A couple of weeks ago, this page, Islam In Perspective, completed 25 years of its publication. Throughout it maintained a close relationship with its readers, strengthened by the continuous stream of their letters, asking questions that range from the very basic to the most complicated. It has been the starting point for important works that present Islam in its true image: A message of love and peace that aims to bring happiness to all people.
When we started, the idea was to give the large community of non-Muslim readers who live and work in Saudi Arabia a fair idea about Islam. Therefore, we felt that we needed to present the Qur’an and Muhammad, the Prophet (peace be upon him) who received it through revelation from God Almighty. Therefore, we started “What the Qur’an Teaches” which comments on a few Qur’anic verses each time. We rely on the best Qur’anic commentary of the modern era, Sayyid Qutb’s “In the Shade of the Qur’an”. On the other hand, we carried in our first five years 200 articles about the life of the Prophet Muhammad. These were later put together in a book “Muhammad: Man and Prophet” published by the Islamic Foundation in England.
However, the main contribution this page has given is its “Discourse” which answers readers’ letters. This began under the heading “Our Dialogue”, as we envisaged that non-Muslims living in Saudi Arabia would be interested in such dialogue. We certainly received many questions from non-Muslim readers who wanted to learn about Islam. One of the very early letters raised 12 fundamental questions about wide-ranging subjects. We continue to receive these, but the bulk of our correspondence is from Muslims who want to learn how Islam tackles different problems. We praise God for enabling us to maintain this service which answers a clear need. Some readers write with enthusiasm, which we find gratifying. Some tell us about private matters which they prefer not to be published in the paper. We try to answer all.
We have also learned a great deal about the conditions that prevail in Muslim communities in different parts of the world. It is particularly gratifying when readers say that through Arab News and “Islam in Perspective” they have been able to shed some misconceptions about Islam and its practices. This is especially important because during a long period of decline Muslim communities tended to look at their traditions as essentially Islamic. In fact, they began to consider their own traditions as God-given. Unfortunately, it is often the case that there is a wide gulf between the traditions of a certain Muslim community and the guidance Islam provides.
One area where this is clearly apparent is the position of women in Islam. Non-Muslims, particularly in the West, often tell us that Islam treats women as inferior to men. Unfortunately this is evidenced by the treatment of women in some Muslim communities. In order to get people to understand that the practices they have been seeing in their Muslim communities since childhood, which they have always assumed to be Islamic, are contrary to Islamic teachings is not an easy task. We have been inculcating the idea of equality of the two sexes ever since we started. Some readers responded vigorously, trying to prove otherwise. I remember a reader from Makkah writing to me again and again on this very subject. It is important to emphasize that he was genuinely trying to prove a point of view, rather than adopting a male chauvinistic stand. In this instance, when the exchange was threatening to monopolize the space allowed for readers’ questions, the dialogue was carried forward privately and the reader ultimately acknowledged that he had to modify his views.
While we could not engage in private correspondence on a wide scale, this was an important case, because the reader concerned had studied Islam well, but the force of traditional views held sway over him. To reach this conclusion with such a reader is beneficial as the idea of men and women’s equality is central to Islamic society. When people like this reader speak out for equality, they contribute to bringing about the necessary change in Muslims’ social outlook.
Two important issues stand out in the common, but erroneous, way Muslims generally look at women and their status. These are divorce and responsibility. Islam allows divorce as it recognizes that things may not go well in a family home. Rather than force a couple to stay together in an atmosphere of continuous friction and repeated quarrels, it lays down a process to try to mend matters and achieve reconciliation. When such efforts fail and things continue to go wrong, it allows for divorce in a way that secures the rights of both parties. Divorce is done in a process that takes 2-9 months. Yet it is a widely held misconception that Islamic divorce is as easy as uttering two words. Unfortunately many families are broken in this way. The blame cannot be laid at the doorstep of Islam. It is Muslims that behave in an ignorant way, only to rue their behavior later. We have not tired of explaining the process of divorce in Islam. Readers continue to ask about it, because people often act on the spur of the moment. In such matters, they rarely reflect or consult a scholar. They often resort to divorce as punishment for a wife’s misbehavior. This must never be the case. Yet since it is often supported by social culture, it is difficult to change. Hence, we need to stress the correct Islamic teachings time after time.
Another common misconception relates to equality and responsibility. We have been trying to stress the fact that Islam looks at man and woman in the same light and considers them equals in every sense, although they differ in certain aspects and play complementary roles in the family and society. All Islamic duties are required of both man and woman; all prohibitions apply equally to both. They stand to receive the same reward and are liable to the same punishment for the same offenses. How then can the idea of man’s superiority be entertained? An important element that served to strengthen this misconception is the fact that a Muslim is required to look after his wife and womenfolk, paying for their living expenses. Even when a wife is richer than her husband, he is supposed to look after her and provide her with all her requirements. She need not pay anything of the family expenses. It is often the case that with responsibility comes authority, and Muslim men have been assuming more and more authority over their women, particularly in the last two centuries when most Muslim countries suffered from poor education.
Such authority has not always worked in the man’s favor. Many Muslim men tend to think that they must pay all that is due from their wives. Thus, I repeatedly receive the question: “My wife owns such and such; how much zakah should I pay for what she owns?” The very question is wrong. If your wife owns much or little, you are not responsible for her zakah. She should be the one who asks the question, as she is the one responsible for the payment of zakah, if any. Zakah is an act of worship, and worship is required of everyone in their own individual capacity. Just like you cannot offer your wife’s obligatory prayers, you are not responsible for the payment of her zakah. If you do pay it, you are giving your wife a gift, in the same way as you do when you buy her a piece of jewelry.
Many readers ask basic questions about essential acts of worship, which they are keen to perform in the right way. Many also ask questions about inheritance. Islam has an elaborate system of inheritance that maintains fairness and ensures that wealth is equitably shared out. As a family situation is often complicated, people want to know how to share out the estate of a departing relative. Sometimes, however, things get extremely complicated and confusing. This is often due to the estate being kept intact, undivided among the heirs for a long time. I often receive letters stating that a father died some 20 or 30 years earlier, and now the heirs want to know how to divide his estate. This means that what started as a simple and straightforward question is now very complicated. The passage of time often means that one or more of the original heirs had also died and their own heirs became entitled to a share of the original inheritance. What also complicates matters is that some of the heirs might have benefited from the estate while others had not. A son might have continued to live in the family home with his own wife and children, while his sister moved out with her husband. If she has now died, how much should her brother pay to her children? It is a difficult question that should not have arisen in the first place. All that is needed is to heed the Prophet’s sound advice that inheritance should be shared out among the heirs as soon as possible. This leaves no room for confusion or friction.
Letters from non-Muslim readers often highlight some fundamental questions. They can be eye-openers with regard to how Islam should be presented. Some questions raised by such readers require very detailed and in-depth answers. Some are troubled by the way Islam is perceived in the West and presented by Western media. They want to get to the truth. What they read in Arab News sounds different to widely held views of Islam and Muslims. We simply present Islam as we live it, free of the rigidity of those who want a certain understanding to be upheld at all times, forgetting that God has allowed human life to progress with man’s increased knowledge of the universe and its potentials. He has certainly made Islam genuinely flexible to allow for adaptation to progress. Without such flexibility, how can the divine message apply to all communities in all generations?
The idea of flexibility is taken up by a non-Muslim reader who has studied Islamic law and is troubled by what seems to him to be a rigid approach to crime and punishment. He raises the question whether prison sentences can replace some of the punishments that applied in earlier generations. His letter, received only this week, gives me an opportunity to dispel some of the common misconception about Islamic law and the Islamic approach to punishment. I will be doing this over the next couple of weeks, but I will only say now that the criticism leveled at Islam often results from the very superficial image the media portray of this profound faith.
A recent letter raised the very unusual question: Can one be a non-Muslim believer? The writer mentioned that his extensive reading about Islam makes him feel that it is God’s message to mankind. He is full of admiration of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Yet he is too attached to his family and community that he feels unable to break away from them. He asks whether he could maintain this status, believing that God is One and that Muhammad is His messenger, but not declaring himself a Muslim.
This is not an uncommon problem. It is often very difficult to wrestle with. Yet I cannot forget Muhammad Madani who wrote saying that he began to learn about Islam through Arab News. He was attracted by an article that spoke of Jesus, and he was surprised at the way we spoke about Jesus Christ with great respect. Needless to say, we will always speak with respect about all prophets, as this is required of us by our faith. He then followed closely whatever was published in “Islam in Perspective”. He told me that he gradually recognized the validity of Islam, and ultimately decided to become a Muslim. That was the only letter I had from him. I wish him well wherever he is.
Over the years of its publication, “Islam in Perspective” aimed to present Islam as it is through the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, God’s last messenger to mankind. It will continue to do so realizing that its mission is to bring a better understanding between peoples and communities. It hopes that by so doing it contributes to peace in our troubled world.
