Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society
CLASSIFICATION
OF DUTIES
1.
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS
The function of the
Code should be the realization of the Ideal and the actualization of the norms
that it implies.
Before we proceed to
the structural constituents of systematization, however, it is necessary to
establish the Qur’anic point of view with respect to the concepts of ‘Duty’ and
‘Right’.
Duty
and Right:
The Qur’anic moral code
is based on the emphasis on ‘obligation’ or ‘duty’ in contrast to the emphasis
on ‘right’ (5:48; etc.). Now, the implications of the emphasis respectively on
duty and right are:
Right is a right
against someone. Duty is a duty towards someone. Right means that someone else
owes something to us. For, when we say: ‘it is our right’, it means that
someone has to perform a duty to us. On the contrary when we say; ‘it is our
duty’, it means that someone has a right against us.
The emphasis on duty
creates harmony in social life, because if everyone were to concentrate on his
or her duty, the emphasis on grumbling for rights will naturally vanish. On the
contrary, the emphasis on rights creates strife, because if everyone were to
think about his rights on others, he would hardly have the mind to think of his
duties towards others. The immense increase in quarrels and strifes between the
different classes of human beings, as for instance, between laborers & capitalists, and between races & nations, which we find in the world today,
is the direct outcome of the emphasis on rights. As regards the political life
in different countries, the subjects or citizens clamor for their rights more
than taking pains for fulfilling their duties towards their fellow-beings, the
state and the country. Everyone tries thus to transfer blame to the shoulders
of others, and the confusion gets worse confounded. This state of affairs will
not improve unless the world adopts the Qur’anic emphasis on duty.
Then, the emphasis on
duty creates unity among human beings, because it is built up on the idea and
the sentiment of sympathy,— sympathy in the sense that in fulfilling our duty
we have always to do some positive good to someone in the world. On the contrary,
the emphasis on rights is conducive to disintegration and disunity among human
beings, because it is based on the idea of demanding some thing from others. We
all know that we feel happy when anyone gives something to us, and most people
feel unhappy and miserable when anyone demands anything from them.
The
Empire of Duties:
As to
the classification of Duties: Since, according to the Holy Qur’an, man is not
merely a moral being but also a spiritual, physical, rational and aesthetical
being, as we shall shortly see, the fulfillment of duties relating to all those
aspects of the human personality is necessary for the realisation of the
Qur’anic moral Ideal.
Now, since morality
originates in the attitude that man takes towards personality in his own being
or in the being of others, the moral duties should be classified basically
as:(1) Duties to Self, and (2) Duties
to Others. And since the person who is nearest to the moral agent is his own
person, Duties to Self should come first and the Duties to Others thereafter.
The question may now be
raised: What is the relationship between Duties to Self and Duties to
Others?
If the problem is
viewed in the light of the ideational cultural philosophy, the two duties
remain unconnected; because the point of view there is individualistic. Their
relationship can be affirmed only on the basis of the Qur’anic philosophy of
idealistic, or integralistic, culture which is based on the synthesis of the
ideational and the sensate, and which, consequently, stands for interdependent
relationship between morality and social life. Thus moral perfection of the
moral agent is conceived there with reference to the happiness of others,
which, in its turn, is possible only in terms of social welfare.
Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society
Chapter 9
THE
INTEGRALISTIC WELFARE SOCIETY
BASICALLY GROUNDED IN THE PURSUIT OF PIETY,
TRUTH, JUSTICE, LOVE, WISDOM, BEAUTY AND
SELFLESSNESS
The Qur’anic Guidance lays such vehement emphasis on Social Good that its
social gospel emerges as the very kernel of the religion of Islam, as the
unfriendly Canadian orientalist, Wilfred Cantwell Smith, also admits: “While
Christianity in recent years has moved towards a social gospel,[1]
Islam has been a social gospel from the very start.”[2]
This is due to the fact that Islam is opposed to the mystico-ascetic
approach to life and regards society as the natural framework of activity for
human fulfillment.
Islam’s social gospel is, however, based on religion and morality, as
opposed to the secular social philosophies which are earth-rooted and
materialistic in their approach and built up on Expediency as the ground-work
of their value-systems. Hence, as regards its foundations, the Islamic society
is theo-centric and ethico-religious, nourished by the pursuit of godliness.
As Theo-centric Society, its social philosophy is grounded in the highest
and the most meaningful value-system, because belief in & devotion to God
provides the perfect & the comprehensive principle for the highest values & ideals. Indeed, it alone projects the genuine and meaningful sanction for the
pursuit of Truth, Justice, Love, Beauty, Austerity and Selfless Service to
Fellow-beings.
As Ethico-Religious Society, it is based on the theo-centric ethical
Idealism, which rests upon: (a) the ‘love for God’ as manifesting itself in the
love for humanity, and (b) the ‘fear of God’ as manifesting itself in the fear
of Divine Judgment; which provides, in its concept of God—wherein the ethical
aspect of His Personality has been thoroughly emphasised—and the concept of
Survival-after Death in terms of a dynamic concept of human destiny, the only
genuine and absolute sanction for morality; and which enshrines the assurance
of the realisation of its Social Ideal in its Exemplar, the Holy Prophet
Muhammad (Peace be on him!) and in the society established by him at Madina.
In terms of spiritual activity, it is committed to spiritual
illumination. Because: God is the ‘Light of the heavens and the earth’ (24:35);
the Holy Prophet (Peace be on him!) is ‘Light’ (5:15) and the ‘Illuminating
Lamp’ (33:46); the Holy Qur’an is ‘Light Manifest’ (4:174); Faith (Iman) is
‘Light’ (39:22); the function of Qur’anic Guidance, or, Islam, is to bring
humanity out of Darkness into Light (14:l); a genuine member of the Islamic
society is one who receives a Light from God, which shines forth in dealings
with fellow-beings (6:122); and, in the heavenly life, the Light of the
Faithful “will run before them and on their right hands, while they say: Our
Lord! Perfect our Light for us …” (66:8). Thus, the Islamic society is a
Spiritually – Illumined Society.
In respect of its ethical outlook in terms of human dignity, it invites
its members beyond goodness to nobleness. Because: (1) God is Most Noble
(96:3); the Prophet is noble (69:40); the Qur’an is noble (56:77); the
messenger-angel of the Qur’an is noble (81:19); the human race is noble
(16:70); the norm governing Islamic conduct is to behave nobly (17:23; 25:72;
89:17), so that the members of Islamic society are to be regarded as more or
less noble, and hence deserving more or less honour, in proportion to the
nobility in their character (49:13); genuine pursuers of Islam have been
promised ‘noble provision’ (8:4) and ‘noble (final) reward’ (33:44); and it is
the mission of Islam to lead its followers into the ‘noble gate’ (4:31) for the
attainment of all the dimensions of human nobility. Hence, the Islamic society
is a Noble Society.[3]
In its structural aspect, it lays emphasis on the family as
the unit of society (35:54; etc.). In fact, the family plays a very important
role in Islam’s social ethics (26:214; etc.). Because, providing, as it does,
the first and the basic social environment to the individual, it is emphasised
by Islam as the original field for social morality wherein a person has to
engage himself in a constant socio-moral exercise, and it is the moral
discipline which he acquires there that plays a vital role in respect of his
moral behaviour relating to his community, country and humanity at large. The
institution of the family is thus the corner-stone of Islamic society; and
Islam has provided, for its proper functioning and stability, a code of
familial ethics which is built upon: (a) marital piety, (b) parental piety, and
(c) filial piety,—namely: uncompromising emphasis on: (a) chastity of the
husband and the wife, (b) comprehensive parental benevolence, and (c)
unflinching goodwill, devotion and respect of the children for their parents
and all elders. It should be noted here that Islam’s emphasis on chastity is
absolute, because without that no healthy family life is conceivable. This fact
accounts for: (a) the special rules of modesty which Islam has laid down for the
women folk, with which is connected its prohibition of promiscuous
intermingling of sexes; and (b) Islam’s conditional permission for polygamy.
The former is in acknowledgement of the woman’s basic role as mother, wherein
“the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world”;—indeed, the possibilities of
the spiritual and moral survival of a community can exist only so long as the
womenfolk remain conscientious custodians of the community’s spiritual and
moral values. As to (b), the qualified permission for polygamy is for warding
off prostitution, besides providing for the orphans, in a society having a
surplus of women folk.[4]
All in all, the Islamic society is a Family-Based Society.
Being based on the affirmation of the unity of human kind and the ideal
of human brotherhood (4:1), Islam regards racialism, tribalism, caste-ism,
class-ism and dynasty-ism as nothing less than infidelity to God and treachery
against humanity. All the members of the Islamic society, therefore,—whatever
their race, or tribe, or dynasty, or colour, or language, are equal members and
possess, originally and basically, equal fundamental rights. The Islamic
society is thus a Non-Racial, Non-Tribal, Casteless, Classless Society (49:13).
It may also be termed as an Egalitarian Society.
The rights which the members of the Islamic society possess fundamentally
in equal measure are, however, subject to modification, on individual basis—and
not on the basis of race, tribe, etc.—in terms of practical demonstration of
respect for the discipline of the society and the contribution to the welfare
of the society. This must be so, because, in the first instance, up-grading the
merit of and degrading the demerit is the very essence of justice and the only
way to avoid the frustration of virtue; and, in the second instance, the
emergence of gradation among individuals is the unavoidable condition of the
functioning of a society, and the existence of the spirit of competition is the
necessary prerequisite for progress. Thus, the Islamic society is an Open
Society, wherein merit is based on achievement alone and not on considerations
of physical distinctions in terms of race, or tribe, or family, or colour, or
language, or sex (6:132).
Coming to the ideological structure: it is integralistic, ‘religion’
being the integrating factor. Thus, morality is indissolubly joined to
‘religion’ (2:25; etc.), while economics (3:91;[5]
etc.), politics (2:38; 5:8;[6]
etc.), and law (4:135;[7]
etc.), are related to ‘religion’ through morality in an unbreakable bond. Thus,
ideologically, the Islamic society is an Integrated Society.
Then, besides the principle of integration, its structural aspect is also
governed by the principle of ‘the Balance’ (55:7-8), which implies the
realisation of all the values of human life in a balanced manner—namely, giving
to every value its due,—in contrast with the ideational philosophy which
emphasises only the spiritual pursuit, and with the materialistic philosophy
which confines the human struggle within the bounds of physical needs. Thus,
the Islamic society is a Balanced Society.
In its functional aspect: Being theo-centric, ethico-religious,
integrated and balanced, its vision is not confined to the day-to-day issues of
human life—to which it gives their due—but extends beyond them to the ultimate
problems of human destiny. It, therefore, commits itself to the most
comprehensive and the highest human ideals, in contradistinction to the
materialistic approach which has actually no room for ideals because of its
affirmation of the cosmos as ‘blind’, the human life as a ‘gamble’, and the
human destiny as an ‘illusion’.
Then, being the trustee of the mission of humanity for the realisation of
the vicegerency of God, it has to imitate God’s Attributes, among which is His
Attribute of Creativity (23:14). As such, it has to function progressively in
its adoption of means for the improvement of human welfare in all aspects of
life, through the pursuit of Wisdom and through the conquest of the terrestrial
and the celestical environment. The Islamic society is thus an Idealistic,
Dynamic and Progressive Society.
We have already noted that, structurally, the Islamic society is an
egalitarian society. That being so, it functions democratically. Indeed, the
Holy Qur’an establishes spiritual democracy, social democracy, political
democracy, and economic democracy. It establishes spiritual democracy, as we
have already noted, by abolishing priesthood and ‘spiritual feudalism’
completely and by making the acquisition of knowledge the prerogative and the
obligation of everyone, including the womenfolk, tearing into shreds the very
notion of privileged families and special classes and castes. It establishes
social democracy, as already noticed, by abolishing all criteria of tribal,
racial and colour distinctions, affirming only the superiority of good
character. It establishes political democracy by abolishing theocracy as well
as all those secular views of government in which any human being may have the
opportunity of tyrannising over and exploiting other human beings,—both of
these principles forming basic constituents of the Qur’anic social philosophy,
as already noticed. It establishes economic democracy—through, among other
principles and laws, the basic principle that ‘wealth should not be permitted
to circulate among the wealthy only’ (59:7), which makes it imperative that the
economic system should be such as to provide a fair measure of equality of
opportunity to all the members of the society for securing decent means of
livelihood, and thereby sharing in the national wealth honourably through
honest labour and sincere achievement, whereas the disabled secure their basic
needs honourably through the social-welfare tax imposed by Islam on the
well-to-do on members of the society (9:60; etc.). Thus, the Islamic society is
a Democratic Society.
The guiding light of the Islamic social ethics is justice, which has been
enjoined by the Holy Qur’an in terms of absoluteness and comprehensiveness
(5:8; etc.),—whereby the establishment of all forms of social justice, i.e.,
moral, legal, economic and political, has been enshrined in the Islamic code of
life.[8]
Thus, the Islamic society is a Just Society.
The concept of Mercy enjoys a basic importance in the Qur’an. Because:
God is the ‘Most Merciful of the merciful’ (7:151; etc.), Whose Mercy
‘comprehends everything’[9]
(7:156; etc.); the Holy Prophet (Peace be on him!) is ‘Mercy unto the worlds’[10]
(21:107); the Holy Qur’an is ‘Mercy to the Doers of Good’ (31:3); God will
cause the Faithful to enter His Mercy after death (76:31); and the practice of
Mercy in human relations has been explicitly emphasised (17:24; 30:21; 48:29;
90:17). Thus, the Islamic society is a Merciful Society.
The very basis of the Qur’anic philosophy of life is the negation of all
forms of selfishness and the affirmation of love for humanity on the basis of
love for God. Moreover, the Holy Qur’an has emphasised the principle of
‘prefering the good of others to one’s own comforts’ as a basic characteristic
of Islamic life (59:9). Hence, the Islamic society is an Altruistic Society.
The Qur’an has made knowledge one of the two most fundamental pillars of
the pursuit of greatness by humancommunities (58:11), and the Holy Prophet (Peace be on him!) has made
the pursuit of education for the acquisition of knowledge obligatory for every
Muslim, man and woman. Hence, the Islamic society is an Educated Society.
The Qur’an has laid down the ‘Limits prescribed by Allaah’ and has
commanded the members of the Islamic society to adhere to the requirements of
those ‘limits’ (2:187; etc.). It has thus channelised human life, andthereby subjected it to discipline. Again: It
has emphasised consequential activity (59:18). But a truly consequential
activity is not possible without proper planning, which, in its turn,
necessitates disciplined undertaking. Moreover, the principle of ‘discipline’
forms the very soul of Islamic conduct (24:51; etc.). The Islamic society is
thus a Disciplined Society.
The Qur’an stresses the ‘Brotherhood of the Believers’ along with all its
implications (49:10). Hence, the Islamic society is a Fraternal Society.
The Qur’anic laws relating to international relations between Muslims and
non-Muslims and the Qur’anic ethics of war are based on absolute justice and
regard for humanity.[11]
Similarly, the Qur’an forbids the Muslims from persecuting the non-Muslims for
compelling them to change their religion, allowing them thus the right to
freedom of conscience (2:256). Also, the Qur’an emphasises that Muslims should
not abstain from doing good to the non-Muslims, unless they are in a state of
active enmity (60:8-9). Thus, the Islamic society is a Humanitarian Society.
The Qur’an has made Jihad, i.e., relentless effort through hard labour to
one’s utmost capacity, one of the highest and the most unavoidable virtues of a
Muslim (22:78; etc.), and has stressed that value lies in labour (53:39) and
achievement (59:18; etc.). The Islamic society is, therefore, an Industrious
Society.
The Qur’an condemns ‘love of this world’s life’ (79:38-39; etc.), invites
repeated attention to the emptiness of the pleasures of worldly life (3:185;
etc.), forbids all vain spending and waste (7:31; etc.) which is the basis of
luxurious living, castigates the infidels for ‘loving wealth’ (89:20), commands
the Muslims not to follow the behests of their animal self (4:135; etc.), and
finally invites them to a life dedicated to the love for values (3:15-17)—the
highest value being the love for God (2:165), which should manifest itself in
the love for fellow-beings (2:177; etc.). This makes austerity the ideal in
respect of Islamic life, as exemplified at its highest in the life of the Holy
Prophet (Peace be on him!), and practised by all those who have walked in his footsteps.
The Islamic society is thus an Austere Society.
Finally, the goal to be achieved through the realisation of the values
that govern the Islamic society has been enshrined by the Holy Qur’an in the
concept of falah (3:104; 3:130; 59:9;
62:10; etc.),[12]
i.e., welfare, which has been related explicitly and directly both to the
society [13]
and to the individual.[14]
Then, the concept of collective welfare has been presented in all dimensions:
spiritual, moral, physical, economic, political, etc., in contrast with the
emphasis on economic welfare alone,—as we find in the Marxist Scientific
Socialism. This makes the Islamic society a Total Welfare Society.
[1] Mark the movement of
Christianity towards the philosophy of Islam, and assess the Christian
allegation that Islam has borrowed its humanitarian philosophy from the
teachings of Christianity.
[2] Islam in the Modern World,
London 1946, p. 22.
[3] The root-word Karuma,
employed in all the verses quoted, means ‘to be noble’, i.e., ‘to be
noble-hearted, high-minded, magnanimous, generous, liberal, munificent’. (Ref:
A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, edited by J. Milton Cowan, p. 821) Mark
here the Qur’anic dimensions of nobility!
[4] For Qur’anic references
relating to the facts mentioned in this discussion, see vol. 2: “The Structure
of Islamic Society.”
[5] The Qur’anic
ethico-religious basis of economics is the economic welfare of humankind, as
emphasised in the verse referred to.
[6] The Qur’anic
ethico-religious basis of politics is the elimination of ‘fear and sorrow’ and
the establishment of justice, as emphasised in the verses referred to.
[7] The Qur’anic
ethico-religious basis of law is equity, as emphasised in the verse referred
to.
[8] For references, see vol.
2: “The Structure of Islamic Society.”
[9]
Imitation of Divine Attributes’ being the function of the Muslims, they are
under obligation, on this basis itself, to make the practice of Mercy one of
the guiding principles of their lives.
[10] Imitation of the Holy
Prophet’s moral character being the very basis of Islam life, all Muslims are
under obligation to practise Mercy towards all creatures, even as the Holy
Prophet (Peace be on him!) has commanded: “It is the merciful people on whom the
Merciful (God) bestows Mercy. Be merciful to those who are on the earth. (Then)
He Who is Above will bestow Mercy on you.” (Tirmizi : Jame‘, vol. 2, “al-Birr
wa al-silah”).
[11] For references, see vol.
2: “The Structure of Islamic Society”,
