PROPHET’S VISION OF SOCIETY
Dr.
Fazlur Rahman
It was
his first and the last pilgrimage. He stood engulfed by a sea of the faithful. More
than a hundred thousand years were cocked to what he was going to utter. The message
came sharp and loud and clear: “The sanctity of human life, honour and property
is as inviolable as is the city of Makkah, and the holy month of Hajj. None is
to be held responsible for the crime committed by the other. Don‘t after me, revert
to infidelity by slitting the throats of one another.”
The
first-ever declaration, couched in most piercing words, equating the sanctity of
human life, honour and property with that of the holiest of the holy in Islam,
laid down for the first time in the history of mankind, the foundation stone of
a just, human, judicious and virtuous society, an Islamic society. The Prophet
of Islam had in unequivocal words enunciated that the killer of an innocent
soul, was throwing himself out of the fold of Islam by committing an act of
infidelity. A society could claim to be Islamic only when it preserves the
sanctity of human life, honour and property, otherwise not.
Any
venture which may expose the life, honour and property of the members of
society to the ravages of armed conflicts and thereby disturb its internal
peace and security or let the difference of opinion or conflict of interest
develop into blood feuds whether among individuals, groups or sections is very
strongly condemned by the holy Prophet (ﷺ). He declared: “Whosoever commits armed aggression
against us does not belong to us.” The words are unambiguous. The message is unmistakably
clear and unambiguous. The Founder of Islam refuses to accept the claim of an
aggressor standing in arms against Muslim community.
Islamic
society is raised strictly upon moral principles which if contravened threaten
the very justification of its existence. The mutual relationships of the individuals
and the groups within an Islamic society have to be guided and channeled by
moral considerations. They have to be conducted with perfect confidence that one
would get his due and would not be deceived, beguiled or cheated. The Prophet (ﷺ)
attached so much importance to this peculiarity of the Islamic society that he
asserted “Whoever defrauds us does not belong to us” meaning thereby that a
swindler, a cheat, by playing fraud on a member of the society severs his relationship
with the Muslim community though he may still claim to be a part of it.
Generation
gap poses some serious problems to the basic texture of a society. The older
ones, the more advanced in age who had been breathing in a different atmosphere
and whose mores and habits, modes of thinking and patterns of behaviours had
been conditioned and framed by certain circumstances obtaining at a particular
time, may not find themselves very comfortable to and in perfect agreement with
the new, the upcoming generation.
On the
other hand, the new generation, despite being in total conformity with their
elders with regard to ultimate objectives of life and immutable religious and
moral values may find itself, due to irresistible natural social and political forces
of change and adjustment, at logger heads with the older generation. This may cause,
a swelling cleavage of interests, a widening gap of behavioural patterns and an
ever – increasing schism between the two integral parts of society.
This
development if not checked at the opportune time may virtually let loose the
forces of social disintegration. The situation if allowed to worsen is bound to
develop in colossal mutual disrespect, veiled hatred, intolerance and an
altogether effacement, from society, of the sentiments of love, compassion and
mercy.
The
Prophet (ﷺ), seems to have been very alive to the devastative prospects and
ravages of the extreme forms of generation gap. He declared in most forceful
words: “Those who are not filled with compassion for our younger ones, and also
those who do not pay respect to our elders, do not belong to us." Be he an
elder or a younger one, he is debarred by the Prophet (ﷺ), from being qualified as a Muslim, as a
believer, by his indulgence in the counter productive and nefarious activity of
destabilizing the Islamic society.
The
corner–stone of an Islamic society is mutual love and consideration for each other.
The significance of these two, as the force cementing the components of an Islamic
society, is highlighted by the Prophet (ﷺ) in these words: “None of you could claim
to be a believer unless he desires the same for his Muslim brother that which he
would have desired for himself, had he been in the same situation as his Muslim
brother is.” The conditionally attached to a person‘s claim of being acceptable
as a believer in the eyes of the Founder of Islam, is his unconditional love and
consideration for other members of the Islamic society.
Man’s
earliest social contact after birth begins with his mother, father and other blood
relations. He has no choice whatsoever in selecting his blood relatives. They
are divinely ordained and man has to respect and honour this choice for the rest
of his life. These relationships form the genesis of family. A morally healthy family
is the nucleus of a morally oriented society. The Prophet (ﷺ)
has immaculately elaborated the mutual rights duties and responsibilities of
the parents, children and other family members and relatives.
The
parents are promised the reward of Paradise for proper care, moral upbringing
and purposeful education, especially of the female children. Conversely, the
children have been told in plain words to note that the most grievous sin after
Shirk (Belief in more than one god) is recalcitrance of parents. They are
required to maintain the attitude of love, respect and kindness towards their parents,
especially when they become old, frail and infirm in mind and body. The Prophet
(ﷺ),
when asked as to which one of the two, the father or the mother, was more
entitled to one's care and consideration, replied “the mother, the mother, the
mother, and then your father.”
Regarding
other relatives the Prophet (ﷺ) has instructed to preserve genealogical details
of the family to enable one to be in the full know about the nature and extent of
relationship. He stressed to fulfill one’s moral, social and financial
responsibilities towards the relatives to the extent that he is under moral
compulsion to carry out these obligations even if they are not reciprocated by
his relatives. Describing the resultant blessings and benedictions of
maintaining cordial relations with the relatives he exhorted "Whoever
loves to enjoy long life coupled with an increase in prosperity he should
maintain and nurture good relations with his relatives.”
Neighbours
play an important role in the daily life of man. They have an intimate relationship
with each other's private and public life. They share each other‘s sorrows and
happy moments. They cannot be side–tracked or ignored. An ideal society has to
nurture sincerity, sense of proportion, propriety and balance among the neighbours
to maintain and develop an atmosphere of love, fellow feeling, friendliness and
understanding.
The
Prophet (ﷺ) recognized the crucial role of the institution of neighbourhood
in the establishment, preservation and continuity of a healthy society. Thrice
he swore that a man cannot be said to be a believer unless his neighbour feels
secure from him. He also declared that a person who had filled his belly while
his neighbour had to sleep hungry could not claim to be a believer. A person
who professes to believe in Allah and the Day of Judgement had to be, according
to the Messenger of Allah, generous and respectful towards his neighbours.
He
said that one had to be very mindful about the fulfillment of one‘s duties
towards the neighbours as the archangel Gabriel did so much stress the rights
of the neighbours that he thought perhaps the neighbourwas going to be allotted
a share in one’s inheritance. Moreover the Prophet (ﷺ) made it crystal clear that a person to qualify
as a neighbour need not be a Muslim. He may be relative, a Muslim, a non–Muslim,
even a stranger who keeps regular company only for a short while. The Prophet (ﷺ)
so emphasized the importance of maintaining considerate and sympathetic
relations with the neighbours as to instruct that one must direct his children
not to throw the skins and remnants of the fruits in such a way that they are noticed
by the poorer neighbours’ children who may feel depressed by a sense of
deprivation and inferiority complex.
Living
among others, especially when some of them may not hold identical views or
follow different social customs and practices, is always difficult and poses serious
problems. It needs much of patience, profound sense of proportion, love for
humanity and a deep regard for others’ view and sensitivities coupled with a
strong commitment to truth. Nevertheless, not infrequently the sentiments may
take the better of reason, the tempers may be frayed, the nerves may become
strained resulting in a severance of relations and bad blood among the
individuals, family members or groups.
The
greatest humanitarian service under these circumstances would be to remove misunderstandings,
eliminate causes of friction, eradicate roots of tension and strive to heal up
the wounds inflicted. The Prophet (ﷺ) enunciated: “That which has precedence
over, and is more preferable to fasting, praying and aims – giving is the
removal of enmity between the parties and restoration of mutually good
relations.”
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