Islam And Blasphemy

This is the one of the major problem of Muslims facing nowadays every day anything related to this topic is come and hit our feelings very hard. This topic is closely related to the social and political challenges faced by Muslims in modern time. Topic is “ISLAM AND BLASPHEMY” And I will try my best to explain everything about this topic.

INTRODUCTION

What is Blasphemy? Blasphemy refers to the act of uttering profane, insulting or abusive language for something divine related to religion . What is Blasphemy in Islam? In the Islamic context, blasphemy refers to a wide range of acts ranging from apostasy to cursing oom different slandering Allah the Most High and Exalted, and the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). Blasphemy also includes disrespect toward other holy messengers or religious beliefs.

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How it is related to current social and political challenges faced by muslims? It is one of the major problem of muslims nowdays because everyday something insulting coming froms different areas of worlds and we don’t now why but it is a serious problem if we not reacted to this then culprits will gain more confident and come with something worse to hit our feelings and nowdays it is increasing day by day in different forms like animations cartoons movies sketches and getting worse and unbearable.

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

Right of respect is a prime need of every one but this can be fulfilled when each and every person will take this responsibility and take a step forward in demolishing the disharmony in the society. If the right of respect is violated, it leads to hatred and enmity among the people and the situation turns worse if this violation takes the form of blasphemy. This research study is related to the same issue, that is, “Blasphemy law of Islam- Misconceptions and fallacy. ”Themain reason of selecting this topic is to search out the laws regarding punishment of blasphemy in the light of Islam, to identify the misconceptions and fallacy in the society regarding its punishment and also to search for proper answers for their misconcepts so that the culprits can find out their answers in a proper way. Allah says: “And abuse not those whom they call upon beside Allah, lest they, out of spite, abuse Allah in their ignorance.”4 If even the false idols are not allowed to be slandered, how the founders and leaders of different religions, sects, and groups can be defiled? The

holy Qur’an forbids Muslims to be blasphemous but if a blasphemy is committed, whether by a so called Muslim or non-Muslims, the blasphemer must punished so that nobody else does that. In a broader sense, blasphemy is irreverence towards something considered sacred or inviolable. Many cultures disapprove of speech or writing, which defames the deity or deities of their established religion and these restrictions have the force of law in their countries.

MUSLIM COMMUNITY AND THEIR REACTIONS AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

This is one of the major problem that muslims are suffering and only muslims know how it feels when our beloved holy prophet and our precious islam is disrespected and humiliated and they don’t have any idea how to react to this challenge. How can they bear the disrespect of their most loved person in this world and Hereafter. The point of view of Muslims is clear about there Islam and Islam is not completed until we love our prophet more than anything in this world.

They cannot bear the insult of their most beloved person in this world. According to Muslims it is their duty to save the dignity and respect of their prophet. They can cross every limit to fulfill their duty to complete their iman. But unfortunately everything is going wrong Muslims are not replying upto that level which can reflect that if they don’t stop this our reaction will be horrible. The Prophets are Allah’s emissaries in this world. They have certain duties regarding their religion. They follow the divine message and convey their religious injunction for mankind. The respect and honor of Prophets is infact because they are chosen by the Creator for a great mission. We not only have to respect the prophets but also everything associated with them should also be respectable. The Qur’an says clearly: “Then those who believe in him, and honor him and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: they are the successful.”5 Allah mentions the personality of His beloved Prophet (S.A.W) in such a manner that the believers are not even allowed to speak loudly in front of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) like the way they talk to each other asthe Qur’an says in a very nice way: “O ye who believe! Lift not up your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor shout when speaking to him as ye shout one to another, lest your works be rendered vain while ye perceive not.”6 It is a clear evidence for all mankind that raising voices above the voice of prophet is forbidden.

ISLAM POINT OF VIEW AND TEACHINGS

Islamic teachings are very clear about the blasphemy that we cannot bear any insult of our holy prophet and islam. if a person say anything insulting way he should be tought a lesson. But there is a misconception about the punishment of blasphemer.

It is a fact that punishment of Blasphemy is defined according to Qur’an and Sunnah. There is a consensus of the Muslim Scholars and Ulema that punishment should follow if a person commits Blasphemy of Prophets of Allah. However many misunderstanding and misconceptions exist about this these days, some of which are mentioned below.

· NO PUNISHMENT IN QURAN FOR BLASPHEMY

This is a common perception that if Qur’an is not laying any punishment regarding Blasphemy, then why we should prescribe any punishment for this act.This misconception can be addressed from the following parts. First: Qur’anic injunctions are clear and well defined. When the Qur’an was revealed on Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W)the people of that time were unable to understand the real position and status of Prophet hood, infact, they had forgotten the previous divine messages and revelations of Allah (S.W.T), which was the reason they were rejecting the teachingof last Prophet (S.A.W).

· ISLAM AND DOES NOT BELIVE IN COERCION

In modern times, this statement is used to suggest that Islam does not put any compulsion on believers. In fact, the expression Islam does not belief in coercion means that we cannot convert a man to be a Muslim through use of force. In other words, a non-believer cannot be made to embrace Islam by force. People have different interpretations of this statement. Some argue that religion is a private affair of an individual and the others should not interfere. They are of the view that if a man is using foul language against Muhammad (S.A.W), why he should be killed, as it is his personal matter.

PROPHET MUHAMMAD AND THEIR KINDNESS IN THIS MATTER

Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was very kindhearted and used to forgive anybody who misbehaved with him. This is no doubt true, the people of Taif hurt the prophet of Islam (S.A.W) by throwing stones at him, but he did not allow Hazrat Gabr’eel to punish them for that. Similarly, a woman used to throw garbage on Muhammad (S.A.W) but he always showed his sympathy and mercy towards her. It is the true image of Muhammad (S.A.W)’s personality that he was a kind and forgiving. Muslims and non-Muslims both admire that. However, the basic sources of Islamic Law (Qur’an and Sunnah), also confirm that even Muhammad (S.A.W)himself announced death penalty for his enemies at Madina. The companions were always ready to carry out his orders. Khalid bin Waleed (R.A), Zubair (R.A), Umair bin Addi (R.A), Muhammad bin Muslima (R.A)killed those people who used derogatory remarks for Muhammad (S.A.W) because this punishment was announced by the Prophet of Allah. When Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was sending Muhammad bin Muslima (R.A) for the assassination of Kab Bin Al Ashraf, he was invoking Allah (S. W.T) for help. The answer to above stated misconception is that there were two kinds of people who used insulting remarks for the Prophet (S.A.W). First type is of those people, who attacked the personality of Muhammad (S.A.W) and the second type was of those who attacked his Prophecy. But point is that Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) forgave those who hurt his personality but those who attacked his prophet hood were not forgiven because they attacked Allah and Muhammad (S.A.W)both, whereas Allah the Most Gracious mentions of His Grace and the dignity of His Prophet in the Qur’an at several places.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The move they use to insult is freedom of expression like everyone own himself and he can say anything about anyone and no one should say them anything in the society is that of blasphemy in the name of freedom of expression or freedom of speech. Mostly blasphemers commit blasphemy by using this title and consider, they have right to say or do anything because they are free so, an individual can do whatever he wants in the light of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is not without limits, these limits may vary from state to state, but they usually include defamation, incitement to hatred, to violate and discriminate against a person, a group, or a community. Basically it’s a matter of respect. If someone is using derogatory remarks or shows an irreverent behavior, is ethically wrong on humanitarian grounds as being a human everyone deserves respect, honor and admiration. With respect to blasphemy of the honor and respect of Prophets, specially mostly irreverent words, derogatory remarks or intolerable language is for Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) in the name of freedom of expression. To make caricatures, films, cartoon etc is a source of hurting the sentiments and emotions of millions of Muslims all over the globe because Prophet Muhammad (S.A,.W) is very dear and respectable for Muslims. In response to such a situation, a number of scholar’s speeches, and rallies can be seen because these activities violate the sentiments of the Muslims.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Historical records show that right from the time of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W)till today blasphemous acts have been committed by people from time to time. However, within past few years a considerable increase in acts of blasphemy has been witnessed worldwide. The most common reasons behind such kind of acts are the lack of knowledge about true teachings of Islam, racial prejudice, anti Islamic propaganda by the Western media and communication gap between West and Muslim Ummah. All these issues can be resolved by spreading awareness of Islamic teachings among the non-believers and by developing good relations with the West through table talks and negotiations. It can also be resolved by keeping a check on the use of “right of freedom of expression,” so that it may not be a source of violation of rights and honor, which is also a globally recognized basic human right. The need of the time is to be united for the cause of Islam by putting aside all our personal, individual, or short-term differences in order to face the challenge of the coming times. We must practically follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) and try to be exemplary in our character for the rest of the humanity to revive the image of Islam as a humane, friendly, and peace loving religion.

REFERENCES

1. Wikipedia
2. Al Quran
3. Column by Iffat Khalid and Shamana Munawar
4. Islamcity.org
5. AL Islam
6. Nawa e waqat
7. Muslimsworld.org