Hadhara and Madaniyya

There is a difference between those aspects of a civilization that are particular to a  unique outlook on life and those aspects of a civilization that are universal and are not  unique to a way of life. In Arabic, they are known as Hadhara and Madaniyya, respectively. Science and technology are universal (Madaniyya), and therefore, Islam does not concern itself with these issues. Allah created the universe and created a system of laws to govern this universe, and He gave the human being the full authority to explore the  natural universe, which is what science is.

For example, water will boil at a certain temperature, and this is a property that Allah created, and any scientist can discover this. The discovery of this phenomenon has nothing to do with whether the scientist is Atheist, Buddhist, Christian, Capitalist, or Muslim. However, it has everything to do with how well the experiment is set up and the ability of the scientist to operate certain machines and instruments, which will affect how well this property is measured. There is no such thing as ''Islamic Water'' that will behave differently to a Muslim than ''Christian Water'' or ''Democratic Water.'' Furthermore, there is no water that is composed of ''Islamic Hydrogen'' and ''Islamic Oxygen,'' which are themselves composed of ''Islamic protons, neutrons, and electrons,'' as opposed to ''Democratic Hydrogen'' and ''Democratic Oxygen.'' Water is water, and it behaves the same, based on the natural laws that Allah created, and not based on the belief or outlook of the observer. When it comes to technology, the same applies. How to build and operate machines does not depend upon the ideology, belief, or outlook of the person. For example, being a good software engineer will depend upon how well you can understand and write programs, not whether you believe in Islam, Christianity, or Capitalism. There is no ''Islamic computer'' that behaves any differently than a ''Democratic Computer'' or an ''Atheist Computer.'' A computer is a computer - a machine that is built to perform specific functions.

However, there are those aspects that are specific to a way of life or outlook (Hadhara), and in this regard, Muslims refer only to Islam. For example, Islam commands us to cut the hand of the thief; Islam does not concern itself with whether the hand is cut with a sword or with a laser. This is an issue that addresses the human action, and Islam gave an answer for the action (in this case, theft); whatever tools you want to use to carry out the action is up to the human being. Also, Islam obligated Muslims to carry the message of Islam, which is an action. Islam does not concern itself with whether the Message of Islam is carried via word of mouth, internet, television, radio, or by going door to door. What Islam addresses is the content of the message you are conveying. Also, Islam obligates us to be ruled by one Khalifah. Whether the Khalifah operates from a tent in a village and rides in a camel, or whether he operates from a skyscraper and rides to his office in a car, or whether he operates in outer space and rides to his office in a starship, is not the issue in Islam. What is the issue is that the Khalifah was selected in the correct manner (i.e. he was chosen by the Muslims and given the Bay'ah and he fulfills the minimum requirements for the post), and he carries out his responsibilities in the correct manner.
 

Also, Islam organizes the society in a certain way, meaning it organizes the way the human beings deal with one another; Islam was not revealed with instructions on how to build a city or plan an infrastructure. Thus, in an Islamic society, one will find a clear separation between men and women, regardless of whether the society is a village in the desert, or a city laced with skyscrapers, or a bubble colony on Mars.

So how do we say that Islam is a complete way of life? Islam is a complete way of life insofar as it addresses every action and issue that the human being will face related to the human being. Issues related to science, such as how to increase the precision of measuring temperature or how to measure a certain volume of liquid, belong to the lab. Issues related to engineering are relegated to the mathematical models and equations of engineering. Issues related to programming belong to the codes and machine languages of the realm of programming. However, issues related to the actions, thoughts, and issues of the human being belong to Islam, and in this regard Islam is complete and comprehensive. And the legal text in Islam (the Qur'an and the Sunnah) is flexible enough to address every issue and action that we face and will ever face.

Islam will never change, and if we believe that Islam is correct, then it does not need to change. Because Islam is the system from the Creator, and the Creator has asserted that Islam is complete, then to say that Islam left an issue unanswered implies a defect in the Creator, which is impossible. What changes is the nature of the issues that we face. Some issues existed in the past and no longer exist today but could resurface in the future. Some issues were never faced in the past and exist today, and some issues have yet to emerge. When a new issue emerges, then we engage in a process known as ijtihad, which is the process of understanding the nature of the issue, then scrutinizing the Islamic text, and extracting rules from the Islamic legislative sources to deal with the issue at hand. For some issues, the text will only allow for one meaning given a certain issue, and all Muslims must submit to this unanimously. However, for many issues, the text will accommodate more than one meaning, and this is where the differences of opinion between the scholars and jurists emerged. As long as these opinions were derived through a correct ijtihad and did not violate the boundaries of Islam or the rules of Arabic language and grammar, then all of these opinions are acceptable. And the nature of the Islamic text is such that it has an answer to every issue that the human being can face.