BASIS OF SYSTEMATISATION OF THE QUR’ANIC MORAL CODE

 

 Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society

2. BASIS OF SYSTEMATISATION OF THE QUR’ANIC MORAL CODE ─ THE QUR’ANIC IDEAL:

The effort to systematize the Moral Code has passed through several stages in the history of human thought. Among the ancients, it was Aristotle who gave a classification that is based on the main psychological aspects of human nature, viz., Knowing, Feeling and Willing. The highest virtue pertaining to Knowing is Wisdom, pertaining to Feeling is Temperance, and pertaining to willing is Courage, while Justice governs them all. But the Greek mind does not seem to have developed its moral consciousness properly, and that because of the fact that, as the historical account of Greek civilization available today shows, it was pagan in character and possessed no proper conception of ‘personality’; whereas morality is inseparably related to ‘personality’ and seems to have developed under the impact of the teachings of revealed religions and not otherwise.

 Among the philosophers of the modern age, it was Kant who made an important contribution. But his emphasis on the form of the Moral Law as the standard of morality and his attitude of leaving the contents of that Law to be traced from the established morality and the moral situation did not provide much lead in respect of the Moral Code, though the importance of his contribution to Moral Philosophy cannot be denied without injustice. Kent did furnish us with a classification of duties in order to complete his ethical system. But, the Code prescribed by him is through & through ideational and individualistic in character, because it does not attach importance to the duties of the moral agent towards the societal whole, nor is there any reference to the duties of the societal whole to its parts. This appears to be due to his limitation that he was born and lived in Christian environment,—the Christian point of view being that man’s socio-cultural yearnings are inherently incompatible with his spirituao-moral yearnings.

What, then, is the basis of systematization of the Qur’anic Moral Code? Answer to this question necessitates the statement of the Qur’anic Ideal, which emerges in the following terms:

 The Qur’an places equal emphasis on the sensate and the transcendental yearnings of man and harmonizes them; and thus it lays down for humanity a comprehensive Ideal, which consists in the cultivation of: 

(1) Holiness based on a dynamic, vibrant and living faith in God, an earnest and courageous pursuit of Truth, and an ever present consciousness of Final Accountability; 

(2) sound and comprehensive Morality; 

(3) social, economic and political Justice; 

(4) Knowledge in all its dimensions; and 

(5) Aesthetic Grace,

—all of these resulting in the conquest of harmful propensities within the individual, the conquest of evil within the society, and the conquest of the physical environment, or, Nature. In the pursuit of this Ideal, Holiness, Love for Humanity, Truth, Justice, Beauty, Discipline and Progress are the watchwords, while the concept of Unity permeates the entire movement towards the Ideal, and the motto of ‘simple living, hard labour and high thinking’ forms the wheel of progress.

Source

to be continued . . . . . 

Quranic Foundation & Structure Of Muslim Society In The End Times

 

Dajjalian System of Life - Lessons From History

Dajjalian System of Life

It is important to distinguish between Dajjal the individual, and Dajjal as a world-wide intellectual and social phenomenon based on materialism and atheism. The latter is manifested as the philosophical outlook that has taken shape during the last few centuries in Europe, as well as the culture and life-style based upon that Godless outlook. The system of life which is predominantly materialistic and which dominates the entire globe today is actually the “Dajjalian System” itself, whereas the greatest defender of that system will be Dajjal the individual.

As we have seen earlier, the innovations introduced by St. Paul in the original teachings of Prophet Isa (AS) had led to the  genesis  of  a  completely  new  and  different  religion.  The highly  irrational  claim  of  Trinity  ultimately  resulted  in  the divorce between two natural allies, religion and reason. The conversion of Caesar Constantine in 313 C.E., and of the entire Roman Empire during the next hundred years or so, turned out to be the starting point for the establishment of Christian Theocracy in Europe. The huge vacuum created by the Pauline idea of abolition of the Mosaic law was then filled with the virtually unlimited authority of the Church, represented by the infallible Pope. During the Middle Ages the Church and the clergy ruled the masses with an iron hand, oppressing and exploiting them in the name of religion, while discouraging any inclination towards science or rationalism.

The Aristotelian system of cosmos, as adopted by Ptolemy, was already incorporated into the Christian theology. As a result, when Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo opposed the Geocentric doctrine and proposed Heliocentric views based on their scientific observations, the Church condemned and vehemently opposed them as heretics, thus starting the unfortunate rivalry and rift between Science and Religion.

The scientific and rationalistic movement in Europe, therefore, came face to face with the powerful religious establishment of the Church. The latter used all its resources to halt this new wave of progress towards knowledge and learning, but succeeded only in producing among the masses a deep mistrust of all things connected with religion. The ruthlessly unfavorable attitude of the clergy caused a reactionary feeling of hatred against the Church, and then against the very idea of religion itself.

The development of science and philosophy in Europe, therefore, was forced to take place in an environment which was hostile to religion, and this hostility has since then permeated deep down into the very roots of Western thought. The world- view and civilization that grew out of this materialistic frame of mind  is  what  we  call  the  “Dajjalian  System”  of  life.  The hallmark of this system is a profound shift of emphasis — from God the Almighty to the material universe and laws of nature, from   spiritual   pursuits   to   sensual   gratification,   and   from salvation in the life-after-death to material prosperity in this world.

Human beings have been endowed by Almighty Allah (SWT) with two distinct sources of knowledge, that is, (a) information gathered by the senses and their interpretation by means of reason, intellect, and logic; along with (b) Revelation, in order to acquire knowledge of the ultimate realities and also the practical guidance for living a just, virtuous, and balanced life.  However,  the  unfortunate  shift  of  emphasis  mentioned above resulted in a serious imbalance in the modern thinking process. Thus, while humanity has made an incredible amount of progress with regard to science and technology, we see that, correspondingly, religion and morality have undergone unprecedented decay and decline. As such, the Western civilization can be described as possessing only a single eye, epistemologically speaking. In other words, it has invested everything it had into a single source of knowledge — Reason and  Science  —  while  totally  ignoring  the  other,  equally important,   source   of   knowledge   —   Revelation   from   the Heavens.

The  system  of  life  resulting  from  this  materialistic mental attitude is characterized by a morbid preoccupation with collecting things and accumulating money. The corner stone of the Dajjalian System is the producer-consumer process, which is promoted as the ideal way of life. Highly sophisticated means are employed to convince the masses that they want newer and more  expensive products, so that they can be made to work continuously in order to earn the money to pay for the goods and services they don’t even need. The life blood of the Dajjalian System is usury, which is used to subjugate individuals as well as entire nations so that they can be controlled and manipulated by a financial aristocracy. The masses are encouraged to work hard, to enjoy their weekends, to uncritically digest whatever the media feeds them, and to invest all their time and energy in the pursuit of material well-being and sensual gratification. Humans are being reduced to the level of beasts. Endless consumption of products has become the dominant life-style of our times, and people have been made conditioned to measure each other on the basis of wealth and affluence, rather than character and morals. A whole entertainment industry has been created to keep the minds of the masses occupied whenever they are not working.

The entire system is geared so that the overwhelming majority is deprived of either the time or the energy to give any serious thought to the nature of existence, to the Creator, to the accountability in the Hereafter — or to the exploiters. Dajjal the individual   will   represent   the   interests   of   those   who   are financially exploiting the whole world, against those who are being exploited. After the Armageddon, a Just Social Order will replace the present Dajjalian System, and there shall be no more exploitation.

Source:Lesson from History (Book) by Dr. Israr Ahmad

Second Dimension (2/2) - Lessons From History

Imam 

It is obvious that, even today, our traditional Ulama are following in the footsteps of earlier reformers who had worked under completely different conditions. In other words, traditional Muslim scholars have, in general, restricted themselves and their abilities within a rather narrow circle of activity, which is essentially defensive rather than revivalist. Moreover, even the task of defending Islamic doctrines is not being properly done by the Ulama, as they are, more often than not, completely out of touch with developments in contemporary philosophical, social, and scientific thought. 

Imam Ghazzali (1058-1111) and Imam Ibn Taimiyyah (1263-1328) were able to defeat the onslaught of Greek Philosophy and Aristotelian logic only after a careful and deep study of these invading ideas. Similarly, in order to deal with the modern ideologies that are seeking to destroy the foundations of Islamic faith, we need first to clearly discriminate between what is and what is not against the spirit of the Qur’an. Afterwards,  we  need  to  refute  that  part  of  the  invading ideologies which is in opposition to the Qur’anic spirit, and to accept and incorporate the part that is in accordance with its spirit into a new and contemporary exposition of Islam. Unfortunately, this is not being done by our religious scholars.

The role of the Ulama today, instead of being that of an engine  capable  of  propelling  the  ship  of  Islam  forward,  is actually  nothing  more  than  that  of  a  heavy  anchor  which prevents the ship from drifting away in any wrong direction. Although, under the present circumstances, even this is a commendable and substantial service, the fact remains that this is by no means enough.

Another aspect of the activity of our Ulama that needs correction  is  their  unusually  strong  emphasis  on  sectarian matters. A serious stagnation of thought along with dogmatism has set in ever since the practice of Ijtihad was done away with. The religious seminaries and Ulama of every sect are therefore spending most of their time and energies in defending and propagating their particular brands of dogma and ritual, often insisting that any variation in such matters is nothing short of apostasy. Such narrow-mindedness has exacerbated the evil of sectarianism and the resulting intolerance among the masses has led to a dangerous trend towards sectarian militancy.

One very important movement that has originated from the School of Deoband, the great theological seminary in India, is that of the Tablighi Jama‘at, which has succeeded in causing a massive religious mobilization among the Muslims. Tablighi Jama‘at has made headway in focusing the attentions of a big section of the Muslim population towards the renewal of faith. However,  the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  people  who  are being influenced by the Tablighi Jama‘at are simple folks, untouched by the atheistic and materialistic philosophies of the West, and who already have a dormant inclination towards religious and moral virtue. Despite this limitation, the movement of the Tablighi Jama‘at certainly occupies an important position within the larger process of Islamic Renaissance, in relation to its effort for the regeneration of faith among the masses. 

Source:Lesson from History (Book) by Dr. Israr Ahmad