You said many know about Islam and I thought it is good to read this for enhancing:
The word Islam as you know is derived from the root, s-l-m and it means to surrender or submit. This is as the way of life Allah has decreed for mankind is to surrender and submit peacefully to Him.
The basic teachings of Islam transcend time and so, they mean the same in the modern times as in the ancient times. From the Islamic point of view, the best generation of Muslims was Prophet Muhammad and his companions. Our duty, we moderns, is to grasp the human and social essence of that exemplary ideal model and make our Islam relevant and beneficial for humankind in our modern life, as best as we can. The principles remain the same, today as before. This is as they are based on the essence of human nature, as Allah has created it. They are also based on the social interactions, as seen fair and just by Him.
Throughout the process of application, we may come across problems created by the conditions of historical contexts and modes of life. Here, we ought to be careful that the tide of modernity does not carry us off our Islamic moorings. Nor should our attempts fall in the trap of becoming either an imitation of the other or a full rejection of the modern age. Hence, losing track of the middle way and straight path of Islam.
We know that ours is called a hyper-tech world. So, if we ignore the extraordinary strides made by modern man in the field of science and technology, we will slide much behind the rest of the world. Then, in the course of time, we will be nowhere in worldly terms. More than any other time, we are learning now about the immense price we are made to pay for our lapses in this field!
The recent events in international politics clearly drove us towards a rethinking of our approaches, methods, intellectual and scientific priorities, no doubt. This is clearly understandable, because Islam is not meant for a particular period only, and what is more, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has taught us the dynamics of how to stem the tides of changes without deviating from our fundamental beliefs and practices. One of the key instruments of this dynamics is ijtihad (=the process of making judgment based on the Qur’an and sunnah, to find answers to new situations and differing circumstances).
Unfortunately, those of our scholars who are competent and confident enough to use ijtihad in the best and the most effective way are very few. But we have to rely on them, in order to confront the issues related to modernity and its challenges.
Also, Muslims in daily life make their own continuous effort to accommodate modernity and be accommodated as Muslims within its worlds. Experience has taught us that to adopt an ostrich-like policy here is suicidal. If the community of believers, whom Allah entrusted with the responsibility of commanding good and prohibiting evil, are withdrawing from the arena of the contentious world of the present, who then would fulfill this duty? Should we declare ourselves incapable of that God-given duty and expect others who are more qualified to “replace” us?
God says in Surah 47, verse 38:
*{… and if you turn away [from the path] He will bring in your place another people, then they will not be like you.}*
As for the second part of your question we need to understand that from the Islamic point of view, only those actions are considered good, which are motivated by one’s belief in Allah. Believing in Allah means obedience and humility to Him. This should automatically include kindness to others.
The traditions of the prophet (pbuh) and his life example point how Islam is all about morality, codes of ethics and good manners. Even worship is classified as paying tribute to Allah, as The Creator of heavens and earth, and Who has the attributes of kindness and mercy, which Muslims should abide by.
What we need to understand is that from the Islamic point of view, only those actions are considered good, which are motivated by one’s belief in Allah. And, as mentioned above, belief in Allah means obedience and humility to Him. In the case of such a person, there will indeed be kindness to others. Whatever we do by way of good to others is in obedience to Allah. So, our kindness to others is a natural result of our obedience to Allah.
Can one say: “I consider kindness to others as less important than obedience to Allah?” It would be a meaningless proposition indeed, since kindness to others is a consequence of our obedience to God. Islam was revealed as a mercy to humanity. So, how can those who believe in it and are obliged to convey it, not be required to be kind and merciful?
You said many know about Islam and I thought it is good to read this for enhancing:
The word Islam as you know is derived from the root, s-l-m and it means to surrender or submit. This is as the way of life Allah has decreed for mankind is to surrender and submit peacefully to Him.
The basic teachings of Islam transcend time and so, they mean the same in the modern times as in the ancient times. From the Islamic point of view, the best generation of Muslims was Prophet Muhammad and his companions. Our duty, we moderns, is to grasp the human and social essence of that exemplary ideal model and make our Islam relevant and beneficial for humankind in our modern life, as best as we can. The principles remain the same, today as before. This is as they are based on the essence of human nature, as Allah has created it. They are also based on the social interactions, as seen fair and just by Him.
Throughout the process of application, we may come across problems created by the conditions of historical contexts and modes of life. Here, we ought to be careful that the tide of modernity does not carry us off our Islamic moorings. Nor should our attempts fall in the trap of becoming either an imitation of the other or a full rejection of the modern age. Hence, losing track of the middle way and straight path of Islam.
We know that ours is called a hyper-tech world. So, if we ignore the extraordinary strides made by modern man in the field of science and technology, we will slide much behind the rest of the world. Then, in the course of time, we will be nowhere in worldly terms. More than any other time, we are learning now about the immense price we are made to pay for our lapses in this field!
The recent events in international politics clearly drove us towards a rethinking of our approaches, methods, intellectual and scientific priorities, no doubt. This is clearly understandable, because Islam is not meant for a particular period only, and what is more, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has taught us the dynamics of how to stem the tides of changes without deviating from our fundamental beliefs and practices. One of the key instruments of this dynamics is ijtihad (=the process of making judgment based on the Qur’an and sunnah, to find answers to new situations and differing circumstances).
Unfortunately, those of our scholars who are competent and confident enough to use ijtihad in the best and the most effective way are very few. But we have to rely on them, in order to confront the issues related to modernity and its challenges.
Also, Muslims in daily life make their own continuous effort to accommodate modernity and be accommodated as Muslims within its worlds. Experience has taught us that to adopt an ostrich-like policy here is suicidal. If the community of believers, whom Allah entrusted with the responsibility of commanding good and prohibiting evil, are withdrawing from the arena of the contentious world of the present, who then would fulfill this duty? Should we declare ourselves incapable of that God-given duty and expect others who are more qualified to “replace” us?
God says in Surah 47, verse 38:
*{… and if you turn away [from the path] He will bring in your place another people, then they will not be like you.}*
As for the second part of your question we need to understand that from the Islamic point of view, only those actions are considered good, which are motivated by one’s belief in Allah. Believing in Allah means obedience and humility to Him. This should automatically include kindness to others.
The traditions of the prophet (pbuh) and his life example point how Islam is all about morality, codes of ethics and good manners. Even worship is classified as paying tribute to Allah, as The Creator of heavens and earth, and Who has the attributes of kindness and mercy, which Muslims should abide by.
What we need to understand is that from the Islamic point of view, only those actions are considered good, which are motivated by one’s belief in Allah. And, as mentioned above, belief in Allah means obedience and humility to Him. In the case of such a person, there will indeed be kindness to others. Whatever we do by way of good to others is in obedience to Allah. So, our kindness to others is a natural result of our obedience to Allah.
Can one say: “I consider kindness to others as less important than obedience to Allah?” It would be a meaningless proposition indeed, since kindness to others is a consequence of our obedience to God. Islam was revealed as a mercy to humanity. So, how can those who believe in it and are obliged to convey it, not be required to be kind and merciful?
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