Wednesday 1 August 2012

Islam and Modernism

 
Written by: Mufti Taqi Usmani
�And it is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter to have choice in their matter� (Quran – 33:35)
�And perfect are the words of your Lord in truthfulness and justice; there is none who can change His words; and He is the Hearer, the Knower. And if you (O Prophet) obey most of those on earth they would lead you astray from Allah�s way. They follow nothing but surmise, and they do but guess. Surely your Lord knows best who astrays from His way. And He knows best who are rightly guided.� (Quran – 6:115-117)
“‘Modernity’ is a double-edged sword which can be used for the benefit of mankind and to cut its Own throat. Hence any new thing is neither acceptable just for being new nor refutable just because it is new.”
“The only way to judge between desirable and undesirable modernism is to examine it in the light of Qur�anic injunctions. If it is not in opposition to Allah�s Commandments it may be accepted otherwise it must be rejected without misinterpreting and distorting it even though it may be against the common trend of time.”
“The greatest challenge for the Islamic world today is to recognize these limits of �Modernity�, without interfering with the confined limits of unalterable injunctions of Islam. Unfortunately the present attitude of the Islamic world is in clear contrast to this. Our scholars have been markedly slow in the spheres which demanded their active efforts, while they are actively busy modernizing the unalterable Commandments of Allah with the consequence that Muslims are deprived of the amenities and comforts that modern time has provided to humanity and the evils of modernism are at liberty to prevail in our society with no check from our side. May Almighty Allah give us the ability and courage to fulfill our obligations to modern times while safeguarding our ideological heritage.”
JUSTICE MUFTI MUHAMMAD TAQI USMANI is one of the leading Islamic scholars living today. Author of more than 40 books, he is an expert in the fields of Islamic law, Economics and Hadith. For the past 40 years, he has been teaching at the Darul-Uloom in Karachi that was established by his father Mufti Muhammad Shafi, the late Grand Mufti of Pakistan. He also holds a degree in law and has been a Judge at the Sharia Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He is a consultant to several international Islamic financial institutions and has played a key part in the move toward interest free banking and the establishment of Islamic financial institutions. He is the deputy chairman of the Jeddah based Islamic Fiqh Council of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).



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