Islam's Reformers .pdf

Muslim countries in the course of history. Arabic has become areligious language in all Muslim countries. The hadîth says thateverybody will speak in Arabic in Paradise. The purpose is notaimed at making every Muslim nation Arabic. While the Englishlanguage becomes a common language in many countries, nogovernment opposes it. Today it has become a strong necessityfor a man of knowledge and science to know one, and evenmore foreign languages. The Hadîth says, “He who learns thelanguage of a race protects himself against their harm.” It isfor this reason that as our youngsters learn Arabic, so it isnecessary and useful for them to learn European languages.This may enable them to perform many services which in turnwill bring them rewards in the Hereafter. The reason why, formany centuries, Europeans have looked upon us as foreignersis not the difference of national feelings but their not knowingthe religion of Islam.The Hadîth says, “If you do not try to bring the wickedamongst you to the right course, that is, if you do notperform al-amru bi’l-ma’rûf wa ’n-nahyu ’ani ’l-munkar,Allâhu ta’âlâ will give upon you so bad calamities that inorder to get rid of them even the entreaties to Allâhu ta’âlâof the good ones among you will no longer avail.” The110th âyat of the sûrat âl ’Imrân commands Muslims to performal-amru bi ’l-ma’rûf wa ’n-nahyu ’ani ’l-munkar. When YavuzSultan Selim Khan said to the non-Muslims under his rule,“Either become Muslims or I will put you to the sword,” Islamicscholars said that this would not be right, that is, they performedan-nahyu ’ani ’l-munkar. So, the Sultan gave it up. There maybe eccentric people who consider his behaviour wrong. Indeed,this behavior of that honoured Sultan, who yielded to thereligious scholars and understood that these unfair, groundlessreligious feelings could not be of Islam, is worth praising. Thedifference between religious ideas and feelings and nationalideas and feelings appears on such delicate points as this.National thoughts of the irreligious may neglect right and justice,but Islamic thoughts cannot, for the virtues such as right andjustice are within the boundaries of Islam.Islam has contributed a high, pure feeling of justice tomankind. After the First World War, courts of justice wereestablished in Istanbul in order to exile and kill the guiltyArmenians, but the muftî of Boghazlayan, his hand on his chest- 97 -