ISLAM AND MUSLIMS IN THE FACE OF MODERN

CHALLENGES (1)

ISLAM is derived from the Arabic root "SALEMA": peace, purity,

submission and obedience. In the religious sense, Islam means submission
to the will of God and obedience to His law.

Everything and every phenomenon in the world, other than man is

administered TOTALLY by God-made laws i.e. they are obedient to God
and submissive to His laws (i.e. they are in the STATE OF ISLAM). Man
possesses the quality of intelligence and choice, thus he is invited to submit
to the good will of God and obey His law (i.e. Become a Muslim).
Submission to the good will of God, together with obedience to His
beneficial law, (i.e. becoming a Muslim) is the best safeguard for man's
peace and harmony.

Islam dates back to the age of Adam, and its message have been conveyed to
man by God's Prophets and Messengers, including Abraham, Moses, Jesus
and Muhammad. Islam's message has been restored and enforced in the last
stage of the religious evolution by God's last Prophet and Messenger
(Muhammad).

The word Allah in the Arabic language means God, or more accurately The
One and Only Eternal God, Creator of the Universe, Lord of all lords, King
of all kings, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful. Arabic speaking Jews
and Christians also uses the word Allah to mean God.

It is a Muslim’s belief that Muhammad's mission was for the whole world
and for all the time; because: Its universality has been clearly confirmed by
the Qur’an (Surah 7: verse 158, 6:19, 34:28, and 81:27). It is a logical
consequence of the finality of his prophet hood. He had to be the guide and
the leader for all men and for all ages. Allah has provided, through him, a
complete code, which is to be followed, and this in itself supports the
concept of finality, because without completeness, the need for other
prophets would remain. It is a fact that during the last 1400 years no man has
been raised whose life and works bear even the slightest resemblance to that
of a prophet. Nor has anyone presented a book, which could be remotely
considered a divine communication. Still less has there been a man to claim
legitimate authority as a lawgiver from mankind.
The mission of Muhammad, as well as of other prophets who brought the
universal message of Islam, does not end with the announcement of the
message. He has to guide the people by explaining to them the implications
of the Islamic creed, the morale code, the divine injunctions and
commandment, and the form of worship that sustains the whole system. He
has to exemplify the faith so others can pattern their participation in the
evolution of Islamic culture and civilization. The believers must grow under
his guidance into an organized community so that Allah's word will prevail
over all other words.

Therefore the entire life of a Muslim is a challenge, depending on the

situation and circumstances he/she may be. The following represent few of
the challenges faced by Muslims, which the circumstances of our present
world have made very cumbersome:

Spiritual Life: prayer (Salaat), fasting (Saom), charity giving (Zakaat),

pilgrimage (hajj), love for Allah and His Messenger, love for truth and
humanity, for the sake of Allah, hope and trust in Allah at all times and doing
good for the sake of Allah. Doing all these remain a serious challenge for
today’s Muslims on daily basis due to various distractions and the high level
of immorality, deceit, cheat, lies disobedience, corruption and what have
you, that has engulfed the society.

Intellectual Life: True knowledge based on clear proof and indisputable

evidence acquired by experience or experiment or by both. The Qur’an
points to the rich sources of knowledge in the whole universe. Islam
demands faith in Allah on the basis of knowledge and research and leaves
wide open all field of thought before the intellect to penetrate as far as it can
reach. Studies have shown that today’s Muslims are not showing enough
zeal towards this challenge, and the reason is that laziness has become the
order of the day. Money and wealth has taken the shine off intellectual
prowess which the early Muslims were known for.

Personal Life: purity and cleanliness, a healthy diet, proper clothing, proper
behavior, and good healthy sexual relations within marriage also remains a
challenge for which we have not shown enough agility and conviction.

Family Life: A family is a human social group whose members are bound
together by the bond of blood ties and/or marital relationship and nothing
else (adoption, mutual alliance, common law, trial marriage...etc.). Marriage
is a religious duty on all who are capable of meeting its responsibilities.
Each member of the family has rights and obligations. Today many
marriages and family life are tailored towards western beliefs and anti-
Islamic tenets. Islam is faced with the challenge of keeping family and
marriage sanctity intact in the face of widely spread western immorality
which is mostly through electronic media, satellite and internet facilities.

Social Life: Man is ordained by Allah to extend his utmost help and
kindness to other family members, relations, servants and neighbours. No
superiority on account of class, colour, origin or wealth. Humanity
represents one family springing from the one and the same father and
mother. The unity of the humanity is not only in its origin but also in its
ultimate aims. This norm is challenged by the much publicized and widely
accepted capitalist of the west and the so called privatization policies that
allows oppression of the populace and leaves a very wide and discriminatory
gap between the rich and the poor, the leaders and their followers, the
privileged and the less privileged.

Economical Life: Earning one's living through decent labour is not only a
duty but a great virtue as well. Earning is man's private possession. The
individual is responsible for the prosperity of the state and the state is
responsible for the security of the individual. The Islamic economic system
is not based on arithmetical calculations alone but also on moral and
principles. Man comes to this world empty-handed and departs empty-
handed. The real owner of things is Allah alone. Man is simply a trustee.
Unfortunately, today’s economy teaches the exact contrary of these and as a
result Muslims no longer care, as it used to be, for the economic well being
of their fellow Muslims. Greediness and untiring quest for amassing wealth
in order to lord over the poor is the desire of most rich Muslims today,
particularly in this country.

Political Life: The sovereignty in the Islamic State belongs to Allah; the
people exercise it by trust from Him to enforce His laws. The ruler is only an
acting executive chosen by the people to serve them according to Allah's
law. The State is to administer justice and provide security for all citizens.
Rulers and administrators must be chosen from the best-qualified citizens. If
an administration betrays the trust of Allah and the people, it has to be
replaced. Non-Muslim can administer their personal life of marriage,
divorce, foods and inheritance according to the Islamic law or to their own
religious teachings. They may pay Zakaat or a different tax tribute "Jizyah".
They are entitled to full protection and security of the State including
freedom of religion. The politics as been played by our politicians is a clear
evidence of failure in tackling the challenges posed by our political life as a
modern Muslim.

International Life: Man has a common origin, human status and aim. Other
people's interests and right to life, honour and property are respected as long
as the right of Muslim is in tact. Transgression is forbidden. War is only
justified if the state security is endangered. During war, destruction of crops,
animals and homes, killing non-fighting women, children and aged people
are forbidden. But today most Muslim countries no longer follow the
teachings of their religion in their foreign policies as evidenced in the
Middle East during the Gulf War, and coupled with the fact that America
dictates the foreign policy of countries in the modern world through the so
called United Nations.

Aside the above enumerated areas, the greatest challenge of the modern
world is the issue of deliberate MISCONCEPTION of Islam and Muslims
by Non-Muslims, engineered by the West. Islam is frequently misunderstood
and may even seem exotic in some parts of today's world. Perhaps this is
because religion no longer dominates everyday life in Western society;
whereas, for Muslims, Islam is life. Muslims make no artificial division
between the secular and the sacred.

For quite some time now, Islam was thought of as some "Eastern" religion,
but with the increasing number of Muslims living in the West, Islam is
gradually being perceived as a global faith.

Muslims are not thought of as strangers with unusual practices, but are being
welcomed as part of the mosaic of life in the West. In many cases, Islam is
not just viewed as an acceptable religion, but as a desired way of living.
DUÁ: WEAPON OF THE BELIEVER

Prayers for Divine Guidance

Allahuma íj ál ma áshaú muwafiqan lima tashaú, kay la yasiru ma’ashaú

mukhalifan lima tashaú wa ma anna hatta áshaú khilafa ma Allahu yashaú,
lao jahada-l-abdu was ha ma kana illa ma tashaú, faltuf bina fi ma tashaú.
Wama tasha úna illa an yasha’Allahu rabbul álamina.

MEANING: “O God, let my wish coincide with Yours such that my wish
does not contradict Yours. Who am I to have a wish contrary to yours? No
matter the struggle and wish of the servant, only what You wish will come
to pass, kindly show us Your mercy in what You wish. Your wishes are
nothing but what Allah the Lord of the World wishes.”

Recite several times after morning and night prayers.