Q260 :We Muslims seem to take lightly our duties
toward other people. Hence, our humanitarian feelings are very low. Is
this because our education system tends to mix up our list of
priorities? Some of the responsibility should be placed on our parents.
Many of us seem to be forgetting that to be netpassionate and
humanitarian is part of worship. Please netment.
A260 : You have pointed out a problem which has
benete highly relevant in the life of Muslim netmunities of today.
Duties toward God are over emphasized while duties toward fellow human
beings are given a low position on the list of priorities, both at the
individual and netmunity levels. Yet, a good balance is the main
characteristic of Islam and its code of living. Hence, a Muslim’s
responsibilities toward other human beings are indeed given a very
strong emphasis in Islam. The Prophet states that a Muslim has a
“sanctity”, which means that he must always be respected, well-treated
and immune from assault on his person, property and integrity. Hence,
the Prophet defines the relationship of brotherhood between Muslims,
and what it entails in practical life. He says that a Muslim is a
brother to every Muslim: the one never treats the other unjustly, nor
lets him down, nor tries to humiliate him.” He also tells us that the
“sanctity” of a believer is “in God’s view, greater than the sanctity
of the Ka’aba.” I hasten to state that the word “sanctity” is
inadequate to give all the connotations of the Arabic term the Prophet
has used. Suffice it to say that the Hadith implies that all rights,
minor or major, that belong to a Muslim must be always respected. A
person at the receiving end of injustice is sure to have God’s help.
The Prophet tells that “supplication by a person treated unjustly goes
directly to God without any hindrance.” This very statement should be
sufficient to make anyone who exercises any degree of power to be on
his guard lest he should treat anyone unjustly. Moreover, mutual help
between members of a Muslim netmunity is highly emphasized. Try to help
anyone with something of importance to him or her, and you are certain
to receive God’s help in acnetplishing what you need. The Prophet says:
“Whoever helps his brother with a certain need shall have God helping
him in acnetplishing his own purpose.” The Prophet himself was the best
example of extending a helping hand to all and sundry. Even the weakest
member of the netmunity could draw on an inexhaustible source of help
from the Prophet. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was also
the head of the Muslim state, would let even a slave make any demand on
his time and service. We should not forget that the Arabian society in
the pre-Islamic days was so unjust to both women and slaves. The
Prophet was also the best of neighbors and he emphasized that neighbors
have a claim on our kindness. He tells us “The Angel Gabriel has
reminded me so often of the rights of a neighbor until I began to think
that a neighbor may have a claim to inheritance.” This means that the
status of a neighbor should be viewed as netparable to that of a family
member. According to Muslim scholars, [being] a neighbor is not
[limited to] only the person living next door. The persons living forty
houses away in every direction are also your neighbors. On the other
hand, when the Prophet heard one of his netpanions say to Bilal during
an argument, “You son of a black woman”, he was very angry indeed. He
said to that man: “You insult him on account of his mother? You
certainly have not purged yourself from the values of an ignorant
society.” All that gives us just an idea of the sort of emphasis Islam
attaches to the rights of individuals, particularly those who are
vulnerable in society. We must not forget that the Prophet’s conduct
serves as an example which we are required to follow. It is important
to realize here what sort of example the Prophet sets in respect of
family life. As for the treatment of women, the Prophet says: “The best
among you are those who treat their wives best. I am indeed the best of
you in the way I treat my wives.” We must look at this Hadith from the
right angle. The first part of the Hadith lays down a principle which
we must implement in our lives, because it is part of the Prophet’s
guidance. The second tells us of his practical example which we must
follow. Therefore, there is a double emphasis here on the importance
of treating wives well. When we netpare this with the notion that
prevails among the overwhelming majority of men in the Muslim world, we
conclude that what we do is at variance with the Prophet’s
instructions. The letters that I receive from readers asking what they
should do because their wives do not obey their instructions are too
numerous for netfort. Little do they remember that the kind treatment
of wives which the Prophet has encouraged by word and deed is the best
way for them to win their wives’ respect and a peaceful family life.
The Prophet’s wives have told us everything about his behavior in the
privacy of his own home. There is not a single report that the Prophet
ever rebuked any of his wives for any act of netmission or omission.
Even with his servants the Prophet was the kindest man. Anas ibn Malik
reports: “I served the Prophet for ten years and he never said to me:
Why did you do this, or why did you omit that.” Visiting delegations to
Madinah often thought that Anas and his mother belonged to the
Prophet’s own family, when they were only in his service. Moreover, we
are told in an authentic Hadith that when the Prophet was at home, “he
was in the service of his family.” We tend to overlook all this and
give little importance to the high-priority objective of Islam, namely,
the eliminating of all injustice. People treat their wives unjustly,
and they are unjust to people in their employment. Yet voices which
speak against that remain faint, particularly of Muslim scholars. It
is a fact of life that contemporary scholars have not addressed this
question adequately. On the other hand, we have so much said and
written about matters that cannot be described as being of equal
importance. Look at the emphasis given to issues like the
permissibility or otherwise of music, singing, photography, wearing a
long robe that covers a man’s ankles, etc. Look at the volume of spoken
and written reminders on these and similar issues such as the length of
a man’s beard, the covering of a woman’s face, the joining of people’s
feet in congregational prayer, etc. Some of these matters have their
importance no doubt, but all of them are controversial in the sense
that scholars have always had different views concerning each one of
them. Moreover, they are far less serious than being unjust to one’s
wife, servant, employee, neighbor, or indeed fellow human being. We
should always remember that God may forgive us all sins that relate to
our duties toward Him, but He will not forgive us anything that is due
to a human being until that person is ready to forgive it. Hence,
balance between these two must be restored before we can truly claim to
lead an Islamic life.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )