Islam for Today

Thursday, 25 January 2007 20:00 Sheharyar Shaikh Editorial Dept - Middle East
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Imagine a desert Arab from the time of the Prophet being transported and brought into our world skipping the fourteen-hundred year expanse in between. What would he see, hear and notice and how would he react to what he’d notice? He would gaze wide-eyed at the swiftly flying planes, fast-moving cars and behold marvelously the everyday technological tools like cellular phones, TVs, elevators, light bulbs and computer laptops.

He would probably wander aimlessly in a stupefying daze inside a mega-shopping mall touching each and everything with his hand in an attempt to grasp its reality. After a few month period of euphoric discovery however I imagine that he would feel badly out of place in our world. I imagine that he would want to return to the austere desert environment and his tribal family where his existence had meant something to the people around him as had their existence to him; a place where his daily role in society was acknowledged and appreciated.


What humanity has done to scientific knowledge and technological progress in recent years is widely appreciated – less so is what the latter has done to humanity itself. We tend to overestimate how the innovative breakthroughs of scientific research and ingenuity have enriched our lives, but tend not to reflect as much on how they have impoverished us at the same time in other ways.

Let us now visit a nomadic tribe in the Prophetic Arabia. Each tribe was a tightly-knit family that lived and struggled together. Everyone knew everyone else. The harsh environment daily faced instilled in them deep impressions of their own vulnerabilities and limitations. A sudden bout of drought, epidemic, or an enemy raid was all that was needed to efface life-long friends and loved ones. 
 


Hence a belief in the Here-After and a God-figure – effectively in charge of the (their) worldly affairs and who required constant appeasement – came as natural to the tribal man as breathing itself. Moreover, the tribal man was respectful towards nature. His God-centered world view bestowed a degree of sanctity to other creatures which after all are the handiwork of the same God. He consumed but did not waste; he killed but within limits defined by the tribal code. Primarily his battle for survival was with his immediate nonhuman environment. Owning few possessions and hence owned by a few, he was charitable to strangers perhaps due to the subconscious realization of the need for human interdependence to survive. The small-knit tribal context also granted him a high degree of personal accountability for his actions. A socially disapproved act or a habit committed by one person could linger on in the memory of one’s tribe (or worse, of the enemy tribe) for generations and could be a cause for lasting disrepute. (One must appreciate Abu Sufyan in his jahili days for replying to Emperor Heraclius’ questions concerning the Prophet’s virtues in truth lest Abu Sufyan’s friends in the audience consider him a liar). It is this social framework in which the Islamic message had the most practical success.

The modern Western secular context, in which we live, encourages not outright denial of God in our lives but His irrelevance. The scientific revolution has granted us considerable empowerment over our environment and has thereby turned life all too comfortable and secure for us to feel a real need to appease a higher power. Thanks to modern scientific breakthroughs we enjoy ready warmth in winter, coolness in summer, safety from harsh weather, protection from diseases, malnutrition and natural disasters – ills that have wiped away civilizations before us. In short, we have conquered some of our worst fears and needs. (In fact, there is research being conducted at the moment that aims to rid humanity of ‘negative’ human emotions such as guilt, grief, remorse, melancholy etc. through the use of ‘happy pills’). If a sense of vulnerability causes one to turn to God and keep one devoted to Him, then we, on account of the world-changing scientific wonders around us, have lost a part of that sense of vulnerability and helplessness. We have become largely self-sufficient, lending ear only to the scientist (or the ‘expert’) who plays the prophet role today.

Yet this does not mean that man has lost all need for God. I would argue that we need Him today more than ever – although presently we need to form a different sort of relationship with the Divine than the one traditionally held. The modern scientific revolution may have made our existence safer but it has not necessarily made it happier or more fulfilling. Statistics suggest that global suicide rates are rising every year and are the highest in the First World countries. People in a modern society have access to every material comfort upon command yet feel they lack meaningful lives. Somehow the vast urban cities, huge corporations and workplaces, mega-institutions and organizations have robbed the individual of his individuality, his uniqueness. Only in the modern context has the human existence been reduced and devalued to a number, a name-entry or a ‘prospect’. Many individuals cope with this loss of self through injudicious diversion and suppression. Abuse of medication and intoxicants, binge-shopping, excessive TV viewing and cyber chatting, gambling, workaholism, teenage delinquency are coping mechanisms that attempt to fill the sense of emptiness in our lives. Science as a philosophy is devoid of lending meaning to our existence. Whereas Islam assures us that each human is unique, sent on earth for a purpose and is a center of God’s loving attention; a God who carefully fashioned you in the womb and takes deep interest in your daily activities, and wishes success for you at the end of life’s test; science invests no particular sanctity to human (or any) existence or life roles. As a result, the present world charted by the scientist is cold and barren; a spiritual wilderness. I believe that the prime ill of the Age is not physical harm from one’s environment but personal alienation and loneliness.

The Islamic leadership and lay persons in the West must make attempts towards contextualizing Deen in their lives by highlighting aspects which may have up till now received unfair attention or neglect. (I do not advocate ‘snipping and clipping’ foundational tenets of Islam which don’t agree well with the secular modern ethos, like some modernists do). I do suggest community building efforts that bind us together on the basis of shared beliefs and a shared sense of mission. For example, in light of the present age, we must emphasize teachings of the Prophet on forming jama’ah and highlight the dangers of being isolated from our local mosque community.

Let us begin by gathering together in our local mosques and centers – young and old, males and females, students and workers – at least once a week and jointly study the Quran in a serious manner in order to seek answers for life’s major questions. We can read and reflect upon one of the many contemporary tafsirs written by eminent scholars. Let our hearts and doors open up to the potent effect of the Book which has changed destinies of nations before us. Approaching the Quran in order to understand it through a committed joint effort may be the best investment we can make for ourselves, our families and our society. Once its meanings seep into our minds and permeate our limbs, right thoughts and right actions will naturally follow from them. And once this occurs, only then can we claim to have formed a true community.



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