‘Life with Allah has endless hope;
life without Allah has hopeless end.’
Islam
means submission to the will of Allah. It is a perfect way of living
one’s life peacefully, simply and reasonably; providing solutions for
all problems and aspects of life. Islam needs to put forth no reasons
and justifications before the true Muslim. Unfortunately, various groups
and sects of people have attacked this great religion. It has become the
most misunderstood religion in the West. There is thus a need to
understand some of the concepts behind this mighty religion…
Charity
Zakaat refers to the ‘poor due’ in Islam. It is a means of balancing the
society economically. This charity plays a great social role, fulfilling
the needs of so many poor people, who would otherwise resort to begging
and ill practices.
Discrimination
There is only one criterion on the basis of which Allah judges his
people and that is righteousness. The Negro slaves and the noble Arabs
stood side by side in the rows for the performance of prayers, five
times a day! A deep impression was made on the minds of everyone that
all are equal before Almighty Allah. This is the real spirit behind
Islam-inculcating the concept of equality among the most dissimilar
tribes and nations. Though Islam has not invented this idea of racial
equality, but it is to be insisted that this idea have been realized
into actions through Islam only.
Islam recognizes no distinction between a man and a man. An Arab has no
preference over non-Arabs, nor is there any preference of rich and
whites over the poor and blacks. The proof of this is exhibited during
the pilgrimage when one witnesses the brotherhood and equality of race,
color, rank, nationality and sex. We are all well aware of the treatment
meted out to the blacks even now by the white races. The example of
Hazrat Bilal, a Negro slave in the olden days, is worth mentioning when
he was appointed as the caller for prayers- a position of honor for
anyone, especially in those days.
Regarding this concept in Islam, Sarojini Naidu had said, “ It was the
first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for, in the
mosque, when the azaan is sounded and the worshippers are
gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day
when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim, ‘God alone is
great’.”
Mahatma Gandhi had said, “Someone has said that Europeans in South
Africa dread the advent of Islam – Islam that took the torch of light to
Morocco and preached to the world the Gospel of Brotherhood. The
Europeans of South Africa dread the advent of Islam as they claim
equality with the white races. They may well dread it. If brotherhood is
a sin, if it is equality of the colored races that they dread, then
their dread is well-founded.”
Violence
The greatest success of Islam was based on moral force and persuasion
and not any compulsion or violence. In fact, the Prophet of Islam,
Mohammed (PBUH), changed the whole strategy of war and battlefield. War
was allowed only in self-defense. Strict instructions were issued not to
kill minor children, women, and old people. Bitterest enemies of Islam
were pardoned and many were set free.
Gibbon, a world famous historian says, “A pernicious tenet has been
imputed to the Mohammedan (i.e., Muslims), the duty of extirpating all
the religions by the sword.”
In some places the media is affixing the label of ‘terrorism’ with
Islam- a religion which is against such unethical actions. The
possibility that it is a coincidence that the terrorists may be usually
Muslims is simply ignored. What is forgotten is that religion has
nothing to do with such things. It just depicts the character of a
person, who could be a Jew, a Hindu, a Muslim, or a Christian!
Communalists should not link terrorism with Islam or for that matter
with any other religion. All would agree with me that no religion
advocates terrorism and violence. There is no logic in accusing Islam
for such unethical acts.
Religious Tolerance
This is another aspect of Islam that needs to be clarified. The attitude
of Islam towards other religions is that of tolerance. When the Holy
Prophet arrived in Medina, he sent a peaceful message to the Christians
of Najran (in Southern Arabia). Jews and Christians were provided
security for their lives, religion, property, and rights and thus had to
pay a special tax. This was strictly in lieu of the military service and
the protection of state they enjoyed. Also, this was paid against the
zakaat that the Muslims had to pay regularly.
The striking feature of Islam is that it requires a true Muslim to
believe that all great religions of the world that preceded Islam have
been revealed by God and that a true believer has to respect all the
prophets who were raised before the Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).
Emancipation of Women
Another matter, which has been misunderstood in Islam, is the status of
women. Islam recognizes the deference between a man and a woman, a
difference, which does not advocate the supremacy of one over the other,
but the simple difference in the two sexes. The Prophet of Islam
proclaimed that “women are the twin halves of men.” This is the status
given to a woman. It was Islam which entitled a woman to her property,
social and financial rights. Sir Charles Edward Archibald Hamilton says,
“Islam teaches that man and woman have come from the same essence,
possess the same soul and have been equipped with equal capabilities for
intellectual, spiritual and moral attainments.”
Another matter, which has been misunderstood regarding women, is
polygamy. Islam has allowed Muslims to keep two, three or four wives
only if they can ensure equality among them; otherwise they can have a
single wife only. And it has been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an that it
is very difficult for a man to do so, and hence should espouse a single
wife only. In the olden days, men kept up to four wives only to give
respect to the widows and destitute women who were left behind due to
frequent wars. Marriage gave them a means of obtaining bread,
protection, love, and respect.
Society
An Islamic society is free of all evils and ill practices. Islam has
made it mandatory to pay the charity to the poor, thus bringing about
some economic balance in the society. It prohibits interest on money
lending and the monopoly of essential goods as it leads to the
exploitation of the poor and needy by the strong and powerful people.
Islam says that instead of carrying out financial transactions by way of
‘interest’, commercial transactions should be based on ‘profit and loss’
sharing. Thus, profitable trade is encouraged against usury.
Gambling, hoarding, usury, and drinking along with other social evils
are prohibited as it leads to the deterioration of the society as a
whole. Orphanages were established for the first time under the Islamic
rule. Things were prohibited in Islam due to their impurity and
harmfulness. Some things have both the harmful and beneficial components
in them. In such cases the one in the greater proportion is taken into
consideration, such as in case of wine and gambling. The sin in these
things is greater than the benefit, though it may not be immediately
apparent to mankind. E.g. Pork was considered to be haraam
(unlawful) in Islam, the apparent reason being that pig is a filthy and
unclean animal. After many centuries, scientists discovered that various
parasites and bacteria are present in its flesh. However, under the
compulsion of necessity, Islam has permitted the Muslims to eat even
prohibited food to save him from death – as human life is considered to
be precious.
Islam does not desire to make the lives of people difficult and narrow.
Allah has put some restrictions for the benefit of mankind and the
society, providing ample alternatives and choices as well. It is man’s
own lack of perfect knowledge and weaknesses that he does not appreciate
the greatness of Islam. It is rightly said that:
‘When
men are so wicked with religion, what would they be without it?’
February
17, 2008
Image under
license with Gettyimages.com
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