Is Islam Uncivilised
The following is the
transcript of a talk delivered by Dr Imran Waheed at
Sheffield Hallam University on 1 November 2001.
Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) said (to the nerest meaning)
“And We have sent down to you
the Book as an explanation of everything, a guidance, a
mercy and glad-tidings for those who submitted
themselves to Islam.” [ An-Nahl: 89]
The question of whether Islam is uncivilised is a
particularly pertinent question in the light of recent
events in the world. Indeed this is a question that has
been raised by many - Muslim and non-Muslim; by
politicians, thinkers, writers, journalists and many
others alike. The Italian PM Berlusconi said, “We must
be aware of the superiority of our civilisation, a
system that has guaranteed - in contrast with Islamic
countries - respect for religious and political rights”.
A writer in the International Herald Tribune said,
“Islamic society, the West's equal at the time of the
European Renaissance, failed to make the transition to a
modern society…Islam since 1914 has failed to make a
serious intellectual response to the modern West.
Culture and intelligence, not power, decide the quality
of societies.”
Although the Western leaders are at pains to point out
that the current campaign against the Muslims of
Afghanistan is not a war on Islam or the Muslims, there
is a definite campaign to make Muslims forget any
desires or wish of erecting an Islamic civilisation once
again by corrupting the Islamic creed and by removing
the political element of Islam.
The Western world is very proud of its achievements over
the last century in which she has undoubtedly dominated
the world politically, militarily, intellectually and
economically. New inventions and discoveries pioneered
by Western scientists have been paraded for all to see:
penicillin, the double-helix structure of DNA, nuclear
technology, e-commerce, and so on and so forth.
Consequently we are told that Western civilisation, or
to be more precise capitalism, equates with progress and
enlightenment; to the extent that nothing else is
capable of producing progress and that everything apart
from the Western culture leads to backwardness and
darkness. Some say that progress can only occur once
religion and state are detached from one another – they
cite the example of the bloody struggle between the
Church and Western philosophers that led to the Western
Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution.
However what is not paraded by the West is the abyss of
exploitation, chaos and despair that capitalism has
created throughout the world. Humanity still stands at
the crossroads, with capitalism unable to solve the
problems of mankind correctly and in a manner that
creates tranquillity throughout society.
At such a juncture in time, if you were to assemble a
group of people from society in a room to discuss how
mankind ought to proceed in life, and solve many of the
problems that the world faces today we would hear a vast
plethora of ideas and suggestions. Some may call for
nationalism, others for secularism and increased
freedom; others may call for a return to family values,
or for an improvement in education. And some may pose
the question “Isn’t Islam the solution to the problems
that man faces?”
And this would often be met with derisory laughter and
immense scepticism, since for many Islam is equated with
being backward. The one who calls for the return of
Islam as a world order is branded backward and intent on
plunging the world into darkness. So many Muslims would
come to accept that Islam is something old and
antiquated, and not suitable for the rigours of modern
life in the 21st century. Wouldn’t Islam take us back to
the use of camels, and bows and arrows, and
communication by horseback messengers? Wouldn’t we all
have to live in caves and eat dates if Muslims had their
way? What would Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) and Muhammad
(Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) know about the Internet,
neurosurgery or superconductor technology? So it would
be said by the sceptics “Do you want to take us back to
the days of wearing sandals and travelling by camel?”
When looking into this matter, the first issue that
needs to be considered is whether or not the Islamic
texts have the ability to deal with the ‘modern
problems’ that are often encountered in twenty-first
century life. Do the Book of Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala)
and the Sunnah of His Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam) have the ability to deal with the issues that
we face nowadays and the issues that we will face in the
future?
The simple issue which needs to be accepted by all of us
is that the Islamic texts came to address men and women
as human beings, not just as a man living in the Arabian
desert in the seventh century. It neither addressed man
with relation to a particular time or place but rather
it addressed him whether he was living a century ago,
today, or in a 100 years time. The simple issue remains
that a human living today, is the same human who lived
1400 years ago and will continue to be the same human in
another 1400 years time.
Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) said in the glorious Qur’an
(to the nearest meaning) “You
will not find in the creation of Allah any alteration”.
Anyone could see that the human whom Allah (Subhanahu Wa
ta’ala) addressed 1400 years ago when He (Subhanahu Wa
ta’ala) said “Allah has
permitted trade and forbidden usury” is no
different in respect to a human who is addressed by the
same speech today. And anyone could see that the human
whom Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) addressed more than
1000 years ago when He (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) said “Kill
not your children for fear of want: We shall provide
sustenance for them as well as for you: verily the
killing of them is a great sin.” [TMQ Al-Israa:
31] is no different to mankind today. And indeed when
Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said “The
son of Adam has no better right than that he would have
a house wherein he may live and a piece of cloth whereby
he may hide his nakedness and a piece of bread and some
water.” [Tirmidhi] he was not only referring
to the needs of the Bedouins of Arabia.
Indeed these needs are an unalterable reality that have
existed since the time of Adam (as). Similarly we find
that men and women find themselves attracted to the
opposite sex, and that they have the maternal and
paternal desires; this is an inherent part of the human
make up. People throughout the ages have worshipped
something, be it the Creator, Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala),
or something else such as a philosopher, a pop star, a
politician, a king, or a planet. This again is an
unalterable part of the human make-up that has never
changed no matter whether the mode of transport was
camel or Concorde. No one can claim to have 2 brains, or
4 livers, or 3 hearts. The air in the world today does
not have more or less oxygen or nitrogen than 1400 years
ago. Are we to somehow believer that Muhammad (Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam) and the early Muslims were less
civilised because they lived 1400 years ago? The
fundamental point remains therefore, that no matter what
time or place is considered, humans are fundamentally
the same, with the same needs and desires, irrespective
of any other considerations.
The Means to Solve Problems have Changed
So if mankind hasn’t changed and the Islamic texts
address man, and haven’t changed, then what is so
different today? Many would have us believe that the
world is radically different today – and definitely they
would say, this world is radically different from the
one that Islam used to dominate over. What is clear is
that what has not changed is the nature of the problems
that mankind faces. They are the same problems that have
existed from the very creation of man, life and the
universe. However, what has changed are the tools that
man uses to solve these problems; a few examples will
suffice to illustrate this point. In the past people
would live in very primitive houses; today we can see
the skyscrapers and the like that populate the urban
areas. In the past Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)
sent messengers to other rulers on horseback; today a
message could be sent by e-mail, fax or SMS. Muhammad (Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam) and his Sahabah (ra) fought many
battles using horses, bows and arrows; today wars are
still fought, but using SMART technology, cruise
missiles and satellite intelligence. In the past the
Muslims learnt astronomy so they could locate the Qibla
wherever they went; today an electronic watch will do
the same. The fundamental point that these examples
illustrate is that man, with respect to his needs, and
the problems that he faces has not changed; and that any
change that we perceive is merely a change in the tools
or the devices that man uses when he solves his
problems.
The obvious point which follows on from this is that
since the Islamic texts deal with man and his problems,
and not the tools that he uses to solve his problems,
the Islamic Shari’ah is as relevant to mankind today as
it was when it elevated the people of Arabia, and took
them from the darkness of Kufr to the light of Islam. As
a result of this we should not claim that Islam needs to
be modernised to fit in with modern life or adapt to the
Western way of life, as some have suggested so as to
make Islam palatable to Western tastes. The predominance
of man-made systems throughout the world has led to the
belief by some that the laws need to be constantly
changing; this is a fallacy and is nothing more than an
illustration of the weakness of man-made systems and
ideologies.
So whenever a shooting massacre occurs in the West like
at Dunblane in the UK or at Columbine High School in the
USA, we found that guns were either banned or a debate
was launched about whether guns should be made illegal.
But anyone who studied the reality of these tools, of
which guns are an example, would find that many of them
could be used to kill indiscriminately. For example,
knives, chemical gases, planks of wood, even cars could
be used to commit a massacre.
In Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh) and its foundations (Usul
al-Fiqh) it is well known that the general rule about
things is that they are allowed. Allah (Subhanahu Wa
ta’ala) said (to the nearest meaning) “He it is who has
created everything in the Earth for your (disposal)”.
However what Islam restricts is how such things, tools,
means, devices, or technology are used. So Muhammad (Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam) said, “Whosoever does something which
is not from us, it will be rejected”.So in Islam we
would view a knife as something allowed; but its use
would be restricted; so it could be used to slaughter an
animal in the Islamic manner or to perform a life-saving
operation but it would not be allowed to use it to kill
another unjustly. Also a fermentation plant is something
allowed: however to use it to produce alcohol would be
forbidden, but to use it to produce vinegar would be
allowed.
After having considered these matters it becomes
apparent that it is a gross misrepresentation and
affront to Islam and Muslims to claim that the hopes,
desires and aspirations of this Ummah, whom Allah (Subhanahu
Wa ta’ala) described as “the best Ummah brought forth
from mankind”, for the return of the Islamic State are
associated with a wish to go back to the dark ages.
Ijtihad
Indeed, not only is the Islamic Shari’ah capable of
dealing with existing problems, it is also capable of
dealing with any problem that may occur in the future,
even if it were to relate to technology which has yet to
be invented or even conceived in the mind of a person.
The nature of the Islamic texts are such that they allow
the derivation of many rules from just one text. This is
done by a process known as Ijtihad whereby effort is
expended to understand the text and extract the Islamic
rule related to a particular event.
Some examples will illustrate this point further; if you
look to the problems which have befallen the Muslims;
their lack of unity, their absence as an entity from the
world arena, their corrupt rulers and the fact that
their lands are the household of Kufr (dar al-Kufr) you
may think that Islam is unable to deal with such
realities. So some Muslims may fall into the trap of
giving their own opinions about how the Muslims could
revive and live under the rules of Islam, thinking that
Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) and His Messenger (Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam) had nothing to say about this issue.
Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) is al-Hakim, the Legislator,
and it is therefore inconceivable that the Islamic texts
would not address this issue.
Indeed if one were to study the Book of Allah (Subhanahu
Wa ta’ala), and the Sunnah of his Messenger (Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam) one would see clearly the detailed
methodology required to transform dar al-Kufr into dar
al-Islam, and the corrupted society to an elevated one,
since that is what Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)
did when he carried the Islamic Da’wa in Makkah, and
when he sought Nusrah from the tribes of Arabia, and
when he implemented Islam in Madinah.
So the Qur’an and the Sunnah show clearly how the
Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and his Sahabah (ra)
reviled the idols of Quraish, attacked the burying of
the female infant, the bonds of tribalism and
nationalism, the cheating in the market place and sexual
promiscuity, as well as the heads of Kufr of their time
like Abu Lahab and Walid ibn Mughirah. They continued in
this onslaught even though it brought hardship,
propaganda and boycott. So the Islamic scholar would
derive from such evidences the necessity to expose the
false slogans of capitalism such as human rights, the
freedom of speech, democracy or the notion of free
trade. This is an illustration of the comprehensiveness
of the Islamic texts - the deen of Islam gives the
detailed rules to be followed in bringing back the
Islamic way of life to the earth if it were to be
removed.
We could consider other issues that might affect the
Islamic state in the future. One such example would be
the use of military intelligence and spying; for example
satellite technology to spy on the enemy, would this be
something that the Muslims could utilise? Could the
bugging of the computers and phones of the enemy be
acceptable?
Indeed we would find again that the Islamic texts are
capable of dealing with such issues; so if we study the
Qur’an we would find that it is not allowed to spy on
the believers since Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala)
mentioned in Surah Hujurat (to the nearest meaning),
“and spy not on each other”.
However we would see that Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam) before the battle of Badr sent out scouts (Adi
ibn al Zaghba and Bisbas ibn Amr) to spy on the enemy.
In the battle of Ahzab (the Confederates) he sent
Hudayfa bin al Yaman to find out the true state of
affairs in the disheartened Confederate camp. In the
same battle the Muslims used a codeword to recognise one
another at night: “Ha-meem laa yunsaroon!” So the
Islamic scholars would be able to look at the use of
information warfare, bugging, spying and satellite
technology from the angle of Jihad, which removes
obstacles in the way of the Islamic Da’wa. So such
things would not be used against the Muslims, unlike the
tyrant Muslim rulers today who spy on the Muslims,
especially those who work to place them in the dustbin
of history, and establish the deen of Allah (Subhanahu
Wa ta’ala) in their place.
Many other issues which have arisen in recent times such
as IVF, cloning, life support machines, advanced
weaponry, genetically modified foods or space
exploration have also been addressed by the Islamic
Shari’ah in the same manner that has already been
discussed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the fundamental points that we have seen
are:
• The nature of man today is the same as man in the
past, and therefore the Islamic texts which deal with
man are suitable to be applied in any time or any
place.
• What has changed throughout the ages are the tools
which man uses to solve his problems; the problems
however remain the same.
• The Islamic texts allowed technology and new devices
but restricted their use to the Shari’ah rules.
• The Islamic texts can deal with any problem, in the
past, at the present time or in the future
In consideration of all these points the glorious
heritage of the Muslims in the past would come as no
surprise: the advances at the hands of Muslims in
chemistry, medicine, military science and astronomy
would come as no surprise. The problem today is that the
Muslims lack confidence in the ability of their deen to
deal with the problems of life: this is due to their
failure to understand Islam in this manner and also due
to the absence of Islam practically in life’s affairs:
so many of the sons and daughters of this noble Ummah
who have excelled in their respective fields have been
seduced into thinking that only capitalism equates with
progress.
The backwardness of the Muslim world began when Islam
was separated from the State If one were to look at
Turkey today one would find a weak nation, with a weak
economy, dependent on foreign aid and loans and not a
force on the international arena. Compare the Turkey of
today with the Islamic State of the past that was a
beacon of justice throughout the entire world.
What is required from every one of us is to understand
Islam in this manner and work practically to bring Islam
back to the affairs of life by working for the return of
the Islamic Civilisation – the Islamic Khilafah. It is
not the Muslims who must question their way of life –
indeed it is the West that ought to question their way
of life – they are in constant need of updating and
amending their laws since their whole way of life is
built on the perverse premise that man can decide right
and wrong. Indeed it is the Western secular thought that
has hindered our progression and is indeed uncivilised.
The adherents of Capitalism are trying to twist Islam so
as to reform it into a doctrine that resembles
Christianity. The British poet Basil Bunting wrote:
“Sooner or later we must absorb Islam if our own culture
is not to die of anaemia”.
The Deen does not need to be revised; 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. In a matter of a few
centuries the Muslim Ummah in the past were able to take
Islam to most of the known world, when the means of
communication was the pen and the means of travel was
the camel. Imagine then what this Ummah, who carries the
truth, could achieve in the age of the Internet and
space travel.
“And who is better in speech
than one who calls to Allah, does good deeds and says
that ‘I am of those who bow down in submission’?”
[Al-Fussilat:33]
Dr Imran Waheed
|
