Some time ago, I received an email
from an old student. One of its paragraphs read:
Sir, I belong to the Marxist school of thought.
Therefore, naturally I’m in favour of a communist / socialist society.
But I’m not a dogmatist. I always try to keep myself sensitive to criticism.
And I think that this is the right approach to Marxism: to scientifically
and to objectively analyse the human society, without any personal (or
at least minimum) biases. However, I’m a Muslim as well ...
Seeing an opportunity to comment on Marxism,
I replied in the following way:
When you say that you are a Marxist as well as
a Muslim, you are making a statement which is internally contradictory.
You are either one or the other. Because Marxism, the little I understand
it, has a complete philosophy on life; likewise has Islam. Their respective
philosophies do not coincide at all; in fact, they are poles apart. However,
that doesn’t mean that a good Muslim cannot be impressed by any of the
Marxist ideas at all. What cannot however happen is that you accept both
philosophies at the same time. Either we have been created purposefully
by God or we accidentally came into being by a chance interplay of some
indefinable physical forces. How can both understandings be simultaneously
correct. Either God has sent own His message to guide us or He hasn’t.
Both can’t be simultaneously correct assertions. Therefore, I would like
you to be clear about your correct position. As a Marxist too, you might
accept (or tolerate) some aspects of Islam; but what you will accept would
not be true Islam; its going to be just bits and pieces of it.
This was his reply:
Most of the time when I talk about Marxism to
people, even if they objectively agree with me, they end up saying that
it is ‘un-Islamic’, or, ‘some / all of its ideas are in contradiction with
Islamic principles’, or, ‘capitalism is more in line with Islamic principles
than socialism’. I have really tried to think over this problem but have
not come to a final conclusion. So far, I have not been able to see any
fundamental contradictions between Islamic principles of societal organisation
and that enshrined in a socialist system.
This was my response:
As I have mentioned in my previous reply, it
may be possible that you find that there are some apparent similarities
in the two approaches. That would not make you a Marxist. It would just
be by default. The fact that I find some good aspects in the personality
of Abu Jahal (and there were most certainly some in him) doesn’t
mean that I should declare that my ideals are both Muhammad (sws) and Abu
Jahal. I would feel ashamed of being bracketed with the latter because
of the basic blunder he committed. Likewise, in case of Marxism, if I find
some good aspects in it, I would have no hesitation in mentioning that
they are good because they are consistent with the spirit of Islam. However,
I’ll be very careful in ensuring that my fascination with Marxism is not
influencing my understanding of Islam. That would mean that I am distorting
the message of God because I would like it to appear more acceptable to
Marxism. There is a real danger of doing just that when your mind is unclear
about its ideals.
This was his reply:
I would then like to pose a question to you:
‘How is a socialist system in contradiction with an Islamic system?’
My answer to his query was :
Marxism, I believe, conflicts with Islamic teachings,
apart from many other areas, in the following important aspects of its
understanding:
1. In its fundamental understanding of the origins of
man and the universe.
2. In its refusal to grant to the individual the right
to own property.
3. In its attitude of creating hatred in some men against
some others.
4. In its assumption that man can work effectively even
without personal incentives. (This is something that has already been proven
wrong by the unsuccessful socialist experiment of the deceased USSR)
5. In its approach of granting a status to Karl Marx that
belongs only to the prophets of Allah.
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