The borderless culture of Al Islam!

[maruf]

The borderless culture of Al Islam!




Muhammad (saaw) stated over 14 centuries ago that "all Muslims are brothers unto one another.
You are one brotherhood." This simple, yet authoritative statement has been submerged at times
and was made to resurface at times when it was politically convenient to do so. The central question
that protrudes from this prickly situation is how the Muslim should deal with the loaded and
ambiguous term called "culture". An adjunct question would be, 'is there a place in the Islamic
ideology for mentally concocted institutions such as 'Pakistani', 'Egyptian', 'Palestinean', or
‘Malaysian’ culture? Culture is the entire structure of beliefs, values, actions and behavior patterns
within a specific society or group. The kufar carry the definition to say that the society or group is
nationally, ethnically, or racially based. In Al Islam, the group is ideologically founded and is not
grounded in superficial distinctions. A visible by-product of the actions and behavior patterns of a
people is the customs and traditions they practice. These customs and traditions have Shariatic
based prescriptions and proscriptions. Suffice it to say that many Muslims have imbibed customs
and traditions that are labeled 'Islamic.' These practices have been justified by their practitioners
through clumsy associations with the Quran and Sunnah. The ethos of kufr has been manifested
and the jahil's machinations are being exercised night and day. But as Maliki yawmi deen
says,'...they plot and Allah too plots, and the best of plotters is Allah' (Al Anfal:30). The kufar
have successfully fragmented the Ummah into nations and 'cultures'. Muslims, leaders and
followers, are apologetic and compromising to the kufar when they respond to this situation. In
addition, they commit the critical mistake of making statements such as 'Islam tolerates all
cultures, Pakistani, Afro-American, or Syrian ...' or 'Muslims must learn to live with and respect all
nationalities because it is a blessing from Allah!' These acidic sentiments are tough for any alert
Muslim to ingest. The oft repeated ayat 13 of surat al Hujurat is used to justify these positions.
They also overlook the fact that they ayat has been grossly mistranslated. It is popularly read as 'O
mankind: Lo! We have created you male and female, have made you nations and tribes so that you
may know one another. Lo! The nobelest of you in the sight of Allah is the best in conduct. Lo!
Allah is Knower, Aware.' First of all, shu'uban does not mean 'nation', but linguistically it refers to
people coming from the same root like Arabs or Persians or Africans (but there is no such thing as
Egyptian, Iranian, or Nigerian). These nations or cultures have been mentally fabricated as Rabb il
Al Amin says; '.. Would you wrangle with me over names which you have named, you and your
fathers, for which no warrant from Allah has been revealed?...' (Yusuf: 71). The reason for the
shu'uban was as Arahman Irahim says: 'lita 'aarafuu'. It is for genealogical purposes so that we
may know one another and not differentiate one group from another, because taqwa is the only
valid criterion of distinction.

[AbuMubarak]

Question

All religions basically teach followers to do good deeds. Why should a person only follow Islam? Can he not follow any of the religions?

Answer


1. Major difference between Islam and most other religions

All religions basically exhort mankind to be righteous and eschew evil. But Islam goes beyond that. It guides us towards practical ways of achieving righteousness and eliminating evil from our individual and collective lives. Islam takes into account human nature and the complexities of human society. Islam is guidance from the Creator Himself. Therefore, Islam is also called the Deen-ul-Fitrah (the natural religion of Man).


2. Example - Islam commands us to shun robbery and also prescribes method of eleminating robbery

a. Islam prescribes method of eliminating robbery


All major religions teach that theft is an evil act. Islam teaches the same. So what is the difference between Islam and the other religions? The difference lies in the fact that Islam, besides teaching that robbing is evil, shows a practical way of creating a social structure in which people will not rob.

b. Islam prescribes Zakaat


Islam prescribes a system of Zakaat (obligatory annual charity). Islamic law prescribes that every person who has a saving that exceeds the nisaab level i.e. more than 85 grams of gold, should give 2.5% of that saving every lunar year in charity. If every rich person in the world gave Zakaat sincerely, poverty will be eradicated from this world. Not a single human being would die of hunger.

c. Chopping off the hands as punishment for robbery


Islam prescribes chopping off the hands of the convicted robber. The Glorious Qur’an says in Surah Maidah:

"As to the thief, male or female, cut off his or her hands:a punishment by way
of example, from Allah, for their crime: and Allah is Exalted in power, full of wisdom." [ Al-Qur’an 5:38]

The non-Muslim may say, "Chopping off the hands in this 20th century. Islam is a barbaric and ruthless religion!"

d. Results achieved when Islamic Shariah Implemented

America is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries in the world. Unfortunately it also has one of the highest rates of crime, theft, and robbery. Suppose the Islamic shariah is implemented in America i.e. every rich person gives Zakaat ( 2.5% of his savings in charity above 85 grams of gold every lunar year), and every convicted robber has his or her hands chopped off as a punishment. Will the rate of theft and robbery in America increase, remain same or decrease? Naturally it will decrease. Moreover the existence of such a stringent law would discourage many a potential robber.

I agree that the amount of theft that takes place in the world today is so tremendous that if you chop off the hands of all the thieves, there will be tens of thousands of people whose hands will be chopped off. The point here is that the moment you implement this law the rate of theft will decline immediately. The potential robber would give it a serious thought before jeopardizing his limbs. The mere thought of the punishment itself will discourage majority of the robbers. There will barely be a few who would rob. Hence only a few person’s hands would be chopped off but millions would live peacefully without fear of being robbed.

Islamic Shariah is therefore practical, and achieves results.


3. Example: Islam prohibits the molestation and rape of women. It enjoins hijaab and prescribes capital punishment for a convicted rapist.

1. Islam prescribes method of eliminating molestation and rape
All the major religions declare the molestation and rape of women as grave sins. Islam teaches the same. What then is the difference between Islam and the other religions? The difference lies in the fact that Islam does not merely preach respect for women, or abhor molestation and rape as serious crimes, but also gives clear guidance as to how society can eliminate such crimes.



2. Hijaab for men

Islam has a system of hijaab. The Glorious Qur’an first mentions hijaab for the men and then for the women. Hijaab for the men is mentioned in the following verse:

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do." [Al-Qur’an 24:30]

The moment a man looks at a woman and if any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he should lower his gaze.

3. Hijaab for women


Hijaab for women is mentioned in the following verse:

"And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons...." [Al-Qur’an 24:31]

The extent of hijaab for a woman is that her complete body should be covered. The only part that can be seen, are the face and the hands up to the wrists. If they wish to cover, they can even cover these parts of the body. However some Islamic scholars insist that even the face should be covered.

4. Hijaab prevents molestation


The reason why Allah has prescribed Hijaab for the women is given in the Qur’an in the folowing verse of Surah Al-Ahzab:

"O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women,that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, most Merciful." [Al-Qur’an 33:59]

The Qur’an says that Hijaab has been prescribed for the women so that they are recognized as modest women this would prevent them from being molested.

[AbuMubarak]

5. Example of twin sisters

Suppose two sisters who are twins and who are equally beautiful, walk down a street. One of them is wearing the Islamic Hijaab i.e. the complete body is covered except for the face and the hands up to the wrists, and the other twin is wearing a mini skirt or shorts. Around the corner there is a hooligan who is waiting for an opportunity to tease a girl. Who will he tease? The girl wearing the Islamic Hijaab or the girl wearing the mini skirt or shorts? Dresses that expose more than they conceal, are an indirect temptation to the opposite sex for teasing, molestation and rape. The Qur’an rightly says that the hijaab prevents women from being molested.

6. Capital punishment for rapist


The Islamic shariah prescribes capital punishment for a convicted rapist. The non-Muslim may be horrified at such a stringent punishment in this age. Many accuse Islam of being ruthless and barbaric. I have asked a common question to hundreds of non-Muslim men. Suppose God-forbid, some one rapes your wife, your mother or your sister and you are made the judge. The rapist is brought in front of you. What punishment would you give him? All of them said, "we would put him to death." Some went to the extent of saying, "we would torture him to death", If your wife or your mother is raped you want the rapist to be put to death. But if someone else’s wife or mother is raped, capital punishment is a barbaric law. Why the double standards?

7. U.S.A. has one of the highest rate of Rape


The United States of America is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries of the world. An F.B.I report in the year 1990 says that 1,02,555 cases of rape were reported. It further says that only 16% of the cases of rapes are reported. Thus, in order to know the actual number of rapes that took place in 1990, the reported figure should be multiplied by 6.25. We get a total of 6,40,968 rape cases that took place in the year 1990. If the total is divided by 365 the number of days in a year, we get an average of 1,756 rape incidents everyday.

Later another report said that an average of 1900 cases of rape are committed in U.S.A every day. According to National Crime Victimization Survey Bureau of Justice Statistics (U. S. Dept. of Justice) in 1996 alone 3,07,000 cases of rape were reported. Only 31% of the actual cases of rape were reported. Thus, 3,07,000 X 3.226 == 9,90,322 rapes took place in 1996. That is, an average of 2,713 cases of rape took place everyday in America in 1996. Every 32 seconds one rape is taking place in America. Maybe American rapists got bolder. The FBI report of 1990 continues and says that out of the rape cases that were reported only 10% of the rapist were arrested, that is only 1.6% of the actual rapes committed. Out of those arrested, 50% were let free before the trial. This would mean that only 0.8% of the rapists faced a trial. In other words if a person commits 125 rapes the chances that he will get a punishment for rape is only once. Many would consider this a good gamble. And the report says that of those people who faced trial 50% received sentences of less than a year’s imprisonment though the American law says rape carries a seven year sentence of imprisonment. For a rapist, the judge is lenient to first time offenders. Imagine a person commits 125 rapes and the chances of being convicted is only once, and 50% of the time the judge will grant leniency and give a sentence of less than a year!

8. Results achieved when Islamic Shariah Implemented
Suppose the Islamic shariah is implemented in America. Whenever a man looks at a woman and if any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he lowers his gaze. Every woman wears the Islamic Hijaab, that is the complete body is covered except the face and the hands upto the wrists. After this if any man commits rape, he gets capital punishment. The question is, will the rate of rape in America increase, will it remain the same or will it decrease? Naturally it will decrease. Islamic Shariah gets results.


4. Islam has Practical Solutions for the Problems of Mankind

Islam is the best way of life because its teachings are not doctrinaire rhetoric but practical solutions for the problems of mankind. Islam achieves results both at the individual and collective levels. Islam is the best way of life because it is a practical, universal religion not confined to any ethnic group or nationality.

[Bint Mohammed]

Salaam

I request that when posts are copied from other sites, name of author, reference from the book or the actual URL is posted alongside to add meaning to the posting.

Shukran