armed confrontation and instead follow the path of peaceful
dawah
.
Today, militancy has almost ceased in Kashmir and now the
culture of one man, two missions is being adopted. On the one hand,
Kashmiris are seeking a better future in educational and economic
fields, and on the other, they are engaged in peaceful
dawah
work as
a matter of religious duty.
The Prophet Yusuf, the son of Israel (Jacob) was born in
Kana‘an (Palestine) 3500 years ago. The circumstances of his
life brought him to Egypt, which in those days was ruled by
a Hyksos King, who offered the Prophet Yusuf the position
of administrator under his rule. According to the Quran this
was ‘the King’s law’ and the Bible records this event thus:
‘You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be
ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne,
will I be greater than you.’ (Genesis; 41:40) The Quran calls
the story of Yusuf “the best story”.
The Prophet Muhammad was an Ismaelite prophet, who
lived 1500 years ago. During the Prophet Muhammad’s time,
an important event took place – the drawing up of a pact
known as Sulh-e-Hudaybiya. The Quran calls this a ‘clear
victory’. (48:1).
These events, relating respectively to two prophets tell us
the successful formula for succeeding in the struggle of life,
i.e. political ‘statusquoism and
dawah
activism’.
Muhammad (PBUH), appointed Prophet in 610 AD in
Makkah, concluded a peace treaty with the Quraysh who, in
those days, enjoyed the position of leadership in Arabia. This
peace treaty, Sulh-e-Hudaibiya, recognized the leadership of
the Quraysh, and unilaterally accepting all the conditions
laid down by the Quraysh, the Prophet made a 10-year no-war
pact with them. By the terms of this treaty, and by accepting
the leadership of the Quraysh, the Prophet found ample
opportunities for peaceful
dawah
work.
This is the prophetic model for activism at the social level.
This is the model which should be followed by the people of
Kashmir and by the Muslims of the rest of the world. This
is the only model by following which Muslims can achieve
success and honour in this world. No other model save this
one is practicable.
Accordingly, the Muslims of Kashmir and the Muslims of
The Prophetic Model
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