- We can thus summarize the teachings of Islam about the Muslim character concisely in the following way:
A Muslim is truthful, not dishonest
He is humble, not arrogant
He is moderate, not an extremist
He is honest, not corrupt
He is reserved, not garrulous
He is soft-spoken, not boastful
He is loving and solicitous to others, not unmindful of them
He is considerate and compassionate, not harsh
He is polite and helpful, not insulting and disrespectful to people
He is generous and charitable, not selfish and miserly
He is refined and gentle in speech, not prone to swearing or cursing
He is cheerful and generous, not bitter and resentful
He is grateful for what he has, not ungrateful
He is cheerful and pleasant, not irritable and gloomy
He is chaste and pure, not lustful
He is alert, not absent-minded
He is dignified and decent, not graceless
He is sincere and straightforward, not hypocritical
He is optimistic and hopeful, not cynical or pessimistic
He is confident and deep in faith, not doubtful and wavering
He is spiritually oriented, not materialistic
He always has faith in God’s mercy, not losing heart or becoming desperate
He is diligent and vigilant, not negligent to his duties
He is thankful to God and constantly prays to Him, not forgetful of His innumerable blessings
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Who is Muslim ?
Alama Iqbal's Khutba Alabad
Allahabad Address was the Presidential Address by Allama Iqbal to the 25th Session of the All-India Muslim League on 29 December 1930, at Allahabad. Here he presented the idea of a separate homeland for Indian Muslims which was ultimately realised in the form of Pakistan.
"The principle of European democracy cannot be applied to India without recognising the fact of communal groups. The Muslim demand for the creation of a Muslim India within India is, therefore, perfectly justified. The resolution of the All-Parties Muslim Conference at Delhi is, to my mind, wholly inspired by this noble ideal of a harmonious whole which, instead of stifling the respective individualities of its component wholes, affords them chances of fully working out the possibilities that may be latent in them. And I have no doubt that this House will emphatically endorse the Muslim demands embodied in this resolution.
Personally, I would go farther than the demands embodied in it. I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single State. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of North-West India.
Hindus should not fear that the creation of autonomous Muslim states will mean the introduction of a kind of religious rule in such states. I have already indicated to you the meaning of the word religion, as applied to Islam. The truth is that Islam is not a Church.
For India, it means security and peace resulting from an internal balance of power; for Islam, an opportunity to rid itself of the stamp that Arabian Imperialism was forced to give it, to mobilise its law, its education, its culture, and to bring them into closer contact with its own original spirit and with the spirit of modern times." [1]
"The principle of European democracy cannot be applied to India without recognising the fact of communal groups. The Muslim demand for the creation of a Muslim India within India is, therefore, perfectly justified. The resolution of the All-Parties Muslim Conference at Delhi is, to my mind, wholly inspired by this noble ideal of a harmonious whole which, instead of stifling the respective individualities of its component wholes, affords them chances of fully working out the possibilities that may be latent in them. And I have no doubt that this House will emphatically endorse the Muslim demands embodied in this resolution.
Personally, I would go farther than the demands embodied in it. I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single State. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of North-West India.
Hindus should not fear that the creation of autonomous Muslim states will mean the introduction of a kind of religious rule in such states. I have already indicated to you the meaning of the word religion, as applied to Islam. The truth is that Islam is not a Church.
For India, it means security and peace resulting from an internal balance of power; for Islam, an opportunity to rid itself of the stamp that Arabian Imperialism was forced to give it, to mobilise its law, its education, its culture, and to bring them into closer contact with its own original spirit and with the spirit of modern times." [1]
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