Better Alternatives, Pioneer Environmentalist, One's Views
Issue 369 » March 10, 2006 - Safar 10, 1427
General
| Living the Quran |
An-Nisa
(The Women)
One of the beauties of Islam is that it has prohibited only such things that are unnecessary and expendable, while providing alternatives which are better and which give greater ease and comfort to human beings. This point has been explained by Ibn al-Qayyim: Allah has prohibited seeking omens by drawing lots but has provided the alternative of istikhara which is a supplication for seeking Allah's guidance. He has prohibited usury but has encouraged profitable trade. He has prohibited gambling but has permitted betting on forms of competition which are useful for their (the Muslims) religious striving, such as horse or camel racing and competing in marksmanship. He has prohibited (to men) the wearing of silk but has given them the choice of other materials such as wool, linen, and cotton. He has prohibited adultery, fornication, and homosexuality but has encouraged lawful marriage. He has prohibited intoxicating drinks in order that they may enjoy other delicious drinks which are wholesome for the body and mind. And He has prohibited unclean food but provides alternative wholesome food. (Rawdah al-Muhibbeen, p. 10, and Alam al-Muwaqqin, vol. 2, p.111.) Thus, when we survey the Islamic injunctions in their totality, we find that if Allah limits the choice of His servants in relation to some things, He provides them with a still wider range of more wholesome alternatives in relation to other things of a similar kind. For assuredly Allah has no desire to make peoples' lives difficult, narrow, and restricted; on the contrary; He desires ease, goodness, guidance, and mercy for them. Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| A Pioneer Environmentalist “There is none amongst the believers who plants a tree, or sows a seed, and then a bird, or a person, or an animal eats thereof, but it is regarded as having given a charitable gift.” [Al-Bukhari, III:513]. The idea of the Prophet Mohammed as a pioneer of environmentalism will initially strike many as strange: indeed, the term “environment” and related concepts like “ecology”, “environmental awareness” and “sustainability”, are modern-day inventions, terms that were formulated in the face of the growing concerns about the contemporary state of the natural world around us. And yet a closer reading of the hadith, the body of work that recounts significant events in the Prophet’s life, reveals that he was a staunch advocate of environmental protection. One could say he was an “environmentalist avant la lettre”, a pioneer in the domain of conservation, sustainable development and resource management, and one who constantly sought to maintain a harmonious balance between man and nature. From all accounts of his life and deeds, we read that the Prophet had a profound respect for fauna and flora, as well as an almost emotional connection to the four elements, earth, water, fire and air. He was a strong proponent of the sustainable use and cultivation of land and water, proper treatment of animals, plants and birds, and the equal rights of users. In this context the modernity of the Prophet’s view of the environment and the concepts he introduced to his followers is particularly striking; certain passages of the hadith could easily be mistaken for discussions about contemporary environmental issues. Source: |
| Blindspot! |
Compelling to One's Views Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy upon him, was asked about a person in authority, whose view is that partnerships involving shared labour are not permissible. Can he prevent the people from this? Ibn Taymiyyah replied: "He cannot prevent the people from this, nor from the likes of this, because it is from the permissible Ijtihad. Neither does he have any text from the Book, the Sunnah or the consensus to prevent this, especially when most of the scholars are of the view that the likes of this is actually permissible; and this is what has been acted upon by the Muslims in their lands in general. This is just like a judge who is not allowed to negate the judgement of others in the likes of such issues, nor is it for the scholar or the muftee to compel the people to follow him in the likes of such an issue. This is why when ar-Rasheed sought from Malik that the people should all adopt his al-Muwatta in the likes of these issues, the latter prevented him from this and said: "The Companions of Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, spread out into different regions; so each community took the knowledge that reached them." Once a person wrote a book about the various different opinions, so Ahmad said: "Do not call it the book of differences (kitaabul-ikhtilaaf), rather call it the book of leeway (kitaabus-sa`ah)." `Umar ibn `Abdul-`Azeez said: "What would make me feel uneasy is if the Companions of Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, did not differ. Since when they concur upon an issue, then anyone who opposes them will be considered a deviant. But if they differ, then one person can adopt one of their views, whilst the other can adopt the other view; hence there would be flexibility in this matter." Likewise, Malik and other scholars have said: "It is not for the scholar to compel the people to adopt his views." This is why scholars who wrote books about ordering the good and forbidding the evil - from the followers of ash-Shafi and others - have stated: Indeed there is to be no forbidding with the hand in the likes of such issues of ijtihad, nor is it for anyone to compel the people to follow him in his view. However, he may speak about it with knowledge-based proofs. Whoever then sees the correctness of one of the two views, after it being clarified to him, may then follow it. But whoever follows the other opinion, then there is to be no forbidding him. And the likes of these issues are many. Source: |
