Muslims believe in one, unique, incomparable God, in the
angels created by Him, in the prophets through whom His
revelations were brought to mankind, in the Day of Judgement
and individual accountability for actions, in Cod's complete
authority over human destinyt (b. it good or bad), and in life
after death.
Allah is the Creator and Sustainer of this universe. Since man
cannot know his Creator through the physical senses, Allah has
revealed information abc
rnessengers and prophets. We are familiar with some of them
through earlier scriptures such as the Torah and the Gospel.
Every people on earth was at some time sent a messenger from
AllEh, but with the passing of generations men tended to
deviate from the true religion, often replacing it with alien ideas
and practices. Each prophet was sent to reform his people and
turn them back to the worship of Alleh alone. The last of these
prophets was Muhammad, through whom Alldh's message was
completed. Allah promised that this final message would be
preserved for all mankind. And the words revealed by Allah
through the angel Gabriel to Prophet Muhammad have indeed
been passed down to us in their original Arabic text, unchanged
since the time of revelation. This scripture is called the
Qur'dn.
The essence of All6h's message through all of the prophets
was: "0 mankind, worship Alldh; you have no deity other than
Him." (a 7:59,65,73,85; Also ll:50,61,84; and 23:23,32
AllEh further states that He made this life in order to test man
so that every person may be recompensed after death for what
he earned: " [HeJ
who created death and life to test you
fas
toJ
which of you is best in deed
-
and He is the Exalted in Might,
the Forgivrrg." (Q 67:2) All6h alone is the judge of human
righteousness, and it is Allah alone who rewards and punishes
in this life and in the Hereafter.
Alhh is one. His unity is evident in the order, arrangemen
and symmetry of the universe. He is all-knowing and all
powerful. He is completely just
and merciful. Allah has
revealed certain names and descriptions of Himself so that we
may have some understanding of His qualities and therefore
love, and at the same time, fear Him.
Nothing is worthy of worship except Him who created the
universe
-
not stone idols or fire, not heavenly bodies such as
the sun and moon, not animals, not angels, and not other men
(including prophets)
-
for all of these are His creations.
This universe was not formed by chzutce, nor is it left to
chance. Allah created it for a purpose and subjected it to
physical laws for an appointed period of time. Man was created
for a purpose as well
-
to worship Allah on earth and live
according to His law. This is the essence of Isldm. It is All6h
alone (who created us and knows us better than we know
ourselves) who has the right to govern our lives. And His law
means justice for atl people regardless of gender, nationality,
colour or social stafus. Human beings are judged only on the
basis of righteousness.
Man has been given a free will and has been left the choice of
whether or not he will follow the way of Allah. Funhermore, he
has been given a mind with which he is able to reason and
choose wisely. One may, by his own efforts, gain knowledge
that enables him to recognize the evidence of All6h in His
creation. By contemplation one may weigh, measwe and learn
from all situations. And finally, because the human mind and'
experience is limited, Allah has revealed the guidance we need
through prophets.
After making available the information necessary for one to
choose His way, Alldh informs us in the
Qur'En
that after
passing through a temporary stage of death man will bear the
consequences of his choice in a greater life to come: " Every
soul will taste death. And We test you with evil and with good
as triul; and to Us you will be returned." (Q 2l:35) Every
individual is personally responsible for his own deeds
-
both
good and evil. I.{o one else can carry the burden of his sins.
On the other hand, AllEh is always prepared to accept and
forgive any servant who has gone astray and then repents and
turns back to Him. The compensation for evil will be exact
justice, but the compensation for good will be much greater
-
cornplete satisfaction and happinbss.
This last message revealed by AllAh to rnankind through
Prophet Muhammad is the final and complete religion and legal
code for mankind. Just as a new revised law supersedes and
invalidates what came before it, Islfun now nullifies all former
religions on earth. It corrects the deviations that had crept into
religion previously, in the realm of both belief and practice.
The text of the
Qur'dn
has been preserved by Allah in order
that humanrff may no longer have an excuse to deviate and that
there may always be men who keep the true religion.
The final prophet sent by the Creator to mankind was an
example to be followed and obeyed. Prophet Muhammad
patterned his life on the teachings of the
Qur'6n,
which were
revealed to him by AllEh. True Muslims try to follow this noble
example. A high moral standard is clearly the goal of Isl8m. It
is the duty of every Muslim to learn and put into practice all
that he can of his religion in order to earn the pleasure of All6h
before returning to Him.
Muslims have two distinct advantages to help them in the
practice of Isl6m as their way of life:
l- The sacred scripture, the
Qur'En,
is the recorded words of
Allah, Himself, dictated verbatim to Prophet Muhammad in
instalments through the angel Gabriel over a period of 23 years,
between 610 and 633 AD. [t was immediately memorised and
put down in rvriting. It is divided into I 14 chapters, called
surahs. The
Qur'En
still remains authentic in its original Arabic
text, word for word and letter for letter. This language is used
males inherit more but ultimately the1, are b1, law financiallr
responsible for many of their relatives: wives. children" parenrc
if in need, y'oung brothers and sisters if thev har,e no lncome
and no other person to provide for them. and in some cases
other needy male and femare relatives. Females inherit less but
may retain their entire shares for investment and financial
security without any legal obligation to spend any of it on
themselves or anyone else. unless the-v do sovoluntarily-.
It should be noted that in pre-Islamic societv, ln,omen
themsehes were often inherited objects. (see
e
4:19) ln some
western countries" even after the adlent of IslEm, the whole
estate of the deceased was passed on to the eldest son. The
Qur'En. horverer. made it clear that both men and $'omen are
entitled to a specified share of the estate of their deceased
parellts or close relatives. "For men is a share uf u,hat the
parents and close relatives lem,e, anrt
for
wonterT ii a shari oJ
what the parenls ancl close relatives leave, be it little or ntuch
-
an obligatory share.', (e 4:?)
(d) Emplo-vment: with regard to tlrc n,oman's righr to seek
emplol'ment, it should first be stated that Islarn r.gaid, her role
in societv as mother and wife to be her *orl sacred and
essential one. Maids and baby sifters cannot possibl-v take rhe
mother's place as the educator of an upright, complex-free and
carefully-reared
chitd. such a noble and vitat'role. which
largely shapes the future of nations. cannot be regarded as
"idleness". Holever. there is no decree in Islfrm that forbids
rvomen from seeking emploJment u,hener.er there is a
necessity for it. Moreover. there is no restriction on benefiting
from women's exceptional talents in any field. some early
jurists,
such as Abu-Hanifah. At-Tabari and lbn-Hazm, upholi
that a qualified Muslim \toman may be appointed to the
position ofjudge. Other jurists
hold different opinions.
yet.
no
scholar can point to an explicit text in the
Qur'f,n or Sunnah
that categorically excludes lvomen from any lawful tlpe of
employment except for the headship of state (discussed later
under "women in leadership positions").
'Omar.
the second
caliph after Prophet Muhammad. appointed a $'oman (ash
Shifaa' bint
'Abdullah
al-'Adawiyah) as marketplace
supervisor, a position that is equivalent in our rvorld to director
of the Consumer Protection Department.
No comments:
Post a Comment