The world of testimony is based on the presence; either the physical or the presence in front of Allah in the other world.
God says: “And it is He who created the heavens and earth in truth. And the day He says, ‘Be,’ and it is, His word is the truth. And His is the dominion (on) the Day the Horn is blown. (He is) Knower of the unseen and the witnessed; and He is the Wise, the Acquainted.” (Verse N° 73 Al Anaam – The Cattle)
And he says: “On the Day when Allah will resurrect them all and inform them of what they did. Allah had enumerated it, while they forgot it; and Allah is, over all things, Witness.” (Al Mujadlah; Verse N° 6)
The witness in people world would be present as he may be absent. Thus he abstains from testimony. Indeed, the presence is two types, a negative one and a beneficial one. It must be a good one and not harmful. The witness must testify what he saw, heard or knew. For example, he may be asked to testify in front of court to end a disagreement between two sides. The second type is another kind based on the witness’ attitude. The example that can be given is the attitude of Moses in front of the pharaoh. He witnessed that God (Allah) is one. God says “And Moses said, ‘O pharaoh, I am a messenger from the Lord of worlds (who is) obligated not to say about Allah except the truth. I have come to you with clear evidence from your lord, so send with me the children of Israel.’” (Verses N° 104-105 Alaaraf)
Many situations of great men and women can be included in this type of testimony. Both Ammar’s parents; Yasser and Soumia, were present to testify and they were martyrs. El Aarbi Ben M’hidi, the Algerian hero, was, also, present to testify and be a martyr. Indeed, when they remind him of the Two Words (elchahadetein), he said: “You remind me of the two words. I am dying for it.” Notice that testimony included both death and martyrdom.
God says: “And whether you die or are killed, unto Allah you will be gathered” (Verse 158, Eel Imran) and He says: “And if you are killed in the cause of Allah or die- then forgiveness from Allah and mercy are better than whatever they accumulate (in this world).” (Verse 157, Eel Imran)
Thus, the martyrdom comes from believing, isn’t it? This is what we must agree on from the beginning. Believing is the source of martyrdom in our life. In the contrary, are those who bomb themselves in a market, neighbourhood, or in a police station martyrs? Do they believe? Where does believing or martyrdom lie? This behaviour is not acceptable by any religion, any prophet or any good man. This behaviour means that he does not believe. He is not a martyr. He made himself and other people absent without reason. He is absent from our life. Those innocent people will testify against him.
The issue is that we badly understand this concept because we have not the good context that comes from analysing the Quran and Mohammed’s biography. Those later must be analysed in a good way; the way God asked us to follow in the verse of Aalalak when he said read.
And we have to read the verse 117 the Table (Al Maida): “I said not to them except what You commanded me – to worship Allah, my lord and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness.”
It is clear for whom he wants to read and understand what does he means by (As long as I was among them). Is it related to our world or the other world? And when he says (You were the Observer over them); is it related to our world or the other world? Can we read the verse 143 Al- Bakaara The cow and understand it (And thus we have made you a just community that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you).
We need to communicate with Professor Malek Ben Nabi’s ideas and thoughts to understand his sadness when Pakistan was separated from India.
If you analyse the event very well, you’ll conclude that is related to the worlds of justness.
Our Professor Ben Nabi analysed the issue in a perfect way. The secret was that he took himself out from all temptations related to the Forbidden Tree. He overtook that the issue is related to the world of witness and worshipping. Indeed, God says (But when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness.). Ben Nabi read and read the issue of witness related to people world. He concluded that man’s message is to worship God.
In this point, I may say that whom he had a bad witness and presence in our world, he would have a bad presence in the other word.
I come back to Malek’s attitude and I wonder again about his sadness when Pakistan was separated from India. There were two nations instead of one. There became two units instead of one. And we ask ourselves. How can we separate between brothers and neighbours? Did the Prophet (PBUH) do such things? How did he deal with his tribe? How did he preserve his society? Such questions need to be analysed very well.
Malek’s attitude is based on his presence. What about Pakistan after the separation? What about people there? What about India after the separation? What about people there? What is the relation of both of them with the world of martyrdom after the separation? From the separation until now, people in Pakistan are in confusion because they are away from justness that God asked us to follow. Both their unified country and the separated one were narrower from them. You know why? The matter is related to justness. They made a wrong choice when they didn’t accept their brothers in religion and country. This mistake can be related to slavery or enslavement. Let’s come back to Pakistan. There are thousands of mosques and millions of religious books. However, there is no believing concept? And who make it absent? Was it the colonizer or being able to be colonized as Ben Nabi said?
We wake up every day upon the news of bombing and killing. Hundreds of innocent people die day after day. The responsible is absent any way. He is either a slave or an oppressor. He is absent from our world. He made himself absent and he made thousands of innocent people absent from our world. This is in Pakistan.
The people of India, in the other hand, were prevented from believing in the past. They are now in a great need for it. They were near it before the separation. They share the same race, language and traditions. They communicate easily. In the contrary, ten years later, the distance is farther.
Oh, people. Come back to Mohammed’s way and biography (sirat). Analyse the events; you’ll notice, without doubt, that there is no difference between his words (PBUH) and his deeds. He is the idol for the justness that the Curan mentioned in the verse N°143 the Cow (Al Bakaara): “And thus we have made you a just community that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you.” Thus, how will you testify? And upon whom? Where and with what? Are you ready? Where do you stand from yourself and from the others? What is the distance between your deeds and your words? What did you do in the world of witness? Or are you absent?
At this point I understand why Malek was sad and the others were happy? Coming back to Malek, I wonder about justness that the Quran mentioned. He answered this question years ago when he questioned about democracy and Islam. In other words, he questioned about the relation between Islam and democracy. What is his attitude from democracy? He proved that when he defined the justness in Islam, he considered it as the edge between slavery and enslavement. In fact, he said: the free man or the new man, who represents democracy, forms a positive edge between two negative.
This is the concept of believing that rules the concept of martyrdom and it has a relation with the concept of non-violence that rules the conflict.
Perfect is Allah. Mistake is human.
Bachir Djabelkhayr
9 June 2016
