Author: Abu Raef
Secularism Its history, nature and consequences (3rd part)
Islamic identity is a product of Islamic moderation.
Islam is a religion of moderation, tolerance, balance and cooperation, not a religion of excesses, violence and tyranny.
Muslims are students at the Qur’an school. They are trained in the school of Islam; Muslims are described in the Holy Quran as “the middle nation” and this description gives them a privilege from the rest of the nations and nations.
(وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلۡنَٰكُمۡ أُمَّةٗ وَسَطٗا لِّتَكُونُواْ شُهَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ شَهِيدٗا)”Also, we have made you a moderate nation so that you may be witnesses over other peoples and the Messenger of God may be a witness over you.” [Al-Baqarah: 143].
The religion of Islam has taken its moderation from this Quranic text, and it is in the shadow of its teachings that the followers of Islamic thought rely on moderation and moderation in every way.
The late Anwar al-Jandi has an interesting statement and says: “If it is thought that the Eastern thought (Buddhist-Confucianism and Hinduism) only focuses on spiritual things and the Western thought (Madigra, Marxism and philosophy) only pays attention to the material things, the Islamic middle ground between Spirit and matter create a balance and many analysts have realized this fact and say: the ideological difference that exists between the East and the West can only be resolved through Islamic thought.
Because in the place where the Marxist thought places the society as God and the capitalist thought places the individual, Islam emphasizes the idea of the individual located in the community. And where the West emphasizes the desire for freedom and the East emphasizes the sense of justice, Islam creates a balance between the two…
In moderate Islamic thought, the balance between the following matters is emphasized.
1. Balance between reason and revelation
History testifies that the leaders of the church and the missionaries of the Christian religion, under the pretext of paying attention to the concepts and texts of the Bible, ignored reason and persecuted the rationalists and sentenced them to death in the Inquisition courts.
On the other hand, rationalists and supporters of philosophy, under the pretext of respect for reason, elevated it to the level of God and denied revelation, and after the renaissance, rationalists generally said goodbye to the church and its teachings and considered it superstition.
However, the religion of Islam does not neglect or ignore any of the intellect and revelation but looks at both as the source of knowledge and the means of knowledge and assigns a special place to each of them that does not exclude the other.
Muslim scholars have all agreed on this golden rule that: “correct reason and clear text will never find conflict and contradiction” and if there is an apparent conflict between them, it is due to the inaccuracy of the theory of reason, or the lack of revelation. which is known as revelation”.
2. Balance between revelation and nature
If in the distorted revelation religions [Judaism and Christianity] and rational religions we witness a kind of conflict between revelation and the laws governing existence and nature, it is due to the fact that what currently exists among the followers of these religions in the name of revelation is not revelation. Because it is not possible for the revelations and traditions ruling over existence, both of which originate from the same source, to be conflicting and contradictory.
In Islamic teachings, there is complete harmony and agreement between the revelation and the traditions governing existence (natural laws) and no conflict is seen, and if a conflict is observed, it is due to a lack of correct understanding of the revelation or a lack of understanding and recognition of the governing tradition and law. It is nature and existence.
3. Balance between this world and the hereafter
In Islamic thought, the world and the hereafter are not separate, but complement each other. The world is considered to be the farm of the hereafter, and the hereafter is the eternal home with rewards and rewards, and a person will see the fruits of his actions there without any loss or caste, and he will be rewarded or punished according to the actions he has done in this world.
But in some schools of thought [including materialist thought] life is exclusive to this world and there is no afterlife. Therefore, it is up to man to enjoy and benefit from the pleasures of this world as much as possible and not to miss the opportunity. Machiavelli’s ethics and Marxist philosophy, and the capitalist economy and world-eating policy of the current American globalization, all originate from this idea that life is exclusive to the life of this world and there is no afterlife.
4. Man and existence
In Islamic thought, man is not considered against and enemy of existence to try with all his might to destroy it and use its blessings in line with personal goals and destruction of others. Rather, his duty is to repair and improve this earth so that he can hand it over to the future generations.
(هُوَ أَنشَأَكُم مِّنَ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَٱسۡتَعۡمَرَكُمۡ فِيهَا)”He (God) created you from this earth and wants you to rise to its prosperity.” [Hood: 61]. Muslims do not act like materialistic opportunists who do not spare any efforts to destroy and destroy this earth during their stay.
5. Balance between predestination and discretion
In Islam, man is neither absolutely free nor absolutely forced. Rather, it is located in the middle of these two. In some cases, he does not have any authority, in which cases the obligation does not exist, and in some cases, he has absolute authority and choice, which are the mandate and the obligation. It has been extended to today. Some believe in absolute discretion, some believe in absolute determinism, and some have taken an intermediate path. The first and second groups have taken the path of extremes and the third group have remained on Islamic moderation.
6. Balance between the desires of the body and soul
The religion of Islam and Islamic thought pay attention to the refinement of the soul and the purification of the heart and consider this act as the source of goodness and happiness. In the same proportion, it gives importance to the cleanliness and purity of the body and the observance of the health and hygiene of the environment, etc. Islam regards the desires of the soul and the body as the same and strives for both and does not prioritize one over the other.
Islam has rules and laws for the soul and body of the individual and the society, rulers and subjects, etc., if they are adhered to and implemented, human societies will live in peace and happiness, and people will achieve happiness and security and be free from worries and Fear and anxiety are saved.
This statement is not an unfounded claim, but as long as the Islamic Sharia ruled over the Islamic societies and over the souls and feelings of Muslims, Muslims were the model of humanity and perfect human beings, and this is a fact that even the staunch enemies of Islam have admitted.
Youth and identity crisis
At the beginning of this article, we mentioned that the identity crisis [in both religious and national dimensions] has become the biggest problem and dilemma of our youth. Because under the pressure of the western material culture, they quickly move away from their own religious, moral and national values and make the western custom, habits, thought and model their desired model in everything.
The western secular world, through the use of modern media and other means of promoting culture, is strongly trying to impose its culture, lifestyle and thought on third world countries, especially Muslim countries, and in a hypocritical and insidious way, factors such as globalization [especially In the economic dimension], it uses human rights, democracy, and the approval of the resolution by the Security Council, etc., and it has launched a new colonial movement against Muslims, but it pretends to be a gift of democracy and freedom to nations, contrary to reality.
What kind of crisis can be more dangerous and bigger than this, that young people, under the influence of the teachings of modern western media, act in the way of westerners in the way of thinking and the way of interacting with belief and religion, and they are ready to align with westerners overnight with all customs, traditions, and culture. Say goodbye to authentic religious and national beliefs and sacred values. And the main misfortune is that they consider all these actions as progress and civilization.
The way of make-up, the way of dressing and grooming, the way of relationships, compliments, traveling, etc. have changed and the western model is being imposed on our nation. The people of the West should be inventors, creative and advanced. However, the West’s access to the lofty peaks of science and material technology is the product of their tireless efforts to gain knowledge, not farewell to religion, culture, authentic traditions, virtuous ethics, etc.
