Ahmadiyya Gazette Canada - April 2009 Issue

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A H M A D I Y Y A

“O All-Powerful God of mine, make this piece of land fit for the graves of those of my Jama‘at who are pure of heart and who have in reality become Yours and in their deeds

there is no adulteration of worldliness, Amin O Lord of all the worlds.” - The Will

Gazette

Every Kind of Blessing Has Been Sent Down In ItRevealed to the Promised Messiahas

Education...

...a right or a privilege?YOU DECIDE.

Humanity First Canada isbuilding a primary school in Narol Satra,Muzaffarabad, Pakistan. The children of this townhave no source of education. Humanity First Canada isdedicated to providing education to those who are deprived of thisbasic right. The building of this school will enable the children to receive education, gain dignity andprosperity for themselves and their communities.

The construction of the school has begun and funds are urgently needed. Please support Humanity FirstCanada and extend a generous helping hand; your support will help brighten the future of these children byproviding them with access to basic educational rights.

245 Bowes Rd., Concord, ON L4K 1H8Tel/Fax: 416.440.0346Email: [email protected]: www.humanityfirst.ca

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The Ahmadiyya Gazette Canada is published by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaàt Canada. The editors of the Ahmadiyya Gazette Canada shall be solely responsible for all errors or omissions contained in the publication herein of the writings of the Promised Messiahas or any of his successorsra, as well as the summaries of the sermons or addresses of Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih Vab.

Articles published in the Ahmadiyya Gazette Canada reflect the views of their respective authors and may not reflect the views, beliefs and tenets of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaàt Canada.

Pearls of WisdomSelection from the Holy Qur’an and Ahadith p.2

Writings of the Promised Messiahas p.3

Guidance from Khalifatul Masih Vab

Summary of Friday Sermons p.5

ArticlesKeeping Company with the Righteous p.11

Islamic Economics: The Solution to Income Inequality and Economic Instability p.15

The Story of My Kidnapping p.30

Table of Contents

Ahmadiyya Gazette Canada An Educational and Spiritual Publication

Volume 38 - No. 4 - April 2009

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Education...

...a right or a privilege?YOU DECIDE.

Humanity First Canada isbuilding a primary school in Narol Satra,Muzaffarabad, Pakistan. The children of this townhave no source of education. Humanity First Canada isdedicated to providing education to those who are deprived of thisbasic right. The building of this school will enable the children to receive education, gain dignity andprosperity for themselves and their communities.

The construction of the school has begun and funds are urgently needed. Please support Humanity FirstCanada and extend a generous helping hand; your support will help brighten the future of these children byproviding them with access to basic educational rights.

245 Bowes Rd., Concord, ON L4K 1H8Tel/Fax: 416.440.0346Email: [email protected]: www.humanityfirst.ca

Humanity First is a registered international non-profit charitable and humanitarian relief organization that aims to mitigate hunger, poverty and disease amongthe less privileged human beings around the world and strives to reduce peoples sufferings caused by natural disasters or human conflicts.

Restoring Communities, Building a FutureCharity Registration No: 87254 1040 RR0001

HumanityFirst CANADA

2

Excerpt from The Holy Qur’an

Sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa

Pearls of Wisdom

The Holy Prophetsa has declared:

The pursuit of knowledge is manditory for every Muslim, both male and female.

(Baihiqi)

Hadhrat Sufwan bin ‘Assal narrates that the Prophetsa of Allah said:

Indeed, the angels lay their wings surround the knowledge seeker with their wings until he is satisfied with the knowledge he is seeking.

(Ahmad Ibn Hanbal; article“Safwan Ibn ‘Assal”)

2:151 - And from wheresoever thou comest forth, turn thy face towards the Sacred Mosque; and wherever you be, turn your faces towards it that people may have no argument against you, except those who are unjust — so fear them not, but fear Me — and that I may perfect My favour upon you; and that you may be rightly guided.2:152 - Even as We have sent to you a Messenger from among yourselves who recites Our Signs to you, and purifies you, and teaches you the Book and Wisdom, and teaches you that which you did not know.2:153 - Therefore remember Me, and I will remember you; and be thankful to Me and do not be ungrateful to Me.

(Surah Al-Baqarah Chapter 2 Verses 151-153) ( - : )

3Pearls of Wisdom

So Said the Promised Messiahas

Sultan-ul-Qalam (King of the Pen)

Continued on Page 9...

Allah the Almighty has named this humble one Sultan-ul-Qalam (King of the Pen) and has called my pen the Dhulfaqar (sword) of ‘Ali (ra). (Tadhkirah, p. 333)That is, I see his hand, which flashes like a sword in respect of incontrovertible arguments, and then I see him with Dhulfaqar. This means that there was a time when Ali (may Allah bless his countenance), held the Dhulfaqar in his hand; but God Almighty will grant the sword to this Imam, and his shining hand will accomplish that which had been accomplished by Dhulfaqar in the past. Thus his hand will seem as if it was the Dhulfaqar of ‘Ali (ra) that has reappeared. This also indicates that the said Imam will be and his pen will serve as Dhulfaqar. This prophecy is an exact translation of a revelation granted to me, and published in Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya ten years ago. It reads: “Dhulfaqar, the sword of Hadhrat ‘Ali (ra).” That is to say, the book of this saint is the Dhulfaqar of ‘Ali. This refers to myself, and on this account I have been called Ghazi (gallant hero) in some visions. (Nishan-e-Asmani, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 4, p. 375)I particularly experience God’s miraculous power when I put my pen to paper. Whenever I write something in Arabic or Urdu, feel as if someone is instructing me from within. My writings, whether in Arabic, Urdu or Persian, are of two kinds:

Words and their meanings keep unfolding 1. themselves before me and I go on writing without too much difficulty. This is not something beyond my own mental capacity, and even if I was not accompanied by special divine support, I could still be able to write it with the help of His grace -- which is a necessary accompaniment of human faculties—though after expending a great deal of time. (God knows best).

The second part of my writings is completely 2. miraculous in nature. For instance, when I write something in Arabic and require a word that I do not know, divine revelation guides me and the Holy Spirit puts that word in my heart in the form of verbal revelation and causes it to flow over my tongue, and for an instant I am cut off from the outer world. For instance, once when I was writing in Arabic, I required a word that would be the exact translation of ‘a large family’. I did not know the word but I needed it in that piece of writing. Then all of a sudden the word dafaf, which means ‘a large family’, was put into my heart in the form of verbal revelation. And other time I needed a word that would convey the sense of ‘becoming speechless due to grief or anger’, but I did not know it. All at once I received the revelation: wujum. The same thing happens with regard to whole sentences in Arabic. During the process of writing Arabic, hundreds of complete sentences descend upon my heart, either in the form of verbal revelation or in the form of writing on a paper which is shown to me by an angel. Some of these sentences are verses of the Holy Qur’an, or similar to them with minor modification. Sometimes I only find out later that a certain Arabic sentence that had been revealed to me by God was in fact present in a certain book. God, being the Lord of everything, has the authority to reveal to my heart a fine sentence from some book, or an exquisite verse from some book of poetry. So much for Arabic, but even more surprising is the fact that I receive revelations in languages like English, Sanskrit or Hebrew, with which I have no familiarity whatsoever. Some specimens of these were included in Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya.

Hadrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadab

Khalifatul Masih V

5

Guidance from Hadrat Khalifatul Masih Vab

Guidance from Hadrat Khalifatul Masih Vab

This Friday sermon marked the first sermon delivered by Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V (ab) in both the solar and lunar new years. While the solar and lunar new years have occurred together in the past, may their occurrence during the Khilafat Centenary be a source of blessing for the Jama’at Ahmadiyya. Ameen.

This Friday sermon discussed the correct path to attain world peace and humanity’s liberation from the many conflicts waged in the name of Allah. Ahmadi Muslims around the world need to intensify their supplications to Allah. In particular, Ahmadis should be mindful of the importance of Friday prayers as the age of the Promised Messiah (as) is to be a time when non-Ahmadi Muslims will have turned exclusively towards worldly and material pursuits and will thus no longer respect the sanctity of Friday prayers the way that Muslims should.

According to the Holy Qur’an in Sura Juma, Allah instructed the Muslims to leave their worldly affairs in order to congregate for Friday prayers. This instruction

is intimately connected with the phenomenon of the advent of the Promised Messiah (as) because the glad tidings of his advent are also provided in this chapter. Indeed, the Promised Messiah’s (as) mission was to revive the mission of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) by conveying the true teachings of the Holy Quran, demonstrating the way to purify the soul and to provide the necessary wisdom to peacefully unite the world’s religions and nations under one banner, all for the purpose of gaining nearness to and the pleasure of Allah.

According to the Promised Messiah(as), the era of the Holy Prophet(sa) was the era of takmeel-e-hidayat (the perfection of guidance). The Holy Qur’an, the complete and perfect book was revealed to the Holy Prophet (sa) and contains the final and complete Shariah of universal applicability until the end of time. The Holy Qur’an also conveys prophecies as well as a perfect guidance for all of humanity. For example, Professor Abdus Salam (1979 Nobel Prize Laureate

in Physics) stated that some 700 verses of the Holy Qur’an related to scientific phenomena.

The Promised Messiah’s (as) the era is the era of takmeel-e-isha’at-e-hidayat (perfection of propagation of the guidance). In this era, the complete and perfect guidance that was revealed to the Holy Prophet (sa) would be conveyed and successfully spread to the corners of the world.

Today, we are witnesses to the existence of the era of the Promised Messiah (as) as many technological advancements have facilitated and are facilitating the successful conveyance of the message of the true Islam. During the Promised Messiah’s (as) life, we saw the use of successful use of the printing press. Today, in addition to the printing press, we see the use of satellite television, the internet, radio and other methods of media and publication.

The witnessing of this phenomenon serves to motivate and strengthen the faith of the momin (believer) who is blessed with the opportunity to witness them in his or her lifetime.

Supplication to Allah and the Durood ShareefSummary of Friday Sermon delivered on January 2nd, 2008

Hadrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadab

Khalifatul Masih V

6 Guidance from Hadrat Khalifatul Masih Vab

May Allah grant victories to the Ahmadiyya Jama’at in both worldly and spiritual advancements so that the entire world recognizes and shall be a witness to the glorious favours of Allah upon the Jama’at. Ameen.

These victories cannot and will not be achieved until and unless each Ahmadi turns their attention towards implementing the teachings of the Holy Qur’an in their lives and conveying its teachings to the world with zeal and effort so that they may earn the title khair-eummat (best of nations). This responsibility which has been placed on the shoulders of each Ahmadi is immense. Those Ahmadis who do not honour this responsibility may be denied the favours of Allah.

Allah’s help and support are always near and His favours continue to increase with each adversity provided that we continuously turn towards Him and plead for His mercy. Each and every Ahmadi in each and every Jama’at around the world should immerse themselves with a renewed excitement in their efforts to implement Islamic practices in their lives so that Allah bestows His love upon them and accepts their prayers to raise high the flag of Islam around the world.

According to both the Holy Prophet (sa) and the Promised Messiah (as), the invocation of the Durood Shareef prayer is the formula for the acceptance of prayers. However, while the blessings promised in the Durood Shareef prayer is assured for Muslims, the mere recitation of it is not sufficient for oneself to be the direct recipient of those promised blessings. In

order to be a recipient of the blessings promised in the Durood Shareef prayer, one must adopt and live in accordance with the moral standards and excellences that invite these blessings.

According to the Hadith (related by Hadhrat Anas bin Maalik (ra)), the Holy Prophet (sa) said:

“For every Durood Shareef that you recite, ten sins are forgiven, ten good deeds are entered into your record of actions and your status is elevated by ten degrees (nisai).”

Due to this Hadith, each and every Ahmadi should oft-recite the Durood Shareef prayer and strive to attain the blessings promised therein.

According to another Hadith, Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra) stated:

“I heard the Beloved Prophet (sa) say that he would intercede for anyone on the Day of Judgment who recites Durood Shareef upon him.”

Regarding this Hadith, one must remember that not all will be deserving of the Holy Prophet’s (sa) intercession – only those with pure hearts free of malice or rancor will be deserving of such intercession.

The Holy Prophet (sa) was sent for the world as a messenger of peace and unity. Are the Muslims of today a reflection of the peaceful teachings of the Holy Prophet (sa)? Certainly not. Everyday, we hear of Muslims assaulting each other and others (e.g., suicide bombers) and how they are a constant source of division and strife. While all of them also regularly invoke the Durood Shareef prayer, as their actions do not reflect the moral standards and excellences associated with

inviting the blessings promised in this prayer, their invocations are for naught. This is a matter for all Muslims, both Ahmadis and non-Ahmadis, to ponder and reflect upon.

Those who invoke the Durood Shareef prayer should also increase their love for the Holy Prophet (sa) as well as his family (both blood and spiritual progeny), companions and righteous followers (past and present). Those who invoke the Durood Shareef prayer should possess a genuine love for the Muslim ummah. All Ahmadis can attain closeness to Allah by following the noble example of the Holy Prophet(sa) and the example of those who loved him. If the Muslim ummah comes to understand these, all conflicts within the ummah will be resolved.

The responsibility of each Ahmadi is continuously invoke the Durood Shareef prayer and pray and supplicate to Allah, begging His protection and mercy, and to strive to increase their love for the Holy Prophet (sa) and his ummah. The Promised Messiah (as) wrote extensively on the saintly attributes of the companions of the Holy Prophet (sa). Some extracts of his writings regarding Hadhrat Imam Hussain (ra), Hadhrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra) and Hadhrat Umar (ra) were provided. They and others like them are to be revered as the spiritual progeny of the Holy Prophet (sa).

The conflict between Israel and Palestine was referred to as imbalanced and disproportionate in every sense. The Palestinians should mend their ways, prostrate themselves before God begging for

7Guidance from Hadrat Khalifatul Masih Vab

In the last sermon, Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V (ab) discussed the importance of invoking the Durood Shareef prayer. He further elaborated on this subject.

Currently, we are in the month of Muharram. Both Sunnis and Shias invoke the Durood Shareef, praying for Allah to bless the Muslim ummah, and yet they continue to fight with each another. They forget that both of them are included within the Muslim ummah and that, according to the Hadith, a Muslim is one from whose hands and tongue others are safe (Sahih Muslim). Had they been mindful of this, much conflict could have been prevented.

The Holy Prophet (sa) provided a great degree of protection for Muslims. He stated that if one recites the Kalima Shahada, even if he does so under duress, he still is to be considered a Muslim. Therefore, for those Muslims who fight with other Muslims, their invoking the Durood Shareef prayer indicates that they possess no understanding of it.

The Durood Shareef prayer also provides incite into the status conferred upon the Promised Messiah (as) through the Holy Prophet (sa). The Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi (as) is considered to possess the highest spiritual status of all of the Holy

Prophet’s (sa) spiritual progeny. For example, the Hadith states as follows:

“When you see him [Imam Mahdi], then certainly perform bai’at to him even if you have to crawl over your knees through snow-clad mountains because he [Imam Mahdi] will be the Khalifa of Allah.”

According to the Promised Messiah (as), the above status was granted to him because of his immense love for the Holy Prophet (sa) and due to his continuous invocation of the Durood Shareef prayer. In addition, the Promised Messiah (as) experienced a vision in which he beheld that Hadhrat Fatima (ra) was holding his head in her lap and comforting him thereby indicating his spiritual membership in the family of the Holy Prophet (sa).

Once while experiencing an illness prior to his claim to be the Messiah, the Promised Messiah (as) received a revelation instructing him to invoke the Durood Shareef prayer. Upon doing so, he was cured of his illness. This incident is evidence of the spiritual importance and power of this prayer.

In the eyes of God, the Durood Shareef prayer is directly linked to the Holy Prophet (sa). Therefore, as only the Ahmadiyya Jama’at believes in the Imam of the Age in accordance with the instructions

of the Holy Prophet (sa), the responsibility for Ahmadis to regularly invoke the Durood Shareef prayer is enormous.

The current Israeli-Palestinian crisis is resulting in a tremendous and inordinate loss of life on the Palestinian side. It is to be noted that not a single Muslim nation has raised its voice in protest against the brutal injustice being waged by the Israeli authorities. Where objections have been made by Muslim nations, they have done so with extreme delicacy and cowardice such that their statements are tantamount to saying nothing. In stark contrast, Western nations have strongly condemned Israel. Apparently, Muslim nations have become insensitive to the plight of other members of the Muslim ummah. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the Ahmadiyya Jama’at to continuously invoke the Durood Shareef prayer in order to supplicate to Allah on behalf of the suffering of fellow Muslims. Such supplications are the only way to overcome suppression and achieve the victory of Islam.

As the new year for Waqf-e-Jadid has begun, the rest of this sermon will discuss the concept of financial sacrifice as articulated in the Holy Qur’an. For example, the Holy Qur’an states as follows:

His help and mercy. They should also recognize the Imam of the present age, namely, the Promised Messiah (as). If the conflicts in the Muslim world today are not

resolved in order to attain peace, unfortunately, a world war is foreseeable in the near future.

May Allah enable all Ahmadis to pray for world peace and for

protection from war, and may the ummah become peacefully united. Also, may all Ahmadis enjoy a successful and prosperous new year. Ameen,

Financial Sacrifices and the Waqf-e-Jadid New YearSummary of Friday Sermon delivered on January 9th, 2008


“As to the men who give alms, and the women who give alms, and those who lend to Allah a goodly loan — it will be increased manifold for them, and theirs will also be an honourable reward (Holy Qur’an 57:19).”

Commenting on this verse, the Promised Messiah (as) stated that Allah does not require money. However, when His servant engages in financial sacrifice, Allah rewards and expresses His love for such servants. Therefore, financial sacrifices made purely for the sake of seeking Allah’s pleasure are greatly valued by Him, particularly those which are made for the sake of propagation. As Ahmadis, we are witnesses to the blessings received by Allah on a daily basis due to financial sacrifices. Indeed, the opportunity to make pure financial sacrifices and to receive blessings from them flows from the blessing of having accepted the Imam of the Age.

That Ahmadis maintain a state of gratefulness to Allah is crucial in ensuring that they are able to continue to make financial sacrifices during difficult economic times. During such times, Ahmadis must maintain their diligence in worship and financial sacrifices, as well as maintain adherence to all of Allah’s other commandments. Doing this is the only way to attain nearness to Allah.

The Holy Qur’an states:

“Know that the life of this world is only a sport and a pastime, and an adornment, and a source of boasting among yourselves, and of rivalry in multiplying riches and children. This life

is like the rain the vegetation produced whereby rejoices the tillers. Then it dries up and thou seest it turn yellow; then it becomes broken pieces of straw. And in the Hereafter there is severe punishment, and also forgiveness from Allah, and His pleasure. And the life of this world is nothing but temporary enjoyment of deceitful things (Holy Qur’an 57:21).”

Today, only the members of the Ahmadiyya Jama’at are the ones making financial sacrifices in the world. In contrast, other Muslims spend extravagantly on futile customs.

Ahmadis must not, due to peer pressure, forget their bai’at pledges and obligations. If Ahmadis succumb to peer pressure, then they will be of those who are inclined towards worldly pursuits thereby taking them away from the purpose of their creation and depriving them of Allah’s blessings.

Allah tests us by giving to us and then seeing how it is that we spend our wealth. If our wealth is spent in the way of Allah, then it will be a source of reward. However, if it is spent on worldly pursuits, then we must remember that the world

Allah tests us by giving to us and then seeing how it is that we spend our wealth. If our wealth is

spent in the way of Allah, then it will be a source of reward. However, if it is spent on worldly

pursuits, then we must remember that the world is only a temporary abode.

9Guidance from Hadrat Khalifatul Masih Vab

is only a temporary abode.

The Holy Qur’an describes the world as a beautiful and lush crop field. Just when the farmer relishes the expectation of a good harvest year, the crop is destroyed by strong winds or some other natural disaster. This parable is to teach humankind that reliance on worldly pursuits only leads to despair. One who forgets Allah will surely earn His punishment.

The Holy Qur’an then states,

“Vie with one another in seeking forgiveness from your Lord and for a Garden the value whereof is equal to the value of the heaven and the earth; it has been prepared for those who believe in Allah and His Messenger. That is Allah’s grace; He bestows it upon whomsoever He pleases, and Allah is the Lord of immense grace (Holy Qur’an 57:22).”

In order to receive Allah’s special favours and blessings and to gain entry into Paradise, each momin (believer) must seek forgiveness from Allah. When a momin experiences spiritual blessings in this world, his or her faith in the greatness of the rewards of the Hereafter becomes strengthened.

A companion of the Holy Prophet (sa) once asked him about the location of Hell given that Paradise

extends over the entire universe. The Holy Prophet (sa) responded by stating that Paradise and Hell are but two states of the soul whereby they co-exist in the same space. Your particular spiritual state will determine whether you are in Paradise or Hell. May Allah enable us to continuously receive His bounty and favours. Ameen.

Ahmadis should remember the following prayer taught by the Holy Qur’an:

“Our Lord, let not our hearts become perverse after Thou hast guided us; and bestow on us mercy from Thyself; surely, Thou alone art the Bestower (Holy Qur’an 3:9).”

Ahmadis should never feel that the financial schemes of the Jama’at are burdensome upon our wealth. If such contributions were easy, then they could not be referred to as sacrifices. Allah has conferred a tremendous favour upon the Jama’at by providing an opportunity to make sacrifices similar to those of the Muslims of the early days of Islam. May our spirit of sacrifice continue and be passed on to our future generations. Ameen.

According to the Promised Messiah (as), making financial sacrifices is a way to elevate the degree of one’s faith which can only be achieved when financial sacrifices are made with sincerity and love for the cause.

While those who have been

members of the Jama’at for a long time possess a strong spirit of sacrifice, new converts to the Jama’at are relatively lax in this regard. This laxness is due to the failure of local Jama’ats to impress upon them the spiritual importance of financial sacrifice. For new converts, their having become Ahmadi is a favour conferred upon them from Allah. In order to maintain this favour, they must participate in financial sacrifices. Where local Jama’ats make the effort to stress financial sacrifice, the results are tremendous.

The total collections for the 2008 Waqf-e-Jadid year were £2,575,000. The Jama’at rankings are as follows:

Pakistan – This Jama’at brought 1. in 10,000 new participants to the scheme. The majority of Pakistani Ahmadis are poor, yet their sacrifices continue to be immense and exemplary. According to the Hadith, the reward for contributing one dirham is greater than the reward for giving 100,000 dirhams. This Hadith means that as one dirham of a poor person (the type of person who is likely to give just one dirham) represents a greater proportion of his wealth than the 100,000 dirhams of a much richer person, the reward to the poor person is greater. Therefore, despite the huge disparity in amount, the one dirham of the poor person represents the greater overall sacrifice and thus deserves the greater spiritual reward. That the poor Ahmadis of Pakistan and Africa continue to make such great sacrifices and yet still manage to meet their


expenses deserves admiration. May Allah reward them with His choicest blessings. Ameen.USA – This Jama’at brought 2. 256 new participants to the scheme, making a total of 8,276. However, collections decreased by £80,000. As Waqf-e-Jadid collections from wealthy nations are utilized for publications and projects in third world countries, the members in the Jama’ats of such wealthy nations should be endeavoring to increase pledges and their participation. The increase in participants in the US Jama’at are due to the efforts of the Nasirat and Atfaal. Great Britain – This Jama’at 3. brought 1,382 new participants, making a total of 14,519. Collections increased by £86,000 over the previous year. This Jama’at is making great progress.Canada – This Jama’at brought 4. 378 new participants, making a total of 13,325. Collections increased by £180,000 over the previous year. Germany – This Jama’at brought 5. 1,387 new participants due to immigration. Collections increased by EUR 25,000. India – This Jama’at’s collections 6. increased by £170,000 over the previous year. In view of the current global economic situation, the India and some African Jama’ats should strive to become financially independent as some countries may not be able to support them in the future. Indonesia – This Jama’at 7. brought 829 new participants. Collections increased by

£25,000 over the previous year. Belgium8. France9. Switzerland10.

The top-ranking Jama’ats in terms of financial contributions per capita are as follows:

USA1. France2. Switzerland3. Great Britain4. Belgium5.

The top-ranking African Jama’ats in terms of financial contributions are as follows:

Nigeria1. Ghana2. Burkina Faso3. Benin4. Sierra Leone5.

Total number of participants worldwide were 537,000. However, as some countries have not yet submitted their reports, this is not an accurate figure.

Parents should be increasing their efforts to include their children’s participation, even if such contributions represent small amounts.

Many Middle Eastern countries are making progress in their members’ financial sacrifices.

May Allah cause the wealth of all those who made these financial sacrifices to increase. May Allah enable the Jama’at to progress and makes its efforts fruitful. May Allah enable every Ahmadi to gain nearness to Allah. May Allah enable us to supplicate and accept our humble prayers. Ameen.

Many Middle Eastern countries are making progress in their members’ financial sacrifices.

May Allah cause the wealth of all those who made these financial sacrifices to increase. May Allah enable the Jama’at to progress and makes its efforts fruitful. May Allah enable every Ahmadi to gain nearness to Allah. May Allah enable us to supplicate and accept our humble prayers. Ameen.

God, in Whose hand is my life, is my witness that this is how He has been dealing with me. This is one of the signs pertaining to matters of the unseen that continue to be revealed to me in various forms. My God cares not if any phrase that is revealed to me happens to figure in some Arabic, Sanskrit or English book, because for me it is a matter of the Unseen. For instance, God Almighty has related many episodes from the Torah in the Holy Qur’an, and has included them in the category of the Unseen, because they were the Unseen for the Holy Prophet (sa), though not for the Jews. This is why I challenge the whole world to compete with me in writing a miraculous exegesis of the Holy Qur’an in eloquent Arabic. Otherwise what is a mere mortal, and what power does a son of Adam have to arrogantly challenge the whole world? (Nuzul-ul-Masih, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 18, pp. 434-436)

Continued from Page 3...

11Keeping Company with the Righteous

The Purpose of Creation

The purpose of humankind’s creation is to understand and worship Allah and become a perfect reflection of Him. Crucial to one’s spiritual journey is adherence to taqwa or righteousness.

Righteousness means to be virtuous and morally good. In addition, according to the Holy Qur’an, righteousness requires following the guidance sent down by Allah. For example, the Holy Qur’an states:

“Among the People of the Book there is a party who stand by their covenant, they recite the Word of Allah in the hours of night and prostrate themselves before Him. They believe in Allah and the Last Day, and

enjoin good and forbid evil, and hasten to vie with one another in good works. And these are among the righteous.” (Holy Qur’an 3:114-115)

“The truth is that whoso honours the sacred Signs of Allah—that, indeed, proceeds from the righteousness of hearts.” (Holy Qur’an 22:33)

Striving Towards Righteousness

The virtues and good morals of an individual are contingent upon the acceptance and practice of the guidance sent down by Allah to humankind through His prophets. It is only when one recognizes and understands Allah can righteousness become a true quality of one’s character. Regarding this, the Promised Messiah (as) wrote:

“To become truly righteous it is necessary that a person should abandon such extreme vices as adultery, theft, trespass, hypocrisy, arrogance, scorn of fellow beings, miserliness, should eschew all low morals, and should make progress in high moral values. He should behave towards his fellow beings with politeness, courtesy and sympathy and should cultivate true fidelity

and sincerity towards God Almighty. He should constantly seek occasions of beneficent service. He who combines all these qualities in himself is alone righteous. The possession of any one of these qualities would not entitle a person to be accounted righteous unless he possesses collectively all of them. It is only these concerning whom it is said: ‘On them shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve’ (Holy Qur’an 7:36). What more would they need? God Almighty becomes their guardian as it is said: ‘And He protects the righteous’ (Holy Qur’an 7:197).1

The attainment of righteousness is the foundation upon which one’s morality and spirituality are built. As laid out in the Holy Qur’an:

“O children of Adam, We have indeed sent down to you raiment to cover your nakedness and to be a means of adornment;

Keeping Company with the RighteousNadia Mahmood, Bermuda

12

but the raiment of righteousness -- that is the best. That is of the commandments of Allah, that they may remember.” (Holy Qur’an 7:27)

If the purpose of the creation of humankind is to attain nearness to Allah, then righteousness is the key to achieving this aim. Just as clothing protects one’s physical body, righteousness protects and improves one’s spiritual body. The Promised Messiah (as) stated:

“In the Holy Qur’an more emphasis has been laid on virtue and righteousness than on any other commandments. The reason for this is that righteousness bestows the strength to resist all vice and urges progress towards all good. Righteousness is in all circumstances a charm that guarantees security and is a citadel for safeguarding against all harm. A righteous person can avoid many vain and harmful contentions that often lead other people to ruin. They sow the seed of dissension among

the people through their hasty actions and suspicions and lay themselves open to objection.”2

The Benefits of Righteous Friends

Clearly, achieving righteousness should be the motive behind all of one’s actions. In order to achieve righteousness and ensure one’s spiritual growth, the Holy Qur’an emphasizes the importance of the company one keeps. As the Holy Prophet (sa) warned,

“A person is apt to follow the faith of his friend, so be careful with whom you are friends.”3

It is of utmost importance that one surrounds one’s self with people who are themselves righteous. The reason for this is twofold. Keeping company with the righteous:

will inspire righteousness in • oneself, and

will protect one from • committing sin.

Inspiring Righteousness

The Holy Qur’an repeatedly draws attention to the importance of befriending and surrounding

oneself with righteous people as such people encourage one towards goodness and to progress spiritually. Such people will provide guidance and will remind one that this life is temporary such that one must be striving towards achieving a better spiritual station in the Hereafter. For example, the Holy Qur’an commands:

“And keep thyself attached to those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His pleasure; and let not thine eyes pass beyond them, seeking the adornment of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his low desires, and his case exceeds all legitimate bounds.” (Holy Qur’an 18:29)

“Surely, man is ever in a state of loss except those who believe and do righteous deeds, and exhort one another to preach Truth, and exhort one another to be steadfast.” (Holy Qur’an 103:3-4)

“And the believers, men and women, are friends one of another. They enjoin good and forbid evil and observe Prayer and pay the Zakat and obey Allah and His Messenger. It is these on whom Allah will have mercy. Surely, Allah is Mighty and Wise”. (Holy Qur’an 9:71)

These verses demonstrate that righteous friends are those who continuously strive to win the love of Allah and who do not care for the material things of this world. They perform good deeds and encourage others to do the same. They demand that those associated with them stand for truth and are always

The Holy Qur’an repeatedly draws attention to the importance of befriending and surrounding oneself with righteous people as such people encourage one towards goodness and to progress

spiritually.

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13

patient. The Holy Qur’an makes it clear that without such friends, one will remain misguided and lost, living without purpose.

(b) Protection from Sin

Keeping company with righteous people also protects one from the commission of sin. According to Hadhrat Musleh Maood (ra), the choice of one’s friends ranks as the second greatest source of sin because,

“Man is a born imitator. He tends to do as others do, without weighing and considering the consequences of what he is doing.”4

Studies have confirmed this view. For example, a 2008 study by Durham University and Volterra Consulting UK concluded that binge drinking (the cause for much of the anti-social and criminal behaviour in the United Kingdom) occurred because people would imitate each other while sitting together in public drinking houses. Indeed, according to the study, a large majority of binge drinkers considered their friends to be fellow binge drinkers.

Hadhrat Musleh Maood (ra) also outlined other sins committed due to the influence of friends:

“Another source of sin is the many invisible influences that crisscross one another in our lives. They exert a kind of hypnotic influence, unknown to the person affected. No argument is given nor is any appeal made, but the presence of influences which ideas generate is undeniable. This needs some explanation. Let a decent person live in close proximity to nine others not so decent, who nurse evil thought without any overt communication. He will soon begin to feel the evil influence. This reminds me of a Sikh student who had great affection for the Promised Messiah (as). On one occasion he sent a message to him -- through Hadhrat Maulvi Nuruddin Sahib (ra) -- that his mind was being affected by agnostic thinking. The Promised Messiah (as) suggested that this young man should change his seat in the classroom and sit away from his classmates who sat close to him. The change proved the cure for his agnosticism. No argument had passed between them, but unexpressed thoughts were being communicated in some mysterious way.”5

Scientific Research

A skeptic may doubt the degree to which a person can have such a profound influence over another without even speaking. However, Dr. Nicholas Christakis (Harvard University) and Professor James Fowler (University of California at San Diego) published three studies showing how one’s health is affected by one’s social context thereby providing support for the view expressed by Hadhrat Musleh Maood (ra) and concluded that one should choose one’s friends carefully. For example, people were more likely to quit smoking if their friends also quit. Similarly, thin people were more likely to gain weight if their friends were obese -- the studies found that friends of an obese person possessed a 171% of also becoming obese.

These studies also made profound discoveries regarding happiness as they found that one’s mood can be influenced by people separated by up to three degrees. In other words, one’s friend’s friend’s friend affects one’s happiness by 5.6%, even where such people are known or encountered personally. This finding is especially profound given that the same studies noted that where one possesses $5,000 in cash, one’s level of happiness increases by only 2%, less than the influence received from a perfect stranger.

The research by Dr. Christakis and Professor Fowler demonstrates that behaviour and emotional state is largely determined by one’s social network, infecting people in the same manner that a disease spreads from person to person. According to these studies, changing one’s social network will


14

result in changing one’s behaviour and state of mind, regardless of whether or not one consciously strove to make such changes. People will become just like their friends, their friends, and their friends, whether they are aware of it or not.

These studies confirm what is already stated in the Holy Qur’an. Almost 15 centuries ago, the Holy Qur’an had already made it clear that one’s social network determines one’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual state. For this reason, the Holy Qur’an commands,

“O Believers! Be mindful of your duty to Allah and keep the company of the righteous.” (Holy Qur’an 9:119)

Further, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) stated,

“He who keeps company with the righteous does not encounter ill fortune.”6

Based on the foregoing, Hadhrat Musleh Maood (ra) stated,

“[One] should reason: Good designs that take shape in my mind [should] influence others. God admonishes us to keep company with the righteous. If

I cannot influence anyone for good I cannot be a believer.”7

Indeed, the Holy Prophet (sa) sought Allah’s protection and forgiveness 70 times a day because “he cared for people who were clean in their own right but were likely to be affected by unclean thoughts and their evil influence.”8 It is for this reason that the Holy Prophet (sa) issued the following warning:

“The case of a righteous companion and that of an evil companion is like that of one who carries perfume and of one who blows into a furnace. The carrier of perfume might give you some as a gift, or you might buy some from him, or at least you might smell its fragrance. As for the other, he might set your clothes on fire, and at the very least you will breathe the foul air issuing from the furnace.”9

Conclusion

The quality of one’s friends determines the quality of one’s character. By having good and righteous friends, one can ensure one’s own spiritual improvement. Righteous friends will protect one from sin. Science is now confirming what the Holy Qur’an revealed almost 15 centuries ago. If one’s aim is to win Allah’s love

and to attain righteousness entails keeping the company of righteous people and receiving their influence. May Allah guide us on the straight path and bless us with friends who are honest, sincere, and righteous. Ameen.References

Durham University. “Binge Drinking 1. Due To ‘Copying’ Behavior.” ScienceDaily 28 June 2008. 21 March 2009 <http://2. www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/06/080624110917.htm>.Harvard Medical School. “Happiness 3. Is ‘Infectious’ In Network Of Friends: Collective -- Not Just Individual -- Phenomenon.” Science Daily 5 December 2008. 21 March 2009 <http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/12/081205094506.htm>.Park, Alice. “The Happiness Effect.” 4. TIME 11 December 2008. 27 February 2009 <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1865960,00.html>.University of California - San Diego. 5. “Obesity Is ‘Socially Contagious’.” ScienceDaily 26 July 2007. 21 March 2009 <http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2007/07/070725175419.htm>.

EndnotesMalfoozat1. ,Vol IV, pp. 400-401; The Essence of Islam, Vol. II, p. 351Ayyam-us-Sulh2. , Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol 14, p. 342, The Essence of Islam, Vol II, p. 347Abu Daud; Tirmidhi3. Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood 4. Ahmad (ra), Way of the Seekers, p. 33Ibid p. 355. Ibid p. 1096. Ibid7. Ibid p. 378. Bokhari; Muslim9.


The quality of one’s friends determines the quality of one’s character. By having good and righteous friends, one can ensure one’s own spiritual improvement. Righteous friends will

protect one from sin.

15Islamic Economics

An abridged version of the following paper was delivered by the author at the University of Toronto on March 19, 2009 during a multifaith event organized by the Department of Tabligh Canada.

1. Introduction

For the past few decades, income disparity has been growing at an alarming pace. Indeed, the income disparities in existence today have not been seen since the 1920’s, just prior to the Great Depression. As growing income disparity has always acted as a harbinger of economic downturn, the road to achieving economic stability and sustainability can only be achieved once the problem of income disparity and inequality is addressed. In so doing, I shall discuss the basic foundational principles of Islamic economics, both from an individual consumer perspective as well as from a legal and regulatory perspective.

According to the Islamic system of economics, while Islam seeks to ensure that the basic needs of all members of society are looked after, unlike Communism, individual enterprise is encouraged and the pursuit of wealth is not chagrined.1 Indeed, the Holy

Prophet Muhammad (sa) as well as his closest companions, including his wife, Hadhrat Khadija (ra) and his first and third Caliphs, Hadhrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hadhrat Uthman (ra), respectively, were successful entrepreneurs and businesspeople. However, the fundamental axiom of western free-market capitalist economics that “more is better” is not the Islamic viewpoint. Further, the view according to some modes of religious thinking that wealth and prosperity are directly linked to the degree of one’s divine favour or disfavour from God is also not the Islamic viewpoint. Although Islamic economics is capitalist, such capitalism is not totally free-market, but rather, promotes morality and regulation.

In Islam, Muslim consumers must recognize that all ownership belongs to God and that their material possessions, or the lack thereof, serve merely as a trial for them in order to test their degree of trust in and gratefulness to Him as well as their level of goodness. Muslims are to live with modesty, shunning extravagance and the hoarding of wealth, and honouring the share of the poor in their wealth by giving in alms (zakat) and charity (sadaqa). Also, Islam promotes a

regulated commercial environment which promotes substantive justice (adl and qist) and prohibits economic exploitation (ribaa) in order to end the perpetuation of income disparity and poverty. When these Islamic principles are put into practice, both on an individual and regulatory level, the amelioration of income disparity will ensue thereby resulting in economic sustainability and stability.

2. The Current Global Economic Crisis

While we do not yet know the expected length or severity of the current economic downturn or whether we have yet to see its bottom, the current consensus is that it will likely be deep, far-ranging and long. On March 11, 2009, the International Monetary Fund declared that the world is in the grips of a “great recession”.2 In response, governments are putting together massive stimulus packages in an attempt to soften the recession’s blow and to inspire the resurgence of the movement of money, either for banks to resume lending or for corporations and consumers to resume spending. However, lost in the discussions are the reasons why we find

Islamic Economics: The Solution to Income Inequality and Economic InstabilityM. Nadeem Ahmad Siddiq, BA, JD, LLM

16

ourselves in these straits, and do so time and again, and how we can avoid such drastic and expensive stimulus measures (which may or may not be successful) in the future.

Throughout the world, particularly in the United States (“US”), Canada and the United Kingdom, during the 1980’s and 1990’s, the then stewards of our economy led us into a period of unprecedented de-regulation. The promise was that laissez-faire free-market capitalism would release us from the tyranny and suffocation of bureaucratic regulation. Those with wealth need not be answerable to government regulation as the democratic judgment of the markets would be sufficient.3 The interests of the poor would eventually be looked after by a “trickling down” of economic prosperity thus resulting in improved income disparity over the long-run. However, history has proven that these promises have never materialized, but rather, our current economic culture has brought us to where income disparity continues to widen ushering in, time and again, painful periods of economic instability and downturn.

Taking the US as an example, the “ground zero” (so to speak) of the current global economic crisis, currently, 1% of its population possesses more than 40% of the world’s wealth and 10% of its population possesses more than 75%. That leaves less than 25% for the other 90% of the population, and this disparity continues to grow. Such disparities have not been witnessed since the 1920’s, immediately prior to the Great Depression of the 1930’s. 4

To describe just how these income disparities have occurred, one need only look at the manner in which the income of the rich has dramatically increased relative to the wage of the average worker over the past few decades. For example, in the US, just prior to the 1990’s, the average Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) earned approximately 85 times more than the average worker. However, by the end of the 1990’s, CEO’s earned more than 400-500 times more than the average worker.5 While this was occurring, even though productivity was dramatically increasing, the average worker wage stayed largely the same and the windfall went to senior executives through salaries or bonuses, and to shareholders. During the 2008 presidential campaign, when Barack Obama raised the notion of raising the minimum wage, corporations raised an uproar alleging that such a move was akin to spurring inflation and would cripple the corporate ability to earn profits.

Since the 1990’s, at the expense of creativity, innovation and organic growth, the pace of mergers and acquisitions has been staggering with the large majority of such transactions producing lower shareholder value, lesser and more expensive products and services for consumers, as well as job losses. A few years ago in an opinion-editorial for the Globe & Mail newspaper, former Deputy Finance Minister and current Toronto-Dominion Bank Chief Economist, Don Drummond, noted that the beneficiaries of mergers and acquisitions, particularly between financial institutions,

tend to be exclusively senior executives, who either give themselves hefty pay raises or generous severance packages with no benefit trickling down to shareholders, consumers or employees. In other words, for the past few decades, the most wealthy senior executives have been making decisions that primarily benefit themselves at the expense of all others.

Our experience of the past few decades provides ample evidence that, when the free-market econometric models described by Adam Smith in his book The Wealth of Nations are employed, the result is always the exacerbation of income disparity and economic exploitation. In other words, when the stewards or “Masters” of our economy are left unchecked and unregulated, they will invariably make decisions that are exclusively in their own self-interest. The most obvious example of this is the recent use of hundreds of millions of dollars of public “bailout” funding to financial institutions to provide gargantuan bonuses to senior executives.6 Indeed, in his book, Adam Smith admitted of the prevalence of this phenomenon.7

The reason for this phenomenon is that the fundamental axiom of Western capitalist economics that “more is better” results in a consumerism and regulatory framework which encourages the pursuit of self-interest and the amassing of wealth as an end in itself with no regard to ameliorating the conditions of the poor and less fortunate. In addition, according to some modes of religious thinking (for example, Lutheran, Calvinistic and Hindu),

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one’s economic prosperity is directly linked with the degree of one’s divine favour, with poverty being a sign of divine disfavour. Therefore, any effort to ameliorate poverty constitutes interference with God’s divine will.8 For Adam Smith, through His “Invisible Hand”, the free markets are the instrument through which God manifests His divine will.9

Periods of increasing income disparity and inequality have always acted as harbingers of economic downturn and recession.10 Intuitively, this correlation between income disparity and economic decline makes sense. When jolts to the economy occur, such as a dramatic spike in gas prices or escalating sub-prime mortgage defaults (which cause the collapse of the asset-backed commercial paper market thus rocking investor and consumer confidence), the consumption of 90% of the population possessing only 25% of the wealth is insufficient to sustain or stabilize the economy. Certainly, the consumption of the top 10% of the populations possessing 75% of the wealth, which is primarily spent on extravagance or is hoarded, is not capable of sustaining an entire economy.

Just as Smithian free-market capitalism’s promise of the “trickle down” to improve income disparity has proved false, so too has its promise of producing economic stability and sustainability. Indeed, our experience has shown that free-market capitalism results in exacerbating income inequality thus leading to repeated periods of economic downturn and instability. Therefore, from the

Islamic perspective, until such time as income disparity is addressed, the road to economic stability and sustainability cannot begin.

3. Islamic Economics – The Individual Consumer

On an individual consumer level, according to Islamic teaching, the current economic crisis has resulted because consumers have failed to recognize God and thus did not fulfill their moral and spiritual obligations to Him and to their fellow human beings with respect to their wealth. Rather than living with gratefulness and avoiding extravagance, consumers seek to amass wealth and live extravagantly or beyond their means while disregarding the interests of the less fortunate.

Remembering and recognizing God means recognizing that He possesses absolute dominion and ownership over all things such that, whatever we possess, has come directly from Him and Him alone. In the Holy Qur’an, God is referred to with reference to His 99 names or attributes, two of which are Al-Wahaab (the Provider of All Things) and Al-Razzaq (the Sustainer) such that it is God Who provides for us and then sustains us, both physically and spiritually. In the Holy Qur’an, God’s ownership of all that exists in the heavens and earth is referred to more than 40 times. In addition, the Holy Qur’an asserts repeatedly that all provision and sustenance is from God alone. For example, the Holy Qur’an states,

“And blessed is He [Allah] to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, and

with Him is the knowledge of the Hour, and to Him shall you be brought back.” (Holy Qur’an 43:86)

“Surely thy Lord enlarged His provision for whom He pleases, and straitens it from whom He pleases.” (Holy Qur’an 17:31)

“. . . And Allah bestows His sustenance on whomsoever He pleases without reckoning.” (Holy Qur’an 2:213)

“It is Allah Who has created you, and then He has provided for you; then He will cause you to die, and then He will bring you to life. Is there any of your ‘partners’ who can do any of these things? Glorified be He and exalted above that which they associate with Him.” (Holy Qur’an 30:41)

“Have they not seen that Allah enlarges the provision to whomsoever He pleases, and straitens it to whomsoever He pleases? In that truly are Signs for a people who believe.” (Holy Qur’an 30:38)

According to the Holy Qur’an, the state of our affairs, whether financial or otherwise, always serves as a test or trial for us. Whether we are rich or poor, in a state of enjoyment or calamity, we are in a constant state of trial whereby God seeks to test the degree of our trust

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in and our gratefulness to Him, as well as the extent of our good conduct. For example, the Holy Qur’an states,

“Said one who had knowledge of the Book, . . . ‘This is of the grace of my Lord that He may try me whether I am grateful or ungrateful. And whosoever is grateful is grateful for the good of his own soul, but whosoever is ungrateful, truly My Lord is Self-Sufficient, Gracious.’” (Holy Qur’an 27:41)

“And He it is Who has made you successors of others on the earth and has exalted some of you over others in degrees of rank that He may try you by that which He has given you.” (Holy Qur’an 6:166)

“Verily, We have made all that is on the earth as its adornment so that We may try them as to which of them is best in conduct.” (Holy Qur’an 18:8)

“And strain not thine eyes over what We have bestowed on

some classes of them of the splendour of the present world so that We may try them thereby. And the provision of Thy Lord is better and more lasting.” (Holy Qur’an 20:132)

“And we will try you with something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere.” (Holy Qur’an 2:156)

“And in like manner have we tried some of them by others, that they may say, ‘Is it these [the poor] whom Allah has favoured from among us?’ Does not Allah know best those who are grateful?” (Holy Qur’an 6:54)

“And we will surely try you until We make manifest those among you who strive for the cause of Allah and those who are steadfast. And We will make known the true facts about you.” (47:32)

“Who has created death and life that He may try you as to

which of you is best in deeds, and He is the Mighty, the Most Forgiving.” (Holy Qur’an 67:3)

“You shall be surely be tried in your possessions and in your persons . . . but if you show fortitude and act righteously, that indeed is a matter of strong determination.” (Holy Qur’an 3:187)

“And know that your possessions and your children are but a trial and that it is Allah with Whom there is great reward.” (Holy Qur’an 8:29)

“Wealth and children are adornments of the life of this world. But enduring good works are better in the sight of thy Lord in respect of immediate reward, and better in respect of future hope.” (Holy Qur’an 18:47)

O believers, let not your wealth and your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. And whoever does so, it is they who are the losers.” (Holy

Islamic Economics

“And know that your possessions and your children are but a trial and that it is Allah with Whom there is great reward.”

-The Holy Qur’an 8:29“Wealth and children are adornments of the life of this world. But enduring good works are better in the sight of thy Lord in respect of immediate reward, and better in respect of future hope.”

- The Holy Qur’an 18:47

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Qur’an 63:10)

“Verily your wealth and your children are but a trial, but with Allah is an immense reward.” (Holy Qur’an 64:16)

In asking for God to provide for us, to sustain us and to protect us from calamity, the Holy Qur’an teaches humanity to put trust solely in God. For example, the Holy Qur’an states,

“If Allah helps you, none shall overcome you; but if He forsakes you, then who is there that can help you beside Him? In Allah, then, let the believers put their trust.” (Holy Qur’an 3:161)

“True believers are only those whose hearts tremble when the name of Allah is mentioned, and when His Signs are recited to them they increase their faith, and who put their trust in their Lord.” (Holy Qur’an 8:3)

“Say, ‘Nothing shall befall us save that which Allah has ordained for us. He is our Protector. And in Allah then should the believers put their trust.’” (Holy Qur’an 9:51)

“And whatever you have been given is only a temporary provision of this life, but that which is with Allah is better and more lasting for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord.” (Holy Qur’an 42:37)

When being provided for and sustained, humans are granted provision (rizq) directly from God. When being provided for, Muslims are free to and encouraged to consume the good things of the world, but must do

so with moderation, shunning extravagance and being ever-grateful to God. Indeed, this is the basis for the prohibition of gambling and the consumption of alcohol.11 For example, the Holy Qur’an states,

“Satan desires only to create enmity and hatred among you by means of wine and gambling, and to keep you away from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. But will you keep back? . . . On those who believe and do good works there shall be no sin for what they eat, provided they fear God and believe and do good works, and again fear God and believe, yet again fear God and do good. And Allah loves those who do good. O believers! Allah will surely try you in a little matter: the game which your hands and your lances can reach, so that Allah may distinguish those who fear Him in secret. Whoso, therefore, will transgress after this shall have a grievous punishment.”

(Holy Qur’an 5:92-95)

“So eat of the lawful and good things which Allah has provided for you; and be grateful for the bounty of Allah, if it is Him you worship.” (Holy Qur’an 16:115)

“If you are grateful, I will, surely, bestow more favours on you; but if you are ungrateful, then know that My punishment is severe indeed.” (Holy Qur’an 14:8)

“O children of Adam! Adorn yourselves at every time and place of worship, and eat and drink (freely), but be not immoderate, surely, He does not love those who are immoderate.” (Holy Qur’an 7:32)

“Until, when we seize those of them who indulge in extravagance with punishment, behold, they cry for help.” (Holy Qur’an 23:65)

“Why should Allah punish

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you if you are grateful and if you believe? And Allah is Appreciating, All-Knowing.” (Holy Qur’an 4:148)

Whenever a calamity or crisis befalls one, whether it be financial or otherwise, it is either in order to punish or to test us. However, in either case, the prescription is always the same. We must turn to God with complete trust in Him and with gratefulness to Him. Unlike some modes of religious thinking, the possession of wealth is not a sign of divine favour, but rather, may well be an indication of a state of ungratefulness which merits divine punishment, either in this life or in the Hereafter. For example, the Holy Qur’an states,

“And when an affliction befalls men, they cry unto their Lord, turning to Him in repentance, then when He has made them taste of mercy from Him, lo, a section of them associate partners with their Lord so as to be ungrateful for what We have given them. So enjoy yourselves awhile, but soon you will come to know.” (Holy Qur’an 30:34-35)

According to this verse, a person living in a state of material enjoyment may well be someone who is condemned to divine punishment due to their ungratefulness. Indeed, according to the Holy Qur’an, very few people are grateful, leaving much of humanity, particularly those who are rich and wealthy, perhaps living in a constant state of ungratefulness and thus destined for divine retribution. For example, the Holy Qur’an states,

“And He gave you all that you

wanted of Him; and if you try to count the favours of Allah, you will not be able to number them. Verily, man is very unjust, very ungrateful.” (Holy Qur’an 14:35)

“. . . but most men are ungrateful.” (Holy Qur’an 12:39)

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) set for us an example of ideal gratefulness. For example, despite receiving assurance in the Holy Qur’an that God had forgiven him for all of his past and future shortcomings (Holy Qur’an 48:3), nevertheless, the Holy Prophet (sa) was so devoted to prayer that the act of performing his prayers would often cause his feet to become swollen. When he was asked why he remained so devoted to prayer given that all his shortcomings had already been forgiven, his simple answer was, “May I not prove myself to be Allah’s grateful servant?”12

In addition to living with moderation and shunning extravagance, Muslims also show their gratefulness by striving against greed and stinginess by avoiding the accumulation and hoarding of wealth. For example, the Holy Qur’an states,

“Fair-seeming to men is made the love of desired things, women and children, and hoarded heaps of gold and silver, and horses of mark and cattle and crops. That is the provision of the present life, but it is Allah with Whom is an excellent home.” (Holy Qur’an 3:14)

“Mutual rivalry in seeking increase in worldly possessions

diverts you from God, til you reach your graves. Nay, you will soon come to know the truth.” (Holy Qur’an 102:2-4)

“Who amasses wealth and counts it over and over, he thinks that his wealth will make him immortal. Nay! He shall surely be cast into the crushing torment.” (Holy Qur’an 104:3-5)

“Say, ‘Even if you possessed the limitless treasures of the mercy of my Lord, you would surely hoard them for fear of exhausting them, for man is stingy.’” (Holy Qur’an 17:101)

“And those who hoard gold and silver and spend not in the way of Allah, give to them the tidings of a painful punishment. On the day when it shall be made hot in the fire of Hell, and their foreheads and their sides and their backs shall be branded therewith and it shall be said to them, ‘This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so now taste what you used to hoard.’” (Holy Qur’an 9:34-35)

“And keep not thy hand chained to thy neck out of stinginess, nor stretch it forth to its utmost limit out of extravagance, lest thou sit down blamed, exhausted.” (Holy Qur’an 17:30)

Indeed, in stark contrast to the system of primogeniture (which allows one to devise all of one’s estate to just one heir or a small few of them), the Islamic scheme of inheritance found in the Holy Qur’an at 2:181-183, 4:8-14, and 4:177 is imposed in order to ensure that wealth and property are not hoarded, but rather, are continuously broken up and

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divided amongst multiple heirs to be employed for the service of as many people as possible.13 When inheritance rights to women were guaranteed for the first time in human history by the Holy Qur’an, widows and orphans (historically, the poorest classes in society) immediately broke out of the cycle of poverty which plagued them.

In addition to being grateful, living with moderation, and shunning hoarding and extravagance, Islam also grants a share of one’s wealth to the poor and the needy. As our wealth is provided to us by God, our rights in it are not exclusive such that the poor and the needy also possess a claim over it. For example, the Holy Qur’an states,

“But when He tries him and straitens for him his means of subsistence, he says, ‘My Lord has disgraced me.’ Nay, but you honour not the orphan, and you urge not one another to feed the poor, and you devour the heritage of other people wholly, and you love wealth with exceeding love.” (Holy

Qur’an 89:18-21)

“And give to the kinsman his due, and to the poor and to the wayfarer, and squander not thy wealth extravagantly.” (Holy Qur’an 17:27)

“And in their wealth was a share for those who begged and for those who could not.” (Holy Qur’an 51:19)

“And those in whose wealth is a known right, for those who beg and for those who do not.” (Holy Qur’an 70:25-26)

“So give to the kinsman his due, and to the needy, and to the wayfarer. That is best for those who seek the favour of Allah, and it is they who will prosper.” (Holy Qur’an 30:39)

In order to honour the rights of the poor, not only are Muslims encouraged to contribute charitably in the form of sadaqa, but moreover, one of the five pillars of Islam is zakat (alms for the poor) whereby a Muslim pays a tithe based on the value of his or her assets.14 In the Holy Qur’an, the term sadaqa

is referred to 12 times.15 Zakat is referred to over 30 times, 27 of which are in conjunction with the commandment to perform prayer (salat), thereby indicating its importance. Zakat is obligatory while sadaqa is voluntary. Indeed, giving zakat results in God blessing one’s wealth and thus further increasing it. For example, the Holy Qur’an states,

“. . . but whosoever gives zakat seeking the favour of Allah, it is they who will increase their wealth manifold.” (Holy Qur’an 30:40)

From a societal perspective, when the wealthy person employs his surplus for the service of the needy, he develops an affection for them and a concern for the amelioration of their plight. In addition, the recipients of his generosity, instead of despising him or coveting his wealth, they honour, admire and praise him. Therefore, living life with a charitable ethos not only lessens income disparity, but also fosters social peace and goodwill.

In Islam, contrary to the fundamental axiom of modern Western capitalist economics, more is not necessarily better, and contrary to some modes of religious thinking, the degree of one’s personal wealth is not to be viewed as an indication of the degree of one’s divine favour. For Muslims, wealth and material possessions are not to be pursued as an end in itself and without due regard to moderation and the interests of the needy. Without stifling individual enterprise, Islam requires Muslims to be mindful of their moral obligations regarding their wealth, and of the fact that, ultimately, they will be

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answerable to God regarding its administration. From the Islamic perspective, the lessening of income disparity can only begin when individuals, at the consumer level, begin to acknowledge their moral responsibilities regarding their wealth and honour the rights of the poor in it accordingly.

4. Islamic Economics -- Legal and Regulatory

Foundations

While the principles of individual consumerism as espoused by Islam begin the road towards building a sustainable economy with decreasing income disparities, ultimately, this goal will only be achieved when the Islamic principles pertaining to the legal and regulatory framework of society are also implemented. As previously mentioned, Islam promotes a capitalistic system, but such a system is not completely laissez-faire or free-market in nature. Rather, Islam promotes a regulated capitalist economy. The following discussion is regarding the foundational principles of such

a regulatory system. According to Islam, society must be founded upon on a public interest legal and regulatory system which fosters and promotes substantive justice and prohibits economic exploitation in order to end the perpetuation of poverty and thus income inequality.

(a) Islamic Concept of Justice – Justice (Adl) as Equity (Qist)

According to Islam, income inequality can never be fully addressed unless and until all citizens are treated by the law as substantively equal and justice is distributive. Using the US as the example to illustrate this point, despite the election of Barack Obama as President, the majority of blacks in America remain cognizant of the fact that his election will not improve their plight unless and until a change in the composition of the US Supreme Court takes place which will allow for a change in that country’s jurisprudence. According to US jurisprudence, racial minorities are less substantively equal in the

US because, contrary to the Islamic concept of justice, justice is formal and not substantive. The result is that the imposition of formal justice serves to perpetuate inequality as it is incapable of redressing it.

According to the concept of formal justice, equality is to be achieved and promoted by emphasizing neutrality through the wording of laws and regulations. Laws and regulations must be neutrally worded so that, on their face, they do not discriminate. However, no regard is to be paid to the real-world effect of those laws, that is, whether they result in discrimination thereby perpetuating inequality. Where discrimination results due to the application of a neutrally-worded law or regulation, unless it can be proven that such a law or regulation was enacted with the intent to discriminate, it will never be subjected to the level of scrutiny capable of striking it down. For example, in Washington v. Davis,16 the imposition of a verbal skills test called “Test 21” for police officer applicants in Washington DC resulted in an inordinate number of black people failing it and thus being unable to qualify as prospective police officers. Although the imposition of Test 21 resulted in a disparate impact against blacks, due to the fact that this test was imposed neutrally, that is, upon all applicants equally regardless of their personal characteristics and without the intent to exclude blacks being proven, it was found to have satisfied the requirements of formal justice.

Had Test 21 been required to satisfy substantive justice, the mere existence of a disparate impact as to race would have triggered

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the requirement that Test 21 be proven to be directly correlative of competent police officer performance. Even if Test 21 could be proven to be directly correlative, substantive justice would have additionally required that proof be provided that no other better option was available. If such scrutiny had been imposed and Test 21 had failed such scrutiny, the DC Police Department would have been required to withdraw the requirement of this test. This is not to say that the imposition of substantive justice would have resulted in Test 21 being struck down. Rather, substantive justice ensures that the strictest scrutiny is imposed upon laws or regulations which result in a disparate impact in order to ensure that the interests of that law are sufficiently compelling and narrowly-tailored so that, if inequality continues, it does not do so unduly. That said, whenever a law or regulation has been subjected to such strict scrutiny, rarely has such a law or regulation survived. Therefore, where a disparate impact exists, substantive justice requires that real-world results be taken into account so that inequality is not unduly perpetuated by the application of a law or regulation. As the requirements of formal justice did not require Test 21 to strict scrutiny, the fact that blacks were being excluded and disenfranchised from entering into the DC Police Department was considered, contrary to the requirements of substantive justice, largely irrelevant.

Where formal equality applies, such an outcome is predictable.

Indeed, such a result was predicted in 1896 when US Supreme Court Justice Harlan attempted to convince his colleagues to grant formal equality to blacks. Justice Harlan, a racist, attempted to assure fellow racists that granting formal equality to blacks would and could do nothing to redress social and income inequality.17 When formal equality was eventually adopted in the US and Justice Harlan was proven correct, US Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter was inspired to declare,

“It is a wise man who said there is no greater inequality than the equal treatment of unequals.”18

The “equal treatment” referred to in the above quote is the imposition of formal equality. This quote was cited as the basis for Supreme Court of Canada’s adoption of a preference for substantive justice over formal justice, a jurisprudence which prevails in Canada today.19

The Islamic approach is to promote substantive justice. In the Holy Qur’an, the word for “justice” is adl. Indeed, Al-Aadil (the Just) is one of God’s attributes. However, as adl can be either formal or substantive, one must look to its synonyms in the Holy Qur’an for an indication as to what type of adl Islam advocates. Some of the synonyms used are qist (equity), qasd (moderation), istiqama (straightforwardness), wasat (temperance), naseeb (foundation), meezaan (balance or scale), taqweem (straightening) and hissa (rightful share). Of these, qist, naseeb, meezaan and taqweem are all substantive concepts as their focus is distributive and focused on the end-result. Indeed, of all of these

synonyms, the term qist occurs the most. The terms adl and qist alone occur in the Holy Qur’an more than fifty times and are often referred to interchangeably. For example,

“O believers, be strict in observing equity (qistai) and bear witness only for the sake of Allah, even if it be against your own selves or against parents or kindred. Whether the person be rich or poor, in either case, Allah is more regardful of him than you could be. Therefore, follow not your vain desires so that you may act justly (anta’dailu).” (Holy Qur’an 4:136)

“O believers, be steadfast in the cause of Allah, bearing witness in equity. Let not a people’s enmity towards you incite you to act contrary to justice, be always just, that is closest to righteousness.” (Holy Qur’an 5:9)

“And if two parties of believers fight against each other, make peace between them; then if after that one of them transgresses against the other, fight the party that transgresses until it returns to the command of Allah. Then if it returns, make peace between them with equity, and act justly. Verily, Allah loves the just.” (Holy Qur’an 49:10)

“And let there be among you a body of men who should invite to goodness, and enjoin equity and forbid evil. And it is they who shall prosper.” (Holy Qur’an 3:105)

“And O my people, give full measure and full weight with equity, and defraud not people of their things and commit not

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iniquity in the earth, causing disorder.” (Holy Qur’an 11:86)

“Allah forbids you not, respecting those who have not fought against you on account of your religion, and who have not driven you forth from your homes, that you be kind to them and act equitably towards them; surely Allah loves those who are equitable.” (Holy Qur’an 60:9)

These verses illustrate that the concepts of adl and qist are intimately related to each other. The recurrent and interchangeable use of qist serves to define adl and indicate Islam law’s primary focus, namely, the pursuit of justice as equity and thus substantive justice.

According to the concept of Islamic justice, the legal and regulatory framework must be sensitive to the real-world plight of citizens and seek real-world equality, and not just formality or equality in name only. As only substantive justice acknowledges and addresses actual inequality, only it can be successful in redressing it and ending its perpetuation. Until a legal and regulatory system is founded upon the notion of promoting substantive justice, in-roads cannot be made in redressing societal and income inequality and thus economic instability.

(b) Prohibiting Exploitation (Ribaa)

One of the defining characteristics of Islamic economics is the prohibition of ribaa, the meaning of which, literally, is “increase”. The fiqh literature has defined ribaa as

“usury”, “interest” or any increase that is gained over and above a loan’s principal amount. In the Holy Qur’an, while the context of the prohibition of ribaa is always made with reference to debt transactions, in the Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), it is always referred to in the context of purchase and sale transactions. Therefore, as the Holy Qur’an and Hadith, when read together, have not confined the concept of ribaa to loan or deposit transactions only, at the very least, the concept of ribaa is certainly not confined to such contexts. Therefore, for purposes of this general discussion, I will focus on the hikma (rationale or moral intent) of the prohibition of ribaa which is to prohibit economic exploitation and the perpetuation of debt and poverty.

In the Holy Qur’an, the condemnation of ribaa is found at 30:40, 3:131 and 2:276-281,20 which state as follows:

“And whatever you may give out in ribaa so that it may increase through other people’s wealth, does not increase in the sight of Allah, but whatever you give by way of zakat seeking Allah’s pleasure, will receive

manifold increase.” (Holy Qur’an 30:40)

“O believers, do not consume ribaa, doubling and redoubling, and fear God so that you may prosper.” (Holy Qur’an 3:131)

“Those who devour ribaa do not rise except arises one whom Satan has smitten with insanity. That is because they say, ‘Trade is like ribaa.’ And yet God has made trade lawful, and ribaa unlawful. So he to whom an admonition comes from his Lord and he desists [in taking ribaa], then will that which he received in the past be his, and his case is with Allah. And those who revert to it, they are the inmates of the Fire, therein shall they abide. Allah deprives ribaa of all blessing, whereas He blesses sadaqa with growth. And God loves none who is ungrateful and persists in sin. Surely, those who believe and do good deeds and observe salat and pay zakat shall have their reward from their Lord, and no fear shall come to them. Believers! Fear Allah and relinquish all outstanding ribaa if you are believers. But if you do not do so, then beware of war from Allah and His Messenger, and if you repent, then you are entitled to your principal, thus you shall not wrong nor shall you be wronged. And if the debtor be in straitened circumstances, then grant him respite till a time of ease, and that you remit it as sadaqa shall be better for you.” (2:276-81)

When the Holy Qur’an refers to the context of the prohibition of ribaa, it always does so in the context of

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a loan transaction to a borrower who is poor. Therefore, one can conclude that the loan in question is a subsistence loan. Also, in each scenario, either the poor debtor has defaulted in his payments or the loan has matured and he is unable to pay. Whenever the Holy Qur’an refers to ribaa, it is not contrasted with the concept of profit, but rather, is always contrasted with the concepts of zakat and sadaqa.21 When the poor debtor experiences repayment difficulty, the Holy Qur’an either advises extending the loan without penalty or, even better, forgiving it as charity (sadaqa). Any penalty imposed upon the debtor at the time of their difficulty is referred to as ribaa. Therefore, based on a plain reading of the Holy Qur’an, at a minimum, the prohibition of ribaa serves to prohibit the imposition of any form of default penalty upon the poor. At the time of Holy Prophet (sa), such default penalties consisted of doubling the principal and then renewing the loan. In the modern context, one of the most common forms of default penalty is compounding interest.22 Such default penalties can only have one outcome which is to sink the debtor deeper into debt, and in the context of a poor debtor, to exacerbate and perpetuate their poverty. Therefore, in the context of the scenario provided in the Holy Qur’an, the intent for the prohibition of ribaa is to end the exacerbation and perpetuation of a poor debtor’s debt.23 However, as the following discussion will illustrate, the concept of ribaa is not confined to subsistence loan scenarios.

While there appears to be very few Hadith of the Holy Prophet

(sa) which explain the meaning of the term ribaa, something which prompted Hadhrat Umar (ra) to lament,24 what little we have provides much guidance regarding understanding the hikma of the prohibition. In contrast to the Holy Qur’an, the Hadith does not refer to the prohibition of ribaa in the context of loan transactions, but rather, does so in the context of sale transactions, thereby reinforcing the view that the prohibition of ribaa is not confined to default penalties levied upon subsistence loans. Although there are numerous Hadith on the subject that are all consistent with each other, the most comprehensive and oft-cited ones are as follows:

“The Prophet (sa) said: ‘Gold for gold, silver for silver, wheat for wheat, barley for barley, dates for dates, and salt for salt should be exchanged like for like, equal for equal and hand-to-hand [on the spot]. If the types of the exchanged commodities are different, then sell them as you wish, if they are exchanged on the basis of a hand-to-hand transaction.’”25

It is reported that Bilal (ra) brought barni [high quality dates] for the Prophet (sa). The Prophet (sa) said: ‘From where is this?’ Bilal (ra) said: ‘We had inferior quality dates so I exchanged two measures of them for one measure.’ The Prophet (sa) said: ‘This is exactly ribaa. This is exactly ribaa. Do not do this. If you wish to buy barni, sell the low quality dates for dinars (cash currency) and then buy barni with that.’”26

The purpose of the above

Hadith is to illustrate that the purpose of the prohibition of ribaa is, in addition to encouraging the use of currency for transactional purposes, to prevent the exploitation of the poor. At the time of the Holy Prophet (sa), the exchange of inferior goods for higher quality goods tended to be almost exclusively carried out by the less affluent due to necessity. By virtue of being the weaker party in such transactions, the poor were always at risk of exploitation by being forced a higher countervalue, either in terms of quality or quantity, either at the time of the transaction or in the future. Given that gold, silver, wheat, barley, dates and salt were the essential items in the Arabian economy, the Holy Prophet (sa) could not tolerate the exploitation of the poor with regards to the purchase and sale of these goods. Therefore, as discussed with reference to the Holy Qur’an, the prohibition of ribaa originates out of a concern for the poor and ensuring that their poverty is not exploited and further exacerbated and perpetuated.

5. Conclusion

Although Islamic economics is a capitalistic system, it does not condone a “more is better’ attitude nor does it connote wealth and prosperity with divine favour. Instead, while encouraging the enjoyment of worldly things, Islam non-coercively enjoins recognizing the ownership of God in all things through trust and gratefulness, and consuming with moderation, shunning extravagance and hoarding, and honouring the share of the poor in one’s wealth through zakat and sadaqa. Further, Islamic society must be founded upon

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principles that promote substantive justice as well as the prohibition of the exploitation of the poor and the perpetuation of their poverty. The purpose of the foundational principles of Islamic economics is to ameliorate income inequality and disparity. As widening income inequality and disparity have historically been the harbingers of economic downturn and instability, only once the Islamic economic principles are adopted can we begin to go down the road of establishing a stable and sustainable economy.

(Endnotes)See Hadrat Mirza Bashiruddin 1. Mahmud Ahmad, Nizam-e-Nau: New World Order of Islam (Islam International Publications 2005); Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-din Mahmud Ahmad, The Economic Structure of Islamic Society (Nazir Dawat-o-Tabligh Ahmadiyya Community 1966). See 2. IMF sees an even deeper recession, Globe & Mail, March 18, 2009, page B1.Laissez-faire capitalism was referred 3. to as the true triumph of democracy. However, in contradiction to the hailing of democracy, whenever people have protested the negative effects of the free-market, such people have always been vilified and degraded to the point where they become discredited and unheard thus making the promise of honouring democracy hollow. How the media and the intelligentsia referred to the protestors at the World Trade Organization meetings in November 1999 in Seattle is an obvious example of this. In addition, when the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund threatened to hold back funds unless free-market reforms were adopted, and when the economies of countries like Argentina collapsed due to the adoption of these reforms, the laissez-faire advocates offered no apologies but simply shrugged and looked the other way. See Thomas Frank, 4. One Market Under God: Extreme Capitalism, Market Populism and the End of Economic Democracy (Anchor 2001).The former CEO of General Electric, 5.

Jack Welch, was paid more than 1,400 times what the average worker in his own company made. See 6. Economic Crisis: Obama vows to cut off AIG bonuses amid outrage, Globe & Mail, March 17, 2009, A1. Quite recently, it has come to light that there exists a complete disconnect between executive compensation and merit or retention, the two primary reasons for the levels at which they are set. For example, millions of dollars are paid to executives who are no longer with the corporation (as in the case of AIG). Also, stock options are back-dated and re-priced and compensation packages are re-engineered solely to enhance executive pay regardless of merit. The blame for this phenomenon is placed on the composition of the boards of the corporation that set executive compensation. Some members of the board are also members of the executive while the independent members are nevertheless members of the executive of other corporations. The result is the formation of an “inner circle” of board members and executive management “all goring the same ox” so to speak. Ordinary investors who primarily own shares, directly or indirectly (through mutual or pension funds), have no ability to object to the appointments of such board members or to vote against them. They can only abstain from voting which cannot block their appointments.Adam Smith, 7. The Wealth of Nations, p. 169 (Penguin, 1985) (“Masters are always and everywhere in a sort of tacit, but constant and uniform, combination, not to raise the wages of labour above their actual rate. To violate this combination is everywhere a most unpopular action, and a sort of reproach to a master among his neighbours and equals. We seldom indeed hear of this combination, because it is the usual, and one may say, the natural state of things. . . . Masters, too, sometimes enter into particular combinations to sink the wages of labour even below this rate. These are always conducted with the utmost silence and secrecy, till the moment of execution. . . .”). Also see see John Ralston Saul, The Unconscious Civilization, p. 81-82 (Anansi 1995). Corporations and free markets are 8. often referred to as akin to God. In

the words of popular social theorist George Gilder, the world is now run by “entrepreneurs who know the rules of the world and the laws of God.” For example, the title of Tom Peters’ seminal book is The Market’s Will Be Done (1992), a play on the Lord’s prayer phrase “Thy will be done”, and Kevin Kelly’s book entitled Out of Control (1994) delineates the “Nine Laws of God” to describe what he refers to as the rules of the “New Economy”. Further, two of America’s best-selling books are God Wants You to Be Rich (1995) and Jesus, CEO (1996). See 9. Genesis 50:15-21 (referring to the “invisible hand” of God’s providence). In his book, Adam Smith used the term to refer to an individual pursuing his self-interest as being good for the human community. Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Book IV (Penguin 1985). In addition, as many of the stewards of the economy (either as corporate or political leaders) may also be freemasons, allegations have been made that freemason ideology encourages income inequality and disparity in order to maintain the hegemony of its members in furtherance of their ultimate objective, being world dominance. Interestingly, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, and Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community received the following revelation from God regarding freemasons, “freemasons hargiz tujh par musallat naheen keay jaingay (freemasons shall not overpower you”)” meaning their attempts at world domination will ultimately not achieve success.Andrew Leonard, 10. The Great Depression: The Sequel (available at ht tp : / /www.salon.com/opinion/fea ture /2008 /04 /02 /depress ion/index .h tml?%3Fsource=yahoo) ; James R. Dunn PhD, Are Widening Inequalities Making Canada Less Healthy? (available at www.making-connections.com); Stephen J. Dubner, How Big of a Deal is Income Inequality? Guest Post, Freakonomics, New York Times, August 27, 2008 (available at http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.c o m / 2 0 0 8 / 0 8 / 2 7 / h o w - b i g - o f - a -deal-is-income-inequality-a-guest-blog/?apage=3).Indeed, the consumption of alcohol 11.

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and gambling always result in exacerbating poverty. The rich indulge in consuming alcohol and gambling as leisure and extravagance. The poor in society seek wine and gambling in order to emulate the rich. Therefore, when the rich shun such activities, so too will the poor. See Hadrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, Nizam-e-Nau: New World Order of Islam (Islam International Publications 2005). Muslim 39:6772.12. According to Hadhrat Musleh 13. Maood (ra), the purchasing of large palatial homes and the acquisition of opulent jewellery collections is akin to hoarding. See Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-din Mahmud Ahmad, The Economic Structure of Islamic Society (Nazir Dawat-o-Tabligh Ahmadiyya Community 1966).See Holy Qur’an 2:44, 2:84, 2:111, 2:178, 14. 2:274, 2:278, 4:78, 4:163, 5:13, 5:56, 7:157, 9:5, 9:11, 9:18, 9:60, 9:71, 9:103, 22:42; 22;79, 23:5, 24:38, 24:57, 27:4, 30:40, 31:5, 33:34, 41:8, 58:14, 73:21 and 98:6.Holy Qur’an, 2:197, 2:264, 2:272, 2:277, 15. 4:115, 9:59, 9:61, 9:80, 9:104, 9:105, 58:13 and 58:14. In accordance with the book Al-Wasiyyat by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, and Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, members of this community who so subscribe pursuant to it commit to paying a tithe and donating 1/10th to 1/3rd of their income and property to be employed for the service Islamic propagation as well as the poor and the needy. When all citizens, rich or poor, make such a commitment, then ungratefulness, hoarding and extravagance are impossible in such a society.426 US 229 (1976).16. Plessy v. Ferguson17. , 163 U.S. 537 (1896).Dennis v. US18. , 339 U.S. 162, 184 (1950) (Frankfurter J., dissenting).Andrews v. Law Society of British 19. Columbia, [1989] 1 SCR 143 (“In simple terms, then, it may be said that a law which treats all identically and which provides equality of treatment between “A” and “B” might well cause inequality for “C”, depending on differences in personal characteristics and situations. To approach the ideal of full equality before and under the law -- and in human affairs an approach is all that can be expected -- the main consideration must be the

impact of the law on the individual or the group concerned. Recognizing that there will always be an infinite variety of personal characteristics, capacities, entitlements and merits among those subject to a law, there must be accorded, as nearly as may be possible, an equality of benefit and protection and no more of the restrictions, penalties or burdens imposed upon one than another. In other words, the admittedly unattainable ideal should be that a law expressed to bind all should not because of irrelevant personal differences have a more burdensome or less beneficial impact on one than another.”); R. Big M Drug Mart, [1985] I SCR 295, 347 (Dickson J., dissenting)(“The equality necessary to support religious freedom does not require identical treatment of all religions. In fact, the interests of true equality may well require differentiation in treatment.”). The Jews are condemned for taking 20. ribaa at Holy Qur’an 4:162. This point is emphasized by Imam 21. Razi in his Tafsir, Part VII.Compounding interest is 22. defined as “interest upon interest”. When a borrower defaults on a loan payment, the interest that would have been owed at the time the payment was due is added to the principal of the loan. As a result, thereafter, any future calculations of interest are calculated on the basis of the newly increased principal. In this manner, the borrower pays interest on the interest that they previously owed.

This paper will not discuss what 23. constitutes a just and reasonable compensation to a lender for the service of lending money nor will it discuss whether the prohibition of ribaa is applicable to a modern conventional banking context, where the determination of a rate of interest (or cost of borrowing) is relatively non-arbitrary with full cost of borrowing disclosure provided at the time of the entering into of the loan contract. Also, this paper will not discuss whether the prohibition applies to loans for non-humanitarian purposes, to the affluent, or for trade and commercial purposes. Any discussion regarding these would, of course, need to take into consideration the injunctions contained in the Holy Qur’an at 7:33, 10:60, 66:2 and 16:117 (pointing out the grievous sin associated with forbidding what God has made lawful) as well as the overall purpose of the prohibition of ribaa and the furtherance of this objective. However, for purposes of this paper, it is sufficient to say that the current slate of so-called Islamic banking products based on the fiqh literature offered today appear to bear little relation to the hikma of the prohibition of ribaa. For a brief discussion of these Islamic banking products, see APPENDIX A. Ibn Kathir, 24. Tafsir, Part I. Muslim 10:3853.25. Muslim 10:3871. 26.

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APPENDIX A ISLAMIC BANKING

PRODUCTS

The following is a brief discussion of today’s most prevalent Islamic banking products. The current slate of so-called Islamic banking products based on the fiqh literature appear to bear little relation to the hikma of the prohibition of ribaa. Indeed, the fiqh literature contains virtually no discussion of the hikma of the prohibition of ribaa. Instead, the fiqh literature focuses on interpreting the prohibition of ribaa to be a prohibition of any increase or profit over and above a loan’s principal amount and thus provides certain alternative structures to the convention form of bank-financing, namely, mudharaba, musharaka, murabaha and two forms of deposit arrangements (demand and investment).

Profit-and-Loss Sharing Mechanisms –

Mudharaba and Musharaka

The profit-and-loss sharing mechanisms are mudharaba and musharaka, neither of which are popular for usage by banks for financing on the basis that they are deemed too risk-laden and uncertain. In a mudharaba transaction, where the rabb al-mal (investor) entrusts an investment to a mudharib (venturer) to conduct and manage a business and to share the profits based upon a pre-agreed upon ratio is rarely utilized unless there is an extremely high degree of trust by the rabb al-mal in the mudharib, and even then, it is usually only employed for a short-term duration. Similarly, the musharaka (partnership) mechanism is also rarely used

because, while both partners invest their respective percentages of the capital and share the profits and losses in accordance with their pre-agreed ratios, regardless of whether both partners participate in the venture’s management or just one does, the high degree of trust necessary for partners to engage in this form of venture often results in it not being utilized. Interestingly, the scholarship notes the lack of trustworthiness of Pakistanis as a reason for banks’ reluctance to provide funding in accordance with these profit-and-loss mechanisms in Pakistan.1 When banks do invest, either as rabb al-mal or as a partner, they only do so by imposing highly onerous and restrictive conditions as well as regular reporting requirements in order to mitigate the risk exposure to mudharib or partner untrustworthiness thereby prompting scholars to question whether the underlying purpose of these mechanisms has been defeated by the imposition of such conditions and reporting requirements.

“Mark-Up” Financing Mechanism --

Murabaha

Due to the fact that the profit-and-loss sharing mechanisms, mudharaba and musharaka, are considered too risk-laden and uncertain, their use gradually declined in favour of “interest-like” or “mark-up” financing mechanisms, the most important and prominent of them being murabaha (deferred payment sale), which is of short-term duration. For murabaha, (1) A contracts with B for the purchase of a good, (2) B does not possess the good, so B

purchases the good from C, and (3) B then delivers the good to A. B collects a “mark-up” from A for acting as the “middleman”. The mark-up is usually in the form of a percentage of the purchase price plus costs. Essentially, the mark-up constitutes a commission sales rate. Although this form of transaction is not referred to anywhere in the Holy Qur’an and Hadith, fiqh scholarship supports it on the basis that B is justified in buying and then re-selling a good at a profit, a concept that was well-recognized at the time of the Holy Prophet (sa). However, the fiqh scholarship notes that there is no evidence that, in Medina, buying was done on behalf of someone for a fee. Therefore, what must be kept in mind is that this form of transaction is a credit transaction because when B purchases from C, B does so having faith that A will provide reimbursement at the time of delivery. As a result, B’s purchase from C is based on A’s creditworthiness, and thus the mark-up is an “increase”. However, in order for this transaction to not constitute a ribaa transaction as interpreted by the fiqh literature, fiqh scholarship re-characterized it as a “sale” transaction by referring to it a “deferred payment sale”. In other words, the use of the term “deferred payment” is meant to hide the fact that this is actually a credit transaction.

The justification given by fiqh scholars for the Islamic legality of the mark-up is that (1) the rate was agreed upon by A and B at the time they entered into their contract and (2) the rate takes into account the time value of money (since money today is never worth the

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same tomorrow, due to inflation or deflation, and that the mark-up is always higher the longer the period of time between the purchase from C and the delivery to A). Ironically, this fiqh justification is equally applicable to a conventional form of loan where B lends the money to A at a prescribed rate of interest for A to purchase directly from C. Indeed, evidence shows that the murabaha transaction costs more for A than a conventional loan transaction because the additional costs of B must be borne by and recovered from A. In a murabaha transaction, B must not only provide A with credit but it must also correspond with and take delivery of the good from C and then store and deliver the good to A, all of which is activity that is over-and-above the simple lending of funds to facilitate A’s purchase. Where B is a bank, such activities are well beyond banking expertise, and thus tend to constitute a costly reimbursement burden for A. Based on the fact that there appears to be no substantive difference between the mark-up and interest, critics of the murabaha form of transaction accuse the fiqh scholarship of relying on form over substance in order to bless a form of transaction which not only possesses the characteristics of a credit transaction but is actually more expensive and thus less advantageous than a conventional loan transaction, an outcome which these critics argue could not have been the intent of the prohibition of ribaa.

Deposits – Demand and Investment

Returns on deposits have also been an area of debate. In today’s Islamic

banking practice, two types of deposits exist, (1) demand deposit and (2) investment deposit. The demand deposit (wadi’a) is derived from the notion of safekeeping or custodianship. However, according to the fiqh scholarship, once a depositor deposits money pursuant to a demand deposit arrangement into a bank, that deposit becomes a loan (qardh) to that bank. As the fiqh scholarship interprets any positive return on such a deposit as an increase received from a loan, the depositor is only entitled to the original amount of the deposit and no more, regardless of inflation. In addition, being a debtor, the bank possesses the absolute right to utilize its loan proceeds as it deems fit. As a result, any positive returns earned on such deposits are to the account of the bank only. If the depositor wishes to share in the positive return of the deposit, then he must make an investment deposit. An investment deposit is akin to mudharaba, with the depositor being the rabb al-mal and the bank being the mudharib.

However, in such an arrangement, although the depositor will share in the positive returns, in the event of a loss, the bank will not be liable and the depositor must bear the entire loss without recourse. Critics of these forms of deposit state that Islamic banks are able to utilize depositor’s money in a manner that not only provides an overwhelmingly inordinate benefit to the banks but is detrimental to the depositor – either the depositor does not share in the returns at all and only receives his original principal amount (thereby allowing the bank to utilize his money for free), or the depositor shares in the returns but, instead of sharing the risk, he bears 100% of the risk. According to critics, neither of these alternatives is just nor do they bear any relation to the purpose of the prohibition of ribaa.

1. See e.g., Abdullah Saeed, Islamic Banking and Interest, p. 71-72 (Brill 1999).

Islamic Economics

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The Story of My KidnappingMaj. (Retd.) Zain Ul Abedin (Silicon Valley, California, USA)

The Story of My Kidnapping

On the morning of August 19, 1989, while living at the Sea View Apartments in Karachi, Pakistan, at 62 years of age, as per my normal routine, I went out for a walk along the sea. I had hardly walked 300 yards when I saw two men standing in front of me on the walkway and another two men sitting in a Honda Civic. As the area was a regular place for people to be seen enjoying the cool sea breeze, I thought nothing of their presence. However, just as I began to pass them, the two men pounced on me brandishing Kalashnikovs and forced me into the back seat of the car.

They seated me in the middle and a third man, the driver, sped off from the scene. They yelled at me to keep my head down. When I asked why they had not blindfolded me, they just responded by forcing my head down.

The men, cleanly dressed, appeared to be aged in their early 30’s and they spoke a sophisticated form of Sindhi to each other. Sometimes, they spoke in Urdu and English.

During the drive, the men asked me how many children I had who were studying in the UK and the US, and how many factories and bungalows

I owned. I told them that I had only one son studying in the US. They asked how much in ransom I could pay, and I told them that, as I am a retired civil officer, I could only pay 50,000 rupees. On hearing this, each of the men in the back hit me hard with the butts of their rifles. One of them said angrily, “Do you think we are beggars? Usually, we demand 5 to 10 million rupees!”

I repeated that I was a retired civil officer from the Port Bin Qasim Authority and that I would not be able to pay more than 50,000 rupees. I refrained from revealing that I was a retired military officer thinking that, if they knew this, they would surely kill me there and then. I gave them a friendly smile and said that I thought kidnappers investigated their victims’ backgrounds before kidnapping them. As these men appeared intelligent, I was surprised that they had not done so. The men responded with silence.

We drove within Karachi for about an hour and then embarked on the Super Highway towards Hyderabad driving for another two hours. Throughout the journey, they repeatedly told me to keep my eyes closed and head down. From time to time, to remind me to do so, they would punch me in the head.

During the drive, they would regularly refer to General Zia ul Haq, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif using derogatory and abusive language. They said that, although they had voted for Benazir Bhutto, she had disappointed them by selling out Sindh. Based on their comments, they appeared sympathetic to the Jeye Sindh Party (the separatist Sindh party).

They stated that they were ever-ready to die if one of their members died – if one died, the others would die along with him. They also stated that thousands of groups like them existed whose sole

31The Story of My Kidnapping

purpose is to kidnap for ransom. One of them then said to me, “You are a gentleman and we are also gentlemen. As soon as you arrange the ransom money, you will be released”.

After travelling about 60 miles, we stopped at Milestone 40 and I was taken out of the car. They told me that if I did not comply, I would be killed and left on the side of the road like a dog. They then inserted me into the trunk of the car, closed the lid and then proceeded to drive towards Dadu Hills and the jungle, which is about a thousand yards off from the Super Highway.

After about an hour, the car stopped and I was taken out of the trunk. By this time, I was exhausted and drenched in sweat. I noticed that we had arrived at a place where a very narrow track led between two hills. Also on the scene were two motorcycles with three armed men.

My kidnappers took down my home address and telephone number and then roughly pushed me towards the motorcycles saying, “We have now sold you to these men and you know better what you should do and what you should not do.”

One of the motorcyclists drove away but two remained behind. I was seated between the other two men on the remaining motorcycle and we proceeded towards the narrow track leading to the jungle. One of the men appeared to be in his mid 30’s while the other appeared much younger, perhaps in his mid 20’s.

The original kidnappers drove back towards Karachi. I noticed that the time was approximately

12:30 pm. As the motorcycle was rough and bumpy, I asked if it would be possible to walk. They agreed and we proceeded on foot. We walked for the entire day, stopping three times for about an hour and a half. At around 8:30 pm, we reached our place of destination on a flat and small tract of about 30 to 40 square feet with a water drain flowing under the hills nearby.

Throughout this ordeal, I attempted to ingratiate myself with the men by being friendly with them. One of the men carried a gun while the other carried an axe and some tea leaves. Due to the length of the walk, they were both showing signs of fatigue. As they were poorly dressed and looked poorly fed, wearing sandals with 4-inch heels, I ascertained that if I fled, they may not be able to catch up to me.

At about 9 p.m., one of them went

to sleep and the other asked me to go to sleep as well. However, I did not. While the man with the gun slept, I asked the other to make me some tea. As he had already collected some firewood in order to make tea, he did so.

When the tea was almost ready, I patted him on the back telling him that I needed to urinate and wash my face. I told him I would be back in a few minutes.

All day, I had noticed airplanes flying overhead and, based on their flight patterns, had ascertained the direction of Karachi and the Super Highway. I had also noticed a trail.

Instead of relieving myself and washing myself, I picked up a staff and proceeded to run as fast as I could into the dark night, well-away from the trail.

Approximately 10 minutes had passed before I heard gunshots but

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by this time, I had covered about a mile. Exhausted, I hid in a large bush.

I waited in pin drop silence for a while, and when there were no signs of anyone coming after me in my direction, I began again, alternating between walking and running with the moonlight lighting my way. After crossing 10 or 11 hills, I had hoped to see signs of the Super Highway, but I did not.

At approximately 2 a.m., I saw a small house and two men sleeping outside of it on cots. I was about a 100 yards away. A dog began barking in my direction. The two men awoke and ordered the dog to come back. I approached the scene and walked up to an old man. I asked him for some water which he gave to me.

The old man was surprised to see me. We could not understand each other as I spoke in Urdu and he spoke in Sindhi. After much difficulty, I ascertained that the Super Highway was about 6 to 8 miles away and there was a trail leading to Karachi about a thousand yards away from the school. The old man guided me towards the trail. I began to run along the trail, later to discover that I had made a huge mistake in doing so.

After running for an hour, at about 3 a.m., I was confronted by the 35 year old man from whom I had escaped. He was making tea and was holding his axe. He spoke to me harshly saying, “Why did you run away? Sit down, sit down!” I sat down and he started hitting my back with the side of the sharp end of the axe. I started yelling and asking him why he was

beating me when I was already sitting. He stopped, started whistling, lit a flashlight and held it up. At that moment, two motorcycles began to approach from each direction of the trail. They sounded as if they were about 500 yards away.

I thought to myself that, while the men would not kill me, they would certainly disable me to prevent me from escaping again. As a result, having faith in Allah, I decided to dart off in a flash, and so I began to run as fast as I could.

From about 30 yards away, the man hurled his axe at me. It hit me in the back but it did not hurt me badly. He ran after me for about 300 yards and then

he gave up. I continued to run for another 1000 yards before I veered in another direction and ran another 300 yards away from the trail. I came upon an area thick with wild cactus bush and I hid in one that stood about 10 feet tall.

Within a few seconds of my hiding, the motorcyclists arrived on the scene and shot their guns three times in the direction of my cactus bush. Their searched for me using the headlights of their motorcycles and I altered my

position depending on where the lights would shine. By the grace of Allah, despite that night being a bright moonlit night, as I was wearing a dark blue shirt and dark blue jeans, they could not spot me.

With stress apparent in their voices, they shouted at each other to return to the trail and search for me there.

When the sound of the motorcycles faded, I emerged from behind the bush. Exhausted, I walked another 300 yards away from the trail and came upon a small muddy pond. On the edge of the pond, I noticed a little 2-foot high cutting that would give me cover from either direction. I took position behind it to rest for awhile.

After some time, the motorcycles returned. Two men were posted on the higher ground across the track 100 yards apart from each other. I was 200 yards away from each of them. Through the cutting, I could see them, but they could not see me. I thought that they would leave after an hour or so, but when they did not, I realized they were waiting for daybreak.

I had crawled about 30 yards in the other direction, but then noticed that, 100 yards away, another man had been posted. Therefore, I returned to my position in the cutting. However, later on, I discovered that I was mistaken and the man was actually a bush. In order to camouflage myself, I covered my face, hands and shoes with mud and stayed in my position until morning.

While hiding, I was concerned that if I was to be found, although my captors would not kill me, they would surely seek to severely disable me by shooting me.


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Allah had saved me from being hurt by the axe thrown at me and had given me sufficient running speed to elude my assailant. Also, Allah had saved me from the three bullets that were fired in the direction of my cactus bush. I noted that whenever I embarked on a great risk, Allah had protected me. Lying there in the mud, I prayed to Allah that, although I was a sinful person, I was nevertheless a follower of the Promised Messiah (as). I was instilled with the confidence that Allah would protect me and would never allow an innocent man to be destroyed like this. I kept reminding myself of how the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) and Hadhrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra) fled and hid during the night taking shelter in a cave, and despite their enemies coming so close to them, they nevertheless eluded them with Allah’s divine help.

At around 6 a.m., the motorcyclists returned. The two men posted to watch for me fired 4 gunshots about 40 yards away from me but they still could not see me. The motorcyclists appeared in a hurry and all of the men sped away in the direction of Karachi. When the sound of the motorcycles faded, I emerged from my shelter.

As it was now daylight, I began to crawl and sometimes ran from one bush to another. I walked in a direction away from the trail and crossed a small mountain. When I reached the bottom of the mountain, I spotted approximately 2 miles away a small hut and some cattle grazing nearby. I was exhausted but I began the trek in that direction.

When I approached the hut, two

men, one elderly and one in his mid-20’s, were taken aback to see me, especially given my muddy appearance. I told them that some scoundrels brought me to these mountains and then sped away. The old man responded by saying, “aakhri din aa gaye (the Latter Days have arrived).” I nodded my head taking comfort in the man’s invocation of the Latter Days, the age of the Promised Messiah(as).

The men took good care of me. I washed my face and I was given goat’s milk to drink. As my jeans were torn and muddy, they provided me with a shulvar, turban and an ajrak (scarf).

As the Super Highway was about

20 miles away from their hut, I asked if I could be ridden by camel to the Super Highway toll plaza. I offered to pay 500 rupees. Just then I noticed an object covered with a tarpaulin and wondered whether it was a car or motorcycle. I asked if a car or motorcycle could be arranged for me. To my surprise, the elderly man told me that he could send his son and have a car for me within a half an hour. I asked if I could wait inside the hut in order to rest out of sight and in the shade.

However, after about 3 hours, a pick-up truck arrived with three men. One of them introduced himself as the councilor of the area and showed me his supporting documentation. When I introduced myself, the councilor said that he already knew who I was, that I had been kidnapped and that a search for me was underway. He appeared to believe that his discovery of me would ingratiate himself with the government and thus treated me with respect and as some sort of prize. As the Sindh Chief Secretary, Mr. Kunwar Idrees, was personally known to me, upon learning that I was missing, he placed all of Sindh’s police stations on alert and had ordered a province-wide search for me. May Allah bless him for his kindness. Ameen.

In the pick-up truck, for safety reasons, I was seated in the middle of the front seat, in between the councilor and another man. I was wearing the shulvar, turban and scarf as disguise.

The councilor began driving back towards the trail, but upon my recommendation, drove off-road and cross-country to the Super Highway toll plaza instead, a distance of about 17 miles. Upon arrival there, I called my wife to inform her of my safety.

The Inspector of Police at the toll plaza was well-known to me from my days as the Director of Security for the Port Qasim Authority. He telephoned the Inspector of Police in Clifton and the two argued over who would have the privilege of escorting me to Karachi. Upon my suggestion, it was decided that the Inspector Police Clifton along with


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a group of armed men would come and collect me.

At around 3 pm, I arrived at the Clifton Police Station and I lodged my FIR. Also present in the police station were my brothers (Lt. Col. Mohiuddin Akbar (who was then working at General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi), Nasiruddin Mehmood and Rafiuddin Babar) as well as my son, (Amin Uddin Zain). At around 4:30 pm, I arrived home and was welcomed by neighbours and friends.

Although my wife had previously notified Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV (ab) of my safety, upon my arrival home, another message was sent to him requesting his prayers.

A representative of Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), Major Irfan recorded my audio statement which lasted about two hours. GHQ in Rawalpindi was also informed in detail.

While I was absent, the kidnappers continuously telephoned my wife, asking if she was Syeda Nusrat Sahiba, the wife of Zain Ul Abedin, informing her that I was there captive, and then asking her how much she would pay. They told her that if she informed the police, I would be placed in danger. Just as I had told the men upon my initial capture, my wife informed them she could only pay 50,000 rupees.

Around the time that I had arrived at the toll plaza, my wife had received a telephone call informing her that I had fallen into the wrong hands and that they threatened to ensure that I would not reach Karachi safely and that they would destroy our home with rocket launchers. Due to these threats, upon the advice of Kanwar Idrees, we evacuated our home at about 11:30 pm.

The Senior Superintendant of Sindh had requested that I show him the places that I had seen and been taken along with a team of commandos. He informed me that a series of kidnappings had been taking place of very prominent people and my information would assist his investigations. However, some senior officials had warned me of the unreliability of some members of the Sindh police and so I declined the request. Instead, with the use of a map, I provided him with a detailed briefing. With

the help of my information, the police carried out a few operations and successfully rescued some kidnapping victims.

Later, at a news conference held to provide a report on the recent spate of kidnappings, the Sindh police made specific mention of my case, which was published on October 23, 1989 in Dawn, The Muslim, Jung and other newspapers. The Dawn coverage included the following:

“. . . He said a retired army officer who escaped from the custody of the gang over a month back provided the lead to the gang following which the CIA organized the raid and captured the five members of the gang. . . . The only exception was Major Zain Ul Abedin, in his sixtees who had escaped from their custody after overpowering armed guards, and managed to get back to his Defense Society residence from the hideout to the interior of the province. None of their victims had ever uttered a word about paying any ransom, nor did they cooperate with the police investigators in providing them with details of their ordeal in captivity or any lead to their captors. Some of the kidnapped businessmen even resented their names appearing in the press when they were kidnapped, or returned home


The lesson I wish to impart to all Ahmadis is that,“Don’t give up in your struggles. Miracles do

happen, Allah exists.”

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after paying the ransom. However, it was Maj. Zain Ul Abedin who came forward and gave initial information to the investigators, which led to the arrest of Qalandar Baksh Khoso, an insider close to the gang.”

Due to the notoriety I received in Karachi, it was unsafe for me to stay there. Therefore, I moved to my brother’s home near GHQ in Rawalpindi.

I would like to take the opportunity to extend my special thanks to Respected Mudood Ahmad Khan Sahib (Amir Jama’at Karachi), who displayed great brotherly concern and had readily arranged for the 50,000 rupees ransom. His wife

was also a tremendous support to my wife throughout the ordeal. I will also never forget the love and affection of Wudood Chaudry (s/o Commander Aslam Chaudhry, now of Toronto, Canada) and (late) Col. Mubarak who, along with my son, searched the neighbourhoods and hospitals of Karachi for me while I was missing. Commander Aslam Chaudhry also provided me with shelter and much support prior to my departure for Rawalpindi. May Allah bless them all. Ameen.

I wish to express to my fellow Ahmadi brothers and sisters that, if not for the grace and blessings of Almighty Allah, I would not have survived this ordeal. Throughout

the ordeal, I maintained the remembrance of Allah and, with my constant prayers and faith in Him, despite my age and the physical stresses I was under, I overcame tremendous odds and narrowly escaped danger numerous times. The lesson I wish to impart to all Ahmadis is that, “Don’t give up in your struggles. Miracles do happen, Allah exists”.


Ahmadiyya Gazette Canada - April 2009 Issue

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