1. THE ISLAMIC SOCIETY

 

A study of the Quran reveals that we may divide existence into three aspects, Allah, Man and the World, where man is the mediator between the other two. Human life itself is an interaction between three corresponding factors:-

1. The Psychological factor which we can define as being intrinsically the relationship between man and Allah. This refers to the way people see, interact with and adjust to Reality.

2. The Social factor, the relationship between human beings. This has three aspects:-

            (a) The Ideological and Cultural (religion, philosophy, science, art)

            (b) The Communal (political, moral and legal conditions and systems, the way of life, marriages and family life, conventions).

            (c) The Economic (industry, commerce, finance).

 

3. The Physical factor or the relationship between man and the environment. This includes the whole planet, its climate, mineral, plant and animal life, the mountains, rivers, deserts and forests.

When we speak of these factors it should be remembered that we are not only speaking about:- (a) what is (the factual situation), but also about  (b) how people see and interpret it (the meaning) and  (c) their motives and aspirations (the values).

Karl Marx thought that only economic factors governed history and that people would act according to their economic interest. In fact, however, they act according to what they think their interest is, and this is not confined to economic ones. Nor is it independent of the current ideologies, the material, social, and the psychological condition of the people. Class divisions, though they have economic consequences and causes cannot be regarded as an economic but a socio-sexual phenomenon. They depend on inter-marriages. Economic conditions depend also on the state of Science and technology and on the Law, and these are affected by other ideas as well as environmental conditions. The difference between Capitalism and Communism, for instance, is one of Law regarding property rights etc, and these systems are not everywhere uniformly the same. Indeed, features of both can be found in various proportions in every nation. Both the physical and the psychological factors will affect and be affected by the Social system.

Social systems may be distinguished by whether the factual situation, the interpretation or the values dominate. In the one case material and economic conditions dominate social conditions, and these, in turn, govern the psychological conditions. This is largely what has happened in the Capitalist West. Communism and Socialism, on the other hand, are systems which want social control over economic as well as psychological conditions. The Islamic aim is the reverse of the Capitalist one. It requires that the economic conditions should be arranged to facilitate social welfare, and social conditions should be arranged to facilitate psychological or spiritual welfare. The purpose of the Islamic Social System is to create a consistency and harmony between the inner, social and outer life of the people.

The distinguishing feature of the Islamic Social System is Tawhid (Unity), that since Allah is One and Man is also a Unity, a Vicegerent in whom the Spirit of Allah exists and who must act on Allah’s behalf, that the human community is also One, then all aspects of his life are based on the following principle:-

“O People of the Scriptures! Now has Our Messenger come unto you, expounding unto you much of that which you used to hide in the scripture, and forgiving much. Now has come unto you light from Allah , and a plain scripture whereby Allah guides him who seeks His good pleasure unto paths of peace. He brings them out of darkness unto light by His decree, and guides them into a straight path.” 5:15-16

This means that:-

(a) The Ethics, Law, Art, Science, the Economic, Political, Cultural, Legal, Social and Spiritual Systems, all aspects of life, are all combined into a single comprehensive integrated system.

(b) That man does not invent his own systems of thought, organizations and actions, but abides by the guidelines contained in Allah’s revelation, the Quran.

(c) That Man is not the Absolute, both the source and goal of the system. He has meaning or significance with respect to something greater. His Social System is not, therefore, accidental, but has direction and purpose. This is, to serve the Creator, to aid the purposes of the Cosmic processes.

 

Because Islam is a comprehensive and fully integrated system in which all parts are interdependent and mutually supporting, it is not generally possible to ignore some pars of it while adhering to others without a great loss and even bringing the whole structure down.

“Believe ye in part of the scripture and disbelieve ye in part thereof? And what is the reward of those who do so but ignominy in the life of the world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be consigned to the most grievous doom. For Allah is not unaware of what ye do.” 2:85

 

For the purpose of study this unitary system will have to divided into parts. While the other aspects will be dealt with in other sections, here attention will be confined to the Islamic Social system, This will be studied along the following parameters:-

            (a) The general relationship between people.

            (b) The relationship between men and women.

            (c) The relationship between the generations.

 

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Relationship between People

 

 

The relationship between people depends on how they look upon one another. There are three ways of doing this:- 1. By emphasis on similarities or differences, 2. By the relationship of the individual with the Community as a whole. 3. By their relationship with the World they live in.

1. When they are regarded as different they may be regarded as another race or even another species. Slavery, for instance, reduces some human beings to the status of animals. Islam, as all religion, however, does not differentiate between races.

“O Mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain has spread abroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty towards Allah in Whom you claim your rights of one another, and towards the wombs that bare you. Lo! Allah has been a watcher over you.” 4:1 and 39:6

“Mankind were one community, and Allah sent them Prophets as bearers of good tidings and as Warners, and revealed therewith the Scriptures with the truth, that it might judge between mankind concerning that wherein they differed. Only those unto whom the Scriptures were given differed concerning it, after clear proof had come to them, through hatred of one another.” 2:13 and 10:20

 

 Several points about these verses should be noted:-

(a) Human beings belong genetically to a single species, though there are variations within it. They are related. All human beings, in so far as they are human beings, have something in common. They can all think, feel, act and have the capacity for consciousness, conscience and will. They have the same urges for self-preservation, reproduction and self-enhancement. They have experiences and can learn. They all have the same structure internally and externally.

(b) They formed a single community in the distant past. They had a religion from the very beginning consisting of spiritual leaders and teachings which kept the community together. The need to make sense of the world and adjust their behaviour to it is an inherent property of being human.

(c) Differences and conflicts arose because of differences in interest and subjective opinion when the proofs or objective factors were ignored. Experiences and attachments in contact with the environment created an acquired personality owing to greed, desires, fantasies etc which interfered with objective perception. Environmental conditioning formed a crust over the essence or inherent faculties, thereby creating self-centredness and separation. Egos arose. The community then disintegrated. We may presume that the spread of mankind occurred not only because of the expansion of the population and the search for food and resources, but also because of wars and conflicts.

(d) One result of this division must be presumed to be mutual exploitation. People ceased to regard one another as brothers and sisters, but as a different species. The question of human rights in the formal sense comes up only when natural empathy and sympathy are flouted. But these rights, as formulated in the modern world, it is noticeable, are not based on anything whatever, they are merely stated. There seems to be no justification for them in the secular world except that governments bestow them; nor do they have any stated purpose. The Islamic attitude is quite different. It is Allah in whom the rights are claimed. The difference is this, that for the Muslim they are based on objective factors, on the nature made by Allah, while for the secular world they are arbitrary results of human opinions and political processes.

(e) It would follow from the above considerations that a unified community can only be sustained when there is a common faith based on objective factors, a religion led by a Prophet or leaders loyal to him and people are once again willing to suspend subjective differences. Without this the community is united only by external coercion and is never one which is internally coherent. Thus, though Islam recognises the brotherhood of man, in effect this is reduced to the brotherhood of Muslims. This is exactly what the Prophet Muhammad set out to achieve. Despite the degeneration of Islam, its sectarian conflicts and its disintegration into different nations, the Muslims are still bound to some extent by a feeling of brotherhood.

 

 2. People can see each other with respect to the community in three distinct ways:-.

(a) As being entirely separate individuals. The Community is then a collection of individuals.

(b) As parts of an organization or machine, each having a function with respect to the purpose of the organization or machine, which is centrally controlled.

(c) As independent people conscious of being parts of a greater organism, the society, nation or humanity, life. the Cosmos The parts are dependant on the whole and vice versa, and have a function and responsibility towards the whole. This is A much more organic attitude.

 

The first attitude is the basis of Capitalism, the second of Socialism and the third is that of Islam. The idea that the individual is merely a part of the community or family with no independence is found in several cultures such as the Chinese which is a very old civilisation where ancestor worship was practised, while extreme individualism is found in the U.S.A. where it developed because of the frontier spirit required by people who abandoned their communities and migrated to new lands. Islam is neither wholly individualistic nor wholly community based. It set out to form a separate community based on an ideal, a teaching, not for economic reasons and not in a new land. The individual has a duty not only to himself, but also to the community and to the Cosmos. 

“Hold fast, all of you together, to the cable of Allah, and do not separate. And remember Allah’s favour unto you; how ye were enemies and He made friendship between your hearts so that you became like brothers by His grace....And there may spring from you a nation who invite to goodness, and enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency. Such are the successful” 3:103, 104

“O ye who believe! Ye have charge of your own souls.” 5:105

“...Those who answer the call of their Lord and establish worship and whose affairs are a matter of counsel, and who spend of what We have bestowed on them, and those who, when great wrong is done to them, defend themselves.” 42:38-39

 

3. People can see their purpose in life in three ways:-

(a) To survive and obtain the maximum advantages and pleasures for themselves while alive. This can be done by exploiting the environment and other people who are seen as the means to this end. This is a wholly materialistic attitude.

(b) As having a social function. To be part of the social processes of exchange and mutual maintenance, to aid and benefit others, to produce some kind of social difference or impact.

(c) To be part of the general human, planetary and cosmic processes of development and evolution. This is a spiritual and an objective attitude.

 

An increasingly greater number of people are entering the second stage. They have correctly seen that, since the life of the individual ends with death, there is no meaning to it apart from its function with respect to the society which is comparatively immortal and on which, in any case, they depend and from which they derive their benefits. But few belong to the third category. Even those who devote themselves to self-development tend to have a self-centred attitude. To reach this stage requires the consciousness that even the life of the community and humanity itself is part of, and dependant on, the rest of the Cosmos. And even that has limits in time.

The Islamic society is organised in order to create this consciousness, a sense of belonging not just to a community but to the whole Cosmic process, to Reality, to Allah. The Muslim should regard himself as a citizen of the Universe, the Kingdom of Allah. Each person has his own unique position in the scheme of things owing to the genetic, historical and environmental forces which form him. The words “Success” and “Righteousness” obtain their meaning with respect to this function.

“He is indeed successful who causes it (the soul) to grow, and he indeed is a failure who stunts it.” 91:9-10

“Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds...Thee alone we worship; Thee alone we ask for help. Show us the straight path...” 1:1,4,5

“Say (unto mankind, O Muhammad): I exhort you unto one thing only: that you awake, for Allah’s sake, by twos and singly, and then reflect..” 34:46

“Is he who was dead, and We raised him unto life, and set for him a light wherein he walks among men, like one in utter darkness whence he cannot emerge? Thus is their conduct made fair seeming for disbelievers.” 6:123

“And each one has a goal toward which he turns, so vie with one another in good works.” 2:148

This attitude requires that objective truth, motivation and actions should be emphasised rather than subjective ones. Since the individual is dependant on the forces and laws of the Universe and of his own nature, then it is clear that he will only harm himself if he flouts them. Human welfare and development, therefore, requires adherence to Truth. It also makes man into the Vicegerent which gives him responsibilities towards himself, other people and the world.

“Allah verily hath shown grace to the believers by sending them a messenger of their own who recites unto them His revelations, and causes them to grow, and teaches them the scripture and the wisdom, although before they were in flagrant error.” 3:164

“O ye who believe: Obey Allah and the messenger when He calls you to that which quickens you, and know that Allah comes between the man and his own heart, and that it is He it is unto whom ye will be gathered.” 8:24

“Thus We have appointed you a nation well balanced that ye may be witnesses over mankind, and that the Messenger may be a witness over you. And We appointed the Qibla (a centre of orientation) which ye formerly observed only that We might know him who turns on his heel.” 2:143

“And of those whom We created there is a nation who guide with Truth and establish Justice therewith.” 7:181

“Woe be unto those who write the Scripture with their own hands and then say : This is from Allah, that they may purchase a small gain therewith.” 2:79

“Confound not truth with falsehood, nor knowingly conceal the truth.” 2:42

It is a matter of observation and great regret that in Islamic countries conditions fall far short of the ideal, and even far short of the West in this respect. The leaders pursue their own narrow self-interest, and those who hold the power and officialdom, in particular, suffer from an enormous arrogance.  

 

There are three kinds of Social Ideals or Principles governing the life of communities.

The secular ideals among most peoples and governments are the pursuit of wealth, power, prestige and pleasure. By themselves, without the pursuit of knowledge and virtue, these ideals tend to be self-contradictory. This is because the gain of one person is the loss of another. Whereas knowledge can increase, resources on this planet do not. In so far as resources are limited the greater the wealth of an individual the greater the poverty of an increasing number of people. The greater the power of the few the greater is the enslavement of the many. The greater the prestige of the few the greater must be the obscurity of others. The greater the pleasures enjoyed, the less work will be done to produce the means. Secondly, in all cases every increase diminishes the value of each item. The more sweets you eat the less pleasure each produces. One money unit has greater value if it is one tenth of a total than if it is one thousandth part of it. Thirdly, the self-indulgence they bring cause disease and suffering. These ideals cause the neglect of social cooperation as well as objective knowledge and truth on which depends the efficiency and progress of a community, and the capacity of the individual to adjust himself to reality. They kill the soul.

A second set of social ideals exist, the ideal of the French Revolution, namely “Equality, Fraternity, Liberty”. The American also adds “the right to pursue happiness”. These inspire Western thinking. But they are mainly political slogans which do not inspire the rest of life. They may be regarded as side-stepping the real issues, and have, therefore, created more problems than they have solved. Freedom is emphasised in the Capitalist world mainly to allow enterprise. But it also creates license and self-indulgent. And it creates great inequalities. Equality is emphasised by the Communists and this justifies the repression of the more vigorous. It destroys freedom. Fraternity, Brotherhood is little understood outside religions, and seldom found. Where it exists in a restricted sense, it generates groups, classes, clans and nations, which, by their very nature, produce separation and conflicts with other groups, classes, clans and nations. The right to pursue personal happiness makes no qualifications as to how and by what means it is done and whether the goal is illusional, perverse and harmful to the individual and others or not. It ignores other people on whom a person also depends.

New political slogans have appeared recently, namely “Freedom, Democracy, and Civilisation”. These are used mainly by the US Political masters to justify their military actions against those who do not conform to the interests of those who hold the power and wealth and run the US Government. These can be means to an end that may be good or bad and tend to have different meanings for different people and are not generally understood at all. As Politics is associated with Economics and Military power in the secular world of which the USA is the leader, another set of slogans has also made an appearance, namely, “Efficiency, Progress, and Profit”. This is connected with the triad of means, namely “Science, Technology, and Organisation”.

A third set of Ideals is the Islamic one. As Islam is “Surrender to Allah”, the Islamic ideals can be formulated as “Unity, Justice, Compassion and Truth”, which are the main attributes of Allah, They are more objective in that they are connected with the basic nature of life, and have a more comprehensive application.

Worldly benefits

Islam is not against the pursuit of wealth and the good things of this life, but not at the expense of social and spiritual welfare. The Islamic system combines the spiritual, and the social with the worldly.

“O ye who believe! Forbid not the good things which Allah hath made lawful for you, and transgress not.” 5:87

“And when you have completed your devotions, then remember Allah as you remember your fathers or with a more lively remembrance. But of mankind is he who prays: Out Lord! Give us in the world. And he has no portion in the Hereafter. And of them is also he who prays: Our Lord! Give us in the world that which is good, and in the Hereafter that which is good, and guard us from the doom of Fire. For them there is in store a goodly portion out of that which they have earned.” 2: 200-202

Note that the second man asks for what is good even in this world while the first man makes no such discrimination. Human beings have material as well as social and spiritual needs. Upbringing, social conditioning, specially by the propaganda of advertisers and the pressure of the media, can and do produce wants and desires which ignore needs, misinterpret or divert them, and create addictions which are often harmful. If needs are frustrated then there can be no happiness. A vicious circle appears in which the individual tries hard to achieve the satisfaction of his needs, but having misinterpreted these, no satisfaction is gained and he has to try again and again with increasing pressure on inner and outer resources to no avail.

The intelligentsia in India tended to withdraw from the rest of society for spiritual purposes, leaving it to fend for itself, while those in the West concentrated their attention on changing environmental conditions. This made the difference between East and West. The one neglected the outer world and increasing poverty itself prevents the majority of people from the spiritual life. The other neglected the inner world causing the psychological and social problems which also threaten the material prosperity of the world, its usefulness and its enjoyment. Moral development has not kept up with technological development. There is a degree of self-contradiction in both. The Socialist systems tried to change the social conditions, but to do this they sacrificed both economic development and psychological welfare.

It is, therefore, necessary to establish conditions which will provide beneficial circumstances, facilitate development and encourage good efforts. Islam neither favours withdrawal from the world nor involvement in it. Islam is the Middle Way (Quran 2:143). Man, as vicegerent, has a responsibility towards the world, his community and himself. The three are inter-dependant. The world itself provides enough opportunities and tools to facilitate human development.

Freedom

Islam recognizes the need for social and material freedom. The struggle against persecution, oppression and tyranny is justified.

“There is no compulsion in religion...” 2:256

“Persecution is worse than killing....” 2:217

“And whoever defends himself after he has suffered wrong - for such there is no blame. Blame is only against those who oppress mankind, and wrongfully rebel in the earth.” 42:41-42   

Freedom depends on three factors:- material (environmental and economic), social (political and cultural), and psychological (awareness, knowledge, self-knowledge, ability, self-control, motivation, desire). Social conditions affect both the inner and outer conditions. There is cultural pressure which forms desires and values, cooperation in obtaining fulfilment of these desires, and in changing the environment.

Freedom can be defined in several ways:-

1. Freedom is seen as meaning that a person’s thought, feelings and actions are undetermined by an external or internal cause. But if this is so then it has no purpose or reason. If it is uncaused it is completely arbitrary and related to nothing. It can only cause disorder. At least a value system is required. Human beings are not and cannot be free. They are dependant on (a) their own nature, (b) on each other and (c) on the environment.  They get an input, they process this, and produce an output. This constitutes an input for the environment which also processes it and produces an output, which may become an input for man. Their actions affect their environment, and their environment affects them. And these interactions are mediated by the social system. What they receive depends on their action, and their action depends on what they receive. And both depend on how they process the material, which depends on their nature, circumstances and efforts. Nothing can be obtained without some kind of payment. Thus privileges received depend on obligations discharged.  

Their freedom is limited by:-

(a) The laws and processes of nature, The possibilities or impossibilities contained in their situation.

(b) the inner physiological and psychological organization and their limitations.

(c) The cultural, social and environmental conditioning they have undergone.

(d) The forces, impressions, information coming from their social and material environment.

(e) the effects and restrictions produced by other things in the environment, structures, people, organizations and their rules.

(f) the obligations and duties which a situation demands. If a person does not fulfil these he will reap the lawful consequences. In this respect all human beings are equal. Everyone is subject to precisely the same laws.

(g) The level of functioning - mechanical reaction; automatisms and habit; the capacity for, the desire to, and the direction of, reasoning; insight and inspiration.

 

2. Freedom to do as ones desires. This definition also has problems:-

(a) Desires often conflict with one another within oneself. The fulfillment of one is the frustration of another.

(b) There is outer conflict since the fulfillment of the desires of one person may be obtained at the expense of frustration in another

(c) He who desires to eat an apple when none are available is not free to do so. But if a pear is available then he merely needs to change his desire for a pear and he is free. It is not necessarily the case that fulfillment depends on outer conditions.

(c) People can be conditioned by the environment and the culture to desire or not to desire certain things. They have a value system.

(d) People may desire to harm others. This is not allowed by any society.

(e) A desire, moreover, may conflict with what a person needs and is good for him. The harm he does himself is certainly not desired, but abhorred. Freedom may, therefore, be obtained not only by fulfilling a desire but also by changing the desire or the circumstances in which the desire and its fulfillment arise.

 

3. Freedom is often seen as meaning the number of possible alternative actions, the number of alternative situations and the ability to make appropriate choices between them. If Freedom has meaning only with respect to a desire, then given the correct situation appropriate to an inner condition, the desire is fulfilled. All other alternatives are redundant. Animals have few desires and exist in situations where they can fulfill them. But if conditions change they cannot. It all depends on their adaptability or versatility. This is much greater in human beings. Greater variety of external situations may be required in a community because the variation between people is great, and each requires different situations to fulfill desires. Inner versatility may be required because (a) environmental conditions are constantly changing, (b) human beings have to change conditions (c) they have to deal with or migrate to an increasing number of new conditions. This may be because of the pressure of an expanding population or the social pressures for progress or increasing awareness of responsibilities. All this requires adaptation and depends on inner psychological factors. 

 

4. The Political idea of ‘freedom’ is the right to self-determination, without interference from the State, dictators. power groups or other people. It is generally understood as the right of the citizen to act according to his own desires, right or wrong, This is, however, never achieved and cannot be wholly achieved. States always pass laws which restrict or compel people. They also affect the material and economic conditions and exert psychological effects by the control of information and use of propaganda. It is an ideal to be aimed at as far as possible rather than an actual state. Some systems are better than others in this respect. The Communists, on the other hand, define freedom from the economic point of view. The poor and the economically oppressed, they point out, have no freedom. Freedom, however, is restricted also by other material conditions. The conditions in a hot desert, rain forests, and the icy poles, for instance, exert their own pressures and compulsions. So do the factory environments and the cities. You cannot get from one place to another without taking complicated routes, avoiding buildings, obeying traffic signals and tolerating the noise and congestion. It is also restricted by mental conditioning either deliberately by states and interest groups through propaganda, advertisement, and publicity techniques or by social and cultural pressures. Methods of deliberately manipulating information by selection, suppression, distortion, invention, biased interpretation, reorganization, changing contexts, exaggeration, reduction and simplification are also used. All these restrict self-determination.

However, self-determination ought to mean that a person himself assesses the external situation, his inner needs and abilities, himself decides how he can relate the two, acts accordingly and takes the responsibility for the consequences. He, therefore, has the duty to acquire the information and skills and to change the circumstances. Islam also requires this kind of freedom:-

“O ye who believe! Ye have charge of your own souls.” 5:105

 

5. The state of desirelessness and absence of all inner and outer compulsions. A man may go the mountain top and feel this complete freedom. A state of ecstasy is associated with it. This is why some drugs are used and techniques have been invented to reproduce these feelings. The fulfillment of a need also produces this joy. It cannot be denied that all human actions, whether spiritual, social or material have exactly the same purpose, to attain this state of freedom and happiness. Some try to do this in the material world through possessions, technology and organization; some through cultural means, the sciences, arts and entertainment, and others through drugs or techniques such as meditation. However, the feeling is brief since man is only a part of the world, dependant on it, and has a function with respect to it. It is not possible to attain a permanent state until the function is fulfilled and external, social and internal harmony is achieved permanently. Things in the world keep changing and a person also keeps changing by the very fact that he is alive. Desires are often misinterpreted, so that the desire pursued is not necessarily one which will lead to happiness. Correct awareness is required. A desire may also be simply an inner compulsion or automatism which is not freedom and both its operation and its fulfillment produce suffering.

 

6. A state of identification. Human beings are made for action. If they do not act they deteriorate. They can do what is good or what is bad. If they do not like what is good and are compelled to do so then this is felt as a restriction of freedom. If, however, they desire and like to do what is good then they enjoy it and there is no restriction of freedom. A scientist or artist who loves his work does not find it irksome. It is often thought that evil exists because it is enjoyable while the good is difficult because it is not. But this can be reversed by the cultivation of correct attitudes. This is precisely the function of religions. The fact is that the Universe and human nature have a certain structure such that certain actions will harm or benefit man.

 

7. Freedom ultimately can only mean the ability to fulfill oneself. The point of interest is not so much that desires exist and that their fulfillment creates pleasure and happiness, but what and why they do so. It has a purpose. The purpose of the pleasure associated with eating and sex is to maintain life and reproduce. It is not the pleasure but these purposes which are important and the pleasure is a side effect.

Since man is interdependent with the environment this requires three things:- Correct (a) environmental conditions (b) social conditions. (c) inner conditions. The inner conditions consist of (i) knowing what is beneficial, (ii) having the inner motivation and desires to obtain it, (iii) having the ability and skills. Thus oppression, in Islam, refers only to social conditions which prevent a person from fulfilling himself. This may consist of coercion; restriction of action, speech and social intercourse; mental conditioning; the withdrawal or distortion of information, materials and other means. The duty to improve the inner conditions will of themselves lead to the improvement of the outer material conditions.

“Allah changes not the condition of a folk until they first change what is in their hearts.” 13:11

No matter how the political or material conditions are changed, people will change them according to their own nature. They change the outer conditions according to (a) how they interpret events (b) by their behaviour and actions and (c) much more directly by the kind of substances and radiations they absorb, transform and emit.

Psychological freedom is of greatest importance as the social and environmental freedoms depend on it. Apathy, stupidity and cowardice produce social slavery. The greatest source of disability is inner compulsions, obsessions, addictions, antipathies, phobias, fantasies, self-deception, rationalizations, hypocrisy, repression, reductionism, exaggeration, projection, introjection, displacement, identification, distortion, mechanicalness, conditioning, fixations, complexes, gullibility, cynicism, compensations, disintegration and so on. Islam is concerned primarily with freedom and power at this level. The other kinds of freedom are a means to this end.

In order to fulfill his potentialities and purpose three things are necessary:- freedom, discipline and guidance. Freedom and power are related terms, and both are judged by the purpose. But the word ‘power’ is ambiguous. It could mean personal power e.g. abilities or social power, that is power over others, or power over things in the material environment. They are not the same, though the one may facilitate the other. Power over others may, for instance, be derived from organization, wealth or prestige, rather than from ability. Power to manipulate material things depends on means (e.g. possession of wealth), on social power through organization, on technology, on knowledge, and ultimately on power over ones own faculties. The possession of these is regarded as bestowing equivalent responsibilities on the owner. Needless to say Islam is interested in the development of personal powers. Social power is self-contradictory since the increase in the power of one person is proportional to the loss of power in others. It may well be the case that the concentration of power in the hands of the few highly able men produces greater benefits, but not necessarily so. It may be used to do evil, or it may obstruct the development of powers in others. Thus, though Islam recognizes the existence of, and the benefits of social power, these are regarded as gifts of Allah, which bestow responsibility. A person has power within a community because of that community and should use it to benefit that community. Hierarchies, of course, exist also among animals. They exist because this bestows an evolutional function.

Freedom is, therefore, not regarded as a basic virtue, but good when used for good and bad when used for evil. However, the individual is in charge of his own soul and it is impossible for human beings to develop if their initiative, creativity and responsibility, the divine qualities, are taken away from them. They become robots. Since the purpose of Islamic society is development, freedom is an essential means to this. Allah himself gave man freedom though he used it to do evil. This evil, however, is to be punished.

Equality

As the verses quoted at the beginning show, Islam recognises the unity of mankind and, therefore, the equality of all human beings. It admits no distinction of race, class, creed, wealth or status. All have been created by Allah and are equally under the law of cause and effect. Human beings are not their own creations. The function of the Head of a State, for instance, is not more important than that of some humble carpenter. (Quran 80). When judging behaviour it has to be assumed that people are equally free and are not hampered. Freedom and equality are implicit in the notion of Justice. However, equality is not merely a theoretical or legal concept. People are required to respect each other. Hence politeness, tolerance, consideration and a degree of humility are important. People ought not to behave arrogantly, in a self-centred manner or insult others, assault their dignity or belittle them, either in fact or in thought.

Certain qualifications to the Principle of Equality should, however, be recognized:-

1. Equality should not be mistaken for similarity, or vice versa. People are dissimilar and this is a great advantage for human beings, since it increases the range of talents and abilities. Dissimilarity implies that some people are superior to others in certain respects while being inferior to them in other respects. Equality may be maintained by the dissimilar treatment of dissimilars. Because of these dissimilarities it is difficult to make comparisons and it is not generally helpful to speak about superiority or inferiority. Islam recognizes diversity. It does not encourage the imposition of uniformity and similarity. Individuals are not to be judged by comparison with each other but with respect to the demands of the situation they are in.

2. The term ‘Equality’ is used ambiguously. There are several modes of comparison.

(a) There is little doubt that some people are larger, stronger, more intelligent, more able than others. People are not equal in the inherent sense. Islam recognizes these differences.  These qualities, however, have been provided by Allah and have not been created by a person himself. Neither arrogance or servility, nor superiority or inferiority complexes, can be justified. The greater the power, prestige or wealth the greater is the responsibility which the individual is regarded as having.

(b) Some people are internally or psychologically freer and more able than others. They have greater capacity for perception, conscience or self-control. Some may be hampered by disease and other disabilities. Islam requires the healing of the disease and the cultivation of greater inner powers. The community as a whole and individuals in it are required to aid this. The exploitation of the weaknesses of others is forbidden.

(c) Some have greater knowledge or experience. Inequalities also arise owing to age, maturation, and because of the learning process. The baby is not equal to the child, and the child to the adult. Nor is a person lower in the educational or experiential ladder equal to one who is higher. Since Allah is supreme in Islam, things must be ultimately judged by Truth value. Islam, therefore, requires respect for those who have greater knowledge and experience, The younger generation must respect the older, the children must respect the parents, and younger siblings respect the older.

(d) Circumstances create differences. Some people are more fortunate and have greater opportunities than others. Islam does not require this kind of equality. However, it is Allah who has created the circumstances, and a person is required to use them for the general good rather than take advantages of them at the expense of the less fortunate.

(e) Differences in power owing to wealth, organization, prestige or technology. The ownership of machinery and instruments gives a person advantages over others. The person with a gun can be said to be superior to the person whom he controls with it. But this certainly does not bestow personal superiority. These objects are neutral. It is their use which may be good or bad, and for this the individual is responsible. The same may be said about power obtained through wealth, position and prestige.

(f) People differ morally according to their motives and behaviour. Some people do or strive to do more good than others. Whereas we are not responsible for our inherent faculties and talents, we are responsible for what we do with them. Here value Judgements are applied. Islam, therefore, judges people according to their characters.

(g) The terms, Inferiority and Superiority also apply to social rank, functions or position in a hierarchy. The superior officer is not necessarily superior factually or morally to the person he commands. Islam does not require equality in this sense. But the position of the individual depends not on himself but on the way the society is organized. Ultimately, it depends on Allah who has allowed the society to be so organized and given the person the appropriate talents and opportunities. There is no justification for arrogance because of this.

(h) Some have more forceful personalities than others. Some have qualities of leadership while others make loyal and trustworthy followers. Islam recognizes the differences in personality, but does not condone arrogance, pride and mistreatment. No person is the creator of his own talents or temperament.

(i) In Islam the term equality is applies to a mental attitudes, the respect, courtesy and consideration with which people treat each other. Equality means that a person sees others as he sees himself and treats them accordingly. Some people behave subserviently towards others. Others want to dominate them or treat them with contempt. Some people consider themselves superior because of their birth, upbringing, the class or group they belong to, their manners or their ideologies or religions. These are to be judged by their qualities and the effects they have on people. The individual is to be judged by his own merits, not by association. Islam requires a person to treat others as he would like to be treated himself. This requires that the individual should always we aware of the needs of others and of his own behaviour, be able to place himself in other people’s situations, and criticize himself.

(j) Justice requires equality of judgment before the law. We cannot measure the difference between people unless we use the same standards. Different standards must be used for different situations or aspects. The same standards are not used in peace as in war, in times of plenty as in times of famine. Children are not treated the same way as adults, nor women as men. Treating dissimilar people similarly does not constitute equal treatment. Islam requires equality in this sense. The struggle for human equality is not usually a matter of facts or organization but of Justice. It is not possible to demand factual equality.

3. Circumstances dictate which characteristics are more or less useful. The same characteristics may be useful under one set of circumstances and harmful in another. Thus superiority or inferiority depends on circumstances rather than person. The perception of what is superior or inferior also changes with circumstances and culture. Contradictions may arise between one set of values and another. Islam requires the development of adaptability.

4. Equality may be achieved by disabling or reducing some people, or it may be achieved by lifting people to a higher level. The former happens under communism, and leads to disaster. Islam favours development more than reduction to equality.

5. Nature creates difference and inequalities. There are higher and lower animals. But they all have a function in the scheme of things. Evolution is seen in Islam in a holistic manner. Everything has a function in its own particular situation. The desire for equality is usually a subjective, ego-centric and selfish one. Islam is more interested in how well a person performs in the situation in which he or she is. (4:32)

6. Knowledge and skills have developed over the centuries to such an extent that no person can possibly possess all the knowledge and skills. It is distributed among a great number of people. Organization, too, makes people inter-dependant. This makes everyone equally important. No man can achieve anything unaided. He depends for his food, ideas, position and everything he has on the work of others. The business man depends on his customers, and the ruler on the ruled. The function of the cleaner is not less important than that of the governor.

7. When speaking of factual differences we are speaking about averages. Though women are on the average physically weaker than men, this does not apply to particular individuals. A particular woman may well be physically stronger than a particular man. The same applies to talents and intelligence.

8. The requirements of morality are that those who are better endowed should use their assets to help the development of the less fortunate, not to gain advantages at their expense.  

9. Unequal achievements depend not only on inherent abilities, but also on environmental factors, that is, on education, training and experience. A person having much natural abilities without education or training may achieve less than someone else with less ability but much training or experience. In particular, achievement depends largely on the existence of self-confidence, single-mindedness and the direction of ambition. These may be created by circumstances and upbringing.

10. Achievement depends also on the intensity of the efforts made. A person having a great deal of ability and education may not be sufficiently motivated and may make little effort to achieve anything. Another person with less ability and education may make much effort and achieve much. Islam judges people according to the efforts they make and how they apply the talents and opportunities they possess. This requires knowledge. Hence, the acquisition of knowledge has a central place in Islam. Knowledge refers to facts as well as values. Whereas action is under a person’s control, achievement depends also on other conditions which are not under a person’s control. In other words, it depends on Allah.

11. Efforts may be applied wrongly and in wrong places, thereby achieving nothing. Talents may be used for destructive purposes. The result of efforts depends on external factors often beyond the control of the person. The effort is, therefore, judged by the intentions rather than the external results. Efforts also have inner results. They modify the person. Each action, for instance, makes a similar action easier. Exercise causes muscles to grow. Experience creates talents.

12. Achievements are not necessarily externally or physically visible. They may be subtle, psychological, or they may consist of the influences a person sheds on others. The efforts may be applied to, or modify, the individual himself internally. Such internal modification will, however, produce changes in behaviour which affect others, who may then also become internally modified or produce environmental changes. Conversely, the environmental changes made by a person may affect others in whom they produce internal changes. Ultimately, what matters is the development of the human race.

Brotherhood

In Islam the relationship between people is to be governed by the principle of brotherhood. It contains an element of (a) equality and (b) freedom, but also (c) obligation. All Human beings are, in fact, related by blood. But when they are also related externally by dependence on a common environment and psychologically by a common culture and ideology, then this principle becomes even more important.

“The believers are naught else than brothers. Therefore make peace between your brethren and observe your duty to Allah that ye may haply obtain mercy.” 49:10      

Brotherhood implies that there should be mutual respect, cooperation, help, advice, encouragement to do what is good and to prevent the doing of evil. The spirit of Allah exists in all, and Allah is One. All have the same right as well as duty to self-fulfilment, but also the obligation to aid others to fulfil themselves and to be so aided. No man should take advantage of another for his own purposes. People should not coerce each other but respect each other as independent individuals having their own function, rights, responsibility, initiative and creativity. The establishment of this is not only one of attitude, but also of law, customs, etiquette, manners, and conventions. They reinforce this attitude and form part of the whole educational environment.

The Islamic community should, therefore, function like a large extended family. Each person, ideally, sees himself as part of a greater whole with respect to which he has a function. Each person is the others but for certain physical, temperamental and circumstantial differences. The Islamic Society is based on the Community, the Umma, and not on territory, bureaucracy, or ideology. Nationalism and patriotism are foreign to it. All affairs should, therefore, be conducted by benevolence, mutual consultation, agreement and consent. Contracts and treaties are, therefore, emphasised in Islam. It requires that those who have greater talents and assets should use them to help those with less.

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As human beings live in communities, there are three forms of behaviour:-

(a) the independent behaviour of individuals in their own interest. (b) the interactions between individuals and groups. (c) the welfare of the community as a whole.

Though each is dependant on and affects the others, there may be conflict between them. Islam requires that all these aspects should conform to the Will of Allah if they are to be beneficial. It, therefore, recognises three forms of interaction:-

(a) Personal responsibility. (5:105)

(b) Consultation, negotiation, agreements, contracts, treaties. (3:159, 42:38, 5:1, 2:282)

(c) Obedience to Authority, being exercised on behalf of the community as a whole. (4:59)

 

Human relationships in a society are governed by (a) competition (b) cooperation (c) authority.

Competition is emphasised in Capitalism and authority in Communism. Cooperation is emphasised in Islam.

“And those who answer the call of their Lord and establish worship, and whose affairs are a matter of consultation and who spend of what We have bestowed on them (for others)” 42:38

“...so pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult with them upon the conduct of affairs.” 3:159

The Principle of Brotherhood does not exclude competition and authority, but the emphasis on cooperation changes their nature. Competition is encouraged in achieving excellence, but it excludes destructive or vain rivalry.

”..... so vie with one another in good works. Wheresoever ye may be Allah will bring you together.”” 2:148

Since each person is a khalifa, a vicegerent, each person has to discover, develop and fulfil his own function. This is a much wider concept than a profession. This refers to a function with respect to the society, and even that as part of a function with respect to the Cosmic process.

All dominance of one man over another through wealth, power or prestige which creates the master slave relationship should have been excluded. Slavery, may, however, be physical, social or psychological. It may be caused either by those who are domineering or by those who are subservient or by the social structure. Rebelliousness and defiance are usually the other face of slavery. Apparent outer economic, political or ideological freedom is, however, not sufficient since the slave mentality may still exist. Psychological slavery is the worst of the three. This consists of slavery through lust and greed, to limited worldly things. The individual is fettered to them. The source of this enslavement is the ego which arises by identification of oneself with one’s body and sense experiences. The individual is then wholly controlled by objects and events and has no control over himself or his environment. The ego-centric person is said to be Spiritually Asleep, or in worse cases, Spiritually Dead. The purpose of the Islamic society is Spiritual awakening. A person can only be spiritually awakened or resurrected if he dies egotistically. That is, if he Surrenders. Hence the exhortation “Die before your death”.

Connected with this is the notion of “poverty”. This notion needs explanation. Poverty is a virtue in Islam. The prophet is reported to have said “Poverty is my glory”. Poverty can be economic, social or psychological. A certain amount of material resources are necessary for self-preservation, social intercourse and psychological development. But an excess can be harmful. It is specially harmful if it is pursued at the expense of one’s own social and psychological welfare or that of others. An excess of property, particularly if it is unnecessary, becomes a burden. Not only does it need to be maintained and protected, but it ties a person down to a place as well as in thought, thereby destroying his freedom.

Social poverty refers to the absence of the need for, and the burdens imposed by, popularity, prestige, power, the need to seek attention and publicity or to conform to conventions and the opinions of others. Poverty, therefore, bestows self-sufficiency. But the poverty due to lack of friends, family and the beneficial influences which come from the culture and exchange of services and ideas is not a virtue. Generally speaking a person is rich in these in proportion to his poverty in the former.

The main significance of poverty lies in the psychological field. A person is said to be ego-rich when he is full of desires, self-opinion, self-importance, obsessions, phobias, addictions, prejudices and attachment to ideas, property, wealth, power, prestige and pleasure. He is mentally conditioned by them. He is also referred to as a prisoner. In more extreme cases he is spiritually dead and in need of resurrection. An economically or socially poor man is often also burdened psychologically because he is full of envy, greed and self-pity, and can think of little but money and how to get some. We must not suppose that poverty of this kind is a virtue. Many rich men are free of this and can easily give up their wealth, but retain it because they can put it to good use. Despite the outer wealth they remain poor in spirit. Power and prestige can be used similarly. From the Islamic point of view wealth, power and prestige are trusts which bestow responsibility.

The notions of death and resurrection, poverty and riches, slave and master, imprisonment and liberation, growth and decay are all different aspects of the notion of Surrender. They are also found in numerous man-made cults. The difference between them and Islam lies in this that Islam requires voluntary and deliberate conscious Surrender which the others do not. The substitution of one personality for another, one ideology or set of values for another, specially if it has been achieved by coercion, conditioning techniques, threats, bribes or manipulation of information, emotions and regimentation, is not spiritual death and resurrection, liberation and enrichment. It is true that the Quran speaks of Paradise and Hell as reward and punishment. This appears to constitute bribery and threat, and to condone conditioning, but three things should be clarified about this:-

Firstly, they are symbolic descriptions of certain facts about reality rather than threats or bribes.

Secondly, they refer to psychological or spiritual effects rather than physical ones.

Thirdly, all actions require a motive. The motive should be conscious. It cannot be a motive if it is automatic and unconscious, as is usually the case. The real motive should be faith , love and hope, i.e. Surrender to Allah, not the achievement of paradise or avoidance of hell. The reward and punishment are effects of correct motives.

 

As for pleasure. Islam is not opposed to it as long as it is not harmful. The pursuit of pleasure for its own sake, as an end in itself is, however, discouraged. Pleasure and pain, in essence are a side effect or indicators of what is beneficial or harmful. The one attracts towards one goal and the other repels from the opposite. The focus of attention is not the pleasure and pain itself, but what it is that produces them. If those activities which were self-destructive were pleasurable then this would have destroyed the race and with it the pursuit of pleasure. Both have equal potentialities in learning and development, and can be so used. Human beings, unfortunately, are prone to acquiring false motives due to associations, fantasy and habit formation. Pleasure, therefore, becomes associated with destructive or harmful behaviour. It is not that a person should avoid pleasure or do what is unpleasant, but rather that he should learn to enjoy doing what is right and good, and hate what is wrong and evil. This is perfectly possible because his conditioning has perverted his natural tastes in the first place. If he can be conditioned he can also be deconditioned.

 

The purpose of the Islamic social system is to set up cooperative and concerted actions to free man psychologically, though economic and political freedom will also have to be fought for as a means to this end.

The employment of one person by another for the formers interest, as found throughout the Capitalist world, should be regarded as a form of slavery which Islam came to abolish. The political domination of a class or family or organisation is also excluded. Islam does not have a church or Priesthood. Nor is Ideological domination accepted. Each individual has to think and seek knowledge for himself. Knowledge should not be confused with opinion, nor is it the same thing as accepting what someone else knows or thinks. This realisation would abolish the formation of sects, since these depend on following the literal ideas of some leader without understanding and assimilation.

Islam does not separate the spiritual, social and material aspects of life. Work for Muslims ought to have a psychological, social as well as an economic function. It is done not only to earn a living, but to do it in a socially responsible manner so that it produces benefits for the whole community, is done honestly with service in mind and does no harm to people or the environment. It is also done to develop skills, ableness, control, virtue, excellence, patience, knowledge, experience, awareness, objectivity. and the joy of achievement and self-fulfilment. It is part of the Islamic developmental system. These are certainly not considerations where people are employed for the profit of employers. This makes them into commodities or machines used as means having no value in themselves.

Communities live in villages, town, cities, districts, provinces, nations and so on. Consider a city, its houses, factories, offices, roads, transport system, parks and so on. The city may have grown up by the separate activities of the individuals in a haphazard manner. Or a central authority, through a bureaucracy, may have imposed a plan and order on this growth. Neither of these should be possible in Islamic communities. All such planning, action and construction would have to be done in consultation and with the participation of the community. Their ideas, objections and suggestions would have to be taken into account. It is not the case that the people have a right to elect some remote Councillors or Members of Parliaments to whom the rights, responsibility and authority is surrendered, but that all the people have a right to attend an Assembly and these councillors are always responsible to the people. The Mosque is not only a place of worship, but it is also a place where such Assemblies and conferences can take place and where spiritual, social, civic, economic and political affairs can be discussed and settled.

Marriage is regarded as half of religion. The family is regarded as the unit of a society since it is here where the individuals are bound most closely by affection. The society, then becomes a network of families bound by inter-marriages. The opposite is not true. The society is not a collection of separate individuals in constant flux, coming together to form temporary liaisons. Indeed, this is not how the rest of the world is constructed. All objects are organisations of stable units. The community grows out of the family, not the reverse, just as the millions of cells in the human body grow from the fertilised cell, and humanity grew from a single ancestry. The welfare and development of the new generation depends on stability of the family. Thus, the strengthening of the family is a main purpose of Islam.

Apart from economic work and civil responsibilities an important aspect of life is entertainment and social and cultural activities. The purpose of this is not merely relaxation and the relief of tension, to produce the joys of living, but it smoothes social interactions and creates unity. It also has an educational and developmental effect. Islam is not in favour of professional or public entertainment and art in which the people are passive spectators. People ought to create their own entertainment, and use and develop their own skills. Entertainments such as dancing and music, which may reduce self-control and offer temptations which disrupt the family, are mostly confined within the family circle. However, other kinds of entertainment such as Sports, may take place in public. One form of entertainment found wide spread in Islamic countries is story telling and poetry recitation. These may be in the form of competitions where the participants are themselves the authors. This, to a large extent, replaces the formal published novel. Drama may also take this form.   

The family is understood in its extended sense since the spouses not only form a new family, but also come from families of their own. Each individual is a link between families. The extended family, therefore, includes uncles and aunts, nephews and nieces, cousins, grandparents and grandchildren, the families of brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, fathers and mothers. Close friends also acquire this status, and so do servants and their families. The servant is not, or ought not to be, a person in the Western sense of the word who can be engaged and dismissed at will by an employer without responsibilities and obligations beyond wages and generally treated as an alien inferior. He is one who has become associated with the family, and shares their life. The distinction between servant and members of the family are not strictly defined, and from the Islamic point of view ought not to be. They may be regarded as having been adopted, perhaps as an act of charity because of their poverty, disability or widowhood. Adoption of orphaned children into the family is also allowed and recommended. The Muslim is responsible for the state of the society in which he lives.

Authority

All this does not, however, mean that the Muslim does not accept leadership and authority. As already pointed out Islam inculcates respect for knowledge, experience and ability. This makes it hierarchical. He accepts authority voluntarily because he recognises the qualities, abilities and knowledge of the leader. It is to his own advantage, as well as to the advantage of the community as whole, if they follow an able leader. This assumes, of course, that the leader recognises his responsibility towards the community, does not exploit it for his own advantage, but helps and guides it.

“O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger and those of you who are in Authority. And if ye have a dispute concerning any matter, refer it to Allah and the messenger if ye are in truth believers in Allah and the Last Day. That is better and more seemly in the end.” 4:59

Such an exhortation would not have been necessary if it was to be imposed by force.

The Muslim is required to obey only Allah, and the others only because they speak or act for Allah, and because He has commanded this.

This implies obedience to:-

(a) The person’s own spirit, his consciousness, conscience and will, in so far as it is uncovered and not confused with fantasies, rationalizations, prejudices etc, It is because the spirit is dormant in people (i.e. they have suffered the Fall) that they require external Authorities.

(b) The scriptures, in so far as their correct meaning can be determined by deep scholarship, religious practices and meditation.

(c) The objective truth in so far as it can be determined by observation, research, experiment, calculation and thought.

(d) The will of the people, in so far as can be determined and has been formed by natural forces, inherent and environmental.

(e) The people who have acquired knowledge, ability and responsibility with respect to the above categories.

 

Authority has several meanings here.

1. The Prophet is as an Authority because the Spirit was active in him. Allah spoke and acted through him. The prophet is an authority for the person who accepts this. Conversely the person about whom this is believed is a Prophet for them.

2. An Authority is one who has the correct qualifications in knowledge, ability and motivation.

3. An Authority is one who has been given a particular social function. Here his ability or knowledge is not under consideration. The point is that he is legally empowered and limited to do certain things, Governors and other State officials for example.

4. In a community of people differences and conflicts of opinion and interest are inevitable. This would lead to chaos, which is in no one’s interest. An Arbiter or Umpire has to exist whose decision is accepted by all for the sake of social order. The society is a greater thing than the individual, and the individuals undertake to abide by his ruling.

 Obedience to Authority is part of Surrender. But this Authority too must be in a state of Surrender to Allah, otherwise the subject will be in a state of Idolatry. It is well known that power corrupts both the person who has it and the community. Authority is, therefore, limited by certain requirement.

1. Authority is exercised on behalf of Allah. That those in Authority consult with Allah through study and prayer and adherence to the Law. That they are motivated by objective values.

2. That the Authorities consult each other in order to come to a consensus of opinion.

3. Authority is not sought by those who are placed in it.

4. Authority is exercised for the benefit of those over whom authority is held.

5. Authority should be wielded by consultation with, and with the consent of, those under it.

 

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The kind of society Muslims are required to set up is one having the following characteristics:-

The people are guided by consciousness, conscience and will, that is, they have a high level of awareness and comprehensive knowledge, ideals, value system and motivation, self-control and skills. They are independent, internally and externally free, self-reliant, intelligent, skilled and able, responsible, orderly, stable, unselfish, egoless, sober, tranquil, serene, friendly, gentle, polite, well-mannered, cultured, graceful and gracious, generous in mind and behaviour, mutually considerate, helpful, relaxed, inwardly secure, good humoured, truthful, tolerant, controlled, moderate in speech and action, modest, simple in life style, behaviour and relationships, direct, decisive, open, genuine, undemanding, uncomplaining, accepting, trusting and trustworthy, dependable and cooperative. They have a good community life, and are free of greed, lust, pride, vanity, violence, hypocrisy, posturing, bickering, backbiting, self-opinion, They are not argumentative, confrontational, and aggressive. They strive for knowledge, virtue, beauty, skill, and what is useful, consult with each other, advise guide each other towards the objective good, live in harmony with the environment, and arrange all their affairs in an intelligent and ordered manner. They balance spiritual, social and environmental concerns and responsibilities. Their behaviour is governed by a striving for high purpose and ideals. The ideal in many parts of the Islamic civilisation in the past was an educated man, who not only had a skilled profession, which was at once successful, personally fulfilling and socially useful, but one who was also an able soldier, had knowledge of the sciences, could think and discuss rationally a wide variety of subjects, was a poet or musician, had the social graces, concerns and abilities, possessed self-control, charity and other spiritual qualities, and strove for excellence and self-expansion in all these respects.

In contrast many nations have set up systems in which the people become increasingly selfish, self-opinionated, arrogant, ambitious, materialistic, competitive, pushy, demanding, criticising, back-biting, tense, uncertain, fearful, anxious, aggressive, violent, full of posturing and complexities in mind and behaviour, greedy, lecherous, vain, secretive, lying, deceiving, self-deceiving, hypocritical, defensive, barrier creating, crude, impolite, inconsiderate, indifferent to others, dissatisfied, frustrated, bitter, negativistic, confrontational, resistive, escapist, defensive, dangerous, paranoid, trampling on the rights and feelings of others, superstitious, prejudiced, scandal-mongering, gossiping, delighting in the misfortune of others, They exploit, pollute, waste and disrupt the environment and create mischief in the world. These are results of what has been called the Rat Race in which all are constantly jostling for wealth, power or position.

Though these ideals should have created a high civilisation, all existing Muslim nations and communities have fallen far short of them. Observation confirms that all the above vices are also wide spread among Muslims. Though, there are exceptions, foreign domination and oppression by their own rather ignorant, degenerate, stupid, ruthless yet highly arrogant masters, and the consequent destitution has made many people into cowards, with a slave mentality which deprives them of dignity, honour, self-respect or a sense of values. Though many continue to perform the religious rituals, some have neither faith nor knowledge and little sense of responsibility or justice, purpose or morality. There is among them much superstition and idolatry. And all this, unfortunately, applies also to the self-appointed priest class who undertake to guide the people. Though these certainly have greater knowledge about their religion, their faculty for suppression, rationalising it away and self-deception has not diminished. It is not, therefore, possible to claim that Muslims are better than any other group of people. Sometimes they are worse. Indeed, in some countries they have established conditions which existed in Arabia before the coming of Islam complete with a corrupt feudal system, slavery, oppression of women, and general barbarism.

One of the problems appears to be the way authority has been misunderstood and applied. This has three aspects:-

1. Since it is Allah who is the supreme authority, the Muslims have understood this to mean that it is only their own interpretation of the scriptures or their own opinions or conscience which is valid. But their studies have not been deep enough and they have mistaken prejudices for conscience. The result has been conflicts between different factions. This continues to this day. If then, any kind of order was to be brought about, this could only be done by the imposition of strong and ruthless dictatorships and tyrannies. And this also continues to this day. These dictatorships provoke the independent groups who in turn provoke the authorities. They maintain each other.

2. Instead of making their own studies of Islam in the light of changing circumstances, most Muslims adhere to the authority of past interpreters of Islam. Therefore, the present rulers who have to deal with modern conditions have abandoned Islam. Both these may be the result of the fact that all Muslim countries have fallen under the economic, political and cultural domination of the West. There is, as a result, a conflict between the rulers and those who still adhere to Islam. Each of these provokes and creates the other. The right to interpret and adapt the Islamic teachings, however, cannot be said to have been abolished.

3. Social Authority (cultural, political or economic) has been detached from spiritual authority (religious knowledge, ability and responsibility). Thus, we have another conflict between those who are under the control of one and the followers of the other. The one shows little wisdom, compassion or capability and has fallen under foreign influence, and the other has no power.

The result is degeneration, conflict and impotence. Almost all Muslim countries are now ruled by atheists and hypocrites who persecute, exploit, repress, torture, massacre and corrupt millions of their own people, and that with the collusion and help of Western political and commercial interests who pride themselves in democracy.

Weep, therefore, dear reader, weep for what could have been and is lost.

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NOTES

 

Communities may exist in three states or in various mixtures of these:-

1. They may consist of separate individuals, families, groups or tribes.

2. They may be divided into inter-dependent castes or classes, each having a different function.

3. They may be organized hierarchically with different degrees of rigidity.

 

Primitive man existed in the first mode. The Indian society was arranged into four castes, with many sub-castes ;- The Brahmins or priests, scholars and teachers; the rulers, administrators and soldiers; those concerned with business and commerce; the manual workers. There was no inter-marriage between the castes. In the West there were similar classes, divided into sub-classes:- The upper or ruling; the middle or administrative; the lower or workers; but the fourth class of priests and scholars was not generally recognized. As life became more complex this class structure has become modified and we may now recognize broadly 7 different classes:- the Service workers (cleaners, waiters, shop assistants etc), Manual workers (in factories and farms), Office workers (clerks, secretaries etc), Professionals (doctors, lawyers, politicians, managers, administrators, teachers, Scientists and researchers), Artists (musicians, novelists, poets, painters, sculptors etc); Entertainers (including sportsmen); Entrepreneurs who constitute the ruling class. These classes are no longer hereditarily rigid since it possible for a person born in one class to pass into another. It is, however, still difficult for an adult to change class, or persons of different classes to inter-marry. The value in this system was that people possessing the talents relating to their class would continually improve these talents both through exercise and reproduction. Humanity would differentiate into different types, like the cells in the human body, each performing a different function with respect to the society as a whole. This also led to the importance of ever increasing and improved organization. Systems such as Communism came into being which wanted to get rid of the class system but create a single hierarchical organization based on merit. And, indeed, the movement towards a meritocracy continues to take place in other forms.

The Islamic system differs from these. It is mainly an educational system. Development and Unity, both externally and internally, rather than differentiation, is emphasized. The organization has an inner psychological aspect as well as an outer one. It should, therefore, be diffuse rather than hierarchical, though it has different layers of merit. It should not be imposed on the society but grow out of it. It should not be a rigid structure designed for particular functions (e.g. to create wealth or power) but dynamic and fluid. It should be self-evolving not by accident but by design. People may pass from a lower to a higher layer. The purpose is to facilitate the psychological development of people. The highest layer should consist of teachers in the broadest sense of the word, those who can set an example in quality of life, people who are well rounded, like the Prophet or his successors. They act on those below them to bring them to the higher level. And the people at that level, in their turn act on a still lower level to bring them up higher. And so on. Obviously, those at the highest level will die and new human beings will be born at the lowest level. Thus the whole structure could be seen as a constant flow from bottom to top.

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Slavery was certainly practiced by the Arabs. Islam recognized the fact of slavery. Prisoners of war were often enslaved because there was no other way of rendering them ineffective except by execution. But instead of abolishing it at one stroke, Islam made provision for its gradual abolition. Slaves were to be treated with kindness. They were not to be abandoned without adequate resources or preparation. They were to be given sufficient wages so that they could buy their freedom. They were to be freed as acts of charity or as an atonement for sins.

“...but righteous are those who.... set slaves free... such are they who are sincere. Such are the God-fearing.” 2:177

“He who has killed a believer by mistake must set free a believing slave and pay the blood money to the family of the slain.” 4:92

“The expiation thereof (a broken oath) is the feeding of ten of the needy with the average of that wherewith you feed your own folk, or the clothing of them or the liberation of a slave...” 5:89

“Alms are only for the poor and needy, those who collect them, those whose hearts are to be reconciled and to free the captives and debtors, and for the cause of Allah, and for the wayfarers; a duty imposed by Allah.” 9:60

 

In contrast consider the abolition of slavery in U.S.A.

That country was divided into the Industrial north and the Agricultural South. Industry depended on employed labour which could be taken on or dismissed as the fortunes of Industry demanded. The Owners did not feel responsible for the workers. When Industry was expanding it needed a labour force which was scarce. In the South, however, it was abundant, but tied up. The farms required a continuous labour force at very low cost. This is where slaves captured in Africa were used. But like other cattle and beasts of burden, they had to be fed and given sufficient care to make them useful.

It is not surprising that the movement to free slave came from the north. Though the motives of the originator of the idea may well have been humanitarian, they were supported by the self-interest of the Industrialist of the North and opposed by the self-interests of Southerners. The result was a civil war which caused enormous amounts of death and suffering. The North won, The slaves being suddenly released were quite unprepared and could not deal with the situation. Many suffered severely. The former slaves are still suffering from inequality, discrimination and deprivation. In contrast, under Islam former slaves occupied many important positions and even became rulers.

It is, however, perfectly true that without a new faith it would have been quite impossible to free the slaves were it not for such self-interest. Slavery still exists in some Muslim countries to their shame. But this cannot be attributed to Islam which forbids the enslavement of free people.

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Life in the Islamic nations is changing rapidly because of technology and economic development. The world is becoming much more a unified place where influences from one area affect all others. Many Muslim communities have also been set up in many Western countries. The outer life of the people has, therefore, changed from what it was when the social system was first set up. It has become incompatible with the inner life. Many Muslims try to overcome this by isolating themselves as far as possible into closed communities. But this cannot work. They are surrounded by a majority who practice an alien culture, and the influences from this cannot be negated. They have to make their living in the outer world, they have to mix with other people, send their children for an education there, be subjected to the laws of these countries, and the culture intrudes into their lives through television, newspapers, books, magazines, and all of the technology which they also use. Great tensions have taken place within the family between the two generations because the older tries to impose its values on the younger which has largely been formed by the surrounding culture. The new generation finds itself maladjusted and in a most uncomfortable position. The same self-isolation or self-distinction also creates hostility against them in the native peoples. These create problems which are often overwhelming, particularly for the younger generation. This is all inevitable.

It is essential that Muslims who have become citizens of other countries should try to integrate themselves into those cultures outwardly, while developing an inner strength through new techniques of interpreting their experiences. There is nothing in Islam which requires a person, for instance, to dress in a particular style, use a particular language or accent, behave with distinct idiosyncrasies. The Muslim is not required to wear his religion on his sleeve and make an outer show of it. There are generally no laws in these countries which forbid moral behaviour or the education of children in accordance with moral principles.

It is perfectly possible to study the harmful features and influences current in a society and to develop counter measures to these. Affairs can be arranged in such a way as to expose people to both beneficial and these counter influences. It is no longer sufficient to inculcate certain ideas by rote. The new generation will have to make the teaching into its own by the exercise of effort and understanding. This requires that they be made to think about the subjects, to analyze and discuss them. Questions should be asked which require search and thought, and the student encouraged to make their own discoveries under guidance. The Muslims will have to undertake greater responsibility for a more intensive education of their children and set up their own educational system and institutions. These must include economic, political and cultural aspects of life. The political organizations should deal only with the affairs of Muslim communities, negotiate with the political institutions of the host country, and even exert some pressure, but avoid all conflicts as far as possible.

 

When reconstructing an Islamic Social System certain distinguishing feature of Islam should be considered:-

1. The religious life is integrated into the social system. The five Pillars of Islam are not only spiritual techniques, but also Social Institutions. The Shahadah, the Declaration of Faith, establishes the purpose of the existence of the individual and the community. It is the oath of loyalty to Allah, the founder of the way of life and the community. In this respect it replaces what, in other communities, is an oath of allegiance to king, country or flag. But it is much more than this, since it involves the acceptance of a certain view of existence, and the relationship of the individual with it.

2. As the Islamic world is centered around the Kaaba, so the Islamic community is centered around the Mosque. Both symbolize the House of Allah and the soul within. It is not merely a place for prayer, but also for lectures, study, education, political, legal, social and charitable activity, conference and consultation, everything comprehended under the wider meaning of the phrase ‘service to Allah.’

3. The Islamic social attitudes have economic, political and cultural implications which have seldom been explored or applied. It is not sufficient to merely study the Muslim Community as established by the Prophet Muhammad in Medina after the migration. What he demonstrated was how to apply and adapt the essence of the teachings of the Quran to the conditions existing in his time. And this is the lesson one must learn. Imitation is not intelligent application. Conditions have changed. There must be a new interpretation and application. Vicegerency is not fulfilled by ignoring the divine gift of intelligence.

Islamic countries borrow a great amount from the West in the form of knowledge and Technology, mainly in order to compete with the West on its own terms. It is not realized by them that since this technology was developed under, and for, certain social and psychological conditions it is attached to them and brings those conditions with it. Everything is inter-dependant. They gradually transform the society. Soon there will be nothing left of Islam.

 It is possible to accept more selectively. It is possible to adapt, control, and develop a separate more suitable technology. Small scale domestic machinery, as supplied by the Do-it-yourself industry could be further developed. This is more suitable as craftsmanship and personal initiative, creativity and responsibilities are important in Islam. Some large scale communally owned Industries will also be necessary in order to produce such machinery, but these can be progressively automated. Indeed, automation presents capitalism with a problem. The ownership passes into the hands of fewer people while the workers become increasingly dispossessed and redundant.

4. The Islamic attitude to wealth, science and technology is quite different from that of the West. Mere quantity, power or ingenuity does not constitute wealth. Wealth refers to its function and use in producing objective benefits. It is not that Islam is against adopting what is good from wherever it may come, but the good is defined as that which will benefit the Islamic community. It does not mean that which gives political or economic wealth, power or prestige, produces profits, satisfies desires and whims, conforms to some ideology or merely causes changes in the environment. Technology, art and science, social institutions, philosophy and literature, everything has to be judged accordingly.

5. The attitude of Islam towards property differs from that of both Capitalism and Communism. It belongs to Allah who created it, but is given to individuals as a trust. This implies that the individual and community, not the state, has to administer it to the benefit of all who enter into the sphere of influence of that individual or community. Property is not theft as Marxists believe. They do not tell us who it is stolen from. Nor is it an absolute right as Capitalists believe. They too do not tell us from whence they obtained such rights. The individual is accountable for its use to Allah, not the State. 

The employer/employee and the ruler/subject relationships can be abolished gradually just as slavery was. They can be replaced with Partnership and Voluntary Contracts. All the workers in a company should be regarded as partners in it both from the management and financial point of view. They should have to be kept informed about all its affairs and have a say in the policy and management, through representatives or leaders. They will not then be paid wages, but a share of the profits in proportion to the quality and quantity of their various functions. The risks and fortunes of industry would be shared and there could be no discarding of people like trash onto the unemployment heap. The firm itself, or the Trade Union, should provide the necessary education, re-training as well as the health and leisure facilities. It could also be responsible for setting up alternate industries when the work force needs to be reduced in existing ones. This would put an end to industrial disputes and strikes and conflicts. It would also allow easier adjustment to economic changes. Each company could diversify its activity, and companies could cooperate and amalgamate. Democracy would be extended into the Industrial field. It is most naive for people to suppose that while all the power is in the hands of those who own the industries that there can be any real democracy.

6. Islam is against Usury, the lending of money in order to earn an interest. The reason for this is that it negates the principle of charity on which Islam is based. A system based in selfish taking is quite different from a system based on giving. It may appear that in so far as all transactions are exchanges, the giving of something and the receiving of something in exchange, then the two systems should produce the same result. But this is not the case. In the one something is given when needed and returned when possible, in the other case it is taken irrespective of need, and there is imbalance between what is given and taken. In the one already existing resources are given while in the other it is future resources which are being controlled by the lender. The one accumulates wealth, thereby causing malfunctions in the economy and the other distributes it recreating the circulation. The one isolates individuals from one another and disintegrates the society while the other facilitates social interactions and unity. The one retains individual control and the other leads to compulsion.

 

7. The principle of objectivity (Asking Allah) should be applied to social organization as well as to art, science, technology and industry. This implies:-

(a) The use of meditation and prayer in order to by pass personal prejudices and other subjective obstructions and the enhancement of consciousness, conscience and will. It is also a form of self-confrontation, self-criticism and self-suggestion in order to establish correct intentions.

(b) The awareness and declaration of motives, interests, prejudices and mental habits. Unless these are known mistakes will be made about the meaning of actions and statements.

(c) The constant search and collection of all relevant information, and the refinement of the organs, faculties and instruments of observation.

(d) Development, testing and application of techniques to process the information; new ways of thinking and calculation. This implies the development of the sciences of logic and mathematics, wide spread education in these subjects, especially those who are entrusted with running affairs.

(e) Expertise involves not merely information but also experience and familiarity with the subject. Intellect, feeling and action are employed together. This develops intuition. From the Islamic point of view objectivity does not mean detachment of the observer since he cannot then engage his feelings. It means involvement of all the faculties, but inner detachment from himself. This allows him to examine his experiences. Politicians and journalists in particular, having no experience in the subjects they deal with have a tendency to distort and lie, quite apart from bias, superficiality and the ulterior motives for sensationalism, power, profit or publicity.

(f) Discussion, exchange of information and ideas, questioning, mutual stimulation, assessment and consensus. It is essential that individuals do not subordinate their own consciousness, conscience and will to a leader or political organization or party, or to expediency and rules as is the common practice in Western Political systems. Several minds are better than one, but a thousand ignorant minds are not equal to one with knowledge. Nor is a mind experienced and able in one field equal to another in another field requiring a different expertise. The majority are not necessarily right even in the same field, but the probability that there may be some among them who are right increases. Experts may have developed habits of mind which obstruct perception, experience may disable flexibility. The more intelligent man, or one who applies himself, or one who has a broader awareness or deeper interest can learn more than a man with long experience. Expertise does not mean long experience alone. Different people may learn different things and see things from different points of view. All this should be brought together. It is still perfectly possible for an individual to stumble across a truth not understood by anyone else. The principles of uncertainty and humility apply.  

(g) Experimentation. Trial and Error. Diversification and Selection. This is how nature itself works. When establishing new forms of social organization and policies they should at first be small scale experimental ones where all the problems can be studied and appropriate techniques may be worked out without causing a great disaster. Successful ones can then be applied more widely. In the West commercial firms undergo this kind of selection. Successful ones multiply and the others disappear. Communism suppressed these processes to its own cost. The Prophet Muhammad himself experimented in establishing the first Muslim community.

 

8. Islam is not nationalistic. Commercial firms are already multi-national, and so are various Trade Unions, Cultural Societies and Religions. There is no reason why there cannot be Political Organizations which are similarly non-territorial, or Nations which are not multi-political. An Islamic Society may be considered to be a new form of organization in which religious, political as well as cultural and economic elements (in the conventional meaning of these terms) are integrated to form a whole. From this point of view it can be legitimately claimed that Islam is neither a religion, nor a solely political, cultural or economic system (all in the narrow conventional meaning of the terms). It can, therefore, legitimately spread out through other political, cultural, economic or even religious bodies without threatening them or being threatened by them. However, such an organization cannot exist in a Totalitarian State, Society or Firm where everything is controlled centrally or where other hostile and incompatible conditions exist. Muslims were required to migrate away from such conditions and set up their separate communities. There are today no empty territories, but it is still possible to withdraw, form new societies and organizations, and undertake political, educational or commercial activities. It was not possible for Muslims to migrate or set up their own institutions under communist persecution, but they could still withdraw into themselves awaiting a time when such systems being inherently unstable and maladapted to reality would inevitably collapse. This remains true of other systems such as Capitalism.

9. It is quite obvious from the large number of protests and demonstrations in the so called Democratic nations that the leaders are not in touch with the people and that governments impose their will on the people without consulting them, usually based on party or sectional interests. The people on the other hand combine together to form pressure groups against one another by consulting only their own narrow interests and prejudices rather than what is true or generally beneficial. Many potentially and actually dangerous situations have arisen because of these factors.

 It is, therefore, necessary to replace this system with a better one, one which does not deceive people by the misuse of the word Democracy.  

10. The ultimate authority is Allah, which also means the Objective World and the higher human faculties created by Him. The human authority is a teacher who has learnt. He does not have powers of compulsion, but of guidance and persuasion. When the Islamic community was first formed, it consisted of those who had accepted the guidance of Muhammad. The Prophet did not appoint a successor but advised his followers to take his close companions as guides. This state of affairs did not last long, as the Prophet himself had predicted. Islam may be considered to have come before its time, but only in order to introduce into the world an impulse which would create the correct conditions eventually.

 

Arguments could be advanced for the belief that the right conditions may soon arise.

Primitive man was organized into tribes. The members of the tribe did not consider themselves independent, but worked co-operatively and collectively, without exploiting each other. They had chiefs voluntarily accepted by the tribe. They did not act as dictators or tyrants, but had responsibility for the tribe as a whole. When agriculture was discovered and the population settled down this allowed the expansion of the population, so that people did not necessarily know each other and blood relationships became more remote. Organization became necessary. The ease with which food became available released labour for other activities such as the pursuit of crafts, knowledge and administration. Division of function began. It also brought about the idea of property. All these created a measure of self-centeredness. Soon some people began to dominate over others. They were able to exploit the labour of other people for their own benefits, as they exploited animal and machines. slavery came into existence. Which of these was a model for the other is not clear. Property rights brought conflicts and wars. Land and its resources having been claimed for themselves by some people, it deprived others. Prosperity having increased in one place, it acted as a temptation for others who were less prosperous. Wars arose. Wars also caused the enslavement of people. In order to protect themselves populations had to submit to Feudal Lords and their paid armies, who offered such protection in return for a share in the products. These Lords gradually gained increasing control over the land and its resources and impoverished the people. A distinction arose between an upper and lower class. A middle class also arose between them partly because the upper class needed people for organizational and administrative purposes. Trade between communities increased and created merchants.

As things became increasingly complex the power of the middle classes increased. Trade needed goods in large quantities which could only be supplied by setting up factories manned by disinherited peasant. Investments had to be made in factories, machines and raw materials. Merchants became Capitalists. Thus a new upper class of Capitalists and a new lower class of workers was created. Another middle class of experts, that is, administrators, managers, scientists and so on arose between these. Education became necessary to supply such people. They, too are increasing in their power. The distribution of shares in industry is being dispersed and the shareholders have less control over Industry.

The creation of a new upper and lower class is now in process of formation. The class structure, however, also undergoes modification. Though the difference still exists, it is not hereditary. It is possible for people to rise in rank. Expertise must become ever more comprehensive and link together the different specialties. But it must inevitably bring about another middle class. This, if one is not mistaken, should be a class of teachers who educate and train the experts.

It is not inconceivable that the Teachers will eventually become the most powerful class in a society. However, the class structure will have undergone even further change. The Society will still be stratified owing to the fact that learning takes place in stages, but the distinction between pupil, worker and teacher will have dwindled. The same person working at one level may be a teacher for persons at a lower level while being a pupil to persons at a higher level.

The development of Industrialization also brings about greater leisure which must be used in directions other than work. This brings its own social and psychological problems, which requires an increasing number of experts. It also creates increasing problems of distribution of work and of change which need to be solved. All this needs to be co-ordinated. What is certainly clear is that the human condition depends entirely on their state of development and nothing else, since that determines how they manipulate the environment. All this makes expert teachers and guides more important.

It is not likely that a prediction such as this will necessarily come to pass in exactly the manner stated, and there is, in fact, no absolute necessity that human affairs should progress in a particular direction at all. It is, however, possible for human beings to aim towards a goal which appears sensible, though that goal may have to be modified as knowledge increases and circumstances develop.

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