According to Islamic perspective, man is considered of two
elements, the ýmaterial and the spiritual. However the
materialists deny the role of the ýspirit, man can never
achieve flourishing unless the two elements in him ýbe
integrated. When man becomes advanced in material cultural
means, ýhe approaches material perfection. On the other
hand, when he is ýelevated in his virtuous moral principles,
he becomes nearer to spiritual ýperfection. Consequently, by
joining the two sides, human flourishing can ýbe realized on
the earth. ý
The
following verse demonstrates the call of Islam to the two
sides of ýthis flourishing. The Exalted Allah said: "And
there are men who say: ýý'Our Lord! Give us good in this
world and good in the Hereafter, and ýdefend us from the
torment of the fire', To these will be allotted what ýthey
have earned" (Al Baqarah, 201-202).ý
The
Exalted Allah motivates man to realize material development.
He ýsaid "It is He Who has produced you from the earth and
settled you ýtherein" (Hud, 61).ý
He
also wants man to attain abstract promotion as well. He
said: "but do ýgood, as Allah has been good to you, and seek
not {occasions for} ýmischief in the land. For Allah does
not loveþ þthose who do mischief" (Al ýQasas, 77).ý
While
the Islamic East is negligent in answering the call of Islam
to ýdevelop the land and reconstruct it, the material
development in the West ýhas achieved today a great deal of
it.ý
But
the failure of the East in material development is
contrasted with that ýof the West concerning attaining
abstract moral promotion. schools in the ýWest that seek
morality, as well as Western philosophical concepts, try to
ýrepair the crevice that has taken place in the social
construction, but they ýfail to attain a virtuous level that
Heavenly knowledge calls for, a ýknowledge conveyed by the
Messengers of Allah to all mankind. Finally, ýthis knowledge
of all the Messengers was collected and preserved to be
ýsent by the Seal of Messengers , Muhammad (pbuh). ý
However, a great deal of human ethical dilemmas in the West
stay ýunsolved. Caprices are given full rein there, and
self-desires on ýindividual as well as social levels are
about to uproot the fundamentals of ýmorality and the
foundations of justice or sublime human behavior. ý
The
organizing constitution of chastity and virtue in the new
civilization ýhas been excluded. Licentiousness and sexual
deviation become ýcommon in the name of freedom. Legislators
of positive laws find no ýwrong with this abnormal state.
Most family relations have deteriorated, ýand coherence
between previous and subsequent generations have ýbeen
disrupted; the relationships between son, father and
grandfather ýweaken. On the level of livelihood, there
appears terrible social ýdiscrimination due to the lack of
mutual compassion and remoteness ýfrom religion. Moreover,
the wealthy voted for and blessed their ýgovernments that
plunder the wealth of people in weak countries.ý
In
the long run, ethical chaos reaches the status of what is
called ýý"International Legitimacy" that lacks a lot of the
principles of human ýjustice. For example, the Vito, that
wealthy countries acted in collusion to ýendorse,
discriminates between the nations and gives the strong
country ýauthority that the weak one does not have.
Moreover, the Security ýCouncil supports the injustice of
the oppressors, and disregards the ýinterests of the
oppressed nations -- the question of Palestine is not too
ýremote from us.ý
This
ethical chaos results in international covenants that
support social ýconfusion in the name of development and
progress. One example is the ýCovenant of Child Rights
(UNICEF) which places the parents in ýconstraints that are
incompatible with human natural disposition, and ýmakes the
rules of education be far away from human balance.
ýMoreover, it makes the way open for abnormal practices by
teenagers in ýthe name of freedom. ý
Ethical chaos in the West is not limited only to factual
individual and ýcollective practices, it also proceeds to
invert truths and make the ýdistance between lying and truth
close to one another in the 'media ýempire' that seeks
military and political interests. Consequently, distorting
ýtruth seems a blameless procedure as long as this leads to
self-interest, ýfollowing, thereby, the Machiavellian method
that the Western policy was ýoriginally founded on.ý
Hence, the necessity of abstract and ethical rescue seems to
be a must ýin the West, exactly as the necessity of material
rescue that is requisite in ýthe East. By its material
means, the West is able to rescue the East, but ýwho is
going to save the West from this abstract confusion?ý
Will
Buddhism of the East, which calls for some principles of
virtue, be ýable to save the West, while it is, itself, lost
in superstitions and myths?ý
Or
will Judaism (that emphasizes the rules of behavior, but
neglects the ýapplication of the soul of love and mercy, and
confines itself in its racism ýand nationality), be able to
do that ?ý
Contemporary Christianity in the West undergoes the turning
away of its ýchildren from it. The rate of religiousness
today has greatly decreased in ýthe Western societies. Even
those who adhere to Christianity, perform ýtheir religious
obligations only at weekends and consider it as a spiritual
ýoutlet. Moreover, positive laws have given up their role of
leading ýsocieties.ý
Confusing alternatives begin to spread in the West to fill
in the spiritual ývacancy, such as conjuration,
manufacturing films that deal with ývampires, smothered
ghosts that wander here and there, all of which are ýnew
phenomena replete with superstitions, and made by man to
replace ýthe spiritualism he lacks.ý
At
this point, wise people in the West begin to feel the need
for Islamic ýreform, the last religion that the Exalted
Allah sends to humanity. But the ýobstacles that detain the
announcement of this truth are too many. Some ýof which are
the following: ý
ý-Traditional fanaticism that makes some deny the light of
the sun due to ýfamiliarity with their inherited tradition.ý
ý-Ignorance of the truth of Islam, and the illusion that
some have, believing ýthat Islam restricts interests,
whereas Islam calls for interests and ýconsiders them
essential as long as they are consistent with the principle
ýof justice and human equality. Islam is keen on spreading
social as well ýas economic justice. For example, if the
West adopts the principle of ýZakat (almsgiving) presented
by Islam, the great economic crises will ýhave been
eliminated from its societies.ý
ý-Some have the illusion that Islam restricts freedom. On
the contrary, ýIslam is the religion that adopts individual
freedom stipulated by not ýharming the members of society.ý
ý-Some have the illusion of the contradiction between Islam
and science, ýthough the Qur'an is full of statements that
encourage seeking ýknowledge such as: "know; you should
know; see; understand, etc…" . ý
ý-
Some have the illusion that Islam is full of hostility and
violence by its ývery nature, in spite of the fact that its
Messenger is called "Mercy" by the ýExalted Allah.ý
ý-Some believe that there is discrimination between the man
and the ýwoman, in spite of the fact that Islam presents
unique integration in ýfunctions, and a matchless
equilibrium between the two sexes.ý
In
addition to the above mentioned obstacles, some would say:
ýý"Followers of Islam represent some backward contemporary
societies". ýOthers claim that Islam is a historical stage
whose role has come to an ýend, and that Islam need not
enter the mosque to teach people the rituals ýof worship,
and the familiar traditional heritage away from the
movements ýand activities of real life.ý
Undoubtedly, the undeveloped reality of the Muslims is a
setback in the ýdialogue with the West, for most Muslims are
in a state that alternates ýbetween scum, whose relationship
with Islam is like the thread of the ýweb, and spiritualism
that does not seek a practical cultural way. Most ýoften,
most Muslims are ignorant of the truths of the Islamic law.
They ýoften give up the means of knowledge. Some of them
adopt certain ýillusive and incorrect Ahadith (plural of
Hadith, i.e., Prophetic traditions). ýMoreover, poverty and
necessity led the weak of them to financial ýaberrations
such as bribery, theft, deception and monopoly. Accordingly,
ýdisagreement spreads among them due to personal interests
and self ýdesires as a result of weakness in faith, lack of
truthfulness and sincerity, ýand heedlessness of the ties of
brotherhood in the Ummah.ý
Consequently, through the present reality of the Muslims,
some people in ýthe West issued a mistaken generalized
judgment on Islam. ý
On
the other hand, the spread of freedom of thought in the
West, and the ýtendency for research of some Westerners, led
some to consider Islam ýimpartially and accept it as a human
Savior.ý
In
this regard, the statements of some free men of thought
should be ýnoted, such as that of Prince Bismarck who said:
"I have studied the ýHeavenly Book thoroughly, but in them,
and as a result of the distortion ýof their contents, I find
no real wisdom that guarantees the felicity if ýmankind. On
the other hand, I find the Qur'an of Muhammad (pbuh)
ýsuperior to all the other holy Books. In each word of it,
there is wisdom. ýThere is no other Book that can realize
the happiness of mankind like it. ýMoreover, such a Book
(the Qur'an), cannot be composed by man. ýThose who claim
that it is the words of Muhammad (pbuh) and deny the ýtruth,
reject scientific exigencies".1ý
The
scholar, Al Nurasi, wondered at those who do not do justice
to Islam ýin spite of their need for it. He said: "The
enemies of religion who ýunderestimate the value of Islam
deserve to be called 'stupid friends' ". 2 ýAn Nurasi did
not consider the West as enemy. He rather saw the West ýas a
friend because of their humanity. He also believed that the
new ýconquests of Islam would not be by means of arms. It
would rather be by ýunquestionable definite evidences
because cultural superiority usually ýprevails by
persuasion.ý