Uniting Humanity: Need It Be “Us and Them”?

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Uniting Humanity

 

The message of Islam is for the entire human race. According to

Islam, Allah is the God of the entire world and Prophet Muhammad

(peace and blessings be upon him) is a messenger for the whole of

mankind.

 

According to Islam, all men are equal, whatever be their color,

language, race or nationality. Islam addresses itself to the

conscience of humanity and banishes all false barriers of race,

status and wealth. There can be no denying the fact that such

barriers have always existed, and do exist even today in this so-

called enlightened age. Islam, however, removes all these impediments

and proclaims the idea of the whole of humanity being one family of

God.

 

Islam is international in its outlook and approach. It does not admit

barriers and distinctions based on color, clan, blood or territory

such as were prevalent before the advent of Muhammad (peace and

blessings be upon him). These are rampant in different forms, even in

this modern age.

 

Islam is a way of life that transcends race and ethnicity. The

Glorious Qur'an repeatedly reminds us of our common origin:

 

(O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a

female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each

other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored

of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you.

And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).)

(Al-Hujrat: 13)

 

The eradication of race consciousness is one of the outstanding moral

achievements of Islam. In the contemporary world there is, as it

happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue. It

is conceivable that the spirit of Islam might be the timely

reinforcement, which would decide this issue in favor of tolerance

and peace, the historian A.J. Toynbee wrote in his book Civilization

on Trial.

 

Islam unites the entire human race under one banner. To a world torn

by national rivalries and feuds, it presents a message of life and

hope, and of a glorious future.

 

Uniting Humanity

www.islamonline.net/

 

 

Need It Be " Us and Them " ?

By IOL Team

21/12/2003

 

Islam is often said to be a tolerant religion. Then why is it that so

many Muslims develop a harsh " us-and-them " attitude? People who have

no problem with helping their neighbors or celebrating holidays with

their family or doing volunteer work in the community become Muslim

and then think that they can have nothing to do with " those " people

with whom they freely interacted only days or weeks before. On top of

that, the Muslims often refer to the others as " kafirs " (non-Muslims)

and pronounce it as if they would spit, as if it were a vulgar word.

What goes wrong?

 

As usual, the problem is not in Islam itself but in people's

misunderstanding.

 

Muslims have been living among non-Muslims since the beginning of the

Revelation. Sometimes Muslims were the rulers, sometimes they were

not. As early as eighteen years after the death of the Prophet (peace

and blessings be upon him), Muslims-led by Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas-sailed

to the east coast of China and obtained permission of the emperor to

settle there and establish a mosque at Ch'ang-an, which still stands

today (Islam in China by Yusuf Abdur Rahman). It didn't seem to

bother them to live among non-Muslims. We can see from this that the

issues facing non-ruling Muslim minorities are not recent ones, and

we should remember that even when Muslims were the rulers, they were

often the minority.

 

Many Muslims today, even those who grew up in a multi-cultural

society, have problems dealing with " others, " whether those be non-

Muslims or Muslims who hold different opinions on some issues or who

follow a different school of fiqh (jurisprudence).

 

But in fact, Islam teaches us to tolerate others and accept that

there are differences among us. The creation of people with different

languages and colors is one of the signs of Allah's power.

Superiority comes not from one's color or tribe, but from one's

conduct.

 

[And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and

the difference of your languages and colors. Lo! herein indeed are

portents for men of knowledge.] (Ar-Rum 30:22)

 

[O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made

you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest

of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is

Knower, Aware.] (Al-Hujurat 49:13)

 

And in his final sermon, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon

him) said, " You know that every Muslim is the brother of another

Muslim. You are all equal. Nobody has superiority over another except

by piety and good action. "

 

Thus we should not think that we are better than others and be

intolerant of their opinions. In the Hadith and early history of

Islam, there are many examples of differences of opinion among the

Muslims, yet it did not prevent them from living together peacefully

and cooperating with one another.

 

As for dealing with non-Muslims, we should never forget that we are

to be kind and just with all those who do not fight us.

 

Asma' bint Abi Bakr was visited in Madinah by her pagan mother and

grandfather at a time when the Quraysh of Makkah had a peace treaty

with the Muslims. She asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon

him) whether she should treat her mother kindly and was told, " Yes "

(Al-Bukhari). After this was revealed the verse meaning:

 

[Allah does not forbid you that you show kindness and deal justly

with those who did not fight you in your religion and did not drive

you out from your homes…] (Al-Mumtahinah 60: 8)

 

Our neighbors are still our neighbors; our families are still our

families. Though they may not share our faith, they still deserve our

respect, kindness, and justice. There are many hadiths regarding

treatment of neighbors, but none of them say that this is only for

Muslim neighbors.

 

For example, `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: I

heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) saying: " Jibreel

(Angel Gabriel) advised me persistently about (kind treatment)

towards the neighbor (so much) that I thought he would confer upon

him the (right) of inheritance " (Muslim).

 

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Allah's

Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) observed: " He who

believes in Allah and the Last Day should either utter good words or

better keep silent; and he who believes in Allah and the Last Day

should treat his neighbor with kindness; and he who believes in Allah

and the Last Day should show hospitality to his guest " (Muslim).

 

Abu Hurayah also reported: Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him)

said: “None among you should prevent his neighbor from fixing a beam

in his wall” (Muslim).

 

Tolerance means to accept that people have different ideas, beliefs,

values, and customs. It does not mean agreeing with those who differ

from us, but simply allowing them the right to disagree. This

tolerance must be at all levels: individual, groups, and states.

Tolerance upholds human rights, pluralism (including cultural

pluralism), and the rule of law. If everyone must think and act like

us, there would be no human rights. The Qur’an says what means:

 

[To every People have We appointed rites and ceremonies which they

must follow, let them not then dispute with you on the matter, but do

invite (them) to your Lord: for you are assuredly on the Right Way.

If they do wrangle with you, say, “God knows best what it is you are

doing. God will judge between you on the Day of Judgment concerning

the matters in which you differ”] (Al-Hajj 22:67-69).

 

Tolerance of others means we must not defile or destroy non-Muslim

places of worship, nor may we forbid or disturb non-Muslim rituals.

And, of course, it means that we expect the same treatment from non-

Muslims. Furthermore, we should allow non-Muslims to enter our

mosques (except Al-Haram in Makkah) for legitimate reasons-to do

repair work, to learn about Islam, to drink water-as long as they

dress modestly and do not bring in anything to defile them.

 

We should dialogue with non-Muslims, particularly People of the Book,

in order to understand each other better, with focus on what we

share. In no way should such dialogue lead us to concede anything of

our religion or deny any aspects of Islam. But by forming closed

enclaves and refusing to interact and dialogue with non-Muslims, we

remain strange to others and are more likely to become victims of

prejudice. We should also work with non-Muslims to oppose injustice,

promiscuity, homosexuality, abortion, and other ills of modern

society.

 

We Muslims are commanded to improve the societies we live in, to

enjoin the good and forbid the wrong. It’s not enough to do that just

among ourselves. We have to be an active part of our societies, not

only to gain our own rights, but to see that right and justice

prevail. We should not hide our Islam but carry it proudly like a

torch everywhere we go and let others know that we are guided by its

principles. Our participation in society does not have to take the

form of political involvement-for those who are still “squeamish” on

the subject. It might be an active role in the Parent-Teachers

Association or volunteer work in any number of areas. The important

thing is to work with the non-Muslims around us to improve society

(and to try to gradually shape it to our standards).

 

When end-of-the-year holidays come around, many Muslims ask whether

they can celebrate with or give gifts to their non-Muslim colleagues,

friends, or family. Some ask whether they can even say “Merry

Christmas!” or “Happy Hanukah!” to others. Well, of course we can

wish them a happy holiday.

 

As long as alcohol and other forbidden items are not served, as long

as there are no expressly un-Islamic activities, as long as the

celebration is secular and not religious, there is nothing wrong in

joining in. These holidays are important for uniting families, and as

long as nothing un-Islamic takes place, we can join our families or

friends for these festivities. (However, we must not celebrate these

holidays on our own.) And if the family gathering does include haram

(unlawful) food or activities, we can still visit our parents at

another time-for example on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning-and

give them gifts. After all, they are still our parents and still

deserve love and respect, provided that they don’t fight us for our

Islam.

 

If we change our attitude towards “the others” and learn to think of

them not only as non-Muslims but as fellow citizens and humans, we

can take the first step to better understanding from both sides.

 

Need It Be “Us and Them”?

www.islamonline.net/