By Nadia Naeem
As Imran Khan depicted the state of affairs inside the National Assembly and Senate…
A minister stands up on the floor of the house and starts accusing corruption allegations at another minister. The other minister, instead of defending himself and proving the accuser wrong, starts shouting back counter corruption allegations at the first minister. Consequently, both of them sit down and resume the session. Indeed, such are some of our extremely stupid and corrupt politicians.
It now seems that Arsalan Muhammed Chaudhry has decided to follow the same strategy and intends to malign Imran khan in his political career to counter the election rigging allegations that his father, Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry, has been accused of.
Arsalan Chaudhry has written to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and referred to Imran Khan’s past regarding a relationship involving a lady named Sita White and her daughter. He asks the CII whether such a man can pass the Article 62, 63 of the Constitution to qualify as a politician?
Duh, Arsalan Chaudhry, Imran Khan’s past is no secret. It is public information and he has never denied it. So will you, Arsalan Chaudhry, not bother to defend your father for the allegations leveled against him and beat about the bushes to take the attention away from the allegations? And do you, Arsalan Chaudhry, not have the evidence to prove your father innocent, so you will create a hue and cry of another issue, even if you have to dig out a graveyard?
Yes Imran Khan was not Islam-oriented in his youth. But eventually, he reverted from his previous lifestyle to Islam. He said, ‘Allah Almighty guided me and inspired me with real Faith the year I won the World Cup for Pakistan in 1992.’
Well, it is true that anybody can make such mushy-mushy claims, but as per Islamic scriptures and as per logic, the litmus test for the true Repentance of any person is that he changes his way of life from the past for good. Do you find Imran Khan dating women after he changed? In fact, he married and settled down. Ironically, even that one lady no longer stayed around in his life because she was harassed in Pakistan due to her foreign heritage and secondly, could not cope up with his political passion and commitment.
Political passion and commitment! Imran Khan has sacrificed his personal life, his married life and his children for the revolution of political awareness and reformation of his nation. Does he deserve to be kicked out of politics for something that happened around thirty years ago and for which he has sought sincere Repentance?
By Islam, sincere Repentance and reformation erases the deeds of the past. Although some sins, if legally proved, are punishable even if the person Repents to serve as a deterrent for others. But even for these, the classical scholars of Islam have said that when a very long period has passed over an episode, do not revive the buried matters, for reasons that may be discussed when necessary.
I would like to add a contemporary thought to this. For a non-Muslim reverting to Islam, all kinds and levels of past sins are automatically wiped out, for reverting to Islam in itself is the most supreme Repentance. A dilemma that the Muslim youngsters face is that since they are ‘born’ Muslims, and may not be Conscious Muslims or Muslims-by-choice, yet they are accounted for as such. I request the scholars of Islam to conceive this fine point and preach consideration for legal decisions regarding such individual Muslims, who were only ‘born’ Muslims and committed certain sins in ignorance, which are not considered sins in some cultures. In extreme judicial conditions, such as this one, such individuals may be considered as reverts to Islam and given a judicial verdict accordingly.
Last, but not the least, I would like to quote here an episode from the Islamic history. This episode is narrated for the background of the Quranic verse,
“O believers! Do not offer your Salah when you are drunk until you know what you are saying…”
[Al-Quran: An-Nisa 4:43]
This Holy Verse was revealed when the Sahaba RA were gathered at a party and wine had been served as was the custom of Arabia. The time for Maghrib prayers came and a very prominent Sahabi lead the prayers. However, because of the intoxication of the wine, he mixed up the verses and could not recite the prayers correctly. It was at this instance that this Holy Verse was revealed.
This prominent Sahabi later became one of the great Khalifas of the Muslim Rule. I am intentionally not mentioning the name of the Sahabi here, in respect of him and to avoid any hurt or misunderstanding on part of the readers as to the reason why I have quoted this episode. The complete episode can be read about in any book of Quranic Tafseer. My reference is the well-known Ma’ariful Quran by Mufti Muhammaet Shafi RH, father of the well-known, Mufti Taqi Usmani of Pakistan.
The purpose of mentioning this episode here is to prove that improper acts of the past do not blacken the future of a person forever. Although the Sahaba were drinking wine at a time when drinking had yet not been banned, nonetheless, they were drinking something that Islam abhors in itself. And Islamic history narrates that many among the great to-be-Muslims never touched wine even in their pre-Islamic days. However, some of the great to-be-Sahabas did and Allah Almighty did not hold it against them. Rather, it may be that Allah Almighty, in His Great Wisdom, let some such episodes to happen, to pave the way for the acceptance of Repentance after human error and deviation in the future generations of Muslims. Else, only those human beings and Muslims would have been honored throughout the passage of Islam who had been on the straight path right from the day they were born.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Dispatch News Desk. Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of Dispatch News Desk.
