Part 5

We propose to discuss a number of issues in this part of our discussion:

Islamic Unity:

Islam considers all Muslims as one ummah:

And surely this ummah (community) of yours is one ummah, and I am your Lord, and be dutiful to Me. (23:52)

And thus We have made you a midmost nation that you may be the bearers of witness to the people, and that the Apostle may be a bearer o f witness to you; .... (2:143)

The criterion of the unity of Muslims is nothing but faith and conviction, and they belong to nothing but Islam. Hence the differences related to racial, national, linguistic, regional, urban, and rural distinc­tions cannot and should not divide Muslims and alienate them from one another. Among Muslims a deep‑rooted feeling of oneness exists that binds them together and they live like an integrated whole and foster brotherly feeling for one another. The Quran stresses this brotherly relationship in the following words:

The believers are but brethren, therefore make peace between your brethren and be God‑fearing that mercy may be showed to you. (49:10)

In Islam there are no multiple communities; there is only one ummah. They strive for one and the same goal. All Muslims are one ummah against their common enemy, i.e. the global pagan system.

Islam ‑ a Perfect and Independent System:

Islam as an integrated system of religious, moral, political, social, cultural and economic regulations is a perfect and comprehensive system, that has an independent culture which emanates from the source of revelation (wahy). It upholds a specific world‑view with an emphasis on developing and perfecting human virtues and considers it to be the basis of all its programmes, and on this foundation constructs all the social structures and superstructures. Islam is a rich and independent culture which is essentially based on revelation. It was a result of assimilating this rich and independent culture that in the early period of Islam Muslims could make remarkably fast advancements in various spheres of civilization. This rich culture of Islam dawned in al ­Hijaz and brought into existence, by revitalizing the human virtues and abilities, an ummah, small in number but immensely energetic and powerful in spirit. It gradually grew, spread and attracted various societies, peoples, and races towards itself. In a short time its light reached and engulfed the distant points of the earth. The vitalizing teachings of the Quran and its cultural independence generated and released light on such a scale that it illuminated each and every spot, penetrated the innermost depths of the soul and gave refuge to all men in its warm embrace. The rich and humanizing culture of Islam bestowed freedom and independence upon its followers to such an extent that they acted for a long time as the torch‑bearers of civiliza­tion, knowledge, arts and sciences. A great number of the works of Muslims in the fields of arts and sciences are still alive and bear witness to this fact. In conceiving and executing its programmes Islam does not derive inspiration from any other school of thought, hence Muslims are not required to follow any other ideology. Therefore, a government can be called Islamic in case it endeavours to safeguard the independence of the Islamic Ummah, and if all its plans and programmes are derived from no other source except the school of Divine revelation. It organizes all its internal and external policies on the lines which ensure self‑sufficiency of the Islamic Ummah, as a whole, in the spheres of science, industry, technology, economics, agriculture and military arms, and liberates it from the shackles of foreign alliances and dependence on alien powers. Such a policy demands independent thinking based on the Islamic ideology and a staunch resolution to implement this policy. All the planning of the Islamic government must be conceived in strict adherence to the Islamic teachings with a view to protecting and strengthening the independence of the Muslim Ummah. If a government fails to give foremost priority to these objectives in its internal and external policies, it does not deserve to be called `Islamic' in any sense of the word.