Islam's response to contemporary world problems (18)

In Issue 17 we looked at what it means from the Holy Quran's perspective to 'be the image of Al'lah'.

Describing the ideal of an Islamic social environment

Islam aims to create an environment that is as different from the aforementioned as spring is from summer.

Within the Islamic concept of society, Islam moderates, disciplines and adorns natural desires which, if left unchecked, would wreak havoc on the whole of human emotions. It discourages or forbids the satisfaction of those desires that may, in its final analysis, cause greater misery than pleasure to society.

At the same time, Islam cultivates new tastes and ideas and develops the ability to derive pleasures and satisfactions from acts that might seem colourless, tasteless and tasteless to the uneducated and inexperienced. Tastes are modified and gross sensual cravings are educated and refined, and converted into aspirations for the sublime.

The question, however, is how to determine whether the current prevailing social trends are healthy for one's own society? From our point of view the answer is very simple. The health of society is to be judged by the same symptoms as the health of an individual. When someone has pain, restlessness, abnormal or subnormal reactions, or when anxiety takes away the tranquillity and peace of mind and heart of such a subject, it does not require exceptional wisdom or medical expertise to diagnose that such an unhealthy individual is seriously ill. All these symptoms are present in contemporary society.

How true were the words of Jesus (lpd) when he said:

"By their fruits you will know them, but do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Thus, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit". (Matthew 7: 16-18)

We are maddened by shouting against the bitterness of today's fruits, but, in one way or another, we do not want to change the tree for a better one. We are unable to see that it is not the tree that is to blame, nor the fruit it bears.

The Islamic social order aims to uproot the tree of evil and plant a healthy tree in its place.

According to the Holy Quran, when Adam (lpD) was forbidden to eat of the fruit of the tree, this was precisely what was meant:

لَمۡ تَرَ کَیۡفَ ضَرَبَ اللّٰہُ مَثَلًا کَلِمَۃً طَیِّبَۃً کَشَجَرَۃٍ طَیِّبَۃٍ اَصۡلُہَا ثَابِتٌ وَّفَرۡعُہَا فِی السَّمَآءِ ﴿ۙ۲۵﴾ تُؤۡتِیۡۤ اُکُلَہَا کُلَّ حِیۡنٍۭ بِاِذۡنِ رَبِّہَا ؕ وَیَضۡرِبُ اللّٰہُ الۡاَمۡثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّہُمۡ یَتَذَکَّرُوۡنَ 

"Do you not see to what Al'lah compares a good word? It is like a good tree, whose root is firm and whose branches reach to heaven. It brings forth its fruit in all seasons at the command of its Lord. For Al'lah presents parables to men that they may reflect". (Ch. 14: Ibrahim: 25-26)

Here the tree is only a symbol. The Quran clearly speaks of an unwholesome philosophy as opposed to a wholesome philosophy in the same symbolic language. The evil tree and the condition of the unbeliever are described in the next two verses:

وَمَثَلُ کَلِمَۃٍ خَبِیۡثَۃٍ کَشَجَرَۃٍ خَبِیۡثَۃِ ۣاجۡتُثَّتۡ مِنۡ فَوۡقِ الۡاَرۡضِ مَا لَہَا مِنۡ قَرَارٍ ﴿۲۷﴾ یُثَبِّتُ اللّٰہُ الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا بِالۡقَوۡلِ الثَّابِتِ فِی الۡحَیٰوۃِ الدُّنۡیَا وَفِی الۡاٰخِرَۃِ ۚ وَیُضِلُّ اللّٰہُ الظّٰلِمِیۡنَ ۟ۙ وَیَفۡعَلُ اللّٰہُ مَا یَشَآءُ

"But an evil word is like a bad tree, whose roots have gone out of the earth and it has no stability. Al'lah strengthens the believers with the firmly established word, both in the present life and in the afterlife; and Al'lah allows the unjust to go astray. Al'lah does what He wills". (Ch. 14: Ibrahim: 27-29)

The "word" is used in this context with the connotation of philosophy, system, order etc. in the same way that the term "word" is used with a much broader connotation in the opening verse of John:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)

Bad philosophies and systems are destined to suffer the fate of a bad tree that fails to pass the "test" of survival of the fittest and is finally uprooted and tossed from place to place by a raging storm.

On the other hand, the example of a healthy system of order of things resembles a healthy tree that is firmly rooted in its soil and whose tall stems and branches reach up into the pure atmosphere of heaven. It is nourished by heavenly light and produces good and profitable fruit in every season. The Quran describes believers as having firm faith in God; their entire ethical and moral structure is firmly and securely founded on this belief. This gives the quality of the absolute to the Islamic concept of morality and ethics, which does not allow discrimination on any known plane of social, religious or racial divisions.

The guiding principle applicable to all human activity is expressed in the following verse of the Holy Quran:

لِلّٰہِ غَیۡبُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضِ وَاِلَیۡہِ یُرۡجَعُ الۡاَمۡرُ کُلُّہٗ فَاعۡبُدۡہُ وَتَوَکَّلۡ عَلَیۡہِ ؕ وَمَا رَبُّکَ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعۡمَلُوۡنَ

"But to Al'lah belong the unseen things of the heavens and the earth, and to Him shall all matters be subject. Worship Him therefore, and put your trust in Him alone for your Lord is not heedless of what you do." (Q. 11: Hud: 124).
Similarly:

اَلَا لَہُ الۡخَلۡقُ وَالۡاَمۡرُ ؕ تَبٰرَکَ اللّٰہُ رَبُّ الۡعٰلَمِیۡنَ

"Verily, His is the creation and the commandment. Blessed be Al'lah, the Lord of the worlds" (Ch. 7: Al-Araf: 55).

All Islamic philosophies begin and end with the absolute authority of God, the Creator of the Universe.

Foundations of Islamic society

The Quranic verse that refers to this subject in a central way is the following:

اِنَّ اللّٰہَ یَاۡمُرُ بِالۡعَدۡلِ وَالۡاِحۡسَانِ وَاِیۡتَآیِٔ ذِی الۡقُرۡبٰی وَیَنۡہٰی عَنِ الۡفَحۡشَآءِ وَالۡمُنۡکَرِ وَالۡبَغۡیِ ۚ یَعِظُکُمۡ لَعَلَّکُمۡ تَذَکَّرُوۡنَ 

"Verily, Al'lah enjoins justice and serving mankind with beneficent treatment, as if they belong to you (as to your kith and kin and friends) and Al'lah forbids obscenity and forbids all that is evil in the eyes of religions and human conscience, and all that leads to rebellion and chaos. He exhorts you to realise this. (Q. 16: Al-Nahl: 91)
The first part of this verse refers more to the economic sphere than to the social order. It paints a clear picture of the Islamic concept of justice, transparency and benevolence in the treatment of the less fortunate part of society. The second part refers to the image of the society that Islam is committed to establish.

In this section, God forbids all that is considered evil by universal standards, such as indecent behaviour, offence, insult and, of course, all social evils which, without reference to any religious teaching, are condemned by the general consensus of human society for the most part.

Similarly, Islam strictly rejects and condemns any tendency, conduct and attitude that may lead to disorder, rebellion and violence. The word "rebellion" must be understood to mean any unjustified attempt to destroy an established order. But, furthermore, whenever the Arabic word "BAGHIYI" is used in the Holy Quran, it applies not only to political or military uprisings but also to social rebellion against noble traditions, ethical standards, religious teachings and moral values.

In the end, society is clearly told that this warning is for the benefit of man himself. This completes the picture of the essential aspects of the Islamic social order. It should be added that the first part of the verse is fundamentally interrelated to Islamic social teachings. A society that is not sensitive to the sufferings of other human beings and is not always willing to serve the cause of humanity cannot be described as an Islamic society no matter how much it adheres to other aspects of Islamic social teachings.
(lpD) - peace be upon him.

(To be continued in the next instalment, number 19).