[Defining a Muslim] - Is the Pakistani Constitutions's definition Islamic?

The Holy Quran states: “Say not to anyone who greets you with the greeting of peace, Thou art not a believer.” In Pakistan, an Ahmadi Muslim not only gets to be declared a non-believer for saying the greeting of peace, he is thrown behind bars for three years.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Jersey City Islam Examiner
By Kashif Chaudhry | June 5, 2010

By any standard of justice, anyone who claims to be a Muslim should be considered one. ‘Muslim’ literally means one who ‘submits to the will of God’. However, Muslim scholars have passed uncountable edicts of heresy against other fellow Muslims in recent times. It confuses an observer as to what yardstick is used to gauge a Muslim’s faith in Islam. Is there a basis for some Muslims considering other Muslims ‘not Muslims’? Let us open Scripture to learn how the word is defined.

“A Muslim is an adherent of the religion of Islam” says Wikipedia. Another prominent Islamic website defines a Muslim as a person who says, “There is no God but One God (Allah) and Mohammed [pbuh] is a messenger of God.”
This declaration is known as the ‘Kalima’ and is considered the primary pillar of the Islamic faith. On another Islamic website, the answer to how someone becomes a Muslim is given in these words:

“Simply by saying with conviction, “La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur rasoolu Allah,” [There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger] one converts to Islam and becomes a Muslim.” [http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-6.htm]

Almost all online sources state the same thing – that the belief in the Kalima is what makes one a Muslim. Despite the fact that a simple definition as this is presented to the world, the practice of pronouncing a rival sect as “kafir” [heretic] is way too common in the Muslim world. Sunni Clerics have, for ages, given edicts of heresy against the Shia and vice versa. Brelvis have considered Deobandis as heretics and the same is true the other way round. Ahmadis have been outlawed in Pakistan and labeled non-Muslims by Constitution. Do all these sects not proclaim the Kalima?

Let us scan the sayings of the founder of Islam, Muhammad [pbuh] to see how he defined members of the faith he brought. On the authority of Abu 'Abd al-Rahman 'Abdullah bin 'Umar bin al-Khattab [ra], the prophet [pbuh] is reported to have said:

"Islam has been built upon five things - on testifying that there is no god save Allah, and that Muhammad is His Messenger; on performing salah [prayer]; on giving the zakah [alms]; on pilgrimage to the House if within means; and on fasting during Ramadhan." [Bukhari and Muslim]

The five pillars of Islam as mentioned in the above tradition are the Kalima, prayer, charity, fasting and the pilgrimage to Mecca.

In another tradition, the prophet of God [pbuh] is reported to have said: "Whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have." [Bukhari]

In another detailed narration, the Holy Prophet [pbuh] is reported to have defined both Islam and ‘Imaan’ [Belief] in the following words:

“One day while Allah's Apostle was sitting with the people, a man came to him walking and said, "O Allah's Apostle. What is Belief?" The Prophet said, "Belief is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Apostles, and the meeting with Him, and to believe in the Resurrection." The man asked, "O Allah's Apostle What is Islam?" The Prophet replied, "Islam is to worship Allah and not worship anything besides Him, to offer prayers perfectly, to pay the (compulsory) charity i.e. Zakat and to fast the month of Ramadan."”

The man asked another question and then left. “The Prophet said, "Call him back to me." They went to call him back but could not see him. The Prophet said, "That was Gabriel who came to teach the people their religion."” (See Hadith No. 47 Vol 1) [Bukhari]

The above narrations of the Holy Prophet [pbuh] define a Muslim in black and white. A true Muslim is one who believes in the five pillars of Islam. To be counted amongst the Muslims however, even this much is not required. It is well-known that the Holy Prophet [pbuh] used to take the pledge of allegiance from people entering the fold of Islam by just making them recite the Kalima at his blessed hand.

It is recorded that once during a battle being waged on the Muslims, a companion of the Prophet [pbuh] overpowered an opponent. The man quickly said, “there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” The companion killed him, thinking that the man had proclaimed the Kalima just to save his own life. When the Holy Prophet heard of this, he was very angry, and he reprimanded that Muslim. The companion said:“O Messenger of Allah, that man read the Kalima merely to protect himself from our sword.” The Holy Prophet said: “Did you open his heart and look inside it?”

In short, the primary tenet of Muslim faith is the Kalima – to profess the Oneness of God and to proclaim the truth of Muhammad [pbuh]. Once someone becomes a Muslim, they are expected to act on the five pillars of Islam to their best and are supposed to recognize and appreciate the six articles of faith mentioned in the narration above.

Contrary to the practice of Muhammad [pbuh] and to his clear teachings and injunctions, the clerics of today are busy abusing other sects that do not conform to their ideology and labeling them non-Muslims and heretics. New definitions of the term ‘Muslim’ are being suggested. In Pakistan for instance, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has been labeled heretic and non-Muslim. For this purpose, the definition of a ‘Muslim’ that was put forward by Muhammad [pbuh] has been rendered obsolete and a new one drafted.

According to the Constitution of Pakistan: “A 'Muslim' means a person who believes in the unity and oneness of Allah, in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and does not believe in, or recognize as a prophet or religious reformer, any person who claimed or claims to be a prophet, in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever, after Muhammad.”

This new definition, it is obvious, has been manufactured just to outlaw the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Many Pakistanis and some other Muslims suggest that Ahmadis are non-Muslims. Whereas this is true according to the Constitution of the country, it is against the constitution set forth by Muhammad [pbuh]. Ignoring the definition of Islam and inventing new ones has only created problems. For instance, what the Muslims of Pakistan do not realize is the fact that they have all been conferred a ‘non-Muslim’ status according to this new rendering.

It is an established fact that a large majority of Muslims traditionally await the second advent of the Messiah [Jesus]. However, since he was a prophet on his appearance in Israel two millenniums back, according to the opinion of Muslim scholars, he shall continue to be honored as one on his second advent. It is also argued by them that rejecting him on his second advent is tantamount to apostasy.

The Constitution of Pakistan demands that any person who follows someone who claims to be a prophet in any sense of the word or of any description after Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] is not a Muslim for the purposes of the Constitution or Law of Pakistan. Now, since Jesus is believed to come after Muhammad [pbuh], he would either have to deny his station as a prophet or else be considered a non Muslim for the purposes of the Constitution and Law of Pakistan. On the other hand, if he repudiated his prophethood on his second advent to be classified as a Muslim in Pakistan, he would, in the opinion of the Pakistani mullah become an apostate. [Documentary evidence available on demand]

It also needs to be considered that the common Pakistani Muslims would find themselves in a quagmire. If they accepted Jesus’s prophethood on his second advent after Muhammad [pbuh], they would begin to be considered non Muslims since the said amendment demands that any person who recognizes a prophet in any sense of the word or of any description after Prophet Muhammad is not a Muslim for the purposes of the Constitution and Law of Pakistan. On the other hand, if they deny his prophethood on his second advent, they will be considered apostate in view of the edicts by the Pakistani clerics.

If the clerics of Pakistan once again decide to ignore Islamic belief and decide that Jesus would not be a prophet on his return, he still will be considered an old prophet and a religious reformer. The words of the constitution, “a prophet in any sense of the word or of any description” and “a religious reformer” will come to haunt them once again. Jesus will have to accept a non Muslim status or seek asylum outside the country. Pakistanis will be left with a choice to reject either him or the Muslim status. This dilemma needs to be solved by Pakistan before Jesus decides to descend. The only way to do so is to return to the definition of Muhammad [pbuh].

The Holy Quran states: “Say not to anyone who greets you with the greeting of peace, Thou art not a believer.” In Pakistan, an Ahmadi Muslim not only gets to be declared a non-believer for saying the greeting of peace, he is thrown behind bars for three years. This again is a part of the country’s legislation. It is up to the Pakistani people to decide which constitution they have more faith in, the constitution of Islam or that of Pakistan, the legislation of Muhammad [pbuh] or of the Mullahs of Pakistan.

Ahmadi Muslims proclaim that “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger” and believe in the five pillars of Islam. Can anyone explain from scripture how they become non-Muslims? If you quote the Pakistani Constitution as evidence, then you must accept your own position as non-Muslim. May the Islam of Muhammad [pbuh] be followed. May sanity prevail.

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References:

1. The Holy Quran
2. Sahih Bukhari
3. Three in One by Naeem Osman Memon [http://www.alislam.org/books/3in1/index.html]


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