independence is the submission to a completely formless God.
Any image made of God constitutes a limitation. It limits the possibilities
which we are willing to admit both for ourselves and the universe. This affects
all our activities. A closed mind is like reducing the amount of light thrown
on a subject. It is supposed that the mind can be so open that it becomes
gullible and subject to superstition. But this implies a particular notion of
God, and should not happen. Nothing should be attributed to God for which there
is no proof. All other things are held as possibilities of various degrees.
Classification
of Idolatry:-
I. Levels
1,
Shirk-al-Akbar, Major Idolatry.
(a) Taking some
creature, something limited, relative or subordinate for the Creator, the
Supreme, the Absolute.
(b) Giving
partners to Allah or raising something else to equality with Allah.
(c) Dividing Allah into parts.
2.
Shirk-al-Asghar, Minor Idolatry. This was described by the Prophet as showing
off, boasting etc.
3.
Shirk-ar-Riyaa, Secret Idolatry. This was described by the Prophet as an action
which was outwardly right, but inwardly wrong. as in the case of someone who
embellishes his worship in order to impress others or does charitable works for
selfish reasons. The motive is wrong.
II. Attitude of man towards Allah.
1.
Rejecting or denying Allah, consciously or unconsciously. This amounts to
accepting something else as supreme. From the Islamic point of view an
awareness of Allah is built into man. This accounts for the prevalence of
religion throughout the world. But the interpretation of this inner experience
may, and has, become distorted owing to cultural conditioning and inner
rationalisations, fantasies and suppression.
2. Changing
the concept of Allah by (a) assigning intentions, qualities or actions to
Allah, (b) reducing them (c) or distorting them. This amounts to lying about
Allah, and therefore, about what is true or false about reality and existence.
The correct attitude is either to try to discover and understand or to admit
that one does not know or understand.
3. Ignoring
Allah. This amounts to behaving in a mechanical or automatic manner without
intelligence, purpose and control.
III. The condition of man.
(1)
Idolatry of thought as found in scientific or philosophical thinking or in the
superstitions of various religions. This could be due failures or mistakes in
(a) conceptualisation (b) reasoning (c) application.
(2)
Idolatry of motivation in which a person
(a)
has values or seeks for goals which are not objective.
(b)
tries to obtain help, protection or benefits from other than Allah.
(c)
subordinates, attaches himself to or adores something other than Allah.
(3)
Idolatry of action when
(a)
the means are inappropriate.
(b)
the means become the end.
(c) the techniques are faulty.
The use of
talismans, amulets, charms, beads, spells, methods of divination, incantations,
magic, sorcery, trickery etc. are inappropriate. The Prophet is reported as
having refused a man’s oath of allegiance because he wore a talisman
which obviously was a god to him, but accepted it when the man broke it.
Ritualism makes the means into ends. Imitations of external actions without
understanding, inattentive and haphazard actions or habitual rather than
adaptative behaviour are forms of wrong techniques.
Forms of Idolatry
prevalent among Muslims are hero-worship, the installation or carrying of
pictures and erection of statues of saints and heroes, pilgrimages to the
graves of saints, the use of rosaries, the use of the verses of the Quran as
charms, the use of Islamic slogans and the name of Allah for political purposes
and so on.
It is
evident that a classification such as this enables a person to develop, become
self-reliant and inwardly integrated by purifying and correcting his thinking,
motives and actions. A community where alertness regarding these is sustained
will run without conflicts and tensions in a much more harmonious manner.
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WHAT ISLAM IS NOT
Sometimes
things can be made clearer by describing what a thing is not rather than what
it is. This avoids the confusion caused by mistaking it for other things having
some similarity.
It should
be denied utterly, emphatically and vigorously that the nature or purpose of
Islam are the following:-
1. Dogmatism and
Dogmatization
2. Ritualism and
Ritualization
3. Institutionalism
and Institutionalization
4. The creation and
maintenance of a Church Organization and a Priesthood
5. Ceremonialism and
Ceremonialization.
6. Sloganism and Sloganisation.
7. Conventionalism and
Conventionalisation.
8. Mental Conditioning
and Brain washing.
9. Regimentation.
10. Persecution of
sinners, heretics and dissidents.
11. Coercion of any
kind, religious, political or economic.
12. The establishment
of Tyrannies of any kind, political, cultural or psychological.
13. The establishment
of Political Power
14. Exclusiveness of
any kind.
15. The exclusive
creation of economic prosperity, wealth and power.
16. The creation of
popularity, renown or fame.
17. The formation of
habits or attachments, mental, emotional or
physical.
18. The establishment
of fantasies, superstitions and illusions.
19. The formation of
blind beliefs without understanding.
20. Hero worship and
unintelligent imitation.
21. Bigotry, hypocrisy
and self-righteousness.
All these
are forms of Idolatry. But the terms used here need to be explained.
Prayer and
the pilgrimage are obviously rituals. But they have a purpose and an inner
intention. But if these are missing then we have ritualism. The reduction of
religious techniques in this way is ritualisation. We are left with empty
meaningless physical actions. Similar considerations apply to the other terms.
“It is not
righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East or the West; but righteous is
he who believes in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scriptures and
the Prophets; and gives his wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans
and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free;
and observes the proper worship and pays the poor due; and those who keep their
treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and
times of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the God-fearing.”
2:177
“ O man, follow
not that whereof thou hast no knowledge. Lo! The hearing and the sight and the
heart - of each of these it will be asked (to give an account).” 17:36
“Follow that
which is inspired in thee from thy Lord. There is no god save Him. And turn
away from the idolaters.” 6:107
According
to a Hadith the Prophet Muhammad once said:
“The first person to be judged on
the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died as a martyr. After Allah has
reminded him of the favour
He showed him and the man acknowledges it, He will ask ‘ What did you do
to show gratitude.’ The man will reply ‘ I fought for Thy cause
till I was martyred.’ Allah will say: ‘You lie. You fought that
people might call you brave, and they have done so.’ He will be dragged
on his face and thrown into Hell.
“Next a person who had acquired
knowledge, read and taught the Quran will be brought forward and asked the same
question and he would also claim to have done this for Allah’s sake.
Allah will say: ‘You lie. You acquired knowledge so that people might
call you learned, and you read the Quran that they might call you pious. They
have done so.’. He, too, would go to hell.
“Next a rich
man was brought forward and asked the same question. He claimed to have given
much in charity for Allah’s sake. Allah said to him: ‘You lie. You
did it in order that people may call you generous, and they have done
so.’ He, too, would go to hell.”
These
particular cases are, obviously, meant to illustrate a general principle.
Analogical reasoning can be used to multiply them. A religious action is one
which is done for Allah’s sake.
Hebrewism
requires obedience to the Divine Law because people are not capable of acting
responsibly by themselves. Christianity requires behaviour to be governed by
love on the grounds that he who acts from love will automatically fulfil the
Law. But he who has no love must obey the principles of the law. Islam agrees
with both. It denies, however, that people are already capable of love.
Self-deception and rationalisation cause people to attribute good motives to
themselves. Self-control, Knowledge, including self-knowledge and the knowledge
of what virtue is are also required. Consciousness, conscience and will should
be uncovered and developed and behaviour should flow from this. When this has
happened then love will automatically arise.
It has to
be emphasised that a priest, scholar or politician or any other person who uses
Islam to obtain or maintain his self-interests, his power, prestige or wealth
or prejudices cannot be called a Muslim because he has not surrendered to Allah
but to his own lusts and desires. It has to be admitted that this is exactly
what Islam has become for many people. In particular, Muslims have developed
the unfortunate habit of taking the name of Allah in vain. For instance they
tend to attribute some of their political movements to Allah and give them
names containing the name of Allah. This is sheer blasphemy. They cannot
possibly know that Allah supports the acts they perform in the name of such
movements. Indeed, it can often be shown that such acts go directly against the
instructions in the Quran.
It is
necessary for those who call themselves Muslims to wake up, examine themselves,
and to see how far these kinds of idolatry, all of them mentioned in the Quran
and the Hadith, applies to them, and then to correct themselves.
Although it
is perfectly true that the Quran speaks about the necessity for correct
beliefs, it does not recommend blind beliefs anywhere but requires people to prove
things for themselves. Correct knowledge is also required. The Quran is not to
be “believed“ but to be used, as food is used, to nourish the soul.
Above all belief without equivalent actions is useless.
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Human thought,
motivation and actions can be of three forms:-
1. Sub-rational.
These depend on inherent psychological mechanisms. They are instinctive and
impulsive. We can distinguish between:-
(a) Reflex action
and instincts,
(b) Automatic due to
conditioning or habit.
(c) The results of
fear, desires, fantasies, rationalisations, fixations and other mechanisms.
2. Rational.
Intentional, conscious, deliberate and purposive actions. They are intelligent
and, therefore, give greater powers than those of the sub-rational mind and
correct the errors arising from it, but the limits of the conscious mind may
also create errors.
3. Supra-rational.
The working of higher forms of intelligence on experiences within the
sub-conscious or unconscious mind. It is an ability to organize experiences
into a unified self-consistent system. The skill with which a person catches a
moving ball or carries out any craft does not depend on rational calculation,
nor does the impulse of compassion or an act of wisdom. The words intuition,
inspiration or revelations are used, according to degree, for such higher
actions. These higher faculties are normally either undeveloped or have been
repressed. However, the presence of these faculties can and has been
demonstrated under hypnosis.
Actions can have:-
(a) Direct results as in consuming food. (b) They may have indirect results as
in earning a living in order to eat. (c) They may have side effects not
contained in the purpose of the action. These must be taken into account by
intelligent action.
When they are
intelligent they have three kinds of purposes:-
(a) To produce some
physical effect such as in crafts and manufacture, digging, gathering and
eating food and so on.
(b) To produce
social effects such as in communication, law, organisation, ceremonies,
festivals and so on.
(c) To produce
psychological effects such as stimulation, reinforcement, inhibition,
reminding, consolidation, inner integration and so on.
The same action may
have more than one of these purposes or aspects.
The effects are
judged according to
(a) Value - How much
an action is worth doing in relation to others. Some things are more valuable
than others.
(b) Effectiveness -
to what extent an action produces the desired result. Some things are more
effective than others.
(c) Efficiency - how much effort
is spent in producing how much result. Some things are more efficient than
others.
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Contents