Surah al-Mumtahana (The Tested Woman)
Chapter 60: Verse 12
 Women's Individuality
"O Prophet! When believing women come to thee to take the oath of allegiance to thee, that they will not associate in worship any other thing whatever with Allah, that they will not steal, that they will not commit adultery (or fornication), that they will not kill their children, that they will not utter slander, intentionally forging falsehood, and that they will not disobey thee in any just matter; then do thou accept their allegiance, and pray to Allah for the forgiveness (of their sins): for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
The individuality of a woman is a principle of religion. In Islam, a woman is an independent entity, and thus a fully responsible human being. Islam addresses her directly and does not approach her through the agency of Muslim males. A woman would assume full capacity and liability once she has attained maturity and has received the message of Islam.
Moreover no woman is said to have truly accepted the message of Islam unless she does so out of her independent will. Admission to faith is entirely a personal matter; indeed, faith cannot be adopted by proxy. Women, just like men, would come to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and pledge their own allegiance to Islam and the Prophet.
Muslim women, on the strength of their unshakable personal faith, used to work for the propagation of Islam. Many of them helped to promote the cause of Islam within their respective family circles, through discussion and debate. Arwa bint Abdul Muttalib was one such lady who used to support the Prophet (peace be upon him) and to argue in his favour. She always urged her son to help the Prophet (peace be upon him) and to do whatever he asked him to do. Another such lady was Um Shuraik who used to move secretly among the ladies of Quraish to solicit and convert them to Islam. She had converted many before she was exposed. The people of Mecca warned her that she would have suffered but for her kin. (Al Isabah)
If embracing Islam by a woman is an entirely personal matter in the Islamic tradition and cannot be done through proxy, so are all obligations and duties, which Islam enjoins on her. No one else can do them on her behalf. She performs her acts of worship purely on the basis of her own intention; and as such these are treated in Islam as her personal achievements.
On the basis of her own action, a woman earns reward or punishment. No man is allowed to plead or intercede for a woman, nor is he held responsible for her actions and their consequences. The doctrine of ultimate accountability does not take the family as a unit for collective responsibility; rather, each individual male or female, is an autonomous unit of reckoning in front of God, and is held directly responsible for his or her actions or his or her share in joint acts.
Source:
“On the Position of Women in Islam and in Islamic Society" - Hassan al-Turabi |
Monasticism
“All of Creation are Allah’s dependents – and the best of them in the sight of Allah are those who provide the greatest benefit to his dependents.”
[Mu`jam al-Tabarânî al-Kabîr (9891)]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) emphasized that we can attain Allah’s love by helping other people in their worldly needs. Since Islam calls upon its adherents to be actively engaged in making a contribution to the world and to human welfare, we find that it categorically prohibits monasticism. We must understand that monasticism is the idea that it is an act of devotion to renounce the world altogether and focus purely on spiritual concerns and the goal of the Hereafter.
Three of the Companions once asked the Prophet’s wife to describe to them the Prophet’s worship. When she did so, they found it to be less than they aspired to. They said: “How can we compare our state to that of the Prophet (peace be upon him)? His sins, past and future have been forgiven.”
Then one among them said: “I will pray throughout the night, every night.”
Another among them said: “I will fast every day without break.”
The third among them said: “As for me, I will renounce women and never marry.”
Later, the Prophet (peace be upon him) came to them and said: “Are you the ones who said those things? Whereas, by Allah, I am the most God-fearing and devout among you; yet I fast at times and at other times leave off the fast, I observe prayer and sleep as well; and I marry women. Whoever desires something other than my way is not of me.”
[Sahîh al-Bukhârî (5036) and Sahîh Muslim (1401)]
This balanced attitude between worldly and spiritual concerns, where devotion to Allah is not seen as antagonistic to worldly activities, is one of the reasons why Islamic civilization flowered in its early centuries.
As time went on, things changed. The extreme asceticism of certain Islamic mystical paths, over time, captured the popular Muslim imagination. When such deviant mystical ideas became entrenched in Muslim society, it lost its vigor and vitality. People began seeing piety towards Allah as being synonymous with the renunciation of the world. They sometimes went so far as to see righteousness in self-inflicted abuse and the complete denial of comfort.
They also twisted the beautiful idea of relying on Allah into something else by saying: “Leave the world’s concerns to its Creator.” By turning away from the beautiful and balanced principles enshrined in Islamic teachings, the Muslim world fell into decline.
Source:
“O Messenger of Allah! Do we get blessings for indulging our lusts?”- Dr. Ghâzî al-Tawbah
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Key Concepts in Islamic Banking
Central to Islamic banking and finance is an understanding of the importance of risk sharing as part of raising capital and the avoidance of riba (interest) and gharar (risk or uncertainty).
Islamic law views lending with interest payments as a relationship that favours the lender, who charges interest at the expense of the borrower. Because Islamic law views money as a measuring tool for value and not an 'asset' in itself, it requires that one should not be able to receive income from money (for example, interest or anything that has the genus of money) alone. Deemed riba (literally an increase or growth), such practice is prohibited under Islamic law (haram) as it is considered usurious and exploitative.
Accordingly, Shariah-compliant finance (halal) consists of profit banking in which the financial institution shares in the profit and loss of the enterprise that it underwrites.
Of equal importance is the concept of gharar. Defined as risk or uncertainty, in a financial context it refers to the sale of items whose existence is not certain. Examples of gharar would be forms of insurance, such as the purchase of premiums to insure against something that may or may not occur or derivatives used to hedge against possible outcomes
Source:
“Working With Islamic Finance” - Marc L. Ross
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