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P. 132

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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