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Democracy and Islam
Question: I think that there is no democracy in Islam. Islam is a complete way of life: its system and laws are given by Allah. How can we have the right to choose between man-made laws and God-revealed laws? However, I have seen people speaking of Islamic Democracy. Isn’t this a contradiction in terms?
Answer: There are two basic aspects of democracy:
1. The process of electing representatives of the people to run the country.
2. The scope of legislation done in the parliament of a country by the elected representatives.
The first aspect is in complete harmony with the political law of Islam as mentioned in the Qur’an:
The affairs of state of the believers are run by their mutual consultation. (42:38)
Keeping in view linguistic considerations, it is evident that a consensus or majority opinion of the Muslims can in no way be overruled. The Qur’an has not said: ‘The believers are consulted in their affairs’; it has, on the contrary, declared: ‘Their affairs of state are run by their mutual consultation’. The style and pattern of the verse demands that an Islamic government should be established through the consultation of the believers, continue to exist on this basis and should cease to exist without it. It should conduct its affairs, in all cases, on the basis of a consensus or majority opinion of the believers.
As far as the second aspect is concerned, Islam imposes a broad restriction on it. The scope of legislation must never exceed the directives of the Qur’an and Sunnah. According to the Qur’an, Allah God and his Prophet (sws) are the final authority in the affairs of state. The head of an Islamic State or the members of its parliament have no right whatsoever to have a ruling in matters decreed by the Book of God or the Sunnah of the Prophet (sws). Their legislation and commandments can only be obeyed after obeying God and his Prophet (sws), and if they do not overrule or exceed the limits adjudicated by these authorities. Therefore, in an Islamic State no law can be enacted contrary to the Qur’an and Sunnah or one which does not take into consideration the guidance provided by them. The believers indeed have a right to disagree with those in authority, but they can have no disagreement with God and His Prophet (sws). In fact, if such a situation arises even with those in authority, the decision must be made in the light of the Qur’an and Sunnah. The Qur’an says:
Obey God and the Prophet and those of you who are in authority, and if you disagree among yourselves in any matter, refer it to God and the Prophet, if you are believers in Allah and the Last Day. This is better and more seemly as regards the consequences. (4:59)
Therefore, it can be said that with this qualification, the political system of Islam resembles democracy in its essence.
Dealing with a Weak Convert
Question: I have a problem and will be thankful if you could help me. I have a very close catholic friend since 1996. Sometime ago, he started asking questions about Islam. I naturally tried to answer his questions. Whenever, I was not able to, I would just refer him to various books. Weeks after weeks passed by till he told me that he wanted to convert to Islam. I told him: ‘Are you sure, because this is no joke; this is a commitment to God; I don’t want you to convert to Islam just because you have found a friend who loves you and this is your way to get closer to him. If you want to be a Muslim, be sure it’s because you have realized you really want to be one, not because your best friend is one.’ He answered: ‘I want to be a Muslim because I have found a lot of answers.’ My brother didn’t really agree that my best friend should become a Muslim because he knew that my best friend’s state was weak and unstable. The decision was pushed through and I asked my friend to say the Shahadah. It was fine at first: he learned how to pray, memorised some surahs with my help and even had a Qur’an with translation; unfortunately now, it’s like he doesn’t give any importance towards religion, its practices, and he never prays. The last time I asked him about his state three days ago, his answer was: ‘I don’t know I’m so confused; in Catholicism there are a lot of wrong things and in Islam I don’t know. I somehow feel like I haven’t found the answer...’ I just answered him: ‘Remember you made a commitment to God not to me or somebody else; Islam is not a religion where force is present, I never forced you to enter this religion, nor even persuaded you, I just answered your questions.’ He even eats pork, drinks alcohol from time to time. By the way, none of his family members know he converted; only my family and a few of my Muslim friends know this ‘secret’. The question now is: What should I do? Should I give him space so that he realises by himself? or should I be stern and say or do something?
Answer: Your responsibility in this regard is to keep reminding him gently and patiently whenever the time is appropriate. You should continue with this as long as you can. If he does not listen or does not mend his ways, then making him do so or forcing him is not your responsibility at all. In fact, it is not allowed by Islam. Your friend must practice Islam of his own free will, and if he does not, then he alone will have to face the consequences and not you of course.
We know from the Qur’an that the Prophet (sws) was very anxious and concerned on the evasive attitude of his people. His extreme desire for them to accept faith finds mention at a number of places in the Holy Book. At some of these places, he has been comforted, in fact lovingly chided by the Almighty that making people accept faith is not his duty. His responsibility is only to present guidance to them. It is Allah alone who gives guidance to people according to His law: He only guides people who are worthy of being guided; the rebellious He guides not. (See for example: 16:37, 28:56, 88:21-2)
So, I would I advise you to keep urging and exhorting your friend to the truth. Also, in this regard, you will find it useful to begin first with nurturing in him love for the Almighty and with reminding of him of the Hereafter. Once his concepts are set right in these spheres, following the directives of the Almighty will hopefully become easier for him.
Taking Interest for a Noble Cause
Question: We are going to start a clinic in our town in India. The total expense to run the clinic is USD 1200 per month, but it is difficult for us to raise this amount every month. We will get money from some people every month but this will not be enough. So we want to ask if we deposit USD 100,000 in a bank to earn interest because by adding the interest to the collected money, we will manage to reach the required target of USD 1200 per month. So is this allowed? The clinic is for all communities, and free for all. Can we use the interest money for such philanthropic causes?
Answer: Taking interest is forbidden in Islam even if it is taken for a noble cause. Islam requires that both the means and the objective of an enterprise be morally justified. It does not condone the ‘Robin Hood’ concept of achieving noble objectives through ignoble means. Its objective is to purify a person’s concepts and his deeds from any semblance of evil. Its message is to strive in the right direction whether the objective is achieved or not – for achieving an objective depends not on a person’s efforts; it depends on the will of Allah. It is not our obligation by any means to spend money on philanthropic causes when we do not have it from the right means.
An example from the Qur’an may help in illustrating this point: Gambling and Drinking in pre-Islamic times were a means through which the rich showed their generosity and helped the poor and needy. In winters, when cold winds blew in and caused conditions akin to drought, the courageous would gather at various places, drink liquor and, in their state of inebriation, slaughter any camels they could get hold of. They would pay the owner of the camels whatever price he demanded. They would then gamble on the meat of the slaughtered camels. Whatever parts of meat a person won in this gambling, he would generously distribute them among the poor who would gather around on such occasions. In the pre-Islamic Arabia, this was a matter of great honour and people who took part in this activity were considered very philanthropic and generous. The poets would narrate the accounts of their benevolence in their odes. On the other hand, people who stayed away from this activity would be called ‘Barm’ (stingy).
It was this very benefit of drinking and gambling which prompted people to make an inquiry when they were regarded as prohibited items. The Qur’an asserted in its reply that in spite of serving this noble cause, they were instrumental in producing moral misconduct in an individual, which in no case can be allowed:
They ask you about liquor and gambling. Tell them: there is great sin in them and some profits as well for people. But their sin is greater than their profit. (2:219)
In other words, despite having utility, drinking and gambling were prohibited since they cause moral misconduct. Therefore, I would advise you to think of some other alternative.
Allah’s Omnipresence
Question: I am a young adult and currently I am still studying (in Singapore). Islam is my religion. I have certain questions to clarify about my understanding of Islam. However, I fear that by posing these questions to the public I may arouse anger from the Islamic community. My motive is none other than to increase my understanding of Islam, and thus enabling me to fulfil my Islamic duties with increasing sincerity. Here I am posing one of the few questions that I have in mind. There is one verse in the Qur’an:
For wherever you face, Allah’s visage is there; because Allah is very widespread and knows everything. (2:115)
This verse seems to confine the presence of Allah and therefore limit His omnipresence. It seems to say that He is not present at directions we do not face. Is this true?
Answer: Every verse must be understood keeping in view its context ie, its relation with the preceding and succeeding verses. A verse must not be taken in isolation otherwise serious misinterpretation may result. A look at the context of (2:115) reveals that the Jews and Christians in order to oppose one another had adopted opposite sides of the Baytu’l-Maqdas as Qiblah (direction of prayer) to say their prayers. The Christians had adopted its eastern side while the Jews its western one. As a result of this difference, great wars were fought between them which have been referred to in the previous verse (2:114)
With this background, the Qur’an cautions these two rival factions by saying that the east and the west belong to Allah (this is the first part of 2:115), and then goes on to say whether you (ie the People of the Book) face east or the west you face Allah [in both cases]. The conclusion drawn being that they must not fight with one another in such trivial matters. This is the correct meaning of this verse in my opinion.
As far as the question of Allah’s presence is concerned, it is not discussed in this verse at all. There are other verses in the Qur’an which point to His omnipresence and certainly do not limit it; (See for example 50:16, 57:4). However, in our limited capacities we cannot determine the nature of His omnipresence.
Was the Prophet (sws) Literate?
Question: Was the Prophet (sws) illiterate? I found a H~adith in S~ahih~Bukhari which I did not quite understand, because it said that the Prophet (sws) actually signed the peace treaty of H~udaybiyah himself. Some non-Muslims say that this is the sign that he was literate. Could you kindly clarify this for me.
Answer: The fact that the Prophet (sws) was not able to read or write is established history. The Qur’an also refers to this established historical fact in the following words:
You were not able to recite a book before this [book came] nor were you able to write it. In that case indeed these deniers would have raised doubts. (29:48)
In fact, the illiteracy of the Prophet (sws) forms a supportive argument for his Prophethood. A person not conversant with the arts of reading and writing cannot in any way produce a book like the Qur’an. We know from the Qur’an that the Prophet’s opponents used to allege that he himself had fabricated this book. So, at one place the Qur’an has presented the Prophet’s life before he was commissioned as a Prophet as evidence of his Prophethood:
Say if Allah has so willed I should not have rehearsed it to you or would He have made it known to you. A whole lifetime before this have I spent before you. Will you then not understand? (10:16)
Besides having knowledge of other aspects of the Prophet’s life, the Quraysh very well knew that he was never formally instructed in reading and writing.
You can also tell your non-Muslim friend that the opinion that the Prophet (sws) was literate is not supported by most non-Muslim authorities. Only a few of them today hold this view. Mawlana ‘Abdu’l Majid Daryabadi has quoted some of them in his commentary of the Qur’an:
25. ‘His youth had never been instructed in the arts of reading and writing.’ (Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, London, VI. P.220), ‘As to acquired learning, it is confessed he had none at all’ (Sale, Preliminary Discourse to the Translation of the Koran, PD. P. 73), ‘It is probable that he could neither read nor write’ (Palmer, ‘The Qur’an.’ Intro. P. XLVII) ‘There is no evidence that he was able read’ (Epr. XIII. P. 483), ‘It is certain that he had neither read the Bible nor any other book’ (Historian’s History of the World VIII. P. 11). (Mawlana ‘Abdu’l Majid Daryabadi, Tafsiru’l-Qur’an, 1st ed., vol. 3 [Karachi: Daru’l-Isha‘at, 1991] p. 386)
As far as the H~adith you have referred to is concerned, I find it difficult to accept it in the presence of other Ah~adith which explicitly state that the Prophet (sws) only rubbed out his name and it was ‘Ali (sws) who had actually written the treaty. Most of these are narrated on the authority of Bara Ibn ‘A%zib. Details of the incident, as transmitted by different narrators from Bara Ibn ‘A%zib are as follows:
1. As the Prophet did not know how to write, he said to ‘Ali: ‘Strike out the words “The Prophet of God”.’ He replied: ‘By God, I will not strike out these words’. Thereupon the Prophet asked ‘Ali to point out the place where those words were written. Then ‘Ali pointed out the place where the words were written and the Prophet wiped out the words with his own hand. (Bukhari, Kitabu’l-S~ulh)
2. On the refusal of ‘Ali, the Prophet himself wiped out the words ‘the Prophet of God’. (Muslim, Kitabu’l-Jihad)
3. Then the Prophet took the document in his hands and though he did not know how to write, he wrote: ‘This is the treaty concluded by Muh~ammad Ibn ‘Abdullah’. (Bukhari, Kitabu’l-Maghazi)
4. The Prophet asked ‘Ali to point out the place where the words: ‘the Prophet of God’ were written. ‘Ali showed him the place and the Prophet wrote: ‘Ibn ‘Abdullah’, after wiping out those words. (Muslim, Kitabu’l-Jihad)
Consequently, among these Ahadith, only those which support the Qur’an and established history can be accepted. The third and fourth H~adith and other Ah~adith of similar meaning cannot be accepted
Marriage between Muslim Women and Non-Muslim Men
Question: I am a Christian, actually a Roman Catholic. One day, for some reason I picked up the Qur’an, began reading it and felt as if I must know more. My readings brought great sorrow. Sorrow, for the years I have lived with the terrible misconceptions about Islam. Also, in my readings I found many web pages dedicated to the comparison of Christianity and Islam. Of course, with the new wealth of information comes the questioning of my own beliefs. But I’ll be honest; this is scary. But the question... before I get deep into this quest is that I am married, and my husband is not a religious man. He allows me the greatest possible freedom in my religious expression, and we talked about this. He was happy to see me looking into Islam, happy because he believes everyone should not choose a religion blindly, that I should educate myself, yet at the same time I doubt if he will convert to Islam. I fear I know the answer already... but can a married women and her children convert with the consent of but without her husband converting ?? From what I have read marriages between Muslim women and a non-Muslim men are forbidden due to the fact that the man is the head of the household and he might not allow his wife to practice her faith completely. This is not the case in my house; my husband has the utmost respect for my religious practice; he encourages me to be non-hypocritical and devout in my religion. I am a very active Catholic. I pray the divine office 3 times a day, go to mass at least twice a week, and often take pilgrimages, all of which my husband supports. He believes that one should be educated, not blind, non-hypocritical, and devout in one’s religion: no Saturday-sinners, Sunday-repenters. Please advise.
Answer: The prohibition of Muslim women marrying non-Muslim men obviously pertains to a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man who intend to get married. However, your case is entirely different. You are not going to get married to a non-Muslim. You are already married to him. The Shari‘ah is silent on this issue and this silence is very meaningful too. It shows that the matter has been left to circumstances and choice.
An example would perhaps illustrate this point: Muslims are required to circumcise their offspring right after birth. However, if for example, an adult Christian converts to Islam, there is no explicit directive which says that he should necessarily be circumcised. The matter, it seems, has been left to the new-Muslim. Consequently, in my opinion, once you convert to Islam, you do not have to necessarily separate from your husband. However, you should try to present Islam through your character and conduct to your husband. Who knows, he might in fact, contrary to your expectations, convert to Islam himself.
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