A Nation That Does Not Know How to Die – Does Not know How to Live

What “Light” wrote 20 years ago.

“Who does not know that sooner or later the Sikhs may get it into their head to make a bid for the possession of the Punjab and with such a disorganised state, we are only inviting that catastrophe.”

The following is a reprint of the leading article of the “Light” dated May 16, 1927, under the caption “The Coming Fight”. The article was written immediately after a communal riot in Lahore. The reader will find the name of Dr Iqbal mentioned in the article. When he read this article (by the way, he was a regular reader of this paper), he expressly sent for the editor, to express his delight. “For years I have not seen in our press such like stuff, so full of life” – was his comment.

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ خُذُوا۟ حِذْرَكُمْ فَٱنفِرُوا۟ ثُبَاتٍ أَوِ ٱنفِرُوا۟ جَمِيعًا

(An-Nisa (The Women) 4:71)

”O you who believe! Take your precaution. Then go forth in detachments or go forth in a body.”

The Quran would not have been a message from the All-wise Divine source had it excluded warfare from the purview of its teachings and indulged in cheap, ill-balanced homilies on meekness, humility and kindred virtues. A code of life for man must take stock of the hard realities of human life and the moment it loses contact with those realities; it ceases to be a wise workable code. True, Islam comes as a message of love and brotherhood to humanity at large. True, the God of Islam is Rabbil Alamin, the Lord of the worlds and a Muslim’s sympathies must go out to all, irrespective of caste, colour or creed. True, the Prophet of Islam came as Rahmatul-lil-Alamin, a blessing to mankind and establishment of a universal brotherhood of man is the chief mission of Islam. But let us not commit the blunder to suppose that Islam is the name of a few tender virtues, that Islam shudders at the sight of human bloodshed. No doubt, Islam is anxious to avoid bloodshed as far as possible but there do arise situations when resort to the sword, to death, to bloodshed is the only honourable alternative. And when such a situation does arise, it becomes a duty and a virtue of the highest order to strike a blow and to shed blood, just as it is considered a high virtue under normal conditions to give drink to a dog and earn a place in Paradise. Here, for instance, is one of the situations when fighting becomes a duty:

وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُقَـٰتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ ٱلرِّجَالِ وَٱلنِّسَآءِ وَٱلْوِلْدَٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ ٱلظَّالِمِ أَهْلُهَا وَٱجْعَل لَّنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ وَلِيًّا وَٱجْعَل لَّنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ نَصِيرًا

(An-Nisa (The Women) 4:75)

“And what excuse have you that you should not fight in the way of Allah and of the weak among men and the women and the children of those who say: Lord! Take us out of this place where people oppress others”

Could there be a nobler cause to fight for and lay down one’s life for? The defence of the weak and the women and the children is certainly a cause that no civilized and no humanitarian people can afford to desert. And when the call of a cause such as this comes, the Quran does not wish to see a Muslim play the coward and shirk the danger. It expects every Muslim to be a soldier and a hero and fight the battle of justice and righteousness. Let therefore there be no misunderstanding on the point. A nation that does not know how to die – does not know how to live. What, after all is secret of freedom, prosperity, greatness and dignity of the Western nations? Why, the will to die at the call of country. In spite of their education, in spite of their civilization, in spite of their humanitarianism, are not these nations busy day and night inventing and forging monstrous weapons of destruction? In spite of their friendly relations, England and France keep a keen watch on each other’s armaments and an addition of one aircraft north of the Channel means half a dozen more on the south.

They believe more than we Muslims do in the wisdom of the Quranic words:

وَخُذُوا۟ حِذْرَكُمْ

“Take your precaution.”

(An-Nisa (The Women) 4:102)

But when all is said and done, the grim fact remains that we have to deal with a foe that is a stranger to these canons of clean fighting of chivalry, the fact remains that we must get ready for an organized and a united front, if we do not want to he wiped off by a relentless foe who makes no secret of his slogan: “Unite and fight.” Frankly speaking, we could not appreciate the counsel of quiet and content on the part of Muslim leaders, much less on the part of a Muslim philosopher like Dr. Iqbal who must know more than anyone else that aggression is the only effective response to aggression. Their sermon of peace was so out of season. We would have expected Dr Iqbal to have taken Moonje’s challenge up, drawn Muslim youths up in a regular corps and well equipped with whatever weapons possible, marched at their head right into Shahalmi Gate and Mochi Gate and demanded either apology or given the aggressors a good fight. That would have been perfectly fair and would have avoided the slaughter of harmless wayfarers. So that is that, but now what about the future?

For the future, to begin with, let there be no talk of peace. So long as the present Hindu mentality persists it would he stupid, nay suicidal to talk of peace. Armed armistice is the only thing compatible with that bellicose Maha Sabha mentality. Let us therefore listen to the Quran which bids us take every precaution. No time should be lost in impressing upon the Government the absurdity of equipping one section of the population with kirpans leaving others at their mercy. This is unfair. The Muslims must have equal opportunity of self-defence. If it is argued a Sikh must by his religion have a kirpan, it can be argued with equal force that a Muslim is just the same bound by religion to possess a sword. وَخُذُوا۟ حِذْرَكُمْ – “Take your precaution,” is a Quranic injunction and as much binding on Muslims as the kirpan, injunction on Sikhs. This done, the next thing to do must be for men like Dr lqbal to come out in the open and organize the entire Muslim community of the Punjab on the lines of Sikh jathas. It is irreligious in the face of kirpan to be without arms, it is equally irreligious not to organize ourselves. Religion wants us to take every precaution. If ever a fatwa of Kufr could be permissible, it should be permissible, in the case of those who should fail to join these Muslim corps. Who does not know that sooner or later the Sikhs may get it into their head to make a bid for the possession of the Punjab and with such a disorganized state we are only inviting that catastrophe. This big fight for Swaraj has some day to be fought and Islam requires that we should be prepared for it. These riots are only the feelers, the prelude to the big fight which is bound to come. True leadership would read this writing on the wall and rather than indulge in idle gossip of peace and all that would set about organising the manpower and resources of the community for that Big Day. Let Muslim mentality be thoroughly overhauled. Let that Big Day be brought home to Muslims, the Day which will decide whether we live here as slaves or as self-respecting men. Something must certainly be done to meet that Day. Let this cry go forth from town to town and from village to village and arouse at least the educated to this inevitable Day. This mental revolution, this awakening is the foremost thing needed and when this is done, the work of consolidation will be half done. Eradicate that peace-loving mentality, which is false, un-Islamic. Islam loves peace. But it loves fighting just the same when it comes to that. Fighting mentality, physical exercise, strength of arm, equipment, discipline – this is the need of the day. This is the highest religion.