How Islam improves on Humanity?
By
Shais
- Introduction
- How Islam improves on humanity
(a) Subjectivity of Humanity
(b) Reacting in difficult situations
(c) Belief system
(d) Motivation to do good deeds and restrain from the evil ones
(e) Politico socio economic system
(f) practical solution to the problems of society
- Conclusion
- Introduction:
Islam comes from the Arabic root word “salam” which means “peace”, it also comes from the word “Aslama” or “silm” which means “to submit, surrender, obey”. In short, Islam means acquiring peace by submitting your will to God i.e. doing whatever God wants you to do. To know more, check this article.
This article is mainly to respond to those people who say that we all should follow humanity and not simply the religion whether it be Hinduism, Christianity or Islam. However I do not agree with it because of the reason that Islam is far superior to humanity. It is bound to be superior because it is from Allah and Allah knows his creation better than anyone else. The Quran says
“The Religion before Allah is Islam (submission to His Will)” (Quran
- How Islam improves on humanity:
Here I’ll be giving just few of the reasons why Islam is superior to humanity
(a) Subjectivity of Humanity:
First of all humanity is an extremely subjective matter. Who is going to decide what is human and what is inhuman? Something that is human for one person may not be human for another. Something that is considered “humanity” in one society may not be considered humanity in another.
e.g. For the western world, its human to exploit women in the garb of ‘liberalization” but for Muslims it is something inhuman which robs off the dignity of women and degrades their soul.
Alcoholism is something that is considered evil and inhuman in many parts of the world specially the Muslim world but in the western world and most other non-Muslim countries, it’s a part and parcel of life. It generates revenue for several governments of the world.
Gambling is considered as something bad in many parts of the world, specially in the Muslim world but its something very common and legalized in the west and gambling is not an offence at all in the western world.
Similarly, to us Muslims and many non-Muslims, death penalty to the rapist is justified but its not justifiable according to the Western world.
I can go on with examples. But in a nutshell, humanity is an extremely subjective matter. There is no yardstick set to compare what is right and what is wrong and even if there was a book written by human beings called ‘humanity’ still it is written by human beings based on their thinking and perception and therefore the matter of subjectivity remains.
Islam gives us the yardstick to check what is right and what is wrong. That yardstick is the Quran and the authentic Hadith of the Prophet (pbuh). Quran is from Allah (SWT) and the hadith are the sayings of God’s final messenger Muhammad (pbuh). That is why, this yardstick is perfect to judge what is right and what is wrong since its from the All-Knowing Creator of this universe who knows his creation the best.
Since Islam is from Allah, the laws of the Quran are upright and perfect for human beings (I’ll be discussing some later on in this article). There is not a single teaching of the Quran or the Hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) which goes against humanity as a whole. There may be some teachings which people may think are not right, that is because either they may not be knowing the Islamic law correctly or may not be knowing the wisdom and the statistics of the world otherwise no unbiased human being will be able to point out anything which goes against humanity as a whole.
Therefore, I believe in Islam because it is from the Creator of this universe and I believe like anyone with common sense would that he knows the best! Islam does not call people to follow a group of human beings who got together and made up the laws but Islam invites people to worship and obey the Creator.
(b) Reacting in difficult situations
Humanity does not tell us how to react in difficult situations nor does humanity motivate an individual to behave in a particular manner when he is faced with troubles. That is why many people resort to drugs when they are faced with troubles, just to get a temporary relief.
Islam teaches its followers how to react in difficult situations. Allah says in the Quran
“Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere,” (Quran 2:155)
Islam teaches us that all things come from God and nothing happens without the will of Almighty God and the Muslim is therefore commanded to be pleased with what God decides for him and put his faith in God. Islam encourages people to remain patient and Allah promises great reward for those people who are patient in times of difficulty as well as times of ease. For a believer, its always a win/win situation. The Prophet (pbuh) said
“Suhaib reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in every affair of his and this is not the case with anyone else except in the case of a believer for if he has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks (God), thus there is a good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and shows resignation (and endures it patiently), there is a good for him in it.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 7138)
As Muslims we believe that all the good and bad comes from Allah and the difficulty is a test from Allah and he commands us to remain patient.
Humanity does not teach us all of that. Islam liberates people from anxiety and depression. A True Muslim is never a slave of his memories and never too worried about the future cause he believes that all good and bad comes from God and a Muslim is pleased with the will of God.
( c) Belief system
Islam provides a wonderful system of belief to its followers. That system of belief is something that is rational, its believable, its logical and its True. We believe that God is one, who is all powerful, not like anything, the creator and the sustainer of all human beings. He is independent of all needs where as everything is dependant on him. Read this article for more
In Islam, we believe in the hereafter and accountability to Allah on the Day of Judgment. All the actions that we do are being recorded and we have to be accountable for them on the Day of Judgment, we can get away in this world but not in the hereafter. We believe in getting reward for good deeds and getting a punishment from God for committing bad deeds. When God has created us first time, he is quite capable of creating us again.
Hence if any Muslim believes in these two things which are logical and believable, his actions are influenced. Even though he may have the opportunity to get unfair advantage over others but a Muslim fears God and always remains truthful and just.
This is not something that humanity provides and the person who is not God conscious can easily be influenced by the environment but a faithful Muslim always abides by the principles laid down by God.
(d) Motivation to do good deeds and restrain from the evil ones
A Faithful Muslim is always motivated to do good deeds in order to please God and attain his good pleasure. The Holy Quran says
“For those who believe and do righteous deeds, will be Gardens; beneath which rivers flow: That is the great Salvation, (the fulfilment of all desires),” (Quran 85:11)
A true Muslim always refrains from doing bad deeds even if he finds benefit in it or sees no loss in doing so. There are many tempting situations, but a Muslim who is God conscious will always abide by the principles laid down by God.
There are so many occasions when the opportunity is tempting and there is a great opportunity one can take unfair advantage, but a God conscious Muslim always abides by the laws laid down by God.
Humanity doesn’t motivate us to do all this.
(e) Politico Socio Economic system:
Islam provides politico Socio Economic system to the human society based on the principles laid down by Almighty God. This is exactly what Jesus Christ (pbuh) prayed to Almighty God for.
“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Mathew 6:9-10)
The Islamic system provides justice and fairness to all human beings and protects them from exploitation. This was the purpose of all the Prophets of Almighty God. The Quran says
“We sent aforetime our apostles with Clear Signs and sent down with them the Book and the Balance (of Right and Wrong), that men may stand forth in justice;” (Quran 57:25)
Note : Do not see today’s Muslim countries including
(f) Practical Solution to the problems of society
Islam also provides practical solution to the problems of the society. Islam doesn’t only speak about things but it also shows a way how to implement that state of goodness. Humanity only talks about things but never shows a practical way out for it. I’ll just mention couple of them.
(i) Racism:
Most of the people who believe in humanity say that we shouldn’t be racist. But Islam doesn’t only prevent people from racism but also shows a way how people would not judge using false standards of cast, color, creed etc.
Islam gives us the belief that all human beings are the children of Adam and hence are brothers and sisters in humanity. The Quran says
“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 honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).” (Quran 49:13)
The standard of judging people is not cast, color, creed or sex but its God consciousness, its piety, its righteousness. The Quran says
“We have honoured the sons of Adam;” (Quran 17:70)
After giving us the belief that we all have been created by the same creator i.e. Almighty God and we all are the children of Adam. In Islam, we have a system of Sala’at (The prayer). It is the most important pillar of Islam. While praying we Muslims regardless of our status, wealth, color or race stand shoulder to shoulder as our Prophet (pbuh) directed us to do so. Practical example of universal brotherhood.
And its obligatory for every Muslim who can afford it to go for the pilgrimage to the whole city of
Islam provides a practical solution against racism and that’s why we see that Muslims are the least racist among any other nation on earth. We have blacksheep among us but as a whole we are the least racist.
(ii) Crime
Humanity tells us not to rob anyone and be a peaceful human being. But just making such statements doesn’t make any human society a peaceful one in which people will not commit crimes like theft, robbery etc. Islam provides a practical solution to the problem of theft and robbery. In Islam we have a system of Zakaat i.e. every rich person who has the saving of 85 grams of gold or more should give at least 2.5% of it in charity every lunar year. After the basic necessities have been provided to every human being and nobody is dying of hunger. The Islamic Law says that anyone who robs, his hand should be chopped off. Some people would consider it barbaric but believe me it’s a practical law. The least rate of robbery in any country of the world today is in
In other laws where robbers are put behind bars, they go there as amateurs but come out after meeting other criminals as professionals!
I can go on giving different examples.
- Conclusion:
I can go on proving why Islam is superior to humanity to anyone who is a sane and a sensible person. Islam is bound to be superior to humanity because Islam means “Submitting your will to God”. Wouldn’t we be the best of human beings only if we submitted to God? Islam is from Allah and it’s the only way acceptable to him. The Quran says
“The Religion before Allah is Islam (submission to His Will):” (Quran
“If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah., never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost (All spiritual good).” (Quran 3:85)
