Letters to the Editor

Q: I am a new reader of your digest and it is very interesting. I have one question: is Paradise meant only for Muslims?

Tayeeb Dhalayit,
Deshpande Galli, Belgaum

YMD

This question is often asked. And there is good reason why. It is because of a great decline in the quality of Muslims. And there are several reasons why that has happened. Some details are necessary for a better understanding of the situation. First, Muslims are under great pressure to abandon their religion. Their religion of One God is not tolerated by the non-Muslims in any part of the world. As the Muslims succumb to this pressure, they practice their religion less and less. And, since they do not accept other ideas either, (how could they when they abandon such good principles as those of Islam?), they are generally worse off than non-Muslims within the same society.

Second, the general atmosphere all over the globe is non-religious. Materialism, hedonism and individualism are the new faiths to which the whole of the world is devoted. Making as much money as possible, as fast as possible, in any way possible, lawful or unlawful, and seek maximum amount of pleasure are the motto of the people’s of the world today and their aim of this life. Muslims cannot remain unaffected by the motto and the aim, and the culture of insatiable greed that they have generated. That directly has a bearing on the quality of their religion.

Third, there is greater economic pressure on the Muslims than on others. Wealth is taken away from them, individually and collectively, one way or the other in a gradual and subtle manner. As individuals, they are denied jobs and opportunities. (An industry in U.P. which boasts of most modern facilities has six hundred employees. Only one of them is a Muslim, employed in the packing department. In Malaysia, 80% of the wealth is in the hands of non-Muslims). There are pressures on Muslim countries too. Their national wealth is taken away from them by other nations through some guile or the other. The economic factor leads to the spread of poverty, which directly affects the morals of the Muslims. The poor can hardly be expected to have a character, especially when the rest of the world is so rich,  which makes poverty all the more difficult to bear, especially in a world where moral principles are hardly appreciated in any quarter. All that the poor get is derisive looks by the cunning and the crooked rich. This again affects the Muslim morals and the quality of religion they practice. The above factors, as said earlier (although there are a few others), lead the Muslims to moral depravity. They seem to be uneducated, dishonest, lazy, undisciplined and crude. In contrast, the non-Muslims appear to be  educated, honest, hard-working, disciplined and cultured. (Why not? They have all the money?) The question that then arises in the mind of the poorly informed people is the one raised above: If Paradise is for Muslims – of the quality we have before us – why should it not be for the non-Muslims – those of contrasting qualities? Often, it is the non-Muslims who raise this question. Quite ironic, of course. The answer need not be long. It is in the definition of the term Muslim. The word Muslim literally means someone who has surrendered himself to God. Have the non-Muslims done that?

Yes, the Muslim too doesn’t seem to have surrendered himself in the fullest sense. But, at least theoretically, he does that. He acknowledges that there is a God, the Supreme, who will reckon his beliefs and actions. He fears the Day, however faintly, when he will be raised and questioned. It is another thing that he fastens false hopes on God that he will be forgiven because of the circumstances he was in.

But, what about the non-Muslim? Does he at least theoretically recognize God? Does he believe in a Day when he will be raised and questioned for drinking wine, having illicit sex, gambling, devouring poor people’s money through usury, spreading immorality through the media, devotions to stone gods? He, or those of similar mind, ask, why should he not be admitted into Paradise. But the question is: does he believe in Paradise, in Hell-fire, in reckoning? Does he want a share in a Paradise that he does not believe in?

The Muslim says: “I recognize You O God, that You are the sole Lord of the universe. And I am sorry for my sins against You and Your creation. Will you forgive me then?” The non-Muslim says: “I recognize you O Someone in the heavens that you are one of the three, or one top of a few million deities. (But, really, do YOU exist? If you do, may I know what are You doing up there?).” We may ask. If Paradise is not for Muslims alone (those who surrender themselves to the God who created it), then who else can it be for? For those who laugh at the idea?women and graveyard:

Q: YMD is a useful digest for me. May I ask why Muslim women are prohibited to go to the graveyard? 

Ajmal Ahmed, Md. Haneef,
Nandgadi, Khanpur

YMD

You see, Islam is the name of devotion to God. It severs all relationships with false gods, idols, deities and stone-gods, and leads man to One God who alone is the Creator and Sustainer of this world.  It disapproves of devotion to men who assume divinity, to angels, holy men, spirits, material things, natural phenomena, physical forces, etc. Graves and graveyards are not the central theme of life. Islam is not the religion of the Ka‘aba either, or that of the mosques, or the temples, or shrines, or tombs, or graveyards.

Islam is a way of life that has devotion to One God as the end purpose and the central theme. If Muslim women understand this, it will become immaterial to them whether they are allowed to go to the graveyards or not.

What a Muslim woman has to be worried about is: Is she devoted to Allah? How much does she pray to Him everyday? How much of the Qur’an and Hadith does she read during the 24-hour cycle? Is she able to raise her children on Islamic principles? Is her house a centre of virtue? Do the people of the surroundings look to the people of her house for guidance, help and comfort? These are the things that she should be worried about and not whether she can go to the graves or not: whether allowed or not is another matter. Where is the time for an Islamically oriented woman to visit the graves?

In fact, the questions above should be the concern of Muslim men also. Being allowed to visit the graves, does not mean that the grave should become the centre of all activities. The living are more deserving of service than the dead.

It is only when Muslims lost grounds to their enemies on the surface of the earth that they began to shift emphasis to what is beneath the surface: the graves. And, therefore, they lament that half of their population is not allowed to the graves.

As for why men are allowed to visit the graves, and not women, it shouldn’t be too difficult to work out the answer, if one knows the role and duties of women in Islam, and the position that she takes in the system.

A woman in Islam is not the cheap thing that you see in the streets today: the rough and tough barber, or car mechanic, or petrol-filler, or sweeper, or garbage collector, or bus driver, or sales-girl, or cat-walker, or prostitute, or butcher, or street vendor, or police-woman, or ticket-collector, airline hostess, men’s parlour masseur, or welder, or tennis ball collector, boxing ring advertiser, or bench-fitter, or boot-polisher, or gate-keeper, or gardener, or drug peddler, or gangster, or nude-model, or pimp, or waitress, or disco-dancer, or open-show sex partner. She is none of that in Islam. In Islam she is a honourable lady of the house: serving the husband and children and in turn served by the father, brother, husband and children. She doesn’t go out at all, for any purpose, except  for pleasure or when unwell. She doesn’t earn her living. Somebody else toils for her, while she does the simpler, less daunting, less harassing, less de-basing, house chore. Doing these things, within the confines of the house, gives her a character and personality entirely different from that of the Western woman of today: the one who bears half the burden of life.  In Islam, a woman is a much respected person. This is in complete contrast with the position she occupies in the West. There, she is told she is equal to man. Therefore, when she is raped, she doesn’t know what to do. If she complaints, she will lose respect and maybe nothing will be done about it. After all, a woman is raped every few minutes in the USA. Being of equal rights, she can fight the case in the court. But, in practice, can she? Can she afford, for instance? In contrast, in Islam a woman is well respected and well-guarded. If she is raped, the rapist will lose his life. If the law fails, the father, brother, husband, or son, will kill the rapist. So she remains safe from the humiliating assault on her self.

Therefore, in Islam, she is innocent, simple, and, for those reasons, trusting. If she goes to the graves, with such a mind, she will surely be fooled and exploited. Visit to the graves will not only adversely influence one whose body, mind and soul are kept soft, tender and impressionable but will also expose her to witchcraft, magic, spiritualist’s guile, and grave-keeper’s cunning. Entering into the grave-yard, she will lose the protection of the home, the husband, children, family-seniors, the neighbourhood elders, the society, and will be exposed to the world and tricks of the Graves & Inc.

She is kept away and insulated from the world of crooks, the pervert, not for her own sake alone, but for the sake of men too. It is she who works at home on her husband and others against cunning, perversions. That is the reason why most traditional societies did not tolerate moral perversion on the part of women. She is supposed to act against it, and help bring in order. She is the monitor, the moral-police woman. If she is corrupt, how are men to be taught chastity? Therefore, she must be least exposed to the outside world.

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