Tuesday, June 17, 2014

SOLDIERS


A society needs different people holding different profession so that they can contribute their various skills to the development of their society. But if you look at Muslims they tend to obtain popular and traditional business that give an immediate reward. then, our society could not be developed as a progressive nation and can be left behind anyway. thus, we should try to train our youths of various professions and skills without further delay, so let's have a look at various types of profession including soldiers. 

Army and soldier. Different words with two different meaning. First, a  soldier is an individual member of a nation's Army. While, an  army defines as a fighting force made up of many soldiers as a team. Being a soldier is a noble profession in which they carry a very big burden and trust on their shoulder. As a Malaysian, we should be thankful to be in a peace country with various races while others are suffering. But as a Muslim, we should never let our brothers and sisters in Islam suffering alone. In any case we should try and lend our hands to them for getting their rights back even with just a du’a. Based on a part of Hadith  narrated by Muslim:

Whosoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one of the griefs of the Day of Judgment. Whosoever alleviates [the lot of] a needy person, Allah will alleviate [his lot] in this world and the next. Whosoever shields a Muslim, Allah will shield him in this world and the next. Allah will aid a servant [of His] so long as the servant aids his brother. Whosoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. No people gather together in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, without tranquility descending upon them, mercy enveloping them, the angels surrounding them, and Allah making mention of them amongst those who are with Him. Whosoever is slowed down by his actions will not be hastened forward by his lineage.”

To be the one it is very important that he or she must have a good personal courage. But having only personal courage is not enough for a soldier to face their enemies. First and foremost, they must face themselves first before facing the enemies. Courage always been viewed as physical in nature but man do not realize that true courage come from the ability to overcome mental not physical challenge. Prophet (peace be upon him) once said “The bravest is one who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self”. In brief, to get over our own desires are considered as most difficult things to do and also considered as jihad. Moreover, a soldier also must have a great loyalty to more difficult tasks in any situation occurs. The possibilities of a soldier to be deserters are very high if he does not have loyalty. Plus, Allah is very wrathful with the deserters. In fact, Allah already said in The Holy Books

Believers, whenever you encounter a hostile force of unbelievers, do not turn your backs to them in flight. For he who turns his back on them on such an occasion - except that it be for tactical reasons, or turning to join another company - he shall incur the wrath of Allah and Hell shall be his abode. It is an evil destination”. 

A soldier’s life, no doubt, is very difficult and hard. It is he who obeys the orders of his commanders and does what is ordered by them. A soldier is a man, who keeps night–long vigils on the borders even in the face of great and grave dangers, for he stands heroically before the force of the enemies. A soldier faces death bravely. He fights to the last, in order to save his motherland. He sacrifices everything for the sake of the nation. It is he who has to live miles away from his family. It is he who gets into jaws of the death while defending his country. His life is not a bed of roses at all; rather it is a bed of thorns. With his meager income, he feeds himself and his family. The life of soldier is really very hard, but he is not scared it. For him, the defense of the country is the highest of his duties and responsibilities. In war, he fights bravely but at the same time he helps the civilian population. The role which Indian soldier plays during each international war is exemplary. One soldier helped and assisted even the civilian population as they always act in accordance with the complete military traditions. A soldier is always facing death. He never shirks responsibility. He fights in most difficult terrains, on hills and mountains, in plains and forest. The defense of the country is his primary mission. The role of soldier in safeguarding the frontiers of his motherland is unique. He lives and dies for the Nation. Undeniably, as a normal citizen we must thank them for their blood and sweat during all the time for keeping the country’s safety and peace. 

 A soldier is responsible to keep the peaceful of the country and prevent war from happen. We cannot put all the blame on soldier’s shoulder whenever war happened. Most common cause of conflicts and the root of most wars are ideological change and self-determination. We can say that some of previous wars happened because of ideological changes. After Prophet Muhammad introduced the new religion to the society, he received really bad treatment from them. They cannot accepted the new religion which is Islam and very different from the religion that they hold up for centuries. Based on the Islamic view on war wrote by Professor Maqsood Jafri, Islam preaches peace and condemns war.  There is a general impression that Islam is a militant religion and it was spread by sword.  Islamic concept of Jihad is always misrepresented. Actually, jihad is an Islamic term which defines as religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Within the context of the classical Islam, particularly the Shiahs beliefs, it refers to struggle against those who do not believe in Islamic God (Allah). However, the word has even wider implications. . The question arises why such views cropped in the minds of people?  There is not a shred of doubt in it that some of the Muslim rulers in the greed of expansionist designs exceeded the Islamic limits.  They were aggressors, tyrants and despots.  In the name of Islam they raided the peaceful countries and in the monarchic zeal they trampled the human rights under their feet.  Their acts should not be regarded as Islamic acts.  Islam and Muslims are altogether two different things.  Not only Muslims are to be blamed.  The human history is drenched and weltered with human blood. The blood baths in the name of territory or religions are the specks on the brow of history.
 
Today, a great portion of our country is populated by military families. The remaining portion consists of the civilian population, without whom, the military would not be needed. Many people have the wrong idea about military life. Some people think that members of the military get paid more than they actually do, and others think that it is a horrible lifestyle. There are many differences between the military and civilian lifestyles; yet there are many similarities as well. The issues at hand can range from pay, to health benefits, to politics and beliefs. Below, a few of these issues will be addressed. The first difference is income. In the military your pay will never stop from month to month. The military pay is based on you pay grade and time in-service. Then there is special pay that is based off additional schooling that you have completed, pay for housing, and pay for food. In the civilian sector pay is either hourly or salary. Most jobs do not cover housing or pay for food. The second difference is housing. In the military housing is provided for a soldier in one of two ways. There is housing that is provided on the base, based on the number of dependents that a soldier has. The other way is in additional pay for a soldier to find housing off of the base. In the civilian sector most jobs will not offer any additional pay for housing. The third difference is healthcare. In the military the soldier and there family is covered by the military healthcare. There is no out of pocket cost to the soldier. For the soldier’s family there is very little out of pocket cost. Once the family has paid up to a preset amount they will not have to pay anything above that amount. In the civilian sector healthcare in most jobs is not available till a set amount of time has been worked or if you are a full-time employee. The family is not covered unless healthcare has been purchased for the additional family members. Additional healthcare categories such as vision and dental have to be purchased through the employer if available or from an outside resource.

                Despite labeled the past time fighter during the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad as a soldier, they were more suitable with word the “warrior”. There are huge different between a soldier and a warrior. A warrior can always be a soldier but we cannot say that a soldier can e warrior. A warrior may not love the battle, yet he was born for it while a soldier is trained for a battle. A warrior is charging for something they believe in. But a soldier is standing for something they believe in. To emphasize more between these two words, a warrior is greater than a soldier. Prophet Muhammad, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib and Khalid ibn al-Walid as the exemplary. In fact Prophet Muhammad had been a leader of the great warrior in some battle. For example, Battle of Badr (happened on 17 Ramadhan 2H), Battle of Uhud (happened on Sya’aban 3H) and Battle oh Khandah (happened on Syawal 5H), so on and so forth. Furthermore, Khalid ibn al-Walid was between the most feared warriors during the century.  Khalid ibn al-Walid alaso known as The Sword of Allah is Muslim Arab soldier and general during the Muslim conquests of the 7th century. He remained undefeated in over 100 battles against the numerically superior forces of the Roman Empire (under Heraclius), Persian Empire (under Yazdgerd III) and their allies during his conquest of the Persian Empire and conquest of Eastern Roman Empire. There was also  Umar al-Khattab whom shaitan was very feared of. It been proven by a hadith narrated by Sahih Bukhari;

Then Allah’s Apostle and said, 'O Ibn Al-Khattab! By Him in Whose Hands my life is! Never does Shaitan find you going on a way, but he takes another way other than yours…'.

Therefore, in a war you do not punish the civilians because to do so would mean you are killing them for the crimes of their rulers and governments.[1] Western Christian civilization adopted this biblical view and developed a whole rubric for the proper and improper use of force according to the example of scripture. So today, we consider the mass murder of the innocent, or non-combatants, a violation of the moral principle of holding only the guilty accountable for their deeds. However, this desire to protect non-combatants as innocents was not a universal value either in ancient Israel nor is it in the East today. Among the westerner, they have individual heroes that fight against Islam; for instance, John Paul Jones, Stephen Decatur and John Quincy Adam and few more fighters. John Hunyadi, who eventually became regent for the designated ruler of Hungary, was a superb military strategist and tactician. Starting 1441 to 1443, he defeated the Muslims Turks in several brilliant campaigns that loosen their grip on the Balkans. His greatest success, however, came in 1456 when he repulsed the Turkish army i Sultan Mehmed at Belgrade, buying another 70 years of freedom of his country. Count Alexander Suvorov is considered as one of Russia’s greatest generals. Suvorov was coarse, brutal and fearless. In battle, he favored the bayonet. Enlisting as private in the Czar’s army, he rose to the rank of major general and defeated the Moslem Turks at Rymnik in 1788, earning the title o Count Rymniksky. In 1792, he won major battles against the same fe in Kizburn and Ismail. Since 1943, Russia’s Order of Suvorov has been desighnated as Russia’s highest military decoration.

Society says that women are equal to men, and can do anything a man can[2]. For the most part that is right, there have been women that have excelled and achieved things society thought only men could do. There is an exception to this, WAR. Women are not built for war, they do not have the strength it requires or the mental stability, but they still want to try to succeed. This is not because they want to serve there country as much but to show society that women are just as capable as men are. War requires a lot of training, physical strength and stamina. These characteristics most men have. Doctors and physical trainers show facts that even the most robust women do not have all of these qualities. Most soldiers carry around a 400 pound backpack plus a gun, they have been trained to run and dodge bullets while firing back and not to leave any soldier behind, so they lift a 400 pound body onto their shoulders and run him to safety as well. The facts show that a woman does not have the body build for these kinds of tasks. This is why in present day women have different training standards to men. We all know that there are some strong women that will be able to do the men’s training, but the emotional side of war will get them. These are the main reasons women should not be put on a battlefield, the relationship with men, there physical and there mental strength just do will not handle war. For the women that have made it through war and made it out will be mentally unstable for the rest of their lives, Yes they set out to do what they wanted to prove to men that they can do it and at times prove that they can serve their country, but paid a higher price at the end.[3] 

From my point of view, we cannot ever look down upon someone career as a soldier. Not only they have to be away from their family that they loved, but they also had to stay awake to make sure the citizen sleep soundly. Most importantly they fight not because they love to kill or they want to destroy the peace on the motherland. They want to defend all things on their motherlands from intruder. Even God gave His permission to fight but in the right way certainly. This is accordance of the following Quranic [4]verse:

Permission is given to those who fight because they have been wronged, and God is indeed able to give them victory; those who have been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said, "Our Lord is God"-for had it not been for God's repelling some men by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, in which the name of God is much mentioned, would certainly have been destroyed. Verily God helps those that help Him - lo! God is Strong, Almighty - those who, if they are given power in the land, establish worship and pay the poor-due and enjoin what is good and forbid iniquity.

Furthermore, a soldier will get many benefits and advantages despite of disadvantages. First, they had a stable income that secured their living from month to month. Also, there are aid for hospital fees including dental fees, tuition fees and also paying for a home. But all those aid the soldier really deserves it. We should not be envious or jealous on so much help they get. We do not even know what they had to go through to get all this sweetness. In fact, as Malaysian all should be one to keep the harmony in Malaysia. 

Also as a Muslim, we must never forget each other. We must help our brother in need. But most importantly if a war happened never back out of the terrain. You must have a great courage and brave to face the enemy. Certainly Allah is very wrath on him. Following is the related Quranic verse:[5]

Almighty Allah says (what can be translated as): “O you who have believed, when you meet those who disbelieve advancing [for battle], do not turn to them your backs [in flight]. And whoever turns his back to them on such a day, unless swerving [as a strategy] for war or joining [another] company, has certainly returned with anger [upon him] from Allah, and his refuge is Hell - and wretched is the destination.”



[1] http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_the_Army_and_a_soldier#page3
[2] http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_the_Army_and_a_soldier#page3
[3] Islam Kotob - الأربعين النووية - 40-إنجليزية - Islamic Book - page 13
[4] Holy Quran - Surah al-Anfal Chapter 8 - verse 15-16 -  page 178
 Richard t. Hise – A Christian View of the War against Islam - CrossBooks, Sep 12, 2012 – page 75
[5] Deborah Goodwin - The Military and Negotiation: The Role of the Soldier-diplomat - Frank Cass, 2005
[6] http://www.economist.com/node/12758508
[7] G. W. Grant – The Life as a Soldier - Four Star Publishing - 2008 - 210 pages
[8] Abdul Basit Ahmad - Umar bin Al Khattab - The Second Caliph of Islam - Darussalam, 2001
[9] Richard t. Hise – A Christian View of the War against Islam - CrossBooks, Sep 12, 2012 – page 75
[10] Rita James Simon - Women in the Military - Transaction Publishers – 2001 – page 77
[11] http://www.islamicity.com/articles/Articles.asp?ref=IV0603-2947
[12] Holy Quran - Surah al-Hajj Chapter 22 - verse 39-41  -  page 337

[13] Holy Quran - Surah al-Anfal Chapter 8 - verse 15-16  -  page 178



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