Is there any need to change the Islamic values in the modern world?

on Wednesday, May 22, 2013


It is well-known that Islam is a complete way of life. It is a religion that is so dynamic that it fits each and every human soul in the world -something that is evidenced by the Quran and Hadith. The point is, do we understand this?

Just as times have changed to extreme extents, ways of life have changed too, and eventually the thought process of a human mind was greatly influenced. Point of views regarding a lot many things were altered, and people ceased to look at certain things the way they used to 1400 years ago. Saying that also conveys a rather unsettling idea -since the aforementioned is true, it is evident that some people would start to question some of the cardinal rules laid down more than a millennium ago.

There could be along list, if we want to list down the things that the modernists would want to criticise about Islam. The issue of the women not allowed to travel around the world unlike men could be one. This would be where people, at least all the feminists of today, would want to ask questions about women being asked to wear Hijab and not allowed to drive out alone -as practised in Saudi Arabia, for example.

People could raise questions about the distance that is supposed to be maintained between the opposite sex. They would advocate how the world had moved on and had modernised enough to accommodate such issues without the reservations that Islamic teaching carries.

The skeptics would say that the time lapse might have turned some of those rules as outdated. And this is the type of people whom the above mentioned question was directed to… Knowing and believing is okay, but do they understand Islam?

What needs to be understood is that the religion of Islam gives us a system which guides us to the perfect life -if the rules are followed correctly and wholly. The issues of women and the Islamic rules regarding women, for instance, can be understood very logically if we look at the inherent human psyche. The boundaries laid down by Islam make sure that our sexual desires do not get aroused where they are not supposed to. The eye leads the door to greater sins -a commonly known fact. That is why Islam teaches us to be modest about our endeavours in the society, hence rules were set regarding women. We also need to understand that in doing so it is not discriminating women, because at the same time men are being told to maintain a modest behaviour -lowering their gaze for example. The punishments enforced by Islam are the ultimate deterrent that can surely keep people from evil -and do remember if there’s no wrongdoing there won’t be any severe punishments.

The point of view that accuses Islam to be outdated actually originates from a limited mind that they can not decipher the greater picture like God can. Islam is, in fact, more than a religion, it is a complete way of life. Allah SWT has sent down a book of guidance, and it is compatible with all times to come.



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