A HISTORIC PRONOUNCEMENT
The Objectives Resolution which the Prime Minister of Pakistan put before the Pakistan Constituent Assembly as well as the speech he made in moving the Resolution will go down to history as the second big milestone in the march of Islam in this part of the globe towards its high and great destiny, the first one being the creation of Pakistan itself. If the Father of the Nation, the Qaid-i-Azam gave the Millet of Islam the sovereign independent State of Pakistan, his political pupil, Mr. Liaqat Ali Khan has by this historic pronouncement put that State firmly on the only path to true progress and prosperity. That he has proved an adept pupil to his great master is the universal tribute which this well-balanced, level-headed and truly Islamic pronouncement has won for Mr. Liaqat Ali Khan.
The conception of State which the Resolution has set forth is by itself a unique constitution to the onward march, not only of the people of Pakistan, but of humanity at large. Whereas all other constitutions of the world, vest sovereignty in the people, for the first time in the history of constitution-making this Resolution by the Pakistan Premier shows the boldness of conception and courage of conviction to tell the world that all sovereignty vests in the Creator of man and that the State is merely a trustee to carry out His authority and carry it out in accordance with His will. Secularization of the State which has so far been considered a great achievement in the art of Statecraft by the Western people has borne very bitter fruit. It led to the virtual banishment of God from human affairs to the gradual elimination of all morale and spiritual values and ultimately to the debasement of humanity to the sub-human level of a mere self-seeking bipede with whom self-gratification is the sole purpose and motive power of life. The present-day matter-ridden outlook on life, resulting in greed, lust, jealousies and hatred between man and man and nation and nation, leading to poverty and starvation in the midst of plenty and misery in the midst of the greatest amenities of life known to the annals of man has been the logical development of this basic error of Western statesmen in banishing all God-idea from the conception of State. The Pakistan Constitution, as visualized in the Objectives Resolution, seeks to undo that fundamental error, and turns the current of civilization towards healthier and happier channels. It fixes the gaze of man once more on the bigger moral and spiritual values of life.
While reaffirming the sovereignty of God and the superiority of spiritual values in the affairs of man, including Statecraft, the Resolution has the balance to avoid another equally, if not more dangerous pitfall – viz., that of deification of the priestly order and giving them the sole monopoly of carrying out the will of God in the administration of the State, as was the case in pre-secularization Europe when the Pope as the supreme head of the Church was looked upon as the visible emblem of God on earth and combined all spiritual and temporal power within himself. As a matter of fact, Europe’s secularization of State was a reaction against this extreme of State conception. Mr. Liaqat Ali Khan has shown a good grasp of the fundamentals of Islamic teachings in avoiding both the extremes and striking the golden mean. It restores spiritual values in the affairs of man and at the same time avoids the evils which are associated with theocracy as commonly understood. Whether our Ulema whose mouths have been watering for power ever since the birth of Pakistan and who have been exploiting the sacred name of Islamic State to that end would take kindly to this clarification of Divine sovereignty and its implications has yet to be seen. Whatever their reactions, the Pakistan Premier has done a great service indeed in setting at rest this mischievous controversy and saving Pakistan from the calamity of what threatened to be a mulla-rule.
The Western Democracies have their own conception of democracy. Soviet Russia has a democratic pattern of its own. Islamic democracy, as enunciated by the Objectives Resolution, is in thorough agreement with both in so far as it puts the actual working of the governmental machinery in the hands of the people but it makes a fundamental departure and a decided improvement on each by refusing to make the will of the people all in all and limiting that will by the well-defined limits of moral laws and social and economic values as laid down in the Quran and the Sunnah, the two paramount sources of the Divine will. In fact, it makes up what has so far constituted a big desideratum in modern conceptions of democracy. Islamic State is not to be the Government of the people, it is to be the Government of God, run by the people in accordance with the prescribed will of God for the highest good of the people.
As regards the minorities, the Resolution is equally lucid and emphatic and should once for all allay all apprehensions. It not only recognises their fullest religious and cultural freedom; it actually facilitates the way for their cultures to enrich life in Pakistan by their contributions. The Depressed Classes have also been duly provided for in the Resolution. Special efforts are to be made to uplift them to the fullest human stature, so as to make them a source of strength to Pakistan. Distribution of wealth shall also be made with a view to ameliorating the lot of the underdog, not the safeguarding of is vested interests. There shall be perfect freedom for the people to form associations and express and propagate their views. All the various interests have thus come in for consideration and received the best possible safeguards in this fundamental outline of Pakistan Constitution.
Within the house of Islam, the great weakness of sectarian dissensions has not escaped the Premier’s attention. Sectarian feuds started almost with the dawn of Islamic history and have led, during the course of centuries, to the making and unmaking of many a Muslim empire.It will be no exaggeration to say that the decadence of Islam, as a temporal power has been due to these internal feuds more than anything else and the Premier has shown commendable acumen in laying his finger at this potential danger to the solidarity and strength of Pakistan. Differences of views are bound to be there in every society of human beings. To think is to differ. But here as elsewhere Islam also strikes the golden mean. While conceding fullest freedom to Muslims to differ with other fellow-Muslims in the interpretation of the Quran and the Sunnah, it does so one proviso – viz., that those differences must tend to contribute to the progress and health and growth of Islamic society and must not degenerate into dissensions, and mutual feuds. Islam never believes in regimentation of human mind. It never bangs the door of free inquiry and investigation even in the matter of faith. That would lead to stagnation and ultimate decadence and decay. That is exactly what happened to Muslim society under the influence of the Mullas which dominated for the past few centuries which may fitly be described as the Dark Ages of Islam. The Mullas insisted on rigid uniformity and anyone who differed from the regulation standard was pursued with a heresy hunt. The slightest independence of thought was curbed and crushed. This was quite against the spirit of Islamic teachings and the Resolution does well to take note of this danger point in the body-politic of Islam and make provision against it. It reminds Muslims of the Prophet’s saying:
”Difference of opinion among my Ummat shall be a blessing.”
These are three small words, but they sum up a whole philosophy of the due limits of freedom and suppression of thought. The Resolution has done well to embody this life-giving principle into the Constitution and lay down that:
“The State will seek to create an Islamic society free from dissensions, but it does not mean that it would curb the freedom of any section of Muslims in the matter of their beliefs. No sect, whether the majority or a minority will be permitted to dictate to the others and in their own internal matters and sectional beliefs, all sects shall be given the fullest possible latitude and freedom”
These are very wise and well-balanced words indeed and no sensible man can take exception to these. We do wish however that the Resolution had gone a step further and laid down the broad outlines within which differences of thought among Muslims could be permitted to go. To our own mind – and we have expressed this view times out of number in these columns – the cornerstone of Muslim solidarity lies in the Kalima:
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ
“There is no God save Allah and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is His apostle.”
The Prophet ﷺ has laid down this to be the Magna Charta of a Muslim. So long as he professes faith in this fundamental of Islam, he is a member of the universal brotherhood of Islam, no matter what school or sect he may belong to. It was the violation of this injunction that led to heresy hunts, mutual dissensions and persecutions among Muslims. The Objectives Resolution has gone only halfway in reminding Muslims that differences of religious views would not be allowed to degenerate into dissensions. Had it stated this other half as well – viz., that whoever recites the Kalima shall be considered and treated as a brother Muslim in Pakistan, it would have made the solidarity of Islam doubly sure.
M.Y.K.
(The Light, March 16, 1949)
