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The Unfinished Agenda
Why has there been this failure? A verse from the Quran
throws light on this matter. It says:
‘You will overcome them if you are indeed believers.’
(3:139)
There are many such verses in the Quran which tell us that
success in this world is for one who follows the law of nature
set by the Creator. Those who go against the law of nature
can never be successful in their endeavours. The law of nature
applies to everyone—be it Muslims or any other group.
According to the law of nature, a universal principle is
that, in this world, political power cannot be the monopoly
of any particular group – it will sometimes be in the hands
of one group and, at other times, in the hands of some other
group. This principle is stated more than once in the Quran.
For example, at one place the Quran says:
‘Lord, sovereign of all sovereignty. You bestow
sovereignty on whom You will and take it away from
whom You please.’ (3:26)
According to this principle, not being able to achieve one’s
goal, in spite of resorting to war, shows that one has been
engaged in a wrong war—trying to achieve something which,
according to divine law, was impossible to achieve. In such a
situation, beginning a war may be permissible for a group, but
continuing with war is not at all justifiable.
It is possible for a group to wage war because of having
made a wrong assessment of the situation. But when it comes
to know that, despite all the wastage of life and property, it
is failing to be successful in the path it has adopted, it should
immediately abandon this path and follow the right path.
In this matter, a wrong beginning can be forgiven, but not
subsequently opting for the right goal is quite unforgiveable.
These days various groups among Muslims are fighting for
the fulfilment of an unfinished agenda. But events show that
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