IN Response to those who think islam needs to be changed
Ibn ‘Umar narrated; “When the Prophet (saw) passed away, the hypocrisy presented itself in Medina, and a wave of apostasy hit the Arabs and the non-Arabs. Abu Bakr called a meeting addressing the Muhajireen and the Ansar and said, ‘The Arabs have stopped giving the goats and camels (in Zakat)’. The Companions (ra) pondered over for some time. Afterwards ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) said, ‘O Khalifah of Allah’s Messenger! Accept from the Arabs only Salat and overlook for the Zakat because they are newcomers into Islam’” The rest of the Muhajirin and the Ansar followed suit in their opinion.
Abu Bakr (ra) than climbed the Minbar and delivered a sermon, “When Allah (swt) sent Muhammad (saw), the truth was very little; Islam was like a thrown away thing. Its hold was weak and its followers were very small in number. Then Allah united them on Muhammad (saw) and made them an everlasting and balanced Ummah. By Allah, if they deny to give me a rope (to tie the animal), which they used to give Allah’s Messenger (saw), and all the trees, stones, jinns and men support them (for that) even then I will wage war against them until my spirit meets Allah (swt). Certainly Allah (swt) has not separated the Zakat and the Salat”
In another narration ‘Umar (ra) narrated; “I came to Abu Bakr (ra) and said, ‘O Khalifah of Allah’s Messenger! Try to make familiar with Islam and treat them gently. They are like the wild beast’. He replied, ‘Instead of expecting help from you, I am being ashamed and embarrassed by you. You were strict in your days of Jahiliyah but are demonstrating weakness in Islam. For what do I fear them that I should compose flattering poetry or some words of magic to make them familiar. Alas! Alas! The Prophet (saw) has passed away and coming down of the revelation has stopped. By Allah I will fight them until I hold the sword in my hand even if they deny to give even a single rope in Zakat’”
Hayat us-Sahabah (The Lives of the Sahabah) documents the above chain of events, which took place shortly after the death of the Prophet of Allah (saw). It describes the response of Abu Bakr (ra) to those people who refused to pay the Zakat. Those people who in ‘contemporary terms’ modernised Islam because the situation they found themselves in had changed. Abu Bakr (ra) declared war on them; it was termed the ‘war of apostasy’.
To modernise is to adapt a doctrine to the present day. In the case of Islam this means twisting it to reflect ideas of personal freedom, democracy, human rights, freedom of speech, pluralism and laissez-faire economics; that is to make it secular.
The call to modernise presents itself when there is a perception that the Islamic Shari’ah is incapable of solving mans’ problems and when there is an observation that material stagnation in the Muslim lands is due to Islam and not because of the polluted Western thought in these lands.
Can this be so, when the glorious Islamic past was witness to the first general hospitals, licensed pharmacies, mobile dispensaries, and medical schools? Under the guise of Khalifahs of the calibre of Harun-al-Rashid, Al-Walid and Nur-Uddin structures of accreditation, finance and regulation were developed that implemented medical care irrespective of race, creed or colour. This Islamic society had produced physicians and surgeons who were at the forefront of medical science for a millennium and longer. The names Ibn Sina, Ibn Al-Nafis, Ibn Rushd, Al-Razi, Al-Zahrawi are still quoted in medical circles.
It is the Western secular thought that has hindered our progression. The ideas of Capitalism are trying to twist Islam so as to reform it into a doctrine that resembles Christianity. The Deen does not need to be revised, it is not a predated belief like Christianity. Nor is it incapable of delivering solutions to human beings at any time or place, as the last 1400 years bear testimony to. Islam does not need to undergo a reformation, the like of Christianity. However for the revival that needs to take place the non-Islamic systems that rule in our lands need to be dissected out. Only then will the Ummah resume the material progression that she so deserves.
The call to modernise is a weapon that has been wielded by the Kuffar with mixed success. It has taken many shapes and forms; orientalism, nationalism, democratisation, economic reform, Islamic extremism and now military conquest.
September the 11th 2001 presented another opportunity to redefine Islam. Images of destruction on a scale never seen in the United States of America entered millions of homes, amongst them the homes of some 1.4 billion Muslims. In real time two fully fuelled jumbo jets laden with passengers crashed into the New York World Trade Centre. Visions of human beings jumping hundreds of feet in sheer terror as the building collapsed around them filled our screens. 5400 people are reported to have died including firemen, policemen, and passengers of commercial airplanes, countless traders, insurance brokers and economic analysts from all over the international community. The economic markets plummeted, and the fall out has triggered a global recession in the opinion of many experts.
The Muslims who reside in the West have reacted with shock. Many prominent speakers, scholars, academics and politicians came out in condemnation of the attack. Their comfortable lives disrupted in one act. Forced to confront the face of Islamic ‘fanaticism’ in their own back yards they have been asked to make a decision, between the civilised free world and radical Islam. As Bush said either ‘you’re with us or you’re not’.
On the 16th September President George Bush described the onset of a ‘Crusade’ against the Taliban and the al-Qaeda movement - defining the forces of good and evil in the process. The self-appointed expert on Islamic Fiqh, Bush, continued five days later by saying; “The terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of Muslim clerics, a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam. I also want to speak tonight directly to Muslims throughout the world. We respect your faith. It's practiced freely by many millions of Americans and by millions more in countries that America counts as friends. Its teachings are good and peaceful, and those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah.”
Prime Minister Berlusconi continued the rhetoric on September 26, describing the choices available to Muslims:
“We must be aware of the superiority of our civilization, a system that has guaranteed well-being, respect for human rights and - in contrast with Islamic countries - respect for religious and political rights, a system that has as its values understandings of diversity and tolerance.”
Perhaps unaware of the fragile Muslim coalition the US were carefully constructing, Berlusconi continued:
“The West will continue to conquer peoples, like it conquered Communism, (even if it means a confrontation with) another civilization, the Islamic one, stuck where it was 1,400 years ago.”
British Premier Tony Blair explained to the Muslims:
“Whatever the dangers of the action we take, the dangers of inaction are far, far greater. Look for a moment at the Taliban regime. It is undemocratic. There is no sport allowed or television or photography. No art or culture is permitted. All other faiths, all other interpretations of Islam, are ruthlessly suppressed. Those who practise their faith are imprisoned. Women are treated in a way almost too revolting to be credible. First driven out of university, girls not allowed to go to school, no legal rights, unable to go out of doors without a man. Those that disobey are stoned.”
Opening his heart he continued:
“It is time the West confronted its ignorance of Islam. Jews, Muslims and Christians are all children of Abraham. This is the moment to bring the faiths closer in understanding of our common values and heritage, a source of unity and strength. It is time also for parts of Islam to confront prejudice against America and not only Islam, but parts of Western societies, too.”
The media have also jumped on the bandwagon. Cristina Odone writing in The Observer on September 23 made the following observations on Islam:
“The Taliban and bin Laden invoke God as the co-pilot in their jihad. (In a recently recycled interview bin Laden gave to Time magazine two years ago, the word 'Allah' punctuated his every threat.) Yet talk to any moderate mullah, and he'll tell you that the ethos of the Koran is compassionate and inclusive, and that Islam values the peace lover as highly as the soldiering martyr.”
Nabil Shaath, the Palestinian minister of international co-operation writing in the Financial Times on October 10 alluded to efforts by scholars to redefine certain Islamic concepts. He writes:
“At the heart of this view is an ancient Islamic concept that divides the world simply into Dar al-Harb, the abode of war, and Dar al-Islam, the abode of Islam. Muslim clerics have tried with some success to redefine jihad as essentially a defensive concept.
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Allah (swt) says:
“Never will the Jews nor the Christians be pleased with you until you follow their belief” [TMQ Al-Baqarah: 120].