CRITICISM

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CRITICISM ACCOUNTABILITY
CRITICISM ACCOUNTABILITY
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Syed Hasanuddin Ahmad hasanuddinahmad_at_yahoo.com
www.learn-islam.org
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??? ?? ?????? ??? ? ??? ???? ??? ??????? ??
??????? ? ??? ?????? ??? ????? (??? 88)
I wish not, in opposition to you, to do that
which I forbid you to do. I only desire
betterment to the best of my power. And my
success can only come from Allah
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???????? ?????? ???????? ? ?????? (???? ???? .
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The Prophet (S) said, The Deen is advice. We
asked him for whom. He said, For the sake of
Allah, his Prophet, his Book, the leaders of
Muslims, and their people.
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Introduction

• Tanqueed is from an Arabic word Naqada. It
  means to sort out good coins from bad ones.
  However, in general, it is used also
• to examine, to criticize, to show the
  shortcoming, to peck, to reprove, etc.
• Ehtesab is from an Arabic word Hasaba.
• It means audit. But in general it also means
  to account for, to ask, to reckon, to hold
  responsible, to reflect, etc.

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Ehtesab is an action that differentiates between
good and evil, truth and false, right and wrong,
and thus it draws attention to disliked deeds or
words, etc.
In an Islamic Movement, none is above the process
of ehtesab. One can criticize its Ameer, shura,
follower, companion, and similarly the decisions,
activity, policy or even the structure of the
Movement itself.
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Scheme of Presentation

• Importance of Tanqueed (Criticism) and Ehtesab
  (Accountability)
• Effects of lack of Tanqueed and Ehtesab
• Process of Tanqueed Ehtesab

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Importance
1. Appearances of weaknesses and shortcomings in
human beings or movements and their affairs are
but natural. Their removal is, thus, a duty on
every human being or member.
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Every son of Adam commits mistake, and the best
among them are those who repent.
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2. If we stop criticizing mistakes, or ignore it,
or show carelessness, the mistakes not only get
strengthened, but become accepted norms, too.
3. Ehtesab is Allahs Way ?? ????????? ???
???????? ??????? ???? ?? (??????? 1) O Prophet!
Why have you forbidden that Allah has made lawful
to you?
??????????? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????
(???????)
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4. Ehtesab is Prophets Sunnah
When Aisha (r) said, It is sufficient (defect)
for Safiah (r) that she is short, the Prophet
(s) replied, O Aisha (r)! You have uttered a
word that when dissolved in a sea will make its
water bitter. (Bukhari)
?????? ??????? ?? ???????? (??????? 165 )
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5. Development and Reform If you claim to love
someone, constant ehtesab of your beloved is
essential to develop and improve him.
Parents train their children.
6. One fails to see his own weakness ?????? ????
?????? (???????)
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7. Ehtesab saves Community

• ?????? ????? ????????? ????? ????? ??? ??????
  ?????? (??? 117)
• And nor would thy Lord be the one to destroy
  communities for a single wrongdoing, if its
  members were likely to reform.

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8. Ehtesab helps the Wrongdoer ???????????????
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????????? ???? ?? ??? ? ?? ??? ???????? ?????????
(????)
A person should help his brother wrongdoer or
wronged. If he is a wrongdoer, then he should be
stopped and that is his help. If he is a wronged
one, he should be helped.
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Effects of Lack of Ehtesab

• 1. Lack of Ehtesab means mirror needs polishing
  to reflect.
• Wrong doing and carelessness increases

2. It reflects selfishness or shielding. ?? ????
????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ????? (????)
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3. Giving up or curbing ehtesab makes people
chips of the same block (wrongdoers).
Israelites started disobeying
Allah. In the beginning their scholars criticized
them however, they continued socialization, in
spite of no heeding. Allah made their hearts
same as their nations, then David (a) and Jesus
(a) cursed them. (Ibn Masud (r), Mishkat)
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4. Ehtesab in the presence of new or non-members
is quite proper. It not only shows them the
culture of the Movement, but teaches them what
not to do as well!
5. Do not lose heart, even though the people do
not like criticizers.
??? ????????? ?????? ??? ? ??????? ??? ? ???? ??
????? ???????? (??????? 79)
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I firmly believe that the day, God forbid, the
door of Ehtesab is closed in our organization,
the door of its disintegration will open.
(Maududi (r), Hidayat)
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Warning 1. Do not try (rather postpone it) to
correct or do ehtesab of a lesser mistake, if it
can give rise to a bigger one.
2. Do not try to criticize every petty mistake,
every time. It will retard the working and create
heart-burning.
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Process of Ehtesab

• 1.Worker to Worker
• 2. Worker to Authority/Nazm
• 3. Authority/Nazm to Worker

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Worker to Worker
Stage 1 If your brother sins against you, go
and tell him his fault, between you and him
alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your
brother. (15)
Stage 2 But if he does not listen, take one or
two brothers, along with you, that every word may
be confirmed by the evidence of two or three
witnesses. (16)
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Stage 3 If he refuses to listen to them, too,
tell it to the church (Authority/Nazm) Stage 4
and if he refuses even to listen to the church
(Authority/Nazm), let him be to you as a gentile
and a tax collector (penalize or expel).
(17) (Jesus (A) as narrated by Mathew in 18)
The same process can be applied in general
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Here in this process some precautions are
necessary
1. Before you talk to the concerned person, make
sure the point of criticism is true and valid.
2. Your words should be polite, factual,
and to the point.
3. Your intention should be correction, and not
insult or show of pride.
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4. The matter should never be discussed among
unconcerned people, except to consult with one or
two people in confidence (specially peers).
5. One of the best ways of ehtesab is by writing
confidential note to the person concerned only-
Do not copy to others.
6. If a person fails or refuses to rectify his
wrongdoing, he can be punished by the Authority
and his misdeed and punishment should be
announced to others.
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7. Do not criticize someone because of his a)
Physical defect b) Family background c) His known
harmless habit d) Previously corrected
wrongdoing, etc.
8. The person who faces criticism should show
patience, in every case or manner of criticism or
ehtesab
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9. The one who is criticized should ponder over
the point seriously. If the point is correct,
reform himself thankfully if not, then, remove
the misunderstanding politely.
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Worker to Authority/Nazm

• The proper way of ehtesab
• (a) Of Ameer is to criticize him in central
  Shura or General Body meeting,
• (b) Of President of Region or Unit is to
  criticize him in his shura or MGAs meeting
  respectively.

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A question to ponder is why the ehtesab or
criticism of an authority/nazm is done in open?
Because a decision, action, or in-action of an
authority/Nazm directly affects the well-being or
health of the Movement and its entire workers.
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The response or attitude of the Authority/ Nazm
should be the same as discussed in previous case
of Workers to Workers rectify the mistake, if it
is correct Umar (r), on the ehtesab of an old
woman, corrected himself on the issue of mehr.
Or clarify the point in calm and peaceful way
An old man wanted to know how Umar (r) had
made his shirt. Umar (r) asked his son to explain
the matter to the satisfaction of the man.
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Is proper process (of ehtesab of an authority)
always a must? NO!
A man criticized Umar (r) in a gathering of
people. Some people started rebuking the
criticizer. Umar (r) said, Leave him if he
does not criticize, he is of no good. If I do not
listen, I am of no good. (Abu Yousuf.
Kitab-al Khiraj)
Thus, ehtesab of authority/ Nazm can be done
anywhere, anytime, either in- person, by writing,
or by proxy.
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Quite often the Authority/Nazm is not able to
present itself for ehtesab to everyone,
therefore,
its ehtesab can be done by the people, whenever
and wherever it is available.
Moreover, the criticizer should never be rebuked
or punished, no matter how wrong is his point of
ehtesab or process!
Ehtesab of Authority/Nazm can also be done by
writing.
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Authority/Nazm to Worker
The Authority/Nazm can criticize a person, even
in his absence I guess such and such person
knows nothing of Deen (Aisha (r), Bukhari)
Aisha (r) is reported to have said, The Prophet
(s) never avenged himself, but never pardoned
anyone on the breach of laws of Allah as well.
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If an authority comes to know of some problem
between two of its workers, it should try to
conciliate between them. It should inculcate the
spirit of forgiveness among the disputants, and
resolve their dispute in brotherly way.
Once, it fails to re-conciliate between the two,
or it is faced with a prima facie case of
wrongdoing in some other case that affects the
smooth working of the Movement, it should
publicize the mistake and warn the wrongdoer.
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What if the process lingers on?
If the process of ehtesab lingers on, because of
claim and counter claim, or answers to answers,
there should be a forum, other than the
Authority, to finally resolve the issue (Maududi
(r), Hidayat).
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Summary

• Ehtesab is very important for keeping a person
  or authority on the right track.
• Proper process of ehtesab minimizes
  misunderstanding and heartburning.
• There should be a forum to finally resolve
  issues, in case the matter is disputed.

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Where to Get More Information

• The Quran
• Ahadith Books
• Hidayat- Maududi (r)
• Dawat Tanzeem, Asad Gillani (r)
• Prophets Method of Reforming Mistakes- Saleh
  Munjid
• The Bible

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