Islamic Center of Southern California

The relationship of the human being to the Almighty is one of absolute submission by the creature to the will of his Creator. This is the essential and general meaning of the word Islam, and it is a meaning that is not confined to the faith that was revealed through the Prophet Mohammad. As a matter of fact the Quran refers to a number of Prophets (God's peace be upon them all) who appeared before our Prophet Mohammad, as Muslims. Thus the religion of Abraham is Islam, as we are told by the Quran: ".... the creed of your forefather Abraham. It is HE who has named you - in bygone times as well as in this Book - the Muslims, so that the Apostle might bear witness to the truth before you, and that you might bear witness to it before all mankind." (The Quran 22:78)

On the other hand, the relationship of human beings amongst themselves is governed by the second source of the word Islam - Peace - which of course entails tolerance and mercy. In a description of the Muslim, our Prophet tells us that "the Muslim is he from whose tongue and hand other Muslims shall be safe." The Prophet also often heaped praise upon tolerance and the tolerant as in his saying "God is merciful towards the tolerant, he who is tolerant in selling and tolerant in buying."

In war, the rules of engagement, to borrow a modern phrase from the military, dictate that the Muslim may engage the non-Muslim in combat only if he is threatened by the latter. And this was the basis on which the divine consent for Muslims to fight was given. In the words of the Quran:

"Permission (to fight) is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged - and verily God has indeed the power to succour them." (22:39)

The relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims in general and the people of the Book in particular, is a multifaceted subject that merits much more of a discussion than can be allowed in an introduction of this nature. However, suffice it to say at this point, that tolerance and peace are the twin principles that underlie that relationship. That is what is ordained by the texts of the Quran and the Prophet's sayings. As for the incidents in history that contradict these principles, they are attributable to the Muslims concerned and not to Islam, just as manifestations of un-Christian behaviour must be attributed to certain Christians and not to the teachings of Jesus Christ (God's peace be upon him).

Islam is further distinguished by the fact that the Muslim that must be at peace with others must be also at peace with himself. This is a necessary effect of the Muslim's total submission to the will of God. Islam is unique in the compatibility and harmony it creates between the spiritual and material aspects of life. The Muslim's conduct in material matters is controlled and channelled by his faith's spiritual teachings as the scholars of the Shari'a rules on transactions or conduct will appreciate. Worship in Islam, on the other hand, is a blend of verbal supplication and physical movements, the purport of which is to confirm and emphasize the spiritual essence. The Muslim daily prayers, for example, comprise several bodily movements. Of these, the Ruku' (the bowing position) depicts the Muslim's humility before the greatness of his Lord as he repeats the words prescribed for this position "Glorified is my Lord the Great." Likewise, the Sujud or position of prostration in prayer, depicts the trifling existence of the human being before the towering loftiness of the divine and in this humble position the servant repeats the prescribed words "Glorified is my Lord the Exalted." With these various movements and gestures, the Muslim individual confirms to himself that he will undergo this humility and this prostration to his Creator and Lord, and to no one else. He is taught by the Quran to say: "Thee alone do we worship; and unto Thee alone do we turn for aid."(1:5)

As for his dealings with his fellow human beings, his faith dictates that they be based on equality.

The history of mankind has witnessed a number of civilizations, the Chinese, the Pharaonic, the Greek, the Persian and the Roman. It has also witnessed the Islamic civilization. Each of the civilizations that preceded Islam became renowned for one or the other aspect which distinguished it from the others. Thus philosophy thrived in the Greek civilization whereas architecture was the strong point of the Romans. The Islamic civilization, on the other hand, is notable in that it saw the rise of all major fields of knowledge, such as medicine, astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, philosophy as well as architecture. But the most important feature that distinguished the Islamic civilization from its predecessors, is that we know the precise point in history when it was born, i.e. the date of the revelation of the Islamic faith to the Prophet in the seventh century A.D. By contrast, the other civilizations took centuries to evolve and therefore to appear in a recognizable form. They did not, therefore, have a precise starting period or date of birth, if we may use the statement. Furthermore, whereas the other civilizations arose out of certain social environments in which they were born, the Arabs of Makkah were not qualified in the 7th century A.D. to establish a civilization the hallmark of which was knowledge, for they were ignorant and mainly illiterate. It was the Prophet Mohammad's call (God's peace and blessing be upon him), that shook them to their foundations and turned their social structure upside down. They were transformed by that call and that divine message, and set off in every direction of the then known world, changing the course of history as they went along.

True, not all the Arab tribal customs that prevailed before Islam were abolished by the Quran and the Prophet's Sunna. Some were endorsed, others were modified and integrated in the new legal and moral order, whilst of course, those that were inconsistent with Islam were done away with. Some of those customs that were not directly covered by the Quran and the Sunna were later dealt with by the jurists and scholars upon whom fell the task of interpreting the original texts, and it is through their conclusions that traces of some of the old undesirable Bedouin customs found their way into the Shari'a (body of Islamic Law). This part of the Shari'a, as we shall see later on, is not immutable and must always lend itself to scrutiny by the qualified jurists of every age. This, however, is a long and involved subject which would require long discourses and explanations. Nevertheless, one or two examples from the field of family law would illustrate the point.

Polygamy and the right of the man to divorce wives at will were widely accepted and exercised in pre-Islamic Arabia. A man was allowed as many wives as he pleased and could divorce them and change them without restriction. This state of affairs continued into the first half of the Prophet's life (God's peace and blessings be upon him). Islam put a ceiling on the number of wives that a man could have at any one time, and made the right to take more than one wife itself conditional upon being able to treat them with equal fairness. Furthermore, the right to take more than one wife with these restrictions as originally ordained, was closely connected with situations in which men had orphan children in their care. The Quran threatened those who appropriated for themselves the property that rightfully belonged to the orphans in the following terms:

"Behold, those who sinfully devour the possessions of orphans but fill their bellies with fire for (in the life to come) they will have to endure a blazing flame." (4:10)

Those Muslims to whom the property of orphans had been entrusted were alarmed, and fearing that part of said property that may mingle with their own for investment purposes may inadvertently be denied to the orphans, they sought to return to the Prophet the orphans' property to save themselves from falling foul of the divine law. At that stage another Quranic verse was revealed:

"And if you have reasons to fear that you might not act equitably towards orphans, then marry from among women such as are lawful to you, two or three or four; but if you have reason to fear that you might not be able to treat them with equal fairness then (only) one...." (4:3)

Regrettably the legal tolerance that was afforded by the Quran of polygamy, was often exploited by Muslims with scant regard for the conditions under which it was supposed to be exercised. Rather than view it with the utmost caution and seriousness that are warranted by the circumstances in which it was allowed and the conditions under which it was ordained, the right to polygamy was taken by the males of some societies simply as license to indulge in multiple sexual relationships. The Arabs in particular, once enriched, made polygamy the rule rather than the exception, and although they did not exceed the limit of four wives at a time, they resorted to divorce whenever the desire for change arose. They used divorce to attain their worldly pleasures when they knew that although it was lawful, it was in the words of the Prophet (God's peace and blessings be upon him) "the most abhorred of lawful things to God." Furthermore, the Quran is quite clear on how this distasteful legal sanction is to be effected. When the marital relationship becomes strained and deteriorates, resort should first be made to arbitration

"And if you have reason to fear that a breach might occur between them, appoint an arbiter from among his people and an arbiter from among her people; if they both want to set things aright, God may bring about their reconciliation...." (The Quran 4:35)

In the event that arbitration fails, the husband may implement one act of divorce, the effect of which would be suspended for a period of three months and 10 days, after which the divorce goes into final effect. During this period of suspension, the wife must remain in the marital home so that the spouse may get the opportunity to reconsider the divorce, the legal remedy yet that is so abhorrent in the eyes of God. This from of divorce may be effected twice between man and wife. If it occurs for the third time, then it becomes effective immediately, and the two are separated for ever unless and until the wife marries another man and gets divorced from him. In the words of the Quran:

"A divorce may be (revoked) twice, whereupon the marriage must either be resumed in fairness or dissolved in a goodly manner...." (2:229)

"And if he divorces her (finally) she shall therefore not be lawful unto him unless she first takes another husband; then if the latter divorces her, there shall be no sin upon either of the two if they return to one another - provided that both of them think that they will be able to keep within the bound set by God..." (2:230)

In spite of the clarity of the Quran in this matter, Muslim husbands have sometimes put into effect all three divorces with one utterance of the words. Some Muslim jurists, anxious to retain the cooling off period that the Quran allowed for the spouses to reconsider, held that three divorces effected with one utterance or at the same time, counted only as one divorce. However when Omar bin Al-Khattab, the second caliph after the Prophet, saw how lightly people were treating the grave matter of divorce, ordained that the announcement of three divorces would put into effect all three divorces. Furthermore, the Prophet's teachings on the matter require that a man may not divorce his wife in certain circumstances; such as during her period of menstruation or during the time between two menstrual cycles if in that time sexual contact occurred (coitus is prohibited during menstruation). When one of the Prophet's companions, Abdullah bin Omar was in breach of this rule, the Prophet ordered him to return to his wife.

These were some examples of the regrettable practices in some Muslim societies that have led to the distorted view of our legal system held by some observers. In spite of this however the Islamic Shari'a, especially those parts of it that concern women and constitutional matters, remain a unique legal system in what it affords to the protection of human rights and the organization of societies and individuals. It is indeed regrettable that these brilliant aspects of the Islamic Shari'a that serve humanity and humans like no other legal system does, should be eclipsed by the tendency of some Muslims to exaggerate the harshness of the concept of punishment in Islam. This is the result of a serious misunderstanding of Islam to which Muslims, let alone alien orientalists, have fallen victim. Islam was not revealed in order to simply amputate the theftuous hand or to stone the fornicator, but it rather came to protect and safeguard human dignity. The harshness of punishment for the offender is more meant as a deterrent than for prompt application. This is borne out by the fact that many obstacles have to be overcome before the punishment can be effected - the burden of proof is so onerous that implementing the punishment can be practically impossible.

Small wonder then that the genuinely Islamic society is characterized by kindness and congeniality. These are some of the requirements prescribed by Islam for the establishment of a civilization of high order. And of course, the component units that make up this civilized society, the human beings, must be of the highest calibre, moulded by the ideals specified by their Creator.

However the allure of worldly temptations has taken its toll of the Muslims' adherence to their Lord's commands and it would be unrealistic to expect to find in today's Muslim society many whose conduct and behaviour is wholly Islamic. In my own life's experience, I have met only a handful, and I can categorically state that Dr. Hassan Hathout is one of them. I was therefore very pleased indeed at this request that I write the introduction to his book "Reading the Muslim Mind". Reading his thoughts, even before reading his book, have helped me embark on a voyage to a world of "Realistic Ideals".

Dr. Hassan understands Islam in the real sense, as it should be understood. His belief in God and His Oneness therefore is not only the result of the acceptance of the divine revelation and the Prophet's teachings, but it is as well a product of a vigorous mental exercise in which logic and reasoning are applied. Such mental effort is in compliance with numerous Quranic exhortations to the Muslim to think, ponder and deliberate the universe and his own existence within the universe as all this would enhance the human being's knowledge of his Creator. To quote the Quran:

"Surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alteration of night and day, there are signs for men of understanding." (3:190)

"Those who remember Allah while standing, sitting or (reclining) on their backs, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth (saying) Our Lord! You have not created this in vain. Glory to You!" (3:191)

Hence the book's first chapter entitled "God" draws the path which can lead the Muslim to the knowledge of his Lord and therefore facilitate belief and total acceptance. His style is at once convincing to the young and persuasive to the mature non-believing adult. His logical analysis of the factors pointing to the existence of God lead him, in the second chapter, to a further logical analysis of the consequences of the existence of God, as manifested in the human being, in the resurrection and posthumous life, in the difference between man and beast, and in the three major monotheistic religions that had a common starting point in the person of the Patriarch Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The third chapter of the book is an interesting and objective exposition of Islam and its relationship with the other two religions. The non-Muslim reader who has no knowledge of Islam will be astonished at the bonds that link Islam with Christianity in particular. The Quran tell us that:

".... And you will surely find that of all people they who say: 'We are Christians', are closest to feeling affection for those who believe. This is because there are priests and monks among them, and because they are not arrogant." (5:82)

The Islamic civilization has left its clear imprint on the civilization of the West in various disciplines and in the Arts. It gave the Western world the foundations on which it could build its own civilization, as is indicated by the liberal use of adapted forms of Arabic words or their translations.

Thus the Arabic word for University, "Jamiah", has its origins in the word "Jami", which is the word for the larger mosque in a town or locality. It was in those mosques that the disciplines such as medicine, astronomy and law were first taught, with the students seated in circle round their teachers. This was emulated in the West in the sense that special buildings for teaching were established and were given the name that corresponds in meaning to the Arabic Jami i.e. the Latin word "Universitas" or University in current English. The degree that the Muslim student was awarded for the successful completion of his studies was the "Ijaza" which corresponds in meaning to the word License, which is of course the name of the academic degree in certain European cultures.

It should be known by now that the past rift between Muslims and Christians had political roots. It was not caused by the advent of Islam as a religion and as the author points out, it is wrong to describe the civilization of today as Judeo-Christian. That is just an attempt to bolt out the proven historical facts that show the considerable influence of the early Muslims on this civilization, much greater, in fact, than that of the Jews. Today's civilization therefore is more aptly described as Judeo-Christian-Islamic.

This chapter reveals the extent of the esteem in which the Quran holds Moses, the Prophet of the Jews. The story of the struggle of Moses and his people is repeated several times in the Quran and in fact the name of Moses recurs many more times than that of our Prophet Mohammad, God's peace and blessings be upon them both. The names of the prophets Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon and Joseph, are popular names in the Islamic community. All this indicates that the dispute between the Muslims and the Jews is political in nature and not religious. As a matter of fact, the Jews would probably be the first to admit that they enjoyed more security and better treatment in the Islamic state than anywhere else. When the Islamic rule came to an end in Spain, the Jews there fled from the new rulers to another Islamic state, that of Ottomans.

By the same token, the bonds of tolerance and cooperation between the Islamic and Christian worlds can be extremely strong, given the requisite sincerity and political will. The differences between the two religions do not call for enmity and there exist sufficient common interests that warrant putting an end to the trail of injustices that have been and continue to be inflicted on the Muslims. It is time to put an end to all that and join hands in removing the bitterness and resentment that have built up over the ages.

The fourth chapter of the book, one of the longest and most important, analyses the Anatomy of Islam. Dr. Hathout briefly surveys the Shari'a, or body of Islamic Law, and the separation of religion from State, and Democracy. He goes on to deal with the spiritual aspect of Islam i.e. matters of worship and the moral message that disciplined Muslims and implanted in them compassion, mercy and the love for everything good. I would just wish to add to Dr. Hathout's very interesting explanation of the Shari'a an important dimension. A clear distinction must be made between two things: On the one hand, there are the Quranic rules and commands - very few in number - and the rules embodied in the proven utterances and deeds of the Prophet, all of which form a sacred and immutable source of law; And on the other hand, there is the vast body of legal opinions produced by Muslim jurists and scholars from all sects over the ages. These latter laws are not religiously binding on the Muslims and are not therefore considered sacred or immutable.

One of the sources of Islamic law is what the jurists call the "Masalih Mursalah", which can be loosely translated as the Public Interest. The early jurists used this source to lay down new rules to cover situations that did not exist in the Prophet's lifetime, and therefore were not provided for in the texts i.e. the Quran and Sunna. The jurists further used the Public Interest as guiding light in which the provisions of the texts could be interpreted. Some went even further to give precedence to Public Interest over the texts were there was conflict between the two, a rather radical step which is difficult to imagine. Yet the search continues incessantly for solutions to the new problems that arise with the changing times and the accompanying changes in the needs and desires of the Islamic community. Hence the need for the Shari'a to develop. The development started very shortly after the Prophet's death, and one of the most daring figures in bringing about changes was the Second Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattab who went so far as to adapt or suspend some of the Quranic provisions. This introduction is not, of course, the right place for a full explanation of these matters, so I shall restrict my comments to drawing a distinction between the two major schools of thought on the matter of Ijtihad or Juristic Reasoning, one favouring a close adherence to the text and its literal interpretation without much thought to its objectives, and the other looking more for purpose and wisdom for the legal enactments. Dr. Hathout has narrated the story of the soldiers who were ordered not to perform the Asr (mid-afternoon) prayer except in Bani Quraidha territory. When the time for the Asr prayer approached its end without them having arrived at their destination, some of them chose to perform their prayer, on the basis of their interpreting the Prophet's command as meaning, not that they should refrain from praying, but that they should go with great dispatch to their target. The rest of the soldiers chose the literal interpretation of the Prophet's order and abstained from praying until they had reached their destination. Later on the Prophet (God's peace and blessing be upon him), approved both interpretations as being correct, since both had been based on a sound premise. Omar bin Al-Khattab in his Ijtihad belonged to the school that looked more to the wisdom and purpose of the enactments than to the literal meaning of the texts. My reading of Dr. Hathout's views on how to interpret the enactments or adapt or develop them to cover the new and ever-changing situations indicates that he leans toward the same school.

The author has done well in expounding the relationship between Islam and democracy. The Islamic government, as provided for by the Quran and the Sunna, does not include a specific form of constitutional system. What the texts rather did was to lay down the basic principles on which any constitution could be based. The ruler has to be chosen by others and may only rule in accordance with the Law. And the affairs of the community have to be managed by majority decisions which is the essence of the Shura system. The Prophet, in his capacity as head of the Islamic state, was bound by the Shura system in so far as his actions were not by virtue of divine revelations. As to how the Shura was exercised in practice, i.e. all matters of form, they were left to be determined in accordance with the needs and circumstances of each time and place. Thus the vital element of flexibility was guaranteed. To draw a little more on the history of Omar's era, that caliph normally used to conduct the Shura in the mosque. Where the subject matter was difficult and required much deliberation, he took to an open space outside the town along with all the participants in the consultations. There they would spend days on end, discussing the matter until they could reach a majority decision by which the ruler would be bound.

In addition to majority rule in accordance with the Shura system, Islam firmly established the concept of human rights. Freedom of worship, of speech and of movement, and equality between citizens of the state were all safeguarded, long before other nations began the tortuous route towards introducing them into their systems. Unfortunately, much has changed since the dawn of Islam and many of the pristine features of the Islamic constitutional system have been eroded. In some Islamic states, one cannot avoid the impression that there is a definite antipathy between Islam and democracy.

The author has given a clear and succinct explanation of the five pillars of Islam, which a Muslim normally learns during childhood. The object is to give the non-Muslim reader a clear picture of how a Muslim can strive towards perfection in his relationship with his Creator, in the matters of worship and in observing God's commands and prohibitions in his daily conduct. It is this latter part of the Muslim's life, i.e. his behaviour or conduct towards others which most readily catch the observer's attention. Here the moral standard set by Islam is high and pervades all aspects of life making the true Muslim generous, tolerant, modest and striving to do good unto his fellow Muslims as much as he would do it unto his own kith and kin. The author gives brilliant examples cited by the Quran and the Sunna which have influenced Muslims over the centuries and are capable of giving a vivid picture of what Islam is all about to the non-Muslim.

The fifth and final chapter concerns certain political and social issues on which there is much controversy throughout the world. The Author's views and proposed solutions are a refection of his deep understanding of the Islamic Shari'a and the moral principles that it introduced. Some Muslims may beg to differ with the author's theories or conclusions. Such difference of opinion however, is welcomed by Islam and the rule that our Prophet laid down for us in this respect is that "He who exerts his mind in quest of the truth or the solution to a point in issue and finds the right answer shall win two rewards, whereas he who exerts his mind and misses the truth, shall gain one reward". To my mind Dr. Hathout's efforts, choosing as he does to look for the spirit and wisdom of the texts rather than merely their literal meaning, will gain him two rewards, not one.

* Sheikh Ahmad Zaki Yamani is former Minister of Petrol and Mineral Resources, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and one of the most accomplished statesmen of our times. He is also an Islamic scholar in his own right, and annually participates in the course on Islamic Shari'a at Harvard University Law School. His book "The Everlasting Shari'a", and his numerous writings and lectures, have gone far in elucidating the facts about Islam. He is the founder and chairman of the reputable Center for Global Energy Studies based in London, England. He is also founder and chairman to Alfurqan: The Islamic Heritage Foundation, active in preserving, recording and publishing old Islamic manuscripts.