The latest happening that concerns Muslims is that of
the demolishing of Buddhist statues in Afghanistan by
the Taliban. In addition to the uproar raised by
non-Muslims, some Muslims have also criticized and
denounced this action by the Taliban and have stated
that this action is against the teachings of Islam.
How should you and I view this action of the Taliban?
What are the various perspectives against which this
issue needs to be studied? And what do the Qur’an and
the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) have to offer in
terms of guidance in this context?
Please examine the following points and form your own
conclusion:
- The Taliban have not demolished Buddhist temples or
monasteries. No place of worship has been harmed. Nor
have they entered homes of non-Muslims and compelled
them to accept or practice Islam. Only statues in
public places are being demolished. Thus, the Taliban
are following the injunctions of the Qur’an (109: 126
as well as 2:256).
The Qur’an says at 109:126 “Say: O you that reject
Faith! I worship not that which you worship, nor will
you worship that I worship. And I will not worship
that which you have been wont to worship. To you be
your way and to me mine.”
The Qur’an says at 2:256 “Let there be no compulsion
in religion: Truth stands out Clear from Error”.
-
Buddha never stated, “I am God. Worship me”. Nor
did he instruct or ask that his statues be built and
worshipped. -
None of the authentic Buddhist scriptures prescribe
or encourage idol worship. -
Destroying statues and idols is not a ‘fard’ (an
obligatory act), but it is ‘mustahib’ (a recommended
act). Therefore any Muslim who condemns this act and
decision of the Taliban is wrong in his condemnation.
The least such a Muslim can do is to keep his mouth
shut and not denounce this action. Such Muslims should
read the books of ‘seerah’ – the life of the Prophet.
After the conquest of Makkah by the Prophet Muhammad
and the Muslims, Makkah and the Ka’bah were completely
purged of idolatry - all idols and statues were
destroyed publicly. For humans should only obey and
worship the Creator: the One True God and not His
Creation. The Taliban are courageous in following this
Sunnah.
'Alee ibn Abee Taalib reported that the Prophet
Muhammad ordered him to demolish all idols he came
across, deface all statues and pictures and to level
all elevated graves – graves that were more than a
palm’s width high with the surrounding earth. Sahih
Muslim, English, Vol. 2, hadeeth no. 2115 at pg. No.
459; Sunan Abu Daawood, English,Vol.2, hadeeth no.
3212 at pg. 914 – 915. Also reported by an-Nasaa’ee
and at-Tirmidhee.
-
The biggest sin in the sight of Allah is ‘shirk’ –
associating partners with Allah and worshipping idols
and statues. This is one sin that Allah says he will
never forgive. The Qur’an says at 4:116 “Allah
forgives not (the sin of) joining other gods with him;
but he forgives whom He pleases sins other than this:
one who joins gods with Allah, has strayed far, far
away (from the Right).” -
Even Prophet Abraham (pbuh) had destroyed idols and
statues worshipped by his own father and by his
community. See the Qur’an 21: 57 – 58 -
If any staunch Hindu would purchase a house
previously owned by a Muslim and if that house had a
carving or sculpture work depicting the Ka’bah or the
prophet’s mosque on the walls or pillars of this
house, what would this Hindu do? Would he not demolish
these carvings? -
If you, a Muslim, were to purchase a house that has
idols and statues, of various gods and goddesses of
Hindu mythology, carved on its walls or pillars, would
you not demolish these and keep your own house free
from such abominations?
The Prophet Muhammad stated, “Certainly angels do not
enter houses in which pictures and statues are
present.” Sahih Al-Bukhari, English, Vol. 7, hadeeth
no. 838 at pg. 542, and also hadeeth no. 844 at pg.
545-6; Also Sahih Muslim, English, Vol. 3, pg. 1158,
hadeeth no. 5254.
-
The Taliban are actually helping neighbouring India
and nearby Nepal in following the Hindu and Buddhist
religious scriptures. Why? Because many Hindu
scriptures have ample number of verses that denounce
idol worship. And because Buddha never described God
nor did he ask his followers to worship God or to
worship him (Buddha). Please see the footnotes for
quotations and references. -
Hindus, who worship Ganapati, keep the statue of
this Hindu god in their house for about ten days
during the ‘Ganapati season or festival’ and later –
later they themselves with their own hands throw these
idols into the dirty water of lakes, rivers,
ocean-fronts and water tanks. On being submerged in
water, these idols break and fall apart. By merely
labeling this act as ‘immersion’ does not change the
fact that these idols are disposed off by throwing
them in water. The worshippers of the Hindu goddess
Durga do a similar thing at the time of the Durga Puja
in West Bengal. -
When cocaine is seized from smugglers and drug
peddlers, the entire quantity of cocaine is burnt and
destroyed even if it is worth millions of dollars in
the market. Because cocaine is harmful for humans. So
are statues and idols. Hence they are to be destroyed
irrespective of the so called ‘cultural and heritage
value’. Only when gold is seized, it is recycled
because it has value. -
When communism fell in the Soviet Union, huge and
prominent statues of Lenin and Stalin were demolished.
Why were they not a part of the ‘great world
heritage’? -
When the government changes hands from one
political party to another in any state of India,
portraits and photo frames of political leaders are
changed overnight on the basis of political
affiliation. -
Some Hindus may ask, “How would it feel if Hindus
were to destroy mosques in India?” Firstly, India is a
democratic and secular country. Even if it were a
Hindu state, no Hindu scripture says that any place of
worship or any object of worship should be demolished.
Places of worship are distinct from objects of
worship. Muslims do not have any objects of worship.
Muslims worship Almighty God alone. When Muslims do
not have any ‘object of worship’, where does the
question of demolishing their ‘object of worship’
arise?
The Prophet Muhammad stated, “All the earth is a
masjid except graveyards and toilets.” Sunan Abu
Daawood, English, Vol. 1, pg. 125, no. 492; also
reported by at-Tirmidhee and Ibn Maajah.
-
Only the Creator is worthy of worship and
obedience and not His Creation. So all objects of
worship need to be demolished whenever the appropriate
opportunity arises. -
One of the Islamic countries that has for several
years been boldly and publicly prohibiting the worship
of idols and statues in its territory as well as entry
of statues and idols into its country is the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia. We appreciate this country for its
bold and uncompromising stand on this issue. We are
happy that the Taliban are following suit. -
Smoking is bad for the physical health of humans.
Hence smoking is now banned in public places in
several countries. Islam forbids smoking. Similarly,
statues and idols are bad for the spiritual and mental
health of humans. The Taliban are removing statues
from public places.
Please note that the Ka’bah in Makkah is not an object
of worship as misunderstood by many non-Muslims. Look
at its shape. It is a cubical structure and not an
idol or a statue. The Ka’bah is for providing a sense
of direction to all Muslims in their worship of the
One True God.
The Taliban are doing an act appreciated in Islam. An
act recommended by Islam. Why are Muslims afraid of
‘repercussions’? In Allah let the believers put their
trust. He is the best to Help and the best to Protect.
Those afraid of repercussions need to get their
priorities right and need to refresh their Eimaan by
reflecting on what the Qur’an says in 9:24
Muslims need to stand up for truth, speak the truth
and be witnesses to the truth. Truth is what the
Qur’an states and what the Prophet has recommended –
truth is not shaped by personal opinions of
‘intellectuals’ and politicians or by world opinion.
The big outcry is but a part of a continuous struggle
between:
Revealed religion Vs Mythology, fairy tales,
folklore and man-made religions
Truth Vs Falsehood
Worship of the Creator Vs Worship of the Created, of
Creatures and of figments of imagination
The Religion of Truth Vs Deviations from Truth
Tawheed Vs Shirk
Don’t be ashamed. Don’t be embarassed. Use this issue
as an opportunity to do Da’wah with your non-Muslim
friends and colleagues.
Please send this note to:
(a) At least three of your close friends, and request
them in turn to send it to three friends of theirs and
so on.
(b) At least three Islamic centers, organizations and
associations
(c) At least three Islamic magazines and publications
(d) Your local leading dailies and major newspapers
(e) And of course, please put this up on your web site
or home page.
May Allah help the Taliban and all Muslims world wide
in our efforts to bring the masses to Tawheed – the
obedience and worship of the One True God alone.
Aameen.
JazakAllah.
A MUSLIM
Also see footnotes . . . .
FOOTNOTES:
(A) Consider the following verse from the Bhagwad
Gita:
“Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material
desires surrender unto demigods and follow the
particular rules and regulations of worship according
to their own natures.”
[Bhagavad Gita 7:20]
(B) The following verse from the Upanishad alludes to
the inability of man to imagine God in a particular
form:
“Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati
kas canainam.”
“His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the
eye.”
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]
(C) The following verses from the Yajurveda echo a
similar concept of God:
i) “na tasya pratima asti”
“There is no image of Him.”
[Yajurveda 32:3]
ii) “shudhama poapvidham”
“He is bodiless and pure.”
[Yajurveda 40:8]
iii) “Andhatama pravishanti ye asambhuti mupaste”
“They enter darkness, those who worship the
natural elements” (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). “They sink
deeper in darkness, those who worship sambhuti.”
[Yajurveda 40:9]
Sambhuti means created things, for example table,
chair, idol, etc.
(D) The Brahma Sutra of Hinduism is:
“Ekam Brahm, dvitiya naste neh na naste kinchan”
“There is only one God, not the second; not at all,
not at all, not in the least bit.”
TEACHINGS OF BUDDHA:
The principal teachings of Gautama Buddha can be
summarised in what the Buddhists call the ‘Four Noble
Truths’:
First – There is suffering and misery in life.
Second – The cause of this suffering and misery is
desire.
Third – Suffering and misery can be removed by
removing desire.
Fourth – Desire can be removed by following the Eight
Fold Path.
ABSENCE OF THE CONCEPT OF GOD IN BUDDHISM
Buddha was silent about the existence or non-existence
of God. Buddhism provided Dhamma or the ‘impersonal
law’ in place of God. Many scholars consider the
evolution of the concept of Buddha as a god or as an
object of worship within Buddhism as an effect of
Hinduism.
BUDDHAS ARE ONLY PREACHERS:
According to the Dhammapada, Sacred Books of East
volume 10 pg., 67:
“The Jathagatas (Buddhas) are only Preachers.”
This confirms the age-old tendency amongst humans to
deify and worship those human beings who have been
preachers and reformers. Gautam Buddha never claimed
to be God nor did he ask or instruct that he should be
worshipped in any way or form.