Capriciousness, Gradual Change, Blessings of Shariah
Issue 320 » April 1, 2005 - Safar 21, 1426
General
| Living the Quran |
Al-Qasas
(The Story)
Physical action depends on one's capacity. When the desire and repugnance of the heart are complete and perfect, and the creature acts upon them to the best of his ability, he receives the reward due to one who performs perfectly. For there are some whose love, hatred, desire and repugnance are purely personal feelings, not in accordance with the love and hatred of God and His Messenger. This is a kind of caprice and to follow it is to follow one's own whim. The basis of capriciousness is selfish love and hate. This in itself is not blameworthy, since it is beyond our control. It is blameworthy to act upon it. Love and hate lead to the acquiring of tastes when their objects are present, to passion, desire and so on. To follow these without the sanction of God and His Messenger is to follow one's whim without guidance from God. Worse, things may escalate to the point where one makes a god of one's whim. Capriciousness in religious matters is more serious than following the whims of the flesh, since the former is the condition of the unbelievers, whether People of the Book or polytheists. This is why those who depart from the requirements of Book and Sunna - whether scholars or ordinary people - are classed as People of Caprice, just as they were named by the early believers. For whoever does not follow knowledge follows his own whim. Religious knowledge is possible only through God's guidance, which His Messenger has conveyed. Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| Gradual Change "The religion of
Islam is a lenient one - so go into it with ease and patience. No one
who attempts to storm his way into it will come out victorious." Changing people is not a simple task. Individuals become set in their beliefs and attitudes, and dominant practices, customs and traditions become part of their life. To change these will require hard work and a great deal of patience. Therefore, keeping human nature in mind, all the noble Prophets of Allah worked according to the set priorities of Islam and introduced change gradually so that it could become firm in people's hearts and minds. As a priority, they strove to awaken and warn their people by drawing attention to wrongs and injustices that were rooted in social life. They invited them to God's way by appealing to them in a logical and convincing way. Once people begin to respond to Islamic values and ideas, the door to change is opened. However, even at this stage, change should be manoeuvred in slowly. If it rushes in, it could have a negative impact on the person or society that is being changed. The more abruptly a change is introduced, the more short-lived it generally turns out to be. As a priority, people must be given time to understand the proposed changes and to remould their lives according to them. Time must be allowed to dispel fears, to adjust life-styles, to learn new practices and to adapt to change. Self-discipline and understanding of Islam takes time. Making haste in changing societies can backfire and perhaps result in greater social disorder, and may well invite unnecessary resistance and opposition. Source: |
| Cool Concept! |
The Blessings of Shariah The claim that the Shariah is eternal and all-embracing does not in any way imply that every issue for all times to come has been decided. The mechanism through which the Shariah solves a problem posed by an unspecified, new or changing situation can be best understood in the framework of the categorisation of its norms and rules and the role it gives to human reason in the form of Ijtihad. The code of behaviour and conduct laid down by the Shariah divides human acts of heart and body into the following five categories:
It is not commonly realised what a great blessing has been imparted to the Shariah by this categorisation: it enables the Shariah to accord a vast expanse and degree of latitude to individual choice, freedom and initiative under varying human circumstances. Things which are prohibited or enjoined are few and a major part of man's day-to-day life falls in the mubah category. Still more important and revolutionary is the principle that, in matters of worship, in a narrow sense, only what has been expressly enjoined or recommended, and nothing else, is obligatory or desirable; while, in matters of day-to-day life, whatever is not prohibited is permissible. This closes the door for any religious vested interests to impose upon God's servants additional burdens and duties in the name of God as has so often been done in history; but at the same time it keeps wide open the options for resolving new problems. For example, even to make a sixth prayer obligatory every day is not permissible. Nor can extra moneys be extracted or levied in the name of God or spent for personal ends, as both the amount and heads of expenditure have been specified. But in the matter of food, everything may be eaten, with the exception of a few things which have been prohibited. Indeed no human being has the authority to prohibit what God and His Prophet have not forbidden; to forbid anything permitted by God (halal) is as much of a sin as to do what is prohibited (haram). A Muslim has the right, whenever it is claimed that something is obligatory or prohibited, to demand the basis for this assertion in the Quran or the Sunnah. On another level, while the Quran simply lays down the principle that 'all affairs of Muslims must be settled by consultation, how that consultation and the ensuing consensus is to be achieved has been left to be decided by Muslims in each age according to their own circumstances. Source:
|
