Preface
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, the Beneficent, the Merciful;
Master of the Day of Judgment.
Peace be upon His Apostle, The Prophet Muhammad , the last of The Messengers
and the great legislator.
The secret behind my choice of this subject for discussion and of my presenting
it to readers at the present time rests upon important factors:
The first factor relates to our response, in the form of neutralism which
is averse to any alignment to the sincere plea that we crystallize our
attitude vis a vis the big powers and this conflicting viewpoints and policies.
Ours was a response to the call of the general interest of man motivated
by conviction and faith, and made in order to secure for man the rights
of liberty, justice and equality.
Such an appeal, as expected, was not welcomed or accepted by the big powers
who wish to exercise control over the destiny of the present-day world.
The result was that they began launching propaganda campaigns and disconcerting
reports, in an attempt to counter that appeal. They tried to divert the
attention of peoples from it by arguing that the fulfillment of the promises
it held out was an impossibility. In their opinion, no country can go ahead alone without associating itself with one of the blocs which
dominate the world and are leading it, at this hour to a point where each
of them will be able to bring to fruition the dreams and ideals which color
the confused minds of a handful of colonialists. In order to be in the
good books of either of them, they argue, one has to believe in their principles,
ideologies and views and to abandon, without sorrow or regret, all other principles. Since we, the Arabs, are the people concerned, it becomes our duty to discuss
the appeal they made and to scrutinize the systems and concepts they want
us to adopt and to believe in. In this case, we have to study their practicality
and the results which would follow their implementation. Later, we will
compare these ideals with others which they wish us to abandon. It is thus
possible for our appeals to go forth in the knowledge of these ideals and
in confidence of their soundness.
The second factor springs from my desire to display the facts which so
many peoples consciously or unconsciously ignore. These facts relate to
the revealing of the essential value of the sources of Islamic Jurisprudence.
It is true that the value of such sources does not require any explanation.
Yet it is imperative for us to do so since many a bad seed has been sown
which has made thorns grow in the way of our research scholars. These trivialities
have almost concealed the truth, taking us into sweeping currents which
make us think no more of our real entity. They were to disfigure our image
after ruining the very basis of our existence.
It is Allah, The Master of all, Who needs no one. He is The Omnipotent
One Who grants the good which safeguards the interests of all sections
of the people. It is He Who outlines the path of everyone and makes it
easy to pass along. It is He Who decides the reward and punishment for
those who follow the right path or deviate from it; taking into account
the effect of goods on the welfare of other people.
Allah is neither prejudiced nor unfair on the contrary, He is above all
that. Moreover, He knows the nature, aspirations and attitudes of man,
Allah The Almighty says what means: and not the weight
in the earth or in the heaven is hidden from (Him).
As a result of this, all laws and doctrines ordained by Allah con not
do other than take cognizance of this nature. These laws underline the
good and point out the harm which He asks us to avoid. Contrary to this,
Man, while trying to lay down an ordered structure for living, finds himself
handicapped by considerations of society, heredity and the attendant differences
which force an individual to follow a particular way. Man, also, is limited
by certain forms of culture and knowledge and his actions; accordingly
are determined by that culture and knowledge.
Not only is Man limited by these circumstances; they also reflect themselves
in his behavior and mould his thinking. They accompany him in all stages
of life. If he makes laws he does so under their influence and each step
that he takes in propounding theories or principles, is colored by them.
For this reason, a great difference exists between the heavenly law and
man's enactments. This does not call for any clarification, and yet there
are special pleadings and propaganda which have obscured the facts and
blunted the intuition. People have been deceived by these propagandas,
have fallen in with them and acclaimed them.
In this study, I will deal with two man-made systems which are considered
to be the most powerful of all, the most numerous as to their adherents
and the most widely disseminated Capitalism and Communism. I will make
no attempt to compare these two systems and Islam. No parallel can be drawn
between Islam with its lucidity and the abiding nature of its principles
which secure the welfare of all human beings and other doctrines, no matter
how perfect they seem to some as a means of ensuring the happiness of Mankind.
This study is simply a survey which aims at the removal of the doubts and
prevailing fancies which take hold due to ignorance of Islam and the application
of its tenets. Each system will be reviewed separately concluding with
a criticism of the misconceptions of each system and a listing of its pres
and cons on the basis of practical operation.
In doing so, I beseech help and guidance from Allah.
The Author
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