Q222 :Some people are happy to resort to certain
action which are clearly against the law of the land, justifying what
they do by claiming that they live in the “land of war” or
“dar-ul-harb.” This is particularly worrying in a place like India,
where the Muslims constitute a large minority. Those who indulge in
such activities point to discrimination against Muslims in employment,
social boycott of Muslims, etc. The problem is that some of their
actions make those Muslims criminals in the legal sense. Please
netment.
A222 : Some people refer to the books of fiqh
written several hundred years ago in order to extract rulings which
they try to apply to present-day conditions. They forget that the
authors of those books arrived at their conclusions after making a
thorough study of the Qur’an and statements by the Prophet, taking into
account the prevailing conditions in their own times. They have pointed
out that rulings on matters which relate to social conditions may vary
from one place to another and from one generation to another. The
rulings on the “land of war” are one such clear example. When the
founders and many of the scholars of the four major schools of thought
made their rulings, the Muslim state was in its full power, extending
over all Muslim areas. The fact that two Muslim states were in
existence did not change this fact because what applied to the status
of the individual in one Muslim state applied to the other. The world
outside was hostile to Islam. Even in a period of peace, the hostility
to Islam in such areas was evident. A Muslim who traveled deep into
these countries was vulnerable to attack. The precariousness of his
position was enhanced by the fact that modes of travel were very slow,
netpared with what we have today. Hence you have rulings discouraging
Muslims traveling into the land of war which was defined as the land
where the majority of the population were non-Muslims. Anyone who
suggests that we can take these rulings and apply them to our relations
with non-Muslim countries nowadays betrays an attitude of hastiness
that is unbeneting of a Muslim scholar. To suggest today that any
country where the majority of the people are non-Muslims is a land of
war is to do Islam a great disservice. Muslims have good relations with
many non-Muslim countries. We have mutual support pacts with a large
number of non-Muslim countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and
Europe. Moreover, we can travel into these countries without fearing
any adverse consequences, as long as we abide by their laws. No
authority in these countries demands that we do what our religion
forbids or refrain from doing our religious duties. We enjoy with them
peace and security. How, then, can we classify them as “land of war”?
On the other hand, some Muslim countries have suffered under
dictatorial regimes which were very hostile to Islam. Although these
countries have a population of an overwhelming Muslim majority, these
dictators were extremely hostile to Islam and its advocates. I know by
personal experience that in some Muslim countries, some government
employees feel netpelled to pretend that they do not pray or fast in
Ramadhan for fear of losing their jobs. Some of these have large armies
where lunch is served in Ramadhan to all soldiers and officers at the
same time as the rest of the year. Are we justified in considering such
countries as the “land of Islam,” when a Muslim feels himself at risk
for no reason other than practicing his religion? The point I am
trying to drive home to people is that the concept of the land of war
as understood by scholars who lived under the Islamic state throughout
its different periods and up to the end of World War I, does not apply
to present-day conditions. Hence, contemporary scholars are called upon
to redefine this concept in the light of the prevailing system of
international relations. When you nete to a place like India, where
the Muslims form a sizable minority and their number exceed the number
of Muslims in the largest Muslim country, we find that the concept of
the land of war does not apply at all. The law of India does not
differentiate between Indian citizens on the basis of their faith.
Muslims are selected to fill ministerial posts. It may be true that
some of those Muslim ministers may not consider serving Islam as their
top priority, but they are nevertheless Muslims. On the other hand,
India has been the scene of sectarian riots which flare up every now
and then. Some times, the government is accused of turning a blind eye
toward those who stir up the riots. Even then, we cannot issue a ruling
which classifies India as a land of war at all times. Such a ruling
will require extensive study of present-day conditions in India on the
one hand and throughout the Muslim world on the other. Moreover, the
study should include the effects of any ruling on the status of Muslims
in India. Such a study cannot be undertaken by a single scholar,
certainly not one who lives abroad and whose knowledge of what happens
in that country is derived from press reports and personal accounts of
expatriates. There is an exceedingly important point which must be
made here. The reader refers to some Muslims feeling at liberty to
violate the law of the land on account of India being a land of war. I
want to emphasize that I do not consider it as such. However, even if
an authoritative body of scholars rules that a particular place is a
land of war, Muslims are not allowed to behave there in any way other
than what Islam permits. For example, taking the money or property of
another person in an unfair manner is forbidden in Islam. If that
person or his property is in the land of war, a Muslim still cannot
take it unfairly. It can only nete into his possession either as a gift
or through a netmercial deal of buying and selling. A Muslim who lives
in the land of war cannot fiddle with the electricity meter so that his
electricity bill is lower than what it should be. Nor can he travel on
buses without paying the fare. Allah has deplored the attitude of the
Jews for taking advantage of other nations and taking possession of
their property unfairly. This is stated clearly in the Qur’an so that
Muslims may not do likewise. I would like to emphasize that it is
forbidden for a Muslim to resort to any such actions on the basis that
he lives in a land of war. Muslims remain fair to everyone. Allah tells
us: “Do not allow your hatred of other people to prompt you to act
unfairly. Be fair (to all).”
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )