Zaman Menabur Fitnah

Fitnah...suatu tabiat buruk yang makin meluar dengan meluas dalam masyarakat manusia melayu yang menggelarkan diri mereka Islam .Fitnah bermula dari hati manusia yang kotor dan busuk.

Di kalangan politikus melayu di Malaysia fitnah seakan tidak dpt disekat, apatah lagi media carimakan terus menerus memainkan peranan meniup api fitnah ini dengan galaknya..menanamkan  persepsi yang negatif terhadap satu pihak.Pada akhirnya apabila kerosakan telah dilakukan maka dengan selamba mereka meminta maaf setelah sebah di mahkamah apabila disaman  oleh pihak yang difitnah.

Malang bagi sesetengah pembaca dan mengikut setia media seperti itu yg terus menerus disumbat dgn berita2 fitnah yg membara setiap saat dan ketika.Pembaca2 setia ini sewajarnya melihat dan membaca daripada pelbagai sumber berita yang ada sebelum menilai sesebuah berita yang disajikan.Ini penting untuk mengelak diri daripada terjebak dengan berita berupa fitnah dan dpt mengelak diri daripada turut terbabit sebagai pembantu menabur fitnah.

Ingatlah fitnah itu dosanya amat besar dan jauhilah daripada fitnah dan bersetongkol dengan pencipta,penyebar dan "peruncit" fitnah.

Jangan Jadi Anak Durhaka.

JANGAN JADI ANAK DURHAKA...
Sepasang suami isteri bertindak memarahi dan memaki hamun ibunya hanya kerana ibunya berasa takut akibat kereta yang dinaiki mereka perlu menyusuri bukit untuk ke bengkel berkenaan.

Ibunya yang nekad keluar dari kereta itu dimarahi depan khalayak ramai sehinggakan wanita tua itu menggigil dan menangis ketakutan dan tidak dihiraukan anak mereka. Malah, pasangan suami isteri itu mencerca dan meninggalkan wanita tua itu bersendirian setelah kejadian itu dileraikan anggota polis yang bertugas berdekatan dengan tempat kejadian. Akhirnya, wanita tua berkenaan dibawa ke balai polis berdekatan oleh seorang peniaga yang berjaja di kawasan itu.

Orang ramai yang menyaksikan drama ‘anak derhaka’ berkenaan, terkesima dengan tindakan pasangan suami isteri itu sehingga ada yang merakam kejadian terbabit dan melahirkan rasa tidak puas hati dan marah dengan tindakan pasangan suami isteri itu di laman sosial, Facebook.

Belanjakanlah harta mu ( yang halal) ke jalan Allah.

MENGUMPUL HARTA.

Orang-orang yang lemah iman akan menilai, hartanya dengan angka matematik. Mereka hanya menggunakan logik akalnya. Padahal akal manusia itu tidak menjangkau ilmu dan kehendak Allah.Mereka bekerja keras membanting tulang. Dengan semakin rajin bekerja, hartanya semakin bertambah .Akhirnya ia menjadi kikir sekali. Sebab dengan bersikap kikir dia yakin hartanya akan terpelihara. Namun jika dibuat untuk bersedekah atau dikeluarkan untuk zakat, menurut perhitungan matematik hartanya akan berkurang.

Mereka lupa bahwa harta atau rejeki itu bukan hanya semata-mata karena jerih payahnya .Ramai orang yang bekerja membanting tulang, tetapi yang didapat hanya sedikit. Ada pula yang bekerja dengan ringan, tanpa mengeluarkan keringat namun kekayaannya semakin banyak. Jadi Allahlah yang sangat berperanan dalam memberi harta itu. Manusia hanya berikhtiar saja. Mereka tidak menyadari bahwa harta yang dikeluarkan untuk sedekah itu sesungguhnya tidaklah berkurang, melainkan terus bertambah. Secara logiknya, hal yang demikian ini tidak dapat dijangkau oleh akal manusia. Namun kenyataannya, orang-orang yang gemar bersedekah bukan bertambah miskin, namun hartanya semakin banyak. Orang-orang yang mau berpikir dan punya kadar keimanan tinggi, tentu akan menggunakan harta yang menjadi miliknya itu secara benar.

Rasulullah saw, bersabda, “Hanya ada dua hal yang tidak termasuk sifat dengki, yaitu seorang yang diberi harta kemudian terdorong untuk menunaikan secara benar. Dan seseorang yang diberi ilmu oleh Allah kemudian ia menghukumi dengan ilmunya serta mengajarkannya.” HR. Bukhari.

Orang yang tergila-gila terhadap harta benda, menganggap bahwa harta itu adalah segala-galanya. Kecintaannya mengalahkan anak dan istrinya. Bahkan demi harta, tak sedikit orang mengorbankan akidahnya. Tepatlah jika Allah berfirman bahwa harta benda itu sesungguhnya adalah perhiasan kehidupan dunia bagi orang-orang yang tertipu dan bagi yang suka menjadi budakharta itu sendiri dan mereka yang melupakan perbuatan demi akhirat.

Dalam surat Al-Kahfi ayat 46 dijelaskan, “Harta dan anak-anak adalah perhiasan kehidupan dunia.”

Banyak ayat di dalam Al-Quran yang menyinggung masalah kesenangan manusia terhadap harta benda. Karena mereka tergila-gila sehingga lupa dan keluar dari tujuan hidup yang sebenarnya. Mereka terlena, mengira dunia adalah kehidupan yang penuh dengan kesenangan-kesenangan. Mereka tidak ingat lagi kalau ada kampung yang lebih kekal iaitu akhirat. Mereka terlena jika kelak ada syurga dan neraka. Syurga tempat kebahagiaan yang kekal dan neraca tempat siksaan yang tiada berakhir.

7 golongan dapat perlindungan di akhirat .

RASULULLAH SAW bersabda yang maksudnya: “Sebilangan manusia yang dinaungi Allah di bawah naungan-Nya pada hari kiamat iaitu hari yang tidak ada sebarang naungan padanya selain naungan Allah; di antaranya ialah: pemerintah yang adil, pemuda yang hidupnya sentiasa mengerjakan ibadat kepada tuhannya, orang yang hatinya sentiasa terikat dengan masjid, dua orang yang berkasih sayang kerana Allah yang kedua-duanya berkumpul dan berpisah untuk mendapat keredaan Allah, orang yang dipujuk oleh perempuan yang kaya lagi rupawan untuk bersatu dengannya lalu ia menolak dengan berkata: “Aku takut kepada Allah!”, orang yang bersedekah secara bersembunyi sehingga tangan kirinya tidak mengetahui apa yang diberi oleh tangan kanannya, dan orang yang menyebut atau mengingat Allah dengan keadaan tidak ada dalam ingatannya perkara lain, lalu menitis air matanya kerana mengingatkan sifat Jalal dan sifat Jamal Allah.” (Riwayat Abu Daud dan Ibnu Majah)

1 Pemerintah yang adil kerana tanggungjawab yang dipikul oleh pemerintah dalam melaksanakan keadilan adalah perkara yang berat. Bukan mudah bagi seorang pemimpin untuk melaksanakan keadilan terhadap semua rakyat.

2 Pemuda yang hidupnya sentiasa dalam mengerjakan ibadat kepada Tuhannya. Sebaik-baik masa dan semahal-mahal harganya di dalam hidup seseorang manusia adalah ketika di alam remaja.Ketika muda juga pelbagai ujian dan godaan ditempuhi. Beruntunglah pemuda yang berjaya melepasi rintangan itu jika usia muda dengan amal ibadat serta memberikan khidmat cemerlang kepada agama, masyarakat dan negara.

3 Orang yang hatinya sentiasa terikat dengan masjid. Menurut hadis, dua hayunan kaki yang melangkah ke masjid ganjarannya amat besar di sisi Allah SWT dan dikira sedekah.

4 Dua orang yang berkasih sayang kerana Allah di mana kedua-duanya berkumpul dan berpisah untuk mendapat keredaan Allah. Hubungan terjalin di atas dasar bercanggah dengan syariat sehingga melanggar batas agama dan adab kesopanan adalah hubungan yang menjurus ke arah maksiat. Ikatan kasih sayang dijalinkan sesama manusia mest ikhlas supaya perhubungan itu mendapat pahala, restu dan keberkatan daripada-Nya.

5 Orang yang dipujuk oleh perempuan kaya lagi rupawan untuk berzina dengan lalu dia menolak dengan berkata: “Aku takut kepada Allah!” Ini menunjukkan keimanan dan ketakwaan yang sebenar berjaya menangkis segala godaan.bukan mudah kerana tanpa kekuatan iman seseorang itu pasti akan mudah terpengaruh dengan bisikan nafsu dan akhirnya terjebak dalam perbuatan zina tanpa takut akan dosanya.

6 Orang yang bersedekah secara bersembunyi sehingga tangan kirinya tidak mengetahui apa yang diberi oleh tangan kanannya, menggambarkan keikhlasan hati.

7 Orang yang menyebut atau mengingati Allah dengan keadaan tidak ada dalam ingatannya perkara lain, lalu menitis air matanya kerana mengingatkan sifat Jalal dan sifat Jamal Allah.

Jadilah hamba Allah yang tidak sombong....

Jom kita ke masjid...

PERANAN GURU DAN PEMBANGUNAN AKHLAK ISLAMIAH

Oleh : Us. Abdul Ghani Shamsuddin. PUM

Muqaddimah

Dalam mencapai aspirasi pembangunan manusia adalah unsur yang paling menentukan. Pembangunan akan tidak bererti kalau manusia itu sendiri runtuh. Dalam sebuah hadith Rasulullah s.a.w. menerangkan; "Anak Adam itu ialah binaan/bangunan Allah."

Sudah pasti yang dimaksudkan. dengan perbuatan meruntuh ini bukan sekadar membunuh atau merosak hakikat jasmaniahnya sahaja, malah merangkumi usaha merosakkan pemikiran, hati nurani, akhlaq dan aqidahnya.

Manusia yang runtuh kemanusiaannya tidak dapat menjadi sendi ketenteraman dan kesajahteraan masyarakat. Ia kabur tentang hakikat dan tujuan hidupnya sendiri. Pembangunan itu menurutnya tidak lain dari usaha mencurahkan aspirasi dan khayalan cita-cita yang tidak berteraskan nilai dan norma samawi. Ia menbina gedong, institusi, rancangan-rancangan yang pada hakikatnya menghakis dan meruntuhkan nilai-nilai kemanusiaan dan ketuhanan. Pada hal nilai- nilai abadi ini lebih penting ditekankan untuk kesejahteraan jangka panjang manusia itu sendiri. Apabila nilai-nilai, kesedaran. dan komitment terhadan nilai semakin lemah dan longgar , manusia mula berhadapan dengan persoalan keruntuhan keperibadian, akhlaq dan peradabannya.

Oleh sebab itu soal membangun manusia merupakan soal asas bagi agama samawi. Para Rasul diutus untuk membanqun kemanusiaan yang semakin pudar dan larut dihanyutkan oleh badai nafsu dan godaan syaitan. Pudar lantaran mengikut pimnpinan manusia munafiq dan tidak punya pegangan. Apabila rasul-rasul yang diutus untuk mendidik manusia telah pulang ke rahmat Allah tugas ini dipikul oleh para alim ulama' Mereka mendidik umat rasul dengan ajaran-ajaran yang diwarisi oleh Tuhan Pencinta manusia yang mereka warisi dari para rasul. Dekikianlah, pula terus berkembang. Perkembangan membawa kemajuan dan kesan-kesannya.

Perkembangan ledakan ilmu pengetahuan membawa berbagai perubahan dalam berbagai bidang kehidupan . Antara yang datang dengan kemajuan ialah penjajahan .

Penjajahan yang datang silih berganti menguasai negara Islam bukan sahaja menjajah kekayaan umat tetapi juga merosakan keperipadian dan meninggalkan pendekatan keilmuan yang sekular. Golongan apa yang dipanggil agamawan bukan sahaja diketepikan tetapi juga diruntuhkan imej mereka sebagai golongan ulama' atau ustaz dakwaan yang dikatakan sebagai palsu. Institusi agama dikembirikan.

Ilmu-ilmu yang tidak bertitik tolak dari agama tetapi kerap didorong menentang nilai-nilai agama. Gejala kemunduran yang lahir daripada kemiskinan dan hasil pemunggahan penjajahan terhadap kekayaan umat atau hasil tidak keadilan sosial ...

Pergertian akhlaq dalam tasawur Islam tidak difahami dan 'dihayati. Persoalan ketuhanan atau ibadah tidak ada kena mengena dengan masalah akhirat. Seseorang boleh dianggap contoh insan berakhlaq atau bermoral meski ia tidak pernah mengenal dan menyembah Tuhan atau mengindahkan nilai agama Akhlaq tidak ada kena mengena dengan keadilan sosial dan kemestian mematuhi undang-undang Allah.

Demikianlah, perubahan demi perubahan dilalui. Kini pendidikan tidak lagi merupakan golongan ustaz atau ulama. Sifat' dan pesatnya perkembangan ilmu itu sendiri tidak lagi memungkinkan demikian. Yang mungkin ialah para pendidik ilmu diserapkan dengan pendekatan Islam dalam bidang ilmu takhassus yang mereka pelajari. Dengan penyerapan ini diharapkkan unsur-unsur akhlaq akan membajai pengajaran mereka dalam berbentuk keperibadian bangsa dan warganegara.

Di samping proses Islamisasi ilmu-ilmu. yang bercorak sekular. Para pendidik tersebut perlu memperdalamkan pencapaian dan peningkatkan bentuk penghayatan mereka terhadap ajaran Islam. Dengan demikian ber berkuranglah perbedaan dalam kesan pembelajaran yang ditinggalkan oleh para guru terhadap murid-murid. Mereka perlu didampingkan dengan para ulama untuk merujuk pandangan Islam dalam hal-hal yang mereka sendiri kurang arif. Hubungan ini perlu demi mamastikan pertautan semula pemikiran Islam di kalangan umat Islam Dalam waktu yang sama para ulama harus meningkatkan daya penggarapan mereka terhadap ilmu umum demi meneguhkan kepercayaan umat terhadap kecendikiawanan mereka.

Berkait dengan peranan guru dalam bidang akhlak maka peranan yang paling. Penting ialah memahamkan pengertian akhlak yang sebenar menurut perspektif Islam . Akhlak dalam Islam mempunyai pengertiannya yang tersendiri. Rasulullah diutus untuk menyempurnakan akhlaq yang mulia. Rasulullah menerangkan "Addin atau agama ialah akhlaq yang baik. Orang yang paling hampir di sisiku pada hari kiamat ialah orang yang paling baik akhlaqnya." Banyak lagi hadith-hadith dan ayat-ayat al-Qur'an yang menerangkan tentang akhlaq tidak dapat kita perturunkan di sini.

Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan akhlak? Adakah persoalan- persoalan pokok yang menjadi topik-topik perbicaraan ilmu akhlaq ? Bagaimana membangunkan akhlaq ? Inilah soalan-soalan yang perlu difahami sebelum seseorang guru berjaya dalam melaksanakan tugas murni mereka.

PENGERTIAN

Dari segi bahasa, "Akhlaq ialah kata jama' dari "Al Khulq". Dalam lisan 'l Arab ia bermakna tabiat atau watak .Ia juga bermakna maru'ah, ADDIN atai FITRAH menurut Qamus 'l Muhit.

Pada hakikatnya ia adalah penyifatan tentang gambaran batin seseorang. Gambaran jiwa, ciri-cirinya dan kandungannya yang tersendiri. Ini mencerminkan lahiriah , sifat seseorang dan segala kandungan sifat itu. Gambaran ini samada yang zahir atau batin boleh disifatkan dengan sifat yang terpuji dan sebaliknya yang tercela.

Menurut Imam Al Ghazali, Al-Khulq ialah suasana kejiwaan yang mantap yang menerbitkan perbuatan, perbuatan itv terbit begitu sahaja tanpa berfikir dan merenung panjang. Sekiranya suasana kejiwaan yang menjadi sumber perbuatan itu memerlukan tindak-tanduk yang baik. Tetapi kalau muncul yang sebaliknya, maka suasana kejiwaan itu dinamakan sebagai akhlaq yang buruk.

Para failasuf dari aliran sosialisme positif seperti Livi Brill menerangkan tiga pengertian akhlaq :

# Gagasan yang mengandungi konsep, hukum dan adat istiadat. Iaitu yang berkait dengan hak-hak manusia, kewajiban manusia antara satu sama lain yang diakui dan diterima oleh tiap-tiap individu pada umumnya pada masa tertentu atau peradaban tertentu.

# Perkataan akhlak juga dipakai untuk menunjukkan ilmu yang mengkaji fenomena ini.

# Kadang-kala juga digunakan ungkapan ini untuk menunjukkan penerangan-penerangan tentang ilmu ini.

Menurut Durkheim sifat-sifat akhlaq yang terpenting ialah soal kewajiban atau kebaikan ditinjau sebagai sistem dan kaedah tingkah-laku sosial. Juga ditinjau dari sudut penentuannya tentang tujuan yang baik bagi tingkah-laku manusia dan peranannya mendorong manusia melakukan kebaikan.

Kewajihan-kewajipan ini menurut beliau digariskan oleh masyarakat sendiri untuk kesejahteraannya. Aliran falsafah yang serba ruh pula menafsirkan bahawa akhlaq adalah sistem ruhaniah dalam suatu kerajaan ruhani Ilahi seperti yang tertera dalam pandangan seorang Failusuf German Leibniz (1646-1716), Kerajaan ruhani ini dihuni oleh ruh manusia dan malaikat. Pemilik tunggalnya ialah Allah sebagai ruh yang paling agung. Di mana ruh-ruh lain mendapat kewujudan dariNya Dalam kerajaan ruhani ini tidak ada kesalahan tanpa ganjaran. Tidak ada keutamman tanpa pahala . Yang mengubal undang-undang akhlaq untuk makhluk yang mempunyai ruh ialah Allah, . Untuk makhluk lain yang mertabat ruhaniahnya tidak seperti mertabat ruhaniah manusia, yang mengetahui kewujudan pencipta, Allah gariskan undang-undang alam atau tabi'i

AKHLAK-DALAM PANDANGAN FAILASUF MUSLIM

Aliran rasional dalam kalangan failasuf muslim seperti Ibnu Maskawaih menakrifkan akhlaq seperti berikut :

"Sesuatu keadaan (sika) diri yang mendorong sesorang bertindak melakukan perbuatan yang serasi dengannya tanpa merenung dan berfikir panjang

Keadaan atau sikap ini terbahagi kepada dua :
# Yang tabi'i dan semula jadi
# Yang diperoleh melalui kebiasaan dan latihan sehingga menjadi sebati dan sifat diri

Aliran ruhaniah dalam Islam pula pada umumnya diwakili oleh segolongan sufism. Golongan tasauf memang mengganggap akhlaq sebagai pokok persoalan yang penting. Malahan segolongan dari meraka menerangkan bahawa tasauf itu tidak lain dari akhlaq itu sendiri.

Imam Quraisi memberikan definasi tasauf sebagai :

"Masuk dalam sifat dan akhlaq yang sunnah dan menjauhkan diri dari sifat yang rendah".

Al-Junaid pula menjelaskan erti tasauf dengan takrif yang mirip benar dengan makna akhlaq.

Beliau menjelaskan :

"Membersihkan hati dari menurut kehendak orang, meninggalkan perangai semulajadi (yang buruk) mereda atau memadamkan sifat manusiawi, menolak ajakan nafsu, menghayati sifat-sifat ruhaniah bersandarkan ilmu yang sebenarnya, sentiasa beramal dengan yang lebih utama, sentiasa menasihati ummah, setia dengan Allah dalam berpegang kepada kebenaran dan menurut Rasul dalam syariah (undang-undang Islam)."

ILMU AKHLAQ

Menurut Dr. Taufiq at Tawil :

"Ilmu akhlaq ialah ilmu yang menggariskan modul contoh utama yang wajar diikuti oleh manusia dalam tingkah-lakunya." Atau seperti yang dijelaskan oleh Dr. Zakaria Ibrahim bahawa ahli falsafah hampir sepakat mengatakan bahawa ilmu akhlaq ialah ilmu yang berusaha menemukan atau mendedahkan contoh-contoh tingkah laku manusia yang utama, menggasaskan konsep dan pengertian , menentukan apa yang seharusnya dilakukan oleh manusia dalam tingkah lakunya.

Menurut Prof. Dr. Omar Attoumi Asy-Syaibini:

"Ilmu akhlaq ialah ilmu yang mengkaji hakikat atau sifat tingkah laku yang berakhlaq, hakikat kebaikan (al-khair) dan keburukan (asy-syar), hak dan kewajipan, hati -nurani (conscience), hukum-hukum aahklaq, tanggung jawab akhlaq, motivasi dan tujuan tingkah laku. Ilmu ini juga meneliti asas-asas teori yang mendaji dasar keyakinan akhlaq , menentukan contoh-contoh utama, kaedah umum yang seharusnya menjadi pedoman tingkah laku manusia."

Menurut Prof. Dr. Omar Attoumi Asy-Syaibani :

"Ilmu akhlak ialah ilmu yang mengkaji hakikat atau sifat tingkah-lakunya yang berakhlak, hakikat kebaikan (al-khair) dan keburukan (asy-syar), hak dan kewajipan, hati nurani (conscience), hukum akhlak, tanggungjawab akhlak, motivasi dan tujuan tingkah laku. Ilmu ini juga meneliti asas-asas teori yang menjadi dasar keyakinan akhlak, menentukan contoh utama, kaedah umum yang seharusnya menjadi pedoman tingkah laku manusia."

Lebih jelas Dr. Miqdad Yalchin menakrifkan akhlak sebagai 'prinsip' dan kaedah yang mengatur tingkah laku (perangai) manusia yang ditentukan oleh wahyu dalam konteks mengatur kehidupan manusia di dunia untuk mencapai matlamat wujudnya yang paling sempurna.

Huraian-huraian yang diberikan oleh para ulama membayangkan bahawa akhlak Islam mengatur empat perhubungan dasar :


1. Hubungan manusia dan jin dengan Allah (Pencipta).
2. Hubungan manusia dan jin sesamanya.
3. Hubungan manusia dan jin dengan alam.
4. Hubungan manusia dan jin terhadap dirinya sendiri.

Dalam hubungan akhlak dengan amal maka akhlak menurut Dr. Mohd Abdullah Darraz boleh dikategorikan kepada :


1. Akhlak al-Fardiyah -- perseorangan.
2. Akhlak dalam bidang kekeluargaan.
3. Akhlak dalam bidang kemasyarakatan.
4. Akhlak dalam bidang kenegaraan.
5. Akhlak keagamaan dalam erti kata sempit.

Pembahagian ini tidak bermakna antara suatu bidang dengan bidang yang lain terdapat tembok pemisah yang jelas. Sebaliknya terdapat jalinan yang rapat dan sukar untuk dapat dipisahkan antara suatu dengan yang lain. Bidang kenegaraan umpamanya melengkapkan bidang-bidang yang lain. Perjuangan untuk mendaulatkan keadilan adalah perjuangan akhlak. Usaha-usaha untuk memantapkan asas-asas kesejahteraan masyarakat adalah usaha-usaha akhlak.

AHKLAK DAN PEMBANGUNAN HATI NURANI

Cita-cita untuk membangun keluarga, masyarakat dan negara yang baik bergantung kepada wujudnya individu yang baik. Individu yang baik ialah individu yang subur hati nuraninya dengan kesedaran dan penghayatan akhlak yang tinggi. Sebab itu pembangunan hati nurani juga merupakan tugas akhlak.

Menurut asy-Syaibani; "Matlamat pokok ilmu akhlak ialah membangun 'conscience' atau hati nurani manusia yang berakhlak, menghaluskan jiwa, membersihkan hati, menyepuh budi, menguatkan hubungan manusia dengan Allah, mengelokkan perangai, menilai perilaku, mengukuhkan semangat ukhuwah, kasih sayang, gotong royong, menegakkan yang benar dan yang baik."

Bertitik tolak dari ini, para guru harus meningkatkan hati nurani berakhlak di kalangan murid-murid. Hati nurani dibentuk dengan akidah atau pegangan agama yang berkesan. Iman dan akidah yang mantap mencorakkan rasa kasih dan benci yang membina dalam diri seseorang. Rasulullah menerangkan;

"Tidak beriman atau tidak sempurna iman seseroang dai kamu hinggalah Allah dan RasulNya lebih disayanginya dari yang lain."

Kant berpendapat; "Penghayatan akhlak tidak mungkin berkembang sempurna tanpa keyakinan kepada Allah." Watson pula berpendapat; "Tanpa iman manusia akan hidup dalam arus serba boleh melakukan apa sahaja. Tidak tunduk kepada mana-mana undang-undang moral kecuali yang sesuai dengan nafsu dan keinginan peribadi."

HUBUNGAN AKHLAK DAN AKIDAH

Di sini jelas adanya hubungan rapat antara iman atau akidah dengan akhlak. Soalnya; apakah semua pegangan agama membawa kesan akhlak yang sama ? Tentu tidak.

Pegangan akidah (keagamaan) yang boleh menimbulkan kesan menyeluruh bukanlah sebarang akidah tapi ialah yang unggul dan mempunyai ciri-ciri yang mampu menimbulkan kepekaan keagamaan yang tinggi dan menerbitkan semangat perjuangan yang kukuh. Ciri yang mesti ada antara lain ialah :


1. Keimanan kepada Allah, pencipta alam jagat, manusia dan kurniaan Tuhan yang lain.
2. Keimanan kepada hari Akhirat.
3. Keimanan bahawa undang-undang akhlak ialah undang-undang Illahi, lahir dari kehendakNya untuk mengatur hidup manusia demi kesejahteraannya. (An-Nisaa' : 174-175).

The Moral System Of Islam

MAN has been blessed with an innate sense of morality, which has served to guide him through the age, enabling him to distinguish between right and wrong and good and evil. Although the degree to which a certain quality is interpreted as being either good or evil may vary from person to person, there is more or less a universal consensus regarding the classification of what constitutes a moral deed or attribute and what does not. Thus, virtues such as bravery and truthfulness have always elicited praise. In contrast to this, we find that at no time in the history of man have qualities such as dishonesty and breach of trust ever been upheld or regarded as worthy of praise. Fidelity, magnanimity and integrity have always been valued, whilst selfishness, cruelty, miserliness and bigot, have never received the approbation of society at large. Perseverance, determination and courage are qualities that are much admired and appreciated by man, whereas impatience, fickleness and cowardice are given little consideration. Dignity, restraint, politeness and amiability have always been regarded as virtues as opposed to snobbery, arrogance and discourteousness, which have never been recognized as good moral qualities. A person who possesses a sense of responsibility and devotion to duty has always been high regarded and respected whilst he who is lazy, negligent of his duties and undisciplined is largely ignored and looked down upon.

Similarly, a society that is founded upon and actively promotes equality, justice and freedom is looked upon a positive light. A society in which injustice, disorganization, disunity and social imbalance manifest themselves is considered to be on the verge of collapse, having allowed itself to decay over time through the implementation of policies destructive to the very core upon which it is based. Robbery, larceny, murder, adultery and fraud have always been condemned. Slander, blackmail and bribery have never been regarded as wholesome social activities. Contrary to this, we of the aged, loyalty to friends, helping one's kith and kin in times of need, concern for neighbours, assisting the week and oppressed and nursing the sick are all activities that have been highly valued since the dawn of civilization.

People who are polite, sincere, upright, dependable, who are prompt in discharging their obligations to others, who live in peace and allow others to do likewise have always formed the core of any healthy society. Good and evil are not myths awaiting resurrection, they are a real part of our everyday lives and hence, Allah has blessed mankind with an inherent sense of right and wrong. Allah says in the Qur'an: "(Allah) has revealed to human nature the consciousness and the cognition of good and evil. " (Surah as-Shams: 8) The questions that now arise are: If the basic values of good and evil are universally recognized, why then, do varying patterns of moral behavior exist in the world? Why are there so many conflicting moral philosophies? Where does the root of these differences lie? What is the position of Islam with respect to other ethical systems? How can we justify the claim that Islam provides us with a perfectly balanced moral system? What is the distinctive contribution that Islam has made in the realm of ethics?

These questions are important and must be dealt with in a direct manner. However, given the limitations of space we shall only be able to touch upon these issues very briefly. The following points will serve to outline the answers to the above questions:

1. The present moral systems fail to integrate moral virtues and norms by prescribing specific limits and as a consequence of this, a balanced and coherent plan for social conduct has not been devised.

2. Each moral system presents a different interpretation of what is good and what is evil, hence moral standards differ. The vindication of a particular viewpoint is complicated further when we realize that the sanction or the authority behind it also differs from one system to another. Likewise, the theories that are formulated to determine the motives that impel someone to follow one pattern of behaviour as opposed to another also differ

3. We find on deeper reflection, that these differences emerge from the conflicting views and concepts regarding the universe, man's place in that universe and man's purpose of existence on Earth. The multitude of religions, philosophies, ideologies and theories that exist are a testament to and a reflection upon the diversity and the divergence of man's views in regard to these fundamental questions and others such as: Does God exist? What are His attributes? What is the relationship between man and God ? Will man be held accountable for what he does in this life? Why was man created?

A man's way of life and his patterns of moral behaviour will be determined by his response to the above questions. Once more due to a shortage of space we find ourselves unable to consider in depth the various ethical systems that exist in the world today, to expound the solutions proposed by each in response to fundamental issues and describe what impact these solutions have had on the moral evolution of societies founded on such concept. Therefore, in light of these limitations, we shall only consider the Islamic concept of morality.
The Islamic Concept Of Life And Morality

According to Islam, the universe is Allah's creation. He is the Sovereign and Sustainer of the universe. He is All Wise, All-Powerful, Omniscient. His Godhood is free from injustice and impartiality. Man is the creation of Allah, His subject and servant born to obey and worship Him. Man has been commanded to live his life in total compliance to the laws of Allah.

Over the course of time, Allah sent prophets to mankind to guide and instruct them in these matters. Man is given a choice as to whether or not he wishes to follow the message of the prophets and adhere to their teachings, yet whichever path he chooses he will be held accountable for it and any consequent actions based upon it. Hence, man's time on this earth may be perceived as an opportunity to prepare himself, as best he is able, for the life hereafter. Everyone is responsible for his own actions and no one be made to bear the burdens of another. Judgement Day provides incentive for all believers to act in accordance with the teachings of Islam, in the hope that they may achieve salvation.

The previous exposition of the Islamic concept of life and morality has shown us that the aim of man is to seek the pleasure of Allah. In Islam, this is a standard by which a particular mode of conduct may be judged and classified as being either good or bad. This standard provides the nucleus around which moral conduct should evolve. Man is not left like a ship without moorings to be tossed hither and thither at the mercy of the winds and the tides. Islam provides man with a stable and balanced set of values and norms for all morally-based activities. Moreover, in establishing the pleasure of Allah' as the objective of man's existence, windows of unlimited possibilities are opened for his moral evolution since, at no time will it be overshadowed by selfishness, bigotry, arrogance or pride.

Our knowledge of vice and virtue should not be based upon mere intellect, desire, intuition or experience, since these factors are subject to constant change, modifying themselves and evolving in accordance with the dictates of external influences. Thus, they are unable to provide us with definitive and categorical standards of morality. Rather, Islam provides us with Divine revelation embodied in the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). This source of knowledge prescribes a standard of moral conduct that is both permanent and universal, applicable to all times and circumstances. The Islamic moral code covers the smallest details of domestic life and extends to accommodate the broader aspects of national and international modes of behaviour. These regulations free us from the exclusive dependence upon any other source of knowledge.
The Sanction Behind Morality

The Islamic concept of the universe and man's place therein furnishes the sanction that must support all morally-based injunctions. Islam presents powerful arguments, with the aim of inducing mankind to abide by its principles of morality and to construct a political system that would enforce the moral law through its legislative and executive powers. Islam relies upon the inherent urge for good that resides in everyone's heart which in turn is based upon the love and fear of Allah, the awareness of accountability on the Day of Judgement and the promise of eternal bliss.

Thus, before enforcing any moral injunctions Islam seeks to implant firmly in man's heart the conviction that all his dealings in this We relate directly to Allah. A man may be able to conceal certain deeds from others, he may be successful in deceiving others but Allah is fully aware of that which has transpired. Allah is All- Knowing, All-Seeing, All-Wise. Allah knows man's innermost intentions and desires and thus, whatever man does in this life he cannot escape from the fact that one day he will die and be compelled to account for what has passed. On that Day there will be no advocation, no favours, no impartiality, fraud and deception will be of no avail; justice will be done.

Therefore, it has become clear that only a deep-rooted belief can motivate man to incorporate these moral injunctions into his everyday life. If popular opinion and the coercive powers of the state enforce these injunctions so much the better, otherwise the true believer must rely solely upon his faith in Allah.
Distinctive Features Of The Islamic Moral Code

Islam has furnished mankind with the highest possible standards of morality making Divine Pleasure one of man's main objectives in life.

Islam does not provide any novel moral virtues nor does it seek to minimize the significance of established moral norms. Morality is approached with a sense of balance and proportion assigning a suitable place and function to each moral virtue within the total scheme of life. Indeed, their scope of application is widened somewhat to cater for every aspect of man's life on both an individual and a collective basis from the cradle to the grave.

Islam enjoins upon man a way of life that promotes goodness and frees society from evil. Muslims are invoked not only to practice virtue but to actively establish it in their immediate environment and to eradicate vice and corruption. This task is the collective responsibility of the Muslims and it would be a day of mourning indeed if the efforts of a particular community were directed towards establishing evil and suppressing good.

The Positive Way

We have been advised in the Qur’an that goodness and evil are not equal. Therefore we should return good for evil (41:34). This has been expressed repeatedly in the Qur’an in different wording.

This means that believers should always react positively. At all events they should refrain from negative reaction. Their behavior should be proper, not only in normal circumstances, but also in abnormal circumstances. That is, even when any group displays bad behavior, it is still incumbent on the believers not to display a retaliatory mentality. At that moment, too, they should prove to be men of principle. They should maintain their good behavior, even in the face of bad behavior from others.

Interpreting this verse, Abdullah ibn Abbas comments: ‘God has commanded Muslims in this verse, even when they are angered, to resort to patience and tolerance. Whenever anyone shows any signs of ignorance or a biased mentality, believers should adopt the path of tolerance and fortitude. And whenever anyone displays bad behavior, believers should forgive him.

This Islamic course of action may be described as positive behavior. That is, opting for moderation instead of retaliation. Whatever the attitude of others may be, believers should always remain true to the highest Islamic standards of human character.

A believer is one who begins to lead his life in accordance with the higher realities; the level of whose thinking is above that of ordinary human beings. Such a person comes to have a limitless capacity for tolerance. His inner-self is so deeply immersed that in peace, no outward event can disturb his emotional balance. He takes pity on those who are easily angered. Where ordinary people become provoked, he remains blissfully serene.

SYARIAH:-THE WAY OF JUSTICE

INTRODUCTION
Adroitly manipulated exposure to the imagery of a whip cracking on a naked back and a veil enshrouding a woman’s face has led many to believe that the Syari’ah , the divine code of Muslim conduct, is in reality no more than a collection of values and practices that are primitive, uncivilized and barbaric. What to a Muslim is the object of his longing and endeavour has been very subtly projected as a relic from the dark ages which enslaves the woman and inflicts punishments on the criminal which are cruel, inhuman and degrading.

The Qur’an most certainly does prescribe corporal punishment for certain serious social crimes and it does lay down the principle of retribution, or qisas; it is very emphatic, too, about the crucial role of the family in human society and therefore insists on assigning different well-defined roles to men and women; and it does lay down many other regulations and laws and expects Muslims to obey the eternally valid injunctions of God and His Prophet.

But will these and similar provisions of the Syari’ah really plunge society back into darkness? Are they inhuman and barbaric? Are they an indicator of Islam’s inability to keep pace with the demands of human progress? The issues need to be examined seriously to determine the place and valued of the Syari’ah and its provisions in the ultimate order of human civilization and happiness. The need for this examination is especially acute in the view of the dogmatic position adopted by the West on these questions. A host of Western writers have said it, and the media continue to harp on the same theme: unless Islam is prepared to relent on these and other legal provisions of the Syari’ah ‘ there can and will be no accommodation; only a continuation of Western rejection of Islam’. Such vehemence makes one wonder whether the loud chorus about the Syari’ah, and such of its specific provisions as pertain to women and punishment, is in all cases the result of genuine misunderstanding and moral indignation, or whether the issue is merely being used by some as a whipping-boy to settle scores with Islam – old and new.

No apologies or excuses are needed to explain away or make acceptable to the West what has been so clearly laid down by the Qur’an and the Prophet in this regard and what has been so consistently accepted and adhered to by Muslims. There should be no place in dialogue with the West for such tortuous, self-deprecating arguments as: ‘polygamy is permitted, but the conditions of justice attached to it makes it effectively prohibited’. Or: ‘Corporal punishment is prescribed but hedged in with such unworkable requirements of evidence that it is virtually impossible to carry it out. Or, at least, it cannot be carried out unless an "ideal" just society is established, when it will in any case become unnecessary’.

Why those who advance this specious logic should think that God would lay down things which were impossible to practice is not made clear. As if He does not know how to say what He means, and say it clearly! Such excuses are unfair to the Qur’an and the Prophet, and an affront to their wisdom, and at the same time illogical and implausible to the unconvinced.
TOWARDS BETTER UNDERSTANDING

I do not intend to convince everyone, for this is humanly impossible; nor offer excuses, for they are neither necessary nor convincing. What I therefore wish to attempt is to discuss the place of justice in the Syari’ah and the basis and nature of the provisions regarding women and criminal punishment in a way that may at lest generate understanding and tolerance, if not agreement. It should be recognised that the discussion here can be only brief and general, and perhaps will not do full justice to Islam’s position on important and complex issues like the place of women in Muslim society.
SYARI’AH: THE TRUE EMBODIMENT OF JUSTICE

Specific provisions of the Syari’ah can be properly understood only in the context of its total scheme – its conceptual basis, primary objectives and goals and overall framework.
CONCEPTUAL BASIS

Syari’ah literally means ‘way to water’ – the source of all life – and signifies the way to God, as given by God. It is the Way which encompasses the totality of man’s life. Being God-given, the Sharia’ah is the manifestation of His infinite mercy. It is thus also the only true embodiment of, and the best way to, justice.
THE SOURCE OF JUSTICE

Man’s quest for justice without recourse to divine help, and failure to find it, is the most persistent and tragic theme of human history. For justice, an ideal deeply cherished, ardently desired and ceaselessly pursued by mankind from the very first day of its existence on this planet, can never be truly conceptualised nor practiced unless it is rooted in the belief in One God.

He, the infinitely Merciful and Absolutely Just, has created everything with a purpose and in perfect harmony and balance. He has also guided every creation so that it fulfils that purpose. The whole universe and all creation is sustained on this foundation. Justice for man, therefore, as for everything else in creation, lies in obeying God by doing what He has laid down as ‘right’ and avoiding what He has laid down as ‘wrong’. It is only God who can establish in the intricate network of interrelationships and roles, mutual rights and obligations and consequent rewards and punishments on the basis of absolute standards of justice. That is the reason divine guidance is frequently called the ‘Balance’ in the Qur’an (al-Rahman 55: 1 - 9). All other sources of knowledge and modes of determination, whether scientific enquiry, pure reason or empiricism, suffer from one deficiency or another, being rooted in human imperfection.
JUSTICE: THE SUPREME PURPOSE

Justice is the supreme purpose and ruling spirit of the Syari’ah. It provides the framework for the entire corpus of Islam, shaping and moulding its beautiful configurations. The paramount purpose for which the Prophets were sent and struggled all their lives was to guide man to achieve justice.

‘We sent our messengers with clear signs, and sent down with them the Book and the Balance so that men may conduct themselves with justice’ (al-Hadid 57:25)

This is also the very ideal for which the community of Islam, the Ummah, exists as a separate entity. ‘Thus We made you a just community, that you be witnesses to mankind’ (al-Baqarah 2:143). And again: ‘O Believers, be you upholders of justice, witnessing for God alone’ (al-Nisa’ 4:135).

Indeed, no conception of Islam and Muslim should be possible without justice. Justice, in Islam, lends meaning and colour to all human endaevours, both on an individual level and as a societal ideal, extending from now into eternity. It servers as the ultimate criterion for the internal ordering of the soul and the external regulation of relationships. The Qur’an repeatedly emphasises that Zulm – wrongdoing – has absolutely no place in Islam.
ULTIMATE CRITERION OF JUSTICE

The Syari’ah itself is therefore the ultimate criterion of justice and mercy, and cannot and ought not to be measured against changing human standards.

‘And perfect are the words of your Lord in truthfulness, and in justice; His words cannot be changed; He is the All-hearing, All-knowing’ (al-An’am 6:116).

Having been given by God, through the last of His prophets, and, therefore, for all time to come, it could not be otherwise.

Changes in human understanding, progress in standards of civilization, which is considered to be linear in time, and advances in technology are all supposed to generate genuine pressures on the Syari’ah to change or to give up those parts which do not seem to rhyme with the late twentieth century time. But what has really changed? Has man changed? Essential human nature, its motives and drives, its emotions and desires have remained virtually unchanged throughout the ages. Technology has certainly advanced and some ways of looking at the world have altered but no new definitions of concepts like ‘cruelty’, ‘civilized’, ‘justice’, ‘equality’ have emerged to command universal adherence. Man’s lusts and fears, hopes and anxieties, loves and hates, aspirations, yearnings and longings remain what they have always been. Similarly, the idea that something which evolves later in time is necessarily superior to that which preceded it is also untenable. The only absolute and universal criteria can be those given by God, the All-knowing, whose words are above any change.
OBJECTIVES AND FRAMEWORK

PLACE OF THE INDIVIDUAL

The overall scheme of the Syari’ah and its various specific provisions are largely determined by the way Islam resolves the perennial question of tension between the individual and society and the fundamental and crucial role it assigns to the family.

The concept of the individual and the emphasis on his achievement is not the product of modern Western thought, as many people have tried to make the world believe. The individual has always been the cornerstone in Islam’s total scheme and plan of justice, though in a way fundamentally different from the Western concept. His status and achievement neither depend upon nor can be measured by the standards of ‘consumption’. In the sight of God, real human progress is moral, not material; its real measure is possible in the life Hereafter, not in this world.

This theme is so patently obvious and prominent in the Qur’an that it requires no substantiation. On the Day of Judgement, it will be individuals in their personal capacities, and not groups and societies, who will be held fully responsible and accountable for what they have done in their earthly lives. ‘Everyone of them will come to Him on the Day of Resurrection, all alone’ (Maryam 19:95). And: ‘Now you have come to Us, alone, just as We created you the first time!’(al-An’am 6:94).

This is because it is the individual who has been given free will, a moral sense and the knowledge of right and wrong. It is therefore also important that he should be fully enabled to achieve his purpose and realise his potential. This seems to be the primary thread running through the entire fabric of the Syari’ah. His life, person, freedom, possessions and honour are sacred and inviolable: no human being, not even the most powerful ruler, has the right, privilege or authority, unless acting in accordance with the law of God, to take anyone’s life, harm anyone physically, take away their possessions or violate their honour.
IMPORTANCE OF SOCIETY

Having said that, it is important to recognise that the individual lives in a society without which he can neither survive nor find fulfillment. Social order and its good are not separate from or in conflict with individual good. Both should stand together – fused and harmonious, co-operating and assisting – in the service of their One God. Both are inter-dependent and in equilibrium. Both have their well-defined functions and orbits to follow. ‘It behooves not the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. Each floats in its orbit’ (Yasin 36:40). Also the balance is provided by divine guidance in the tensions between various components oh human life – between the individual and society, between man and woman. The congregational nature of all forms of worships – whether prayers, charity, fasting or pilgrimage – and great stress on the formation of the Ummah as an integrated whole amply reflect Islam’s concern for society and its employment as a means of the individual’s development, purification and self-realization.
THE FAMILY

The family is the most fundamental unit in the total scheme of social order in Islam. It enjoys the highest status and the most prestige. It is the fount of the human race, its culture, society and civilization. Procreation is made possible because of sexualisation and it is institutionalised in the family. Similarly the family achives the development of the individual and his transition into society.

The family is a divinely inspired institution in the sense that it came into existence with the creation of man. ‘O Mankind, remain conscious of your duty to your Lord, who created you of a single soul; and, of like nature, created its mate; and from the pair of them created and spread many men and women’ (al-Nisa’ 4:1). A man and woman, only because they are different and yet complementary, are capable of forming the unity of family, which is essential for the fulfillment of the individual and the realization of the common good. The family is thus the cradle of the individual and the cornerstone of society.

The family is Islam cultivates and strengthens faith in One God. It preserves and communicates values and culture. It provides a stable environment for the development and fulfillment of the individual and enriches the lives of all its members, providing each the caring and sharing which he or she needs.

However, like any other social institution, the family can survive only if the roles within it are clearly differentiated and strictly followed.

As only women are capable of bearing children, even if no other differences between men and women are accepted, Islam assigns to the female the primary responsibility for home and family; while man is assigned the primary responsibility for life outside the home. Every institution needs a head and the role of head of the family and responsibility for its economic support also devolve on the male. Despite this primary division, men have the duty to share household burdens and women are not debarred from roles outside the home. And within the home, the woman shares the power and responsibilities of the head of the family, and may even become one if circumstances so require.
NATURAL SEQUELS

It therefore follows that any act which vitiates against the individual or which tends to weaken or isrupt the social order, especially the family, is no less a serious crime than, say, high treason against the state. The Shari`ah has accordingly made every possible arrangement to ensure, within the constraints of human limitations and imperfections, that the individual is not hampered in seeking in his fulfillment and carrying out the purpose of his creation; that the two pillars of the family, man and woman, continue to participate in and strengthen the family in accordance with the roles assigned to them; and that the social fabric is not damaged by any single person’s vandalism.

The role assigned to both man and women by the Syari’ah and the arrangements it makes to protect and reinforce these roles, can only be appreciated in the above perspective. Similarly, the severe penalties for extra-marital sex, theft, libel and drinking, and the prescription of requital, or qisas for murder and physical injury, must be seen in the context of this overall scheme of life.
WOMAN

ROLES WITHIN THE FAMILY

The social roles assigned by the Shariah to man and woman within the family emanate from one simple but profound reality: the two are biologically and sexually different; only the woman can bear children. Other important psychological, physical and social differences follow from this. But even if, for the sake of argument, these other genuine difference are dismissed as having been ‘socially caused’, the reality of this biological and sexual difference is impossible t deny.

Obviously the role of bearing children is one that the woman can neither shirk nor transfer, unless the ear of test-tube babies is ushered in or mankind decides to extinguish itself. Sex difference, reproduction, role of differentiation, sexual morality, survival of the family, healthy child development and the health and strength of society are closely inter-linked and mutually dependent phenomena, in which sex-based role differentiation is the key to the stability of the entire system. If it is abandoned, the whole chain will snap: sexual morality will collapse, personality disorder will be rampant, anarchy and chaos will the order of the day. In short, the family will vanish.

There is no convincing case however for saying that role differentiation is socially caused; on the contrary, the cumulative weight of all evidence, whether from pre-history or history, indicates unmistakably that every society has chosen to do things the same way, even the contemporary West, which is so vociferous in professing ‘equality of the sexes’. No society is on record which has ever progressed without placing woman in full charge of the home.
DIFFERENT BUT NOT INFERIOR

Hence the principle in the Syari'ah: the woman's place is in the home. However, it is very important to note that to be different is NOT to be inferior. Islam attaches no stigma to being a woman; there is no inferior nature, no myth of Fall and no responsibility for original sin. To bear and rear children is no disgrace either. To rule over and manage the kingdom of home - that haven of human happiness and progress - is no mean achievement. Home and children can be degrading and a burden only in a society which chooses to make them so. In Islam, domesticity is not a devalued sphere of human life, nor is home in any way inferior to public life. Indeed, the very epithet 'confined to the four walls of the home' is absurd to a Muslim, as the home in Islam, far from being a place to be looked down upon with contempt, is more important and sacred than even a parliament building or a university, and certainly more prestigious, creative and rewarding than the shop floor or secretarial desk, where two thirds of 'emancipated' women finally end up working.
EQUALITY, NOT SIMILARITY

Equality is one of those human yearnings which usually elude definitions. Its translation into roles, rules and norms has always been subjective. Unfortunately, it is being used by modern feminists as a slogan in their campaign to erase all role differentiation. It is being used, too, as a smokescreen from behind which to direct the barrage of attacks against the Syari'ah for its various provisions regarding women.

That equality is a profound human urge and a genuine human ideal is beyond doubt. What is equally true and obvious is that equality of role does not necessarily mean similarity of role. Once equality is confused with similarity, the only possible conclusion is: 'A truly equal two-sexed society is unimaginable'. Ending role differentiation is bound to have catastrophic consequences as already noted, for the interlinked phenomena of sexual morality, the family, reproduction, child-rearing, personality development and society, as is already evident in the West. Even such an apparently relatively minor phenomenon as the spread of contraceptive techniques has been profoundly instrumental in promoting extra-marital sex, changing sex values, upsetting and confusing roles, disrupting the family and devaluing child-rearing and home life. Population control may have been achieved but a glaring questing mark over the final destiny of the human race has appeared.

Islam recognizes the obvious differences between man and woman and shapes their social roles accordingly, but it lays no less emphasis on the similarity of their essential natures as human beings and on their right to equality of opportunity to find fulfillment through their roles in this world and, finally and more importantly, in the eyes of their God in the life hereafter. According to the Syari'ah, man and woman are equal as human beings and have an equal number of mutual obligations and rights. The family unit has the man as its head, for no institution can survive without a head,; but this is no way makes the woman unequal to man. She is not obligated even to take her husband's name and lose her identity. Her share in inheritance is one-half of the male share, but she is under no obligation to make any financial contribution to the maintenance of the family.

Many specific provisions of the Syari'ah regarding the rights and obligations of women, their conduct and behaviour, their dress and segregation, marriage and divorce laws and work outside the home can be better understood in this light. But, what is equally important to bear in mind is that some of the prevalent practices in the Muslim societies today, that have come into vogue as a result of centuries of decadence and stagnation as well as un-Islamic influences, should not be used to understand and judge Islam.
SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE

Sex, in Islam is not a taboo to feel guilty about. It is a natural and creative urge, a God-given gift. But the bond of marriage must be tied before enjoying the pleasures of sex, which are the rewards for the responsibilities that the man and woman bear in rearing a family; these joys lighten the burden and cement and bind the relationship. To seek sex outside the limits set by God is a sin, to seek it within these limits is therefore an act of worship.

If sex inside and outside marriage were equally legitimate or easily available, the sacred institution of the family would be gradually destroyed. Islam therefore not only completely prohibits all forms of sexual deviation and pre and extra-marital sex; it arranges to make them highly inaccessible and also severely punishable. Hence the regulations about covering various parts of the body and the social mixing of the sexes.
POLYGAMY

Polygamy is permitted by the Qur'an; though it is not enjoined, as some people apparently believed. Justice is enjoined, as far as is humanly possible, otherwise one should remain monogamous. Thus, disadvantages of a polygamous marriage are recognized, but not to the extent of prohibiting it legally. This legal provision can be properly understood only in the context of Islam's position on two important issues, as already explained. Firstly, that the family is the cornerstone of human society and any extra-marital sex is completely prohibited. Married life is the most desirable way of life - Islam wants a woman to be a wife and never a mistress. Both man and woman have to make some sacrifice to make a success of family life. Secondly, Islam's law is for all times to come and should therefore, as far as is practical, cater for all possible social and individual situations. Legal provision, like a total ban on divorce or polygamy may indeed result in far more serious consequences than they may solve. Even in countries where polygamy is illegal, it may be argued, monogamy is fairly rare, so sex outside marriage is considered as polygamy, as it should be.

It is left to the societies and individuals , within the freedoms and prohibitions laid down by Islam, to regulate their conduct as they may desire. What is important to note is that it takes a woman, in addition to a man, to make a polygamous marriage; for no marriage in Islam can never take place without her consent. And the first wife can also claim a divorce if she cannot live with the situation. Hence it is entirely within the power of individuals virtually to eliminate polygamy without recourse to law.
MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE

Women's consent is an essential legal condition for marriage in Islam. If such consent is not being obtained in Muslim societies today, the problem is a result of social circumstances, not of the legal provisions of the Syari'ah. The situation must change once the Syari'ah is implemented.

It is certainly simple in theory for a man to divorce his wife in Islam. But it is found to be very difficult for him to do so in practice; the very low rate of divorce is enough to prove this. Indeed, the power to divorce is more of a responsibility to save the marriage. Among the things permitted by God, divorce is the most disliked by him, said the Prophet. On the other hand, while the woman cannot pronounce divorce like the man, it is not difficult for her to obtain one, even on the ground of her husband's physical appearance not being to her liking.
WORK OUTSIDE THE HOME

To preserve the role differentiation and to retain the incentives for strengthening the family, Islam discourages women from working outside the home. This discouragement in no way prejudices a woman's right to own property, to conduct business, to receive and impart education, to engage in cultural and creative activities, and even take up job when necessary. Yet to ask woman to work outside the home is indeed to make her unequal; it is to ask her to take on the enormous stress of doing two jobs.

The urge to work is only natural, but work as the center of life is one product of a society which is consumption-oriented and where status depends on earning capacity. Women work today, not only through economic necessity, but because they are under other subtle pressures; accusations of wasting their talents on 'degrading' domestic chores, lack of status, boredom and isolation. In Islam, as we have already noted, the whole orientation of the individual and society is radically different. Work is still very important, but the real goal in life is to please God.
PUNISHMENTS

Punishments have always been considered an integral part of the concept of justice. Indeed, a common man would find it hard to think of justice as something very different or separate from rewarding or punishing people according to how well or badly they observe the body of the mutual rights and obligations obtaining in their society. But if the concept of punishment is universal, the controversies surrounding it are nonetheless intense. We shall now look at some basic Islamic principles concerning punishments.
BASIC PRINCIPLES

Man is responsible for his actions: this simple truth provides the whole basis for the justification of punishment. For, to fulfil the purpose of this creation, he has been granted the freedom to choose and act, and the moral sense to distinguish between right and wrong. Responsibility goes with knowledge and freedom. Punishment cannot therefore be meted out to anyone for someone else’s actions, for acts intended but not performed or for acts done under duress or while not of sound mind. Everyone must be equal before the law and their guilt must be established by the due process of justice.
REPENTANCE AND PUNISHMENT

Punishment in Islam has nothing to do with the notions of atonement, expiation or wiping away of sin. A crime is essentially an act of injustice to one’s own self, a sin against God. It can be wiped away only by God, and that He does when a person turns to Him, truly repentant and seeking forgiveness. Between man and God, therefore, the total emphasis is on repentance, and punishment can be no substitute for it. But a crime is also an act against the social order and in this sphere mere repentance cannot be a substitute for punishment which is a means of protecting and strengthening the society.
PROPORTIONAL JUSTICE

It is important to note that there is no concept in Islam of the punishment being exactly and justly proportional to the crime. Absolute and truly proportional justice would require the exact and complete evaluation of such complex factors as intentions and motives, the surrounding circumstances, the causes and repercussions- factors which human judges must consider but cannot evaluate fully and which only God, in the new moral order to be set up in the life after death, can measure. Islamic punishments are not therefore to be judged on the scales of proportional and full retribution. They are however laid down by the Being who is infinitely Merciful and Wise, and are therefore more suitable for the particular crimes than what can be prescribed by any human legislatures or judges.
PART OF A WHOLE

Most importantly, punishments are only a part of a vastly larger integrated whole. They can neither be properly understood, nor successfully or justifiably implemented in isolation. First, law is not the main, or even major, vehicle in the total framework for the reinforcement of morality; it is the individual’s belief, his God-consciousness and taqwa, - that inherent and innate quality which makes him want to refrain from what displeases God and do what pleases Him. Second, justice is a positive ideal which permeates and dominates the entire community life; it is not merely an institutionalized means of inflicting punishment. Third, and consequently, a whole environment is established where to do right is encouraged, facilitated and found easy and to do wrong is discouraged, inhibited and found difficult. All men and women are enjoined, as their foremost duty, to aid, exhort and commend each other to do good and to avoid evil.
FUNCTIONAL NATURE

Penalties in Islam are more of a functional nature, to regulate and deter. God has laid down a body of mutual rights and obligations which are the true embodiment of justice. He has also laid down certain bounds and limits to be observed and maintained for this very purpose. If men and nations desire to move in peace and safety on the highways of life, they must stick to the ‘traffic lanes’ demarcated for them and observe all the ‘signposts’ erected along their routes. If they do not, they not only put themselves in danger, but endanger others. They therefore naturally make themselves liable to penalties –not in vengeful retribution – but to regulate the orderly exchanges in man’s life in accordance with justice.

It is a significant contribution of Islam that these penalties are called hudud (boundaries) and not punishments: they are liabilities incurred as a result of crossing the boundary set by God. An important consequence of these hudud having been laid down by God, and not by man, is that it is beyond human authority to reduce or supercede them out of a sense of mercy greater than that of God; nor can a tyrant or autocrat add to them out of a greater sense of strict justice. For no one can be more merciful or wiser or more just than God himself.

Another important function which these punishments serve is educative, and thus preventive and deterrent. The Qu’ran alludes to this aspect when it describes them ‘as exemplary punishment from God’ (al-Ma’ida 5:38). Punishments are thus designed to keep the sense of justice alive in the community by a public repudiation of the acts violating the limits set by God. They are expected to build up in the society a deep feeling of abhorrence for transgression against fellow human beings, and therefore against God - a transgression which, according to the Qur’an, is the root cause of all disorders and corruption in human life.
RETRIBUTION - QISAS

Apart from punishments for transgressions like extra-marital sex, theft, libel and drinking, the Qur’an also provides for the principle of qisas – retribution. When a person causes physical injury or harm to a fellow human being, Islam gives the injured party the right of equal requital – the well-known principle of ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’. This procedure is persistently labeled by critics as primitive and uncivilized. In the Islamic view of history, it is worth pointing out, what is primitive has never been necessarily uncivilized. The first man was given all necessary knowledge and guidance, and though he may have been technologically backward compared to the twentieth century, he definitely was not humanly backward. Uncivilized is what man thinks and does in deviating from the divine order.

In the eyes of the Qur’an ‘in retribution (qisas) lies the source of life for you’. The reasons are obvious. First, the right of retribution belongs to individuals, not society or the state; this simple shift in responsibility results in a profound and far reaching change in the whole system of implementing justice. The state does not have to intervene every time two human beings are involved in a dispute. Thus, instead of starting an irreversible process of trial and punishment, it leaves the ground open for settlement between individuals, without interference by impersonal bureaucratic machinery, though under no circumstances can the individual take the law into his own hands.

The injured person in his turn may forgo his right to retribution by forgiving, or may agree to accept a monetary or token recompense instead. The Qu’ran, in fact, highly recommends the act of forgiving. Thus, under qisas punishment is avoidable without burdening the executive or judiciary with the dilemma of whether to exercise mercy. As against a court which must act according to law once a case is brought before it, an individual is free to act as he wishes. Justice has to be blind, but an individual may take circumstances into account, and suspend judgement in the hope of being forgiven by God in the hereafter. Very few realize hat the principle of qisas even allows capital punishment to be avoided.
MERCY AND LENIENCY

Having prescribed punishments and imposed strict and meticulous, though not impossible, conditions of evidence, Islam has built in a whole range of principles and precepts which reflect not a frenzied desire to flog and stone but a compassionate urge to avoid and eschew. Islam does not allow either the state or individuals to spy upon people unless well-founded suspicion exists that a crime is being committed or a fellow human being’s rights or interests are in jeopardy. Nor is it obligatory to report every crime. Where possible, settlements outside court are preferred. The punishment is swiftly over; the guilty man and his family do not have to live with the kind of lengthy public stigma that they would have had to endure in the case of a prison sentence at the end of a trial. The imposition of divinely prescribed hudud enhance, and not diminish, the individual’s dignity and stature in society and before God.
ALLEGED CRUELTY

As to the alleged cruelty of physical penalties, one wonders if to deprive a man of his freedom -- his most precious and valuable possession – and his right to act and continue to make moral choices , to live with his family, to work and support them is not more cruel. Indeed, a prison term can inflict untold misery on innocent people whose lives are intertwined with the life of the prisoner. Prison becomes a school for hardening criminal behavior and a breeding ground for recidivism. Why should it be considered more cruel for a man found drug trafficking to be given ten lashes than to be sent to languish in prison for, say, ten years.
REFORM SYNDROME

Why does Islam want to punish and not reform? The question is fallacious, for in Islam every institution of society is value oriented and owes a responsibility towards the moral development of every person from the cradle to the grave. Reform is therefore a pre-crime responsibility and not a post-crime syndrome and nightmare. Islam makes every effort to ensure that inducement to commit crime is minimal. Once the crime is committed, the best place for reform is in the family and in society, where a criminal is to live after punishment, and not in a prison where every inmate is a criminal; unless of course a society considers itself to be more corrupt and less competent to effect reform than a jail! Against this, the ‘modern, enlightened’ approach is to provide every inducement to crime by building a society based on conspicuous consumption; to make society, education and every other institution ‘value – free’ and then to try to reform a criminal by segregating him and keeping him in a prison.
PROCEDURAL JUSTICE

Sentences in Islam are certainly harsh, but still more strict and severe are the procedures laid down to be observed before a man may be convinced. These procedures are modeled on the paradigm of the Day of Judgement, when even God, though he is All-knowing, and Just, will not punish anybody unless He establishes his guilt. To let nine criminals go free is preferable to convicting one innocent man, said the Prophet.
CONCLUSION

The Syari’ah is an integrated homogenous whole. Once one understands its basic concepts, objectives and framework, one cannot but conclude that it is capable of creating the most human and just society, a peace and blessing for mankind. Difficulties only arise when critics try to measure the ocean of divine knowledge, wisdom and justice with their own thimble of pedestrian criteria and standards.

Today’s Muslim societies are not model societies — they are infested with ills and evils – yet the comparatively stable family life, absence of delinquency, low crime rates, much greater freedom from drugs and alcoholism, warmth of brotherhood, generosity and mutual aid and help – all these are the legacies of that divinely given code of life, the way to Justice, which once they used to adhere to, and yearn to have the change to return to – the yhari’ah.

By: Khurram Murad

Nationalism vs. Brotherhood!!! Which way are we heading???

Dear Reader: Before you read this article, I would like to ask you a simple favor: Take a deep breath, close your eyes for a moment, and think how fortunate you are. You can read!!! A very simple thing that we live here in this country and other industrialized nations of the world are taking for granted.

In fact, this is not the only aspect of fortune that most of us enjoy, there are many more. We have plenty to eat and we do not go to bed hungry at night, we have a roof over our heads, and we have a fairly high standard of living compared to other nations. Not to trivialize, but some of our daily decisions are to pick what we eat, how we dress, and in sometimes the color of car we drive. In the meantime, there are those "others" in a far less fortunate situations who are dying of thirst and hunger. I hate to tell you that they exist, and there are quite a few of them, some even in this country. They do not have the choice of what food to eat or going to bed at night with even their basic needs provided for. The people in need have the same desires as we do; to be able to provide for themselves and their family.

There are two questions we need to ask ourselves. The first one is: what responsibility do we bare in these cases not only in this country but in other countries? The second is: If we do have a responsibility, what role can we play to fulfill this responsibility?

To address the first question, we must ask ourselves, what is our relationship with each other. In principle, it is supposed to be one of brotherhood. Thinking globally, we all belong to the same race of human beings. We all descended from the same origin and we have so much in common. We all share the same earth in the short time between our birth and death. Yet, we are all unique, not one of us is the same. This individualism and diversity are what gives the human race its great strength. In the mean time, this individualism and this diversity can also be to the detriment not only to the people of one community country but to the world at large. Individuals as well as nations have to look past the differences in culture, background, and heritage, to look past their backyards and territories, to get to know their neighbors near and far.

Unfortunately, as individuals and as nations, our local attitudes and our near-sided heritage decide how far we stretch our hands. Our tribal and nationalistic ideology acts as a barrier between us and those in need. Rather than thinking of our neighbors as brothers in humanity, we think of them as limitation and restriction to our freedom. Instead of sharing with the needy we claim that we can't afford to contribute of ourselves. A rich nation borders a poorer one, and a new born on one side of the border has so many resources while his counter on the other side is entitled to almost nothing.

Worst of all is that we are serious about this attitude. We believe as individuals that we are entitled to all what we have. Very little we can give away. As nations, it is even worst. Each nation is so protective of its resources and the strong overtakes the weak. Moreover, instead of uniting forces and integrating resources, many countries are being divided into hatred and wars and more suffering and starvation goes on. Worst of all is that we defend such divisive and individualistic attitude by giving it a name; we call it nationalism and we call it patriotism.

We must all take the time to think about the life we live. Although we can argue the point that we are where we are by chance, it can be stated that most of those who are less fortunate than we have no control of the situation they are in. A child would not choose to live in a country in which there is no food to eat. We must realize that although we have constructed all of these man-made artificial barriers such as race, heritage, national borders, etc. we are one. We all inhabit the same world, humanity is one nation, if you will call it that, on this earth. In order to make this world a better place we must look at our fellow man as a brother, no matter what their background or nationality. We are all responsible for not only those less fortunate, but the welfare of all other and the world we live in.

The second question, is more important, how will we exercise our responsibility. Many times talk of needy and those less fortunate elicits monetary contribution to provide for those in need. In this regard, one may ask, are we doing enough. Have we gone as far as the meaning of brotherhood implies? Or are we thinking of those in need as true brothers? I am sure that we all can do more. I am certain that if we take the meaning of brotherhood seriously, there will never be a human in need on this earth.

Although monetary contributions are worthwhile and do help in providing services, food and shelter, this is not the only way we can help. A man may be rich financially, but very poor, whereas a man may be very rich but have no money. There are many needs in this and other countries, not only financial, but social and spiritual needs as well. The best place to start is in your own backyard. Look around and see what the needs are of those around you. You can provide help in a variety of ways, from helping an adult read, spending time with children and sharing your experiences with those who have no one to talk to, spending time with the elderly in nursing homes, helping to build needed housing, etc. Monetary contributions to various causes can be very worthwhile, but you cannot put a price on many simple experiences such as: the smile of a child who has gone camping or seen a baseball game or a zoo for the first time, the self esteem an adult has gained by learning to read for the first time, the pride a family has in living in their first house or apartment, or even the joy elders have in someone sharing time with them. All of these are intangibles for which all of the money in the world cannot buy.

We must remember that there are needy all over the world, in our country and other countries. The future of our world, will be in how we provide for the needs of all peoples. We are people made up of many nations, races and background, but above all we are a brotherhood of human beings on this earth.

Smoking is haraam in Islam - Powerful arguments based on the Quran and Sunnah from Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed

Cigarette smoking is the most widespread example of drug dependence in the United States and in all the Islamic countries as well. The U.S. Surgeon General's Office considers cigarette smoking to America's worst drug addiction problem. Medical investigations show that cigarette smoking is a major factor in the development of many cases of cancer, heart trouble, chronic lung and respiratory disease and other ailments. Smoking causes more illness and death than all other drugs. Cigarette smoking in pregnant women results in deleterious health effects on their newborn children. These findings and the revelations in the Holy Qur'an clearly prohibit smoking of tobacco by Muslims. Hence smoking is unlawful in Islam.

Smoking and Health Effects

It is very well known that cigarette smoking is the most widespread example of drug dependence in the United States. A pamphlet released by the U.S. Surgeon General's Office entitled "Why People Smoke Cigarettes" calls cigarette smoking America's worst drug addiction problem. It involves addiction to the drug nicotine in tobacco and possible other tobacco substances.

An authoritative British report (1) stated that tobacco smoking is a form of drug dependence different from but no less strong than that of other addictive drugs—the most stable and well-adjusted person will, if he smokes at all, almost inevitably become dependent on the habit.

An Australian government report of 1977 called Drug Problems in Australia - An Intoxicated Society (2), says, "It is important to recognize that smoking is a form of drug dependence, but one with especially insidious characteristics."

Like many other drugs, the chemicals in cigarette affect the chemistry of the brain and nervous system and create dependence and lead to compulsive use.

More than 56 million Americans and multiple scores of millions more in other nations, including Islamic nations (3) are hooked on cigarettes in the same way as caffeine addicts are hooked on caffeine. A major reason why sales continue at high levels despite widespread public knowledge about the health hazards is the addictive nature of cigarettes.

Most people start smoking just to conform to peer or social pressures. They get a feeling of "grown up." They find smoking (nicotine) at first acts as a stimulant. Later they find they need to smoke as a tranquilizer. These smokers develop a level of tolerance and bodily adjustment to nicotine. If this level of nicotine is not maintained in their blood, they will experience uncomfortable physical-psychological dependence problems. These uncomfortable feelings are classic drug withdrawal symptoms. Addictive drugs are psychoactive which create brain and nervous system dependence and lead to compulsive use. Abrupt discontinuation leads to physiological and psychological distress. The withdrawal symptoms are headache, stomach discomfort, nervousness, irritability, sweating, change in heart and blood pressure and lower excretion of some hormones affecting the nervous system (4).

The former U.S. Surgeon General, C. Everett Coop, says, "Cigarette smoking is clearly identified as the chief preventable cause of death (340,000 deaths per year in U.S.A.). In our society it is a major factor in the development of many cases of cancer, heart trouble, chronic lung and respiratory diseases and other ailments. Smoking causes more illnesses and death than all the other drugs."(5)


Smoking and Islam

In Islam cleanliness and hygiene are emphasized to the extent that it has been considered a part of Iman (faith). It is very well known that a smoker's mouth is unclean and foul smelling "like a cigarette ash-tray." In the Quran, God says:

"And forbid them what is bad." - Surah Al-'Araf, 7:157

"0 ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling are an abomination of Satan's handiwork. Eschew such abominations that ye may prosper." - Surah Al Ma'idah, 5:93

The word intoxicant has three meanings (6):

(1) To induce, especially the effect of ingested alcohol.

(2) To stimulate or excite.

(3) To poison.

The latter two meanings are very valid and applicable to nicotine.

Smoking is nothing but a form of slow suicide. The Qur'an says:

"And slay not the life which God hath forbidden..." - Surah, Al-Isra, 17:33

"And make not your own hands contribute to your destruction." - Surah, Al-Baqara, 2:195

"Nor kill or destroy yourselves for verily God hath been to you most Merciful." Surah, An-Nisa, 4:29

Prophet Mohammed has said:

"Nor be hurt or injure others." It is scientifically proven that the exhaled smoke of the smoker is hazardous to non-smokers around him.

The amount of money a smoker spends on cigarette smoking in a period of 30 years is calculated to be Two Hundred Thousand Dollars or more. All this money is simply wasted (not including the money spent on smoker's health care).

God says:

"But squander not your wealth in the manner of a spend thrift, verily spendthrifts are brothers of evils." - Surah, Al-Isra, 17:26, 27

The body is polluted by smoking. Hence smokers cannot pray until they have cleansed themselves. According to the Qur'an:

"0 ye who believe! Draw not near unto prayer when you are drunken, till ye know that which ye utter, nor when you are polluted save when journeying upon the road, till you have bathed." - Surah, An-Nisa, 4:43

The Christians consider the human body to be a sacred trust given to man by God because it contains the spirit breathed into it by God. Even the Qur'an says

"So, when I have made him and have breathed unto him of My spirit, do ye fall down, prostrating yourselves unto him." - Surah, Al-Hijr, 15:29.

Hence the physical body should not be polluted or injured or destroyed in any way by smoking or taking of alcohol or any type of habit-forming drugs.

Conclusion

For the foregoing reasons and for reasons considered elsewhere, smoking is Haram or unlawful in Islam, hence smoking should be discouraged and finally banned in all Islamic countries.

All smoking Muslims should give up this unhealthy and un-Islamic activity. The best way to give it up is to stop all smoking completely. Tapering off on the amount one smokes does not work for most people. It is not easy to quit suddenly, but it is presently the most successful way. There are many ways and techniques available for a serious minded person to give up smoking. For the Muslims who sincerely practice Islam and who submit themselves to the Will of God, this should not be a difficult task.

References

1. The Royal College of Physicians, Smoking, or Health, Third Report 1977, p.98.

2. Drug Problems in Australia: An Intoxicated Society? A Report from the Senate Standing Committee on Social Welfare. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, Australia, 1977.

3. Taha A.: Smoking and Muslim Countries: The immediate and serious Threat. J I M A. 14: 50-52, 1982.

4. Jaffee JH, Drug Addiction and Drug Abuse (Ch.16), Clinical Characteristics: Nicotine. In: The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics. Goodman LS and Gilman A (Editors), Macmillan Pub. Co. Inc., New York, 1975. P. 305.

5. The Health Consequences of Smoking. The Changing Cigarette - a Report of the Surgeon General. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, P.H.S., Rockville, Maryland, 1981, DHSS (PBS) 81 - 50156.

6. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1978, P. 686.

7. Yusuf Al Qaradawi, Al Halal Wal Haram. Cairo, 1960.

8. Smoking and health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service. P.H.S. Publication NO.1103 U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Washington, D.C. 1965.

Copyright © 2003 irfiweb.org All Rights Reserved.

Read other articles by Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed, Ph.D here.

Zakat

One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God, and that wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust.

The word Zakat means both 'purification' and 'growth'. Our possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need, and, like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.

Zakat is the amount of money that every adult, mentally stable, free, and financially able Muslim, male and female, has to pay to support specific categories people.

This category of people is defined in surah at-Taubah (9) verse 60: "The alms are only for the poor and the needy, and those who collect them, and those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and to free the captives and the debtors, and for the cause of Allah, and (for) the wayfarers; a duty imposed by Allah. Allah is knower, Wise." (The Holy Qur'an 9:60).

The obligatory nature of Zakat is firmly established in the Qur'an, the Sunnah (or hadith), and the consensus of the companions and the Muslim scholars. Allah states in Surah at-Taubah verses 34-35: "O ye who believe! there are indeed many among the priests and anchorites, who in Falsehood devour the substance of men and hinder (them) from the way of Allah. And there are those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah. announce unto them a most grievous penalty - On the Day when heat will be produced out of that (wealth) in the fire of Hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, their flanks, and their backs.- "This is the (treasure) which ye buried for yourselves: taste ye, then, the (treasures) ye buried!" (The Holy Qur'an 9:34-35).

It is agreed between Muslims in all the centuries the obligatory nature of paying Zakat for gold and silver, and from those the other kinds of currency.

Zakat is obligatory when a certain amount of money, called the nisab is reached or exceeded. Zakat is not obligatory if the amount owned is less than this nisab. The nisab (or minimum amount) of gold and golden currency is 20 mithqal, this is approximately 85 grams of pure gold. One mithqal is approximately 4.25 grams. The nisab of silver and silver currency is 200 dirhams, which is approximately 595 grams of pure silver. The nisab of other kinds of money and currency is to be scaled to that of gold, 85 grams of pure gold. This means that the nisab of money is the price of 85 grams of 999-type (pure) gold, on the day in which Zakat is paid. (Current Gold Prices)

When is Zakat Due ?

1. Passage of One Lunar Year:
Zakat is obligatory after a time span of one lunar year passes with the money in the control of it's owner. Then the owner needs to pay 2.5% (or 1/40) of the money as Zakat. (A lunar year is approximately 355 days).
2. Deduction of Debts:
The owner should deduct any amount of money he or she borrowed from others; then check if the rest reaches the necessary nisab, then pays Zakat for it.

If the owner had enough money to satisfy the nisab at the beginning of the year, then the money increased (in profits, salaries, inheritance, grants...etc.), the owner needs to add the increase to the nisab amount owned at the beginning of the year; then pay Zakat, 2.5%, of the total at the end of the lunar year. (there are small differences in the fiqh schools here)

Each Muslim calculates his or her own Zakat individually. For most purposes this involves the payment each year of two and a half percent of one's capital.

A pious person may also give as much as he or she pleases as sadaqa, and does so preferably in secret. Although this word can be translated as 'voluntary charity' it has a wider meaning. The Prophet said 'even meeting your brother with a cheerful face is charity.'

The Prophet said: 'Charity is a necessity for every Muslim. ' He was asked: 'What if a person has nothing?' The Prophet replied: 'He should work with his own hands for his benefit and then give something out of such earnings in charity.' The Companions asked: 'What if he is not able to work?' The Prophet said: 'He should help poor and needy persons.' The Companions further asked 'What if he cannot do even that?' The Prophet said 'He should urge others to do good.' The Companions said 'What if he lacks that also?' The Prophet said 'He should check himself from doing evil. That is also charity.'

From: Islamic City

5 Perkara sebelum 5 Perkara

Hadis Nabi tentang "lima perkara sebelum lima perkara" itu maksudnya adalah supaya kita mempergunakan waktu dan kesempatan dengan sebaik-baiknya, sebelum hilangnya kesempatan tersebut. Hadis tersebut diriwayatkan Imam Hakim dalam kitab al-Mustadrak.

Lima perkara tersebut adalah sebagai berikut:

1. "Pergunakan masa mudamu sebelum datang masa tuamu".
Masa muda hendaklah dipergunakan sebaik-baiknya untuk mencapai kebaikan, kesuksesan, dan keberhasilan, karena masa mudalah kita mempunyai ambisi, keinginan dan cita-cita yang ingin kita raih, bukan berarti masa tua mneghalangi kita untuk tetap berusaha mencapai keinginan kita, tapi tentulah usaha masa tua akan berbeda halnya dengan usaha saat kita masih muda. Maka dari itu masa muda hendaklah diisi dengan berbagai kegiatan yang bermanfaat hingga tidak menyesal di kemudian hari.

2. "Pergunakan masa luangmu sebelum datang masa sibukmu".
Disini kita dianjurkan untuk menghargai waktu, agar bisa diisi dengan hal-hal yang bermanfaaat baik untuk diri sendiri maupun orang lain. Misalnya, menengok saudara ketika ada kesempatan sebelum kesibukan menghampiri kita, hingga tidak sempat lagi untuk sekedar mengunjungi kerabat.

3. "Pergunakan waktu sehatmu sebelum datang waktu sakitmu".
Hal ini juga anjuran agar kita senantiasa waspada pada segala kemungkinan yang sifatnya diluar prediksi manusia, seperti halnya sakit. Sakit disini bukan sebatas sakit jasmani, tapi juga sakit rohani. Maka ketika kita sehat jasmani-rohani, hendaknya kita senantiasa mempergukannya untuk hal-hal yang bermanfaat tanpa mengulur-ngulur waktu.

4. "Pergunakanlah waktu kayamu sebelum datang waktu miskinmu".
Tidak terlalu jauh berbeda dari penjelasan di atas, ketika kekayaan ada pada kita, baik itu berupa materi atau lainnya, maka hendaknya kita memanfaatkannya sebaik-baiknya, jangan menghambur-hamburkan.

5. "Pergunakan hidupmu sebelum datang matimu".
Yang terakhir ini merupakan cakupan dari empat hal diatas. Ketika kita diberi kehidupan maka hidup yang diberikan pada kita itu sebenarnya merupakan kesempatan yang tiada duanya. Karena kesempatan hidup tidak akan datang untuk kedua kalinya. Kehidupan harus dijalani sesuai tuntutan kemaslahatannya.


Lima hal itu merupakan inti misi dan visi hidup manusia, karena kunci kejayaan itu terletak pada bagaimana kita "mempergunakan kesempatan dengan sebaik-baiknya". Mempergunakan kesempatan adalah bentuk pasrah pada upaya & usaha, bukan pada hasil. Prinsip pasrah pada upaya & usaha akan membentuk jiwa yang teguh, tegar, kuat, dan tidak mudah putus asa. Bila suatu saat upaya kita belum menghasilkan target yang kita harapkan, maka kita tidak lantas putus asa, karena kewajiban kita adalah berupaya. Berupaya dan berupaya.

Fasting of Ramadhan

Allah(swt) has prescribed fasting for Muslims and other monothestic faiths due to its many benefits. Material pleasures can be generalised into food and drink, sexual pleasures, and vanity. Fasting requires abstaining from these, going against the natural instinct of Man to observe the commandment of God. This builds the concept of No to our desires and Yes to the will of Almighty God. Other benefits of fasting include:

*Fasting instills patience, teaches self control and discipline.

*Fasting increases compassion for the less fortunate.

*Fasting builds focus on spirituality and deminishes focus on materialism.

*Fasting has many health benefits.

*Fasting can be atonement for sin and can earn great reward.

*Fasting is part of a strong spiritual and physical renewal plan.

*Fasting commemorates important sacred religious events.

Saum means "stop" and "halt" to anything such as going, talking, eating, etc.

In the month of Ramadhan we have made a covenant with Allah that at the sighting of the new moon beginning the month of Ramadhan, we shall obey him and follow nature to the end of the lunar month. Every prayer that the Muslims do is in accordance with nature and lunar movement. Our system is following the law of nature, in that the night brings sleep, the sun gives energy and action, and the weather effects our system and our mood.

"Oh you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may learn self restraint." Quran Sura 2, Aya 183.

The ninth Islamic month is called Ramadhan and fasting is prescribed in that month. We follow the movement of the moon as the frame of our action or as the length of our fasting. (From the sighting of the new moon until the next new moon is sighted.)

We must follow the movements of the earth and the sun for the start and stop of our fasting duties. By Fajr (Dawn) the fasting starts, until the time dusk falls; then we follow our normal Islamic lifestyle.

Every dusk we come to is called Iftar which implies moving towards self and nature. The movement of the month is towards Eid-ul-Fitr : returning to nature, our system of being, or what our life is composed of and within this month we come to our evaluation or night of power.

Fasting brings our life into total submission and complete surrender to the law of the Creator. Every part of the day we feel the hunger and thirst only for obedience to Allah, in addition to the mental and physical cleansing which one receives.

The hardships which one undertakes for his loved ones are hard and difficult but they are also sweet and pleasant. While fasting, even though we carry the hardship of thirst and hunger in the heat of the long summer days, it is pleasant because we obey our loved one, and there is no love greater than the love for our Creator. A love that puts man and his whole family and everything else in the battle front for His pleasure, for being obedient to Him. What love could be higher than the love for the Creator?

Your physical sexual life is forbidden while fasting, so you feel the spiritual love for the Creator. You prevent your personal desires, such as eating, drinking, having sex; so you sacrifice self for the love of Allah.

When His love comes to the heart of man, no place is left for any other love. One feels; how red is my blood so I can bring it to Him as a rose flower and how warm is my blood to give it in His way to achieve His pleasure.

If man does not realize the blessed month of Ramadhan and does not achieve the understanding of Laylatul Qadr night of evaluation, how could he find his goal in life and that his owner is Allah? In our awakening of predawn (Sohoor), in our prayer of dawn, and during the fasting in the day and every prayer, we go to Him. We follow these actions until we reach our Eid-UlFitr. So we come to our return towards our system of being, then we pay a price of one meal to the needy in our society with the feeling that: O people, I shared your effort in my life, you may share a meal with me.

What I write may be accepted as a beginning and a drop from the ocean of wisdom and the order of the Creator. But what He wants us to do is exactly what we should do.

We are a part of this universe, therefore, it is only appropriate and fair to follow the laws of creation. According to the movement of the earth and the sun, we begin fasting. Every sunset is called Iftar a moving toward nature. Our aim is "EidUl Fitr" or return to our nature and our system of being. What was our nature that we should return to it? Our nature is to follow the captain of the boat if we are in the ocean, we have no choice. We should follow his orders since we are under his command. In our life so we have any other choice but to breathe and fulfill the need of our sustenance. Then who is the provider of these means but Allah. We are in his kingdom and we should follow His command. This was our covenant with our Creator at the beginning. As the Holy Quran says in Sura 36, Aya 60:

"Did you not promise, oh you children of Adam, that you shall not worship satan. He is the clear enemy of yours."

To follow satan is to go against the laws of nature. Satan became a negative force in man's system of being and only with mankind, not with the rest of the creation. He was an angel that did not follow the laws of the Creator. Angels are moving forces in the universe, all obedient to Allah. When man was created with all of his abilities, one of his abilities was negative or "satanic" and against his own law of safety. Before the creation of man, there was no disobedience.

Creating man with evil within his system caused the comparison of right with wrong and truth with falsehood. The aactions of a drunk and his irresponsible performance enlighten us with an understanding of who not to be like and thus the rejection of intoxication. The misery of drug addicts or prostitutes will enable us to choose not to be like them. Man is able to choose the best way in achieving Allah's pleasure and man's choice is developed in stages in comparisons of actions by others. For this reason some of us are the enemies of the others. As stated in Sura 2, Aya 36:

" But the shaitan made them both fall from it and caused them to depart from that (state) in which they were; and we said: Get forth, some of you being the enemies of others."

When we recognize truth from Quran then we reject falsehood of evildoers, the struggle and battle of truth and falsehood generates until man will become victorious in following the constitution of Allah on earth and evil will be defeated ( in being the enemies of each other), yet remain active until the day of judgement.

Allah mentions in the Holy Quran that he created the firmament and kept it away from the disturbance of Satan. Every action in nature performs perfectly under the command of Allah except the human action, the actions that are in control of man. Since man is not able to change any revelation and revolution in the universal movement, the action will remain undisturbed by any negative force, as in Sura 37, Aya 6:

" We have adorned the lower heaven with the adornment of the stars and to preserve against every rebel satan."

Man needs to be reminded of his way, continuously. He is called the highest in creation if he follows the laws, and lower than the animals in his disobedience to Allah. Every year we move toward our nature "EidUl Fitr." We work toward adapting ourselves to be what we are supposed to be, that is, to control our selfish desires which are destructive to man. We, like animals, need food, water, shelter and sex. It is natural and the only way to survive. However, in this month, we will be tested on our ability to control our natural desires. So if there are any unnatural desires, they become controlled automatically. We learn how to control our desires and our behavior, so that "self" may be replaced by "Allah's law."

The awakening from the darkness of ignorance and selfishness just as we awaken every pre-dawn with His order, so that we may rise up against any injustice that is keeping us ignorant and in the darkness of unawareness.

Every evening is one step closer towards the means of our system of being(fitrat), as we make iftar, which means moving toward the means of our system of being, until we are in the last ten days of the month of Ramadhan. The days that angels are encouraging man to move in the right direction. The time is getting closer to recognizing ourselves, to evaluating our work - the time of evaluation, "Qadr" or ability, power, from the depth of darkness of "lower than animals" to the highest in creation, from the darkness of unawareness to the dawn of reality, we work for this achievement. We follow the law of nature so the darkness of unawareness, the night of evaluation, that has connected us to the Creator, to be the follower of Allah's law, to gain the power of positive force, the night of power will be manifested to us.

A sparkle of truth generates in the darkness of life, the attention moves toward the sparkle. The actions are directed toward that light as a lost thirsty man in the vast desert is directed to any sign of water, any image of a well, a tree, any evidence of life catches his attention. Now the move is only toward that sign. All the attention is directed toward that savior, that solution which has been sought. Now that the direction is determined, the movement is only toward that direction. The closer we move, the more clearly the sign of solution is evident. Now that it is found, we are no longer wandering around. The aim is known, the direction is spotted, our movement and our attention are only in that direction.

"From Allah we came, toward Allah is our return ."
Quran, Sura2, Aya 156.

Now evil can't mislead us again. Now that the truth has come, falsehood has disappeared. Allah has given man the power of recognition. He sees the truth, then falsehood is no longer acceptable to him.

When man was created, the angels asked Allah why he was creating a man who would kill, destroy and use his negative forces, while they (angels) were following his way exactly. Allah says: I know what you don't know." Allah knows man moves in his unawareness, but when the truth shows itself, then man follows that truth.

And say

"when the truth has come, and falsehood disappeared, for falsehood is (and by its nature) bound to fade away."
Quran, Sura 17, Aya 81.

The law of safety (Islam) is already present in nature, in the creation, in this system of being. It has to become noticeable to mankind. When he sees it, he will recognize it. The totality of the Holy Quran has been in nature (fitrat) from the beginning. The laws are complete and perfect. Then the prophet (peace be upon him) received it totally on that night of power and gradually within 23 years it was revealed. Man became worthy of receiving the message of the Quran that was compiled on that special night of power. This system of perfection became reasonable to man, from the highest part of the firmament to humanity on the small planet earth.

In Sura5, Aya 3, Allah says:

"Today I have completed for you your religion and completed my favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your aim(Religion)."

Islam began when the first element in the creation was created and submitted itself. This great law and revelation that had been perfect in that darkness of selfishness brings you into light, that is the night of power (evaluation). The Holy Quran says In Sura 97, Aya 1:

"We have indeed revealed this in the night of evaluation." It may be the totality of understanding the system and the law of nature that is Islam. The example that may be given is that when looking for a solution to a problem, suddenly the solution comes to mind totally, then it can be broken to steps and times. The Quran as the total solution to man's problems was revealed over a period of 23 years.

It is called the night of evaluation so man is in darkness in search of the truth. When the truth comes to man in the night of power, no one can tell what night it may be. It is the result of how sincere we have been in our obedience to our creator.

My understanding and yours may not be the same. I may reach "Layla Tul Qadr" (night of evaluation) sooner than you on the 21st day. I may be slow in thinking , then I feel and recognize it on the 23rd or 25th or 27th. I may not be able to get the message, then perhaps during the next Ramadhan. No one can tell which night is the night of power. Then Allah says:

"And what made you understand what is the night of evaluation."

That tells us the night of evaluation is not too easy to understand. Every place in the Holy Quran, when this sentence appears: (And what made you understand ), it is news of understanding which demands hard work or hard thinking.

It is that night that you find your direction. You save yourself from self destruction. Lost in the desert and wandering aimlessly, you recognize a point of direction. Then that moment of self recognition, that moment of finding the direction is better than a whole life of aimless wandering.

"The night of evaluation (power) is better than one thousand months."
Quran, Sura 97, Aya 5.

One thousand months or 83 years and 4 months of unawareness, Satanic life, life of being non-Islamic and being without aim (Allah).

Compared with now that the truth is recognized, the direction is determined and life has a new movement and new meaning. His forces and actions are used only for his aim, for the truth that was shown to him in the same direction as Allah's will.

Quran, Sura 97, Aya 4.
"Therein come down the angel and the spirit by Allah's permission in every errand."

Our actions and our direction and anything we do from now on is with the command of our Creator. "By Allah's permission is every errand." Before the recognition of evaluation, we were the slave of our desire, the slave of unawareness, the slave of my mind and action. But then we become the servant of Lord of Creation, our effort is in pleasing Allah only. We serve Allah's way only, our actions are put to work only if he permits us to do so. We are ready to be the light through that first sparkle of light.

"Submission - this until the rise of the morn."
Quran, Sura 97, Aya 5.

Salaamon means submission to the safety of being. In that submission if there is no "Satan" then there is peace. One of the forces or actions of man is "Satan" that did not bow to the creation of man, or to the totality of the system of peace, Evil became active within man only. Therefore, man will never have peace as long as Satan is active and that is until the day of judgement. Man's duty becomes submission, or Islam, by rejecting the negative and disobedient forces, by continuing Jehad until the achievement of the Islamic state on the earth of Allah and the acceptance of the Holy Quran as an active constitution of man.

This battle of falsehood and truth will remain with man till death. It is the battle that started when the first sparkle of light came into our mind. We were headed toward the truth. To find the truth is to leave the falsehood. To achieve the truth is to fight the falsehood. From the depth of darkness of falsehood on that night of evaluation of ourselves, the words of "There is no God but Allah" become meaningful and rejection blooms in man's own system. The more we reject falsehood, the better and more clearly the truth shows itself. From that darkness, action against evil begins. The more we reject falsehood, the better and more clearly the truth shows itself. From that darkness, action against evil begins. The aim becomes felt in the heart and seen in the mind. In that darkness Jehad is the light of our way, the struggle between truth and falsehood, Allah and Satan. All the actions become centered on achieving the goal. The light of Jehad brings us to the path of truth and connects us to the dawn of the morn, to awareness and self recognition. Now we have the power of capturing the evil of our own system. If in this Jehad we succeed, we will have accomplished the order of Allah in this life. If we die for the cause of Allah the blood from our veins will bring the flow of a new struggle, and we shall be rewarded in the day of judgement.

This movement will never stop and every year the night of power and evaluation brings man to his "return to self realization" in Eid Ul-Fitr, so the system of submission remains active as Islam is the religion of action. In the Quran, fasting is mentioned 12 more times with other pronouns.