Religion and Freedom – are they dichotomously opposed?
Part One – Islam’s legacy
Zaid Ibn Thabit said, who reported it is known, and I could reference it, (in the notes, or in revisions), before Islam, he was the only monotheist (alive at the time), “I am the only person (amongst you) on the religion of Abraham”.
Muhammad had not been commissioned with his dawa at the time when Zaid was in search of a religion like that of Abraham. Nonetheless, there were some people in addition to Zaid, such as the Prophet, who used to worship Allah with sincere devotion. The Prophet Muhammad himself didn’t used to prostrate himself to idols. Zaid said of himself, he would not eat the meat (slaughtered on the nusuub of idols) of the Meccans (or pagans). Zaid excelled in Tawheed as one of the first of the monotheists in Arabia at that time.
There were few people who did not commit sins like fornication or adultery (Al-Mubarakpuri,2002).
Important lessons –
Allah’s wisdom can be discerned by people; Worship of the Creator (Allah) can be discerned, furthermore, it is an innate desire to worship God as one, who is without partner or son or any need.
In this present age, an “Islamic revival” is the hope of many Muslims. They hope for better things –health, happiness, livelihood, for their children and children’s children. But they are a “minority” in a wider society often hostile to Islam and their dearly held beliefs.
It has become very important that each Muslim should know his religion and the Ummah (community) must strive harder to defend its religion and community of believers. This means a proper Islamic education, as well. Of course, they should be foremost in morals and manners.
Allah’s knowledge is all encompassing.
Islam is a complete way of life. Also, it is complete and perfect since the time of Muhammad, pbuh. Therefore, one must seek answers in the past to questions or problems of the present and future.
Specific questions:
1 – Why was slavery not finally forbidden in Islam?
2 – Why was marriage to “minors” (as people today see the situation of marriage to a girl of 9 or 10) permitted before and not forbidden in Islam? Why was it permitted for the former peoples and how should we understand this in terms of the practice of Muslims forever? E.g. Can Muslims marry young girls or not?
An anecdote -
The fact is that many Muslims today still live in societies which are “cut off” from the world in terms of their ways/beliefs. After Islam’s “Golden Age”, it regressed. Allah as the Lord of the Universe knew that in some Muslim-majority states, Muslims would largely remain poor, until the end of time, when wealth will become so abundant that no poor will be found to accept the Zakat. (We assume this will be a worldwide event or phenomenon, but it could just be a regional one (e.g. like the flood of Noah.) Assuming it is a worldwide happening, it will be difficult to find anyone to receive charity. Muslims will not be able to expiate sins by charity, as a result of this spread of wealth to all corners. However, knowledge will remain, until finally before the Day of Judgment is near, it will be removed from the hearts. Then many sinful people will prevail. The good will die by a “cool wind” (or “cold wind”).
It appears to be a blemish on Islam that Allah, the ‘author’ of the Quran did not abolish slavery outright.
I have stated before that slavery is not a race issue but a “justice” issue.
As for Islam, it is about justice of a supreme nature. Compared to other religions and some belief systems, such as communism, Islam is just and gave minorities rights. Communism or socialism seeks to limit people’s creative purpose, by restricting the ownership of personal wealth and the use of personal wealth to make more wealth. It insists on communal holdings and community sharing of everything materially valuable. This is the reason Capitalists are the furthest from Communism.
How did Islam encourage “freedom” and “justice” for slaves?
Complete Freedom is dichotomously opposed to Islam, because Islam can never accept that there is more justice (and it is right) in people choosing their government, laws, based on personal preferences, the times, etc. than that a system revealed by God and its implementation according to the Prophet Muhammad and early generations of Muslims, should be the only law; Islamic sharia doesn’t change, even as time passes and situations change, it is a bedrock of constancy.
Allah didn’t permit people to decide against the sharia, decisions must reflect the basic principles of sharia.
These basic principles are sufficient for Muslims to discern the best course of action in a situation. By Ijtihad or Ijma, cases without clear examples and references to the past, verdicts may be “agreed” by scholars (which is consensus), or “inferred” (logically deduced by “conjecture”) from the available evidence, but nothing circumstantial is permitted to enter as evidence.
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[Part Two - Next - will be the final word on Abraham Lincoln's legacy]
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