ISLAM : What it is

By
Hassan S. Karmi

Islam - a philosophy

Islam, among the three so-called monotheistic religions, has a philosophy of its own. A philosophy, to be true to its name, must have a comprehensive vision, vast enough to cover almost all cases, like a mathematical formula, and not restricted to isolated cases. This is what the Islamic philosophy is. It covers the whole universe and is not concerned with one nation or race and not attached to a certain place or a certain period of time.

The Islamic philosophy appears to have addressed itself to the formidable task of solving problems that escaped the attention of former reformers in the religious field and of correcting certain misconceptions established there. But the main thing is that the philosophy is concerned with:

1.  What God is.
2.  What the universe is.
3.  The relationship of man to the universe.
4.  The relationship of man to man.
5.  The relationship of man to God.

These are all one unity, and they are interconnected, and mutually interrelated. In Islam, all things and events are regarded as a manifestation of a basic oneness. The cosmos, for instance, appears to be a web of interconnected parts and events all in the grasp of God’s right hand. It is a network of interconnected relations, where these relations interact with one another, and the whole combines into one unity, with order and design.

Mankind is also a network of mutual interactions, but even this, with its phenomenal manifestations of strife, is a unity. Islam in this respect is unitive, in contradistinction with Judaism or any other religion, which is divisive and exclusive.

God is one, and there is no other god.

The universe is one. In spite of the paradoxes, dichotomies, contradictions, the universe is one, subject to the pervasive principle of unity, with an order which holds the universe together. This order is known in Islam as qada and qadar.

In the welter of worldly contradictions and conflicts, man is commanded by God to steer a middle course. This middle course is illustrated in the Qur’an by the allegory of balance.

Justice is the pivot of human society. Human society is one, and should always be an integral unit, not to be divided on any account. Therefore, a divisive religion is hostile to humanity.

Justice should always be subject to the principle of taqwa in Islam, which, through the pious fear of God, ordains restraint and condemns high-handedness, or taking the law into one’s hands.

The universe is a unity and seems to have a centre towards which every thing seems to tend. But some peoples, nevertheless, stray away from the centre as if repelled by a centrifugal force. Muslims, on the other hand, always tend towards the centre. The centre is always shifting.

 The guiding social principle is the Qur’anic command: “Do always good, and forbid evil.”

What Islam is and what Islam is not

• Islam is not Muhammadanism. By contrast, Judaism is the religion of the Jews, and Christianity is the religion reputed to be founded by Christ.

• Islam is a universal religion meant for all nations without distinction. It has no colour or racial prejudice.

• Islam refutes the idea of “chosenness”, and regards all peoples as alike.

• Islam does not regard the Arabs or Muslims as superior or regards the prophet of Islam as a special kind of prophet, favoured by God.

• Islam has no idea of a “covenant” with God and no idea of a “testament”, old or new.

• Islam is not based upon a myth and is not an outgrowth of idolatry.

• Islam is not a man-made religion, in the sense that it has been evolved or developed by rabbis or by ecumenical councils.

• Islam with regard to the conventional idea of revelation is the only revealed religion.

• Islam is the only truly monotheistic religion, considering that true monotheism is belief in one only God and disbelief in any other god.

• Islam did not develop by stages into monotheism, but was monotheistic from the start.

• Islam does not believe in astrology, divination, sorcery, magic, miracles or miracles worked by the agency of saints.

 • Islam is simple in its creed. God is one, the holy book is one and the prophet is one. The holy book of Islam is a historical document and the prophet is a historical figure.

• Islam does not consider tradition as a criterion for authenticity. Popular beliefs and traditions handed down from the past are not on par with the revealed word.

• Islam is not an institutionalised religion. It has no papacy, no church and no clergy.

• Islam rejects the idea of original sin, which was conceived by St. Augustine, but denied by Pelagius

• Islam rejects monasticism for men and women and rejects celibacy.

• Islam had no inquisition, no burning on the stake, no index, and no pious fraud.  (see 2(a))

• Islam had no quarrel with science or learning. Islam was first in establishing colleges of learning in the world, especially in Cairo, Morocco and Baghdad.

• Islam was a medium for civilization, but civilization grew outside Judaism, Christianity.

• Islam has no racism, apartheid, or discrimination on account of belief, colour or race.

• Islam, as set out in its holy book, is meant for the whole world, for the white and the black alike, for Arab and non-Arab, and for all mankind.

• Islam has no confessional, no agape, agapemone or agapetæ.

• The Holy book of Islam is not the life story of its prophet, in the same way as the Gospels are, nor is it the story of a particular people, as the Old Testament is. It is not the life story of Muhammad, nor, is it the story of the Arabs. Muhammad is mentioned only twice by name, and the Arabs as a people are scarcely mentioned.

 • Islam had no witches, no witch hunting, no superstition about cats, no satanism, black magic or black mass. 3(a)

• Islam is the religion of mercy to all, especially to the poor, the needy, the wayfarer, the handicapped, the sick, the orphan, and the underdog.

• Islam is the religion of mercy to animals to women and to old parents. It asserts that animals have souls like man and women also have souls. Women and animals were thought to have no souls.

• Islam condemns slavery, forced labour, exploitation greed and accumulation of wealth.

• There is no divine right of kings, no infallibility and no aristocracy.

• Islam is the founder of the family in its present form.

• Islam is based on social justice.

• Islam is against class in society

• Islam condemns, in the strongest terms, injustice, oppression, aggression and unprovoked aggression.

• Islam prohibits the killing of women, women prisoners and children.

• Islam is a religion of “balance” and moderation, with the idea of retribution which involves just punishment and just reward.

• Islam is the classical religion and not the popular one.

• Islam spread over the whole of Arabia in ten years and spread over a vast area of Asia, Africa and Europe in less than a hundred years.

• Islam established a civilization equal if not superior to Greek, and Roman civilizations in less than two centuries while the Dark Ages in Europe extended over one thousand years.

• Islam has been a religion of learning for men and women, and a supporter of schools, colleges and seats of education. Illiteracy was comparatively rare. No Muslim khalif or ruler is known to be illiterate, and illiteracy for a Muslim ruler was a shame.

• Islam protected religious and racial minorities against persecution, forced conversion, massacres pogroms, expulsion and the like. There has been no genocide like the one practised now by the Serbs in Bosnia and Kossovo and before by the European settlers.

 • Islam has no prejudice against employing Jews and Christians in the state to help in administration, professions and universities. The Jews in Spain under the rule of the Muslims developed a civilization of their own in security from any molestation. The Norman rule in Sicily was a shining example of peaceful civilized cooperation between Muslims and Christians.

• Islam enjoined Muslims in their conquest not to kill women and children, not to cut down a tree, not to disturb worshippers in their places of worship, not to destroy synagogues or churches.

• Islam is the only religion that lays down rules for the protection of religious minorities and for ensuring freedom of worship for them.

• Islam has no history of massacres on the grounds of religion. When the first Crusaders conquered Jerusalem they massacred the Muslim inhabitants in a blood bath. In contrast when the Muslims reconquered it later they spared the Christian inhabitants and did not massacre them in return.

• Islam had no such bloody crusades as the crusades against the Albigneses and the Waldensians, and no authorised massacres such as that of Bartholomew’s Day, and no religious wars as the wars between Protestants and Catholics, and no extermination of natives as in America and Australia, and no expulsion of inhabitants as in Spain, Ireland, Palestine and elsewhere. It is true that the Abbasids massacred the heads of the Umayyad dynasty, but not on religious ground.