Mike Lima
Before the onset of Islam the world especially the Arabian Peninsula was living in the darkness of ignorance where tribes used to shed blood for hundreds of years on petty disputes like loosing a horse race etc. The light of Islam not only brought peace to the warring tribes in Arab but also to the entire area which came under the jurisdiction of the Islamic State and under the umbrella of Islam they all experienced peace, harmony, justice and the rule of law. It is not very far back even the recent history when the so called civilised society of today was busy in shedding the blood, conquering and colonising continent after the continent and ended the World War- II by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people and incapacitating even the coming generations; the same “civilised society” is busy even today in bombing and killing innocent people in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Burma, Gaza and Indian Occupied Kashmir.
The last prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) has been introduced by Quran as “Mercy for all worlds”. He never took revenge from staunchest of his enemies and on conquest of Mecca forgave even the murderer of his uncle Hamza ( Allah’s blessings be upon him) and all those who had been torturing him before migration to Medina and due to his single noble characteristic of forgiveness many tribes embraced Islam. All believers of Islam, in their humble capacity, love their prophet ( peace be upon him) more than everything else in this world; even more than their lives. Pakistan is the only Muslim State which came into being in the name and on the ideology of Islam. The Objective Resolution which is the preamble to our constitution makes it mandatory for all laws in Pakistan to be in line with Quran and Sunnah. All Muslims solemnly believe that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the last of all prophets and there is no prophethood after him. However, this is also an unfortunate reality that majority of Muslims have forgotten the teachings and very spirit of Quran and Sunnah and are far from implementing these teachings in their day to day practical lives.
Law regarding the respect, dignity and honour of the Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him) is quite explicit and no one in Pakistan whether Muslim or non Muslim is allowed to cross the limits and commit blasphemy and if proven guilty blasphemy is an act punishable by death. The government and people of Pakistan have always condemned and protested all the blasphemous acts committed by the West in the name of so called freedom of expression; the recent such attempt by a Dutch parliamentarian was successfully foiled by the protest lodged by the government of Pakistan. The government of Pakistan itself had to take back amendments in the nomination papers for members of constituent assemblies under the unanimous protest by the entire nation. Off late, sequel to a decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan to acquit one Asia Bibi from the death penalty by the Session and High Courts on the charges of blasphemy saw a violent reaction by the followers of Tehreek e Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah which caused huge losses to the public and private properties. The protesters not only blamed judges and the government for the release of Asia Bibi but also went on to instigate officers and men of Pakistan Army to revolt against their Chief of Army Staff, General Bajwa.
The videos that went viral on social media are horrifying where the protesters, in the name of love of the prophet( peace be upon him), were seen blocking the highways, killing innocent people, burning public vehicles and even looting fruit vendors in complete disregard to teachings and Sunnah of the Rehmatul LilAalameen. The reality is that it was purely an independent judicial decision in which the Supreme Court bench headed by the Chief Justice acquitted death sentence of Asia Bibi on the charges of blasphemy and the government or Army had virtually no role in this decision. It is very unfortunate that though the leadership of Pakistan Army wants and have proven a number of times to remain away from the politics and concentrate on defending the physical and ideological boundaries of our sacred motherland but the protesters spare no chance to drag Pakistan Army into every good or bad act of government or judiciary. The spokesperson of Army has strongly condemned the illegitimate rhetoric of protesters and made it amply clear that Pakistan Army and its leadership believe in the finality of Prophethood of Muhammad( peace be upon him) and reject the blames of the mob for involvement or any role of Pakistan Army in acquittance of Asia Bibi from the death penalty. Director General ISPR also made it clear that Pakistan Army supports the lodging of review petition and putting the name of Asia Bibi on the Exit Control List till the final decision on review petition. We as a nation will have to learn to respect the rule of law and refrain from taking law in our hands every now and then. Killing, burning and looting of public and private properties in the name of expressing love for the prophet (peace be upon him) is far from His Sunnah and teachings. May Allah guide us all to the righteous path; the path of those people who were blessed by Allah and not of those who were punished and went astray from the right path, Ameen.
