Rape
is a Crime Against Humanity
.... By Shahid
Athar, USA*
Recently, the brutal rape followed by death of a medical student in a
moving bus by a gang of 8 men sent shock waves of protests and
soul-searching in Delhi and India. Rape of women has become not only a
widespread social crime but also a weapon of war and ethnic cleansing.
It does not matter who did it and why, it remains a serious crime. Rape
or forced sex, is not only a crime against the victim whether it be a
woman or minor, but a crime against the whole society and humanity. In
2012 US election, two otherwise popular candidates lost, because of
their comments about rape victims. One allegedly said “If a woman does
not want to be raped, she can shut her body”; the other said “a
pregnancy of rape is a gift from God”. Before that, Talibans issued a
statement that a husband has a right to force sex on his wife and in a
survey of male students in an American university about date rape, some
said “they have a right to have sex with the girl once they have paid
for the her dinner”. We need to educate men that rape is a
crime done by them and not a fault of women who are victims of the
crime.
On an individual level, rape is always about control, domination and
humiliation of the weaker sex. However, the rapist must
understand that it is he who is weak and not able to control himself,
he (or they in case of a gang rape) brings misery not only to the
victim, her family and community but also to himself, his
family, and his community. In the United States, about
200,000 rapes are committed annually and reported. Nearly the
same number is not reported. Girls as young as six are
kidnapped, raped and then murdered. Nearly 2/3rd of all criminals had
an alcoholic drink before committing such
crimes. 
What needs to be done?
Law enforcement and uniform application of law is priority.
Women and children must be protected by the Government which takes the
responsibility to do so. Unfortunately, this does not happen
all the time and sometimes if the criminals belong to a powerful tribal
landlord or have political connection, then they can escape the
punishment. On the other hand, in the Western society, it is not the
tribal laws which prevail but it is the rules of the lawyers and the
rich who can manipulate the law in the defense of the
criminals.
However, women must not rely totally on the protection of the law
enforcement agencies but take their defense into their own
hands. One way of defense is to do their best to avoid such
situations and parties where intoxicants/ drugs can be introduced to
them that can change their consciousness. In addition, they
should learn self-defense, like martial arts, to protect themselves if
possible.
The most important aspect of rape prevention is education of men and
especially young boys, to respect women so that when they grow up they
do not become criminals. They must learn to treat women with
the same respect as they would their mothers and sisters. It
is reported that a young man approached Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and
said “I am addicted to adultery and I cannot give it
up”. The Prophet (PBUH ) asked him “Do you have a
mother”? And he said, “Yes”. Then the Prophet (PBUH ) said
“Do you approve of another man to have illegal sex with your
mother”? The young man said “No, and if I find out about it,
I will kill that man”. Then the Prophet (PBUH ) asked the
same question again giving an example of a sister and a wife and the
young man replies in the same way. Finally, the Prophet (PBUH
) said “The woman with whom you plan to commit adultery is also someone
else’s wife, mother, daughter or sister. If you do not
approve of another man to do it to your mother or wife, sister or
daughter, why would you allow yourself to do it to someone else’s
mother, wife, daughter or sister”? The man got the message,
repented, and gave up his addiction. The Prophet (PBUH ) put his hand
over the heart of the young man and prayed for him.
Islam tries to stop a sin at its inception, and not at the end. Thus,
instead of saying “Thou shall not commit adultery”, as mentioned in the
Bible, the Quran says “Thou shall not come near adultery”. Thus, in
Islam, everything which may lead to adultery is also prohibited. In the
same context is pornography, soft or hard, on TV, movies and internet
which is becoming more available in the world. It has
contributed to sexual crimes. Ted Bundy, the serial killer/
rapist, wrote in his memoirs from prison that pornography had
contributed to his addiction of killing women (42 of them) after
committing rape. So, not only social scientists, religious
scholars but also government officials must take a note of it and find
ways to combat this addiction in order to protect the victims of rape
as well as their communities at large.
Finally, those men in law enforcement agencies, who look the other way
when a crime is being committed, should also be taken to full account
as “being neutral to injustice is equal to participation in the
continuation of injustice”. Men of moral strength and faith
should stand up to protect all women, and not just their mothers,
daughters, sisters or wives.
“If you see an evil, stop it by your hand (power); if you cannot, then
by your tongue (speak against it); and if you cannot do it either, then
feel bad in your heart about it, that is the weakest of faith”- said
Prophet Mohammad (pbuh)
“God does not change condition of the people unless they strive to
change themselves” (Quran). Change begins with self. Venting out on the
street against government is just the beginning but once we assume
responsibility and change ourselves in the positive direction, we will
be able to change the society at large. “My fellow Americans, ask not
what your country can do for you, ask yourself what you can do for the
country” (Late President John F. Kennedy). Sure, we can change if we
want to. As late Senator Robert Kennedy said “Some see things as they
are and wonder why? While I see things as they are not and wonder why
not!”
-------------------
*
Dr. Athar is physician in Indianapolis, USA and can be reached via his
email sathar3624@aol.com webpage www.islam-usa.com
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Avoiding the
Satanic 'Intellect'
In the Name of Allâh, the Most
Beneficent, the Most Merciful
This was a piece of advice from Hamad bin 'Atiq an-Najdi to Muslims in
general, written around two hundred years ago. It finds itself very
relevant today.
"...And it should be known that intellect ('aql) is of three types:
• Natural intellect
• Faith-based intellect obtained from the
Prophetic light
• Satanic, hypocritical 'intellect'
And the possessors of this last type think they are something special,
and this type of intellect is found among many people - most of them,
in fact. It is the essence of ruin and the fruit of hypocrisy, as its
possessors think that intellect is to please everyone and to not go
against their interests and desires, as well as to gain their
friendship. They say that the best thing for you is to be part of the
people and don't cause them to hate you.
This is the corruption and ruin of the soul, and this is due to four
things:
The first is that the one who does this has gained the pleasure of
people by angering Allah, and the people are more important in his eyes
than Allah. Whoever gains the pleasure of people by angering Allah will
end up with the anger of both the people and Allah. It was narrated
that Allah Said: "When I am angered, My Curse reaches the seventh
generation of descendants."
So, if the one who is able to enjoin the good and prevent the bad
abandons doing so, he will bring about Allah's Curse that will reach
the seventh generation of his progeny, and this is proven by the verse:
{"The disbelievers from the Children of Isra'il were cursed by the
tongue of Dawud and 'Isa bin Maryam. This is because they were
rebellious and would transgress..."} [al-Ma'idah; 78]
So, it is clear that this compromising person has ruined himself
through what he thought would help him.
Second, it is inevitable that Allah will open a door of humiliation and
disgrace for the one who compromises from where he sought honor. And
some of theSalaf said: "Whoever leaves off enjoining good and
preventing evil out of his fear of people, the respect and obedience
people had for him will be removed." So, if he orders his son or
servant to do something for him, they will belittle his status. Just
like he belittled the rights of Allah, Allah will belittle and
humiliate him: {"...they forgot Allah. So, He forgot them..."}
[at-Tawbah; 67]
Third, if some sort of punishment is sent down, the one who compromises
will be one of its targets, as in the verse: {"And beware of a trial
that won't only afflict the wrongdoers among you..."} [al-Anfal; 25]
...And Ibn Abi ad-Dunya reported from Wahb bin Munabbih that he said:
"When Dawud made a mistake, he said: "My Lord, Forgive me!" So, Allah
Said: "I have Forgiven you and placed your sin on the Children of
Isra'il." Dawud asked: "Why, O Lord? How can this be when You are the
Just who oppresses nobody? I fall into error and You place the sin on
others?" He Said: "When you did this error, they didn't criticize you
for it.""
And Ibn Abi ad-Dunya reported that Allah revealed to Yusha' bin Nun
(Joshua):"I will destroy 40,000 of the best of your people and 60,000
of their worst." He asked: "My Lord, I can understand the worst of them
being destroyed. Why destroy the best of them?" He Said: "They didn't
become angry for My Anger, and they would give the worst ones food and
drink."
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr and others reported that Allah commanded one of the
Angels to destroy a town. So, he asked: "My Lord, it has such and such
a person who is azahid who worships You constantly!" Allah Said: "Begin
with him, and let me hear his voice. His face never once became red for
My sake."
So, the only way out when punishments descend is to be from those who
enjoin the good and prevent the wrong, as Allah Said: {"So, when they
forgot what they were reminded of, We saved those who would forbid what
was bad..."} [al-A'raf; 165]
Fourth, this compromising person who seeks the pleasure of people is
worse than the adulterer, the thief, and the consumer of alcohol. Ibn
al-Qayyim said:
"The Religion is not just leaving off outer prohibitions. Rather, it is
to fulfill what Allah Loves along with this. Most religious people
today don't do this except when it comes to things that the majority of
people accept and agree with them in. As for Jihad, enjoining good and
preventing evil, giving advice for the sake of Allah and His Messenger
to His worshipers, giving aid and victory to Allah and His Messenger
and Book and Religion - these obligations don't even occur to them, let
alone evoke a desire on their part to carry them out, let alone be
carried them out by them!
The lowest of people in the Religion and the worst of them with Allah
are those who abandon these obligations, even if he practices the
mostzuhd from everything in this world. It is rare to find from them
one whose face becomes red for the sake of Allah, and who becomes angry
due to His limits being violated, and who gives all he has to help his
religion. Those who fall into major sins are better with Allah than
these people."
So, imagine that
someone fasts all day, prays all night, abstains from
all worldly pleasures, and despite this never becomes angry or has his
face reddened for Allah's sake and doesn't enjoin good and prevent evil
- such a man is the most hated of people to Allah and the least of them
in religiousness, and those who fall into major sins are better with
Allah than such a person.
And a trustworthy person told me that Shaykh al-Islam, the leader of
theda'wah in Najd (Muhammad bin 'Abd al-Wahhab), once said: "I saw some
people sitting in the mosque with their Qur'ans, reciting and weeping.
However, they didn't enjoin the good if they saw it and they didn't
prevent evil if they saw it. I saw people sitting near them saying:
"These are the source of benefit," and I said: "These are the source of
disgrace." Someone heard me and said: "I can't say they are a source of
disgrace!" So, I replied to him: "They are blind and mute."
And this is supported by what some of the Salaf said: "The one who is
silent about the truth is a silent devil, while the one who speaks
falsehood is a speaking devil."
So, if the one who compromises by remaining silent comes to know that
he is from the most hated of people to Allah even if he thinks he is
good, he would speak openly. And if the one who seeks the approval and
pleasure of people came to know that by not speaking out against their
evil that those who fall into major sins are better with Allah than him
- even if he assumes himself to be religious - he would repent from his
compromise and would retreat from it. And if the one who is stingy with
his tongue from openly proclaiming the command of Allah came to know
that he is a silent devil even if he fasts, prays, and is azahid, he
would do all that he could to avoid being similar to Satan.
O Allah, I seek refuge with You from every action that angers the
Merciful, and from every trait that makes us resemble Satan or
compromise on our religion with the people of doubts, hypocrisy, and
kufr. And may peace and blessings be on Muhammad, his Household, and
Companions." ['ad-Durar as-Saniyyah'; 8/75-79]
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