“TRUE PROPONENT OF AN ISLAMIC
REPUBLIC”
25th December 2014 is 138th birth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali
Jinnah(R.A), Founder of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Let us study the life,
works, and message of Quaid-e-Azam and implement his guidelines and legacies in
letter and spirit. Quaid e Azam is best described by Professor Stanley Wolpret
in his book ‘Jinnah of Pakistan’ as: “Few individuals significantly alter the
course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be
credited with creating a nation-state. Muhammad Ali Jinnah did all three.” Quaid
e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876 - 1948) was an ardent supporter and a strong
proponent of a separate state for Muslims of the sub-continent based on Islamic
values and teachings. The able leadership and struggle of Quaid e Azam Muhammad
Ali Jinnah, culminating in the creation of Pakistan on 14th August 1947 as an
independent Islamic republic, brought unprecedented vitality to the Muslims of
the sub-continent producing in its wake an Islamic renaissance and Islamic
idealism. Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s pre-occupation with political issues left him
little time to devote himself to writing; but his speeches and sayings have been
compiled by his staff and admirers into a series of volumes. Most of his
speeches and reflections are all permeated with the need to establish an Islamic
Republic for the 100 million Muslims of British India. Muhammad Ali Jinnah
firmly believed in Islam as a ‘dynamic religion and a way of life’. “The
discipline of the Ramadan fasting and prayers will culminate today in an
immortal meekness of the heart before God”, he said in a broadcast speech on Eid
day, “but it shall not be the meekness of a week heart, and they who would think
so are doing wrong both to God and to the Prophet. For it is the outstanding
paradox of all religions that the humble shall be the strong, and it is of
particular significance in the case of Islam. For Islam, as you all know, really
means action. This discipline of Ramadan was designed by our Prophet to give us
the necessary strength for action.”
Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s passion for Islam had a long lasting impact
on the minds and souls of the 100 million Muslims struggling for a separate
Muslim state, turning their intellectual activities towards tackling traditional
Islamic ideals in terms of modern standards and requirements. Religion for
Muhammad Ali Jinnah implied not only as a duty towards God but also as a duty to
Mankind. “Man has indeed been called God’s caliph in the Quran, and if that
description of man is to be of any significance, it imposes upon us a duty to
follow Quran, to behave towards others as God behaves towards his mankind, in
the widest sense of word, His duty is to love and to forebear. If we have any
faith and love for tolerance towards God’s creations, to whatever community they
belong, we much act upon that faith in daily round of our simple duties and
unobtrusive pieties. It is a great ideal and it will demand effort and
sacrifice. Not seldom will your minds be assailed by doubts. There will be
conflicts not only material, which you perhaps will be able to resolve with
courage, but spiritual also. We shall have to face them and if today, when our
hearts are humble we do not imbibe that higher courage to do so, we never
shall.” At the inaugural session of Jamiat Ulema Islam in Calcutta in November,
1945, Maulana Ghulam Murshid, Imam of Badshahi Mosque, Lahore, met with Quaid e
Azam and received a definite assurance from him that the injunctions of the Holy
Quran alone would be the basis of law in the Muslim state. In a letter to Pir
Sahib of Manki Sharif in November 1945, Quaid e Azam said, “it is needless to
emphasise that the Constituent Assembly which would be pre-dominantly Muslim in
its composition, would be able to enact laws for Muslims, not inconsistent with
the Shariah laws, and the Muslims will no longer be obliged to abide by the un
Islamic laws.” In a public meeting with Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani in June
1947, the Quaid vehemently assured that an Islamic constitution would be
implemented in Pakistan. Speaking on a reform scheme at Sibbi Darbar on 4th
February 1948, Quaid e Azam proclaimed: “In proposing this scheme, I have had
one underlying principle in mind, the principle of Muslim democracy. It is my
belief that our salvation lies in following the golden rule of conduct set for
us by our great law-giver the Prophet of Islam. Let us lay the foundations of
our democracy on the basis of truly Islamic ideals and principles”. In a
broadcast talk to the people of Australia, in February 1948, the Quaid spoke of
the Islamic characteristics of Pakistani society in these words:
“The great majority of us are Muslims. We follow the teachings of the Prophet
Muhammad (SAW). We are members of the brotherhood of Islam in which all are
equal in rights, dignity and self respect. Not only are most of us Muslims but
we have our own history, customs and traditions and those ways of thought,
outlook and instinct who go to make up a sense of nationality.” In a radio
broadcast to the people of the United States of America in February 1948, he
spoke of Islamic system of government to be adopted in Pakistan. “The
constitution of Pakistan has yet to be framed by the Pakistan Constituent
Assembly. I do not know what the ultimate shape of this constitution is going to
be, but I am sure that it will be of a democratic type, embodying the essential
principles of Islam. Today they are as applicable in actual life as they were
1,300 years ago. Islam and its idealism have taught us democracy. It has taught
equality of man, justice and taught us democracy. It has taught equality of man,
justice and fair play to every body. We are the inheritors of these glorious
traditions and are fully alive to our responsibilities and obligations as
framers of the future constitution of Pakistan”. Whenever Quaid e Azam Muhammad
Ali Jinnah got an opportunity to speak on Islam, he advocated a rational
approach. “In the pursuit of truth and the cultivation of beliefs,” he said, “we
should be guided by our rational interpretation of the Quran, and if our
devotion to truth is single-minded, we shall, in our own measure, achieve our
goal. In the translation of this truth into practice, however, we shall be
content with so much, as so much only, as we can achieve without encroaching on
the rights of others, while at the same time not ceasing our efforts always to
achieve more. “In another context, the great Quaid remarked: “The test of
greatness is not the culture of stone and pillar and pomp but the culture of
humanity, the culture of equality. Only a man who is dead to all the finer
instincts of humility and civilization can call a religion based on exploitation
a heritage.” Muhammad Ali Jinnah was out spoken in his condemnation of
reactionary elements which generate negative tendencies. Dealing with the
contribution of Pakistan movement towards eradication of fundamentalism, the
great Quaid said: “We have to, a great extent, free our people from the most
undesirable reactionary elements. We have in no small degree removed the
unwholesome influence and fear of a certain section that used to pass off as
Islamic fundamentalists”. The great Quaid Muhammad Ali Jinnah championed the
cause of womanhood, advocating for women an equal share with men in social and
national life as per the Islamic teachings. “In the great task of building the
nation and maintaining its solidarity, women have a most
valuable part to play. They are prime architects of the character of the youth
who constitute the backbone of the state. I know that in the long struggle for
achievement of Pakistan, Muslim women have stood solidly behind their men. In
the bigger struggle for the building up of Pakistan that now lies ahead let it
not be said that the women of Pakistan had lagged behind or failed in their
duty.” Like a true Muslim, the great Quaid was incorruptible. The Last British
Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten rightfully admitted when he said: “I tried every trick
I could play to shake Jinnah’s resolve. Nothing would move him from his
consuming determination to realize the dream of Pakistan.” QUAID E AZAM MUHAMMAD
ALI JINNAH (R.A) WAS INDEED A TRUE PROPONENT OF AN ISLAMIC REPUBLIC. LET US
STUDY QUAID’S MESSAGE AND WORK TOWARDS PAKISTAN’S PROGRESS AND SOLIDARITY.