Is Islam Uncivilised ?

The following is the transcript of a talk delivered by Dr Imran Waheed at Sheffield Hallam University on 1 November 2001.]

Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) said (to the nearest meaning) “And We have sent down to you the Book as an explanation of everything, a guidance, a mercy and glad-tidings for those who submitted themselves to Islam.” [ An-Nahl: 89]

The question of whether Islam is uncivilised is a particularly pertinent question in the light of recent events in the world. Indeed this is a question that has been raised by many - Muslim and non-Muslim; by politicians, thinkers, writers, journalists and many others alike. The Italian PM Berlusconi said, “We must be aware of the superiority of our civilisation, a system that has guaranteed - in contrast with Islamic countries - respect for religious and political rights”. A writer in the International Herald Tribune said, “Islamic society, the West's equal at the time of the European Renaissance, failed to make the transition to a modern society…Islam since 1914 has failed to make a serious intellectual response to the modern West. Culture and intelligence, not power, decide the quality of societies.”

Although the Western leaders are at pains to point out that the current campaign against the Muslims of Afghanistan is not a war on Islam or the Muslims, there is a definite campaign to make Muslims forget any desires or wish of erecting an Islamic civilisation once again by corrupting the Islamic creed and by removing the political element of Islam.

The Western world is very proud of its achievements over the last century in which she has undoubtedly dominated the world politically, militarily, intellectually and economically. New inventions and discoveries pioneered by Western scientists have been paraded for all to see: penicillin, the double-helix structure of DNA, nuclear technology, e-commerce, and so on and so forth.

Consequently we are told that Western civilisation, or to be more precise capitalism, equates with progress and enlightenment; to the extent that nothing else is capable of producing progress and that everything apart from the Western culture leads to backwardness and darkness. Some say that progress can only occur once religion and state are detached from one another – they cite the example of the bloody struggle between the Church and Western philosophers that led to the Western Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution.

However what is not paraded by the West is the abyss of exploitation, chaos and despair that capitalism has created throughout the world. Humanity still stands at the crossroads, with capitalism unable to solve the problems of mankind correctly and in a manner that creates tranquillity throughout society.

At such a juncture in time, if you were to assemble a group of people from society in a room to discuss how mankind ought to proceed in life, and solve many of the problems that the world faces today we would hear a vast plethora of ideas and suggestions. Some may call for nationalism, others for secularism and increased freedom; others may call for a return to family values, or for an improvement in education. And some may pose the question “Isn’t Islam the solution to the problems that man faces?”

And this would often be met with derisory laughter and immense scepticism, since for many Islam is equated with being backward. The one who calls for the return of Islam as a world order is branded backward and intent on plunging the world into darkness. So many Muslims would come to accept that Islam is something old and antiquated, and not suitable for the rigours of modern life in the 21st century. Wouldn’t Islam take us back to the use of camels, and bows and arrows, and communication by horseback messengers? Wouldn’t we all have to live in caves and eat dates if Muslims had their way? What would Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) and Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) know about the Internet, neurosurgery or superconductor technology? So it would be said by the sceptics “Do you want to take us back to the days of wearing sandals and travelling by camel?”

When looking into this matter, the first issue that needs to be considered is whether or not the Islamic texts have the ability to deal with the ‘modern problems’ that are often encountered in twenty-first century life. Do the Book of Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) and the Sunnah of His Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) have the ability to deal with the issues that we face nowadays and the issues that we will face in the future?

The simple issue which needs to be accepted by all of us is that the Islamic texts came to address men and women as human beings, not just as a man living in the Arabian desert in the seventh century. It neither addressed man with relation to a particular time or place but rather it addressed him whether he was living a century ago, today, or in a 100 years time. The simple issue remains that a human living today, is the same human who lived 1400 years ago and will continue to be the same human in another 1400 years time.

Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) said in the glorious Qur’an (to the nearest meaning) “You will not find in the creation of Allah any alteration”. Anyone could see that the human whom Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) addressed 1400 years ago when He (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) said “Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury” is no different in respect to a human who is addressed by the same speech today. And anyone could see that the human whom Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) addressed more than 1000 years ago when He (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) said “Kill not your children for fear of want: We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you: verily the killing of them is a great sin.” [TMQ Al-Israa: 31] is no different to mankind today. And indeed when Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said “The son of Adam has no better right than that he would have a house wherein he may live and a piece of cloth whereby he may hide his nakedness and a piece of bread and some water.” [Tirmidhi] he was not only referring to the needs of the Bedouins of Arabia.

Indeed these needs are an unalterable reality that have existed since the time of Adam (as). Similarly we find that men and women find themselves attracted to the opposite sex, and that they have the maternal and paternal desires; this is an inherent part of the human make up. People throughout the ages have worshipped something, be it the Creator, Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala), or something else such as a philosopher, a pop star, a politician, a king, or a planet. This again is an unalterable part of the human make-up that has never changed no matter whether the mode of transport was camel or Concorde. No one can claim to have 2 brains, or 4 livers, or 3 hearts. The air in the world today does not have more or less oxygen or nitrogen than 1400 years ago. Are we to somehow believer that Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and the early Muslims were less civilised because they lived 1400 years ago? The fundamental point remains therefore, that no matter what time or place is considered, humans are fundamentally the same, with the same needs and desires, irrespective of any other considerations.

The Means to Solve Problems have Changed

So if mankind hasn’t changed and the Islamic texts address man, and haven’t changed, then what is so different today? Many would have us believe that the world is radically different today – and definitely they would say, this world is radically different from the one that Islam used to dominate over. What is clear is that what has not changed is the nature of the problems that mankind faces. They are the same problems that have existed from the very creation of man, life and the universe. However, what has changed are the tools that man uses to solve these problems; a few examples will suffice to illustrate this point. In the past people would live in very primitive houses; today we can see the skyscrapers and the like that populate the urban areas. In the past Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) sent messengers to other rulers on horseback; today a message could be sent by e-mail, fax or SMS. Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and his Sahabah (ra) fought many battles using horses, bows and arrows; today wars are still fought, but using SMART technology, cruise missiles and satellite intelligence. In the past the Muslims learnt astronomy so they could locate the Qibla wherever they went; today an electronic watch will do the same. The fundamental point that these examples illustrate is that man, with respect to his needs, and the problems that he faces has not changed; and that any change that we perceive is merely a change in the tools or the devices that man uses when he solves his problems.

The obvious point which follows on from this is that since the Islamic texts deal with man and his problems, and not the tools that he uses to solve his problems, the Islamic Shari’ah is as relevant to mankind today as it was when it elevated the people of Arabia, and took them from the darkness of Kufr to the light of Islam. As a result of this we should not claim that Islam needs to be modernised to fit in with modern life or adapt to the Western way of life, as some have suggested so as to make Islam palatable to Western tastes. The predominance of man-made systems throughout the world has led to the belief by some that the laws need to be constantly changing; this is a fallacy and is nothing more than an illustration of the weakness of man-made systems and ideologies.

So whenever a shooting massacre occurs in the West like at Dunblane in the UK or at Columbine High School in the USA, we found that guns were either banned or a debate was launched about whether guns should be made illegal. But anyone who studied the reality of these tools, of which guns are an example, would find that many of them could be used to kill indiscriminately. For example, knives, chemical gases, planks of wood, even cars could be used to commit a massacre.

In Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh) and its foundations (Usul al-Fiqh) it is well known that the general rule about things is that they are allowed. Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) said (to the nearest meaning) “He it is who has created everything in the Earth for your (disposal)”. However what Islam restricts is how such things, tools, means, devices, or technology are used. So Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “Whosoever does something which is not from us, it will be rejected”.So in Islam we would view a knife as something allowed; but its use would be restricted; so it could be used to slaughter an animal in the Islamic manner or to perform a life-saving operation but it would not be allowed to use it to kill another unjustly. Also a fermentation plant is something allowed: however to use it to produce alcohol would be forbidden, but to use it to produce vinegar would be allowed.

After having considered these matters it becomes apparent that it is a gross misrepresentation and affront to Islam and Muslims to claim that the hopes, desires and aspirations of this Ummah, whom Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) described as “the best Ummah brought forth from mankind”, for the return of the Islamic State are associated with a wish to go back to the dark ages.

Ijtihad

Indeed, not only is the Islamic Shari’ah capable of dealing with existing problems, it is also capable of dealing with any problem that may occur in the future, even if it were to relate to technology which has yet to be invented or even conceived in the mind of a person. The nature of the Islamic texts are such that they allow the derivation of many rules from just one text. This is done by a process known as Ijtihad whereby effort is expended to understand the text and extract the Islamic rule related to a particular event.

Some examples will illustrate this point further; if you look to the problems which have befallen the Muslims; their lack of unity, their absence as an entity from the world arena, their corrupt rulers and the fact that their lands are the household of Kufr (dar al-Kufr) you may think that Islam is unable to deal with such realities. So some Muslims may fall into the trap of giving their own opinions about how the Muslims could revive and live under the rules of Islam, thinking that Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) and His Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) had nothing to say about this issue. Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) is al-Hakim, the Legislator, and it is therefore inconceivable that the Islamic texts would not address this issue.

Indeed if one were to study the Book of Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala), and the Sunnah of his Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) one would see clearly the detailed methodology required to transform dar al-Kufr into dar al-Islam, and the corrupted society to an elevated one, since that is what Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) did when he carried the Islamic Da’wa in Makkah, and when he sought Nusrah from the tribes of Arabia, and when he implemented Islam in Madinah.

So the Qur’an and the Sunnah show clearly how the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and his Sahabah (ra) reviled the idols of Quraish, attacked the burying of the female infant, the bonds of tribalism and nationalism, the cheating in the market place and sexual promiscuity, as well as the heads of Kufr of their time like Abu Lahab and Walid ibn Mughirah. They continued in this onslaught even though it brought hardship, propaganda and boycott. So the Islamic scholar would derive from such evidences the necessity to expose the false slogans of capitalism such as human rights, the freedom of speech, democracy or the notion of free trade. This is an illustration of the comprehensiveness of the Islamic texts - the deen of Islam gives the detailed rules to be followed in bringing back the Islamic way of life to the earth if it were to be removed.

We could consider other issues that might affect the Islamic state in the future. One such example would be the use of military intelligence and spying; for example satellite technology to spy on the enemy, would this be something that the Muslims could utilise? Could the bugging of the computers and phones of the enemy be acceptable?

Indeed we would find again that the Islamic texts are capable of dealing with such issues; so if we study the Qur’an we would find that it is not allowed to spy on the believers since Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) mentioned in Surah Hujurat (to the nearest meaning), “and spy not on each other”.

However we would see that Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) before the battle of Badr sent out scouts (Adi ibn al Zaghba and Bisbas ibn Amr) to spy on the enemy. In the battle of Ahzab (the Confederates) he sent Hudayfa bin al Yaman to find out the true state of affairs in the disheartened Confederate camp. In the same battle the Muslims used a codeword to recognise one another at night: “Ha-meem laa yunsaroon!” So the Islamic scholars would be able to look at the use of information warfare, bugging, spying and satellite technology from the angle of Jihad, which removes obstacles in the way of the Islamic Da’wa. So such things would not be used against the Muslims, unlike the tyrant Muslim rulers today who spy on the Muslims, especially those who work to place them in the dustbin of history, and establish the deen of Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) in their place.

Many other issues which have arisen in recent times such as IVF, cloning, life support machines, advanced weaponry, genetically modified foods or space exploration have also been addressed by the Islamic Shari’ah in the same manner that has already been discussed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the fundamental points that we have seen are:

• The nature of man today is the same as man in the past, and therefore the Islamic texts which deal with man are suitable to be applied in any time or any place.

• What has changed throughout the ages are the tools which man uses to solve his problems; the problems however remain the same.

• The Islamic texts allowed technology and new devices but restricted their use to the Shari’ah rules.

• The Islamic texts can deal with any problem, in the past, at the present time or in the future

In consideration of all these points the glorious heritage of the Muslims in the past would come as no surprise: the advances at the hands of Muslims in chemistry, medicine, military science and astronomy would come as no surprise. The problem today is that the Muslims lack confidence in the ability of their deen to deal with the problems of life: this is due to their failure to understand Islam in this manner and also due to the absence of Islam practically in life’s affairs: so many of the sons and daughters of this noble Ummah who have excelled in their respective fields have been seduced into thinking that only capitalism equates with progress.

The backwardness of the Muslim world began when Islam was separated from the State If one were to look at Turkey today one would find a weak nation, with a weak economy, dependent on foreign aid and loans and not a force on the international arena. Compare the Turkey of today with the Islamic State of the past that was a beacon of justice throughout the entire world.

What is required from every one of us is to understand Islam in this manner and work practically to bring Islam back to the affairs of life by working for the return of the Islamic Civilisation – the Islamic Khilafah. It is not the Muslims who must question their way of life – indeed it is the West that ought to question their way of life – they are in constant need of updating and amending their laws since their whole way of life is built on the perverse premise that man can decide right and wrong. Indeed it is the Western secular thought that has hindered our progression and is indeed uncivilised.

The adherents of Capitalism are trying to twist Islam so as to reform it into a doctrine that resembles Christianity. The British poet Basil Bunting wrote: “Sooner or later we must absorb Islam if our own culture is not to die of anaemia”.

The Deen does not need to be revised; nor is it incapable of delivering solutions to human beings at any time or place, as the last 1400 years bear testimony to. Islam does not need to undergo a reformation, the like of Christianity. However for the revival that needs to take place the non-Islamic systems that rule in our lands need to be dissected out. In a matter of a few centuries the Muslim Ummah in the past were able to take Islam to most of the known world, when the means of communication was the pen and the means of travel was the camel. Imagine then what this Ummah, who carries the truth, could achieve in the age of the Internet and space travel.

“And who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah, does good deeds and says that ‘I am of those who bow down in submission’?” [Al-Fussilat:33]

Source: http://www.adduonline.com/articles/civil.htm