Less Strict Muslims
In response to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s statements that Muslims in Singapore “should be less strict on Islamic observances.” (Click here to read full news article)
Less Strict Muslims: The Offer that RasululLah s.a.w. Refused to Take
by Abdul Halim Abdul Karim
It is unfortunate that responses to the now infamous statement by Mr Lee Kuan Yew have not been seen in the context of the experience of RasululLah s.a.w. Granted that there are many ways to respond to Mr. Lee’s statements but almost all of the responses so far falls into the trap of entering into the discourse of integration politics without recourse to Islamic political philosophy and its treatment towards the very idea of assimilation, integration and isolation – ideas and options that are borne out of the straight-jacket of Western socio-political framework.
Instead, it may be more instructive for us Muslims to look at the History (Seerah) of the life of our beloved Prophet. It is here that we find the call to be less strict in observing Islamic precepts was made early on in the time of Prophet Muhammad RasululLah s.a.w. Indeed, that call for the Muslims to be less strict was made into an offer to the Prophet s.a.w. This whole episode became the backdrop of the 109th surah of the Holy Qur’an, surah Al-Kafirun (The Unbelivers), the message of which is again instructive for us Muslims in the light of this call for us to somehow compromise our way of life.
At the time, the unhappiness of the pagan Arabs towards the growing popularity of Islam which undermines the long held tribal power-structure had made it impossible for the leaders of the Quraish to ignore Muhammad. They are now sure he was not a deluded madman that they accused him to be. Muhammad is becoming more and more influential. He has captured the imagination of a growing number of people and so, something needs to be done to undermine his influence. Why not bribe him? Surely every man has his price! The offer of women, wealth and position came swiftly but to their surprise, were summarily rejected by RasululLah s.a.w. Clearly a new stratagem is needed. Why not get him to compromise? Get him to be less strict in what he advocates? This is a definite win for the pagan Arabs whatever the outcome. If Muhammad compromises than the Quraish will win but if he does not compromise he will look bad and the Quraish will look good because we, thought the Quraish, will show that we were the ones willing to compromise!
The Quraish were cunning. They were fully aware that the message of Tauhid brought by Prophet Muhammad asserts the exclusivity of worship to Allah swt alone. With more than 300 idols to pick from as focus of worship, to the Arabs of Quraish, such exclusivity is an affront to their way of life. Somehow, if Muhammad could agree to also accept these idols even at the cost of the Quraish also accepting Muhammad’s God, a real compromise would have been achieved. On the part of the pagan Arabs, accepting another god, the God of Muhammad, into the pantheon of gods of the pagans would not mean much – adding one more god is indeed a small price to pay but would appear to be a magnanimous gesture indeed.
And thus, as History tells us, the pagan Arabs came with the offer, “O Muhammad, what say you that we worship your God for a day and you worship our Gods the following day in turns?” Now, this tit-for-tat compromise seems most rational and Just – a fair and level playing field of mutual acceptance – a brilliant idea! It must have come as a surprise to them that the Messenger of Allah swt refused. The Pagan Arabs then went back to discuss and plot some more. On their part, they were willing to “compromise” even more! They came to the Prophet again. “We offer to pray to your God for a week and in return you pray to our gods for only a day!”. The Prophet again replied with an emphatic, “No.” Not to be discouraged, the Quraish made yet another offer to the Prophet, “We call upon your God for a whole year and in return you are to worship our Gods for only a day, what say you?”. Surely Muhammad cannot refuse! But yet again, reflecting the resolve of maintaining the ultimate exclusivity of Islam, Prophet Muhammad saw refused the offer to be less strict in upholding Tawhid. This event which became the backdrop to the revelation of the above-mentioned surah of the Qur’an illustrates to us how this call to be less strict is a stratagem of the Non-Muslim to dilute the role, practices and principles of Islam in the lives of Muslims.
It seems that the recent call to be less strict is aimed at changing the dynamics of inter-religious relationships in the guise of a compromise. Thus, it now seems more crucial than ever we recount and reflect the event narrated above which details the efforts of the pagan Arabs to call for Muslims to be less strict in observing Islam. We need to revisit the lessons to be learnt and the example shown by the Prophet Muhammad in the face of such a call.
The Prophet was neither apologetic nor even sympathetic to the overtures of the pagan Arabs. Indeed, he did not entertain the seemingly logical offer of compromising the basic tenets of Islam. There was no sign of even hinting that the pagan Arabs could be right afterall. Instead of such vacillation, the Prophet was clear and adamant about not being less strict in upholding Islam. Indeed being less strict does not make sense. The truth of Islam is such that falling short of it is as false as going overboard.
As soon as you have finished reading this, please pick up the Qur’an and read Surah Al-Kafirun, reflect upon its meaning and think for a moment about its message. May Allah swt guide us! Amin Ya Rabb!
Also, the following is a comment made by Ustaz Noor Deros on a separate person’s fb note:
This is a quote from his new book, to put things in the right perspective :
“I think the Muslims socially do not cause any trouble, but they are distinct and separate. The generation that worked with me - Othman Wok, Rahim Ishak - that was before the wave came sweeping back, sweeing them… We drank beer… we ate together.” (Quoted by brother Khairu Rejal)
This is the integration he is talking about…
To further support this : Yoursdp.org article
“Encik Othman Wok, the then minister-in-charge of Muslim affairs had publicly said that he doubted there is such a thing as the hereafter (life after death), which is one of the pillars of the Islamic faith.
My late father, who was then the President of MUIS, told me that he had gone to see him to tell him that as a Muslim and minister of Muslim affairs he should not have said such a thing.
Mr Othman Wok’s reply was that he was only expressing his personal opinion. He was nevertheless told that it was wrong for him to express it publicly and that he should keep his personal opinion to himself.”
Another quote :
“I would say today, we can integrate all religions and races except Islam.”
Notice, Islam, not Muslims. What he meant by “need to be less strict” is; need to leave Islam… the jubah is a periphery issue, it is just one of many examples he gave that the media chose to publish. Notice that he touched on issues like inter-marriage and…drinking beer (as quoted).
From this we may make a logical deduction; what he meant by “less strict” was…we have to leave Islam…or change it. With this, we need to show our resistance wisely, not melatah nor show how naive we are.
