In a recent Friday sermon, the imam of the Haram Mosque, Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, warned the Muslim world against the growing tendency of “takfir” — declaring someone an infidel. Let us examine the implications of the warning in the light of the Muslim social situation.
Strong moral values provide a society with a stable foundation. The Holy Qur’an emphasizes the importance of moral values by exhorting believers to propagate virtue and abstain from vice. The virtues are recommended for the believer’s own improvement as well as to strengthen his social relations. These are values universally admired, no matter to which religion, nationality or political ideology a person belongs.
It is clear that violating a prohibition incurs punishment. Ironically, some Muslim societies have mixed up what is strictly prohibited with certain noble qualities and this has led to great confusion. In some Muslim societies, social customs have fixed certain priorities which are not in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Qur’an or the Prophet, peace be upon him.
The influence of social customs on moral values is plainly visible in the case of women’s chastity. Society obviously views women’s chastity as a very important moral principle while it attaches lesser significance to male chastity. The verse in the Holy Qur’an, however, with regard to chastity says, “Never come near shameful deeds whether open or secret.” This clearly applies equally to both sexes. It is argued that special stress on women’s chastity is required because of the need for the preservation of family purity and lineage. Then why does society not condemn the growing number of killings taking place in Muslim countries that are also deeply harmful to society’s existence?
Islam does not classify unlawful deeds on the basis of the priorities of a society’s customs and prejudices. It has never held that a man’s immorality is less dangerous than a woman’s. It has never declared that a woman’s immoral deeds are worse than declaring someone an infidel.
Sins in Islam are of varying seriousness and so incur punishments depending on their seriousness. The degree of culpability has been determined by God though it need not necessarily agree with any social norms. It cannot be denied that Muslim societies do not implement the gradation of prohibitions as fixed by the religion.
Tradesmen’s corrupt and dishonest practices which destabilize society cannot be equated with a man’s neglecting ablution since society is unaffected by his omission. The greater punishment obviously is for deeds that harm public safety and interests rather than for deeds which affect only the doer. Viewing a serious crime such as murder as a mark of piety is a very dangerous crime. Some religious leaders’ practice of declaring lawful matters as unlawful makes life difficult for Muslims.
It is the responsibility of intellectuals and writers to fight against these tendencies. Muslims need only to turn away from things which God has prohibited. They should remain within the boundaries set by God and respect the gradation of values fixed by God so that their faith will not allow them to view an unlawful act as lawful. Only strict adherence to the teachings of the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet will prevent religious teachers from issuing mistaken fatwas instead of planting divine love in young minds. The type of education too often provided by these people makes young people believe that they are surrounded on all sides by unlawful things and are taught that those unlawful things will surely lead them to Hell.
Divine moral law aims at civilizing people and not tyrannizing them. Repression, even if under the guise of Islam, does not lead to morality. It is surprising that those who ostensibly know the most about Islam are issuing fatwas with no consideration for the very fundamental characteristics of Islam’s message which is that the religion is unexacting and tolerant.
Unfortunately, people think the ignorant fatwa issuers are well-versed in both religious and worldly matters. If a traitor to his country deserves capital punishment, then what should be done to one who betrays both his religion and his country? True religion means a strong belief in God and understanding without resorting to extremes. Our relation to religion and piety should be within the limits of moderation so that we do not pose a threat to ourselves or the world at large.
(Suraya Al-Shehry is a Saudi writer. She is based in Riyadh.)
