And while we are on that topic, how about an educational system that rocks?
And then you pull all those things together, you get the finest start to the Shari’ah Law you can think of.
How many of you know that is what Shari’ah is all about?
For, Shari’ah means law – in all its forms and manifestations. And it is actually redundant to tag on the word Law with the word Shari’ah, for, both words mean the same thing: LAW! Is that what is called a tautology?
Organized life without Shari’ah is inconceivable. And there isn’t a society on earth that does not live under a Shari’ah – law – of its own.
Stop and Think for a Moment
Place is Hyde Park, London. The orator on the soapbox says: “Now, stop to think for a moment!” I ask myself: “Should I, really?” Why can’t I walk and think at the same time? Or tread water in the ocean and think, something I love to do?
And why can’t I drive and think, which, by the way, is what I do most of the time? I compose entire papers and articles that way. If I could walk and chew gum at the same time, as they say, surely I should be able to walk and think at the same time, don’t you think?
But then Allah does say in the Qur’an: “Go, stand by yourself, or in the company of someone – and THINK…”
Naturally, the Qur’an is right – always. And God’s word is supreme – always! And I shudder at my cheekiness.
Who Really Made This World: God or You?
There are only two ways of looking at this world: Either God, the All-Mighty, made it; or you, Mr./Ms. Pipsqueak, made it.
By that I mean all kinds of theories, or stories, or explanations, or speculations, in different stages of baking, you may have patched together about the nature and origin of the world.
My advice: Go with what you think is right or most likely. Go with your gut. Use your common sense. It is more common than many people say it is. Put the pedal to the metal of your brain. It is only fair.
In the absence of certain and direct knowledge one way or the other, what else can you do? And when you go to meet your Lord, the All-Mighty, have your story ready.
Now, To Tell You the Truth
Every time someone says to me, “To tell you the truth,” I feel like saying to them, “What, you have been lying to me all this time?”
Past Is Not for Living, Only Present Is
Allah will not ask Muslims about things 500 years or 1000 years before their time. He will not hold them accountable for the past they inherited, a past they did not personally inhabit. He will only ask them what they themselves did right here and now — during the time they themselves lived in this world – their present.
Islam Has Nothing to do with Illiteracy, Feudalism or Tyranny
One of the first and most important lessons you learn about Islam is that Islam and Illiteracy, Islam and Feudalism, and Islam and Tyranny – whether social, political or economic – don’t mix.
But you won’t be able to guess that by looking at Muslim reality today.
How Muslims Set Asunder What God Joined Together
Every time Allah talks about Salaat or Prayers in the Qur’an, he almost invariably couples it with Zakaat or Charity – the economic-financial levy of two-and-a-half percent that God imposed upon well-to-do Muslims.
But every time Muslims talk about Salaat, they almost always pair it up with Siyaam or Fasting. And then Muslims boast that they never did to the Qur’an what the Christians and Jews did to the Bible – change it, I mean.
For, Muslims very neatly set asunder – Salaat and Zakaat – what God Almighty joined together in the Qur’an.
Killing and Lying: Joined at the Hip
First the Bible says in the Sixth Commandment: “Thou Shalt Not Kill!”
Then the Bible says in the Ninth Commandment: “Thou Shalt Not Lie!”
Don’t you see how Lying and Killing go hand in hand? In fact, the two seem to be joined together at the hip.
For, Lying is often what goes before, during and after Killing. Whether it is in the case of individuals committing murder; or groups committing genocide; or nations waging wars of aggression on nations.
It is almost as if you cannot have one without the other.
No Elections, No Islam – It Is That Simple
Where there are no free and fair elections, there is no Islam, regardless of whatever else may or may not be there.
Muslims, Follow Your First Commandment: “READ!”
The very first command issued by God in the Qur’an to humanity says: “Read!”
If Muslims had internalized this core message of Islam to any degree, wouldn’t education be the highest priority in the lives of Muslims? And wouldn’t Muslim societies be models of educational attainment and excellence today?
And wouldn’t their educational supremacy have solved all their problems and set them free?
Who Will Mind the Terrible Social Condition of Muslims?
To many Muslims today, Islam seems to be all about fasting and praying. And then, for those who can afford it, it seems to be about running off to do as many extra Hajj as possible. The social conditions – disease, poverty and lack of education – in which most Muslims live today don’t seem to bother them.
Steering Clear of the Education Question
You attend Muslim conferences, and read Muslim writings, you will come across all kinds of ideas about what Muslims must or must not do to reclaim their glorious Islamic heritage.
But one thing you will probably not hear a single word about is how to raise the educational level of Muslims in Muslim societies.
