Q417 :The Prophet has spoken very highly of those
who bring up orphans and said that they will be rewarded generously by
Allah. Yet we see in society that orphans, particularly if they do not
have known parents, are not accepted in the society; much less in
homes. Fostering parents may feel it necessary to inform their family
members about the origin or parents of the orphan they are fostering. A
childless couple may wish to foster an orphan but pressure of society
may cause them not to consider this option which could be very highly
rewarding for both of them in terms of happiness in the life and grace
of Allah on the day of judgment. Is it true to say that there is a gap
between theory and practice; that what people have learned of Islamic
values do not have much bearing on their behavior.
A417 : This dichotomy between theory and practice is
not peculiar to Muslims or Islamic society. It is indeed very netmon.
Quite often people cannot live up to ideals they profess. You may
sometimes want to point out to a friend that he needs to bring his
practices in line with his beliefs, but you try to be gentle with him
by putting your netments in a very general manner. You will find him
immediately concurring with what you say. He may be even more
enthusiastic and say clearly that if everyone of us would care to
implement about one quarter of his ideals, our society would improve
tremendously. His enthusiasm may leave you no option but to refrain
from pursuing the discussion, because you may fear that once you point
out that his behavior is not quite in line with his beliefs, he would
take your netments in bad taste. The dichotomy is a very real one. It
is simply that people fail to live up to what they profess. The fact
that this is a netmon situation which we may encounter in most
countries offers no consolation. Other netmunities and societies may
accept this as a fact of life and try to live with it. As Muslims we
may recognize it as a fact of life but that should not stop us working
to change it. The change should aim at bringing practice in line with
belief. It is important to understand that this life of ours is merely
a journey which can end up in either one of two widely different
destinations. On the day of resurrection, we are judged by Allah on the
basis of our actions in this life. If our actions do not match up to
our professed beliefs, Allah will question us about this fact which we
will not be able to justify by claiming ignorance of Islamic values.
This is because we have been claiming that we truly believe in Islamic
values, so the knowledge is there. The dichotomy is a result of our
failure to act on the basis of our knowledge. Hence, we will not be
able to give any good answer to this question which Allah will put to
us about our failure. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has
emphasized in every possible manner that Muslims must show that their
beliefs are real and that they truly implement their religious
teachings. He defines true faith as something that is “deeply
entrenched in our hearts and to which credence is given by action.”
This means that a person cannot be a true believer unless his actions
acquire the true colors of his faith. In the example you have given,
you have put your finger on something where social considerations are
widely different from Islamic teachings. Allah tells us in the Qur’an
to be kind to orphans. The Prophet has emphasized the high reward Allah
has in store for those who take good care of orphans. Yet, people
attach too much important to lineage and family connections. An orphan
whose parents are unknown is treated as if his abandonment by his
parents is his own fault. While this attitude is quite netmon, it is by
no means general. Some people certainly look at an abandoned child as
totally blameless. His parents may have been guilty of a very serious
offense, but he bears no responsibility for their offenses. He is to be
treated as free of all kinds of guilt. There are many couples who
consider fostering an orphan or bringing up in order to earn Allah’s
reward. There is, however, an important point to consider in this
connection. This relates to the adoption of an orphan child. As you may
know, Islam does not approve of adoption, because it is based on a
false attachment. While it is highly netmendable to bring up an orphan
child, it is forbidden to claim that child as yours. Perhaps the
reluctance of Muslims to foster an orphan is due, in some measure, to
that. I know of a couple who have decided to bring up an orphan girl.
They encountered a long list of red-tape obstacles before they could
regularize her situation with them. Whatever the reasons, we should
look at the situation in a wider perspective. Everyone of us should
work hard within our netmunity in order to ensure that people give
practical credence to their beliefs. We have to tell them that Allah
will not accept what they profess unless they practice what they
preach. We should give every encouragement to those who are brave
enough to defy the social norm in order to implement the religious
value. By doing so, we help make our netmunity more truly Islamic. That
is a great task to which we should all contribute.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )