We call all people; those with a religion and those who do not profess any religion to come to know the spiritual and worldly advantages of Islam, read about it and explore its beauty. Message of Islam is not aimed at a certain group of people or people in a certain locality; it is for everyone and everywhere.
The Islamic way of life is a practical one, it is not beyond the human strength, but according to his ability, the provisions of Islam have been applied almost a thousand years in all parts of the Muslim world. The Muslim world did not lag behind in prosperity and progress but when failed in the application of those provisions.
The first part of this article has presented some characteristics of Islamic Shari`ah, now the rest part goes on as follows:
The Fifth Merit: No other religion contains the injunctions about the prevention and restraint of the carnal desires, evil instincts and worldly pleasures and about the protection of the chastity and character of women as found in Islam.
Islam enjoined Hijab on women and prohibited men from casting their looks on women, so that the chastity and character of women may not be tarnished and offspring or progeny may not become doubtful.
Islam has prohibited dance before marriageable men because it excites carnal instincts and leads to sexual violence and harassment.
Islam has prohibited alcoholic drink because it takes away the ability of reasoning which is the most valuable gift from Allah Almighty for mankind. Therefore, Islamic Shari`ah has prohibited all kinds of drugs and intoxicating materials that cause the destruction and annihilation of reasoning power and thinking ability. People should be thankful to Islam which has protected our mind and reasoning capabilities, upon which depend our faith and all worldly affairs.
Islam has prohibited usury and gambling that are the causes of man’s spiritual and ethical collapse. Islam enjoins you to give ‘Qard Hasan‘ (loan without interest) to others when they need it. That is, you should help them by offering loan without interest because interest in Islam has been regarded a sort of charity. Help the needy when they are in need and give loans to them without making them feel obliged. Allah is not Kind to one who is not kind to men. This is the teaching of Islam.
The creed of usury tells you that you should take advantage of the miseries and needs of the needy, and should increase wealth by giving loan on interest to them, without doing any work or labor. If the debtor is unable to pay the debt in time, give him further time with a smiling face, so that the interest is doubled and tripled and you may eventually put his house and property to auction.
The results of usury are briefly as follows:
1) Mutual help and obligation come to an end.
2) It makes a man hard-hearted instead of kind-hearted.
3) One addicted to this evil is pleased to see others in trouble and he is always on the look out to find a needy person so that by showing sympathy, he may be able to entrap him in the net of loan and get his property auctioned.
4) When avarice and greed of wealth increase, one’s conscience teaches one various ways of dishonesty and fraud.
5) Gradually such a person becomes lazy and a pleasure-seeker. When he sees that he collected so much wealth to enable him to earn thousands, rather millions of rupees without any exertion and labor, he does not care to take the trouble of indulging in trade, cultivation of land or industry, upon which depends the progress of the country. If the capitalists invest their capital only to secure interest and do not establish any industrial factory, the country will never make any progress.
In short, Islam has completely prohibited indulgence in revelry and carnal desires, and has made adequate provision for the protection of honor, chastity of women, lineage and progeny. It has also prohibited the curse of usury, because Islam does not tolerate such an acquisition of money which generates dishonesty, fraud, cruelty, hard-heartedness and pleasure over the trouble of the afflicted.
Communism exhorts the poor to rob the capital of the capitalists and bring them down to the level of beggars and laborers.
But Islam enjoins the rich and wealthy people to pay Zakah and to help the poor by giving alms to them without letting other people know of it in the least. It is not valid for you to let your neighbor go to bed hungry. When you give alms and charity to anybody, you should not press your obligation upon him, but you should thank Allah Who enabled you to help others, because if Allah loves those who help others. If any needy person be not inclined to accept charity, help him by giving Qard Hasan (Loan without interest) to him.
Islam enjoins the poor not to cast their looks on the property of others, to remain content with their own poverty, rather, to be grateful to Allah because poverty is also a blessing which was conferred by Allah on His friends. Prophet Ibrahim, Prophet Musa and Prophet `Isa (peace be upon them) were blessed with the gift of poverty and He granted Namrud, Pharaoh and the Jews the attractive sovereignty of this temporary world. When the rulers of states were intoxicated with power, wealth and position and became as proud and haughty as to defy that Allah had granted them the kingdom, but Allah destroyed them all in no time. Now you may compare the preaching of communism with the teachings of Islam.
The Sixth Merit: Islam is the gist of the messages of all Prophets and the essence of wisdom of all wise men. There is not a single good and virtue which has not been enjoined and there is not a single evil and vicious act which has not been prohibited. Imam Rabbani Mujaddid Alfi-Sani (May Allah have mercy on him) in one of his letters says:
“The personality of the Prophet Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, (peace be upon him) was the reflection of all the attributes and virtues. The Book which was revealed on him namely the Glorious Qur’an is the gist of all Divine Books which were revealed on all Prophets, his Shari`ah is the gist and essence of all rulings and practices of previous Messengers and Prophets. Religious rituals of his Shari`ah are the combinations of devotional acts of the angels and of the whole universe. Some angels are ordained to undertake Ruku` (bowing) some Sajdah (prostration) some Qiyam (standing straight). In Salah (Prayer), all these practices of angels are combined.
Some previous nations had only the Morning Prayer as obligatory, while others had other prayers but on this nation, nation of Islam all prayers have been made obligatory. The religious acts of this nation are the combination of the different religious rituals of the earlier nations. Therefore, to act according to the Shari`ah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), is in fact, to act according to Shari`ah of all Prophets and Messengers (peace be upon them) in reward; and to deny the Shari`ah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is to deny Shari’ah of all Prophets and Messengers.
To believe in our Prophet (peace be upon him) is to believe in all Prophets and Messengers (peace be upon them). As well as to deny him is in fact, to deny all Prophets and Messengers. Therefore, the believers in him are the best nation and the deniers of him are the worst in nations.” (Extract from 79th Maktub, from Chapter First (Daftare Awwal).
In fact, Islam encompasses all the beauties and perfections that were scattered in the messages of all the Prophets and Messengers, as the message of Islam is the final and last Message of Allah, there will be neither any prophet nor messenger after the final Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him).
The Seventh Merit: The economic law of Islam is based on the principle of social equality; no one should be left poor or deprived. It is the primary duty of an Islamic State that it should establish Public Treasury and collect Zakah, charities and other alms to spend them on the poor and the destitute. It is also the duty of an Islamic State that if any non-Muslim is unable to earn livelihood, he should be maintained from the Public Treasury of the Islamic State.
The Eighth Merit: The judicial and criminal system of Islam is fully responsible for maintenance of public peace and order. It puts strict procedures and punishments that are able to stop heinous crimes, such as theft and adultery.
The present form of administrations not only fails to prevent the theft and adultery, but allows them to increase day by day. The simpletons regard it as progress and personal freedom or human rights while they regard Islamic penal law to be barbarous. There is no room for the thieves and the bad characters in the Islamic law as was said: “It is as bad to do good to the bad as to do evil to the good.”
The fact that a particular law of the land creates anxiety among the thieves and the bad characters is a clear proof of that law being just and right. Therefore, the fact that Islamic penal law makes the thieves and knaves worried is a clear proof of its being just and right.
The Ninth Merit: The Islamic law is plain and clear and not vague or complicated. The Islamic law does not tolerate that a case should remain pending for tens of years and the time and money of the parties should be wasted on the hearings; and the court that fails to grasp the facts of each case within a reasonable time is in all probability itself afflicted with the evils of bribery and corruption.
In Islamic law there is no room for a barrister or an advocate to prove the truth as falsehood and vice versa. The law which is so flexible that an advocate may turn it in any direction he pleases cannot be a just law, but clear dishonesty. In law and justice, there is no likelihood of any interference. English Law is known as susceptible to any interpretation. Islamic law is the law of justice. It only tends to do justice. It is firm and not capable of being turned to any other side.
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Source: Taken from www.sunniforum.com with modifications.