Islam as a Complete System for Humanity
This
title may seem astonishing and strange, provoking different reactions in many
people—and even some sarcasm in cynical minds.
As for
astonishment, its bearer is excused, whatever the case may be.
As for
strangeness, anything new to the ear or mind appears strange at first, but when
it is repeated and becomes familiar, it is no longer so.
As for
sarcasm, it comes only from two types of people:
A man
whose soul is filled with hatred toward Islam,
resentment toward its followers, and contempt for its teachings.
And a man
who has understood Islam only through the condition of Muslims today, unaware
that there is a vast distance between the realities of Islam and the current
state of Muslims. What is referred to in the title is Islam—not Muslims.
Titles
are not to blame, for they merely point to what lies beyond them. So listen to
what lies behind this title—then let those who are astonished remain so if they
are not convinced, and let those who mock continue if they wish.
How Islam Led Humanity Through Strength
and Mercy
In its
earliest stages, Islam assumed leadership of the inhabited human world in
temperate regions, guiding it toward happiness and good through two of its core
principles: strength and mercy, and through two methods of leadership: justice
and benevolence, along with its rulings that realize the wisdom of Allah in the
cultivation of this universe.
Strength and mercy
are qualities that have existed in every age, yet they have always been opposed
to one another, never united in the past or present—until Islam came and
brought them together, blending and harmonizing them. From their union emerged
what results from the meeting of negative and positive in electricity: heat,
light, and movement.
It has
long been known among the wise, and is easily understood even by the simple,
that strength alone brings no good, for it leads to compulsion and arrogance,
and that mercy alone brings no good, for it leads to weakness and frailty. All good lies in their combination. Yet combining them is not
within the power of human beings—who are driven by desires and habits, led by
ambitions and greed, and drawn toward self-centeredness.
They can
only be combined beneficially through a divine force manifested in prophethood,
revelation, righteous leadership, and sincere following derived from them.
Islam’s Balance: Reconciling Opposites
in Human Life
From the
supreme wisdom of Islam is that it established just balances between opposites,
transforming them into harmony. When conflicting forces are reconciled, the
universe itself is set aright, for they are its secret and foundation.
Islam set
boundaries for these opposing forces, gave each its due right, and directed
them toward goodness within their natural
scope. Thus, they remain distinct in name, essence, and function—but unified in
purpose, benefit, and outcome. All of them become sources of goodness, benefit,
reform, and beauty.
Social Justice in Islam: Balancing Human
Relationships
Islam set
boundaries between man and woman,
bringing harmony between them and extinguishing, through justice and
benevolence, the fire of conflict between them—a conflict that is the root of
humanity’s misery. No true reform in society can occur while conflict persists
between the sexes.
Human
societies have long differed in their view of women: some elevate her beyond
her proper place, which leads to her downfall and theirs, giving her more than
her rights and the requirements of her nature, thereby corrupting her and
corrupting society. Others degrade her below her human status, viewing her as
either an animal or a devil—until Islam came and placed her in her natural
position, doing justice between
both extremes.
Likewise,
Islam set boundaries between parents and children—a matter
that man-made laws and systems have often pushed toward extremes of excess or
neglect.
It also
established boundaries between masters and slaves, rulers and the ruled, the
rich and the poor, neighbors, humans and animals, and the soul and the body.
It united
masters and slaves
through the law of kindness and strong encouragement toward emancipation. It
united rulers and the ruled through justice and equality, and the rich and the
poor through the system of zakah and benevolence. It strengthened ties between neighbors by
making mutual support and protection obligatory, even considering neighborhood
bonds as strong as—or stronger than—blood relations.
It erased systems of
class, race, and lineage superiority: no Arab has superiority over a non-Arab
except through piety; no honor lies in numbers; no pride in ancestry; no tribal
arrogance; no superiority through status or wealth.
It
granted the orphan a
sanctity that protects him from the humiliation of orphanhood, the traveler
rights that preserve him from loss and moral corruption, and the stranger
rights that ease the loneliness of exile.
It made
the criterion of superiority spiritual, not material: the rich is the brother
of the poor through Islam—not through wealth.
It
granted animals the right to kindness and care, protecting them from harm and
cruelty, and included them in mercy, making in every living being with a moist
liver there is reward.
It also
resolved the tension between the soul and the body, correcting the confusion of
philosophers who believed that caring for one comes at the expense of the
other. Islam harmonized their needs, assigning each its nourishment and
balance, making them cooperative partners in goodness and benefit.
A Divine System: From Chaos to
Civilization
Islam
governed the earth with the law of heaven, spreading its light into darkness
and imposing its order upon human life. It restrained the untamed animalistic
tendencies within the human being through divine commands and
prohibitions—commands that admit no compromise or revision.
Through
this, Islam transformed
the nations that embraced it from one condition to another: from chaos to
order, from division to brotherhood, from fear to security, from instability to
stability, and from conflicting inner drives to a unified direction—first
established within them, then spread across the earth through them.
It
transformed primitive nations into a balanced form of measured civilization and
elevated already civilized nations into a rational civilization guided by
evidence—preventing excess and collapse.
It also
transformed nations that deified kings and elites into people who understood
their own dignity and worth—becoming, in essence, their own masters.
Islamic Governance: Justice in War,
Peace, and Society
Islam led
its followers through a comprehensive divine law that addressed all aspects of
human life: war and peace, fear and security, politics and administration,
judiciary matters concerning wealth, blood, and crimes, and the structure of
the family.
With this
law, it governed the most intellectually capable populations of the time in the
most developed regions of the earth. No one complained of injustice or
oppression. And if any such case occurred, it was due to a ruler deviating from
its path or an individual failing to uphold its conditions.
Other
nations later adopted many of these just laws during their interactions with
Muslims—whether in war or treaties—in regions such as the Levant, Andalusia,
and Africa. They also adopted many beneficial customs related to livelihood
management and domestic life. Many of these principles remain clearly visible
or influential in modern civilization today.
For Further Reading:
- Western Scholars Testimony on the Greatness of Islam
- Who Deserves the Honor of Defending Human Rights?
- Ability in Islam: Balancing Duty and Mercy
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