shamsery
19-09-02, 09:57 PM
ISLAM gives priority to man's spiritual, moral and intellectual development, but it also gives due importance to man's material, social and economic development which is the means to the attainment of man's spiritual, moral and cultural development.
The Holy Qur’an calls upon man to bring the forces of nature under human control and to harness them to the fulfillment of human needs. Ironically, this Qur’anic command has been acted upon by the Western nations during the last few centuries since the Renaissance.
The history of civilization and of human development is the story of man's efforts to change conditions of living for the better and to protect himself against hostile forces of nature. Man's discontentment with the existing reality spurs him to better and improve his conditions. Perpetual development and progress is man's earthly destiny. Islam does not divide human life into watertight compartments of the sacred and the profane. As a rational, balanced and practical religion, Islam takes into account and lays equal emphasis on all aspects and dimensions of human life: the spiritual, and the secular, the temporal and the eternal, the here and the hereafter, the social and the economic, the moral and the material. It does not call for renunciation of, or withdrawal from, the world.
Islam is, in the words of Justice Syed Ameer Ali, "The religion of right doings, right thinking and right speaking founded on divine love, universal charity and equality of man in the sight of the Lord." The present life, according to Islamic teachings, has a meaning and purpose and man has to play a positive and active role on the stage of the world. Islam does not crush and suppress human nature. Within the bounds of limits set by Almighty God's laws, man can attain his full stature and satisfy physical, moral, emotional desires. The positivist philosophy of Islam insists on the fullest development of man as an individual and as a member of society.
Concepts of the dignity and high vocation of man, freedom of faith and conscience and the unity and equality of mankind are the essential part of Islamic creed. These liberal and democratic concepts plus rational and scientific models of thought are Islam's legacy to the modern world and its democratic and scientific civilization.
Islam and the spirit and method of science, that is, objective method of observation and investigation of natural phenomena and discovery of the universal and uniform laws operating in the universe, are one. The Holy Qur’an repeatedly calls upon man to use all his senses and observe and reflect upon the phenomena of nature, Whatever is good in modern civilization is its inheritance from and its debt to Islamic thought. In the words of Rober Briffault: "Science is the most momentous contribution of Arab civilization to the modern world."
Islam, through its Divine Book, the Holy Qur’an, and through the words and examples of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) encourages human effort and activity towards human development and improvement. Islam calls for the total annihilation of human misery, enslavement and exploitation, injustice and inequality. It is the primary function of an Islamic state to provide food to the hungry, shelter to the shelter less, clothing to the poor, medication to the sick and education and enlightenment to the unlettered. The life of both the holy Prophet and his close companions were models of simplicity and austerity, but their voluntary and self-chosen simplicity and austerity did not imply glorification and extolling of poverty and penury. They did not encumber themselves with worldly goods and paraphernalia. As for poverty, the holy Prophet is reported to have said that:
"If poverty were (personified) as man, he would have killed him."
Almighty God and His Prophet allow the believers to satisfy their material needs and physical desire and appetites reasonably and to enjoy the good things of life. It is said in the Holy Book, "Say who hath forbidden the beautiful gifts of Almighty Allah which He hath produced for His servants, and the things clean and pure which He hath provided for sustenance." Islam's struggle against, and victory over pagans of Arabia and decadent civilizations of Byzantine and Persia, was a war against, and victory over primitive barbarism and social and economic inequality. Islam aims at improving the lot of man and bettering human conditions so that the world can become an abode of peace and justice.
The Holy Qur’an calls upon man to bring the forces of nature under human control and to harness them to the fulfillment of human needs. Ironically, this Qur’anic command has been acted upon by the Western nations during the last few centuries since the Renaissance.
The history of civilization and of human development is the story of man's efforts to change conditions of living for the better and to protect himself against hostile forces of nature. Man's discontentment with the existing reality spurs him to better and improve his conditions. Perpetual development and progress is man's earthly destiny. Islam does not divide human life into watertight compartments of the sacred and the profane. As a rational, balanced and practical religion, Islam takes into account and lays equal emphasis on all aspects and dimensions of human life: the spiritual, and the secular, the temporal and the eternal, the here and the hereafter, the social and the economic, the moral and the material. It does not call for renunciation of, or withdrawal from, the world.
Islam is, in the words of Justice Syed Ameer Ali, "The religion of right doings, right thinking and right speaking founded on divine love, universal charity and equality of man in the sight of the Lord." The present life, according to Islamic teachings, has a meaning and purpose and man has to play a positive and active role on the stage of the world. Islam does not crush and suppress human nature. Within the bounds of limits set by Almighty God's laws, man can attain his full stature and satisfy physical, moral, emotional desires. The positivist philosophy of Islam insists on the fullest development of man as an individual and as a member of society.
Concepts of the dignity and high vocation of man, freedom of faith and conscience and the unity and equality of mankind are the essential part of Islamic creed. These liberal and democratic concepts plus rational and scientific models of thought are Islam's legacy to the modern world and its democratic and scientific civilization.
Islam and the spirit and method of science, that is, objective method of observation and investigation of natural phenomena and discovery of the universal and uniform laws operating in the universe, are one. The Holy Qur’an repeatedly calls upon man to use all his senses and observe and reflect upon the phenomena of nature, Whatever is good in modern civilization is its inheritance from and its debt to Islamic thought. In the words of Rober Briffault: "Science is the most momentous contribution of Arab civilization to the modern world."
Islam, through its Divine Book, the Holy Qur’an, and through the words and examples of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) encourages human effort and activity towards human development and improvement. Islam calls for the total annihilation of human misery, enslavement and exploitation, injustice and inequality. It is the primary function of an Islamic state to provide food to the hungry, shelter to the shelter less, clothing to the poor, medication to the sick and education and enlightenment to the unlettered. The life of both the holy Prophet and his close companions were models of simplicity and austerity, but their voluntary and self-chosen simplicity and austerity did not imply glorification and extolling of poverty and penury. They did not encumber themselves with worldly goods and paraphernalia. As for poverty, the holy Prophet is reported to have said that:
"If poverty were (personified) as man, he would have killed him."
Almighty God and His Prophet allow the believers to satisfy their material needs and physical desire and appetites reasonably and to enjoy the good things of life. It is said in the Holy Book, "Say who hath forbidden the beautiful gifts of Almighty Allah which He hath produced for His servants, and the things clean and pure which He hath provided for sustenance." Islam's struggle against, and victory over pagans of Arabia and decadent civilizations of Byzantine and Persia, was a war against, and victory over primitive barbarism and social and economic inequality. Islam aims at improving the lot of man and bettering human conditions so that the world can become an abode of peace and justice.