Some Basic Characteristics of Islam
George Bernard Shaw is reported to have said:
"I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its
wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that
assimilating capacity to the changing phases of existence which can make itself
appeal to every age. I have studied him - the wonderful man - and in my opinion far
from being an Antichrist, he must be called the Savior of Humanity. I believe
that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he
would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much needed
peace and happiness. I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would
be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to
the Europe of today."
The question is, what are those characteristics of Islam which have won millions
of followers to the Faith in the past and which make it so appealing to the
modern age? Some of the major characteristics of Islam are given in the following
pages.
Simplicity, Rationality and Practicality. Islam is a religion without any
mythology. Its teachings are simple and intelligible. It is free from
superstitions and irrational beliefs. The oneness of Allah, the prophet hood of
Muhammad, and the concept of life after death are the basic articles of its
faith. They are based on reason and sound logic. All of the teachings of Islam
flow from those basic beliefs and are simple and straightforward. There is no
hierarchy of priests, no farfetched abstractions, no complicated rites and
rituals. Everybody may approach the Qur'an directly and translate its dictates
into practice. Islam awakens in man the faculty of reason and exhorts him to
use his intellect. It enjoins him to see things in the light of reality. The
Qur'an advises him to pray: O, my Lord! Advance me in knowledge (20:1 14).
It asserts that those who have no knowledge are not equal to those who have
(39:9), that those who do not observe and understand are worse than cattle (7:179), that
the meanings of revelation become manifest to those who have knowledge (6:97) and
who have understanding (6:98), that whosoever has been given knowledge indeed
has been given an abundant good (2:269), that the basic qualifications for
leadership are, among other things, knowledge and physical strength (2:247),
and that of all things it is by virtue of knowledge that man is superior to
angels and has been made vicegerent of Allah on earth (2:30).
The Prophet of Islam said: "He who leaves his home in search of knowledge walks
in the path of Allah" (Tirmidhi and Darimi) and "To seek knowledge is obligatory
for every Muslim" (Ibn Majah and Bayhaqi). This is how Islam brings man out of
the world of superstition and darkness and initiates him into the world of
knowledge and light.
Again, Islam is a practical religion and does not allow indulgence in empty and
futile theorizing. It says that faith is not a mere profession of beliefs, but
rather that it is the very mainspring of life. Righteous conduct must follow
belief in Allah. Religion is something to be practiced and not an object of mere
lip-service. The Qur'an says:
Those who believe and act righteously, joy is for them, and a blissful home to
return to.
(13: 29)
And the Prophet Muhammad said:
"Allah does not accept belief if it is not expressed in deeds, and does not accept
deeds if they do not conform to belief."
(Tabarani)
Thus Islam is a simple, rational and practical religion.
Unity of Matter and Spirit. A unique feature of Islam is that it does not divide
life into watertight compartments of matter and spirit. It stands not for denial
of life but for the fulfillment of life. Islam does not believe in asceticism. It
does not ask man to avoid material things. It holds that spiritual elevation is
to be achieved by living piously in the rough and tumble of life, not by
renouncing the world. The Qur'an advises us to pray as follows:
"Our Lord! Give us something fine in this world as well as something fine in the
Hereafter."
(2:201)
Allah strongly censures those who refuse to benefit from His blessings. The Qur'an
says:
Say: "Who has forbidden Allah's finery which He has produced for His servants and
the wholesome things from (His) provision?"
(7:32)
Islam's injunction is:
Eat and drink, but do not be extravagant.
(7:31)
The Prophet said:
"A Muslim who lives in the midst of society and bears with patience the
afflictions that come to him is better than the one who shuns society and cannot
bear any wrong done to him."
And:
"Keep fast and break it (at the proper time) and stand in prayer and devotion (in
the night) and have sleep - for your body has its rights over you, and your eyes
rights over you, and your wife has a claim upon you, and the person who pays a
visit to you has a claim upon you."
On another occasion he said:
"These three things are also enjoined upon the faithful: (a) to help others, even
when one is economically hard-pressed, (b) to pray ardently for the peace of all
mankind, and (c) to administer justice to one's own self."
Thus Islam does not admit any separation between "material" and "moral,"
"mundane" and "spiritual" life, and enjoins man to devote all of his energies to
the reconstruction of life on healthy moral foundations. It teaches him that
moral and material powers must be welded together and that spiritual salvation
can be achieved by using material resources for the good of man in the service of
just ends and not by living a life of asceticism or by running away from the
challenges of life.
The world has suffered at the hands of the one-sidedness of many other religions
and ideologies. Some have laid emphasis on the spiritual side of life but have
ignored its material and mundane aspects. They have looked upon the world as an
illusion, a deception, and a trap. On the other hand, materialistic ideologies
have totally ignored the spiritual and moral side of life and have dismissed it
as fictitious and imaginary. Both of these attitudes have resulted in disaster,
for they have robbed mankind of peace, contentment, and tranquillity. Even today,
the imbalance is manifested in one or the other direction. The French scientist
Dr. De Brogbi rightly says: "The danger inherent in too intense a material
civilization is to that civilization itself; it is the disequilibrium which would
result if a parallel development, of the spiritual life were to fail to provide
the needed balance."
Christianity erred on one extreme, whereas modern western civilization, in both
of its variants of secular capitalistic democracy and Marxist socialism, has
erred on the other. According to Lord Snell:
"We have built a nobly-proportioned outer structure, but we have neglected the
essential requirement of an inner order; we have carefully designed, decorated
and made clean the outside of the cup; but the inside was full of extortion and
excess; we used our increased knowledge and power to administer to the comforts
of the body, but we left the spirit impoverished ."
Islam seeks to establish an equilibrium between these two aspects of life - the
material and the spiritual. It says that everything in the world is for man, but
man was created to serve a higher purpose: the establishment of a moral and just
order that will fulfill the will of Allah. Its teachings cater to the spiritual as
well as the temporal needs of man. Islam enjoins man to purify his soul and to
reform his daily life - both individual and collective - and to establish the
supremacy of right over might and of virtue over vice. Thus Islam stands for the
middle path and the goal of producing a moral man in the service of a just
society.
A Complete Way of Life. Islam is not a religion in the common and distorted
sense, for it does not confine its scope to one's private life. It is a complete
way of life and is present in every field of human existence. Islam provides
guidance for all aspects of life - individual and social, material and moral,
economic and political, legal and cultural, and national and international. The
Qur'an enjoins man to embrace Islam without any reservation and to follow Allah's
guidance in all areas of life. In fact, it was an unfortunate day when the
scope of religion was confined to the private life of man and its social and
cultural role was reduced to naught, as has happened in this century. No other
factor, perhaps, has been more important in causing the decline of religion in
the modern age than its retreat into the realm of private life. In the words of a
modern philosopher:
"Religion asks us to separate things of Allah from those of Caesar. Such a judicial
separation between the two means the degrading of both the secular and the sacred
... That religion is worth little if the conscience of its followers is not
disturbed when war clouds are hanging over us all and industrial conflicts are
threatening social peace. Religion has weakened man's social conscience and moral
sensitivity by separating the things of Allah from those of Caesar."
Islam totally denounces this concept of religion and clearly states that its
objectives are the purification of the soul and the reform and reconstruction of
society. As we read in the Qur'an:
We have sent our messengers with explanations, and sent the book and the balance
down with them, so that mankind may conduct themselves with all fairness. We have
sent down iron wherein is great violence as well as benefits for mankind, so that
Allah may know who is supporting Him and His messenger even though (He is) unseen.
(57:25)
Discretion belongs only to Allah. He has ordered you to serve Him alone; such is
the right religion, even though most men do not realize it.
(12: 40)
(Muslims are) those who, if We establish them in the land will keep up prayer (salah) and pay the welfare due
(zakah); command what is proper and forbid what
is improper.
(22:40-41)
The Holy Prophet said:
"Each of you is a keeper or a shepherd and will be questioned about the
well-being of his fold. The head of the state will be questioned about the
well-being of the people of the state. Each man is a shepherd to his family and
will be answerable about every member of it. Each woman is a shepherd to the
family of her husband and will be accountable for every member of it. And each
servant is a shepherd to his master and will be questioned about the property of
his master."
(Bukhari and Muslim)
Thus even a cursory study of the teachings of Islam shows that it is an
all-embracing way of life and does not leave out any field of human existence to
become a playground for the forces of evil. Balance between the Individual and
Society. Another unique feature of Islam is that it establishes a balance between
individualism and collectivism. It believes in the individual personality of man
and holds everyone personally accountable to Allah. It guarantees the fundamental
rights of the individual and does not permit anyone to tamper with them. It makes
the proper development of the personality of man one of the prime objectives of
its educational policy. It does not subscribe to the view that man must lose his
individuality in society or in the state.
According to the Qur'an:
Man shall have nothing but what he strives for.
(53:39)
And whatever suffering you suffer, it is what your hands have wrought.
(42:30)
Allah does not change what any people have until they change what is in themselves.
(13:11)
Allah only assigns to a soul what it can cope with: in its favor stands whatever it
has earned, while it is held responsible for anything it has brought upon itself.
(2:286)
For us are our deeds and for you are yours.
(28:55)
On the other hand, it also awakens a sense of social responsibility in man,
organizes human beings in a society and a state, and enjoins the individual to
subscribe to the social good. Prayer, in Islam, is offered in congregation, a
situation that inculcates social discipline among Muslims. Everyone is enjoined
to pay zakah, and it has been laid down in the Quran that:
The beggar and the destitute have due rights in their (i.e., the rich man's)
wealth.
(51:19)
Jihad has been made obligatory, which means that the individual should, when the
occasion arises, offer his life for the defense and protection of Islam and the
Islamic state. The Prophet said:
"All mankind is a fold, each member of which shall be a keeper or shepherd to
every other, and be accountable for the entire fold."
"Live together; do not turn against each other; make things easy for others and
do not put obstacles in each other's way."
"He is not a believer who takes his fill while his neighbor starves. "
"The believer in Allah is he who is not a danger to the life and property of any
other."
In short, Islam neglects neither the individual nor society - it establishes a
harmony and a balance between the two and assigns to each its proper due.
Universality and Humanism. The message of Islam is for the whole of the human
race. Allah, in Islam, is the Allah of all the world (Qur'an 1:1) and the Prophet is
a Messenger for the whole of mankind. In the words of the Quran:
O People! I am but a Messenger from Allah to you all.
(7:158)
We have sent you only as a mercy for everybody in the universe.
(21:107)
In Islam, all men are equal, regardless of color, language, race, or nationality.
It addresses itself to the conscience of humanity and banishes all false barriers
of race, status, and wealth. There can be no denying the fact that such barriers
have always existed and continue to exist today in the so-called enlightened age.
Islam removes all of these impediments and proclaims the ideal of the whole of
humanity being one family of Allah.
Islam is international in its outlook and approach and does not admit barriers
and distinctions based on color, clan, blood, or territory, as was the case
before the advent of Muhammad. Unfortunately, these prejudices remain rampant in
different forms even in this modern age. Islam wants to unite the entire human
race under one banner. To a world torn by national rivalries and feuds, it
presents a message of life and hope and of a glorious future.
The historian, A. J. Toynbee, has some interesting observations to make in this
respect. In Civilization on Trial, he writes:
"Two conspicuous sources of danger - one psychological and the other material - in
the present relations of this cosmopolitan proletariat, i.e., [westernised
humanity] with the dominant element in our modern Western society are race
consciousness and alcohol; and in the struggle with each of these evils the
Islamic spirit has a service to render which might prove, if it were accepted, to
be of high moral and social value.
"The extinction of race consciousness between Muslims is one of the outstanding
moral achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it
happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue ... It is
conceivable that the spirit of Islam might be the timely reinforcement which
would decide this issue in favor of tolerance and peace.
"As for the evil of alcohol, it is at its worst among primitive populations in
tropical regions which have been 'opened up' by Western enterprise ... the fact
remains that even the most statesmanlike preventive measures imposed by external
authority are incapable of liberating a community from a social vice unless a
desire for liberation and a will to carry this desire into voluntary action on
its own part are awakened in the hearts of the people concerned. Now Western
administrators, at any rate those of 'Anglo-Saxon' origin, are spiritually
isolated from their 'native' wards by the physical 'color bar' which their
race-consciousness sets up; the conversion of the natives' souls is a task to
which their competence can hardly be expected to extend; and it is at this point
that Islam may have a part to play.
"In these recently and rapidly 'opened up' tropical territories, the Western
civilization has produced an economic and political plenum and, in the same
breath, a social and spiritual void ...
"Here, then, in the foreground of the future, we can remark two valuable
influences which Islam may exert upon the cosmopolitan proletariat of a Western
society that has cast its net around the world and embraced the whole of mankind;
while in the more distant future we may speculate on the possible contributions
of Islam to some new manifestation of religion."
Permanence and Change. The elements of permanence and change coexist in human
society and culture and are bound to remain so. Different ideologies and cultural
systems have erred in leaning heavily towards one or other of these ends of the
equation. Too much emphasis on permanence makes the system rigid and robs it of
flexibility and progress, while a lack of permanent values and unchanging
elements generate moral relativism, shapelessness, and anarchy.
What is needed is a balance between the two-a system that could simultaneously
cater for the demands of permanence and change. An American judge, Mr. Justice
Cardozo, rightly says "that the greatest need of our time is a philosophy that
will mediate between conflicting claims of stability and progress and supply a
principle of growth." Islam presents an ideology which satisfies the demands
of stability as well as of change.
Deeper reflection reveals that life has within it elements of permanence and
change - it is neither so rigid and inflexible that it cannot admit of any change
even in matters of detail, nor it is so flexible and fluid that even its
distinctive traits have no permanent character of their own. This becomes clear
from observing the process of physiological change in the human body, for every
tissue of the body changes a number of times in one's lifetime even though the
person remains the same. A tree's leaves, flowers, and fruits change but its
character remains unchanged. It is a law of life that elements of permanence and
change must co-exist in a harmonious equation. Only such a system of life that
can provide for both these elements can meet all of the cravings of human nature
and all of the needs of human society. The basic problems of life remain the same
in all ages and climes, but the ways and means to solve them as well as the
techniques of handling the phenomenon undergo change with the passage of time.
Islam brings to focus a new perspective on this problem and tries to solve it in
a realistic way.
The Quran and the Sunnah contain the eternal guidance given by the Lord of the
universe. This guidance comes from Allah, Who is free from the limitations of space
and time and, as such, the principles of individual and social behavior revealed
by Him are based on reality and are eternal. But Allah has revealed only broad
principles and has endowed man with the freedom to apply them in every age in the
way suited to the spirit and conditions of that age. It is through ijtihad
(intellectual effort to arrive at the truth) that people of every age try to
implement and apply the divine guidance to the problems of their times. Thus the
basic guidance is of a permanent nature, while the method of its application can
change in accordance with the peculiar needs of every age. That is why Islam
always remains as fresh and modern as tomorrow's morn.
Complete Record of Teachings Preserved. Last, but not least, is the fact that the
teachings of Islam have been preserved in their original form. As a result, Allah's
guidance is available without adulteration of any kind. The Qur'an is the
revealed book and word of Allah, which has been in existence for the last fourteen
hundred years. It is still available in its original form. Detailed accounts of
the life of the Prophet and of his teachings are available in their pristine
purity. There has not been even one change made in this unique historic record.
The sayings and the entire record of the life of the Prophet have been handed
down to us with unprecedented precision and authenticity in works of the hadith
and the sirah. Even a number of non-Muslim critics admit this eloquent fact.
Professor Reynold A. Nicholson, in his A Literary History of the Arabs, says:
"The Koran is an exceedingly human document, reflecting every phase of Muhammad's
personality and standing in close relation to the outward events of his life; so
that there we have materials of unique and incontestable authority for tracing
the origin and early development of Islam, such materials as do not exist in the
case of Buddhism or Christianity or any other ancient religion."
These are some of the unique features of Islam that establish its credentials as
the religion of man the religion of today and the religion of tomorrow. These
aspects have appealed to millions of people in the past and the present and have
made them affirm that Islam is the religion of truth and the right path for
mankind. There is no doubt that these aspects will continue to appeal to even
more people in the future. Men with pure hearts and sincere longing for truth
will always continue to say:
"I affirm that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, that He is One,
sharing His authority with no one, and I affirm that Muhammad is His Servant and
His Prophet."
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