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Islam:
The Middle and the Moderate Path
courtesy: Pakistan link
A FRIDAY SERMON at ISOC - Dhul Qidah 11, 1422/ January 25, 2002
Thus have We made of you a
Middle Ummah, that you might be witnesses over the people, and
the Messenger a witness over your selves¦ (al-Baqarah 2:143)
Say: "O People of the Book! Make no excess in your religion,
trespassing
beyond the truth, nor follow the vain desires of people who went
wrong in
times gone by, who misled many, and strayed (themselves) from
the even Way. (al-Maidah 5:77)
Muslims are called Ummatan Wasatan. The commentators of the
Quran explain
the word wasat as justly balanced, the best (khiyar or khayr).
(see
al-Tabari, al-Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir etc.) Yusuf Ali says: The
essence of Islam is to avoid all extravagances on either side.
It is a sober, practical religion. (note 143 on 2:143)
Allah subhanahu wa taala has made this Ummah a moderate Ummah.
Muslims have to follow the middle path, the path that has no
extremes or excesses.
It is a path that brings together in a harmonious balance:
Revelation and Reason (Wahy and Aql)
Individual and Community (Fard and Mujtama)
Religion and World (Din and Dunya)
This World and the Other World (Dunya and Akhirah)
Islam teaches gentleness and softness (rifq) in everything.
Harshness and
hardness (ghilzah) is not accepted in Islam. Islam is the
religion of peace and mercy (salam and rahmah). (The Quran tells
the believers to show
ghilzah only in the battlefield (see al-Tawbah 9:73; 123; al-Tahrim
66:9).
Also it says that do not ignore or avoid Allahs Hudud out of
compassion to
the criminals. (al-Nur 24:2) Otherwise it always speaks about
gentleness and kindness.)
Islam has middle position in:
Beliefs (Aqidah)
Acts of worship (Ibadah)
Laws (Shariah)
Morals and manners (Akhlaq)
Let us look briefly on these four areas in Islamic teachings:
Beliefs:
Belief about Allahs being (dhat):
Neither atheism nor polytheism - meaning that God does not exist
or there are many Gods Neither monism nor pantheism - meaning
that only God exists and nothing else exists or that everything
is God.
Neither anthropomorphism or in car nations nor nihilism -
meaning that God is like human beings or God becomes a human
being or to say that God is abstract as an energy and power.
Islam teaches Tawhid - There is only one God with beautiful
names and
attributes. He exists and He has given existence to everything.
There is
nothing like Him, but He hears and sees everything.
Belief about Allahs nature (sifat):
He is neither so loving that He does not care about the right
and wrong, nor is He so harsh that he cannot forgive and He must
punish for every sin and mistake. He is both loving, kind and
compassionate but He is also a judge.
His justice is so much that he would not do wrong to any one,
but his love is so much that when there is sincere faith and
repentance He is ready to
forgive.
He is neither too transcendent that He become remote and
unapproachable not
He is so accessible that humans can manipulate Him, make Him to
suffer and
even kill him. He is very close to us. He loves us and hears our
prayers, but
He is above and beyond. The eyes cannot catch Him, but He
catches the eyes.
He is neither so powerful that we have no freedom. Nor is He so
helpless that
He does not even know what we are doing and cannot stop us from
wrong or help us when we need Him. We believe that He has power
over everything. Nothing moves without His permission. He knows
the past, present and future, but He out of His grace has given
freedom to human being to think, move and work. He will judge
them in the things in which He has given freedom to them.
Belief about Human Beings:
Neither animals nor angels. We believe that they are a special
and honored
creation of Allah. They have the possibility to go higher and
higher and they can become the lowest of the low.
Neither born in sin nor perfect. They can succumb to
temptations, but they
are not helpless before the powers of evil.
Neither absolutely helpless and powerless and not free to do
anything, nor
absolutely free to do whatever they wish or become fully
autonomous. They
have a lot of freedom, but they must follow the basic rules of
God and must live in obedience to Him.
Belief about the Prophets of
Allah:
They were great human beings, but they were not God, the
incarnation of God or the sons of God. We must respect them,
honor them and follow their way but we must not deify them or
worship them.
Prophets were chosen by God. They did not become prophets by
their own
achievements. They did perform miracles occasionally by the
permission of
God, but most of the time they had to go through the same pains,
trials as
other human beings go through.
God sent the prophets in the past, but He made Prophet Muhammad
as His last Prophet. There is no new Prophet who will come after
him. Thus we believe in the continuation of prophecy but after
him there is no prophecy, only inspiration and illumination.
Prophets were infallible teachers, but there is no one after
them who has this protection. People are allowed to make
interpretation but no one other than prophets can claim absolute
authority for his/her interpretation.
Belief about the world:
Not a bad place, the place of suffering and pain but also not a
heaven or a permanent place. Allah has created this world and it
is a good place, but Hereafter is better.
Take your share of this world but do not forget the Hereafter.
Do not neglect this world, rather you should try to build,
improve, cultivate and plan in this world. Whatever good you do
here you shall receive the reward in the hereafter. This is a
place of your test.
You are not the master of this world or its slave, but you are
Allahs
Khalifah in this world. Everything is a trust and your are given
this trust (amanah). Use the resources of this world carefully.
Take care of the environment. Do not waste or be extravagant.
Acts of Worship:
Concept of Worship:
Islam gives us some special acts of worship: Salat, Siyam, Zakat
and Hajj.
These are the main acts of worship.
But worship is not some rituals only, it is the whole life.
Whatever a person does in obedience to Allah is worship. Even
the most worldly and mundane activities are worship.
Acts of worship (Ibadat) are specified and not left to peoples
own
experiments. This brings unity and harmony.
Methods of Worship:
Islam emphasizes both the individual Ibadah as well as
collective Ibadah.
Acts of worship include time, space and money. There are Ibadat Zamaniya (related to time), Ibadat Makaniyah (related to space) and Ibadat Maliyah (related to wealth). Salat and Siyam are Ibadat Zamaniyah. Hajj is Ibadah Zamaniyah and Makaniyah both, while Umrah is Ibadah Makaniyah. Zakat and Sadaqat are Ibadat Maliyah.
In all Ibadat there is a balance between the obligatory and the voluntary aspects. Minimum is made obligatory and Nawafil are left to the individuals choice.
In prayer especially, there is a harmony and balance between the physical, verbal, mental and spiritual aspects.
In fasting there are timings. One is not asked to fast for too long, but it is also not left to ones choice to choose whenever and whatever one wants to fast from.
Laws (Shariah) The Law in Islam is Universal and comprehensive. It Promotes human dignity, equality and honor. Its basic principles are permanent and it has flexibility according to the conditions of the people and their needs.
The basic philosophy of Law in Islam:
No obligation beyond capacity (taklif ma la yutaq).
All good things are permissible and all bad things are forbidden.
The basic purpose in obligations is honor and purification, not puttingburden or humiliation. (al-isr and al-aghlal).
Recognition of extreme necessity (idtirar) Morals and Manners (Akhlaq) Islam gives very high place to ethics and morality. It says that a person who has no character has no religion.
The basic nature of Islamic teachings on ethics and morality are:
Universal Values - not promoting any specific culture, race or country.
Positive and life affirming - it teaches that you can enjoy the good things of this life.
Not ascetic, monastic, morbid or moribund in nature. Islam wants people to be happy, healthy, optimistic and forward looking.
Practical - take into account human needs, emotions, desires, and aspirations and provides opportunities for their growth.
Egalitarian - There are no
double standards - one for religious class and other for laity.
Conclusion
There are some Muslims who do not know Islam and there are some
who do notpractice Islam in the right way. It is important that
we learn Islam and we should learn it in the right way. Islam is
neither harsh nor difficult. There is nothing in Islam that is
not practical or impossible. The Prophet -peace be upon him-
said:
The religion is easy and whosoever will deal with religion
harshly, it will defeat him. So be straight, follow the middle
course, give good news and seek help by moving in the morning or
the evening or part of the night. (Al-Bukhari 38)
In order to follow Islam you must make an effort and be serious.
Learn your faith and pay some attention to it. Do not take your
religion casually. Islam is not just a social and cultural
thing. Islam is the religion of Allah and it is the most
moderate, balanced, beautiful and perfect religion.
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