Shedding Crocodile Tears

News:

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Tuesday denounced the construction and inauguration of the ‘Ram Mandir’ built on the site of the five-century-old Babri Masjid in India’s Ayodhya. (Source: Dawn)

Comment:

The story of Babri Mosque shows the rise and fall of the Mughal Empire. This mosque was erected by the first Mughal Emperor Zaheerud Din Babur and no dispute was ever raised till the British successfully planted hatred among Muslims and Hindus, i.e. when 1853, a Hindu sect– the Nirmohi Akhara– laid claim to the site of the mosque, saying that the Muslim place of worship was built after the demolition of a Hindu temple. In 1859, The British colonial administration partitioned the site into two separate sections for Hindus and Muslims. Muslims were allowed to pray inside, while Hindus were allowed to worship in the outer courtyard.

In 1885 a move was presented in a local court for permission to build a ‘chabutra’, or platform, in front of the Babri Masjid, to worship Ram (a Hindu god). This plea was rejected twice and the judge ordered status quo, saying it was too late to amend a “mistake committed over 350 years ago”.

After the partition of the Subcontinent in 1947, Extremist Hindus kept their efforts alive and on 22nd and 23rd December of 1949, the Indian Government declared the mosque a “disputed property” and locked the gate after idols of Hindu deity were placed by the Hindu priests inside the mosque. After that no Muslim prayers were offered in the mosque. The Hindus, like all the non-Muslims and Islam-haters, kept trying every way to achieve their goals and a major movement started to reconstruct the Mandir in place of the mosque, leading to the riots of 1992, killing nearly 2000 people.

[مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعًا إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ]

“Whoever seeks honour [should know that] honour entirely belongs to Allah. To Him ascends the good word, and the righteous deed elevates it.” [35:10].

In Islam what makes a place sacred is the belief that Allah (swt) is the owner of the universe and only He has the right to be worshiped. And worshiping Him includes total submission and obedience, even in protecting the rights of the dhimmis (Jizzya paying residents of the Islamic State). Hazrat Omar (ra) arrived in Palestine in early April 637 tour of the city, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. When the time for noon prayer, Zuhr, came, Patriarch Sophronius invited him to pray inside the Church but Hazrat Umar refused, and said that if he prayed inside the Church later Muslims could assume that this should be converted into a mosque and this way Christians will be deprived of one of their holiest sites. Instead he prayed outside the Church where a mosque called Masjid e Umar (mosque of Umar) was later built.

Even in the Indian Subcontinent the Mughals respected the sentiments of their Hindu subjects, this is why the 1857 rebellion on the basis of usage of cow fat on cartridges sent shock waves through the Hindus. Even if the (wassiyah) will of Emperor Babur forbidding open slaughtering of the cows is not taken as authentic, Hindu reaction on the cartridges shows they never faced this kind of discrimination under Muslim rule.

We see a lot happening around the world and Muslims are affected the most as they are the ones who can only practice Islam by sticking to its original form. No addition or change can be made in the orders of Allah (swt). The process of the demolition of the Babri Mosque and construction of Ram Mandir is spread over 140 years. This shows the level of strength and power Muslims hold over the world, even after the destruction of its central power, the Khilafah.

This event, like all the happenings around the Muslim world, is symbolic of how non - believers want to erase the name of Islam. What they do not understand is that they can demolish the buildings, kill the Muslims in the silence of Muslim rulers but they cannot erase Islam from the world. Institutions like OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) can shed their crocodile tears over the loss of this mosque as they have been doing over the killings of Palestinians, but they should rest assured that Allah has promised victory to the believers and the day these submitting Muslims will be soaking in Allah’s mercy, the betrayers and traitors will have no place to hide except for the final abode of their nonbeliever friends, that is, hell.

[الَّذِينَ يَتَّخِذُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَيَبْتَغُونَ عِنْدَهُمُ الْعِزَّةَ فَإِنَّ الْعِزَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا]

“Those who take the faithless for allies instead of the faithful Do they seek honour with them? [If so] indeed all honour belongs to Allah.” [4:139].

The Muslim Ummah should take strength from the guidance of the last Prophet Muhammad (saw), following his way, facing the hardships thrown their way and keep on striving till they attain victory. Success is from Allah and we must know that no battle is lost till we keep fighting in submission to the Lord of the Worlds, and this battle is to establish the rule of Allah on this earth. Whether we see that day or not, we cannot deny its inevitability. If we are a part of this struggle, then we are the soldiers of Allah.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Ikhlaq Jehan